The Restoration of the GospelWidtsoe, Osborne J. P.
Religion
The Restoration of the Gospel
Widtsoe, Osborne J. P.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
"Very true, gentlemen," returned the Prophet, "you cannot see what is
in my heart, and you are therefore unable to judge me or my intentions;
but I can see what is in your hearts, and will tell you what I see.
I can see that you thirst for blood, and nothing but my blood will
satisfy you. It is not for crime of any description that I and my
brethren are thus continually persecuted and harassed by our enemies,
but there are other motives, and some of them I have expressed, so far
as relates to myself; and inasmuch as you and the people thirst for
blood, I prophesy, in the name of the Lord, that you shall witness
scenes of blood and sorrow to your entire satisfaction. Your souls
shall be perfectly satiated with blood, and many of you who are now
present shall have an opportunity to face the cannon's mouth from
sources you think not of; and those people that desire this great evil
upon me and my brethren, shall be filled with regret and sorrow because
of the scenes of desolation and distress that await them. They shall
seek for peace, and shall not be able to find it. Gentlemen, you shall
find what I have told you to be true."[E]
[Footnote E: "History of the Church," Vol. VI, p. 566.]
The events of the next two days proved that the Prophet's declaration
of what was in the hearts of his, visitors was right. And the visitors
had not long to live after the martyrdom of the Prophet to see a
terrible fulfillment of all that he had predicted in the name of the
Lord. The hearts of many of them were rent at the scenes of distress,
of desolation, and of blood, that they witnessed before they were
themselves taken away.
At the prison, the Prophet and his friends manifested the same
fearless spirit, the same degree of divine inspiration, and the same
devotion to the cause of Truth. Joseph Smith, and Hyrum Smith, and
their associates, took turns preaching to the guards. These noble men
explained to their keepers the true nature of their missions upon
earth, and bore irrefragable testimonies to the truth of the Gospel
that they preached. Now, the guards were themselves poisoned by
bigotry, by prejudice, by bitter hatred. Many of them belonged to the
mob-militia that was sworn to murder the Prophet. Yet, some of them
were so affected by the preaching of the prisoners that they asked to
be relieved before their watch was out. Many of them admitted freely
that they had been imposed upon. Frequently, one of them was heard
to call to the others, "Let us go home, boys, for I will not fight
any longer against these men." So evident was the innocence of the
prisoners, that, had they been given a fair, legal trial, the court
would have acquitted them without question, and would have given them,
moreover, the full protection of the law. It was the knowledge of this
fact that led the Prophet's persecutors to say, "If the law will not
reach them powder and ball must."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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