Orson F. Whitney
Born: 1 May 1855
Called as an Apostle: 9 April 1906
Died: 16 May 1931
Called as an Apostle: 9 April 1906
Died: 16 May 1931
Biographical Articles
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 1
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 3
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Juvenile Instructor, 1 June 1906, Apostle Orson Ferguson Whitney
Improvement Era, September 1910, Some Men Who Have Done Things - Orson F. Whitney
Young Woman's Journal, July 1924, A Prophetic Incident
Relief Society Magazine, February 1931, The Life Story of Orson F. Whitney
Relief Society Magazine, June 1931, Orson F. Whitney, Apostle, Poet, Historian, Philosopher
Improvement Era, July 1931, Editorial: Orson F. Whitney
Improvement Era, July 1931, Orson Ferguson Whitney, An Appreciation
Improvement Era, July 1931, Orson F. Whitney
Instructor, July 1931, Orson Ferguson Whitney
Improvement Era, February 1950, Orson F. Whitney - Poet
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 3
Biographical Encyclopedia, Volume 4
Juvenile Instructor, 1 June 1906, Apostle Orson Ferguson Whitney
Improvement Era, September 1910, Some Men Who Have Done Things - Orson F. Whitney
Young Woman's Journal, July 1924, A Prophetic Incident
Relief Society Magazine, February 1931, The Life Story of Orson F. Whitney
Relief Society Magazine, June 1931, Orson F. Whitney, Apostle, Poet, Historian, Philosopher
Improvement Era, July 1931, Editorial: Orson F. Whitney
Improvement Era, July 1931, Orson Ferguson Whitney, An Appreciation
Improvement Era, July 1931, Orson F. Whitney
Instructor, July 1931, Orson Ferguson Whitney
Improvement Era, February 1950, Orson F. Whitney - Poet
Jenson, Andrew. "Whitney, Orson Ferguson." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 1. pg. 658-665.
WHITNEY, Orson Ferguson, Bishop of the Eighteenth Ward, Salt Lake City, Utah, was born in Salt Lake City, Sunday, July 1, 1855. His father, Horace Kimball Whitney, one of the Utah pioneers, was the eldest son of Newel Kimball Whitney, the second Presiding Bishop of the Church. His mother, Helen Mar Whitney, was the eldest daughter of Heber Chase Kimball, one of the original Twelve Apostles, and for many years a member of the First Presidency. He was named for his uncle, Orson K. Whitney, another of the Pioneers, and for his father's friend, James Ferguson. "My earliest recollection," says the Bishop, "is the move in the spring of 1858, just before Johnston's army passed through Salt Lake City. I was not then three years old, but I distinctly remember incidents of the journey to and the sojourn at Provo, where my father's family resided until the general return north in the summer." Bishop Whitney was educated in the common schools of his native town and in the University of Deseret, now University of Utah. Always fond of books, as a child he showed remarkable powers of memory and of studious concentration. He excelled in reading-, spelling-, penmanship, grammar and elocution, and at the University was considered the best declaimer in the school. His artistic temperament prevented him from taking kindly to mathematics, and his progress in figures was only fair. As a lad of thirteen he worked on the construction of the Union Pacific railroad, then being built from Green river west. He was in the employ of his uncle David P. Kimball, a sub-contractor, whose camp was successively on Sulphur creek, Yellow creek and Bear river. There for the first time young Whitney saw rough life, but had no taste for it, and passed through scenes of peril and wickedness unscathed. This was in the summer and fall of 1868. He was from home three months and returned -with $150, the first money he had ever earned. A year or two later he entered the University, but at the close of the school year in 1871 temporarily quit the life of a student and sought business employment. He was successively an express driver, a clerk in a music store, and a sewing machine agent in southern Utah and other parts. Then came a final year at the University (1873-4), and a winter in Bingham canyon (1875- 6), working for a mercantile firm. While at the University, he with others organized the Wasatch Literary Association, which had a very successful career. He was its first, and four years later, its last president. He was also connected with the Delta Phi and Zeta Gama Debating societies, adjuncts of the University. He was not much of a speaker at that time, however, nor had he developed as a writer, though both gifts were latent within him. Says the Bishop: "I was musically inclined, having inherited that talent from both father and mother, and from the latter also a poetic tendency. From my father came memory and love of books, also strong predilections for the drama, of which he was one of Utah's earliest representatives. I was always singing, whistling and declaiming; and as a youth I mastered the flute, my father's instrument, without a teacher. I also taught myself the guitar. This, however, as well as my flute practice, was after learning- the notes and taking a few lessons upon the organ from Sister Lucy B. Young. I made my debut upon the dramatic stage about the year 1872, though I had figured in many amateur performances prior to that time. I was at once offered a place in the regular stock company of the Salt Lake Theatre, but declined it out of deference to the wishes of my parents. Several years later I was preparing to follow the dramatic profession when an event occurred that changed the current of my thoughts and altered the whole course of my life. I was called upon a mission to the United States. Up to this time I had bent most of my energies in the direction of music and the drama, which I dearly loved. I had no desire to be a writer or a public speaker, and did not. dream that I could make any mark either in literature or in oratory. Still less did I imagine that I was destined to become a preacher of the gospel. As a child I was religiously inclined, though I revolted to some extent against religious discipline. I believed in God and the hereafter, and would pray more or less regularly, especially if in trouble; but as a youth I became indifferent to spiritual things, though at the same time I led a moral life. I had a horror of unchastity, which I had been taught to believe was next in heinousness to murder. Humorously inclined, fond of fun and amusement, still I was generally serious, and sometimes melancholy. At the age of eleven I was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church; my uncle David P. Kimball officiating; but I held no office in the Priesthood until the spring of 1873,when I was ordained an Elder by the late William J. Smith, afterwards a Patriarch in the Salt Lake Stake of Zion. This was preliminary to passing through the Endowment House. I had attained my twenty-first year, when, in October, 1876, I was called upon my first mission—the one mentioned. Though poorly prepared to preach, I had faith enough to accept the call, and having been ordained a Seventy, I departed for my field of labor. As an instance of the overruling providence of God, I will state that my mother, finding it impossible to dissuade me from going upon the stage, had promised me that if she could sell a certain piece of land, she would let me have enough money to take me to the city of New York, where I hoped to begin my theatrical career. Every effort was made to dispose of the property, without avail; but no sooner had I signified my intention to accept the call for a mission, than the land was sold, and out of the proceeds my expenses were paid to the State of Pennsylvania, my first ministerial field." In Luzern and Lancaster counties Elder Whitney labored for several months, most of the time in company with Elder A. Milton Musser, who was a native of the Keystone State. During that period he visited the city of Washington, at the invitation of Mr. James A. McKnight, an old Salt Lake friend then residing at the nation's capital. He visited Mount Vernon and other interesting points, which he afterwards described in letters to the Salt Lake "Herald," spent an afternoon in the House of Representatives by courtesy of Hon. George Q. Cannon, Utah's delegate; and at the expiration of two weeks returned to Pennsylvania, just before the inauguration of President Hayes, while spirit of his mission was not yet thoroughly upon him, and he candidly confesses that he was then more interested in his newspaper correspondence than in the labors of the ministry. About this time he had a remarkable dream, which he thus relates: "I thought I was in the garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the Savior's agony. I seemed to be standing behind a tree in the foreground of the picture, from which point I could see without being seen. The Savior, with the Apostles Peter, James and John, entered the garden through a little wicket gate at my right, where he stationed them in a group, telling them to pray. He then passed over to my left, but still in front of me, where he knelt and prayed also. His face, which was towards me, streamed with tears, as he besought the Father to let the cup pass, and added, 'not my will but thine be done.' Having finished his prayer, he arose and crossed to where the Apostles were kneeling fast asleep. He shook them gently, they awoke and he reproved them for their apathy. Again he bade them pray, and again crossed to his place and prayed, returning as before to find them sleeping. This happened three times, until I was perfectly familiar with his face, form and movements. He was much taller than ordinary men, and though meek, far more dignified than any being I had ever beheld; and he wore a look of ineffable tenderness and compassion, even while reproving His disciples. My heart went out to him as never before to anybody or to anything; I loved him with all my soul. I wept at seeing him weep, and felt for him the deepest sympathy. Then of a sudden the circumstances changed, though the scene remained the same. Instead of before the crucifixion, it was after. The Savior and the three Apostles, whom he had beckoned to him, now stood in a group at the left, and were about to take their departure, ascending into heaven. I could endure it no longer, but rushed out from behind the tree, fell at his feet, clasped him around the knees and begged him to take me also. With a look of infinite tenderness, as of a father or an elder brother, he stooped, lifted me up and embraced me, saying as he did so in the kindest and gentlest manner possible, while slowly shaking his head and sweetly smiling, 'No, my son, these can go with me; for they have finished their work; but you must stay and finish yours!' Still I clung to him, and the contact was so real that I felt the warmth of his bosom as I rested upon it. Gazing up into his face, I once more besought him, 'Well, promise me that I will come to you at the last.' Again he smiled sweetly, and there was a look as if he would have gladly granted my request had It been wise to do so. He then said, 'That will depend entirely upon yourself.' I awoke with a sob, and it was morning-. This dream made a wonderful impression upon me, paving- the way to my thorough conversion, which soon followed. Among- the thing-s it taught me was not to sleep at my post, and to regard first the duties of my mission, and not allow anything to Interfere with them." In the spring of 1877 Elder Whitney went alone to northern Ohio, where he spent a year, preaching, baptizing, studying the gospel and writing for the press. Though feeling weak, he put his trust in God, and developed far more rapidly, now that he was alone, than he did or could while having an experienced missionary as his companion. He made marked improvement as a speaker and writer, grew in faith and knowledge daily, and ere long the fulness of the gospel testimony came like a burst of sunshine upon his soul. He knew he was engaged in the work of God, and rejoiced exceedingly in that knowledge, which has never left him. A succession of miraculous incidents attended his ministry, and" he was instrumental in converting a number of souls. At proper intervals he kept up his correspondence begun in Pennsylvania to the "Salt Lake Herald" (his letters signed "lago" being very popular with the readers of that journal) and he contributed signed articles to the "Deseret News," being invited to do so by Pres. Brigham Young, who wrote to him repeatedly and gave him kind and fatherly counsel. y- From the suburbs of Elyria, Lorain county, Ohio, where he made his home at the hospitable farm-house of Brother Truman Frink, whose wife, Sister Angeline Gleason Frink, was a second mother to him, he made visits into the neighboring parts, including Cleveland, Kirtland, Painesville. Akron and other towns. Kirtland, once the headquarters of the Church, was his father's birth-place, and in that vicinity he found relatives, who, though not "Mormons" nor lovers of "Mormons," received and treated their Utah cousin with great kindness, seeking earnestly, though vainly to convert him to their faith—Methodism—and shedding tears of genuine regret when he left them to return no more. Honorably released from his mission, he returned to Utah in the spring of 1878, arriving home on the first day of April. He was at once offered a position on the staff of the "Salt Lake Herald," but declined it, partly because it involved night work, which he feared his health, somewhat delicate at the time, would not permit, but mainly because it would monopolize his Sabbaths, which he wished to devote entirely to the service of God. His days of indifference to religion were over. He had prayed fervently while away that he might never throw off the gospel harness, as many missionaries had done, and as some predicted he would do; but he had also prayed that he might never again be out of employment, which had been the bane of some of his youthful years. It was a sacrifice, therefore, to refuse the first offer of a situation that came to him after his return, but he made that sacrifice for the gospel's sake, and about two weeks later found himself employed in the business office of the "Deseret News," being placed there through the influence of Apostle Brigham Young, one of the editors of the paper. Pres. Angus M. Cannon, of the Salt Lake Stake, also kindly interested himself in his behalf. In August he became city editor of the "News," succeeding Elder John Nicholson, who was called to Europe on a mission. Meantime Elder Whitney was made Bishop of the Eighteenth Ward, over which Elder Nicholson had presided during an interim between the resignation of Bishop Lorenzo D. Young and the appointment of a regular successor. Prior to that, he had served a short while as a Ward teacher and as secretary of the Central Committee of Y. M. M. I. A. His appointment to the Bishopric, on the evening of July 14, 1878, came as a complete surprise. He was on his way to the Ward meeting, then held in Pres. Brigham Young's old school house. Inside the Eagle Gate, when he met a friend, who invited him to go elsewhere. "No," said Whitney, jocularly, "I must go to meeting; they are going to put me in Bishop to-night;" and went on, little dreaming that such was indeed the case. He had been told that a Bishop would be chosen that night, but had no Idea upon whom the choice would fall. He was astounded when the president of the Stake, addressing the people, said, "It is proposed that Orson P. Whitney be the Bishop of the Eighteenth Ward." He was unanimously sustained, and after expressing his willingness to accept the call, was ordained a High Priest and set apart by Pres. Daniel H. Wells, then acting as a counselor to the Twelve Apostles; Apostles George Q. Cannon and Brigham Young assisting in the ordination. Bishop Whitney was but twenty-three years of age and unmarried (an unheard of thing in a "Mormon" Bishop) and as a parting shot the president of the Stake said humorously to the congregation: "Paul says that a Bishop must be the husband of one wife; it is to be hoped that Bishop Whitney will soon qualify." He was given as counselors Elders Robert Patrick and William B. Barton, men of ability and experience, who have worked faithfully with him for the good of the Ward, which has grown, during this administration, from one of the weakest and smallest to be one of the wealthiest and most populous Wards of the Stake. In the winter of 1878-79 Bishop Whitney went on a preaching tour through Cache valley; his first visit to that part; and at Hyrum received his first patriarchal blessing under the hands of Father O. N. Liljenquist, then Bishop of that place. He also made a very successful canvass in the Interests of the "Deseret News." Bishop Whitney married, on Dec. 18, 1879. Miss Zina Beal Smoot, a native of Salt Lake City, but from childhood a resident of Provo. She was a daughter of Pres. Abraham O. Smoot of Utah Stake. The marriage ceremony was performed by Pres. Daniel H. Wells at the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Here the young couple took up their residence, and here their first child, a son, was born Oct. 27, 1880. In February of that year the Bishop was elected to the city council, representing the Fourth Precinct, composed of the Eighteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-first ecclesiastical Wards. He was nominated without his knowledge: the first he knew of it being when he read in the morning paper the proceedings of the Municipal Convention of the People's Party, held the evening before. 'In April of this year was organized the Home Dramatic Club, an association of young people who spent their leisure hours rehearsing plays and presenting them upon the local stage. Bishop Whitney was president of the club, and in the pieces presented by it, mostly at the Salt Lake Theatre, sustained such leading roles as Frank Hawthorne in "Extremes;" John Strebelow In the "Banker's Daughter," and Matthew Standish in "Pique." His first appearance with the club was in April, 1880, when he Impersonated Dr. Desmarets in "The Romance of a Poor Young Man." His last appearance with them and upon any stage was in October, 1883, when he played Martin Wheatstone, in "The Green Lanes of England.") He was very popular with the club and with the public, and when at last he decided to retire, they parted from him with many regrets. His reasons for retiring were that he found his dramatic engagements interfering more or less with his religious duties, and he feared that his example might induce other young people to embrace the stage as a profession. In October, 1881, he was called upon a mission to Europe, to labor In the editorial department of the "Millennial Star," at the headquarters of the European Mission, 42 Islington, Liverpool. He was given a farewell benefit by his colleagues of the Home Dramatic Club, and left home on the 24th of October, sailing from New York on the S. S. "Arizona," November 1st, and landing at Liverpool on the 10th. It being desirable that he should have some acquaintance with the mission before entering upon his editorial duties, he was assigned to the London conference as a traveling Elder. In that great city he labored zealously until the spring of 1882, preaching, baptizing, writing for the "Star," and corresponding with the home papers. He was then summoned to Liverpool, where he continued in the ministry, while carrying on his regular work upon the "Star" and "Journal of Discourses.” He was at "42" for about a year—during the closing part of Pres. Albert Carrington's last administration and the forepart of the administration of his successor. President John Henry Smith. The latter, early in 1883, finding that the Bishop's health was failing, through close confinement to the office, gave him permission to travel at will through the British Mission, and to begin his itinerary by presiding over the London conference during the temporary absence of Pres. Joseph A. West, upon the continent. While in London he saw and heard the great Gladstone in the House of Commons, and caught glimpses of other celebrities, such as General Lord Wolseley, Admiral Seymour and Henry Irving. While still there he was apprised of the death of his second child, Heber Kimball Whitney, whom he had never seen, the little one being born after he left home. Soon after this ^he was honorably released to return. He had previously visited Wales and various parts of England, attending conferences and holding indoor and outdoor meetings. Two of his jaunts, "without purse or scrip," were with Elder Joseph A. West, through the counties around London. He now made flying trips to Scotland and France, Elder George C. Parkinson being his companion upon the latter journey. They spent a week in the city of Paris, and on June 20, 1883, sailed from Liverpool on the S. S. "Wyoming," landing at New York Sunday, July 1st,/ the very day and date of the Bishop's birth, twenty-eight years before. "Then," says he, "I was from another sphere; now from another hemisphere." He reached home on the 7th of July. In October he resumed his former position on the "Deseret News," and his reportorial duties, with those of the Bishopric, besides lectures and miscellaneous writings, kept him very busy. In December, 1884, he severed his connection with the "News," accepting an appointment by the city council to the office of city treasurer, to serve the unexpired term of Paul A. Schettler. deceased/' At the next municipal election he was chosen to the same office, and was regularly re-elected every two years until 1890, when he declined re-nomination. In the city election of that year the People's ticket was defeated, the Liberals coming into power. Treasurer Whitney's final report showed upwards of a quarter of a million dollars in the treasury. At the opening of the twenty- eighth session of the Territorial legislature (1888) he was minute clerk of the House of Representatives, but in the midst of the session, in order to fill a vacancy caused by a resignation, he was chosen chief clerk of that body. In the summer of the same year he went with his wife and little daughter Helen on a trip to Colonia Diaz, Mexico, returning by way of Denver, Colorado, where they spent a week or more. (During the same period that he was treasurer for Salt Lake City, Bishop Whitney was chancellor of the University of Deseret, having previously been a regent of that institution. In November, 1888, he completed his first book, "The Life of Heber C. Kimball," published by the Kimball family. Its success was instantaneous and the sale large. His second book, "Poetical Writings," appeared in the winter of 1889- 90. It is a collection of poems and poetic prose, written at sundry times since the year 1873, when he began to make verses. He also prepared, about the year 1889, "Later Leaves from the Life of Lorenzo Snow," a biography yet remaining in manuscript. An Intimate acquaintance and warm friendship between President Snow and Bishop Whitney began a short time before the writing of this work, while the former was a prisoner for conscience sake in the Utah penitentiary, where the latter visited him and predicted that he would not serve out his sentence; a prediction that was fulfilled. During the heat of the crusade, when most of the leading brethren were in prison or "on the underground," a great deal of public preaching devolved upon the Bishop, who was the first Elder appointed to hold a "Mormon" service at the penitentiary. It was about this time that the town of Whitney, Idaho, was named for him by the people of that place. In the spring of 1890 he began his most extensive literary work, the History of Utah, in four large volumes, three of which have been issued, while the fourth, a biographical volume, awaits publication. He was appointed to this work by Pres. Wilford Woodruff, but was paid for it by Dr. John O. Williams, of Colorado, the inaugurator of the enterprise, who subsequently sold the business to Cannon & Sons of Salt Lake City, by whom the history was published. The work has received much commendation, and has been placed in the leading libraries of the land. The Bishop has written many poems since his first poetic volume