| 761 This out Herods Herod! and out Bogges Boggs! O wrath of God! where art thou?
But I must begin to draw to a close, or my letter will be long enough for a pamphlet. I cannot leave the subject, however, till I bring in the "Twelve." They were known from before the foundation of the world, and are thus noticed in the prophecy of Zenos, in the Book of Mormon; I mean in that masterly parable of the "olive tree:" All men, acquainted with revelation and the spirit of God, have agreed that the "servant" spoken of in that parable, was Joseph Smith, and when the Lord commanded him "to go to and call other servants," and "they did go to it with their mights,"-as the whole has been backed up by revelations in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, it would require more than "mortal" to prove that allusion to the "servants," meant any body but the "Twelve."
I know the Twelve, and they know me.-Their names are Brigham Young, the lion of t he Lord; Heber C. Kimball, the herald of grace; Parley P. Pratt, the archer of paradise; Orson Hyde, the olive branch of Israel; Willard Richards, the keeper of the rolls: John Taylor, the champion of right; William Smith, the entablature of truth; Orson Pratt, the gauge of philosophy; John E. Page, the sun dial; and Lyman Wight, the wild ram of the mountain. And they are good men; the best the Lord can find; they do the will of God, and the saints know it.
As to Sidney Rigdon and his clique of dissatisfied being-there was to be "another beast," and unclean spirits, like frogs, were to come out of the mouth of the dragon, beast, and false prophet, and time will reveal all about him-and eternity will settle it. The seed by the way side, among thorns, and stony places, belongs to the wicked one, and he will have it. Let the dead bury their dead.
So now, dear brother, while I respect you and the "Twelve," and all their kin, as my own blood relations, shall we, as the legal heirs of salvation, enlightened by the voice of God; by revelation upon revelation; by the gift of the Holy Ghost bringing all things to our remembrance; shall we, who have witnessed the power of God in the spread of the everlasting gospel; in the manifestations of the gift of tongues; the miraculous healing of the sick by the laying on the hands of the elders; shall we, who have spent so many sweet hours under the holy dropping of the prophets' golden fountain; who have been delighted at his heavenly knowledge combating the errors of generations; teaching senators wisdom; judges justice; priests piety, and mankind mercy; shall we, who have beheld prophecies fulfilled knowing that the very bowels of the earth have hove up her "stony ruins," to establish the validity of the Book of Mormon, beyond a doubt; shall we, who have heard the echo of glad tidings from the islands of the sea, and from all quarters of the earth; shall we, who now gaze upon the blood stained prairies of the west; where bleaches the bones of the prophets, patriarchs, elders, men, women, and children, who all gave up the ghost in full faith; shall we, who have tasted of the good word of God, and seen the mysteries of the world to come, shall we turn to the beggarly elements of the world, to work our passage back to popularity and hell, for a "mess of portage," like Hinkle, Bennett, Laws, Rigdon and Co? No! Eternally no!-While water runs and grass grows, while eternity goes and eternity comes we will go on, knowing that it is written in heaven; published on earth, and muttered in hell, that Mormonism is ETERNAL TRUTH, and God Almighty is the author of it!
All the friends and saints greet you and your wife and family, with prayer and love.
As ever,
W. W. PHELPS
To ELDER WM. SMITH.
TIMES AND SEASONS.
CITY OF NAUVOO,
JANUARY 1, 1845.
MDCCCXLV.
This number closes volume fifth, of the Times and Seasons, and, in accordance with the usual rule on such occasions, we take the liberty to express our gratitude for the patronage which has been bestowed upon our labors to collect, publish, defend, and spread the everlasting truth of Jehovah. The events of the year, have been noticed in their proper places, and some of them form a chapter, in the history of the world, which an eternity cannot obliterate. Two holy men, while under the plighted faith of the state of Illinois, have been murdered in cold blood in Carthage jail, and the murderers, what shall we say of them? as Shakspeare [Shakespeare] says: "Thereby hangs a tale."
But we will not reflect much upon this subject,-there is, or ought to be virtue enough among the people to purify the State from the infamy and disgrace which now exhibits itself, like the cropt ears of a thief from the dark ages, or the mark set upon Cain. We can only say
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