Persecution

They that will live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer persectuoiu [persecution]-Paul

Persecution has ever been the lot of the saints of God, while they have been sojourners in this vale of tears; fierce and cruel opposition have marked their progress, and those, who in the estimation of heaven have been jewels, and prepared for the association of angels and the spirit of just men made perfect, have been proscribed, verefied [vilified], hated and abused; their liberties taken from them, and many, very many, have suffered death in its most horrid forms. This spirit continues to rage even in this enlightened age, and thousands of professing christians, zealous to promote their faith, and send their religious opinions to the world, are no less so, to stop the mouth of the saint and to persecute the servant of the Most High. And why we ask, do they do so? Is it because the saints have violated the laws, trampled on the constitution, wrested the rights of individuals or communities, & pursued a lawless demoralizing course? No such proceedings have been indulged in. No! they are as foreign to the heart of the Saints now, as they were at the time of our Savior's sojourn on earth. No such accusation could be for one moment sustained against the saints of old, neither can there be any in this day, whose rights have we trampled upon? whose lives have we jeopardized? None of those things have been committed-no violations of the peace-no infringement [infringement] of right, why then this outcry, why this unhallowed persecution which has been heaped upon the church for more than ten years, until many of the saints have been worn out, and have fallen a prey to the fell spirit of persecution which has raged from time to time since the rise of the church. Men of integrity faith and virtue, who for their religion alone have died martyrs? Ah! it is because they have borne [born] testimony to the truth, that God is the same yesterday today and for ever, and "that he will do nothing but that he will reveal his secrets to his servants the prophets;" They have testified that the heavens have been opened-that Jesus has again spoken-that angels have again administered, and that the Holy Spirit has been poured out as in days of old; and that the words of Joel have been fulfilled which say that, "in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy &c. &c." This the cause of the scoff of the drunkard, the scorn and ridicule of the hypocrite and bigot, and the persecutions of priests and people. The principles of the gospel-the true principles of the gospel-the ancient faith has been restore; this raises the indignation of the self-righteous who have already got sufficient religion, and because the saints testify that all the blessings enjoyed by the saints anciently may, by a proper course of conduct and obedience, be enjoyed now, they immediately pounce upon him, and cry delusion, imposter [impostor], and not overturning his doctrines by such arguments, use the more potent ones of whiping [whipping], tarring feathering, &c. &c.

Upon a perusal of the sacred volume, we shall find that amongst the legacies left by the head of the church, persecution was mentioned and it was spoken of in such terms as must have led every rational mind to the conclusion that the saints could not, without bartering their religion, and their hopes of eternal life, expect to escape it. Says the Savior, "In the world you shall have tribulation." These were the assurances which the savior gave, to his beloved disciples before he left them, to take his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high; but at the same time to make the cup palatable, threw in the comforting assurance that in him they should have peace.-The words of the Savior were verified, for after his death, the saints were hunted from place to place, like the roe upon the mountains. The Pharisees[Pharisees], jealous of the laws, no longer able to gainsay or resist the testimony which the saints could bear of the truth of the gospel, like our modern friends, resorted to means diabolical and cruel, and by physical force endeavored to overthrow a system which all their false reasoning and philosophy failed to do, and thrust into inner prisons and accused of crimes against the government, men whose only crime was in proclaiming the abrogation of the ceremonies [ceremonies] of the law, and the establishment of the kingdom of God with all its authority, gifts and blessings. Why this then? Why this conflict now? If we teach the word of God, we shall find that in consequence of transgression, men love darkness rather than light, and whenever God has made known his will to the world, by far the greatest part of mankind have discarded it, and acted on entirely different principles than those revealed, consequently hatred and animosity [animosity] have sprung

up in the bosoms of those who love darkness rather than light, towards those who professed to adhere to the principles of truth, which had been revealed, which continued to increase, favored by the devil until they could feel themselves perfectly justified in persecuting the saints, trampling all law and order under their feet, and could, without blushing say their prayers both morning and evening, and appear as pious as the angels.

Truth and error never did, nor ever will harmonize. Truth is from above error is from beneath. They are as opposite as the poles, and as different as light is from darkness.-There has ever been a commotion when they have been together in the world, and error has found so many votaires [votaries] that it has generally triumphed, and truth has fallen in the streets. She has, however, presented herself agaiu [again] in all her native loveliness, beautiful as ever, and around her fair form, thousands are gathering and cheering her on in her holy and righteous career. Error stands aghast, but soon recovers, and knowing the potency of the weapons he has formerly used, again makes use of the same to overthrow this glorious personage. the conflict has began [begun]. Shall error again claim the victory? No! ten thousand voices cry, Truth shall conquer; not by mistakes, by violence, by bloody tortures, by imprisonments and death; but by patience, by meekness, by temperance, by love unfeigned, and by every principle that is honorable and virtuous. Yes she is destined to triumph until error with its attendant train of evils is annihilated, and truth shall sweep the earth and cause the hearts of the inhabitants to rejoice in the fulness [fullness] of her blessings. But this will not be accomplished without a struggle. Error will raise her standard and concentrate her forces, and will carry on a system of annoyance, of persecution, and seek every opportunity to destroy the saint of God-the votary of truth. Marvel not then ye saints of God, if in the deadly strife the words of the Savior should be fully verified! Marvel not if the sayings of the apostle that "all those who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," should be fulfilled but at the same time rejoice that you are accounted worthy to suffer for Christ's sake, "for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you, yea rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven."