855 
 .82 
 


THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH. 
 
THE MONUMENT. 
 
PROCEED I NGS 
 
 AT THE DEDICATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 JOSEPH SMITH 
 
 Memorial Monument 
 
 At Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, 
 December 23rd, 1905 
 
 a detailed account of the journey and visits of the 
 CENTENNIAL MEMORIAL PARTY to Vermont 
 and other places in the Eastern States ; also a description of the 
 Solomon Mack Farm and account of the purchase of same. 
 
sr 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 For many years it has been the fond 
 feope of many Latter-day Saints that 
 the Solomon Mack farm at Sharon, 
 Windsor county, Viermont, should 
 eventually become the property of the 
 Church, to be held because of its his- 
 torical interest in connection with the 
 birth of the Prophet through whom the 
 God of Israel restored the everlasting 
 Gospel. With none has this dream of 
 hope been more enthusiastically con- 
 sidered than it has by Elder Junius F. 
 Wells, to whom belongs the everlasting 
 credit of bringing about the conditions 
 that made the purchase possible. With 
 this idea in view, early in the year 1905, 
 Elder Wells, at the request of the First 
 !Presidency and in accordance with 
 plans already prepared by himself, 
 visited Sharon and inquired into the 
 identity of the location of the Solomon 
 Mack farm, which was occupied by the 
 Smiths in December 1805, when the 
 Prophet Joseph was born. After a 
 careful and successful study of the 
 situation, all arrangements were made 
 by Eider Wells, and on the 23rd day of 
 May, acting as agent for the Trustee- 
 Jn-Trust, he purchased for the Church 
 of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 
 this important site. It was with joyful 
 acclamations that the announcement of 
 the purchase was received by the thou- 
 sands of Latter-day Saints. 
 
 Shortly following the purchase of the 
 property a description of which is 
 given in this pamphlet the idea was 
 conceived by Elder Wells and readily 
 responded to by the authorities of the 
 Church, that it would be most fitting 
 to erect on, or near the site of the 
 Prophet's birth, a monument to his 
 memory and honor, to be dedicated and 
 unveiled December 23, 1905, the centen- 
 nial anniversary of his birth. The im- 
 
 portant work of designing and build- 
 ing a suitable memorial was intrusted 
 by the Presidency to the capable su- 
 pervision of Elder Wells, who made 
 his residence in South Royalton where 
 he could properly conduct the work. 
 The construction of the monument was 
 surrounded by innumerable difficulties, 
 many of which appeared insurmounta- 
 ble; but with his characteristic faith 
 and perseverance, and aided by the 
 providence of God, Brother Wells suc- 
 ceeded most admirably, far beyond the 
 fondest expectation of the Saints. 
 
 *By the 8th of December, after these 
 many trials and difficulties were over- 
 come, the monument of polished gran- 
 ite, without doubt the largest of the 
 kind in the world, was completed with- 
 out a flaw or scratch to mar its beauty. 
 It rises 50 feet, 10 inches and weighs 
 nearly 100 tons. The polished shaft, 
 typical of a perfect man, is 38% feet 
 and weighs 39 tons, each foot corres- 
 ponding to one year of the Prophet's 
 life. 
 
 It stands on the high rolling hills 
 of historic Vermont, a monumental 
 testimony to the world of the inspira- 
 tion of the youthful Seer of latter 
 days, and the glorious Gospel through 
 him revealed from God to man. Through 
 its silent testimony let us hope that 
 many of the children of our Father 
 will be led to the fulness of Truth and 
 to praise His holy name. 
 
 Near the monument on the exact spot 
 where the old house stood, a modern 
 cottage, plainly yet beautifully fur- 
 nished, has been built. In the living 
 room of this new cottage the hearth- 
 stone of the old Smith home still 
 remains in its natural position before 
 the fireplace, marking a hallowed spot. 
 
THE MONUMENT AS THE SHAFT WAS FINALLY SET, 
 DECEMBER 8, 1905. 
 
THE CENTENNIAL MEMORIAL COMPANY. 
 
 On the morning of Monday, December 
 18, 1905, President Joseph F. Smith and 
 party set out from Salt Lake City in 
 a special car to attend the dedicatory 
 services and unveiling of the beauti- 
 ful monument that had been erected 
 to the memory of the Prophet Joseph 
 Smith. The personnel of the party 
 was as follows. Presidents Joseph F. 
 Smith and Anthon H. Lund of the 
 First Presidency; President Francis 
 M. Lyman of the quorum of Apostles 
 and Elders John Henry Smith, Hyrum 
 M. Smith, George A. Smith and Charles 
 W. Penrose of that quorum; Presiding 
 Patriarch John Smith; Elders Seymour 
 B. Young and Rulon S. "Wells of the 
 first council of Seventy; Patriarchs 
 Lorin Farr and Angus M. Cannon; 
 Elders Lewis W. Shurtliff, President of 
 the Weber stake, Frank Y. Taylor, 
 President of the Granite stake, Jesse 
 M. Smith of the Davis stake presidency, 
 and George F. Richards of the presi- 
 dency of the Tooele .stake; Bishop 
 George Romney; Elders Elias A. Smith, 
 John McDtmald, Brigham F. Grant, 
 Arthiir Winter, Benjamin Goddard, 
 Ashby Snow and Joseph F. Smith, Jr.; 
 Sisters Susa Y. Gates, Edith A. Smith, 
 Julina C. Smith, Ida B. Smith and 
 Alice Richards and her son Oliver L., 
 aged 19 months, a total of thirty souls. 
 They traveled in the special car 
 "Sofala" under the personal direction 
 of Elder George A. Smith, who very 
 skillfully.and in his gfenial way, conduct- 
 ed the party and looked after all details 
 of the trip to the satisfaction and 
 heartfelt thanks of all concerned. The 
 route of travel was over the Oregon 
 Short Line.. Union Pacific, Chicago and 
 Northwestern, "Nickle Plate," West 
 Shore, Boston and Maine and Central 
 Vermont railways to South Royalton, 
 Vermont, the point nearest the monu- 
 ment on the railroad. The company 
 arrived at South Royalton Friday 
 
 morning, December 22nd, after a most 
 delightful trip, and were met by Elder 
 Junius F. Wells, who had made all ne- 
 cessary arrangements for their recep- 
 tion and accommodation. The weather 
 was extremely mild for that time of 
 the year, so after an early breakfast 
 at the Woodward hotel, sleighs were 
 secured, and most of the members of 
 
 the party rode over to Tunbridge, 
 Orange county, a distance of about 
 six miles from Royalton, where the 
 
 (Patriarch Hyrum Smith was bjorn. 
 Here President Joseph F. Smith and 
 other members of the Smith family vis- 
 ited the town clerk, Miss Chapman, 
 who received them very cordially and 
 permitted them to examine the old 
 records which contained a great deal 
 of information pertaining to the Smith 
 family history. Records of deeds, mar- 
 riages and births were readily found 
 from notes previously culled by Elder 
 Junius F. Wells. The marriage of Jos- 
 eph Smith, Sen., and Lucy Mack was 
 found on the record, also the births of 
 some of the children of Jesse, Asael and 
 Patriarch Joseph Smith; among them 
 were those of Alvin and of the 
 Patriarch Hyrum Smith, his sister 
 Sophronia and cousins Emily and 
 Jesse J. Smith. The farm of 
 Patriarch Joseph Smith was de- 
 scribed as lying in Tunbridge Gore, 
 near the Royalton line, but lack of 
 time prevented the discovery of the ex- 
 act location of this spot. Dinner was 
 served at the Tunbridge house, by Mr. 
 Blake, arid after a short visit to several 
 homes in the place, the party return- 
 ed to South Royalton in time to greet 
 a company of Saints and friends from 
 New York and Boston, who had just 
 arrived under the direction of President 
 John G. McQuarrie of the Eastern 
 States mission. In this company were 
 the following: President John G. and 
 Maggie S. McQuarrie, Hyrum K. Por- 
 
DEDICATION OF 
 
 ter, secretary of the Eastern States 
 mission; Frederick J. Jackson, Ferdi- 
 nand F. Hintze, Joseph J. Larsen, Hy- 
 rum Homer, Murray K. Jacobs, Henry 
 Peterson, Miss Emma Lucy Gates.Cecil 
 Gates, Fred J. Pack, Sadie Grant Pack 
 and child, M. S. Gudmundsen, Rob- 
 ert C. Easton, Jenette Y. Easton, Ores- 
 tes U. Bean, Eva Y. Davis, Fred J. 
 Clark and Miss Ellen Thomas. 
 
 In addition to the above there were 
 present Junius F. Wells, wife and 
 daughter Abbie, and John W. Young, 
 making a total of 55 Utah people 
 present at the dedication. 
 
 In the evening a reception and con- 
 cert were given, by the company in the 
 hall over Woodard's hotel, which had 
 been fittingly decorated and tendered 
 to them by the liberal minded citizens 
 of the place, who sent the following to 
 Elder Wells, tendering the use of th& 
 hall: 
 
 In regard to the unveiling of the 
 monument -to Joseph Smith, near Roy- 
 alton line, on Dairy Hill, so-called, on 
 December the 23rd, A. D. 1905. And 
 realizing the great significance of this 
 occasion to a large number of persons 
 of a religious faith and order known 
 as the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, 
 of Utah, and recognizing the right of 
 said persons to worship God according 
 to the dictates of their own conscience, 
 and because of the inclement season of 
 the year at which time this ceremony 
 is to take place, and because it is ex- 
 pected that a number of said persons 
 will congregate within our said town for 
 said occasion, and whereas said wor- 
 shippers have no suitable place oa 
 building of their own in said town, in 
 which to meet for social or religious 
 purposes; 
 
 Now we, the undersigned citizens of 
 Royalton, in the county of Windsor and 
 State of Vermont, do hereby respectful- 
 ly tender unto said Church of Latter- 
 day Saints and the members and sup- 
 porters thereof, the free use and en- 
 joyment of the hall known as Wood- 
 ard's Hall, in the village of South 
 Royalton, in our said town, in which 
 to hold religious and social services, 
 and meetings during- the two days of 
 December the 23rd, and December the 
 24th, A. D. 1905. 
 
 Witness our hands at Royalton this 
 9th day of December, A. D. 1905. 
 MARK J. SARGENT, 
 CHARLES E. BLACK, 
 P. S. BELNAP, 
 
 E. B. DOYLE, 
 
 S. S. BROOKS, 
 
 H. H. WHITCOMB, 
 
 W. H. HAZEN, 
 
 MRS. W. H. HAZEN,. 
 
 DR. E. J. FISH, 
 
 MRS. E. J. FISH, 
 
 E. S. PARKHURST, 
 
 E. G. FANEUF, 
 
 W. J. SOPER, 
 
 WILLIAM SKINNER,. 
 
 JOHN A. BUTTON, 
 
 H. C. BENSON, 
 
 GEORGE ELLIS, 
 
 J. O. BELNAP. 
 
 J. W. WOODARD, 
 
 J. G. ASHLEY, 
 
 G. H. HACKETT, 
 
 E. H. ASHLEY, 
 
 A. R. FREEDERS, 
 
 P. A. JEREL, 
 
 O. N. STOUGHTON, 
 
 MRS. O. N. STOUGHTON, 
 
 ARTHUR N. STOUGHTON. 
 
 E. W. WINSLOW, 
 
 E. A. GREEN, 
 
 H. G. LOBDELL. 
 
 A. W. PIERCE, 
 
 P. L. CULVER, 
 
 LEON A. SKINNER, 
 
 CURTIS TENNEY, 
 
 ARTHUR G. WHITHAM, 
 
 G. H. HEWITT, 
 
 C. H. WOQDARD, 
 
 J. A. WHITNEY, 
 
 AMOS EMERY, 
 
 KITTLE S. BELKNAP, 
 
 MRS. M. E. BELKNAP. 
 
 DENNISON G. WOODARD, 
 
 The hall was well filled with the peo- 
 ple of Royalton and surrounding set- 
 tlements, who seemed greatly to en- 
 joy the informal but interesting pro- 
 gram which was rendered. Vermont 
 being located in the Eastern states mis- 
 sion, Elder John G. McQuarrie was call- 
 ed to preside at the entertainment, 
 which was in part as follows: 
 
 Opening Hymn "America" 
 
 Prayer Elder Seymour B. Young. 
 
 Singing "We Thank Thee O Go* For a 
 Prophet." 
 
 Violin Solo M. O. Gudmundsen. 
 
 "Home So Blest" ... Robert C. Easton. 
 Encore "Annie Laurie." 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 Short Address President Joseph F. 
 
 Smith. 
 "O Dry Those Tears" Emma Lucy 
 
 Gates. 
 
 Encore "Love in Springtime." 
 This was followed by a short inter- 
 mission to allow for handshaking, con- 
 versation and a general introduction, 
 after which Robert C. Easton sang) the 
 secred hymn "O My Father" which 
 brought tears to many eyes. For an 
 encore he sang "Loch Lomond." Elder 
 John Henry Smith then delivered a 
 short patriotic address which was fol- 
 lowed by the singing of "O Ye Moun- 
 tains High," by Emma Lucy Gates, as- 
 sisted in the chorus by all the Saints 
 present. 
 
 During the afternoon and night of 
 the 22nd a thaw having set in the 
 snow rapidly disappeared, and early 
 the following morning carriages were 
 provided for the party instead of 
 sleighs, and, after a short delay on this 
 account, the entire party was conveyed 
 up hill and down dale about three miles 
 and a half to the site of the monument, 
 which sands 800 feet or more above 
 South Royalton and 1350 feet above the 
 sea. The nature of the country 
 over which they passed gave them some 
 idea of the apparently insurmountable 
 obstacles to the hauling of the massive 
 granite blocks to the spot for their 
 erection, ^n places the road turned so 
 abruptly and was so steep that it ap- 
 
 peared almost incredible that the huge 
 shaft had been taken over that road, 
 but the uprooted trees and newly made 
 furrows along the road gave ample evi- 
 dence that such had been the case. 
 
 The first view of the beautiful shaft 
 of the monument, on the summit of a 
 hill close to the cottage erected over 
 and around the hearthstone of the old 
 Smith home, caused ejaculations of 
 astonishment and admiration from the 
 approaching Saints. The company gath- 
 ered in the cottage and while a gentle- 
 snow was falling, talked with Elder 
 Wells, congratulating him on his grand 
 achievement, and in turn, learning from 
 him many of the particulars of the 
 mighty task. Shortly following the 
 arrival of the Utah party and the visit- 
 ing friends, throngs of people from the 
 farms scattered over the hillsides and 
 from the various settlements, com- 
 menced to arrive, until the spacious 
 cottage wag crowded in every apart- 
 ment and many gathered around the 
 building curiously and eagerly wait- 
 ing for the services to begin. Promptly 
 at 11 o'clock, President Joseph F. Smith, 
 from the large living room, called the 
 assembled multitude to order, while 
 Elder John G. McQuarie, assisted by a 
 number of Elders, departed from the 
 building to the base of the monument, 
 where fitting services were held in 
 behalf of the many who were unable 
 to gain admittance to the cottage. 
 
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH. 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT 
 
 DEDICATION EXERCISES. 
 
 Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, 
 
 Saturday, December 23, 1905, 11, a.m. 
 
 Saturday, December 23, 1905, at 11 
 a. m. 
 
 President Joseph F. Smith presided. 
 
 The meeting was opened by the sing-- 
 ing of the national hymn, "America." 
 
 Prayer was offered by President An- 
 thou H. Lund. 
 
 Singing: "We thank Thee, O God, for 
 a prophet." 
 
 PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH. 
 
 Hon. Junius F. Wells, the agent of 
 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- 
 day Saints in this work, will speak to 
 us first. He it was who conceived the 
 idea of erecting a monument on the 
 birthplace of the Prophet Joseph 
 Smith. He presented his plans to the 
 presiding authorities of the Church a 
 few months ago, and he was granted 
 the authority and means at his com- 
 mand, with which to proceed and ac- 
 complish the herculean task which he 
 has performed here. I wish to say that 
 I have never had an adequate idea of 
 the amount of work and the number 
 of difficulties that he has had to con- 
 tend with. It is a revelation to me. 
 When I pass over the roads over which 
 he has brought these immense blocks of 
 granite successfully, and erected them 
 on the spot where they are destined to 
 remain by the providence of God, it is 
 something marvelous in my eyes. I 
 am astonished at it. We will now have 
 
 tho honor of listening to Elder Junius 
 F. Wells give a brief description of his 
 great undertaking. 
 
 ELDER JUNIUS F. WELLS. 
 
 I cannot hope to make myself heard 
 in the back rooms or upstairs, because 
 you are so thickly packed that even the 
 sound of a voice cannot get beyond 
 those who are in front. What I shall say 
 will be quite impromptu, and of course 
 it will be inadequate and only in part 
 teli the story. My heart is full almost 
 to bursting with gratitude to the Power 
 that I have recognized all along as aid- 
 ing in the work that has today found 
 its successful accomplishment. At the 
 request of the President, it will give 
 me pleasure if I can but recall in some 
 sort of order some of the features in- 
 cident to the accomplishment of this 
 task. 
 
 It was in 1894 that I had the privil- 
 ege of visiting this spot the first time, 
 in company with Spencer Clawson, and 
 his daughter Clara a granddaughter 
 of President Brigham Young-. We were 
 shown about by Harvey Smith. I want 
 to mention his name once, and perhaps 
 mere times than that before I get 
 through. He was the first who testi- 
 fied to me that this is the birthplace 
 of Joseph Smith. I was impressed at 
 that time, and made the remark as we 
 drove away that some time we ought to 
 mark this place with a monument of 
 
10 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 the faith of our people in Joseph Smith 
 the Prophet. That thought remained 
 dormant for a number of years; but 
 when the hundredth anniversary of the 
 birth of the Prophet approached, it 
 seamed to me that it was the proper 
 time to revive it. Anyway, it was re- 
 vived. On the 28th of last March, hav- 
 ing met Mr. Bowers of Montpelier, in 
 Boston (who was engaged in preparing 
 a monument for my father in Salt Lake 
 City), I mentioned the matter to him 
 of building a monument here. He told 
 me then of the Barre granite and of its 
 fine quality and of its proximity to this 
 place. He thought this property might 
 be secured from Mr. Robinson, who 
 was the owner, and volunteered to as- 
 sist me, and on the 23rd of May the 
 purchase was perfected. 
 
 I submitted a report to the Presi- 
 dency of the Church, outlining the sit- 
 uation here, and suggesting that some- 
 thing might be done, but that it would 
 need to be taken hold of quickly in or- 
 der to accomplish the desires of our 
 people in any adequate form before this 
 historic date. It was some time before 
 plans could be fully matured and pre- 
 sented and approved by them; but that 
 was finally done. The month of May I 
 spent in looking up the titles and get- 
 ting some further testimony in rela- 
 tion to the identification of the Proph- 
 et's birthplace. In that connection I 
 wish to mention Uncle Ben C. Latham, 
 who has given so much information 
 concerning the birthplace. He knows 
 what he knows just as well as any- 
 body else does (laughter). 
 
 I also met Mrs. Griffiths, who lived 
 on the Dewey farm. She remembered 
 hearing Ebenezer Dewey telling in her 
 youth that this was where Joseph 
 Sr.iith lived, and that he went to 
 school with some of the Prophet's 
 brothers or members of their family. 
 I had these testimonies together with 
 Harvey Smith's recorded, identify- 
 ing this place that they may be per- 
 petuated forever. 
 
 I made my report and suggested that 
 we mark the place with a monument. 
 That was acted upon in July, and I 
 was given a carte blanche order to 
 
 do it. A good many of the 
 neighbors know that I have been doing 
 this. They have seen me on the high- 
 ways night and day, in order to bring 
 it about. The contract for the build- 
 ing of the monument was signed on 
 the 24th of July, with the R. C. Bowers 
 Co. of Montpelier. The same day in- 
 struction was given to get out the stone 
 it the Marr & Gordon, Barre quarry. 
 The dark granite is in boujder forms, 
 and it is often difficult to get large 
 dimensions. I went up to the quarry 
 a day or two after the contract was 
 let, and watched with a good deal of 
 faithfulness their operations. Some- 
 times I thought I was in the work- 
 men's way, because I was anxious to 
 see that we got the right stones out of 
 the quarry. We were successful in get- 
 ting !the die and the cap out of one 
 piece of granite. Then we tried for the 
 bases, and thought we had them. We 
 got the nine-foot base all right; but 
 when we came to remove the stone that 
 we supposed would make the twelve- 
 foot base, we found there was one cor- 
 ner cut off. That was a disappoint- 
 ment. Fortunately, on the other side 
 of the quarry there was another bould- 
 er discovered. Mr. Charles Marr was- 
 looking for it all the time, and Mr. 
 Blakeney. I would like to mention the 
 names of all these people. Mr. Blakeney 
 was the foreman there. He was cer- 
 tain he had it in this other place, and 
 it turned out that he had. But the 
 shaft that was the thing. Where to 
 get a stone that would measure up over 
 thirty-eight feet, -from which to get a 
 polished shaft typical of a perfect man. 
 We Latter-day Saints believe that Jo- 
 seph Smith came to be as nearly a per- 
 fect man as ever lived. That is con- 
 trary to the opinions of many of you; 
 but we have proved our faith by our 
 works, and many of you have not yet 
 very much (laughter.) So I was af- 
 ter a perfect shaft, a stone that waa 
 large enough to measure, when it 
 should be polished up, four feet at the 
 base and long enough to measure 38*4 
 feet, a foot for each year of the pro- 
 phet's life. The first place Mr. Blake- 
 ney pointed out to me, I had not a bit 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 11 
 
 of confidence in; because I had had 
 some experience in mining,and thought 
 there was a cleavage that would cut it 
 off. That proved right. He felt sure, 
 if we removed some big blocks over 
 and beyond, that we would still find it 
 there. My confidence was not good 
 there. We 'tried some little time, and 
 then gave up and concluded to go on 
 the other side of the quarry, where we 
 thought . we might get it. That was 
 our hope, but it was a hopeless hope 
 to me. I had not the faith in me. I 
 had not the impression. I have been 
 going by impressions all the way 
 through. Somehow when I had the 
 right impression it has come out all 
 right. I will relate now just one in- 
 stance to bring in the names of some 
 other people. 
 
 Two days before we discovered the 
 place where this block of granite that 
 now stands at the top of this monu- 
 ment was taken from, Messrs. Boutwell, 
 Milne and Varnum bought the Marr 
 & Gordon quarry where we were work- 
 ing. Adjoining it was their own quarry. 
 In it was a stone partly disclosed, that 
 gave some promise of the size required, 
 and Mr. Farnsworth the quarry fore- 
 man there, said within a week he 
 thought he could tell me. I believed 
 at once we were on the right track. 
 I followed that pretty closely, with in- 
 creasing confidence, and the second day 
 after Mr. Boutwell actually took pos- 
 session of the quarry, they broke off 
 the top covering and showed up a 
 boulder that measured forty-six feet. 
 "By cutting' down both sides and tak- 
 ing off the top, we got the ends a little 
 more than four feet square, and it was 
 long enough to give us the shaft. That 
 was a happy day. Then the raising of 
 that out of the quarry, took the in- 
 genuity of Mr. Boutwell and Mr. Varn- 
 um combined.. If the latter had not 
 come into that firm a few months be- 
 fore we might not have got it. Mr. 
 Varnum was a railroad builder, and 
 saw that he could build a temporary 
 track into the quarry, and by that 
 means we were able to get it on to the 
 cars, but it took two days to load it. It 
 weighed nearly sixty tons in the rough, 
 
 and the derrick there would not lift 
 it except one end at a time. Then we 
 took it down to Mayor Barclay's cut- 
 ting establishment in Barre, six miles 
 away, and with his great steam cranes, 
 with a two-inch chain around one end 
 and a one and a half inch chain at the 
 other he lifted it off the cars, switched 
 it around endways, and let it down, on- 
 to the- blocks where it was cut, in Just 
 sixteen minutes. That showed the dif- 
 ference when knowing how and having 
 the mechanical means and power and 
 in not having it.The stones were cut and 
 polished with remarkable skill and ce- 
 lerity. Yet it seemed to me that the 
 twelve-foot base would never be done. 
 Winter was coming on. They told me 
 that winter started in here from the 
 time they began to make cider (laugh- 
 ter), and I heard that last year 
 snow fell over two feet deep on the 
 13th of November and continued on to 
 the spring equinox. Uncle Ed. Green 
 here, who drove Mr. Skinner's oxen 
 that were our mainstay in steering the 
 wagon, says the weather of one month 
 is governed altogether by that of the 
 last Friday in the month before (laugh- 
 ter). But in the matter of weather 
 we have bteen wonderfully favored. 
 Everybody calls the weather we have 
 been having "Mr. Wells' weather." 
 Tou all know that. It has been provi- 
 dential weather. 
 
 Now, we got these stones out; we got 
 them polished; we got them on the rail- 
 road. Then the difficulty just com- 
 menced. The question was, how to get 
 them here. While some people had 
 said they had done this sort of thing, 
 when it came to the proving of it, it 
 never had been done. They had done 
 it in a small way; they had moved 
 big stones short distances, and had 
 moved large stones not polished, which 
 did not have to be handled with such 
 care. It was all new to me. I had 
 never used block and tackle. We had 
 supposed that we could put these loads 
 on to a big wagon that Mr. Howland 
 had built, owned by Jones Brothers ef 
 Boston and Barre. It was built to 
 remove the stones of St. John's cathe- 
 dral at Morningside Park, New York. 
 
12 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 It weighs eight tons,the tires are twen- 
 ty inches wide, and the axles eight 
 feet long and eight inches in diameter. 
 He said that on the level twelve horses 
 would walk right along with the wagon 
 fully loaded; and that we should use 
 block and tackle going up the hill. 
 When we got to the loading up point, 
 we found your iron bridge at South 
 Royalton was not strong enough. It is 
 nice to look at, but not any good. for 
 this kind of a load. Rather than under- 
 take to strengthen the iron bridge 
 over the White river, we de- 
 cided to go up to the first station 
 on this side of the river, nearly three 
 miles. This required the strengthening 
 of the old wooden bridge across the 
 Tunbridge Branch. It proved to be 
 quite a task. The stream is sixty feet 
 between abutments and twenty feet be- 
 low the bridge stringers. We put in 
 five bents of 10-inch posts, 21 feet long, 
 four to each bent. The caps were 12- 
 inch timbers, and the stringers a foot 
 square and thirty feet long. Six of 
 them we borrowed from the Wells 
 River Railway, after skirmishing 
 all over the state to get them. This v> as 
 through the kindness of Mr. Stanyan. 
 When we came to set these posts it was 
 found that the bottom was quicksand. 
 I thrust a pole into it. It went dow?i 
 over four feet and my heart with It. 
 Fortunately we found some planks that 
 came out of the old river bridge, which 
 were fourteen inches wide, five inches 
 thick and twenty feet long. Of these we 
 made mudsills to rest our posts on and 
 they held up the bridge. After the first 
 load it never sagged a half inch. "But 
 we were anxious until it was proved. 
 So we had to go up to Royalton Village, 
 to unload. We found that there was 
 not room in the railway yard to turn 
 out on to the highway without putting 
 in a special side track. This was au- 
 thorized by Mr. Mulliris, the superin- 
 tendent. 
 
 The first load included the 12-foot 
 square stone. That was three feet larg- 
 er than the railway usually carries flat. 
 We had not the means to unload it if it 
 came down on the edge; it would re- 
 quire a derrick; so we had to get a spe- 
 cial permit for it to come down flat, in 
 
 fact, to hire a special train, and Mr. 
 Keefe, the chief roadmaster of the Cen- 
 tral Vermont Railroad, came himself 
 and brought it down one day shortly 
 after daylight. Mr. James F. McNeil, 
 who came from Syracuse, New York, 
 to assist in the overland transportation, 
 undertook to unload it. It seemed a 
 very tedious and long process. There 
 were the two bases weighing over 30 
 tons. The boys who were helping were 
 all green at the business, never had 
 handled such big stones, and they did 
 not know very much about it. So the 
 first load was very difficult to get on to 
 the wagon, but it was done. Mr. Ellis, 
 of the Bethel quarries, was kind enough 
 (it was a kindness that I little antici- 
 pated, but much appreciated) to send 
 down twenty of his most magnificent 
 horses to help us draw that first load 
 along the highway. It was late in the 
 day when we were ready to start, get- 
 ting towards dusk. We were able to go 
 down on planks from the sidetrack to 
 the highway; then the pull began, and 
 when we started to move on a slight 
 rise, the horses stopped. We tried three 
 times before we gave up, but they could 
 not ircve that wagon a quarter cf an 
 inch. I felt rather discouraged then, 
 because they said twelve would do it 
 a.nd I had twenty; in fact, we picked 
 up another team there, so we had 
 twenty-two altogether, but ttiey did not 
 move it. I felt almost like telegraph- 
 ing to the President of the Church, 
 asking permission to put the monu- 
 ment en the railroad and have it sent to 
 Salt Lake City and put up there in the 
 Temple block, and to put something osle 
 not so heavy here. Indeed I went so far 
 as to write a telegram to that effect, 
 but I did not send it. It was Saturday 
 night ,and it was the nearest point in 
 connection with this work to my being 
 discouraged; but I thought I would wait 
 over Sunday, and see what Monday 
 morning 1 would bring forth. We triod 
 again on Monday, in another way, us- 
 ing block and tackle, and we drew the 
 load nineteen hundred and sixty feet 
 that day. Our tackle permitted a pull 
 of eighty feet between blocks, but I 
 have seen them stop thirteen times go- 
 ing that distance, on account of curves 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 in the road and the trouble in laying 
 planks. We found the roads were so 
 soft that they would not support thoj 
 great weight, though we had twenty- 
 inch tires. So we had to resort to planks. 
 We plonked the road from Royalton all 
 the waj up this hill, nearly six miles - 
 the last two miles from the river rising 
 eight hundred feet. We used three-inch 
 hordwcort planks, ten inches wide, two 
 under each wheel. They had to- be 
 placed under the wheels as we moved 
 along, and when we had that great base 
 reaching two feet on each side over the 
 wagon, the boys got down on their 
 hands arc" knees to do it. It was slow 
 work, and those were anxious days, es- 
 pecially when once in a while a wheel 
 would go down. It took a long time to 
 jack it up and go on. But we kept 
 going and in thirteen days from the 
 time we started we had it up on the 
 hill (that was a triumph for Captain 
 McNeil,) and started back for the sec- 
 ond load. This was the inscription die. 
 It is a cube six feet square, weighing 
 nearly twenty tons. One day with this 
 load the wagon happened to get off 
 the track at a soft point in the highway 
 near the river bank. One wheel went 
 down nearly a foot. We got out a guy- 
 rope and as it hapened I had requested 
 the stone cutters to leave the Lewis 
 iron in the top. We quickly fixed it 
 through that to the trees on the bank, 
 and held the load there until we could 
 get it up again on the planks. We were 
 on the edge of a sheer cliff twenty feet 
 to the river. When we came down to 
 the bridge over the Tunbridge Branch 
 we were confronted with another diffi- 
 ulty. We had a load that measured 
 twelve feet two inches from the ground 
 up and we had a covered bridge to go 
 through that measured only eleven 
 feet four inches. But by that time we 
 required the big wagon back at the 
 railway siding to haul the shaft, so we 
 unloaded the die on blocks by the road- 
 side and waited for Mr. H. C. Leonard 
 to come down from Barre with a spe- 
 cially made wagon that was rigged low. 
 and that would pass through the 
 bridge. That wagon had tires twelve 
 inches wide. It was made very strong 
 
 and he brought some of his big horses 
 to help draw it, and took charge of the 
 die from the time it started across the 
 bridge, and he brought it up here suc- 
 cessfully, though there was one anxious 
 time in that. He got off the road also, 
 and a wheel went down, and it tilted 
 the load over. If it had been on a 
 high wagon it would have gone clear 
 over and would have defaced the in- 
 scription. This load was twenty days 
 on the road. 
 
 We learned as we went along. When 
 we got to the foot of the hill with the 
 first load, who knew whether it could 
 go up that hill or not? Some people said 
 it could, but the wagon it was on had 
 orly gene over paved streets before, 
 and had been fastened to big buildings 
 and what are called "dead men," while 
 we were trusting to the trees of Royal- 
 ton, some of which have good roots, 
 and others are like some of the people 
 they are built on the sand. So you see, 
 as a result of our work the road is 
 strewn with trees, some large ones, 
 that were pulled up by the roots. 
 We, however, got the monument here, 
 and then there was a triumph of engi- 
 neering skill in raising it. Mr. How- 
 land is the best monument setter, I 
 believe, there is in the world; certainly 
 the best one ever in Royalton; for he 
 raised these stones and set them in 
 place without a scratch. They are- 
 not marred at all. They have been 
 handled successfully, by wisdom and 
 patience in preparation. It has all 
 been in preparation. It was not so 
 much to do the thing 1 itself,- as it was 
 in preparing for it. But that has 
 been done, and today we see the grati- 
 fying result. 
 
 In brief, that is the history of the 
 erection of the monument. There have 
 been some things that I would like to 
 allude to, that have been of great in- 
 terest to me. First of all, the senti- 
 ment of the people. The people here, 
 T think, in the first place, did not know 
 quite what to make of it. They did' 
 not suppose it w r as a great matter any- 
 way. Then, as it dawned upon them, 
 there were all sorts of emotions ex- 
 cited; but in the main there has been, 
 an undercurrent of genuine interest; 
 
14 
 
 DEDICATION OP 
 
 and when they have seen that there has 
 been honest endeavor, doing something 
 out of the ordinary, they have come 
 to wonder, and I believe I am not say- 
 ing too much when I say that they 
 Jiave come to admire and to praise. 
 Anyway, I greatly mistake the senti- 
 ment of the principal people of the 
 towns in this neighborhood, if it is not 
 favorable to this enterprise, and grati- 
 fying to them that something as ^rreat 
 as this has been achieved. I think I 
 am safe in saying that. 
 
 While examining the titles, I met 
 Messrs. Tarbell & Whitham, who gave 
 me very valuable assistance in looking 
 up the titles. I secured the friendship 
 of Postmaster Belknap and his sons, of 
 Mr. Sargent, Mr. Hazen, Mr. Stough- 
 ton, Dr. Fish, Mr. Woodard and Soper. 
 All these and others helped and en- 
 couraged me, also the town authori- 
 ties, Messrs. Skinner and Parkhurst, 
 town clerks, and the selectmen. Mr. 
 Doyle, first selectman of Royalton, has 
 been particularly nice to me in helping 
 in the matter of our transportation. 
 There is nothing Mr. Doyle would nqjt 
 have done. Mr. Button, the road su- 
 pervisor, has helped. He fixed the 
 mud hole at the foot of Haines' hill, 
 and it was quite a sacrifice to town 
 pride to do that. He said, "Well, but,Mr. 
 Wells, it has always been a mud hole." 
 Of course, I told him, I did not want 
 to break up a venerated town institu- 
 tion like that, but if he would fix it 
 long enough to get over, I would help 
 him. 
 
 We Latter-day Saints are believers in 
 Providence; not only believers in what 
 Mr. Boutwell calls "Mormon" luck, but 
 in Providence. Even in the matter of 
 weather, we feel so. The day before 
 we had to cross Mr. Button's mud hole, 
 it rained. There was an empty hay 
 press tried to go through it, and the 
 wheels went out of sight. It took four 
 horses to get it out. Next, it com- 
 menced to snow, but the thermometer 
 dropped in three and a half hours. 35 
 degrees, and the north wind blew the 
 :storm down to the sea. We had ar- 
 ranged to have nine inches thickness 
 of plank at that mud hole, if necessary, 
 
 to get over. As it happened, we only 
 needed three, for when the wagon went 
 over it the next morning the ground 
 was frozen so hard that it split the 
 planks into kindling wood, and the 
 weather has not been so cold since. I 
 called that Providence. I asked a man 
 who was riding with me, one who does 
 not believe much in anything, if it was 
 so hard to believe in Providence now. 
 "Well," said he, "I almost believe it." 
 That is the nearest to a convert I have 
 made here. (Laughter.) There have 
 been some who felt that ordinarily we 
 would be blocked by the storms of win- 
 ter. Well, where has winter been while 
 we have been running this race with 
 it? It has been out of our way and 
 we have beaten it. 
 
 1 I should like to mention the assist- 
 ance of Mr. E. B. Ellis, of Bethel, who 
 came down to draw the capstone. There 
 was an incident in the drawing of that 
 capstone that was very impressive an- 
 other instance of Providence. When 
 we were going up the Burbank Hill 
 (you know what a hard place that is), 
 our first load went down through two 
 thickness of three-inch plank. There 
 was no bottom to the ground, the soJl 
 being treacherous and porous. I did 
 not know what we should do. We had 
 a ten-ton load the baby stone and 
 we had it on an ordinary six-inch tire 
 quarry wagon. We had seven pairs of 
 horses that came through Mr. Ellis' 
 kindness, and we added two other 
 pairs, so we had eighteen horses going 
 up that hill. Mr. Davis, the foreman, 
 said to me: "If I can put on the nine 
 pairs and we can start from the bot- 
 tom and go right to the top without 
 stopping, we can make it; but if we 
 stop, I am afraid we will have to 
 camp." He had two pairs of these 
 horses on behind with a battering ram, 
 and the way that ram was fixed by 
 chains to the running gear was an- 
 other triumph of mechanical skill, and 
 Mr. Davis knows how to do such things. 
 We were to hold those four horses for 
 the last push to get over the water 
 bar where we would be safe. The seven 
 pairs ahead drew the greater distance, 
 and we all went along by the side 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 15 
 
 of these horses, cheering them. The last 
 four horses fell to my lot to help on a 
 little. I walked by the side of those 
 chestnut horses, cheering them, and we 
 were all yelling-. You may think it a 
 strange thing for a man to say, but I 
 had the most singular feeling come over 
 me at the way the near horse acted. 
 He did not simply get down to an ordi- 
 nary pull at the last; he seemed to be 
 inspired. That horse went at it with 
 his nostrils wide distended and his eyes 
 bulging from his head, and he simply 
 plowed his way, as though he had to 
 lift that load up the hill, and he did 
 it. I just believe that there was a lit- 
 tle inspiration in it. That was our 
 last stone, and it was brought up in 
 six hours from the railroad station. 
 
 Then came Mr. Rowland's work of 
 setting the monument. The rigging 
 he expected was ten days overdue be- 
 fore it came. Those were anxious 
 days. It started from West Browns- 
 ville in Pennsylvania, fifty miles be- 
 yond. Pittsburg. We could not get any 
 track of it. Finally, Mr. Mullins, of the 
 Central Vermont railroad, said he 
 would try to trace it for us. I com- 
 municated with the officers of the 
 Pennsylvania road and got them to 
 trace it. It finally got here, when we 
 actually had to have it, but not a day 
 too soon. Mr. Howland in his slow, 
 sure process of arranging things, fin- 
 ally had the big legs of the derrick 
 erected, the crossbar and blocks all 
 ready, and his windlasses anchored. 
 We thought we were going to have the 
 last, stone set on the 5th of Decem- 
 ber. On the 23rd of the previous 
 month I had written to the President 
 that I thought we would have' it up on 
 the 5th. But the 5th had come and 
 gone, and then I told Mr. Howland it 
 was getting to be a question of time 
 now; my people had to arrange to 
 come here for the dedication, it was 
 2,500 miles away, and we wanted some 
 time in which to arrange exercises. He 
 was not satisfied with one staple nor 
 the blocks, and said he thought he had 
 better go up to Barre and get some 
 other blocks, for when he came to 
 measure he found that with those he 
 
 had In, the stone would not swing into 
 its place. It would lack about three 
 inches. I was disappointed. He went 
 up to Barre that night. I kept the 
 blacksmiths waiting for him to nx one 
 of the staples and the blocks, and he 
 came back the next day, and as you 
 know, on Friday, the 8th day of De- 
 cember, the great shaft was raised to 
 its place. 
 
