Chapter I: Front Matter (1)

SCRAP BOOK OF MORMON LITERATURE

VOL. II

Religious Tracts

Published by

Ben. E. Rich

"_We have gathered posies,
From other men's flowers;
Nothing but the thread that
Binds them is ours_."

{i}

GENERAL INDEX

STATEMENT FROM JOSIAH QUINCY, MAYOR OF BOSTON, 1845-1849, CONCERNING AN INTERVIEW HAD IN 1844 WITH JOSEPH SMITH, THE MORMON PROPHET: Some of the Sayings and Predictions Made by the Prophet Joseph Smith--A Letter to Mr. Wentworth from the Prophet in Answer to a Request from Him for a Statement of Belief, to Be Published in the Chicago "Democrat"--The Prophet's Assassination--Extracts from Governor Ford's History of Illinois Concerning the Martyrdom, with Comments.--Compiled by Ben. E. Rich, 3.

DEDICATION OF PALESTINE: The Prayer.--By Apostle Orson Hyde, 36.

THE RESURRECTION: Purpose of Man's Existence--Component Parts of Body Never Destroyed--Literal Resurrection--Testimony of Resurrection by Ezekiel, Job, Daniel, Luke, John, Matthew, Paul--Book of Mormon Prophet's Testimony of the Resurrection, Abinadi, Jacob, Amulek, Alma, Samuel, Words of Jesus, Moroni--Testimony of Joseph Smith--Extract from the Prophecy of Enoch.--By President Brigham Young, 40.

CELESTIAL FAMILY ORGANIZATION.--By Parley P. Pratt in His Publication, "The Prophet," published in New York City, 1845, 52.

SALVATION FOR THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: Liberality of the "Mormon" Faith--Characteristics of True Religion--Universal Salvation--But One God and One Faith--Sincerity Not Conclusive Evidence of Truth--Oneness of the Church of Christ--True Gospel Again Revealed from Heaven--Gospel Will Be Preached to Every Soul--But Few Will Be Lost--Salvation for the Dead--Different Degrees of Glory--Liberality of the Gospel--Everlasting Punishment--Work in the Spirit World--Cherish No Evil Feeling--A Discourse by Charles W. Penrose, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, August 19, 1900, 59.

MORMONISM JUDGED BY ITS EFFECTS: Testimony of Converts--Effects of Mormonism--Preaching the Gospel--Mormons a Happy People--Mormonism Causes Unity--Education--Natural Benefits Derived from Mormonism--By Charles W. Penrose, in "Millennial Star," 1886, 78.

{ii} THE "RE-ORGANIZED" CHURCH VS. SALVATION FOR THE DEAD: Claims of The "Re-organized" Church--Keys for Vicarious Work Restored--Baptism for Dead Commenced--Temples Built--Keys Bestowed Upon the Twelve Apostles--Church Rejected with Its Dead--Baptism for the Dead Discontinued by "Josephites"--Importance of the Work for the Dead--Dead Judged Out of Records--Prophet Preaches on Work for Dead--Early Prophets Preached Salvation for the Dead--Necessity of Temples--Sacred Ordinances Must Be Performed in the Temple--An Editorial from the "Times and Seasons" Written by the Prophet Joseph Smith on Salvation for the Dead--By Joseph F. Smith, Jr, 83.

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR FAULTS.--By Elder Orson F. Whitney, in "Millennial Star," 1882, 100.

AN INTERVIEW IN THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION ON THE "MORMON" FAITH: Book of Mormon--What the Book of Mormon Teaches--First Principles--Gifts of the Holy Ghost--Prophecy--Authority--Apostasy--Restoration--Organization-- Ecclesiastical Government--Necessity of Baptism--Mode of Baptism--Infant Baptism--Salvation for the Dead--Eternal and Everlasting Punishment--Graded Salvation and Damnation--Personality of the Godhead--Atonement and Fall--Bible Alone Not Sufficient--Marriage--Morality of the Mormons--Belief in a Personal Satan--Future Punishment--The Earth to Be Purified--By Elder Ben. E. Rich, 103.

TWO LETTERS TO A BAPTIST MINISTER: Rev. J. Whitcomb Brougher, Pastor First Baptist Church, Chattanooga, Tenn., Delivered Two Sermons from His Pulpit Upon "Mormonism." They were tirades of falsehoods and misrepresentations from beginning to end; they were filled with much bitterness and hatred, and during one of his sermons he came as near advocating mob violence as he dared. These wholesale attacks called out the following open letters to the minister, which appeared in the Chattanooga "News." (There were so many calls for copies of these letters, and to meet the demands they were published in pamphlet form.) Christ's Church Always Evily Spoken Against--Spaulding Manuscript Story--Restoration of the Gospel--Christ's Second Coming--The Existence of a God--God Has a Body, Parts and Passions--Belief in Many Gods--Is Mormonism a System of Lust--"Mormons" Live in Their Own Homes--Loyalty of the Mormons--Authority--Are We to a Unity--Baptism Is Essential--False Charges--Missionary Work--The Book of Mormon--Elder Ben. E. Rich, 122.

MORMONS AND MORMONISM: The Mormon People, Their Industry, Education and Morals--What Is Thought of These People by a Non-Mormon of Many Years Residence Among Them--By Their Fruits--Like the Pilgrim Fathers--Their Staff and Comfort--What They Accomplished in Thirty-two Years--Education--Morals--Cause of Persecution--The New Crusade--Disfranchisement of Mormons--Political Conditions--B. H. Roberts Case--Lecture by Charles Ellis, a Non-Mormon, 145.

{iii} PROPHETS AND APOSTLES NECESSARY: Tendency of Mankind to Accept Dead Prophets and Reject Living Ones--Prophecy Fulfilled--Revelation Necessary--Necessity of Officers in the Church--By the late President Geo. Q. Cannon, in the "Millennial Star," 1866, 168.

COMPREHENSIVE SALVATION, OR THE GOSPEL TO LIVING AND DEAD: First Principles--Authority--Miraculous Gifts--Organization--Apostasy--Restoration--The Gospel Preached to the Spirits of the Departed--Different Degrees of Glory--Turning the Hearts of the Fathers to the Children, and the Children to the Fathers--By John Nicholson, 174.

