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Show Page 47 foray up the Licking River in Kentucky produced seven baptisms. Orson was accustomed to informal debating, having met dozens of impromptu opponents, so when the Campbellites of Cincinnati challenged him to debate one of the leading lights of the "Disciples of Christ" movement, Reverend Walter Scott, he welcomed the opportunity. The eminent Disciple apparently had second thoughts, for his agent surprised Orson with an acrimonious letter disavowing any wish to discuss "the falsehoods of Joseph Smith." By contrast, Orson received while in Cincinnati a plea from the editors of the Brookville Enquirer to return to that village for an additional hearing. Orson was tied to numerous appointments in the city, and so sent the invitation to be published in the Messenger and Advocate for the benefit of any elders who might be 37 passing through southern Indiana. With a labor in the valley of the Little Miami River, Orson left the Cincinnati environs on April 20, heading for Kirtland. Four days journey brought him to Columbus, the capital of Ohio, and, even then, a crowded city. While walking the streets, Orson "caught a glimpse of the countenance of a man who passed, and whirling around instantly, I... inquired if he knew whether there were any people called 'Mormons" in the city of Columbus." The stranger responded that he was a Latter-day Saint himself and knew of no others in the city - this Orson saw as providential, for upon accompanying him home, he found an important notice in the man's March copy of the Messenger. He had been specifically called to be in 38 Kirtland by April 26 for a special "meeting of the elders." With only two days to get to Kirtland, Orson borrowed some money and took a stage coach"post haste" for the north - it was Sunday morning when he arrived at Willoughby to walk the last three miles to the site of the conference. At 10 o'clock he arrived at the temple works, bag still in |
