Concerning Brother James Adams, it should appear strange that so good and so great a man was hated. The deceased ought never to have had an enemy. But so it was. Wherever light shone, it stirred up darkness. Truth and error, good and evil cannot be reconciled. Judge Adams had some enemies, but such a man ought not to have had one. I saw him first at Springfield, when on my way from Missouri to Washington. He sought me out when a stranger, took me to his home, encouraged and cheered me, and gave me money. He has been a most intimate friend. I anointed him to the patriarchal power--to receive { 52} the keys of knowledge and power, by revelation to himself. He has had revelations concerning his departure, and has gone to a more important work. When men are prepared, they are better off to go hence. Brother Adams has gone to open up a more effectual door for the dead. The spirits of the just are exalted to a greater and more glorious work; hence they are blessed in their departure to the world of spirits. Enveloped in flaming fire, they are not far from us, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings, and motions, and are often pained therewith.
Flesh and blood cannot go there; but flesh and bones, quickened by the Spirit of God, can.
If we would be sober and watch in fasting and prayer, God would turn away sickness from our midst.
Hasten the work in the Temple, renew your exertions to forward all the work of the last days, and walk before the Lord in soberness and righteousness. Let the Elders and Saints do away with lightmindedness, and be sober.
Such is a faint outline of the discourse of President Joseph Smith, which was delivered with his usual feeling and pathos, and was listened to with the most profound and eager attention by the multitude, who hung upon his instructions, anxious to learn and pursue the path of eternal life.
After singing by the choir, and prayer by the President, Conference adjourned _sine die,_ with the benediction of the President.
[Sidenote: Pacific Island Mission Embarks.]
The missionaries to the Society Islands went on board the ship _Timoleon_, Captain Plasket, at New Bedford, and got under way. Elder Philip B. Lewis donated $300 towards their passage and fitout. Elder Knowlton F. Hanks' health was very poor.