THE MEANS OF ESCAPE, OR, EXISTING EVILS AND THEIR CURE: Christ's Second Coming--Restoration--Visions of the Prophet--Priesthood Restored--Persecution--Growth of the Church--Missionary Work--The Gathering--By Elder John Nicholson, 195.

THE LATTER DAY PROPHET: Prophets Needed and Should Be Expected--Organism of the Church of Christ--Effects of Obedience to the Doctrines Introduced by Joseph Smith--The Book of Mormon Authentic--Modern Prophecy and Its Fulfilment--By Elder John Nicholson, 200.

THE GOSPEL OPENS COMMUNICATION WITH JEHOVAH: Necessity of Adversity--Angels Have Appeared in the Last Days--Heaven--Condition of the World--Paragraphs from a Sermon Delivered by President John Taylor, June 12, 1853, 221.

A WORD OF ADVICE: Elders' Authority--Their Attitude Toward Ministers--Rely Upon Spirit of God--Advice to Missionaries--By Elder Parley P. Pratt, in "Millennial Star," 1846, 226.

A Prophet of Latter Days.

A GLORIOUS THOUGHT: Should Prophets Be Expected in Our Day--God's Word Indicates that a Prophet Should Come--Prophets Sent to Announce All Important Events--Positive Promise of the Lord to Send a Messenger--Necessity of Prophets and Apostles in the Church--Church Founded Upon Prophets and Apostles--Power Given Apostles and Prophets--Object of Inspired Men in the Church--How Long They Should Remain--Is the Canon of Scripture Full--Without Modern Revelation Bible Prophecies Cannot Be Fulfilled--Treatment of Prophets in Past Ages--Jesus a Stumbling Stone--Many Prophets Rejected--Persecution to Follow All Inspired Teachers--Conclusions Drawn from Scriptures Quoted--Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 230.

{iv} WAS JOSEPH SMITH A PROPHET? Testimony of His Works--Judging by the Fruits--Joseph Smith's Claim--His Claim Compared with Scripture--Predictions that the Gospel Should Be Restored--Joseph Smith Treated the Same as Ancient Prophets--Account of Some of His Works--Bible Prophecies Fulfilled--Church Organization the Same as Formerly--Same Doctrines as in Former Days--The Holy Ghost Received--How to Obtain Proof--Outward Proofs--Testimony of Witnesses--Ancient Prophecies Being Fulfilled--The Gathering of Israel--Gathering Peculiar to Latter-Day Saints--Events in the History of the Saints--Words of the Psalmist Fulfilled--Isaiah's Prediction Fulfilled--A Prophecy of Malachi--Salvation for the Dead--Facts Proven--Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 235.

JOSEPH SMITH'S WORKS: Evidence of His Inspiration--Scriptural Tests--Prediction of the Angel--None Can Stop God's Work--"A Marvelous Work"--Testimony of Disinterested Men--Prophecy About War--Fulfilled Twenty-eight Years Afterwards--Predicted Men's Lives Would Be Spared--The Saints' Exodus Foretold--Gathering Predicted--Joseph Smith as an Expounder of Scripture--Church Organization--All His Works Proclaim Him a Prophet--Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 254.

THE BOOK OF MORMON: An Evidence of the Inspiration of Joseph Smith--Its Purport--Impossible to Write Without Divine Aid--Prophecies in the Book of Mormon--A Bible! A Bible!--Isaiah's Prophecy--Book Gives a Test of Its Truth--Attested by Direct Evidence--Testimony of Three Witnesses--Testimony of Witnesses Unchanged--Testimony of Eight Witnesses--Secular Proof of the Book of Mormon--Colonists from the Tower of Babel--Origin Before the Christian Era--Of Hebrew Origin--Indian Customs--Indian Practice Resembling the Passover--Tradition of a Sacred Book--Acquainted with the Old Testament Record--Tradition of Moses--Tradition of Eve--Tradition of the Flood--Led by Youngest Brother--Engraved on Plates of Metal--Egyptian Writings--Evidences of Advanced Civilization--Ruins Discovered--Indians All of One Origin--Ruins in Yucatan--Ancient Glass Jar--A Ruined City--Ancient Coins and Implements--Destruction at the Time of the Crucifixion--Ruins on the Ridge of a Mountain--Destroyed by the Action of Heat--Remains Found Under Lava Beds--Discovery of a Hidden City--Evidences of Great Eruptions--The Messiah Known to the Ancient Inhabitants of America--The Cross as an Emblem--Knowledge of the Godhead--Tradition of the Christ--Strong Proofs of the Truth of the Book of Mormon--Conclusion--Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 260.

MARKS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST: The Outward Signs by Which It May Be Known--Outward Signs by Which Christ's Gospel May Be Known--Character of His Church--Knowledge the Outcome of True Faith--How It May Be Obtained--An Illustration--Parable of the Sower--Where Is the True Gospel and Church of Christ?--By Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 291.

SIGNS OF CHRIST'S SECOND COMING: What the Bible Says Concerning His Advent--What the Saviour and the Ancient Prophets Say Concerning It--The Many Things to Take Place Before that Great Event--The Signs Already Appearing--By Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 304.

{v} SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH OBEDIENCE: Important Questions Concerning Salvation Answered by the Word of God--Bible Teachings Upon This Subject--Important Questions Concerning Salvation Answered by the Word of God--Salvation Free to All Who Will Obey--Faith Alone Will Not Save--True Faith Cannot Be Separated from Works of Obedience--Illustrations of Salvation by Grace--By Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 313.

THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST: Rules That Must Be Observed by All Who Enter Christ's Church--What Is Salvation--Our Own Sins--What Is the Gospel--The First Rule--Faith--Nature of Faith--Power of Faith--Necessity of Miraculous Gifts--Existence of Faith Shown by Works--Another Evidence of Faith--The Second Rule--Repentance--Meaning of Repentance--Necessity of Repentance--The Third Rule--Baptism--True Mode of Baptism--What Baptism Is For--Other Purposes of Baptism--The Baptism of Infants--Those Who Have Died Without Baptism--Baptism a Test of Obedience--The Fourth Rule--Laying On of Hands--Necessity of Laying On of Hands--Office of the Holy Spirit--Rules Herein Explained--By Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 321.