passed through the press, two of the more notable ones being "Columbus" and "Napoleon" Til the fall of 1893 he accompanied the First Presidency and the Tabernacle Choir to the World's Fair, at Chicago, visiting en route Denver, Kansas City, Independence, and St. Louis. At the Fair he made the presentation speech accompanying the gift of a cane from the Choir to Director General Davis. ( In politics he was a member of the Peoples party up to the time of its dissolution. He then stood aloof from party affiliation until the fall of 1894, when he declared himself a Democrat, and by request of his party leaders became a candidate for delegate to the Constitutional Convention, the body that was destined to frame for Utah her State Constitution. During the campaign preceding the election he had his first experience as a political speaker, addressing meetings in Sanpete and Summit counties, also in Salt Lake City and Provo. He was elected November 6th, receiving the highest number of votes cast for any delegate in the fourth precinct. In the Convention, which met in March, 1895, he served upon some of the principal committees, and took a leading part in the great woman suffrage debate, one of the main features of the proceedings. His speeches in that cause were published in pamphlet form by the Utah Woman Suffrage Association. His side was victorious, woman suffrage being placed in the Constitution. He was one of the committee that revised the entire instrument prior to its transmission to "Washington. In January, 1896, he accepted the chair of philosophy created for him in the Brigham Young College at Logan, where he resided until July, 1897. There being no applicants for philosophical studies, he taught theology and English instead. Prior to accepting this position he was offered the chair of history in the Agricultural College, also at Logan, but accepted the other tender, because of his preference for the atmosphere of a religious institution. His services as an instructor had al.so been solicited by the Brigham Young Academy at Provo. He was the recipient of a gold watch presentation by the members of his Ward, prior to his departure for the north, and was warmly received at Logan, where he made many friends, the woman suffragists giving him a public ovation on his arrival there. With his students he was equally popular. He spent the summer vacation of 1896 in lecturing, with other professors, through Bear Lake, Box Elder and Weber counties. He was appointed one of the regular lecturers at the Logan Temple, and delivered .special lectures at Logan, Salt Lake, Ogden, Provo and other points. ' In June of that year' he was the guest of honor at a banquet given by the Sons of the American Revolution at Salt Lake City, on the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill, and made a speech on "The Genius of Americanism," which drew marked attention. He had previously addressed the University Club on "The Origin of Mormonism" and "Early Utah." At the close of the collegiate year in June, 1897, he resigned his professorship, having better financial prospects, and returned to his native city in time to take part in the Utah Pioneer Jubilee. At the unveiling of the Pioneer Monument, July 20th, he read the dedicatory prayer for Pres. Wilford Woodruff, whose feeble health barely permitted him to be present and perform the act of unveiling. The Bishop's contribution to the literature of the Jubilee was a poem entitled "The Lily and the Bee," an allegory descriptive of the founding of Utah. It was pronounced by the official critics the most artistic poem among the many written for that memorable occasion. His were also the words of the Pioneer ode, sung during the Jubilee by the Tabernacle Choir, whose leader, Prof. Evan Stephens, had won the prize for the best musical setting to those words. He also acted as historian for the Jubilee Commission, preparing the Book of the Pioneers for the State archives. He then resumed work upon the History of Utah—work temporarily suspended owing to the financial stringency of the times. In the fall of 1898 he was elected a State senator, being chosen from the sixth senatorial district, and took his seat in the upper house of the legislature in January following. The principal event of the session was the vain attempt to elect a United States senator, a consummation thwarted by disunion among the Democratic members of the joint assembly. In May, 1900, a heavy sorrow befell the Bishop in the death of his wife, Zina Beal Smoot Whitney, who expired on the 20th of that month, leaving to his care eight children, four boys and four girls, most of them of tender years, and the youngest a twin boy and girl a little over one year old. He was nobly assisted in his trouble by his other wife, May Wells Whitney, a daughter of Pres. Daniel H. Wells, whom he had married in July, 1888, in the midst of the anti-polygamy crusade; Apostle Moses Thatcher performing the ceremony. Though having two little boys of her own, she assumed charge of the motherless children as well, and has been a staff and stay to the entire household. The names of his children in the order of their births are as follows: Horace Newel, Heber Kimball, Emily, Helen Mar, Margaret, Charles Byron, Murray Wells, Albert Owen, Wendell Webb, Paul Van Cott and Virginia Clayton. ''Senator Whitney also sat in the legislature of 1901, and made strong speeches in favor of the Evans Bill, a measure designed, not for the restoration of plural marriage. as many supposed, but for the protection of aged polygamists from petty persecution by the methods of the notorious Charles Mostyn Owen and his ilk. He also supported the McMillan Bill, abolishing compulsory vaccination! By request of the senate and house he delivered before the joint assembly a memorial address on the life and character of his old University tutor, Dr. John R. Park, late Superintendent of Public Instruction. During the session he went with the legislature to Boise, where they were the guests of the Idaho law-makers. At the grand ball given at the Sanitarium in honor of the Utah visitors, he made, by request, a farewell speech, thanking the State and city officials and the people of Boise for their kindness and hospitality. The legislative train, before returning, ran up as far as Huntington, Oregon. His next trip, taken in March of the same year, was to the Pacific Coast, in company with his son Horace ("Race") and Mr. Alan Lovey, both of the Salt Lake Herald staff. After seeing the sights of San Francisco and its environs, and meeting twice with the Saints of that branch, he ran down to Monterey and had a last interview with Pres. George Q. Cannon, who was there in a dying condition. At Pacific Grove, the Bishop and his son met Harry Culmer, the Utah artist, and took the famous "Seventeen Mile Drive" in his company and by his courtesy. Since the opening of the year 1899 Bishop Whitney has been regularly employed at the Church Historian's Office, where he succeeded to the labors of Elder Charles W. Penrose, the latter resuming his former position as editor-in- chief of the "Deseret News." His duties comprise the keeping of the Church journal, the answering of correspondence, the writing of special articles for the press and such other service as may be necessary. In literary work, discourses, lectures, orations, funeral sermons and miscellaneous addresses, along with his ecclesiastical labors, his mind, tongue and pen are kept constantly busy. Among his leading lectures may be mentioned "What is Education?", "Oratory, Poesy and Prophecy," "Born Again," "The Dispersion and Gathering of Israel," "Zion and Her Redemption" and "What Mormonism Has Accomplished." His baccalaureate address at the Agricultural College in 1895 is also well remembered. Among his most recent addresses were two delivered at the Tabernacle—one on McKinley day (Sept. 19, 1901), and the other on the 22nd of December following, at the general memorial service in honor of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Bishop Whitney is now (March, 1902) in the forty-seventh year of his age, and has served more than half of his life in the Bishopric.
WHITNEY, Orson Ferguson, Bishop of the Eighteenth Ward, Salt Lake City, Utah, was born in Salt Lake City, Sunday, July 1, 1855. His father, Horace Kimball Whitney, one of the Utah pioneers, was the eldest son of Newel Kimball Whitney, the second Presiding Bishop of the Church. His mother, Helen Mar Whitney, was the eldest daughter of Heber Chase Kimball, one of the original Twelve Apostles, and for many years a member of the First Presidency. He was named for his uncle, Orson K. Whitney, another of the Pioneers, and for his father's friend, James Ferguson. "My earliest recollection," says the Bishop, "is the move in the spring of 1858, just before Johnston's army passed through Salt Lake City. I was not then three years old, but I distinctly remember incidents of the journey to and the sojourn at Provo, where my father's family resided until the general return north in the summer." Bishop Whitney was educated in the common schools of his native town and in the University of Deseret, now University of Utah. Always fond of books, as a child he showed remarkable powers of memory and of studious concentration. He excelled in reading-, spelling-, penmanship, grammar and elocution, and at the University was considered the best declaimer in the school. His artistic temperament prevented him from taking kindly to mathematics, and his progress in figures was only fair. As a lad of thirteen he worked on the construction of the Union Pacific railroad, then being built from Green river west. He was in the employ of his uncle David P. Kimball, a sub-contractor, whose camp was successively on Sulphur creek, Yellow creek and Bear river. There for the first time young Whitney saw rough life, but had no taste for it, and passed through scenes of peril and wickedness unscathed. This was in the summer and fall of 1868. He was from home three months and returned -with $150, the first money he had ever earned. A year or two later he entered the University, but at the close of the school year in 1871 temporarily quit the life of a student and sought business employment. He was successively an express driver, a clerk in a music store, and a sewing machine agent in southern Utah and other parts. Then came a final year at the University (1873-4), and a winter in Bingham canyon (1875- 6), working for a mercantile firm. While at the University, he with others organized the Wasatch Literary Association, which had a very successful career. He was its first, and four years later, its last president. He was also connected with the Delta Phi and Zeta Gama Debating societies, adjuncts of the University. He was not much of a speaker at that time, however, nor had he developed as a writer, though both gifts were latent within him. Says the Bishop: "I was musically inclined, having inherited that talent from both father and mother, and from the latter also a poetic tendency. From my father came memory and love of books, also strong predilections for the drama, of which he was one of Utah's earliest representatives. I was always singing, whistling and declaiming; and as a youth I mastered the flute, my father's instrument, without a teacher. I also taught myself the guitar. This, however, as well as my flute practice, was after learning- the notes and taking a few lessons upon the organ from Sister Lucy B. Young. I made my debut upon the dramatic stage about the year 1872, though I had figured in many amateur performances prior to that time. I was at once offered a place in the regular stock company of the Salt Lake Theatre, but declined it out of deference to the wishes of my parents. Several years later I was preparing to follow the dramatic profession when an event occurred that changed the current of my thoughts and altered the whole course of my life. I was called upon a mission to the United States. Up to this time I had bent most of my energies in the direction of music and the drama, which I dearly loved. I had no desire to be a writer or a public speaker, and did not. dream that I could make any mark either in literature or in oratory. Still less did I imagine that I was destined to become a preacher of the gospel. As a child I was religiously inclined, though I revolted to some extent against religious discipline. I believed in God and the hereafter, and would pray more or less regularly, especially if in trouble; but as a youth I became indifferent to spiritual things, though at the same time I led a moral life. I had a horror of unchastity, which I had been taught to believe was next in heinousness to murder. Humorously inclined, fond of fun and amusement, still I was generally serious, and sometimes melancholy. At the age of eleven I was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church; my uncle David P. Kimball officiating; but I held no office in the Priesthood until the spring of 1873,when I was ordained an Elder by the late William J. Smith, afterwards a Patriarch in the Salt Lake Stake of Zion. This was preliminary to passing through the Endowment House. I had attained my twenty-first year, when, in October, 1876, I was called upon my first mission—the one mentioned. Though poorly prepared to preach, I had faith enough to accept the call, and having been ordained a Seventy, I departed for my field of labor. As an instance of the overruling providence of God, I will state that my mother, finding it impossible to dissuade me from going upon the stage, had promised me that if she could sell a certain piece of land, she would let me have enough money to take me to the city of New York, where I hoped to begin my theatrical career. Every effort was made to dispose of the property, without avail; but no sooner had I signified my intention to accept the call for a mission, than the land was sold, and out of the proceeds my expenses were paid to the State of Pennsylvania, my first ministerial field." In Luzern and Lancaster counties Elder Whitney labored for several months, most of the time in company with Elder A. Milton Musser, who was a native of the Keystone State. During that period he visited the city of Washington, at the invitation of Mr. James A. McKnight, an old Salt Lake friend then residing at the nation's capital. He visited Mount Vernon and other interesting points, which he afterwards described in letters to the Salt Lake "Herald," spent an afternoon in the House of Representatives by courtesy of Hon. George Q. Cannon, Utah's delegate; and at the expiration of two weeks returned to Pennsylvania, just before the inauguration of President Hayes, while spirit of his mission was not yet thoroughly upon him, and he candidly confesses that he was then more interested in his newspaper correspondence than in the labors of the ministry. About this time he had a remarkable dream, which he thus relates: "I thought I was in the garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the Savior's agony. I seemed to be standing behind a tree in the foreground of the picture, from which point I could see without being seen. The Savior, with the Apostles Peter, James and John, entered the garden through a little wicket gate at my right, where he stationed them in a group, telling them to pray. He then passed over to my left, but still in front of me, where he knelt and prayed also. His face, which was towards me, streamed with tears, as he besought the Father to let the cup pass, and added, 'not my will but thine be done.' Having finished his prayer, he arose and crossed to where the Apostles were kneeling fast asleep. He shook them gently, they awoke and he reproved them for their apathy. Again he bade them pray, and again crossed to his place and prayed, returning as before to find them sleeping. This happened three times, until I was perfectly familiar with his face, form and movements. He was much taller than ordinary men, and though meek, far more dignified than any being I had ever beheld; and he wore a look of ineffable tenderness and compassion, even while reproving His disciples. My heart went out to him as never before to anybody or to anything; I loved him with all my soul. I wept at seeing him weep, and felt for him the deepest sympathy. Then of a sudden the circumstances changed, though the scene remained the same. Instead of before the crucifixion, it was after. The Savior and the three Apostles, whom he had beckoned to him, now stood in a group at the left, and were about to take their departure, ascending into heaven. I could endure it no longer, but rushed out from behind the tree, fell at his feet, clasped him around the knees and begged him to take me also. With a look of infinite tenderness, as of a father or an elder brother, he stooped, lifted me up and embraced me, saying as he did so in the kindest and gentlest manner possible, while slowly shaking his head and sweetly smiling, 'No, my son, these can go with me; for they have finished their work; but you must stay and finish yours!' Still I clung to him, and the contact was so real that I felt the warmth of his bosom as I rested upon it. Gazing up into his face, I once more besought him, 'Well, promise me that I will come to you at the last.' Again he smiled sweetly, and there was a look as if he would have gladly granted my request had It been wise to do so. He then said, 'That will depend entirely upon yourself.' I awoke with a sob, and it was morning-. This dream made a wonderful impression upon me, paving- the way to my thorough conversion, which soon followed. Among- the thing-s it taught me was not to sleep at my post, and to regard first the duties of my mission, and not allow anything to Interfere with them." In the spring of 1877 Elder Whitney went alone to northern Ohio, where he spent a year, preaching, baptizing, studying the gospel and writing for the press. Though feeling weak, he put his trust in God, and developed far more rapidly, now that he was alone, than he did or could while having an experienced missionary as his companion. He made marked improvement as a speaker and writer, grew in faith and knowledge daily, and ere long the fulness of the gospel testimony came like a burst of sunshine upon his soul. He knew he was engaged in the work of God, and rejoiced exceedingly in that knowledge, which has never left him. A succession of miraculous incidents attended his ministry, and" he was instrumental in converting a number of souls. At proper intervals he kept up his correspondence begun in Pennsylvania to the "Salt Lake Herald" (his letters signed "lago" being very popular with the readers of that journal) and he contributed signed articles to the "Deseret News," being invited to do so by Pres. Brigham Young, who wrote to him repeatedly and gave him kind and fatherly counsel. y- From the suburbs of Elyria, Lorain county, Ohio, where he made his home at the hospitable farm-house of Brother Truman Frink, whose wife, Sister Angeline Gleason Frink, was a second mother to him, he made visits into the neighboring parts, including Cleveland, Kirtland, Painesville. Akron and other towns. Kirtland, once the headquarters of the Church, was his father's birth-place, and in that vicinity he found relatives, who, though not "Mormons" nor lovers of "Mormons," received and treated their Utah cousin with great kindness, seeking earnestly, though vainly to convert him to their faith—Methodism—and shedding tears of genuine regret when he left them to return no more. Honorably released from his mission, he returned to Utah in the spring of 1878, arriving home on the first day of April. He was at once offered a position on the staff of the "Salt Lake Herald," but declined it, partly because it involved night work, which he feared his health, somewhat delicate at the time, would not permit, but mainly because it would monopolize his Sabbaths, which he wished to devote entirely to the service of God. His days of indifference to religion were over. He had prayed fervently while away that he might never throw off the gospel harness, as many missionaries had done, and as some predicted he would do; but he had also prayed that he might never again be out of employment, which had been the bane of some of his youthful years. It was a sacrifice, therefore, to refuse the first offer of a situation that came to him after his return, but he made that sacrifice for the gospel's sake, and about two weeks later found himself employed in the business office of the "Deseret News," being placed there through the influence of Apostle Brigham Young, one of the editors of the paper. Pres. Angus M. Cannon, of the Salt Lake Stake, also kindly interested himself in his behalf. In August he became city editor of the "News," succeeding Elder John Nicholson, who was called to Europe on a mission. Meantime Elder Whitney was made Bishop of the Eighteenth Ward, over which Elder Nicholson had presided during an interim between the resignation of Bishop Lorenzo D. Young and the appointment of a regular successor. Prior to that, he had served a short while as a Ward teacher and as secretary of the Central Committee of Y. M. M. I. A. His appointment to the Bishopric, on the evening of July 14, 1878, came as a complete surprise. He was on his way to the Ward meeting, then held in Pres. Brigham Young's old school house. Inside the Eagle Gate, when he met a friend, who invited him to go elsewhere. "No," said Whitney, jocularly, "I must go to meeting; they are going to put me in Bishop to-night;" and went on, little dreaming that such was indeed the case. He had been told that a Bishop would be chosen that night, but had no Idea upon whom the choice would fall. He was astounded when the president of the Stake, addressing the people, said, "It is proposed that Orson P. Whitney be the Bishop of the Eighteenth Ward." He was unanimously sustained, and after expressing his willingness to accept the call, was ordained a High Priest and set apart by Pres. Daniel H. Wells, then acting as a counselor to the Twelve Apostles; Apostles George Q. Cannon and Brigham Young assisting in the ordination. Bishop Whitney was but twenty-three years of age and unmarried (an unheard of thing in a "Mormon" Bishop) and as a parting shot the president of the Stake said humorously to the congregation: "Paul says that a Bishop must be the husband of one wife; it is to be hoped that Bishop Whitney will soon qualify." He was given as counselors Elders Robert Patrick and William B. Barton, men of ability and experience, who have worked faithfully with him for the good of the Ward, which has grown, during this administration, from one of the weakest and smallest to be one of the wealthiest and most populous Wards of the Stake. In the winter of 1878-79 Bishop Whitney went on a preaching tour through Cache valley; his first visit to that part; and at Hyrum received his first patriarchal blessing under the hands of Father O. N. Liljenquist, then Bishop of that place. He also made a very successful canvass in the Interests of the "Deseret News." Bishop Whitney married, on Dec. 18, 1879. Miss Zina Beal Smoot, a native of Salt Lake City, but from childhood a resident of Provo. She was a daughter of Pres. Abraham O. Smoot of Utah Stake. The marriage ceremony was performed by Pres. Daniel H. Wells at the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Here the young couple took up their residence, and here their first child, a son, was born Oct. 27, 1880. In February of that year the Bishop was elected to the city council, representing the Fourth Precinct, composed of the Eighteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-first ecclesiastical Wards. He was nominated without his knowledge: the first he knew of it being when he read in the morning paper the proceedings of the Municipal Convention of the People's Party, held the evening before. 