# The Evening and the Morning Star, v1n08, editorial matter attributed to W. W. Phelps (editor)
# Date: January 1833 (Independence, Missouri)
# Source: http://www.centerplace.org/history/ems/v1n08.htm (centerplace.org transcription). Pieces: THE BOOK OF MORMON; THE WEST; THE CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM; LET EVERY MAN LEARN HIS DUTY; INDIAN TREATIES; SIGNS OF THE TIMES; THE BOOK OF ESTHER; THE NEW-YEAR. Notes: unsigned editorials in Phelps-edited issue (confidence medium; 'To Man' June 1832 signed W. W. PHELPS = high); revelations, scripture extracts, reprints, hymns, and others' letters excluded; quoted matter and detected unmarked scripture paragraphs stripped; transcriber bracket-corrections removed (original spelling retained).

[THE BOOK OF MORMON]

When darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people; when no man did walk in the old paths, nor did search out the everlasting gospel; when the church of Christ, and the gifts which he left in it, could not be found; when men built up churches in the glory of the world; and when all flesh had become so corrupt, that a few more years might have left the cities of the world, like Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord our Savior, saw fit in his great goodness, endless mercy, and infinite wisdom, to send an angel and signify unto man, that there was a sacred record to be unfolded in the eyes of all the nations, containing the fulness of the gospel. It was the book of Mormon: An account written by the hand of Mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of Nephi. Wherefore it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi; and also of the Lamanites; written to the Lamanites, which are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile; written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation.

An abridgment taken from the book of Ether, also, which is a record of the people of Jared, which were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people when they were building a tower to get to heaven:

This was welcome news to them that looked for the gathering of the righteous, in the last days. They, from a perusal of this book, aided by the Spirit of God, began to see eye to eye in some things, and to lift up their heads and rejoice.-But before the glorious and happy results of this book are set forth, it seems necessary to go back to the time it was brought forth. In the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty seven, the plates came forth from the hill Cumorah, which is in the county of Ontario, and state of New-York, by the power of God. In less than three years after, it was translated by the gift and power of God, and then published; and on the 6th of April, 1830, the church of Christ was organized, with six members. It may be just to remark, that this church was established by revelation, as the church of Christ always has been, since the world began, to be acknowledged by him. As in days of old, so now, the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, were committed unto man, and, by a few commandments, in connexion with the book before us, the contrite and humble seeker of eternal life, had opened to the eyes of his understanding, that happy view, and bright reversion of latter day glory, which shows the nations gathering round the standard of the Lord, which was to be raised upon mount Zion, preparatory to his second coming. That vail which had been cast over the prophecies of the old Testament, or, at least, over the reading of many of them, since the day that Moses vailed his face before the children of Israel, was removed by the plainness of the book of Mormon. The doubtful points of doctrine, in the bible, which left one sect to immerse for baptism; a second to sprinkle; a third to pour, and a fourth to do without either, were cleared up by the book of Mormon. That embarrassment under which thousands had labored for years, to learn how the saints would know where to gather, that all nations might come to Zion, with songs of everlasting joy, and prepare a house, that the Lord might suddenly come to his temple, so that the mountain of the Lord's house might be established in the top of the mountains, and be exalted above the hills, and the law go forth out of Zion, in the last days, was obviated by the book of Mormon. That wonderful conjecture, which left a blank as to the origin, or forefathers of the American Indians, was done away by the book of Mormon. To use the language of one of its opposers, it opened a flood of light and might justly be called a wonderful volume.

But as there are thousands yet to receive this good book, and learn the true points of the Savior's doctrine, it may be well enough to refer them to some of the allusions to it in the bible. In the 85th Psalm, David said, Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. All that have been blessed with the Spirit of God, when reading this book, for the sake of truth and salvation, can bear witness to the truth of this quotation. The 29th chapter of Isa. is still plainer and much of it has been fulfilled in the eyes of this generation. It reads:

He that cannot see that the prophet, in this chapter, spoke of a book that should come out of the ground, would scarcely be convinced if a man should rise from the dead. In addition to the above, however, Isa. says, Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it. Ezek. also says: Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, for Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel his companions: and join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thy hand. The bible for the stick of Judah, and the book of Mormon for the stick of Joseph, in the hand of Ephraim, is all that need be said, upon these words, for no man ever pretended to know, (till the book of Mormon came,) any thing about the tribe of Joseph, or his history, notwithstanding God had declared by the mouth of Hosea, That he had written the great things of his law to Ephraim; and they are counted a strange thing. The ancient and modern practice of reading sticks, wants but little elucidation. The common school-boy ought to know, that anciently, they wrote on parchment for common use, and rolled it round a stick; and, latterly, newspapers are put into a stick for public utility.

