THE ANNUAL GREETING

Esteemed Readers,—Here we are again beginning a new year, and greeting you with “Happy New Year:” may you receive more of the goodness of God this year than you have ever received; may you have a New Year’s gift from heaven. God does not withhold blessings from those of his children who are faithful and who carry out his wishes.

With pleasure we look back on the course we have run ever since we received Zion’s Trumpet to sound; we consider the last two years the longest we have ever experienced, not because we have become weary with the work, but because a great work has been accomplished. We know of years we spent in the kingdom of darkness, which seemed brief, because there was no rock there to keep our work from being swept away by the floods of time. That which we have done in the kingdom of the light stands visible, and we account for time by the work that has been accomplished. We hope that this year, and the coming years, will seem still longer, so that we may be able to say again, that it was good to continue in our office of serving our fellow nation. Let us fill our years, not with minutes or hours, but with good works, which will be visible when there is no more time. Although the sun turns in the canopy of heaven, and measures the time of man; yet, if it did not affect the warmth of the earth, and the growth of the sprouts, it would be as if it had never existed. The works of God are the reason for remembering the first seven days; he worked for six days, but he was not idle by resting on the seventh, for he blessed it and sanctified it. When we ourselves finish our work, as God did, our days will be numbered, and we may enter into the “rest that is yet held for the people of God,” to be sanctified. Until that time, we are confident that the Spirit of God will testify, at the end of each day, week, month, and year, of each of our good deeds, that it is good, so that we will have an eternal Sabbath to rest with the Lord. May the eternal God hold us in his powerful hand; and by leading us, may he lead us while guiding his children along the path to salvation. Our cry and theirs will ascend to his ears continually, and it will be heard, so that we shall have One in whom we can trust in the face of every circumstance. He is our God, and there is nothing like him; therefore, let us praise him in the congregations of the Saints, and may we respect even the least of his servants.

Until now the Saints continue to pay heed to our voice, and to feed on the bread we offer; for they are aware that it derives from the same place as the bread of the others of our brethren in the priesthood. We shall do our best, while we are at our post, to serve our readers with the best things we can obtain, so that they may be edified in all things. At the same time, let the Saints take care to refrain from listening to the small souls, who are tolerated by God to be in the church, because they are too insignificant to be damned; who, were they to go to hell, no one would claim them; and therefore, they are kept in the church to perfect the patience of the Saints. All who exert influence against the efforts made to spread the knowledge of the gospel among our nation of one blood, are opposing the government of God, and such will soon be deprived of the other Comforter; which, when they lose it, will leave them ineffective, unassociated with us, and easily recognized. Beware of wolves and false prophets, for they will go about in Saints’ clothing. Our task is to warn, and get our readers to continue to hold fast that which we write from time to time. May we not write to anyone in vain; that discourages us, and weakens us; we expect that all will be read in a timely fashion, and thereby we will be of service to the particular denomination to which we belong.

We plead for an interest in the prayers of all our brethren, that we may have the strength of God this year again to sound the Trumpet more effectively than ever before; and we sincerely beg the Saints to do their best to open a way for us to go throughout every corner of Wales. Give us the helping hand of unity, and we shall accomplish a masterpiece; our sound will pervade every corner of the country, and warn every man to flee to Zion for salvation. Our message is to the Welsh nation, and we are desirous of saving it. We were sent to sound forth in our mother tongue, which is the common language of the country, and what Dick John David will attempt to hinder us? Someone who has the Holy Ghost? or someone who intends to save his nation? There is a way for the Welsh to enlighten their English neighbors, without wishing to leave themselves without anything. Do good to everyone, but especially to your brothers of the same blood. Do not disregard your language, even though you can speak a little English, and have been in England; remember that God understands Welsh, and that yet thousands of Welsh call on his name, and for Him to save them. And if we have been placed here by apostles of God, to publish his word in Welsh, the Welsh and English Saints in Wales, should support us in our work.

Finally, we wish for the blessing of God to be on all our readers, and for his Spirit to guide the Saints to act according to his will, so that they may be worthy of being lifted up in his kingdom. Thus we say, and do so in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

GREETING OF THE APOSTLE J. TAYLOR TO THE WELSH SAINTS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ZION'S TRUMPET

Dear Sir,—This is the third time for me to visit this place, and I must say that I enjoyed myself greatly during my short stay, upon seeing the honesty, simplicity, faithfulness, fervor, and the generosity shown by the Welsh Saints whom I had the pleasure of seeing; and had it not been for the other responsibilities that rest on me, I would have had pleasure in visiting all the Saints throughout your principality. As things are, I must be deprived of that pleasure, and be satisfied with greeting you with a few lines through your publication.

