[Apostle John Taylor diary] I attended the Seventies' Hall dedication. (1)
-- Wednesday, January 1st, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] In the forenoon attended Seventies' Hall dedication. In afternoon had a party of the Printing Office hands and their wives, in number about twenty, we had a quite a jovial time. I spoke to them on the necessity of union. Judge Phelps also gave them some good advice on this subject; after which we parted. (1)
-- Thursday, January 2nd, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] I attended to Printing office business. (1)
-- Friday, January 3rd, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] Chiefly at home. (1)
-- Saturday, January 4th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] Went out to my farm, in company with Bro. Bean. (1)
-- Sunday, January 5th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] In the forenoon at home. In afternoon, engaged in writing letters to Elder Woodruff, England, and Elder Parley P. Pratt, New York. In evening attended a meeting in Bro. Joseph's Store. (1)
-- Monday, January 6th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] Engaged Elias Smith in examining books belonging to Printing Office. (1)
-- Tuesday, January 7th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] Attended to various business in forenoon. In evening attended the Mechanic's Association meeting. (1)
-- Wednesday, January 8th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] Attended a large family meeting of Elder Young's. A great number of his relations were present, the band and choir were also in company. Much useful instruction was given; It was there Elder Kimball first preached his Bee Sermon. The meeting was held in the Seventies' Hall. (1)
-- Thursday, January 9th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] I attended a dinner party accompanied by Mrs. Taylor; given by the Old Police at Bros. Tuft and Dunn's, the Twelve with their wives were most of them present on the occasion. (1)
-- Friday, January 10th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] I attended a meeting of the Twelve, Trusteesin- Trust, and a committee of the manufacturing Association. (1)
-- Saturday, January 11th, 1845
[Apostle John Taylor diary] Attended City Council at 10 o'clock A.M., and continued in Council till 3 o'clock P.M. In the evening at my own house in company with Pres. B. Young, Willard Richards, and Amasa Lyman; assisted to write an epistle of the Twelve to the churches throughout the world, the following of which is a copy. An Epistle of the Twelve, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in all the world. Greeting. Beloved Brethren:'1/2-- As the purposes of God roll forth and the work of the Lord hastens to its accomplishment, it is necessary that we, as watchmen upon the towers of Zion, communicate with you from time to time, and put you in possession of such information as may be deemed necessary for your welfare, for the furtherance of the cause of God, and for the fulfilling of those great purposes which our heavenly father has designed in the rolling forth of John Taylor Nauvoo Journal 17 the dispensation of the fullness of times, 'spoken of by all the pro
phets since the world was.' The Temple has progressed very rapidly since the death of our beloved Prophet and Patriarch. The diligence of those employed, and the willingness of the saints to contribute, have brought it to a state of forwardness, which has far exceeded our most sanguine expectations. You have already been informed that the capitols of the columns were all on; we have now to announce to you that by the time the spring opens we expect that every stone will be cut to complete the Temple, and it will not take long to lay them, when they are all prepared. Great numbers of carpenters, masons, and other workmen are daily engaged in this arduous undertaking, so that not only is stone being prepared, but the sash, flooring, seats, and other things are progressing rapidly; and it is our design, if possible, so to rush the work forward that the building will be enclosed, and certain portions of it in that state of forwardness, so that we shall be prepared to commence gi
ving the endowments next fall; that the elders of Israel may be prepared by the power and spirit of the great Jehovah, to fulfil with dignity and honor, the great work devolving upon them to perform. We wish to inform you brethren that the work in which we are engaged is great and mighty, it is the work of God and we have to rush it forth against the combined powers of earth and hell, we feel it to be an arduous undertaking, whilst you, many of you, have been enjoying ease, prosperity, and peace at home, we have had to combat mobs and to wade through blood to fulfil the work devolving upon us, and you; we have been exerting our energies, expending our money; and employing our time, our labor, our influence, and means for the accomplishment of this purpose; and feeling confident dear brethren that you would like to share with us the labor, as well as the glory, we make the following requests: We wish all the young, middle aged, and able bodied men who have it in their hearts
to stretch forth this work with power, to come to Nauvoo, prepared to stay during the summer; and to bring with them means to sustain themselves with, and to enable us to forward this work; to bring with them teams, cattle, sheep, gold, silver, brass, iron, oil, paints and tools; and let those who are within market distance of Nauvoo bring with them provisions to sustain themselves and others during their stay. And let all the churches send all the money, cloth, and clothing, together with the raw material for manufacturing purposes; such as cotton yam, wool, steel, iron, brass &c., &c., as we are preparing to go into extensive manufacturing operations, and all these things can be applied to the furtherance of the Temple. There was a font erected in the basement story of the Temple, for the baptism of the dead, the healing of the sick and other purposes; this font was made of wood, and was only intended for the present use; but it is now removed, and as soon as the stone cut