 It is the largest polished shaft that 
 we know anything of in America, and 
 perhaps in the world. Mr. Boutwell 
 and I went through his encyclopedias 
 one day, and we could not find any- 
 thing to equal it. The great obelisks 
 are larger stones than this, but they 
 are not polished, and they are of carv- 
 ed syenite. This was a smooth, pol- 
 ished surface, and to grip that near the 
 smaller end and lift it up in its place 
 required knowledge, skill, courage and 
 ability, and all these qualities Mr. 
 Howland possesses. It is a great tri- 
 umph for him, and to all who have 
 had anything to do with it. 
 
 This has been a work of great com- 
 fort and delight to me, although I 
 have had anxious moments. I would 
 like to have had this cottage finished. 
 It should have been finished, according 
 to the contract, on the first of Decem- 
 ber, but Mr. Perkins, the contractor, 
 and Mr. Walker the architect, have 
 had many disappointments and de- 
 lays. When it is finished it will be a 
 nice, comfortable place, where we can 
 welcome people who desire to ask the 
 question, Why is this monument here? 
 Who are the people that have done 
 this? It is the purpose, I believe, to 
 have somebody here to answer ques- 
 tions of this kind. 
 
 Now, as to this house. It is built 
 over the old cellar. The hearthstone 
 is right where it was. That mantel 
 has been built around it. The senti- 
 mental reason of it is this: Joseph 
 Smith was only three years old when 
 his parents moved; so if he had any 
 association with that hearthstone, it 
 was as a child. I thought perhaps it 
 was where he was washed and dressed 
 as a babe. This is a beautiful place, 
 a park, a delightful place to come to 
 
16 
 
 DEDICATION OP 
 
 in the summer time. It is high, the 
 air is good, and it is a lovely spot. 
 
 Now, my friends, I am about 
 through with my work here. I want 
 to thank the people of Royalton, Shar- 
 on and Tunbridge, the people of Barre 
 and Montpelier, the railroad people, 
 Messrs. Gallaher, Wynn and Bohon- 
 non, and those who have opened their 
 houses, and all the neighbors here 
 would open their houses to feed our 
 men in order to save time. It has 
 been courtesy and kindness all along. 
 I have not a word of complaint to 
 make. I know pretty nearly all the 
 children; anyway, they all know me, 
 and many of the people along the road 
 know me, too. They have all been 
 kind and dear to me. My association 
 with you has been one of delight. I 
 want to express my thanks and grati- 
 tude to you in public today. More- 
 over, I wish to express my thanks and 
 gratitude to my people, to the Presi- 
 dency of the Church, for the confi- 
 dence they have shown in me, for the 
 trust they have reposed in me. I am 
 afraid they will think I have spent a 
 lot of money; but it is not the big ex- 
 pensive thing that some have imag- 
 ined. One man wrote from Chicago 
 that the shaft weighed 400 tons and 
 cost $1,000,000, and he supposed Mr. 
 Wells would think it weighed 1,000,000 
 tons by the time he got it on top of 
 the hill, if he ever did. This whole 
 enterprise will cost somewhere be- 
 tween $25,000 and $30,000 by the time 
 it is completed. Still we think it is 
 well spent, in honor of the man who 
 was the founder, under the Almighty, 
 of our religion. The Mormon people 
 are thrifty; they are not rich, but they 
 are independent; they pay their own 
 way. A great many of you have heard 
 me say that the Mormon creed is 
 "Mind your own business." You will 
 find it worked in mottos and hung up 
 in hundreds, if not thousands, of homes 
 of the Latter-day Saints; and we think 
 it is a pretty good motto. 
 
 My own feeling will not be properly 
 expressed until I say this: Before 
 these services are all through you will 
 hear from those who have the right 
 
 to speak by authority, but I wish to- 
 say that it is not only the Latter-day 
 Saints who are interested in this monu- 
 ment, but the people of this neighbor- 
 hood should be. You need not be 
 afraid to do a little honor to Joseph 
 Smith. His ancestors were your an- 
 cestors. His ancestral family were as- 
 sociates of yours, two or three genera- 
 tions back. I could name the names 
 of his neighbors, and they were just 
 the same sort of people. I have been 
 asked, "What is the difference between 
 you Mormons and the rest of man- 
 kind?" Well, said I, we have tried to 
 gather as good as we could from 
 among you, and add a little something 
 to it. That is the only difference I am 
 able to discover. What we have added 
 has been this: We have taken people 
 from all over this world, who were 
 not content with conditions that ob- 
 tained among them, whether spiritual 
 or temporal; they have accepted our 
 testimony, and the result has been,, 
 they have moved away from their old 
 traditions and conditions of life, have 
 joined their lot with us, and have pro- 
 gressed a little, become a little more 
 independent, and obtained better con- 
 ditions. They are a very happy peo- 
 ple, because the question of religion 
 is settled in their minds. There is no 
 longer any room for doubt. You 
 never saw a Mormon in good standing 
 that had the slightest doubt or ap- 
 prehension concerning the future. He 
 is just as certain that he will be saved, 
 if he lives his religion, as he is that 
 he is alive. 
 
 My friends, I am not here to preach 
 Mormonism, nor to try to make con- 
 verts; but I am here to tell you that 
 we think you ought to take some pride 
 in this monument. You ought to feel 
 that it is a good thing; that it will add 
 lustre and glory to your town and 
 your neighborhood, and that it will bo, 
 a source of pleasure to you, as it will 
 be ' a source of delight and pleasure 
 to thousands, perhaps tens of thou- 
 sands who will come to see it and 
 wonder at it. 
 
 In conclusion, I wish to say that as 
 you have welcomed me and treated me 
 
JUNIUS F. WELLS, DESIGNER OF THE MONUMENT. 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 17 
 
 well, come to our country and we will 
 treat you just as well. We will be 
 glad to see you. I can say this much 
 from my heart. With these words I 
 will conclude, and thank you for your 
 attention. 
 
 Solo by Robert C. Easton, "The 
 Guiding Star," composed by F. Dewey 
 Richards. 
 
 PRESIDENT FRANCIS M. LYMAN. 
 
 I regret exceedingly, my dear breth- 
 ren and sisters of Vermont (for we are 
 all of Vermont), that we have not room 
 to" make all more comfortable on this 
 occasion. I am sorry that our friends 
 on the outside are suffering with the 
 cold; but our services will necessarily 
 be brief. 
 
 I have listened with deep interest to 
 the n-iuarks of Elder Wells, and have . 
 enjoyed very much what he has ac- 
 complished here. But he could not 
 have done it without you. He could 
 not bavi made this monument if it had 
 not been for Vermonters, for Vermont 
 stone, roads, railroads and horses, and 
 for Vermont skilled men and workers. 
 We are intensely interested in Vermont 
 We are descended of stock from New 
 England from Massachusetts, New 
 Hampshire.Rhode Island and Vermont 
 and from everywhere else. So we are 
 interested in other countries as well as 
 Vermont. But quite a number of the 
 most prominent and influential men 
 among the Latter-day Saints were from 
 this part of the land. They were the 
 pilgrim fathers No. 2. They were the 
 sons of pilgrims, and they were our 
 pilgrim fathers. They blazed the way, 
 killed the snakes, built the bridges, and 
 led the way to the west. And now we 
 come back. The west and the east 
 meet here on this blessed occasion. We 
 thank the Lord, and we thank Ver- 
 mont for what she has done in these 
 mountains. I was in Vermont forty- 
 five years ago, with iriy father, who 
 was born just over in New Hampshire. 
 We found some of our kindred in Ver- 
 mont, and visited a little. Since then 
 I have not been in Vermont until now. 
 But we want your friendship; and you 
 havo ours. You have your faiths, and 
 
 wo have ours; and our faith is as 
 friendly and generous as any in the 
 world. We feel that spirit of liberty 
 which, I am sure, the people of Ver- 
 mont enjoy, and I trust will ever per- 
 petuate. When Brother Wells told us 
 what you had done and the kindness he 
 had met with on every hand, I sug- 
 gested to him that we will get even 
 with you if you will come out where we 
 live?. We will give you just as warm a 
 welcome; we will help you fix the 
 roads, build the monuments, and also 
 the cnurches if yu want them; we 
 will share with you and give you the 
 right hand of fellowship in all enter- 
 prises and movements for the advance- 
 ment and enlightenment of mankind. 
 
 And you will find that this enterprise 
 here will bring into your neighborhood 
 people from every land and from every 
 section of this land. It will be a re- 
 markable point, and be emphasized by 
 tha coming of people from all direc- 
 tions, more and more every year; and 
 this spot will become more sacred than 
 it is today. Hence we invite you to 
 join with us and be friendly. Come 
 and see us, and our pulpits will be open 
 to your reputable ministers, and you 
 shall be made welcome. We shall b 
 glad to see you,and you will find a gen- 
 erous, broadminded people, who have 
 come from almost every country, and 
 who are intensely interested in the 
 welfare of mankind. You will find a 
 people who delight to be abreast of the 
 people of the earth in education, in in- 
 dustry, in the observance of the Sab- 
 bath day, and in the worship of the 
 Lord. We are all Christians, and we 
 want to be saved. We want you to be 
 saved also. We want everybody to be 
 happy, and we labor to that end, and 
 try to make everybody happy. We ap- 
 preciate the welcome you h'ave extend- 
 ed to our Brother Wells, the assistance 
 you have rendered him in erecting a 
 monument here, the road that has been 
 opened, and the way that has been pre- 
 pared for pilgrimages to this place. 
 And this is only a little pilgrimage that 
 is made for the dedication. You will 
 find that travel will increase over this 
 road, and it will become one of the most 
 famous spots in Vermont or any other 
 
18 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 section of the United States after 
 awhile. I have no doubt that some 
 day you will appreciate this fact. 
 
 When I heard my brother speak of 
 what could be done on level ground, I 
 wondered if it had ever been proved in 
 Vermont. Where do you find any level 
 ground? It seems to me it is moun- 
 tains everywhere. We ourselves live 
 in the mountains, and it is similar with 
 us, only our valleys are a little longer 
 and wider and a little bit dryer than 
 yours. We traveled about as far west 
 as we could get, and we found a coun- 
 try that vouchsafed to us the liberty 
 that Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 
 Rhode Island and Vermont vouchsafed 
 to our forefathers, even religious lib- 
 erty. For that we went west. For that 
 your fathers and our fathers came 
 west. They came from the east, and 
 were the pioneers in this part of the 
 country. They mastered the forests 
 and cultivated the hills and the valleys; 
 they subdued the land, and made it de- 
 sirable. The elements are in the earth. 
 When you can bring such a shaft as 
 that from the quarries of Vermont, you 
 can tell that this state is rich in the 
 elements that will help to build tem- 
 ples, monuments and houses of wor- 
 ship. Vermont is also fruitful in ele- 
 ments of human strength, power and 
 intelligence that shall match the world, 
 as it has done in the past, and will do 
 in the future. 
 
 God bless Vermont and Vermonters, 
 whether they stay at home or go 
 abroad. We have plenty of room out 
 west, if you get crowded here, and we 
 will welcome you. We thank you from 
 the bottom of our hearts for the wel- 
 come you have given us. Come and see 
 if we be not genuine descendants of 
 
 Vermonters. 
 
 / 
 
 DR. EDGAR J. FISH. 
 
 (Of South Royalton). 
 
 Ladies and gentlemen and friend's: 
 In behalf of a very large number of the 
 business men and representative peopio 
 of this vicinity, I wish to give these 
 people who have come among us a cor- 
 dial greeting and a welcome. We have 
 watched, not in mere idle curiosity, I 
 
 take it, but with real interest, the prog- 
 ress of this work; and now, at its suc- 
 cessful completion, we offer our hearty 
 congratulations, and we wish to join 
 with these people and share the pride 
 and satisfaction they feel at the erec- 
 tion of that beautiful, that magnificent 
 and enduring memorial marking a his- 
 toric and, to these people, a hallowed 
 spot. We greet you, gentlemen, not 
 merely because you are the representa- 
 tives of a particular form of faith or 
 creed, but we greet you as men who 
 have corre here in peace. We greet you 
 in that broad spirit of toleration, of 
 Christian charity, of brotherly love, 
 which unites men of every country, of 
 every seot, and of every nation, and 
 which recognizes everywhere, in all 
 men, at all limes and in all places, th^ 
 fatherhood of God and the universal 
 brotherhood of man. (Great applause.) 
 
 ELDER JOHX HENRY SMITH. 
 
 Fellow citizens, I greet you. It has 
 been my privilege a number of times in 
 my life to land from other countries n 
 the shores of the United States, and 
 whenever my eyes looked upon the hills 
 of the American coast I said in my 
 heart, This is God's land. In looking 
 you in the faces today and recognizing 
 the fact that your forefathers with mine 
 laid the foundations of the government 
 of the United States, it is borne in upon 
 me that my father's children with your 
 fathers' children purpose that that gov- 
 ernment shall live as long as govern- 
 ments can be made to live in the earth ; 
 that the flag which our fathers put to 
 the breeze in that day when they de- 
 termined that America should be a free 
 land, shall never be lowered by act of 
 ours. We stand upon the high ground 
 that the rights of conscience shall be 
 guarded in cur land. We never purpose 
 to surrender our right of conscience. We 
 have come here with you to pay our 
 respect to one of the sons of this soil 
 a man who in future time, as the pre- 
 judices of men shall subside, shall re- 
 ceive the encomiums of the American 
 people and the respect and honor of 
 the people of all the world. Joslah 
 Quincy was not mistaken when he 
 said that it wa* not improbable that 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 19 
 
 some future historian, in speaking of 
 the great men of the United States, 
 might say that Joseph Smith, the Mor- 
 mon prophet, was the greatest among 
 them, having established among the 
 children of men in this age of free de- 
 bate a system of religion, and sustained 
 it, stood by it, and offered his life for 
 its maintenance. 
 
 I am not here to talk religion; but I 
 am here as an American citizen. I am 
 here as a descendant of this man's race, 
 whom I honor and esteem. I am here 
 as a lover of the American people, and 
 honor the men who maintain the prin- 
 ciples involved in the establishment of 
 our government, and who purpose to 
 guard in sacredness the homes of its 
 children and preserve them in the en- 
 joyment cf the acceptance of religion 
 or its non-acceptance, so far as they 
 shall try to maintain the. principles of 
 liberty rightly and justly. 
 
 May the blessings of God abound in 
 your homes. The heroic principles that 
 led the fathers to the establishment of 
 this government, may they be in ner 
 sons, that not one of us shall fail, as 
 this country shall move forward in its 
 greatness, to sustain the Constitution 
 and do our part in guarding the rights 
 of men with all our power. That the 
 blessings of heaven may abide with 
 you; that your homes may be filled with 
 plenty, that joy shall abound in them, 
 and that you may be successful in all 
 the walks of life; that every one of us 
 shall be a friend to the propositions in- 
 volved in this government, that the 
 whole human race shall call its found- 
 ers blessed, and shall number among 
 these the name of the man who planted 
 in th's western land the Mormon peo- 
 ple, is the wish and prayer of your 
 humble servant. Speaking of the name 
 of Brigham Young, we must not forget 
 the honor due to the man who led us 
 into th-3 wilderness a man strong and 
 capable, a son of your own soil, whom 
 we love and esteem for the work he ac- 
 complished. We esteem this man, we 
 hon^r his name, we honor the erection 
 of this monument, we purpose to main- 
 tain it in honor to the world, and we 
 purpose, in fulfillment of the predictions 
 
 he made, to be a blessing to the whole 
 human race. 
 
 Duet by Emma Lucy Gates and Rob- 
 ert C. Easton, "An Angel From on 
 High." 
 
 ELDER HYRUM M. SMITH. 
 
 I have been very much delighted with 
 my trip to this part of the country, 
 and in having the privilege of visiting 
 these, to me and to most of the Latter- 
 day iSaints, hallowed spots. I was 
 delighted to visit yesterday the town in 
 which my grandfather was born; and 
 now to have the privilege of coming 
 here and viewing the very hearthstone 
 of the old home of Father Smith, my 
 great grandfather, and the birthplace 
 of Joseph Smith, the Prophet of God, is 
 something that I esteem as a blessing 
 from the Lord. I am very, very thank- 
 ful in my heart, too, that we have been 
 enabled to accomplish the work of 
 erecting a monument of such noble pro- 
 portions in honor of so noble a man. I 
 would repeat to you, my friends, what 
 has already been stated, that this mon- 
 ument is a credit to you and to this 
 state. It is a credit to this nation, 
 and to any people. It is a masterpiece. 
 It cannot be excelled. It is excellent, 
 and must be so adjudged by you, if 
 you judge it impartially. 
 
 Now let me tell you that the erection 
 of this monument and of this little 
 cottage is only typical of the way the 
 Latter-day Saints build. Everything 
 they build they build good; they build 
 for time, and also for eternity. We 
 build good, comfortable homes; and 
 in those homes there is pure love 
 abounding. In our hearts we have love 
 for all men, whom we recognize as be- 
 ing the sons and daughters of God. as 
 we are. I would say to you, esteem this 
 monument. Have some personal pride 
 in it. If you do not, I will predict to 
 you that in the providence of God your 
 children after you will. They will es- 
 teem it as a good work, they will look 
 to it with pride, and they will welcome 
 the stranger here to view it, even 
 though it is the work of Latter-day 
 Saints. It is a work of art and stabil- 
 ity, and a good work. And as you have 
 
20 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 not received any hurt from your associ- 
 ation with Brother Junius F. Wells, 
 and as you will not receive any hurt 
 from the visit of the Presidency of the 
 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
 Saints and their party, let me say to 
 you that you will not receive any hurt 
 either by investigating carefully the 
 tenets and the doctrines of the Church 
 which we represent. There will be nu- 
 merous tracts and books distributed 
 freely, and it will do you no harm to 
 read them with prayerful hearts. Oh 
 the contrary, it will do you good. You 
 will find in our written works the same 
 stability and soundness as you have 
 found in the works of our hands, as 
 represented in this monument. You 
 will find a high class of literature, el- 
 evating in its character. And if you 
 will pray over these things, vou will 
 come to the conclusion that those who 
 believe in such doctrines must be good 
 men and women, which we claim to be. 
 We are not afraid to represent our- 
 selves as such, in comparison with any 
 other class in the world. Let me re- 
 peat the invitation extended to you by 
 President Lyman: Come and see us. We 
 will not shut you out of our houses of 
 worship, if you desire entrance there, 
 and if your purpose is to do good and 
 not to upbraid. 
 
 Now, I trust that the peace and bless- 
 ings of God may rest upon this spot, 
 and that you will revere it. and not un- 
 dertake to deface any of this work, but 
 that you will sustain and guard it as 
 personal property, having pride in a 
 monument such as this erected upon 
 your own soil. 
 
 ELDER JESSE M. SMITH. 
 My friends, I have been very muofh 
 interested in the services here today, 
 and feel to endorse all that has been 
 said. I was on this spot eight or nine 
 years ago, about this season of the 
 year. Possibly I am the only one of 
 the younger generations of my race 
 that has visited this spot prior to this 
 time. My father was a Vermont man, 
 born at Royalton. My grandmother was 
 a Vermont woman, and lived in Royal- 
 ton. Her maiden name was Elizabeth 
 Schellenger. My grandmother on 
 
 my mother's side was a Vermont wo- 
 man, from Tunbridge, the adjoining 
 township. My grandfather on my 
 mother's side was a Massachusetts 
 man. So you can see I am a Yankee 
 all the way through. I have pride in 
 my people, because I know them to be 
 a good, noble people. They stand 
 for everything that is good, virtuous 
 and upright in mankind. I feel to 
 thank you for the cordial reception 
 you have given us here at this time, 
 and I am satisfied that you will be 
 blessed for so doing. 
 
 ELDER CHARLES W. PENROSE. 
 
 I feel highly honored at being pres- 
 ent today, and am very thankful for 
 the opportunity I have had of coming 
 to the green hills of Vermont. I am 
 not like some of my friends and breth- 
 ren who have preceded me in speaking 
 to you, a native of this soil, nor even 
 of the United States. When you came 
 here you came without a rag to cover 
 you; when I came to this country I 
 brought several things with me, and 
 one thing I brought with me that I 
 prized more than anything else (I must 
 speak of it, although it may touch 
 upon a religious question), and that is, 
 a testimony in my soul, received from 
 God Almighty, that Joseph Smith, who 
 was born among the green hills of Ver- 
 mont, was a Prophet of the living God, 
 raised up in the nineteenth century 
 to re-introduce the pure Gospel of the 
 Son of God and to lay the foundations 
 of His Church, which was exactly sim- 
 ilar to the Church the Savior Himself 
 established in the first century of the 
 Christian era. I received that testi- 
 mony in old England, and I am glad 
 to bear it in New England. I know 
 whereof I speak. I am not speaking 
 of that which I merely believe. I know 
 this just as well as I know I see you 
 here today. And having this opportuni- 
 ty to say a few words, I feel it a duty 
 to bear this testimony. As my friend, 
 Brother Hyrum Smith, has said, it will 
 not do you any harm. I echo his wish 
 that you will read the literature we 
 leave among you; that you may know 
 something about the principles which 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 21 
 
 were introduced by Joseph Smith, who 
 was born in Sharon, Windsor county, 
 Vermont. I also hope you will receive 
 some copies of the newspaper we pub- 
 lish in Salt Lake City the Deseret 
 News, of which I have had the honor 
 of being the editor for a number of 
 years. You will see some specimens 
 there of our literary skill, as well as of 
 our mechanical ability. You will learn 
 from that paper that we are not all 
 heathen in Utah, that we know a few 
 things, and that we are able to imjjart 
 something that will be of use to you, 
 as you no doubt could to us if we were 
 to stay to receive it. 
 
 I am very thankful you have been 
 so kind to my friend Junius F. Wells, 
 and I have no doubt this monument 
 will be a benefit to you, financially as 
 well as In other ways, and I hope every 
 citizen will do all that is possible to 
 protect it from the vandals that travel 
 across the country and feel it a duty 
 to take a relic from every place. Do 
 not let that monument be chipped, 
 defaced or marred in any way. We 
 do not expect you to worship it. We 
 do not worship the man in whose hon- 
 or it is erected. We worship God the 
 Father, in whose image man was cre- 
 ated, and His Son Jesus Christ. And 
 I testify to you that these holy be- 
 ings, the Father and the Son, did ac- 
 tually visit Joseph the Prophet. I 
 bear that testimony to you before the 
 heavens and the earth, and I ask that 
 the Spirit of Almighty God will rest 
 upon you and seal it upon your souls. 
 And that monument will stand there as 
 a witness to this generation of that 
 which I speak. Though it is silent, 
 yet it "will speak to the hearts of those 
 who gaze upon it; for I believe from 
 this time forth, when that monument is 
 dedicated it will be holy to the Lord, 
 and a holy influence will proceed there- 
 from unto those who will receive it. 
 
 My friends, I thank you for your 
 hospitality to those who have come 
 here, and for your kindness to my 
 brother Junius. I pray that the bless- 
 ings of God may come upon you, and 
 
 upon all the people of this state. I 
 am a cosmopolitan. The world is my 
 home. God is my Father, and all man- 
 kind are my brethren and sisters. I s 
 believe, as Dr. Fish has said, in the 
 fatherhood of God, and therefore I 
 believe in the brotherhood of man.. All 
 men in their spiritual natures are the 
 offspring of God. The Prophet Joseph 
 Smith taught that. He answered the 
 question that has come down through 
 the ages, "What am I? Whence am I? 
 Whither am I going? And if you will 
 learn from him, you will know that 
 your origin is divine; that you have 
 not come up from lower species of ani- 
 mals through processes of evolution,but 
 that you are the children of the Most 
 High. You will learn why you are 
 here on this globe, and why you were 
 born where you were; that God in 
 the beginning determined beforehand 
 the bounds of our habitation, and 
 where and when we should come into 
 this life, and that there is a purpose 
 in it all. We know also something 
 about where we are going, the spheres 
 that are beyond, and the destinies cf 
 the sons of men. These have been 
 opened up through Joseph Smith, the 
 Prophet of the latter days, and I 
 hope the time will come when you 
 will all learn something about them. 
 I feel that I am among a good people 
 here. My heart goes out to you. I pray 
 that the blessing and peace of God may 
 rest upon you, and upon the sons of 
 Vermont; may the name of the Prophet 
 reverberate throughout the earth, and 
 may the time come when all people 
 throughout the world shall singr: 
 
 "Hail to the Prophet, ascended to 
 
 heaven! 
 Traitors and tyrants now fight him 
 
 in vain; 
 Mingling with Gods, he can plan for 
 
 his brethren; 
 
 Death cannot conquer the hero 
 again." 
 
 President Joseph F. Smith then of- 
 fered the following 
 
22 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 DEDICATORY PRAYER. 
 
 Our Father who art in heaven! Hal- 
 lowed be Thy most holy name. We, 
 Thy servants and handmaidens, repre- 
 senting the Church of Jesus Christ of 
 Latter-day Saints, have gathered here 
 to dedicate this monument to the mem- 
 ory of Thy servant, Joseph Smith, the 
 great Prophet and Seer of the nine- 
 teenth century, who was born into the 
 world near this spot, on the 23rd day 
 of December, 1805 one hundred years 
 ago. 
 
 It was from him that we received the 
 everlasting Gospel, revealed to him by 
 the Eternal Father, through Jesus 
 Christ, the Son. 
 
 With hearts full of gratitude to Thee 
 for the light and truth of Thy Gospel, 
 the authority of the Holy Priesthood, 
 and the ordinances of salvation for the 
 living and for the dead, revealed 
 through Thy servant Joseph Smith; in 
 loving remembrance of him, and grate- 
 full for the privilege of being present on 
 this occasion, we dedicate to Thee the 
 ground on which stands this monument 
 that it may be sacred and most holy. 
 We dedicate the foundation, typical of 
 the foundation Thou hast laid, of Apos- 
 tles and Prophets, .with Jesus Christ, 
 Thy son, as the chief corner stone. We 
 dedicate the base, as typifying the rock 
 of revelation on which Thy Church is 
 built. We dedicate the die, with its in- 
 scriptions, as appropriate to the whole 
 design. We dedicate the capstone as a 
 sign of the glorious crown that Thy 
 servant Joseph has secured unto him- 
 self through his integrity to Thy cause, 
 and of that similar reward which shall 
 grace the head of each of his faithful 
 followers. We dedicate the spire, as 
 a token of the inspired man of God 
 whom Thou didst make indeed a pol- 
 
 ished shaft in Thine hand, reflecting 
 the light of heaven, even Thy glorious 
 light, unto the children of men. 
 
 We dedicate the whole monument, 
 as signifying the finished work of hu- 
 man redemption. And we now earn- 
 estly invoke upon it Thy blessing, O 
 Lord, and ask Thy divine approval, ac- 
 ceptance and protection, that it may 
 stand as a lasting testimony to the 
 world of the love and devotion of Thy 
 people, of the opening of the last dis- 
 pensation and the coming of the Son 
 of Man. May it be preserved from the 
 ravages of time, the disintegrating ac- 
 tion of the elements, from upheavals 
 of the earth's surface, and from the 
 violence of human malice or caprice. 
 May it be surrounded by the influence 
 of the spirit of peace, and remain a 
 joy to Thy people who may behold it, 
 and a silent witness for Thee to all 
 who may look upon it. 
 
 And may the light of the Gospel re- 
 stored to the earth through Thy ser- 
 vant, the Prophet Joseph Smith, shine 
 forth to every land and nation, until 
 all people shall come to the knowledge 
 of Thy truth, and the name of Thy 
 chosen minister be known, for good, 
 and not for evil, unto the uttermost 
 parts of the earth. 
 
 Bless those who have contributed of 
 their means for the erection of this 
 monument. And remember in loving 
 kindness all Thy people. Deal out 
 blessing, prosperity and continued hap- 
 piness upon our glorious country and 
 all her people. Bless and preserve our 
 nation, and guide those who direct her 
 affairs in all their exalted stations. 
 Give the judicial, lawmaking and ex- 
 ecutive branches of our government 
 adequate wisdom, that her integrity 
 may be preserved, and that her glori- 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 23 
 
 ous institutions, the just liberties of 
 her people and the rights of all her 
 citizens may be preserved and perpet- 
 uated. 
 
 And O God, we ask Thee, in the 
 name of Thy Son Jesus Christ, that 
 Thou wilt bless and sanctify all the 
 land surrounding this spot, sacred to 
 the membory of all Thy people, it be- 
 ing the birthplace of Thy servant 
 Joseph. May it be hallowed by Thy 
 people. May Thy blessing abide upon 
 it, that it may be a blessed place, 
 where Thy people may visit from time 
 to time and rejoice in contemplating 
 Thy goodness in that Thou hast re- 
 stored to the earth the fulness of the 
 Gospel of Thy Son, with all the power 
 and authority necessary to administer 
 it and all its ordinances unto the in- 
 habitants of the earth, for their salva- 
 tion and for the redemption of their 
 dead. 
 
 And inasmuch as this little cottage 
 has been erected, and provision made 
 by which all the expenses thereof may 
 be defrayed, we offer unto Thee this 
 building, and ask that Thou wilt sanc- 
 tify it; for we dedicate It unto Thee, 
 and consecrate it to the needs of those 
 who shall come to visit here to contem- 
 plate, and to receive instruction, light 
 and understandging concerning Thy 
 great latter-day work. May no harm 
 come to this little dwelling. May those 
 who dwell here possess the spirit of 
 light and truth in their hearts. May 
 their souls burn with love for the sal- 
 vation of the human family, and may 
 they take great pains in administering 
 unto those that shall come, for their 
 comfort and enlightenment, that they 
 may be assisted in their search for that 
 which will exalt them and bring them 
 back into Thy presence. 
 
 We ask Thee also, Heavenly Father, 
 that Thou wilt remember in Thy mercy 
 and in Thy continued love Thy serv- 
 ant Junius F. Wells, who has borne 
 this great labor and responsibility. May 
 Thy blessing and peace abide in him. 
 We thank Thee for him, for his integ- 
 rity, for his persistent and intelligent 
 labor in the accomplishment of this 
 work. We pray for Thy blessings to be 
 upon him from this time henceforthi 
 and forever. Bless him with those 
 things that are needful for life, and! 
 with Thy Spirit, that he may continue 
 to live in the light of Thy countenance. 
 Wilt though bless abundantly also 
 those who have taken part in this labor 
 the laborers, those who have direct- 
 ed the work, and those who have fur- 
 nished the material and the skill with 
 which this labor has been accom- 
 plished. We ask Thy blessing upon 
 them, Holy Father, one and all. May 
 they prosper in the land. May they 
 be blessed of the Lord in their basket 
 and in their store, in their outgoing 
 and incoming, when they shall lie 
 down and when they shall rise up. O 
 God, put Thy Spirit into their hearts; 
 lead them in the path of righteousness, 
 and prosper them in the labor of their 
 hands. 
 
 We ask Thee to bless the people of 
 South Royalton, of Tunbridge and 
 Sharon, and of the surrounding coun- 
 try. And this land being the birth- 
 place and the nursing place of many 
 of Thy most faithful and renowned 
 servants, who have made their mark 
 in the world for the uplifting and bene- 
 fit of mankind, O God, wilt Thou let 
 Thy peace and blessing be upon this 
 land. May it be prospered. May those 
 who dwell here multiply and increase 
 and replenish the earth. May all bar- 
 
DEDICATION OF 
 
 renness be removed from the soil, that 
 it may be fruitful and prosperous from 
 this time forward; that good men may 
 gather here, and those born here find 
 place and be happy and enjoy them- 
 selves in the midst of these everlasting 
 hills. 
 
 We ask all these blessings, heavenly 
 Father, and we dedicate unto Thee 
 ourselves, our labors and all that we 
 have, and this gathering, and those 
 who have come here to assist us in the 
 services. Thy servants and handmaid- 
 ens who have come here to sing for us, 
 we pray for Thy blessings to be upon 
 them, and upon each and every one. 
 Bless all that seek to do good, to build 
 up; and sustain the righteous, the up- 
 right, the honest and the pure in heart 
 in all the land. 
 
 These mercies, Holy Father, we hum- 
 bly ask, and we rejoice in Thy mercy 
 and kindness unto us. We give honor, 
 and glory, and praise and obedience 
 unto Thy most holy name, and ask 
 Thee to accept of this monument and 
 of this little cottage, these services and 
 all our efforts. 
 
 We rejoice in Thy goodness. We 
 praise and adore Thee this day. We 
 commend ourselves, with this monu- 
 ment, unto Thee. Glory, and honor, 
 and majesty, and power, and dominion, 
 be ascribed unto God and the Lamb, 
 now and forever. Amen. 
 
 Singing: "Praise to the man who 
 communed with Jehovah." 
 
 Brother Cecil Gates was the accom- 
 panist in the singing exercises. 
 
 President Smith announced that Miss 
 Edith A. Smith, being the oldest lady 
 representative of the Smith family pres- 
 ent, would have the honor of unveil- 
 ing the monument. 
 
 He then proposed a vote of very sin- 
 cere thanks to Brother Junius F. Wells, 
 
 as an expression of our appreciation of 
 his labors. The proposition was en- 
 thusiastically received, and the vote was 
 unanimous. 
 
 Benediction by Elder George Albert 
 Smith. 
 
 Immediately after the close of the 
 meeting the monument was unveiled by 
 Edith A. Smith. The exact time of the 
 unveiling was 1:20 p. m., eastern time. 
 
 W^iile the people were gathered out- 
 side, the entire assembly sang "The 
 Star Spangled Banner"with thrilling ef- 
 fect lead by Sister Emma Lucy Gates. 
 
 After the unveiling of the monument 
 and the partaking of lunch, President 
 Smith and party from Utah, and Presi- 
 dent John G. McGuarrie and company 
 from the Eastern States Mission, as- 
 sembled in the room of the cottage 
 wherein the hearthstone is situated, 
 and President Anthon H. Lund, on be- 
 half of the Utah party, Presented Presi- 
 dent Smith with a watchchain and lock- 
 et, in the following words: 
 
 PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND. 
 
 President Smith and brethren and sis- 
 ters: Before we leave this sacred room 
 we wish to express our love and es- 
 teem for our President. The party that 
 came from Utah have asked me to ex- 
 press their feelings to you, President 
 Smith, and I feel highly honored in be- 
 ing chosen to do so. This room in which 
 we are seems to me a very fitting place 
 in which to tell you (which we realize 
 we need not do) that you have our love 
 and our esteem. We like to be in your 
 company. We thank you for giving us 
 the privilege of coming with you on this 
 occasion. Our trip so far has been a 
 very pleasant one one that we will all 
 remember. We have had a very en- 
 joyable time visiting together, getting 
 well acquainted with one another. We 
 thank you, President Smith, for taking 
 us with you. We are pleased that you 
 felt impressed to have this work done 
 when it was suggested by Brother 
 Wlells. We feel that it is the right 
 thing done, that it is a fitting monu- 
 ment of the great man who has done so 
 much for us. We all feel that we are 
 what we are through his agency, he 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 25 
 
 having been the instrument chosen of 
 God to introduce the Gospel anew in the 
 world, and we having been the happy 
 recipients thereof. In this place he was 
 born. Around this hearthstone your 
 father, being five years older, no doubt 
 had to rock the cradle at times and 
 help to take care of the Prophet. There 
 is no doubt that he sat on the very spot 
 where you are now sitting, and that in 
 this room he enjoyed many happy 
 days, sitting around the hearthstone the 
 long winter nights. We can imagine the 
 cosy circle that was gathered here. 
 Now, President Smith, before we leave 
 this room we want you to remember it 
 by a little present which the party who 
 have come with you feel that they 
 would like to give you, and I have the 
 honor to present to you a chain and 
 locket. President Smith, wear it and 
 remember us. 
 
 President Smith was deeply touched 
 by this manifestation of love and good- 
 will, and while he responded, he was 
 more than once overcome by his emo- 
 tions and the entire party were in tears. 
 He expressed himself as follows: 
 
 PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH. 
 
 I hardly know whether I can trust 
 myself to say anything. It would not 
 be true for anyone in my position to 
 say less than that I esteem above all 
 the riches or any honor that the world 
 can be,stow, the love and confidence of 
 my associates to know that I have a 
 little merit, to be worthy, at least in 
 small degree, of possessing the confi- 
 dence and love of good men and good 
 women. Of course, my heart has been 
 full during the whole of the day. Yes- 
 terday, while visiting the birth- 
 place of my father and some of his 
 brothers and sisters, and contemplating 
 this rugged country, filled with hills 
 and ravines, the thought that here in 
 this land was where my kindred had 
 birth, that we are perhaps traversing 
 the same roads and the same ravines, 
 and possibly partaking of the products 
 of the same orchard from which our 
 ancestors two or three generations ago 
 partook, and then the thought of dedi- 
 cating this monument (here the presi- 
 
 dent broke down, his voice choked with 
 emotion, and his eyes filled with tears; 
 but, making an effort to control him- 
 self, he continued) My heart is like 
 that of a child. It is easily touched, 
 especially with love. I can much easier 
 weep for joy than for sorrow. I sup- 
 pose perhaps it is due to some extent 
 to the fact that all my early remem- 
 brances were painful and sorrowful. 
 The persecutions of the prophet and 
 people in Missouri and in Illinois, the 
 final martyrdom of the Prophet and my 
 father, the expulsion of the saints from 
 Nauvoo, the driving out of the widows 
 and the orphans from their homes, the 
 journey across the plains, the hard- 
 ships we e.ndured in the settling of the 
 valley of the Great Salt Lake, and try- 
 ing to make a home there, my experi- 
 ences on the plains, in standing guard, 
 herding cattle, and going to the can- 
 yons; then starting out at the age of 
 fifteen on a mission to the Sandwich 
 Islands, so far away, alone apparently, 
 without father or mother, without kin- 
 dred or friends scarcely all this had a 
 tendency in my youth to depress my 
 spirit. But I had strength by the grace 
 of God to keep myself from deadly sins. 
 And now when I experience the expres- 
 sions of confidence and love of my 
 brethren and sisters whom I love, it 
 goes directly to my heart. I want to 
 thank you for the expressions made 
 through President Lund by my brethren 
 and sisters who are present, and to 
 say that I appreciate and prize it more 
 than all else in the world. I would 
 rather die any moment than to do 
 aught' that would forfeit the confidence 
 and the love of my friends and my. 
 brethren. I want to live so that I will 
 be worthy^ in some degr.ee I cannot ex- 
 pect to be as worthy as I should be 
 of the love and confidence shown to- 
 wards me; but I desire to have at least 
 some merit and to be a little worthy 
 of the confidence and love of my breth- 
 ren. 
 
 God bless you. May the Lord bless 
 this little home. May someone be found 
 suitable and capable to take care of 
 it and to answer the questions of visi- 
 tors, as well as to give information in" 
 
26 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 reference to the principles of the gos- 
 pel and the history of the Prophet Jo- 
 seph Smith and his associates who were 
 born in this land, and who were in- 
 strumental in the hands of the Lord 
 in laying the foundations of this work, 
 that this property may be safe in their 
 hands, and that it may be protected 
 from vandalism and from the hand of 
 the spoiler. 
 
 I do not need to say any more. I 
 thank you for this beautiful little token 
 of your affections, and I shall certainly 
 appreciate and prize it. I have always 
 been one who appreciated marks of 
 respect in this way. I am wearing a 
 chain today given me by Brothers 
 Junius F. Wells and Heber J. Grant. 
 I never bought a watch, nor a chain, 
 nor a ring, nor a Jewel of any kind 
 for myself. The rings that I wear, I 
 wear because they were given to me by 
 my friends. I shall do the same with 
 this beautiful little chain. I thank 
 you for your kindness, and I say, God 
 bless you! and so far as I have the 
 right and authority to bless, I bless 
 you in the narne of Jesus Christ. Peace 
 be with you, and unto this place, unto 
 this monument, and unto all who come 
 to visit it with feelings of respect in 
 their hearts; and those who come with- 
 out feelings of respect, may it have the 
 effect of softening their hearts, opening 
 their eyes, and causing them to reflect 
 soberly upon this great problem of hu- 
 man life and redemption that has been 
 opened up to the world through the 
 instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph 
 Smith. God bless you all. Amen. 
 
