The “bogus Brigham” incident, as it came to be known, was told with great relish in the Church for many years, and always with wry amusement by Brigham himself. No name is given in the sources for the marshal, so the name of Thomas Horne was created by the author for purposes of the narrative. Even in Warsaw, where hatred of the Church ran deep, they saw the incident as a minor triumph for Brigham and the Church. Thomas Sharp, one of the Church’s bitterest enemies, wrote of the incident in his paper in some detail, calling it “the best joke of the season.” (See “Journal of Thomas Bullock,” pp. 38–39. See also Andrew Jenson, comp.,
Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia,
4 vols. [1901–36; reprint, Salt Lake City: Western Epics, 1971], 1:482–83.)
Chapter 28
The beginning days of 1846 could easily have been viewed by the Steed family as pretty grim. It was almost certain now that the Church would be leaving much earlier than previously planned. That gave new urgency to their preparations. The disastrous fire at Joshua’s stable had destroyed horses and oxen and mules and wagons that would have been almost priceless on the trail. Joshua had been wiped out financially and Carl’s business had collapsed. Nathan and Lydia’s store was still operating, but virtually all cash money in Nauvoo was being expended for wagons and teams. The barter system had always been a mainstream of the economy, but now everyone needed the same essential commodities and were trying to trade off those things that were not essential for the coming journey. That didn’t help the Steeds. Filling the shelves with nonessentials was not a profitable way to run a store.
Several prospective buyers had looked at Derek’s land (now no longer within Carl’s financial reach) and the various houses, but the prices offered were so ridiculously low that they decided to hold out a little longer to see if they could make a better sale. Carl and Joshua were gone to Wisconsin and weren’t expected back for another week or so. The lumber mill in the Pineries provided some hope for the future, but it would come far too late to help the family leave with the rest of the Saints, which they were determined to do. The family had never planned to be dependent on the largesse of Carl and Joshua, but it had been a cushion of safety for them if worse came to worst. Now the worst had come and there was nothing to fall back on.
But there was no sense of despair, no deep discouragement. In fact, just the opposite was true. They were determined to be ready when the call came, and the days and nights were spent working to make that happen. In the meantime, they looked forward with great anticipation to another milestone of the Restoration.
During the first week of the new year, Brigham announced that since the giving of the endowment was proceeding in good order, they would now begin sealing husbands and wives together for both time and eternity. This had been promised for some time, and the news swept across the city like a breath of spring.
On the seventh of January, an upholstered altar was completed and installed in a small room on the upper floor of the temple. The coverings for the altar were sewn by the wives of several of the General Authorities, assisted by Mary Fielding Smith, her sister Mercy Thompson Smith, and Agnes Smith, the widow of Don Carlos Smith. On that same day, following the installation, four couples were sealed together in keeping with the principles and practice revealed earlier through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Also on that day, invitations went out to others, and the work of sealing was extended to the Saints along with the endowment.
On the tenth day of January, Benjamin Steed received a brief note from Willard Richards, secretary to the Quorum of the Twelve, inviting him and all other worthy married couples in the Steed family to come to the temple on the fourteenth of the month at four p.m. There they would receive the sealing ordinance.
They walked slowly up Mulholland Street. They had gotten ready in plenty of time so that there was no need to rush. It was later in the afternoon and the air was cold. There were six couples in all. Benjamin and Mary Ann led the way. Derek and Rebecca, Solomon and Jessica, Matthew and Jenny, Peter and Kathryn all followed. Nathan and Lydia, at the specific invitation of Brigham Young, accompanied them, even though they had been sealed together by Joseph Smith in May of 1842. Peter pushed Kathryn in her wheelchair, but Matthew carried her crutches. Since their marriage, Kathryn had worked for one or two hours every day practicing with her crutches. She had improved immensely and now did quite well, even out in the open, unless there was snow on the ground. Today, she had decided she would let Peter wheel her to the temple and get her up the stairs, but then she was determined to get around on her own once they were in the attic rooms.
