No. 22 November 1, 1851

COMING OF THE SON OF MAN.

[Continued from page 320.]

The first question is, as is seen in verse 3, “Tell us, when shall these things be.” What things? verse 2, “There shall not be left here (the temple) one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The second question was, “And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world.” Jesus answers the two questions in an important, clear, and irrefutable manner. He answers them twice, and in two manners, so they would be sure to understand. We have in this chapter, that he was, according to the usual custom of the prophets, answering the last question first, giving a collection of the most notable things that would take place from that time to the end; and he warns them to take heed lest the false Christians deceive them; and there would be wars; but despite that, the end was not to follow the first wars, namely the armies of the Romans against Jerusalem, which disproves the objection in itself, that is to say, although Jerusalem was destroyed, that was not the end, nor were all the things that preceded that verse. We also have in the same chapter, that nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there would be famine and pestilences, and earthquakes; all this was the beginning of tribulations, in comparison with what would come afterwards. And after that we learn that sore persecution would come upon the saints, that many would be killed, and they would be hated of all nations for his name’s sake, whether all this took place in their time or not; but it is not likely that that could have been, for Christ in this chapter refers to the last time; and because of the persecution many would be obstructed, and they would betray one another. Also, many false prophets would rise, which proves the complete opposite of this general reference given to this statement, namely, that every one who professes to be a prophet, of necessity is a false prophet; the statement in and of itself proves irrefutably that there would be true prophets, or then that Jesus had used an idle word, for Christ did not warn them to beware of prophets, but the false ones; and why would he use the word false, unless there were true ones? It is impossible to have the former without having the latter also, any more than counterfeit bills could be made on one bank, if there were no authentic bills; thus our merciless accusers about false prophets, confirm our position, by destroying themselves with their own weapons, and proving that Christ said that when he would send true prophets, the devil would send false prophets, in the last days, which would introduce destructive heresies, until the love of many would wax cold. But those who remained faithful to the end, would be saved. It does not mean that those who remain until the end of the world, will be the only ones saved, or what would become of those who have died? nor does it mean just to the end of the tribulations and destruction of Jerusalem. But the word end in this place refers to the end of their lives, until death, and proves the need of watching and being faithful. He gives some extraordinary signs of that which would take place before the fulfillment of the second question, namely that the end would come, which are as follows: “and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then (and not before that), shall the end come.” After saying these pestilences which would precede the end, he answers the first question, namely, about the destruction of Jerusalem, in verse 15, “When he therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,” which was spoken by Dan. xi, 31; viii, 11, 12; xii, 7. Luke says clearly in chapter xxi, 20, what is that abomination of desolation: “And when he shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” Those hosts were the armies of the Romans under Titus; and historians say that he ordered his soldiers (after conquering the city) to knock down all the walls, and not to leave one stone on another, to fulfill the prophecy about it, having killed over one-and-a-half million Jews. These are the days of vengeance, says Christ; and they will lead captive among all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled; “then there shall be great tribulation, such as was not (on the Jewish nation) since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be (on the Jews). And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” The Jews are these elect; those days, the time of their affliction and their captivity; the length of this time which will be shortened, is, says Daniel; “until a time, times, and half a time, from the time the holy people are scattered.” Then they will be gathered back to their land, but until that time would be the days of vengeance, to fulfill all the things that were written. Luke says, “until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And Paul, in Rom. xi, “until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” to the new covenant which God would make in the last days; and then all Israel would be saved, says Moses, after being punished until they receive the double of all their sins, especially for having destroyed the Holy One of Israel, and killed their Messiah. See Deut. xxx, 4, “If any of thine be driven unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee.” But John says they would be scattered