| Show REMARKS by elder walford WOODRUFF at the funeral services of elder william pill pitt dittin fittin in the fourteenth ward assembly rooms kooms salt sall laie lake city sunday morning fab Fc 23 1873 REPORTED BY D I 1 IV EVANS I 1 MY ly friends here hero kindly granted me the privilege of making some opening remarks on this occasion ahad I 1 had an appointment in 0 oden ogden den today to day but when I 1 heard of the death of brother pitt I 1 felt as though I 1 wanted to attend his funeral if I 1 had heard that one of my own family had dropped dead I 1 should not have been more surprised than thai a I 1 was when wilen I 1 heard of the death of brother pitt ritt I 1 was conversing with him in tile the street I 1 think the day before he was hurt and he was then apparently cheerful comfortable well and happy when I 1 hoard that ho he was dead I 1 immediately went to his house visited his family and an d saw his body I 1 will say that I 1 seldom or ever give way to th weeping either for the living pr thedeas the dead but ut upon this occasion when I 1 saw his big body lie wid gid in death all the early scenes of my acquaintance with him in the hem mission rushed upon me like a whirlwind and I 1 confess that I 1 manifested a good deal of weakness in giving way to weeping before the family solomon says there is a time to weep and a time to laugh a time to mourn and a time to rejoice and there are times when reason will excuse weeping anthony said baid 1 I come to bury csar caesar not to pra praise so him yet anthony did on that occasion por tray before the tho senate and citizens of rome the virtues of caesar in his public life wo we have come to bury brother pitt and I 1 do not consider it wrong to speak of the virtues and good deeds of the dead any more than of those of the living my first acquaintance with brother pitt was of such a characters charac charae teras fo vo f o cause the formation of ties between us of no ordinary nature as it is I 1 may say with all the associations as so ciati ons of the elders of israel the world knows nothing about these ties lie the ties lies they form together are very diffie different rent from those formed between the servants servant of god who are associated together in the holy priesthood and by the power of the holy ghost and the inspiration of the lord our god these are ties that no men comprehend unless they occupy the same position that we occupy I 1 have found this in my whole career with this church and kingdom I 1 love the brethren and the saints of god because we are associated together in a great noble and godlike cause and these associations are to ourselves i and arid what more can a man do than lay lav down his life for his friend how hov many are there in this room and in this church and kingdom who in in i case ease of necessity would be willing to lay down clown their lives to save their brethren there are thousands of them I 1 wish and feel that it is my privilege to refer to my first maince with brother pitt whose body lies before us today to day the I 1 history of the herefordshire Hereford shire mission is before the world and before the church and I 1 wish in a few words to refer to that mission for it was there that I 1 became acquainted with brother pitt brother taylor and I 1 were the first two of the quorum of the twelve who arrived in england in 1840 brother taylor went to liverpool and I 1 went to t ie ic staffordshire potteries I 1 labored there with brother alfred cordon who is now in the spirit world we were wore pm preaching aching almost every night and we wo baptized soine nearly every meeting it was a very good mission some eighty miles from there in in Hereford shir there were people who had never freen seen a latter day saint and never heard tho the gospel some six hundred of them had broken ro off from Wesleyan the methodists and called theme themo solves selves the united brethren they were under the presidency of of elder Thos Kington they were searching for light and truth As a body they had called upon the lord anu ana had advanced lust just as far as they could with what light they had th they prayed to the lord that he would woul open the way before them milt that they might advance in the things of his hia kingdom while in this position I 1 went one evening to fill an appointment in bho tho town hall at the tho town of hanley there was a very largo large congregation and I 1 had appointments out for two or three wee weeks in that town and adjacent villages As I 1 went to take my seat beat t the e spirit of the lord camo came upon me TOO and said to me this is the last meeting you will will hold hoid with this thia people for many days I 1 was surprised because 1 I 1 did not know of course what the lord wanted me to do I 1 told the assembly when I 1 rose this is the last meeting I 1 shall hoid hold holdrith hold hoid with you for many days they asked me after meeting where I 1 was going goin I 1 told them I 1 did not know I 1 went before the lord in my closet and asked him where he wished visited me to go and all the answer I 1 could gettas get was to go to tile the south I 1 1 got into a stage and rodo eighty miles south as I 1 was led by the tilo spirit of the lord the first mans marts house I 1 went into was john Ben bows bowls he lives now down here