| OCR Text |
Show LATTER-DAY SAINT 800 he judge of men and Scriptures not profoundly impressed, and was too was good a too well versed in the to be too honest to breathe a breath of dis credit upon them or their when they did not appear doctrines, clear to Accordingly, when these Elders asked him his opinion of them and their doctrines he simply answered in the language of the wise and con servative Gamaliel to the persecutors of the primitive Church, "If this work be of men, it will come to naught; but if it be of God, ye cannot over throw it." But he was too profound ly impressed to let them pass without a thorough investigation, and there fore invited the Elders to accept of the hospitality of his home for the night. He borrowed and read the Book of Mormon while they went on their way, and upon reading it was convinced of the divinity of the work. him. After absence an of two weeks the Elders returned and Bro. Tanner baptized; soon ordained Tanner the the to became hands afterwards of Priesthood. the God was he was Bro. instrument in contribute to by which the partially con structed and Kirtland Temple grounds were saved from passing out of the hands of the Saints by a fore closure of the mortgage, and having assisted to complete the sacred edifice means, and fit it for the administration holy ordinances Father present of the Tanner of was at the dedication and partook glorious gifts, manifestations and hallowed influences morial occasion. of that me He also received his washings and anointings in that, the first Temple erected to the name of the Lord, and under the direction of God in this dispensation, and hallowed of the by the personal presence Savior, Moses, Elias, Elijah and other holy personages. With his charac teristic forth energy, his Father best efforts Tanner put assist the to Prophet in sustaining the "Kirtland Bank," and for that purpose bought and held much of its paper; but there was a Judas behind the counter and spite of the best efforts of the Prophet, sustained by Father Tanner and others, the bank went down, and Father Tanner, like many others, was completely crippled financially. At in the time that the Saints were com to leave Kirtland, Father Tan pelled ner, with the journey of ily, was migrate. and him miles before destitute of He had an thousand one large fam a the means to excellent farm were exempt to him by law, and he could have and home which from sale retained these and remained in Kirt land in comfort, but he had signed as surity for the Church, and no finan cial promise of his had ever before gone unfulfilled; nor would he now fail to meet his obligations if it took all he had. He sold his farm and enough other property to pay his ob ligation and was consequently left with only one horse, a turn-pike cart, a keg of powder and $20 in cash, with which to transport himself and fam ily of eleven a distance of a thousand miles. This was quite a change for Father Tanner; from a condition of wealth in which he was enabled to as sist many people and the Church in general, he was left in a condition without age way of he means to assist himself at the sixty years. In had staked his faith, the Prophet and a all financial on his the Church, and had lost. No doubt this happened to try his faith, for it was not trace able to his lack of business sagacity thrift. But all this did not cause Father Tanner to lose his faith in the or gospel nor in the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, for he had a firm testimony of the truth of the gospel and believed firmly in the lat ter-day dispensation; hence, he could not be moved out of the chosen path. By the aid of his horse and cart and a wagon and three horses, which he succeeded in borrowing he was en abled to carry his family safely to Missouri, receiving some help from the people along the way. But the journey was not without hardships, which caused the death of one of his |