for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, or forty-two months, which is the same. Until this time there would be incomparable oppression on the Jews; in this very time, after the destruction of Jerusalem, false prophets, and false Christs would come, who would work miracles and wonders, which, say historians, were fulfilled by the beast that John saw, see Rev. xiii, “Unto him was given a mouth speaking blasphemy, and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,” which was literally brought to pass. But these false Christs were to deceive the holy people most particularly, namely, the Jewish nation; and historians say that many came in the ages after that, and deceived many of the Jews, saying that the time was coming to build Jerusalem, that they were the Messiah; and thus many of the Jews were destroyed by trying to build the city in many ages, and they were scattered every time until now, which proves that the time of the Gentiles has not been fulfilled; although many of the above signs have been fulfilled, yet not all of them; it must be recognized that the Jews are still wanderers across the entire world; thus, Christ cannot be referring to this age when he said, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Furthermore, that the Jews are in their scattered state proves these things, namely that the oppressive time, and those days of vengeance have not yet been fulfilled; Christ says, “the Son of Man would come the second time like lightning out of the east unto the west, and immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they (everyone) shall see him coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory;” thus the matter shows clearly that the aforementioned days had not been fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem, nor in the twelve hundred and sixty years after that; but before the coming of the Son of Man, he will send his angels (his fishermen and his hunters) to gather his elect (the Jews, and all those who are brought into the new covenant, through obedience to the gospel, until they come to know God through it, and receive a right to the blessings of Abraham, &c.,) from the four winds. All this was to take place before the time to which Christ referred could happen, when he said, “this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled:” they were first to fall by the edge of the sword, and to be trodden under the feet of the gentiles, until the fulfilling of the time of the gentiles.”—I ask those who assert that all those things have been fulfilled in this age, Where is it proved that the sun has become as sackcloth? It could be that they are thinking of that great darkness that lasted for three hours, when He was crucified: that was not at the time of his coming, but at his departure from the world the first time; and the great darkness before his second coming, says Zechariah, was to last for three days. When did the moon turn to blood, and when were all the family of the planetary depths seen as frightened, agitated, leaping from their orbits, and fleeing from his presence to the depths of space? When were the foundations of heaven shaken? It says that all this would be accomplished before his coming, and it says in Zechariah xiv, 6, when the Son of Man comes, with his feet standing on the mount of Olives, “that there would be no more night, there would be no more sun, moon, or star, in the firmament of the sky.” Peter says, Acts iii, that there will be a restitution of all things as they were created when they came from the hand of their Creator, when he said, “behold, it was very good.” This blessed time has not yet come, has it? nevertheless, that generation has already passed, along with seventeen others after it, and all things stand as in the beginning, without all the things coming to pass. Then the brilliant rays of the sun, when like a giant it runs its course through the sky, the bright light of the moon that lights our steps along town and country in darkness of night; yes, the entire host of the heavenly bodies, and their little satellites, which travel their orbits, are as many witnesses that deny the argument, and confirm each time they appear, that it was not to that age the Son of God was referring when he said, “this generation shall not pass,” &c.; and also that the Son of man was not to come in that age, but that he is to come in the determined and appointed time. All the lights of the planetary depths proclaim with one voice, We have been set to do nothing more than to travel our orbits for a determined time; but when that appointed time comes, we will all escape to the depths of the land of oblivion like things that were, before the brilliance of his presence; there will be no need for us to cast our light at that time, for He will be the light of all the world, when he comes; yes, all the wretchedness and moans of the earthly creatures, all the rocks and mountains, all the islands of the world, all the thorns and brambles, and thistles of the earth, will remind us when we feel their sting, and when we see their imperfections, and when we hear their lament and their groans, bearing a sure witness that all the above things have not been fulfilled; and when the Son of man comes, they will disappear from view, they will cease to be of the world, for the enmity between man and animal will end, and there will be peace over the whole earth.