'In April of this year was organized the Home Dramatic Club, an association of young people who spent their leisure hours rehearsing plays and presenting them upon the local stage. Bishop Whitney was president of the club, and in the pieces presented by it, mostly at the Salt Lake Theatre, sustained such leading roles as Frank Hawthorne in "Extremes;" John Strebelow In the "Banker's Daughter," and Matthew Standish in "Pique." His first appearance with the club was in April, 1880, when he Impersonated Dr. Desmarets in "The Romance of a Poor Young Man." His last appearance with them and upon any stage was in October, 1883, when he played Martin Wheatstone, in "The Green Lanes of England.") He was very popular with the club and with the public, and when at last he decided to retire, they parted from him with many regrets. His reasons for retiring were that he found his dramatic engagements interfering more or less with his religious duties, and he feared that his example might induce other young people to embrace the stage as a profession. In October, 1881, he was called upon a mission to Europe, to labor In the editorial department of the "Millennial Star," at the headquarters of the European Mission, 42 Islington, Liverpool. He was given a farewell benefit by his colleagues of the Home Dramatic Club, and left home on the 24th of October, sailing from New York on the S. S. "Arizona," November 1st, and landing at Liverpool on the 10th. It being desirable that he should have some acquaintance with the mission before entering upon his editorial duties, he was assigned to the London conference as a traveling Elder. In that great city he labored zealously until the spring of 1882, preaching, baptizing, writing for the "Star," and corresponding with the home papers. He was then summoned to Liverpool, where he continued in the ministry, while carrying on his regular work upon the "Star" and "Journal of Discourses.” He was at "42" for about a year—during the closing part of Pres. Albert Carrington's last administration and the forepart of the administration of his successor. President John Henry Smith. The latter, early in 1883, finding that the Bishop's health was failing, through close confinement to the office, gave him permission to travel at will through the British Mission, and to begin his itinerary by presiding over the London conference during the temporary absence of Pres. Joseph A. West, upon the continent. While in London he saw and heard the great Gladstone in the House of Commons, and caught glimpses of other celebrities, such as General Lord Wolseley, Admiral Seymour and Henry Irving. While still there he was apprised of the death of his second child, Heber Kimball Whitney, whom he had never seen, the little one being born after he left home. Soon after this ^he was honorably released to return. He had previously visited Wales and various parts of England, attending conferences and holding indoor and outdoor meetings. Two of his jaunts, "without purse or scrip," were with Elder Joseph A. West, through the counties around London. He now made flying trips to Scotland and France, Elder George C. Parkinson being his companion upon the latter journey. They spent a week in the city of Paris, and on June 20, 1883, sailed from Liverpool on the S. S. "Wyoming," landing at New York Sunday, July 1st,/ the very day and date of the Bishop's birth, twenty-eight years before. "Then," says he, "I was from another sphere; now from another hemisphere." He reached home on the 7th of July. In October he resumed his former position on the "Deseret News," and his reportorial duties, with those of the Bishopric, besides lectures and miscellaneous writings, kept him very busy. In December, 1884, he severed his connection with the "News," accepting an appointment by the city council to the office of city treasurer, to serve the unexpired term of Paul A. Schettler. deceased/' At the next municipal election he was chosen to the same office, and was regularly re-elected every two years until 1890, when he declined re-nomination. In the city election of that year the People's ticket was defeated, the Liberals coming into power. Treasurer Whitney's final report showed upwards of a quarter of a million dollars in the treasury. At the opening of the twenty- eighth session of the Territorial legislature (1888) he was minute clerk of the House of Representatives, but in the midst of the session, in order to fill a vacancy caused by a resignation, he was chosen chief clerk of that body. In the summer of the same year he went with his wife and little daughter Helen on a trip to Colonia Diaz, Mexico, returning by way of Denver, Colorado, where they spent a week or more. (During the same period that he was treasurer for Salt Lake City, Bishop Whitney was chancellor of the University of Deseret, having previously been a regent of that institution. In November, 1888, he completed his first book, "The Life of Heber C. Kimball," published by the Kimball family. Its success was instantaneous and the sale large. His second book, "Poetical Writings," appeared in the winter of 1889- 90. It is a collection of poems and poetic prose, written at sundry times since the year 1873, when he began to make verses. He also prepared, about the year 1889, "Later Leaves from the Life of Lorenzo Snow," a biography yet remaining in manuscript. An Intimate acquaintance and warm friendship between President Snow and Bishop Whitney began a short time before the writing of this work, while the former was a prisoner for conscience sake in the Utah penitentiary, where the latter visited him and predicted that he would not serve out his sentence; a prediction that was fulfilled. During the heat of the crusade, when most of the leading brethren were in prison or "on the underground," a great deal of public preaching devolved upon the Bishop, who was the first Elder appointed to hold a "Mormon" service at the penitentiary. It was about this time that the town of Whitney, Idaho, was named for him by the people of that place. In the spring of 1890 he began his most extensive literary work, the History of Utah, in four large volumes, three of which have been issued, while the fourth, a biographical volume, awaits publication. He was appointed to this work by Pres. Wilford Woodruff, but was paid for it by Dr. John O. Williams, of Colorado, the inaugurator of the enterprise, who subsequently sold the business to Cannon & Sons of Salt Lake City, by whom the history was published. The work has received much commendation, and has been placed in the leading libraries of the land. The Bishop has written many poems since his first poetic volume passed through the press, two of the more notable ones being "Columbus" and "Napoleon" Til the fall of 1893 he accompanied the First Presidency and the Tabernacle Choir to the World's Fair, at Chicago, visiting en route Denver, Kansas City, Independence, and St. Louis. At the Fair he made the presentation speech accompanying the gift of a cane from the Choir to Director General Davis. ( In politics he was a member of the Peoples party up to the time of its dissolution. He then stood aloof from party affiliation until the fall of 1894, when he declared himself a Democrat, and by request of his party leaders became a candidate for delegate to the Constitutional Convention, the body that was destined to frame for Utah her State Constitution. During the campaign preceding the election he had his first experience as a political speaker, addressing meetings in Sanpete and Summit counties, also in Salt Lake City and Provo. He was elected November 6th, receiving the highest number of votes cast for any delegate in the fourth precinct. In the Convention, which met in March, 1895, he served upon some of the principal committees, and took a leading part in the great woman suffrage debate, one of the main features of the proceedings. His speeches in that cause were published in pamphlet form by the Utah Woman Suffrage Association. His side was victorious, woman suffrage being placed in the Constitution. He was one of the committee that revised the entire instrument prior to its transmission to "Washington. In January, 1896, he accepted the chair of philosophy created for him in the Brigham Young College at Logan, where he resided until July, 1897. There being no applicants for philosophical studies, he taught theology and English instead. Prior to accepting this position he was offered the chair of history in the Agricultural College, also at Logan, but accepted the other tender, because of his preference for the atmosphere of a religious institution. His services as an instructor had al.so been solicited by the Brigham Young Academy at Provo. He was the recipient of a gold watch presentation by the members of his Ward, prior to his departure for the north, and was warmly received at Logan, where he made many friends, the woman suffragists giving him a public ovation on his arrival there. With his students he was equally popular. He spent the summer vacation of 1896 in lecturing, with other professors, through Bear Lake, Box Elder and Weber counties. He was appointed one of the regular lecturers at the Logan Temple, and delivered .special lectures at Logan, Salt Lake, Ogden, Provo and other points. ' In June of that year' he was the guest of honor at a banquet given by the Sons of the American Revolution at Salt Lake City, on the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill, and made a speech on "The Genius of Americanism," which drew marked attention. He had previously addressed the University Club on "The Origin of Mormonism" and "Early Utah." At the close of the collegiate year in June, 1897, he resigned his professorship, having better financial prospects, and returned to his native city in time to take part in the Utah Pioneer Jubilee. At the unveiling of the Pioneer Monument, July 20th, he read the dedicatory prayer for Pres. Wilford Woodruff, whose feeble health barely permitted him to be present and perform the act of unveiling. The Bishop's contribution to the literature of the Jubilee was a poem entitled "The Lily and the Bee," an allegory descriptive of the founding of Utah. It was pronounced by the official critics the most artistic poem among the many written for that memorable occasion. His were also the words of the Pioneer ode, sung during the Jubilee by the Tabernacle Choir, whose leader, Prof. Evan Stephens, had won the prize for the best musical setting to those words. He also acted as historian for the Jubilee Commission, preparing the Book of the Pioneers for the State archives. He then resumed work upon the History of Utah—work temporarily suspended owing to the financial stringency of the times. In the fall of 1898 he was elected a State senator, being chosen from the sixth senatorial district, and took his seat in the upper house of the legislature in January following. The principal event of the session was the vain attempt to elect a United States senator, a consummation thwarted by disunion among the Democratic members of the joint assembly. In May, 1900, a heavy sorrow befell the Bishop in the death of his wife, Zina Beal Smoot Whitney, who expired on the 20th of that month, leaving to his care eight children, four boys and four girls, most of them of tender years, and the youngest a twin boy and girl a little over one year old. He was nobly assisted in his trouble by his other wife, May Wells Whitney, a daughter of Pres. Daniel H. Wells, whom he had married in July, 1888, in the midst of the anti-polygamy crusade; Apostle Moses Thatcher performing the ceremony. Though having two little boys of her own, she assumed charge of the motherless children as well, and has been a staff and stay to the entire household. The names of his children in the order of their births are as follows: Horace Newel, Heber Kimball, Emily, Helen Mar, Margaret, Charles Byron, Murray Wells, Albert Owen, Wendell Webb, Paul Van Cott and Virginia Clayton. ''Senator Whitney also sat in the legislature of 1901, and made strong speeches in favor of the Evans Bill, a measure designed, not for the restoration of plural marriage. as many supposed, but for the protection of aged polygamists from petty persecution by the methods of the notorious Charles Mostyn Owen and his ilk. He also supported the McMillan Bill, abolishing compulsory vaccination! By request of the senate and house he delivered before the joint assembly a memorial address on the life and character of his old University tutor, Dr. John R. Park, late Superintendent of Public Instruction. During the session he went with the legislature to Boise, where they were the guests of the Idaho law-makers. At the grand ball given at the Sanitarium in honor of the Utah visitors, he made, by request, a farewell speech, thanking the State and city officials and the people of Boise for their kindness and hospitality. The legislative train, before returning, ran up as far as Huntington, Oregon. His next trip, taken in March of the same year, was to the Pacific Coast, in company with his son Horace ("Race") and Mr. Alan Lovey, both of the Salt Lake Herald staff. After seeing the sights of San Francisco and its environs, and meeting twice with the Saints of that branch, he ran down to Monterey and had a last interview with Pres. George Q. Cannon, who was there in a dying condition. At Pacific Grove, the Bishop and his son met Harry Culmer, the Utah artist, and took the famous "Seventeen Mile Drive" in his company and by his courtesy. Since the opening of the year 1899 Bishop Whitney has been regularly employed at the Church Historian's Office, where he succeeded to the labors of Elder Charles W. Penrose, the latter resuming his former position as editor-in- chief of the "Deseret News." His duties comprise the keeping of the Church journal, the answering of correspondence, the writing of special articles for the press and such other service as may be necessary. In literary work, discourses, lectures, orations, funeral sermons and miscellaneous addresses, along with his ecclesiastical labors, his mind, tongue and pen are kept constantly busy. Among his leading lectures may be mentioned "What is Education?", "Oratory, Poesy and Prophecy," "Born Again," "The Dispersion and Gathering of Israel," "Zion and Her Redemption" and "What Mormonism Has Accomplished." His baccalaureate address at the Agricultural College in 1895 is also well remembered. Among his most recent addresses were two delivered at the Tabernacle—one on McKinley day (Sept. 19, 1901), and the other on the 22nd of December following, at the general memorial service in honor of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Bishop Whitney is now (March, 1902) in the forty-seventh year of his age, and has served more than half of his life in the Bishopric.
Jenson, Andrew. "Whitney, Orson F." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 3. pg. 793-795.
WHITNEY, Orson Ferguson, a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles. (Continued from Vol. I, page 658.) Bishop Orson F. Whitney had presided over the Eighteenth Ward for nearly twenty-eight years, and for seven years had served in the capacity of an assistant to the Church Historian, when, at the General Conference in April, 1906, he was called to the Apostleship, and became a member of the Council of the Twelve. It was on the ninth day of April that he was ordained an Apostle by President Joseph F. Smith, the ordination taking place in the Salt Lake Temple. While deeply sensible of the high honor conferred upon him, he nevertheless felt keenly the separation from the little, flock that had so long sustained him as their shepherd, and when the time came to part, tears of affection and regret were shed on both sides. At the farewell testimonial where he and his counselors (Elders Patrick and Barton) laid down their Ward offices, he entreated his oldtime friends and associates to continue greeting him as "Bishop." He afterwards said in the hearing of this writer: •'! have never wanted to be called 'Apostle' Whitney; it is exceedingly distasteful to me; that sacred title should not be used thus commonly. I have never desired it; but I have expressed, on more than one occasion, a preference for my old title of 'Bishop,' which I wore so long, ana around which so many happy memories cluster. I recognize, of course, that Elder' is now my proper designation, on all official occasions; but when meeting socially with old-time friends, or when referred to in a literary connection, I prefer to be called 'Bishop'—for purposes of identification if nothing more. There are many Elder Whitneys in the Church, and I produced most of my literary works as Bishop Whitney." Having severed his connection with the Historian's Office, he entered zealously upon me discharge of his apostolic duties. Since becoming one of the Twelve, he has visited repeatedly all or nearly all of the Stakes of Zion, now numbering about four-score, preaching at the quarterly conferences, ordaining Stake and Ward officers, and otherwise ministering to the people. Whereever he goes, he is warmly welcomed, and his labors are highly appreciated. He has also made extended trips to different parts of the United States and Canada, and has addressed public gatherings in New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, and other large cities. During one of these jaunts, for which he was specially set apart by the then President of the Twelve, Francis M. Lyman, he visited scenes memorable for their connection with early Church history, and described them in a series of entertaining letters, addressed to Pres. Joseph F. Smith and pub lished in the "Deseret News." .This was in the summer of 1914, the year the great war broke out. Elder Whitney went first to Independence, Missouri, preaching there on the subject of "Zion and Her Redemption." Then, in company with others, he visited the towns of Richmond and Liberty, and the sites of Far West and Haun's Mill. At Liberty he and his party, which included Pres. Samuel O. Bennlon of the Central States Mission, were permitted to enter the building that was formerly Liberty jail, where the Prophet Joseph Smith and other Church leaders were imprisoned during the winter of 1838-39, the period that witnessed the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints from Missouri. The basement of the building—the former dungeon—remains very much as It was, but a modern residence has been erected above it. Elder Whitney secured, by purchase, a fragment of the old jail door, also two iron bars of the jail window, and afterwards presented them to President Joseph F. Smith, with the suggestion that they be placed in the Deseret Museum; a suggestion acted upon. With Elder Horace H. Cummings, at that time general superintendent of the Church schools, he next proceeded to Carthage, Illinois, where they inspected the old jail, scene of the martyrdom of the Prophet and Patriarch—a piece of property now owned by the Church and kept up for the accommodation of tourists. Crossing the Mississippi river to Keokuk, Iowa, they steamed up the river to Nauvoo, the dead though still beautiful city that was once the home of the Saints. Elder Whitney went on to Ohio, where he has relatives, and paid a second visit to the Kirtland Temple, first seen by him in the year 1877. In the State of New York he visited for the first time Palmyra, where the original edition of the Book of Mormon was printed; the Smith Farm, the Sacred Grove (scene of the Prophet's first vision), the Hill Cumorah, and Niagara Falls. By way of Toronto and Montreal he made his way to Lake Champlain, and spent a pleasant week at the island home of his friend. Dr. Guy Carlton Lee, founder of the National Society for Broader Education, with which Elder Whitney is connected. The doctor accompanied him to the Joseph Smith Monument. There Elder Whitney held a service with the Saints, before journeying on to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. In Boston he met his brother-in-law. Elder Junius F. Wells, and together they took in the sights of the "Hub" and its historic environs, scenes with which Elder Wells was already familiar. Another brother- in-law. Senator Reed Smoot, gave him a hospitable welcome at the nation's capital. He visited both houses of Congress, and was introduced by Senator Smoot and Representative Joseph Howell to various men of prominence. Returning westward, he, accompanied by President German E. Ellsworth, of the Northern States Mission, filled appointments at St. Paul, Minnesota, and Winnipeg, Canada, dedicating a chapel at each place. While in Chicago, Bishop Whitney superintended the publication of a new edition of his poem, "Ellas—An Epic of the Ages," probably his greatest literary work. It was first published in 1904 by the Knickerbocker Press of New York City, as an edition de luxe subscribed for by leading men and women of Utah and elsewhere. The edition of 1914 was annotated as a text book for the Church schools. What some regard as his masterpiece, "Love and the Light — An Idyl of the Westland," was issued from the press of the "Deseret News" in 1918. While working on this poem he, in company with Pres. Joseph E. Robinson of the California Mission, traveled from Denver to Los Angeles, holding meetings at many points, and glimpsing en route those great natural wonders, the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon of Arizona. Written especially for the young people of Zion, to combat the sinister influence of the so-called "Higher criticism," the Idyl immediately became popular and was placed upon the M. I. A. reading course and introduced into the Church schools. Two other works by this author, namely, "The Making of a State" and "Whitney's Popular History of Utah," each in one volume, have been published, the former in 1908, the latter in 1916. At the present time (1920) Bishop Whitney is preparing for publication in book form his "Saturday Night Thoughts," a series of historical and doctrinal essays which appeared originally in the Saturday issues of the "Deseret News ' during the suspension of public religious gatherings, owing to the influenza epidemic of 1918-19. This book is especially designed for Church school students and young missionaries. Its author has been for many years a member of the General Church Board of Education, and is connected in a similar way with the General Board of Religion Classes. Elder Whitney counts among his pleasant memories the privilege of listening to President Taft and President Wilson in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, and afterwards meeting those dignitaries. His fervent prayer for President Wilson, at the General Conference in October, 1919, the President then being seriously ill, will be long remembered by all who heard it. Besides preaching, writing and setting apart and instructing missionaries. Elder Whitney serves upon important committees and sits in council on special cases, whenever such labors are required by the First Presidency. By their appointment be became chairman of the committee that prepared the Church exhibit for the Alaska-Yukon Exposition, held at Seattle in 1909. A unique feature of this exhibit was a pair of small-sized, beautifully finished models, one of the Salt Lake Temple, the other of the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the work of Reister Wright, of Salt Lake City. These models the Church subsequently presented to the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D. C. Elder Whitney attended the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco in 1915, and in 1917 was again in California visiting his son, Wendell, of the 145th Field Artillery, at Camp Kearney, near San Diego. While at the training camp he was the guest of Colonel (afterwards General) Richard W. Young. Later in the season he took his wife and daughter to San Diego, spending Christmas and New Years there. His tongue and pen are kept busy teaching and defending the Truth, not only from pulpit and rostrum, but also by correspondence and by means of biographical and other articles emanating from his branch of the Publicity Department of the Church, and appearing in histories, encyclopedias and magazines all over the country. "The Mormons in the History of California," a solicited chapter for Eldredge's History of California, and the article on Utah in the Encyclopedia Americana, are sample of Bishop Whitney's contributions to current literature.
