-- October 3, 1844
Brigham Young (aged 43) marriage to Eliza R. Snow (1804-1887) (aged 40) plural widow of Joseph Smith, Jr. sealed to Joseph Smith, Jr. for eternity and Young for life [making Lorenzo Snow a brother-in-law to Brigham Young] (1)
-- During October 1844
[Marriage of Lorenzo Snow] Marriage to Charlotte Squires (2)
-- During 1844
Public address known as the King Follett Discourse has similarities to the couplet attributed to Lorenzo Snow: "As Man is, God once was; as God is, Man may become". Joseph Smith's discourse says in part:
"If you were to see [God] today, you would see him like a man in form." He continued stating that man must progress "from one small degree to another ... until [they] arrive at the station of a God. ... You have got to learn to become Gods yourselves, the same as all Gods before you have done." (3)
Age 30, Learned of martyrdom of Joseph Smith while campaigning for Joseph Smith's candidacy for united states president. (4)
Lorenzo Snow: Mission to Ohio 1844 to campaign for Joseph Smith as president of United States. (5)
-- Sunday, January 12th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] I attended the Seventies Hall according to previous appointment in company with Pres. B. Young, Bro. G. A. Smith, and Bishop Whitney.
Bro. Young arose and said he wanted to make a selection of a few men to [go] out into this and the adjoining counties, to forestall our enemies in their designs to prevent the trial of the murderers of Bros. Joseph and Hyrum Smith in the spring. They intend to charge the thefts that have been committed around here, upon the Mormons; and the devil reigns in their hearts and in the hearts of all the children of disobedience; and they will continue to act devilish as long as we continue to receive revelations from God. His advice would be for the Saints to look out for thieves, he would like to catch such men. If they want a method to detect them give a ball of lead it would show who were the theives, Mormons or Anti-Mormons.
When we get power the devil loses his; those that trouble us are disembodied devils, all they want is to get a body, and to get power over men and beasts, this is the warfare we have to fight with these who seek to possess a body and when they get possession, legions of them enter as of old. [p. 24] He did not want young Elders belonging to the Seventies to go to dancing schools if they persisted in so doing, they had better come and give up their licenses; we will not bear their sins if they will not bear our scoldings. The Twelve are the scape goats that have to bear the sins, and them the Church.
He wanted to select a few men to go to the adjoining counties to preach to them, and they shall succeed in their purposes. He wanted them to go to Warsaw, Morley's Settlement, Pike County, Brown County, Adams County.
Thousands of people think we are thieves from the misrepresentations of our enemies. A man of the name of Brown that had been a Mormon, he had stolen on our credit, and had lately been put in jail; he stabbed a man of the name of Lawson a Mormon, in an attempt to take him. Men say they can do an injury to this Church what can they do? They can spill innocent blood; but after they have killed the body, there is no more that they can do, their power is limited; they attempted to take Bro. Joseph's head wen he lay by the well; but could not. I arose and said Bro. Young has spoken as I would have done. I acquiesce in the statements made by him to select men to go and instruct the Church and put them on their guard; and when those in the counties round see that we are using our influence to put these things down it will have some effect on the honest. The Anti-Mormons wish to publish the thefts and charge them to the Mormons and thus raise an excitement, and to bring ruin and desolation upon this people. The following persons were then nominated: Chas. Bird, Jesse C. Braley, Wm. Cutler, John Eldridge, H. B. Jacobs, Thos. McKenzie, H. Eldridge, Wm. Miller, Jacob Gates, B. Wilson, Egan Holton, Danl. Browett, Truman Gillett, W. G. Wilson, Alphonzo Young, Saml. Richards, Israel Barlow, D. D. Hunt, Wm. Anderson, John Spires, D. M. Repsher, Andrew Moore, Brother Sanders, J. L. Burnham, [p. 25] There was a meeting appointed for the High Priest's Quorum, at 2 o'clock.
I arose and made a few remarks like the following. I expected Bro. Young here, he wanted to bring some business before this quorum, concerning the thefts committed by the Anti-Mormons, with the intention of bringing a stigma upon us, for the purpose of creating an excitement in the spring.