In order to show the inconsistency and the foolishness of the above argument, let us see where it leads us. The prophets say, when the Son of Man comes the second time, his powerful angels and all his saints will come with him. Paul says that all who were dead in Christ will resurrect with him, with bodies like his glorified body; then the living and those who were left will be snatched up to meet him in the air. Isaiah says, “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise;” and Enoch says that the Lord will come with myriads of his angels. Thus, we see, if he has already come, all the dead in Christ must have arisen, and all the saints on the earth must have been changed into one form with his glorified body; and since they are to be with him forever after that, then they were to be kings and priests to God, and to reign with him on the earth. If this has all been fulfilled, and if they have come, where are they? Let us look for them in every corner of the earth, until we find them; perhaps they are in some corner of it yet! But the scriptures say, that he would be king over all the earth, and would govern over all things; that all the kingdoms of the world would become His— that the knowledge of him would fill the earth, as the waves of the waters of the sea. There will be no need to search for him; for at that day all will know the Lord, from the greatest to the least of them. All the saints will be with him, and like him; and all the ungodly will be burned with the breath of his mouth when he comes! Then, the argument is foolishness, namely that Christ refers to that age, when he says, “This generation shall not pass, &c.—(To be continued.)

DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENTS.

Mr. Editor,—I received an anonymous letter recently, but the person who wrote it was a counselor, so he said, in some place. He did not specify which place; and he was asking for a bit of light; namely what are the duties of the counselors with regard to their president, and those of the president with regard to his counselors? Now, I wish to make these things known through the TrumPet, if you please, and shed some light on the matter.

The duty of every president is to be a president, and to be sure to act according to the appointment he has received, despite everything; and to take care not to be lead by anyone under him, but only those who preside over him. Some presidents who are unlearned are sometimes tempted, to give way to their counselors who are learned to preside over them; and the instant that takes place, there is the cart before the horse; and that is totally awkward on the street, is it not? and it is much more awkward on God’s path. It is a good thing to be learned, if the learned just govern themselves, and turn in their own circles. Some who are learned tend to go up to the garret. Presidents, call them down.

There is another group, completely useless to build the kingdom of God, namely those who think too poorly of themselves; and these are the people who go down to the cellar and become a stop tap there.

These two groups get lost very often, and we find some up, some down; and it causes a great deal of trouble for me and other brethren; and they are a great obstacle in carrying forth with the work of God. The world is not in the least, an obstacle in carrying the work of God forth. I count the wisest of the wise as nothing, and give a challenge to the world. The aforementioned groups, together with the sins of others, are the only ones who have the power to keep this wheel from turning. And that is but for a short season, until God has come to the field, to speak with power through his servants, until all flesh will tremble, and all devils flee.

But let us get to the point. The duty of the president is to love his counselors, and to counsel with them concerning the best way to carry things forward; and the duty of the counselors is to love their president. There are circumstances that permit when the president can put things before, or organize things, without counseling with anyone; and if they are nearby or present, it would be well for him to counsel with them. The abilities of three are greater; there are three faiths in place of one; and their plans will be sure to succeed, if they are in a unity of faith. The nearer they live to one another, the better, so they can work together to move things forward. It is not good for them to live far from each other, unless they have frequent meetings. The president can say to his counselors, you go this way, and you that way; and I shall stay home: for that is where the branch presidents are always needed, except for some occasions. No one is able to perform the task of presiding, except for the person who is appointed. And let every counselor consider it a privilege for him to obey, and put into action, the counsels of his president. That is enough light on that for now.

Another thing. Let the president of the districts send here to me the six-month reports of their districts, by the 5th day of next December. The report should be made up to the 1st day of December. The things that I am requesting, are the number of branches, high priests, elders, priests, teachers, deacons; excommunicated, deaths, emigrations, baptisms; current number of members; and in every case let the number of members contain the number of officers and the scattered members which do not belong to any branch, together with the name of the president and the secretary. Let the branch presidents see that their secretaries send a correct report on time to the district secretary, so that he can send them here, in time for me to send them to Liverpool by the appointed time.

Let the chief district distributors send information to Liverpool by the 10th day of December, as to how many of the Millennial Star are requested for next year, and let the chief branch distributors send here to Bro. Richard Morris the number they are requesting.

One other bit of counsel; let the district presidents look into, and insist on seeing that a greater effort is made with the Perpetual Emigrating Fund from now on, than has been made in the past; and may God bless you, and bless the Church in Wales, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

William Phillips

14, Castle St., MerthyrTydfil, October 28, 1851.

REMARKS OF W. GIBSON ON THE BOOK OF MORMON.

[Continued from page 331.]

If, then, it be reasonable to believe that God gave revelation to the ancient inhabitants of America, is it unreasonable to expect that he would enable them to record those revelations, and thus hand them down to posterity? Would not such things be the word of God, as much as any contained in the Bible?