WHITNEY, Orson Ferguson, a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles. (Continued from Vol. I, page 658.) Bishop Orson F. Whitney had presided over the Eighteenth Ward for nearly twenty-eight years, and for seven years had served in the capacity of an assistant to the Church Historian, when, at the General Conference in April, 1906, he was called to the Apostleship, and became a member of the Council of the Twelve. It was on the ninth day of April that he was ordained an Apostle by President Joseph F. Smith, the ordination taking place in the Salt Lake Temple. While deeply sensible of the high honor conferred upon him, he nevertheless felt keenly the separation from the little, flock that had so long sustained him as their shepherd, and when the time came to part, tears of affection and regret were shed on both sides. At the farewell testimonial where he and his counselors (Elders Patrick and Barton) laid down their Ward offices, he entreated his oldtime friends and associates to continue greeting him as "Bishop." He afterwards said in the hearing of this writer: •'! have never wanted to be called 'Apostle' Whitney; it is exceedingly distasteful to me; that sacred title should not be used thus commonly. I have never desired it; but I have expressed, on more than one occasion, a preference for my old title of 'Bishop,' which I wore so long, ana around which so many happy memories cluster. I recognize, of course, that Elder' is now my proper designation, on all official occasions; but when meeting socially with old-time friends, or when referred to in a literary connection, I prefer to be called 'Bishop'—for purposes of identification if nothing more. There are many Elder Whitneys in the Church, and I produced most of my literary works as Bishop Whitney." Having severed his connection with the Historian's Office, he entered zealously upon me discharge of his apostolic duties. Since becoming one of the Twelve, he has visited repeatedly all or nearly all of the Stakes of Zion, now numbering about four-score, preaching at the quarterly conferences, ordaining Stake and Ward officers, and otherwise ministering to the people. Whereever he goes, he is warmly welcomed, and his labors are highly appreciated. He has also made extended trips to different parts of the United States and Canada, and has addressed public gatherings in New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, and other large cities. During one of these jaunts, for which he was specially set apart by the then President of the Twelve, Francis M. Lyman, he visited scenes memorable for their connection with early Church history, and described them in a series of entertaining letters, addressed to Pres. Joseph F. Smith and pub lished in the "Deseret News." .This was in the summer of 1914, the year the great war broke out. Elder Whitney went first to Independence, Missouri, preaching there on the subject of "Zion and Her Redemption." Then, in company with others, he visited the towns of Richmond and Liberty, and the sites of Far West and Haun's Mill. At Liberty he and his party, which included Pres. Samuel O. Bennlon of the Central States Mission, were permitted to enter the building that was formerly Liberty jail, where the Prophet Joseph Smith and other Church leaders were imprisoned during the winter of 1838-39, the period that witnessed the expulsion of the Latter-day Saints from Missouri. The basement of the building—the former dungeon—remains very much as It was, but a modern residence has been erected above it. Elder Whitney secured, by purchase, a fragment of the old jail door, also two iron bars of the jail window, and afterwards presented them to President Joseph F. Smith, with the suggestion that they be placed in the Deseret Museum; a suggestion acted upon. With Elder Horace H. Cummings, at that time general superintendent of the Church schools, he next proceeded to Carthage, Illinois, where they inspected the old jail, scene of the martyrdom of the Prophet and Patriarch—a piece of property now owned by the Church and kept up for the accommodation of tourists. Crossing the Mississippi river to Keokuk, Iowa, they steamed up the river to Nauvoo, the dead though still beautiful city that was once the home of the Saints. Elder Whitney went on to Ohio, where he has relatives, and paid a second visit to the Kirtland Temple, first seen by him in the year 1877. In the State of New York he visited for the first time Palmyra, where the original edition of the Book of Mormon was printed; the Smith Farm, the Sacred Grove (scene of the Prophet's first vision), the Hill Cumorah, and Niagara Falls. By way of Toronto and Montreal he made his way to Lake Champlain, and spent a pleasant week at the island home of his friend. Dr. Guy Carlton Lee, founder of the National Society for Broader Education, with which Elder Whitney is connected. The doctor accompanied him to the Joseph Smith Monument. There Elder Whitney held a service with the Saints, before journeying on to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. In Boston he met his brother-in-law. Elder Junius F. Wells, and together they took in the sights of the "Hub" and its historic environs, scenes with which Elder Wells was already familiar. Another brother- in-law. Senator Reed Smoot, gave him a hospitable welcome at the nation's capital. He visited both houses of Congress, and was introduced by Senator Smoot and Representative Joseph Howell to various men of prominence. Returning westward, he, accompanied by President German E. Ellsworth, of the Northern States Mission, filled appointments at St. Paul, Minnesota, and Winnipeg, Canada, dedicating a chapel at each place. While in Chicago, Bishop Whitney superintended the publication of a new edition of his poem, "Ellas—An Epic of the Ages," probably his greatest literary work. It was first published in 1904 by the Knickerbocker Press of New York City, as an edition de luxe subscribed for by leading men and women of Utah and elsewhere. The edition of 1914 was annotated as a text book for the Church schools. What some regard as his masterpiece, "Love and the Light — An Idyl of the Westland," was issued from the press of the "Deseret News" in 1918. While working on this poem he, in company with Pres. Joseph E. Robinson of the California Mission, traveled from Denver to Los Angeles, holding meetings at many points, and glimpsing en route those great natural wonders, the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon of Arizona. Written especially for the young people of Zion, to combat the sinister influence of the so-called "Higher criticism," the Idyl immediately became popular and was placed upon the M. I. A. reading course and introduced into the Church schools. Two other works by this author, namely, "The Making of a State" and "Whitney's Popular History of Utah," each in one volume, have been published, the former in 1908, the latter in 1916. At the present time (1920) Bishop Whitney is preparing for publication in book form his "Saturday Night Thoughts," a series of historical and doctrinal essays which appeared originally in the Saturday issues of the "Deseret News ' during the suspension of public religious gatherings, owing to the influenza epidemic of 1918-19. This book is especially designed for Church school students and young missionaries. Its author has been for many years a member of the General Church Board of Education, and is connected in a similar way with the General Board of Religion Classes. Elder Whitney counts among his pleasant memories the privilege of listening to President Taft and President Wilson in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, and afterwards meeting those dignitaries. His fervent prayer for President Wilson, at the General Conference in October, 1919, the President then being seriously ill, will be long remembered by all who heard it. Besides preaching, writing and setting apart and instructing missionaries. Elder Whitney serves upon important committees and sits in council on special cases, whenever such labors are required by the First Presidency. By their appointment be became chairman of the committee that prepared the Church exhibit for the Alaska-Yukon Exposition, held at Seattle in 1909. A unique feature of this exhibit was a pair of small-sized, beautifully finished models, one of the Salt Lake Temple, the other of the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the work of Reister Wright, of Salt Lake City. These models the Church subsequently presented to the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D. C. Elder Whitney attended the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco in 1915, and in 1917 was again in California visiting his son, Wendell, of the 145th Field Artillery, at Camp Kearney, near San Diego. While at the training camp he was the guest of Colonel (afterwards General) Richard W. Young. Later in the season he took his wife and daughter to San Diego, spending Christmas and New Years there. His tongue and pen are kept busy teaching and defending the Truth, not only from pulpit and rostrum, but also by correspondence and by means of biographical and other articles emanating from his branch of the Publicity Department of the Church, and appearing in histories, encyclopedias and magazines all over the country. "The Mormons in the History of California," a solicited chapter for Eldredge's History of California, and the article on Utah in the Encyclopedia Americana, are sample of Bishop Whitney's contributions to current literature.
Jenson, Andrew. "Whitney, Orson F." Biographical Encyclopedia. Volume 4. pg. 321.
WHITNEY, Orson F., president of the British Mission from 1921 to 1922, died May 16, 1931, in Salt Lake City. (See Bio. Ency., Vol. 1, p. 658, and Vol. 3, p. 793.)
WHITNEY, Orson F., president of the British Mission from 1921 to 1922, died May 16, 1931, in Salt Lake City. (See Bio. Ency., Vol. 1, p. 658, and Vol. 3, p. 793.)
"Apostle Orson Ferguson Whitney." Juvenile Instructor. 1 June 1906. pg. 320-325.
APOSTLE ORSON FERGUSON WHITNEY. ONCE a Bishop, always a Bishop," runs the proverb; and it bids fair to prove true in the case of our friend and brother, Bishop Orson F. Whitney, one of the three new Apostles called and sustained at the late General Conference. Though no longer a Bishop, in office, the title still clings to him, being the one most favored by his friends, and likewise preferred by himself above all others; doubtless for the reason that most of the important events and tender memories of his past life are associated therewith. Bishop Whitney was but a youth of twenty-three, unmarried and comparatively unknown, when he was ordained a High Priest and set apart to preside over the Eighteenth Ward, one of the original nineteen wards into which Salt Lake City in early days was divided. The Bishop's grandfather, Newel K. Whitney, first presided over that ward, and was at the same time the Presiding Bishop of the Church. He died in 1850. The immediate predecessor of his grandson was Lorenzo D. Young, who resigned the office early in 1878. In the summer of that year—Sunday, July 14, was the date—Orson F. Whitney was called to be the Bishop of the Eighteenth Ward. He held the position until his call to the Apostleship, Sunday, April 8, 1906; thus serving in the Bishopric for nearly twenty-eight years,—almost a lifetime in these degenerate days. The Bishop is a scion of one of the best known families in Latter-day Israel. His paternal grandsire was a close friend to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and had the honor of entertaining him when he first came to Kirtland, Ohio, in February, 1831. The Whitneys had been converted to "Mormonism" several months before, by Elders Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt and their associates, who were then on their way to Missouri, to fulfill a mission to the Lamanites. Newel K. Whitney became the Bishop of Kirtland, and was afterwards, as shown, the Presiding Bishop of the Church. His eldest son, Horace K., father to the subject of this sketch, was one of the pioneers who entered Salt Lake Valley on the 24th of July, 1847. Orson's mother, Helen Mar Whitney, was the eldest daughter of Heber C. Kimball, who, as one of the first Twelve Apostles of this dispensation, opened the British mission, and at the time of his death was First Counselor to President Brigham Young. The Whitneys are of English origin, the first American ancestors. John and Elinor Whitney, settling at Watertown, Massachusetts, in the year 1635. Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin: Professor Josiah Whitney, of Harvard University; Myron Whitney, the famous vocalist; and William C. Whitney, Secretary of the Navy under President Cleveland, are branches of the same lineal tree. Newel K. Whitney was born at Marlborough, Vermont, and Horace K. Whitney at Kirtland, Ohio. Orson is a native of Utah, having been born at Salt Lake City, July 1st, 1855. He was named for his uncle, Orson K. Whitney, another pioneer, and for his father's friend, James Ferguson. While yet a child he manifested unusual mental powers, particularly in the line of memory. Anything that interested him remained pictured upon his mind ineffaceably. He clearly recalls incidents connected with "The Move," at the time of the coming of Johnston's Army, when he was less than three years old. As a school boy he would astonish his companions by glancing at a verse or paragraph in his book, and then looking away and repeating the lines, word for word, without the slightest hesitation. He also manifested perseverance and concentration, remaining absorbed in study, while his mates were whispering or laughing on either side of him. He was sent to school very early, and began with the first reader, having mastered the alphabet and other preliminaries at home. When asked where he had learned his letters, he replied, "I never did learn 'em—always knew 'em;" it being his childish supposition that nothing could be "learned'' out of school. His marvelous memory and general love of books were inherited from his father. His mother gave to him a poetic temperament, coupled with those pronounced spiritual qualities for which the Bishop is noted. From both his parents he inherited music, and from his father, who was one of Utah's early actors, a decided leaning toward the drama. Orson inclined toward those branches of study leading up to literature and the fine arts. He loved reading and hated arithmetic. Spelling, penmanship and drawing came naturally to him, and later he excelled in grammar and rhetoric. He was fond of elocution and was among the best declaimers in school. While an admirer of oratory, and a lover of literature, he did not develop either as a speaker or a writer until the period of his first mission, long after he had shown other tendencies which came near inducing him to enter upon a dramatic career. After leaving the common schools in which he received his early education, he passed through a great variety of experiences. At thirteen he drove team for his uncle, David P. Kimball, a sub-contractor on construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, in eastern Utah. After a few terms at the University of Deseret, where baseball and other sports had a full share of his attention, young Whitney served as an expressman for Z. C. M. I., and afterwards as clerk in a music store. There he learned the flute and guitar without a teacher. He was a good singer and an expert whistler. At seventeen he made his debut upon the stage of the Salt Lake Theatre, taking the leading part in a play written by one of his youthful associates. He made a “hit," and the manager offered him a permanent place in the local stock company. But his parents discouraged his dramatic aspirations, and out of regard for them he declined the tempting offer. He next figured as a sewing machine agent in southern Utah and other parts. His final year at the University was 1873-4. About this time he and others organized the Wasatch Literary Association, of which he was the first president, He was also connected with the University debating societies. He was not a fluent speaker, however, and took little interest in writing, except to admire it in others. As for poetry, he hated it, or rather hated, the doggerel verse that sometimes passes for poetry. He was "stage-struck," and in everything that would qualify him for the life of an actor—voice. training, gesture, fencing, etc., he took delight, and advanced himself by hard study and persistent practice to a marked degree of efficiency. Upon leaving school he taught music for a while, and during one winter was a mercantile clerk in Bingham Canyon. He was on the point of leaving home, to begin a theatrical career, when, in October, 1876, he was called upon a mission to the Eastern States. This was the turning point in the Bishop's life. As an instance of the overruling providence of God, he relates how his mother, after vainly trying to dissuade him from his pet ambition, finally promised that if she could sell a certain piece of land she would let him have enough money to take him to the city of New York, where he hoped to begin his professional career. But every effort to sell the land failed. Then came his call to the mission field. He had no sooner signified his willingness to accept that call, than the land was sold without any trouble, and the money that was to have paid his traveling expenses to New York, fitted him out for his mission, and took him to the State of Pennsylvania, his first field of labor. During his absence of seventeen months, a period mostly spent in his father's native state, Ohio, the young Elder had considerable practice in writing and public speaking, and developed rapidly along those lines—a rather remarkable fact, in view of his former indifference. More remarkable still, he succeeded in pursuits for which he had previously manifested neither taste nor any particular talent. He now laid aside his dramatic ambition, and engaged zealously in missionary work. His whole life and character underwent a complete change. His most noteworthy production while away was a series of letters to the Salt Lake Herald, over the nom de plume of "Iago." He also corresponded with the Deseret News, and vigorously defended his faith in communications to eastern papers. He was encouraged to write by the direct advice of President Brigham Young, who recognized his ability in that direction, and urged him to cultivate the gift. He never again saw the great leader, but treasures among his most precious keep-sakes the letters written to him by President Young during his first mission. At the beginning of his labors in Pennsylvania, he became wrapped up in literary work to such an extent that the mission itself was not foremost in his thoughts. But he was reminded of his duty by a remarkable dream, which deeply impressed him and influenced his whole future career. The Bishop thus relates it: "I thought I was in the Garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the Savior's agony. I seemed to be standing behind a tree in the foreground, from which point I could see without being seen. The Savior, with Peter, James and John, entered the garden through a little gate at my right, where He stationed them in a group, telling them to pray. He then passed over to the left, but still in front of -me, where He knelt and prayed also. His face, which was toward me, streamed with tears, as he besought the Father to 'let the cup pass,' adding, Not my will, but Thine, be done.' Having finished His prayer, He arose and crossed to where the Apostles were kneeling, fast asleep. He shook them gently until they awoke, and reproved them for their apathy. Again He bade them pray, and again crossed to His own place and prayed, returning as before to find them asleep. This occurred three times, until I was familiar with His face, form and movements. He was much taller than ordinary men. and though meek, far more dignified than any being I had ever beheld. He wore a look of ineffable tenderness and compassion, even while reproving His disciples. My heart went out to Him as never before to anybody or to any thing. I loved Him with all my soul; I wept at seeing Hint weep; and felt for Him the keenest sympathy. Suddenly, the circumstances changed; the scene remaining the same. Instead of before, it was after the crucifixion. The Savior and the Apostles, whom He had beckoned to Him, now stood in a group at the left, and were about to ascend into heaven. I could endure it no longer. Rushing out from behind the tree, I fell at His feet, clasped Him about the knees, and begged Him to take me also. With a look of infinite tenderness, as of a father or elder brother. He lifted me up and embraced me, saying in the kindest and gentlest manner possible, while slowly shaking His head, and sweetly smiling, 'No, my son: these can go with me, for they have finished their work, but you must stay and finish yours.' Still I clung to Him, and the contact was so real that I felt the warmth of His bosom, upon which I rested. Gazing up into His face, I once more besought Him, 'Well, promise me that I will come to you at the last.' Again He smiled, and there was a look as if He would gladly have granted my request had it been wise to do so. He then said, 'That will depend entirely upon yourself.' I awoke with a sob, and it was morning." By the time the Bishop returned home —April, 1878—he had developed a passion for poetry, and had written some of the poems which were later included in his published volume of verse. Soon after his return he became connected with the Deseret News, first as clerk and collector, and then