1. 1847 November, p. 352—Latter-day Saints—Thomas Richard drunk while preaching
2. 1848 March, p. 95—A foolish religion—six lines—Frederick Weston cut himself
3. 1848 April, pp. 113–15—History of Joseph Smith—a 20 September 1847 letter of Benjamin Job Davies—also in the Diwygiwr, January 1848 and YDysgedydd, October 1848
4. 1848 May, p. 147—Joseph Smith, From America—Newo Sdrawde [Owen Edwards] writes to the editor to thank him for publishing the letter from Benjamin Job Davies
5. 1849 April, p. 127—California—hardly worth going since judgment is near
6. 1851 December, pp. 368–70—The Mormons or LDS.
7. 1852 April, pp. 132–33—W. A. tells of his fourteen days in SLC where he met with several Welshmen.
8. 1852 June, p. 207—The Mormons—insulting poem by Clwydfardd from Caergybi
9. 1852 September, pp. 316–17—These Three Are One—the Pagan, the Papist, and the Latter-day Saint.
10. 1852 September, p. 327—Who Is Right?—seven lines to answer this question which is a pun [Pwy sydd yn eu lle?]—preaching at a place called “Trunk of Lies”
11. 1852 October, p. 351—The Perfection of Mormonism—Nerth Willes to his uncle John Evans—“Delta”, Lampeter.
12. 1853 April, pp. 128–29—Mormons –the account of Richard Currell in Newbury who had had 140 devils cast out of him when he was ordained a priest.
13. 1853 June, pp. 206–8—a long review of the Thomas Hughes lectures
14. 1855 July, p. 251—about a “Mormon wife” who had 5 husbands
15. 1855 August, pp. 272–76—Mormonism; or the Tenets of the Latter-day Saints Laid Bare by “J. J.” General—mainly refutations of Mormon beliefs.
16. 1857 August, p. 280—Brigham Young vs. U.S. Government

Wesleyan Treasury, November 1847, p. 352

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2288692/36#?xywh=-42%2C-1%2C2346%2C3589

Latter-day Saints—One day recently (says the Cardiff paper) Thomas Richard, a resident of St. Andrews, in the Vale of Glamorgan, and a man of very tidy appearance, was accused of being drunk and disorderly on the streets on the previous Sunday. Stockdale, the Police Inspector, said to the Mayor, “This man works on the eastern branch of the Taff Valley railway. He is in the habit of preaching on the streets, and thereby creates impediment and hindrance. He was drunk last Saturday night.”

Mayor—“Drunk! and does he preach? What does he preach?”

Thomas Richard—“I preach the gospel, Sir.”

Mayor—“Preach the gospel, Sir! Are you not ashamed of yourself?”

Thomas Richard—“Yes, Sir, I am ashamed of myself. Indeed, I am ashamed to think about the thing that took place. I drank only two pints of beer, and two glasses of gin! and I was completely overcome unbeknown to myself!”

Mayor—“And it was enough to overcome you. Now, listen to me, my man. You are known as a drunkard, and a drunkard cannot be a very godly man; and therefore, let me advise you not to preach anymore!”

Mr. Thomas Evans—“Less preaching and more doing.” (Laughter.)

Mayor—“Yes, and less gin. Preaching the gospel, indeed! Take less gin. For Heaven’s sake, do not preach again until you have lived three years in temperance. And now, Mr. Stockdale, if you find this man preaching on the streets, and thereby creating a disturbance, and closing the thoroughfares, put a stop to him at once.”

Then the offender left the court greatly ashamed of himself.

Wesleyan Treasury, March 1848, p. 95

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2288841/31#?xywh=2710%2C214%2C2255%2C3449

A foolish religion. Last Sunday morning, a man by the name of Frederick Weston was found in the yard of Mr. Beard, in Ovingdean, lying in his blood, having cut himself dreadfully. He was carried to the hospital, where he now lies in a sorry state. The man is 30 years old, and belongs to the people known as The Latter-day Saints. His intention, he says, in doing this was, to do justice to God! Strange blindness! He did the greatest injustice to his own soul.

Wesleyan Treasury, April 1848, pp. 113–15

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2288876/18#?xywh=-864%2C-2%2C4041%2C3554

[To the Editor of the Treasury—Revered Sir—The following letter was printed in the “Revivalist” for the month of January. I took the trouble of writing it so the readers of the Treasury could have a little information about that “impostor,” Joe Smith, the second Mohammed. The scribe of the letter in the Revivalist wishes “to inform the public that its author moved to America several years ago; and that the extent of his social circle, his broad knowledge, his impartiality, and his exceptional observance of things, are what have prompted us to send to the public the questions to which he refers in his letter.” I hope it will appear in the Treasury as soon as possible. Yours, etc., David Evans, Tredegar.]

HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH

IN A LETTER FROM AMERICA

Dodgeville, Iowa County, Wisconsin

20 September 1847

Honorable Editor—If you judge the following as being worthy of publication, we wish to inform the public that its author moved to America several years ago; and that the extent of his social circle, his broad knowledge, his impartiality, and his exceptional observance of things, are what have prompted us to send to the public the questions to which he refers in his letter.

THE MORMONS.

THE STORY OF JOSEPH SMITH, IN A LETTER FROM AMERICA.

“MY DEAR BROTHER, THOMAS JOB,—

I am pleased to have an opportunity, and to be able to answer your questions, which I shall do as accurately as I can, namely to give the story of Joseph Smith, and his followers, in America. I am very familiar with them, and I knew Joseph Smith quite well. In fact, without deception, Joseph Smith was the son of a poor man, and poor himself with regard to his circumstances, and too lazy to work for himself; but he went from place to place wherever he thought he would get a bite to eat. People in general did not consider him sensible, because of his spiritless and lifeless appearance. He was a great lout and very fat, about six feet four in height; but despite that, he paid careful attention to everyone and everything -- quite cunning in his way; and as he increased in years, he also increased in deceit and cunning.