But it may be asked, if they once had revelation, why did they lose it? I answer, because of transgression. Were the writings of the Old Testament never lost? Let those who think so read the second book of Kings, from the xxii, 10, to xxiii, 4, and find their error; and even yet how many books are still wanting here? I shall enumerate a few, Book of the Wars of the Lord, Numbers, xxi, 14; Book of Jasher, Joshua x, 13; Book of the Statutes of the Kings of Israel, 1 Samuel, x, 25; Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, 1 Kings xiv, 19; Book of Enoch, Jude 14; Book of Nathan the Prophet, and the Book of Gad the Seer, 1 Chronicles xxix, 29; Book of Ahijah, and the Book of Iddo the Seer, 2 Chronicles ix, 29; and the Book of Shemeiah the Prophet, 2 Chronicles xii, 15; Book of Jehu, 2 Chron. xx. 34; Book of the Sayings of the Seers, 2 Chron. xxxiii, 19. Book of the Story of the Kings, 2 Chronicles xxi, 27. Were not these books as good scripture as the rest of the Old Testament? and if they should ever be found, are we not bound to receive them as such as well as the rest of the scripture? No, we are told, unless we have better proof of their authenticity than any we have for the truth of the Book of Mormon.

Then tell me what proof you have that the part of the Old Testament that was lost, and found by Hilkiah, was the law of God. Read the quotation I have given above, and you will find that you have only the word of a man and a woman, Hilkiah and Huldah. And were the writings of the New Testament never lost; no man of common sense will say they have not: and have they all been found? if any one thinks so, let him read the following passages, 1 Corinthians, v, 9; Ephesians, iii, 3; Colossians, iv, 16; Luke, i, 1. And should they be found, how will you prove their authenticity, or rather how will you prove the authenticity of those you have, which compose what is called the New Testament. Had those men who voted that the books we now have are authentic any better guide in doing so than their own opinion? if not, where is the proof of their authenticity? Who ever saw the originals? And even if anyone could see them, how could he know them to be so, without revelation? And without the originals, how can you prove which of all the various translations of the scriptures is correct? Whereas for the truth of the Book of Mormon we have had, and still have on the earth, living men, who have seen and handled the plates, or the original thereof, and some of them bear witness that it was shown them by an angel of God; and thousands of living men have received testimony of its truth, and of the truth of the testimony of the first witnesses thereunto, by the voice of the Almighty, the ministration of Angels, visions, and the witness of the Spirit of truth. But we are often told, if you have the plates, on which the original copy of the Book of Mormon is engraved, why not show them openly? And what better would the world be if they saw them, without revelation to know what they contained; and unless God gave every man a revelation for himself, the world would still have only the testimony of those who had received this for the truth of the translation.

Paul, says to the Hebrews xi, 1., that faith is the evidence of things not seen, and that it cometh by hearing the word of God, Romans x, 17, and he also who bears witness to the word of God must be sent by God; for how can we hear without a preacher, and how can he preach except he be sent, see Romans x, 14. We find in every age of the world, men’s faith in God and the things of God were founded on the testimony of a few of their fellowmen whom God called and sent to them; for instance, the world in the days of Noah, had only his testimony that God had given him, a revelation concerning the coming flood; and the world now (except for the Latter-day Saints), have only what is said to be the testimony of Moses concerning that event, the creation of the world and the fall of man, &c.

The Children of Israel, after Moses’ day, believed that the holy of holies contained the ark, and that the ark contained the tables of the law, which Moses put there, with the pot of manna, Aaron’s rod, that budded, &c., &c., and that the glory of the Lord appeared over the mercy seat; and what testimony had they for this? were they shown to all the people, as the wise men of this day want us to do with the plates of the Book of Mormon? No, they had only the word of the high priest for it, and he only went in there once a year.

