| 504 bodies of land and prepared his heart to make the use of it the Lord intended he should. Being a man of extensive information, great talents, and high literary fame, he devoted all his powers and influence to give us a character. . . .
From the kind, uniform, and consistent course pursued by the citizens of Illinois and the great success which has attended us while here, the natural advantages of this place for every purpose we require, and the necessity of the gathering of the saints of the Most High, we would say, Let the brethren who love the prosperity of Zion, who are anxious that her stakes should be strengthened, and her cords lengthened, and who prefer her prosperity to their chief joy, come, and cast in their lots with us, and cheerfully engage in a work so glorious and sublime, and say with Nehemiah, "We his servants will arise and build."
It probably would hardly be necessary to enforce this important subject on the attention of the saints, as its necessity is obvious and is a subject of paramount importance; but as watchmen to the house of Israel, as shepherds over the flock which is now scattered over a vast extent of country, and the anxiety we feel for their prosperity and everlasting welfare, and for the carrying out the great and glorious purposes of our God, to which we have been called, we feel to urge its necessity and say, Let the saints come here-This is the word of the Lord, and in accordance with the great work of the last days.
It is true the idea of a general gathering has heretofore been associated with most cruel and oppressing scenes, owing to our unrelenting persecutions at the hands of wicked and unjust men; but we hope that those days of darkness and gloom have gone by, and from the liberal policy of our State government we may expect a scene of peace and prosperity we have never before witnessed since the rise of our church, and the happiness and prosperity which now await us, is, in all human probability incalculably great. By a concentration of action and a unity of effort we can only accomplish the great work of the last days, which we could not do in our remote and scattered condition, while our interests both spiritual and temporal will be greatly enhanced, and the blessings of heaven must flow unto us in an uninterrupted stream; of this we think there can be no question. The great profusion of temporal and spiritual blessings, which always flow from faithfulness and concerted effort never attend individual exertion or enterprise. The history of all past ages abundantly attests this fact. . . .
We would wish the saints to understand that when they come here they must not expect to find perfection, or that all will be harmony peace, and love; if they indulge these ideas they will undoubtedly be deceived, for here there are persons, not only from different States, but from different nations, who, although they feel a great attachment to the cause of truth, have their prejudices of education, and consequently it requires some time before these things can be overcome. Again, there are many that creep in unawares and endeavor to sow discord, strife and animosity in our midst, and by so doing bring evil upon the saints These things we have to bear with and these things will prevail either to a greater or lesser extent until "the floor be thoroughly purged" and "the chaff be burnt up." Therefore let those who come up to this place be determined to keep the commandments of God, and not be discouraged by those things we have enumerated, and then they will be prospered, the intelligence of heaven will be communicated to them, and they will eventually see eye to eye and rejoice in the full fruition of that glory which is reserved for the righteous.
In order to erect the temple of the Lord great exertions will be required on the part of the saints, so that they may build a house which shall be accepted of by the Almighty, and in which his power and glory shall be
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