as city editor. An Elder since 1873, and a Seventy since 1876, he was acting as a Teacher, when his call came to the Bishopric. He was ordained and set apart by Counselor Daniel H. Wells. The Eighteenth Ward at that time was poor and few in numbers, but it has grown and prospered until today it is one of the largest, wealthiest and most progressive wards in the Church. In December, 1879, Bishop Whitney married. In the following February he was elected to the City Council—his first civic office. In April of the same year he helped to organize the Home Dramatic Club, and for several years played leading parts upon the local stage, and was a favorite with the theatre-going public. He was recognized as possessing genuine dramatic ability. When he finally abandoned the stage, it was that he might give more time and attention to his ecclesiastical labors. From the autumn of 1881 to the summer of 1883, the Bishop was absent upon a mission in Europe. He labored as a traveling Elder in the city of London, was associate Editor of the Millennial Star at Liverpool, and presided over the London Conference, after which he was honorably released to return home. He had previously visited various parts of England and Wales, and before sailing for America toured parts of Scotland and France, including the city of Paris. Arriving home, he renewed his connection with the Deseret News, and a year later was appointed Treasurer of Salt Lake City, serving out the unexpired term of Paul A. Schettler, deceased. He was regularly elected to the same office until 1890, when the People's party went out of power, the Liberals gaining control. During the same period that he was City Treasurer he was Chancellor of the University of Deseret. Meanwhile, in 1888, he had had his first legislative experience, as chief clerk of the House of Representatives. His pen and tongue were now much in demand, and he was preaching, lecturing and writing almost constantly. About this time the town of Whitney, in southern Idaho, was named for him. His first book, the "Life of Heber C. Kimball," was published in the fall of 1888. A year later his poetic volume appeared. In May, 1890, he was employed by Dr. John O. Williams to write the History of Utah, an enterprise which later passed into the possession of George Q. Cannon and Sons. The history is in four large volumes, and is accepted as the standard work upon the subject of which it treats. Bishop Whitney played a prominent part in the Constitutional Convention, which framed for the State of Utah its fundamental law. His speeches in favor of woman's suffrage are well remembered. He served upon several important committees, and was one of a special committee that revised the constitution before it was sent to Washington. The campaign preceding his election to the convention, gave Brother Whitney his first experience as apolitical speaker. Never an office-seeker, and shunning rather than courting public life, he became, at the solicitation of local Democratic leaders, a candidate, and was elected by the largest majority of votes cast in his precinct. From January, 1896, to July, 1897, Bishop Whitney was a resident of Logan, where he taught Theology and English in the Brigham Young College, and lectured in the Temple and in other places. He returned to his native city in time to take part in the Pioneer Jubilee. He compiled for the commission having charge of the Jubilee, the Book of the Pioneers, for the State archives. His Ode to the Pioneers, set to music by Professor Evan Stephens, was sung with thrilling effect by the Tabernacle choir during the great celebration. In the fall of 1898, Brother Whitney again found himself in politics. He was elected to the State senate, and served from 1899 to 1901, meanwhile becoming connected, in January of the former year, with the Church Historian's office, where he was an assistant, first to President Franklin D. Richards, and afterwards to President Anthon H. Lund, the Church Historians. At the close of his second term in the senate, Brother Whitney visited California, his first absence from Utah since his European mission, barring three short trips—to Mexico in 1888, to the World's Fair in 1893, and to Idaho and Oregon with the Legislature in 1901. His trip to Chicago, by way of Independence, Missouri, was with President Wilford Woodruff and party, and as a guest of the Tabernacle choir, whose spokesman he was at the Exposition. While in California he paid a last visit to President George Q. Cannon, who was dying at Monterey. In May, 1900, Bishop Whitney lost by death his first wife, Zina Beal Smoot, daughter of President A. 0. Smoot, of Utah stake. She was the mother of nine children, eight of whom are living. His present wife, who is the mother of two, and plays a mother's part to all, was formerly May Wells, daughter of General Daniel H. Wells. Bishop Whitney's latest and greatest literary work is his epic poem, "Elias," begun in the summer of 1900, and completed during the four following years. Concerning it a local critic says: "All his previous efforts are eclipsed by his latest production, 'Elias, an Epic of the Ages.' It is lofty, massive, grand, exhibiting fertility of thought, expansive research and wonderful constructive ability. The great theme that it embodies—eternal truth — has probably never before been treated so comprehensively in a poetic way." To show their appreciation of the work, a committee of prominent citizens—Governor Heber M. Wells, President Anthon H. Lund, Senator George Sutherland, H. L. A. Culmer and Major Richard W. Young —voluntarily associated themselves as a committee on publication, and the poem, in splendid form, has since been issued by the Knickerbocker press of New York. The calling of Bishop Whitney into the Quorum of the Twelve was extremely gratifying to thousands, who, watching his career, had believed that he would ultimately be found a member of that important council. At the same time the people of the Eighteenth ward do not underestimate their loss. Orson Whitney was their leader, their adviser, their instructor—in a word, their spiritual shepherd; and in the memories of the flock which he has so long and successfully pastured he will be for all time Bishop. |
Apostle Orson F. Whitney.
|
Evans, John Henry. "Some Men Who Have Done Things, XL--Orson F. Whitney." Improvement Era. September 1910. pg. 1014-1022.
Some Men Who Have Done Things.
BY JOHN HENRY EVANS, OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS' UNIVERSITY.
XL—Orson F. Whitney,
WHO, DISCOVERING HIMSELF AT TWENTY-ONE, HAS SPENT THE REST OF HIS FIFTY-FIVE YEARS IN POINTING OUT THE LONGER AND THE PLEASANT AVENUES IN "MORMONISM."
Orson F. Whitney has neither built a railroad, nor established a canning factory, nor invented a rapid calculator, nor got fortune and place out of the stock exchange or the butter trust, nor even founded a society of anybody's sons or daughters. All he has done, if one could allow the Practical Man to put it, is to make new phrases, to coin words.
And yet a hundred chances to one when the Man-with-the- Scythe is endeavoring painfully to recall the name of him who built this railroad or factory, or invented that machine which turns bran and sawdust into bright' five dollar gold pieces, Whitney's name will come fresh to his lips, ready to drop off any minute into the vocal word. Such havoc does Father Time work with our poor balances and measuring-rods!
And why? Because, if we must confess it, machines, factories, railways, whatnot, necessary though they are, do but satisfy a lower want in us, a transitory desire, whereas the poetic and the eloquent word ministers to a higher craving, speaks to the thing in us that abides, heartens us to endure these mere bread-and- butter implements. The poet, the preacher, the writer, the artist, the sculptor the musician—these we must measure by something other than the commercial foot-rule. They shine by their own light, and not by the glint of mica. Fortunate we are that we have them, and we pay ourselves a high compliment when, in our harum-scarum chase after things that perish, we pause long enough to pay our toll of admiration and praise, as all "Mormondom" does to this man.
In eighty years, only four men stand out as great preachers of the New Dispensation, and, singularly enough, all four have won laurels almost equally as writers and speakers. Whatever "Mormonism" may hereafter produce in oral and written expositors of the Word, the names of these four will be easily distinguished from all the rest in this period. Not that the rest are inconspicuous. We have had pioneers and colonizers, editors and educators, financiers and spiritual guides, all of whom have done signal work in the department of activity which they have chosen. All of these, too, with hundreds of others, have engaged in preaching. Nevertheless, we have had, thus far, only four great preachers, men in whom was the gift of expression in an eminent degree. Of these four, not the least is -Orson F Whitney. And, like his companions in the group, he wears two laurel wreaths—one given by the muse, the other by the god of the spoken word. This is rare. Elsewhere than among the Latter-day Saints, the preacher is not commonly a poet or man of letters. Not often do ministers take to the pen. Neither does the poet or man of letters often exercise the gift of Demosthenes. One never thinks of Bryant or Longfellow as public speakers. On the other hand, Webster and Henry Ward Beecher did not write any poetry. Doubtless all this is true not because there is any unfriendliness between the tongue and the pen, but rather because there is not the demand otherwhere for public speaking on the part of the writer that there is with us. Moreover, compared with at least two of the group in which I have placed Orson F. Whitney, his total output in writings and addresses is larger. As a poet, he is far and away the first in our eighty -years, whether we consider the level of his art or the bulk of his work. Time was with Orson F. Whitney when he had not thought that his gift lay in writing, and when standing on his feet to speak was both a painful and an uncertain operation.
This was as late as his twenty-second year. Hence the youth who does not know whether he has a gift or what it is, need not lose heart. In "Mormondom" there is not much chance that gems will lie hidden in caves of ocean, dark and serene, nor that the flower will waste its sweetness on the desert air. Something will happen to bring the gem into the glimmer of the sunshine. Some breeze will waft the perfume of the flower to an appreciative nostril. Only, there must be an awakening, perhaps, as there was in Orson F. Whitney's case. At all events, the youthful Whitney was not so eloquent as he has since become. "I cannot look back on my first attempts at debating," he told me, "without a feeling of pain. Almost any of the boys with whom I associated were better speakers than I." That was at the Zeta Gamma Society, an organization which Orson was partly instrumental in effecting, and at which the boys sharpened their wits on one another. An incident in his early missionary work is to the same effect. He was called upon to speak at a public meeting. "The 'Mormon' elders," he said, "were unlike any other preachers, in that they always depended on the Holy Spirit for guidance in their utterance in the pulpit." This was all he could think of, so he kept repeating this as greatly anxious to make the point. That the point was made became painfully evident next morning when he read in the daily paper this irreverent account of his sermon: "Elder Whitney told his audience last evening that the 'Mormon' elders always depended on the Holy Spirit for their sermons. If so, the Holy Spirit was sadly negligent in young Whitney's case!" Here surely is a far cry from the debating society and the missionary field to the tabernacle and the lecture platform.
By what means did Apostle Whitney ascend from the one place to the other? In the path he followed are strewn some fine lessons for the Latter-day Saint youth who wishes to get along in writing and speaking.
Until he was twenty-one his darling passion was for music and the drama. The story of how he was turned from a longing for the stage is interesting and instructive. The histrionic bent, however it came in the first place, was cultivated by the Wasatch Literary Society. That was in his school days. The boys got together, read, essays they had written, shouted and declaimed, till the very welkin rang. Orson seemed more apt at disturbing the echoes up there in the welkin, than in writing or debating, and so, very naturally, thought his destiny pointed stageward. Anyway, he importuned his parents to let him follow that career, and his mother, failing to turn his inclination, finally told him that if she could sell a certain piece of land, she would give him two hundred dollars to take him to New York. So his hopes and imagination took a sudden bound. He saw himself, doubtless, snatching fame before the Gotham footlights and then coming home to the Salt Lake theatre and proving his choice of a profession. The young folks, too, gave him a huge send-off. But he had reckoned without his host, as the saying is. His mother could not sell the land! The Whitney family had almost abandoned their vocations in the long hunt for a buyer. But all the buyers had taken to the woods. So the young declaimer, disappointed and saddened, gave up his ambition for the stage. No, that is not correct. He only postponed it, as he thought at the time.
I have a grave suspicion that, had Orson F. Whitney gone upon the stage, he would not have stayed with it long, or rather, on it. His mind is naturally creative, and creative minds are not content merely to reproduce the thoughts of others. Young Whitney would have turned to play-writing. There is no doubt about it. Only, though, this is by the way.
Soon after this, Orson was called on a mission to the United States. A second time was the land brought into requisition, this time as a means of sending him to his field of labor. Immediately it was sold! This should have been a sign to the young man that his destiny did not point to the footlights. But it was not. The fact is that at this particular time he was somewhat indifferent to religion. He was not sure that he wanted to go. Not that he was not, even then, spiritually-minded. His is pre-eminently the spiritual type of mind. But his spiritual energy was absorbed in his supposed calling. Nevertheless he went.
As with hundreds of others, so with Orson F. Whitney— a mission was the turning point in his career. Only, in his case, it was more pronounced. And it came about in this way:
He was "laboring" in the state of Pennsylvania with Elder A. Milton Musser. But he had little interest in his work. Having visited some historic places in the East, he engaged to write them up for the Salt Lake Herald, and these articles occupied his attention. Meantime, Elder Musser was endeavoring to awaken his interest in his missionary duties. But a dream accomplished what his companion had failed to do.
"I thought I was in the Garden of Gethsemane," he told me, "a witness of the Savior's agony. I seemed to be standing behind a tree in the foreground of the picture, from which point I could see without being seen. The Savior, with the Apostles Peter, James and John, entered the garden through a little wicket gate at my right, where he stationed them in a group, telling them to pray. He then passed over to my left, but still in front of me, where he also knelt down and prayed. His face, which was toward me, streamed with tears, as he besought the Father to let the cup pass, and added, 'Not my will, but thine be done.' Having finished his prayer, he arose and crossed to where the Apostles were kneeling, fast asleep. He shook them gently, they awoke, and he reproached them for their apathy. Again he bade them pray, and again crossed to his place and prayed, returning as before to find them sleeping. This happened three times, until I was perfectly familiar with his face, form, and movements. My heart went out to him, and I loved him with all my soul.
"Suddenly the circumstances changed, though the scene remained the same. Instead of before the crucifixion, it was after. The Savior and the three apostles now stood in a group at my left, and were about to take their departure to heaven. I could endure it no longer, but rushed out from behind the tree, fell at his feet, clasped him around the knees and begged him to take me also. With a look of infinite tenderness, he stooped, lifted me, and embraced me, saying, in the kindest and gentlest manner, 'No, my son, these can go with me, for they have finished their work; but you must stay and finish yours!' I besought him, then, to let me come to him at the last. There was a look on his face as if he would gladly have granted my request had it been wise. 'That will depend,' he said, 'entirely upon yourself.' "
From that moment Orson slept no more at his post, but looked upon his missionary work as his first duty. A series of miraculous experiences and a great spiritual illumination, for none of which is there space here, rooted him forever in the truth. He knew then that his mission in life was to preach the gospel by tongue and pen, and that any other calling would be a mere bagatelle by comparison.
After this he found himself alone at Elyria, a town near Oberlin, Ohio. A good sister there proposed to gather whomsoever she could of the neighbors at her house and have a meeting. Elder Whitney protested that he could not preach! '"What!" the sister cried, "you a missionary come out here to preach and not willing to do it?"
That settled the matter. The young man went before the Lord and besought him for divine aid. And the Lord heard his prayer. For that evening he occupied the entire time, speaking with great fluency. After that he had little difficulty in public speaking.
Orson F. Whitney has the gift of oratory. There is no doubt about that. Else why have not hundreds of other elders in the Church, with the same or even more practice, exhibited the same power of oral utterance? It was not in them, to begin with. It was in him. That's the difference. Yet he employed definite means looking toward the perfection of his power. I have heard that the Bishop, in his younger days before he was a bishop, used to practice on the trees and the rocks in the lonely canyon. This sounds so extremely probable that I have not attempted to verify the statement. He told me distinctly that he had his "barnstorming period."
Three characteristics have greatly aided the development of this gift. In the first place, he has extraordinary powers of concentration of mind. Even as a small boy this was of unusual strength. In the school-room he could keep his attention on a book, to the total exclusion of any amount of varying noises. And the fact attracted the notice of his teacher to the extent that she predicted for him a great future. The possession of this quality is itself a long step towards mental power. Then, too, his mind is creative, and abhors the adoption of the ready-made phrase. He prefers his phrases made to order. Not only his poetry, but his addresses and sermons, abound in original dynamic and beautiful phraseology. He is pre-eminently a maker of phrases. Lastly, he is endowed with a phenomenal verbal memory. Words and combination of words, once entering his capacious mind, lodge. He will recall the exact wording of letters, documents, poems, whose very thought would have escaped most other even strong minds, and that after the lapse of many years. I have known but one other person with such a verbal memory. Now, in spite of the fact that Henry Ward Beecher could never quote anything exactly, in other words, had an extremely poor verbal memory, yet I think we might set it down as a general truth that a strong memory for words is indispensable to the orator. These three characteristics, I think,—concentration, originality, and a good verbal memory — give us the secret of Orson F. Whitney's success as a preacher.
The way he picked up writing is harder to account for. No doubt here too he had a gift. Or rather he turned his oratorical gift to the pen. Essentially, I cannot but think, the gift of the writer and the gift of the speaker are one and not two. The one could easily become the other, and will, unless there happens something to divide them, to atrophy one of them. Macaulay is a singular example of this fact. He was greater as an orator than as a writer. So that no doubt in Mr. Whitney's case of writing, it was merely an oratorical gift expressing itself through the pen. Or to reverse the order, the poet sometimes expressed himself by means of the tongue. Bat here, too, there must have been the same diligent applications of means to an end. The same care for the original phrase manifested itself. But those descriptive articles for the Salt Lake Herald appear to have been not only the beginning but likewise the impulse to continue. For they attracted the keen eye of President Brigham Young, and incited him to write to the young missionary encouraging him to cultivate his gift so that he might be useful in spreading the gospel of the kingdom. In this incident, by the way, we get a fine side light on the varied character of President Young, a man of the people, who knew what was going on and saw more than one thing at a time. The same letter contained this extremely wise bit of advice: "Never condescend to argue with the wicked. The principles of the gospel are too sacred to be quarrelled over. Bear your testimony in humility and leave the result with the Lord."