But let us turn again to the book. The simplicity of the language, and the purity of the ideas, carry a holy spirit, as well as breathe an air of religion, that soothes the heart and feeds the soul of every son and daughter of God. Read the following:-And I beheld a rod of iron; and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood. And I also beheld a straight and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world; and I saw numberless concourses of people; many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood.

great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth; and it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceeding fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those which had come at, and were partaking of the fruit. And after that they had tasted of the fruit, they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths, and were lost.

And now I, Nephi, do not speak all the words of my father. But, to be short in writing; Behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down, and partook of the fruit of the tree. And he also saw other multitudes, feeling their way towards that great and spacious building.

And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after that they did enter into that building, they did point the finger of scorn at me, and those who were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not.

Again, that perfect accordance with the wisdom of God, after he had said, while manifesting himself to his people, in the flesh, at Jerusalem, Other sheep have I that are not of this fold, and they shall hear my voice; that he should minister to the Nephites, on this continent, is such heavenly evidence of the divinity & propriety of the book of Mormon, that all doubts, cavils, surmises, and even worldly reasons, which have been brought against its purity, shrink into little nothings.-Says Jesus my sheep know my voice. Now read:

The word of the Lord carries its own evidence with it. In vain have men attempted to counterfeit it. They may compass the earth with their knowledge, and look through the regions of space by their inventions, but death teaches them their frailty, and time covers their glory. The book of Mormon, as a revelation from God, possesses some advantage over the old scripture: it has not been tinctured by the wisdom of man, with here and there an Italic word to supply deficiencies.-It was translated by the gift and power of God, by an unlearned man, through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles-(known, perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim) and while it unfolds the history of the first inhabitants that settled this continent, it, at the same time, brings a oneness to scripture, like the days of the apostles; and opens and explains the prophecies, that a child may understand the meaning of many of them; and shows how the Lord will gather his saints, even the children of Israel, that have been scattered over the face of the earth, more than two thousand years, in these last days, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion.

It may be well to state, that the prophet of God, in ancient days, according to the accounts of men, kept their sacred records on plates of gold, and those of less consequence on plates of brass, copper, wood, &c., see Jahn's biblical archeology, Josephus, and others. These plates were generally made from the sixteenth to the thirty second part of an inch thick (of metal) and something like six by eight inches square, and fastened at the back with three rings through which a rod was put to carry them, or hang them. The word of the Lord, the history of the doings of the children of God, and their genealogy was engraved in a nice workmanlike manner, upon them, in Hebrew, reformed Egyptian, &c. Such was the condition of the plates, from which came the book of Mormon. As may be seen by an allusion in the book of Ether, all that was on them is not translated; wherefore, as they are sacred, when the Book of Mormon was translated from them, they were again hid up to the Lord, to come forth again in his own due time. The Ark of the covenant containing the sacred stone tables, was hid up to the Lord, in the cave where Moses climbed up to view the heritage of God, and was not to come forth till God received his people again unto mercy, when all these things and the cloud shall return, and the glory of God shall rest upon his temple. The present generation is great with events.

The people of God ought to lift up their hearts and rejoice that they live in this

age; that they have been permitted through the mercy of the Lord, to have a foreknowledge of what is about to happen on earth; and that they, if faithful, whether in life or in death, will come forth in the first resurrection, and always be with the Lord. O that the world would learn wisdom and reflect, that no man can be too good to be saved! That no people ever had too much revelation to make them happy!

The object of the book of Mormon, is the salvation of men, being good tidings, the fulness of the gospel, and manifesting the new covenant, that Israel may be gathered, and as many of all nations as will, that there may be one fold and one Shepherd. Its examples are pure; its precepts simple, and its encouragement happiness to all that love God and keep his commandments. It was not written to swell the fame of an emperor, nor published to prove the heirship of a prince, but it came to man, as the voice of God, for the living to hear from the dead. Like the gospel of the Savior, it was not proclaimed to the world by the authority of the government; nor was it received as a revelation from God, by the wise and the learned; the rich and the noble: but the poor accepted of it, and while they would, that it might go to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, they began to rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Although many have attempted to ridicule the word of God, yet no man has been able to speak out of the whirlwind and palm his word upon the righteous as a revelation. When the ingenuity of man has invented a novel, the rich and the noble; the wise and the prudent; the strong and the weak; the minister and the churchman; yea, the king and the infidel, are ready to laud it to the clouds, though every page is fiction and every line a lie. O blindness to goodness! When a revelation from God comes, the same persons are afraid of deception, and cry, beware of delusion! We again say, O blindness to goodness!!

