FOURTH GENERAL EPISTLE OF THE PRESIDENCY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, FROM THE GREAT SALT LAKE VALLEY, IN THE STATE OF DESERET, TO THE SAINTS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE EARTH.

GREETING:—

Dear Brethren,—Another opportunity is presented, whereby we may communicate to you what great things the Lord has been doing for his people; for truly has he made the wilderness to bud and blossom like the rose, and the fruit thereof to come forth in its season, while the solitary places of the mountains of Ephraim are made vocal with the praises of Israel’s God.

Since our last epistle of the 12th of April, our Heavenly Father has cheered our hearts, and strengthened our hands; and the earth has yielded an abundant harvest. On the 12th of May, peach trees, of two years’ growth, were in bloom; and several trees of the same age, in various parts of the city, alternately bloomed till the twenty-ninth, when currants, peas, beans, &c., put forth their blossoms; and nature smiled with the prospect of early fruits; but on the 17th of June, the snow fell freely on the surrounding mountains, followed by a severe frost on the 18th, and a slight one on the 19th, which injured the vines and the tender plants; more particularly on the lowest lands; yet we feel confident that this valley will yet produce the choicest fruits, accustomed to the latitudes, as it now does the richest vegetables. The peaches in brother Young’s garden grew finely, until they were accidentally destroyed by the sports of the children; and the California grape is flourishing beautifully in the same garden, and other places in the city.

On the 13th of May, we located a farm, one mile by two, near Jordan bridge, for the benefit of the poor, designing to build houses for the accommodation of all such as were not able to build for themselves; but on investigation we learned there were only two persons in the Valley who were unable to provide for themselves, and the contemplated farm was converted into a pasture for the time being.

The Indians have been more quiet the present season than hitherto; though the Utes continue to steal our horses and cattle more or less, and threaten some. A band of Utes killed a small band of the Snake Indians, some time in the summer, and one white man by the name of Baker was killed by them on the 29th of May, between the Utah and San Pete valleys. Though more recently they have been on their hunts, and manifested personal hostility; yet, for the safety of the people, the drill and discipline of the Nauvoo Legion is not neglected, for we have none to depend upon for protection but God, and his people; and God helps those who try to help themselves.

Emigrants from the States, and from almost all nations, passing through the States, bound for the Gold Mines, began to arrive here on the 27th of May, and have continued to arrive till the present time, though most of them have passed a month since. Their numbers have been much larger than the previous year. Several have arrived in our city, who had been left by their companions to die by the wayside; and many companies and individuals have had contentions among themselves, not very creditable to civilized society, and which, contrary to the wishes of the magistracy of our State, they have been called upon to settle. It is the urgent wish of all the citizens of Deseret, that travelers would settle their own difficulties; or rather, that they would have no difficulties, so that our officers might pursue their daily avocations in peace. Were there no travelers in our midst, we might soon forget the name of lawsuit. As a people, we have too much to do to attend to such matters.

Many scores, if not hundreds, of these emigrants, on arriving at the Valley, and hearing the gospel, for the first time in many instances, have been baptized for the remission of their sins, and gone no further, while others have witnessed our location, peace, union, and prosperity, and though not professing to believe the doctrine of Christ, are making their way home as fast as possible, to bring their families hither, where they can enjoy health, in a land of civil and religious liberty, where they find themselves free to do right.

On the 8th of June, a mail was received from Kanesville Post Office, per hand of Thomas S. Williams, containing the first authentic intelligence from the States this season, and on the 14th commenced the printing of the “Deseret News,” the first periodical in the State of Deseret.

The Nauvoo Legion, in uniform, honored the 4th of July with a public parade, which closed with a patriotic address by the Governor of the State. The Topographical Engineers have closed their surveys for the season,

and returned to Washington, as we are informed, by way of Arkansas. Rumors having been circulated in the States, that the Engineers had been received with coldness, and the object of the expedition had been forcibly opposed by the inhabitants of the Valley. We here give extracts from a letter of Captain Stansbury (President of the corps), to the Editor of the “Deseret News,” dated July 1st, 1850, concerning the matter. “How the rumor became prevalent, I am ignorant, * * I take pleasure in declaring that nothing can be further from the truth. We were received by the President and public authorities with the greatest courtesy, both officially and personally, and will remember with gratitude the many tokens of kindness and regard we have received from them and the citizens of the place.