To use a gift in building up the kingdom of God, that is Orson F. Whitney's motto. Naturally he would do this, once take for granted his conversion to the truth. He is a product of "Mor monism." His every thought and emotion has its roots deep down in his religious faith. All that he has said, whether by the pen or by the tongue, takes its rise in "Mormonism." There is no need to go outside for material. Only in "Mormonism" could there be found another theme as great as "Paradise Lost." Here is a big lesson for the "Mormon" writer. At present the profession of letters with us is in a sad state. If one writes for the "Mormon" public alone, there is no bread in the larder. If one writes for the larger public of the nation or the world, one has to abandon distinctly "Mormon" themes, unless these are disguised beyond all recognition. And so the "Mormon" writer must ever steer between Scylla and Charybdis. But that way lies in the direction our poet-preacher has pointed in "Elias." One has to do one's best work and leave the event to Providence and the critics.
And so, to some extent, with the preacher. In "Mormonism," Apostle Whitney thinks, the preacher has limitless possibilities in theme and opportunity, for its development and presentation. "The gospel," he told me, "must be preached to all men, not alone the poor and unschooled, but also to the rich and scholarly. And we need all sorts of men to do this work. Hitherto we have done our proselyting among the so-called middle classes. But the gospel will have to be presented to the so-called high born, the aristocracy of the blood and the mind. They, too, must be left without excuse. But we must have a different class of preachers from the otherwise very excellent Welshman who sent a bundle of tracts to Mr. Gladstone, with the explanatory letter: "Here is some trax, read them, for they are fax!" We must have scientific preachers to preach the gospel scientifically; poetic preachers to preach it poetically; philosophical preachers to preach it philosophically. There are innumerable opportunities open before the preacher. Time is crowding upon us. We must reach the educated and cultured classes through preachers who are themselves cultured and educated."
Some Men Who Have Done Things.
BY JOHN HENRY EVANS, OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS' UNIVERSITY.
XL—Orson F. Whitney,
WHO, DISCOVERING HIMSELF AT TWENTY-ONE, HAS SPENT THE REST OF HIS FIFTY-FIVE YEARS IN POINTING OUT THE LONGER AND THE PLEASANT AVENUES IN "MORMONISM."
Orson F. Whitney has neither built a railroad, nor established a canning factory, nor invented a rapid calculator, nor got fortune and place out of the stock exchange or the butter trust, nor even founded a society of anybody's sons or daughters. All he has done, if one could allow the Practical Man to put it, is to make new phrases, to coin words.
And yet a hundred chances to one when the Man-with-the- Scythe is endeavoring painfully to recall the name of him who built this railroad or factory, or invented that machine which turns bran and sawdust into bright' five dollar gold pieces, Whitney's name will come fresh to his lips, ready to drop off any minute into the vocal word. Such havoc does Father Time work with our poor balances and measuring-rods!
And why? Because, if we must confess it, machines, factories, railways, whatnot, necessary though they are, do but satisfy a lower want in us, a transitory desire, whereas the poetic and the eloquent word ministers to a higher craving, speaks to the thing in us that abides, heartens us to endure these mere bread-and- butter implements. The poet, the preacher, the writer, the artist, the sculptor the musician—these we must measure by something other than the commercial foot-rule. They shine by their own light, and not by the glint of mica. Fortunate we are that we have them, and we pay ourselves a high compliment when, in our harum-scarum chase after things that perish, we pause long enough to pay our toll of admiration and praise, as all "Mormondom" does to this man.
In eighty years, only four men stand out as great preachers of the New Dispensation, and, singularly enough, all four have won laurels almost equally as writers and speakers. Whatever "Mormonism" may hereafter produce in oral and written expositors of the Word, the names of these four will be easily distinguished from all the rest in this period. Not that the rest are inconspicuous. We have had pioneers and colonizers, editors and educators, financiers and spiritual guides, all of whom have done signal work in the department of activity which they have chosen. All of these, too, with hundreds of others, have engaged in preaching. Nevertheless, we have had, thus far, only four great preachers, men in whom was the gift of expression in an eminent degree. Of these four, not the least is -Orson F Whitney. And, like his companions in the group, he wears two laurel wreaths—one given by the muse, the other by the god of the spoken word. This is rare. Elsewhere than among the Latter-day Saints, the preacher is not commonly a poet or man of letters. Not often do ministers take to the pen. Neither does the poet or man of letters often exercise the gift of Demosthenes. One never thinks of Bryant or Longfellow as public speakers. On the other hand, Webster and Henry Ward Beecher did not write any poetry. Doubtless all this is true not because there is any unfriendliness between the tongue and the pen, but rather because there is not the demand otherwhere for public speaking on the part of the writer that there is with us. Moreover, compared with at least two of the group in which I have placed Orson F. Whitney, his total output in writings and addresses is larger. As a poet, he is far and away the first in our eighty -years, whether we consider the level of his art or the bulk of his work. Time was with Orson F. Whitney when he had not thought that his gift lay in writing, and when standing on his feet to speak was both a painful and an uncertain operation.
This was as late as his twenty-second year. Hence the youth who does not know whether he has a gift or what it is, need not lose heart. In "Mormondom" there is not much chance that gems will lie hidden in caves of ocean, dark and serene, nor that the flower will waste its sweetness on the desert air. Something will happen to bring the gem into the glimmer of the sunshine. Some breeze will waft the perfume of the flower to an appreciative nostril. Only, there must be an awakening, perhaps, as there was in Orson F. Whitney's case. At all events, the youthful Whitney was not so eloquent as he has since become. "I cannot look back on my first attempts at debating," he told me, "without a feeling of pain. Almost any of the boys with whom I associated were better speakers than I." That was at the Zeta Gamma Society, an organization which Orson was partly instrumental in effecting, and at which the boys sharpened their wits on one another. An incident in his early missionary work is to the same effect. He was called upon to speak at a public meeting. "The 'Mormon' elders," he said, "were unlike any other preachers, in that they always depended on the Holy Spirit for guidance in their utterance in the pulpit." This was all he could think of, so he kept repeating this as greatly anxious to make the point. That the point was made became painfully evident next morning when he read in the daily paper this irreverent account of his sermon: "Elder Whitney told his audience last evening that the 'Mormon' elders always depended on the Holy Spirit for their sermons. If so, the Holy Spirit was sadly negligent in young Whitney's case!" Here surely is a far cry from the debating society and the missionary field to the tabernacle and the lecture platform.
By what means did Apostle Whitney ascend from the one place to the other? In the path he followed are strewn some fine lessons for the Latter-day Saint youth who wishes to get along in writing and speaking.
Until he was twenty-one his darling passion was for music and the drama. The story of how he was turned from a longing for the stage is interesting and instructive. The histrionic bent, however it came in the first place, was cultivated by the Wasatch Literary Society. That was in his school days. The boys got together, read, essays they had written, shouted and declaimed, till the very welkin rang. Orson seemed more apt at disturbing the echoes up there in the welkin, than in writing or debating, and so, very naturally, thought his destiny pointed stageward. Anyway, he importuned his parents to let him follow that career, and his mother, failing to turn his inclination, finally told him that if she could sell a certain piece of land, she would give him two hundred dollars to take him to New York. So his hopes and imagination took a sudden bound. He saw himself, doubtless, snatching fame before the Gotham footlights and then coming home to the Salt Lake theatre and proving his choice of a profession. The young folks, too, gave him a huge send-off. But he had reckoned without his host, as the saying is. His mother could not sell the land! The Whitney family had almost abandoned their vocations in the long hunt for a buyer. But all the buyers had taken to the woods. So the young declaimer, disappointed and saddened, gave up his ambition for the stage. No, that is not correct. He only postponed it, as he thought at the time.
I have a grave suspicion that, had Orson F. Whitney gone upon the stage, he would not have stayed with it long, or rather, on it. His mind is naturally creative, and creative minds are not content merely to reproduce the thoughts of others. Young Whitney would have turned to play-writing. There is no doubt about it. Only, though, this is by the way.
Soon after this, Orson was called on a mission to the United States. A second time was the land brought into requisition, this time as a means of sending him to his field of labor. Immediately it was sold! This should have been a sign to the young man that his destiny did not point to the footlights. But it was not. The fact is that at this particular time he was somewhat indifferent to religion. He was not sure that he wanted to go. Not that he was not, even then, spiritually-minded. His is pre-eminently the spiritual type of mind. But his spiritual energy was absorbed in his supposed calling. Nevertheless he went.
As with hundreds of others, so with Orson F. Whitney— a mission was the turning point in his career. Only, in his case, it was more pronounced. And it came about in this way:
He was "laboring" in the state of Pennsylvania with Elder A. Milton Musser. But he had little interest in his work. Having visited some historic places in the East, he engaged to write them up for the Salt Lake Herald, and these articles occupied his attention. Meantime, Elder Musser was endeavoring to awaken his interest in his missionary duties. But a dream accomplished what his companion had failed to do.
"I thought I was in the Garden of Gethsemane," he told me, "a witness of the Savior's agony. I seemed to be standing behind a tree in the foreground of the picture, from which point I could see without being seen. The Savior, with the Apostles Peter, James and John, entered the garden through a little wicket gate at my right, where he stationed them in a group, telling them to pray. He then passed over to my left, but still in front of me, where he also knelt down and prayed. His face, which was toward me, streamed with tears, as he besought the Father to let the cup pass, and added, 'Not my will, but thine be done.' Having finished his prayer, he arose and crossed to where the Apostles were kneeling, fast asleep. He shook them gently, they awoke, and he reproached them for their apathy. Again he bade them pray, and again crossed to his place and prayed, returning as before to find them sleeping. This happened three times, until I was perfectly familiar with his face, form, and movements. My heart went out to him, and I loved him with all my soul.
"Suddenly the circumstances changed, though the scene remained the same. Instead of before the crucifixion, it was after. The Savior and the three apostles now stood in a group at my left, and were about to take their departure to heaven. I could endure it no longer, but rushed out from behind the tree, fell at his feet, clasped him around the knees and begged him to take me also. With a look of infinite tenderness, he stooped, lifted me, and embraced me, saying, in the kindest and gentlest manner, 'No, my son, these can go with me, for they have finished their work; but you must stay and finish yours!' I besought him, then, to let me come to him at the last. There was a look on his face as if he would gladly have granted my request had it been wise. 'That will depend,' he said, 'entirely upon yourself.' "
From that moment Orson slept no more at his post, but looked upon his missionary work as his first duty. A series of miraculous experiences and a great spiritual illumination, for none of which is there space here, rooted him forever in the truth. He knew then that his mission in life was to preach the gospel by tongue and pen, and that any other calling would be a mere bagatelle by comparison.
After this he found himself alone at Elyria, a town near Oberlin, Ohio. A good sister there proposed to gather whomsoever she could of the neighbors at her house and have a meeting. Elder Whitney protested that he could not preach! '"What!" the sister cried, "you a missionary come out here to preach and not willing to do it?"
That settled the matter. The young man went before the Lord and besought him for divine aid. And the Lord heard his prayer. For that evening he occupied the entire time, speaking with great fluency. After that he had little difficulty in public speaking.
Orson F. Whitney has the gift of oratory. There is no doubt about that. Else why have not hundreds of other elders in the Church, with the same or even more practice, exhibited the same power of oral utterance? It was not in them, to begin with. It was in him. That's the difference. Yet he employed definite means looking toward the perfection of his power. I have heard that the Bishop, in his younger days before he was a bishop, used to practice on the trees and the rocks in the lonely canyon. This sounds so extremely probable that I have not attempted to verify the statement. He told me distinctly that he had his "barnstorming period."
Three characteristics have greatly aided the development of this gift. In the first place, he has extraordinary powers of concentration of mind. Even as a small boy this was of unusual strength. In the school-room he could keep his attention on a book, to the total exclusion of any amount of varying noises. And the fact attracted the notice of his teacher to the extent that she predicted for him a great future. The possession of this quality is itself a long step towards mental power. Then, too, his mind is creative, and abhors the adoption of the ready-made phrase. He prefers his phrases made to order. Not only his poetry, but his addresses and sermons, abound in original dynamic and beautiful phraseology. He is pre-eminently a maker of phrases. Lastly, he is endowed with a phenomenal verbal memory. Words and combination of words, once entering his capacious mind, lodge. He will recall the exact wording of letters, documents, poems, whose very thought would have escaped most other even strong minds, and that after the lapse of many years. I have known but one other person with such a verbal memory. Now, in spite of the fact that Henry Ward Beecher could never quote anything exactly, in other words, had an extremely poor verbal memory, yet I think we might set it down as a general truth that a strong memory for words is indispensable to the orator. These three characteristics, I think,—concentration, originality, and a good verbal memory — give us the secret of Orson F. Whitney's success as a preacher.
The way he picked up writing is harder to account for. No doubt here too he had a gift. Or rather he turned his oratorical gift to the pen. Essentially, I cannot but think, the gift of the writer and the gift of the speaker are one and not two. The one could easily become the other, and will, unless there happens something to divide them, to atrophy one of them. Macaulay is a singular example of this fact. He was greater as an orator than as a writer. So that no doubt in Mr. Whitney's case of writing, it was merely an oratorical gift expressing itself through the pen. Or to reverse the order, the poet sometimes expressed himself by means of the tongue. Bat here, too, there must have been the same diligent applications of means to an end. The same care for the original phrase manifested itself. But those descriptive articles for the Salt Lake Herald appear to have been not only the beginning but likewise the impulse to continue. For they attracted the keen eye of President Brigham Young, and incited him to write to the young missionary encouraging him to cultivate his gift so that he might be useful in spreading the gospel of the kingdom. In this incident, by the way, we get a fine side light on the varied character of President Young, a man of the people, who knew what was going on and saw more than one thing at a time. The same letter contained this extremely wise bit of advice: "Never condescend to argue with the wicked. The principles of the gospel are too sacred to be quarrelled over. Bear your testimony in humility and leave the result with the Lord."
To use a gift in building up the kingdom of God, that is Orson F. Whitney's motto. Naturally he would do this, once take for granted his conversion to the truth. He is a product of "Mor monism." His every thought and emotion has its roots deep down in his religious faith. All that he has said, whether by the pen or by the tongue, takes its rise in "Mormonism." There is no need to go outside for material. Only in "Mormonism" could there be found another theme as great as "Paradise Lost." Here is a big lesson for the "Mormon" writer. At present the profession of letters with us is in a sad state. If one writes for the "Mormon" public alone, there is no bread in the larder. If one writes for the larger public of the nation or the world, one has to abandon distinctly "Mormon" themes, unless these are disguised beyond all recognition. And so the "Mormon" writer must ever steer between Scylla and Charybdis. But that way lies in the direction our poet-preacher has pointed in "Elias." One has to do one's best work and leave the event to Providence and the critics.
And so, to some extent, with the preacher. In "Mormonism," Apostle Whitney thinks, the preacher has limitless possibilities in theme and opportunity, for its development and presentation. "The gospel," he told me, "must be preached to all men, not alone the poor and unschooled, but also to the rich and scholarly. And we need all sorts of men to do this work. Hitherto we have done our proselyting among the so-called middle classes. But the gospel will have to be presented to the so-called high born, the aristocracy of the blood and the mind. They, too, must be left without excuse. But we must have a different class of preachers from the otherwise very excellent Welshman who sent a bundle of tracts to Mr. Gladstone, with the explanatory letter: "Here is some trax, read them, for they are fax!" We must have scientific preachers to preach the gospel scientifically; poetic preachers to preach it poetically; philosophical preachers to preach it philosophically. There are innumerable opportunities open before the preacher. Time is crowding upon us. We must reach the educated and cultured classes through preachers who are themselves cultured and educated."
Whitney, Orson F. "A Prophetic Incident." Young Woman's Journal. July 1924. pg. 351-352.
A Prophetic Incident
By Orson F. Whitney
TWO Elders, fellow laborers in the British Mission, were sitting upon the front stoop of
Durham House, the Church headquarters in Liverpool. It was a dismal autumn afternoon; the air was damp, the sky leaden, and the sinking sun could scarcely penetrate the misty veil that hung between earth and heaven.
Both these Elders were men of experience, veterans in the cause, and had labored side by side for many months in the Lord’s service, preaching the Gospel by tongue and by pen, and in various other ways ministering for the salvation of souls. But now one of them—the elder of the twain—was an invalid, just out of the hospital, where he had undergone a serious operation. This, with the relapse that followed a too early return to work, had greatly depleted his vitality and left him helpless and well nigh disheartened. His condition was such that he could neither read nor write, nor even think upon any subject requiring concentration. To walk only as far as the gate, or even across the room, was a task so difficult that it required a strong stimulant to make it possible. Faintness and exhaustion followed the least exertion, physical or mental.
Said the invalid to his friend, as they sat there that dismal afternoon: “I wonder if I shall ever walk again.
I wonder if I shall ever write again, or speak again in public.” The friend was silent for a moment, as if pondering or praying over the matter. Presently he spoke: “You shall do all that and more. The Lord is going to raise you up. You shall return home in safety, mingle with your friends, sit with your brethren in council, and preach the Gospel as formerly.” He added: “You and I will yet attend Stake conferences together, as we have done in the past.”
“God grant it,” responded the invalid, fervently. But in his heart of hearts he could scarcely give it credence. He thought himself “done for”—used up—fit only for the scrap heap.
A few weeks later he sailed for home, his friend remaining to spend another winter in Europe. With the opening of spring the latter also returned to Zion, where he found his sometime fellow laborer still in a very weak condition, slowly convalescing—so slowly that it seemed as if no progress were being made. Eighteen months crawled by. He often visited the sick man, cheering him as best he could, and repeating over and again for his comfort the promise he had made to him in Liverpool.
During the last six months of that period of loneliness and privation matters began to mend. The faith and prayers put forth in behalf of the sufferer had prevailed. The Lord was raising him up. He had learned to walk again. Once more he could read, write and think, and was attending council and quorum meetings. Finally he mustered up the courage to speak a few words in a ward sacrament meeting. The Spirit of God was upon him. President Heber J. Grant, who had invited him to speak, and followed with a few remarks, declared that he had spoken “with his old-time fire and spirit,” and expressed the joy that it gave him to note the fact. He predicted for the convalescent a complete restoration, with years of efficient service in the ministry.
A number of invitations to address ward gatherings were responded to, and then came appointments to attend Stake conferences, mostly in Salt Lake City, where he held forth in the Tabernacle, experiencing no difficulty in addressing, as he had often done, Sabbath afternoon congregations in that great building. He was also one of the speakers at the ensuing General Conference.
Not long afterwards there was a complete fulfillment of the prophetic promise to which reference has been made. Sunday, May 18, 1924, the now fully restored Elder—who, as the reader has already guessed, is the writer of this sketch—attended the Cottonwood Stake Conference, held in the Granite Stake Tabernacle; and with him went his faithful friend and former missionary companion, Elder William A. Morton, secretary of the Church Genealogical Society. The former, addressing the congregation that Sabbath morning, referred to the prophecy and its fulfillment, Elder Morton bearing testimony to the same.