“There was in that community, that is Ohio, a very rich man, a good and sensible scholar, who had set everything aside, devoting himself to study; and he was writing a book, but no one knew its contents. His friends tried to find out what he was studying; but he did not tell anyone; and he had no book but the Bible. This man died before finishing the book, and his widow was not willing to show his library to anyone; but, after a time, his widow married another man, and that man got hold of the first husband’s library, and he read the new book he had studied, which was Additions to the scriptures, and revelations of several wonders of divine origin, signs of the thousand years, together with a way to perform miracles to make his book divine, etc. But this man could not see how to put the book into circulation; but he knew of Joseph Smith that he was cunning, and he sent for him. Joseph came, and another man with him, in secret to see the book. The book was bound magnificently in gold, and Joseph and his friend judged that it was better to hide it in the ground, and for Joseph to take it 500 miles to bury it in a deserted place. After Joseph returned, he and the man he had, agreed to stay in Ohio, and that the other should go hundreds of miles away from him, and that each should prophesy and dream about a book of divine origin, etc. Then Joseph started to prophesy and dream; and after a time, behold another was prophesying and dreaming nearly the same things, until everyone was talking about the men, and their story in the newspapers, and how certain things were about to come to pass -- that men were prophesying, and saying that the end of the world was at hand, etc.

“But after prophesying for a while, Joseph announced that he had had a revelation in a supernatural form, from the Spirit of the Lord, about addictions to his will and his word; and that a book had come from God, and that it was a golden book, set it the earth in a remote place; that he should send a man to seek it, and that the Spirit of God would serve to instruct him how to find the book in the wilderness. So, Joseph sent his partner to go and look for it, because he knew where Joseph and himself had placed it; and that man, and other people with him, went to look for the book, and it was found. (Joseph was a Baptist.) Then, after finding the book, no one was worthy to open it, nor untie its seals, except Joseph Smith. After Joseph got the book, he went to preach; and whoever believed the doctrine of Joseph, and the book, was baptized. And Joseph and all his followers said that they could perform miracles, like Christ and the apostles (Mark 16: 17, 18); that they could cast out devils in his name, and speak every tongue; that they could lift up serpents, drink poison without sustaining harm, etc.; and in order to prove the truth of his doctrine, Joseph said the Holy Ghost, when his disciples were baptizing, would come in the form of a dove on the water, and that everyone could see it. Thousands gathered to his baptism, in order to see the Holy Ghost; and suddenly a big white dove, almost as big as a horse, came slowly to the spot, standing by the water, and laying down its wings (for the dove was walking). There was immediately a host of witnesses there, and they asked the dove, ‘How do you do?’ But the dove made no answer. After investigation, Joseph Smith himself had dressed up in a costume like a dove, -- and Joseph was the dove.

“Another day, Joseph went to walk on the water: he crossed a hundred-yard wide lake on foot without sinking. But within three days it was found out that he had planks under the water out of sight; and by the second time, the middle plank was taken away, and Joseph went in over his head, and nearly drowned.

“After that, Joseph started to say that the land was too sinful; and he prophesied about the holy city, and the promised land; he said that it was in the State of Illinois, on the bank of the Mississippi river. He and his followers went there; and a temple has been erected there, with the twelve oxen, and the molten sea, and the ark, and the sanctuary, and the cherubs, and the holy of holies, etc.; and it is at present a large town, with about thirty thousand inhabitants. I am a two-day journey by steam boat from this city, namely the ‘heavenly Jerusalem.’ Finally, Joseph Smith began to say he was immortal, that he would live for a thousand years, and that he was the king of the holy city, and that he was reigning for Christ for a thousand years, and that none of his true followers would die; but the people were dying from day to day. Then a rebellion arose against Joseph Smith, and they threatened to shoot him for his trickery. Joseph said that there was not a bullet that could touch him, and that neither poison nor anything could harm him; but a hail of bullets was fired at him all at once, in a second, until he was like a cabbage net, full of holes like a lantern! And this was the end of Joseph Smith, in fact, my dear brother Thomas.

“BENJAMIN JOB DAVIES.”

Formerly of Pant-teg, near Carmarthen.

P.S. The author of the above letter is a close relative of Mr. Job Job, Pantteg. The original is available, and it will be sent to any part of the Principality by sending for it to Pantteg, together with payment for its expense.

Wesleyan Treasure, May 1848, p. 147

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2288911/19#?xywh=1152%2C-191%2C2707%2C4139

Joseph Smith, from America

Mr. Editor—I shall be highly grateful if you permit me, through means of your Golden Treasure, to express my most loving thanks that I could obtain the history of Joe Smith, confident of getting more of the history of his tricks, and also his virtues (if there any), from month to month; for there are branches of the above tree which have had such growth in connection with the old trunk, to the point they have reached across the Atlantic to North Wales! and they are gradually blossoming, and consequently they are dropping seeds, so that it is natural that they are of the same nature as the original: and they are preparing the ground in a suitable time, which will naturally bring forth destructive weeds; which together with the aforementioned seeds, and they will produce the fruit of eternal destruction to a WORLD of sinners.

NEWO SDRAWDE [Owen Edwards spelled backward]

Aberffraw [in Anglesey]

Wesleyan Treasury, April 1849, p. 127

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2289301/34#?xywh=1860%2C2442%2C1476%2C1638

California

It is said that a newspaper is being published in this distant land, on yellow paper, a sign of the gold that can be obtained there.

California again

The “Latter-day Saints” are gathering by the hundreds to California, “the land of gold,” from several parts of our country. If the day of judgment is as close as one of their preachers in Swansea said before departing, it is hardly worthwhile for him and his brethren to go so far.

Wesleyan Treasury, December 1851, pp. 368–70

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2290454/17

THE MORMONS OR LATTER-DAY SAINTS

Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet and founder of that sect, was born in the state of Vermont, United States of America, in the year 1805; and his occupation was farmer. It is said that he had bit little education: he could read, he knew the rudiments of writing, and he had a basic knowledge of the rules of arithmetic. When he was about fifteen years old, he resolved to establish a new religion; and in 1830 he began to put his intent into action. The following year he became the head of a denomination which contained about thirty people, among which were his father and three brothers. Presently, the Mormon sect, according to its own report, has its missionaries and followers in nearly every part of Europe, and even in China and India; but it has established its headquarters in Upper California, where the believers in the new prophet, after several changes of location, are going even further toward the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Now it has a broad and fruitful territory beyond the Rocky Mountains in the Great Salt Lake Valley, which has been populated by them in such manner as to make them desirous of gaining their acceptance as a free State in the league of the Republic of North America.

