| 1 UNDER the peculiar circumstances mentioned in volume 1, chapter 23, the year 1836 opened. Serious difficulty existed between Joseph Smith and his brother William, which was affecting several others. The spirit manifested by Joseph, as indicated by his writing, was commendable; and we invite special consideration of the following copied from the Millennial Star:-
"Friday morning, January 1,1836. This being the beginning of a new year, my heart is filled with gratitude to God, that he has preserved my life, and the lives of my family, while another year has rolled away. We have been sustained and upheld in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation, and exposed to all the afflictions, temptations, and misery that are incident to human life, for which I feel to humble myself in dust and ashes, as it were, before the Lord. But notwithstanding the gratitude that fills my heart on retrospecting the past year, and the multiplied blessings that have crowned our heads, my heart is pained within me because of the difficulty that exists in my father's family. The Devil has made a violent attack on my brother William, and Calvin Stoddard, and the powers of darkness seem to lower over their minds, and not only theirs, but casts a gloomy shade over the minds of my brothers and sisters, which prevents them from seeing things as they really
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