The purpose of this greeting at the present time, is to shed a little light on a matter that apparently is a bit of a misunderstanding in your midst. When brother Henshaw came to Wales, he taught the people that the Saints did not preach for wages, nor did they minister for money, which is quite true; for they have a greater purpose than filthy lucre. Their purpose is to teach pure principles of the truth, to proclaim the eternal gospel, and to make known the glorious principles that God intended for the salvation of the human family. But while they are at this important task, they and their families must be sustained. The elders, when they begin to preach, do not become spiritual and ethereal beings, nor do their families; they, like others, must have something with which to sustain their families; and while they minister to you in spiritual things, it is well for you to minister to them in temporal things. I am aware that the elders can blame themselves to a great extent for this reason. When Capt. Jones came to preach in your midst, he was accused by his enemies of seeking money from the people to whom he preached; and, being endowed with an independent spirit, he ran to extremes of the opposite side to avoid having that reputation, which left him with a tendency to mislead many of the other elders. What is the result? Many people suppose that the elders do not need sustenance. But is this true? Not at all. They need, therefore, either to have a way of sustaining themselves, be without anything, or be sustained by personal abundance; and since very few are able to sustain themselves, as a result they must depend on a few friends, whose generosity is overtaxed, or go without, which puts them in a rather difficult situation. But perhaps you ask, are you blaming the people? No, I don’t; rather I blame the elders for teaching such principles, and they are beginning to feel the effects of their foolishness, and to discover that they cannot feed or clothe themselves and their families with air. But are they going without? No, but they are exposed to many difficulties, and are depending on a very small number of friends, whose generosity is overly taxed; whereas, if the burden were divided evenly, it would make things easier for everyone. I speak boldly about this matter, for everyone knows that it has nothing to do with me, since I am laboring in France. But, do you not go without purse or scrip? Yes, I do; but the Lord opens the way before me continually, and I have been supplied with everything I needed, in terms of money and clothes. But how did you get them? Generally the Saints, by learning of my situation, supplied my needs: and frequently people who were not in the church were the ones who supplied me. But I was always supplied, and so have your elders been supplied. I have received £20 or £40, at the same time, from the same person; but you are generally poor, and who can spare that much? but I am certain that you do not wish for your elders to depend on the world. When elders sacrifice their whole time for the ministry, they must be sustained; and that can be done easily with a cooperative effort, without anyone being hurt. Let the deacons, then, do their duty, teaching this principle to those over whom God has made them supervisors; and let all the elders cast their foolishness aside, and assist the deacons in their efforts; and I am certain that there is a generous spirit among the people, who will answer their calls, and assist them in their difficulties. “Unity is strength,” and that which is difficult for a few becomes easy for many.

I wish to note that I am greatly pleased with the Presidency of Wales, and with the order of things. Brother Phillips is a good man, as are his counselors; and I can observe that brother Phillips has many visitors from every corner of Wales to feed, besides all the expense that goes with traveling to fulfill his duties, which must be provided from somewhere. Brethren, bless him; and in so doing, you will bless yourselves.

I say also to the officers and their members, uphold your publication, as much as you can, and let the sound of the Trumpet be heard from the north to the south, and its echo from mountain to mountain, and let the people in every village and town know that the Latter-day Saints live by the sound of the horn. There is no need to mention the Doctrine and Covenants in Welsh, since all the Saints appreciate it. And while you are sustaining all these things through your generosity, allow me to plead for an interest in your prayers on behalf of France, so that light, truth, and knowledge may increase, and that the power of God will triumph.

Yours in the eternal covenant,

John TayLor .Merthyr Tydfil, Dec. 30, 1850.

P. S.—While looking over the foregoing things, please allow me to say, if any of the brethren feel in their heart to give five, ten, or twenty pounds, to assist in the publication of the Book of Mormon in France, may they send them to brother Phillips, and he then will send them to me. J. T.

