The Rocky Mountain Saints/Chapter 46

Everywhere among the Saints "the Kingdom" is a household word. It figures in every sermon, is read of in every epistle, and in every business of life it has some bearing. In adversity and in success, in poverty and in wealth, in every position and sphere of action, "the Kingdom" is credited with something. When refractory members of the Church are threatening to "take their own way," the Saints are taught obedience to "the Kingdom" as the highest duty, and are instructed that to secure salvation it must be "the Kingdom of God or nothing."

A coöperative dry-goods and grocery stock-holders' meeting could not well be held in Utah without some mention being made of "the Kingdom." Even in the opening prayer preceding a dance, "the Kingdom" is delicately remembered. Breaking ground for a canal or railroad is an exceedingly appropriate occasion to descant upon its expansion. The arrival of an emigrant train was, in former years, an important time for unfurling its banner. An agricultural fair is considered particularly suitable for holding up "the Kingdom" for admiration; and Brigham's travels through the settlements are truly Pentecostal showers of joy and rejoicing for the processional youngsters who are yet to "carry off the Kingdom."

The visitor in Utah may have difficulty in discovering any ​special characteristics of "the Kingdom of Heaven" in the streets of Salt Lake City, or in the other cities and settlements of the Territory of Utah, but the Saints none the less honestly believe that "the Kingdom" spoken of by all the prophets since the world began is there and nowhere else. In this prevailing sentiment is to be found the explanation of their contempt for all earthly governments—"theirs is the Kingdom."

The apostle Orson Pratt is on this point very lucid and forcible, and expresses clearly the faith of the Mormons. He says:

"The Kingdom of God is an order of government established by divine authority. It is the only legal government that can exist in any part of the universe. All other governments are illegal and are unauthorized. . . . . Any people attempting to govern themselves by laws of their own making, and by officers of their own appointment, are in direct rebellion against the Kingdom of God. . . . . For seventeen hundred years the nations upon the Western Hemisphere have been entirely destitute of 'the Kingdom of God '—entirely destitute of a true and legal government, entirely destitute of officers legally authorized to rule and govern. All the emperors, kings, princes, and presidents, lords, nobles, and rulers, during that long night of darkness have acted without authority. . . . . Their authority is all assumed—it originated in man. Their laws are not from the Great Lawgiver, but the productions of their own false governments; their very foundations were laid in rebellion, and the whole superstructure, from first to last, is a heterogeneous mass of discordant elements in direct opposition to the Kingdom of God, which is the only true Government which should be recognized in earth or in heaven."^[1]

Forty pages are devoted by elder Pratt to this subject, setting forth everything about "the Kingdom" that he could group together under that designation. After establishing to his own satisfaction that "the Kingdom" had been given to the Saints, he concludes his argument with the important announcement:

"The Almighty has decreed to rend and break in pieces all earthly governments, to cast down thrones, to turn and overturn, and break up the nations, to send forth his messengers and make a way for the establishment of the everlasting Kingdom, to which all others must yield, or be prostrated—never more to rise. Awake! then, oh, ye nations, for with the Lord hath a controversy! His Kingdom is now for the last time organized upon the earth. All nations are invited to become citizens—it ​is the only government of safety or refuge upon all the earth. It hath its seat in the everlasting mountains^[2] [Utah]—its dreadful majesty shall strike terror to the hearts of kings in the day of His power," etc.^[3]

After these quotations, the reader should be apprised that elder Pratt is a remarkably quiet, retiring, modest man, and one of the advanced mathematicians of the age. His language is not intended to be that of the firebrand or the revolutionist, for he is neither. His sentiments are the offspring of modern revelation, and the eloquence of an inspired priesthood.