And again, the Christian world believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Has he shown himself to you, my Christian friends? did any of you parsons ever see him? I think in consistency you ought to make the same demand of him that you do of us; namely to show himself to all the people if he wants them to believe in his resurrection; and what proof have you got that he rose from the dead at all? did he show himself to all the people when that event is said to have taken place, see Acts x, 40. Did not the holy men of that day, namely the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees declare that his body was stolen from the tomb? and did not the Roman soldiers, who watched the tomb, declare that they fell asleep, and while they slept, the body was stolen by his disciples, naturally? and did not the Jews believe them? Do you not think that, under these circumstances, they were at least as much entitled to demand that he would show himself to all the people, if he wanted them to believe in his resurrection, as good men of these days are to call for a showing of the plates? Did he ever do so? no, no one saw him after he rose from the dead, but his followers; and who were they? the poor fishermen, and their companions, men who were charged with stealing his body, men who were as much despised and discredited in their day as ever the Latter-day Saints can be by this generation; and these were the men to whom Jesus said, Mark xvi, 15, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel (of course the resurrection formed an essential part of it), to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; and he that believeth not, shall be damned.” And had the world no way of proving their testimony? Certainly they had the same way that men of this age have to prove the testimony of those who bear witness to the truth of the Book of Mormon; for when Jesus sent them into all the world to preach the gospel to every creature, they were commanded, not only to promise men salvation in the world to come, through faith and obedience to the testimony, but they were commanded to promise to those who believed that, in the name of Jesus, they should cast out devils, speak in new tongues, take up serpents, heal the sick by the laying on of their hands, &c., see Mark xvi, 15. So then everyone could know whether or not their testimony was true or false; and by the same means can the people now prove those who bear testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon; for God has sent us to bear testimony of its truth to all the world, and to preach the gospel to every creature, declaring that he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, and that believeth not shall be damned; and these signs shall follow them that believe in the name of Jesus; they shall cast out devils, speak in new tongues, take up serpents, if they drink any deadly thing (unknowingly, of course) it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. So then, my Christian friends, if you reject the Book of Mormon, and our testimony of its truth, for the same reasons you must reject the Bible. But the Latter-day Saints believe them both; because he has proven the testimony of Peter and Joseph Smith both to be true, for these signs do follow them that believe.

Having now shown, I hope, that the coming forth of such a record is perfectly consistent with reason, and the character of God, and his dealings with the human family, I will next proceed to show its harmony with scripture.

(To be continued.)

POLYGAMY AGAIN.

There is nothing more obvious that the Saints are greatly wronged by the publications of the country, when they say that Polygamy is in their midst; for what alliance of people would publish that polygamy is a sin, while at the same time practicing it. All the books of the Saints forbid it, especially the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants; and if the Saints were to approve of polygamy, they would not be so foolish as to say anything against it, rather they would keep it hidden, or else they would defend it. Now, for the benefit of the readers of the TrumPet, we quote a small piece of the Welsh printing of the Book of Mormon, page 101, 102, where Jacob addresses his brethren:—

“And now, my brethren, I have spoken unto you concerning pride; and those of you which have afflicted your neighbor, and persecuted him because ye were proud in your hearts, of the things which God hath given you, what say ye of it? Do ye not suppose that such things are abominable unto him who created all flesh? And the one being is a precious in his sight as the other. And all flesh is of the dust; and for the selfsame end hath he created them, that they should keep his commandments and glorify him forever. And now I make an end of speaking unto you concerning this pride. And were it not that I must speak unto you concerning a grosser crime, my heart would rejoice exceedingly because of you. But the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord, This people begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures; for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son. Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord; wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph. Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old. Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord; for there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none; for I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts. Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes. For if I will, saith the Lord of hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things. For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands. And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of hosts; for they shall not lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse, even unto destruction; for they shall not commit whoredoms, like unto them of old, saith the Lord of hosts.”

VERSES.

Tune—“God save the King.”

I’ll sing a happy tune

To Him who’s on the throne,

A King above;

His kingdom before long

Will be seen throughout all the land,

And hail to it indeed,

I’ll say boldly.

All Saints will join together,

Appreciating the privilege,

In one heart;

And shout with one voice,

A welcome unto Him

To come down from heaven;

It is now time.

To mount Zion we’ll go,

For there we can see

His shining face;

There we can also meet,

To sit at his table,

Beyond the useless noise,

In glorious feast.

Angelic praise will be,

With seraphic song

Together;

The heavenly host will lend an ear

To listen to the beloved praise,

And they also will strike up

The same song.

