On this day in Mormon History
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-- 195 years ago today - Nov 18, 1830 --
Colesville, Nov: 18: 1830. Rev & Dear Sir ... I will relate a circumstance that has given me pain. A member of the church in Sandford, a young female, has renounced her connexion with the church, and joined a church <> in Colesville founded by Joseph Smith. This man has been known, in these parts, for some time, as a kind of juggler, who has pretended, through a glass, to see money under ground &c, &c. The book, on which he founds his new religion, is called the "Book of Mormon." It contains not much, and is rather calculated to suit the marvelous, and unthinking. part of the world. No man in his right mind can think the Book or the doctrines it contains, worthy of the least notice, yet there are a number who profess to believe in it. Since the church was formed, which was some time in July, about twenty have gathered around their standard, and have [p. 2] subscribed themselves to be the followers [of] Christ; for they call themselves a church of Christ, and the
only church of Christ. All professing christians who do not adhere to their system, they consider as formalists; "having the form of Godliness, but denying the power." They have pretended to work miracles, such as casting out devils, and many other things, too blasphemous to mention.--It is believed, however, they have [atta]ined to about the zenith of their glory in this place. Their books remain unsold; <<; except>> [-] here and there an individual, none will buy them. It is thought the great speculation, which they probably anticipated, will prove a losing busi=ness. ... Yours in Bonds of christian Affection.
John Sherer
(1)
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-- 165 years ago today - Nov 18, 1860 --
[Brigham Young]
Right where the Prophet Joseph laid the foundation of the Temple, in the center stake of Zion, was where God commenced the garden of Eden, and there he will end or consummate his work, and the law will go forth from Zion that will govern every nation under the heavens. In the day of the Lord Jesus every man that remains will be filled with the spirit of judgment, and with the knowledge and power of God. The Lord opened the gold mines of California to make this people as a light upon a hill, and we did not come here, as some supposed, to be hid up from the world for ever. (2)
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-- 135 years ago today - Nov 18, 1890 --
A saloon has been opened in Deseret by one of the brethren--Hawley. He has built a nice brick structure, and had a dance there last night and another tonight for opening. Nearly all the Saints attended[,] a notice of the parties having been given in Sunday meeting, and the proprietor of the saloon having been called to dismiss the meeting. (3)
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-- 115 years ago today - Nov 18, 1910 --
[Joseph F. Smith & Anthon Lund]
This is in answer to President B[righam]. A. Hendricks' letter to you of the 4th ult. with respect to the right of Negroes to be baptized in behalf of their deceased ancestors. It is true, as intimated in yours of Oct[ober]. 25th to President Hendricks that no ordinances are being performed in the temple in behalf of deceased Negroes, neither can temple ordinances be performed in behalf of the Negro race involving the bestowal of the holy priesthood upon them. But inasmuch as Negroes living in the flesh can become members of the Church through baptism, we do not hesitate to say that Negroes may be baptized and confirmed in behalf of their kindred dead, which is all that can be done for tem until the Lord shall direct otherwise.
But in thus answering we do not wish President Hendricks or his successors in office to encourage the Negro saints of South Africa to emigrate to Zion in order that they may be in a position to do temple work in behalf of their dead. In fact, the same general instructions apply to our elders with respect to the Negro race as applies to them with respect to the whites, and that is not to preach the gathering or encourage any to emirate, but rather to leave this entirely with the saints themselves, so that they cannot truthfully blame the Church should any of them come here and become dissatisfied and want to return.
We note that President Hendricks says in his letter to you in effect that the labors of himself and elders are among the white class of people, and not the blacks. This is as it should be, and we trust that this understanding will be clearly had by all of our missionaries laboring in South Africa, and who may be called to labor there hereafter. In the Book of Moses (Pearl of Great Price) Chapter 7, verse 12, we learn that Enoch in his day called upon all the people to repent save the people of Canaan, and it is for us to do likewise. But at the same time where honest-hearted Negroes who perchance hear the gospel preached, become pricked in their hearts and ask for baptism, it would not by becoming in us to refuse to administer that ordinance in their behalf. And where such brethren and sisters desire to have their temple work done in behalf of their deceased kindred, let them furnish the Mission President with the names of their dead, together with the genealogy, as
fully as they may be able to give it, who may forward the same to us, and we will see that baptism is performed in their behalf, and we will instruct the temple recorder to inform the Mission President when the work shall have been done. (4)
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-- 50 years ago today - Nov 18, 1975-Tuesday --
[Leonard Arrington]
Grace and I went to Cannon-Hinckley [study group] this evening and heard interesting talks by Jim and Gloria Brown ... We sat at the same table with Olive Kimball Mitchell and her husband [Ira] (she's a niece of President Kimball), Fern and Harvey Fletcher of BYU (she was formerly married to Carl Eyring), and Ray and Elva Olpin. Interesting conversation. Fern and Elva said they remembered Susa Young Gates. She was an outstanding woman, they admitted, but nobody liked her. She was too loud, too officious, too pushy, too imperious, too crude, too aggressive. Too much the woman libber type, they said. She was a vegetarian, they said. When invited to a banquet, she took along a little paper bag with raw carrots and other things to eat. She liked natural foods, like her daughter Leah Widtsoe. She liked to talk, talked too long, was very anxious to give her opinion and her advice. They remembered her speaking to the girls at BYU and telling the single girls to get married. The principal
object of life. ...
I asked Olive about the reaction of the Kimballs to the J. Golden book by Tom Cheney. Basically very favorable, she said. She knew Uncle Spencer Kimball liked it, enjoyed it. She likes biographies that tell about the whole man, warts and all. Thinks she will approve of my Edwin Woolley [biography]. Thinks Uncle Spencer will not object. He doesn't object when people tell J. Golden stories.
[Former University of Utah] President [A. Ray] Olpin said that he and wife, Homer Durham and wife [Eudora], etc. were at an affair at which President [Ernest] Wilkinson was also invited. As soon as the girls saw him coming they removed their rings and got prepared for his bone-crushing handshake and jerking them forward. Eudora tried to avoid shaking hands with him, but he grabbed her and just about cracked her hand. She then lifted her shoe with high heels and put it down squarely on his foot. That night he had his first heart attack. She wondered if her action had any influence. (5)
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1 - John Sherer to Absalom Peters, 18 November 1830, American Home Missionary Society Archives, Amistad Research Center, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana., as cited in Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents: John Sherer To Absalom Peters
2 - Deseret News, in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses
3 - Abraham H. Cannon (Author), Edward Leo Lyman (Editor), Candid Insights of a Mormon Apostle: The Diaries of Abraham H. Cannon, 1889-1895, Signature Books
4 - Joseph F. Smith and Anthon H. Lund, Letter to Rudger Clawson, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010
5 - Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018
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