“Every facility has been studiously afforded us for the prosecution of our duties; instruments of science frankly and gratuitously loaned, and the able and faithful assistance obtained from their commencement here, of a gentleman, well known as a fearless advocate of your doctrines, and a prominent and influential member of your community.” The whole letter is in No. 4 of the “Deseret News,” and a copy of the same may be found in every newspaper in the United States, that has circulated the rumors which drew forth the letter, provided the editor thereof is an honest man.

The third anniversary of the Pioneers into the Valley, on the 24th of July, was celebrated by the public assembly, in a manner worthy of the occasion, with orations, addresses, songs of praise and thanksgiving, and music, in which the Saints and pilgrims to the mines seemed alike to participate. A synopsis of the proceedings were published in No. 7, 8, and 9 of the “News.”

On the last of July, brothers Young and Kimball left home on a visit to Utah and San Pete, and returned on the 12th of August, having found a place for a good settlement, located a city at San Pete, and noticed several intermediate sites, worthy of the attention of smaller colonies, which we anticipate will be settled this fall, making a pleasant and safe communication from this to our most southern habitations. The San Pete settlement will also be strengthened, and others will spread on the north, to, and beyond Ogden, so that when the emigration of this season shall close, there will be a continued line of villages at short distances, for more than 200 miles in extent; and a company is already chartered by the General Assembly of Deseret, for the purpose of running a regular line of coaches between Ogden and San Pete, to commence as early next spring as the traveling will permit, and to be extended as fast as the settlements extend; also, from the capital to Tooele county, by way of the Great Salt Lake Bath.

The Government of the Union has been very tardy in rendering any facilities of communication between themselves and the State of Deseret, and having been left to our own resources for information, on the second of August, brother John Y. Green was dispatched to Kanesville with a mail; and on the 15th Elder O. Hyde arrived with a mail from Kane Post Office; also bringing with him the “Frontier Guardian,” the only file of newspapers we are in possession of, from any part of the earth for the past year.

The weather has been more cloudy, the nights warmer, and the showers more frequent in the heat of summer, and vegetation more rapid this season, than hitherto; consequently, artificial irrigation has been less needed, which has been a great blessing; for, during the irrigation season, there were not men enough in the Valley to water the immense fields of grain, had it been as dry as some previous seasons.

The crops have been abundant in all the settlements of Deseret this season; and we have made every exertion to have them secured for the benefit of all; and although from the best information obtained, we have reason to expect that our population will be strengthened, nearly, if not quite, fifteen thousand, this season, yet we are confident, if all will be prudent, there will be seed grain, and bread sufficient to sustain the whole, until another harvest.

The estimated population of fifteen thousand inhabitants in Deseret, the past year, having raised grain sufficient to sustain the thirty thousand for the coming year, inspires us confidently to believe, that the thirty thousand the coming year, can raise sufficient for sixty thousand the succeeding year, and to this object and end our energies will be exerted, to double our population annually, by the assistance of the Perpetual Emigrating Poor Fund, and otherwise provide for the sustenance of that population.

Viewing the gathering of Israel, which produces an increased population in the valleys of the mountains, an important part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and one of the most important at the present time; we shall send few or no elders abroad to preach the gospel this fall; but instruct them to raise grain and build houses, and prepare for the saints, that they may come in flocks, like doves to their windows; and we say, arise! to your wagons and your tents, O, scattered Israel! ye Saints of the Most High! rich and poor, and gather to the State of Deseret, bringing your plows and drills, your reapers and gleaners, your threshers and cleaners, of the most approved patterns, so that one man can do the labor of twenty, in the wheat field; and we will soon send the elders abroad by hundreds and thousands to a harvest of souls among all nations, and the inhabitants of the earth shall speedily hear of the salvation prepared by Israel’s God for his people.

