Salt Lake City, U.T.
February 16. 1870.
Elder Heber Young,
Sihlhalle, Aussersihl, Zurich,
My dear Son,
Your welcome letter of Jan. 11, has been received & read not only by myself, but by some of the brethren who frequent the Office, by your mother & others of the family & we are extremely well pleased to hear from you & of your continued good health & prosperity in your field of labor.
For my part, I had supposed that a letter was long since due from you, but upon enquiry I have ascertained that your last, having been taken into the house for the folks to read, was not returned to the office & hence was not answered.
It is truly gratifying to hear of the spirit of truth in Switzerland & of the faithfulness & zeal as displayed by the Elders -- native & foreign -- May God bless them, with joy & peace in their labors & crown them with success. We are constantly receiving communications from the Elders laboring in the States, but how different is their testimony with regard to the work of God there. There is a coldness in the minds of the people, a total indifference to the Gospel & its glorious truths & the whole sum of their inquiries, how & where can we make the most money. Of course there are a few exceptions, but what a condition of things does this indicate;. Every species of wickedness is on the increase, & so rapidly, that it is difficult to conceive otherwise than, that the people are fast ripening for destruction. And why is this? The Gospel door was opened on this land. Prophets & Apostles have traversed it, preaching the divine message; temples have been erected upon it, where the sacred ordinances of the Priesthood have been administered; but these ordinances have been held in derision, the truth has been rejected, prophets & apostles have been slain for the testimony of Jesus, and, now, the people have become hardened in iniquity & are led captive to the will of that evil power they prefer to serve. Yesterday I read in a N.Y. paper of the discovery of a secret organization there, where perjurers could be hired to give evidence on any subject, at so much an oath.
The times are interesting & probably there never was any more opposition manifested to the Kingdom of God than there is now. Foes without & foes within, apostates & outsiders, & among the former class are some who have hitherto professed the strongest fidelity to the Kingdom of God. We have, verily, the world, the flesh and the devil to contend with, all are against us; but those among us who have understanding & in whom the light of Christ dwells feel as unruffled as the bosom of the ocean when heaven is smiling, & the winds are at perfect rest, or, to speak more popularly, they feel that God & one good man are a vast majority. No less than five bills are now before Congress, having in view the disintegration of Utah, and, in short, to deprive us of every vestige of Constitutional liberty & reduce us to a condition of moral & political serfdom, but, as the proverb says, "Man proposes, but God disposes."
The Godbe-Planchette Church of which you have doubtless heard, is not making the progress its founders & advocates anticipated, but it is picking up a class who have already apostatized & who like a drowning man are ready to catch even at a straw. Their doctrines are as antagonistic to God & his righteousness as hell is opposed to heaven. They ignore the efficacy of the atonement, & they practically repudiate "Celestial Marriage," on the plea that the principle may do in the heavens, but they are not pure enough for it on the earth. On the 10th inst we had a Mass meeting in this city of a somewhat peculiar character. It appears that a few nights previous to that, the Godbe clique held a caucus, & got up an opposition ticket for City officers, accordingly, they placarded the City with bills, the object of which was as set forth, "for the nomination of a people's free & independent ticket for Mayor, Aldermen, Councillors &c. to be voted for on Monday the 14th inst." this bill was headed "Come one, come all!" and was subscribed "Many voters." The consequence of such a general invitation, was not what was expected by those who issued it, for at an early hour "Walker's original Store" was crowded with our citizens, who, in an orderly, systematic manner, elected Chairman, Secretary, Reporter &c. After which the Chairman announced that nominations were in order, & the legitimate ticket was put & sustained with extraordinary unanimity. The President or Chairman of the meeting was Col. J.C. Little, (not Eli B Kelsey, as had been intended) & the Planchetterites felt rather crest-fallen at the unexpected turn things had taken, but the invitation was to all the citizens, consequently, there was a large attendance. On Monday (14th) the election of City officers was held. The opposition votes were 297. the legitimate ticket 2004. About 25 women voted, on the occasion; you must know that Woman suffrage is a law now in this Territory! last week it passed both houses & on Saturday was signed by the Governor.
I expect to start, with a small company for Dixie & probably across the Colorado, in the latter event we may be gone, perhaps a couple of months.
The Utah Central Railroad is a success. Trains are running regularly & the business bids fairs to be very prosperous. The cost of constructing & furnishing the road will reach about one and a quarter million dollars -- not a dollar of which is owing to any one outside of the Church. It will seem a novelty to you that we have a railroad of our own running into this City, but so it is. & we hear the Steam whistle in the Office with great plainness as the iron horse comes snorting on to the Babbitt block. The fare to Ogden is $2.00 at present, but it will be reduced for the benefit of our citizens in way of excursion trains & return tickets to about half that rate.
My health I am happy to state, is at present good, & has been as a general thing through the winter, though I suffered a little with the mumps, Your mother is well & so are all the folks. Fanny is visiting at the Bee Hive house. she is afflicted some with her eyes. Bro Thatcher has moved all his family to Logan.
Remember me affectionately to all the faithful brethren. & in an especial manner to Bro Maeser. We pray for you continually that you may be blessed in all your labors for the welfare of Israel.