When the Savior came to the Jews, they were so wise in their own wisdom, and so eager for the glory of the world, and for power, that, with the inspired words of the prophets, to guide them to all truth, they did not know their Lord; and though they could have furnished beds to lodge a nation, the Son of God was laid in a manger! So when the book of Mormon had come, containing the fulness of the gospel, to complete the salvation of man for the Lord's rest, even his fulness and glory; had come to call home the children of Israel from their long dispersion, to join the feast which is preparing for the righteous; had come to warn the inhabitants of the earth of judgments to come; had come to prepare the way for the second coming of the Savior, that he might meet his elect at the resurrection, and live with them in the flesh on earth, a thousand years; yea, when this book had come by the gift and power of God, that man might be brought back into the presence of his Maker, when he brought again Zion, men, poor weak men, instead of learning wisdom from the experience of eighteen hundred years, and shunning the gulf of imprudence, into which the Jews fell, echoed the folly of bigots-Blasphemy! Blasphemy!!

By the book of Mormon was made known, that Zion, even the New Jerusalem, where all nations should come up to the house of the Lord, to worship the God of Jacob, in the last days, should be built on this continent; and thanks to him who rules all things after the counsel of his own will, and whose words never fail, the people of the United States, are already witnesses of the fulfilling of this prophecy, for they daily behold the children of God, gathering into his kingdom, ready to meet the Lord when he comes in his glory. The Savior said while ministering to the Nephites, that when the remnant of Joseph began to know that they were the covenant people of the Lord, the work had begun among all nations, and when we see Indians gathered home by the government, we must exclaim; the hand of the Lord is too plain in all this, not to be noticed, and the agitation of the whole globe is too evident, not to cause wonder. While the rumors of war, and war, shake one kingdom to the centre , the pestilence and its horrors spread despair and death in another. All flesh is grass, and when the meek and the humble wish to be saved, and learn the will of the Lord, whiel they look upon the events, convulsions, and signs of the times, witnessing in a language which he that runs may read, that the end is nigh at hand, even at the doors, they are ready to come out of Babylon and shun her plagues.

Men generally believe upon testimony, and the rule is good. Now, as to the evidence of the truth of the bible, we have no eye witnesses to prove it, for they have been dead many hundred years, and the fashion of saying you believe it is true, because your father said so, will not amount to proof, but the testimony of the Spirit of God, is, that it is true. The book of Mormon, besides the evidence of the Holy Spirit, showing that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, has the living witnesses to bear testimony that it is true:-

[THE WEST]

When Moses climbed up to view the heritage of God, he lifted up his eyes westward. Isaiah s

[THE CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM]

While we witness the gathering of the children of the kingdom, there is a joy flows through the heart, unknown to the world; a prospect before us, that the unbelieving will be strangers to, till, perhaps they are taken out of the world by the pestilential arrows of the Almighty. The time is near when the Savior will appear in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, and we rejoice to see his sons and daughters brought home, by his power, where parting will be no more, if they remain faithful. The day has come when a great light has burst upon the understanding of them that sat in darkness, and we thank the Lord, that he is opening eyes to behold it, and unstopping ears to hear it; for verily, it is the news of salvation, opening the mysteries of eternity.

It is not long since we gave the number, that had come up to Zion since the gathering commenced, and we need not, in this article, give the information again, but suffice it to say, that the work goes on, and from our knowledge of the subject, it will continue to do so, and even increase till the Lord has made a short work of it. There is a day of reckoning at hand, and a time of glory near; yea, truly this generation shall not pass away till the Lord's house shall be built in mount Zion, and the cloud of his glory shall rest upon it. Let the inhabitants of the earth remember, that the word of the Lord, of old was, that, out of Zion should go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, in the last days.

[LET EVERY MAN LEARN HIS DUTY]

Every man ought to know his duty to God and man; especially the saint that has the benefit of revelation to guide him: he ought to know his duty, not only to say, but to do in all things. He ought to practice holiness before the Lord, that he may be counted worthy of an inheritance in Zion, and meet his Savior in peace.

