—29—Presidents and
addressed the Saints in
the . Joseph blessed the peo-
ple in the name of the Lord, and said,
if we would be faithful, we should
arise above our embarrassments, and
be delivered from the hands of our
enemies.
—30—I wrote an article on faith,
which was published in the .
Feb. 19—I attended meeting at the
. President Joseph Smith had
been absent on business for the Church,
but not half as long as was in
the mount away from Israel; yet
many of the people in Kirtland, if
they did not make a calf to worship,
as did the Israelites, turned their
hearts away from the Lord, and from
his servant Joseph, and had engaged
in speculation, and given way to
, until they were darkened
in their minds; and many were op-
posed to Joseph Smith, and some
wished to appoint to
lead the Church in his stead. In the
midst of this cloud of dark spirits,
Joseph returned to Kirtland, and this
morning arose in the stand. He ap-
peared much ; but soon the
rested upon him, and he
addressed the assembly in great plain-
ness for about three hours, and put
his enemies to silence. When he arose
he said, "I am still the President,
Prophet, , and Leader
of the . God,
and not man, has appointed and
placed me in this position, and no man
or set of men have power to remove
me, or appoint another in my stead;
and those who undertake this, if they
do not speedily repent, will burn their
fingers and go to hell." He reproved
the people sharply for their sins, dark-
ness and unbelief. The
rested upon him, and bore testimony
that his sayings were true.
March 23rd was spent in the Temple
by the Saints in Kirtland, in fasting
and prayer. Patriarch , presided. The Spirit of the
Lord was poured out upon the people.
A contribution was taken up for the
poor.
April 4—I received my washings
and anointings in the . I spent the whole night in the
Temple, with others of the Seventies,
in prayer and fasting; the Spirit of
the Lord rested upon us. After
twenty-four hours I partook of food.
—6—The Presidency of the Church,
the Twelve Apostles, and other Quo-
rums, met in , and
sealed upon our heads our and blessings, with a loud
shout of to God and the
Lamb; the Spirit of the Lord rested
upon us. After spending three hours
in the upper room, the Quorums re-
paired to the lower court; the
were lowered, and the ordinance of
was administered.
Elder washed my feet,
and pronounced blessings upon me.
After this ordinance, the of the
Temple were rolled up, and President
Joseph Smith addressed the Elders for
three hours, clothed with the Spirit
and power of God. He unbosomed
his feelings in the house of his friends,
and gave much instruction. He urged
upon us the absolute necessity of
giving strict heed to his teachings and
counsel, and the revelations of the
Lord to the Church, and be wise in
all things, that Zion and her stakes
may be redeemed and established, no
more to be thrown down. He said,
that the kings of the earth would yet
come to behold the glory of Zion, and
that great and glorious blessings would
be bestowed upon the Saints in the
last days. bore testi-
mony, and was followed by Oliver
Cowdery, who exhorted the Elders to
keep within the bounds of their know-
ledge, and let the alone, for the Gentiles had
not a knowledge even of the first
principles of the Gospel. He said, it
is far better to preach what the people
would call the small things of the
kingdom, than to enter into the visions
of , and . The
Twelve , which was distri-
buted to the multitude, who eat and
were filled; thanks were returned,
and the meeting closed at the setting
of the sun.
The house was again filled at candle
light. President Smith requested the
Elders to speak their feelings freely,
and sing, exhort and pray, as the Spi-
rit should give utterance. The meet-
ing continued during the whole night;
