Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1895-06-20


lines of a well defined mouth--and you
have a fair description Of Joseph
Smith, the man who sways the spiritual
welfare Of 100000 people. His personal
appearance Is no less striking than the
smooth, musical voice which he pos
sesses. A thorough scholar, shrewd ana
careful, Weighing well the words that
he utters, yet showing such kindly
grace as to disarm prejudice. Joseph
Smith, the great Mormon leader Is pc
leved by his followers to hold his POSI-
ton by divine revelation, which in
manner accounts for the great power
he Yields over the saints now on earth
In his position as president he has two
assstants-one Of them David H.
Smith, who has been temporarily re-
tired from active church work on ac-
count of insanity. He has been CON
fined in an asylum in Illinois since 1879,
and the Lord has not sent a revelation
that this vacancy may be filed The
other adviser is w. w. Blair of Lamont,
Ia. The head Of the great Mormon
church as a pariamentarian has few
superiors, and he adopts iron rules at
the great gatherings Of the church over
which he presides. This has been eX-
empllfied at the conference held at In
dependence, which Is considered the
Zion" of the Mormon church. Here 1t
is that temple that will outshine Sol
omon's famous structure Is to be erect
ed, but the particular spot on which
the temple is to be built is in statu quo,
owing to litigation. Until the United
States court decides the matter Of own
ershlp no attempt will be made to carry
out the long unfulfilled vision Of JOS
eph Smith.
1.-THE future is Frightening to us in
Missouri" said the Prophet to the
writer the other day. as he stroked his
silvery beard with tenderness. Mis-
souri, and Iowa are taking hold Of our
religion and many converts are being
made. Our work in the East and in
the foreign countries Is in good condi-
ton. 1 do not like to consider probablll-
ties Still we as a people feel that our
success in the courts Of the land shows
that we are on the right side, and
right, you know, must prevail. In a few
years the world will be ours. The re-
organized church, as 1t stands to-day
has 10000 members and this number
only includes the bona tide members;
children who have not reached the age
of maturity are not included In this
count. The receipts from all sources
amount to 100000 annually, and this
amount is largely expended in direct
church work. My days are growing
short, but I expect to give ten more
years Of my life to active work."
I'm case you should die, who would
likely succeed your Mr. Smith was
asked.
my successor will be found by di-
vine revelation. God works in won
drous ways"
The work Of the church is divided
The bishopric is composed Of q bishop
and his counselors-Elders George H..
Smith and r. w. Blakeslie. Directly
responsible to the bishopric are the va
rious orders Of the Aaronic priesthood,
consisting Of priests, teachers and dea-
cons. The Quorum Of the Twelve, fash
toned after the Twelve Apostles Of
Christ, has direct supervision over the
missionaries and their fields Of labor
The seven quorums, Of seventy disciples
each, are controlled by the Quorum Of
Twelve. The members of this Quorum
of Twelve are named by direct revela-
ton (O of heaven. They are the Coun-
sellers of the Presidency, and examine
and approve all edicts before they are
declared to be the law of the church,
and, further, this quorum, with the
presidency, in reality rule the 10000
members of the organization in all
parts of the world.
F, The recent conference Of the Mormon
church, as it is popularity known, was
one of vast Importance to both the peo-