| 637 the blind were leading the blind, and from that time till now, I have believed that Mr. Hedrick was aspiring to the leadership of the church.
"In 1858 [according to conference minutes this should be 1857.-H. C. S.], Mr. Hedrick and Mr. Owens went to a conference of the Reorganized Church at Zarahemla, Wisconsin. Mr. Hedrick rode with me in my buggy and we talked very much on church matters, and he gave me to understand that he was quite satisfied that the position which the Reorganized Church occupied was correct, and he seemed ready to unite with us, but wanted his brethren and sisters to unite when he did. He therefore gave me a pressing invitation to visit him and them at an early day, and lay our views fully before them. He said that he thought that some of our elders could do it better and more successfully than himself.
"I conferred with Elders J. W. Briggs and Z. H. Gurley relative to the matter, and by their request I went down in company with Elder E. C. Briggs, to the Hedrick conference at Bloomington. . . . At Bloomington we were very kindly entertained by Mr. A. C. Haldeman, whom I then could fellowship as a brother. The conference (composed of perhaps twenty persons) appointed Mr. Hedrick their president. He preached, and such a sermon (if a sermon you could call it) I pray God I may never hear again from the lips of a professed saint. It consisted mainly in a tirade of abuse directed against the martyred prophet. Stories were told about him, the telling of which by his vilest enemies would have been to their everlasting shame. . . . [Elder E. C. Briggs confirms the statements of Elder Blair as given above.-H. C. S.]
"Mr. Hedrick came to another conference of the Reorganized Church, held near Amboy. It was understood that Mr. Z. Brooks (who was then engaged in building up a faction) desired to speak to the people and present his peculiar views, and also that Mr. Hedrick would like to present his views, and also a Mr. Israel Huffhaker, a Rigdonite, wanted to present to the people the peculiar tenets of Rigdonism. It was, therefore, agreed that the first evening should be devoted to that purpose. Mr. Brooks
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