| 579 In 1876 his name was prominently mentioned in connection with the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States.
Governor Silas Woodson, in an address to the members of the St. Joseph bar, in St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1878, said:
There is another name that I can not pass over in silence; one that has been heard both in the field and in the forum, but whose home is at the bar; there he was more completely the master of the situation than any man I ever saw. I allude to Alexander W. Doniphan. He still lives among us in the enjoyment of a well-earned name. The fire of youth mellowed by time but good, I hope, for many years yet to pass. I have heard Marshall, Clay, Breckenridge and, indeed, most of the great orators in this country, yet I declare to you here, in all candor, that for power of concentration or pathetic, passionate, and magnetic eloquence before a jury, that General Doniphan is the peer of all the men I have ever seen.
August 15 to 18 there was a discussion held in Masonville, Canada, between the Reverend T. L. Wilkinson, of the Methodist Church, and Elder W. J. Smith, on the subject of baptism.
On September 2 Elder James Gerrard wrote from London, England, giving an account of a miracle wrought on himself, by obedience to the gospel. He says: "The next thing was to have my stammering tongue made loose; for when I came into the church I could not speak five words plainly. But, thank God, I can speak plainly now, for I have spoken two hours without a falter, when in discussion of the truth of the gospel."
Commencing on September 12 and closing on the 18th there was a discussion between Elder A. H. Parsons and an Elder Kendall, at Glen Elder, Kansas. Elder Kendall first represented himself as a pastor in the Christian Church, and before the close of the debate he denied belonging to the Christian Church, and produced a license to the effect that he was an Adventist minister.
What was known as the General Reunion was held at Harlan, Shelby County, Iowa, beginning September 4, and closing October 2. There were present and participating in this reunion of the general authorities and missionary force, Joseph Smith, W. W. Blair, A. H. Smith, Joseph Luff, J. R. Lambert, John A. McIntosh, M. T. Short,
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