| 160 and oppression they had been subjected to; and how they had been driven from place to place, robbed, and
holy feelings, sacred desires, and grateful hearts to our divine Benefactor, ought we to perform the duties of this day, and enjoy the privileges which, as saints of the living God, we enjoy in this land of liberty and freedom, where our most sacred rights, even that of worshipping our God according to his will, is secured unto us by law; and our religious rights so identified with the existence of the nation that to deprive us of them will be to doom the nation to ruin and the Union to dissolution!
It is now threescore and two years since the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, caused the proclamation to go forth among the people of the continents that the people of this nation should be free, and that over them "Kings should not rule and princes decree authority;" and all this preparatory to the great purpose which he had designed to accomplish in the last days, in the face of all people, in order that the Son of God, the Savior of the world, should come down from heaven and reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before his ancients gloriously, according to the testimony of the holy prophets since the world began: and it is eight years, two months, and twenty-eight days since this church of the last days was organized by the revelations of that same Jesus, who is coming to reign before his ancients gloriously -then consisting of six members only. At its first appearance excitement began to prevail among the people where it made its appearance; and as it increased in members the excitement increased. The first attack made upon it by its enemies was false representations and foul slander. By this engine it was assailed from ever quarter, and by all classes of men, religious and irreligious. Misrepresentation followed misrepresentation-falsehood after falsehood followed each other in rapid succession, until there must have been multitudes of them created in a minute, by those employed in it, or else they could not have gotten so many put in circulation. This scheme not succeeding, the enemies had recourse to persecutions, which were multiplied continually, apparently with determination to destroy every person who united to aid and assist in bringing forth the work of the Lord. But all this not succeeding according to the expectations of the presenters, they united to all this power that of mobs, driving men, women, and children from their houses; dragging them, in the dead hours of the night, out of their beds; whipping, tarring and feathering, and otherwise shamefully treating them. Nor were those means the only ones resorted to in this work of persecution; but being determined to put an end to the church forever, they added to all the rest of the means used-stealing the property of the saints; also burning houses and charging it on their (the saints') heads, in order to raise public indignation against them; and also false swearing; and, indeed, we may add, all other means which the adversary had in his power to use,-nothing seems to be left undone that could be done, by men and demons, in order that the purpose of God might fail; but still the object so much desired has not yet been obtained. Under all this fire of persecution the cause has rolled on with a steady course; the increase has been gradual, but constant; and the church at this time numbers many thousands. Some in the old world have become obedient to the faith; multitudes in the Canadas as well as most parts of the United States. During their scenes of persecution a number of the saints have lost their lives, and others are missing, and it is unknown what has become of them; but the presumption is, they have been secretly murdered. No country of which we have any knowledge has offered so fair an opportunity for determining the great hostility which
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