looked at me squarely with a not unkind premonition of a
smile.

President Woodruff continued silent. Ordinarily, anything that came
from the Lord was quite convincing to him and needed no argument (in his
mind) to make it convincing to others. I could not suppose that the
look of determination on my face troubled him. It was more likely that
something unusual in the mental attitudes of his councillors was the
cause of his hesitation; and with this suspicion to arouse me I
became increasingly aware (as the conference proceeded) of two rival
watchfulnesses upon me.

"Well?" I said. "What was it you wanted of me?"

Smith looked up at the President. And Smith had always, hitherto, seemed
so unseeing of consequences, and, therefore, unappreciative of means,
that his betrayal of interest was indicative of purpose. I thought I
could detect, in the communication which his manner made, the plan of
my father's ecclesiastical rivals to remove him from the scene of his
supreme influence over the President, and the plan of ambitious church
politicians to remove me from their path by the invocation of God's word
appointing father to the Senate.

"Frank," the President announced, "it is the will of the Lord that your
father should go to the Senate from Utah."

As he hesitated, I said: "Well, President Woodruff?"

He added, with less decision: "And we want you to tell us how to bring
it about?"

It was evident that getting the revelation was easy to his spiritualized
mind, but that fulfilling it was difficult to his unworldliness.

"President Woodruff," I replied, "you have received the revelation on
the wrong point. You do not need a voice from heaven to convince anyone
that my father is worthy to go to the Senate, but you will need a
revelation to tell how he is to get there."

He seemed to raise himself to the inspiration of divine authority. "The
only difficulty that we have encountered," he said, "is the fact that
the legislators are pledged to you. Will you not release them from their
promises and tell them to vote for your father?"

"No," I said. "And my father would not permit me to do it, even if I
could. He knows that I gave my word of honor to my supporters to stand
as a candidate, no matter who might enter against me. He knows that he
and I have given our pledges at Washington that political dictation in
Utah by the heads of the Mormon Church shall cease. Of all men in Utah
we cannot be amenable to such dictati