I thought I would share a story with you about your Fourth-Great Grandfather,
Dennison Lott Harris
This story was told by Dallin H. Oaks in the April 1987 General Conference.
But it can also be found in greater detail on Family Search.
As
a boy, I was inspired by a story of courage in Nauvoo, which involved my
grandfather’s uncle. In the spring of 1844, some men were plotting against the
Prophet Joseph Smith. One of the leaders, William Law, held a secret meeting at
his home in Nauvoo. Among those invited were nineteen-year-old Dennison Lott
Harris and his friend, Robert Scott. Dennison’s father, Emer Harris, who is my
second great-grandfather, was also invited. He sought counsel from the Prophet
Joseph Smith, who told him not to attend the meeting but to have the young men
attend. The Prophet instructed them to pay close attention and report what was
said.
The
spokesmen at this first meeting denounced Joseph Smith as a fallen prophet and
stated their determination to destroy him. When the Prophet heard this, he
asked the young men to attend the second meeting. They did so, and reported the
plotting.
A
third meeting was to be held a week later. Again the Prophet asked them to
attend, but he told them this would be their last meeting. “Be careful to
remain silent and not to make any covenants or promises with them,” he
counseled. He also cautioned them on the great danger of their mission.
Although he thought it unlikely, it was possible they would be killed. Then,
the Prophet Joseph Smith blessed Dennison and Robert by the power of the
priesthood, promising them that if their lives were taken, their reward would
be great.
In
the strength of this priesthood blessing, they attended the third meeting and
listened to the murderous plans. Then, when each person was required to take an
oath to join the plot and keep it secret, they bravely refused. After everyone
else had sworn secrecy, the whole group turned on Dennison and Robert,
threatening to kill them unless they took the oath also. Because any refusal
threatened the secrecy of their plans, about half of the plotters proposed to
kill these two immediately. Knives were drawn, and angry men began to force
them down into a basement to kill them.
Other
plotters shouted to wait. Parents probably knew where they were. If they didn’t
return, an alarm would be sounded and a search could reveal the boys’ deaths
and the secret plans. During a long argument, two lives hung in the balance.
Finally, the group decided to threaten to kill the young men if they ever
revealed anything that had occurred and then to release them. This was done.
Despite this threat, and because they had followed the Prophet’s counsel not to
make any promises to the conspirators, Dennison and Robert promptly reported
everything to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
For
their own protection, the Prophet had these courageous young men promise him
that they would never reveal this experience, not even to their fathers, for at
least twenty years. A few months later, the Prophet Joseph Smith was murdered.
Many
years passed. The members of the Church settled in the West. While Dennison L.
Harris was serving as bishop of the Monroe Ward in southern Utah, he met a
member of the First Presidency at a Church meeting in Ephraim. There, on
Sunday, 15 May 1881, thirty-seven years after the Prophet Joseph Smith had
sealed his lips to protect him against mob vengeance, Dennison Harris recited
this experience to President Joseph F. Smith (see Verbal Statement of Bishop Dennison
L. Harris, 15 May 1881, MS 2725, Historical Department, The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City; the account was later published in
the Contributor, Apr. 1884, pp. 251–60). Dennison Harris’s posterity includes
many notable Latter-day Saints, including Franklin S. Harris, long-time
president of Brigham Young University.