 All present joined in singing the Dox_ 
 ology. 
 
 Then Brother Junius F. Wells distri- 
 buted to the company souvenirs of the 
 occasion in the shape of polished gran- 
 ite paper weights, made from a piece 
 cut from the centre of the large base 
 of the monument. One was given to 
 each person. 
 
 President Smith thanked Brother 
 Wells, on behalf of the company, for 
 his thoughtfulness in this matter. 
 
 Benediction was then pronounced by 
 Patriarch John Smith. 
 
 Following these exercises Elder Wells 
 
 gave the following description of the' 
 Monument. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT 
 
 That a correct account may be pre- 
 served, I will state that the foundation, 
 of the monument was put in under the 
 direction of Prof. C. C. Brill for Mr. 
 Jackson, the contractor. It is made of 
 concrete, composed of Portland cement, 
 45 barrels, sand and gravel 30 cubic 
 yards, and boulders, 20 cubic yards. 
 This is tamped in an excavation mostly 
 blasted out of the ledge, 14 feet square 
 at the bottom, and seven feet deep. The 
 bottom is solid rock. Upon this con- 
 crete foundation rests the first granite 
 base, 12 feet square and 20 inches thick, 
 weight 18 tons. From the center of this 
 a block nearly five feet square was cut 
 out to facilitate handling it. This space 
 is filled with concrete, except one foot 
 square, in which reposes a copper cas- 
 ket, containing books, records,portraits, 
 coins, etc. 
 
 Over this rests the second base, 9 
 feet square, and 2 feet thick, weight 13 
 tons. Upon it stands the inscription 
 die. This is six feet square at the 
 bottom, and two inches less at the top. 
 It is six feet two inches high, weight 
 19 tons. It is covered by a moulded 
 cap seven feet four inches square by 
 two feet six inches thick, weight 10 
 tons. 
 
 Upon the top of the latter the shaft 
 is set. It is four feet square at the 
 base, and three feet at the top the 
 peak rises three feet higher. Its whole 
 length is 38^ feet, weight 39 tons. 
 
 All the granite of the monument is 
 highly polished from base to pinnacle. 
 It is 50 feet ten inches high and weighs 
 nearly one hundred tons. The joints 
 are set in cement and leaded, except 
 the cap and shaft, which rest upon lead 
 only. 
 
 The monument is set on the crown of 
 the hill, eighty-seven feet from the 
 hearthstone and 1,350 feet above sea lev- 
 el. Its lines are squared with the ancient 
 town line running north 40 degrees 10 
 minutes east, and is parallel with the 
 front of the memorial cottage- The in- 
 scriptions are as follows: Upon the- 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 27 
 
 southerly side in sunken letters the 
 largest three inches long, the smallest 
 two inches: 
 
 SACRED 
 
 TO THE MEMORY OF 
 JOSEPH SMITH, 
 THE PROPHET. 
 
 BORN HERE 
 23d DECEMBER, 1805; 
 
 MARTYRED, 
 
 CARTHAGE, ILLINOIS, 
 
 27TH JUNE, 1844. 
 
 On the opposite or northerly side in 
 letters, the largest three inches, the 
 smallest one and three-quarters inches: 
 
 TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH SMITH. 
 
 In the spring of the year of our Lord, 
 1820, The Father and The Son appeared 
 to him in a glorious vision, called him 
 by name and instructed him. 
 
 Thereafter heavenly angels visited 
 him and revealed the principles of the 
 Gospel, restored the authority of the 
 Holy Priesthood, and the organization 
 of the Church of Jesus Christ in its 
 fulness and perfection. 
 
 The engraved plates of the Book of 
 Mormon were given him by the angel 
 Moroni. These he translated by the 
 gift and power of God. 
 
 He organized the Church of Jesus 
 Christ of Latter-day Saints on the sixth 
 day of April, 1830, with six members. 
 
 He devoted his life to the establish- 
 ment of this Church, and sealed his tes- 
 timony with his blood. 
 
 In his ministry he was constantly 
 supported by his brother Hyrum Smith, 
 who suffered martyrdom with him. 
 
 Over a million converts to this tes- 
 timony have been made throughout the 
 world; and this monument has been 
 erected in his honor, to commemorate 
 the one hundredth anniversary of his 
 birth, by members of the Church which 
 he organized. 
 
 They love and revere him as a Proph- 
 et of God, and call his name blessed 
 forever and ever, Amen. 
 
 Around the capstone just above the 
 die, in letters three inches long, is the 
 following quotation from 'the Bible, 
 which led Joseph to seek the Lord: 
 
 "If any of you lack wisdom let him 
 ask of God, that giveth to all men lib- 
 erally and upbraideth not; and it shall 
 be given him." James I: 5. 
 
 The following description of the con- 
 tents of the copper casket placed in the 
 base of the Monument is from a com- 
 munication by Elder Wells to the Presi- 
 dency written Nov. 27, 1905: 
 
 IN MEMORIAM. 
 
 Be it remembered that upon this Mon- 
 day, the twenty-seventh day of No- 
 vember, Anno Domini, 1905. there has 
 been deposited within a receptacle pre- 
 pared for it in the lower granited base 
 of the Joseph Smith Monument, at 
 Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, a 
 casket of copper whose dimensions 
 are 12 inches by 15 inches by 9 inches, 
 made by Mr. George H. Dewey. 
 
 Within the casket there have been 
 placed by Junius F. Wells of Salt Lake 
 City, Utah, in the presence of those 
 whose names are hereunto subscribed 
 as witnesses, the following books, docu- 
 ments., coins, etc., to the end that they 
 shall be preserved through all the gen- 
 erations of time while this monument 
 shall stand: 
 
 The Holy Bible. 
 
 The Book of Mormon. 
 
 The Book of Doctrine and Covenants. 
 
 The Pearl of Great Price. 
 
 The Latter-day Saints' Hymn Book. 
 
 Life of Joseph Smith, by his mother. 
 
 Life of Joseph Smith, by George Q. 
 Cannon. 
 
 Church Chronology, by Andrew Jen- 
 son. 
 
 Title deed to the farm on which the 
 Monument stands, from C. H. Robinson 
 to Joseph F. Smith Trustee-in-Trust. 
 
 Certified testimonies of its being the 
 birthplace of Joseph Smith, by Ben- 
 jamine C. Latham, Harvey Smith and 
 Maria Griffiths. 
 
 The Deseret News of July 1st, 1905. 
 
 The Improvement Era, October, 1905. 
 
 Portraits of the successive Presidents 
 of the Church as follows: Joseph Smith, 
 Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford 
 Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, and Joseph F. 
 Smith. 
 
 Portrait of George Washington, first 
 President of the United States. 
 
 Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt, 
 present President of the United States. 
 
DEDICATION OF 
 
 Fractional coins of the United States 
 Mintage of 1905. 
 
 Acts and resolves of the State of Ver- 
 mont, 1904, with names and reports of 
 state officials for the preceeding year. 
 
 Report of the town of Sharon, 1905. 
 
 Chronicle of Current Events in Town 
 of Sharon, 1905, by G. A. Cheney. 
 
 Report of the Town of Royalton, 1905. 
 
 Chronicle of Current Events in Town 
 of Royalton, 1905, by William Skinner, 
 Town Clerk. 
 
 A document containing the names of 
 those identified with the making, 
 transportation and erection of the 
 Monument. 
 
 Names of the present general officials 
 of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- 
 day Saints, together with the names of 
 the previous Presidents in succession 
 since its organization April 6, 1830, on 
 parchment. 
 
 Pamphlet, "Glimpses of White River 
 Valley," by G. A. Cheney. 
 
 Know all men by these presents, that 
 we, the undersigned, do hereby certify 
 that all of the books, documents, por- 
 traits, coins and articles within enumer- 
 ated, were deposited in this copper 
 casket in our presence, Witness our 
 hands this 26th day of November A. D. 
 1905. 
 
 JUNIUS F. WELLS, 
 Salt Lake City, Utah. 
 
 RILEY C. BOWERS, 
 Contractor, Montpelier, Vt. 
 
 DANIEL E. PARKHURST, 
 Town Clerk, Sharon, Vt. 
 
 WILLIAM SKINNER, 
 Town Clerk, Royalton, Vt. 
 
 EDGAR J. FISH, 
 State Senator, 1904-1906, Vt. 
 
 JULIUS O. BELKNAP, 
 Postmaster, So. Royalton, Vt. 
 
 ELMORE B. BOYLE, 
 First Selectman, Royalton, Vt. 
 
 MARVIN H. HAZEN, 
 Deputy Sheriff, Royalton, Vt. 
 
 PEARL S. BELKNAP,- 
 Asst. Postmaster, So. Royalton, Vt. 
 
 GEORGE H. DEWEY, 
 Coppersmith, So. Royalton, Vt. 
 
 JOHN H. HEWITT. 
 Merchant, So. Royalton. Vt. 
 
 CHARLES P. TARBELL, 
 Lawyer, So. Royalton, Vt. 
 
 JAMES F. McNEIL, 
 Contractor, Syracuse, N. Y. 
 
 CHARLES H. WOODARD. 
 Hotel Proprietor, So. Royalton, Vt. 
 
 MARK J. SARGENT. 
 Justice of the Peace, 
 Subscribed and acknowledged this 
 26th day of November A. D. 1905, before 
 me,. 
 
 ARTHUR G. WHITHAM, 
 Notary Public. 
 
 The following persons had a responsi- 
 ble part in the quarrying, making, 
 transportation and erection of the Jo- 
 seph Smith Monument at Sharon, Wind- 
 sor County, Vermont: 
 
 Junius F. Wells, of Salt Lake City, 
 Utah, Designer and Superintendent of 
 Construction. 
 
 Riley C. Bowers, President, R. C. 
 Bowers Granite Co., Montpelier, general 
 contractors. 
 
 Marr and Gordon, Barre, Vermont, 
 quarryman. 
 
 Boutwell, Milne & Varnum, Mont- 
 pelier and Barre,i Vermont, quarrymen. 
 
 William Barclay, of Barclay Brothers, 
 Barre, Vermont, stone cutters and 
 polishers. 
 
 Railroad Transportation: F. W. 
 Stanyan, Superintendent, Wells River R. 
 R., J. P. Galleher, Agent Montpelier, 
 Central Vermont R. R. 
 
 Overland Transportation: James F. 
 McNeil, Syracuse, N. Y.; H. C. Leonard, 
 Barre, Vermont; E. B. Ellis, Northfield, 
 Vermont. 
 
 Laying foundation: W. F. Jackson, 
 Montpelier, Vermont, Contractor; Prof. 
 C. C. Brill, Northfield, Vermont; John 
 Cote, Northfield, Vermont. 
 
 Bridge Construction: Joseph Perkins 
 and Mr. Slaten. Montpelier, Vermont, 
 Robert Ford, Bethel, Vermont. 
 
 Tarbell and Whitham, attorneys; 
 Walker and Gallison, Surveyors; M. F. 
 Howland, Barre, Vt., Monument setter. 
 
 It is also a pleasure to mention the 
 names of Woodard & Culver, Pro- 
 prietors South Royalton Hotel; Mr. Har- 
 rington Proprietor Casadnac Hotel, 
 Royalton; Uncle Ed. Greene and wife; 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cowan; Mr. and Mrs. 
 George Bingham; Mr. and Mrs. Haynes; 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mclntosh; Mr. and Mrs. C. 
 H. Robinson; Mr. and Mrs. John 
 Shintock, at whose hospitable homes 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 29- 
 
 the men were fed while engaged in the 
 work. 
 
 In addition to the foregoing I had 
 the following document signed by those 
 Who were present when the box was 
 deposited in the base and cemented in 
 preparatory to laying the second base 
 over it. 
 
 Be it remembered that upon this Mon- 
 day the 27th day of November, A. D. 
 1905, at twelve o'clock noon, there was 
 deposited by Junius F. Wells, of Salt 
 Lake City, Utah, in the lower granite 
 base of the Joseph Smith Monument, 
 Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, a 
 copper casket of whose contents a rec- 
 ord has been made. 
 
 Done in the presence of those whose 
 names are subscribed hereunto. 
 (Signed.) 
 
 W. F. ROWLAND, 
 C. A. STICKNEY. 
 F. A. ANDERSON, 
 DANIEL PERKINS. 
 Witness: C. H. ROBINSON. 
 
 During the dedicatory exercises 
 
 ELDER JOHN G. McQUARRIE 
 
 made the following remarks from the 
 base of the Monument: 
 
 Between our movements on this mys- 
 terious current we call time, and our 
 travels over the more tangible earth, 
 there is a striking analogy; since in 
 either case we encounter high peaks, 
 deep valleys, level plains and rolling 
 hills. 
 
 In our actual movements from place 
 to place, as we reach some elevated po- 
 sition we instinctively stop to take our 
 bearing, looking back into the valley 
 from which we have climbed, or for- 
 ward along the path stretching far into 
 the distance. 
 
 The tide of life on which we move, 
 like gently rolling hills, seems to rise 
 and fall, and as we reach the summit 
 of each New Year we stop to review the 
 past, and to look into the future, be- 
 fore plunging forward into the mystic 
 valley of life's activities. 
 
 There are still higher summits, call- 
 
 ed centuries, which are sometimes 
 reached in this journey of mortal life. 
 From such elevations we can observe, 
 not only our personal position, but also 
 the birth and death, the growth and 
 decay, the rise and fall of men, nations 
 and systems. 
 
 The closing days of this year of our 
 Lord 1905, find more than three hun- 
 dred and fifty thousand people, mem- 
 bers of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
 Latter-day Saints, standing upon the 
 summit of a century; reckoning the 
 time from the birth ol' their prophet, 
 leader and organizer. It is probable 
 that no people ever looked back on a 
 more eventful or interesting past. 
 Faith, zeal, devotion, energy, patriot- 
 ism and tragedy are woven together 
 forming an important chain of events 
 stretching from the Green Mountains 
 of Vermont to the shores of the Great 
 Salt Lake. 
 
 Far back in the very dawning of this 
 eventful period, and on the very prem- 
 ises we now occupy, we may discern 
 emerging, as from a mist, a plain New 
 England home. Hovering over its- 
 hearth stone is the halo of primitive 
 Puritan influence. Here we witness a 
 humble birth and a childhood as inno- 
 cent and retired as that of John the 
 Baptist. 
 
 Fourteen years nearer, and the scene 
 has changed. We observe our babe of 
 Sharon in the farmer boy of Manches- 
 ter. He is just retiring from crowds 
 where the question of serving God is- 
 being fiercely discussed by men, for he 
 has made a discovery in reading the 
 Epistle of James, to this effect, that, 
 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him' 
 ask of God, that giveth to all men lib- 
 erally, and upbraideth not, and it shall 
 be given him." 
 
 He retires into the seclusion of a na- 
 tive forest, and, as we see him kneel- 
 ing in humble prayer, the picture of the- 
 boy Samuel comes before us; we feel 
 that the faith of the Hebrew children is- 
 again stirring in the hearts of men. But 
 this picture is instantly forgotten in 
 beholding a vision more glorious than 
 the "Transfiguration," for both tne 
 Father and the Son appear to him in a. 
 
DEDICATION OF 
 
 pillar of light, compared with which, 
 the noon day sun is only a faint sug- 
 ' gestion. 
 
 The burden of the boy's prayer had 
 been: Which of all the denominations 
 is right, what church shall I join? These 
 questions were now repeated to his 
 heavenly visitors. In response Jesus 
 said: "Join none of them, for they are 
 all wrong." 
 
 He also indicated to the youth that 
 the Gospel was about to be restored to 
 men. 
 
 During the next decade many impor- 
 tant events occur, all tending to fit tne 
 youth for the important mission before 
 him. But as this period draws to a 
 close we see stepping boldly on the 
 stage of human activities this charac- 
 ter in the person of Joseph Smith, the 
 Prophet of the Nineteenth Century. 
 
 As we watch his movements we rec- 
 ognize in him a leader of men possess- 
 ing the courage of Joshua, the skill of 
 David, and the zeal of the Apostle Paul. 
 
 Men commence to gather around him; 
 they are organized into a Church; the 
 mysteries, powers and privileges of the 
 Kingdom of God are made clear to 
 them. Wards and branches, towns and 
 villages spring up in their wake. The 
 material efforts of this great leader 
 culminate in building the beautiful city 
 of Nauvoo. It was situated on the Illi- 
 nois side of the Mississippi. With its 
 gently rising terraces, and the great 
 river like a silver crescent at its base, 
 it was indeed a picturesque site. 
 
 Well has the poet said that "Joseph 
 loved the Saints; and he loved Nauvoo." 
 But he loved the city, not for its glit- 
 tering spires or its guilded domes, but 
 for its sacred temple and its happy 
 homes. 
 
 Working beneath the protection 
 of the Stars and Stripes; enthused 
 with a great purpose, and led contin- 
 ually by direct revelation the efforts of 
 the young prophet and his followers 
 were eminently successful, but from the 
 time he had made the daring state- 
 ment that the Gospel was not upon ihb 
 -earth, a storm of hatred was awakened 
 which grew in strength as success at- 
 tended the new movement. This storm 
 .now bursted in all its fury over Nau- 
 
 voo and Carthage, and when it had 
 spent its force the ruin it wrought 
 would touch a heart of stone. 
 
 The babe of Aharon, the boy of Man- 
 chester, the builder of Nauvoo and the 
 Prophet of the latter days had sealed 
 his testimony with his blood. He and 
 his brother Hyrum were shot to death 
 by an infuriated mob June the 27th, 
 1844. As his body lay lifeless against 
 the well curb at Carthage Jail, the ene- 
 mies of truth felt that his work was 
 ended and his influence gone forever. 
 
 Sorrow, despair, and disappointment 
 are but feeble terms to describe the 
 feelings of his devoted followers, as 
 they find themselves without a leader; 
 and behold the object of their trust and 
 affection lying cold and lifeless in their 
 midst. 
 
 But when the tears had cleared from 
 their eyes so they could see and their 
 minds calmed sufficiently to think, they 
 discovered that though their Prophet 
 was gone, his priesthood, his office, and 
 the system which he established, still 
 remained. Th e mantle of his power fell 
 upon Brigham Young. As we watch 
 the movements of this people under his 
 leadership we witness an exodus more 
 successful in its operation than the one 
 led by Moses, a march without a paral- 
 lel in the annals of history, and in the 
 subduing of a wilderness, the building 
 of new states we see repeated the la- 
 bors and successes of the Pilgrim 
 Fathers. 
 
 But grand and touching as this pic- 
 ture may appear, as seen from the sum- 
 mit of a century, there is another 
 equally interesting to the Saints as they 
 look from the high plateaus of the Wa- 
 satch Mountains; for in the panorama 
 moving before them they see tha ful- 
 fillment of the dreams of the ancient 
 prophets. Israel being gathered from 
 all the lands whither they have been 
 scattered; the Lord's House already 
 built and the long-looked-for Zion being 
 established; and strange as it may ap- 
 pear even in the physical features of 
 the country, we can see a reproduction 
 of Israel's ancient home, the river Jor- 
 dan rising far away in the mountains 
 of Lebanon, flowing down through its 
 rocky, gorge forming the fresh water 
 
THE MEMORIAL COTTAGE AND MONUMENT. 
 
 THE HEARTHSTONE, MEMORIAL COTTAGE. 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 31 
 
 lake of Galilee, winding on until lost in 
 the Dead Sea, has its counterpart in the 
 Jordan of the western Zion. Jerusalem, 
 Shechem, and Capernaum rise again 
 from the great American desert, and 
 the Lord has remembered His promise 
 to Jacob. 
 
 MEMORIAL COTTAGE. 
 
 As has been stated, the cottage oc- 
 cupies the site of the old homestead. 
 Its foundation walls are laid on the 
 same lines so far as the difference in 
 size and style of house . would per- 
 mit. The hearthstone rests where 
 it v did in the old house. The 
 Living-room, of which the hearth- 
 stone is the central feature, (set in a 
 deep red brick fireplace and mantel 
 with wrought iron trimmings) is 23x 
 18% feet, besides a bay 3x15 feet, hav- 
 ing a low window seat 21 inches wide. 
 The main, or easterly entrance, a wide 
 door with Beaded side windows, opens 
 from this room, and opposite to it is 
 the staircase leading to the upper 
 floor. 
 
 Opening from the Living room is the 
 Dining room, 13x21 feet, with a bay 
 and window seat, the same size as the 
 one described. A vestibule with out- 
 side northern entrance, opens from 
 this room and passage through a large 
 China closet is had to the Kitchen, 
 which is 11x12 feet, with a pantry 
 eight feet square and vestibule, with 
 kitchen entrance. A stairway leading 
 to the cellar, and one connecting on 
 a midway landing with the front stairs, 
 lead from this room. 
 
 In the second story the stairway 
 and hall make a large central open- 
 ing, from which entrance is had to 
 five bed rooms, a bath room, and the 
 garret stairway. The garret is venti- 
 lated and lighted with eyebrow win- 
 dows and is very commodious. 
 
 Along the easterly front and run- 
 ning around the southerly side and 
 half way along the westerly side of 
 the house, is a veranda nearly one 
 hundred feet long by nine feet wide, 
 over which the roof of the house pro- 
 jects, the latter being supported by 
 columns nine feet high and ten inches 
 
 in diameter. Thus shelter within the 
 walls of the house and under the 
 veranda is provided for a very large 
 company. The view from all sides of 
 the house is indescribably beautiful. 
 
 The cellar, under the entire build- 
 ing, with an eight foot ceiling, affords 
 ample storage room, and contains a 
 hot air furnace, which heats the build- 
 ing comfortably. 
 
 The outside of the house is clap- 
 boarded and is painted white, the roof 
 is Austrian grey shingle stain, and 
 the latice under the veranda dark 
 green. The interior of the main floor 
 is flninshed throughout with selected 
 red birch, beautifully polished, giving 
 the effect of old birch. The Living 
 room and Dining room have beam 
 ceilings, and the latter a plate rail 
 running the whole way around the 
 room, the wall below which is paneled 
 and papered with green burlap. The 
 upstairs interior finish is of spruce, 
 with hardwood maple floors, treated 
 naturally. The bathroom is fitted with 
 porcelain and nickel fixtures. 
 
 BIRTHPLACE OF JOSEPH SMITH 
 THE PROPHET. 
 
 Story of the Purchase of the Historic 
 Spot Record of Land Titles to the Sol- 
 omon Mack Farm Description of the- 
 Farm Testimony of Living Witnesses 
 as to the Identity of the Site. Written 
 by Elder Junius F. Wells, who designed 
 the Monument. 
 
 I had visited Sharon, Windsor county, 
 Vermont, in 1894, in company with Hon. 
 Spencer Clawson and his daughter, and 
 became somewhat familiar, at that 
 time, with the facts concerning the 
 birthplace of the Prophet. It was, 
 however, early in the present year that 
 attention was drawn more particularly 
 to it and the desirability of acquiring 
 and marking it for its historical in- 
 terest. 
 
 At the request of the First Presi- 
 dency of the Church, I undertook an 
 inquiry into the identity of the location 
 and as to the titles of the property. 
 
 Starting with the statement contained 
 in the "Life of Joseph Smith," by his 
 mother, that he was born on the 23d 
 of December, 1805, in Sharon, Windsor 
 
32 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 county, Vermont, on a farm rented 
 from her father, Solomon Mack, my ef- 
 fort was to establish the location of 
 this farm from the records, and of the 
 house from the testimony of living wit- 
 nesses, and physical conditions, that 
 would go to establish it. 
 
 We began with the town land rec- 
 ords of Sharon, as all transfers and 
 mortgages of lands are recorded in each 
 town by the town clerk, who is cus- 
 todian of the records. Mr. D. E. Park- 
 hurst, the present incumbent of the 
 office who is also a shoemaker ac- 
 corded every facility for the search. 
 
 It was found that Solomon Mack 
 purchased from Samuel Shepard, 2nd, a 
 farm of about one hundred acres on 
 the 27th of August, 1804, as shown by 
 the following deed: 
 
 SAMUEL, SHEPARD, 2ND, 
 
 TO 
 SOLOMON MACK. 
 
 Know all men by these presents that 
 I, Samuel Shepard, 2nd, of Sharon, in 
 the county of Windsor, State of Ver- 
 mont, for the consideration of eight 
 hundred dollaTs received to my 
 full satisfaction of Solomon Mack ot 
 Tunbridge in the county of Orange, 
 state above said, have and hereby do 
 give, grant, bargain, sell, release, alien, 
 convey and confirm unto him the said 
 Solomon Mack, his heirs and assigns, 
 the following parcel of land in Sharon 
 above sd. [said] described as follows, 
 being the whole of the farm I now live 
 on,and seven acres of land belonging to 
 the right that Moses Perkins was the 
 grantee of, being last division, which 
 land is laid out between the two lines 
 of sd. Sharon against Ebenezer Dewey's 
 farm in Royalton, it being the norther- 
 ly end of sd. lot so laid out, the whole 
 of sd. land supposed to be about one 
 hundred acres be the same more or 
 less. 
 
 To have and to hold the above grant- 
 ed and bargained premises with all the 
 privileges and appurtenances thereon 
 or thereunto belonging to him the sd. 
 Solomon Mack, his heirs and assignes 
 to his and their own proper use, benefit 
 
 and behoof forever. Hereby covenant- 
 _ing for myself, my heirs, executors and 
 administrators, with the sd. Solomon 
 Mack, his heirs and assigns, that until 
 the ensealing hereof I am the sole own. 
 er of the premises and that I will war- 
 rant and defend the same against all 
 lawful claims whatsoever. In witness 
 whereof I hereunto set my hand and 
 seal this 27th day of August, 1804. 
 
 SAMUEL, SHEPARD 2ND. 
 
 (L. S.) 
 In presence of 
 
 JOEL MARSH, 
 
 JOSEPH SMITH. 
 
 State of Vermont, Windsor tp. [town- 
 ship], Sharon, August 27, 1804, personal- 
 ly appeared Samuel Shepard, 2nd, sign- 
 er and sealer of the within instrument, 
 and acknowledged the same to be hi 
 free act and deed before me, Joel 
 Marsh, Justice of the Peace. 
 
 August 27, 1804, rec'd and recorded. 
 
 In tracing the title back, from the 
 description contained in this deed, 
 it was interesting to discover 
 that Sharon town was granted 
 by King George III upon the 
 advice of his "well beloved Governor 
 Benning Wentworth of his majesty's, 
 province of Newhamp^hire to his loyal 
 and loving subjects, residents thereof," 
 by charter dated Aug. 17, 1761. The 
 survey disclosed in said town about 
 21,400 acres, besides) reservations for 
 highways and public uses, which was 
 to be equally divided amonar 68 gran- 
 tees. Among the latter the names with 
 which the title sought was connected 
 were John Downing, Esq., Joseph 
 Parkhurst and Moses Perkins. 
 
 In the original allotment drawings 
 were made of the first 100 -acre lots,, 
 then of the first 40-acre lots, then of 
 the second 100-acre lots, then of a fur- 
 ther division, and finally a fourth or 
 last division, which was accomplished 
 by those who still held or had acquired 
 by purchase the rights of the original 
 grantees, "pitching" upon or survey- 
 ing such remaining pieces, usually ad- 
 joining the lots already owned, as had 
 not been divided. 
 
 In this way it appeared that the- 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 Solomon Mack farm of about 100 acres 
 had been made up of 72 acres, the 
 western part of the original hundred 
 acre lot that John Downing was the 
 grantee of. Also of a strip about 25 
 rods wide running between ihe old and 
 new lines of the towns of Sharon and 
 Royalton. This strip adjoined the 72 
 acres on the west, and 20 acres of it 
 was accredited to the right that Jo- 
 seph Parkhurst was grantee of and 
 seven acres to the right that Moses 
 Perkins was the grantee of. 
 
 The above three pieces making near- 
 ly 100 acres were consolidated in "the 
 name of Samuel Shepherd, 2nd, in 1794. 
 The other transfers of this farm, which 
 became the Mack farm and was for 
 years afterwards so known, are shown 
 in the brief abstract which follows: 
 
 SHARON TOWN LAND RECORDS. 
 
 George III by Benning Wentworth, 
 
 Governor. 
 To 68 Grantees. 
 
 The Town of Sharon. Aug. 17, 1761. 
 
 21,400 acres. 
 
 John Downing, Esqre. Grantee Lot 8 
 Beginning at a Beech tree marked 7 
 and 8; thence North 40 degrees East, 
 127 Rods to a Black birch tree marked 
 8; thence South 57 degrees East 160 
 rods to a maple marked 8; thence 
 South 40 degrees West 127 rods to a 
 beech tree marked 7 and 8; thence to 
 the first mentioned bound. 
 
 David Morse to Samuel Shepard, 
 2nd, 7 Nov., 1794. 
 
 Samuel Shepard, 2nd. to Daniel Gil- 
 bert, 22 Sep., 1800. 
 
 Daniel Gilbert to Sam'l Shepard, 2nd. 
 27 Aug., 1804. 
 
 Samuel Shepard. 2nd, to Solomon 
 Mack, 27 Aug., 1804. 
 
 Solomon Mack to Daniel Gilbert, 27 
 Aug., 1804. [Mortgage] 
 
 Solomon Mack to Trumon Miller. 21 
 March, 1807. 
 
 Trumon Miller to Solomon Mack 14 
 May, 1807. 
 
 Solomon Mack to Jason Mack's heirs, 
 20 March, 1810. 
 
 Solomon Mack to Daniel Gilbert, 11 
 May, 1811. 
 
 Lydia Gilbert to Chester Baxter. 26 
 Apl., 1821. 
 
 Chester Baxter to Solomon Downer, 
 21 May, 1838. 
 
 Solomon Downer to Asahel P. White 
 1 April, 1839. 
 
 Asahel P. White to Solomon Down- 
 er, 1 April, 1839, Mtg. 
 
 Solomon Downer to Harvey White, 
 1 Feb. 1848. 
 
 Harvey White and Solomon Downer, 
 to Bela Durkee. 5 Feb., 1859. 
 
 Bela Durkee to Gustavus A. Cady, 
 6 Oct., 1859. 
 
 Gustave A. Cady and wife to Isaac J. 
 Russ, 2 April, 1860. 
 
 Isaac J. Russ to John A. Lesure, 7 
 Nov., 1860. 
 
 Jno. A. Lesure and wife, to Benj. C. 
 Latham, 1 Dec., 1868. 
 
 B. C. Latham and wife to Maria E. 
 Kent, 23 Aug., 1892. 
 
 J. H. Kent and Maria E. Kent to C. 
 H. Robinson, 3 Nov., 1902. 
 
 C. H. Robinson and wife to Joseph F. 
 Smith, Trustee-in-Trust, 23 May, 1905. 
 
 It appears that the western boundary 
 of the Mack farm was the Sharon and 
 Royalton town line, and part of it ad- 
 joining the farm of Ebenezer Dewey 
 in Royalton. A peculiar feature of the 
 latter, marked by the old stone wall and 
 the custom of maintaining the division 
 fence is that a corner 24 rods by 20 rods 
 is taken out of it, a corresponding jog 
 is marked above the northwestern cor- 
 ner of the Mack farm, by the old stone 
 wall, indicating that the town line was 
 not the real division of farms on the 
 west, though the records back of Bela 
 Durkee's purchase in 1859 do not pro- 
 vide for this. 
 
 In running our survey we took the 
 center of the wall on the town line 
 2,000 feet to the southwest, and ran 
 north, bearing 44 degrees, 10 minutes 
 east, this brought the town line about 
 four feet east of the southeast corner 
 of the house in which the Prophet was 
 born. This throws the whole of the 
 foundation in Royalton, while the tra- 
 dition is that the line ran through the 
 house, and Joseph was born in the east 
 room on the Sharon side of it. I asked 
 our surveyor what effect, allowing the 
 
34 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 bearing N. 40 E. described in the origi- 
 nal survey would have upon the line 
 at the house, and he replied as follows: 
 
 "If we were to extend the town line 
 we used up to the southerly side of the 
 65-acre lot then set on the bearing N. 
 40 degrees E., it would strike the old 
 house foundation a little west of the 
 center and thus confirm the tradition 
 you mention, and at some time during 
 the past 100 years that may have been 
 done, without making any account of 
 variations." 
 
 THE ROYALTON PART. 
 
 The search of the records at Royal- 
 ton where Mr. William Skinner, town 
 clerk, rendered valuable assistance, 
 showed the title back to the original 
 grantee in the county of Cumberland, 
 province of New York. The division 
 line between the towns of Sharon and 
 Royalton was also the dividing line be- 
 tween the provinces of New York and 
 New Hampshire. There was only time 
 to transcribe the records from John Coy 
 who deeded to Bela Durkee, 23 Septem- 
 ber, 1836. 
 
 By this deed to Durkee and the deed 
 of Harvey White and Solomon Downer 
 to Durkee it is shown how the lands in 
 Royalton and in Sharon came together 
 in one farm joining, the old Coy and 
 Mack farms together. 
 
 It is interesting to know that this 
 Bela Durkee married Eliza Baker, 
 whose sister, Zina Baker, was the wife 
 of William Huntington, and mother of 
 Aunt Zina D. Huntington Young. 
 
 The record of transfer from the above 
 to the present ownership is as follows: 
 
 Bela Durkee to Gustavus A. Cady, 
 Oct. 6, 1859. 
 
 Gustavus A. Cady to Isaac N. Russ, 
 April 29, 1860. 
 
 Isaac N. Russ to John A. Lesure, 
 Nov. 8, 1860. 
 
 John A. Lesure and wife to Benjamin 
 C. Latham, Dec. 1, 1868. 
 
 Benjamin C. Latham and wife to 
 Maria E. Kent, Aug. 16, 1892. 
 
 J. H. and Maria E. Kent to C. H. 
 Robinson, Oct. 17, 1902. 
 
 C. H. Robinson and wife to Joseph P. 
 Smith, Trustee-in-Trust, May 23, 1905. 
 
 The piece of tract selected out 
 
 of the Robinson farm of 250 
 acres, comprises about 46 acres 
 of the old Solomon Mack farm in 
 Sharon and 22 of the Coy farm in Roy- 
 alton. This was arrived at by the de- 
 sire to possess the site of the house in 
 which Joseph Smith the Prophet wa& 
 born and enough to the westward in 
 Royalton to take in the entire hill on 
 which it stood. The corner referred to 
 above as having come out of the Eben- 
 ezer Dewey farm exactly provides for 
 this, so we began our survey there 
 and ran far enough northward so thai, 
 the north boundary would be sure to 
 include the farm house and barn foun- 
 dation of what was known as the Solo- 
 mon Mack place on the brook, and old 
 Sharon road. This line was run to the 
 east boundary of the Robinson land 
 which was also the last line of the 
 Mack farm thence to the southeast 
 corner and back on the southerly 
 boundary of the Robinson land to 
 the place of beginning. It was found 
 that these lines embrace 65.73 acres. 
 
 As the old Sharon road has for years 
 been abandoned and there is no ap-. 
 proach to the above from the Royalton 
 highway, it was desirable to provide for 
 this, by including in the purchase a 
 tract two rods wide, running along the 
 line of the Mclntosh (formerly the Eb- 
 enezer Dewey) farm and the old Dewey 
 cemetery from the highway to the wes- 
 terly boundary of the 65-acre tract, 
 comprising one and one-tenth acres. 
 
 The Joseph Smith farm, lying high 
 above any near by water supply, 1 
 bargained for two springs lying near 
 the northeasterly corner of the property , 
 from which a pipe will convey an abun- 
 dance of good spring water for domestic 
 uses to any part of the premises. There 
 is a fall of 80 feet to the foundation ot 
 the Joseph Smith house. The springs 
 are on a tract included in the purchase, 
 66x136 feet about two-tenths of an 
 acre. This brings the total purchase 
 up to 68 acres. 
 
 As to the soundness of the title, the 
 reputable firm of attorneys, Messrs. 
 Tarbell & Whitham, examined and ap- 
 proved it. Their opinion being conclu- 
 sive, the purchase was made. 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 35 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPHET'S 
 BIRTHPLACE. 
 
 The foundation stones of the farm 
 house are still in place; also the walls 
 of the cellar and the hearthstone and 
 door stone; some of the stable founda- 
 tion and much of a stone wall that en- 
 closed the barnyard and extended far 
 beyond to fence off the orchard still 
 stand. The old well, now filled with 
 boulders, is still visible and contains 
 water. The orchard of apple trees was 
 quite extensive and many of the old 
 trees, the trunks of some of them two 
 feet in diameter, are standing and 
 bearing fruit. The blossoms were just 
 beginning to burst forth from the most 
 forward while I was there. Dimly 
 marked on the hillside is the grass- 
 covered road that formerly led down 
 from the farm house to the old Shar- 
 on road, along the right bank of the 
 White Brook, a beautiful little stream 
 abounding in trout, that flows through 
 the property and about equally divides 
 the lands of the old Mack farm. The 
 hill, so largely covered with apple 
 trees in bloom, surmounted by the 
 ruins of the farm house is very pic- 
 turesque and beautiful. It is an iso- 
 lated, quiet, lovely sylvian spot, sur- 
 rounded by some of the most charm- 
 ing scenery of the Green mountains, 
 of which varied and extensive views 
 are obtained from many points of 
 vantage on the premises. It is prob- 
 uble that the place has not changed 
 in its physical appearance for at least 
 80 years. It has been known to per- 
 sons still living for that time as the 
 foundation of the house in which 
 Joseph Smith the Prophet was born; 
 they derived their knowledge of it 
 from older members of their own 
 families and neighbors, who spoke fa- 
 iniliarly and commonly of it as such. 
 I interviewed and took down the tes- 
 timony of some of these, and have ar- 
 ranged to procure that of others, and 
 to have their testimonies recorded and 
 perpetuated according to the Vermont 
 
 A niece of the last Ebenezer Dewey 
 whose farm adjoined the Smith farm, 
 
 lives in Sharon village, gave me her 
 signed statement. The Ebenezer 
 Dewey family for four generations all 
 named Ebenezer, are buried in their 
 private cemetery, adjoining our road- 
 vay. The first and second, aged 32 
 and 80, were deacons. The other two 
 were aged 80 and 82. The four died 
 respectively in the years 1794, 1820, 
 1834, 1871. 
 
 The following was given to me while 
 sitting on the stone doorstep of the 
 Joseph Smith birthplace, on the 19th 
 of May, 1905: 
 
 TESTIMONY OF BENJAMIN C. 
 LATHAM. 
 
 I, Benjamin Cole Latham, son of 
 Alsop Latham and Sally Cole, daugh- 
 ter of Benjamin Cole, who cleared the 
 first acre on the old Haynes place, a 
 mile down the highway from here, 
 was born in 1824, in this neighborhood, 
 and except for about 19 years between 
 1849 and 1868 have always lived here. 
 