AN ANGEL WITH THE GOSPEL: Rev. 14: 6, 7, Analyzed--Angel Moroni's Mission Not Completed--Angels--Judgments to Come Upon the World--By Elder Orson Pratt, in "Millennial Star," 1866, 333.

THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH ON DOCTRINE: Extracts from a Sermon Delivered at Nauvoo, June 27, 1839, Taken from the "Historical Record"--First Principles--Purpose of the Gifts of Tongues--Resurrection and Eternal Judgment--Election--Effects of the Holy Ghost Upon Gentiles--Effects of the Holy Ghost Upon the Seed of Abraham--The Other Comforter, 337.

THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS AND THE WORLD: The Godhead--Testimony of John, Peter, Stephen--The Personality of God--Testimony of Abraham, Moses, Thomas, Zechariah, Paul, Joseph Smith--Faith and Works--Testimony of Paul, John, James--Repentance--Testimony of Paul, Noah, Abraham, Jonah, John--Water Baptism--Testimony of Paul, John, Nicodemus, Peter, Paul--The Holy Ghost--Testimony of John the Baptist, John, Paul--Baptism for the Dead--Testimony of Peter, Paul--Divine Authority--Testimony of Paul, Peter--By Elder William A. Morton, 340.

A CONGRESSMAN'S OPINION OF THE PROPHET: From the "Historical Record"--The Prophet in Washington During the Year 1840, 404.

AN ANNOUNCEMENT CONCERNING THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.--By Heber J. Grant, Tokyo, Japan, 405.

{vi} CORNER STONES OF REORGANIZATION: A Few Facts Concerning Its Founders Compiled from Early Church History--History of William Marks--Revelation to James J. Strong Given January 7, 1849--Record of Zenos H. Gurley--Jason W. Briggs, Another Founder of the New Organization--Authority--By German E. Ellsworth, 408.

IS BELIEF ALONE SUFFICIENT: Knowledge of God Necessary to Be Saved--Must Obey the Gospel--Works Necessary--Love Manifest by Keeping the Commandments--Faith and Works Necessary--By J. H. Paul, 423.

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS: Its Religion, History, Condition and Destiny--Antagonism Due to Misrepresentation--The Fulness of the Everlasting Gospel--The Godhead--Men Judged by Their Works--The Atonement--The Gospel Ordinances--Faith, Repentance, Baptism--Baptism for the Dead--The Holy Ghost--Divine Authority--Officers--Spiritual Gifts--The Apostasy--The Book of Mormon--Revelation--Restoration of the Gospel--Other Doctrines--A Glance at History--Present Condition--Future Destiny--The Gospel Message--By James H. Anderson, 1902, 429.

A WORD ABOUT SUCCESSION: From Saturday "News"--Was Not Necessary to Ordain President Young to Office of President of Church--The Prophet Intended Hyrum to Be the Next President Had He Lived--All the Keys of Authority Bestowed Upon the Heads of the Twelve Apostles by Joseph Smith--Brigham Young Accepted by People as Second President of Church, 460.

THE GOSPEL PIONEER: Faith--Repentance--Baptism--Laying on of Hands for Imparting the Holy Ghost--Authority to Preach and Administer--By William Jefferies, 464.

GLAD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY: Faith in God and Jesus Christ--Repentance--Baptism--The Holy Ghost--Organization--We Believe in Continuous Revelation from God--Obey the Doctrine of Christ--By Apostle George Teasdale, 484.

SUGGESTIONS TO ELDERS: Care in Administering Sacrament--Baptismal Ceremony--Laying on of Hands and Blessing Sick--Words to Be Used in Baptizing--Words Used in Confirming a Person a Member of the Church--Administering to the Sick--Anointing with Oil--By Elder B. H. Roberts, in "Millennial Star," 1888, 488.

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST: All Truth Included in the Gospel of Jesus Christ--The Gospel Plan Comprehends More Than This Planet--Gospel Taught Prior to Christ's Advent--Faith--Repentance--Baptism by Immersion--Gift of the Holy Ghost--Only One Gospel Plan--Evidence of Apostasy--Gospel Plan a Perfect One--Exclusive Plan--Man Saved by Gaining Knowledge--Faith and Works Necessary--Importance of the Message of the Humble Elders--By Elder Orson F. Whitney, in "Millennial Star," 1882, 492.

{vii} THE MISUSE OF POWER.--By Apostle Orson F. Whitney, in Millennial Star, 1882, 510.

HAPPINESS FOR THE SORROWFUL.--By Apostle Orson Pratt, Millennial Star, 1886, 514.

THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW WAY: Doctrine the Savior Taught--First Principles--Faith and Works--Repentance--Baptism--Object of Baptism--Subjects Fit for Baptism--Mode of Baptism--Gift of the Holy Ghost--The Blood of Christ--Authority--Salvation for the Dead--By Elder Ephraim H. Nye, 516.

A MOTHER'S INFLUENCE: A Few Words About the Findings and the Birth of Joseph F. Smith, 535.

IS BAPTISM ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION? 540.

ALLEGED "OBJECTIONABLE FEATURES" IN THE RELIGION OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS: Discoveries Made in South America Corroborating Claims of the Book of Mormon--Apostles and Prophets--Signs Following the Believers--Ordinance of Baptism Changed--By Elder Charles W. Staynor, 542.

LATTER-DAY SAINTS FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS OF THE SAVIOUR: Address Delivered at the Salt Lake Tabernacle Sunday, December 25, 1910, by President Joseph F. Smith--Adam's Mission on Earth--Temporal Death--Coming of Christ--The Second Death--Christ Both God and Man--First Born in the Spirit, Only Begotten of the Father in the Flesh, Immortal Father, Mortal Mother, thus Were Joined Together in Him Forever, Both God and Man--Resurrection--Spirit and Body of Christ--Preaching to Spirits in Prison--Broadness of God's Plan of Salvation--All Will Be Resurrected--Free Agency of Man--Saviour in America--Elements of Spirituality--Book of Mormon--Doctrines of Christ--Saviour's Birthday, 554.

{viii}

DOCTRINAL INDEX

Adam's mission on earth, 554.

Adam taught to offer sacrifice, 556.

Administering to Sick, 490.

Adversity, Necessity of, 222.

Ancient Prophets predict Christ's Second Coming, 306.

Angel with the Gospel, 333.

Angels appear in last days, 223.

