In the bonds of the covenant,
ORSON HYDE,
JOHN E. PAGE.
To this piteous appeal from one who had wandered far from the fold, and who had been torn by the thorns, the Prophet wrote a most worthy reply—a reply which clearly indicates that the spirit of the Master burned brightly in the breast of the servant.
JOSEPH SMITH'S LETTER TO W.W. PHELPS.
NAUVOO, HANCOCK CO., ILLINOIS, July 22, 1840.
DEAR BROTHER PHELPS—I must say that it is with no ordinary feelings I endeavor to write a few lines to you in answer to yours of the 29th ultimo; at the same time I am rejoiced at the privilege granted me.
You may in some measure realize what my feelings, as well as Elder Rigdon's and Brother Hyrum's were, when we read your letter—truly our hearts were melted into tenderness and compassion when we ascertained your resolves, etc. I can assure you I feel a disposition to act on your case in a manner that will meet the approbation of Jehovah, (whose servant I am) and agreeably to the principles of truth and righteousness which have been revealed; and inasmuch as longsuffering, patience and mercy have ever characterized the dealings of our Heavenly Father towards the humble and penitent, I feel disposed to copy the example, cherish the same principles, and by so doing be a savior of my fellow men.
It is true, that we have suffered much in consequence of your behavior—the cup of gall, already full enough for mortals to drink, was indeed filled to overflowing when you turned against us. One with whom we had oft taken sweet counsel together, and enjoyed many refreshing seasons from the Lord—"had it been an enemy, we could have borne it." "In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day when strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Far West, even thou wast as one of them; but thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother, in the day that he became a stranger, neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress."
However, the cup has been drunk, the will of our Father has been done, and we are yet alive, for which we thank the Lord. And having been delivered from the hands of wicked men by the mercy of our God, we say it is your privilege to be delivered from the powers of the adversary, be brought into the liberty of God's dear children, and again take your stand among the Saints of the Most High, and by diligence, humility, and love unfeigned, commend yourself to our God, and your God, and to The Church of Jesus Christ.
Believing your confession to be real, and your repentance genuine, I shall be happy once again to give you the right hand of fellowship, and rejoice over the returning prodigal.
Your letter was read to the Saints last Sunday, and an expression was taken, when it was unanimously—
Resolved, That W.W. Phelps should be received into fellowship.
"Come on, dear brother, since the war is past,
For friends at first are friends again at last."
Yours as ever,
JOSEPH SMITH, JR.
Some time after this, when laying out work for the brethren to do, in a sudden burst of kindness he said to his secretary:
Write Oliver Cowdery, and ask him if he has not eaten husks long enough. If he is not almost ready to return, be clothed with robes of righteousness, and go up to Jerusalem. Orson Hyde hath need of him.
A letter was written accordingly, but the Prophet's generous tender of forgiveness and fellowship called forth no response from Oliver Cowdery, once the second Elder of The Church, and the first to make public proclamation of the Gospel to the world. Subsequently, however, he did return, namely in 1848.
It may not be amiss here to call the attention of the reader to a peculiarity of Mormonism, which is illustrated, not only by this case of Phelps, but by a multitude of other cases of the same character; and that is: whenever the religion of the Latter-day Saints—the Gospel of Jesus Christ—takes hold of men, and conviction of its truth has struck deep into the human soul, they may through transgression lose the fellowship of the Saints and of The Church; they may wander out upon the hills and through the deserts, away from the fold, but they can never forget the sweet communion of the Spirit of God, which they enjoyed before their fall; nor can they forget the fact that they once knew that Mormonism was true. The recollection of those things operates upon the mind, and not infrequently leads to a sincere repentance; and it has often happened, in the experience of The Church, that men who through transgression turned away from the truth, after thorns have torn their flesh, and the wild briar stripped them of their covering, they return and humbly beg to be re-admitted into their Father's house. Lucifer-like, they cannot forget the heights from which they fell, they cannot all forget the splendor of that glory and the happiness of that peace they enjoyed in God's Kingdom, and wicked indeed must that heart become, that these recollections will not lead to repentance. May not they have so far transgressed that they cannot repent, and are beyond even the desire for forgiveness? Are they not the sons of perdition? Thank God, their numbers are few!
Again, those who fall away from Mormonism carry with them the evidences of that fall. Unbelievers say to Mormons, "Come out of the darkness of your superstitions into God's sunlight of freedom"—but when one looks upon the fate, the condition and experience of those who have denied the faith, he receives small encouragement to obey the summons. Seldom indeed are they prospered even in the affairs of this world, and the canker-worm gnawing within, writes upon their faces the anguish of heart which their lying lips deny. They smile, but smiling suffer; the heart still beats, but brokenly lives on; and who so blind that he would exchange the peace, the joy, the holy aspirations and assurances which the Gospel brings, for the unrest, the gloom, darkness, uncertainty and fearfulness, which forever haunt the mind of the apostate? Only those who would exchange the glorious light of heaven for the murky blackness of hell.
CHAPTER XII.
JOHN C. BENNETT.
ABOUT this time, there were other characters which had become attracted to The Church, and who became prominent in the events which occurred at Nauvoo. Among them was Dr. John C. Bennett, described as "a man of enterprise, extensive acquirements, and of independent mind, one calculated to be of great benefit to The Church." His attention had been attracted to the Mormon people during their persecutions in Missouri. At that time he was brigadier-general of the "Invincible Dragoons" of Illinois, and wrote to the leaders of The Church in the hours of their deepest distress, proffering to go to their assistance with all the forces he could raise in Illinois, as his bosom swelled with indignation at the treatment the Saints received at the hands of the cruel but cowardly Missourians. That proffered service, however, was not accepted; doubtless because the Saints depended for vindication of their reputation, and redress of their wrongs, upon the officers of the State and Nation, rather than upon adventurers who offered their service to wage war upon their enemies. But after the Saints began gathering at Commerce, he again expressed a desire to connect his fortunes with theirs.
As this man may properly be regarded as the "Benedict Arnold" of The Church at Nauvoo, I shall take the liberty of now noting a few expressions in his first letters to Joseph the Prophet, which, if they fail to adorn a tale, they will at least point a moral.
When he contemplated joining his fortunes with The Church at Commerce, he held