| 101 help secure and discharge those contracts that have been made, shall be rich.
"At four p. m., President Hyrum Smith addressed the assembly, principally in relation to the temporal affairs of the church, and censured those who counseled such brethren as moved to this place, when they were not authorized to give advice. He also alluded, in terms of disapprobation, to the practice of some individuals, in getting money from brethren that come in, when it ought to be appropriated to the discharge of heavy debts that are now hanging over the heads of the church, or the payments of the land contracts which had been made for the benefit of the saints in this place.
"Twenty-five minutes before five, President Oliver Cowdery spoke, opposing the idea of elders attempting to preach or teach that which they did not know, etc.
"President Sidney Rigdon rose a little before five p. m., and after referring to the gathering, and the preaching of the gospel, as the first thing, alluded to the debt which had been contracted for building the Lord's house, and other purposes, and stated three principal items that constituted nearly the aggregate of debt that now remained unliquidated.
"First, a charge of six thousand dollars which was appropriated and expended in consequence of the brethren being driven by a lawless mob from their possessions in Jackson County. The second was the building of the Lord's house, the unliquidated debt of which was rising of thirteen thousand dollars. The third item of debt was for the purchase of land, that there might be a place of rest, a place of safety, a place that the saints might lawfully call their own."-Millennial Star, vol. 15, p. 850.
The foregoing will serve to explain how the First Presidency and other leading men became involved, and will also explain the necessity for the provision made for the debts of the Presidency in the revelation of July 8, 1838.
In the spring and summer of 1837 there was much disaffection in the church, in which some of the leading men were arrayed against Joseph Smith and his supporters. In this opposition we find such names as F. G. Williams, Lyman Johnson, P. P. Pratt, David Whitmer,
(page 101) |