 I knew Asahel White, who used to 
 live on the Mack place in the White 
 hollow, and I knew Ebenezer Dewey 
 the third, who died in 1834, aged 80 
 years, and Ebenezer Dewey fourth, 
 who died in 1871, aged 82 years, both 
 of whom were born on, occupied and 
 lived on the farm adjoining to the west 
 and south of the Joseph Smith farm, 
 which I owned for over 23 years 1868 
 to 1892. I have often heard the lat- 
 ter Dewey, recollect also to have heard 
 his father speak familiarly of the place 
 as being the home of Joseph Smith, 
 and the birthplace of Joseph Smith, 
 the Prophet The cellar and founda- 
 tion now standing on the hill, a few 
 rods from the old Dewey farm, was al- 
 ways pointed out by them as the ruins 
 of the house in which he was born. 
 They also referred to the farm as the 
 old Mack farm, and the elder Dewey 
 often spoke of Solomon Mack as be- 
 ing of a fine family. The Ebenezers 
 Dewey were always considered the 
 best people, and the bodies of four 
 generations of them lie in the old 
 cemetery along the line of my old 
 farm. There is not the least doubt 
 
36 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 about this old cellar being the place 
 where Joseph Smith was born. I have 
 always known it and so have the peo- 
 ple all about here. I heard the elder 
 Dewey say that Mack lived there be- 
 fore and after Joseph Smith lived 
 in it; and I have heard Lieut. Harri- 
 son Dewey, who was born and lived 
 in the old Dewey place for 90 years 
 (he died in 1899) speak of the Smiths 
 and Macks living in the place on the 
 hill. He had a wonderful memory, 
 and told many things about these peo- 
 ple whom he knew about from the 
 common talk of his own family and 
 neighbors. If you had seen him 10 
 years ago when you were here he 
 could have told you many things. 
 
 I bought the farm from Lesure in 
 1868 and lived on it in peaceable pos- 
 session until 1892, when I sold it to 
 Kent. It was formerly owned by Bela 
 Durkee, who was my wife's father. His 
 wife was Eliza Baker, sister to Zlna 
 Baker, who had a twin sister, Lina, 
 who was the wife of William Hunting- 
 ton and the mother of Zina D., Dlmick 
 B., and the other "Mormon" Hunting- 
 tons. 
 
 I remember when Bela Durkee bought 
 the Mack farm from White and Doner 
 and that he lived on the Royalton part 
 in the same house that I occupied. He 
 took the White 'house and barn down. 
 The latter is Robinson's horse barn 
 now, being the same as I rebuilt it. I 
 always supposed that the apple orchard 
 was planted by Solomon Mack, th& 
 trees were old when I came on th& 
 property. Burbank, who married a 
 Dewey, lived on the west on the old 
 Dewey farm, now Mackintosh's (since? 
 last fall) on the North Drew, then 
 Sherlock, and Doubleday, who had it of 
 Dole to the east; on the southeast 
 Carl Jones and Mosher. 
 
 BENJAMIN COLE LATHAM. 
 Witness: JUNIUS F. WELLS. 
 
 I had met Mr. Harvey Smith in 1894, 
 when I first visited Sharon, and he then 
 told me the same story and perhaps 
 more than is contained in the follow- 
 ing. He is hale and hearty mentally 
 and physically, and gave me this: 
 
 TESTIMONY OF HARVEY SMITH. 
 
 Sharon, Windsor county, Vermont, 
 22nd May, 1905. I, Harvey Smith, was 
 born in Tunbridge, 6 Nov., 1824, and 
 have lived on this place since I was 15 
 months old, within a mile and a half 
 of the place where Joseph Smith was 
 born. 
 
 I was brought up by David Ames, 
 who lived on this place and died in 
 1843, aged 84 years, and had lived here 
 since he was a young man. I have 
 heard him speak of the Smiths as living 
 in the place on the hill. My mother 
 died, and father put us out, two boys. 
 and three girls, and I was given to 
 Ames. Always heard them talk about 
 the place as being the Mack place, and 
 they told of Uncle Dan Mack speaking 
 about the time to plant potatoes. He 
 said most any time would do May or 
 June, and Fourth of July pretty gooa 
 time, but October would be a little late. 
 
 I remember old Ebenezer .Dewey, 
 when he died in 1834, and I knew 1m 
 son Eb., who died in 1871. It was the 
 common talk among them, after the 
 "Mormons" came up, and always that 
 Joseph Smith was born in the house 
 that stood over the cellar and founda- 
 tions which you now see, and which 
 have been just as they are now ever 
 since I can remember. The Dewey 
 farm corners on the old Mack or Smith 
 place, the upper north line of Deweys 
 being by the cemetery. I think I have 
 heard Eb. Dewey say he went to school 
 with the Smith boys. 
 
 The old Asahel White place was 
 known as the Mack farm before Whitfc 
 had it. Daniel G. Mack lived there, and 
 raised his family there. His son, Ly- 
 man Mack, married a cousin of mine 
 named Wealthy Merchant. They lived 
 in the Squire Dewey or Burbank place 
 for a time; don't know what became of 
 them. 
 
 I remember when Coy owned the 
 place Robinson lives in, and after him 
 Bela Durkee, who lived there for a 
 long time. 
 
 The town line between Royalton and 
 Sharon was supposed to run through 
 the old Smith house, and they used to 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 37 
 
 say Smith was born in the side over 
 the Sharon line. There is no doubt 
 abcut that being the place where he 
 was born, for Eb. Dewey the elder, was 
 over fifty years old and Eb. Dewey the 
 younger, who died in 1871, was 16, and 
 they both always said that was the 
 
 place. 
 
 HARVEY SMITH. 
 
 Witness: JUNIUS F. WELLS. 
 FAVORABLE SENTIMENT. 
 
 The feeling of friendly interest shown 
 by the people I met at Royalton and 
 Sharon made the work there very 
 pleasant, and the comments of the lo- 
 cal newspapers and jof the Boston 
 Herald, which published a three-columu 
 writeup, manifested a kind and shrewd- 
 ly favorable disposition towards the 
 purchase and any improvement that 
 may be made upon the place. The pro- 
 prietors of the hotels at both towns, 
 the leading business men and public 
 spirited citizens generally are most 
 eagerly looking forward to the consum- 
 mation of the project outlined. They 
 readily recognize the propriety of a 
 prosperous community such as the Lat- 
 ter-day Saints have become, in doing 
 honor to the memory of the founder of 
 their faith. 
 
 Sharon village is an exceedingly pret- 
 ty summer resort on the banks of the 
 White river. It is visited by many res- 
 idents of New England cities, as indeed 
 are all the villages along this famously 
 interesting stream. It is not far to the 
 White mountain resorts in New Hamp- 
 shire, and to the most picturesque 
 mountain and lake summer homes of 
 Vermont. It is a delightful region in 
 which to spend a few weeks of the hoi. 
 season. In the early spring the tapping 
 of the maple trees, boiling the sap and 
 
 sugaring off draws hundreds of people 
 for a few days; who are again attracted 
 in the autumn by the abounding game. 
 More deer are taken during the 10 days 
 open season at the end of October, in 
 Sharon and neighboring towns than in 
 any other part of the state. 
 
 Being on the main line of the Central 
 Vermont railway, by which through 
 trains in connection with the Grand 
 Trunk system are run from Chicago to 
 Boston, it will be very convenient for 
 travelers from the west, especially 
 missionaries in going to and returning: 
 from foreign missions, to stop over and 
 spend a day or two at this place, which 
 will forever possess an interest for 
 them as the birthplace of one whom 
 they honor and revere. In the improve- 
 ments proposed some accommodation 
 will be provided for such visitors. 
 There is however, nothing in the exag- 
 erated dreams of some newspaper 
 specials to justify the thought of estab- 
 lishing there a holy shrine, or a "Mor- 
 mon" mecca, to which tens of thou- 
 sands will make the annual pilgrimage. 
 
 A proper respect for the memory 
 of a man whose life's work has led to 
 the establishment of a Church of sound 
 faith and a community of integrity 
 numbering three or four hundred thou- 
 sand living adherents, is reason enough 
 why, in the days of their prosperity, 
 they should seek to secure the place 
 where he was born, and to set up there 
 a monument and memorial that shall 
 testify to mankind of the love and 
 respect in which he is held. 
 
 It will so be received by the intelli- 
 gent people of the world; and it will be 
 a source of happiness to the followers 
 of Joseph Smith that they have done 
 this honor to his memory, as a Prophet 
 of God, in this hundredth anniversary 
 of his birth. 
 
South Royalton, Vermont, 
 
 Saturday Evening, December 23d, 1905. 
 
 At the close of the exercises at the 
 cottage in Sharon the party returned 
 to South Royalton where in the even- 
 ing services were held in Woodards' 
 Hall, and addresses were made by 
 the brethren as follows: 
 
 PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH. 
 
 It is not my intention to occupy very 
 much of the time this evening, as there 
 are a number of our brethren present 
 whom I would like to hear, and I am 
 sure you also would be pleased to hear 
 them; but I desire to express my pleas- 
 ure and satisfaction, after the experi- 
 ences of this day, at our visit to 
 Sharon and the services held at the 
 little cottage erected near the monu- 
 ment which has been reared in honor 
 and memory of one whom we, together 
 with many thousands of others, hold in 
 great reverence and respect. We honor 
 the name of Joseph Smith. There are 
 many in he world who know very lit- 
 tle about him, and who are prone to 
 accept the slanderous reports and mis- 
 representations that are circulated con- 
 cerning him, and thereby are sadly mis- 
 led with reference to his true character 
 and mission, and the great work whose 
 foundations were laid through him. We 
 believe that he was instrumental in the 
 hands of the Lord of restoring to the 
 earth the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ the same Gospel that Christ and 
 His disciples preached in the meridian 
 of tJme, and the record of which is in 
 part handed down to us in the New 
 Testament. The New Testament is es- 
 pecially cherished and referred to by 
 all the Latter-day Saints in good stand- 
 ing. Wo also cherish the Old Testa- 
 
 ment. The Bible as accepted by every 
 Christian sect King James translation 
 is the Bible of the Church of Jesus 
 Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have 
 no other Bible. But in addition to the 
 Bible we have a book containing the 
 record of the ancient inhabitants of this 
 continent, written by servants of the 
 Lord on this continent under divine di- 
 rection, by the same spirit and for the 
 same purpose that the New Testament 
 was written by the disciples of Christ 
 on the eastern continent. It contains 
 the same Gospel and a description of 
 the same ordinances that the New Tes- 
 tament sets forth, only in plainer and 
 fuller terms. We have reason to be- 
 lieve that the Bible has been translat- 
 ed by uninspired men. They translated 
 it by their own wisdom, and gave in- 
 terpretations to some part of it which 
 hai mortized with their own peculiar 
 views and suited their own convictions, 
 which interpretations, we believe, are 
 not strictly in accordance with the spirit 
 in which those instructions and prin- 
 ciples were laid down by the Savior and 
 His disciples. On the other hand, the 
 Book of Mormon was translated by the 
 rift and power of God, through the in- 
 strumentality of a young man; not by a 
 learned man, a man of letters, but by 
 an unlettered, unsophisticated, innocent 
 boy! And that unlettered, unsophisti- 
 cated, innocent boy was no other than 
 Joseph Smith. He had not the wisdom, 
 the intelligence nor the skill of him- 
 self to translate into the English lan- 
 guage the inscriptions upon the plates 
 that were hid away by the ancient in- 
 habitants of this continent. He never 
 claimed that he did translate those an- 
 cient characters by his own wisdom. 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 39 
 
 On the contrary, he maintained that he 
 did it by the gift and power of God un- 
 to him. According to the testimony of 
 the three witnesses, which you will find 
 in that book, the Lord declared by His 
 own voice that it "was translated by 
 the gift and power of God," and they 
 were commanded to bear record of it. 
 There may be typographical errors in 
 the book, as there are in most *>ooks; 
 but those are not defects of the book :t- 
 self, nor are they defects of the inspira- 
 tion of the translator; they are the de- 
 fects of men. And these imperfections 
 do not affect the truths contained in the 
 book. Therefore, we claim that the 
 doctrines of Christ, which He pro- 
 claimed to the inhabitants of this con- 
 tinent after His resurrection from the 
 dead, and which are recorded in the 
 Book of Mormon, are more clear, more 
 perfect, more simple, and more easily 
 comprehended than the same doctrines 
 as they are laid down, in many in- 
 stances, in the New Testament. The 
 Book of Mormon we do not claim to be 
 the Bible, nor to take the place of the 
 Bible. It is simply a history of God's 
 dealings with another people,, as the 
 Bible is a history of God's dealings with 
 the children of Israel among whom 
 Jesus and His disciples labored while in 
 the world. In the Book of Mormon the 
 ordinances of the Gospel are explained 
 in the greatest possible simplicity. Tak? 
 the principle of baptism, for example, 
 as set forth in the Book of Mormon. 
 There is no possible chance for a va- 
 riety of opinion in relation to that or- 
 dinance. The Book of Mormon explains 
 it perfectly. It is to be done by im- 
 mtersion, the candidate being buried 
 with Christ in baptism, and coming up 
 out of the liquid grave to a newness of 
 life. There is no mistaking the meaning 
 of that, and no possibility of any di- 
 vision of sentiment with reference to 
 that one principle. But in the New Tes- 
 tament this principle is set forth in such 
 a way that it has given rise to a va- 
 riety of opinions among men, and there 
 is a difference of views among believ- 
 ers in the Bible as to the principle of 
 baptism, arising from the fact that it is 
 not stated so clearly and simply as it is 
 in the Book of Mormon. The Book of 
 
 Mormon teaches faith in God and in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. It teaches repent- 
 ance of sin, baptism for the remission 
 of sin, the laying on of hands for the 
 redeption of the Holy Ghost, and the 
 resurrection of the dead. It teaches 
 faithful devotion to those principles 
 which are right, honorable, just and 
 true, and which are in every respect 
 calculated to exalt mankind, to lead 
 them nearer unto the Lord, and to make 
 them become like unto Him. 
 
 In addition to the Bible and the Book 
 of Mormon, we have the revelations 
 given to the Prophet Joseph Smitn, 
 compiled in a book. It does not contain 
 all of the revelations, but a large num- 
 ber of them, and in them we have many 
 precious, glorious and exalted principles 
 revealed, which were new to the world. 
 For instance, when Joseph Smith came 
 upon this sphere of action ,the Chris- 
 tian world believed it was necessary to 
 baptize infants, and that if they died 
 without baptism they would go di- 
 rectly to the bottomless pit. I have 
 heard, in the course of my life, min- 
 isters teach the doctrine that there 
 were little children weltering in the 
 flames of hell. The doctrine was also 
 taught then and I fear it is today to 
 a great extent that the murderer, if 
 he will only confess the name of 
 Christ, will be saved; that his mere 
 expression of belief in Jesus is suffi- 
 cient to warrant him a passport di- 
 rectly 'into the bosom of Abraham. 
 Joseph Smith exploded these foolish 
 notions, and taught the doctrine that 
 little children were redeemed by the 
 blood of Christ from before the founda- 
 tion of the world; that they were in- 
 nocent, and would not be punished, be- 
 cause they could not be held account- 
 able for the deeds done in the flesh. 
 Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that 
 all men would be judged according to 
 their works, and that they would be 
 rewarded or condemned according to 
 their own conduct, and not for the sin 
 of their forefathers. If they did wick- 
 edly, they would be condemned for 
 their wickedness; if they did righteous- 
 ly, they would be rewarded according- 
 ly. 
 
40 
 
 DEDICATION OP 
 
 These are doctrines that were enun- 
 ciated by the Prophet Joseph Smith 
 in the days of his youth. One of 
 the most glorious principles revealed 
 by Joseph Smith was the redemption 
 of our dead. It was new to the world* 
 then, and is known very little now; 
 for it seems almost impossible to per- 
 suade even honest men and women that 
 this is one of the most important doc- 
 trines that can affect the welfare of 
 the human family. This doctrine was 
 revealed in fulfillment of the predic- 
 tions of ancient prophets, {that the 
 hearts of the fathers should be turned 
 to the children, and the hearts of the 
 children to the fathers. It was ab- 
 solutely necessary that the hearts of 
 the children should be turned unto their 
 fathers; for they cannot be made per- 
 fect without us, and we can never 
 be made perfect or be completely hap- 
 py without them. The Prophet Jo- 
 seph Smith enunciated the doctrine of 
 love between parents and children, be- 
 tween husbands and wives, between 
 brothers and sisters. He has taught 
 us that these principles are essential 
 to progress in this life and exaltation 
 in the life to come. He has shown 
 to us that it is necessary that those 
 who have died without a knowledge 
 of the Gospel must be judged accord- 
 ing to those principles of justice which 
 apply to men in the flesh. If they 
 have died without a knowledge of the 
 law, they cannot be judged by the law, 
 but must be judged as those that have 
 not received law. Therefore, those 
 ordinances that have to be rjerformed 
 for the living in order to prepare them 
 to become heirs of God and joint heirs 
 with Jesus Christ, must also be per- 
 formed for those that are dead, in 
 order that they, too, may be judged in 
 the same way. And it is ffiven unto 
 the living to act vicariously for those of 
 their kindred and loved ones who have 
 passed behind the veil without the 
 knowledge of the Gospel. Thus by 
 obedience to the laws and ordinances 
 of the Gospel on the part of the chil- 
 dren the fathers and mothers and kind- 
 red who have died without a knowledge 
 of the Gospel may be brought to a 
 
 knowledge of it, that they may be 
 judged according to men in the flesh 
 and live according to God in the spirit, 
 inasmuch as all men are required to be 
 baptized for the remission of sin, it is 
 necessary for the living to be baptized 
 for the dead. Little children are not 
 responsible for sin, because they are 
 not of accountable age. Joseph Smith 
 taught that children should be bap- 
 tized when they reach the age of ac- 
 countability before God, when they 
 can understand right from wrong, and 
 when they can comprehend principle. 
 Not until then are children responsible 
 before the Lord. From that time on, 
 however, they are held responsible.and 
 they will have to account for the deeds 
 done in the flesh. 
 
 These are some of the basic princi- 
 ples of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that 
 have been revealed anew to the world 
 through the instrumentality of Joseph 
 Smith. For my part, this principle of 
 the redemption of the dead is one of 
 the most glorious of the Gospel. What 
 enjoyment could I have in the king- 
 dom of God if I knew that my father, 
 my mother, my brothers, or my sisters, 
 were cast out forever from the presence 
 of God, weltering in darkness, and 
 gnashing their teeth in sorrow and 
 anguish? Should not the parents have 
 affection for their children?- Should not 
 husbands hiave affection for their 
 wives, and wives for their husbands? 
 Should they not be united together by 
 the authority and power of God, that 
 they may be bound together for time 
 and for eternity? This was another 
 great principle that Joseph Smith 
 made known. He taught that hus- 
 bands and wives, in order that they 
 might be together in the world to 
 come, would haye to be sealed together 
 by the power of God, and not by the 
 power 'of man. And in this connection, 
 the Almighty, through Joseph Smith, 
 restored the holy Priesthood, which is 
 nothing more nor less than the au- 
 thority of God given unto man, by 
 which man can act in the name of the 
 Father and of the Son and of the 
 Holy Ghost. Joseph Smith taught us 
 also that children born of parents 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 41 
 
 who had not been thus sealed would 
 have to be adopted and sealed unto 
 their parents in order to come under the 
 bond of the new and everlasting cove- 
 nant and inherit the rights and privi- 
 leges pertaining thereto. 
 
 There are many other principles that 
 were made known through Joseph 
 Smith, but I do not desire to take 
 time to refer to more. I felt like 
 saying this much in reference to the 
 mission and the divine principles re- 
 vealed through the instrumentality of 
 the man in whose memory we have 
 this day dedicated a monument on 
 the place of his birth. We honor, love 
 and respect him as a man of God. We 
 know that he was innocent of any 
 crime. We know he was pure, hon- 
 est and upright' in his life, and that 
 his testimony was sealed with his 
 blood. In other words, he became a 
 martyr for the truth which the Lord 
 revealed to the world through him. 
 
 I would say further to our friends 
 who are not of our faith those who 
 have been friendly to the enterprise 
 that has been completed here by one 
 of our brethren that while we honor 
 this man, revere his memory, and 
 cherish him as a revelator, a seer, a 
 servant of the Lord, gifted of God 
 to perform the mission he did, we do 
 not expect other men to hold him in 
 the same reverence as we do, unless by 
 studying his life and mission they 
 honestly and sincerely become con- 
 vinced of the truth of his divine call- 
 ing. We never urge any man or wo- 
 man to become a member of the Church 
 of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 
 , We simply offer the Gospel. We state 
 our faith and hope to the world, and 
 leave it with mankind to receive or 
 reject it, according to their pleasure. 
 No man or woman has ever been forced 
 into the Church of Jesus Christ of 
 Latter-day Saints. No man or wo- 
 man has ever been held in it who 
 desired to be separated from it. Among 
 the Latter-day Saints all men have 
 their freedom, no matter where they 
 live or what their conditions may be 
 To me it is very strange indeed that 
 there should be so much extreme ill 
 
 feeling manifested by the world 
 against Joseph Smith. He wronged no 
 man. I am a witness of that, for I 
 know his life. I have seen him in the 
 flesh, and I have read of his sayings. 
 I have read the revelations that the 
 Lord gave to him. I am familiar with 
 his work, and I know that he never 
 wronged a living soul. He did not in- 
 jure his fellowmen, but he did much 
 to exalt them. And yet, the strange 
 part of it is that people who are ab- 
 solutely ignorant of him should enter- 
 tain the most bitter, vindictive and 
 wicked feelings towards him that it is 
 possible for men to feel. I ask myself, 
 Why is this? Men do not feel that way, 
 as a rule, towards impostors, or to 
 the promoters of new, man-made 
 religious organizations. But, strange 
 to say, they nearly always become 
 enraged when the name of the Prophet 
 Joseph Smith is mentioned! While, 
 however, this is strange from a natural 
 standpoint, it is only in accordance 
 with the promise given to him in the 
 beginning by one of the heavenly mes- 
 sengers sent to instruct him. He told 
 him that his name should be had for 
 good and for evix throughout the 
 world; and when this promise was giv- 
 en he was nothing but an obscure boy. 
 That statement was made public in 
 that early day, when it was not possi- 
 ble, according to human reasoning, for 
 a boy so obscure and insignificant to 
 ever become so widely known that his 
 name should be had for good and for 
 evil throughout the world. And yet we 
 have seen that prediction fulfilled to 
 the very letter. In every land where 
 this Gospel has been preached, and it 
 has been preached in nearly every na- 
 tion the name of Joseph Smith has 
 been held by those who have re- 
 ceived his testimony in the greatest 
 honor and love, while those who have 
 rejected his testimony have held it in 
 the highest possible contempt. 
 
 I want to express my pleasure and 
 my gratitude to the people of this lo- 
 calitythe birthplace of my ancestors 
 where many noble men have had their 
 birth; but providence has pushed them 
 out from the hills of Vermont into the 
 
42 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 broad world and made them renowned 
 because of the work they were chosen 
 to do. We cannot forget that they had 
 their origin in the hills of Vermont. 
 Such men as Joseph Smith and his 
 brothers, Brigham Young and his 
 brothers, and many others that I might 
 name, who were born in this and neigh- 
 boring states, and who have become re- 
 nowned and prominent in their callings 
 in connection with "Mormonism." 
 
 Let me say to my frieds here tonight, 
 that the foundation of the work laid by 
 the Prophet Joseph Smith was laid in 
 eternal truth. It cannot be overthrown. 
 It is like the house built on the rock. 
 The storms may beat upon it, the rains 
 may descend, the tempests may come, 
 the hearts of men may be stirred up to 
 anger and to persecution against it; 
 but it is as firm as the everlasting hills, 
 because it is built upon the truth. 
 Honesty, virtue, purity of life, faith in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ and in His resur- 
 rection, obedience to the command- 
 ments of God, are cardinal principles 
 of our belief. We know that the doc- 
 trine is true. We know that as in 
 Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be 
 made alive. We believe in the doctrine 
 of the resurrection. It is taught in the 
 Book of Mormon with such plainness 
 and force that it is impossible for those 
 who believe in the book to doubt. The 
 object of "Mormonism" is to benefit 
 mankind. Obedience to it makes good 
 men better, and bad men good. No 
 man dare continue in wrongdoing and 
 still claim membership in the Church 
 of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 
 That is one of the distinctive features 
 of our people, and of this work. 
 
 To my brethren and sisters here I 
 say, the Lord bless you. You who are 
 studying various branches of education 
 and preparing yourselves for your 
 chosen professions, the Lord bless you 
 and help you to honor the calling to 
 which you have been called, and to be 
 true and faithful to the doctrine you 
 have espoused. Do unto others as you 
 would have others do unto you. Keep 
 yourselves pure and unspotted from 
 the world. Do not lose your faith; let 
 it be ever strong and clear in your 
 
 minds that God has spoken from the 
 heavens. We have embraced that doc- 
 trine, and we have been benefited by 
 its reception, and we know it. Let us 
 build thereon our hopes and establish 
 ourselves for time and for all eternity. 
 May God bless this congregation. May 
 ' He bless you, my friends, my broth- 
 ers, my sisters you who have decreed 
 in your hearts to serve the Lord and 
 to do right from this time henceforth 
 and forever, and make you equal to 
 every emergency in your life and to 
 every duty and responsibility that rests 
 upon you. This is my prayer for you, 
 one and all, in the name of Jesus 
 Christ. Amen. 
 
 PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND. 
 
 It affords me much pleasure to be 
 present on this occasion and to have 
 beheld what we have seen today. I 
 rejoice in the fact that a monument 
 has been erected to the memory of one 
 whom we, as Latter-day Saints, revere 
 so much. If the anniversary of his 
 birth had been in the summer time, 
 a great many, no doubt, would have 
 come here to take part in the dedica- 
 tion of the monument; but as it is in 
 midwinter we did not encourage many 
 to come, fearing it would be so cold. 
 I was pleased to see so many of our 
 friends present at the dedication from 
 this neighborhood; it showed interest 
 on their part. While they do not be- 
 lieve with us in the divinity of the mis- 
 sion of Joseph Smith, still it is evident, 
 from what I have heard them express, 
 that they respect our belief. The re- 
 marks of Dr. Pish showed that he took 
 an unbiased view of the situation, and 
 I believe that the people here general- 
 ly are tolerant and broadminded 
 enough to respect the beliefs and feel- 
 ings of others. As you have heard, we 
 believe him to be a prophet of God, 
 and we are pleased to see you respect 
 us in this. And now we leave that 
 monument in your midst, with the 
 hope that you will feel it is placed 
 there in trust. Many will come here 
 to see it, and even as a financial mat- 
 ter it will be a benefit to this place. I 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 43' 
 
 hope to see the hill made into a nice 
 park. The cottage there will hold 
 quite a number, and others may be 
 built, so that it can be a pleasant re- 
 sort in summer time. 
 
 I have said that we believe Joseph 
 Smith to be a prophet of God. The 
 Lord has given me a testimony for 
 myself that he was a true prophet, 
 raised up to introduce this great work. 
 Here let me say that the work in 
 which we are engaged is the prepara- 
 tory work for the second coming of 
 Christ. We believe that that event is 
 near at hand, and that before He 
 comes many great events are to take 
 place upon the earth. Joseph Smith's 
 mission was to introduce the work 
 necessary to prepare mankind for the 
 coming of Christ. This is the mission 
 that the Latter-day Saints are engaged 
 in. Not only have we a testimony in 
 regard to the Prophet Joseph, but the 
 Scriptures also bear record of him. 
 There are many evidences that speak 
 for the truth of what he said. The 
 first hymn that was sung here tonight 
 relates in beautiful words his first 
 vision. He was then 14 years of 
 age. Three years after that he re- 
 ceived his second vision. The Angel 
 Moroni visited him three times in one 
 night, told him of the records that 
 were hid in a hill in New York state, 
 and explained the Scriptures to him. 
 One passege of Scripture that the 
 young boy was instructed in by the 
 angel is to be found in the last chap- 
 ter of Malachi. It reads: 
 
 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the 
 prophet before the coming of the great 
 and dreadful day of the Lord: 
 
 "And he shall turn the heart of the 
 fathers to the children, and the heart 
 of the children to their fathers, lest I 
 come and smite the earth with a 
 curse." 
 
 The angel quoted these verses to the 
 young boy, and instructed him in that 
 grand principle of redemption for the 
 dead. Infidels have often brought up 
 the argument against the justice of 
 God, that if the Gospel was the only 
 means to save man, then those who 
 died without hearing the Gospel could 
 
 not be saved, according to the doc- 
 trine taught by the world that there 
 was no salvation after death, and God 
 would be an unjust being to judge men 
 for not accepting what they never 
 heard. Now, the Prophet Joseph 
 taught that we are all the children of 
 God; that He loves His children, and 
 desires the salvation of all; that the 
 Gospel is broad enough to save all, 
 and that those who have not heard it 
 in the flesh will have the opportunity 
 to hear it in the spirit. Peter under- 
 stood this. He tells about the Savior 
 going to preach to the spirits in prison, 
 while His body lay in the tomb. He 
 even explains what spirits they were. 
 They had heard the Gospel preached 
 by Noah, but had rejected it, and had 
 been cast into prison. Another op- 
 portunity was given them in the spirit. 
 But some theologians affirm that He 
 simply went to show them what they 
 had lost, and thereby increase their 
 torment. Not so; that was not the 
 mission of Christ. He came to save. 
 As Isiah says concerning Him, He 
 opened the prison doors and led captiv- 
 ity captive. He preached unto those 
 spirits, and opened their prison doors. 
 No doubt, by that time they were glad 
 indeed to receive His message. 
 
 This glorious principle of salvation 
 for the dead was revealed through 
 Joseph Smith, and we look upon it as 
 one of the greatest principles of the 
 Gospel. Joseph Smith's teachings 
 were not simply a repetition of the 
 teachings of others. He did not make 
 up a system of religion out of existing 
 ones. What he taught, he said, was 
 not his own; it was given to him by 
 revelation from God. Examine "Mor- 
 monism," and you will find that it is 
 not patchwork; it is not a compound 
 of other systems. It is the pure Gospel, 
 of Christ, exactly the same as He and 
 His disciples preached in former days. 
 Joseph Smith taught nothing that was 
 contrary to the Scripturese. He did, 
 however, make some things plainer 
 to the understanding of men. For in- 
 stance, take the principle that I have 
 alluded to salvation for the dead. 
 Paul speaks of this in his epistle to the 
 
44 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 Corinthians. He asks: "What shall 
 they do which are baptized for the 
 dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why 
 are they then baptized for the dead?" 
 Whenever I attended a funeral in 
 England the preacher would repeat 
 these words. Who understood their 
 meaning? Who knew anything about 
 being baptized for the dead? Joseph 
 taught that people who pass away 
 without a knowledge of the Gospel will 
 be preached to in the spirit world, and 
 that all will have the opportunity of 
 hearing the Gospel, either in this life 
 or in the life to come. 
 
 One of the laws of the Gospel is that 
 a man must be born again before he 
 can enter into the kingdom of God. In 
 other words, baptism is essential to sal- 
 vation. Men must be born of the water 
 and of the Spirit. Some might object 
 that baptism was too mechanical a 
 thing to be essential. But it is the 
 obedience that makes baptism so po- 
 tential. If a man should be baptized 
 arid have no faith, it would not avail 
 him anything. He must first have faith 
 in God, and His Son Jesus Christ, and 
 in the Holy Ghost. He must sincerely 
 repent of his sins, and resolve to do bef- 
 ter. Then he is in a condition to ob- 
 serve the third principle of the Gospel- 
 baptism. We believe that baptism is 
 for the remission of sins, just as Peter 
 did on the day of Pentecost; but faith 
 and repentance must come before it, 
 and then baptism will bring the remis- 
 sion of sin and an entrance into the 
 kingdom of God. I know the world say 
 that baptism is only an outward sign 
 of an inward grace; but it is more than 
 that it is a law of God, laid down as 
 essential to salvation and an entrance 
 into the kingdom of God. "Except a 
 man be born of water and of the Spirit, 
 he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
 God." And this applies to the whole 
 human family. Everyone that shall 
 enter into the kingdom of God must obey 
 that ordinance. But what of the myri- 
 ads who have lived and passed away 
 without having had an opportunity of 
 being baptized. The plan of salvation 
 as taught by Joseph Smith provides for 
 them. In the spirit world they can be- 
 
 lieve and repent, and then the hearts of 
 the fathers behind the veil will be 
 turned to the children upon this earth, 
 and the hearts of the children will be 
 turned to their fathers, and they will be 
 baptized for them. But, you may say, 
 how can so few people perform this or- 
 dinance for so many mfllions? Why, 
 we aro just beginning the work. 
 Throughout the Millennium, when Christ 
 shall reign upon the earth, His follow- 
 ers, we believe, will be engaged in this 
 glorious work of performing ordinances 
 for those who are dead. 
 
 The angel Moroni instructed Joseph 
 upon this principle when he visited him 
 that night. Before I close I will allude 
 to another principle that he instructed 
 him in, namely, that of gathering. The 
 principle of salvation for the dead was 
 not taught by any of the denomina- 
 tions: it. was revealed anew through 
 Joseph Smith. Gathering was another 
 principle that was revealed, and that 
 was unknown in that day. You can 
 read in the Doctrine and Covenants 
 where the Lord, fourteen months before 
 the Church was organized, tells the 
 Prophet that He was going to gather 
 the people. In several revelations re- 
 ceived the first and second years after 
 the organization, He tells him that He 
 would gather them from all the nations, 
 that He would establish a Zion, and 
 that He would make the desert to blos- 
 som as the rose. All these things were 
 told years before they commenced to be 
 fulfilled. Before the gathering from 
 other rations started this revelation 
 had been printed and given to the world 
 for eight years. This principle of gath- 
 ering followed the preaching of the Gos- 
 pel trom the beginning. Those who em- 
 braced the Gospel wanted to be where 
 the Churr-h was, that they might learn 
 more of the ways of the Lord. When 
 the angel instructed Joseph in reference 
 to this principle he referred to the llth 
 chapter of Isaiah, which reads as fol- 
 I(AVS: "And it shall come to pass in 
 that das r , that the Lord shall set his 
 hand again the second time to recover 
 toe remnynt of his people," etc. Read 
 this chapter, and you will see that it 
 refers to the doctrine of the gathering. 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 45 
 
 This was told tc Joseph seven years be- 
 fore the Church was organized. A mere 
 boy then, he could not think for a mo- 
 ment that he would be able to gather 
 people from all nations; but it was re- 
 vealed unto him, and we have wit- 
 nessed its fulfillment. Missionaries have 
 been sent to different nations of the 
 earth, and as soon as the Gospel is re- 
 ceived by men, without a word being 1 
 said in relation to gathering, the spirit 
 of gathering comes upon them, and 
 they are filled with an irrepressible de- 
 sire to leave the lands of their birth and 
 gather with the saints. 
 
 These two principles certainly were not 
 taken from any other religion then up- 
 on the earth. They were original, so I'ar 
 as the knowledge of men was con- 
 cerned; and yet we find prophecies in 
 the scriptures concerning these things. 
 Compare the doctrines taught by Joseph 
 Smith with those taught by the former- 
 day Apostles, and you cannot show 
 where they are inconsistent in any par- 
 ticular. It might be said that a man 
 could study the New Testament and 
 formulate a system and establish a 
 church just as given in that book. But 
 would that be a saving church? No, be- 
 cause the man would have no authority. 
 Howevery faithfully he might imitate 
 the former-day church, if it were man's 
 work it would not have saving power 
 within it. The sculptor might carve a 
 piece of marble and make it look almost 
 as real as a living man, but however 
 lifelike it might be it would lack the 
 spirit, the life. So if ayone should imi- 
 tate the church established formerly, by 
 his own wisdom, it would be lifeless, 
 without spirit. Therefore, to have a 
 church merely in the likeness of the 
 church established by Christ would not 
 be proof of its truth; and any church 
 that pretends to be the Church of 
 Christ, if it differs from the church that 
 Christ and His Apostles built up, you 
 may set it down that that is not the 
 Church of Christ; for the Apostle Paul 
 said that if anyone should preach a dif- 
 ferent gospel to that which he had 
 preached, "let him be Accursed." The 
 Gospel must not be changed, because 
 the author of it is God Himself, and 
 
 man cannot improve upon His work. 
 The Gospel as taught by the Apostles 
 formerly was given to them by the Sav- 
 ior; and as they preached it, so it should 
 have continued through the ages. But 
 you compare the teachings of Christen- 
 dom today with the scriptures, and how 
 different they are! Instead of saying 
 that men shall believe and then be 
 baptized, they are baptized first 
 and taught to believe afterwards. In- 
 stead of laying on hands for the Holy 
 Ghost, they declare it unnecessary. In- 
 stead of saying that signs shall follow 
 those who believe, they say signs are 
 no longer needed. Instead of seeking 
 communication with heavn, they say 
 that further revelation has ceased. 
 These things that were so essential in 
 the former day Church are declared to 
 be so no longer. Paul said that there 
 should come a time when anti-Christ 
 would rise up, "who opposeth and ex- 
 alteth himself above all that is called 
 God, or that is worshiped; so that he 
 as God sitteth in the temple of God, 
 showing himself that he is God." We 
 believe that this has taken place, and 
 that there have been centuries of spir- 
 itual darkness upon the earth. But 
 John the Revelator saw the time when 
 an angel should fly in the midst of 
 heaven, having the everlasting gospel 
 to preach unto every nation, kindred, 
 tongue and people. We bear witness 
 unto you, my friends, that that angel 
 has flown and restored the Gospel to 
 the earth. It is not a new Gospel, but 
 "the everlasting gospel." It was re- 
 stored through the Prophet Joseph, 
 whose birthday we commemorate to- 
 day. And could there be a more ap- 
 propriate day for his birthday than the 
 23rd of December? He was to be a 
 Prophet that should bring the Gospel 
 light back into the world. Yesterday, 
 the 22nd, was the shortest day in the 
 year. Today, the 23rd, the days begin 
 to lengthen and the light of day to in- 
 crease. The coming of Joseph opened 
 a new dispensation. Light is increas- 
 ing, truth is spreading, and darkness 
 is being driven back. Many of the "di- 
 vines" of the day are preaching the 
 very truths given by the Prophet Jos- 
 
46 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 ph; but they do not give him the 
 credit. If you study "Mormonism" 
 with a prayerful heart and an unbias- 
 ed mind, you will be astonished to find 
 how much truth this unlearned boy 
 brought forth. Yet he became learned, 
 for he was studious, and the Lord was 
 with him and blessed him. 
 
 I rejoice to be with you today. I 
 am pleased that this monument has 
 been erected, and I hope that the 
 prayer which was uttered by President 
 Smith in the dedication of it may be 
 fulfilled, and that it may be preserv- 
 ed from all vandalism. God bless you 
 all. Amen. 
 
 ELDER CHARLES W. PENROSE. 
 
 Although it is unexpected to me to be, 
 called upon to speak this evening, I 
 take pleasure in endeavoring to make 
 a few remarks, but I shall not detain 
 you long. I have been very much in- 
 terested this evening, as I was during 
 the exercises of today, inf the speaking, 
 the singing, and everything that has 
 been done on this very pleasant day. 
 When I say pleasant, I do not allude to 
 the weather that was a little incle- 
 ment; but the associations of today, I 
 Relieve, will be stamped upon my soul 
 as long as I live. I believe too that 
 impressions have been made during our 
 visit here which will be profitable to 
 the people of this place who have taken 
 part with us in the proceedings. 
 
 I know that the principles which have 
 been touched upon here tonight are 
 true. They are not only scriptural, but 
 they are eternal. The purposes of the 
 Lord in regard to the children of men 
 were made known in ages gone by, but 
 they have to a large extent been lost 
 to the inhabitants of the earth, 
 through the traditions and doctrines 
 of men. In the latter days, however, as 
 the ancient prophets foresaw, God has 
 established His Church and Kingdom 
 upon the earth. It was to bring in the 
 great latter day work, "the dispensa- 
 tion of the fullness of times," the times 
 of restoration spoken of by all the 
 holy prophets since the world began," 
 that our Heavenly Father moved up- 
 on the boy Joseph Smith and sent an- 
 
 gels to him to make manifest the truths 
 that had been lost and forgotten, that 
 they might take the place of the ideas 
 and notions of men which had been in- 
 troduced through man's wisdom, or 
 folly, as the case may be. 
 