It is said that the Mormon prophet has been favored with wondrous visions, and that he has been told by an Angel of the Lord that he was to be a chosen instrument to fulfill some of the marvelous purposes of God in the latter times. It is also said the American Indians are a remnant of Israel, who, after migrating to America, obtained a knowledge of the word of God and enjoyed his favor; and it came to pass that their ancient prophets and their inspired scribes wrote an account of the important things that took place in their midst. It is said that the greatest part of these people were destroyed in the 5^th or 6^th century of our counting, a thousand years before Columbus showed the new world to the Christian nations; but the writings of these Hebrew Indians were preserved, and they were buried in the earth around the year 420. Finally, Smith was told by the angel that those writings contained various revelations pertaining to the gospel of the kingdom, and also many prophecies pertaining to the great tribulations of the last days; and in order to fulfill God’s promises to the ancients, the writers of these records, and in order to fulfill his purposes in redeeming his children, the records were to be declared to the people; and Smith, if he were faithful, was to be the honored instrument in bringing these writings before the world. At length he was told where they were buried, and he was instructed to go and search them out. As a result of this, in September 1827, it is said that the angel placed them in his hands.

We are assured that these writings were engraved on plates similar to gold in appearance, and that they are filled on both sides with Egyptian characters. They are bound as a volume, which of course shows many signs of antiquity, and great skill also in the art of engraving. Obtained also with these records the Urim and Thummim, through the use of which Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet, was enabled to translate them into English; his translation is called the “Book of Mormon.” Nevertheless, he kept the plates within his own curtain; and he never displayed them as proof of authorship of the alleged translation. A few of his close friends professed having the privilege of seeing them.

The true beginning and history of these writings, asserted to be ancient, which Smith the impostor proclaimed to the world as divine revelation, is briefly as follows:—In the year 1812, a gentleman by the name of Solomon Spaulding, a graduate of Dartmouth College, living in New Salem, Ohio, wrote a tale of religious fiction, based on the idea that the North American Indians were the descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel, which he called, “The Manuscript Found.” In this work “Mormon” and his son “Moroni” were the chief characters. It appears that even the word Mormon, suggests that it was all imaginary fashioned by a wandering whim. The manuscript was placed in the hands of a bookseller by the name of Patterson, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, with the intent of publishing it. Before the preparations were made for that task, the author died, and the manuscript remained in the possession of Patterson. Sidney Rigdon, who emerged to be next to Joseph Smith as a major leader of the Mormons, was connected with the printing office of Patterson. There he became acquainted with Spaulding’s manuscript, and he rewrote it. Whether the idea of concocting their newly claimed revelation out of Spaulding’s fable originated with Smith or with Rigdon, is uncertain; however, Spaulding’s wife, several of his friends, and his brother, proved that chief segments in the Book of Mormon and the tale of “The Manuscript Found” were identical. Therefore, it shows that there is no room to doubt that Smith and his accomplice Rigdon acted in concert to fashion the Book of Mormon out of the materials they obtained in Spaulding’s work.

Besides the Book of Mormon, Smith began, and composed in segments, the book of Doctrine and Covenants, claiming them to be, like chapters of the Koran, revelations directly from heaven and pertaining to the temporal governance of the true believers, assisting the poor, tithing the members, establishing cities and temples, distributing lands, emigration of the saints, education of the people, gathering money, and several other things.

A glance at the Mormons’ ideas of church organization, supernatural gifts, scriptural prophecies pertaining to the second coming of Christ, and the millennium, shows clearly that they have borrowed abundantly from the work of the late Edward Irving and others. The Saints believe that there are two orders of the priesthood, namely the order of Aaron and the order of Melchizedek; and they are governed by a president and prophet, twelve apostles, the “seventy,” high priests, bishops, and elders. They claim that the gifts of prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, the discerning of spirits, healings, the working of miracles, and the casting out of devils have not ceased; and the say that Joseph Smith and many other Mormons have worked miracles and have cast out devils. They claim that the end of the world is near, and that they are the “saints” that are mentioned in the Book of Revelation, and that they are the ones who will reign with Christ in his kingdom on the earth; and that the main location of this kingdom will be either in Missouri or in their present state in the Great Salt Valley Deseret.

They claim that the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants detract in nothing from the Old Testament or the New, but that they compose the completion of the two. Nevertheless, they believe that matter is eternal; and they maintain that God is a material being, having human parts, a plan of perfection in his corporeal form for the human race, and that he is restricted in the same way as we to one place, and that he cannot be omnipresent. They have been accused of having a secret doctrine that permits the worst moral behavior; but this is contrary to their acknowledged, standard books.

The Mormons have their missionaries in almost every country in the world. They have made very few converts on the European continent. In Great Britain, however, it is said that their number is now 30,000. During the past fourteen years over 50,000 have been baptized in England; and from that number about 17,000 have emigrated to America. The Latter-day Saints have consecrated 94,080 ounces of gold to the work of gathering together converts from every country and taking them to the Great Salt Lake Valley. They live there in the country of the Utah Indians, with whom they are remarkably friendly, inasmuch as their particular views incline them to think that they are the lost tribes of Israel; and it appears that their dark brethren are friendly toward them as well. The Mormons have a beautiful country. The gold mines near California have enticed some away, and they are requested not to ever return. The Americans view the successors of Joseph Smith with hatred, and last year the Congress showed some jealousy by shrinking the Mormon state, and even by giving it the name Utah instead of Deseret, which its residents had selected. By the same bill the President was authorized to name Brigham Young as the governor of the state. Brigham Young governs and preaches, similar to Abu Bakr, who was the direct successor to Muhammed.

Such is the short history of this fanatical sect, which spreads deception and preaches blasphemy in many countries. There is a publication pertaining to this sect, which is printed in Merthyr Tydfil, under the title “Star of the Saints,” full of the most offensive, ungodly, and presumptuous views we have ever seen or heard. Whoever wants to see the full story of this sect should read a book entitled, “The Mormons; or Latter-Day Saints. With Memoirs of the Life and Death of Joseph Smith, the American ‘Mahomet.’ Illustrated with forty engravings.” London: Office of the National Illustrated Library, pp. 326.

Wesleyan Treasury, April 1852, pp. 132–33

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2290607/25

The Mormons

Abridgement of the letter of one who visited their holy place in California.

On my journey to California I went past the city of the Mormons, near the Salt Lake. I stayed there fourteen days. Part of the land is good, and another part is unfruitful and worthless. They raise good crops, especially wheat. There is good water there, and a river close to the city which they call “The Jordan.”

