| 226 grace, this is the last day of revivals! From another equally as high, and whose towering steeple seems to be lost in the azure blue, another sound is heard; a cry of peace, peace, all is well in Zion, the Lord is converting the heathen, and soon the reign of universal peace and righteousness will be brought in. It is true this is a day of wonders, and many new things make their appearance; and events strange and marvelous, are daily taking place, and we confess the cause or end thereof no one knows.-While all classes and denominations agree with this one sentiment, that great and important events are at the door; even from the priest in the pulpit to the idle lounger in the public alehouse, all are equally aroused, and as equally ignorant of the cause, or the effect. But let us inquire, what is the cause of all this ado; why the world is so aroused, and what the cause of this universal excitement? Let the wise answer. "The wicked shall do wickedly, but the wise shall understand." Daniel xii:10.-"The Lion has come up from his thicket," the Lord has spoken from Mount Zion; the God of Israel has again begun to work; a mighty kingdom is now set up in the earth, and the enemies' camp is in danger; Babylon is beginning to totter; her walls are about to crumble into ruins, and the great Goddess of this generation (priestcraft,) is in danger. The Lord God has spoken from the Heavens to a young man, saying "Jerusalem shall be inhabited," "and in wrath remembered mercy in the midst of the years made known," that the great work of the last days has already began-even the dispensation of the fullness of times, in the which God will bring to pass the greatest events ever witnessed by man, the signs of which have already appeared-therefore the wise begin to account for all the wonder and surprise in the world, and are willing to go forth and warn the wicked of the approaching events that they so greatly fear. The kingdom of God is rolling on with unparalleled rapidity through the world. The great arm of Heaven is extended again to the earth; the God of Moses has spoken, and the world stands afar off; with fear they quake exceedingly. In many places where the servants of God make their appearance and begin to raise their voices like the horns around Jerico, as messengers of truth, thousands of interested subjects flock to hear the new messengers that God has sent to an apostate world.-In every state through which I have passed in my journey from Nauvoo to this place, I have found fields white already to harvest, and room for many laborers to do much in gathering the wheat into garners; and had not my mission been appointed to this state, I should have tarried far west of this. The spread of truth is fast making its progress in all the land. I have come to this state obedient to council, and rejoice that I have been directed by the Lord, through the mouth of his Prophet, whom he has raised up in these last days to direct the affairs of his kingdom. I have now been in the vineyard on this mission about six months; have travelled [traveled] in eight states, and have preached to all that came in my way, and have allayed the prejudice of the people to a considerable extent in all places where I have had the opportunity of preaching, by correcting the errors, and setting forth the truth before them.
Since my arrival here, which is a little over two months, my labors have been principally confined to this county. I have labored in Westfield, Springfield, Cabotville and Chicapee. I have preached to large assemblies in all these places, and very good attention has been paid. I have baptised [baptized] several in Westfield and Cabotville, and many more are believing in the great work of God, both professor and non-professor. The prospect for a great work is now apparent in this region. Some of the most prominent members in the Baptist church have been baptised [baptized] in these places.
The priests are much enraged, while from the pulpit to the private circle the members are warned to beware of the delusion; and the most base calumny, falsehoods, and misrepresentations are heralded forth by them in every shape and from every quarter. The Press also is used to dissuade some, to sour the minds of others, and if possible, to retard the work of God, if not to put an entire stop to it in this section of the country.
I have been here now until a general excitement prevails amongst both priest and people, but mostly with the priests, who excite and encourage the common people, for I have not seen a people so completely priest-ridden in any place as in these eastern states. Superstition and bigotry seem to have attained their highest pinnacle, while the minds of many are bound down by the shackles and chains of modern priestcraft. Error, confusion, anarchy and misrule, are the only spirits that govern. Nothing but the power of God can in any way, beneath the heavens, break the league of the iron grasp of the Devil, that appears to be riveted upon the minds of almost all the people. Yet notwithstanding all the powers of earth and hell combined, they cannot stop the work of God in these last days, for the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword, even to the pulling down of error, and the final triumph of truth.
In these eastern lands, amid all the errors, the
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