 In addition to the truths that have 
 been alluded to this evening, which are 
 only the beginnings of the doctrine of 
 the Lord revealed in the latter days, 
 our Heavenly Father also bestowed 
 upon the Propret Joseph Smith that 
 divine authority which had been lost 
 to the world for centuries. You who 
 are readers of the Bible, particularly 
 the New Testament, will recall the 
 fact that our avior, when He was 
 upon the earth in the flesh, called 
 twelve men to be His apostles, and He 
 sent them out to preach, to teach, to 
 expound the principles of thel king- 
 dom of heaven, to heal the sick, to 
 comfort those who mourned, to cause 
 peace to dwell in *the habitations of 
 those wlio entertained them, and to 
 proclaim the doctrine that the king- 
 dom of heaven was at hand. He also 
 called seventy others, and sent them 
 in a similar way. They went out and 
 performed the mission that was en- 
 trusted to them. They did not preach 
 for hire, they did not divide for money; 
 but they went without purse or scrip. 
 "Provide neither brass nor gold, nor 
 silver in your purses, nor scrip for your 
 journey, neither two coats, neither 
 shoes, nor yet staes," was His injunc- 
 tion to them when they went out to 
 preach the Gospel. They were not sent 
 to preach that they might gain ap- 
 plause of men; they were not to preach 
 their own ideas and notions; but they 
 were to proclaim His commandments, 
 which He had received from the Fa- 
 ther. He declared to them, "My 
 doctrine is not mine, but his that sent 
 me. If any man will do his will, he 
 shall know of the doctrine, whether it 
 be of God, or whether I speak of my- 
 self." After His resurrection He called 
 His apostles together. One of the 
 Twelve had forsaken the faith and 
 had betrayed the Son of God for thirty 
 pieces of silver; so there were but 
 eleven left. He said to them. 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 47 
 
 "Go ye into all the world and preach 
 the gospel to every creature. 
 
 He that believeth and is baptized 
 shall be saved; but he that believeth 
 not shall be damned. 
 
 "And these signs shall follow them 
 that believe: In my name shall they 
 cast out devils; they shall speak with 
 new tongues; 
 
 "They shall take up serpents; and if 
 they drink any deadly thing, it shall 
 not hurt them; they shall lay hands on 
 the sick, and they shall recover." 
 
 That is recorded in the last chapter 
 of the Gospel according to St. Mark. 
 Matthew relates the same circum- 
 stances in these words: 
 
 "Go ye therefore, and teach all na- 
 tions, baptizing them in the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost: 
 
 "Teaching them to observe all things 
 whatsoever I have commanded you: 
 and, lo, I am with you alway, even un- 
 to the end of the world." 
 
 This commission was given to those 
 .servants of the Lord by our Savior, and 
 He received His authority from the 
 Father. We are told by the Apostle 
 Paul that "Christ glorified not himself 
 to be made an high priest; but he that 
 said unto him, Thou art my Son, today 
 have I begotten thee. As he saith also 
 in another place, Thou art a priest for 
 ever after the order of Melchisedek." 
 God called Jesus Christ, and gave Him 
 His authority. He bestowed upon Him 
 the power He exercised while He was in 
 mortal flesh; and He conferred that 
 power upon His apostles. He said to 
 them, as recorded by John, "Ye have 
 not chosen me, but I have chosen you, 
 and sent you forth into the world." 
 
 The point I want to make clear to 
 your" minds is that these men who were 
 sent to preach the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ did not go out in their own au- 
 thority. They were not called by men. 
 They were not trained in the schools of 
 learning of the times. But they received 
 their authority from Christ, who re- 
 ceived it from the Father. And these 
 apostles were commanded to wait be- 
 fore they went on their divine mission 
 .to the world to wait until they were 
 
 endowed with power from on high. On 
 the day of Pentecost, referred to by 
 Presiden Lund, they were assembled 
 in one place with one accord, and tha 
 Holy Spirit was made manifest to them. 
 It came like the sound of a rushing 
 mighty wind, and filled the place, and 
 they commenced to speak in tongues, as 
 the Spirit gave them utterance. This 
 was in fulfillment of the promise of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ to them. These apos- 
 tles of our Savior went out to preach 
 the Gospel as they had been command- 
 ed, and they organized the Church of 
 Jesus Christ after the pattern He had 
 shown to them. That pattern ts ex- 
 plained to us by the Apostle Paul in 
 his first epistle to the Corinthians, 12th 
 chap. He says there that the Church of 
 Christ is like the body of a human be- 
 ing, composed of different parts, and 
 that every part is essential to the other 
 part; that the head cannot say to the 
 foot, I have no need of thee; and the 
 foot cannot say to the hand, I have no 
 need of thee; but all the parts of the 
 Church of Christ as it was established 
 in that age of the world were essential, 
 the same as in the human body every 
 organ and part is necessary to its per- 
 fect existence, and when each part per- 
 forms its proper function, then the 
 whole body is full of energy and life, 
 being imbued with the spirit that dwells 
 in the body. So in the Church of Christ; 
 the Spirit of God animates it, as the 
 spirit of man animates his body. 
 
 "And God hath set some in the church, 
 first apostles, secondarily prophets, 
 thirdly teachers, after that miracles, 
 then gifts of healinsrs, helps, govern- 
 ments, diversities of tongues." 
 
 We are told also in the same chapter 
 that there are diversities of gifts, but 
 the same Spirit. To one is given by the 
 Spirit, says the Apostle, the word of 
 wisdom; to another knowledge by the 
 same Spirit; to another faith, to an- 
 other the gi^t of healing, to another the 
 gift of discerning of spirits, to another 
 divers kinds of tongues, to another the 
 interpretation of tongues. "But all 
 these worketh that one and the selfsame 
 Spirit, dividing to every man severally 
 as "he will." These gifts were bestowed 
 
48 
 
 DEDICATION OF. 
 
 as the Spirit of the Lord willed, not as 
 man willed. They were given to the 
 members of the Church in fulfillment rf 
 the promise of Jesus Christ, that the 
 signs should follow those that believed. 
 
 As I have said, they built up tha 
 Church in the way they had been com- 
 manded. They did not preach for doc- 
 trines the commandments of men; 
 but they preached by the power 
 and gift and demonstration of the Holy 
 Ghost. They taught that which Christ 
 had taught them; they did not teach 
 their own doctrines, nor the command- 
 ments of men. Thus was the Church of 
 Jesus Christ built up in the regions 
 round about Jerusalem. 
 
 Now, these apostles, as you will read, 
 predicted that the time would come 
 when the people would turn away from 
 the faith; when they would "heap unto 
 themselves teachers, having itching 
 ears, who would turn them from the 
 truth, and be turned unto fables." The 
 apostles predicted that the time would 
 come when men would make merchan- 
 dise of the souls of men, preaching for 
 doctrine the commandments of men. So 
 we find that by the time John received 
 that great vision called the last revela- 
 tion, it being placed last in the Bible, 
 there were only seven churches that 
 seemed to be worthy of communication 
 from God; and you will find in the first 
 few chapters of John's Revelation the 
 Lord Denounced them, and said that ex- 
 cept they would repent He would re- 
 move them out of their place. 
 
 I hurry along because I do not want 
 to occupy much time, but I desire to 
 show you that the authority which 
 Christ gave to His apostles that divine 
 authority which He said should "bind 
 on earth and it should be bound in 
 heaven, and loose on earth and it should 
 be loosed in heaven" was lost from the 
 earth; for the time was when darkness 
 came in like a flood, and all nations par- 
 took of it. It is depicted in the book 
 of Revelation, where John saw a wom- 
 an sitting on a scarlet colored beast, 
 and she was full of names of blas- 
 phemy, and upon her forehead was 
 written an inscription which showed 
 that all nations were under her influ- 
 
 ence, and she held in her hand a golden 
 cup full of abominations and filthiness. 
 John saw in that vision that "all na- 
 tions were made drunk with the wine' 
 of the wrath of her fornication." So 
 darkness came upon all the nations of 
 the earth. In the same Revelation John 
 saw an angel coming to the earth to re- 
 store the Gospel. He writes: 
 
 "And I saw another angel fly in the 
 midst of heaven, having the everlast- 
 ing gospel to preach unto them that 
 dwell on the earth, and to every na- 
 tion, and kindred, and tongue, and 
 people, 
 
 "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, 
 and give glory to him; for the hour 
 of his judgment is come: and worship 
 him that made heaven, and earth, and 
 the sea, and the fountains of waters." 
 
 Mark the language of John: this an- 
 gel that he saw in the midst of heaven 
 brought the Gospel for EVERY na- 
 tion, and kindred, and tongue, and 
 people. What does it prove? It proves 
 that John foresaw a time when every 
 nation, kindred, tongue and people 
 upon the broad earth would be with- 
 out the everlasting Gospel in its ful- 
 ness and beauty, as Christ had preach- 
 ed it. You may trace the history of 
 nations from the time of the Apostles, 
 and you will find that darkness cov- 
 ered the earth. False doctrines were 
 preached. Men began to preach for 
 hire and divine for money, and to 
 make merchandise of the souls of men. 
 Darkness came and overspread the 
 earth, and gross darkness the people. 
 Then came reformers at different 
 times. Men were raised up to intro- 
 duce more light, to reform, existing 
 errors, and to prepare the world for 
 the time when the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ should be restored to the earth. 
 But the sects and denominations that 
 have been organized were the systems 
 of men. All contained some truth, and 
 seme error also; but they were estab- 
 lished by the wisdom of men, and not 
 by revelation from God; for they all 
 declared that revelation had ceased, 
 that the gifts and blessings which 
 Christ promised should follow the be- 
 liever were done away, and in the 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 49 
 
 place of that beautiful Church estab- 
 lished by Christ, likened to the perfect 
 body of a human being, we have had 
 all these discordant organizations that 
 men have set up. Christendom today 
 Is rent asunder with janglings and 
 quarrelings about doctrine and notions 
 introduced by men. 
 
 That was the condition of the world 
 at' the time the Lord raised up Joseph 
 Smith, about whom we have heard 
 tonight, and a monument to whom has 
 been reared on that hill. The Father 
 and the Son appeared to him in heav- 
 enly vision. Joseph went to pray to 
 the Lord, that he might find out which 
 of all these different sects was the true 
 church. The Father pointing to His 
 Son said, "This is my beloved Son: 
 hear Him." Joseph asked the Son in 
 regard to these different religions; and 
 he was told to go after none of them, 
 because they were preaching for doc- 
 trines the commandments of men, 
 and without authority from God. In 
 due time, after Joseph had been in- 
 structed by the angel Moroni, other 
 angels appeared to him to bring back 
 to earth the old authority that Christ 
 gave to His servants. The first person 
 that came with that authority was 
 John the Baptist, the forerunner of 
 Jesus Christ. He ordained Joseph 
 Smith and Oliver Cowdery to the 
 Priesthood and authority that he held, 
 which was the Lesser Priesthood, call- 
 ed the Priesthood after the order of 
 Aaron, which holds the right to bap- 
 tize for the remission of sins, but can- 
 not confer the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
 John the Baptist baptized our Savior; 
 that was as far as he could go. But 
 Jesus Christ gave to Peter, James and 
 John and the rest of the apostles the 
 authority, not only to baptize, but to 
 confer the Holy Ghost. Read the 
 Acts of the Apostles, and you will learn 
 that after people believed in Christ 
 and repented of their sins, and were 
 baptized by being immersed in the 
 water for the remission of sins, the 
 apostles of Christ laid their hands up- 
 on them, and the Holy Ghost came 
 upon them. In that first sermon 
 preached on the day of Pentecost the 
 
 promise was given to all people that if 
 they would repent, obey the Gospel of 
 Christ, and be baptized for the remis- 
 sion of sins, they should receive the 
 gift of the Holy Ghost, as the apostles 
 held it. Then after the Prophet Joseph 
 Smith received the authority to bap- 
 tize, Peter, James and John -upon 
 whom Christ conferred the authority 
 of the holy apostleship and to pre- 
 side in His Church came and min- 
 istered to the Prophet Joseph, and or- 
 dained him to the holy apostleship. 
 
 These points I wish to make 
 clear to your minds tonight, that 
 you may learn that the authority has 
 been restored to administer in the or- 
 dinances of the Gospel the power and 
 authority to administer in the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost; the power to administer 
 the ordinances of the Gospel on the 
 earth, and they shall be acknowledged 
 and recorded in the heavens. 
 
 The witness of the truth of this lies 
 in the fact that wherever this Gospel 
 is preached and people believe, repent, 
 are baptized for the remission of sins, 
 and the servants of God holding this 
 authority lay their hands upon them, 
 the Holy Ghost comes upon them. The 
 witness of Jesus, the Spirit which 
 bears witness of the things of God, 
 comes upon them, and they are taught 
 of God. They are baptized by one 
 Spirit into one body; the blessing of 
 the Lord is upon them, and the testi- 
 mony of Jesus, which is the spirit of 
 prophecy, is in their souls. The 
 Church of Christ has been built up 
 again under this authority after the 
 ancient pattern, with prophets, apos- 
 tles, pastors and teachers, "for the per- 
 fecting of the saints, for the work of 
 the ministry, for the edifying of the 
 body of Christ till we all come in the 
 unity of the faith and of the 
 knowledge of the Son of God." By 
 the power of that Holy Spirit God 
 bears witness in the souls of the chil- 
 dren of men everywhere, when they 
 receive the Gospel, that His servant 
 Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. 
 
 I have been privileged to preach this 
 Gospel in many lands, among many 
 
50 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 peoples, of different faiths and cus- . 
 toms and languages, and I bear my 
 testimony to you tonight before the 
 heavens and the earth, that wherever 
 honest hearts received this word and 
 obeyed this Gospel, the Eternal Father, 
 by the power of the Holy Spirit, has 
 borne witness to them that this work 
 is His. and that it is true. We bear 
 testimony that Joseph Smith was a 
 prophet of God, and people say some- 
 times, Why do you talk so much about 
 Josenh Smith? Why don't you talk 
 more about Jesus Christ? Well, peo- 
 ple generally profess to believe in 
 Jesus Christ; and there is this to be 
 understood, that if a man believes 
 Joseph Smith was a prophet of God 
 and bears testimony to that, then in 
 the very bearing of that testimony he 
 witnesses that Jesus is the Christ, the 
 Son of the Eternal Father; for Jo- 
 seph Smith preached Jesus Christ, and 
 if Joseph Smith is really and truly a 
 prophet of God, then the Father and 
 the Son appeared unto him. So when 
 we bear testimony that Joseph Smith 
 is a prophet of God, we also bear testi- 
 mony that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
 of the Eternal Father. 
 
 This is my testimony to you tonight. 
 I know there is a God. I know that 
 He hears and answers prayer. I know 
 that Jesus Christ, who was crucified on 
 Calvary, is the Son of God. I know 
 they appeared in heavenly vision to 
 Joseph Smith, and that he was raised 
 up in these latter times to usher in 
 that great, last dispensation, which 
 will bring to pass the restitution of all 
 things and prepare the way for the 
 second coming of the Son of Man. And 
 that day is near at hand. But when 
 He comes, it will not be as the babe of 
 Bethlehem, to be "despised and reject- 
 ed of men, a man of sorrows and ac- 
 quainted with grief." He will come in 
 the clouds of heaven, with power and. 
 great glory, to be admired of His 
 Saints, to take vengeance upon them 
 that know not God and obey not the 
 Gospel which has been restored, and 
 which will be preached to every na- 
 tion, kindred, tongue and people un- 
 der the whole heavens. 
 
 That authority which the Lord gave 
 
 to His apostles has ben restored and 
 is on the earth today, and will never be 
 taken away again. When this Church 
 of Jesus Christ was organized upon 
 the earth in this dispensation it was 
 for the last time. The truth that the 
 Lord has restored, He promsied in the 
 beginning, shall never be taken from 
 the earth again, but shall remain with 
 His people, with their children and 
 their children's children, and with 
 their seed, from henceforth and for- 
 ever, saith the Lord. This Gospel that 
 was brought forth through the 
 instrumentality of the Prophet 
 Joseph Smith will go forth to 
 every , land and clime; and the 
 Church will remain and abide, and 
 no power can overthrow it; not because 
 the men and women in it are so great 
 and mighty, for they desire to be hum- 
 ble and to receive truth wherever it 
 comes from, but because the power of 
 God is in it. I know this work is the 
 work of the Lord, and it will spread 
 forth and prevail among all the na- 
 tions of the earth. The honest, the 
 truthful, the good, the pure and the just 
 will come to it from every land and 
 clime, and the predictions of the 
 prophets concerning Zion will be really 
 and literally fulfilled. 
 
 Zion has gone up into the high moun- 
 tains. The nations of the earth are 
 turning toward her. Many people have 
 gone up into the mountains, as the 
 prophets of old declared they would, 
 where they could learn the ways of 
 the Lord and walk more perfectly in 
 His paths. Zion will arise and shine, 
 the glory of God will be seen upon her, 
 and kings will come to her light and 
 the Gentiles to the brightness of her 
 rising. The truth shall go forth and 
 radiate to every land and clime, and 
 the honest, pure and true will come to 
 the banner of the Lord and help to 
 build up the latter-day kingdom pre- 
 paratory to the coming of the Son of 
 Man. That coming is nigh at hand, 
 even at our doors; and the signs that 
 Christ gave of that coming are to be 
 seen in the world by those who will 
 open their eyes. Read the 24th chap- 
 ter of Matthew, and you will see that 
 those things which Christ predicted as 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 51 
 
 the signs of His coming are taking 
 place now in the world. One of these 
 signs is, "Then shall this Gospel of the 
 kingdom be preached in all the world 
 for a witness unto all nations, and then 
 shall the end come." That Gospel is 
 now being preached as a witness to the 
 nations of the earth the same Gospel 
 that Christ Himself preached; and all 
 people are called upon everywhere to 
 turn unto the Lord; to turn away from 
 their false creeds and notions, from 
 their false conceptions of Deity, and 
 worship Him that made heaven and 
 earth, the seas, and the fountains of 
 waters the Great Eternal Father, who> 
 made us in His .own image, and who 
 sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us, 
 and He was the express image of His 
 Father's person. Come unto me, saith 
 the Lord, and I will draw near unto 
 you. Repent of your sins, of your cor- 
 ruptions and your wickedness, and 
 humble yourselves before me; go down 
 into the waters of baptism, and receive 
 remission of your sins, under the hands 
 of my servants whom I have sent forth, 
 and you shall receive the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost. The signs that follow the 
 believer and every blessing that per- 
 tains to the Gospel, you shall enjoy, if 
 you will seek unto me, saith the Lord, 
 with full purpose of heart. 
 
 I bear my testimony to you tonight, 
 solemnly and in the name of the Lord 
 (I may never again see you who dwell 
 here), that this Gospel is true, that it 
 has come down out of heaven, and that 
 the authority to preach it and admin- 
 ister in it has come down out of heaven, 
 and it has come here to stay and abide 
 until the whole earth shall hear the 
 sound of the Gospel, and the honest and 
 upright be gathered into the fold o 
 Christ. I bear testimony to you that 
 the things spoken tonight by my breth- 
 ren are true the very truths of heaven. 
 May the peace and blessings of God 
 be with you. My brethren and sisters, 
 go back to your several fields of labor 
 and be strengthened and comforted by 
 the proceedings of this day. Peace be 
 in your hearts; the blessings of God 
 surround you. Keep yourselves un- 
 spotted from the world. Bear testi- 
 mony to the truth, and make yourselves 
 
 a living testimony of the truth of the 
 Gospel you have embraced. You people 
 who dwell in this town, may the bless- 
 ings of the Lord be upon you. May 
 you rejoice in the truth. May your 
 eyes be opened to perceive the truth. 
 I can ask no greater blessing for you 
 than that you should see the truth of 
 this great work which the Lord has 
 commenced in the earth. I pray the 
 Lord to bless you, to enlighten your 
 minds; and may He save us all in His 
 kingdom. I ask it in the name of Jesus 
 Christ. Amen. 
 
 ELDER JUNIUS F. WELLS. 
 
 I should not ,do myself justice if I 
 did not express in public, inasmuch as 
 I have the opportunity of doing so, my 
 thankfulness and gratitude to the peo- 
 ple of this village and the adjoining 
 ones for their treatment during the 
 time I have been engaged here in build- 
 ing the Joseph Smith Monument. I 
 have had nothing but kindness, good- 
 will, intelligent help and a willingness 
 to assist manifested towards me by th<% 
 people here. I have not felt that it 
 was my mission to attempt to proselyte, 
 to preach Mormonism, or in any man- 
 ner to disturb the conditions of the 
 minds of the people here. It was my 
 duty to accomplish the labor assigned 
 me; and I preferred to let the work of 
 my people bear its own testimony. 
 
 You have listened tonight to some 
 testimonies from men who have had 
 experience in "Mormonism," who are 
 men of character, ability and high 
 standing in our community and 
 throughout the west, where they are 
 well known. I have th e same testi- 
 mony that they possess. There haa 
 never been one instant's doubt in my 
 mind concerning the propriety of mark- 
 ing the birthplace of the Prophet Jos- 
 eph Smith by a monument. Apart from 
 the conviction that h e was a Prophet 
 which comes through obedience to the 
 principles which he enunciated, thost 
 who have not this conviction can in a 
 measure, without any great violence 
 to their other convictions, find it in 
 their hearts to admit that Joseph 
 
52 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 Smith was a prophet. A man who fore- 
 tells something that comes true, and 
 that too of Importance to mankind, has 
 the right to be distinguished among 
 his fellows as a prophet. History ha 
 proved that Joseph Smith was & 
 prophet, because for seventy years his 
 testimony has been before our nation, 
 and the sixth generation of Latter-day 
 Saints Is growing up in that faith of 
 which he, under the Almighty, was the 
 founder. If I ever had the slightest 
 doubt that he was a prophet of God, a 
 man raised up to give mankind some- 
 thing better, something looking more 
 clearly and certainly to their soul's 
 salvation than they possessed, all my 
 doubts would have been removed by 
 the labor of the past four or flv<% 
 months in your midst. Upon that hill 
 of Sharon I have realized the Spirit, 
 in perfect harmony with the teachings 
 I have received all the days of my life. 
 I have been wonderfully blessed, as 
 you all can bear witness who know 
 anything of the work that has neces- 
 sarily been required to erect that mon- 
 ument. I have been favored some- 
 times almost to the point of direct in- 
 terposition of providence. The elements 
 have been made propitious; conditions 
 that seemed adverse have been remov- 
 ed; obstacles that appeared insuper- 
 able have either been overcome or 
 turned out not to be serious. 
 
 When I examined the records to see 
 what kind of title and what testimony 
 could be secured concerning the iden- 
 tity of the place, I incidentally found out 
 the character of the people, not only of 
 Joseph Smith's family and ancestors, 
 but of their neighbors. The records 
 right here prove to any fairminded, 
 candid and honest investigator that 
 there was no fraud, no humbug in the 
 claim that Joseph Smith set up. His 
 predictions have been concerning the 
 salvation of mankind, and also relative 
 to affairs that might be considered by 
 some outside of the question of salva- 
 tion. Joseph gmith announced to the 
 world, after he received his first vision, 
 that the heavenly personages who ap- 
 peared to him, called him . by name 
 and gave him instruction, and 
 
 that thereafter angels visited him. 
 He was told by them that his name 
 should be known for good and evil 
 among all the nations of the earth. 
 That was a prophecy. Now, if you can- 
 not conceive of the visitation of an- 
 gels in our time (though it Is not un- 
 reasonable that angels should visit 
 mankind in our day If they ever did, 
 and those who believe in the Bible 
 must recognize the fact that angels 
 visited men in times past), you must 
 admit that the prophecy has been ful- 
 filled. Take up the names of 
 men of renown; think of the most 
 distinguished, either of our own coun- 
 try or of other countries, and can you 
 recall one whose name is so univer- 
 sally spoken of for good or evil as the 
 name of Joseph Smith? And the prob- 
 abilities are that from this day forth, 
 his name will be spoken of more widely 
 than ever before, because there is no 
 press or telegraphic connection with 
 the world to which the announcement 
 of this day's event has not been made. 
 How comes this? He must have been 
 a prophet, he must have had the in- 
 spiration of God, to have foretold so 
 truly that which we are living witness- 
 es of today. 
 
 I wish to bear my testimony that we 
 have built this monument because we 
 know that Joseph Smith was a proph- 
 et. Do I know it? Not from reading 
 history or making- comparisons such as 
 I have alluded to, but from the same 
 source that my brethren have received 
 the conviction which satisfies their 
 souls and removes every atom 01 
 doubt. Do I know that the institution 
 in which I was reared, the principles 
 you have heard enunciated, the doc- 
 trines known as "Mormonism," are in- 
 deed the truth? I most assuredly do; 
 and they fill my heart with perfect 
 satisfaction. To those who will be- 
 lieve we promise that there shall not 
 remain a lurking doubt as to their hope 
 and conviction of the future, but their 
 souls shall be satisfied. With us the 
 questions, as to why we are here, who 
 we are, and what is our future, are 
 solved, and doubt is removed. I do not 
 wish for anything better than that in 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 53 
 
 the way of religion. That is what we as handshaking followed and copies of the 
 
 Latter-day Saints hold out to mankind Christmas "News," the "Improvement 
 
 if they will receive it. With those who Era," and other literature published by 
 
 cannot see it we have no controversy. the Latter-day Saints were distributed 
 
 Mv heart is full of gratitude, praise among the people. 
 
 and thanksgiving. I know that my After the close of t he meeting Presi- 
 
 Redeemer lives, and I know that Jo- dent McQuarrie and company left for 
 
 seph Smith was a prophet of the living Boston on the midnight train, and early 
 
 God. the following morning, Sunday 24th, 
 
 the Memorial party departed for thf 
 
 During the services beautiful solos game place where they arrived late ln 
 
 were rendered by Brother Robert C. the forenoon and repaired to the Parker 
 
 Easton and Sisters Emma Lucy Gates Houge for re f re shments and change of 
 
 and Ellen Thomas; Cecil Gates accom- ra iment 
 panying them on the piano. A general 
 
The Memorial Party in Boston. 
 
 Sunday and Monday, December 24 and 25, 1905. 
 
 At 2 p. m., meeting was held in Dea- 
 con's hall, at which the Saints of Bos- 
 ton and a number of strangers were 
 present, nearly filling the room. Presi- 
 dent John G. McQuarrie presided and 
 the remarks delivered are here given in 
 full: 
 
 ELDER GEORGE ALBERT SMITH. 
 
 My brethren and sisters and in 
 speaking thus I address all present, 
 whether they be members of the 
 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
 Saints or not, as that is the feeling that 
 we have towards all our Father's chil- 
 dren, wherever they may be. He is 
 our Father, and we are His children. 
 In that sense we are brothers and 
 sisters, and the feeling that we should 
 have in our hearts towards one an- 
 other is that we are indeed the children 
 of the same Great Parent. I am 
 pleased to be with you today, having 
 come with the party that has crossed 
 the continent to dedicate the monu- 
 ment that has been erected to the mem- 
 ory of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Be- 
 ing so close to Boston, we felt a desire 
 to come here and visit with you. 
 
 It is not my purpose to occupy much 
 of your time, for there are quite a 
 number of visitors present, some of 
 whom you may not have heard before. 
 We have had a glorious time. The 
 Lord has blessed us on our journey. The 
 beautiful monument that has been 
 reared in memory of Joseph Smith has 
 been dedicated, as also the cottage that 
 has been built around the hearthstone 
 where Joseph Smith as a little babe 
 was no doubt nursed by his mother. 
 It is a beautiful spot of ground, and 
 
 the people who live in that vicinity 
 seem proud of what has been done by 
 our people. This is only one of the 
 evidences that what the Latter-day 
 Saints do they do well. Those of you 
 who come from the west understand 
 that the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it 
 has been revealed in our day partakes 
 of practical as well as spiritual things; 
 in fact, we consider that all things are 
 spiritual. The "Mormon" people have 
 been the builders of a great common- 
 wealth in the section where they now 
 dwell. They have aided in building 
 up that western country. And now 
 for the first time they have turned their 
 faces back, as it were, to begin to 
 build in New Ensrland. I presume 
 that the monument and the cottage are 
 the first structures of the kind that our 
 Church has built in Vermont. This is 
 the land of Zion the place that our 
 Father has indicated as 1 choice above all 
 other lands. It was to this land that 
 our forefathers came from Holland 
 and other European countries in order 
 to enjoy freedom and the right to wor- 
 ship God according to the dictates of 
 their own consciences. It was to this 
 land that Lehi and his family came, and 
 it was to them a promised land. The 
 other two companies that left the east- 
 ern hemisphere under the direction of 
 the Lord, as recorded in the Book of 
 Mormon, came to this land of promise. 
 Sp we speak of the land of America as 
 a promised land, and we love it. Con- 
 trary to the statements of those who lo 
 Jiot feel kindly toward us, we love the 
 land of America. We love the United 
 States. We believe that the Constitu- 
 tion was inspired of Almighty God, in. 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 55 
 
 order that men might be permitted to 
 worship Him without molestation, and 
 that a great liberty-loving people might 
 thrive and grow up upon this land. We 
 believe that from this land there will go 
 out unto the nations of the earth a 
 love for liberty and freedom, such as 
 we have enjoyed here so many years, 
 and for which many of our forefathers 
 bled and died. When I come into the 
 city of Boston my heart-strings are 
 touched as I think of the suffering and 
 privation that our forefathers endured 
 right in this neighborhood, in order that 
 'we might enjoy the liberty that we 
 have today. As a member of the Church 
 of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I 
 acknowledge the hand of our Father in 
 the sucoess of the war of 1776. I ac- 
 knowledge His hand also in the 
 success of the federal troops in the 
 war between the North and the South. 
 I acknowledge His hand in the growth 
 and development of this great country, 
 where His sons and daughters can live 
 and gain their own livelihood without 
 being annoyed by the conditions that 
 exist in many foreign countries. 
 
 It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that 
 we bear. It is the desire to save the 
 souls of the children of men that burns 
 in our hearts. It is not that we may 
 bujld ourselves up and become a mighty 
 people financially; it is not that we 
 may have our names glorified in the 
 earth for our accomplishments; but it 
 Is that the sons and daughters of God, 
 wherever they may be, may hear this 
 Gospel, which is the power of God unto 
 salvation to all those who believe and 
 obey its precepts. And those who be- 
 lieve will follow the pattern given by 
 the Savior when He said unto His dis- 
 ciples, "He that believeth and is bap- 
 tized shall be saved; but he that be- 
 lieveth not shall be damned." We be- 
 lieve in the same doctrine that was 
 enunciated by the Apostles. We believe 
 that the signs should follow the believ- 
 er. We believe in the gift of the Holy 
 Ghost by the laying on of hands. We 
 do not believe that the heavens -are 
 ^sealed over our heads, but that the 
 same Father who loved and cherished 
 the children of Israel loves and cher- 
 ishes us. We believe that we are as 
 
 much in need of the assistance of our 
 heavenly Father in the directing of our 
 lives as they were. We know that in 
 the day and age in which we live the 
 seal has been broken, and God has 
 again spoken from the heavens; that 
 the Gospel has been restored to the 
 earth, as John the Revelator said it 
 would be. In the 14th chapter of his 
 Revelation we read: "And I saw anoth- 
 er angel fly in the midst of heaven, hav- 
 ing the everlasting Gospel to preach un- 
 to them that dwell on the earth, and to 
 every nation, and kindred, and tongue, 
 and people." We believe that that aji- 
 gel has flown. In answer to the prayer 
 of the humble boy, Joseph Smith, the 
 heavens were opened, and the Father 
 communicated with him, as He com- 
 municated with men in olden times. We 
 believe this was necessary, because 
 when Joseph Smith asked which of ail 
 the churches he should join, he was told 
 to join none of them, for they worshiped 
 God with their lips, but their hearts 
 were far from Him. 
 
 My brethren and sisters, do we wor- 
 ship our Heavenly Father with 
 our hearts or with our lips? 
 Do we keep the commandment He gave, 
 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
 all thy might, mind and strength, and 
 thy neighbor as thyself? If we have 
 not reached this in our lives, then we 
 come short. Before we may hope to 
 come back in the presence of God and 
 receive from Him the welcome plaudit, 
 Well done, good and faithful servant, 
 we must so arrange our lives that we 
 can love our Father and our brothers 
 and sisters. Inasmuch as we do a 
 kindness unto the least of our Father's 
 children, He has said, we do it unto 
 Him. It is with this spirit of love 
 and kindness that the Latter-day 
 Saints labor. It is with a desire to 
 save the souls of the children of men 
 that our missionaries, both men and 
 women, are abroad in the various na- 
 tions and scattered all over this land. 
 They travel without purse and scrip 
 they pay whatever expenses are neces- 
 sary; they leave their loved ones and 
 go out to receive the buffetings and 
 contumely of the world. For what? 
 In order that they may preach Christ 
 
56 
 
 DEDICATION OP 
 
 and Him crucified, and that the truth 
 of heaven may be planted in the hearts 
 of the children of men, so that they 
 may know that God lives, that He is 
 a personage, with body, parts and pas- 
 sions, and that Jesus Christ, our elder 
 brother, is indeed His Son. 
 
 I bear testimony of the truth to you, 
 my brethren and sisters. Not only 
 have I read the works our Father has 
 given to us and received a testimony 
 thereby, but I have seen the lives, the 
 sufferings and the devotion of men and 
 women who have embraced the Gospel 
 of Christ. I have followed their foot- 
 steps across the great desert and seen 
 .where they pioneered their way into 
 that western wilderness, to make their 
 homes with the wild beast and the 
 still more savage red man for what? 
 That they might be free to worship 
 God according to the dictates of their 
 consciences. Their devotion and love 
 has touched my heart. They have set 
 an example unto the children of men. 
 Their testimony has been exemplified 
 in their lives; for the strongest testi- 
 mony we can bear of our belief in the 
 Father is the testimony of a consistent 
 life. These men and women have 
 builded a commonwealth in the west. 
 They took possession of it when it was 
 the land of Mexico. They raised the 
 stars and stripes, and their sons and 
 daughters have been taught to honor 
 the country in -which they live. I tes- 
 tify to you that I know, as I know that 
 I live, that Jesus is the Christ, the 
 Son of God, that Joseph Smith was a 
 prophet of the living God, and that 
 he restored the Gospel in this day and 
 age. The evidence of its divinity will 
 come to you if you will but examine 
 It with sincerity. While "Mormon- 
 ism" has been opposed by those who 
 have not understood it, and by the 
 power of evil that has desired its over- 
 throw, it is our Father's work, and if 
 we will be faithful and true to it, 
 some day we will find our names en- 
 rolled in the Lamb's book of life. If 
 we have labored In the mission field, 
 though the backs of many have been 
 turned to us, though doors have been 
 closed in our faces, yet we will be 
 
 among those of whom the Father has 
 said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it 
 unto the least of these my children, 
 ye have done it unto me." 
 
 Let us be exemplary in our lives. 
 Let us teach the Gospel of our Father 
 in everything that we do and say. Let 
 us look forward to that happy time 
 when we will be reunited with the 
 loved ones that have gone before, 
 when the great families with which we 
 are identified will be clustered in that 
 great home above, where our Father 
 lives and reigns supreme, and where 
 He will mete out to every one of us 
 a reward for all the good we accom- 
 plish, and will withhold from us the 
 blessings we lose by our thoughtless- 
 ness and faithlessness. That we may 
 be faithful and true to. one another; 
 that we may love one another; that 
 we may honor the nation of which 
 we form a part; that we may honor 
 the name of Jesus Christ, and the 
 names that He has blessed us with 
 in the earth, that they may be made 
 glorious because of our lives, and that 
 when our work is complete we may 
 be worthy to enter into His presence 
 and enjoy eternal life, is my prayer 
 in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 ELDER HYKUM M. SMITH. 
 
 I esteem it a privilege to meet with 
 the Elders and Saints of this branch of 
 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- 
 day Saints. We expect to find among 
 those who bear the name of Christ in 
 the world the same spirit that is found 
 among the Saints in the organized 
 Stakes of Zion. We have the same faith, 
 we have been baptized with the same 
 baptism, and we have received the same 
 Holy Spirit, even the Comforter, which 
 has revealed to each of us a knowledge 
 of the truth. Every Latter-day Saint 
 is entitled to a knowledge of the truth, 
 to the record that God is indeed tha 
 Eternal Father, and that the Lord 
 Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the 
 world; and that testimony will be im- 
 pressed upon the soul of every man and 
 woman who sincerely repents and an- 
 ters with faith into the waters of bap- 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 57 
 
 tism, and is baptized by Mte holding au- 
 thority. We expect our Elders, as they 
 labor in all parts of the world, to be 
 men of God. We are called a peculiar 
 people, and I presume we are peculiar 
 in that we have left behind us the hab- 
 its, tastes, appetites and practices of 
 the world, because we have been shown 
 that many of them are wrong. We have 
 departed also from false doctrine, from 
 misinterpretation of scripture, and from 
 man-made religions, and have accepted 
 the religion of Jesus Christ, revealed 
 anew through Joseph Smith.the proph- 
 et of the last dispensation. We want 
 the Elders of Israel who are preaching 
 the Gospel to be men of God, serving 
 Him with full purpose of heart, being 
 imbued with the idea of being instru- 
 mental in the hands of the Lord of sav- 
 ing some of their fellow creatures and 
 bringing them to a knowledge of the 
 truth. We must be circumspect; we 
 must be honest, honorable, virtuous, 
 honest and true. We cannot indulge in 
 things which are common witn the 
 world. Practices are indulged in by the 
 world, not sinful in their eyes, but if an 
 Elder of Israel were to engage in one 
 of them he would be pointed out in- 
 stantly as a wrongdoer. Most men in 
 the world smoke, but if an Elder of this 
 Church were to walk the streets smok- 
 ing a cigar, it would astonish the world, 
 if they knew he was a "Mormon." They 
 would point him out, and say he was no 
 better than they, and his influence- 
 would be greatly diminished. You may 
 stand around here and hear the name 
 of God profaned most blasphemously. 
 A member of any other church can do 
 that with impunity; but no Elder of the 
 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
 Saints must do it. If ne does, the world 
 will accuse him. They expect us to be 
 better. That is one peculiar thing 
 about us. I presume it is because we 
 make higher claims than* they do. We 
 claim a higher inspiration, a fuller 
 knowledge, than they enjoy; and in 
 consequence of this we must be better 
 men and women. And what we expect 
 of those who are sent out to preach the 
 Gospel, we require of every member of 
 the Church when he or she is converted. 
 We expect them to be better than they 
 
 have ever been. And there is no Lat- 
 ter-day Saint who has been converted 
 and faithful for any length of time but 
 will confess that he has received some- 
 thing far above and beyond anything he 
 ever had before. So we expect con- 
 verts to be better, more honest, more 
 faithful, more conscientious in keeping 
 the commandments of the Lord, than 
 they ever were before. 
 