Anointing with Oil, 491.

Apostasy, 108, 176, 445.

Apostasy, Evidence of, 502.

Apostles and Prophets, 545.

Archaeological discoveries corroborating claims of Book of Mormon, 281.

Articles of Faith, How they came to be written, 20.

Atonement, The, 117, 314, 434.

Authority, 17, 107, 132, 143, 297, 395, 442, 480.

Baptism, 117, 293, 326, 373, 437, 474, 485, 520.

Baptism Changed, Mode of, 552.

Baptism essential to Salvation, 540.

Baptism for Dead commenced, 84.

Baptism for the Dead, 181, 439.

Baptism for the Dead done away with by "Josephites," 87.

Baptism, Infant, 113, 329.

Baptism, Mode of, 113, 326, 498, 525.

Baptism, Necessity of, 112, 133, 142.

Baptism, Purpose of, 327, 521.

Baptism, Subjects fit for, 522.

Baptismal ceremony, 489.

Belief alone not sufficient, 118, 423.

Believers, Signs follow the, 547.

Book of Mormon, 104, 140, 206, 239, 260, 446, 543, 562.

Book of Mormon's coming forth fulfills ancient prophecy, 210.

Book of Mormon, Discoveries in South America corroborate claims of, 544.

Book of Mormon gives test of its truth, 264.

Book of Mormon teaches, What the, 105, 209.

Book of Mormon, The coming forth of the, 207.

Book of Mormon published, 209.

Book of Mormon, What it is, 448.

Briggs, Jason W., Record of, 418.

But few will be lost, 67.

Christ's birthday, 567.

Christ, Blood of, 527.

Christ both God and man, 555-557.

Christ's Father immortal and mother mortal, 558.

Christ first born in spiritual creation, 558.

Christ only begotten in flesh of God, 558.

Christ's second coming, 126, 196, 304.

Christ spoken evil against in primitive days, 124.

Christ visits Western Hemisphere, 213.

Church founded upon Apostles and Prophets, 231.

Church, Growth of, 197, 453.

Church Organization, 259.

Church property seized, 456.

Church rejected with its dead, 87.

Comforter, The other, 338.

Corroborative Book of Mormon evidence by Non-Mormons, 268.

Creation, spiritual, 555.

Crusade against Mormons, 158.

Dead judged out of records, 90.

Dead Prophets accepted and living Prophets rejected, 168.

Death, Temporal, 555.

Death, The second, 557.

Dedication of Palestine, 36.

Degrees of Glory, 72, 185.

Disfranchisement, 160.

Disobedience, Penalty of, 315.

Doctrine of Christ, 486, 564.

Earth to be purified, 121.

Education among Mormons, 80, 152.

Effects of Holy Ghost upon Gentiles, 338.

Effects of Holy Ghost upon seed of Abraham, 338.

Effects of Mormonism, 78.

Efficacy of Christ's atoning blood, 316.

{ix} Election, 337.

Elements, Eternal, 12.

Elders' Attitude towards ministers, 226.

Elders' authority, 226.

Elders, Duties of, 10.

Elders rely upon Spirit of God, 227.

Elders, What, should preach, 15.

Eternal Life, How to gain, 11.

Eternal principles, 12.

Evangelist is a Patriarch, 339.

Evil feelings, Cherish no, 76.

Exodus of Saints to Rocky Mountains, 455.

Faith, 292, 321, 435, 464, 497.

Faith, How to get it, 299.

Faith in God and Jesus Christ necessary, 484.

Faith of Mormons their staff and comfort, 149.

Faith needed, 299.

Faith, Power of, 323.

Faith and Works necessary, 317, 359, 427, 508, 517.

Faith shown by works, 324.

Fall, Purpose of, 555.

Fall, The, 117, 555.

Family Organization, Celestial, 52.

Faults, Acknowledge your, 100.

First Principles, 106, 174, 242, 337.

First Principles necessary, 17.

Free Agency, 18, 562.

Fruits of the Gospel, 204.

Future destiny of the Work, 457.

Future existence, 165.

Gathering, The, 199, 248, 259.

Gifts of Holy Ghost, 106.

Gifts, Miraculous, 175.

Gifts, Necessity of Miraculous, 323.

Gifts, Spiritual, 444.

Gift of Tongues, Purpose of, 337.

God has a body, parts and passions, 127.

God, The Existence of a, 127.

God, Personality of, 347.

God's work everlasting, 18.

Godhead, Personality of the, 116, 236.

Godhead, The, 340, 432.

Gods, We believe in many, 128.

Gospel, All must obey the, 423.

Gospel of Jesus Christ includes all truth, 492.

Gospel, Liberality of the, 73.

Gospel Message, The, 457.

Gospel only accepted by a few, 14.

Gospel, Only one, 319, 501.

Gospel opens communication with Jehovah, 221.

Gospel plan a perfect one, 503.

Gospel plan comprehends more than this planet, 494.

Gospel preached to every soul, 66.

Gospel taught to Adam, 556.

Gospel taught to men on earth prior to Christ's advent, 495.

Gospel, The fulness of the everlasting, 431.

Governor Ford's statement, Comment on, 32.

Governor Ford's statement of the martyrdom, 29.

Government, Ecclesiastical, 110.

Graded Salvation and Damnation, 115, 185.

Gurley, Zenos H., Record of, 414.

Happiness for the sorrowful, 514.

Hardships and pioneer days, 149.

Heaven, 223.

History of Saints, 250.

Holy Ghost, 12, 242, 293, 381, 441, 478, 485.

Holy Ghost, Gift of, 489, 526.

Holy Spirit, Purpose of the, 295, 331.

How False and True teachers may be known, 294.

Importance of Message of Elders, 508.

Indian customs, rites, and traditions, 274.

Indians accept the Gospel, 217.

Indians all of one origin, 280.

Influence, A mother's, 535.

Intelligence, 12.

Jerusalem, Rebuilding of, 13.

Jesus Christ offers us Salvation, 291.

Jesus a stumbling stone, 234.

Johnson's Army, 456.

Josiah Quincy's statement, 3, 35.

Josiah Quincy's statement, Value of, 34.

Joseph Smith's claim, 236.

Joseph Smith on Doctrine, 337.

Joseph Smith's works proclaim him a Prophet, 260.

