Show SUNDAY SERVICE the services last sunday afternoon in fit the tabernacle were unusually well attended owing to the program having baying been advertised to include testimonies by elderly saints who had a personal acquaintance w with ith the prophet joseph smith in ills his lifetime the services were in charge or president L A snow and were opened by the choir singing an angel from on high prayer by elder james pett singing again we meet around the board the sacrament was administered by the bishopric of tile the 2nd and ward elder john D peters read the chapter of the gospel according to st john singing by the choir ye simple souls who stray patriarch writ vm neeley was the first speaker ile he gave a little history connected life of his fathers family in joining the church As a boy of 13 lie he saw joseph the first time on the parade ground about four miles from nauvoo when the prophet was in command of the nauvoo legion ile he described ills his feelings it at sight ot of the great man saying that even the horse the prophet rode seemed inspired by ills his rider lie ile saw and heard the prophet many times after that ind and testified that in a meeting where the prophet had told of tile the persecutions heaped upon him and the people he be said 1 I have a feeling that I 1 will be called from this sphere of action turning to his brethren the twelve apostles who sat behind him on the stand he said brethren I 1 hive have conferred upon goumy every authority every endow ament ment and every priesthood that I 1 have upon you rests the responsibility ibl lity of ct carrying caring out this work will wiil you accept the responsibility anil and they answered that they would he gave the dettaff of oc that memorable meeting where sidney press ed lug his claims tor for the right to lead the people after tile the prophets death in that meeting said the speaker brigham Brig harn yon young rig arose and in plain and direct lang liage just like the language used mei by the prophet explained the order of the church and lie was sustained as guardian of 0 the people arary D ensign was the next speaker she was afraid she alie would be unable to collect her thoughts as she stood before the large congregation brig gregario gre gatio n because of her na natural timidity so she sha had had her ter notes written which she read they were corroborative of what the first speaker had said of the prophet she saw the prophet very often and recited some ot of ills hla words to illustrate his genial disposition she remembered the occasion and the events at the time joseph set out tor for the west to find a resting place for his weary followers and saw him the day he was taken to Cart cartilage liage and the funeral procession when joseph and hyrum were burled As 11 to tile the succession in the presidency she said that when brigham young stood up and explained the order of oc the church there was no doubt in the minds of those present that he was the right man referring to tile the doctrine of polygamy in those days she said she attended the same school as the children of the prophet and on oil one occasion when she had been to ills his house with the children his daughter julia said regarding three young women who had prepared and served dinner they are supposed to be hired girls but they are my fathers wives she thought it if this child knew the relations certainly joseph smith jr did the speaker said that her father knew of the existence of such doctrine in those days and had talked with her mother about it it was not taught openly because odthe of the bitter hatred ot of some of the apostates apostate who sought the prophets life among them the brother of 0 the prophet win wait smith who was cut off the church in those days and who 18 years afterwards became an apostle in the reorganized organized re church mary wright testified that it was mainly apostates alio persecuted the prophet in referring to the occasion on spoken of by the previous speaker when brigham young was chosen leader she said 1 I had heard of the resurrection and when I 1 heard him he sounded so much like joseph and looked so much like him that I 1 thought it was the prophet resurrected I 1 know that polygamy poll gamy was a glorious truth revealed to the prophet joseph smith by the lord and that is was taught and practiced in nauvoo while the prophet lived the congregation sang praise ye the man who communed with jehovah I 1 patriarch writ wm L watkins 1 I remember well the days of 0 the prophet he was persecuted and despised by so called christians there las has been no cessation in the onward march of the work of god however and there will not be he bore out the remarks of the other speakers in n detail and in closing his able address said whether my voice li ia ever heard again in the congregation of the saints my testimony is that this Is the work of god in which we are en engaged aged ar president oleen N X called attention to the excellent characters of those who had spoken and to the fact that we have all known them all our lives as honest truthful and conscientious he proceeded to read some data bearing upon the subjects spoken of during the meeting including an affidavit of wm clayton ayton CI the nian man who wrote the revelation as dictated to joseph smith that the revelation regarding celestial marriage was written july 12 1843 in an upper room of th the ebrick brich school house in ill nauvoo that stood near the river also an affidavit of lorenzo snow testifying to the teaching of plural li marriage larria e by tile the prophet tills this affidavit being made here in brigham city on the of august 1869 also the closing paragraphs in the communication of the present prophet joseph F P smith to frederick NIL smith a grand grandson sofi of joseph bear ing on land and confirming the sime sama thin thing singing by the choir 0 the lord benediction by eldr elder nathan Years lcy |