TESTAMENTS OF THE TWELVE PATRIARCHS, NAMELY THE SONS OF JACOB;*

To which is added the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Laodiceans, and also with respect to the Death of Paul in Rome, under Nero.

[Translated from the Greek by the late Rev. R. Grosthead, bishop of Lincoln.]

* At the request of many of our readers, we publish the foregoing interesting book in the Trumpet, from the old Welsh translation, and we shall continue with it until it is fi d. A copy of it in the Greek, on parchment, is kept at the university in Cambridge. We can compare the Welsh and the English, and make the necessary changes. We shall express our opinion about it some other time.—Ed.

TO THE READER

ALbeit these our happy days, in some respect, good Christian, have and enjoy divers and sundry works tending to the subversion of Belial, and the erection of godliness; yet considering that as earthly, so we spiritual soldiers seldom run to the watch without alarm; I thought it convenient to call upon you with this grave and godly book, of long time hid in Hebrew, now come to light in Welsh.—The malice of the Jewish people in concealing it, by reason of Christ the righteous, so often prefi ed, was intolerable; but the singular providence of God in preserving it, unspeakable; and now at last, though chargeable, yet fruitful is the expressing, and printing of such a worthy work in our natural language. A golden writ, being of itself, without the accessory painting of eloquent speech, a mirror for princes, a preacher for all Christians—a beautiful glass for women, for children, servants, and such like; a wise, plausible, and most ready schoolmaster, for to apply to every particular estate his peculiar property. Art thou a prince? let Judah rule thee; if thou thinkest upon manly courage, he teacheth valiantness; if thou seek to govern aright, he willeth thee to fl tyrrany; if thou thirst after manners of life, he foundeth it out, that vain glory, fornication, and discord, blemish, weaken, and at length utterly consume nobility. Let me proceed further and ask a question; Art thou a bishop? A minister, a preacher of Christ’s birth, his life and his death? Behold Levi as a lantern, thou canst teach thyself, but he can teach thee better; thou speakest to others, harken to him that talketh to thee of thy duty, how holy it is, how honorable, the mockers thereof how miserable. O you parents, look upon Jacob, and the twelve godly fathers; in time and order, learn from them to pray for your children, through God in Christ; have regard to their instruction: “For the hearty prayer of a father to the Lord for his children, is a right singular benefi before him; but he that for foolish pity giveth them the bridle, is before God accounted a guilty partaker of their sinful race:” view this book therefore, hearken how to teach yourselves and your children; you have already handled a sick man’s salve, enjoy now at length a sick man’s tongue, to instruct them when you leave them, and what to leave them when you die, else their end will be lamentation, but yours lamentable misery. And come you hither, you children of the earth, read and see that old father, Reuben, with his good brethren, readily and rightly, describe the blessed path of righteousness, and the forlorn way of Belial, the one to fl , the other to follow. Wilt thou begin with the eldest, for that old age seemeth wisest? Stop not then the ears of thy heart and body to so wise and sweet a charmer. O! the number and uglisome portraiture, of those deadly spirits, that he hath so orderly numbered, Lechery, Envy, Gluttony, Bravery, Pride, Vainglory, Unrighteousness, Willful ignorance. All these, as they seem, are indeed pernicious; but the former is most detestable, the end whereof is consumption of this earthly body, and destruction of the soul; which wellspring and puddle of evil, if thou wilt have dried up, cease from drunkenness: if not see it, have not a narrow and greedy eye upon a beautiful face; if not drink, yet stop thy mouth from busy questions with women; use labor, tame youthfulness. “For in this, I overshooting myself (saith Reuben to his children), I defi d my father’s bed; therefore, look not upon the beauty of women, muse not upon their doings; but keep yourselves occupied either in learning or some work; charge your wives and daughters that they trim not their heads; will them to chasten their looks, for every woman that deals deceitfully in those things is reserved to the punishment of the world to come.” Which trade of life to eschew without the fulfi of the law, and the law partly consisteth in mutual love. Strive with Simeon, the second brother, to avoid Strife, which blindeth the mind, pineth the body, provoketh murder, the remedy whereof if both forgiving and forgetting. Take to thee Joseph’s cheerful countenance, just, diligent, steady, and a serene mind, yet set before thine eyes Simeon’s withered hand, a right plague for such a sin, all which disquietness and mischief safely to set aside; remember Judah, gather by him experience, That for a man to glory in his own works is sinful, and he which upbraideth another man’s vice, standeth slippery. Judah checked his eldest brother (Reuben) with his fornication, but mark who sinned immediately, but envious and railing Judah. Did he not offend after the fl sh in the Canaanites’ house? Did he not take a wife without consent of his parents? Two great sins, used in our days, yet punished, the one with want, or at least small joy of children, saith father Judah the patriarch; but the other with intolerable danger of body and soul, saith St. Paul: Wherefore abstain from wine, abhor drunkenness, for such an one slandereth not, rehearseth not another man’s sins, breedeth no sedition, but embraceth love and charity in a single heart, as good father Issachar, who never railed, nor was hurtful and spiteful to his neighbor, never ate his meat alone, but gave part to the poor; never removed the bounds and marks of other men’s grounds, but loved all men as his natural children. O, that as we read this, so we might the same in life and conversation; mercy and love is a precious jewel, the maintainers whereof being jointly connected prosper; once dissevered, come to naught, for Zebulun saith, “When the stones and timber are dissolved, the waters wash away the sand;” whole mercy and singular compassion was rewarded singularly: sift his testament, resemble his rare charity, in clothing the naked, and feeding the hungry, as well strangers as his countrymen: Let not the spirit of Dan possess your mind, suffer not the wrath of Gad to settle in your hearts, for such work with three of his sore instruments, bitter speech, treachery, and violent hands, yielding fruit not much unlike, as you may read, as you may see; wilt thou be taught the ready path to that thou dost seek? “Two ways there be (saith Asher), vice the one, the other virtue.” Naphtali’s race embrace the latter, eschew the former; but he that walketh in them both, blindeth men, deceiveth himself, and mocketh God; whose double-faced dealing shall be double punished, such are the covetous, such are they that are merciful in evilness; such are they (saith Asher) that fast from meats, but not from fornication; have therefore a simple heart with righteous Joseph, the blessed of the Lord, who was a true sign of Christ Jesus; for hatred he showed love; being cursed he blessed; being shot through he did not so much as bend his bow; albeit his brethren would have slain him, albeit they cast him into a well, though they sold him as a bond- slave to strangers, who hated shepherds to the death, of whom he was whipped and tormented; yet, when they stood in fear, gave them comfort; when they were well-nigh famished, gave them food; when by his authority he might destroy, he by his authority did preserve; being their Lord, using them as his betters,—being their brother, accepting them as his children, their unkindness not spoken of; their conspiracies forgotten, their cruel dealing most lovingly, most mercifully forgiven; you have heard his love towards his neighbor, hearken his obedience toward God. When he was miserably affl ed, did he rage and swell? When he was made a bond-slave of a free man’s son, did he cry out to Heaven, being utterly forsaken? Did he impatiently accuse God’s justice? No, but waiting, he waited on the Lord; and the Lord, which hid his face, did show his countenance, and lifted him from the lowest rank in respect, to being a free man, wealthy, of a wealthy subject, and honorable personage, president of the whole of Egypt; whom the Egyptians being alive loved, and after his death also; whom living neither wealth nor woe could make to swell, neither promise or threats of the Egyptian strumpet could make slide; and therefore being dead, neither world, devil, nor man’s policy could make forgotten. O that our mortal race might thus begin and fi yea, thus, O Lord, most happily fi “The spirit is willing, but the fl sh is weak.” Learn therefore of Benjamin, to infl thy heart, that thou mayst be ready both in body and soul. “Let us commend (saith the preacher), let us behold the noble famous men, and the generation of our fore elders, for many glorious acts hath the Lord done in them, and showed his great power ever since the beginning.” Upon the consideration whereof, and especially for that I would have nothing wanting in this book that might serve thy contentation, I thought it as well pertinent to deal with the righteous father, as with the godly children, for to shadow a face only without a body, hath his deserved commendation; but whoso painteth a leg without a body, or a body without a head, it shall not be amiss, as I suppose, as well to term him a foolish painter, as to judge the thing undiscreetly painted; wherefore as well to see the head as the leg, and to hear the father as the children, I have faithfully drawn out of Scripture, and not according to my fancy fashioned, the death and testament of Jacob, that blessed and right happy father, added to this ancient monument of the children; therefore, to recompense my pains, read them diligently; neither read only, but be content to follow; for the imitation of good and godly men, is the direct way and course to godliness. So may we account of Jacob’s blessing; so may we thoroughly challenge to be his children, children I mean, not by fl sh, but Spirit.

