(Concluded.)

Wipe off yours tears, ye saints of the Most High, and grieve the absence of your Lord no longer; for do you not remember that he said to his disciples before his death, "I will come again." And hear the testimony of the two angels that stood by when he ascended; hear this, I say, and let your countenance beam with joy, and your hearts overflow with gladness, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.' But previons [previous] to the coming of Christ, Judah and Israel shall be restored from their long dispersion, (and this shall be attended with greater signs and wonders than the deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian bondage. Jer. xvi: 14.) and will come to their own land and rebuild Jerusalem and the cities of Judea, and rear the temple of their God: And then the envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim but they shall dwell in peace.

The earth also shall undergo a change, for the mountains will be thrown down, the valleys exalted, the rough places will become smooth and the crooked places straight, and the barren deserts fruitful, and the parched ground well watered, and even the beasts of prey being wrought upon by the Spirit of God will lose their thirst for blood and being restored to their primeval state will derive all their food from the vegetable world. The signs of the coming of Christ will be most awful and alarming, for there shall be earthquakes, distress of nations, sword and pestilence, men's hearts failing them for fear, the stars shall fall, the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood. Then shall appear the sign of the son of Man in heaven, and at the sight of this personage the tribes of the earth shall mourn, but the saints of the Most High shall rejoice with great joy and exclaim "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

The coming of Christ will cause greater excitement than any thing that ever has transpired in the world since the creation of man. The Jews will look upon him; and beholding his wounds with sympathy, will ask, "What are these wounds in thy hands, feet and side?" and he shall say "These I received in the house of my friends." "Then they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.-" And those who have rejected the everlasting gospel, and persecuted the church of Christ and wasted it, will desire to be concealed from his majestic frown: But how will this terror be augmented when he reminds them of acts of kindness which the might have performed but neglected; but their reply is "Lord when saw we thee in distress and did not minister unto thee?" Then shall the King answer them saying, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these my followers, ye did it not to me." And beholding the son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven attended with ten thousand of his host, we shall be ready to inquire, Is this the despised Nazarene! Is this, the man of sorrows! Is this he, whom they sought to kill! Is this the person that had no where to lay his head until he reclined it upon the cross, between two thieves! Is this him they once crowned with thorns! Yes, this is the very identical character, but O how changed! He is (now crowned with a never fading diadem and invested with all his Father's glory-in everlasting Pomp to Reign.

When we consider the events that shall take place on this important day we may ask with the prophet "But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap." Now is the day for calling, but that will be a day of choosing. "For he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." The ministers of the gospel are now sent forth to sow the seeds of eternal life, and tares and wheat grow together until this day then the angels shall bind the tares in bundles for to be burned. The virgins are now exhorted to

prepare for the coming of the bridegroom; but then only they who are wise will be admitted in, and those who have suffered their lamps to go out will be rejected. Now the invitation is sent to all nations for to come to the marriage supper; then the King will come to see the guests and those who have not on a wedding garment will be cast out. "Now the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that is cast into the sea, which gathered of all kinds, but then the good will be put into vessels, and the bad will be cast away. "Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."

Cheer up! thou poor disponding [despondent] saint thou who art sometimes ready to say "My Lord delayeth his coming." Wait patiently a little longer and he whom thou lovest not having seen, shall suddenly come to his temple and will wipe off thy tears, pour joy and gladness into thy troubled breast and place a crown of everlasting felicity upon thy immortal brow. Did the wise men present gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Saviour [Savior]? How much more will the redeemed confer honour [honor], immortal honour [honor] upon him, and with a unanimous voice exclaim, while casting their honours [honors] at his feet; "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour [honor], and glory, and blessings: And he that sits upon the throne shall proclaim, Behold I make all things new." Then to the eternal joy of the redeemed, and according to his promise, a new heaven and earth shall be brought into existence by his almighty power. "Then shall the holy city New Jerusalem come down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." This most glorious event shall be hailed by the angelic throng who shall exclaim, "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." Seeing then that we look for these things it behoveth us to give all diligence that we may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless. We have already attained to great things and if we continue faithful only eternity itself can unfold our future blessings but for the present we may be satisfied with the statement of the apostle viz. "Behold, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

FRANCIS MOON.

Pittsburgh, Pa. Feb. 2d 1842.

MR. JOSEPH SMITH, SIR,-Though a stranger to you personally, yet the knowledge of your character (given me by others) makes it unnecessary for me to offer any apology for thus troubling you. And I entreat you to believe me, when I say, that it is with a sincere desire to arrive at the truth of things that to me and all others are of the most vital importance.

I am pleased to inform you that Elder John E. Page, has convinced me of my errors, relative to the divinity of the Bible; not in appealing to my passions or a mere flare up of the imagination, which constitutes the religion of three fourths of its votaries, but my judgment, and understanding, were alone consulted, and the result is, I am almost persuaded to be a Christian, on the principles contained in the Book.

I now concede, God to be a God, of mercy, justice, and truth, instead of a tyranical [tyrannical], lying and treacherous being, that I was forced to consider him, by the character he got by the various sects and theologians of the day, and their interpretations of his word.

I have wished to know the truth and considered myself bound to receive it, come from whence it may, and inasmuch as your explanation of the Bible appears reasonable to me, and showing me at the same time, the science thereof, makes it I might say obligatory in me to know all things (so far as I can appreciate them,) that has any connection therewith.

I feel to thank God (though I am yet a sinner,) that Elder Page crossed my path. He is giving the sectarian world the heart burn in this city and the more they cry delusion, humbug and fanatacism [fanaticism] the more the people wont [won't] believe it, but go and hear for themselves, and the result is that rational men consider him a rational man and the success of his mission in this city is indeed flattering.

I now wish to know through you the laws and regulations of your church-what is required of its members-how much (if a man of property,) must he

contribute annually for its support. In short what is required to constitute good membership?

If you will please answer those questions comprehensively you will confer a favor on one who with pleasure subscribes himself your friend, and humble servant;

RICHARD SAVARY.

P. S. Since the above was written Elder Page has informed me that he must return to you. I am sorry it is so; but I do entreat you to send him back if possible. He is beloved by all good men who have listened to his eloquence, which consists in the pure doctrine which he preaches. I believe that should he return hundreds would be added to his fold, that would not be by any other man you could send, however eloquent he may be. The reason is we are familiar with him, and his candor is unquestioned, he gives no offence [offense] but alone appeals to the understandings of men, may he soon return is the prayer of your unworthy servant

R. SAVARY.

In answer to the above I would remark, that it is required of all men, to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; to repent of all their sins and to be baptized (by one in authority) in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and to have hands laid on them for the gift of the Holy Ghost, to constitute them a member in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I would respectfully refer you sir, to our book of Doctrines and Covenants for information concerning the "laws and regulations" of our church as being given by the revelations of God for our guide and instruction.

Respecting how much a man of property shall give annually we have no special instructions to give; he is to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide for the widow, to dry up the tear of the orphan, to comfort the afflicted, whether in this church, or in any other, or in no church at all, wherever he finds them, to believe and obey all that God has revealed, does reveal, or will reveal, to do good unto all men, to be a member in good standing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Ed.