at cottonwood I 1 had some conversation with brother benbow and I 1 told him that the lord had sent me to that place but without wishing 9 to dwell oil on this subject I 1 will say bay that I 1 learned that they ey hundred people there thero tinder elder kington jungton called united bretheren and that they had been praying to the lord for guidance in the way of ilde lifo and salvation then I 1 knew why i by the lord had sent me to that place be he had sent them ithem what they had bad been praying tying for I 1 commenced preaching the gospel to them kud mud I 1 also commenced gelta baptizing elder pitt being among th the e B first r who was baptized by me into this church and kingdom the first thirty days after I 1 arrived there I 1 had baptized forty five pre preachers which flung nearly fifty preaching cahilig places licensed b by I 1 law lr into info my ray hands and out of t the e BIX six hundred belonging to elderkins elder elden ring king tons lody body jody ili iii all ill were baptized but ong one in seven months labor I 1 brought eighteen hundred into ther thee church in that mission and I 1 will say that the tile power of god rested u ulon ajon on me and upon the people there was wag a spirit to convince and a pe people ople opie whose hearts wore were open and ready to receive the tile gospel and as jesus said ili in reference to john that all judea and Jeru jenu jerusalem beni went out to johns joints baptism I 1 felta felt feit a sr if all herefordshire Hereford shire was va coming edming to be baptized the third meeting that I 1 held at brother the recto rector of the place sent senta a cons conk constable table tabie to take mo up I 1 was just about abolt to begin when ho he entered I 1 said sald eaid eald to him ham take hakea a chair until after meet lud iud and livell I 1 will wiil attend to you he ho sat down and when I 1 got through lie ho came forward and I 1 baptized him with others he went back and told the rector if you want to take up that man you must go yourself I 1 have havo hefa beia heard heia him preach the tile first gospel serman bermon sermon J ever over heard leard in the world almost every evert man that came to meeting mee was baptized I 1 did notsie not gee elder kington for some romo little time after going there and when I 1 did sea him he came to me as the tile leader of the ix people ople opie I 1 laid before him the gospel he said if it is true I 1 wish to embrace it if not I 1 shall shail oppose oppose it I 1 said that is night right lit buti made a covenant with him isaid I 1 said sald to him ayou if you sou will go before the tile lord and ask him it f this thia vork work is true I 1 promise you jou in the name of tho the lord jesus christ that you shall receive a testimony for your self isyou will promise disc to obe obo obey oboy y t he said ho be would and ho he went away to attend to his appointments the next time he came to brother Ben Beu bows bowls a few days afterwards I 1 asked him if ho he had bad enquired of the lord he said sald lie had what did the lord tell you he told me it was true and he then said lie he was ready to obey the gospel andl andI and I 1 baptized him I 1 I 1 namo name this because as soon as brother pitt ritt heard this gospel lie he obeyed it and he was one of tho the leading men in the tile choir of the church of england in dimock I 1 now wish to relate a concerning him tile the first meeting I 1 held in elder King tons house brother was present presents I 1 will wiil CT ill lil say fay first however that mary biary pitt ritt brother pitts sister was something like the lame man who lay at the gate gale of tho the temple called beautiful at jerusalem she had not been able to walk a step for fourteen years and confined to her bed nearly half that time she had no strength in her feet and ankles and could only on move about a little with a crutz crutch or holding on to a chair she wished to be baptized brother pitt and myself took her in our arms and canton her into anti ube iho water and I 1 baptized her when bbs aha came out of tho mater I 1 confirmed her sho she said she wanted to be b I 1 believed she hadT alth aith enodel tobb to bb be healed I 1 had bad had experience enough in this church to know thabit require required dw a good deal of faith falth to heal a person penson who 0 had not walked d a stop for fourteen yeats years I 1 told her to her faith it should be unto her ber ft it so happened that the i day after a lie she iio ilo was baptized brothe brollier Brot iier lier richards and president preside fet fit brigham young came camer down to seo see me we met at brother ring King tons tona sister mary pitt wm wad there aiso also I 1 told president young what sister pitt wished and und that she bhe believed d she had faith enough to tol be healed we wo frayed prayed for her and laid hands handi upon her e brother young was w as mouth i and commanded her to be ma made de whole abold she laid down her crutch and never used it if after and the tile next day she walked three miles i this created a grea great t deai deal of a nger auger and madness in the feelth feelings dad cad of the rector of that thai town we mno had baptized brother pitt and this took one brie erom from his choln choir of sh seigers igers and he folt felt angry n we were vere li