Many inhabitants of the city are leaving their good homes this fall, and taking up land in the country, preparatory for extensive farming operations; and many who are now arriving in our midst, are gathering in companies of tens, twenties, and fifties, to act in concert for mutual protection and assistance, in opening new fields, establishing new settlements, and in preparing to feed the friends we are calling home.

Our messengers who went east, this fall, to visit the camps of the saints, emigrating hither, and report to us their situation, have discovered a new route from Green River, south of the old road, to the Pacific Springs, on which the feed and water are improved; also a new route on the north side of the Sweet Water River; which, together with the road on the entire north side of the Platte River, from its mouth westward, as located all the distance, and traveled the most of the way by our pioneers in 1847, is decidedly the best route for the Saints from the States to Deseret.

Crossing the Missouri River above the mouth of the Platte, and passing the Loup Fork, which is the only river of much consequence to cross on the north of the Platte; also, of the Sweet Water, except near its source in the mountains; and there are no natural obstructions on the route till you arrive at Green River, where a ferry may be expected at high water, and good fording is always found late in the season.

Our State House is enclosed; the walls are nearly ready for plastering; and we have no doubt but the several apartments will be ready for their several uses—the sitting of the General Assembly, High School, Printing Office, and Tithing, Post and Recording Offices, the coming winter. The Warm Spring Bath House is so near completion, the visitants are accommodated at the baths, and daily and hourly carriages are running from thence to various parts of the city.

There are several extensive storehouses completed, and near completion in our city, and good sufficient in quantity and variety, with the exception of groceries, for the necessities of the people, till another season.

Sugar is not only a beverage, a luxury, but it is in its nature and substance, one of the component parts of our bodies; and a free use thereof is calculated to promote health; and could the Saints have a more abundant supply, they would need less meat. Should every person in Deseret consume one-third of an ounce of sugar per day, through the coming year, it would require about one hundred and twenty tons, more than has or will be brought by our merchants this season; and according to the best estimate we can make, three hundred tons would be consumed in this State the next year, if it could be obtained.

We anticipate some relief in the sugar market next season, from the culture of the sugar beet, and its manufacture, but this can make but little impression the first year, as we are not informed of more than one or two bushels of the genuine sugar beet seed in the valley, though we know of no country where a greater quantity of saccharine matter is produced in vegetables than this.

About the middle of August, Brothers Young and Kimball, accompanied by Brother Hyde and others, visited Weber county, and located and gave the plan for the city of Ogden, near Ogden river, and between that and the Weber river.

The General Assembly has held adjourned sessions, occasionally through the summer. The sittings have been very brief, though much important business has been transacted, important to our young and flourishing State. When the constitution of Deseret was adopted, and its boundaries were established therein, the actual settlers of Deseret out numbered Western California as five to three. Notwithstanding which, a strong exertion has been made by Congress to receive California into the Union, to the exclusion of Deseret, though our petition for admission was equally before them.

* * * * * * * *

Kane Post Office, in Pottawattamie, is the nearest office to this place, and through which all our business has been transacted with the States and foreign countries. A United States mail arrived here on the 9th of this month, from Independence, Missouri, by which we received no news, except through the carrier, by whom we learned that a contract existed for bringing through the mail once a month, and that President Taylor was dead.

Communications to and from our friends abroad have been very uncertain in their transmission, and so far as it can be, it is desirable that valuable documents should be remitted by private conveyance.

The Perpetual Emigrating Funds have been judiciously appropriated the past year, under the immediate application of our agent, Bishop Edward Hunter, who is near this place, on his return from Pottawattamie, with a large company of poor Saints.

Our annual fall Conference was commenced on the 6th of September, one month earlier than usual, so that the brethren who were obliged to go to the States, need not be exposed on their travels so late in the season; but circumstances, beyond our control, have cause unexpected delay, which, in the end, will result in good.

The Conference was fully attended, and much important business was transacted, as will be seen by reference to the minutes which are published, the most important items dwelt upon, were the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, Education, and a universal sustaining of the general officers of the Church, and of the different quorums thereof, except that Brother Parry was added to the High Council of this Stake of Zion, in place of Brother Grover, who is absent.