A faith founded upon such sentiments as these is trained to read in the political revolutions of earthly powers the preparatory workings of "the Lord" for the overthrow of all stable ​governments, in order to make way for the advancement and growth of the Mormon Kingdom:

Every malignant and corrupting influence, every disaster—political and natural—which tends to the disintegration of society, is regarded as a sign of the coming end. A desolating plague abroad, the ghastly cholera at home, the earthquake in its throes engulfing cities and holocausts of human victims, the raging tempests of the ocean—drowning in their wild roar the dying shriek of multitudes, the fierce tornado, the stormy thunderbolts of heaven, the warring of the elements, and the conflict of human passions—all, according to the Mormon teaching, tend but to one great purpose—the establishment of "the Kingdom." Nor are the minor details of life less significant. A railway catastrophe, a steamboat explosion, a desolating fire, or any other calamity which may bring tribulation to the hearts of men—one and all are, to the Saint, so many cheering confirmations of his faith, and intimations of the triumphant recognitions of that same "Kingdom."

The mass of the Mormon people would shudder at witnessing these calamities, and could their energy save their fellow-creatures, they would as hastily fly to the rescue as any other people, but their instincts would then be at war with the teachings which they had accepted. This very Orson Pratt, the eloquent exponent of the Mormon faith, apart from Mormonism, never would cherish the fiendish delight of rejoicing in the tribulation of others; but when he believes that God is punishing the nations for the rejection of Joseph Smith, he is perfectly consistent. The peroration to his tract on "the Kingdom of God" is a perfect gem:

"Awake, for troublous times are at hand! Nations shall no longer sit at ease! The troubled elements shall foment, and rage, and dash with tremendous fury! A voice is heard unto the ends of the earth! A sound ​of terror and dismay! A sound of nations rushing to battle—fierce and dreadful is the contest—mighty kingdoms and empires melt away! The destroyer has gone forth—the pestilence that walketh in darkness. The plagues of the last days are at hand, and who shall be able to escape? None but the righteous—none but the upright in heart—none but the children of the Kingdom. They shall be gathered out from among the nations—they shall stand in holy places, and not be moved! But among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God because of his sore judgments, and die. And there shall be a voice of mourning and lamentation unto the ends of the earth; for the cup of the indignation of the Almighty shall be poured out without mixture of mercy, because they would not receive his messengers, but hardened their hearts against the warning proclamation—against the gospel of the Kingdom—and against the great preparatory work for the universal reign of the King of kings and Lord of lords."

When the fratricidal war between the Northern and Southern States filled the nation with mourning, Utah alone rejoiced. Every flash that thrilled along the telegraph wires announcing a terrible battle and the immolation of tens of thousands, was welcome to the Saints, and inspired the Tabernacle orators with higher flights of eloquence, and clothed them with greater prophetic power. Though the Northern representatives in Congress had not offered as much opposition to the affairs of Utah as those from the South, the sympathy of Brigham and the apostles was wholly with the Confederates. Brigham wanted to see the Union severed. The Prophet Joseph had predicted it, and, very consistently, Brigham desired to see the fulfilment of the prophecy; besides, had secession from the Union been successful in 1861, it would have been seized upon by Brigham as a precedent for the withdrawal of Utah from the Federacy whenever he deemed it safe to run up his independent bunting, and verify the poet's dream:

The inspiration of building up this literal kingdom has not only been demoralizing and pernicious in sentiment, but it has ​literally robbed the Mormons of the blessings of Christianity, and sent them back to the worst ages of Hebrew barbarism to collect the materials of their faith. For one sentiment of peace towards all mankind uttered by Christ, to be heard from the lips of modern apostles in the Mormon Tabernacle, the audiences there have listened to ten thousand from the men of blood and war who revelled in the destruction of the enemies of ancient Israel. In the written faith Christ is the head of the Mormon Church; in its practical, every-day history "the God of Battles" is the inspiring deity. The "Lamb of God" is displaced by "the Lion of the Lord," and the Throne of Grace is forgotten in "the might of the Kingdom."

To build up this theocracy every effort has been made, and ingenuity has been taxed to the uttermost for the furtherance of this idea, even at the sacrifice of the most sacred principles of individual honour and happiness.

This frenzied lust of power, more, perhaps, than passion, was the foundation of Brigham Young's vehement advocacy of the practice of polygamy. That he could build up "the Kingdom" faster at home by the natural increase of the Saints than he could by the proselytizing of the missionaries abroad, was his favourite expression. All were urged from the pulpit to the discharge of their duties to "the Kingdom," and on silverhaired, tottering age was this obligation placed, as much as upon the man of early or middle life, while, incredible as it may seem, the Legislature provided for the legitimate marriage of boys at fifteen and girls at twelve years of age! Nothing was to stand in the way of the increase of "the Kingdom." A son might, if he preferred it, marry his half-sister, and a father might take unto himself the daughter of his wife; it was all right—if for "the Kingdom." Nothing seemed so meritorious in the eyes of the leaders as a loving, youthful pair beginning life's journey in a tent, or in a wagon-bed, if they were not fortunate enough to possess the shelter of adobe walls and a shingle roof, and thrice blessed and honoured was he who had faith to take a Rachel and a Leah to the altar at the same moment, and be for ever indifferent to the injunctions that "these twain shall be one flesh."

"Build up the Kingdom, build up the Kingdom," has ​been the unceasing call of the priesthood, and "the Lord" has blessed the labours of the faithful till Utah is swarming with the lambs of the flock in every settlement, from Bear Lake in the north to the sunny regions of the Colorado in the south. But all this preaching and marrying were but the preliminaries, the stepping-stones that all the world could see and comprehend. Beyond these were found greater supports to "the Kingdom" in "consecration" and "adoption."

The Saints are taught that "the Lord" requires of them a tithing of all they possess in this world, and after that an annual tenth of their increase. But that is only preliminary to greater blessings that "the Lord" has in store for them, for when they have increased in faith "the Lord" will afford them the opportunity of "consecrating" to Him all that they possess. Their houses and lands, their chairs and tables, their horses and pigs, their hammers and saws, their buggies and wagons, and all and everything that they own or hope to own, to be deeded over to "the Lord's" Trustee in Trust—Brigham Young; and thereafter the bishops will sit in judgment to assign to Jones one talent, to Smith five, to Young ten, and so on, according to their necessities, and their several abilities to use and increase that over which "the Lord" has made them stewards. All this is for "the Kingdom's sake."

Illustrative of the systematic manner in which "the Lord" manages earthly affairs, the following bona fide consecration document is valuable.

"BE IT KNOWN BY THESE PRESENTS that I, JESSE W. FOX, of Great Salt Lake City, in the County of Great Salt Lake, and Territory of Utah, for and in consideration of the sum of One Hundred ($100) Dollars, and the good will which I have to the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, give and convey unto BRIGHAM YOUNG, Trustee in trust for said Church, his successor in office, and assigns, all my claim to and ownership of the following described property, to wit:

One house and lot, being lot 6, block 60, plat C., G. S. Lake City; value of said house and lot .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .		$1,000
One city lot, as platted in plat E, being lot 2, block 6, value .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .		100
East half of lot 1, block 12, five acres, plat G., S. L. Co., value .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .		50
Lot 1, block 14, Jordan plat, containing nine acres, value .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .		75
Two cows, 50, two calves 15 dollars .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .		65
One mare, 100 dollars, one colt, 50 dollars .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .		150
One watch, 20 dollars, one clock, 12 dollars .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .		82
Clothing, 800 dollars, beds and bedding, 125 dollars .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .		425
One stove, 20 dollars, household furniture, 210 dollars .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .		280
	Total amount, Twenty-one hundred and twenty-seven Dollars .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .	$2,127

​—together with all the rights, privileges, and appurtenances thereunto belonging or appertaining; I also covenant and agree that I am the lawful claimant and owner of said property, and will warrant and for ever defend the same unto the said TRUSTEE IN TRUST, his successor in office, and assigns, against the claims of my heirs, assigns, or any person whomsoever.