(To be continued.) R. G.

"THE NATURE OF MIRACLES"

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR GOMER

Sir,—Inasmuch as your Publication is a free one, and ready to provide space to rebuttals on any public topic, while nothing personal is dealt with, I feel a desire in me at present to make some observations on the article of your correspondent from Talywain, in the most recent Star, with respect to the “Nature of Miracles.” He is a man who has distinguished himself lately by his treatises on the Infl nces of Fallen Spirits, &c., and if no effort is made to pull down somewhat this little piece of his, perhaps some will consider him to be irrefutable.

Dewi begins his article like a faithful Christian, the kind that Christ always loved. He says that he “himself does not see the need of the working of miracles in our days, for the purpose of proving the truthfulness of the Christian Religion; for he believes without doubting, according to the witness of the New Testament, without seeing one miracle.” Paul of old enjoyed getting hold of men like this, instead of those who did not believe through his preaching, but who would ask for a sign and wisdom. But we shall not be too quick to praise our correspondent, for he doubts in the following lines, whether it might not be necessary, since there are so many branches of Christianity in our days, to have a miracle to prove which one of them is founded on the witness of Christ, the evangelists, and the apostles. It appears that Dewi has gotten into a bit of a dilemma here. After giving assurance previously that he believes the religion of the New Testament, without his seeing a single miracle, he fi himself surrounded by numerous religions, each one professing to have the New Testament religion. Byron says—Some millions must be wrong. We ourselves say, and our correspondent will probably not agree with us either—But one must be right. But, although one is right, Dewi, since so many are erroneous, sees the need for a sign to prove that the right one is right. The Latter-day Saints offer to the world now that which Christ offered formerly,—“If any man will do his [God’s] will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself ” (John vii, 17). No one from the other denominations can offer such a thing. Arguing is the only way they have to come to a knowledge of the truth. Paul was asked for a sign to prove the truth of his message; thus the Latter-day Saints are requested now: but the majority of the denominations in this age are believed to be true, even though they are so different from one another, without any requests for a sign. If they were preaching the same gospel as the apostles preached, is it likely the world would be satisfi d without receiving a sign? Since the Saints are the only religion from which a sign is asked to prove that their religion is of God, it is highly appropriate to conclude that their religion is the one most similar to be that of the apostles. Mr. Gwilym ab Dewi, I suppose, sees that; and he is heard at the beginning of his article asking for a sign. He wants one to be given by some of the “prophets” of the Saints, when visiting his neighborhood, “if they are thinking of ” working a miracle by feeding fi e thousand, besides women and children, with fi e loaves and two fi s (at his own expense), and leave twelve baskets of fragments afterwards. If that were to be done, the one who does not “see the need of the working of miracles in our days, for the purpose of proving the truthfulness of the Christian religions,” would think that it would be “obvious that they were built on the foundation of the prophets and the apostles.” But, on the other hand, says our correspondent, if they cannot get the Power of the Almighty to work through them to perform the miracle, they can be categorized under the character of false Christs and false teachers. This is a fair offer, is it not? But let us ask the question this way:—I wonder, if Mr. Gwilym ab Dewi had been a contemporary of Christ, and if he had asked for a sign like this, would he have received his wish? Did the devil get a sign from him in the desert? Did he prophesy who was cuffi him, to prove that he was of God? Did he come down from the cross to prove himself the Son of God? Did he say that a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and they would not have one? There is no need to answer these things, for they are known to all. Despite all that, Dewi is determined, that if they fail to work the miracle, they can be categorized, on fair and reasonable ground, as possessing the character of false Christs and false teachers.” On the same ground the apostles can be categorized, when they failed to cast out that deaf and dumb spirit, as false Christs, &c. (Mark ix.) Power was given to Paul to heal; yet, he counsels Timothy to “use a little wine for his often infi mities;” and he leaves Trophimus sick at Miletum. We see from this that God imparts his spiritual gifts, as he wishes, and according to the faith of his children; but he did not authorize his children to satisfy sign seekers, and their Leader has not given one example of that. With respect to false Christs and false teachers, it is true that Christ and his apostles foretold of them, but it is just as true, that false Christs cannot confess the Christ of the New Testament, unless they explain themselves. The Saints believe in the same Christ as does Gwilym ab Dewi: it is not they, then, who are the false Christs. When Christ declared that deceivers like this would show signs and wonders, “insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect;” he also said that signs would follow his believers; and in connection with that he warns them to be on their guard against false signs. There is no need for the denominations of this age to keep the counsels of our Lord about false signs, since they say there are no signs of any kind; and consequently, if some are done, there is no way they can be deceived. The task that religionists of this age have is very small in comparison to that of the religionists in primitive times. They had the challenge of “proving false apostles (Rev. ii, 2), false prophets, spirits,” &c.; but now, there is no opportunity for those people to appear similar to anyone, for no apostles or prophets are supposed to be in the church. Evil spirits can now appear in whatever way they wish; it is very easy to recognize them, for no one receives any kind of good spirit. The people in primitive times also had the task of being careful not to receive any other doctrine except that which was given them by the apostles; but one can choose whatever doctrine he wishes now, and although they are in contradiction one to another, they are all according to the teaching of Christ, and certain to lead to eternal life! In light of the foregoing observations, it is clearly apparent that the Latter-day Saints are either of God, or they are deceivers; and that the various sects of this age are neither of God, nor are they deceivers. They are like those whom the Apostle portrays as “having a form of godliness, but denying his power,” and “heaping to themselves teachers, but without ever coming to a knowledge.” The early believers knew that their religion was true, and that none other could be right; the Saints now know the same; but the various sects of the age can only “believe conscientiously.” (To be continued.)