ters get through with the cutting of the stone for the Temple, they will immediately proceed to cut the stone for, and erect a font of hewn stone. This font will be of an oval shape and twelve feet on length and eight wide, with stone steps and an iron railing; this form will stand upon twelve oxen, which will be cast of iron or brass, or perhaps hewn stone, if of brass, polished; if of iron, bronzed;'1/2--upon each side of the font there will be a suit of rooms fitted up for the washings. In the recesses, on each side of the arch, on the first story, there will be a suit of rooms or ante-chambers, lighted with the first now of circular windows. As soon as a suitable number of those rooms are completed we shall commence the endowment. Brethren, inasmuch as you have long desired blessings, come up to the help of the Lord, and help to forward the work that we are engaged in; for we trust that these rooms will be finished by the first of December next, so that you may enter the
rein and receive wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and the power of the priesthood, which you have so long desired; that you may be prepared to go forth to the nations of the earth and build up the Kingdom in all parts of the world; gather up Israel, redeem Zion; rebuild Jerusalem and fill the whole earth with the knowledge of God. While upon this we would remind the brethren of their duty in the tithing according to the laws, and command-[p. 21]ments given through Joseph the Prophet, it is the duty of all saints to tithe themselves one tenth of all they possess when they enter into the new and everlasting covenant; and then one tenth of their interest, or income yearly afterwards. If the brethren will attend to this strictly, and send up the sum by agents appointed by us, whose names you will see in this paper, (Times and Seasons Vol. 6, No. 1, January 15th/45.) then we shall hold ourselves responsible for all monies and properties delivered to those agents, that the names
of the several individuals who send their tithing by the legal agents may be entered up on the Book of the law of the Lord; if this is not attended to strictly by the branches of the church abroad, they may be disappointed when they find that they have sent their means by unauthorized agents, who have not made returns to the Trustees, and their names are not recorded as they would have been if they had hearkened to counsel. On the subject of regular appointed agencies we would refer you to an article written by the Trustees, Bishops Whitney and Miller, and published in the Times and Seasons of December. We would further say to the brethren that if there should be any of the churches to whom these agents do not come, let them send their means by honest men whom they may select from among themselves, and in whom they can place confidence, but we cannot be responsible for the conduct of John Taylor Nauvoo Journal 19 any agents that we do not send, and can only give credit fo
r that we receive. And as the churches abroad have been much imposed upon by designing men, without authority, we would warm them against such persons, and advise them not to pay their funds to travelling elders and others without a written authority from us to which shall be attached the private seal of the Twelve and their names published as above stated. Those men that we shall select for agents will be men of honor, men of integrity and respectability in whom we can confide, and who are responsible, and able, and willing to enter into bonds for the faithful performance of their duty. This course will prevent those many impositions which have heretofore been practised by villains wearing the garb of saints, and place the churches in a situation that they can forward their tithings with safety. There is now in the city eight of the Twelve all in good health and spirits; our city is progressing, and the work of the Lord is rolling forth with unprecedented rapidity. Thus, de
ar brethren, we have given you, in part, some of the measures and calculations, which we mean to carry into effect for your salvation, and for the furtherance of the salvation of the world. We have commenced a new year, and, as the Lord says; 'All victory and glory is brought t
o pass unto you, through diligence, faithfulness and prayers of faith,' so we cannot but hope, that you will renew your exertions, your prayers, and your tithings, for the benefit of Zion, that she may arise and shine, for the good of all people. We cannot say every thing in one short epistle, therefore, from time to time, as the Lord puts into our hearts instructions, we shall give them unto you; solemnly praying that you will increase you[r] faith, double your diligence, walk by light and obedience, and be instant in season, to do the will of our Father in heaven: Beware of ungodly men, who creep among you unawares; they are clouds without water, driven about by winds, and will finally be blown into outer darkness. Our counsel to the travelling elders abroad is for them to return to Nauvoo by the 6th of April, to Conference, or as soon as possible afterwards, and before they leave, it will be necessary for them to ordain good and wise men to preside over the branches during
their absence. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, a veneration for the names of the first martyrs, first elders, and first prophets of the nineteenth century, inspire your hearts, to hear counsel, to keep counsel, to practice holiness, live the life of saints, and 'die the death of the righteous, that your last end may be like his.' Done in council, at Nauvoo, this 11th day of January, 1845. Brigham Young, Pres't Willard Richards, Clerk. (1)
Footnotes:
1 - 'The John Taylor Nauvoo journal, January 1845-September 1845,' BYU Studies 23:3 (1983) edited by Dean C. Jessee
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