April 6th [FIGURE] 1837. This being more part-
icular the day of the , or a day that
is looked upon an^n^ually with feeling of greater interest
in celebration of the 6th of April 1830 as upon
that day the was first
organized in this last dispensation & fulness of times
Henceforth the solumn assembly of the & all official members that can, will meet
in the LORDS house annually to attend to the most
solumn ordinances of the house of GOD & of receiev-
ing the visions & great things of heavens. Therefore
I shall be more particular in recording the transact-
ions of this day than others for it is sumthing simil-
ar to the pentecost that St speak of at [Acts 2]
I repaired to the at 8 oclock A.M. & after spending an hour in the
lower part of the house the presidency of the Church
called the quorums of the seventies into the upper part
of the that they might be by themselves for awhile
as theire was some business to be attended to in these
quorums before they could procede to the business of
the day below. In the first place six of the presidents
of the seventies were to leave the Seventies & take
a station in the quorum of the travling and six other Presidents chosen in their stead
I shall not here give the particulars of this change
of councillers suffice it to say that all of the
councillors first chosen excepting
were high priest befor the organization of the
seventies & they had a right to officiate in the
lower offices of the Church & there was some
difiference in the authority and office of the
quorums of high priesthood & seventies.
The six new Presidents chosen out of the seventies
to take the place of thos that were to leave
were , , , [blank] , .
After this matter was aranged theire
was a glorious ordinance performed upon the heads
of those who had been anointed (by the first
presidency of the Church &c was this ordinance performed. it was
as follows. while all of the anointed present lifted
there hands towards heaven this first presidency
of the Church confirmed & sealed upon our
heads all the blessings of our ordination, anointing,
& Patriarchal with a seal in the presence of
God & the Lamb & holy angels that they should all
be fulfilled upon our heads that not one jot or tittle
should fail & the seal was confirmed upon our
heads with a of all the anointed with uplifted
hand to heaven HOSANNA. Hosanna. Hosanna. to
GOD & the LAMB. Amen. Amen. & Amen! Hosanna
Hosanna. Hosanna. to GOD & the LAMB. Amen—
Amen. & Amen. & Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna. to GOD
& the LAMB. Amen. Amen. & Amen. This was repeated
as it is written & if ever a entered the cabinet of
heaven that did & was repeated by angels on high
& caused the power of God to rest upon us.
(O, ye Priest of Baal. O, ye Gentile religionest O, ye inha-
bitants of Babylon possessing the mark of the beast what
knowledge have ye of the ordinances or blessings or
virtues of the house & Church of God) Great and
marvelous are the blessings and power of the of the Lord & his gospel made manifest on these occas-
ions. After being in the upper room about two hours
we again Joined the congregation of the Saints in the
lower court & the house came to order for the busi-
ness of the day, the veils were closed & each apartment
commenced the duties of the day the washing of the
feet of the anointed was the first business that
was performed. The twelve assisted our presidency
in washing the feet. Elder one of the twelve
apostles attended to the washing of my feet & prophesied
upon my head & pronounced me clean from the Blood
of this generation this as it was with JESUS when
he washed his deciples feet. great were the blessings
that rested upon us in this ordinance. After the , the veils were rolled, which brought the con-
gregation into one assembly, the stand of the priesthood
were still coverd with the veils the Presidency stood
in the lower stand & President arose
and addressed the congregation for the term of three
hours clothed with the , , & image of GOD
He unbosom'd his mind & feelings in the house of his
friends. He presented many things of vast importance to the
minds of the Elders of Israel. O that they might be written
upon our hearts as with an iron pen to remain forever
that we might practice them in our lives. That fountain
of light, principle & virtue that came forth out of
the heart & mouth of the prophet whose
soul like swell^d^ wide as eternity I say
such evidences presented in such a forcible manner
ought to drive into oblivion every particle of unbelief
& dubiety from the mind of the hearers, for such
language sentiment principle & spirit cannot
flow from darkness. Joseph Smith jr is a prophet
of God rised up for the deliverance of Israel as
true as my heart now burns within me while
I am penning thes lines which is as true as truth
