(2U)
ference until it could be held in the temple. And
now, on the 5th of October, 1 845, five thousand per-
sons assembled, and on the following day began the
great conference, which lasted three days. The saints,
however, were permitted but short enjoyment of their
beautiful structure, a meagre reward for all the toil
and money expended. Holiness to the Lord was the
motto of it; and there was little else they could now
carry hence ; the hewn stone, the wood-work, and the
brass they must leave behind. This building was to
them as a temple "where the children of the last
kingdom could come together to praise the Lord."
As they cast one last gaze on their homes and the
monuments reared to their faith, they asked, "Who is
the God of the gentiles ? Can he be our God ?"^
In the same number of the Times and Seasons in which appeared a notice of this meeting was pub- lished a circular signed by Brigham Young, and ad- dressed to the brethren scattered abroad throughout America, informing them of the impending change. " The exodus of the nations of the only true Israel from these United States to a far distant region of the west, where bigotry, intolerance, and insatiable oppression will have lost its power over them, forms a new epoch, not only in the history of the church, but of this nation."*
- Kane, with the carelessness usual in his statements, says that the temple
was completed and consecrated in May, and that the day after its consecration its ornaments were carried away. ' For that one day the temple shone re- splendent in all its typical glories of sun, moon, and stars, and other abound- ing figured and lettered signs, hieroglyphs, and symbols; but that day only. The sacred rites of consecration ended, the work of removing the sacrasancta proceeded with the rapidity of magic. It went on through the night; and when the morning of the next day dawned, all the ornaments and furniture, everything that could provoke a sneer, had been carried off; and except some fixtures that would not bear removal, the building was dismantled to the bare walls. It was this day saw the departure of the last elders, and the largest band that moved in one company together. The people of Iowa have told me that from morning to night they passed westward like an endless procession. They did not seem greatly out of heart, they said; but at the top of every hill, before they disappeared, were to be see_- looking back, like banished Moors, on their aoandoned homes and the far-seen temple and its glittering spire.' The Mormons, 21.
- Times and Seasons, vi. 1018. In this number is a notice, signed by Willard
Richards, cutting off William Smith, the prophet's brother, for apostasy.