Preparations are making for the establishment of a parent school, or a school for qualifying teachers for primary and infant schools throughout the State; for enclosing the University lands, a plot of about six hundred acres, directly east of the City; and for everything else which may tend to facilitate the improvement of the old and young, in a knowledge of the arts, sciences, and general intelligence.

Several thousand dollars were subscribed to the Perpetual Fund during Conference; and several individuals subscribed one thousand each. Since that time the Perpetual Emigrating Company, of not fewer than thirteen members, consisting of a president, and assistants, has been incorporated by an Ordinance of the General Assembly of the State of Deseret, with power to choose their own officers, such as a president, secretary, treasurer, recorder, and agents; and transact all business necessary for the furtherance of emigration; in accordance with the general principles of transacting business among states and nations.

Brigham Young was unanimously elected President of the Company, who have since completed their organization by electing Willard Richards, Secretary; Newel K. Whitney, Treasurer; and Thomas Bullock, Recorder; every Member of the Company is responsible for the acts of its officers and agents.

It is confidently reported that there is a great failure of the gold dust, the present season, in California; and many of the donations made to the Perpetual Fund, have and will be made in livestock, grain, &c.; and should a proper proportion of cash be wanting, the Company will issue their paper, for the purpose of fitting out emigrants abroad, which paper will always be good, as a sufficiency of the stock will be retained in deposit by the Company, to redeem that paper at any moment; and any person coming to this place can, with more convenience, bring the paper than flour, stock, or even gold; which will make it an object for the brethren who have the means, and travelers bound for Deseret, to secure the Company’s paper, wherever they can find it; for with that paper they can get such articles as travelers most need, when money will not purchase them in this market.

The Twelve Apostles are mostly in their several fields of labor abroad. Elder Orson Hyde has been with us a few weeks on a visit, and is about to return to Kanesville, and continue his labors in the States. Elders P. P. Pratt, Geo. A. Smith, and E. T. Benson are at this place; and, with Wilford Woodruff, who is journeying hither, will spend the winter in the Valley. Orson Pratt and Franklin D. Richards are in England. John Taylor, who left for France, Lorenzo Snow, for Italy, Erastus Snow, for Sweden, last fall, have not been heard from since they arrived at their destinations. Amasa Lyman is daily expected, with a large company of the brethren from California. Charles C. Rich is expected to continue his labors in California, and commence a settlement with such of the brethren as wish to tarry there, in the southern part of the Territory. Orson Pratt is expected here, as early next spring as circumstances will permit; otherwise, the Apostles are expected to continue in their several appointments, according to previous instruction; extending their labors into other countries, as opportunity presents, and as they shall be directed by the Holy Spirit.

We received a long and cheering communication from Elder O. Pratt by Elder Hyde; and we feel to say to the Saints in England, lift up your hearts and rejoice, for the Lord hath done a great work in your midst, and speedily a greater responsibility must rest upon your shoulders. The reason why a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and among his own kin, is the want of faith and confidence among his countrymen. Immense treasures of time and means have been expended by the American brethren, to extend the work in Great Britain; and the time has now come when we must begin to have a care for other nations, and leave you to prosecute the work begun in your midst, without continuing to send you Elders as heretofore: God is no respecter of persons, and he is just as ready and willing to qualify your own Elders to preach and preside over Conferences, as to qualify men from abroad; and he will do it if you will give them your faith and prayers, and honor them in their calling, as you have done the foreign Elders.

We do not wish the American Elders to leave England, unless they shall particularly desire it, and that desire shall be approved by the Presidency at Liverpool; and we suggest to that Presidency the propriety of electing presiding Elders of Conferences from the native brethren, as soon as circumstances shall render it convenient; and begin to initiate them into the practical duties of their calling, leaving the few American brethren more at liberty to visit the conferences, and attend to general instructions. Presiding Bishop Newel K. Whitney, died very suddenly on the 23rd instant; Bishop Whitney was one of the oldest members of the Church, and we have to deplore the loss of an exemplary member, and a most upright man in all his dealings; and while we mourn his absence, we are again reminded that the Church of Christ is built upon no man; and that God is able to do his own work. Bishop Partridge was the first presiding bishop in the Church in these last days, and died several years since; he was succeeded by Bishop Whitney, who is now gone to the world of spirits; and the voice to all is, be ye also ready. The health of the people in the Valley is generally good; there have been a few deaths, mostly of emigrants.

