| 439 men must be cared for by the divine Ruler of all, and must exercise the faithful prayer, the earnest desire of the soul, by which they are blessed of God.
"Purse and scrip are laid aside. It is the Lord's work. He has promised to provide for them. Self-denial is to become a pleasure, danger is forgotten, fear overcome and cast out; revilings accepted with humility, and scoffings without reproach; the goods of this world measured only by their usefulness to the advance of truth; wisdom taken as a companion-a lovely handmaiden of the Lord; and with the blue dome as their rooftree, the Lord their refuge in sunshine and in storm; his hand their guard, his Spirit their comfort and their guide; Christ their pattern, his followers their brethren, and all the world their neighbors, they pass out, away from the scenes dear to them into the great harvest field, there to wield the sword of truth as ambassadors for Christ, and him crucified. Here is the sublimity of their calling, the excellency of their hope, and who shall then be found to deny them their reward? We trust not one.
"Away with the bickering jealousy of place and of power, let the ultimate accomplishment of our salvation enable us to overcome the divisions of the hour, and the distraction of the time, uniting for the present redemption of Zion.
"JOSEPH SMITH."
-The Saints' Herald, vol. 9, pp. 129, 130.
On May 30, 1866, President Joseph Smith departed from Plano, enroute for Washington, D. C., having been summoned to appear before the committee on territories of which Congressman Ashly, of Ohio, was chairman; the committee wishing to consult him on what legislation he would recommend for the Territory of Utah. He was accompanied by Elders W. W. Blair and Elijah Banta, who were appointed to labor in the Eastern States. Elder Banta accompanied him to Washington, Elder Blair stopping at Kirtland, Ohio. His business was transacted by June 11, when he left Washington for Pittsburg [Pittsburgh], Pennsylvania, and Kirtland, Ohio.
On June 9, Elders B. H. Ballowe and Levi Graybill wrote
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