| 228 of miles from the sun, though no knowledge of his diurnal motion has been ascertained; six moons at least have been discovered. All the planets and fixed stars are governed by a law, and if they be governed by law, there must be order, and there can be no order without design, and if by design, there must be a framer. No matter whether it be the law of nature, or any other law, it could not have been produced by chance, for chance begets confusion. Law and order cannot spring into existence of their own accord, but must have been framed in wisdom and intelligence, and intelligence does not exist in nature, nor wisdom in chance. If then, intelligence exists, that framed not only this earth, so well adapted for the dwelling of man, but all the countless numbers of worlds, with all their regularity and beauty, continually revolving in the immensity of space, without a jar, in perfect harmony, shall we consider it strange that when man is created, a law should be given, or shall he be left in darkness and confusion? I am persuaded that we may bring forth such an abundance of evidence as to satisfy even the skeptic on this point, and if we could once get man to place implicit confidence in the Bible, he has nothing to do but read it, to believe in the Book of Mormon, and the doctrines taught by the Latter Day Saints.
The prophecies contained in the scriptures are so numerous, and the proofs of their fulfilment [fulfillment] so abundant, that, instead of any deficiency of evidence, the only difficulty lies in selecting or condensing them. A few of the prophecies that have a definite and distinct meaning, and that have received an express and literal accomplishment, shall be selected, Moses, being the first inspired writer we have an account of in the Bible, we will examine his words first, respecting the Jews and their city. He says, Leviticus 26, if they would not obey the commandments of God, ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat, and I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you; and I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries into desolation; I will bring the land into desolation, and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it; I will scatter you among the heathen, and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste, and ye shall be in your enemy's land, and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies; and ye shall perish among the heathen, and they that are left among you shall pine away in their iniquity in their enemy's land; and yet, for all that, when they be in their enemy's land, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly." Also, Deut. 26: "It shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, and observe to do all his commandments, that all these curses shall come upon thee; [which may be read at leisure, therefore, for the sake of brevity, I only extract a few;] thou shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth; the Lord shall smite thee with blindness, and thou shalt grope at the noon-day as the blind gropeth in darkness, and shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given to another people, and thine eyes shall fail with looking for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in thy hand; the Lord shall bring thee into a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb and a bye-word among all nations, whither the Lord shall lead thee. These curses shall be upon thee for a sign and a wonder, and upon thy seed after thee. The Lord shall bring a nation upon thee of fierce countenance, from afar, swift as the eagle's flight, who shall not regard the person of old, nor show favor to the young. He shall beseige [besiege] thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down; and thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and thy daughters, in the seige [siege] and in the straightness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee. So sore will be the distress, that he will not give to any the flesh of his children, whom he shall eat &c. &c. The Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, and of long continuance. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth unto the other; and among these nations thou shalt find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy feet have rest, but the Lord shall give thee there, a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind; and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee, and thou shalt fear day and night, and have no assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say, would God it were evening! and at evening, would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see; the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again, in ships, and there you shall be sold unto your enemies for bond-men, and bond-women, till no man shall buy you; death should be chosen by them rather than life," &c. &c.
These, and a vast number of other passages might be quoted, but I am afraid of trespassing too much on your valuable columns, and therefore
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