LETTER OF CAPT. D. JONES TO ELDERS W. PHILLIPS AND J. DAVIS.

Salt Lake City, September 10, 1850.

Dear Brothers W. PhiLLips and J. Davies,—Until now, for the life of me, I have not had a chance to greet you, in spite of my desire, since I wrote before; and now, short words are my song, for I am about to leave again from here further away to settle, that is, to the valley of Sand Pete, and that according to the counsel of President Young to me, and as many other Welsh brethren as can come. I know not yet who will come. This place is splendid country to settle in with an abundance of water and wood close by. It lies about 130 miles from here. We went through it last year as we search for the Madocians, and I shall be as much as that on my way to fulfill that venture yet, which thing, if God wills, I shall do before I rest. I do not have time to say hardly anything about this place or its happenings, but I shall send to you the “Deseret News” which is published here to do its part of that for me.

I had received only one small letter from you since I left Wales, nothing from anyone else, until the mail came in very recently; and yesterday I received the Trumpet for last year. I cannot describe my feelings as I took hold of a book which came from the hands of my dear brothers in the dear country which I left; a host of things which have gone by came to my recollection! but when I cut its pages and my eyes rushed across its pages, I saw the names of a number of the brethren whom I love so greatly singing through it like diamonds amid the pebbles along the seashore,—proving they were yet diligent in the field, faithful in the vineyard of their Lord, which vineyard is of my own planting. The bonds of my heart are nearly bursting with longing to see them, to shake their hands once again; yes, for their company eternally. I cannot be completely happy without all of them, those whom I loved so much; and yet, instead of returning to feast in their company and to battle together shoulder to shoulder with you in the army of Jesus there, he sees best now to send me even further! Well, I am content; His will be done, says my soul, so be it.

Yet, O dear brethren in the priesthood, what shall I say to you one and all to comfort you? This you know, that you are servants, as am I, of great Jesus, and that He is expecting all of us to fill the circle into which we have been placed; and He shall call us together sometime to give our account. Well, dear brethren and children in Christ, be sure to appear there happy. Remember that which I told you when I was there and do it; and thus God our Father will bless you forever and ever. I was about to say kiss my dear co-workers there: what else shall I say to them to show my love for them? Yet, that would be nothing. I have not time nor space to even name them, as they are too numerous. Go forward, dear Saints; the crowns are ahead of you, and eternal life to clothe you. I dreamed lately that I was in the middle of a room full of you in council, and it was exquisitely sweet! Oh, such heaven it was to me, but it was but a dream! Oh, teach the dear Saints tenderly in love the way to keep the counsel of God. Thanks to my Father for answering my prayers in your regard. Remember me to dear Howells and his family lovingly; that the Lord be with him and his family is my constant prayer. Remember me to all of the Saints. My wife and little Claudia are well, together with the rest of the Welsh. Remember me and my family kindly to my brothers, John and Edward, and my relatives. Oh, that they were here; I shall pray for them all to be faithful Saints, anyway. I heard that A. Evans is not coming here this year, but that he is staying in Council Bluffs. ***

