Baptism-the Mode of Its Administration-Its Efficacy-Dr. Moshiem-State of the Religious World-the Apostacy [Apostasy], &c., &c

(Concluded.)

BROTHER TAYLOR:-

But these things were clearly predicted by the prophets, and their downfall foretold Isaiah, XLII: 17; 'They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, ye are our gods.' When we see the graven statues of Virgin Mary, and even that of the Savior, St. Paul, &c., adorning the churches of all who are able to procure them, we think of this passage of scripture. When we enter into these churches, and behold these images, golden vaces [vases], &c., it brings to our mind the time that 'Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves; and would not suffer that any man should carry any vessels through the temple.' St. Mark, XI: 15, 16. He could do the same things at the present day, with great propriety. Speaking of the fall of this worldly pride the prophet says: Isaiah, III: 16-26; 'Moreover, the Lord saith, because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet; therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their calls, and their round tires like the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers; the bonnets and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings; the rings, and nose jewels; the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping-pins; the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails [veils]; and it shall come to pass that instead of a sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle, a rent; and instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate, shall sit upon the ground.' How correctly

has the prophet described the arrogance and trappings of pride, of the present age. O, you worshippers of idols, followers of the precepts of men, rather than the word of God!-Away with your false theories, your man-made systems, your clashing creeds, your dogmas, your mock ceremonies, your monkish customs, your countless paraphernalia of worship, your tomes of learned ethics and studied literary lore!

'But he who truth from falsehood would disern [discern],

Must first disrobe the mind, and all unlearn.'

St. Matthew, VI: 23; 'But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!' When we reflect upon these scenes of moral degradation, and hear the long prayers, the written sermons and horrid groans of these pretended christians, we say with the Savior: St. Matthew, XV: 8, 9; 'This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.' If, in these scenes of confusion and uproar, they would read the instructions of Paul to the church of Corinth, we think their cheeks would mantle with the blush of honest shame, and they hold themselves in disgust for their depravity. We would be glad if we had room for the whole of these instructions; but a few verses must suffice. 1st Cor., XIV: 26-40; 'How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy, one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but peace, in all churches of the saints. Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. Let all things be done decently and in order.' But, says, one, 'how can we follow the instructions of Paul to the church at Corinth? He speaks of prophesying, of revelation, of speaking in tongues, of interpretation of tongues, &c., and we have none of these gifts and blessings in our church.' If you are without these, then we say you are not of God; for if you were of God, then you would believe in God. 'By their fruits ye shall know them.' We will see what Christ said about those who believed. St. Mark, XVI; 17, 18; 'And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpants [serpents]; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.'

These are the fruits by which we are to know the true followers of Christ. 'But have you these blessings and gifts in the Church of Latter Day Saints?' We have. If we were built upon any foundation, other than the great apostolic rock, then we would not be the legitimate church of Jesus Christ. We told the reader in the beginning of our interview that we should preach no other doctrine, than those preached by the apostles. The world, to be the true followers of Christ, must have, as Paul said, 'but 'one Lord, one faith, one baptism.' And they must worship without confusion, being united, of one heart and one mind. If you have so many different theories, you cannot be right. 1st Cor., III: 3, 4; 'For ye are carnal: for whereas there is among you envying and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith I am Paul, another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?' While one says, I am a Catholic; another, I am a Methodist; and another, I am a Baptist; are they not all wrong? 'A house divided against itself cannot stand.'

We have said so much about the creeds and theories of men, that it may be a query in the minds of some, whether the church of Latter Day Saints, have a creed or not. To satisfy such queries, we would say that we have a creed but not of man. Our only creed is the Bible. As much as may be said by our enemies about 'new revelations,' 'Jo Smith,' 'second Mahomet,' 'false prophet,' &c.; the Bible is our creed, and the great light that guides our worship. We must here introduce a little anecdote upon this subject. A minister in the city of Alton while addressing his congregation one Sabbath, informed his hearers that he had been to Nauvoo, and had an interview with Mr. Smith. During this interview he asked Mr. Smith to show him his creed, whereupon he handed him his Bible! This; said the learned minister, was enough to convince me that 'Mormonism is a humbug!' Poor man! because 'Mormonism' is predicated upon the Bible, you are convinced that it is a humbug! Weak mind, you are entitled to our sympathy. What a pity that your religious sensibility should be at last startled by the discovery of a religion founded

upon the Bible! This was an occurrence so strange to happen in the nineteenth century, and one so entirely different from any thing that had transpired since the days of the apostles, that our worthy minister was compelled to pronounce it a HUMBUG!

The following quotations describe the present religious world to a nicety. St Mark, XXIII: 26-30; 'Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.-Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' The 'whited sepulchers,' here spoken of, brings to mind the white robed priests who outwardly appear clean and beautiful, but inwardly they are full of hypocrisy and all manner af [of] iniquity. Annanias, called by the people, 'God's high priest,' received from Paul this withering curse. Acts, XXIII: 3; 'God shall smite thee thou whited wall.' We suppose this priest was clad in the snowy habiliaments [habiliments] of his high office, as the priests of the present day are when they officiate with such dignified pomposity in the sacred desk. Hence Paul called him the 'whited wall.' At that early age men

'Stole the livery of heaven,

To serve the devil in;'

and they have worn it for that purpose ever since. This building the 'tombs of the prophet,' and garnishing the 'sepulchers of the righteous,' named in context, arrays before 'our mind's eye,' the many well 'garnished' churches now in our country, bearing these inscriptions: 'St. Paul's Cathedral,' 'St. Paul's Church,' St. Stephen's Chapel,' &c. &c. They will place these inscriptions upon their churches and say, with an agonizing air, 'if we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' This quotation will decide the matter: St. Luke, XI: 47, 48; 'Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers, for they indeed killed them, and ye build the sepulchers.'