JESSE W. FOX.

Witnesses:		Henry McEwan,
		John M. Bollwinkel.

Territory of Utah, County of Great Salt Lake.

"I, E. Smith, Judge of the Probate Court for said county, certify that the signer of the above transfer, personally known to me, appeared this second day of April, A. D. 1857, and acknowledged that he, of his own choice, executed the foregoing transfer.

E. SMITH."

The transfer by deed of all personal property and estate to the Church is designated in modern revelation "The Order of "Enoch." To have called it "The Order of Joseph Smith," or by the name of any modern apostle or prophet, would have aroused no enthusiasm in the devotional mind; but associating it with Enoch lent to the "Order" the enchantment of distance. Enoch had been distinguished for devotion and piety, and had been triumphantly translated from this wicked world and vale of tears. The inference was clear—those who "consecrated" were entitled to Heaven's choicest favours when "the Kingdom" was triumphant.

The preaching in the Tabernacle and in the ward meetings throughout Utah, at the date of Mr. Fox's consecration, was almost wholly devoted to the Order of Enoch, and many believing souls placed all they possessed for ever beyond their own personal control and robbed their children of their rightful inheritances.^[6] But the majority of the Saints could not be brought to consign themselves to the tender mercies of the ​priesthood, and thus the purposes of "the Lord" had to be deferred.

Had the Saints accepted this "Order of Enoch," and transferred into the hands of Brigham Young all that they possessed, the slavery of Utah would have been without parallel in the history of the world. Medieval serfdom and the tyranny of feudal barons and feudal kings might be harmonious with their times; but to entertain the wild dream of reversing the order of progress and civilization and establishing, in the free Republic of America, in the nineteenth century of the Christian era, the basest degradation of the human intellect would be beyond all conception were it not, in the Mormon theory of "consecration," proved indeed too true.

To effectively establish this great "Kingdom," Brigham Young, after the death of Joseph Smith, introduced among the Mormons the "law of adoption," which for shrewdness challenges all comparison.

This law of adoption assumes that Joseph Smith was appointed and ordained from before the creation of the world to be the head and ruler of "the Last Dispensation." Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus had each their place in the world's history as great men to whom special dispensations had been accorded; but to Joseph was given "the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times," which, by bringing into harmony the labours of the prophets and apostles of all ages should be the crowning work of the heavens above and of the earth beneath.

The declaration—"No man cometh to the Father but by me" was applied by modern apostles to Joseph Smith, and now to Brigham Young, and should he have a thousand successors, it would be considered as equally applicable to them all. Rome never dreamed of a completeness of mental subjugation which might be compared with the actualities of the Mormon Temple.

Of Brigham's relation to the people, his second counsellor—Grant—said:

"He holds the keys of life and salvation upon the earth; and you may strive as much as you please, but not one of you will ever go through the straight gate into the Kingdom of God, except those that go through by that ​man and his brethren, for they will be the persons whose inspection you must pass."^[7]

Heber, the first counsellor, was, if possible, still more emphatic:

"I have often said that the word of our leader and Prophet is the Word of God to this people. We cannot see God, we cannot hold converse with Him, but He has given us a man that we can talk to, and thereby know His will, just as well as if God himself were present with us. I am no more afraid to risk my salvation in the hands of this man, than I am to trust myself in the hands of the Almighty. He will lead me right if I do as he says in every particular and circumstance."^[8]

Before leaving Nauvoo these assumptions took practical shape in the "sealing," by the law of adoption, of heads of families to Brigham and the apostles in the Temple. This doctrine was first whispered by one person to another as a great mystery, just as polygamy had previously been silently introduced. After this whispering had done its work in a confused way, the apostles met with the Quorums of priesthood and taught them that "the Kingdom" had been given unto Joseph, and it was necessary, in order to obtain salvation, that all the Saints should be sealed to one another, and finally to him.

