| 589 confidence on the promises and protection of that divine power which has ever been near them and with them, nevertheless there has been no period in their history in which Christians generally have taken more interest in their temporal and religious welfare, than they evince at the present time. This is the providential prelude to great events;-they know too little of each other; and a closer approximation, a mutual surrender of prejudices, and a greater reliance of Christians upon what constituted primitive Christianity, will at once show how slender is the line that divides us. I cannot avoid believing that the great triumphs reserved for Christianity will be in their agency and cooperation in restoring the Jews to their ancient heritage, for it cannot be politically accomplished without their aid, and if the second advent, so called, and so ardently desired by pious Christians is ever to come to pass, it cannot, I hardly conceive, take place until after the restoration is accomplished, and there is a throne to be occupied a nation to be governed, and the prophesies fulfilled.
I beg your pardon for thus occupying your space. I intended merely to correct the error in the census, but I have been led into other matters.
Respectfully yours,
COMMUNICATIONS.
Nauvoo, June 8th, 1844.
Mr. Editor:-
Dear Sir:-It is with mingled feelings of gratitude and pleasure, that I again seat myself to address you a few lines, agreeably to promise, expressive of my feelings with regard to your Prophet-his doctrine, character, views &c.-During my short stay in your city. I have found nothing to alter my opinions of its inhabitants, as expressed in my former letter. I have seen with my eyes and heard with my ears and I am satisfied with the result. I have seen the Prophet, and heard him speak. His actions have rendered him famous-his claims have made him known-his persecutions have made him an object of interest-but his own intrinsic merits have made him beloved, by all who know him.
I was astonished, that men would be so blind as to follow after such a man: but that feeling is gone; and I now only wonder why he has not more followers: the only reason can be, they hate the truth.
Notwithstanding all the efforts of his adversaries, he has pursued the even tenor of his way, and steadily advanced to his present position. Unintimadated by their threats-unmindful of their numbers-unawed by their power, he has always come off victorious, and thwarted all the plans of his opponents. Although priest and people, rich and poor, professor and nonprofessor, learned and unlearned, Christian and infidel, have united their forces to belie, slander, and persecnte [persecute] him, yet has the work in which he is engaged rolled steadily onward, impelled by the hand of a God.
That an illiterate youth of twenty-one, with none of the advantages of our learned divines, with scarce a common school education, poor and despised, alone and unassisted, should have conceived a system of Theology, which all the wisdom and learning of the age have not been able to confute; and the progress of which, the combined efforts of earth and hell have not been able to resist, exceeds even my powers of belief. When we review his career, and behold him, from the poor, despised visionary of Manchester, rising, in the short space of fifteen years, to the Presidency of a church numbering uot [not] less then 200,000 souls, spread throughout the United States and the Canadas, Europe and the islands of the sea; we are led to exclaim 'a greater than Jonah is here.' Indeed had he no other claims to inspiration than his actions, and the works he has performed, they would be abundant to stamp him indelibly, a prophet of God.
He has only to be known, to be admired-his doctrine has only to be investigated, to be believed-his claims cannot be confuted: what then obstructs his progress? Surely nothing, unles [unless] it be the bigotry, superstition and prejudice of a priest-ridden community. But the time will come, perhaps too late, when their eyes will be opened to a sense of their folly. They can then see, that, led on by their priests, they have opposed themselves to inspiration, and rejected the truth. Be not astonished at the warmth of my expression, for I have but just emerged from my thraldom [thralldom], like a Chrysalis breaking its shell, and look back with affright at the bondage to which I was subjected. Would to God that the world would throw away their prejudice and investigate for themselves, or come here and get their eyes opened as I have done.
Would they but examine the matter they would find that the so called "Mormon delusion" beautifully harmonizes with the scriptures-reconciles many seeming contradictions-explains many difficult passages-restores the primitive order and simplicity of the church-fulfills many of the prophesies-and gives us just conceptions of the character, attributes and perfections of the Deity. It contains some of the most glorious grand, and sublime principles ever imagined by the mind of man-
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