But if father Paul or any of the old apostles and prophets were here, they would be the first to stone them, and they would not let them preach the gospel of Jesus, even upon the stepstones of these churches. Some may think these are hard sayings, but they are nevertheless true. We draw our conclusions from analogy. If they will murder, mob, tar and feather, whip, way-lay, insult, and drive the saints of God, of Latter Day Saints, from their homes, without any cause or provocation, save that they preach the same gospel that the apostles preached, then we believe we are justified in saying they would treat the apostles, or even Christ himself, in the same way. For, be assured, the apostles know nothing of your idle mummeries, your ceremonies of Mass, your lighted tapers, your salt ceremonies, your sprinkling ordinances, or of your jumping, stamping, hollowing, groaning and falling down power. St. Mark, VII: 7; 'Howbeit, in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.' They do not understand the first rudiments of your worship. They would be like untutored babes among you, and you would have to 'teach the young idea how to shoot,' before they could make any appearance at all, in your refined assemblies.-And, besides they were 'ignorant fishermen' too, and, you know, it would be looked upon as the height of impudence for them to presume to worship Almighty God, long side of your most worshipful brethren, of such scientific attainments. O, no, this would never do. You must away with these fellows, lest they draw away your flocks, and 'take away your place and nation.' When the elders of the Church of Latter Day Saints, ask these sanctimonious men for a chapel to preach in, they first survey them from head to foot mistrustfully, and then eagerly ask: 'To what denomination do you belong?'-'To the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Sir.' impostors, Jo Smith-ites, false prophets, poor deluded men; you can't have it, Sir! you have come to make disturbance!' O, religious tolerance! where hast thou fled!-How different is this narrow contracted spirit of little minds, to the high-born and patriotic religious toleration that reigns in the bosoms of the noble citizens of Nauvoo. This may be most authentically shown by inserting the first Section of an ordinance, passed by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo, entitled

'An Ordinance in relation to Religious Societies.

Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Nauvoo, That the Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Latter Day Saints, Quakers, Episcopalians, Universalists, Unitarians, Mahommedans, and all other religious sects and denominations, whatever, shall have free toleration, and equal privileges in this city, and should any person be guilty of ridiculing, abusing, or otherwise depreciating another, in consequence of his religion, or of disturbing, or interrupting any religious meeting, within the

limits of this city, he shall on conviction thereof before the Mayor, or Municipal Court, be considered a disturber of the public peace, and fined in any sum not to exceed five hundred dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both, at the discretion of said Mayor, or Court.

Let Ex-Governor Duncan read this ordinance and blush with shame and confusion, for the erroneous impressions he has made upon the minds of honest citizens, in the southern part of the State of Illinois.

When we hear the religious world praying, 'O, thou great and unknown God,' we are forcibly struck with the words of Paul when he stood in the midst of Mars-hill, and spake to the superstitious people of Athens. Acts, XVIII: 23; 'For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.' The same God that Paul declared, declare we unto this generation. We declare that God, that is unchangeable, in all ages of the world-that God that led the children of Israel through the wilderness, forty years-that God that is the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. We declare unto man that God who is a God of revelation in the last days, as well as in the first, that God who has set his hand the second time to gather his people Israel to Mount Zion and to Jerusalem, and that God who will soon appear in the heavens with power and great glory to execute vengeance upon the earth, and reign a thousand years with his saints. This is the God that we declare unto you, and we warn you to flee from the calamities that must shortly come upon you unless you repent; for God will come with anger and fury poured out, and awful will be the situation of the unprepared. Turn from your idolatry, your graven images, your 'God without body or parts;' and pray to the one true and living God, who giveth liberally and upbraideth none. Alluding to this period, Isaiah says: 2d c. 22, 23; 'In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.' Isaiah, VIII: 21, 22; 'And they shall pass throughout it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.' But of those that have on the wedding garment Isaiah says: XL: 31; 'But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.' Then obey the gospel of Jesus Christ and

-'thou shalt flourish in immortal youth;

Unhurt amidst the war of elements,

The wreck of matter and the crush of worlds.'

We bear record, and our record is true, that the Almighty God of Heaven and Earth, has revealed himself to man in these last days; that his kingdom is again set up and established, as in primitive times; that his church is again led by the light of revelation, and that the gifts and blessings of the apostles have been restored to man, Come into the fold of Christ, to the shepherd of Israel; walk with us by streams of water that never run dry; bask in the sunbeams of heaven, and in the light of revelation; receive line upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until ye be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of God; and there shall be continually within you a well of righteousness, springing up to everlasting life.

Yours, Respectfully,

JUNIOR.