Description of California

[Quoted from an account of the American Traveler.]

“RETURNING to the area of Sacramento, and the rivers that flow into it, and to the San Francisco bay, we have before us the most scenic, fruitful, and splendid parts of upper California. The most extensive valley in the whole area is the one that the Sacramento flows through. This splendidly beautiful valley stretches nearly four hundred miles from the San Francisco bay, nearly to the foothills of the mountains of California; and its average width is from 60 to 65 miles. The Del Plumas and the American Fork are very wide valleys; and the Tulare valley is 250 miles long, and 35 miles wide. There is a good proportion of trees of various kinds in these valleys, such as the white oak, live oak, ash, cottwonood, cherry, &c., and along the surrounding hills there are forests of pine, cedar, fir, pinion, and spruce. The soil and the climate are very suitable for producing the variety of corn, legumes, fruits, &c., that grow in the United States, in addition to many fruits of the hotter climes that grow excellently here.

“Among the corn and the most common grasses here are wheat, rye, oats, clover, and flax, together with a variety of grapes, which grow naturally and abundantly. Sometimes great tracts of land here are covered with several thousand acres of an abundant crop of wild oats, similar to the oats that are produced in the United States, and which grow to the height of two or three feet, and not uncommonly to seven feet. The clover of these valleys is similar to the red clover of our country, and in some parts there is an abundance of it; and its average height is two-and-a-half feet, although it often reaches that much higher than that, and covers the face of the land. Forty bushels an acre is the average yield of wheat, but frequently a very small plot of land will yield sixty or a hundred bushels. This corn ripens within about three months from the time it is sown.

“Indian corn grows excellently. An acre will yield 50 to 60 bushels, with no more trouble than to sow it and reap it. As many potatoes, onions, carrots, &c., are produced as you want, without any trouble. Tobacco is also produced here by some of the inhabitants who have high hopes. I do not think there is soil so fruitful in any other country under the sun, and there is not another country that can produce such a variety of fruit as the Sacramento valley and its environs. The aforementioned fruits grow in most of the lowlands throughout the country, and grapes grow along the banks of nearly every river, the kind that make excellent wines, and good raisins.

“The climate is so temperate, that fire is not needed for any purpose, apart from baking food. With a little bit of effort, a variety of garden vegetables can be grown in whatever season of the year you wish, and two crops of corn can be had each year. It is not uncommon to see plants in full bloom in the middle of winter, and all nature is wearing its beautiful garments, especially the lowlands. The traveler, according to his wish, any season of the year, can enjoy perpetual ice and snow, or he can feast his eyes on the fruitfulness and splendor of continual spring, or he can feast his desire on the total enjoyment of the abundant produce of the neverending summer; yes, his eyes, his mind, and his desire will be satisfied here, if any climate, soil, and fruit can satisfy him.

“Practically the only rain to fall here comes down from the beginning of January through March, their winter. For about one third of this time the clouds pour down their rains severely, and the rest of this season is clear, lovely, and temperate.”

Testimony of Morgan David Felinfoel

Dear Brother,-Behold I am sending you these lines; and if you wish they are at your service:—

I was eighteen years with the Baptists, and I was quite fervent, while my eyes were not open, rather I accepted everything during my time with them, and they offered no proof for anything; but when I took note of the behavior of their preachers, together with their financial principles, my interest began to cool, and I paid greater attention to everything I heard from the pulpits, namely that it was just as necessary to receive the Holy Ghost as it was for Christ to die, and I heard prayers for it, and I prayed for it, and there were special meetings to pray for a more abundant pouring out of it on the churches; but never did I see its effects or feel its influence, and consequently I came to the determination that the Holy Ghost was not to be enjoyed in this age. I supposed that only the word could be obtained, yet I knew that it was a spiritual act to worship God; and in the midst of this confusion I could not enjoy the religion of the Bible. Several times I wanted to relinquish my membership in despair upon seeing everyone like myself. Well, that is the way it was with me while I was a Baptist. But I am grateful to my Heavenly Father that he did not allow me to flounder in the midst of this darkness any longer, rather he sent his servants, the Latter-day Saints, with the eternal gospel in the fulness of its blessings to the neighborhood; and although I took no notice of them at first, I am now thankful to my Heavenly Father for permitting me to take time to listen to them, for despite how much I heard against them, that they were “ready Satanists,” &c., yet I saw that what they preached, together with the testimony they gave, was in accordance with the New Testament; but I hesitated with respect to the truthfulness of their promise, namely that I would receive a similar testimony from God through obeying the plan which they had obeyed. I observed carefully the men who were testifying, to determine whether or not they were deceitful. I saw that filthy lucre was not their motivation, rather they paid their own way. Then after I found their doctrine to be completely scriptural, I decided to obey the plan by being baptized; and I am thankful to God, who knows hearts, and who gave me a testimony by giving me the Holy Ghost as they had. I know now that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, because it corresponds to the church that Jesus established on the earth; it has apostles and prophets, together with all the offices and spiritual gifts, to perfect the saints, for the work of the ministry, to build the body of Christ; and I beseech all my former dear brothers and sisters to do the same as I have done. This at present from your humble brother,