They talked softly as they walked, their quiet happiness tinged with sorrow as well. Caroline had come to see them off and wept openly at the thoughts that this being sealed as husband and wife for eternity was a privilege she might never have. Melissa knew about their going as well, but there was no sign of her as they walked past her house. On the other hand, the couples were ecstatic to think that it was finally going to happen. They had all been envious of Nathan and Lydia. Joseph had sealed a few selected couples, then shut it off again until it could be done in the temple. Now at last the time had come.
“Did you know that Jessica and I were there that night when Joseph taught the principle of eternal marriage over in Ramus?” Solomon asked as they started climbing the low hill that led up to the top of the bluff.
“Oh, yes,” Lydia said. “I remember you telling us that a while back. But I can’t remember the details.”
“Yes,” Jessica answered. “It was while Joseph and some others had come out to visit the Saints. That would have been . . .” She looked to Solomon. “When?”
“May of ’43, almost three years ago now. He was staying at the home of Benjamin F. Johnson. I think you know the Johnsons.”
Benjamin nodded. “The Johnsons were close friends to the Prophet for a long time. In fact, Benjamin Johnson was Joseph’s private secretary for a time.”
“That’s right. We had a larger meeting at the Perkins’ home earlier; then Jessica and I walked Joseph and those with him back to the Johnsons’. He invited us in and we were just sitting around visiting. Anyway, what happened next very much surprised us all. William Clayton was sitting beside Joseph. We had been talking about the importance of eternal marriage and other such things. Then Joseph did an unusual thing. He reached out and laid his hand on Brother Clayton’s knee. ‘Your life is hid with Christ in God, and so are many others,’ he said. ‘Nothing but committing blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, the unpardonable sin, can prevent you from inheriting eternal life, for you are sealed up by the power of the priesthood unto eternal life, having taken the step necessary for that purpose.’”
Solomon stopped, shaking his head. “By ‘the step necessary’ we assumed he meant being sealed together as husband and wife. But you could tell his words really stunned Brother Clayton.”
“Those were the words he used?” Nathan asked, quite taken aback.
“Yes, as near as I can recollect.”
“He said ‘sealed up to eternal life’?”
“Yes,” Jessica said. “I remember that clearly.”
Nathan shook his head, looking at his father. “Isn’t that like having your calling and election made sure?”
“That’s my understanding.”
“Well,” Solomon went on, “it was a very solemn moment. And then Joseph looked at the rest of us. We knew a little about the idea that a man and woman could be joined together forever, but that was all. I can still remember the thrill that shot through my whole body as I heard him explain just what the possibilities were.”
“What did he say?” Jenny asked eagerly.
“Yes, what?” Rebecca and Derek said together.
Solomon looked at Jessica, motioning for her to answer.
She nodded and looked at the family. “He told us that except a man and a woman enter into an everlasting covenant and be married for eternity by the power and authority of the holy priesthood, not only will their marriage end when they die, but they will not have increase either.”
“Increase?” Rebecca echoed. “You mean children?”
“That’s right. He said that those who have not been sealed will not have any children after the resurrection. But—” Suddenly her voice was husky and filled with a quiet joy. “But he said that those who
are
married by the power and authority of the priesthood and who continue faithful, especially not committing the sin against the Holy Ghost, will continue to increase and have children in the celestial glory. For those, the family will continue on into the eternities forever and ever.”
Solomon reached inside his jacket and withdrew a flat purse. He opened it and took out a folded piece of paper. “That’s when Joseph made this statement. Someone wrote it down—Brother Clayton, I think. I later asked if I could make a copy. I’ve carried it with me, waiting for the day when we would see it come to pass.” His voice went suddenly soft. “And now it’s here.”
“Read it to us,” Peter urged.
He unfolded the paper. They all stopped now, circling around Solomon. He lifted it so he could watch them as he read. “‘In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; and in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood—’ Joseph let us know that meant the new and everlasting covenant of eternal marriage. ‘And if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.’”
“I’ve read that,” Peter exclaimed. “Elder Taylor thinks it is so significant that it ought to be included in the next edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. So he had me typeset a copy.”