 Like Brother George A. Smith, I love 
 my fellow men, but I do not love wick- 
 ed men that will not repent. I am 
 somewhat in the same state of feeling 
 as the Prophet Joseph Smith was when 
 he said to some of his brethren, "I love 
 you, but I hate some of your acts." 
 Whenever you do that which is wicked, 
 you need not expect to be loved in that 
 act by a true Latter-day Sainx. We 
 may still have love in our hearts for 
 you, though it may be more pity, more 
 anxiety and more concern than genuine 
 love. All we want, brethren and sis- 
 ters, is for those who are mem- 
 bers of the Church to be mem- 
 bers in very deed, and prove to those 
 with whom they mingled before their 
 conversion that the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ has made them better men and 
 women. If they see that your con- 
 version has not made you any better, 
 that you are no more honest, no morf. 
 sincere, no more conscientious than you 
 were before, you will not be casting any 
 credit upon the Church. On the other 
 hand, if you will receive the Spirit of 
 the Lord and the testimony of -the 
 truth, and put the doctrines of Christ 
 into practice in your lives, you cannot 
 help but become better; you will be 
 better men and better women, and your 
 former associates must see it and be 
 compelled to acknowledge it, if they are 
 honest themselves. If the Gospel will 
 not make us better, by obedience to its 
 precepts, then it is no better than any 
 other religion; but if, after we have 
 embraced it, it does make us bettor, 
 more faithful, more benevolent, more 
 upright and honorable, then it is a bet- 
 ter religion. The religion that will 
 make^ men the best of all in the world 
 is the best religion; and that religion 
 has been embraced by the members of 
 this Church, for it is the religion of 
 
58 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 Jesus Christ, and no better was ever 
 given, nor ever will be. Within that 
 religion is found all the doctrines, laws, 
 ordinances and authority necessary to 
 save and exalt men in the kingdom cf 
 God in celestial glory. May that be 
 your happy lot. May you who enjoy 
 the privilege of greater knowledge cf 
 the truth be charitable towards others, 
 and by example and precept persuade 
 them to follow the footsteps of the Lord 
 Jesus; and maintain yourselves always 
 in the fullest integrity to the covenants 
 you have made in the waters of bap- 
 tism. This is my prayer. Amen. 
 
 ELDER RULON S. WELLS. 
 
 It is indeed a pleasure to me to meet 
 with the Elders and Saints in this 
 branch, and with their friends who 
 have assembled here today. I am 
 deeply interested in the labors of the 
 missionaries who have been sent out in- 
 to the world to lift up their voices and 
 cry repentance unto the world and to 
 admonish them of the fact that God 
 has spoken from heaven in the day 
 and age in which we live, and, that He 
 has raised up a prophet, even the 
 Prophet Joseph Smith, to usher in this 
 great and glorious dispensation, the 
 dispensation of the fulness of times. It 
 has been my pleasure to accompany 
 President Smith and his party to che 
 birthplace of that great prophet of the 
 nineteenth century, and to dedicate un- 
 to the Lord the monument that has 
 been erected in his honor. It has been 
 to me a very solemn occasion. My 
 heart has been filled to overflowing. I 
 have also felt some regret, in the fact 
 that my fellowmen have not received 
 this prophet whom the Lord sent to 
 the world in the early part of the nine- 
 teenth century. One hundred years 
 ago yesterday he was born in the town 
 of Sharon, Windsor county, Vermont. 
 I rejoice, however, that there^ are hun- 
 dreds of thousands who have accepted 
 tho message which he proclaimed to 
 the world and have yielded obedience 
 to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which 
 has been restored to earth through bis 
 instrumentality. 
 
 The great thing that stands as an ob- 
 stacle in the progress of this work is 
 the lack of faith among our fellowmen. 
 I wag deeply interested a few weeks 
 ago in reading an account which ap- 
 poarfd in the Saturday Evening Post, 
 under date of Sept. 22nd. It is an ar- 
 ticle written by Senator Beveridge, of 
 Indiana, intended for the instruction of 
 young men who are graduating from 
 the colleges of divinity. He refers to 
 a conversation which he had held 
 with a friend of his, who stated 
 that there was a lack of faith in 
 the world, and even among those 
 whose duty it is to lift up the 
 banner o*f Christ among the nations. 
 This friend had waited upon men who 
 were graduates from these colleges and 
 were just about to enter upon the min- 
 istry; he had also spoken with eminent 
 divines whose names were known all 
 over the country, and he had pro- 
 pounded to these men a certain number 
 of questions. I recollect two of thes<k 
 questions plainly. One was, do you be- 
 lieve in God the Eeternal Father, a 
 real personal being, in whose imag* 
 man has been created; not in some 
 form floating through space, but in a 
 real personal being, after whose image? 
 man has been created? Now, said h. 
 do not argue, do not explain, do not 
 modify; but put your mind in such a 
 position that you can answer this ques- 
 tion yes or no. Not one answered yes! 
 Another question was, Do you believw 
 in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. tht 
 Redeemer of the world, whose precious 
 blood was spilt for the salvation of 
 mankind? Now, do not argue, do not 
 explain; do not tell us you think ha 
 was some great moral teacher; any- 
 body can believe that; but do you be- 
 lieve that he was the Redeemer of the 
 world, the very Son of God? Not on 
 answered yes! To me that was a very 
 striking explanation of the condition of 
 the world. If that lack of faith per- 
 vades the clergy today the men who 
 stand in the pulpits to teach the peo- 
 ple is it any wonder that we find ouv- 
 selves living in a day of agnosticism, 
 skepticism, and want of faith? "We 
 need men who can stand before the 
 people as Paul and Peter did, and de- 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 59 
 
 clare that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
 of the living God; men who have an 
 undoubting faith and belief that there 
 is none other name given under heaven 
 whereby mankind can be saved. I 
 heard a minister once say that he 
 thought faith was a weakness, some- 
 thing to be deplored and to be avoided. 
 He did not regard it as a virtue at all. 
 He had mistaken faith for credulity. 
 Oh, wat a vast difference between 
 credulity and faith! Th e faith that 
 we believe in is a faith that begets 
 knowledge. If we have faith in God, 
 we learn to love Him, and thus keep 
 that greatest of all commandments, 
 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God witn 
 all thy heart, with all thy mind, and 
 with all thy soul. The trouble with 
 mankind is, they forget God. Lacking 
 faith in Him, they have no particuar 
 love for Him. They do not demon- 
 strate their faith by their works. 
 
 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
 with all thy heart. That is a peculiar 
 expression. Do we love with our heart? 
 Does the heart of man love? The young 
 man sometimes says to his sweetheart, 
 "I love you with all my heart." And' 
 that expression has a meaning. You 
 never hear anybody say, "I love you 
 with all my liver," or with any other 
 organ of the body. But it is with the 
 heart that we love. We find it so in 
 scripture, and we have pretty good au- 
 thority for that. I have sometimes 
 wondered why that expression was 
 used. The heart of man is an organ 
 whose especial function it is to pump 
 blood into the body, causing it to cir- 
 culate into every portion thereof, im- 
 parting life and vitality to the man's 
 organism. That is a wonderful func- 
 tion. The hands move obediently to 
 the mind of man, but not so with the 
 heart. The heart does not yield obedi- 
 ence to the mind of man. "We can labop. 
 with our hands all day.and at night we 
 lie .down to rest, and our hands are 
 still. Not so with the heart. The heart 
 is operated upon by a higher power 
 than the mind of man; and when final- 
 ly that superior intelligence says to 
 the heart, Cease thou to beat, It means 
 that we are called back to Him who 
 gave us life. Therefore, when God said, 
 
 "Son, give me thine heart," it meant, 
 "Son, give me thy life." We owe our 
 life to Him. 'Thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart." In 
 other words, thou shalt devote unto 
 Him thy life. It stands written in the 
 scriptures, "Seek ye first the kingdom 
 of God, and his righteousness," and 
 the promise is given that all other 
 things shall be added unto us. Let us 
 have faith in God and believe that say- 
 ing, because if we will put 
 God and His kingdom first we 
 shall realize the promise. I 
 know that is not how people generally 
 feel. The kingdom of God is not the 
 first consideration with them. Their 
 first desire is to try and enrich them- 
 selves and to look out for those de- 
 pendent upon them. It is a noble thing 
 to provide for our own, but it is not 
 written that we should put that first 
 and God second. Men labor all the 
 day long trying to make a few dollars, 
 and scheme and plan and tug for their 
 own interests, and if they can find a 
 little time after all this work is done, 
 they may devote a little of it to the 
 Lord if they are not too tired. In 
 other words, we put Him second and 
 ourselves first. Now, if we have the 
 love of God in our hearts, and if we do 
 love Him with all our hearts, we will 
 devote oQr lives to His service, we 
 will praise Him by day and by night, 
 and we will try to prove that we are 
 worthy of the testimonies we have re- 
 ceived by laboring for the salvation of 
 the souls of men. The purpose of our 
 living upon this earth is to find out 
 the will of God and then to do it. It 
 is not merely to eke out an existence 
 upon this earth, to live a few brief 
 moments and then to die; but it is to 
 prove that we love our Eternal Father. 
 I know that the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ is true. I know that the Pro- 
 phet Joseph Smith was an instrument 
 in the hands of God of restoring that 
 Gospel to the earth. It has within 
 it the power of God to save His chil- 
 dren. Let us obey its precepts and 
 live in accordance with its teachings, 
 and we will gain eternal life in the 
 presence of God. This is my testi- 
 mony, in the name of Jesus Christ. 
 Amen. 
 
60 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH. 
 
 I do not know that I feel very much 
 in the humor of speaking.but President 
 McQuarrie thinks that my brethren and 
 sisters will experience some disappoint- 
 ment unless I say at least a few words. 
 We have been traveling now for over 
 a week, and it is generally a little wear- 
 isome to travel long in the cars, and 
 especially where we have good company 
 which keeps us up late at nights, and 
 then we have to arise early in the 
 morning to get our meals and be ready 
 for the duties of the day. However, I 
 am pleased indeed to have the privilege 
 of meeting with so many of the Saints 
 and Elders and friends as are assem- 
 bled here this afternoon, and I can 
 commend to you the most excellent in- 
 struction that has been given by those 
 who have already spoken and the tes- 
 timonies which they have borne. No 
 soul can embrace the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ in sincerity without its making 
 of him or her a better man or woman. 
 Though one should be as perfect as the 
 young man who inquired of the Savior 
 what he should do to gain eternal life, 
 the Gospel will make his still more 
 perfect. You remember that the Lord 
 told the young man, in answer to his 
 question, to keep the commandments. 
 "He saith unto him. Which? Jesus said 
 Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt 
 not commit adultery. Thou shalt not 
 steal, Thou shalt not bear false wit- 
 ness, Honor thy father and thy mother; 
 and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
 thyself. The young man saith unto Him 
 All these things have I kept from my 
 youth up; what lack I yet?" Now, there 
 was still something lacking in him. 
 Good as he was, perfect as he was in 
 observing the commandments, still the 
 Lord perceived there was something 
 lacking in him, and in order to prove 
 him and show his actual condition, of 
 feeling and faith, He said unto him, "If 
 thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that 
 thou hast, and give to the poor, and 
 thou shalt have treasure in heaven: 
 and come and follow me." But when he 
 heard that, he turned away sorrowful, 
 "for he had great possessions." Then 
 Jesus made that oft-quoted remark: 
 
 "Verily I say unto you, That a rich 
 man shall hardly enter into the king- 
 dom of heaven. And again I say unto 
 you, It is easier for a camel to go 
 through the eye of a needle, than for 
 a rich man to enter into the kingdom 
 of God." Now, most people say, If 
 that be the case, then it is impossible 
 for a rich man to go into the kingdom 
 of heaven. I suppose if we really un- 
 derstood the symbol that the Savior 
 used upon that occasion, it would be 
 perfectly simple to us. There existed 
 at that time in the walls of Jerusalem 
 a small gate, called the needle's eye, 
 and it was so small that it was very 
 difficult for a camel to get through it. 
 When the traveler arrived after the 
 gates of the city were closed, he would 
 plead to have his camel pass within the 
 walls by means of the "needle's eye," 
 and sometimes that was allowed, if the 
 camel was not too big. The Lord had 
 reference to that when he said that it 
 was easier for a camel to pass through 
 the eye of a needle than for a rich 
 man to enter into the kimr^ ^ O f hea- 
 ven. But the point I wish to call at- 
 tention to is, What did that young man 
 lack? What was it necessary for him 
 to have in order that he might gain 
 eternal life? He did not steal, he did 
 not lie, he did not defraud his neigh- 
 bor, nor bear false witness, nor com- 
 mit adultery, nor do anything or that 
 kind. According to his; own testimony, 
 he had kept all these commandments 
 from his youth up. Yet there was 
 something lacking . What was it? We 
 conclude that he lacked just the one 
 thing that Brother Rulon S. Wells has 
 been talking of this afternoon he lack- 
 ed the love of God. He loved his riches 
 more than he loved God. The result 
 was, he turned away sorrowful; and for 
 him there was no entrance into the 
 kingdom of God while he was in that 
 condition of mind. 
 
 My brethren and sisters, he that 
 loves pleasure more than he loves the 
 truth is not worthy of the truth. Such 
 a one will not embrace the truth, be- 
 cause he will follow that which ac- 
 cords with his desires. In order to 
 be a Latter-day Saint indeed and of a 
 truth we must feel in our hearts, as 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 61 
 
 one said of old, As for me and my 
 house, we will serve God, no matter 
 what may come. Whatever allure- 
 ments or temptations may entce us, 
 whatever inclination we may have to 
 do that which is not right in the sight 
 of the Lord, we must rise to that 
 standard of perfection and manhood,to 
 that intelligence and determination of 
 heart and soul, that we can say to the 
 tempter. "Get thee behind me; as for 
 me. I will obey God." 
 
 Therefore, I repeat what one of the 
 brethren has said here, that to become 
 a Latter-day Saint will make a man 
 better. The young man whom the Sa- 
 vior tested, proved that he loved hia 
 riches and the pleasures which those 
 riches brought more than he loved God. 
 Notwithstanding he kept the law and 
 all that sort of thing, he was not hum- 
 ble and he did no love the truth more 
 than all else. There is something more 
 required of us than merely keeping the 
 law. We must obey the will of the 
 Father. I frequently hear people say, 
 "All that is required of a man in this 
 world is to be honest and square," and 
 that such a man will attain to exalta- 
 tion and glory. But those who say this 
 do not remember the saying of the 
 Lord, that "except a man be born again 
 he cannot see the kingdom of heaven." 
 They do not take that into account. 
 They do not seem to regard that as a 
 law of God, essential to man's salva- 
 tion. The forget also that the Savior 
 said, "Except a man be born of the wa- 
 ter and of the Spirit, he cannot enter 
 into the kingdom of God." No matter 
 how good, how honorable, how honest 
 he Is, he must pass through that door 
 in order to enter into the kingdom of 
 God. The Lord requires it. Therefore, 
 if he refuse or decline to enter through 
 the door of the sheepfold, he can never 
 become an heir of God and a joint heir 
 with Jesus Christ. He may become a 
 servant; he may become a ministering 
 spirit; but to be a son of God, to in- 
 herit eternal glory, exaltation and do- 
 minion, he never can, worlds without 
 end, except by entering in at the gate 
 and observing all the commandments 
 of the Gospel. There is no question 
 about this, if the doctrine of Jesus 
 
 Christ be true; and I say it is true. If 
 a man should ask me, Do you believe in 
 God the Father of Jesus Christ? do you 
 think I would hesitate a moment? Ver- 
 ily, no. I would say to him, With all 
 my soul I believe in God, the Father 
 of my spirit, the Father of my Lord and 
 Savior Jesus Christ, the Creator of the 
 heavens and the earth; He who stands 
 at the head of all things, and by whom 
 all things were made. Not only do I be- 
 lieve, but my judgment, my senses, my 
 sympathy, my reason, my soul, are all 
 convinced. I know that my Redeemer 
 lives. I know that my God lives, and 
 that Jesus is the Christ. And no man 
 can take that knowledge from me. The 
 Lord gave me that knowledge, and He 
 has made me to feel this from the 
 crown of my head to the soles of my 
 feet. I know therefore whereof I 
 speak. 
 
 My religion teaches me to love all 
 men. However much I may despise 
 their acts, or deplore their wickedness 
 and their darkness of mind, yet they 
 are made in the image and likeness of 
 my Father and God they are my 
 brothers and my sisters. It is required 
 of me that I shall love my neighbor as 
 myself. I may not have risen yet to 
 that high standard of perfection; there 
 may still be lingering in me the selfish- 
 ness that would prefer myself above 
 my neighbor; but I aim to do right to 
 my fellowman, because the Gospel re- 
 quires it. It is the law of God that I 
 shall forgive all men; that I shall not 
 judge men, but that I shall leave judg- 
 ment in the hands of Him who is a 
 righteous judge, and whose right it is 
 to forgive whom He will. It is His 
 right to sit in judgment upon men, not 
 mine. Therefore, I forgive men. I say, 
 Let God judge between thee and me. 
 Let God approve their good deeds, and 
 reward them for their evil deeds. This 
 right does not belong to you or to me. 
 He has not set us up as judges over 
 our fellow-beings. We may know that 
 men do wrong, and yet they have souls 
 to have. They are made in the image 
 of God, His sons and daughters, and it 
 is our duty to do all in our power to 
 lead them from the error of their ways, 
 from their follies and sins, and show 
 
62 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 them, by example as well as by precept, 
 the way they should go in order that 
 they may obtain eternal life. No man 
 can give you eternal life. It is not giv- 
 en to one man to save or exalt another. 
 But it is given to man to know the 
 truth for himself, and to walk in the 
 light for himself as Christ is in the 
 light, that he may know of the doc- 
 trine, that he may have fellowship 
 with Christ, and that His blood may 
 cleanse him from all sin. It is my 
 privilege to be in this position. Then 
 it is my right and privilege to teach 
 other men how they can keep the com- 
 mandments of the Lord, how they can 
 walk in the right path, how they can 
 do that which will save them from sin 
 and bring light, intelligence and faith 
 to their souls! and then they can walk 
 in the path themselves and obtain that 
 which they desire by diligence and 
 faithfulness in keeping the command- 
 ments of God. But I cannot save you; 
 you cannot save me. No man can save 
 another; he can only be instrumental 
 in persuading another to forsake sin 
 and to do that which is right and ac- 
 ceptable in the sight of the Lord. 
 
 When I was a little boy I was taught 
 very carefully and strictly by a noble 
 pure mother. I was deprived when but 
 a* child of the counsel of a father; but 
 I had the honor, the pleasure and the 
 profit of enjoying the counsel and di- 
 rection of a most noble, faithful and 
 good mother. She taught me principles 
 of honor, uprightness and truth. She 
 taught me not to lie, not to bear false 
 witness, not to speak evil of another, 
 not to pick a quarrel, not to be conten- 
 tious, but rather to yield to those that 
 would do evil than to resist; to say, 
 get behind me, to those who would 
 tempt me to wrongdoing; to turn my 
 back upon them -and forsake them. 
 These were the principles that were 
 instilled into my mind when I was a 
 child. At the age of 15 I was called 
 on a mission; not to come here to a 
 portion of my native land, but I was 
 sent to the islands of the Pacific ocean, 
 thousands of miles from home and 
 from friends, where I had to learn an- 
 other language in order that I might 
 communicate with the people. The 
 
 Lord blessed me while there. But those 
 who are in the least acquainted with 
 the habits and conditions of the people 
 in those distant islands know what 
 temptations there are for young men, 
 and how difficult it is for men, especial- 
 ly young men, to keep themselves pure 
 and unspotted from the world. If 
 there is anything in the world that I 
 am proud of it is that through the 
 teachings of my mother, and through 
 my faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ 
 which she taught me, and which I then 
 believed with all my soul, I was able 
 to keep myself unspotted from the 
 world. 
 
 I wish now to say just a few words 
 to my young friends who are here to 
 preach the Gospel. You are here, young 
 men, to teach the truth more by ex- 
 ample than by precept or preaching. 
 Not many of us who are sent out in 
 our youth count very much when it 
 comes to preaching and expounding the 
 Scriptures; but we can *+ before men 
 that ever-living, ever-effective, ever- 
 powerful testimony the testimony of 
 example. Example is more powerful 
 for good than all the preaching you can 
 do. Let an innnocent boy come out 
 here into the world, and in the midst 
 of the temptations he meets prove to 
 the world that he will not yield to temp- 
 tation; that, like Joseph who was sold 
 into Egypt, he will resist the tempter 
 and keep himself aloof from those 
 allurements that lead unto destruction, 
 immorality and wickedness; let him 
 stand up like the snow-capped Alps, 
 pure, white, immovable, and unimpres- 
 sionable to those things which lead 
 away from the pathway of righteous- 
 ness and truth into byapths and wick- 
 ed ways, and he will do more good 
 in his mission than he can do by the 
 words of his mouth. Young men, do 
 not yield to temptation. Do not per- 
 mit yourselves to say or do one thing 
 that is unbecoming a Latter-day Saint, 
 a man of God, a son of parents who 
 have forsaken the world and perchance 
 all they possessed in it kindred, 
 friends, home and everything that was 
 dear to them for the Gospel's sake. 
 Remember that most of your parents 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 6 
 
 have done this, and if there are any 
 who would not do it if required, they 
 are not worthy of the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ; for Jesus has said that he who 
 will not forsake father, or mother, 
 brother or sister, houses, or lands, for 
 His sake, is not worthy of Him. There- 
 fore, if your parents would not do that, 
 they are not worthy of the Gospel. But 
 you should live so that you may prove 
 to the world that your parents are 
 worthy, and that they taught you these 
 things, and that you are determined to 
 carry out their counsels, as well as the 
 counsels of the Elders of the Church of 
 Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who 
 teach you the principles of the Gospel 
 and admonish you to avoid sin, even 
 the appearance of sin, and walk up- 
 rightly before the Lord, and keep your- 
 self pure and unspotted from the world. 
 
 What a glorious testimony it is when 
 you see a man becoming feeble with 
 age, who has passed through the world 
 and been subjected to all manner of 
 temptations, and now almost ready to 
 sink into his grave, who can stand up 
 and say to all the world and to his God, 
 "Father, brothers and sisters, I have 
 passed through this world undefined. I 
 have not yielded to the! tempter, nor to 
 deadly sins." * O he may have had 
 his weakness and his imperfections, 
 but they have been imperfections of the 
 head and not of the heart. He may 
 have erred in his judgment in some 
 things. He may not have been as 
 broadminded as he should have been in 
 some respects. He may not have been 
 up to the standard perhaps in many 
 things. Yet in the one thing of keep- 
 ing himself pure and clean, uncontam- 
 inated, undenled, healthy, vigorous, 
 manly, godlike, he can face any man in 
 the world and say, I am clean! 
 
 Now, boys, I want you to live so that 
 you can say this! that when you get to 
 be 75 or 80 years of age you can say 
 before God and men, "I am clean from 
 the sins of the world. I am not denied, 
 nor contaminated. I have kept myself 
 upright, honest, pure and virtuous." 
 
 Let me say to our young men who are 
 here studying different branches of 
 learning: Hunt up your friends; asso- 
 ciate with your brethren and sisters. 
 Do not pull away from them; do not 
 
 keep yourselves aloof from them. Go 
 to their meetings. Go to the presiding 
 authorities and talk with them. Say to 
 them, "Here I am. If you can use me 
 for any good, do so. If I have talent 
 and ability to do anything you want 
 me to do to roll on the work of the 
 Lord and to convince the honest in 
 heart of the truth we have received, 
 here I am, ready to be used for the ac- 
 complishment of God's purposes when- 
 ever it is possible for me to get away 
 from my studies." Now, boys, do this, 
 Remember the old saying, that it is not 
 all of life to live; nor is it all of death 
 to die. There is something more in life 
 than the mere living "eat, drink, and 
 be merry, for tomorrow we die." Men 
 will be held accountable before the 
 great judge of the quick and the dead 
 for the deeds done in the flesh. You 
 cannot avoid that. You are not here by 
 chance. You came here by the will of 
 God, according to His design, to fulfill 
 His purposes; and you came here with- 
 out seeking it yourself, so far as this 
 world is concerned. You are entities; 
 you have living souls within you; and 
 you will be raised from the dead just 
 as sure as Jesus Christ was raised from 
 the dead. As sure as by Adam you die, 
 so sure by Christ will you be raised 
 from the dead. That is inevitable. It 
 is according to God's plan. He has de- 
 creed it, and you cannot help yourself. 
 Do what you may, you- cannot dodge 
 that. It will come just as sure as birth 
 and death come. The resurrection will 
 come to all the children of men; but 
 the resurrection of the righteous will 
 come only to those who obey the com- 
 mandments of the Lord. Those only 
 who walk in His paths and keep His 
 law will come up in that resurrection, 
 to inherit arid enjoy the kingdom of 
 God. 
 
 Furthermore, remember that what- 
 ever you do, God sees you. His eye 
 is upon you. You cannot hide your- 
 self from His face. He knows you. 
 His angels have watchcare over you, 
 and they will give account of ^ou. You 
 cannot escape that. Then, I repeat, it 
 is not all of life to live. There is 
 something to live for. There is a work 
 to do for every human creature, and 
 that work is the work of righteousness, 
 
DEDICATION OP 
 
 of truth, of self-denial, of faith in 
 God. This we must do; and unless we 
 do it according to the light we posses, 
 we will finally be weighed in the bal- 
 lances and found wanting. Then, I say 
 to you.it is not all for you to just study 
 and to become proficient in your chos- 
 en profession. You must remember 
 that there is something else for you to 
 do. Men and women should fulfill all 
 the requirements that the Lord has 
 made of them. God has written His 
 law in your hearts. And when a man* 
 commits sin to the extent that he 
 drives the* Spirit of the Lord from him 
 and becomes abandoned to iniquity, 
 then he is indeed a sinner, fit only for 
 the damnation of hell. What is the 
 damnation of hell? It is banishment 
 from the presence of Almighty God, in- 
 to obiter darkness. It is banishment 
 into a consciousness of having forfeited 
 your lives and frittered away your 
 hopes of exaltation. It is the anguish 
 and agony of the mind, the immortal 
 mind, under the pressure of the knowl- 
 edge that he has sinned away the day 
 of grace, or committed the unpardon- 
 able sin. That is the sin for which 
 there is no forgiveness in this world 
 nor in the world to come the denial 
 of the truth, the trampling of it under 
 foot, considering it as a thing of 
 naught, and treating it as worthless 
 when it is offered unto you. Young 
 men you may have to assume the re- 
 sponsibilities that your fathers as- 
 sumed before you that of the care of 
 families. These are things that are 
 sacred before God, and spring from 
 that law of God which is engraven 
 upon your souls; for every man, if he 
 is born with natural senses and capa- 
 bilities, yearns to fulfill that law of des- 
 tiny. Every woman yearns to fulfill 
 that law of God, that requirement of 
 nature, that principle put in the heart 
 by the Almighty himself, an attribute 
 of God, a part of His divinity inherited 
 by His children in the flesh. We come 
 to a time when these desires, affec- 
 tions and requirements assert them- 
 selves in our nature. Then we must 
 consider these things, and live so that 
 when we enter upon these responsi- 
 
 bilities we can do it with pure hearts 
 and clean hands, with undefiled spirits 
 and bodies. And when we die, that is 
 not the end. Then comes the resurrec- 
 tion and the judgment, and God will 
 hold you strictly to an account for 
 that which you do here, just as sure as 
 you live. 
 
 My dear brothers and sisters, my 
 young friends, you for whom my heart 
 yearns with the deepest sympathy, be- 
 cause I see you very much in the posi- 
 tion that I was nearly 60 years ago, 
 when I was sent out as a child, 
 so to speak, to teach the principles 
 of the Gospel. I did not know much 
 then, and I was not capable of telling 
 what I did know; but I was capable, 
 thanks be to my precious mother, of 
 setting a good example, of resisting 
 evil, doing right, and keeping my head 
 above sin; and God helped me in it, 
 and preserved my life and my honor, 
 so that now I can offer it unto Him un- 
 sullied, for which I thank Him with all 
 my soul. Brethren, you will never have 
 anything for which you will have more 
 reason to be proud and thankful before 
 your Father than that you can offer 
 your lives unto Him pure and unsullied 
 when you shall be called to render an 
 account before Him. 
 
 The Lord help you to be faithful, 
 diligent, persevering, earnest, honest, 
 and upright, and to do good to all men. 
 Forgive those that trespass against 
 you, that persecute you, and that say 
 all manner of evil against you falsely. 
 Pray for them, and ask God to have 
 mercy upon them, and if possible, for- 
 give them and show them the error 
 of their way. Be like Christ was. so 
 far as observing His laws and His pre- 
 cepts is concerned. Keep yourselves 
 without sin, and obedient to the will 
 of the Father, as He was. Peace be 
 unto you. God's blessings be upon you 
 in your labors, that you may be en- 
 couraged and strengthened; that you 
 may not be homesick nor fainthearted; 
 that you may not lose your faith; that 
 your knees may not tremble; but that 
 you may feel tht you are strong in 
 the power of the Almighty, and that 
 you may be upheld by Him in every 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 65 
 
 good word and work. But should you 
 transgress, O God have pity on you! 
 for then you will be afraid to meet 
 your friends. You will want to be with 
 the stranger, with those who know you 
 not and who cannot discern your con- 
 dition and spirit. You will want to 
 slink away from the light, and from 
 the association of your brethren and 
 friends, who would take you in their 
 arms and succor and sustain you in all 
 that is good. That is the commence- 
 ment of evil. When men do wrong en- 
 tirely they do not want the association 
 of those who do right, and they hide 
 their faces from them. Therefore, 
 Brother McQuarrie can judge of you 
 boys. Whenever you come to him and 
 seek his counsel; whenever you show 
 forth that you are not afraid to meet 
 him and shake the hand of fellowship 
 with him, he will then have an undeni- 
 able testimony that you are all right. 
 But the moment you begin to shun him 
 or others of your brethren, there comes 
 a testimony that you have been doing 
 something which you are ashamed of, 
 and you know it. God knows it also, 
 and perhaps a third party will know It; 
 and these three witnesses will testify 
 against you by and by, viz., God, your- 
 self and the person with whom you 
 have transgressed. Man cannot com- 
 mit sin alone, because the eye of God 
 will pierce his hiding place and nb<^rve 
 the wrong he is doing. There will be 
 at least two witnesses to the offense. 
 
 The Lord bless you and help you 
 to avoid error and evil and to walk 
 in the paths of righteousness, is my 
 prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, 
 Amen. 
 
 During the meeting the sacrament 
 was administered and Sister Emma 
 Lucy Gates sang two solos. Patriarch 
 John Smith opened the meeting by 
 prayer and the benediction was pro- 
 nounced by President Francis M. Ly- 
 man. 
 
 After the meeting President Smith 
 and a number of his relatives were 
 taken by Mr. Frank P. Bennett to his 
 home in Oakland Vale, near Saugus, 
 where they remained until the follow- 
 
 ing day, being entertained in splendid 
 style, and where they partook of a 
 bounteous Christmas dinner. 
 
 In the evening another excellent 
 meeting was held in Deacon Hall, con- 
 ducted by Elder John G. McQuarrie. 
 Elder Charles W. Penrose delivered the 
 principal address, speaking on the first 
 principles of the Gospel, and was fol- 
 lowed by President Anthon H. Lund, 
 and Elders Ashby Snow, Brigham F. 
 Grant, Frank Y. Taylor, Angus M. Can- 
 non and Benjamin Goddard. The meet- 
 ing was well attended, many strangers 
 beings present and a good spirit pre- 
 vailing. 
 
 Christmas day was clear and warm, 
 and was spent by the party in various 
 ways. Those who had relatives in that 
 part were entertained by them. A num- 
 ber went to Harvard, while others vis- 
 ited the various points of historical in- 
 terest in and around Boston. Th e mem- 
 bers of the Smith family that had re- 
 mained in Boston over night took the 
 train for Saugus and from there were 
 taken to the home of Mr. Bennett, 
 where they met President Smith and 
 those who were with him. 
 
 Automobiles were secured for the par- 
 ty, and, accompanied by Mr. Bennett 
 and two of his sons, they visited Tops- 
 field and Boxford, in Essex county, 
 where Robert Smith, the progenitor of 
 the family in America, had lived. The 
 first stop was made at the Topsfield 
 cemetery, where many of the Smiths 
 are buried.' Here a monument stands 
 to the memory of Robert and Mary; 
 Samuel, son of Robert, and his wife, 
 Rebecca; and Samuel, son of Samuel, 
 and his wife Precilla. It was erected by 
 President George A. Smith and other 
 members of the family in Utah, in the 
 year 1873. Next the company visited 
 the home of Asael, son of second Sam- 
 uel Smith, and grandfather of the 
 Prophet. This is on the outskirts of 
 Topsfield, about one mile north of the 
 town. The old house was torn down 
 about thirty years ago, and a new 
 frame cottage stands on the site. A 
 well of cool, clear water is near the cot- 
 tage, and was used and was most 
 likely dug by Asael Smith. In the old 
 
66 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 house that stood on this site, the Pa- 
 triarch Joseph Smith was born July 12. 
 1771. Asael was born in Topsfield, 
 March 7, 1744; the greater part of his 
 early life was spent in Topsfield, but 
 on account of his broad religious views, 
 which were in conflict with the narrow 
 creeds of the people, he was forced to 
 leave the town. At one time he was 
 fined for entertaining a Quaker, which 
 was contrary to the views of Popsfield's 
 inhabitants of that day. Like his fath- 
 er he was an officer in the Revolution- 
 ary war, and served with distinction 
 during that remarkable struggle for 
 freedom. From Topsfield the party went 
 to Boxford about three miles north- 
 west of Topsfield, and visited the orig- 
 inal farm of Robert Smith, which is 
 still occupied by a branch of the fam- 
 ily, descendants of Jacob, son of Rob- 
 ert. 
 
 On the return journey to Bos- 
 ton they called on Mr. George 
 Francis Dow, Secretary of the Topsfield 
 Historical Society, who received them 
 very cordially, two members of the 
 party having made his acquaintance 
 some time previous to this visit. Mr. 
 Dow has compiled a great deal of the 
 genealogy of the Smiths, a copy of 
 which was secured by the family a 
 number of years ago. 
 
 Christmas evening the Memorial Par- 
 ty left Boston for Palmyra, New York, 
 where they arrived early Tuesday 
 morning, the 26th. Vehicles were in 
 readiness to convey them to Manches- 
 ter Township, where Patriarch Joseph 
 Smith and his family resided, after 
 leaving their farm in Vermont. At the 
 farm they were very heartily welcomed 
 by Mr. William Avery Chapman and 
 his wife, who own and occupy the old 
 Smith farm, with the grove in which 
 the Prophet Joseph received his first 
 divine manifestation. 
 
 THE OLD SMITH HOME. 
 
 The house occupied by the Chapmans 
 was built by the Smiths, and was com- 
 pleted about 1824. The family first lived 
 in a small log house near the place 
 /vher this home now stands. The new 
 cottage was in course of construction 
 
 at the time of the death of Alvin, the 
 Prophet's oldest brother, whose desire 
 was to make a home in which his pa- 
 rents could spend their declining years. 
 While in his fatal illness, he pathetic- 
 ally appealed to his brothers especial- 
 ly to Hyrum to go on and speedily 
 complete the dwelling, which was done. 
 But the family was not permitted to 
 live there long, for a short time after- 
 wards the Church was established in 
 Kirtland, and from there the Saints 
 went to Missouri and then to Nauvoo. 
 
 There are two relics in this home, of 
 historical interest a settee and a heavy 
 mahogany table, said to have been 
 made by President Brigham Young 
 when a youth. These articles were 
 purchased by Mrs. Fanny Chapman, 
 sister of the present owner of the farm. 
 The tradition of the place is that it 
 was in this building that the Prophet 
 received his visitations from Moroni, 
 but since the house was not finished 
 until after the death of Alvin, in 1824, 
 this is not the case; although it is very 
 likely that a portion of the plates were 
 translated there. The visions were 
 given in the old home, now torn down, 
 but which stood but a few rods from 
 the present dwelling. 
 
 THE SACRED GROVE. 
 
 From the home the ' party went to 
 the grove, which is situated about a 
 quarter of a mile from the home and 
 facing it. In this grove of some five 
 to eight acres, the trees remain un- 
 touched. For more than seventy 
 years no ax has been laid at their 
 roots, save to remove the dead and de- 
 caying timber. Mr. Chapman.the owner 
 of the place, declares that this was 
 the will of his father, and so long as 
 the property is in his possession he 
 will protect this spot in its native 
 ruggedness. In this grove the hymn, 
 "Joseph Smith's First Prayer," was 
 sung by the party, and the grand event 
 was recalled which opened the dispen- 
 sation of the fulness of times, by the 
 appearance of the Father and the Son 
 to Joseph, in answer to fervent prayer 
 of faith. On the way to and rrom this 
 spot a small creek flowed by, where a 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 67 
 
 dam had been constructed at one time 
 in those early days of the Church, so 
 as to raise the- water for the baptism 
 of converts to the faith. 
 
 THE HILIj CUMORAH. 
 
 The party then proceeded to the Hill 
 Cumorah, known in the neighborhood 
 as "Mormon hill." A cottage at its base 
 is occupied by Mr. Sampson and family, 
 a brother of the late Admiral Sampson. 
 Permission having been granted, the 
 party climbed to the top of the hill, in- 
 spected the spot on its side where a 
 depression was noticed as the probable 
 place where the stone box containing 
 the plates projected from the ground, as 
 described in the history of the Prophet. 
 A splendid view of the surrounding 
 country is had from the summit of the 
 hill, and the rnind reverted back for 
 many centuries, to the time when the 
 contending hosts of the Jaredites 
 fought their last battle around the emi- 
 nence, then called the Hill Raman, and 
 later, when the Nephites and Laman- 
 ites had their noted final struggle, and 
 Moroni hid up the sacred records, to 
 come forth in the last days as a new 
 witness for God and as proof that Je- 
 sus is the Christ. 
 
 On top of the hill the hymn, "An 
 Angel Prom On High," was sung 
 and President Joseph F. ( Smith 
 offered a comprehensive and splen- 
 did prayer, which brought the 
 tears to many eyes, and softened all 
 hearts, evoking a unanimous Amen at 
 the close. He prayed that every one 
 present might feel the solemnity and 
 sacredness of the place, and of the 
 occasion. He prayed that each one 
 present might feel a deep sense of the 
 responsibility in spreading that message 
 of truth 'which had lain so long con- 
 cealed in this hill. He besought the 
 Lord in behalf of the Presidency of the 
 Church: that their lives might be pro- 
 longed and their powers increased to 
 enable them to carry out the mighty 
 work which daily opened up before 
 them. He besought the Lord in be- 
 half of the quorum of the Twelve, the 
 Seventies, the presiding authorities 
 everywhere, both general and local, the 
 missionaries, and all the auxiliary or- 
 
 ganizations. Then he pleaded for our 
 children; that they might be impressed 
 with the power and the majesty of 
 the great latter-day work, that has now 
 gone forth into all the earth. He 
 asked that not one of our precious 
 children might be lost or go astray. 
 He prayed that the sacred hill might 
 not be disturbed and that the inhabi- 
 tants of the country round about might 
 be softened in their felings towards us 
 and that they might be more ready to 
 listen to the truth.and not so willing to 
 hear and believe the fables told about 
 us. The voice of the speaker trembled 
 with emotion as he remembered the 
 Prophet who had, through the power of 
 God, made the truth known to man.and 
 whose children now wander in darkness 
 and unbelief, even for them he pleaded 
 with the Lord, that their eyes might be 
 opened, and their minds enlightened by 
 truth and the power of God. Then he 
 remembered our farther journeying be- 
 fore the Lord and closed by pouring 
 out a flood of gratitude and love to 
 the Savior who had brought us here 
 and who had Himself lived, suffered 
 and died for us and all mankind. 
 
 The party rejoiced exceedingly at 
 this fresh manifestation of the pres- 
 ence of the Holy Spirit, testifying to 
 the soul the truth of the latter-day 
 work and fortelling its ultimate tri- 
 umph over all opposing powers. 
 