MORGAN DAVID.

“Deceit of the Mormons”

Mr. Ed.,—A lecture on the above topic was delivered by one by the name of Mr. W. Jones, Liverpool, in the Chapel of the Independents, in Rhosllanerchrugog, April 18th, 1848. The points of the lecture were as follows; and if you, or any of your correspondents, wish to review anything concerning the topics, here they are at your service.

“1. Faith of the Mormons:—They believe that God like man has a body, members, parts, &c.,—some little god like this is what they worship. They believe that the animals will come to speak to convince the ungodly and to heal the sick. They believe in dreams, and that this is the rock spoken of by Christ on which the church will be built. They believe that the present state officials are not legal, and that witnesses of the world who are under oath should not be believed, if they have not been inspired.

2. “Leader of the Mormons:—A foolish man, a dreamer, one who looks into his hat for revelation, &c. When he had obtained some followers, he told them to take swords, and work their way, that God had given the land to them, and that the United States would be destroyed in the year 1832.

3. “Book of Mormon:—The Mormons say that this was an ancient manuscript, written by the ancient Indians, and that Joe had translated it through divine power. But the truth is, that S. Spaulding wrote it, a learned and godly man, who did it for amusement. 116 pages of the translation were lost, and Joe could not re-do them.

4. Opinion of the lecturer:—“There is no need for apostles now, for Christ never had more than twelve. Miracles were never intended to convince the world, but to establish the religion. It is appropriate to call the Mormons “Satanists,” since it is at night and in the darkness that Satan works, and thus do they practice night-immersion, and their secret work, and no one can know it without joining them.”

Next, behold a list of claims of this lying lecturer,—“The Mormons have neither logic nor the Bible. The religion of the Mormons is all deceit. Nothing of the Mormon religion is of God. But he would take truth from a Mormon if he could find any,” &c.

The above lecture was reviewed the following night, April 19th, in Rhosllanerchrugog, to the hearing of scores of people, and that without allowing that any of the above statements are true (but are lying blasphemy, which proves that our enemies have nothing true to say against us), except that God is a spiritual person, that the Book of Mormon is an ancient manuscript, and that 116 pages of the translation were stolen. Miracles were not intended to convince the world, and therefore let not the world ask for a miracle in order to believe ever again! Then if everything the Mormons have is deceit, and he himself is of the same opinion in these things, has he not slipped a bit? My reasons for not reviewing the above topics now are that, 1. They are obvious lies. 2. I have done that in the place where the lecture was delivered. 3. So many such things have been reviewed in a splendid and irrefutable manner, and they have been published by Capt. Jones. 4. I have another lesson, which anyone is fully welcome to review, if he do so with the Bible as the base; namely, 1st, The restoration of the true religion, by calling officials, and ordaining them, and sending them to teach the law, and administer the ordinances. 2nd. That spiritual blessings of the kingdom of God are imparted to those who obey this established law. 3rd. That this is the preparation for the millennium, and the restitution of all things, which God has spoken from the beginning. As I consider the breadth and glory of this work, I do not have time to throw a rock at every dog that barks at us,

R. EVANS.

P. S. If any of our Correspondents has time and inclination to defend our religion and our fellow believers against the above slander and shameful false accusations, they can appear in the Prophet, lest someone somewhere is so dull as to believe them, which we doubt.—ED.

