| 428 the gods and the blest, which they called Asgard and Walhalla, and these bore the same relation in their character to the Olympus and Elysium, of the Greeks. They believed that the universe was originally a chaos or mass of confused vapors, peopled by a race of evil spirits of gigantic bulk. A being of nobler nature sprung up among these, named Bure, from whom were descended Odin and his two brothers, Vile and Ve. These younger divinities followed exactly the same course with the northern giants, that was pursued by Jupiter and his brothers; with regard to the older giants or deities of the Greeks, Odin began to war with the evil spirits, and having at last overcome their great chief, he created the world out of that giant's body. His flesh became the mould [mold], his bones the rocks, his hair the vegetable tribes, his blood the ocean, and his skull the heavens, at the four corners of which were placed certain dwarfs, called North, South, East and West; whose duty it was to sustain the celestial dome. After this the luminaries of the sky were set in their places, and the order of the seasons appointed. Natt (night) wedded one of the Aser or celestial family of Odin, and gave birth to Dag (day.) These deities travel alternately around the world in cars, drawn by single horses. Frigga, or the earth, was the daughter of Odin, and also became his wife. The inhabitants of the earth, or mankind were created by Odin and his brothers.-Two pieces of wood, the one of ash, and the other of elm, formed the materials of the first pair of mortals, who were distinguished for personal beauty and intellectual ability.
We find a belief in all nations, of witches, wizards, fairies, &c., with innumerable charms and cures for those that should be seized therewith, when they had long been destitute of revelation and the knowledge of God. In the days of the apostles, light and intelligence spread abroad, and the heathens threw their idols to the bats and the moles, and the knowledge of God spread to the ends of the earth, comparatively speaking; yet so prone is man to evil, that it requires a continuation of revelation to keep him from falling again into darkness and superstition. After the apostles had been slain and the church of Christ disorganized and drove into the wilderness; superstitions and idolatry more gross and abominable than those of the heathen soon found their way into enlightened christendom, and men imagined a deity that could not appease his wrath without his devotees lacerating and mortifying their own bodies. The most shameful pennances[penance's] were practiced, such as going on a visit to certain shrines, in a state of nudity, eating the most nauseous filth, &c., &c., Miracles, and prodigies without number were believed in, till the whole christian world had fallen into idolatry, as absurd as that of any heathen nation. And, indeed, the account which I have just given of the creation of the world, and the formation of man, seems as reasonable as the one entertained by professors of Christianity in the nineteenth century, who have imagined a God without either body or sense, (parts) whose dwelling is beyond the bounds of both time and space, where he sits in unsubstantial majesty enthroned; that he spoke (without either mouth or tongue) and formed this solid globe from nothing. The heathen believe that it was made out of a giant's body, which is more probable than to have no material for such a vast undertaking. The heathen believe that they will exist again after death, in some happy spot of the earth, and have power to indulge their apetites [appetites] to the full. The christians believe they will live again, but that their bodies will change their nature, and become as spirits, and wing their way to a land of shadows, where nothing is material, and spend eternity in gazing at the God they imagine to exist in this strange country, casting their crowns before him, which will constitute their happiness.
Such was the state of enlightened christendom, when the Lord again sent a prophet to turn men from their superstitious notions and idolatrous practices, to the true and living God. So that we who were a little time ago, worshipping, we knew not what, we are now enabled to rejoice in the truth, having been brought from darkness to light, and from the power of sin and satan, to serve the true God. Seeing then, that we ourselves have been in the like pitiable condition, it behoves[behooves] us to use wisdom and charity toward our fellow men, if so be that we may be the means in the hands of God of setting their feet upon the rock, and plucking them as brands from the burning.
We as a church have nothing to boast of, for it is God that has made the difference in raising up a prophet to instruct his people, for of ourselves we know nothing, and should we be left without a man of God to direct us, we should soon become weak as other men; therefore to him be the glory, for now we can sing with the poet:
The morning breaks, the shadows fly,
Lo! Zion's standard is unfurled,
The dawning of a brighter day,
Majestic rises on the world.
I remain as ever, your affectionate brother in the new covenant, JOHN GREENHOW.
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