The houses are scattered, built of bricks which are dried in the heat of the sun. There are several new storehouses being built, and a Council House. They have a large meeting house, which will hold over four thousand people. I was there one sabbath. The house was overflowing, with many outside. They had a band of music and the drum playing at the end of the meeting. I heard some say that they have a dance sometimes in their afternoon meeting. Two were two preaching. The first did not take a topic, but he said, “Woe to Missouri and Illinois, and all the United States, those who participated in the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,” etc. The other took the topic: “Everything belongs to you,” etc., namely the Saints, the only true church that God has on the earth! Some arose to address the meeting, and in their midst their President, “the head of the church,” he who Joe Smith ordained to take his place after his death. He said that “he was in the pleasures of the world for 30 years, but he did not know what happiness was until he embraced Mormonism.” Well, if women are what make a man happy, he is sure to be just that; for he has ninety of them!

I saw there several Welshmen, who were very kind to me. Wonder! Wonder! Wonder! is it not? that the Welsh beautiful in their appearance have become so foolish as to believe the doctrine of the second Mohammed like this! Some of them have followed the example of their leaders by taking several wives, and the wives of others, for themselves! May the Lord have mercy on them, poor things!

The Welsh in Wales complain that they are being oppressed by the tithes and taxes, etc.; but if they ever move to Salt Lake, the land of the Saints, they will be sure to be oppressed even more. There they must pay a tenth yearly of the fruit of the earth, and a tenth monthly of cheese and butter for the maintenance of the church—their leaders and their wives. There are many Welsh who were wealthy when they went there, but now they are very poor—they spend their days in tribulation, and their years in misery. They, especially the women, long for Wales, for it is difficult for them to bear it.

W. A.

Wesleyan Treasury, June 1852, p. 207

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2290685/28#?xywh=516%2C939%2C1774%2C1968

The Mormons

Who are the wandering strangers,

Of devilish, poisonous tongue,

Who swear on some frightful whim

That God has called them to the work?

They are doubtless Joe Smith’s followers,

Maintaining lies throughout the land;

The old tricksters of hell are easily known,

They are the spitting image of their father.

The most wretched dregs of society

Are these wanderers, fool-headed priests;

They roar great webs of lies,

All reason is left behind:

They turn the heads of the foolish rabble,

And immerse them at night in a frenzy;

Brainless, weak-headed gad-flies,

Are the swarm who are caught in their net.

A fine religion to the taste of mortals,

It gives the comforts of the here and now;

Their hope is in the things of this world,

Their faith in the California gold!

They perform wondrous false miracles,

They make the blind more blind,

They teach hard workers to be idle,

And send their children on the parish.

Holyhead

Clwydfardd

Wesleyan Treasury, September 1852, pp. 316–17

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2290802/29#?xywh=168%2C1242%2C2299%2C2550

These Three Are One

The Pagan, the Catholic, and the Latter-day Saint, are one as to their belief. 1. The Pagans say that the goddess of Fate speaks to the women who were smiling there, “Good, good, that you smiled.” The Catholics say that the cross speaks to St. Thomas, “It is good that you wrote about me, O Thomas;” and the Latter-day Saints say that the Lord sent his angel to Joseph Smith, to say that he was to establish the true church in the world. 2. The Pagans say that some woman is bothered by large worms; and when she went to the Soothsayer to be healed, he was not home: but his servants put the woman in the place their master used to heal the sick, and they cut off her head, so they could more easily pull out the worms; but before they could join her head to her body, the master came and chastised his servants for their foolhardiness, and he took mercy on the woman, and made her whole. The Catholics say that St. Francis used to preach to birds, to fishes, and to wild beasts; and that his preaching effected such changes in a ravenous wolf, that he came to the Saint, swearing to him that he would never again do harm to man or beast. The Latter-day Saints say they can raise some of the dead to life. 3. The Pagans say that the souls of those who are dead go to other bodies; the Catholics say that they go to purgatory; and the Saints say that the departed godly people, who were erroneous in their judgments, are in some place of punishment until the morning of the resurrection.

T. T., 2^nd

Wesleyan Treasury, September 1852, p. 327

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2290802/39#?xywh=2492%2C1849%2C1373%2C2100

Who Are Right? [Literally: Who Are in Their Place?]

This is a common question in our country with regard to the religious Denominations; and it was answered the other day by one of them as follows: “The ‘Saints’ were certain of being in their place [or “being right”] the Sunday before last, for they were preaching at the top of the place called ‘Trunk of Lies.’

Wesleyan Treasury, October 1852, p. 351

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2290845/24#?xywh=95%2C284%2C1158%2C1771

The Perfection of Mormonism

Mr. Editor—Believing that you wish to reveal errors, I send you the following letter for inclusion in your publication. I once heard one of the Saints’ preachers who is not unknown, by the name of George Rees, in Nantyglo, saying at the expense of degrading the preachers of other denominations, that small children learned more languages in one evening in their churches than college students learn in twenty-one years. Now it must be either that the G. R.’s claim is not true, or that the author of the following letter had not received the gift of the Holy Spirit as he wishes us to believe, or else that he is more ignorant than their little children; the educated will see that the author of the letter has no grasp of English or Welsh. Here follows his letter:

Cily Park, 1851, January 21.

My dear Uncle

here I am sending to you hoping that you are well as I am at present through the goodness of God and I hope you are also I wish you to remember me very much to your Mistress to Mr Jones and his sisters very much and I wish you to remember me to Mr John Hughes and his family very much and remember me to everyone I know who is in the neighborhood who knows me and I wish to have the honor of seeing them again my work is to preach the Eternal Gospel which has the power of everlasting life namely that which fills the world with Divine light and I wish for you to search for the truth and remember that you must receive your baptism from the Saints for the remission of your sins and by the laying on of hands so that you will receive the Holy Ghost look in the fourth chapter of Ephesians and here you will see that there is but one church of Christ that follows the way the Apostles have set and look in the twelfth chapter of Corinthians and you will see that God has put Apostles in his church and you know that in your church there are no Apostles and there is no church that has Apostles and how is it that according to the Bible there must be Apostles and there is no way they can stand in the coming days and it is high time for you to seek for the Church of God and you will believe my testimony that I know that this is the Church of Christ I know that an angel of God which John mentions in the Book of Revelation in the fourteenth chapter and the sixth verse and the scripture must be fulfilled and I know that this is the Eternal Gospel and that it will fill the whole world and will stand for Eternity and this is the rock that Daniel talks about and that will shatter all the false religions of the World and that Christ mentions this Gospel and preachers bear testimony to all the gentiles and then the End will come and I wish for the God of Heaven to open your eyes in time so that you will be able to follow I wish for you to follow these counsels I wish for you to write back so that I will hear how you are this from your humble Nephew—John Evans. Send back like this Mr John Evans to Mr John Jones Cily Park Nyer Towyn Merioneth Shier Nerth Willes.