 They then returned to Palmyra and 
 after dinner called upon Mr. Pliney 
 Titus Sexton, who, it was stated, pos- 
 sessed the "original manuscript" of the 
 Book of Mormon, obtained from Major 
 Gilbert, who did the printing of the 
 work. It turned out to be simply the 
 first sheets of the printed work, un- 
 bound, with the testimony of the three 
 witnesses and of the eight witnesses at 
 the end of the volume as in all copies 
 of the first edition. Mr. Sexton was 
 very courteous and kind, and handled 
 the relic with great care, turning the 
 leaves over with a pen knife to avoid 
 handling. President Smith explained 
 to him the character of the relic, and 
 told him that the original manuscript 
 of the Book of Mormon was enclosed 
 in the cornerstone in the foundation of 
 the Mansion house in Nauvoo, and that 
 
68 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 the manuscript held by the Whitmers 
 was merely the copy furnished to the 
 printer. Mr. Sexton stated that Major 
 Gilbert had told him how particular 
 the Smiths were in regard to the 
 manuscript. That they only brought 
 him sufficient copy for one day and 
 called for it in the evening, so that 
 it would not be left in any other hands. 
 He informed the party that the orig- 
 inal press on which it was printed was 
 now in possession of the editor of the 
 Wayne County Gazette. The office be- 
 ing near by, the party went there an& 
 inspected the press, which was in the 
 basement of the building and proved 
 to be a Washington hand press of the 
 old style, but still in good preservation. 
 Hon. Fred W. Clements, editor and 
 proprietor of the paper, received the 
 visitors very kindly and took pleasure 
 in giving particulars as to the pur- 
 chase of the press. 
 
 THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE. 
 The party boarded their train on 
 Tuesday evening, arrived in Cleveland 
 on Wednesday morning and took a 
 special electric car for Willoughby, 
 where vehicles were obtained for a 
 ride over the rolling country to Kirt- 
 land, going at a slow pace, because 
 of the condition of the road and of the 
 hills and hollows, at the old fash- 
 ioned ox-team speed. However, Kirt- 
 land was reached at length and the 
 spire of the temple loomed up, being 
 easily seen from all the surrounding 
 country. The party arrived unexpect- 
 edly to the custodians of the building, 
 but were received in a friendly spirit 
 and escorted through the historic 
 structure. It was in very excellent 
 condition, clean, having been renovat- 
 ed from top to bottom by the Re-or- 
 ganized church after obtaining pos- 
 session of it, previous to which it had 
 been used for many purposes, and had 
 become very filthy and in a state of 
 desecration. That body should re- 
 ceive due credit for the restoration of 
 the Temple as nearly as possible to 
 them, not being fully acquainted with 
 its purpose and ceremonies, and the 
 party were highly gratified in the per- 
 mission they received to go over its 
 
 different apartments, and view the 
 places where the Prophet and Patri- 
 arch and their associates attended to 
 those early ordinances which were re- 
 vealed from on high. It was in the 
 main room or "inner court," 55x65 
 feet in dimensions, where Joseph and 
 Oliver, seated in that portion of the 
 pulpit for the Melchisedek Priesthood, 
 which belonged to their sacred calling, 
 beheld those personages who appeared 
 to them "on the breastwork of the 
 pulpit," as described in Doctrine and 
 Covenants, section 110. To stand near 
 the spot where the Lord appeared, and 
 the heads of various dispensations 
 committed their keys to the Prophet 
 and Seer of the last dispensation, and 
 where Elijah the Prophet revealed the 
 keys for the "turning of the hearts of 
 the fathers to the children and the 
 children to the fathers," leading to the 
 grand principles which explain the or- 
 dinances for the redemption of the 
 dead, was indeed inspiring to the visit- 
 ors, who comprehended the nature of 
 the latter-day work and its far-reach- 
 ing power and influence on the earth 
 and behind the veil. But there was 
 a marked absence of the spirit and 
 sacred influence which pervade the 
 Temples of our God in the valleys of 
 the mountains, where the fulness of 
 the Priesthood is felt and exercised 
 in that degree which is known to the 
 Saints who are privileged to enter into 
 those sacred places. 
 
 The party was very courteously 
 treated by Ulysses W. Green, who is 
 one of the apostles of the Re-organized 
 church, by John H. Lake, a former 
 apostle and now one of the evange- 
 lists of that body, and Albert E. Stone, 
 who takes charge of the edifice. Mr. 
 Green showed himself to be an intelli- 
 gent, affable and apparently sincere 
 gentleman, and the party felt under 
 obligations to him for his endeavors to 
 explain to them the purposes for which 
 the temple was reared and is now used. 
 They went to the upper room, where 
 the school of the Prophets used to 
 meet, and to the still higher apart- 
 ments, where the classes of the differ- 
 ent quorums of the Priesthood were 
 wont to assemble. 'Going up to the 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 69 
 
 roof, a number of the party had a fine 
 view of the surrounding country, 
 showing the wisdom of the choice 
 made for the site of the edifice. The 
 spots where stood the tannery, the 
 Kirtland bank, the home of the Prophet 
 and that of Hyrum and his father, 
 where the Patriarch John Smith was 
 born, were viewed from that point. It 
 was noticeable on inspecting the main 
 room of the building that the original 
 workmanship, particularly -around the 
 pulpits for the Melchisedek and Aaron- 
 ic Priesthoods, was of a very high or- 
 der. The late President Brigham 
 Young and his brother Joseph Young 
 were workmen on that building, and 
 the marks of their skill and that of 
 others who were engaged upon it are 
 seen to this day. The glazing work 
 of the windows is also to be admired, 
 and it is plain that the greatest care 
 was taken to make the whole edifice 
 worthy of its purpose. Considering 
 the circumstances that surrounded the 
 .Saints at that remote period, their pov- 
 erty and the trials to which they were 
 subjected, the building is a marvel. It 
 is a testimony to heaven and earth of 
 the sincerity and devotion of that peo- 
 ple and of the mastermind of the young 
 man who, chosen of the Lord, im- 
 pressed upon everything he touched 
 the indications of his judgment and 
 skill and inspiration. The party reg- 
 istered their names on the records in 
 the office, and after leaving the build- 
 ing paid particular attention to the in- 
 scription on its front, which is as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 House of the Lord. 
 Built by the Church of Jesus Christ of 
 
 Latter-day Saints 1834. 
 Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of 
 Latter-day Saints in Succession 
 by Decision of Court Feb- 
 ruary, 1880. 
 
 "By order of the court" appeared to 
 the party a very poor and insufficient 
 claim without a vestige of proof of 
 divine authority. No "order of the 
 court" can transmit the succession of 
 the Holy Priesthood or of the spirit, 
 power and religious rights of the 
 Church established by revelation from 
 
 God. These are not within the jurisdic- 
 tion of any civil tribunal. The legal 
 possession of the Kirtland Temple was 
 not contested by the Church and no 
 appearance was made for it at the trial 
 instituted by the "Reorganizers." The 
 title to the property is one thing, the 
 succession of the Church authorities is 
 another and different thing involving 
 prinicples that no worldly opinion or 
 edict can affect either in time or in 
 eternity. But the party was not there 
 for argument or protest and while say- 
 ing nought, kept up considerable 
 thinking. 
 
 AROUND KIRTLAND. 
 
 President Smith and a little party of 
 his kinsmen visited the former home 
 of his father and also a lady by the 
 name of Keziah Turk, who related some 
 very interesting reminiscences concern- 
 ing the old times in Kirtland. She had 
 heard Hyrum Smith preach, and she 
 spoke of a Presbyterian minister who 
 also heard him and who pronounced 
 him a "perfect gentleman." The Whit- 
 ney store, the residence of the Johnsons 
 and of other old inhabitants at Kirt- 
 land were viewed with interest, and 
 after bidding farewell to Mr. Green and 
 his associates, with heartfelt thanks for 
 their courtesy, the party returned by 
 the same tortoise-like process to Wil- 
 loughby, where they dined and then re- 
 turned to Cleveland, passing along 
 Euclid avenue, said to be the finest in 
 the United States, and which runs a 
 distance of nine miles, containing on 
 either side many handsome residences. 
 On the way, the party visited the Gar- 
 field monument, a huge structure, more 
 remarkable for its magnitude than its 
 beauty on the outside, but the interior 
 afforded great satisfaction. The ceme- 
 tery grounds surrounding it are very 
 fine, and the tall shafts denoting spots 
 where prominent citizens are interred, 
 are tokens of the wealth of the Cleve- 
 land magnates and their respect for 
 the honored dead. One noted spot In 
 Cleveland was seen by the party, among 
 other attractions, and that was the 
 monument erected to the memory of 
 the soldiers of that city who fell in the 
 battles for the Union. It is a splendid 
 
70 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 tribute to their honor and a magnifi- 
 cent work of art. There was not time 
 to go through the entire city, but evi- 
 dences were seen on every hand of its 
 growth, progress and rapid advance- 
 ment from the position it occupied a 
 few years ago. 
 
 GREAT WORKS AT KBNOSHA. 
 
 On Thursday morning the party 
 reached Chicago and were met 
 by Mr. Frank Slosson, represent- 
 ing the Bain Wagon Company, 
 who conducted them to break- 
 fast at the Northwestern depot, 
 and then to Kenosha in a special car 
 provided by Vice President H. R. Mc- 
 Cullough. It was an elegant and com- 
 fortable private coach, and General 
 Freight Agent Edmund B. Brigham 
 kindly accompanied the party to Ke- 
 nosha. It was a delightful ride, the 
 speed being from 35 to 68 miles per 
 hour as registered by the indicator at 
 the rear end of the car. The train* 
 halted for a short time to give a good 
 view of Donvie's Zion City, which ex- 
 hibited evidences of great activity in 
 manufactures, several large buildings 
 for those purposes being in sight, and 
 a number of comfortable looking dwell- 
 ings. The whole scene showed that 
 whatever may be the vain pretensions 
 of the so-called ''Elijah, the Third," his 
 energy, skill, and foresight in material 
 matters are not to be denied or be- 
 littled. When Kenosha was reached 
 President George Yule was at hand to 
 conduct the company through the far- 
 famed Bain Wagon Works, particulars 
 of which would make a volume. Col. 
 Strong was also very attentive to the 
 visitors, and the remarkable devices in 
 use for the sawing and cutting out of 
 hard-wood timbers into hubs, spokes, 
 felloes, reaches, tongues, boxes, etc, 
 etc., and for the making and welding of 
 the iron and steel portions of the ve- 
 hicles manufactured, Werte hurriedly 
 inspected. Everything seen gave evi- 
 dence of thoroughness and excellence, 
 and told the story of the reason why 
 the Bain wagon is such a general favor- 
 ite, particularly in mountain and min- 
 ing regions. After traveling over many 
 acres of shops and works, the party 
 were taken in carriages to the Pennoyer 
 
 Sanitarium, where a splendid dinner 
 was provided of which all partook with 
 a good relish, and were most kindly re- 
 ceived by Dr. Pennoyer and his wife, 
 who conduct an institution which has 
 gained great fame for the restoration 
 of invalids who sojourn at the well- 
 appointed and commodious establish- 
 ment under their direction. 
 
 The party then went through the 
 Jeffries Automobile factory at Kenosha, 
 under the guidance of Mr. G. W. Ben- 
 nett, and witnessed the process of con- 
 structing those remarkable road ma- 
 chines from the smallest portion to the 
 perfect carriage, and were informed 
 that the company completed, on an 
 average, two automobiles each working 
 hour. Some of the most beautiful 
 specimens of the work were arranged 
 in long lines and counted up many 
 scores in number. These were all en- 
 gaged for sale and orders were too 
 great to fill immediately, but had to 
 wait their turn. The party were then 
 
 AT RACINE. 
 
 conveyed to Racine, where they went 
 through the Racine-Sattley Carriage 
 works under the auspices of H. E. 
 Miles, president of the company, and 
 attended by Secy. H. G. Moore. These 
 also proved a source of wonder and ad- 
 miration for the ingenuity and skill 
 displayed and the excellence of the 
 work conducted. The next visit was 
 to the J. I. Case Plow & Treshing 
 Machine Works, where Mr. F. Lee 
 Norton, the general manager, and Mr. 
 Gittins, sales manager, showed the 
 party through the establishment. While 
 taking a view, from the gallery above, 
 of the magnificent business depart- 
 ment, with its beautiful appointments 
 and facilities for the hundreds of clerks 
 and heads of departments, the electric 
 lights suddenly went out, leaving the 
 spectators in the dark. They waited 
 for a while, as the lights flickered oc- 
 casionally, giving promise of re- 
 appearance, but when it was evident 
 that some time would elapse before 
 they would shine out again, the party 
 departed. 
 
 The company returned with similar 
 speed to that on the outward trip, 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 71 
 
 Mesrs. Slosson and Brigham accom- 
 panying them most of the way, also 
 Mr. D. E. Terpning, assistant superin- 
 tendent of the Wells street department 
 of the Northwestern. The company 
 sang several songs for the enjoyment 
 of the gentlemen who had escorted 
 them, and Mr. Slosson, on behalf of the 
 Bain Wagon company, expressed his 
 gratification at receiving Prsident Jo- 
 seph F. Smith and his associates and 
 his regrets at the shortness of their 
 stay. C. W. Penrose was called upon 
 for a speech and responded humorously, 
 and at the same time expressed the 
 gratitude of the party for the courte- 
 sies that had been extended to them. 
 
 THE STOCK YARDS. 
 On reaching Chicago it was learned 
 that the Bain Wagon company which 
 had so royally entertained the party 
 had provided 30 seats for them in the 
 parquet of the Powers theater, where 
 they saw Maxine Elliott and her tal- 
 ented company perform "Her Own 
 Way," which was greatly enjoyed. 
 Friday was spent in different ways by 
 the members of the party, but by the 
 greater part of the company in going 
 through the Swift company's stock 
 yards. Here also space forbids a de- 
 scription of the various departments 
 
 of that mammoth establishment where 
 hogs, sheep and cattle were led to the 
 slaughter, despatched with wonderful 
 celerity, skinned, divided, cleansed, cut 
 up, cooled, and prepared for the mar- 
 ket, everything being done like clock- 
 work, each hand knowing his own par- 
 ticular part of the business and per- 
 forming it without hesitation or a blun- 
 der. The manufacture of sausages, of 
 lard, of oleomargarine, and of soap was 
 also witnessed, and enough was seen 
 to satisfy the most exacting. The 
 cleanliness and thoroughness with 
 which all the work is conducted in 
 that great establishment was a source 
 of astonishment to all beholders, and 
 the perfection of arrangements to turn 
 out the different meats in condition to 
 suit the daintiest appetite, was the 
 real charm of the entire business. Spe- 
 cial attention was paid to the party in 
 every department, and thanks are due 
 to the Swift company and its officers for 
 the courtesies extended. The weather 
 in Chicago formed the only unpleasant- 
 ness of the journey, as it rained or 
 snowed nearly all the time. President 
 Smith visited President A. E. Meyer of 
 the International Harvester Co., also 
 Mr. J. T. Callahan of the Chicago & 
 Northwestern, whose attentions to the 
 company were highly appreciated. 
 
Services in Chicago. 
 
 Friday evening meeting was held in 
 the Latter-day Saints' chapel, corner of 
 Monroe and South Paulina streets, 
 which is an elegant and commodious 
 place of worship. The services were 
 conducted by President German E. 
 Ellsworth. The choir with the pipe 
 organ renered excellent "Mormon" 
 music, and a quartet was given by El- 
 ders laboring in Chicago. The congrega- 
 tion was large, filling the floor of the 
 chapel and including a number of 
 strangers and inquirers. 
 
 The opening prayer was offered by 
 Elder Benjamin Goddard. 
 
 ELDER JOHN HENRY SMITH. 
 
 My brethren and sisters and friends, 
 I am most happy in the privilege 
 of meeting with you here tonight, 
 and I trust we may enjoy the spirit of 
 the good work which our heavenly 
 Father has established. The Gospel of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, says the Apostle 
 Paul, is the power of God unto sal- 
 vation. I hope that all of us are de- 
 sirous of becoming conversant with 
 that Gospel.and that our purpose in life 
 is to learn the truth and to be governed 
 by it as we move forward in the ful- 
 fillment of our destinies among man- 
 kind. 
 
 That which the Latter-day Saints de- 
 clare to the world as the Gospel is 
 either true or false. There can be but 
 one religion in the world that is ap- 
 proved and accepted by the Almighty. 
 No matter what our own views or edu- 
 cation may have been, if the Christi- 
 anity of the Redeemer is in the. world 
 it is here to fulfill its great mission of 
 the regeneration of the human race, 
 to bring the great family of our heav- 
 enly Father into a grand union and un- 
 to the acceptance of that "one Lord; 
 
 one faith, one baptism, one God and 
 Father of all;" and until we shall reach 
 that condition we cannot claim in trufh 
 to have the genuine Christianity. If 
 our Catholic brothers have the Chris- 
 tianity designed by our Savior, then our 
 Protestant brothers do not have it. 
 If any section of the Protestant world 
 has the true Christianity of the Re- 
 deemer, then our Catholic brothers do 
 not have it. The declaration of the 
 divine voice that an angel of the Al- 
 mighty should fly through the midst of 
 heaven, having the everlasting Gospel 
 to preach to every nation, to every kin- 
 dred, to every tongue, and to every 
 people, is presumptive evidence that at 
 that particular time, at least, the worj,d 
 would be in darkness, so far as the true 
 Gospel was concerned; and inasmuch 
 as time has continued to roll on and 
 we have not reached the unity of the 
 faith, it is to be presumed that 'the 
 Gospel in its fulness and purity has not 
 been among the children of men ever 
 since the meridian of time. 
 
 The message of the latter-day Prophet 
 is a declaration to the world that the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ has been re- 
 stored, a witness to the truth of the 
 mission of the Redeemer and to the 
 doctrines essential for our observance, 
 that we may indeed be redeemed by the 
 blood of Christ. If the gifts and graces 
 of the Gospel and the keys of the 
 Priesthood were in the world when Jo- 
 seph Smith came, then his mission was 
 to no purpose; but if an examination 
 into the facts will demonstrate fairly 
 and clearly that the doctrines an- 
 nounced by the Savior of the world and 
 taught by His Apostles were not to be 
 found among the children of men, and 
 no section of the great Christian world 
 was following its precepts, then the 
 world lay in darkness, and there was 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 73 
 
 need for the visitation of that heaven- 
 ly messenger having the Everlasting 
 Gospel to preach to them that dwelt 
 upon the earth. If they had arrived 
 at the unity of the faith; if they had 
 reached that union of purpose and {hat 
 complete understanding characteristic 
 of the Christianity of the Redeemer, 
 then the mission of Joseph Smith was 
 in no sense essential to the good of the 
 human family. But they had not reach- 
 ed that condition! 
 
 The efforts of the Latter-day Saints 
 since the introduction of the Christian- 
 ity of the Redeemer through the Proph- 
 et Joseph Smith have demonstrated the 
 necessity of the preaching of that Gos- 
 pel in its fulness and purity. The Lat- 
 ter-day Saints come forward and de- 
 clare that the world was without the 
 true Christianity, and that if Joseph 
 Smith did not receive the message of 
 the angel, if the keys and ordinances of 
 the Lord's house and the Holy Priest- 
 hood are not among the children of men 
 today as a result of the administration 
 of the heavenly messenger that John 
 saw flying in the midst of heaven, then 
 that messenger has still to come and 
 there is great need for his coming, that 
 the Gospel may be restored and man- 
 kind brought to a unity of the faith. 
 
 Mr. brothers and my sisters, it is not 
 my purpose to speak more than a few 
 minutes; but I desire to leave with 
 you this testimony, that the visitation 
 of the heavenly messenger has occur- 
 red in our day; that the truth has been 
 restored in its fulness and purity; that 
 it has come to stay; that It will never 
 again be taken from the earth, nor 
 given to another people, but that it 
 will be preached among the nations of 
 the earth and upon the islands of the 
 sea; that the purposes of the Almighty 
 will be brought about, and that the 
 children of men will be brought to a 
 unity of the faith and an acceptance 
 of the Christianity given to the world 
 by the Redeemer himself, in His own 
 way and in His own time. 
 
 That the Lord may bring us to. this 
 understanding, that we may know of 
 this truth for ourselves, and be enabled 
 to bear witness to it, is my prayer in 
 your interest and in the interest of all 
 
 our Father's great family, and I ask 
 .it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 PRESIDENT FRANCIS M. LYMAN. 
 
 My brethren and sisters and friends 
 here tonight, I am greatly pleased 
 with this privilege. A little party 
 of Latter-day Saints have just 
 been on a visit to the state of Ver- 
 mont, the birthplace of the Prophet 
 Joseph Smith, to dedicate a monument 
 to his memory. Tonight we meet with 
 you in my native state the state in 
 which the Prophet found his sepulchre. 
 I was born in the state of Illinois, early 
 enough to remember seeing the pro- 
 phet, and I have become well acquaint- 
 ed with the work that he established, 
 and have been with the Latter-day 
 Saints all my life. My parents were 
 Latter-day Saints eight years before I 
 was born, and I have always been con- 
 nected with the people. I have lived 
 with them, traveled with them, and am 
 well acquainted with them, and my 
 testimony in regard to them will, I 
 trust, be accepted as altogether reli- 
 able. I would be considered a friendly 
 witness in regard to the doctrines of 
 the Lord Jesus as revealed through 
 the Prophet Joseph Smith, and in re- 
 gard to the Latter-day Saints; for I 
 have been devoted to these doctrines, 
 and they have been my meat and drink 
 and my life. I knew the Prophet 
 Joseph as a child would know him. I 
 remember him the man who received 
 the visit from the Father and the S'on, 
 and who established this work over 75 
 years ago. I have known his successors 
 in my manhood, was acquainted with 
 them personally and intimately, and 
 know them to have been great and good 
 men.honest, conscientious, virtuous and 
 God-fearing, who have done as much as 
 men could do, with the ability they pos- 
 sessed, for the happiness of mankind, 
 for the salvation of men. The doctrines 
 that they have taught and advocated, 
 and which the Latter-day Saints live 
 by, are indeed the doctrines of the Lord 
 Jesus, and the power of God un- 
 to salvation, of which Paul was not 
 ashamed, of which we are not ashamed, 
 
74 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 and in which all men should feel a 
 pride. 
 
 The Lord has revealed the way 
 of life. He has called all men 
 to have faith in Him, to repent of 
 sin, to be baptized for the remission 
 of sin. He has commissioned men, 
 commencing with the Prophet Joseph 
 in the last century, with that divine 
 authority which is so necessary for the 
 salvation of the children of men au- 
 thority to preach, to teacn, to expound, 
 and to minister in the ordinances of the 
 Gospel, that men may be baptized for 
 the remission of their sins and receive 
 the Holy Ghost, as the Holy Ghost was 
 enjoyed in the days of the Savior, and 
 upon the same principle that He re- 
 ceived that great and precious gift 
 Himself, through His faith in His Fa- 
 ther, and through His obedience; and 
 it would have been necessary for Him 
 to have repented if He had been a sin- 
 ner, but being the only man who lived 
 without sin, He had no occasion to re- 
 pent. It was necessary, however, ac- 
 cording to the law, that He laid down 
 Himself, that He should be born of the 
 water and of the Spirit, in order that 
 He could enter into the kingdom ; for 
 He declared that "except a man be 
 born of the water and of the Spirit, he 
 cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 
 Jesus was born of the water. He was 
 also born of the Spirit; for we read 
 that when He came up out of the water, 
 after being baptized of John in Jordan, 
 the Holy Ghost descended upon Him 
 from the Father. In this experience 
 of the Son of God we have a most per- 
 fect example of the way of life and 
 salvation for all men. Jesus is the 
 way, the life, the gate, and by and 
 through Him men may enter into the 
 kingdom. There is no other door into 
 the sheepfold. Though we find today 
 in the Christian world a great variety 
 of ways and modes of initiating men 
 and women into the churches, yet there 
 can be but one true way. There is 
 but one Gospel, one Father, one Son 
 and Savior, one faith, one repentance, 
 one baptism, one Holy Ghost. I have 
 listened on many occasions to my 
 Christian friends, and have studied 
 
 their views in regard to the plan of 
 life and salvation, and I have found 
 none of them so simple, so reason- 
 able and so agreeable to the truth as 
 the doctrines laid down in the New 
 Testament, as taught by the Savior 
 Himself, and by His Apostles, who 
 were chosen and ordained by Him, and 
 commanded to go into all the world to 
 preach the Gospel unto every creature. 
 "He that believeth and is baptized shall 
 be saved, and he that believeth not 
 shall be damned." That is a very 
 positive assertion of the Savior, and 
 can be depended upon. This Gospel 
 was to be preached throughout the 
 world, and all were to have the privi- 
 lege of hearing and judging for them- 
 selves, of receiving or rejecting; and 
 those who had faith, who were bap- 
 tized and received the Holy Ghost, were 
 to enjoy the gifts of the Gospel. The 
 signs were to follow the believer. In 
 the name of the Lord they were to cast 
 out evil spirits, they were to speak with 
 new tongues and to have the interpre- 
 tation of tongues, they were to be en- 
 dowed with wisdom, and they were al- 
 so entitled to receive from the Father 
 the same kind of revelation as was 
 given to Peter, the chief of the Apos- 
 tles, which made him to know that 
 Jesus was the Christ. So may all men 
 receive this knowledge; for if any man 
 shall do the will of the Father, he shall 
 know of the doctrine, said the Savior. 
 If you will notice, Jesus made these 
 declarations very positive, and He sur- 
 prised the religious world about Him; 
 for He spoke, not as the Scribes and 
 Pharisees, but as one having authority. 
 He was commissioned of His Father, 
 and the commission He gave to His 
 Apostles was like that which He re- 
 ceived Himself from the Father. He 
 was in the world to do the will of His 
 Father, and He spoke as the Father 
 directed Him. He spoke by the gift 
 and power of the Holy Ghost, and the 
 Holy Ghost bore record of the Father. 
 So it was with Peter and with his 
 fellow Apostles. The Holy Ghost fell 
 upon them in answer to their repent- 
 ance and baptism, and they spake with 
 tongues, they prophesied, and they 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 75 
 
 enjoyed the gifts and graces of the 
 Gospel in that day. 
 
 Now, my brother has referred 
 to the restoration of the Gos- 
 pel in this day. And who cannot see, 
 looking without prejudice upon the 
 matter, that it was really necessary 
 that the Lord should speak from heav- 
 en in regard to Himself? Has it not 
 been necessary that there should be 
 a witness for God in the earth? Who 
 is there among all the Christian world 
 that can stand up and tell us who 
 God is, and who the Son of God is? 
 "Who hath seen them, that they might 
 be in a position to bear witness of 
 them? Since the Savior and the 
 Apostles fell asleep, what prophet, 
 what men have arisen who have borne 
 witness of the Father and made it 
 clear unto the children of men as to 
 who and what He is. and as to who 
 and what the Son of God is? 
 
 Now, we have learned, through the 
 revelations of the Lord Jesus to the 
 Prophet Joseph, that the Father and 
 the Son are in the express image of 
 each other; that, as announced in the 
 scripture, the Son is the express image 
 and likeness of His Father. The world 
 had come largely to believe that the 
 Father was not a personage; but the 
 Father of the Lord Jesus is just as 
 surely a personage of tabernacle, as 
 that my father was a personage of 
 tabernacle. Jesus was born into this 
 world as you and I were born, begotten 
 of His Father, and in the very like- 
 ness and image of His Father. He 
 grew from infancy to childhood, from 
 childhood to manhood, and developed 
 the strength and power of a man. He 
 was subject to the will of His Father 
 in all things, as all of the children 
 of men should be. He listened to his 
 councel and received the truth from 
 Him. And as He and His Father are 
 one, in doctrine, in principle, in power, 
 in majesty and might, so should the 
 children of men be one. You should not 
 be pitted against me, I should not be 
 pitted agaist you; but we should be 
 in harmony, we should have but the 
 one faith, the one baptism, and our 
 faith in God should be just as im- 
 plicit and unshaken as the faith of the 
 
 Son. Jesus came into the world to do 
 the will of the Father. Have not we 
 come into the world to do the will of 
 the Father? Was it any more neces- 
 sary for the salvation of the Son of 
 God that He should do the will of the 
 Father than it is that you and I 
 should do the will of the Father? Have 
 we not been sent on that same mis- 
 sion? Are we not as precious in the 
 eyes of our Father, according to our 
 virtue and goodness and devotion to 
 Him, as our Elder Brother, Jesus, the 
 Savior of the world? If He walked in 
 purity before the Lord, is not that the 
 correct and proper example for you 
 and me? Is it not important that we 
 find out whether we are in communica- 
 tion with the Father, and whether the 
 heavens are opened for us? Is it not 
 as necessary that the Holy Ghost 
 should descend upon me and inspire me 
 as well as the Son of God? We are 
 weaker than He was; we are sinful, 
 He was not; therefore, we have the 
 greater need of faith and repentance, 
 and the greater need to work righteous- 
 ness and do the will of God, than He 
 had. Why then shall we not make it 
 the important question of our lives to 
 know the Father, to become acquainted 
 with Him, and to find out which of 
 all the churches in the world is the 
 one that He has established? Let every 
 Christian man examine his own faith, 
 and question himeslf as to where he 
 stands, and as to whether he is In 
 harmony with the will of the Father. 
 Has he taken the step that Jesus took? 
 Has he submitted his will to the will 
 of the Father? Has he done the will 
 of the Lord? For the promise was 
 laid down by the Savior and none 
 can be laid down better that he who 
 would do the will of the Father should 
 know of the doctrine. How important 
 it is that we should know of the doc- 
 trine! Are we Christians, in fellow- 
 ship with the Son of God, and do not 
 know whether the doctrines we have 
 received are true? If we do not know, 
 then we may rest assured that we 
 have not quite done the will of the 
 Lord, whether we be Latter-day Saints, 
 Roman Catholics, Protestants, or of 
 any other denomination. If a man does 
 
76 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 not know God and Jesus Christ whom 
 He hath sent, if he has not within him 
 the witness of the Father and of the 
 Son, it is because he has not done the 
 will of the Father; for Jesus said and 
 let Jesus be true, though every man 
 be false that if any man will do the 
 will of the Father, he shall know of 
 the doctrine. This is within the reach 
 of every man who has a measure of 
 faith in the Father and the Son to 
 approach them acceptably and prop- 
 erly. 
 
 As Latter-day Saints, we go into the 
 world and present our faith; and we 
 promise every man who will sincerely 
 humble himself before the Lord and 
 have faith, repent of his sins, and with 
 a broken heart and a contrite spirit be 
 baptized for the remission of his sins, 
 that he shall receive from the Father- 
 not from the Elders of this Church 
 the gift of the Holy Ghost by the lay- 
 ing on of hands, just as Peter promised 
 upon the day of Pentecost, when the 
 people were pricked in their hearts and 
 wanted to know what they should do. 
 They believed in the message and testi- 
 mony of Peter; they were convicted in 
 their hearts of the death of Jesus, and 
 they were convinced of the doctrines 
 that Peter taught; so they cried out, 
 Men and brethren, what shall we do? 
 Peter answered, Repent every one of 
 you, and be baptized in the name of 
 Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, 
 and ye shall receive the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost. Is that good doctrine? That 
 is the doctrine the Latter-day Saints 
 teach. We have practised it now for 
 75 years, with the result that hundreds 
 of thousands of Latter-day Saints are 
 gathered together, having come from 
 many of the nations of the earth, and 
 they will ultimately be gathered from 
 all nations. There is not a nation un- 
 der heaven that shall not hear the 
 sound of the Gospel; for we will take it 
 to them, and preach it without money 
 and without price. The Lord will be 
 with His servants as He was anciently, 
 and the gifts and graces of the Gos- 
 pel will attend upon their ministry; 
 and every man that has the courage, 
 faith and humility to humble himself 
 
 to the very dust in the spirit of re- 
 pentance and reformation can receive 
 the knowledge of the truth and know 
 that the doctrine is of the Lord. I have 
 been proving this doctrine in my life 
 and labors for 65 years.and I have dem- 
 onstrated its truth, its power and its 
 virtue, and can commend it to you, my 
 friends, my countrymen, and to all the 
 world. I say to you, as a man whose 
 word is unimpeachable, that this doc- 
 trine is of the Lord. The Latter-day 
 Saints have established themselves in 
 your city, which i s one of the greatest 
 cities of the world, and destined to 
 grow and to compare with any other 
 city of the United States. The city ot 
 the Saints on the banks of the Missis- 
 sippi 60 years ago was the equal of 
 Chicago; but Chicago has grown and 
 developed to her present proportions, 
 and ha s not yet seen one-half of her 
 extent in miles , nor one- tenth of the 
 population that she will have, for there 
 is room and resources around here to 
 make this one of the greatest cities 
 on earth; and I trust that it will be 
 kept a good city and well governed. 
 
 I leave this testimony with you, my 
 brethren and sisters and friends, and 
 my countrymen. These things are true, 
 as I stand before you tonight; for the 
 Lord hath revealed them to me bv His 
 Holy Spirit. God bless you and put 
 His Spirit into your hearts and give 
 you to understand th e truth. It is 
 worth more to you than the millions 
 that are gathered in this great city, to 
 know His will, to hear His voice, to en- 
 joy His inspiration, to know that you 
 stand in His favor and fellowship in 
 this life, that you may enjoy it 
 throughout eternity. That is worth 
 more than the wealth oT the world. 
 God bless you, my brethren and sis- 
 ters, in the name of Jesus, Amen. 
 
 PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND. 
 
 With President Smith and his par- 
 ty I have been on a visit to Ver- 
 mont, where we dedicated a monu- 
 ment to the Prophet Joseph Smith. 
 Last Saturday it was just a hundred 
 years since he was born, and we felt it 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 77 
 
 fitting to raise a monument on the very 
 place where he was born. 
 
 To the world it may seem strange that 
 we believe that Joseph Smith was a 
 Prophet. In encyclopedias and books 
 written concerning him. he has been 
 represented as an impostor, a false 
 prophet. You have heard the testimony 
 of my brethren who have preceded me. 
 They testify that they know he was a 
 Prophet of God. This is my testimony 
 also to you. This testimony is not 
 based on a guess, but the Spirit of the 
 Lord has made it known unto me; and 
 I also say, as Brother Lyman said, 
 everyone can obtain that testimony by 
 doing the will of the Lord. 
 
 This is a very important question to 
 all the world. If he is a Prophet of 
 God, as we testify, it is important that 
 every person should know it. If he was 
 sent of God into the world, then his 
 message is of the utmost concern to all. 
 It means that what he declared was 
 the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But many 
 say that we have had the Gospel ever 
 since the days of Christ upon the earth, 
 and what need therefore of another 
 one? What need of a new prophet to 
 atfse to preach the Gospel when so 
 many millions believe in Christ as the 
 Savior, or at least profess to believe in 
 Him? 
 
 It was prophesied by the Apostles for- 
 merly that there would come a time 
 when there would be a falling away, 
 that men would not believe in sound 
 doctrine, but would teach for doctrine 
 the commandments of men. They fore- 
 saw a time when men would usurp the 
 authority to preach the Gospel. Paul 
 says: 
 
 "Now we beseech you, brethren, by 
 the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and by our gathering together unto him, 
 
 "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, 
 or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by 
 word, nor by letter as from us, as that 
 the day of Christ is at hand. 
 
 "Let no man deceive you by any 
 means; for that day shall not come, ex- 
 cept there come a falling away first, 
 and that man of sin be revealed, the 
 son of perdition; 
 
 "Who opposeth and exalteth himself 
 above all that is called God, or that is 
 
 worshiped; so that he a* God sitteth in 
 the temple of God, showing himself that 
 he* is God." 
 
 At the time Paul wrote this *o the 
 Thessalonians there was a feeling in the 
 Church that the day of Christ was at 
 hand, and Paul did not want them to be 
 deceived. He saw that there would 
 come a falling away before that great 
 day, when the "man of sin" should be 
 revealed and almost make himself as 
 God. Such a time, we believe, has been 
 upon the earth, when men rejected 
 sound doctrine and accepted doctrines 
 that were formulated by men. It was 
 not long after the Apostles were upon 
 the earth that they began to teach the 
 doctrine that has been referred to to- 
 night, that God was an impersonal be- 
 ing and had no a body. Now, you read 
 the Scriptures from beginning to encT 
 and you will find how they point to the 
 fact that God our Father created us in 
 His image, and that His Son was in the 
 exact image of the Father. Gradually, 
 however, the doctrine of the personality 
 of the Father was rejected, and men 
 formulated in its place the doctrine that 
 God had neither body, parts nor pas- 
 sions. What kind of a being is a per- 
 son without body, parts or passions? It 
 reminds me of an old Bishop in Africa. 
 They made it a law in his church that 
 anyone who believed that God had a 
 body should be excommunicated. He 
 believed in the God that was taught in 
 the Bible, but by the new law he was 
 forbidden to teach this and was com- 
 pelled to accept of a God without body, 
 parts or passions, and he exclaimed, 
 "Now they have taken my God away 
 from me." 
 
 We know that Jesus had a body 
 when He ascended into heaven, 
 and the testimony of the angels unto 
 the Apostles was that He should re- 
 turn as they saw Him ascend. They 
 had been allowed to feel of His body, 
 and it had been demonstrated to them 
 that the resurrected body was the 
 same body that He had before He was 
 crucified, only it was cleansed of all 
 things pertaining to corruption and 
 was no longer subject to mortality. It 
 was so refined that He could appear 
 amongst the Apostles when He wanted 
 
78 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 to, as we read in the New Testament. 
 But it was the same body, and they 
 bore testimony to the fact that He was 
 resurrected from the dead, and that 
 He ascended to heaven. Then we 
 have the testimony that He is to return 
 as He ascended. 
 
 We are told by Paul, in his letter to 
 the Philippians: 
 
 "For our conversation is in heaven; 
 from whence also we look for the Sav- 
 ior, the Lord Jesus Christ: 
 
 "Who shall change our vile body, 
 that it may be fashioned like unto His 
 glorious Body, according to the work- 
 ings whereby he is able even to sub- 
 due all things unto himself." 
 
 The promise is here given that we 
 also shall be resurrected from the dead, 
 and that our vile bodies shall be fash- 
 ioned like unto His glorious body. This 
 promise is to those who believe on Him 
 and are His followers. The statement 
 is here made that He has a glorious 
 body, and we know that He is like 
 unto the Father, in the express image 
 of the Father, and hence we conclude 
 that the Father has a glorious body 
 also. And this doctrine pervades the 
 whole Scriptures. 
 
 Now we declare unto you that Joseph 
 Smith gave this doctrine unto us by 
 revelation, and it is entirely consistent 
 with the Scriptures. He was a Prophet 
 and, being a Prophet, would he not be 
 most likely to foretell what should be- 
 fall the people who believed in him? He 
 did so. He told concerning their driv- 
 ings from place to place, and in 1844 he 
 prophesied that they should go to the 
 Rocky mountains and there become a 
 great people. We have seen this pro- 
 phesy fulfilled. The Latter-day Saints 
 have been driven from city to city, 
 from state to state, and out into the 
 desert. He said that they should make 
 the desert to blossom as the rose. It 
 has been done. Let me read a few lines 
 from one of the revelations given 
 through the Prophet Joseph Smith: 
 
 "But before the great day of the 
 Lord shall come, Jacob shall nourish in 
 the wilderness, and the Lamanites 
 shall blossom as the rose. 
 
 "Zion shall nourish upon the hills 
 and rejoice upon the mountains, and 
 
 shall be assembled together unto the 
 place which I have appointed." 
 
 This was predicted 16 years before the 
 Saints went out into the desert and 
 located upon the hills and the moun- 
 tains, and before the Lamanites com- 
 menced to receive the Gospel. Joseph 
 saw in vision what should come to 
 pass, and prophesied thus concerning 
 his own people. And as there were 
 great things to happen in this nation, 
 he foretold what should come to pass. 
 Twenty-eight years before the Civil war 
 broke out he prophesied that the south 
 should rise up against the north, and 
 he even pointed out the very place 
 where it should start. I will read a 
 part of the prophesy, given Dec. 25, 
 1832: 
 
 "Verily, thus saith the Lord, con- 
 cerning the wars that will shortly come 
 to pass, beginning* at the rebellion of 
 South Carolina, which will eventually 
 terminate in the death and misery of 
 many souls. 
 