Letter of W. Woodruff One of the Apostles

Council Bluffs, April 25, 1848.

“DEAR BROTHER CAPT. JONES,—It would be an injustice to my own feelings to delay writing to you any further. I have intended time after time to associate with you by means of letters, and give you an accounting of how things are with us, and I desire news of your doings in Wales, together with the state of the divine cause in which the two of us have had the honor of being fellow-workers for God; but until now I have been hindered by the weight of the work that has been entrusted to me and placed on my shoulders to fulfill. But from now on, since I am going to the “Christian” country, as the eastern states, Canada and Nova Scotia are called, I trust that I shall have more time to write to you more often. I spent the last year of my time the same way the others of the “twelve” did,-seven months of it were spent on the journey to California and back here; and indeed, it was a journey filled with marvels.

“The first 500 miles of our journey, to fort Laramie, were on the north side of the Platte river, where only the red nomads of the forest have ever before traveled. We made a new road for that whole distance, and we built several bridges. Along this way we had a great abundance of geese, ducks, cranes swans, deer, antelope, elk, and buffalos, by the tens of thousands. From there we journeyed through the Black Mountains for about 500 miles. Along these parts the creatures noted were not as numerous as in the aforementioned parts, but we met the occasional bear wandering through the woods for prey, which could be shot easily with a rifle by just being careful: we killed some of them on our journey, but we depended mainly on the buffalo for meat along the way. The meat of a buffalo calf is excellent food. At times we were troubled by a few renegade Indians, who tried to drive away our horses, but we managed to get nearly all of them back by following them to their camp. The leaders of the Indians do not allow anyone to attack us; but from the other side, they behaved in a very neighborly manner toward the Saints, as far as we could see, except for some renegades amongst them.

“On our return back from California, we met 600 wagons loaded with Saints, under the presidency of P. P. Pratt and J. Taylor, on their way towards the Salt Lake in California. The Salt Lake Valley offers the most magnificent, most beautiful, and most paradisiacal scene of any place I have ever witnessed. This valley is surrounded with extremely high mountains, on whose highest points snow remains continually, while the climate in the valley is close to 100 degrees. Rivers of cold and pure water ran down from them past the doors of our tent where we camped, to quench our thirst. Three missionaries arrived here recently, who started from Salt Lake City in the middle of January, and they brought from there an abundance of blessed news, and nothing bad. There were there at that time already 3000 inhabitants, and death and disease were practically unknown in their midst. They had already built a mill for grinding grain, and three sawmills. They had sown at that time 1500 acres of wheat, which looked very promising, and they intend to sow about that much more this season, together with three or four thousand acres of Indian corn, &c. They have built about a thousand dwelling houses. After they have produced an abundance of grain there to sustain the immigrants, emigration will increase there to about five times the annual number. Excellent health is being enjoyed throughout these settlements at present, and there was hardly a death or illness among the Saints here last winter. The Saints who cannot emigrate to California this year intend to remove from here to the other side of the river to settle in the land of the Pottawatamie Indians, until they can make preparations for the remainder of the journey.

“I have watched carefully and eagerly the movement of the gospel ship sailing quickly along over the savage waves of the seas of Wales, with Capt. Jones at the helm, and the Mormon banner nailed to the masthead. And I am happy to say that it is moving forth beyond all expectations, and I have been greatly pleased at seeing the ship under such secure and skillful leadership. Believe me, brother Jones, when I say that my soul is filled with joy at hearing of the powerful work you have done already in spite of the opposition of all kinds you have encountered on the field, and it gives me unbounded joy to hear that thousands are receiving deliverance through your priesthood. The nation of Wales will have cause to rejoice to the endless ages of eternity, that she has at least one son who has a mind sufficiently independent to offer to his compatriots the pure principles of salvation, which were revealed from heaven to save the humble of heart who seek the truth as it is in Jesus, against the judgments and plagues that hang over the ungodly of the earth; and he who is able, willing, and eager to spread and defend the pure principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to offer salvation to his compatriots, despite doing so through seas of obstacles, disadvantages, and oppression, and although he had to suffer the wrath, the rage, and the curses of the blind who do not wish to be benefitted. Be faithful and determined in your calling, for it is certain that the day will come when you will achieve glory, incorruptibility, and eternal life, to rejoice with the thousands of those happy ones who received salvation through you, when all your persecutors and your opponents will sink into the depths of the loathesome pits that they dug for you and the truth, and they will go to oblivion.