Every possible exertion will be made on our part, and that of the Emigrating Company, to extend the usefulness of the Perpetual Fund in gathering the Saints; and it is important that those who anticipate help therefrom, should understand, that the means sent forth are, and will be designed to furnish teams of oxen, almost or quite exclusively; and even the cases in which wagons will be furnished will be rare. The poor who can live in the States with little clothing, and little or no groceries, &c., can live equally as cheap on the road; and when once here, can procure the comforts of life by their industry. Souls are the articles for the Perpetual Fund to gather home, and that too as many as possible; and other things will be attended to in their time and place.

We are under obligation by covenant, firstly to apply the Perpetual Funds gathered in this country, to bring home the poor Saints who were driven from Nauvoo; and as soon as this shall be accomplished, we shall be ready to extend our exertions to other places and countries. Let the European Saints continue to add to their Perpetual Funds, which we doubt not they have commenced according to our previous counsel; and as soon as sufficient shall be collected to remove a suitable company, we will give instructions concerning its application, and emigration will commence.

One year ago and the Perpetual Fund was not instituted. Returns have not been completed this fall; but so far as we can judge, they will not now fall much short of twenty thousand dollars in the Valley. Let the Saints abroad imitate the example of the Saints here, according to their ability, and let this work continue to go forward with the same speed it has hitherto done, and the time will be short, when all the poor and oppressed of Zion will feel its cheering influence, and the cry need not be heard, “I would go up to the House of the Lord, but I have not the means.”

The Perpetual Emigrating Company consists of Brigham Young, President: Heber C. Kimball, Willard D. Richards, Orson Hyde, Geo. A. Smith, Ezra T. Benson, Jedediah M. Grant, Daniel H. Wells, Willard Snow, Edward Hunter, Daniel Spencer, Thomas Bullock, John Brown, William Crosby, Amasa Lyman, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Young, and P. P. Pratt, Assistants; Daniel Spencer, Treasurer, in place of N. K. Whitney, deceased. Orson Hyde and John Brown have been appointed traveling agents, and will be in the States the ensuing winter. Orson Pratt and Franklin D. Richards have been appointed traveling agents; they are located at Liverpool; and their particular field of operations, at present, will be the British Islands.

Thus, brethren, we have given you a brief history of the situation and prospects of the Church in the Wilderness, and the wishes of our Heavenly Father, as made manifest by his spirit dwelling in us, for your edification, comfort, and salvation. The signs of the times are highly portentous of a mighty and short work in these last days; and we pray God, the Eternal Father, that he will inspire your hearts with humility, faith, and patience; and that he may give you diligence in every means within your reach, to help roll that work forward, that you may speedily be found in Zion, rejoicing with us, and the Gospel be proclaimed to the ends of the earth, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Brigham Young,

Heber C. Kimball,

Willard Richards,

Great Salt Lake City, Deseret, September 27, 1850.

TESTAMENTS OF THE TWELVE PATRIARCHS,

NAMELY THE SONS OF JACOB .

[Continued from page 46.]

TESTAMENT OF SIMEON .

Here’s the advice of cruel Simeon,

After calling together his sons,

To command to keep away from jealousy,

Since this destroys its owner.

Copy of Simeon’s words, which he spake unto his sons at his death, in the hundredth and twentieth year of his life in the which Joseph died; for when they came to visit him upon his deathbed, and he sitting up, kissed them, saying,—

