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Source: Church History Vol. 3 Chapter 40 Page: 780 (~1873)

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780 was needed the Lord would heal me so that I could be there. I passed a very bad night; but the next day, about noon, while in prayerful meditation upon the events about to take place, a most peaceful feeling came over me which seemed to penetrate my entire being, filling me with a joy unspeakable. All pain immediately left me, and I cried out: 'Ma, what time is it? I am healed, and we will go to conference yet.' I immediately made arrangements to start on the next day; but though I was completely healed, it was no easy matter to get away. We were in the midst of sowing wheat. We had a lot of horses and cattle that needed our attention; and, to make matters worse, by some means the granary door was left open that night and the horses filled themselves with wheat. This meant death to my horses, unless the utmost care was taken. As soon as I heard of it, I exclaimed: 'This is another trick of the Devil, but I'll go if every horse has to die.' And go I did, in spite of every opposition, leaving my horses to the care of a trusty man, who followed my directions, so they escaped serious injury.

"When I arrived at conference I found that Bro. Joseph had taken his seat and, to my great surprise, I found that I had been chosen Bishop of the Church. My first exclamation was: 'This will never do, I am not the man for such a responsible position.'

"That night when I retired to rest, such a happy feeling came over me. I was filled from head to feet with a power I recognized to be the power of God. My eyes were as a fountain of tears, my heart was full of joy, my entire being seemed completely immersed in a flood of light so that I could see and understand not only the present but look into the future as well. This continued through the entire night, and yet I felt that I could not accept the office placed upon me. I did not dare to positively refuse, but thought to shrink from the responsibility by requesting the conference to wait and defer my appointment.

"I met with the conference next morning. Bro. E. C. Briggs led in prayer, and he was greatly blessed by the Spirit, and the Spirit seemed to permeate the entire assembly

(page 780)

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