I took care to write the above as it is in the original letter—every letter as it was written—in the hope that they may appear in the same way.

Yours sincerely, etc.

Llampeter

Delta

Wesleyan Treasure, April 1853, pp. 128–29

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2291074/21#?xywh=749%2C1481%2C1644%2C2515

Mormons

A completely unknown correspondent sent us the following information.—Miscellany.

“In the spring of 1848, I happened to see an issue of the Millennial Star, for August 1st, 1847, which contained an account of the ordination of Richard Currell into the Mormon priesthood. When I was reading the piece aloud in the presence of my young men, one of them said that Currell was a resident of this town, a cobbler, known by the nickname ‘Dusty Currell,’ and that he often went past my house. I therefore asked him to show him to me, when he saw him going past the next time.

“Within a few days after this, he saw the man looking in the window of my shop, and shouted, ‘There is Dusty Currell, sir, there!’ So, I went out to him, and asked, ‘Is your name Currell?’ ‘Yes,’ he said. Then I asked him to come in, as I wanted to have a word with him. He came in, and I asked, ‘Had he been to Warwick and Leamington last year?’ ‘Yes,’ he said. I asked, ‘Were you and others not thrown into prison for raising a riot in the streets while you were there?’ To which he answered affirmatively. Then I said, ‘My reason for questioning you like this is, that I recently saw the Magazine of the Latter-day Saints, entitled The Millennial Star, in which it is said that you were ordained a priest in Leamington, and that they cast many devils out of you, the number being mentioned, namely a hundred and forty, I think, or something around that; and that they saw them coming out of you, but that they went back again as fast as they came out, and a lot faster; and I wanted to ask you if you know about the matter?’ ‘Ho!’ said he, ‘a set of d——d fools! I heard they had put something about me in the paper; but they never let me see it!’ And at that, he went out of the shop.

“I hear that Dusty is again an official member of the religion of Latter-day Saints, and speaks in a foreign tongue in their public meetings.”—Newbury.

Wesleyan Treasury, June 1853, pp. 206–8

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2291152/27#?xywh=834%2C1587%2C1652%2C1628

Review

Lectures on the Deceit of Mormonism

Which were delivered in the Ruthin Town Hall, September 3^rd, 1852, February 25^th, 1853, etc., etc. By Thomas Hughes (T. ab Gwilym). R. Edwards, Esq., Lawyer, in the Chair. Ruthin: printed and for sale by Isaac Clarke.

These lectures are, or will be, six in number (only the first two have reached our hands). Each lecture is on a specific topic in the creed of the Mormons; which are:

1. On the deceit of the beginning of Mormonism
2. On the opinion of the Saints about God, angels, and the souls of man
3. On the Spiritual Gifts—the belief and claims of the Saints about them
4. On the belief of the Saints about preaching to the spirits in prison, and baptism for the dead
5. That the Bible is the only standard of faith and conduct of man, and there is no basis to expect new revelation.
6. That the primary objective of the prophet Smith and his apostles through this deceit was to establish an earthly kingdom in America for their own benefit and worldly glory.

It is seen that the lecturer, whom we must call skillful also, takes a broad look at this topic. His manner is clear, and especially readable.

“We see clearly,” says the lecturer (Lecture 1, page 14), “from this, their work in praying for the dead, etc., that Mormonism is a mixture of atheism, Muslimism, Papism, and a form of Christianity! And this is the system that Smith said that John the Baptist, under the direction of Peter, James, and John, came in a chariot of light on a mission from heaven to ordain him and Oliver Cowdery to preach to the world. The Saints have twelve apostles also, sent out to the world, to proclaim the aforementioned deceitful doctrines. In a small newspaper belonging to the Saints, called the New York Prophet, the names and titles of the apostles are listed by W. W. Phelps. Their names are: Brigham Young, the Lion of the Lord, Heber C. Kimball, the Herald of Grace, Parley P. Pratt, the Archer of Paradise, Orson Hyde, the Olive Branch of Israel, Willard Richards, the Keeper of the Rolls, J. Taylor, the Champion of Right, William Smith, the Patriarchal Staff of Jacob, Wilford Woodruff, the Banner of the Gospel, George A. Smith, the Entablature of Truth, Orson Pratt, the Gauge of Philosophy, John E. Page, the Sun Dial, Lyman Wight, the Wild Ram of the Mountains!!”

To show the inconsistency of the Saints with themselves, the lecturer says skillfully, “Despite the belief of the Saints that the Bible is out of date, and that the Book of Mormon is the gospel in its fulness, yet it is from the Bible that they take their topics for preaching, and it is from the Bible that they draw, by perverting it, to attempt to prove their assertions. Since they believe that the Book of Mormon is divine revelation, more complete than the Bible, and that the ‘Latter-day Saints’ are the chosen of the Lord to preach it to the world, why do they use the lantern of the Bible, which provides weaker light than that of the Book of Mormon, to enlighten those ‘who sit in the vale and the shadow of death? Never have the Saints taken their topics from the fifteenth chapter of the second book of Nephi, or citing proofs for their assertions from any chapters in the books of Alma, Omni, Mosiah, or Helaman. [Names of prophets of the Book of Mormon.] It is said in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Nephi that the day would dawn in which the sealed book, namely the Book of Mormon, would be read from the rooftops. Behold, those last days have come, say the Saints; but it appears that they are ashamed to read them on the street corners, much less from the housetops. What can be the reason for this? No doubt it is because they know that it is necessary to use deceitful means to defend deceit, and because of that they cover the Book of Mormon with the truths of the Bible! And in this manner the devil is able to appear in the form of the angel of light.”