“It is true that your mission in Wales is long, yet be patient, for you will lay the foundations for a blessed and majestic work, and take comfort, for you shall not lose your reward. I have thought many times with pleasure about the voyage and the sweet conversations we had on board the ship J. R. Skiddy, from New York to Liverpool. I rejoice that the Lord is with you, and when I hear of the fruit of your labor. But I must end now for this time. My wife and my family wish to be remembered fondly to Capt. Jones, and Mrs. Jones. Be so good as to write me in Boston when you receive this, and give me your news.

“The war between Mexico and the United States has not yet ended, nor is there hope for that soon, rather preparations for battle are being made on every side. It is said that there is a petition before the Senate to have 30,000 more soldiers go there.

“I am, dear brother, yours in the bonds of the N. C.,

“WILFORD WOODRUFF.”

A Question and Its Answer

MR. ED.—What do you understand by the “other beast,” in Rev. xiii, 11–14? Is it one that is to come after the age of the apostles? If so, will his “great wonders” be visible to the public? When, and how, will his deadly wound be healed? A prompt answer will give satisfaction to several, and will give prominence to the foolishness of those who say that this refers to Joseph Smith, and the Saints, I suppose.

T. JEREMY.

We answer, that the “beast” does not signify an individual person, rather a system, which would contain seven kinds of government, which among them would rule over ten royal kingdoms, as did the first beast (ver. 1). In ver. 2, the strength and cruelty of the chief presidency are signified. The “dragon” is his god, or the god of this world. The power of the “dragon” was to work miracles, through which he persuaded everyone to worship the beast, and through that to worship the devil without their being aware of it themselves. The way that one of his heads received a deadly wound, was through their losing the miraculous power for 1260 years; and the reason for that was because there were no miracles being worked by God through his servants in the meantime, and thus the devil considered his own fake miracles of no use to deceive men. Ver. 7 proves that it was with the saints of the apostolic age that he warred, which proves that it was in those times that the first beast would rise up, and consequently the one under consideration would exist in the last ages, or rather that it was close to the end of the reign of the beast that was revived, or that would be revived, the ruins of the old form to its primitive power through the coming of the second beast; “he exerciseth all the [miraculous] power of the first beast [namely the other beast] before [according to the same plan] him,” namely before the first beast, which proves that the second cannot be a new plan, but it is the restoration of the old form that would exist after the apostles. If it is determined which religious and governmental plan persecuted the saints until overcoming them in the primitive times, and which still exists on their ruins, that will answer your first question and your second, and I believe that its name is too well known to us to name it here. But it is seen that it cannot be “Joe Smith,” or “Mormonism.”

“Its miracles and wonders” will, we believe, be public, numerous, and quite remarkable. They will be so powerful that he will proselyte all those who do not have the gift of “discerning of spirits;” and he has been working in secret for a long time to prepare the whole sectarian world to believe the powerful servants of this last beast, by proselyting the world to believe “that the purpose of miracles was to prove the truth of religion, and the sending of the persons in primitive times,” and to teach them through that to ask for miracles and signs from the servants of God, vowing that if they could but see a “small miracle they would believe immediately,” regardless of their doctrine; and when the servants of God refuse to satisfy their whims, and instead preach Christ crucified, and deliver their message to the honest in heart, then the beastly heralds will come across the world with powers and it will support him who asked our Prince in the wilderness in days of old, to turn that stone into bread, giving great signs to those who seek them, and no doubt they will announce meetings, and they will invite the whole world there to see their miracles at the appointed time, and after getting the observers to promise to believe them, they will fulfill great and incredible things, and then they will hold the sectarians to their offer, and they will be unable to stand against them; for their own theologians will say that the purpose of miracles was to prove that the sending of persons was divine, and they will say at that time, “Here they are; these are servants of God: see their miracles; but as for the lowly Saints, we have never seen one of their miracles.” And in this manner there they are in the devil’s trap tighter than before, having freed the servants of God from the accusation, by claiming that they do not provide signs and wonders; for it is the false, and not the true, that do so for that purpose, and at the request of the listeners (see Mat. xxiv, 24). Seeing the wonders will deceive the people into believing that the religion of the beast is the divine one, when faith to believe the religion of Christ comes, not by seeing with the eyes, rather by hearing the word of God, as Paul says.

