History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

74 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
tized by Cowdery, and was ordained an elder. He
continued to preach in those parts with great power.
Congregations were moved to tears, and many heads
of families came forward and accepted the faith.
Then he went to his old home. His father, mother,
and some of the neighbors believed only in part; but
his brother Orson, nineteen years of age, embraced
with eagerness the new religion, and preached it from
that time forth. Returning to Manchester, Parley
for the first time met Joseph Smith, who received him
warmly, and asked him to preach on Sunday, which
he did, Joseph following with a discourse.
Revelations continued, now in the way of command,
and now in the spirit of prophecy. In Harmony, to
the first elder it was spoken: "Magnify thine office;
and after thou hast sowed thy fields and secured them,
go speedily unto the churches which are in Coles ville,
Fayette, and Manchester, and they shall support
thee; and I will bless them, both spiritually and
temporally; but if they receive thee not, I will send
on them a cursing instead of a blessing, and thou
shalt shake the dust off thy feet against them as a
testimony, and wipe thy feet by the wayside." And
to Cowdery, thus: "Oliver shall continue in bearing
my name before the world, and also to the church;
and he shall take neither purse nor scrip, neither
staves nor even two coats." To Emma, wife of Joseph:
"Thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an
elect lady, whom I have called; and thou shalt comfort
thy husband, my servant Joseph, and shalt go
with him, and be unto him as a scribe in the absence
of my servant Oliver, and he shall support thee."
Emma was also further directed to make a selection of
hymns to be used in church. 1
1 The hymn-book of Emma Smith does not appear to have been published,
but a little book containing hymns selected by Brigham Young passed through
eight editions up to 1849, the eighth being published in Liverpool in that year.
Smucker's Hist. ofMor., 57-61; Millennial Star, iv. 150-1. The preface to
the first edition was signed by Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and John