| 447 such a solemn charge. He (Joseph) said, 'I feel it in my bones that there will be a division in the church, like it was with the Nephites and Lamanites, and if these manuscripts are not preserved, I fear that the church may be injured, and when you deliver them up to others, be sure they are left in good hands.' I now see why they should be preserved. A delegation once waited on me from Utah, Orson Pratt headed it, to secure them. And he said:
"'Set your own price on them. There is millions in the treasury and we are authorized to draw any amount for them, so you may not be particular, ask any price.'
"I replied, 'They are not for sale.' He said:
"'Why not?'
"I answered, 'I know, and that is enough. There is not enough gold in the world to purchase them.' Pratt urged the matter saying:
"'You are not very well off, and it will do your children good.'
"I then told him, 'You have not got money enough in Utah to purchase them.'"
O, brethren, the above sentences were spoken by the good old man in such accents and tone, it fairly gave life to his sterling worth, as the man more precious than fine gold, even a man worth more than the golden wedge of Ophir. (Isaiah 13: 12.) His integrity is above suspicion. God bless his memory and his heart, ever more. Amen.
This brings to my mind a statement of the Elect Lady, Emma, in the winter of 1856. She said to me, "When you see David Whitmer you will see an honest man." And in the same conversation, she remarked of her husband Joseph's limited education while he was translating the Book of Mormon, and she was scribe at the time. "He could not pronounce the word Sariah. And one time while translating where it speaks of the walls of Jerusalem, he stopped and said, 'Emma, did Jerusalem have walls surrounding it?" When I informed him it had, he replied, 'O, I thought I was deceived."'
Bro. Whitmer added that since Oliver's death it was alleged that they both had denied their testimony. He said that preachers and others got this up and heralded it about.
NARRATIVE OF SEEING THE ANGEL.
"In June, 1829, I saw the angel by the power of God, Joseph, Oliver, and I were alone, and a light from heaven shone around us, and solemnity pervaded our minds. The angel appeared in the light, as near as that young man. [Within five or six feet.] Between us and the angel there appeared a table, and there lay upon it the sword of Laban, the Ball of Directors, the Record, and Interpreters. The angel took the Record, and turned the leaves, and showed it to us by the power of God. They were taken away by the angel to a cave, which we saw by the power of God while we were yet in the Spirit. My testimony in the Book of Mormon is true; I can't deviate from it. I was troubled with so many by letter and otherwise, all over the United States, and some from Europe, that I
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