President Heber C. Kimball used to say that the Lord did not bring a thing to pass just because a prophet had predicted it; but having decreed what should come, He inspired the prophet to foretell it. President Kimball also said that when anything good is prophesied of a person, it is the duty of that person to help fulfill the prediction. I had this in mind when, with the hearty concurrence of the president of my quorum, Elder Rudger Clawson, I invited Brother Morton to go with me to the Cottonwrood Stake Conference. Since then we have attended the Nebo Stake Conference together, and I confidently look for many such happy occasions in the future.
A Prophetic Incident
By Orson F. Whitney
TWO Elders, fellow laborers in the British Mission, were sitting upon the front stoop of
Durham House, the Church headquarters in Liverpool. It was a dismal autumn afternoon; the air was damp, the sky leaden, and the sinking sun could scarcely penetrate the misty veil that hung between earth and heaven.
Both these Elders were men of experience, veterans in the cause, and had labored side by side for many months in the Lord’s service, preaching the Gospel by tongue and by pen, and in various other ways ministering for the salvation of souls. But now one of them—the elder of the twain—was an invalid, just out of the hospital, where he had undergone a serious operation. This, with the relapse that followed a too early return to work, had greatly depleted his vitality and left him helpless and well nigh disheartened. His condition was such that he could neither read nor write, nor even think upon any subject requiring concentration. To walk only as far as the gate, or even across the room, was a task so difficult that it required a strong stimulant to make it possible. Faintness and exhaustion followed the least exertion, physical or mental.
Said the invalid to his friend, as they sat there that dismal afternoon: “I wonder if I shall ever walk again.
I wonder if I shall ever write again, or speak again in public.” The friend was silent for a moment, as if pondering or praying over the matter. Presently he spoke: “You shall do all that and more. The Lord is going to raise you up. You shall return home in safety, mingle with your friends, sit with your brethren in council, and preach the Gospel as formerly.” He added: “You and I will yet attend Stake conferences together, as we have done in the past.”
“God grant it,” responded the invalid, fervently. But in his heart of hearts he could scarcely give it credence. He thought himself “done for”—used up—fit only for the scrap heap.
A few weeks later he sailed for home, his friend remaining to spend another winter in Europe. With the opening of spring the latter also returned to Zion, where he found his sometime fellow laborer still in a very weak condition, slowly convalescing—so slowly that it seemed as if no progress were being made. Eighteen months crawled by. He often visited the sick man, cheering him as best he could, and repeating over and again for his comfort the promise he had made to him in Liverpool.
During the last six months of that period of loneliness and privation matters began to mend. The faith and prayers put forth in behalf of the sufferer had prevailed. The Lord was raising him up. He had learned to walk again. Once more he could read, write and think, and was attending council and quorum meetings. Finally he mustered up the courage to speak a few words in a ward sacrament meeting. The Spirit of God was upon him. President Heber J. Grant, who had invited him to speak, and followed with a few remarks, declared that he had spoken “with his old-time fire and spirit,” and expressed the joy that it gave him to note the fact. He predicted for the convalescent a complete restoration, with years of efficient service in the ministry.
A number of invitations to address ward gatherings were responded to, and then came appointments to attend Stake conferences, mostly in Salt Lake City, where he held forth in the Tabernacle, experiencing no difficulty in addressing, as he had often done, Sabbath afternoon congregations in that great building. He was also one of the speakers at the ensuing General Conference.
Not long afterwards there was a complete fulfillment of the prophetic promise to which reference has been made. Sunday, May 18, 1924, the now fully restored Elder—who, as the reader has already guessed, is the writer of this sketch—attended the Cottonwood Stake Conference, held in the Granite Stake Tabernacle; and with him went his faithful friend and former missionary companion, Elder William A. Morton, secretary of the Church Genealogical Society. The former, addressing the congregation that Sabbath morning, referred to the prophecy and its fulfillment, Elder Morton bearing testimony to the same.
President Heber C. Kimball used to say that the Lord did not bring a thing to pass just because a prophet had predicted it; but having decreed what should come, He inspired the prophet to foretell it. President Kimball also said that when anything good is prophesied of a person, it is the duty of that person to help fulfill the prediction. I had this in mind when, with the hearty concurrence of the president of my quorum, Elder Rudger Clawson, I invited Brother Morton to go with me to the Cottonwrood Stake Conference. Since then we have attended the Nebo Stake Conference together, and I confidently look for many such happy occasions in the future.
Whitney, C. Byron. "The Life Story of Orson F. Whitney." Relief Society Magazine. February 1931. pg. 105.
The Life Story of Orson F. Whitney
By C. Byron Whitney
THE Life Story of a man is generally considered of interest to others in proportion to that man's position or prominence among men. But when the words of the story become a gem of literature, a series of remarkable pen pictures depicting whole communities, a valuable historical record, all setting forth a profound and dynamic sermon on life and love of God and humanity, then that story ceases to be singular as to any man and becomes a thing of deep heart interest to many. Such is the volume recently published under the title—"The Life Story of Orson F. Whitney, as told by himself."
Rich in historical lore, deep in human emotion, fervent and convincing in the testimony it bears, yet, withal, sparkling throughout with wit, wisdom, and fine humor, the volume appeals to almost every mood of the reader who seeks and finds the big and noble thought underlying it all. In point' of diction, rhetoric, continuity of ideas and mastery of language, it deserves a place among model works of English literature. But it is the heart and soul of the book—the great story it tells, rather than how it tells it—that will endear it to the reader long after the few copies now in print are exhausted.
Orson F. Whitney, scion of a Pioneer family of the State, and author of Whitney's History of Utah, grew from birth to manhood as a stalwart branch of the great family tree to which he belongs. Intellectually and spiritually gifted, his name stands out amid every worthy endeavor of his people—religiously, politically, and in advancement of the arts of literature, music and the drama. He holds his present high ecclesiastical position, as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, in faithfulness and devotion to God, and with the love and respect of his associates and the people in general. His remarkable gifts as writer, poet and public speaker, to say nothing of his pronounced dramatic ability, would long ago have won him worldly fame and fortune, had he not chosen to devote them unselfishly, untiringly, to the spiritual welfare of his loved ones and his fellowmen. That this is purely and solely the underlying motive of his latest literary work his Life Story as told by himself — will be readily recognized by the readers of that very interesting narrative.
This publication is not a commercial project in any sense. The sale is not solicited at large. The purpose being to preserve certain experiences and to present principles sacred to the author and others of whom he has written, the distribution is limited and the book procurable only from the author, at a modest price representing actual cost of issuance. It is highly commended by this reviewer to all who feel a sincere and kindly interest in the mighty testimony of a godly man and the interesting story of the remarkable life record of Orson F. Whitney.
The Life Story of Orson F. Whitney
By C. Byron Whitney
THE Life Story of a man is generally considered of interest to others in proportion to that man's position or prominence among men. But when the words of the story become a gem of literature, a series of remarkable pen pictures depicting whole communities, a valuable historical record, all setting forth a profound and dynamic sermon on life and love of God and humanity, then that story ceases to be singular as to any man and becomes a thing of deep heart interest to many. Such is the volume recently published under the title—"The Life Story of Orson F. Whitney, as told by himself."
Rich in historical lore, deep in human emotion, fervent and convincing in the testimony it bears, yet, withal, sparkling throughout with wit, wisdom, and fine humor, the volume appeals to almost every mood of the reader who seeks and finds the big and noble thought underlying it all. In point' of diction, rhetoric, continuity of ideas and mastery of language, it deserves a place among model works of English literature. But it is the heart and soul of the book—the great story it tells, rather than how it tells it—that will endear it to the reader long after the few copies now in print are exhausted.
Orson F. Whitney, scion of a Pioneer family of the State, and author of Whitney's History of Utah, grew from birth to manhood as a stalwart branch of the great family tree to which he belongs. Intellectually and spiritually gifted, his name stands out amid every worthy endeavor of his people—religiously, politically, and in advancement of the arts of literature, music and the drama. He holds his present high ecclesiastical position, as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, in faithfulness and devotion to God, and with the love and respect of his associates and the people in general. His remarkable gifts as writer, poet and public speaker, to say nothing of his pronounced dramatic ability, would long ago have won him worldly fame and fortune, had he not chosen to devote them unselfishly, untiringly, to the spiritual welfare of his loved ones and his fellowmen. That this is purely and solely the underlying motive of his latest literary work his Life Story as told by himself — will be readily recognized by the readers of that very interesting narrative.
This publication is not a commercial project in any sense. The sale is not solicited at large. The purpose being to preserve certain experiences and to present principles sacred to the author and others of whom he has written, the distribution is limited and the book procurable only from the author, at a modest price representing actual cost of issuance. It is highly commended by this reviewer to all who feel a sincere and kindly interest in the mighty testimony of a godly man and the interesting story of the remarkable life record of Orson F. Whitney.
Cannon, Annie Wells. "Orson F. Whitney, Apostle, Poet, Historian, Philosopher." Relief Society Magazine. June 1931. pg. 304-306.
Orson F. Whitney, Apostle, Poet, Historian, Philosopher By Annie Wells Cannon IT was dawn. The warm glow of the rising sun kissed the eastern hills. The new day spread its golden loveliness over an awakening world, just as the kingly spirit of Orson F. Whitney, passed into the great beyond. He died May 16, 1930, peaceful and content. His way in life was pleasant for he sought only the beautiful in art and nature ; had enjoyment in companionship of friends and the pursuit of knowledge. Holland's beautiful verse which he sometimes used for a text might easily apply to his own career. "Heaven is not reached in a single bound: But we build the ladder by which we rise From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies And we mount its summit round by round." While his experiences were varied, he marked for himself a pathway clear, motivated by earnest endeavor, poetic ideals and fervent emotion. ORSON FERGUSON WHITNEY was born in Salt Lake City July 1, 1855, son of Horace K. Whitney, one of the original pioneers of 1847, and Helen Mar Kimball, eldest daughter of Heber C. Kimball, a member of the first council of the twelve under Joseph Smith and counselor to President Brigham Young. His boyhood was spent largely in the open spaces. Amusements were few for the pioneer children save such as they themselves provided. There was, however, an exceptional opportunity in the community of seeing the classic drama and Shakespeare's plays, given by the old Salt Lake dramatic association, of which Orson's father was a member. His father was also a gifted musician while his mother was a forceful writer and speaker. These inherited talents added to his natural gifts—a remarkable memory, a rich mellow voice, a graceful and pleasing personality, would seem to point to a stage career, and that was his choice, but Providence ruled otherwise. In 1876 he answered a call for a mission to the eastern states. Engaged in this ministry, he found his true vocation; here, too, he began his literary work, contributing poems and articles to the home papers. Soon after his return from this mission Elder Whitney was appointed Bishop of the 18th Ward, a stewardship he held for 28 years and wherein he was greatly loved and honored. The capacious and beautiful annex to the ward chapel is named Whitney Hall in his honor. In 1881 Bishop Whitney took a second mission, this time going to Europe. While in England he availed himself of the rare pleasure of visiting places he had learned to love through the medium of romance and poetry—homes and haunts of the English poets, the abbeys and castles around which their stories are entwined, like the ivy on their walls. In 1906 Elder Whitney was appointed a member of the Council of the Twelve. To this high calling he gave the most sincere and reverent devotion. In 1921 he went again to England, this time to preside over the European mission. A severe illness shortened this mission and he returned home in a few months. Always in the ministry he found happiness and satisfaction and was an eloquent defender of the faith with tongue and pen. Among the stakes and missions he traveled, exhorting and encouraging the people in ways of righteousness. Elder Whitney's literary work is outstanding. As an historian he was accurate and careful, as a poet lofty and idealistic, as an essayist logical and convincing, all making a valuable contribution to the literature of the Church and state. "The Lifted Ensign—A Call to Israel" was written for the Centennial Conference, April 6, 1930, and read by the author on that memorable occasion before the vast audience in the Tabernacle. Notwithstanding his inclination for the more quiet calling in the ministry or literary field, Elder Whitney was not unmindful of his responsibilities as a loyal and patriotic citizen and held many offices both civic and state. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1894, held prior to statehood, at which time he made an earnest and eloquent plea for the cause of woman suffrage. He was Chancellor and Regent of the State University, taught philosophy and history at the Brigham Young College at Logan and for many years was a member of the Church Board of Education. December 18, 1879, Elder Whitney was married to Zina Beal Smoot, the piquant and charming daughter of Abraham O. Smoot of Provo. Zina died in 1900. She was the mother of nine children, seven of whom are living. In July, 1888, he married May Wells, daughter of Gen. Daniel H. Wells, and to her fell the task of caring for these motherless children as well as her own two boys. To all she gave tender care and devotion. In the atmosphere of social and home life Orson Whitney's charm was most apparent. There his ready wit, his gift as a recounter of fascinating stories, his many accomplishments afforded delightful entertainment. Always the gentleman, refined, sensitive, kind, how he will be missed. To his family he rendered sweet affection and has left a legacy of things imperishable. He mounted the ladder round by round. Who doubts but he reached the "summit of the vaulted skies." |
ELDER ORSON F. WHITNEY
|
"Editorial: Orson F. Whitney." Improvement Era. July 1931. pg. 507.
Orson F. Whitney
THE entire Church mourns the passing of Elder Orson F. Whitney, of the Council of Twelve, which occurred May 16, 1931. He was a colorful figure. The world rarely sees a man gifted in so many ways. He was a brilliant writer of both prose and poetry, an unusually talented speaker, a delightful conversationalist possessed of sparkling wit, a master elocutionist, and with outstanding gifts as an actor. Indeed, had he chosen to follow the stage as a career, he would undoubtedly have made a national reputation for himself.
But he chose instead to devote his life to religious work. As a missionary abroad preaching what he knew to be the plan of salvation, as bishop of an important ward at home, visiting the sick and laboring patiently with the sinful, as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ declaring fervently and with convincing power that the Master had manifested himself in this age, he won the admiration of those who differed with him in belief and the sincere love of all who shared his views.
One wonders whether any man, living or dead, ever preached more funeral sermons than he. To him the resurrection was as real as birth, and he had the ability to make it appear so beautiful to the mourners that the sting of death was in a large measure assuaged. The peaceful resignation with which he himself faced death indicates how sincere his declarations were in regard to the future.
Though his words, oral and written, are silent, they will live on.
Orson F. Whitney
THE entire Church mourns the passing of Elder Orson F. Whitney, of the Council of Twelve, which occurred May 16, 1931. He was a colorful figure. The world rarely sees a man gifted in so many ways. He was a brilliant writer of both prose and poetry, an unusually talented speaker, a delightful conversationalist possessed of sparkling wit, a master elocutionist, and with outstanding gifts as an actor. Indeed, had he chosen to follow the stage as a career, he would undoubtedly have made a national reputation for himself.
But he chose instead to devote his life to religious work. As a missionary abroad preaching what he knew to be the plan of salvation, as bishop of an important ward at home, visiting the sick and laboring patiently with the sinful, as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ declaring fervently and with convincing power that the Master had manifested himself in this age, he won the admiration of those who differed with him in belief and the sincere love of all who shared his views.
One wonders whether any man, living or dead, ever preached more funeral sermons than he. To him the resurrection was as real as birth, and he had the ability to make it appear so beautiful to the mourners that the sting of death was in a large measure assuaged. The peaceful resignation with which he himself faced death indicates how sincere his declarations were in regard to the future.
Though his words, oral and written, are silent, they will live on.
Pyper, George D. "Orson Ferguson Whitney, An Appreciation." Improvement Era. July 1931. pg. 509-510, 555.