bolding a meeting at L 3 elder hing King tous tons tona house icib one evening when theato thease things werm taking place the house had bad very erf eif heavy shutters shut term tere on the windows at of the first storey we had these shutt erd ord closed and I 1 rose eto to preach reach the roctor rector ame at the head d of abbat fifty men raen armed with rocks about the size of a mans feht t or I 1 larger ef than t that at T they e u nd ed 4 t the house ehouse and for a about ut half balf an hour the house was vas battered with rocks like a hail hall i all ail the tile whole odthe orthe windom window clows s of mhd storey being stove in and the tile glass all broken I 1 told brother pitt that I 1 aou would edgo go and ree pee these men hid he said sald NO I 1 will go you will win be in j he went wont out into the tho midst of this mob of about fifty I 1 should judged I 1 do lalk ber he took tiit tiie rhames and alid the rector was the tile leader They stoned brother pitt back to the houe but arwe as wo had finished meeting they left we vf had to clear the thee bouse house broken glass alid and rocks before we could retire to bed I 1 name ariae t this is because it wais wass one of bruther brother first labors with me and Z wi will say my that from that thit time until the present he lie has been a true and faili fu 1 servi servant tnt of god andlor and of th this church associations of this kind haye have been formed by all the elders israel who have gone abroad into the vineyard to preach tho the goepel gospel wo we go s forehand fort forth hand and gather strangers 0 o us in inthe the flesh but hut they embrace the same samo testimony and gospel with this tills was the case caso with w ith Brot brother ller lier pitt I 1 do hot not mourn for him I 1 did not when I 1 was at his house hode but all nil thene these scenes and earl eari early associations on my milly mind and as ig I 1 gazed upon it po 11 2111 him an aud and thought of the way lie he had bad had been stricken down taken away frol from n Us when to tb allbut all ail human nan app appearance Varance it 0 was but dut an hour before as asi ll 11 were enjoying health and strength and and attending to the duties pf af life I 1 realized that in the midst of f ilfe life we are in death tn in his associations with this claunch and wid king kingdom doni donl brother pitt was leader of tile uny nauvoo bi brass hlass ass la band nd for a log long iong time ho be has liar also aiso beebi associated with the various bands here 1 and in his with the people ho he made loade a great many mends monds to td whom bo bb was elt eli endeared because be of ill lit histo man any virtues and good deeds and his disposition i and desire cleOre to sarve serve god I 1 am certainly giad glad tos tot eo many maby friends gathered together to honor his ills remains when I 1 realize that a man mad like him has ived lived ined IN ed heard beam the ors ois gospel c p embraced it and has fulfilled the measure of his day what enn ean ean can we say about him bini can we mourn because he is gone gond el bies bles at your soul boul he is with w ith joseph today to day and with others of the elders eiders of israel and lie rejoices with them whether Wh ellier his spirit is herm here witnessing his hia funeral services I 1 cannot can nou not say it is not dot revealed to me mo to say that ile lip h ia 13 hapl hadl happe happy y an and d blessed are libe jibe dead thau thai balb die dio in tho the lord nord from henceforth saith tho tile spirit for they Z mt ret from their fabors labors and their works do follow thoro ther ltv icv I 1 do ao pot know kilow whether brother pitt ha has preached much in the world bild but t do know that khat lie he bas has labored for the beneat benefit of the saints ints of god but he will preach now he hab has gone to the other side of the vall vail and he will ivill preach there to large assemblies of spirits he has bem been faithful and arid be will receive a crown of life his body will lie lio in the tomb a few vears years and but a few I 1 ria hia 4 death th Is a I 1 loss oss to his affo a and nd chi hiren and the Is grievous but bub now glorious Is the thought thau that theme there is amatory over tho the grate grave in lu ad adm all au died but bubb in christ ch irla nil all are made alive hilve christ was the first fruits of tile the resurrection this thib li a florl glorious odi thou thought I 1 t to me when I 1 see bee a latter latte day aay ay saint lie down with the harness on true and faithful until ho hp lias has wound lap jap aphia his work vork out of af that 1800 which we baptized in herefordshire Hereford shire in lit seven month months I 1 hardly know one that has turned against tim tig church there has been ida lea apostasy apo stacy staey out of that branch of the church and kingdom of god than out of the same number from any part of the world that I 1 am acquainted with we vve an am called every day or two to bur bure some of them A agold good many of them are still living some sonic of tb emare ame are bibio bishops s bro broi clark bro Y au aud and T a food good nia nii many ny of them thern ica scattered tt ered al alt all through this territory old father kington is abill living or ot was the last I 1 heard beard of or him liim though near tile the grave |