According to his servants it is the devil’s fulfillment of this miraculous power, that the “deadly disease will be healed,” for this was the life and strength that was in it before; and what could wound devilish or divine religion! more than depriving it of its supernatural power? There could be nothing left of the one or the other but a useless skeleton. Every perceptive man who observes the signs of these awful times, will see that that which withholdeth has practically been taken away already, as Paul suggests through the Spirit of prophecy for the last days in 2 Thes. ii, 3–12. It is seen that God will send his servants before the revival of the second beast, not to work miracles, but to deliver their message to the lost world, to teach them what they must do to be saved, namely teaching them in the same commandments and ordinances which the apostles taught to their contemporaries, promising to those who obey, and not to the unbelievers, forgiveness of sins through baptism, and that they will receive “the gift of the Holy Ghost,” and that God, and not they, would confirm their message to the believers, and not to their enemies, through godly signs, which would be resultant blessings, and not preceding signs to his servants.

All this is evident in the above, and also the devil saw that he could no longer keep the public in the dark by denying miracles, and saying that they were not needed; rather he jumps to the other side of the fence, and he and his servants will immediately be the most zealous proponents of miracles as anyone, in order to blind the people from believing true miracles, namely the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which God will impart to his children, and then the servants of the beast will shout loudly, “Come unto us; we are the ones who work miracles.” And they will say at that time, each at the top of his voice, that miracles are needed, taking the form of an angel of light. And on the truthfulness of the above prophecies, and those of our own, we venture to proclaim that the time is not far off when authorities and princes that hold great power in high places in the kingdom of the enemy, will be heard claiming the continuance of their miracles, and the necessity for them in this age as zealously as any of the Saints, and asserting that they have the spiritual gifts, visions, prophets, the gifts of healing, &c., and that they have always been proponents for the doctrine of the continuance of miracles in the church. Some of the giants of sectarianism are already yearning to lead out in this strange revolution to heal the beast’s wound by wearing the miraculous jacket in secret, and asking their friends how it would look for them to wear it in public. Then their hirelings will shout from their pulpits, “Come unto us; we believe in miracles, &c.; and we have had the priesthood since the days of the apostles.” At that time let the Saints lift up their heads, and watch, for the coming days will be dangerous days even for the lovers of the truth, when their ears will be numbed at hearing of the false signs that have been shown here, and their eyes will be weary at seeing the wonders of yonder beast; then it will be understood that the wound of the beast has been healed, and that he has become the chief enemy of “Mormonism.”

The Condemnatory Sentence of Jesus Christ

THE Editor of a French newspaper says it like this:—“By chance there came to our hands the most important, and most interesting document for the Christians that has ever been, i. e., the original condemnatory sentence that was pronounced on the Lord Jesus Christ.” The following was translated carefully by the editor, who assures that it is a literal translation.

“The sentence given by Pontius Pilate, the reigning tetrarch over Lower Galilea, proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth must suffer death on the cross.

“In the seventeenth year of the reign of the Emperor Tiberias Caesar, on the 25th of March, in the holy city of Jerusalem, Annas and Caiaphas are the representative high priests of the people of God. It is Pontius Pilate, the tetrarch of Lower Galilea, who sits on the governing chair of the Praetory, and who condemns Jesus of Nazareth to die on the cross, between two thieves-the grand and unanimous testimony of the people says;—

“1. Jesus is treacherous.

“2. He is deceitful.

“3. He is an enemy of the law.

“4. He blasphemes himself as the Son of God.

“5. He blasphemes himself as the King of the Jews.

“6. He went to the temple, and a crowd followed him, carrying palm branches in their hands.

