| 698 the Spirit simply meant that God was pleased with the asking, but it was not his will that I should spend my whole time in the ministry. So I made arrangements to earn my clothes (and I hoped something more) during the hot months of summer, and spend my time preaching in the winter.
In March, I attended the district conference at Montrose, Iowa. A car was chartered for the purpose of attending the General Conference, to be held at Plano, Illinois, in April; and as I had never been there and the round trip only cost five dollars, I concluded to go. At this time President Joseph Smith was residing at Plano, editing the Saints' Herald or what was then entitled The True Latter Day Saints' Herald.
The conference at Plano, convened on Sunday. On Tuesday I was asked by Bro. John H. Lake, who had been deputized by the First Quorum of Seventy (of which he was then a member), if I would accept ordination and membership in the Quorum of Seventy. I replied that I would try to furnish him with a definite answer on the morrow, but could not see that I could accomplish more as a seventy than an elder, unless I had evidence that God wanted me to occupy in that position. To this Bro. Lake responded:
"That is right; but the quorum desired me to speak to you and see how you felt about it."
At my first opportunity I presented the matter to the Lord in secret prayer, when all at once I was fairly enveloped with the Spirit, but not a thing was revealed; so I concluded to say "no, I can not accept."
On Wednesday morning the revelation was read, in which myself, with a number of others, were called into the Quorum of Twelve. This revelation was given on March 3, 1873, and in all the late editions of the Doctrine and Covenants is section 117.
All was plain now. The law defining the duties of an apostle in the Quorum of Twelve, showed that it was my duty to give my life to the work of the ministry. God does not do that which is superfluous. He gave me his Spirit when I prayed, took me to conference, gave me a testimony of the divinity of the revelation before my name was read,
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