It is for the purpose of quelling these things that we have organized the police. Our object is to select men to clear up the misrepresentations of our enemies. Some men go out under the cloak of Mormonism, and steal when they have a chance, and lay it to the Mormons. Some would insinuate that these are the mysteries of the kingdom, there are not any mysteries of this kind; there are indeed mysteries pertaining to the kingdom of God; and things which it would not be prudent to reveal. When the commandment is to reveal these things then you shall hear them. Some say they will believe everything the priesthood teachers if they know it to be right; but if you knew it you would not require teaching. I wonder if these doubtful characters would not disbelieve God, how do they know but what he might lead them astray. You must therefore have confidence in your teachers if you wish to be made acquainted with the things pertaining to the kingdom. If men have confidence in one another they will be respected and the blessings of God will be with them. There are no people under the heavens that have possession of the power we have. God gave Joseph the keys of the kingdom and he gave them to us. We live in a day that princes, prophets, and kings have desired to see. I would not exchange the office of a High Priest for the Crown of any nation. The troubles that we go through are not to be noticed in comparison with the things that are awaiting us, we should consider ourselves as princes, kings, and priests unto the most High God that will possess rule and government in this world, and in the world to come thrones, principalities, powers, and dominions.
Elder Young arose and said there were a great many High Priests came to him to see if they should go to preach now they would have an opportunity.
We want to select about fifty men a portion of them we want to make agents for the Church. When the Twelve were first sent out, they had to give $2,000 bonds for the faithful performance of their duty. Joseph done that as a precedent for us to go by, it now becomes our duty to have others enter into bonds likewise, many men have been wronged out of their property, and for this reason we have to take all precautionary measures, to prevent the saints from being imposed upon. A Natural born thief or liar will never enter the Celestial kingdom, they may try till doomsday. The following persons were then selected: Wm. Snow, David Pettigrew, Wm. Hyde, Lorenzo Snow, Chas. C. Rich, Jacob Foutz, Benjn. Brown, Wm. Perkins, Wm. Moss, Franklin D. Richards, A. H. Perkins, M. H. Peck, E. D. Wooley, David Evans, Jas. Newberry, Elisha H. Groves, Alexander Williams, J. C. Wright, Willard Snow, Wm. A. Gheen, Noah Packard, Alvah H. Tippets, Aaron Johnson, Joseph W. Johnson, E. Fordham, Stephen Markham, Jacob G. Bigler, J. H. Hale, Evan M. Green, Dominicus Carter, Erastus Snow, Jonathan Dunham, Edmund Fisher, Winslow Far, John Pack, Lorenzo Young, Stephen Litz, Henry G. Sherwood, Elam Luddington, Jesse D. Hunter, Ezra T. Benson, David H. Redfield, Ormus E. Bates, Thos. Pearson, Pelatiah Brown, Jedediah M. Grant, Thos. Kington, [p. 27] The subject in selecting a number of the Seventies was to go forth and preach, lecture, and read documents in Hancock and the adjoining counties, that we might be enabled to frustrate the designs of our enemies, who we have been informed have entered into compacts to steal from each other and from the Mormons, in order to blame us with their evil deeds, and bring reproach upon this community, that by false statements and misrepresentations, they may be enabled to prejudice and excite the public mind, so as to prevent the execution of the law upon the murderers of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. (6)
Endnotes:
1 - Wikipedia, List of Brigham Young's Wives, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Brigham_Young%27s_wives
2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Snow#Wives_and_children
3 - "Origin of famous Mormon couplet," Clair Barrus, examiner.com
4 - http://lds.org
5 - Cook, Lyndon W., The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, Seventy's Mission Bookstore, Provo UT, 1985, http://amzn.to/RevelationsofJosephSmith
6 - 'The John Taylor Nauvoo journal, January 1845-September 1845,' BYU Studies 23:3 (1983) edited by Dean C. Jessee
LDS History Chronology: Lorenzo Snow
Mormon History Timeline: the life of Lorenzo Snow
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
--