Judgments to come upon the world, 336.

Keys, All, bestowed upon the Twelve Apostles, 86, 461.

{x} Keys of work for Dead restored, 84, 190.

Knowledge, 11, 13.

Knowledge of God necessary to be saved, 423.

Knowledge of Gospel necessary to salvation, 300.

Knowledge, Man saved by gaining, 507.

Laying on of Hands, 330, 478.

Laying on of Hands in blessing sick, 489.

Laying on of Hands, Necessity of, 330.

Letters to a Baptist minister, 122.

Love of God, 16.

Love manifest by keeping commandments, 425.

Man, Origin of, 554.

Marks, William, History of, 408.

Marriage, 119.

Martin Harris shows ancient characters to learned man, 209.

Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, 198.

Material benefits derived from Mormonism, 81.

Men judged according to their obedience, 315, 433.

Mercy, 17.

Miracles, 243.

Missionary work, 137, 166, 199.

Missionary work among the Indians, 217.

Missionaries, Advice to, 228.

Morality among the Mormons, 119, 153.

Mormons accomplished much in 32 years, 150.

Mormons happy people, 80.

Mormons hold different claims to all other sects, 302.

Mormons into the Desert, 148.

Mormons like pilgrim fathers, 148.

Mormons, Loyalty of, 131.

Mormons own their own homes, 129.

Mormonism causes unity, 80.

Mormonism, Fruits of, 147, 204, 236.

Mormonism judged by its effects, 78.

Mormonism not a system of lust, 128.

Mormonism, Origin of and growth of, 145.

Murderer, No forgiveness for, 18.

Nauvoo, 25.

Obedience brings blessings, 16.

Obedience to laws of the land, 19.

Officers in Church, 132, 168, 171, 201, 296, 443.

Officers in the Church, Necessity of, 202, 297.

Ordinances, Essential, must be performed in Temples, 94.

Organization, 109, 176, 241, 296, 485.

Organization of the Church, 23, 201.

Persecution, 14, 23, 150, 156, 198, 235, 454.

Persecution, Missouri, 24.

Plates, Description of Book of Mormon, 22.

Plates given to the Prophet, 209.

Plates shown to the Prophet, 208.

Political Conditions, 161.

Power, Misuse of, 510.

Prediction of the Angel, 255.

Priesthood, 18.

Priesthood restored, 109, 198.

Preaching in spirit world, 560.

Preaching the Gospel, 79, 109.

Prophecies, Bible, fulfilled, 240.

Prophecies in Book of Mormon, 261.

Prophecies cannot be fulfilled without modern revelation, 233.

Prophecies concerning last days, 307.

Prophecies of the Prophet, 257.

Prophecy, 107.

Prophecy of Book of Mormon fulfilled, 216.

Prophecy of Civil War, 5, 19, 219, 257.

Prophecy of John the Revelator, 305.

Prophecy of Malachi, 253.

Prophecy that Saints would remove to Rocky Mountains, 32, 258.

Prophet, A congressman's opinion of the, 404.

Prophet preaches on work for Dead, 91.

Prophet, The, intended Hyrum to lead Church at his death, 461.

Prophets always stoned, 146.

Prophets announce all important events, 230.

Prophets in past ages, 234.

{xi} Prophet's assassination, 29.

Prophets needed, 200, 231.

Prophet's premonition of his death, 28.

Prophet's sermon on Salvation for Dead, 95.

Prophets should come indicated by God's word, 230.

Prophet's statement on translation of Book of Mormon, 18.

Prophets to be expected, 230.

Prophet's views on government, 6.

Prophet's work, Comment on, 27.

Punishment, Everlasting, 75, 115.

Punishment, Future, 121.

Religion, Characteristics of true, 59.

Religion, Only one perfect, 291.

Religious liberty, 135.

Re-organized Church, Claims of, 83.

Re-organization, Corner stone of, 408.

Repentance, 324, 366, 436, 471, 484, 498, 518.

Repentance, Death bed, 15.

Repentance, Necessity of, 325.

Restoration of Gospel, 65, 108, 125, 176, 196, 237, 451.

Resurrection, The, 40, 558.

Revelation, 206, 450.

Revelation, Necessary, 15, 18, 170.

Revelations, Chap. 14; 6-7 verses analyzed.

Roberts, B. H., case, 162.

Sacrament, Care in administering, 488.

Salvation, 16, 321.

Salvation for Dead, 69, 83, 93, 114, 179, 253, 531.

Salvation and Education, 320.

Salvation, Exclusive, 178, 503.

Salvation for Living and Dead, 59.

Salvation, Plan of, 16.

Salvation, Universal, 60, 313, 561.

Satan, Personal, 120.

Saved by grace through obedience, 313.

Signs of Christ's coming to appear, 305, 318.

Sincerity not conclusive evidence of truth, 63.

Spaulding Manuscript story, 124.

Spirit and Body, 17.

Spirit world, Work in the, 75.

Spirits, 10, 12.

Succession, 460.

Suggestions to Elders, 488.

Temples built, 85, 191.

Temples, Necessity of, 94.

Ten Commandments, The, 293.

Testimonies of people healed, 244.

Testimony of converts, 78.

Testimony of Prophet by disinterested men, 256.

Testimony proving Book of Mormon to be divine, 264.

Traditions of Indians show that they had a knowledge of God and the Gospel, 286.

Truth, 12.

Unity in Church of Christ, 64.

Vicarious work, 189.

Virtuous, Seek to be, 16.

Vision, Prophet's first, 21, 207.

Visions, Other, of the prophet, 21, 197, 208, 238.

Witnesses of Book of Mormon, 213, 265, 448.

Words used in confirming persons members of Church, 490.

Work for the Dead, Importance of, 89.

Works, Necessary, 424.

World, Condition of people of the, 224.

Young, Brigham, accepted as President by vote of people, 462.

Young, Brigham, not ordained to office of President of Church, 460.

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A STATEMENT FROM JOSIAH QUINCY, MAYOR OF BOSTON, 1845-1849, CONCERNING AN INTERVIEW HAD IN 1844 WITH JOSEPH SMITH, THE MORMON PROPHET.

