A gala dinner party is held at the grand opening of the Nauvoo Mansion. One hundred couples attend. The guests unanimously approve a series of resolutions made at the party, including tributes to "General Joseph Smith, whether we view him as a Prophet at the head of the Church, a General at the head of the Legion, a Mayor at the head of the City Council, or as a landlord at the head of his table, if he has equals, he has no superiors." Toasts are also made to the 15,000 citizens of Nauvoo, the Nauvoo Legion, the Nauvoo Charter, and Gov. Thomas Ford. (History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (7 volumes) 6:42-43.) (1)
[Joseph Smith] Nauvoo, Illinois. Joseph and Emma Smith hosted a dinner at their new Mansion House for about 100 brethren and their wives. (2)
[Joseph Smith Diary] Tuesday, October 3rd 1843 At home. The brethren assembled with their wives to the amount of about 100 couples and dined at the Nauvoo Mansion as an "opening" to the house. A very pleasant day and all things passed off well. /See the [Nauvoo] Neighbor, Oct[ober] 4th 1843/ In the evening Mr. William Backenstos was married to Miss Clara M. Wasson at the Mansion. I solemized the marriage in presence of a select party. (3)
Robert D Foster: Attended opening festivities of the Nauvoo Mansion 3 October 1843. Appointed chairman for evening; read resolution that stated in part, "Resolved, [that] General Joseph Smith, whether we view him as a Prophet at the head of the Church, a General at the head of the Legion, a Mayor at the head of the City Council, or as a landlord at the head of his table, if he has equals, he has no superiors". (4)
-- Oct 3, 1843 (Tuesday)
Joseph Smith gave a dinner party in the Nauvoo Mansion to about two hundred Saints. (5)
-- Oct 4, 1843
Anointed Quorum "met ahd adjourned to Sunday evening," apparently without a prayer circle (no entry, in Document rifled "Meetings of anointed Quorum - Journalizings," for 26 May 1843 to 28 Feb. 1844, retitled "Journal kept for Joseph Smith the Prophet," Smith papers, microfilm, Lee Library, RLDS archives, and Marriott Library. even though this was the day Document rifled "Meetings of anointed Quorum - Journalizings," for 26 May 1843 to 28 Feb. 1844, retitled "Journal kept for Joseph Smith the Prophet," Smith papers, microfilm, Lee Library, RLDS archives, and Marriott Library. appointed by the previous meeting). (6)
[Brigham Young] --4-- We left Philadelphia for Nauvoo by way of Pittsburgh, by canal and railway. While on the canal boat, which was crowded with well-behaved passengers, I was attacked by a Campbellite preacher, who was very anxious for a debate, and at the request of the passengers I delivered an address on the principles of our religion, which was very satisfactory to them, but discomfited the Campbellite preacher so much that he would not reply.
In the evening a gang of about a dozen Baptist ministers came on board, returning to Pittsburgh from a conference. The Campbellite preacher told them there were "Mormons" on board; they immediately surrounded Brother Geo. [George] A. Smith, and challenged him to debate, which he declined on the ground that it was not a proper place to discuss on religious subjects. They accused him of pretending to have the truth and not being willing to preach it to them. He proposed to preach in their churches in Pittsburgh any time they would open them, to which they would not consent. He then told them he considered that they not only refused to hear the truth themselves, but shut the gate against their congregations, like the Scribes and Pharisees in the days of Jesus. They commenced a tirade of abuse against him, half a dozen talking at once, and making use of every foul epithet their clerical learning had put them in possession of, and so crowded round him that he was prevented from g
oing
to supper, they having taken theirs before coming on board.
After supper, Brother Kimball went to George A's [Smith] assistance, and told them that he had been a Baptist himself three weeks, but when he was a Baptist, Baptist ministers were gentlemen. Brother Kimball made several quotations, knowing they were not from the scriptures. The ministers would frequently say,--"That quotation is not in the Bible." Brother Kimball frequently turned to Brother George A. [Smith] and said,--"Will you find that passage?" He opened his Bible as if to search, when the ministers all remembered the passages.
I came up and inquired what was the meaning of this loud talk? The ministers answered that they had challenged the "Mormons" to debate, but they would not debate with them; they understood there had been gambling on the boat, and they wished to banish such wickedness, I told them if there had been gambling, the gamblers had minded their own business and behaved like gentlemen, for there had been no disorder on board, since starting from Philadelphia, except what was made by a tip-o-tail of a Campbellite minister; and if they pretended to be ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, their conduct belied their profession, for they had abused Elder Smith ridiculously for an hour, and prevented him from getting his supper by blocking up the door, while he had submitted to their abuse with commendable patience; upon which the passengers told the captain, if he did not stop that gang of Baptist preachers from insulting the "Mormon" Elders, who had shown themselves gentlemen all the
way,
they would put them in the canal. The captain then dispersed them.
We arrived at Pittsburgh on the 8th, at ten a.m., and at eleven shipped on board the Rariton for St. Louis. We found Brother Bradford W. Elliot and two sisters on board.
We arrived at Cincinnati on the 12th. The river being low, the boat lay on sandbars some time. Sister Cobb who accompanied us from Boston, had a child very sick, who died in Cincinnati; she had it put in a tin coffin and took it with her. We were transferred to the steamer Nautilus, which left on the 14th and reached St. Louis on the 19th, where we reshipped for Nauvoo, and arrived on the 22nd, and went into council with Joseph [Smith], Hyrum [Smith] and others, when ordinances were administered to William Marks and wife.
October 23-- With Elders H. [Heber] C. Kimball and Geo. [George] A. Smith I visited the Prophet Joseph, who was glad to see us. We paid him every cent of the means we had collected for the temple and Nauvoo House. He taught us many principles illustrating the doctrine of celestial marriage concerning which God had given him a revelation, July 12th [1843] [D&C 132]. (7)
Footnotes:
1 - Conklin, Christopher J., Joseph Smith Chronology
2 - Joseph Smith Resource Center: Daily Events in the Life of Joseph Smith, http://josephsmith.net/josephsmith/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e581001cfb340010VgnVCM1000001f5e340aRCRDlocale=0
3 - Faulring, Scott (ed.), An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith: Joseph Smith Diary, 1843-44, http://amzn.to/jsdiaries
4 - 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
5 - Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology
6 - Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Signature Books, 1994, Appendex: Meetings and Initiations of the Anointed Quorum, 1842-45, http://amzn.to/origins-power
7 - Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1801-1844, ed. Elden Jay Watson (Salt Lake City: Smith Secretarial Service, 1968).
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