Show biography of brigham young and history of the mormon church by M R WERNER reprinted by permission from the ladies home journal continued from last week but there were other considerations that brought rought ti brigham young to his final conclusions ills financial condition was n not ot good at tho the time and the he was undoubtedly shrewd enough skeptical enough and well enough acquainted with the progress of 0 religious speculation in his neighborhood to realize that as a business proposition this new religion might be well worth looking into ills his brother phineas and his rather father were convinced of the truth presented by the book of 0 mormon and his father was actually baptized into the new church a few days before brigham was with T ith his brother phineas and his best friend heber kimball brigham visited a branch of the new church at columbia bradford county pennsylvania they spent a week investigating ti the religion in action when when he returned home to mendon bri brigham young had been convinced 0 of the truth of mormonism and he started for canada where his brother joseph whose opinion on religious matters brigham respected more than expect his own was preaching methodism joseph was tour four years older than brigham and he was considered the theological expert of the family it is natural that brigham should consult him before doing anything about this new opportunity to embrace salvation brigham meets the new prophet i i in march 1832 the two brothers returned from canada and on april fiat fifteenth benth when he ha was thirty years old brigham young was baptized antl into the church of jesus christ of 0 latter day saints ills his fath father er and brother joseph had both been baptized a few days before brigham young said later of his baptism 1 I recollect the sunday morning on which I 1 was baptized la in my own little mill stream I 1 was ordained to the office of an elder before my clothes were dry upon me A few months after their baptism brigham young and his friend heber kimball went to kirtland ohio to meet the new prophet phet of god joseph smith jr brigham young put in writing many years later thu details of this memorable meeting we went to his fathers house and learned that he was in the woods chopping we immediately repaired to the woods where we found the prophet and two or three of his brothers chopping and hauling wood here my joy was full at the privilege of shaking the hand of the prophet of god and receiving the sure testimony by the spirit of prophecy that he was all that any man could believe him to be as a true prophet he was happy to see us and bid us welcome we soon returned to his house he accompanying us in the evening a few of the brethren came in and we conversed upon the things of the kingdom he called upon me to pray in my prayer I 1 spoke in tongues As soon as we rose from our knees the brethren flocked around him and asked hla his opinion concerning the gift or of tongues that was upon me he told them that it was atvas the pure adamic language some said to win they expected they would condemn the gift brother brigham had but he said no it Is of god from history of the church vol I 1 footnotes pp ap dregla brigham young had picked up this dil divine gift of tongues while on his visit to the branch of the new church in pennsylvania and had used it effectively while preaching in new york it consisted of a babble ot of incomprehensible sounds which were wera supposed to be the spirit ot of god resting upon the speaker and these sounds were interpreted by another person in tho the congregation gre gation as soon as the speaker had uttered them joseph smith jr was born at sh sharon ra n vermont two days before cha christmas rasit ils in 1805 he came into an ultra poor family where there were already three children older than he and where there were destined to be six more before h ha 0 w was as a man when lien he came to write th the book of mormon joseph smith accounted himself a direct descendant of the original joseph of israel i the second book of nepal of the book of mormon contains the prediction that a descendant of the jewish joseph will one day arise who will also be named joseph and who in the latter days will save the world by his revelations of the will ot of the lord when joseph smith was ten years old his father moved the family to palmyra wayne county new york where lie he bought and cleared h farm which he lost because of his inability to pay the last installment on it he then moved to a smaller farm in the neighboring village of manchester joseph smith received few educational opportunities ile he knew how to read and write imper betly and he understood elementary arithmetic but the most important events of joseph smiths youth were his religious experiences when he was fifteen years old there was stirring religious excitement in his neighborhood revivals were flourishing people changed their religions with the arrival of new preachers joseph was very much disturbed by this religious excitement and the result of it on his adolescent mind was perplexity and melancholy worry tor for his salvation first religious experience ex A few years before he had been a rough boy with battered hat ragged clothes and mussed yellow hair joining in yankee practical jokes with other farm boys as he ran barefooted about palmyra and manchester but now vague forebodings of the future were beginning to disturb his placid mind he has left an interesting te record in writing of his first religious experience at the age of fifteen while I 1 was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests or of these parties of religionists I 1 was one day reading the epistle ot of james first chapter and fifth verse which reads it any ot of you lack wisdom let bilm ask ot of god that giloth unto all men liberally and unbraid eth not and it shall be given him at length I 1 cams came to the conclusion that I 1 must either remain in darkness and confusion or else I 1 must do as james directs that Is ask of 0 god I 1 at length came to the determination to ask of 0 god concluding that it he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom and would give liberally and not upbraid I 1 might venture so in accordance with this my determination mi tot toi ask of 0 god I 1 retired to the woods to make the attempt it was on the morning of a beautiful clear day early in the spring ol of eighteen hundred and twenty it was the first time in my life that I 1 had made such an attempt fot for amidst all my anxieties I 1 had never never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally after lie he had looked about to make sure that he was alone and had kneeled in prayer he was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me and had such astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I 1 could not speak thick darkness gathered around me and it seemed to me for a time as it if I 1 were doomed to sudden destruction he prayed fervently to god aud and then just at this moment of great alarm I 1 saw a pillar of light exactly ove my head above the rightness brightness of 0 the sun which descended gradually until it it fell upon me when the light rested upon me I 1 saw two personages whose brightness and glory defy all description standing above me in the air one of them unto me calling me by name and hald haid pointing to the other THIS IS MY BELOVED SON HEAR HIM well ivell off As soon as he could talk joseph asked the two glorious pers personages which of all the religious sects in the united states he should join and he was told that they were all wrong and all corrupt when I 1 came to myself again joseph wrote 1 I found myself lying on my back looking up into heaven ile he finally recovered strength enough to stagger home for his vision had bad the house he leaned against the fireplace dazed his mother anxiously asked what was the trouble aud and he answered never mind all is well I 1 am well enough off after his vision joseph began to argue with visiting clergymen but he was always reviled and whenever he dared to tell of the vision be was informed that visions were a thing of the past but orson pratt one of joseph smiths main adherents in later years argued that angels were often in the habit of visiting the earth two angels he pointed out had taken dinner with abraham jacob had wrestled with one all of a night several stayed with lot and his wife at their house moses joshua manoah IIa noah gideon david daniel zechariah joseph the huband husband of mary the shepherds the apostles philip paul and cornelius had bad ell all been visited by angels and orson pratt saw no reason there therefore fOTe why two angels should not visit joseph smith jr in the year rear 1820 at the town of 0 manches ter er ontario county nw new york j to be continued |