Letter to James Arlington Bennet, 13 November 1843
Source Note
JS, Letter, , IL, to , , New Utrecht, NY, 13 Nov. 1843; handwriting of ; dockets in handwriting of and ; nine pages; JS Collection, CHL. Includes dockets.
of twelve years, through the “boldness of the plan of preaching <the gospel> and <the boldness of the means [of]> declaring repentance and baptism for the remission of sins: and a reception of the Holy Ghost, by laying on <of the> hands agreeably to the authority of the priesthood; and the still more bold measures of receiving direct revelation from God, through the Comforter, as promised, and by which means all holy men, from ancient times till now, have spoken and revealed the will of God to men, with the consequent “success” of the gathering of the Saints throws any “charm” around <over> my being and “points me out as the most extraordinary man of the age,” it demonstrates the fact that fact truth is mighty and will prevail; and that one man empowered from Jehovah, has <more> influence with the children of the Kingdom, than eight hundred millions lead by the precepts of men. God exalts the humble and debases the haughty.
But let me assure <you> in the name of of Jesus who spoke as never man spake, that the “boldness of the plans and measures,” as you term them, but which should be denominated the righteousness of the cause, the truth of the system and power of God, which “so far,” has born me and the church, in which I glory in having the privilege of being a member, successfully through the storm of reproach, folly, ignorance, malice, persecution, falsehood, sacerdotal wrath, newspaper satire, pamphlet libels, and the combined influence of the powers of earth and hell, I say these powers of righteousness and truth, are not the decrees or rules of an ambitions [ambitious] and aspiring Nimrod; [p. 2[a]]