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Show 47 Page 126 officer gave up. This ploy was alarming to Brigham Young, however, and it was about this time the decision was made to abandon Nauvoo as soon as possible, rather than to wait for the spring thaw and grass for the stock. These anxieties forced the temple closed a few days, and the anointing ceremonies came to a halt. However, Orson quietly camped inside the building, taking astronomical measurements by night to prepare for the immense job of navigating the advance company upon departure. He ascertained the latitude of Nauvoo at 40° 35' 48" north on December 27 ~ from this base he could calculate the position of the pioneer wagons on the prairies. 48 All this time the temple was under careful watch by officers. When the authorities felt it was safe to open the temple again, they worked feverishly to bring over five thousand Saints through the full endowment sessions, and nerves began to fray. Parley's wife Mary Ann had quarreled with him and left him for good, ostensibly over something malicious reported to her by Sarah. Parley, who had apparently long resented Sarah over her part in his brother's brief excommunication, arose in the midst of a meeting and accused Sarah of "whispering against him all over the temple" and of influencing his wife in order to break up his home. Orson then burst with indignation - Sarah was falsely accused; on the contrary, it was Parley who had been speaking against her for three years, accusing her behind her back of apostasy. He then went on to repeat rumors he had heard in New York about Parley, the rumors Sarah was unfortunately spreading, that he had brought a young girl with him to the East and seduced her - in short, he said, Parley was an adulterer. Orson became so distraught in Sarah's defense that the temple workers voted to bar both of them from the temple until the Twelve could pass on the matter. The next day, Orson,deeply injured in spirit, wrote a letter to Brigham Young repeating the accusations he had made against his brother |