Some of the Sayings and Predictions Made by the Prophet Joseph Smith--A Letter to Mr. Wentworth From the Prophet in Answer to a Request From Him for a Statement of Belief, To Be Published in the Chicago Democrat--The Prophet's Assassination; Extracts From Gov. Ford's History of Illinois Concerning the Martyrdom, With Comments.

Compiled by Ben E. Rich.

Josiah Quincy, from whose "Figures of the Past" we quote, was born in Boston in 1802. He was the Mayor of Boston from 1845 to 1849. He was graduated from Harvard in 1821 and took his master's degree in 1824. He died in 1882, soon after he wrote "Figures of the Past." The work was taken from his diary and from letters written at the time of his visit to Nauvoo.

"If the foretelling of future events that could not possibly have been seen by human wisdom--events too, that from outward appearance were very unlikely to come to pass; if the prediction of such events and their subsequent fulfilment evidences a true prophet, then Joseph Smith must have been a true prophet."

In 1844 Josiah Quincy visited the Prophet Joseph Smith at Nauvoo. They conversed upon questions of government and the Prophet offered a solution of the slavery question {4} which Josiah Quincy, in 1882, declared the history of our country justified.

It is by no means impossible that some future textbook, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the 19th century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destiny of his countrymen? It is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet. And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now living, may be an obvious commonplace to their descendants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. A man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was, and is to-day, accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High, such a human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. Fanatic, impostor, charlatan, he may have been; but those hard names furnish no solution to the problem he presents to us. Fanatics and impostors are living and dying every day, and their memory is buried with them; but the wonderful influence which this founder of religion exerted and still exerts, throws him into relief before us, not as a rogue to be criminated, but as a phenomenon to be explained. The vital questions Americans are asking each other to-day have to do with this man and with what he has left us. Is there any remedy heroic enough to meet the case, yet in accordance with our national doctrines of liberty and toleration, which can be applied to the doctrine now advanced by the sect which he created? The possibilities of the Mormon system are unfathomable. (Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past.)

In 1855, when men's minds had been moved to their depths on the question of slavery, Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that it should be met with in accordance "with the interests of the South and the settled conscience of the North. It is really not a great task, a great fight for this country to accomplish, to buy that property of the planter--the United States will be brought to give every inch of their public lands for a purpose like this."

We who can look back upon the terrible cost of the fratricidal war which put an end to slavery, now say that such a {5} solution of the difficulty would have been very worthy of a Christian Statesman. But if the retired scholar was in advance of his time when he advocated this disposition of the public property in 1855, what shall I think of the political and religious leader who had committed himself, in print, as well as in conversation to the same course in 1844? If the atmosphere of men's opinions was stirred by such a proposition when war clouds were discernible in the sky, was it not a statesmanlike word eleven years earlier when the heavens looked tranquil and beneficent? (Josiah Quincy, F. of P.)

The Prophet also saw that war would devastate this land and prophesied that "we shall soon have war and bloodshed;" that men shall hunt the lives of their own sons; brothers kill brothers; mothers shall be against daughters. He prophesied that this war should begin with the rebellion of South Carolina, and that it should cause the death of many souls; that the Southern States should be divided against the Northern States, and that the Southern States should call upon other nations, even Great Britain, to help them; that slaves should rise against their masters and that they should be "marshaled and disciplined for war." As late as 1882 Josiah Quincy marveled at the literal fulfilment of this prophecy. He remarked the fact that Ralph Waldo Emerson proposed the same solution of the slave question, in 1855, that the Prophet had proposed eleven years earlier, in 1844. This prophecy on war was made in 1832 by the Prophet and published to the world many years before his conversation with Josiah Quincy. (Comment.)

Give every man his constitutional freedom and the President full power to send an army to suppress mobs, and the States authority to repeal and impugn that relic of folly which makes it necessary for the Governor of the State to make the demand of the President for troops, in case of invasion or rebellion.

Joseph Smith.

Josiah Quincy, Commenting on this Statement Said:

It is needless to remark how later events showed the executive weakness that Mr. Smith pointed out--the weakness that cost thousands of valuable lives and millions of treasure.

Born in the lowest ranks of poverty, without book-learning, and with the homeliest of all human names, he had made {6} himself at the age of thirty-nine a power upon the earth. Of the multitudinous family of Smith, none had so won human hearts and shaped human lives as this Joseph. His influence, whether for good or evil, is potent to-day, and the end is not yet. If the reader does not know what to make of Joseph Smith, I cannot help him out of the difficulty; I myself stand helpless before the puzzle. (Josiah Quincy, F. of the P.)

I am a rough stone. The sound of the hammer and chisel were never heard on me until the Lord took me in hand. I desire the learning and wisdom of heaven alone.

(Joseph Smith.)

Some of His Views on Government.

The Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is a heavenly banner; it is like a great tree under whose branches men from all climes can be shielded from the burning rays of an inclement sun: and Mormon as well as Presbyterian, and every other denomination have equal rights to partake of the fruits of this great tree of our national Liberty.

Petition, also, ye goodly inhabitants of the slave States, your legislators to abolish slavery by the year 1850, or now, and save the abolitionist from reproach and ruin, infamy and shame. Pray Congress to pay every man a reasonable price for his slaves out of the surplus revenue arising from the sale of public lands.

Break off the shackles from the poor black man and hire him to labor like other human beings: "For an hour of virtuous Liberty on earth is worth a whole eternity of bondage."

For the accommodation of the people in every state and territory let Congress show their wisdom by granting a national bank, with branches in each state and territory, where the capital stock shall be held by the nation for the mother bank and by the states and territories for the branches, and {7} whose officers and directors shall be elected by the people. The net gains of the mother bank should be applied to the national revenue and that of the branches to the States' and Territories' revenues.

When the people petition for a National Bank, I would use my best endeavors to have their prayers answered, and establish one on national principles to save taxes, and make them the controllers of its ways and means.

Let the people of the whole Union, whenever they find a promise made by the candidate that is not practiced as an officer, hurl the miserable sycophant from his exaltation, as God did Nebuchadnezzar, to crop the grass of the field with a beast's heart among the cattle.

Let the penitentiaries be turned into Seminaries of learning, where intelligence, like the angels of heaven, would banish such fragments of barbarism.