Every soul that comes up to Zion for an inheritance, for the present, must prepare temporally and spiritually. He should settle all his concerns with the world, and owe no man: he should overcome the world, and be ready, when he arrives at the place of gathering, to consecrate all to the Lord, through whom the Lord has appointed for that purpose, that he may be prepared to keep the commandments, and do the will of his heavenly Father: otherwise he may not hold communion with the brethren: nor can he expect an inheritance, according to the regulations and order of the church.

While the gathering is sounded, that Israel may come in from his long dispersion, and also, as many of the Gentiles as will, the invitation is free, but unless the articles and covenants, the law and regulation; yea, verily all the commandments, are kept, all is vain. The Lord has order, and many that may come to the land of Zion, for an inheritance, without obeying all the requirements of the Lord, will be weighed in the balances and found wanting. It is not every one that says Lord, Lord, that shall abide the day of tithing. Every soul that is saved in the celestial kingdom, will be saved by its own faith and works: therefore, how necessary it is, that the saints should keep all the commandments, that others seeing a good example, may go and do likewise. If any should ask what is my duty? Let him read: To love the Lord supremely: To love his neighbor as himself: To consecrate all to the Lord: To be faithful to the end, and, above all, to have charity. A saint must be holy, or he cannot have a portion in the holy city.

Again: Let all things be in order. Let every one that quits the world for the sake of eternal life, act consistent in every thing: by obeying the commandments; by paying his just debts; by taking care of his property, if any, if not, by assisting others to do so: not hurrying up to Zion with some and leaving some to whet the appetite of an over anxious world. The Lord is never in a hurry, but gives every thing its proper proportion of time. Be cleanly; no matter what condition yours may be, cleanliness is a virtue, that will be required in Zion. Heaven shines with glory, and the Lord clothes his angels with WHITE ROBES: How necessary, then, that his saints should be decent.

In relation to consecrating, and continuing worthy, and faithful to the end, we make the following extract of a letter:-

It is the duty of the Lord's clerk, whom he has appointed, to keep a history, and a general church record of all things, that transpire in Zion, and of all those who consecrate properties and receive inheritances, legally from the bishop; and also, their manner of life, and their faith and works: and also, of all the apostates, who apostatize after receiving their inheritance.

It is contrary to the will and commandment of God, that those who receive not their inheritance by consecration, agreeable to his law, which he has given, that he may tithe his people to prepare them against the day of vengeance and burning, should have their names enrolled with the people of God; neither is their genealogy to be kept, or to be had where it may be found on any of the records, or histories of the Church: their names shall not be found, neither the names of their fathers, or the names of their children, written in the book of the law of God, saith the Lord of Hosts; yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things: and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest, saying:-And it shall come to pass, that I the Lord God will send one mighty and strong, holding the sceptre of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words, while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritance of the saints, whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God: while that man who was called of God, and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to steady the ark of God, shall fall by the shaft of death, like as a tree that is smitten by the vivid shaft of lightning; and all they who are not found written in the book of remembrance, shall find none inheritance in that day, but they shall be cut asunder and their portion shall be appointed them among unbelievers, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. These things I say not of myself, therefore, as the Lord speaketh he will also fulfil .

And they who are of the High Priesthood, whose names are not found written in the book of the law, or that are found to have apostatized, or to have been cut off out of the church, as well as the lesser Priesthood; or the members, in that day, shall not find an inheritance among the saints of the most High: therefore, it shall be done unto them as unto the children of the priests, as it is written in the second chapter, and 61st and 62nd verses of Ezra: And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai: which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name: These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.

[INDIAN TREATIES]

The Globe in speaking of the treaty of peace with the Indians, states,

Advices have been received of the formation of another treaty with the Sacs and Foxes. By this compact the United States acquire about 600,000,000 acres, of a quality not inferior to any between the same parallels of latitude. It is known to abound in lead, and the Indians say in other ores.

For the tract ceded, the United States agree to pay an annuity of twenty thousand dollars for thirty years, to support a black smith and gun-smith in addition to those now employed, to pay the debts of the tribes, to supply provisions, and, as a reward for the fidelity of Ke-o-kuk and the friendly band, to allow a reservation to be made for them of 400 miles square on the Ioway river, to include Ke-o-kuk's principal village.

