Goudy E. Hogan — The Spirit of God Pours Upon Joseph Smith's Words; Young Men Walk Miles to Hear Him (c. 1843)

Goudy E. Hogan was a teenager in Nauvoo, Illinois, who had a remarkable spiritual experience through the preaching and teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith. His testimony, preserved among the recollections of those who knew the Prophet, provides a powerful witness of the spiritual power that attended Joseph Smith's words and the hunger for spiritual nourishment that the youth of Nauvoo felt.

As a young man, Goudy Hogan was "very anxious to go to meeting" to hear the Prophet Joseph Smith speak — even though it meant walking eight miles from his home to Nauvoo. This was no small undertaking in the 1840s: eight miles on foot, each way, to hear a sermon. Yet Hogan and many other young people in the Nauvoo area were willing to make this sacrifice because of the spiritual power they felt when Joseph Smith taught.

What made Joseph Smith's teaching so compelling to the youth of Nauvoo? The recollections of those who heard him provide the answer: the Spirit of God accompanied his words. When Joseph taught, the Holy Ghost bore witness of the truth. Young people who heard him were not merely informed; they were transformed by the power of the Spirit that attended his ministry.

Hogan's experience is representative of many similar accounts from the youth of Nauvoo. Eleven-year-old Alvah Alexander said, "No amusement or games were as interesting to me as to hear [the Prophet Joseph Smith] talk." Seven-year-old Mary Field Garner said, "We did not complain... We were too thankful to be at Nauvoo... and listen to [Joseph Smith's] teachings." Young John Pulsipher thrilled at the chance to hear the Prophet's "instruction weekly and sometimes daily."

The spiritual hunger and spiritual fulfillment these young people experienced through Joseph Smith's ministry is remarkable as a miracle of spiritual conversion and the outpouring of the Spirit for several reasons:

— It demonstrates the extraordinary spiritual power that attended Joseph Smith's words. Young people were willing to walk miles, sacrifice leisure time, and endure hardship simply to hear him teach — not because of entertainment or charisma, but because of the Spirit of God that accompanied his words.

— It fulfills the Savior's promise: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). The youth of Nauvoo hungered for the words of the Prophet, and they were filled with the Spirit of God.

— It shows that Joseph Smith's prophetic gift was recognized by the most discerning of audiences: children and young people, who are often the most sensitive to the presence of the Spirit. The youth of Nauvoo recognized in Joseph Smith a man of God whose words carried divine power.

— It illustrates the pattern of the Restoration: the Lord poured out His Spirit through His prophet, and the youth of the Church were the most eager recipients. Many of the young people who heard Joseph Smith in Nauvoo became the faithful leaders of the next generation of the Church.

Goudy E. Hogan's testimony stands as a powerful witness of the spiritual power that attended Joseph Smith's ministry and the hunger for righteousness that the youth of Nauvoo felt. It is a reminder that the prophetic gift of teaching was accompanied by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, and that those who sought spiritual nourishment from the Prophet were filled.