“The head centurion, Quillus Cornelius, is hereby ordered to lead him to the place of execution.

“Any rich person or poor person is forbidden from opposing the death of Jesus.”

“The names of the witnesses who described the above sentence are,—”Daniel Robani, Pharisee; 2. Ioannus Rorobable; 3. Raphel Robani; 4. Capet, citizen.

“Let Jesus be taken out through the Struenus gate.”

The above was discovered engraved on copper, and placed in a chest of white marble, which was discovered while digging under the ruins of the old city of Abuilla in the kingdom of Naples, in the year 1820, by army officers of the French. Carved on the other side of the copper plate, were the following words:-”Every tribe was presented with a copy of the above condemnation.”

Names of the Twelve Apostles of the “Dispensation of the Fulness of Times”

AT the request of many of the Saints here and there we publish the names of the aforementioned courageous men, so that we may have an answer for this frequently asked question for everyone at once, and worthy of being recorded on the tables of the hearts of all the lovers of the truth, as they are on our own hearts, are the names of these patriotic, wise, and great men, for the Saints enjoy the rays of light through them from the source above; yet, this is nothing compared to what is yet to emanate from them to those who listen to their godly counsel.

Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff,

Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith,

Willard Richards, Amasa Lyman,

Orson Hyde, E. T. Benson,

Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt,

John Taylor, Lyman Wight.

What Is to Be Done with the Persecutors of the Saints?

Monmouthshire.

Dear Brother,—Inasmuch as Mr. Rees, and a variety of other ministers in this County, have been on the field so long against Mormonism, telling all manner of stories and lies against it, now their madness has become obvious, until it causes the best men in their midst to come to us, with tears on their cheeks, asking, “What shall we do to be saved?” The answer is, “Repent, and be baptized for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost;” and then they come, and now they rejoice in the promises of their God. We expect to see the persecutors themselves coming with tears on their cheeks, asking, “What shall we do to be saved?” We cannot answer them, for their sins are so many; but we wish you to inform us through the PROPHET what we are to do with them?

We shall delay the matter for now until an answer comes; but I think there will be many tears running down over their cheeks before it comes, if you delay. If there is any way to save them, we wish to know as soon as you can send an answer. WILLIAM PHILLIPS.

[We must have time to reflect a while, before answering such an important question. Whether the foregoing persecutors have accomplished the high feat of becoming “Satanists and demons,” perhaps Mr. Jones, Felinfoel, or Mr. Davies, Dowlais, can answer.-ED.]

Letter of D. Roberts Llwynygell

Dear Brother Jones,-I take this opportunity to inform you of our present success with the work of the Lord. We have baptized three since I wrote to you before, and there are signs for more. We are preaching as forcefully as we can, and frequently have quite an attentive and numerous hearing. The country is as if awakening from its slumber, and is beginning to take notice of the signs of the time, between the preaching of the Saints, and the neighing of the red horse, and the stories of our enemies. Hosts are ready to ask what is the matter, and are beginning to draw near to hear the Saint answer the above question, having failed to satisfactorily answer the question for themselves.

We are greatly desirous of seeing you here this summer, and we hope you do not forget us in the north, in spite of how cold the climate is that we live in at present, but a small fire has been kindled here, and we are keeping the bellows in operation until it becomes a burning flame. Pray for us, so that we will not grow weary, and we do not fail to pray for you, our dear brother. All the Saints kindly greet you in the Lord. Amen. Your humble brother.

D. ROBERTS.

Llwynygell, Blaenau Ffestiniog.

The True Church of Jesus Christ

Compared to the systems of men.

THE GOD others worship, is not the God for me,

He has no parts, nor body; and cannot hear nor see us:

But I’ve a God that reigns above;

A God of power, and of love:

And a God of revelation,—Oh, that’s the God for me!

Oh, that’s the God for me!

Oh, that’s the God for me!

Any church without apostles, is not the church for me,

It is like a ship without sails floating on the waves;

But a church led beneath the heaven

By twelve stars around her head,

And a church with a good foundation,—Oh, that is my church! &c., &c.

A church without a prophet, is not the church for me,

It has no head to lead it, it wanders in every direction;

But a church not organized by man,

The one that God himself established,

Namely the church with the “signs,”—Oh, that is my church! &c., &c.

