| 674 no man. That night God sent to him a vision; to him it was and to us it is, beautiful and significant, more so than even he to whom it came then realized. In his own words we give it:
"I saw myself standing on a cone-shaped hill. I could see for a long distance in every direction; and so far as I could see there were multitudes of people. I looked to the top of the hill and saw a speaker's stand, built strong and substantial; I even noted the material of which it was constructed, and wondered at its strength. I saw two men upon the platform. One had two books in his hand, and looked as if he had just ceased speaking to the multitude. As I gazed wondering, I was possessed of a strong desire to get closer. I began to push through the crowd to get near and hear what the two men had to say. As I was thus engaged, they left the platform, stepping down and coming directly towards me. I noticed the people stepping aside, opening a pathway wide enough for them to walk side by side without crowding. As they came towards me, chatting and talking to those on either side, I recognized them. They were my father and Uncle Hyrum. My uncle was slightly in advance of my father. As he met me he took me by the hand and said, 'How are you, Alexander?' Then my father took my hand in his, a good strong clasp, and held it till he turned and pointed with his other hand to the speaker's stand and said, 'Alexander, you go up and take your place. We are going away; we will be gone for a season, but we will return again.' He then bade me good-bye, and the two walked on towards the east, and as they walked they gradually left the earth, and I watched them till they ascended out of sight. I turned and looked towards the stand. The people still stood as before, but there was the pathway open to the stand, not a man had moved into it. The interpretation was plain. When I came to my sense of surroundings, I was sitting upright, bathed in tears, and the Spirit did not leave me for hours; and on the next day, the 8th day of April, 1863, I was ordained an elder."
He at once began missionary work, spending the summer, fall and winter of 1863 and 1864 in Western Iowa, in company
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