| 423 He comes to tell your honorable body, that the temple your fathers erected to freedom, whither their sons assembled to hear her precepts and cherish her doctrines in their hearts, has been desecrated; its portals closed, so that those that go up hither, are forbidden to enter.
He comes to tell your honorable body, that the blood of the heroes and patriots of the revolution, who have been slain by wicked hands for enjoying their religious rights, the boon of heaven to man, has cried, and is crying in the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth [Sabbath], saying, 'redress, redress our wrongs, O Lord God of the whole earth.
He comes to tell your honorable body, that the dying groans of infant innocence, and the shrieks of insulted and abused females-and many of them widows of revolutionary patriots have ascended up into the ears of Omnipotence, and are registered in the archives of eternity, to be had in the day of retribution, as a testimony against the whole nation, unless their cries and groans are heard by the representatives of the people, and ample redress made, as far as the nation can make it, or else the wrath of the Almighty will come down in fury against the whole nation.
Under all these circumstances, your memorialist prays to be heard by your honorable body, touching all the matters of his memorial; and as a memorial will be presented to congress this session, for redress of our grievances, he prays yonr [your] honorable body will instruct the whole delegation of Pennsylvania, in both houses, to use all their influence in the national counsels, to have redress granted.
And, as in duty bound, your memorialist will ever pray.
SIDNEY RIGDON, P. M.
TIMES AND SEASONS.
CITY OF NAUVOO,
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1, 1844.
NOTICE.
As we have lately been credibly informed, that an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-day Saints, by the name of Hyram Brown, has been preaching polygamy, and other false and corrupt doctrines, in the county of Lapeer, state of Michigan.
This is to notify him and the Church in general, that he has been cut off from the church, for his iniquity; and he is further notified to appear at the Special Conference, on the 6th of April next, to make answer to these charges.
JOSEPH SMITH.
HYRUM SMITH.
Presidents of said church.
THE GATHERING.
(Continued)
Jared and his brother, together with the families that were with them, and their several offsprings, were greatly blessed of God, for a length of time upon this continent; they prospered exceedingly. They were blessed with communion with the Lord, with revelations, visions, faith wisdom and in all temporal blessings they became a great people. But when they transgressed the laws of God, the cnrse [curse] of Jehovah fell upon them, and they were swept from the face of the earth, according to the word of the Lord.
Abraham was made use of, he was selected and chosen as a peculiar personage, to whom God would commit his laws and ordinances, and to his seed after him, and in order that he might accomplish his purposes, he gave unto him, the land of Canaan as his inheritance, that he might be selected and set apart from all other nations; and this was the only principle upon which God could teach him his law, and establish the priesthood. It is true, that Abraham obtained it by faith, but then if he had not possessed faith, he would not have been a fit personage for the Lord to select, through whom he could communicate his will, and preserve a chosen seed upon the earth. Abraham, through a long train of afflictions, and in many trials, had proven his unflinching integrity and faithfulness to God, for many years, and when the Lord saw that he was a proper person to exalt, he said unto him, 'get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew [show] thee, and I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee, and curse them that curse thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.' And when Abraham had journeyed to the place appointed, 'the Lord appeared unto him and said, unto thy seed will I give this land,' and he afterwards entered into a covenant with Abraham, saying, 'unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates. The Kenites, and the Kennizites, and Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perrizites, and the Rophaines, and the Ammorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.'
That land was given unto Abraham, and unto his seed, for an everlasting inheritance, and 'Isaac, and Jacob were heirs with him, of the same promise.' The land was alotted [allotted] unto the
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