More economy in the National and State Government would make less taxes among the people; and more honesty and familiarity in societies would make less hypocrisy and flattery in all branches of the community; and open, frank, candid decorum toward all men in this boasted land of liberty would beget esteem, confidence, union and love; and the neighbor from any state or any country, whatever color, clime, or tongue, could rejoice when he put his foot on the sacred soil of freedom and exclaim: "The very name of America is fraught with friendship." Thus create confidence! Restore freedom! Break down slavery! Banish imprisonment for debt, and be in love, fellowship and peace with all the world! Remember that honesty is not subject to law; the law is made for transgressors.

Were I the President of the United States, by the voice of a virtuous people, I would honor the old paths of the {8} venerated fathers who carried the ark of Government upon their shoulders with an eye single to the glory of the people; and when that people petitioned to abolish slavery in the slave states, I would use all honorable means to have their prayers granted, and give liberty to the captive by paying the Southern gentleman a reasonable equivalent for his property, that the whole nation might be free indeed.

Rigor and seclusion will never do as much to reform the propensities of man as reason and friendship.

When Egypt was under the superintendency of Joseph it prospered, because he was taught of God; when they oppressed the Israelites, destruction came upon them. When the children of Israel were chosen with Moses at their head, they were to be a peculiar people, among whom God should place His name; their motto was, "The Lord is our law-giver; the Lord is our Judge; the Lord is our King, and He shall reign over us." While in this state they might truly say, "Happy is that people, whose God is the Lord." Their Government was a theocracy; they had God to make their laws and men chosen by God to administer them; He was their God, and they were His people. Moses received the Word of the Lord from God himself; he was the mouth of God to Aaron, and Aaron taught the people, in both civil and ecclesiastical affairs; they were both one, there was no distinction; so it will be when the purposes of God are accomplished; "when the Lord shall be King over the whole earth, and Jerusalem His throne. The law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

This is the only thing that can bring about the "restitution of all things spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was;" the dispensation of the fullness of times, when God shall gather together all things in one. Other attempts to promote universal peace and happiness in the human family have proved abortive; every effort has failed; every plan and design has fallen to the ground; it needs the wisdom of God, the intelligence of God, the power of God to accomplish this. The world has had a fair trial for six thousand years; the Lord will try the seventh thousand, himself; "He whose right it is will possess the Kingdom and reign until He has put all things under {9} His feet; iniquity will hide its hoary head; Satan will be bound, and the works of darkness destroyed; righteousness will be put to the line, and judgment to the plummet, and 'He that fears the Lord will alone be exalted in that day.'"

We do not believe it is just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members as citizens, denied.

We believe that no government can exist in peace except such laws are framed and held inviolable as secured unto each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.

Meddle not with any man for his religion; for all government ought to permit every man to enjoy his religion unmolested. No man is authorized to take away life in consequence of difference of religion, which all laws should govern and protect.

It has been the design of Jehovah from the commencement of the world, and is His purpose now, to regulate the affairs of the world in His own time, and to stand at the head of the universe, and take the reins of government in His own hands. When that is done, judgment will be administered in righteousness; anarchy and confusion will be destroyed, and nations will learn war no more. It is for want of this great governing principle that all this confusion has existed.

We believe that every man should be honored in his station; rulers and magistrates, as such, being placed for the protection of the innocent, and the punishment of the guilty; and that to the laws, all men owe respect and deference, as without them peace and harmony would be supplanted by anarchy and terror; human laws being instituted for the express purpose of regulating our interests as individuals and nations, {10} between man and man, and divine laws given of heaven, prescribing rules on spiritual concerns, for faith and worship, both to be answered by man to his Maker.

We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments.

Miscellaneous Thought on Many Subjects.

Seek to know God in your closet; call upon Him in your field.

The sacrifice required of Abraham in the offering up of Isaac shows that if a man would attain to the keys of the Kingdom of an endless life, he must sacrifice all things. When God offers a blessing or knowledge to man, and he refuses to receive it, he will be damned.

Spirits are eternal. At the first organization in heaven we were all present, and saw the Savior chosen and appointed, and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it.

When you climb a ladder, you must begin at the bottom and ascend step by step until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the Gospel; you must begin with the first and go along until you have learned all the principles of exaltation.

It should be the duty of elders, when they enter into any house, to let their labors and warning voice be to the master of that house; and if he receives the Gospel, then he may extend his influence to his wife, also, that peradventure she may receive the Gospel; but if the man receive not the Gospel and give his consent that his wife may receive it, then let her {11} receive it; but if the man forbid his wife, or his children before they are of age, to receive the Gospel, then it shall be the duty of the elder to go his way and use no influence against him; and let the responsibility be upon his head.

There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God.

Knowledge saves a man, and in the world of spirits no man can be exalted but by knowledge. So long as a man will not give heed to the commands, he must abide without salvation.

Here, then, is eternal life--to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power.

When the Twelve, or any other witnesses, stand before the congregation of the earth, and they preach in the power and demonstration of the spirit of God, and the people are astonished and confounded at the doctrine and say: That man has preached a powerful discourse, a great sermon--then let that man or those men take care that they are humble and ascribe the praise and glory to God and The Lamb; for it is by the power of the Holy Priesthood and Holy Ghost that they have power thus to speak. "What art thou, O man, but dust? And from whom dost thou receive thy power and blessings but from God?"

If you wish to go where God is, you must be like God, or possess the principles which God possesses, for if we are not drawing toward God in principle, we are going from Him and drawing toward the devil. A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be {12} brought into captivity by some evil power. It needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God.

Every principle proceeding from God is eternal and any principle which is not eternal is of the devil. The sun has no beginning nor end; the rays which proceed from himself have no bounds, consequently are eternal. So it is with God. If the soul of man had a beginning it will surely have an end. In the translation "without form and void" it should read, empty and desolate. The word created should be, formed, or organized.

Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed, can be.

All truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.

All spirit is matter, but it is more fine and pure.

Ye were also in the beginning with the Father.

We have no claim in our eternal compact, in relation to eternal things, unless our actions and contracts and all things tend to this end.

The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receiveth a fullness of joy, and when separated, man cannot receive a fullness of joy.

The first Comforter, or Holy Ghost, has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is powerful in expanding the mind, {13} enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge.

Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed. It will take some time to build the walls of the city and the temple, etc.; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His appearance. There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heaven above and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc.

He that receiveth light and continueth in God, receiveth more light, and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

Study and learn and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues and people, for it is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.

