654 must walk according to the revelations, or there is no power in their appointment. I say and bear testimony that the things revealed to Sidney Rigdon touching the great battles to be fought some where; the secret meetings;-the ordination of officers, and the government of this church, is a revelation of falsehood and delusion, calculated to lead the people astray. It will result in open apostacy [apostasy], and is designed to bring destruction upon us, or else it will result in speedy repentance and a turning round to the principles and revelations laid down by our martyred prophet.
Elder O. Hyde arose again and said he wanted to relate a little story, It is only about two minutes long, and I think it will serve to illustrate the present position of the church. Elder Rigdon's remarks not only authorized, but courted a division of the church, and at the same time he acknowledged that he had no jurisdiction over the church whatever. The, story is this, 'in the days of King Solomon there were two women who lived in the same house, and each had a child. One night one of the women overlay her child, and when she awoke her child was dead. As soon as she discovered this, she took her own dead child and placed it by the side of the mother of the living child, and took the living child to herself. When the mother of the living child awoke in the morning to give her child suck, behold it was dead; but when she had considered it, she found it was not her child; and the other woman said nay: but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said no; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son.-They then referred the matter to King Solomon, who said, the one saith this is my son that liveth, and thy son is dead. And the other saith, nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. And, the King said, 'bring me a sword,' and they brought a sword before the King, and the King said; 'divide the living child in two, and give the half to the one and a half to the other.' But the woman whose the living child was, said to the King, 'O my lord the King, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it;' for her bowels yearned over her son. But the other said, 'let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.' Now brethren the Twelve say let not the child be divided;-but elder Rigdon says let the child be divided, for I profess to have no claim or jurisdiction over it; and I believe if the great God would speak from heaven this morning, he would say to the Twelve, you are the mother, (or rather the father) of the living child, and the church shall not be divided, for I say it in the name of the great God. I say let not, the child be divided; let it live; and all the congregation said amen.
Elder Amasa Lyman said, so far as I am acquainted with what has been said, it is correct, and the most of it has been under my own observation. It would therefore be useless to recapitulate. But there are some things connected with the history of this event that should speak to the understanding of the individuals to whom this case is to be submitted. The Twelve have already told their mind on the subject and have acted upon it. There is a curiosity connected with the revelation of this individual, who is so favored of heaven as to have gathered the rays of light from the upper world; intelligence and wonderful things, that other men never thought of. Even Gladden Bishop never thought of such wonderful things. Now where has this individual been for these years past? Has he been laboring to support and uphold the man whom God has appointed to bring forth this work? Has he been endeavoring for the last four or five years to build up the principles taught and laid down by the man of God? Here are men present who have travelled [traveled] through the length and breadth of these United States, and to Europe, and some who have traveled as far as Palestine to carry out and establish the principles which have been laid down by our deceased prophet, and yet the great God has not made known to any of these men the wonderful things made known in this revelation. Neither has elder Marks or the twelve received any such wonderful revelation. But this man who has been asleep all the while, when he was not sick, to sleep and smoke his pipe, and take his drink; correspond with John C. Bennet, and other mean, corrupt men. This is the character of the man on whom shines the light of revelation; this is the man who says the Twelve have gone astray and this church is not led by the Lord. This man is made generalissimo of all the armies of the Gentiles, on both sides I suppose; this is the man who is to fight these wonderful battles till the blood of the slain flow as high as the horses bridles in the brook Kedron. Elder Brigham nor any of the Twelve did not get this wonderful power; they have not got the same spirit. But these men who obtain these great revelations carry the spirit about with them; you can smell it as soon as you come near enough to feel their breath. Elder Rigdon's plan is to divide the church, although he claims no jurisdiction.
This wonderful spirit of revelation has fallen on a great many. Here is a revelation
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