itself. President followed Joseph with
many useful remarks he also was clothed with much
of the spirit of God. Joseph desired us to give heed to his
words & teaching this once & be wigse that Zion &
her stakes might spedily be redeemed he instructed
us to be sure & [thask] those that enter the Kingdom
to send up their wise men to with there money
to counsel with the presidency & purchase an interit
ance before they move their families or bring the
poor to the places of gathering for to suffer. Also
that we must keep in view the institution of the
Kirtland Safety Society & if the Elders of Israel
would be faithful & do what was in their power
this once Kirtland should spedily be redeemed &
become a strong hold not to be thrown down. Joseph
presented us in some degree the plot of the city
of Kirtland (which is the strong hold of the daughter
of Zion) as it was given him by vision, it was
great marvelous & glorious. the city extended to
the east, west, north, & south, steam boats will
come puffing into the city our Goods will be conve
yed upon rail roads from Kirtland to many places
& probably to Zion. houses of worship would be
reared unto the most high beautiful streets was
to be made for the Saints to walk in Kings of the
earth would come to behold the glory thereof
& many glorious things not now to be named would
be bestowed upon the Saints, but all these thing are
better imagined than spoken by the children of
President followed
& made but few remarks but verry
appropriate, he called upon the Elders to keep within
the bounds of their knowledge & to let the great miyster-
ies of the Kingdom alone for the gentiles had not
a knowledge even of the first principles of the
gospel. that it was far better to preach what the
people would call the small things of the Bible
than to enter into the of , ,
& &c.
President
next spoke & said many important things and
impress'd it upon the Elders of Israel with great
force & eloquence to lay to with their mights this
once for the redemption of that Israel
may be safe & free and have a place to set his foot
{for if we do not give heed to the word we should suffer loss}
After the Presidency closed
their remarks the twelve were called upon to
for the multitude (as Jesus did in the days
of the Apostles) that they might all be filled they did so &
we were all filled & was made glad while feasting
with Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelest, Pasters,
Teachers, & Deacons.
After the feast was
closed thanks was returned to GOD with uplifted hands
to heaven this being about the seting of the son all
had the privilege of returning to thir homes that felt
disposed & the rest might spend the night in the in prayer, & exohortation, praise & thanks-
giving. At about candle light the meeting commenced
with great interest requested the congregation
to speak their feelings freely & pray according to the spirit
the Saints began to open their mouths & they were filled with
language unto edification one a prayer another an exortation
some a doctrin & a psalm others ^a^ toungue, some an
Prophecy was also poured out upon us
& all things was done decently & in order & the night
was spent gloriously by the Saints much of the
of the gospel rested upon us. One Brother clothed
with the gift of tongues laid his hands upon my head &
prophesied great blessing upon me another brother
possessing the interpretation uttered it unto me to
my joy & consolation with the many blessing pronounced
upon my head he rehersed the blessing that
pronounced upon the heads of & said that
I should possess the blessings of heaven & of earth
& be much blessed in my ministry &c. [Genesis 48:3-4]
much Prophecy was uttered upon the heads of
many of the Saints in other languages & was interpeted
which was glorious, thus was this day & night spent
gloriously & those scenes will long be remembered
Rejoice O, earth & shout O heavens for the natural
fruit of the tame olive tree is again manifest in the
earth. the fig tree is puting forth leaves. The
Church of Christ is travling out of the wilderness
with her gifts & graces which edify the . The house of God is reared in beauty &
splender according to the pattern given by the
of heaven & the revelations of Jesus Christ
O, ye gentiles come & receieve the gospel repent &
be baptized for the of your sins & recieve
the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands & partake
of the blessing of God with Israel that you may be
hid under the shadow of ^the^ ALMIGHTY in the day
of GODs wrath & Indignation upon babylon which is
at hand. The meeting continued untill break of
day when we all dispersed to our homes with great
Joy & consolation. May the Lord bless the Saints
& have mercy upon the poor the sick & the afflicted,
& deliver Israel from the gentile yoke for Jesus sake Amen
