Show MEMORIAL SERVICES perhaps one of the most moat fitting and appropriate celebrations ever held bold by me elie in commemoration of the prophet joseph smith smiths s birthday wiss waa that which took place in the sixteenth ward meetinghouse meeting house boube decem or er the hour of etwas it wai the ibe ninetieth anniversary of bin bid birth and there were present in the cmok gat gation ion twenty six persona pers cons who had acquainted with the missouri ouri and illinois twelve of whom choin were related to him the names of me twenty six are as ai follows fol lowe joseph jose F john smith lucy W smith ellen M smith H P rich aduf george row rockney Ro cnney aisy bishop Ken keehler Ke eeler leri joan mcdonald elizabeth jeffs janis jane youny theodore curtla B H W Ald aldrien rieb elizabeth P Nobe kerr rachel tanner mary ann burnham Bura haak mary emma terry tarry W E wilcox M W wilcox H B clawson Claw fon 0 Q workman joseph C E ben barrus james leach jamen jamea W phippen Den archie M hill and seymour B young f abe he service icee were presided over by bishop kealer of the sixteenth ward and during we the rendition rendi ilon of the following exer exerciser cism refresh oon con of oake oraa or lingeN gaja etc were distributed by a number of gas be young ladies present to those assembled during the he meeting al 41 good spirit pro and all seemed to enjoy themselves immensely the choir under the leadership of george H thomas and congregations congregation sung aang oman aa an f hyran hymn praise to the man etc prayer was wag offered by elder r joseph G C kingsbury Kingi bury singing iv this earth was once a garden place etc ete bishop keeler kebler was the first speaker he was pleased he be said to see sea buell an assembly present especially so eo to aee ao 80 many who were intimately acquainted quain ted with the prophet joseph smith sinith he became acquainted with the prophet in the year 1839 he looked upon joseph smith as the great eat that had bad ever lived upon the earth because be was the only personage parsonage that the father faher and the son had both appeared to at the game barns titue time upon the earth the speaker related numerous in with which the abe prophet joseph wan wals connected in the early history of the church which tended to show that thai god was with him in all his undertakings to tio good and to help the rolling on of his great work H B Cla waon bishop of the twelfth ward said he became acquainted quain ted with the prophet in 1841 when be with his bis parents removed to nauvoo the speaker attended a school in what was called josephs eweg tore and narrated a little incident that occurred OOL burred when he be i had bad madcap made ap pil astion to become a ine member aber of a our WOD debating society he WAS wall so adnall all that hat several ol of tuo the members opposed his becoming enrolled when the abe prophet arose and in agenole rebuke soared cored the members for the action taken by thorn them agai against ast him the prophet said 11 jatis such eboh boys as these that we want to 0 join our associations ty that are willing and anxious to take part in our societies are the kind twit will wake make a of 11 11 tt eim remarks had a 8 great bearing on the speaker apker aud and helped jalm him to strive onward life spoke of ta abe a many MADY ghou qualities ol of joseph and stated slated that bat he was noted for his kind kindness poss of heart to all with whom he came in contact george romney bishop of the twentieth ward said he be first saw the prophet when his bis parents came to nauvoo to in the mouth month of april 1841 13 brothers leach clawson and others arrived there at the same time in rt ferring farring to the martyrdom of joseph hie hs speaker stated that on that tha day hardly a dry eye could be seen in kinland nauvoo and vicinity sorrow borrow filled the hearts of the people because they had learned to love him and appreciated precia ted the spirit that prompted all too remarks that he ever made ulder romney paid a visit last fall to the towns which were inhabited by the saints in abo aly early days day of the church what a change has base came ame over the land the once thriving settlement of the saints ire are longer thriving A blight seems to have come over them and the places which were once so lovely to look upon are now almost deserted lucy walker smith one of the living wives or of the prophet was introduced to the audience fifty three years ago she entered into the covenant of marriage with the he prophet she was led to this step through praying earnestly to god in obedience to the teachings of the prophet who bad told her that goo GOJ bad decreed that she should be his bis wife she had bad always loved joseph because she believed he be was truely a prophet of god but when asked to become his wife that hat was waa another thing she feel willing to do it however in answer to her bar prayers cad had bad given her a testimony that it was his hie will that she should be sealed to joseph in marriage and a ad having received this teet tee arnony she abe yielded knew that the gospel goepel was true and hoped the saints would try to emulate the examples set them by the prophet president joseph F smith felt that he was one of the youngest persons living jiving who bad been acquainted with the prophet he was about six years of axe when joseph was killed and hence had bad a very meager recollection of him he however remembered having been taken on to the knee of the prophet at which time joseph had bad asked hyrum byrum president smiths father what the matter was with joseph as he looked very pale at the time me he also aleo remembered having seen the lie dead bodies of his father and anci joseph as aa they were lying in the prophets house the speaker here bore read a 8 memoranda made by him on 01 sept 27 1878 on the occasion of a 8 visit by orson pratt himself anu and others to nauvoo and surrounding country it referred to an interview had with david whitmer in which he be bore witness to having seen the plates from which the book of mormon was translated and bad testified as to the authenticity of the testimony of the eight witnesses david whitmer was the last surviving witness to the book of mormon aud and his bis testimony to its divinity remained with him till his bis death the speaker referred tu to an interview bad with a scientist who while admitting that josepa smith was an ho claimed that his bis seeing with goethe god the father and the sou son was simply an hallucination that be was laboring under and not an actual occurrence this same man though when confronted with the question Is it possible for three men to be laboring under the same hallucination atthe at the same tiet when shown the testimony of the three witnesses knew not what to say but simply remarked that he ha was nut not prepared to answer that question president presided smith closed his remarks by declaring that while the birthday of we the prophet did not excite much attention at the present time the day would come comb when all the saints every w bere would celebrate and commemorate the day when the he beloved prophet first saw the light elizabeth D roundy being called to the stand read an excellent article on the prophet joseph its introduction ran while we have not met to in honor bonor of the inauguration of utah as a state we have assembled to commemorate the be ninetieth anniversary of 0 the birth of be who made it possible po seible for utah to be enshrined into the rister hood of states he who introduced tu to the people that which took from them the darkness which hovered over them and caused that star to shine amne which led iod the saints of god to these valleys which we call utah and which are to be shortly honored and endowed with statehood 22 at the conclusion of her address which was replete with words bearing witness to the high character of joseph joeeph smith she read a testimony from jacob weller weiler an old friend of the he prophets prophet Is in which he be bore witness of the he holy spirit which accompanied the prophet in all hla his walks and conversation areole M hill bil who embraced the gospel in canada in the year 1840 spoke ut his acquaintance with the prophet joseph and i related elated a number or of incidents in connection therewith he felt pleased with having caving the privilege of an acquaintance with the prophet Pr opher and bore witness to the spirit of god that accompanied all his hia remark p other remarks equally as interesting as those already made mou mei t ton of were made by joseph U C kingsbury one of the twenty four elders who assisted aes isted in laying the corner stone of the Kirt kirtland lanct walter wilcox and old time lime playmate and friend of the prophet james IAea beach cb who found pleasure in quoting the sayings of the prophet james W phippen whose with joseph had been one ut unalloyed un pleasure and happ ineer and B M aldrich who has recently located in these valleys valley but who first saw joseph sit at his bis rather houfe la in hancock caun ty ly illinois in the year 1843 the choir and sang panr the spirit of god like a fire ir i burning was by juhn john 8 |