The hope of the Gentiles, is not the hope for me.

Having neither faith nor knowledge, ‘its nothing but black darkness;

But hope will endure while there are an earth and a heaven,

And one who sees beyond the veil,

Such hope is like an anchor,—Oh, that is my hope! &c., &c.

The heaven the sectarians desire, is not the heaven for me,

That one is too obscure, in an empty space somewhere up above;

But heaven here on earth,

The home where I suckled,

A heaven of light, a heaven of knowledge,—Oh, that is my heaven! &c., &c.

Any church not gathered together, is not the church for me,

The Savior would never claim one like that;

But a church that has been called out

From the world and its hateful traditions,

And a church gathered together,—Oh, that is my church, &c., &c.

June 12, 1848. Trans. J. D.

Song of Entreaty

Which a sister from Llanybydder composed, the night of the 18th of April, before going to bed.

WELSH people, Welsh people, hear my lament,

And moan and groan,

Because I am heavy hearted,

And lamenting in my tribulations.

I no longer care

Now about the things of this world;

Except to get all my loved ones

To follow Christ despite the obstacles.

My mother and dear husband

Do not believe the gospel,

Which plan Christ, the Son of God,

Ordained before going to heaven.

Oh, my mother! I do wish

For you to come and begin working;

And you my husband, with her,

(It is high time) in the vineyard of Jesus.

There is no promise unless you come,

Nothing but everlasting grief and sadness;

And your part will be the second death,

With those who are imperfect.

I hope to continue faithful,

And be able to go to mount Zion,

To that blessed family

Who have their mind and their love towards Jesus.

I know, that if I continue faithful,

I shall wear the golden crown;

And palm branches shall I have also,

With the Great King of the whole world.

The sects cannot believe

That it is necessary to go to the sea, and cross it,

Over to the place where God promises

To give a place of refuge, if one but goes there,

From the great plagues and the pestilence

That will come because of their sins,

If they do not become faithful,

As did the Ninevites of old.

To the whole neighborhood I declare

That you must get the religion of Jesus,

The one that will bring you signs,

If you but keep the blessed commandments.

Oh, neighbors of Llanybydder,

I testify free from worry

That you will be sure to remember my words,

Without doubt, in the judgment seat.

If I should die before leaving,

Remember to declare this to my nation,

That I now testify to them,

That the day of vengeance is coming upon them,—

A day of weeping, and a day of mourning,

A day of longing will come to earth,

A day that all men will be frightened,

But those who come to the religion of Jesus.

The Saints have the witness,

Though they be in temptations;

Nevertheless they will get to reign

With Christ and King Jesus.

I now bid farewell,

To my dear country, when about to leave,

With every hope of crossing the seas,

According to the commandment of the King of Heaven.

Letter of Elder W. Morgan

Merthyr, June 21, 1848.

DEAR BROTHER,—All of us here, and the officers especially, continue in unity and faithfulness in the fulfillment of our duties since you left here, and the Lord is blessing our labor, especially through healing the sick through the ordinances and prayers of faith; I shall note a few of the many instances that have taken place here lately:—One sister was taken sick with a high fever while visiting her relatives in Brecon. Through much effort she was brought to Merthyr in a wagon from which she had to be carried to the house. She sent for the elders of the Church instead of for doctors; and I and one other went to her and administered to her, praying for the Lord to heal her; and the result, thanks to Him who imparts all blessings, was that she received her health immediately, rose from her bed and partook of food in the presence of some unbelieving onlookers. Word spread about the incident throughout the surrounding works until many became angry with the Saints, claiming that her illness was fake and deceitful; others claimed that the sick woman had not gotten better; and some of those who had carried her to the house swore and said that such deceivers were too wicked to be allowed to keep on living. What should be done with men who refuse to believe their own eyes, feelings and ears, do you think?