Since they have so many apostles, our lecturer is hesitant as to which one of them to follow as the criterion of their opinions, and he plays delightfully a bit on this doubt: “But to which one of the apostles should we present this important task? Is it to the ‘Sun Dial?’ No, I cannot do anything with the dial at this time of night, for the sun has already set. Indeed, I have no faith in their dial even ‘in the face of the sun and the eye of light.’ Is it to the ‘Wild Ram of the Mountains?’ No, it is better also to leave the mountaineer alone in his pasture. By permission of ‘The Keeper of the Rolls,’ we can quote their opinion as do the Mormons from the epistles of the apostle Orson Pratt, ‘the Gauge of Philosophy.’ I suspect that never before have such uncertain sounds descended on the eardrums of Christianity than those of this trumpet.’” (Lecture 2, pages 14, 15.)

Then he provides a translation of the authoritative sections of their “Gauge,” which are nothing but their account that all who believe recite, or profess to believe another gauge, to see at once that these people are not saints, but deceivers of the latter days—“waxing worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

It is remarkable, despite that, the increase they have made among some part of the population. It appears from their statistics in January 1851 that this cunning deceit throughout the United Kingdom has been effective in enticing 30,747 into their system; and what is even more surprising and distressing is that 4,848 of that number are in Wales! Also that during the last fourteen years over 50,000 have been baptized in England and that 17,000 have emigrated to the American Zion. They had at that time, they say, 12 high priests, 1,761 elders, 1,590 priests, 1,226 teachers, 682 deacons; and all of them employ the same cunning stratagem to allure those thousands to embrace the Mormon deceit.

We saw an article of a friend from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, in the Watchman some time ago complaining at the paucity of small Welsh pamphlets on Mormonism to spread among the Welsh of those neighborhoods which, he said, were the most frequent number who were enticed to accept this deceit. Here is an opportunity now to satisfy that friend to the utmost of his wish; for each Lecture is a 16-page tract in and of itself; and no doubt were he to send for a bundle of them he would be able to receive them conveniently to mix with the English tracts which are being distributed by our friends there.

Wesleyan Treasury, July 1855, p. 251

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2292102/38#?xywh=158%2C376%2C1106%2C1090

Mormon-wife

A short time ago a lady in Frostburg, America, was taken up on the accusation of being in possession of five husbands, all them alive, but living in different parts of the country. When the Judge asked her the reason for such behavior, she said that the old things have gone by, and the rites have changed; “for,” she said, “in every age of the world men have had more than one wife, and from now on the women will have more than one husband; for in those days one woman will take hold of seven men.” [A re-phrasing of Isaiah 4:1]

Wesleyan Treasury, August 1855, pp. 272–76

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2292145/23#?xywh=220%2C173%2C2237%2C2057

Mormonism; or the Tenets of the Latter-day Saints Exposed and Refuted

Opening observations

Mormonism has created quite a commotion in Wales during the last few years. A large number of our compatriots have fallen victim to this religious falsehood. Neither the pulpit nor the press have done their part to deliver our nation from the seductive doctrine of Joe Smith. Some of the English accuse us of being ignorant as a nation, and extremely ready to accept every kind of heresy. But it was not in Wales that Mormonism had its start, rather in America, among the English; and from there it spread to England, and then to Wales. It may be that we are as free from deadly heresy as any people. The truth in its main points is believed and taught by all the denominations in general, except those who deny the divinity of Christ and the Mormons.

Many a spirit is on the field trying to attract disciples after them—the spirit of mammon, the spirit of drunkenness, the spirit of loitering on God’s day, etc.; but “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.” The adepts of Mormonism claim strange things, such as the power of miracles, the gift of tongues, the restoration of the true light, which was lost from the world, so they say, in approximately the fifth century; and to end the deceit and the blasphemy, they adorn the “Book of Mormon” and the “Book of the Covenants” with divine inspiration, and they proffer them as God’s addition to his own book! It appears that the moral structure of the “Saints” is licentious and sensual, though they insist that we believe that it has descended from heaven in chapters, like the Koran of Mohammed. The immorality of the Mormons is in their behavior instead of in their standard works; but since continual revelation is going on, is it possible that some inspiration descends to teach immorality of the worst kind?

Rise of the Mormon deceit.—Joseph Smith, the founder of the “Latter-day Saints,” was born in the town of Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, United States of America, on December 23, 1805. His occupation was that of farmer. His advantages in attaining knowledge were very limited. He could not read without difficulty; and he could write only imperfectly. He knew a few of the elements of arithmetic. This was the height of his education.

In the year 1830 Joseph Smith published a book which he called “The Golden Bible,” or the “Book of Mormon;” this he claimed to be a new revelation from God. The meaning of the word Mormon is wild, erratic. Mormon and Moroni are two of the main characters mentioned in the novel of Mr. Solomon Spaulding, out of which the “Book of Mormon” was formed. Joseph Smith says this about the book: At his task of searching in a determined place according to the direction of an angel, he found a chest which contained sacred writings, engraved on plates of brass which had the appearance of gold; and it happened that he was enabled by the power and gift of God to translate these engravings. After doing so, he published the translation and named it the “Book of Mormon.”

One of the apostles of the “Saints,” Mr. Orson Pratt, gives the following account of Smith and his book: “When Joseph Smith was an insignificant boy, between fourteen and fifteen years of age, he had a vision of two personages, beyond description in their appearance, who stood above him in the air. One of them spoke to him and called him by name, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, hear him.’ This person forbade him to join any of the churches, for they were all false, because their belief was an abomination, and they were corrupt. When he was about eighteen years old, he was visited again by a glorious being who declared that he was angel of God, sent to tell him that his sins were forgiven, that his prayers had been heard, and that he was called and chosen as an instrument in the hands of God to fulfill some of his wondrous purposes. The angel further told him that the American Indians were the descendants of Israel and that the inspired prophets and writers in their midst had received a commandment to keep a holy record of all the main events that transpired among them; that these writings contained many sacred revelations, deposited in a safe, determined place which was made known to him; and if he continued faithful, he would be used to bring these holy records before the world. After being directed in this manner, Joseph Smith went to the place in September of 1823; and after removing the soil, he found a chest containing the engraved plates which had the appearance of gold. He was not permitted, however, to take possession at that time of these treasures; for the angel said that he would visit him beforehand, and he would stand again beside him, ‘You may not take this record now, for the commandment of God is exact; and if ever these sacred things are obtained, it must be through prayer and faithfulness in obedience to the Lord.’ Within four years after that the chest and its contents were conveyed into his hands by the angel. It is said that the plates obtained were like this: they were engraved in Egyptian characters and bound together as a volume, like the pages of a book, and secured on one side with three rings running through the whole. With these records also was a curious instrument called by the ancients a Urim and Thummim which had two transparent stones, clear like crystal, placed in a two-sided bow. In ancient times this was used by men called seers. It was an instrument through which they received revelation of distant things—things past or future.

