The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842Caswall, Henry
History
The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842
Caswall, Henry
Latter Day Saints -- Illinois; Nauvoo (Ill.)
privilege to come to Nauvoo and behold the great work of the Lord in
these latter days. "The work of God is prospering," he said, "in
England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales; in Australia, and at the Cape of
Good Hope, in the East and West Indies, in Palestine, in Africa, and
throughout America, thousands and tens of thousands are getting
converted by our preachers, are baptized for the remission of sins, and
are selling off all they have that they may come to Nauvoo. The great
and glorious work has begun, and I defy all earth and hell to stop it."
A hymn was now sung; and afterwards a tall, thin, New-England Yankee,
with a strong nasal twang and provincial accent, rose up, and leaning
forward on the railing, spoke for half an hour with great volubility. He
said that his office required him to speak of business. They were all
aware that God had by special revelation appointed a committee of four
persons, and had required them to build a house unto his name, such a
one as his servant, Joseph, should show them. That the said house should
be called the "Nauvoo House," and should be for a house of boarding:
that the kings and nobles of the earth, and all weary travellers, might
lodge therein, while they should contemplate the word of the Lord, and
the corner-stone, which He had appointed for Zion. That in this house
the Lord had said that there should be reserved a suite of rooms for his
servant Joseph, and his seed after him from generation to generation.
And that the Lord had also commanded that stock should be subscribed by
the saints, and received by the committee for the purpose of building
the house. The speaker proceeded as follows:--"Now, brethren, the Lord
has commanded this work, and the work _must_ be done. Yes; it _shall_ be
done--it _will_ be done. The Gentiles, the men of the world, tell us
that such stock must pay twenty-five per cent. per annum, and the Lord
hath required us to take stock; surely, then, when duty and interest go
together, you will not be backward to contribute. But only a small
amount of stock has hitherto been taken, and the committee appointed by
the Lord have had to go on borrowing, and borrowing, until they can
borrow no longer. In the mean time, the mechanics employed on the house
want their pay, and the committee are not able to pay them. We have a
boat ready to be towed up the river to the pine country, to get pinewood
for the edifice. We have a crew engaged, and all ready to start; but we
cannot send out the expedition without money. The committee have made
great personal sacrifices to fulfil the commandment of the Lord: I
myself came here with seven thousand dollars, and now I have only two
thousand, having expended five thousand upon the work of the Lord. But
we cannot go on in this way any longer. I call on you, brethren, to obey
God's command, and take stock, even though you may not dress so finely
as you do now, or build such fine houses. Let not the poor man say, I am
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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