The marriages of the Gentile world being utterly unauthorized, it becomes necessary for married persons, on accepting Mormonism, to come before the altar and be sealed by the Mormon high priesthood as husband and wife—the previous relationship being without the sanction of "the Lord." Until this initiation, the children born in Gentile wedlock are "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel:" children born after the sealing of the father and mother at the altar are the rightful heirs with Isaac to all the blessings of "the Kingdom." To place the former children on an equality with the latter, they must be sealed before the altar by the rites of the priesthood to their own fathers and mothers. That family contract being quite satisfactory, the father and mother now find that they themselves are without legitimate parentage; for the same logic that made their children aliens places them also in the same awkward predicament. To extricate, therefore, the husband ​and wife from this dilemma, Brigham taught that it was the privilege of the Saints to be adopted into the families of the twelve apostles, and they were all to be sealed to Joseph, and Joseph was to be sealed to Christ. This was the briefest way of reaching a full salvation.

For the attainment of this object, the building of the Temple at Nauvoo was hastened, and the faithful Saints were invited to receive "endowments," and those who were worthy and desired it, to be sealed to the apostles. This was not simply a ceremony; a proper filial care for the parents was enjoined, and the adopted son of Brigham was to be as obedient and devoted to his adopted father's interest as the offspring of his own loins.

At this time Brigham exhibited his usual weakness for a favourite. A very handsome lady, who had forsaken a luxurious home at Boston, to dwell among the Saints in Nauvoo, was at that period the idol of his eyes. His faithful and devoted wife—the companion of his youth and the mother of his children—was overlooked for the educated and attractive Mrs. C——. This lady became for a time the Queen of "the Kingdom."^[9]

When the believing Saint approached the altar, and Brigham became his father by adoption, Mrs. C—— at the same time, and by the same ceremony, became his mother: the wife of the adopted son in like manner vowed fealty to Brigham as her father, and to Mrs. C—— as her mother.

To impress the idea of this ladder of salvation and exaltation in the kingdom in this world, and in that which is to come, upon the minds of the British Saints, the apostle Orson Hyde published, in 1846, in the Millennial Star, the following illustration:

"The above diagram shows the order and unity of the Kingdom of God. The Eternal Father sits at the head, crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. Wherever the other lines meet, there sits a King and Priest unto God, bearing rule, authority, and dominion under the Father. He is ​one with the Father, because his kingdom is joined to his Father's, and becomes part of it.

Image missing

ORSON HYDE'S DIAGRAM OF THE CELESTIAL KINGDOM.

"The most eminent and distinguished prophets, who have laid down their lives for their testimony (Jesus among the rest), will be crowned at the head of the largest kingdoms under the Father, and will be one with Christ, as Christ is one with the Father, for their kingdoms are all joined together; and such as do the will of the Father, the same are his mothers, sisters, and brothers. He that has been faithful over a few things will be made ruler over many things: he that has been faithful over ten talents shall have dominion over ten cities, and he that has been faithful over five talents shall have dominion over five cities, and to every man will be given a kingdom and dominion according to his merit, powers, and ability to govern and control. It may be seen from the above that there are kingdoms of all sizes, and an infinite variety to suit all grades of merit and ability. The chosen vessels unto God are the kings and priests that are placed at the head of these kingdoms. These have received their washings and anointings in the Temple of God on this earth; they have been chosen, ordained, and anointed kings and priests, to reign as such in the resurrection of the just. Such as have not received the fulness of the priesthood (for the fulness of the priesthood includes the authority of both king and priest), and have not been anointed and ordained in the Temple of the Most High, may obtain salvation in the celestial kingdom, but not a celestial crown. Many are called to enjoy celestial glory, but few are chosen to wear a celestial crown, or are worthy to be rulers in the Celestial Kingdom."