The roads here are still white from the wagonfuls of immigrants. They are like doves coming to their windows from the four corners of the world. The sickness which gathered on my lungs through hard work there, has not gotten much better yet. Dear Saints, remember your humble servant and pray for him, he who served you almost to the death; and for him be faithful and diligent in the work of God. We had an excellent conference here last week, and everything here is successful and wonderfully organized, for there is an able leader at the helm and an abundance of assistants. I cannot get a chance now to write an account of my journey to the south last winter; you shall have that as soon as I can write it. You shall have an account of the Council Bluffs Welsh from Brother W. Morgans. They are welcome to dwell on the land I bought for them. At last, I must close. Brethren, here are for you your triads of my love and my heart forever and ever. Amen.

D. Jones.

STATISTICAL REPORT FOR THE CONFERENCES IN THE BRITISH ISLES,

FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 1850.

Names of the Presidents.—Thomas Margetts, London; William Gibson, Manchester; James H. Flanigan, Birmingham; J. W. Cummings, Sheffield; George Halliday, South Conference; C. H. Wheelock, Herefordshire; Glaud Rodger, Liverpool; John Spiers, Bedfordshire; Eli B. Kelsey, Warwickshire; William Booth, Cheltenham; James Marsden, Bradford; Thomas Smith, Norwich; J. D. Ross, Staffordshire; J. S. Higbee, Newcastle-on-Tyne; Lorin Babbitt, Lincolnshire; Lewis Robbins, Derbyshire; George D. Watt, Preston; W. C. Dunbar, Southampton; John Lyon, Worcestershire; William Moss, Clithero; Hugh Findlay, Hull; George Kendall, Dorsetshire; Lewis Robbins, Leicestershire; Joseph W. Young, Shropshire; A. M. Harmon, Carlisle; Williams Phillips, East Glamorgan; Thomas Giles, Monmouthshire; David John, Carmarthenshire; Evan Williams, West Glamorgan; John Price, Pembrokeshire; John Parry, Denbighshire; William Parry, Flintshire; John Evans, Cardiganshire; Thomas Morgan, Anglesey; William Evans, Merionethshire; John Jones, Breconshrie; J. Clements, Glasgow; C. Dunn, Edinburgh; William Burton, Dundee; James M’Naughtan, Channel Islands; John Kelly, Isle of Man.For an explanation about the new Districts, and changes in Branches, see Account of the General Conference, in Trumpet November and December, 1850.

MISCELLANEOUS, & c.

Married,—On the 30th of December, 1850, in the parish church, Merthyr Tydfil, by the Rev. James C. Campbell, John Davis, printer, Georgetown, and Elizabeth Phillips, from Cwmbach.

doc. and the cov.—We are glad that more subscribers have been obtained, and that it is likely to come out for a penny and a half per segment. Strive yet a little more.

VERSE

To Zion, lovely land, our Father, O take

Us, thy fortunate saints, from the land of the scowl;

That we there may have, over a thousand years of splendor,

Reigning with the Lamb, without pain or grief. I. R.

Payments from December 22 to Jan. 9.—Denbighshire, £2 10s; Pontytypridd, £3 2s 6c; Llanfabon, £1 8s 11½c; Cwmbach, £1 9s 0½s; Pendeulwyn, 6s 1½c; Twynyrodyn, 11s 4½c; Gog, 8s 0½c; Cardiff, £1; Aberdare, £2 2s 6c; Dowlais, £2 12s; Hirwaun, £1 13s; Rhymney, £1 18s 9c; Cwmnedd, 10s; Georgetown, £1; Merthyr, £2 16s 8c; Pendaren, 10s; Cefn, £1 5s 6½c.

We see no need for publishing the conference minutes from now on, unless something unusual happens in them; but we request the accounts from everywhere as usual.

Send all correspondence, requests, and book payments, to John Davis, Printer, John’s Street, Georgetown, Merthyr Tydfil; but nothing is to be sent about anything else.