"We have turned the barren, bleak prairies and swamps into beautiful towns, farms and cities, by our industry; and the men who seek our destruction and cry thief, treason, riot, are those who themselves violate the laws, steal and plunder from their neighbors, and seek to destroy the innocent, heralding forth lies to screen themselves from the just punishment of their crimes by bringing destruction upon innocent people."

If a people, a community, or a society, can accumulate wealth, increase a worldly fortune, improve in science and arts, rise to eminence in the eyes of the public, surmount difficulties so much as to bid defiance to poverty and wretchedness, it must be a new creation, a race of beings superhuman. But in all {14} our poverty and want, we have yet to learn for the first time, that we are not industrious and temperate, and wherein we have not always been the last to retaliate or resent an injury, and the first to overlook and forgive.

"We have been driven time after time, and that without cause; and smitten again and again, and that without provocation; until we have proved the world with kindness, and the world has proved us, that we have no designs against any man or set of men; that we injure no man; that we are peaceable with all men, minding our own business, and our business only. We have suffered our rights and our liberties to be taken from us; we have not avenged ourselves for those wrongs; we have appealed to magistrates, to sheriffs, to judges, to the Government and to the President of the United States--all in vain; yet we have yielded peacefully to all these things. We have not complained at the Great God; we murmured not, but peacefully left all, and retired into the back country, in the broad and wild prairies, in the barren and desolate plains, and there commenced anew; making the desolate places to bud and blossom as the rose."

Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof until long after the events transpired.

"Time and experience will teach us more and more how easily falsehood gains credence with mankind in general, rather than the truth; but especially in taking into consideration the plan of salvation. The plain simple truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ never has been discerned nor acknowledged as the truth, except by a few--among whom were 'not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;' whilst the majority have contented themselves with their own private opinions, or have adopted those of others, according to their address, their philosophy, their formula, their policy, or their fitness may have attracted their attention or pleased their taste. But, sir, of all the criterions whereby we may judge of the vanity of these things, one will always be found true, namely, that we will always find such characters glorifying in their own wisdom and their own works; whilst the humble saint gives all the glory to God the Father, and to His Son Jesus Christ, {15} whose yoke is easy, and whose burden is light, and who told His Disciples that unless they became as little children, they could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

"We consider that when a man scandalizes his neighbor, it follows, of course, that he designs to cover his own iniquity; we consider him who puts his foot upon the neck of his benefactor an object of pity rather than revenge, for in so doing he not only shows the contraction of his own mind, but the wickedness of his heart also."

"The infidel will grasp at every straw for help until death stares him in the face, and then his infidelity takes its flight, for the realities of the eternal world are resting upon him in mighty power; and when every earthly support and prop fails him, he then sensibly feels the eternal truths of the immortality of the soul. We should heed warning and not wait for the death-bed to repent. As we see the infant taken away by death, so may the youth and middle-aged, as well as the infant, be called into eternity. Let this, then, prove as a warning to all, not to procrastinate repentance, or wait until upon the death-bed, for it is the will of God that man should repent and serve Him in health and in the strength and power of his mind, in order to secure His blessings, and not wait until he is called to die."

The time has come that elders should go forth, and each must stand for himself in all meekness, in sobriety, and preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified; not to contend with others on account of their faith, or systems of religion, but pursue a steady course.

Salvation comes not without a revelation; it is in vain for anyone to minister without it. No man is a minister of Jesus Christ without being a prophet. No man can be a minister of Jesus Christ except he has the testimony of Jesus; and this is the Spirit of Prophecy.

It is for us to be righteous, that we may be wise and {16} understand, for none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand, and they that turn man to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever.

There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predicted; and when we obtain a blessing from God, it is by obedience to the law upon which it is predicted.

Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world anxious to bless the whole human race.

Salvation means a man's being placed beyond the power of all his enemies.

Be virtuous and pure; be men of integrity and truth; keep the Commandments of God and then you will be able to understand the difference between right and wrong--between the things of God and the things of man; and your path will be like that of the just, which shineth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.

The great Jehovah contemplated the whole of the events connected with the earth, pertaining to the plan of salvation, before it rolled into existence, or before the morning stars sang for joy; the past, the present, the future were, and are, with Him one eternal "now."

There are three independent principles: The Spirit of God; the Spirit of Man, and the Spirit of the Devil. All men have power to resist the devil.

In tracing the thing to the foundation, and looking at it {17} philosophically, we shall find a very material difference between the body and the spirit; the body is supposed to be organized matter, and the spirit, by many, is thought to be immaterial, without substance. With this latter statement we should beg leave to differ, and state that the spirit is a substance; that it is material, but that it is more pure, elastic, and refined matter than the body; that it existed before the body, and will exist separate from the body, when the body will be mouldering in the dust; and will in the Resurrection be again united with it.

Ever keep in exercise the principle of mercy, and be ready to forgive our brother on the first intimations of repentance, and asking forgiveness; and should we even forgive our brother, or even our enemy, before they repent or ask forgiveness, our Heavenly Father would be equally as merciful unto us.

If God has established His authority, and His divine will is made known through that authority to the Church, and any member refuses to receive it, he cuts himself off from the Church; from the benefits of the Holy Priesthood, and from the fellowship and favor of God, and becomes a castaway.

To be a Latter-day Saint requires sacrifice of worldly aims and pleasures; requires fidelity, strength of character, love of truth, integrity to principle and zealous desire to see the triumphant march of truth.

All men who become heirs of God and joint heirs of Jesus Christ will have to receive the fullness of the ordinances of His Kingdom; and those who will not receive all the ordinances will come short of the fullness of that glory, if they do not lose the whole.

There is no other way beneath the heaven that God hath ordained for man to come to Him, except through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins; {18} then follows the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Any other course is in vain.

Where there is no change of priesthood, there is no change of ordinances, says Paul. If God has not changed the priesthood and the ordinances, howl, ye sectarians! If He has, when and where has He revealed it? Have ye turned revelators? Why then deny revelation?

How consoling to the mourners, when they are called to part with a husband, wife, or father, mother, child or dear relative, to know that although the earthly tabernacle is laid down and dissolved, they shall rise again to dwell in everlasting burnings in immortal glory, not to sorrow, suffer or die any more; but they shall be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.