Description
Lorenzo Snow’s Testimony
“On one occasion while journeying to Kirtland he fell into the company of Elder David W. Patten, who engaged him in conversation on religious matters. The ideas advanced by Elder Patten were both reasonable and Scriptural. They made such a lasting and favorable impression upon the youthful seeker after truth, that he constantly meditated upon them until he became fully convinced of the truth and embraced the gospel. In Kirtland he joined the Hebrew class and applied his mind closely to the study He became intimately acquainted with the Prophet Joseph Smith, and as his association increased, so did his love and admiration for the Prophet of God.
In June, 1836, he was baptized by Apostle John F. Boynton and confirmed by Hyrum Smith. Upon joining the Church he was filled with the desire to obtain a testimony for himself, and while pondering upon the promised witness, the adversary sought to darken his mind and weaken his faith. While In this frame of mind he retired to a secret place and sought the Lord in humble prayer. The following is a description of the result, given in his own words: “I had no sooner opened my lips in an effort to pray than I heard a sound just above my head like the rushing of silken robes; and immediately the Spirit of God descended upon me, completely enveloping my whole person, filling me from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, and oh, the joyful happiness I felt! No language can describe the almost instantaneous transition from a dense cloud of spiritual darkness into a refulgence of light and knowledge, as it was at that time imparted to my understanding. I received a perfect knowledge that God lives, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and of the restoration of the Holy Priesthood, and the fulness of the gospel. It was a complete baptism-a tangible immersion in the heavenly or element, the Holy Ghost; and even more physical in its effects upon every part of my system than the immersion by water.”
The Spirit of God enveloped my whole system. Elder Sherwood, at that time one of the right hand men of the Prophet’s, said to me, “Brother Snow, have you received the Holy Ghost since you were baptized?” That question struck me almost with consternation. The fact was, while I had received all I needed perhaps, I had not received that which I had anticipated; and after Brother Sherwood put this question to me I felt dissatisfied, not with what I had done, but with myself. With that feeling I retired in the evening to a place where I had been accustomed to offer my devotions to the Lord. I knelt down under the shade of a tree, and immediately I heard a noise over my head like the rustle of silken garments, and there descended upon me the Spirit and power of God. That will never be erased from my memory as long as memory endures. It came upon me and enveloped my whole system, and I received a perfect knowledge that there was a God, that Jesus, who died upon Calvary, was His Son, and that Joseph the Prophet had received the authority which he professed to have. The satisfaction and the glory of that manifestation no language can express! I returned to my lodgings. I could now testify to the whole world that I knew, by positive knowledge, that the gospel of the Son of God had been restored, and that Joseph was a prophet of God, authorized to speak in His name, just as Noah was in his day.
My testimony was revealed from heaven. Having become convinced by reasoning, and by listening to the testimony of others who had received these principles, I became satisfied that it was my duty to experiment upon these principles, that I might be able to test the results. This I consequently did, and there followed the same testimony and the same experiences, so far as the knowledge of the divinity of these principles was concerned, as followed obedience to this gospel as proclaimed by the Apostles in former times. And this knowledge could not be disputed. It was not only acknowledged intellectually, but the inspiration of the Holy Ghost imparted to me a knowledge as physical and as demonstrative as that physical ordinance when I was immersed in the waters of baptism; . . . as I had passed through the atmosphere into the element of water, so my experience, knowledge, and testimony were full and complete—so complete, indeed, that from that day till the present moment, through all of the vicissitudes of life through which I have passed, I have no more doubted the truth of these principles than I do now that I behold this audience, and I never can doubt it. As long as memory continues and reason shall assert its throne, I never can permit the powerful testimony and knowledge that was communicated to me to remain silent. It was revealed to me. The heavens were opened over my head, and the power of God and the light of the Holy Ghost descended and elevated my whole being, and gave me the most perfect knowledge that Jesus was the Son of God. It was not the result simply of opinion or belief, as is the case in many other things, but it was a knowledge far beyond that of belief or opinion. I knew that God had sent His angels and restored the fulness of the gospel as taught in ancient times; that He sent angels to authorize Joseph Smith, and gave him authority to administer in the ordinances of the gospel, and to promise the Holy Ghost to all who would be obedient.”
Sources:
(Jenson, Andrew. Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 4 vols. A. Jenson History Company and Deseret News 1:26.)
(20 July 1901, JH, p. 3.)
(18 April 1887, MS, 49:242.)