Solomon nodded, folded the paper, took out the wallet again, and put it away. No one spoke for a moment. Then finally Benjamin reached out and took Mary Ann’s hand. “When I married this woman,” he said to his family, “I knew I loved her and wanted to spend my life with her. Now, after all these years of being together, I can tell you this. If I could not spend eternity by her side, I would know the true meaning of hell.”
Mary Ann just looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “And I as well,” she whispered.
He shook his head and cleared his throat, turning again to face the temple. “Come on, Mrs. Steed,” he said gruffly. “We’ve got an appointment with eternity.”
They filled every chair in the small room except for three chairs that sat behind the altar and that had ribbons draped across them so they couldn’t use them. There were not enough chairs, and so Nathan and Solomon and Derek had to stand behind their wives. Willard Richards had shown them to the room but left again immediately. A few moments later, William Clayton, who was the temple recorder, came in and sat in one of the three empty chairs. No one spoke. The room was plainly furnished except for the altar that stood near the center of the room. Every eye was drawn to it.
The altar was about two and a half feet high and that same width across the front. It was no more than a foot wide and had a platform of eight or nine inches in height attached all around it to provide for a convenient and comfortable place to kneel. The top of the altar and the place for kneeling were covered with cushions of scarlet damask cloth. The upright sides, or body, of the altar were covered with white linen. It was beautifully simple, and yet carried such a feeling of sacredness that they could not take their eyes from it.
After about five minutes, the door opened and Brigham Young and John Taylor came into the room. Smiling, speaking in low murmurs, they went around the room, shaking hands and greeting each couple. When finished, Brigham went to stand behind the altar and faced them.
“I can see from your eyes that I do not need to tell you what a wonderful and special occasion this is. Nathan and Lydia were among the privileged few to be sealed under the hand of the Prophet Joseph. Now, the time has come for the rest of you to have this sacred and remarkable privilege and promise. Now you can begin to sense why we have felt that we must finish the temple at all costs, even though we shall soon abandon it. Yes, sooner than we thought. Sooner than we hoped. But even under threat of destruction by federal troops, we cannot stop this work, for without the temple, we could not endow and seal our people. That is worth whatever it costs us.”
He looked around the group, his eyes resting briefly on each one. “As a family you have been with the Church from the beginning. Nathan and Mary Ann and Lydia and perhaps others of you were baptized two years before I was wise enough to join the Church. You have been faithful members in all that time, through all that the Lord has seen fit to lay upon us. How fitting that you should come here this day to kneel before the Lord and receive this highest of earthly blessings.”
He paused and looked around once more, letting his gaze stop on Benjamin and Mary Ann. “I assume the family will have no objections if we begin with your mother and father?”
They all shook their heads. Several had tears in their eyes.
“Then Benjamin Steed, will you bring your wife here to the altar. You kneel on this side. Mary Ann, you kneel opposite him so that you face one another.”
They stood and did as instructed.
“Nathan? I would like you and Solomon to act as witnesses. As you know, in the Lord’s kingdom all things are done in order. Brother Clayton will record the proceedings this day. It will be noted that witnesses made certain that all was done in order. If you’ll come and sit here.” He motioned at the two vacant chairs behind him.”
They did so.
“Now, just before we begin, may I remind you that the keys of the sealing power were brought back from heaven on the third day of April, 1836. They were brought by the hand of the ancient prophet Elijah and given to the modern prophet Joseph Smith, Junior. Shortly before his death, Joseph bestowed those keys upon the members of the Twelve. He gave us full power and authority to carry on this work after he was gone.
“Those are the keys that I hold and the power by which I shall act this day. If it were not so, it wouldn’t matter what words I said or what I did. It would not be recorded in heaven. Peter, James, and John received those keys on the Mount of Transfiguration by the hand of Elijah as well. The Savior taught Peter that with those keys, whatsoever he bound on earth would be bound in heaven. And whatsoever he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. This is the only way wherein we can bind the heavens and pronounce that what is done here today will be recognized there forever.”