The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1907-01-10

and I should have Matte Wright to
play with every day"
"And you would leave me?"
Why, that's so, Daddy! I never
thought-of course I can't leave my
little sorry father-not yet. I forgot
that. | couldn't leave you. Now tell
me about my mother again"
He told her the story she already
knew so well-how beautiful her moth
er was, the look of her hair and eyes,
her slendernes, the music of her voice,
and the gladness Of her laugh.
and won't she be glad to see us
again? And she will come before
Christina and Lorena, because she
was your first wife, wasn't she?"
He was awake all night in a fever
of doubt and rebellion. BY the light
of ~thescandle, he read in the Book Of
Mormon passages that had often puz-
zled but lever troubled him until now
when they were brought home to him;
such as, "And now it came to pass
that the people Nephi under the reign
of the second king began to grow hard
in their hearts, and INDUCED them
selves somewhat in wicked practices,
like unto David of old, desiring many
wives"
Again he read, Behold, David and
Solomon truly had many wives, which
thing was abominable before me, saith
the Lord
Still again, For there shall not be
any man among you have save it shall
be one wife"
Then he turned to the revelation on
celestial marriage given years after
these words were writtn, and in the
first paragraph read:
Verify, thus saith the Lord unto
you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch
as you have inquired of my hand to
know and understand wherein I, the
Lord, justified my servants Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David,
and Solomon, my servants, as touch
ing the principle and doctrine of their
having many wives"
He turned from one to the other;
from the many explicit admonitions
and commands against polygamy, the
d~enunciations Of the %patriarchs for
their indulgence in the practice, to
this last passage c%ontradicting the
others, and vexed himself with won
der. In the Book Of Mormon, David
was said to be wicked for doing this
thing. Now in the revelation to
Joseph he read, "David's wives were
given unto him of me, by the hand of
Nathan, my servant"
He recalled old tales that were told
in Nauvoo by wicked apostates and
the basest Of Gentlle scandal-mongers;
how that Joseph in the day of his
great power had suffered the purity
of his faith to become tainted; how
his wife, Emma, had upbraided him SO
harshly for his sins that he, fearing
disgrace, had put out this revelation
as the word of God to silence her. He
remembered that these gossips had
said the revelation itself proved that
Joseph had already done, before he
received it, that which it commanded
him to do, citing the clause, "And let
my handmade. Emma Smith, receive
all those that have been given unto
my servant Joseph, and who are virtu-
GUS and pure before me-"
They had gossiped further, that still
fearing her rebellion, he had worded a
threat for her in the next clause, "And
command my handmade, Emma
Smith. to abide and cleave into my
servant Joseph and to none else. But
If she will not abide this command
ment she shall be destroyed, saith the
Lord; for l am the Lord thy God, and
will destroy her if she abide not in my
law and again verify I say, let
mine handmade forgive my servant
Joseph his trespasses and then shall
she be forgiven her trespasses."
This was the calumny the Gentle
gossips back in Nauvoo would have
had the world believe,-that this great
doctrine Of the Church had been given
to silence the enraged wife of a man
detected in sin.
But in the midst of his questionings
he seemed to see a truth,-that an
other snare had been set for him by
the Devil, and that this time it had
caught his feet. He, who knew that
he must have nothing for himself, had
all unconsciously SO set his heart upon
this child Of her mother that he could
not give her up. And now SO fixed
and SO great was his love that he
could not turn back. He knew he was
lost. To cling to her would be to ques-
tion, doubt, and to lose his faith. To
give her up would kill him.
But at least for q little while he
could put it off.
ITO Pr CONr1Nr1En NEvT WrEn.