Once again, in
the providences of the Almighty, Israel mourns the
loss of one of its mightiest sons. Death seldom
comes at a time we deem opportune; and if we, in
our blindness, were permitted to judge, we should
certainly decide that the present, with its trials,
its perplexities and its sorrows, is no time to take
from our midst men of counsel, of wisdom, of faith
and of judgment, such as was our beloved brother,
Elder Erastus Snow, whose funeral obsequies you
this day solemnize. But He who doeth all
things well has been pleased to take to himself
His servant, and we can simply bow the head and
acknowledge His hand in all things; and with one of old exclaim: "The Lord giveth and the
Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord." [Job 1:21]
The peculiarities of our position prevent
us from personally joining with you in this tribute
of respect to our departed, and now sanctified, brother,
whose departure from this mortal sphere has doubt-
less been hastened by the same causes that pre-
vent us from joining you on this sad occasion.
This enforced absence we sincerely regret, as we
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