Orson Ferguson Whitney An Appreciation By GEORGE D. PYPER A PRINCE has fallen in Israel!" No death in recent years suggests more forcibly the above quotation than the passing, on May 16, 1931, of our beloved brother, Elder Orson Ferguson Whitney, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, the fifth ranking member of the Council of the Twelve. A prince was he in very deed. Born in Salt Lake City, July 1, 1855, a grandson, on his father's side, of Bishop Newell K. Whitney; on his mother's side of President Heber C, Kimball, Brigham Young's close friend and counselor ; his father, Horace K. Whitney, with the others named, one of the original Utah pioneers; his mother, Helen Mar Kimball, Heber C's eldest living daughter, a pioneer of 1848, and a writer of no mean ability, Orson Whitney came through a line of noble ancestors, favored of the Lord and held in high esteem by the Saints of the latter-days. Tall of stature, noble and stately in appearance, a polished gentleman in demeanor, he was commanding in any group, one whom, if you met on the street, you would turn around and look at the second time. IN his latest book, "Through Memory's Halls," Brother Whitney has written his own life in his own way. All through the pages of that naive, intimate and most interesting volume, he stands out self-revealed, a man of simple faith yielding obedience in his childhood to his earthly parents and likewise trusting implicitly all through the years in God, whom he revered as a loving Father. It was this almost childlike faith that prompted him as a boy to kneel down and ask the Lord to help him find a prized jack-knife which he had lost — and he found it. I was that absolute faith in and dependence upon the Lord that made him in. manhood such a powerful agent in administering to the sick and afflicted, and in giving comfort to bereaved Saints. Funeral sermons he preached in untold numbers. He never failed to say the right thing in the right place. Shakespeare says: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts." Orson F. Whitney was a man of many parts—actor, poet, author, orator, historian, statesman, and apostle. And he played all equally well, although he shone most resplendently in the role of a preacher of righteousness— the role in which he was best known among his people. AS a youth he sought companionship with those musically inclined; for his love of the divine art was passionate. Like his father, he was a good flutist and could thrum acceptably, too, on the guitar. In fact, he taught both these instruments. With his young friends, notable among whom was his chum, Ab Kimball, he haunted the home of William Clayton, where he always found a musical atmosphere to his liking. In 1874 Brother Whitney was the principal founder of the famous Wasatch Literary Association, most of whose members later became prominent in Utah's history; in 1888 he was a moving factor in the organization of the Home Dramatic Club, of which he was a member and actor of marked ability. He would have followed the stage as a profession had it not been for the earnest prayers of his religious mother. DURING and after the Home Dramatic days he often met socially with a group of young people among whom, besides himself, were President Heber J. Grant, former Governor Heber M. ("Heeb") Wells, John D. Spencer, Horace G. ("Bud") Whitney, Brigham S. ("Bid") Young, Richard W. ("Dick") Young, Dr. Stanley H. ("Stan") Clawson, Rulon S. ("Rule") Wells, Daniel S. ("Dan") Spencer, Henry M. Dinwoodey, and the writer, with their wives; others, well known, but too numerous to name, at times, augmented this merry group. And it is the opinion of the members who survive that no set ever lived that had more enjoyable and intellectual feasts than this Eighteenth Ward group of young people, as they occasionally met at each others' homes. There was never a fixed program. None was necessary. Wit and humor were spontaneous—the "hang over" of the old Wasatch Literary days. In these gatherings "Ort" Whitney, as he was then called, was always an outstanding entertainer. Just to hear him whistle, play the flute, recite, or sing was a rare treat. The old songs "Maid of Athens" and "I Stood on the Bridge at Midnight," favorites of his, were excellent mediums for his rich, sonorous voice. This reference recalls the thought, expressed by several, that during the singing of "I am a Pilgrim" by Alvin Keddington at the funeral services, the lower notes of the singer were almost uncannily like the tones of "Ort" Whitney. INTO his life's rich domain as poet, author, historian, orator, statesman, apostle, the writer feels incapable of entering. That should be left to one more fit. His books of poems, notably "Elias, an Epic of the Ages," would alone bring him literary fame. Add to these his monumental "History of Utah" and other works and his place among the immortals is secure. His advocacy of the cause of Woman Suffrage in the Utah State Constitutional Convention will live in history, and rank him among Utah's most gifted orators and statesmen. Of the poems of Orson F. Whitney, the following, though not his loftiest, was always a favorite with the writer: The Mountain and the Vale There's a mountain named Stern Justice, Tall and towering, gloomy, grand. Frowning o'er a vale called Mercy, Loveliest in all the land. Great and mighty is the mountain But its snowy crags are cold, And in vain the sunlight lingers On the summit proud and bold. There is warmth within the valley, And I love to wander there, 'Mid the fountain and the flowers, Breathing fragrance on the air. Much I love the solemn mountain It doth meet my solemn mood, When, amid the muttering thunders O'er my soul the storm-clouds brood. But when tears, like rain, have fallen From the fountain of my woe, And my soul has lost its fierceness, Straight into the vale I go. Where the landscape, gently smiling, O'er my heart pours healing balm, And, as oil on troubled waters, Brings from out its storm a calm. Yes, I love both vale arid mountain, Ne'er from either would I part; Each unto my life is needful, Both are dear unto my heart. For the smiling vale doth soften All the rugged steeps make sad, And from icy rocks meander Rills that make the valley glad. IT would be flattery to say that Bishop Whitney was impeccable. There was only one perfect mortal who ever lived on this earth, and He was the Man of Galilee. "But," says one eminent writer, "it is not by faults, but by excellencies that we must measure greatness." Lord Beaconsfield said: "A great man is one who affects the mind of his generation." Daniel Webster: "A solemn and religious regard for spiritual and eternal things is an indispensable element of greatness;" and Emerson puts it this way: "Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force; that thoughts rule the world." Carlyle wrote: "Great souls are always loyally submissive; reverent to what is over them." All of these qualities were finely blended in the character of Orson F. Whitney; and judged by these and other standards of excellence, he can, by his own people at least, truly be called great. BISHOP WHITNEY, as he was lovingly called by his friends during and since his twenty-eight years as father of the Eighteenth Ward, was blessed with two wonderful companions. His first wife, Zina Beal Smoot, was the daughter of Abraham O. Smoot, the second Mayor of Salt Lake City, and sister of Senator Reed Smoot. She was a beautiful woman, gifted in many ways. Her native wit was the subject of frequent comment among her associates. Bishop Whitney often said that when he was at a loss to find the right word to use in a poem or article, "Zine" promptly supplied the proper one. She passed away in 1900, having borne her husband nine children, seven of whom survive, viz: Emily (Mrs. Winslow Farr Smith), Helen (Mrs. J. W. Timpson), Byron, Albert Owen, Margaret (Mrs. Lester C. Essig), Paul, and Virginia (Mrs. Dr. Don C. James), the last two being twins. His second wife, May Wells, who survives him, is the daughter of General Daniel H. Wells, one of the Counselors to Brigham Young, and also one of the early mayors of Salt Lake City. She also is a lovely character, artistic in taste and temperament to a high degree. She was a worthy and faithful helpmeet to her illustrious husband, not only in mothering Zina's children and her own two boys — Murray and Wendell—but in her ardent encouragement of his literary and spiritual work. SOME people have said that Orson F. Whitney was not a practical man. From a material sense that may be true. But he was practical and past master in showing humanity the simple way to gain eternal life. In the foreword of "Through Memory's Halls" he addresses his children as follows: "I cannot bequeathe to you gold and silver, houses and lands. My life has not been spent in acquiring earthly riches. My parents gave me something far more precious than that which moth and rust can corrupt or thieves break through and steal. They taught me true and noble principles, and shed the light of a good example upon the path they wished me to pursue. I have tried to do as much for my sons and daughters, and the manner of my trying and some of the results are set forth in these memoirs, which I leave as a legacy to my posterity." The measure of the man is embodied in this paragraph. He was outstanding as one always ready to defend the faith and proclaim the Gospel without fear or favor. And what is more in this age" of doubt and Godlessness, he was fundamentally sound. Quoting the words of President Charles A. Callis of the Southern States Mission, he had "that wonderful gift, God-given, of making the Gospel truths glow with beauty and eternal freshness," "A prince has fallen in Israel." |
Elder Orson Ferguson Whitney
|
Horne, Percy Martin. "Orson F. Whitney." Improvement Era. July 1931. pg. 510.
Orson F. Whitney
Percy Martin Horne
ANOTHER David slings his smoldered brand
Far out upon the dark, restless flood;
The head falls stricken, and the frozen blood
Runs slower in the veins,—from those still hands
The lyre flails, neglected, to the sands
And wails a broken monody.
Oh God, Was he not Prince of Poets?
Like the sod His songs were,—deep, majestic organ tones
That thundered mid a sea of little moans,
Small waves of sound that scattered at his feet.
He knew the mighty peak, the lofty height,
Where deep-voiced storms were hollowed to a roar.
The tempest was his mighty avatar,
The eagle's shadow marked his starry flight.
He knew the secrets of the day and night;
He knew the Hand that held Celestial Power
Above the gloom-wrapt, unpredicted hour
When stricken mortals cried aloud for aid.
In evil, his reproach was like a blade
That cut the evil-doer to the heart.
O Weep! for the proud head that pillowed lies
In dreamless slumber!—how it used to lift
Majestical above the wayward drift
Of little minds, and their indignant cries.
He faced the "Argument" with flashing eyes,
Yet calm, unruffled mien. What dignity
Was in his step,-—if we could only see
Him walk the earth once more. If we had known
How soon his death, then surely we had grown
More mindful of his countenance serene.
Yet, wherefore weep? Come, let us think instead
Of his glad welcome in the world that lies
Beyond our clay-stopped ears and eager eyes,
As on he wings through that bright myriad.
Think how the countless millions of the dead
May know the inspiration of his voice, --
And how the hosts of heaven must rejoice
That he has come to grace the Halls of God.
O Poet, while we clamor for the Rod,
Your mind is free to wing the heights beyond!
Orson F. Whitney
Percy Martin Horne
ANOTHER David slings his smoldered brand
Far out upon the dark, restless flood;
The head falls stricken, and the frozen blood
Runs slower in the veins,—from those still hands
The lyre flails, neglected, to the sands
And wails a broken monody.
Oh God, Was he not Prince of Poets?
Like the sod His songs were,—deep, majestic organ tones
That thundered mid a sea of little moans,
Small waves of sound that scattered at his feet.
He knew the mighty peak, the lofty height,
Where deep-voiced storms were hollowed to a roar.
The tempest was his mighty avatar,
The eagle's shadow marked his starry flight.
He knew the secrets of the day and night;
He knew the Hand that held Celestial Power
Above the gloom-wrapt, unpredicted hour
When stricken mortals cried aloud for aid.
In evil, his reproach was like a blade
That cut the evil-doer to the heart.
O Weep! for the proud head that pillowed lies
In dreamless slumber!—how it used to lift
Majestical above the wayward drift
Of little minds, and their indignant cries.
He faced the "Argument" with flashing eyes,
Yet calm, unruffled mien. What dignity
Was in his step,-—if we could only see
Him walk the earth once more. If we had known
How soon his death, then surely we had grown
More mindful of his countenance serene.
Yet, wherefore weep? Come, let us think instead
Of his glad welcome in the world that lies
Beyond our clay-stopped ears and eager eyes,
As on he wings through that bright myriad.
Think how the countless millions of the dead
May know the inspiration of his voice, --
And how the hosts of heaven must rejoice
That he has come to grace the Halls of God.
O Poet, while we clamor for the Rod,
Your mind is free to wing the heights beyond!
"Orson Ferguson Whitney." Instructor. July 1931. pg. 404-405.
Orson Ferguson Whitney The passing of Elder Orson Ferguson Whitney, of the Council of the Twelve, on May 16th, took from the Church and Community an outstanding character—a man it will be difficult to replace. Brother Whitney was possessed of many excellent talents—more than is usually found in one person. An actor of great ability, a good singer, a delightful conversationalist, a humorist of keen and ready wit,—all combined to make him an entertainer of high order. And these talents, in addition to his more dignified attainments as poet, author, historian, statesman, orator and preacher, perfectly blended in him and produced an extraordinary personality. Of revolutionary and pioneer stock, he cleaved to the standards of his fathers. He was always clear-minded in regard to governmental policies, and fundamentally sound in Church doctrine as revealed in these last days to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The passing of Elder Whitney is said to have been almost beatific. With no fear of death, his family around him, conscious almost to the last and full of blessing for all, he entered the portals of the beyond as the rising sun bathed the beautiful valley with its morning rays—the whole scene being more typical of a glorious resurrection than of a death. Elder Orson F. Whitney's life and character are written in the books, poems, orations and sermons he has left behind to immortalize his name here on earth. And in the Lamb's Book of Life he has recorded such a service for his fellow men as will insure him a Celestial Glory hereafter, His wife and children have been bequeathed a legacy beyond earthly value and the Church has been enriched to a high degree by his life and works. Blessed be the memory of Orson F. Whitney! |
ORSON FERGUSON WHITNEY
|
Asper, James E. "Orson F. Whitney - Poet." Improvement Era. February 1950. pg. 100, 148-149.
Orson F. Whitney – Poet By James E. Asper Among those early residents of Salt Lake Valley, there was one, L Orson Ferguson Whitney, who maintained "that a people cannot perish as long as its literature lives." Throughout his life he pursued the fine arts and found expression for his own writing almost exclusively through the media of poetry and poetic prose. He was an avid reader of not only the scripture but the classics as well, especially of Homer and Milton. His ideal was analogous to Milton's. His poetry was didactic and of a religious nature. His philosophy concerning the education of the people shows definite Miltonic influence. Elder Whitney was constantly reminding his people, through the medium of his profound verse, what Milton had earlier stated: The end, then, of learning is to repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of that knowledge to love him, to be like him, as we may be the nearest by possessing our souls of true virtue, which being united to the heavenly grace of faith, makes up the highest perfection.[1] The purpose of writing, then, as Elder Whitney saw it, is to draw man close to God; more exactly, the purpose of poetry is to give man the key to the symbolism of the universe. In his essay on Poets and Poetry, Orson F. Whitney stated: There are many who think there is no poetry in religion. Such I fear, do not know what poetry means, or what religion means. Religion is full of poetry and poetry is full of religion. . . . The fabled fire that Prometheus filched from heaven is not more strikingly a symbol for poetic inspiration than is the Spirit of the eternal God the very muse that has inspired all true poetry that was ever written.[2] During the years 1870-1874 at the University of Deseret, now the University of Utah, Orson F. Whitney and a few friends organized the Wasatch Literary Association. He was its first and, four years later, its last president. He was then becoming recognized for his poetry, and even then he contemplated writing an epic poem explaining the philosophy and doctrine of Mormonism. However, it was not until 1904 that his ambition was realized. His epic, Elias, was then published in an edition de luxe, limited to one hundred and fifty copies. Later a less pretentious edition was subscribed for by his friends. Previous to this time he had been writing lyrical poems of a religious nature. No doubt these poems gave him the impetus to write a poem of the character and scope of Elias. Elder Whitney had prayed in poetry for the conviction and strength to undertake this task. His lines in "The Poet's Prayer" exemplify this faith: God of my fathers! Friend of humankind! Almighty molder of creative mind, That sitt'st enthroned aloft from mortal ken, Showering thy mercies on the sons of men! It was this God to whom he prayed within his lines; this is the God from whom he would seek inspiration to write an epic. He felt that if God had endowed him with the mind—the sensibility of a poet, he would be one, otherwise he would fail. In one of his acclaimed critical essays, he stated: Education cannot make a good poet; though it may polish and develop one. The poet is the child of nature [of God], and, as the old proverb says, "is born not made."[3] Orson F. Whitney's literary life falls very naturally into three divisions. The first, an early poetic period, is marked principally by his short lyrics and an occasional satire. These were published in 1889. His early poems are distinguished by their religious fervor, sincerity, and conversational tone. They contain, generally, richer imagery than his later works, though they are, compared to his later Elias, mere fragments. The second, or epic period, is one in which Elder Whitney became widely recognized for his genius. The third and final period, in the light of the Church, is his greatest. He was ordained an Apostle, April 9, 1906, when he was fifty-one. It was then he became renowned for his letters and prophetic counsel. Elder Whitney's friends remember his poetry for the solace it gave to them. His critics, many who have never seen him, praise the profundity of Elias, knowing little of the author himself. Elias—An Epic of the Ages is as the author states in the foreword of his book: An attempt to present, in verse form, historically, doctrinally, and prophetically, the vast theme comprehended in what the world terms "Mormonism." In the "Argument," he briefly defines his purpose as follows: The aim of this poem is to point out those manifestations of the Divine Mind and those impulsions from human enterprise which have contributed in all ages to the progress of the race toward perfection.[4] At the time Orson F. Whitney started this poem, he was ill. He prayed in all humility that he might live to realize his ambitions, the greatest being the creation of Elias, for he desired more than anything else in the world to continue his ministry as a teacher after his mortal tongue was stilled. He recovered from his illness and was inspired to write this epic and perform many good material deeds before his death. The poem is written in conventional epic form, twelve parts— a prelude, ten cantos, and an epilogue. The measure is English heroic verse, with and without rhyme. Whitney rejects rhyme in some cantos for no other apparent reason than that blank verse fits the mood better. He opens the poem with a spiritual awakening. In Canto I and throughout the poem, the Holy Spirit acting through Elias, the genius of progress, is manifested. Here, in Canto I, we read of the theme that prevails throughout the work—one of the main purposes of the poem. The theme is eternal life, salvation, faith, and good works on earth. And in his spiritual awakening the author conceives it as follows: Naught can be vain that leadeth unto light; Struggle and stress, not plaudit, maketh strong; Victor and vanquished equally may win, Climbing far heights, where fame, eternal fame, White as the gleaming cloak of Arctic hills, Rests as a mantle, fadeless, faultless, pure, On loftiest lives, whose snowy peaks, sun-crowned, Receive but to dispense their blessedness. Eternal life demands a selfless love. Hampered by pride, greed, hate, what soul can grow, Conceive a selfish God! thou canst not, man! Then let it shame thee unto higher things. Who strives for self hates other men's success; Who seeks God's glory welcomes rivalry. Seeking, not gift, but Giver, thou shalt find No sacrifice but changes part for whole. Fare on, full sure that greatest glory comes, And swiftest growth, from serving humankind. Toil on, for toil is treasure, thine for aye; A pauper he who boasts an empty name. The poem develops smoothly, and in Canto II the author changes his rhyme scheme to a lyrical form in depicting the soul of song. Here the epic of time and eternity is sung, and Elias makes his first appearance. Here the author makes reference to a new Zion which is to stand upon the ancient site of the Garden of Eden. Here he satirizes poets who exalt the material over the spiritual, the sensuous over the intellectual. Let us note now how he alludes to this in Canto II of Elias: See now my sacred heritage, the prey Of ribald rhymesters, sensuous, half obscene; Of gloating censors, glad o'er my decay, And deeming all but best I ne'er had been! The body's bard throned, sceptering the scene, A groveling worshiper of earth and time. Arise! and with thy soul's celestial sheen, Shame these false meteors, change the ruling chime; My minstrel, I thy muse, sing thou the song sublime! Canto III is concerned with the gospel of Christ, God's love for man. The divine plan of human guidance is explained, the plan embracing the fall and redemption of man. Here the Mormon doctrine of man's purpose is explained and the poem from then on falls back on this teaching: The love that hath redeemed all worlds All worlds must still redeem: But mercy cannot justice rob -- Oh, where were Elohim? Freedom—man's faith, man's work, God's grace -- Must span the great gulf o'er; Life, death, the guerdon or the doom, Rejoice we or deplore. Canto IV through to the end of the poem sweeps powerfully through the doctrine of the Church. We see am allegory of the Christian dispensation, following the death of Jesus; we read of Ramah and Cumorah, Book of Mormon names. These two factors lead up to the Book of Mormon and the content of this volume. The book is considered as a testimony to God and a testimony of the Bible. It embodies the prehistoric story of America, related by the angel custodian to the translator of the buried book of gold. The entire story of the foundation of the Church is unveiled, and reference is made to America as the land of Zion. The Gentile comes, as destiny decrees, To Zion's land, for freedom held in store, The poem ends with Elias, the angel, ascending from the east. His response forms the body of the epilogue, and the sign of the second coming of Christ is given. And with this prophecy, Elias is heralded as the prophet of the dawn. This was Elias—an epic of the ages—and this was Orson F. Whitney. He was part of it. Innumerable poets were inspired by his lines to carry on where he left off. After the publication of Elias, Elder Whitney lived twenty-seven years to see the merit and teaching of his work. His work was his philosophy, and his thought that "a people cannot perish as long as its literature lives," has proved true. There are critics in our modern age who have said that there has not been, prior to the twentieth century, any noteworthy literature from the west, that it is actually just now beginning. Could it be that these men have not read the works of Orson F. Whitney, or, having read, been prejudiced before they turned the title page? Those who uphold such an idea would do well to compare Whitney's scholarly work with any now on sale in our bookstores. [1] John Milton, Of Education [2] Orson F. Whitney, Poetical Writings of. Salt Lake City, 1899, pp. 165-166 [3] Ibid. 159 [4] Whitney, Elias, An Epic of the Ages. Salt Lake City, 1914, ix |
ORSON F. WHITNEY
1855-1931 |