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Show Page 28 the preparation of the millennial kingdom - parted for a few days. Parley plunged into the Shaker colony nearby, and, discouraged by his reception,was blessed with a vision on the road, a vision of the square and compass. At the time, Parley interpreted it as a sign of the Lord's coming. The heavenly symbolism, curiously connected with the Freemasons and their arcane devotions, seemed a personal assurance of the imminence 1 of Christ's advent, and inspired in Parley a millennial fervor which was soon to touch his brother in a less spectacular, but equally revelatory way. Reunited, the two brothers determined to join with the body of the Mormon Church, at the time about a hundred in number, in western New York. Through October, they walked two hundred miles and finally encountered for the first time the "Seer," Joseph Smith, translator of the Book of Mormon and founder of the Church of Jesus Christ. Parley met the Prophet at his father's home in Manchester, describing him as tall and well-built, 2 of mild countenance and a simple, native eloquence. Orson's first encounter with Joseph Smith took place at Fayette, the birthplace of the Church, at the Peter Whitmer farm. Orson soon became "intimately acquainted with this good man, and also with the witnesses of the Book of 3 Mormon." Joseph's influence on Orson Pratt was to be immeasurable. The Joseph Smith whom Orson met in October 1830 was a much wiser and more capable leader than the one who had founded the Church just six months before. In the intervening time, he had been tried twice in New York courts for "disorderliness," had dealt with two potential schisms in the Church, and encountered marital difficulties that required all his 4 prophetic resources to manage. But, though he was in many ways a beleaguered man, Joseph overflowed with visions of the millennial glory. At twenty-four, Joseph greatly appealed, in the luster of his countenance |