Such is the account of the “Book of Mormon,” which the “Saints” claim to be from divine authority; and they place it on the same ground as the Bible, and sometimes ahead of it. It is necessary to expose the deceit, and put men on their guard against the deceivers of the “Latter Days.” Avoiding evil is better than coming out after falling into the ditch.

The rapid spread of the Mormon deceit.

Although Joseph Smith, one of the main founders of the deceit, met with a violent death, under the most maniacal circumstances, his deceit did not die with him. Rather his organization had obtained men to carry forth the delusion as an agitation to society and as a horror to the Christian world. The rapid spread of the Christian religion in its earliest days is one proof that it is of God, in spite of having all the strength of the enemy against it—evil men and spirits standing against it; but the power of God was for the salvation to all who believed in it. But as for Mormonism, its outward success is rather a proof of its earthly, carnal, and devilish origin, since it is corrupt flattery of the heart, fostering pride, ignorance, and every element that creates fanaticism and superstition.

It is said that this sect has spread not only across the United States of America, Canada, and the British Isles, but also in Sweden, Denmark, the East Indies, China, and extensive parts of the continent of Europe. It is said that the number of the “Saints who are in their own territory—the Valley of the Salt—beyond the Rocky Mountains of America—is about 200,000. They are aware of and proud of their strength there, for Brigham Young, their leader there, challenges the government of the United States, saying that he occupies his state and religious office directly from God. But in fact, it is the Congress who has placed him as the governor, and the time for which he was appointed is at an end. We would not be surprised to hear that Jonathan has sent an army to call the “Saints” of the Salt Valley to account for their belligerent spirit.

It appears that there are from 20,000 to 30,000 of the “Saints” in our own kingdom, and about 3,000 in South Wales. But the continuous emigration is greatly changing their number. There is a huge proportion of them who hold offices in their own midst as a sect.

Reasons for resisting Mormonism.—1. Because the “Book of Mormon,” or the Bible of the Mormons, was formed from a novel. The novel was written by a gentleman by the name of Solomon Spaulding as early as the year 1810 or 1811. He was an educated man having devoted the greatest part of his life to literature. He was ordained to the ministry, but after three or four years he put that work aside and became a shopkeeper. In Connecticut, Ohio, he wrote a book, thinking that once he got it published, he could pay off his debts. The book was called, “The Manuscript Found.” It is a fictious account of the first settlers of America in an effort to show that the American Indians descend from the Jews, or the lost tribes. It gives a detailed account of their journey from Jerusalem, across land and sea, until they reached America, under the leadership of Nephi and Lehi. Then it gives a history of their wars, their learning, their politics, etc. Mr. Spaulding’s chief reason for writing this novel was to entertain himself as well as to entertain his neighbors. Mr. Spaulding moved to Pittsburg, and he became acquainted with a man by the name of Patterson, a printer, to whom he loaned the manuscript so he could read it. It was Sidney Rigdon, the one who is so celebrated in the history of the “Saints,” who was associated with the printing establishment, and he rewrote the history. It was he and Joseph Smith who devised the “Book of Mormon,” by adding to and taking away from the manuscript of Mr. Spaulding. Mr. John Spaulding, who was a brother of the author, and Mrs. Davison, who was the widow of the author and who had remarried, proved the similarity of the writings of the “Book of Mormon, from the parts of the book about religion and which were added to it by Smith and his friend. Relatives of the deceased were greatly concerned about such evil and blasphemous use being made from the manuscript which the true author had never published; and if it had been published everyone would have seen it and would have understood that it was a novel, intended for entertainment instead of edification. The “Book of Mormon” is a human and imaginary composition; consequently, it must be refused as a revelation from heaven and a guide for one’s life. It should be classified with other novels.

2. Every man in his right senses must completely refuse the “Book of Mormon,” because it contains the most shameless and repugnant lies ever written.—In it we are taught that God is a material being—that he eats and drinks, that he cuts stones, that he repairs iron, and that he has human emotions. The “Saints” believe that he is contained in one place; they deny his omnipresence, and thus they change the glory of the incorruptible God to a likeness of the form of a corruptible man. Such low and unworthy ideas about the great God! What is this if not paganism revived, in the most dreadful manner! What does the scripture say about the nature of God? “God is a spirit.” “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” Can the God who has a spatial and mortal existence be a religious foundation and an object of worship? All who believe the existence and spiritual nature of an immortal God should brand the “Book of Mormon” as the greatest abomination ever offered to the world. They assert that matter is without beginning: this is a doctrine that commonly thrived among the Pagans.

3. Internal and external proofs show that the “Book of Mormon” contains lies and heresies.

It must be that the author of the book saw the New Testament, for there are many verses from it in the “Book of Mormon,” such as “Lamb of God,” “the baptism of Christ,” “faith in the Son of God,” “a carnal mind,” etc., and yet it is said to have been written 600 years before Christ! The Book of Mormon says, page 371, that a host of men and women on the continent of America were called Christians far before the birth of Christ. This is contrary to Acts 11:26, “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” On page 542 it is said that all the inhabitants of America had returned to the Lord, 36 A.D., just three years after the death of Christ! If that were true, it would be a wonder that we do not have a single mention of such success in the Acts of the Apostles—a book that contains the history of the apostolic church for thirty years after the death of Christ. Also, when America was first discovered by Europeans in 1492, and some of the following years, there was not one man who had returned to God on that entire great continent; and the name Christian was not known, nor was there a single tradition existing among the inhabitants that Christianity had ever been the religion of their forefathers. Recent research about the strange ruins of the ancient cities of south America are entirely destitute of any Christianity ever thriving among the early inhabitants. According to the “Book of Mormon,” these inhabitants could read and write, and they were engravers on brass; but when the country first became known to Europeans, the inhabitants knew nothing more about letters than an ape knows about rhetoric.

The “Book of Mormon” contradicts the natural history of America, by asserting that the cow, the ox, the ass, the horse, the tame goat, and the wild goat, had been in that country for two thousand years; when, in fact, neither oxen nor asses, nor goats nor horses, had never been seen on the entire continent of America, when the land was discovered a few centuries ago. Those creatures were taught by Europeans. Those early inhabitants were so ignorant about the horse in America, that when they saw a man on horseback, they supposed that the man and the horse were one creature, and they fled from it! The natural history of America overturns the truth of the “Book of Mormon.”