Another example of the goodness of God happened as follows:—A man by the name of David Davies, a worker in the Penydarren works was covered by a large cave-in of earth to the extent that his co-workers hardly knew where to look for him, and it was a great wonder that he was found alive. After he was freed he was carried out on a tram and on horseback to his house, and his co-workers made statements of great sympathy, saying that he would not be back to work for many months if ever. Next day two elders went to him and administered to him and prayed for him, and he arose from his bed immediately and walked with them to Merthyr and to the meeting of the Saints in full health. He went to work the next day and worked as usual; but the opinion of his co-workers had completely changed from thinking that he had received such an injury to claiming now that he had hardly been hurt; except for an occasional exception that was their opinion in spite of everything; and yet they ask for more and more signs to bring them to believe.

The gospel is having general success in these environs. Seven were baptized in Pontypridd lately; and several in Dowlais, Cardiff, Aberdare, &c. I heard also that twelve had been baptized in Hirwaun last week. There are great numbers in Monmouthshire and here, I cannot say how many, who have been baptized in this branch since your departure, with prospects for many more soon. May the gracious Lord permit that it be so is the constant prayer of your brother in Christ,

WILLIAM MORGAN.

To Our Subscribers

WE are sorry to inform you that we cannot fulfill the constant and earnest demand there is from several places for the “Old Religion Anew,” the “Reply,” “Book of Hymns,” and the “Reviews,” for all that were printed of the above have been distributed; and if our distributors have some on hand, we hope they will not keep them secret, but strive to distribute them since there is such a demand for them. We do not intend to publish a second printing of the above until we have evidence that all the others have been sold, and there will be no better evidence of this than the return of the money to our hand.

Several of the distributors are in heavy debt to us now, and over a hundred pounds of our money is dispersed, while with a little more effort and faithfulness they could have paid for all of them. All the churches of the Saints, throughout England, Scotland, and the world that we know of, except for the Welsh Saints, support the arms and pockets of their publishers, and give the necessary marrow in their bones, by the branches choosing their distributors, and contributing money beforehand to pay for the books they have sent for; and thus the distributors are responsible for them, and they to the office. This is the established rule of the office in Liverpool, and if a distributor does something wrong, that does not all fall on the same person to vex him, but on those who can forestall the wrong by being at his side. But up to now we, as a small operation, have strived to stand under the whole burden ourselves, without one shoulder or plan of assistance, and have contributed the earnings to assist our poor fellow workers on their travels in the midst of a perverse and rebellious generation to preach the gospel of Christ for nothing. While we take pride in our ability to do this, and while we give thanks with all our heart to some of our faithful and dear distributors for their cooperation, not only to sell, but also to pay for the books they have received, yet we are not without cause to worry that some distributors are in our debt for several pounds for years by now, with no hope of reducing it. What is to be done with such is an important question for us, and worthy of the subscribers of such distributors! If they considered how costly it is to publish, no doubt they would strive to pay, unless their intent is to hinder completely this useful tool from spreading divine truths—from defending the children and the religion of God, and from benefitting their fellowmen. We consider that it would be an injustice of the first order for us to use anyone’s money for our own personal service without permission, but the wrong would be still worse if it caused obstacles for the work of God. We intend to publish our accounts with our distributors in the Prophet after the Conference so the branches can better discern between the faithful and those to whom we refer above, if we cannot succeed some other way. An effective way to get some to apostatize in this age also is by allowing them to carry the “purse,” like Judas of old.

The 5th and last Number of the Treasury is off the press now, which will also be the last pamphlet we shall publish unless the above hints to the trick, except for the Prophet. Several hundred of each number of the Treasury are still on hand, and we hope that each one who purchased some number of it will strive to purchase them all, or else we shall buy his Number back, if it is clean and tidy. The complete Treasury will be available as soon as it can be bound, for different prices according to its binding, from 4s. to 5s. 6c.

Announcements

Books for Sale.

WE have just received close to a hundred volumes of “Capt. Jones on Mormonism in 1847,” from the Binder, and they are extremely well bound, fine and cheap, for various prices as before. We hope that the Saints will strive to possess one volume at least of these in every family before it is too late. The 1846 volumes have all been sold already, with a great call for more, but they are not available.

On page 94 of the last Number of the Prophet, on the 10th line from the bottom, instead of “twenty miles of width,” read “twenty yards of width.”—Page 93, line 23 from the top, instead of “wait under times,” read, “wait three times.”