While upon the subject, will give a brief outline of the history of the temple. It was commenced to be built within two years from the time the church were driven from Missouri; and as such great and stupendous results depended upon its completion, according to the revelation, the members of the church strained every nerve to build it. We doubt if ever there were a people who more readily obeyed the counsel of their leaders, than did that people. They were ready to make every sacrifice to accomplish an object so dear to their heart, but the conduct of some of the members of the church was such, and the City Council, with Joseph Smith at their head as Mayor, ordered the City Marshall to destroy the Nauvoo Expositor printing press, type and material, which he did with his posse. These acts so exasperated the people of Illinois, who so recently were the friends of the church so that before the walls of the temple were much more than half way up, Joseph and Hyrum Smith were both brutally murdered in Carthage jail, on the 27th day of June, 1844, and threats were made to drive the church from the state.

Notwithstanding all this the work on the temple was pushed with all possible dispatch, until it was completed so they began to use it for the purpose it was intended, in which they gave what they called the keys of the Priesthood, and the endowments with the signs, grips, tokens and garments, such as were given in the Holy Order in Joseph Smith's life time.

But they were not permitted to enjoy the use of the temple long, as by some means it took fire and was partially burned, and besides, the church was compelled to leave the state. The first company, with Brigham Young and the twelve, at its head left Nauvoo for the Rocky Mountains in February, 1846, in less than five years from the time the corner stones were laid.

A brother who was living in Nauvoo at the time, and who received in the temple what was called his endowment, with the signs, grips, tokens and pass words, and peculiar garment or protection robe, informs me that two or three nights before Brigham and his party left for the west, they had a dancing party in the temple, and occupied nearly or quite the whole night long in music and dancing.

I speak of these things not because I take pleasure in dwelling upon them, but because I feel it my bounden duty to present these truths of history, so that those who come after may shun the shoals and rocks upon which that people made shipwreck; for know assuredly, that these things could not be of the Lord.