The Holy Ghost fills

The hearts of great and small,

Throughout the beautiful throng;

All will be in lovely joy,

Without any ache or pain,

Singing praises to the Lamb,

Without ceasing.

How glorious it will be

For the Saints who are now

The object of scorn;

They’ll be crowned at some time

As fair kings of the dawn;

They’ll reign on the earth

In great happiness.

All the ungodly

Will be rebuked for their sin,

They will be brought down;

At this time the devil will be, Chained in the lake;

His binding will be secure,

He’ll do no more harm.

How happy will be the place,

O, secure your part,

You good men;

Flee from the sword’s edge,

No more peace will be seen,

A host will go down to the grave,

From a great plague.

My dear and beloved family,

I’ll set this in black and white,

As a dire warning;

O, come says God now,

From the corners of great Babel;

Down she will fall—

’Tis an important event.

Ffestiniog. D. Roberts.

NOTES, & c .

BOOK OF MORMON.—We would like to inform the subscribers of the Book of Mormon, that its segments, from the 20th on, will be a penny each! We congratulate our brethren for the effort they have made on its behalf. We think that it is best not to cut its pages before it is bound, lest some are lost, and cannot be replaced. Since it will be out in about six months, it is better for the most careless not to read it, rather put the segments safely aside, for binding, and after that remember to read it.

DOC and COV.—The “Doc. and Cov.” is now bound in beautiful leather, and the edges of the pages have been gilded in the most excellent way, price 3s 6c. Its price for district distributors is 3s., and to branch distributors, 3s 3c.

THE TRUMPET.—While the effort is being made with respect to the Book of Mormon, on no account should the Trumpet be neglected: this publication is as necessary as anything we have; for it contains God’s directions for the church in this age, which all should know. Besides that, it is the only means we have of defending ourselves; and if the Trumpet is now spread across the length and breadth of the land, there is no way to defend ourselves. We do not want to argue our cause before one another, rather before the world: therefore, appreciate the TrumPet, by striving to sell it and distribute it in their midst. Remember it at the beginning of the year, so that we may get three or four thousand subscribers, instead of the two thousand and two hundred we presently have. The Book of Mormon will be finished, probably, if we are alive and healthy, by about the end of April; and then the Saints will have but a light burden from then on, since the main books will have been published. Therefore, keep in mind a good circulation for the Trumpet next year, so that the country may see it, and so that the distributors will have something more for distributing it.

Star.—There should be an effort made everywhere to refrain from reducing the call for the Star, rather to increase it. If fewer are sent for, there can be no chance of getting it for a penny.

Appointments.—Elder Thomas Pugh was released as President of the West Glamorgan District, and Elder Henry Evans was appointed in his stead. Also, brother Phillips was released as President of the East Glamorgan District, and Thomas Pugh was appointed in his stead, so that brother Phillips can take greater care of all the Welsh Districts.

Several writings of Capt. D. Jones are in our possession, which we will publish from time to time in the TrumPet, believing that many will be glad to see them, for they have never before been published. Although he has gone from our midst, his words are still with us.

The song of our brother “D. E. J.” is particularly excellent, but we fear that we will do harm by publishing it. Would he be so kind as to present us with something of a different nature.

We thank “D. W.” for his treatise, but we cannot publish that which tends to shatter feelings. Every sect has its feelings; and the less we mock them for their foolishness, the better for all.

Payments from October 17 to October 30.—Breconshire, 2s 6c; West Glamorgan, £2 13s 6c; Pontytypridd, £2 18s 2c; Cwmbach, £1 19s; Gog, 5s; Cardiff, 14s; Dowlais, £1 2s 6c; Rhymney, 4s 2½c; Georgetown, £3 6s 6c; Merthyr, £2; Pendaren, 6s 7½c; Cefn, £1 3s 1½c.—Total, £16 15s 1½.

Errors.—In our last issue, read “Llanilltyd, 10s 3c;” instead of “3s 10c;” and in the issue before last, the debt of Pontytypridd should be 6s more.

Send all correspondence, orders, and book payments to, John Davis, Printer, John’s Street, Georgetown, Merthyr.