Hearken my children, hear me your father Simeon, whatsoever I have in my heart: I am my father Jacob’s second son, and my mother Leah named me Simeon, because the Lord heard her prayer. I became very mighty, and I went through with my doings, and was not afraid of anything, for my heart was stout, my mind immovable, and my stomach undiscourageable; for hardiness is given of the Highest into men’s souls and bodies. In those days I envied Joseph, because my father loved him; I hardened my heart against him to kill him, because the prince of error sending forth the spirit of envy, so blinded my mind that I could not take heed to spare my father Jacob, but his God, the God of his father sending his angel, did rid him out of my hands. For while I went into Shechem to carry fare for our flocks, and Reuben into Dathan, where all of our necessaries were laid up in store; our brother Judah sold him unto the Ishmaelites, and therefore when my brother was come again, he was sorry; for he intended to have conveyed him safe again to our father, but I was angry with Judah for letting him go alive, and bare him grudge five months after: howbeit God letted me, and restrained the working of my hands; for my right hand was half withered up for seven days together; then did I perceive, my sons, that that befell me for Joseph’s sake; whereupon, I repented soon after, and besought the Lord to restore my hand, and I would abstain from all rancor, envy, and folly; for I knew I had conceived a wicked thought against the Lord, and against my father Jacob, for my brother Joseph’s sake, whom I envied.

Now therefore, my children, keep yourselves from the spirits of error and envy; for envy overruleth the mind of every man, suffering him not to eat or drink in rest, or to do any good think; but is egging him to slay the party whom he envieth, and pining away at his prosperity. Two years together I punished my soul with fasting in the fear of the Lord; for I knew that the way to deliver me from envy, was the fear of the Lord. If a man flee unto the Lord, the wicked spirit fleeth from him, so as his mind becometh meek, and of spiteful he becometh pitiful, bearing no grudge towards such as love him, and so his envy ceaseth. And because my father saw me sad, he asked me the cause of it, to whom I lied, saying I have a pain in my stomach: I was the sorriest of all my brothers, for that I had been the cause of Joseph’s selling into Egypt; and when I came into Egypt, and was put inward by him as a spy, then perceived I that I was justly punished, and I was not sorry for it; but Joseph was a good man, and having God’s spirit in him, and being full of pity and mercy, minded not to do me any harm, but loved me as well as the residue of my brethren. Therefore, my children, keep yourselves from all spite and envy, and walk in singleness of mind, and good conscience, after the example of your father’s brother; that God may give you grace, glory, and blessedness, upon your heads as you see in him; of all the days of his life, he did never cast us in the teeth with it, but loved us as his own soul, and more than his own children, honoring us, and giving us riches and cattle abundantly.

You therefore, my children, love ye one another with a good heart, and put from you the spirit of envy, for it maketh a man’s soul to grow savage, marreth his body, breedeth wrath and war in his thoughts, setteth his blood on fire, driveth him out of his wits, and suffereth no reason to bear any sway or rule; moreover, it taketh away his sleep, disquieteth his mind, and maketh his body to tremble, for even in his sleep some spice of imagined malice gnaweth him, cumbering his soul with spirits of mischief, making his body ghastly, and his mind affrighted with trouble, and appearing unto men as it were with a pernicious spirit and pouring out his poison; but Joseph was fair of face, beautiful and comely to behold, because no wicked thing dwelt in him, for he had a countenance clear from cumbrance of mind.

And now, my children, let your hearts be meek before the Lord, and walk right before man; so shall ye find favor both with God and man; and beware that ye fall not to whoredom, for whoredom is the mother of all naughtiness, separating a man from God, and sending him to Belial. For I have seen in Enoch’s writings, that you and your children shall be corrupted with whoredom, and do Levi wrong by the sword, but they shall not prevail against Levi, because he shall fight the Lord’s battles, and take all your tents; and very few shall be divided in Levi and Judah, for he shall be your Captain, as my father Jacob prophesied in his blessings. And now, behold I tell you all these things aforesaid, that I may be clear from the sin of your souls.

Now, if you put from you all enviousness and all stiffneckedness, all my bones shall flourish as a rose in Israel, and my flesh as a lilly in Jacob, and my savor shall be as the scent of Libanus, and my holy ones shall be multiplied as the cedars forever, and their boughs shall spread out in length forevermore; then shall the seed of Canaan perish together with all the remnant of Amalek; all the Cappadocians shall perish and all the Scythians shall likewise be destroyed. Then shall the land of Cam fail, and all the people go to wreck; then shall the earth rest from Heldrin, and all men under heaven from war. Then shall Shem be glorified, when the great Lord God of Israel appeareth upon earth as a man, to save Adam in him: then shall the spirit of error be trodden under foot, and men shall reign over hurtful and hellish angels: then shall I arise again in joy, and bless the Highest in his wonderful works; for God taking a body upon him, and eating with men, shall save men.