 "The days will come that war will 
 be poured out upon all nations, begin- 
 ning at that place; 
 
 "For behold, the southern states shall 
 be divided against the northern states, 
 and the southern states will call on 
 other nations, even the nation of Great 
 'Britain, as it is called, and they shall 
 also call upon other nations, in order 
 to defend themselves against other na- 
 tions; and thus war shall be poured 
 out upon all nations. 
 
 "And it shall come to pass, after 
 many days, slaves shall rise up against 
 their masters, who shall be marshaled 
 and disciplined for war: 
 
 "And it shall come to pass also, that 
 the remnants who are left of the land 
 will marshal themselves, and shall ber 
 come exceedingly angry, and shall vex 
 the Gentiles with a sore vexation." 
 
 The first part of this prophecy has 
 been ulfilled. I remember reading this 
 prophecy four or five years before the 
 first gun was fired at Fort Sumpter; 
 and when I heard the news about the 
 secession I felt that there was a strong 
 evidence that a Prophet had been in 
 our midst. He told the nation what 
 should come to pass; he told his own 
 people what should happen unto them, 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 and he prophesied a great many things 
 which have taken place. This very Book 
 of Doctrine and Covenants contains 
 many revelations that we have seen lit- 
 erally fulfilled. The Book of Mormon 
 likewise contains prophecies which 
 have been fulfilled in our day. Take 
 the prophecy that there should be a 
 gathering out from all nations. The 
 Book of Mormon was given to the world 
 before the Church was organized. A 
 poor boy in a backwood settlement 
 could hardly think that he would be 
 able to stir up the world enough to 
 have people gather from all nations be- 
 lieving in his message. But such a 
 revelation came to him, and he gave 
 it to the world many years before any- 
 one was gathered, and we see the re- 
 sult today. We see a people gathered 
 in the mountains, trying to build up 
 a Zion unto the Lord. They are cosmo- 
 politan in character, for they have 
 been gathered from many lands, and 
 the prophecy is fulfilled. 
 
 My dear friends, this testimony that 
 we bear to you is worth examining. If 
 you will compare the doctrines pro- 
 mulgated through the Prophet Joseph 
 Smith with the Scriptures, you will find 
 they are consistent in all points with 
 what the Apostles taught formerly. All 
 those who have joined the Church of 
 Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 
 sincerity and obeyed the principles of 
 the Gospel will bear testimony that 
 what was promised them they received. 
 They were told that if they would obey 
 the commandments of the Lord, be- 
 lieve, repent of sins committed, go Into 
 the waters of baptism, and make cove- 
 nant with the Lord to serve Him, they 
 should receive the Holy Ghost, which 
 should bear witness unto them of the 
 truth of the Gospel. Those who have 
 received this Gospel will bear testi- 
 mony, as I bear testimony to you, that 
 the Gospel is true and that they have 
 received the witness of it through the 
 Holy Ghost as promised. God bless 
 you all. Amen. 
 
 ELDER C. W. PENROSE. 
 
 I have been very much interested 
 this evening in listening to the testi- 
 
 monies that have been borne by my 
 brethren and the instructions impart- 
 ed, and I am very thankful to have 
 the opportunity of saying a few words 
 to the people gathered here tonight. 
 
 I have had the privilege of attending 
 the dedication of the monument to the 
 memory of the Prophet Joseph Smith. 
 I took great delight in it, for the 
 same reason that prompted my breth- 
 ren to go there and that inspired the 
 work of raising that beautiful memen- 
 to; for I know as I know that I live 
 that Joseph Smith, whose name is de- 
 rided among a great many people 
 called Christians, was in very deed a 
 prophet of the living God. I obtained 
 that testimony when I was a boy. I 
 was not born in this country. I was 
 the only one of my father's house who 
 embraced the Gospel, and I had to re- 
 ceive it in face of a great deal of oppo- 
 sition; but the Lord made manifest to 
 me the truth of it,and who was I that I 
 should resist the truth when I under- 
 stood it? I was born in London, Eng- 
 land. I heard the Elders preach the 
 Gospel in my native land, and having 
 been well acquainted with the' scrip- 
 tures from my childhood (for I was 
 brought up in a Christian family and 
 was taught the Bible in Sunday 
 school) I at once recognized the fact 
 that what thev taught was exactly the 
 same as that which was taught by the 
 Apostles of Jesus Christ, and by the 
 Lord himself. I investigated, I prayed. 
 I earnestly desired to know the mind 
 and will of the Lord, and it was made 
 clear to my mind that the principles 
 advocated by the Elders were true, 
 and I commenced to defend them 
 when they were attacked by persons 
 who opposed the Latter-day Saints. 
 Then the question arose in my mind. 
 If you believe in these principles and 
 will defend them when they are at- 
 tacked, why don't you obey them? So 
 I went forward, according. to the com- 
 mand of the Lord, and obeyed the 
 Gospel, by faith and repentance and by 
 being immersed in water for the re- 
 mission of sins by a man claiming to 
 hold authority from the Lord, and 
 hands were laid upon me that I might 
 receive the Holy Ghost. I testify to 
 
80 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 you tonight, before the Lord, before 
 the angels, and I am willing to bear 
 the same testimony before all the 
 world, that the spirit and power of 
 God rested down upon me and mani- 
 fested the truth of these principles. I 
 knew then, as I know now, that Jo- 
 seph Smith was in very deed a proph- 
 et of the living- God, raised up to 
 usher in the last dispensation spoken 
 of by the Apostle Paul in his epistle 
 to the Ephesians, 1st chap.. 10th and 
 llth verses, wherein he says: 
 
 "Having made known unto us the 
 mystery of his will, according to iits 
 good pleasure which he hath purposed 
 in himself: 
 
 "That in the dispensation of the ful- 
 ness of times he might gather to- 
 gether in one all things in Christ, 
 both which are in heaven, and which 
 are on earth." 
 
 Joseph Smith was raised up to 
 usher in that dispensation the last 
 and greatest dispensation of God's 
 mercy to man. And, as we have heaul 
 tonight, there was a great necessity 
 for the raising up of a man of God 
 who could commune with the heavens. 
 Revelation had been shut off for hun- 
 dreds of years, not because God was 
 not willing to reveal himself to man- 
 kind, but because mankind had re- 
 jected the principle of revelation. 
 They did not draw near unto God ex- 
 pecting to hear anything from Him. 
 They were taught by their ministers 
 and preachers that the days of revela- 
 tion were passed, that "the awful 
 voice of prophecy was stilled forever," 
 that the canon of scripture was full, 
 and that God would not reveal him- 
 self again. So they did not seek Him 
 in faith, and it is only by faitli that 
 He can be approached. But when the 
 boy Joseph Smith, bewildered by what 
 he heard from the different denomina- 
 toins concerning the way of the Lord, 
 finding them conflicting one with 
 another, yet all professing to be- 
 lieve in the Bible when he was 
 puzzled in his mind and desirous in his 
 soul to learn the truth, he went into 
 his father's grove (which we have just 
 had the pleasure of visiting) and pray- 
 
 ed to the Lord in earnestness that He 
 would show to him the truth; for he 
 had read in the 1st chapter of James, 
 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him 
 ask of God, that giveth to all men lib- 
 erally, and upbraideth not; and it shall 
 be given him. But let him ask in faith, 
 nothing wavering." He went in faith, 
 and prayed to the Lord earnestly to 
 make manifest the truth to him; and 
 in that grove God heard his prayer, 
 and descending from on high in a pil- 
 lar of light the Father and the Son 
 were disclosed to him. The Father, 
 pointing to the Son, said, "This is my 
 beloved Son: hear him." 
 
 Joseph Smith's prayer was answered, 
 and he gave to this generation that 
 grand and glorious truth which some 
 of my brethren have talked about here 
 tonight, that the Father is not a mere 
 myth, not a being without body, or 
 form, or shape or likeness, not some- 
 thing that cannot be grasped by the hu- 
 man mind, "without body, parts or pas- 
 sions," but a being who made man in 
 His own image and likeness, and from 
 Whom our immortal spirits have 
 sprung. For we are the sons and daugh- 
 ters of God, and He is in very deed our 
 Father, as Christ came to make mani- 
 fest. Said he, "When ye pray, do not 
 pray after the manner of the heathen; 
 but after this manner pray ye: Our 
 Father, which art in heaven." He came 
 from the Father to manifest the Fath- 
 er. He was God manifest in the flesh, 
 because He wa s exactly in the image 
 and likeness of our Eternal Father. 
 God made Himself manifest to the 
 Prophet Joseph Smith, and he was then 
 able to proclaim to the world the 
 truth concerning the Father. "This is 
 eternal life," said Jesus Christ, when 
 He was praying to the Father, "that 
 they may know Thee, the only 
 true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
 Thou hast sent." So the Lord made 
 manifest to the Prophet Joseph Smith 
 that great truth to open this dispen- 
 sation, and He promised him that in 
 due time the principles of the everlast- 
 ing Gospel should be made manifest to 
 him in their fulness. When Joseph saw 
 these heavenly Beings, he asked which 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 81 
 
 of all the churches he should join; for 
 among the many different denomina- 
 tions there was so much conflict, one 
 eayingr, "This is the way, walk ye in 
 it," and another telling a different 
 story, and so on, that he was at a loss 
 to know which was the true way and 
 the true Church. The Son told him not 
 to go after any of them, for "they 
 draw near to me with their lips, but 
 their hearts are far from me; they 
 teach for doctrines the commandments 
 of men, having a form of godliness, but 
 denying the power thereof.' In time, 
 as the Ix)rd promised, he was visited 
 by angels, according to the prediction 
 of John the Revelator f that we heard 
 about tonight. In the 14th chapter of 
 Revelation, 6th and 7th verses, John 
 
 say,, Bancroft LibriS! 
 
 "And I saw another angel fly in the 
 midst of heaven, having the everlast- 
 ing Gospel to preach unto them that 
 dwell on the earth, and to every nation, 
 and kindred, and tongue, and people. 
 
 "Saying with a loud voice. Fear God, 
 and give glory to Him; for the hour 
 of His judgment is come; and worship 
 Him that made heaven, and earth, and 
 the sea, and the fountains of waters." 
 Not bow down to a myth, a shadow; 
 not bow down to that which one of the 
 learned men of the age has described 
 as "a fog floating through space," 
 without form, or shape, or likeness; but 
 "worship Him that made heaven, and 
 earth, and the sea, and the fountains 
 of waters." The angel was to come 
 I bring the Gospel, for every nation 
 and kindred, and tongue, and people' 
 showing that when the angel should 
 come the whole world would be without 
 the fulness of the Gospel. That angel 
 came to the Prophet Joseph, and dis- 
 posed to him the place where the 
 plates were hidden from which he- 
 erwards translated the Book of Mor- 
 mon. Then other messengers, who liv- 
 ed in former dispensations, came and 
 conferred upon him authority and pow- 
 to ( build up the kingdom of God 
 in the latter days, spoken of by all 
 the holy prophets since the world be- 
 gan. We are living in the time of 
 the restitution of all things, that 
 
 - Peter spoke of. in the which the Lord 
 will restore all things that have 
 been lost. We are living in the grandest 
 dispensation ever opened to man; and 
 the Father and Son came in person to 
 open it. Angels also have come down 
 from the courts of glory and brought 
 light, power, truth and authority; and 
 men are living now upon the earth 
 holding that authority. Joseph Smith 
 was inspired and authorized of God to 
 build up the Church of Christ after the 
 ancient pattern, with prophets, apos- 
 tles, evangelists, pastors and teach- 
 ers. "For the perfecting of the Saints, 
 for the work of the ministry, for the 
 edifying of the body of Christ, till we 
 all come in the unity of the faith, and 
 of the knowledge of the Son of God." 
 
 This is what we proclaim to the 
 world, that knowledge concerning the 
 Father and the Son may be had by 
 obeying the will of the Lord. The Lord 
 has commanded and given authority to 
 His servants, as in ancient times, to go 
 into all the world and preach the Gos- 
 pel to every creature. "He that believ- 
 eth and is baptized, shall be saved; but 
 he that believeth not shall be damned. 
 And these signs shall follow them that 
 believe: In my name shall they cast 
 out devils; they shall speak with new 
 tongues; they shall take up serpents; 
 and if they drink any deadly thing:, it 
 shall not hurt them; they shall lay 
 hands on the sick, and they shall re- 
 cover." These promises were fulfilled in 
 former times; they have been fulfilled 
 in latter times; for the same power, in- 
 fluence and authority given to the an- 
 cient Apostles have been restored to the 
 earth, and will not be taken away 
 again. The Gospel will be preached to 
 every nation, kindred, tongue and peo- 
 ple under the whole heavens. More 
 than that, our ancestors, many of whom 
 were just as good as men and women 
 could be, also the heathen nations who 
 never heard the Gospel of Christ in the 
 flesh and have gone, by millions, 
 behind the veil they also will hear the 
 Gospel. For the Lord's plans are not 
 contracted and bound up to the narrow 
 sphere of this little globe on which 
 we live; but all the inhabitants of the 
 earth are His sons and daughters, and 
 
82 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 an opportunity will be given to every 
 one to hear the truth as it is in the 
 Lord. As we have heard tonight, there 
 is but one way, and there cannot be 
 any other. There could not be half a 
 dozen true religions, unless there were 
 half a dozen true Gods. There is one 
 Lord, one faith, one baptism, one hope 
 of our calling, and strait is the gate 
 and narrow the way that leads unto 
 life, and few there be that find it in 
 this world; but the time will come when 
 the servants of God, clothed with the 
 power and authority sent down from on 
 high, after they have finished their 
 work in this life, will proclaim the mes- 
 sage of life and salvation in the spirit 
 world, like Jesus Christ, their Master, 
 (as recorded in Peter's first epistle, 
 third chapter, 18-20 verses) who, "be- 
 ing put to death in the flesh, but 
 quickened by the spirit, went and 
 preached to the spirits in prison, which 
 sometime were disobedient, in the days 
 of Noah, while the ark was preparing." 
 In the fourth chapter, sixth verse, he 
 declares, "For this cause was the Gos- 
 pel preached also to them that are dead, 
 that they might be judged according to 
 men in the flesh, but live according to 
 God in the spirit." 
 
 Who knew anything about these 
 things until the Lord revealed them in 
 the latter days through Joseph Smith? 
 Who knew that the Gospel could be 
 preached to the dead as well as the 
 living? That when mankind leave the 
 body they are sentient beings entities; 
 not myths floating in the air, but in- 
 dividuals, whose bodies are coverings 
 for the spirit? The body is in the form 
 of and a covering for the spirit; and all 
 the intelligence that we learn in this 
 world we carry with us to the world be- 
 yond. People there, as well as here, can 
 believe; they can be taught and in- 
 structed; they can repent; they can 
 turn unto God, or they can rebel 
 against Him; for the principle of agen- 
 cy is there, as it is here. When *we 
 shuffle off this mortal coil and it drops 
 into the grave, we emerge into the other 
 life as individuals, with the ex- 
 perience we have gained, -with a 
 knowledge of evil as well as 
 of good, with an appreciation 
 
 of pain as well as pleasure, with an 
 understanding of the opposites. When 
 we get ' behind the veil we can learn 
 and progress. For progress is the or- 
 der of the universe, while eternal ages 
 come and go. And so the Gospel will 
 be preached to every creature living, 
 and to those we call dead. 
 
 These are a few of the simple things 
 that have been revealed through the 
 Prophet Joseph Smith. He was in- 
 spired of God; he was full of iighk 
 and intelligence; he was clothed with 
 power. He communed with the heav- 
 ens, and the heavens were opened to 
 his gaze. He has poured out such a 
 flood of principle and of truth that 
 we could not begin to talk about these 
 things in one short evening that we 
 are privileged to have here among the 
 people of Chicago. But we have made 
 a little explanation of a few of the 
 first simple principles of the Gospel of 
 Christ. This is but the beginning; for 
 the Lord designs in the great dispen- 
 sation of the fulness of times to re- 
 store all things that have been lost. If 
 there has been a truth made manifest 
 in the ages gone by, it will be brought 
 forth in this great age. If there is 
 a doctrine, an ordinance, a command- 
 ment, a revelation of any kind that 
 has been given in former times, wheth- 
 er written or unwritten (for a great 
 many things have been written that 
 have not been placed in the Bible, and 
 the Bible speaks of books that we 
 have not now in that compilation), 
 all will be restored in this last dis- 
 pensation. And though wicked men 
 shed the blood of Joseph Smith and 
 his brother Hyrum, and they sealed 
 their testimony with their blood, the 
 spirit and power which God gave to 
 them have been left with the Church, 
 and the keys which He gave to the 
 Prophet Joseph Smith have descended 
 to his successors, and rest down today 
 upon our present president, Joseph F. 
 Smith, his nephew, a son of the Patri- 
 arch Hyrum; and the Lord has de- 
 creed that these keys shall not be tak- 
 en from the earth. They are the keys 
 spoken of which "bind on earth and 
 it is bound in heaven, and loose on 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 83 
 
 earth and it is loosed In heaven." 
 They are the keys and authority of 
 the holy Priesthood, and of the apos- 
 tleship. And they will not be taken 
 away from the earth again, but they 
 will remain and accomplish the work 
 for which they have been revealed; for 
 these are the last days, the days pre- 
 paratory to the coming of the Son of 
 Man, and this work is going forward 
 to prepare the way. He will come the 
 second time, not as the babe of Beth- 
 lehem, not to be despised and reject- 
 ed of men, but He shall come in the 
 clouds of heaven, with power and 
 great glory* to "take vengeance on 
 them that know not God and obey not 
 His Gospel," because it will have been 
 preached to them and they will have 
 had the opportunity of receiving it. 
 He shall come to be "admired of His 
 Saints," to reign upon the throne of 
 His father David, and His dominion 
 shall extend unto the uttermost parts 
 of the earth, and all nations and king- 
 doms and peoples shall be subdued un- 
 to Him. But before that great and 
 terrible day of the Lord shall come 
 there will be war, famine, pestilence 
 and earthquakes in divers places, and 
 all the other things that Christ pre- 
 dicted as signs of His coming. One 
 of these signs, remember, was: "And 
 this Gospel of the kingdom shall be 
 preached in all the world for a wit- 
 ness unto all nations and then shall 
 the end come." Matth. xxiv, 14. 
 
 I bear testimony to you tonight that 
 this Gospel has been restored and is 
 now being preached as a witness un- 
 to the nations of the earth, my breth- 
 ren, and I have traveled in many na- 
 tions. I have had the pleasure and 
 privilege of lifting up my voice in 
 defense of these principles for nearly 
 55 years ,and I rejoice in them with 
 all my soul, for I know they are true, 
 arid that they have come down from 
 God out of heaven in the last days as 
 a witness to the world. And that 
 Gospel will be preached, the Saints of 
 God will be gathered, the honest, true 
 and virtuous of every land and clime 
 will be attracted towards us, and the 
 time will come when the walls of pre- 
 
 judice will be broken down, and the 
 clouds of error will disappear, and the 
 light of truth will shine forth, and 
 thousands of people who now smile at 
 these things and reject them in their 
 hearts will seek after them eagerly and 
 rejoice to receive a testimony of their 
 truth. 
 
 It is, no doubt, a difficult thing for 
 you, my young brethren who are labor- 
 ing here in Chicago, to battle against 
 the prejudice that exists and the dense 
 darkness that overspreads the minds of 
 the children of men, who think they 
 are basking in the rays of Gospel light 
 and yet are without a word from on 
 high, without a revelation from above, 
 without speaking even under the in- 
 spiration of the Holy Ghost. It is 
 a hard task for you to undertake; but 
 keep on trying. Do not be discour- 
 aged. Keep on with your good work, 
 and the time will come when you will 
 see the fruit of the seed you are sow- 
 ing. If you do not see it in this 
 world, you will in the world behind 
 the veil. Thousands upon thousands 
 who have heard this Gospel preached 
 and have not obeyed it will be glad to 
 receive it after they have paid the ut- 
 termost farthing for their sins, t-nd 
 they will be ready to bow the knee to 
 King Immanuel. It matters not so 
 long as you do your work, bear your 
 testimony and lift up your voices. Do 
 not be weary in well-doing. In due 
 season you shall reap, if you faint 
 not, and the power and blessing of God 
 will be upon you. The Lord loves you, 
 your parents and friends in the moun- 
 tains are praying and fasting for you, 
 that God may bless you, support you 
 and keep you in safety from the world. 
 I feel in my heart tonight full of bless- 
 ing for these my brethren. If there 
 were time, I would like to enlarge upon 
 these glorious principles, but I feel that 
 I have spoken too long already. I am 
 thankful for this opportunity. I love 
 this work with all my soul. I know 
 it is true. I know it will prevail. I 
 know Joseph Smith was a prophet of 
 the living God, and that includes the 
 testimony that Jesus is the Christ, that 
 He who died on Calvary was indeed 
 
84 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 the Son of God, that God is our Father. 
 and that He loves us and desires our 
 salvation; but he cannot save us ex- 
 cept on the principles of eternal truth, 
 for if He tried to do so He would 
 cease to be God. He is God because 
 He lives by the truth and by the eter- 
 nal principles of justice, mercy, light 
 and intelligence. And He wishes to 
 raise us up from our low level, .and 
 place our feet in the path which, if 
 we will pursue it, wil bring us glory, 
 immortality and eternal life and a place 
 forever in the presence of our Father 
 and our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ. 
 
 God bless the Saints here in Chicago! 
 God bless the people who have gath- 
 ered in this house tonight, and may 
 the testimonies that have been born 
 sink deep into their hearts and never 
 leave them! That is the best wish I 
 can have for you, my friends. May 
 the testimony of the truth abide with 
 you;' and if you will follow it out and 
 seek to the Lord in the prayer of faith, 
 He will answer your prayers and will 
 lead you in the way of salvation, which 
 will be of more value to you than all 
 the wealth of the world. May His peace 
 and blessing abide with you, through 
 Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH. 
 
 I do not wish to trespass upon your 
 time, but I feel as though I would 
 like to say a few words to our El- 
 ders and Saints who live in and 
 around this city and who are present 
 this evening. We have heard very 
 strong testimonies from our brethren 
 in relation to the divine mission of the 
 Prophet Joseph Smith and the great 
 sacrifice made by the Son of God for 
 the redemption of mankind. Our El- 
 ders are sent out into the world to 
 bear testimony of these things, to teach 
 the pure truth, and to show men, not 
 only by their words, but particularly 
 by their example, just how they should 
 live in this world in order that they 
 may obtain the favor of the Lord, that 
 they may walk in the light as He is in 
 the light, that they may have fellow- 
 ship with Him, and that the blood of 
 
 Christ may cleanse them from all sin. 
 I would like to say a word or two to 
 our brethren who are laboring here, 
 and to those who are studying in the 
 various colleges and universities here. 
 I wish to admonish them to remember 
 who they are and what they are, who 
 and what their parents are, what they 
 have been taught at home, and what 
 manner of men they should be while 
 they are out in the world engaged in 
 the ministry or in study. Brethren, I 
 want you to live above suspicion. Live 
 so that no man on earth can justly 
 point to a single blemish in your char- 
 acters. Keep yourselves pure and un- 
 spotted from the world. It is proper 
 for all men. but it is especially essen- 
 tial for you, who are called to be teach- 
 ers and exemplars, to keep yourselves 
 pure, to be honest with your fellow- 
 men, and to keep your word as sacred- 
 ly as you would have to keep your 
 bond. I would like it to become un- 
 derstood, by the life you lead, that 
 your word is at all times equal to any 
 bond you could give, with a3l /the 
 security it was possible to attach to the 
 bond. You are not sent here to pick peo- 
 ple to pieces, to tear down their idols.to 
 destroy their religious faiths, to attack 
 their churches, or to do anything of 
 that kind. If you have a better house 
 than your neighbors have, show them 
 what you have, but do not undertake 
 to destroy theirs. Invite them kindly, 
 as one who loves his fellowman, to en- 
 ter into your house; and if they can 
 be made to see, by the wisdom and 
 judgment which the Lord may bestow 
 upon them, that you have builded bet- 
 ter than they, they may accept what 
 you have to offer them, and if they do 
 it will be to the honor and glory of 
 God and to their own salvation. 
 
 It is absolutely necessary that those 
 who are engaged in the work of the lat- 
 ter days shall not be given to intoxica- 
 tion, nor to the use of tobacco. Now, 
 it may be thought a very little thing 
 for us to lay any stress upon the use 
 of this narcotic; but we do. Why? 
 Because it was revealed through the 
 Prophet Joseph Smith that tobacco was 
 not for man. It is a poison; it is in- 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 85 
 
 jurious to the system; and it is wrong 
 for Latter-day Saints to use it. There- 
 fore, we enjoin upon our Elders that 
 they shall abstain absolutely from the 
 use of tobacco in any form or shape, 
 as they also must abstain from the use 
 of intoxicating drinks. They must keep 
 aloof from these things, for as sure as 
 they indulge in them they lose mastery 
 over themselves and become abject 
 slaves to a depraved appetite. We ask 
 you Elders and you Latter-day Saints 
 living out here among the people of the 
 world, to observe these principles of 
 the Gospel, so that no man can say to 
 you, Physician, heal thyself; mend 
 thine own ways. 
 
 I want to say to those who are at- 
 tending school here, Keep close to the 
 president of the mission. Do not be 
 ashamed of him, nor of his association. 
 Hunt him up, lend him your influence, 
 go to the meetings, uphold his hands, 
 sustain him in his ministry, and you 
 will be prospered and blessed in your 
 studies. The Lord will bless you in 
 such a course, and you will feel bet- 
 ter; you will be able to keep your- 
 selves from the allurements that sur- 
 round you in this great city, and you 
 will have nothing to hinder your pro- 
 gress in study, because you will be 
 clean and without blemish, with your 
 minds unimpaired and unencumbered 
 with regrets for wrongdoing. In this 
 way you will be able to accomplish 
 your mission and work far better than 
 you can possibly do by separating your- 
 selves from your friends. Whenever 
 you see a young man from Utah afraid 
 to meet his brother or his presiding 
 officer, or trying to avoid his presence, 
 you may set it down as an absolute 
 truth that there is something wrong 
 in that young man. He has either 
 transgressed some law of God, or he 
 has done something to grieve the Spirit 
 of the Lord from his soul, and there- 
 fore he is ashamed to meet his broth- 
 er and look him in the face. He who 
 is guiltless, clean, and keeps himself 
 pure, is not afraid to meet his friends 
 or those whom he knows are ministers 
 of life and salvation. The wicked ir? i 
 may hate a good man; not that b" 
 
 any reason for doing so, but he simply 
 feels that way. Evil will not coalesce 
 with good. He that loves sin and 
 practises vice and wickedness will not 
 seek the company of the pure and up- 
 right; rather will he seek his own 
 level and associate with his own class. 
 
 To you, my brethren and sisters who 
 have embraced the Gospel through the 
 teachings of these Elders, I would say, 
 Live your religion the religion of 
 Jesus Christ. Be true to your God. 
 Remember your prayers. Try to do 
 good to your neighbors. Do not re- 
 turn evil for evil. Pray even for 
 those that hate you and despitefully 
 use you. Seek to do good to those 
 who actually do wrong to you. Our 
 mission is to save, to do good, no mat- 
 ter what others may do. We cannot 
 gauge our cburse by the conduct of 
 others. We have but one standard, 
 and that is the example of the Son of 
 God, who was without sin, and who 
 obeyed the Father in all things. We 
 do not ask you to obey men, nor to 
 follow men. I never asked a man to 
 follow me in all my life, except in so 
 far as I was following Christ. If I 
 can follow Him better than someone 
 else, then I may consistently invite my 
 brother to follow me. My doctrine 
 the doctrine of the Elders of the Church 
 of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 
 always has been and is, follow Christ. 
 Let Him be your example. Emulate 
 His works, His words, His life; and If 
 it be possible for human beings to be 
 pure as He was pure, righteous as He 
 was righteous, let them be so, and they 
 will be that much nearer to the Lord. 
 
 Our time is so short now that I feel 
 it would not be right for me to con- 
 tinue my remarks. I am delighted to 
 have the privilege of meeting you here 
 this evening. I have had great pleas- 
 ure in listening to my brethren. We 
 have a dozen more good Elders with 
 us, any one of whom could stand up 
 here and interest you, teaching and 
 reasoning upon principle and the doc- 
 trines of our Church, and if., we had 
 time I would be glad to hear from them 
 all. The Lord bless you. The Lord 
 "bless my brethren in the ministry here. 
 
83 
 
 DEDICATION OF 
 
 Brethren, remember that your lives, 
 your happiness, your hope of exaltation, 
 all depend upon your uprightness, your 
 honor, your integrity to the truth, your 
 firmness in keeping yourselves Dure 
 and unspotted from the world. 
 
 There may be some of this congrega- 
 tion who have heard a little of the mis- 
 representation that is going around 
 about us. and to them I would say 
 that we send out our Elders to preach 
 the truth to the world, and they are 
 forbidden by those who hold the au- 
 thority to send them out to entice any 
 person into the Church against his or 
 her will, or against the will of those 
 who have rightful control over them. 
 An Elder has no right to baptize, or to 
 persuade to be baptized, a boy or girl 
 contrary to the will of the parents, nor 
 a woman contrary to the wish of her 
 husband. We are not seeking for wo- 
 men; we have women of our own, and 
 they are as good and pure as ever 
 women wera on this earth. We are 
 not sending these young men out to 
 interfere with your family relations, 
 or to disturb your home happiness and 
 peace. They come to you simply with 
 the offer of life and salvation, as we 
 Jtiave received it from God, and they 
 leave you to accept or reject it, as you 
 please. If you see anything wrong, 
 unjust, unrighteous or evil in an Elder 
 of the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- 
 ter-day Saints, you may set it down 
 absolutely that he has departed from 
 his faith and from the rules of the 
 Church, and is under condemnation be- 
 fore the Lord. God bless you, my 
 friends. I feel to bless all who are 
 here. Peace be unto you. We come to 
 bring peace to the world, not the sword. 
 We do not come to turn man against 
 man, but we bring to you that peace 
 which comes through obedience to the 
 commandments of the Lord. May God 
 bless you all, is my prayer in the name 
 of Jesus. Amen. 
 
 Benediction was pronounced by Elder 
 Frank Y. Taylor. 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 At the close of the meeting the 
 party returned to the train, finding 
 their car ready for occupation, and 
 
 started for home on the Chicago & 
 Northwestern, reaching Omaha at 3 
 p. m. on Saturday, Dec. 30th. The Un- 
 ion Pacific train pulled out on time 
 and was soon speeding toward the 
 west on the smooth track of that 
 great railroad, but in the night travel 
 was delayed in consequence of ob- 
 structions ahead, caused by a mishap 
 to a freight train. 
 
 During the entire journej^, while on 
 the cars, a service of song and prayer 
 was held ev_ery evening in which all 
 of the company joined, and on Sun- 
 day, New Tear's Eve, a special testi- 
 mony meeting was held at which every 
 person present, except the baby, gave 
 an address, expressing gratitude for 
 the privilege of going on the momen- 
 tous journev. of visting the sacred 
 places celebrated in early Church his- 
 tory, and especially of attending the 
 dedication of the monument to the 
 Prophet Joseph Smith on the spot 
 where he was born. They also testified 
 to a knowledge of his divine mission, 
 and of the ultimate triumph of the 
 work, which, under Divine inspiration, 
 he commenced in the latter days. They 
 congratulated each other on traveling 
 the entire journey without any mis- 
 hap, unpleasantness, offense in word 
 or deed, or anything to cause a cloud 
 to come over the company. They re- 
 turned thanks to President Smith for 
 his kindness in giving them the op- 
 portunity they had enjoyed, and pour- 
 ed out their feelings of love and fel- 
 lowship for each other. President 
 Joseph F. Smith in closing the meet- 
 ing, was greatly blessed with the spirit 
 of inspiration, and mentioned the good 
 works and great services performed 
 in behalf of the Church by a number . 
 of the Elders who were present. He 
 expressed his regrets that representa- 
 tives of other families prominent in 
 the early history of the Church, who 
 had been invited, were unable to join 
 in the journey to the east. The spirit 
 that was enjoyed was highly uplifting 
 and comforting to all who were pres- 
 ent, and formed a fitting climax to the 
 enjoyable services held during the trip. 
 At the close, Elder C. W. Penrose of- 
 fered the following 
 
JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 87 
 
 PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS, 
 which were unanimously adopted: 
 
 Whereas, This goodly company, by 
 the blessing and watchcare of our 
 heavenly Father and the kindly court- 
 esy of our beloved President Joseph F. 
 Smith, have journeyed safely and 
 pleasantly to the birthplace of Joseph 
 the Seer, to the sacred hill Cumorah, 
 to Kirtland, and to other historic 
 places in the east, and are now return- 
 ing in peace to our homes in the west; 
 and 
 
 Whereas, Our railway connections 
 and privileges and accommodations 
 have been admirably arranged so as to 
 save us from numerous inconveniences 
 and annoyances common to travel on 
 long distances and different lines of 
 railroad, showing the work of a skil- 
 ful guiding hand; and 
 
 Whereas, We recognize in our es- 
 teemed and faithful friend and broth- 
 er, George Albert Smith, the active 
 and directing force that has been ex- 
 ercised in bringing about these good 
 results, and in the abundant provision 
 that has been made for our many 
 wants; and 
 
 Whereas, He has exhibited at every 
 point and under every circumstance 
 that energy, promptness, diligence and 
 patience that indicate a splendid char- 
 acter, and at the same time has shown 
 to all the courtesy and forbearance 
 which bespeak the true gentleman; now 
 therefore, 
 
 Be it Resolved, That we hereby ten- 
 der to Elder George Albert Smith our 
 heartfelt thanks for his unpaid, devoted 
 and earnest attentions to each of us, 
 his wise supervision of affairs, his uni- 
 form, cheerful manner and his deport- 
 ment as a true Latter-day Saint, and 
 that we severally and unitedly express 
 our gratitude to him and ( assure him 
 that he will ever live in our souls as a 
 dear and cherished brother, to whom 
 we are under obligations for which no 
 material rewards can furnish compen- 
 sation, and that we invoke upon him 
 the blessings of the Most High God to 
 be enjoyed by him in time and eternity. 
 (Signed) Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. 
 Lund, Francis M. Lyman, John Henry 
 Smith, Hyrum M. Smith, Charles W. 
 Penrose, Seymour B. Young, Rulon S. 
 Wells. L. W. Shurtliff, Frank T. Taylor, 
 Jesse M. Smith, George F. Richards, 
 Ashby Snow. Arthur Winter, Oliver L. 
 Richards, John Smith, Angus M. Can- 
 non Lorin Farr, George Romney, Elias 
 A. Smith, Joseph F. Smith, 'Jr. Brig- 
 ham F. Grant, Benjamin Goddard, 
 John McDonald, Ida B. Smith Alice A. 
 Richards, Ina C. Smith, Susa Young 
 Gates, Edith A. Smith. 
 
 President Joseph F. Smith presented 
 
 the annexed resolution which was also 
 unanimously adopted. 
 
 On Pullman Car "Sofala," 
 
 Dec. 31, 1905. 
 
 Hon. W. H. Bancroft, Vice Pres't. and 
 Gen. Mgr., Orgon Short Line Ry., 
 Salt Lake City. 
 
 Dear Sir: We, the company of trav- 
 elers from Salt Lake City to South 
 Royalton, near Sharon, Vt., in thb, 
 Pullman car "Sofala," having been fa- 
 vored with special courtesies and at- 
 tentions on the several railroads ovei 
 which we have passed, particularly in 
 the transfer of the 'car, so that we have 
 had its continuous use and occupation 
 throughout the entire trip going and 
 coming, and highly appreciating the 
 influence exercised by you in this be- 
 half, hereby express to you our grati- 
 tude for your kindness, and our thanks 
 to each of the companies which at your 
 thoughtful suggestion have thus con- 
 tributed to our comfort. We have jour- 
 nieyed in peace and returned in safety, 
 over finely constructed and well con- 
 ducted railroads, and unitedly extend 
 to you the wishes of thankful hearts 
 that you may long continue to enjoy 
 the confidence of the public as a rail- 
 road official and manager of the high- 
 est class and the respect and honor 
 which we feel for you. Success and 
 happiness attend you forever. 
 
 In behalf of myself and fellow travel- 
 ers, I remain, Very Respectfully, 
 
 JOSEPH F. SMITH. 
 
 Mrs. Susa Young Gates read a poem 
 of her own compositon, full of wit and 
 pleasant references to every member of 
 the company, which was highly appre- 
 ciated and received with great ap- 
 plause. 
 
 THE EVENING CLUB. 
 
 It was the custom every evening 
 while the berths were being made up by 
 the efficient porters for the male mem- 
 bers to repair to the smoking room and 
 hold an informal, anecdote gathering, 
 which at the firsrt session was named the 
 Lincoln club, where many amusing and 
 some instructive stories were told by 
 different narrators. Not one of the 
 party, however, indulged in the use of 
 tobacco, so the club room was entirely 
 free from the offensive odor of tobac- 
 co smoke, much to the surprise of t.he 
 porters after the first night out. The 
 ladies on board contributed much to 
 the pleasure of the trip by their pres- 
 
DEDICATION OF JOSEPH SMITH MONUMENT. 
 
 ence, attentions, smiling faces and 
 musical voices, God bless them! 
 
 CLOSE OF THE TRIP. 
 
 It was a remarkable journey. About 
 5,500 miles of travel were covered. There 
 was not a hitch in the arrangements 
 that were made, the special car was 
 moved from line to line and station to 
 station according to plans laid out. No 
 accident happened; not a cross word 
 was spoken, although the company was 
 sometimes inconveniently crowded. 
 Everybody vied in kindness, helpful- 
 ness, and good feeling. There was no 
 indulgence in anything improper in 
 word or deed, and a heavenly feeling 
 pervaded the company and was carried 
 by its members to every place which 
 they visited. Their presence aroused no 
 animostity at any point. They were 
 treated with the utmost respect and 
 consideration. They are indebted to the 
 Oregon Short Line, Union Pacific, Chi- 
 cago & Northwestern, Nickel Plate, 
 Boston & Maine, West Shore and Cen- 
 tral Vermont lines, over which they 
 passed, for the prompt attention given 
 which greatly facilitated their transit, 
 and made the trip enjoyable. The train 
 arrived, in Salt Lake City at 12:50 p. m. 
 instead of 5:15 a. m., but the delay was 
 unavoidable and was taken good-hu- 
 moredly and patiently by everybody 
 in the "Sofala." 
 
 Good results cannot fail to accrue 
 from this visit by President Smith and 
 
 his fellow travelers to the points tuch- 
 ed on the journey. Seeds were sown In 
 the souls of men and Women whom 
 they met, which will bring forth fruits 
 in the future that will well repay the 
 trouble and expense of the trip, and will 
 glorify God and aid in the building up 
 of His kingdom on earth. It was a 
 splendid commemoration of the birth 
 of the great Seer of the latter days, 
 and will be remembered by all who par- 
 ticipated in the celebration, in time 
 and eternity. It riveted the bonds of 
 friendship, brotherhood and sisterhood 
 around those who formed the travel- 
 ing company, and intensified in their 
 souls a testimony of the truth which 
 they had received from on high. They 
 parted with mutual benedictions, and 
 all were impressed with the noble, 
 manly and fatherly presence and coun- 
 sel of the President of the Church, who 
 bears the keys that were bestowed up- 
 on his martyred uncle and father and 
 who is revered by the Latter-day Saints 
 as a worthy successor of the mighty 
 men who preceded him. The journey 
 was a pronounced success; the monu- 
 ment reared is a magnificent memento, 
 and the year of our Lord Nineteen 
 Hundred and Five' was bidden a fond 
 farewell by as cheerful, united and de- 
 voted a band as could be found in any 
 part of the earth, although traveling 
 in a railway car through the snowy 
 heights of the western slope of the 
 Rocky mountains. 
 

 
 
 ^Kc ' r> *5*S n 
 
 Sse 
 
* 
 
 *&&