4. Not one single book exists that co-testifies in favor of the “Book of Mormon.” It is destitute of a single proof, arising intentionally or unintentionally from tradition, or from contemporary historians. It is strange that after all the wars, filling the entire, spacious continent of America, which abounded in education and art, that a replete generation has not left anything in the way of buildings, tradition, history, or anything else, to give evidence that they had at one time flourished. This alone is sufficient to dispel the claim that the “Book of Mormon” is historically true, without mentioning anything about its divinity. There are many books that contain true and genuine history, but this one is completely devoid of a single proof of historical accuracy.

The Bible of the Christians is replete with proofs that it is a divine book. Its prophecies, its miracles, its purity, its consistency, its holy influence on the lives of the men who submit to it, the various histories of the generations contemporary with the Jews, and with the early Christians, are all proof of the truth of the Book of God; and it contains every kind of proof that truth can receive. The history of Egypt, Syria, Assyria, and their main cities; the history of Nineveh and Babylon; the history of the Medes and the Persians, Greece and Rome—all jointly testify that the history of the Bible is truth; but they are completely silent about the “Book of Mormon.” The Bible of the “Saints” is nothing more than foolish and deceitful fiction.

5. We fully reject the “Book of Mormon,” because Joseph Smith was a man of indecent morals. He used a stone or two in a hat to tell the fortune of men. He was a well-known blasphemer and profaner, a drunkard, and a man of remarkably ungodly behavior. The moral character of the man who claimed to receive revelation from heaven is enough to prove his deceit. Several who knew Smith well have taken an oath before justices in America to testify that he was a man of corrupt morals. Smith was a shameful vagabond without character. It is only fair that the true character of a fraud be exposed, so that whatever arms of reason and debate men may possess may be used to defend themselves against the heresies of the “Saints.” It is just as fair to say what Smith was, as it is to say what Muhammed from Mecca was. God has never given a revelation to a man of sinful conduct with the intent of making him the chief instructor of his age in religious matters. The vessels of the Lord are always clean.

6. Joe Smith and his followers allow polygamy. The rule in “Salt Valley” is that a man can have as many wives as he is able to take care of; thus, the number of wives that a man has is determined by his wealth! This is one element that is likely to blow the entire system of the “Saints” to bits. And what wonder? Is this not a horrible breach of the holy sacredness of marriage which was established by God before man sinned? It is God’s law for a man to have only one wife at any given time. So it was from the beginning. Let us think what we may about polygamy of some of the characters of the Old Testament. Among pagans and uncivilized men polygamy commonly abounds; and it is one of the principle obstacles which prohibit the gospel from spreading. It is high time to disparage anyone who favors such an evil practice in a Christian world and under the mantle of religion.

What if our country recognized the legality of polygamy and allowed men to get it in their heads to have multiple wives? It would overturn family stability; it would entirely ignore the religious education of children; every hearth would be close to being a gate to hell; every home in the land would be a brothel; the bonds of society would be shattered; the land would be filled with deadly jealousies which would manifest themselves in murders and suicides; all safety would end; and it would be high time to emigrate to some region where reasonable men lived. These are not imaginary things; rather we have living proofs of them wherever polygamy is common.

7. Mormonism adds to the word of God. The “Saints” do more than just say that the “Book of Mormon” is a divine addition to the Bible; for they insist that it is a revelation from heaven with respect to religion and still continues to go forward. If so, the time will come when the New Testament will scarcely constitute the rule of faith and conduct; and the new ideas of the Saint will already be as opposite to the word of God as are light and dark. The revealed will of God to men has ended forever; and it is quite remarkable that the last book in the Bible contains these words close to its end, “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.” Obeying the word is the duty and the privilege of men, and not adding to it. Adding to the book of God is one of the greatest sins that men can commit; and it has been the destruction of many in every age of the Christian church.

Let us draw near to the truth in these days of atheism, deceit, and fables. Atheism, pride, power, and superstition fight against the truth of God. Only the word of God can be “buckler and shield” for us in face of the deadly heresies that are spreading like poisonous air in our days. We could be at the threshold of the “perilous times” about which St. Paul prophesied, and which are to come in the “last days;” and St. Paul counseled young Timothy to hold fast to the Holy Scriptures, which had been given by the inspiration of God as one of the chief means of saving himself and those who would listen to him. May all the religious sects of the world cease; may all the outward order of the Christian churches collapse; may all the godly suffer themselves cheerfully to be robbed of their possessions, rather than we should leave the truth of God and turn to fables.

For ages the Catholics have been on the scene striving to hide the word of God from the people, and locking it in languages that no one but the learned understand. Many of the chief theologians of Germany have done all in their power to bring down the book of God and to shake its infallibility. The Puseyites are busy giving priority to empty traditions, and thus striving to weaken the word of God by teaching the commandments of men as doctrine; and the “Latter-day Saints” have come to the field, not only to distort the scriptures to their own destruction, but also to push a new Bible onto the world, which had never been heard about until a few years ago. It is time for the orthodox churches of the country to awake from their slumber to battle for the faith, which was once given to the saints, and to do their best to transfer the word of God in its purity to generations yet unborn. Let us cease to be unfaithful to our again, unappreciative of our privilege, and unmindful of our duty. There are men who want us to turn away from God and his truth; but, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life,” John 6:68. “ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ,” Col. 2:8. “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace,” Heb. 13:9. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward,” Psalm 19:7–11. J. J.

Wesleyan Treasury, August 1857, p. 280

https://journals.library.wales/view/2272262/2293114/31#?xywh=38%2C475%2C1593%2C1570

America

Things are extremely miserable among the Mormons, and in their contact with the government of the United States. Brigham Young, the leader of the Mormons, has exiled some of the citizens and high officers of the Republic of Utah, and the powerful army of the United States is journeying to the land of the polygamists to uphold the authority of Colonel Cummings, who has been appointed to be the American Governor for the Mormon territory. While in California, a Mormon missionary by the name of Pratt charmed the wife of one Mr. McLean to leave her family and follow him to Utah. The consequence was for the man whose happy family was destroyed to follow after Pratt, and he ended up shooting him dead. Pratt left NINE widows to mourn his loss—if in fact it was mourning.