| 162 the mob, who bent on plunder was threatening their peace.
Naturally they might be expected to resent any further
in honor of our God, to whom we ascribe the glory of our freedom as well as our eternal salvation, and whose worship we esteem of more consequence than we do the treasures of Missouri; ready at all times to offer unto him the sacrifice of our firstfruits; and by uniting perseverance patient industry, and faithful devotion to the cause of God, rear this building to his name, designed for the double purpose of a house of worship and an institution of learning. The first floor will be for sacred devotion, and the two others for the purpose of education. The building to be one hundred and ten feet by eighty, with three floors, and not far from thirty feet between the floors; all to be finished according to the best style of such buildings in our country; the entire expense calculated at not far from one hundred thousand dollars; all, when finished, to stand as a monument of the power of union, of effort, and concert of action.
Next to the worship of our God we esteem the education of our children and of the rising generation; for what is wealth without society, or society without intelligence? And how is intelligence to be obtained? By education. It is that which forms the youthful mind; it is that alone which renders society agreeable, and adds interest and importance to the worship of God. What is religion without intelligence? An empty sound. Intelligence is the root from which all true enjoyments flow. Intelligence is religion; and religion is intelligence, if it is anything. Take intelligence from it, and what is left? A name-a sound, without meaning. If a person desires to be truly pious in the sight of God, he must be purely intelligent. Piety without intelligence is fanaticism, and devotion without understanding is enthusiasm.
The object of our religion is to make us more intelligent than we could be without it; not so much to make us acquainted with what we do see as with what we do not see. It is designed to evolve the faculties-to enlighten the understanding-and, through this medium, purify the heart. It is calculated to make men better by making them wiser; more useful, by making them more intelligent; not intelligent on some subjects only, but on all subjects on which intelligence can be obtained. And when science fails, revelation supplies its place and unfolds the secrets and mysteries of the unseen world-leads the mind into knowledge of the future existence of men-makes it acquainted with God, its Redeemer, and its associates in the eternal mansions; so that, when science fails and philosophy vanishes away, revelation, more extensive in its operations, begins where they (science and philosophy) end, and feasts the mind with intelligence, pure and holy, from the presence of God,-tells of eternal mansions of immortal glories, of everlasting dominions, of angelic throngs, of heavenly hosts, of flaming seraphs, of crowns of glory, of palms of victory, of the saints' eternal triumph through a glorious resurrection, of songs of everlasting joy; of God, the Father of all; of Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than that of righteous Abel.
It not only acquaints us with these eternal things, but it makes known unto us the future history of man, time of the purposes of God, which have to be accomplished before the end of all things comes. It warns and forewarns of the wars, the pestilence, the famines, the earthquakes and the desolations which are coming on the earth; the rising and falling of the nations, and also the desolations of the earth itself; the falling of the mountains, the rising of the valleys, the melting of the rocks, the purifying of the elements by fire; of the sun's veiling his face, the
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