And now, my children, obey Levi, and you shall be delivered by Judah; and advance not yourselves above these two tribes, for of them shall the saving health spring unto us; for God shall set up Levi as the prince of priests, and from Judah the king of kings, God and man; so shall he save all the Gentiles, and the offspring of Israel. For these things I charge you to command your children to keep these things throughout all their generations.

And then Simeon, making an end of these his sayings, and commandments to his children, slept with his fathers, when as he was of the age of an hundred and twenty years; and then they laid him in a coffin of wood that rotteth not; that they might carry his bones again into Hebron, and they conveyed him privily, that the Egyptians might not know, for the Egyptians kept the bones of Joseph in the king’s treasure; for their enchanters told them that whensoever Joseph’s bones were carried away, there should be such a plague of mist and darkness among the Egyptians, as one brother should not know another, no not even by torchlight. And Simeon’s children bewailed their father, according to the law of mourning, and continued in Egypt till the day of their departing thence under the hand of Moses.

(To be continued.)

AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT.

Dear Brother Davis,—I wish to tell the readers of the Trumpet, of an event that took place in this neighborhood (Merthyr) a few days ago. On the 26th of last December, I was in the company of the Apostle John Taylor, William Howells, Thomas Pugh, and others, crossing Aberdare Mountain, the summit of which is about a mile and a half from Merthyr; and we placed four stones down (one opposite the other) near the top of the mountain as a remembrance of our having passed by. On the 28th I returned in the company of brothers Taylor and Pugh, and we added three more stones to the others.

Now, that which happened in that place on the 1st of February is worth noting. As two brethren were going up the mountain, near the foot of the mountain, they met a man and woman running back filled with fear, who said that the mountain was boiling up, and when it had risen up several yards, they heard a sound like a cannon’s roar. After hearing so much talk about the thing, I myself went in the company of two of the brethren to see the place, and that which we saw surprised us greatly. It had happened within two yards of the aforementioned stones. We saw that many hundreds of tons of earth

had been blown about 250 yards away, and had left a crater about 120 yards long, from 15 to 20 yards wide, and from one to two yards deep. Pieces of old oak in the ground had been blown away, about 6 feet long by 3 feet in diameter, and some of them so hard that they could not be broken or sawed, and the others were black and soft. There are varying opinions about the happening; some say that it was an earthquake, others that sulfur caused it, and others that it was water. The place was mushy and soft, no matter what caused it. But my opinion is, that the whole thing was one of the signs of the latter days, and that many similar things will yet come to pass, to testify that God is taking his work forward.

Yours in the truth,

Merthyr, Feb. 11, 1851. William Phillips

MISCELLANEOUS, & c .

He who deserves nothing, should be content with something.

No one enjoys success, if he has not met with failure.

Good news.—President F. D. Richards—“May all the presiding Elders of the Districts imitate the spirit of the First Presidency [in their Epistle], and teach the Saints not to slacken their diligence with regard to this matter [namely the Perpetual Emigrating Fund] this coming summer, and we will dare to prophesy, that we can begin, early in 1852, to send away the poor Saints, by the hundreds, yea, by the shipload or the shiploads, by means of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, which will cause great joy throughout all the churches.”

To the Branches.—We wish to notify the Branches that one issue of every twenty can be given as profit for selling the Trumpet this year, because of the lowering of its price. One number of every ten of the “Doctrine and Covenants” will be given as profit. Of course, profit will be granted to the District distributors also.

DOC and COV.—No. 1 is out now; and if the body of the Saints wish, it will be published every week, instead of every fortnight, for a penny and a half each; let us know.

Payments from feb. 6 to feb. 20.—monmouthshire, £1; cardiganshire, £1 9s; West gLamOrgan, £7 13s 9c; cardiff, £1 1s; aberdare, £1 10s 6c; geOrgetOWn, £1; merthyr £1; cefn, 10s 10½c.

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