Black Hawk and his two sons, the Prophet, Napope and five others, principal warriors of the hostile bands, are to be retained as hostages, during the pleasure of the President. All the other prisoners have been delivered up to the friendly Sacs and Foxes.

What a beauty it is to see the prophecies fulfilling so exactly. Nephi says:

For thus is the covenants of the Lord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the days to come, and also all our brethren which are of the house of Israel.

[SIGNS OF THE TIMES]

Signs and appearances are such, that even the most unbelieving dread coming events; and no wonder, for when the Lord comes out of his place to rebuke the nations, all hearts are faint, and all knees do tremble. Every man has a right to do as he pleases, being an agent to himself, but we ardently hope, while such important signs, and extraordinary commotions, as:-

The Cholera spreading over the whole earth;

The plague breaking out in India;

The dissolution of South Carolina from the Union;

The gathering of the saints to Zion, and

The assembling of the Jews at Jerusalem,

are passing in rapid succession, that some will turn to God and live. Such strange movements of men; such dreadful sickness; oh! such fearful looking for the wrath of God to be poured out upon this generation, together with the evidence of Holy writ, ought to convince every man in the world, that the end is near; that the harvest is ripe, and that the angels are reaping down the earth!

It is certainly a day of dilemmas: The political party that has just been crowned with victory, shudders at the prospect before it. Horror, with all its fearful gloom slackens in one place, and commotion, or rebellion, with all its crimson warnings, reddens in another, showing, if ever there was a time when the sword of the Lord hung by a single hair, over the heads of them that have seated themselves round the feast table, it is now. The man that undertakes to run FROM the pestilence, runs to danger: and he that would leave Europe because her kingdoms are crumbling to pieces, to come to America, beholds the links in the chain of Freedom break, as the new ropes in the hands of Sampson: and he looks, but looks in vain for peace, for the hour is nigh, when it shall be taken from the earth. In the east there is trouble; in the west there is fear; in the north there is no peace, and in the south there is consternation. Well may we exclaim, all things must change: but virtue shall endure forever.

[THE BOOK OF ESTHER]

In the remainder of the book of Esther, which the ancient men of the world, put down as doubtful, may be found the following:

A little fountain became a river, and there was light, and the sun, and much water: this river is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen.

And the two dragons are I and Aman.

And the nations were those that were assembled to destroy the name of the Jew:

And these two lots came at the hour, and time, and day of judgment, before God among all nations.

[THE NEW-YEAR]

Many years have rolled away since the Morning Stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy; many years have fled since Enoch built up Zion, and the Lord took him and his city unto his own bosom; many years have passed away since the world was drowned for its wickedness; many years have been forgotten since Israel was scattered for transgressing the commandments of God; many years have vanished like a dream since the angel brought the good tidings, that the Son of God was born in the city of David, and many years have left the earth as they found it, since mankind knew the true way to holiness: But while creations have rolled on; while millions have come and gone from the earth; while seas have divided land from land; while cities have sunk, and mountains have tumbled up as standing monuments of their wickedness; yea, while the vanity of the world has flitted from generation to generation, without ever stopping to satisfy the ambition of one, or turning aside to draw a facsimile to gladden the curiosity of another, the word of the Lord has remained, as a never failing witness of its Eternal-Author.

We need not roll back the curtain of time, to view the rise and fall of kingdoms; to see the follies and vanities of departed generations; no; while men and things have passed, by the current of time, into another state, the word of the Lord remains to point the way to a better world; yea, it remains, to show the end of the ungodly, and, as saith Solomon, when they cast up the accounts of their sins, they shall come with fear:

But stop, and let us reflect, that although almost six thousand years have witnessed the mighty and many scenes which have happened or been acted on earth, few men, since Israel became a chosen nation of the Lord, have lived to see an hundred New-Years: and, that, from the signs of the times, and the convultions of nations, notwithstanding about one third of this century has already been numbered among departed years, very few, if any, in their present existence, will behold the New-Year of nine-teen hundred! The destroying angel is on the earth, scattering the pestilence where the Lord will, and as some of the inhabitants are swept away by this unseen power, the residue seem to harden their hearts and forget that now is the time when all flesh is grass: The Journal of Commerce thus sums up the amount of the cholera in New-York:

It is surprising how soon the effects of this calamity disappear. The pecuniary sufferings is no longer visible-the 6400 persons deceased since the first of July are not missed by the public-the 3000 dram shops are again in full action-the Theaters, Distilleries, and other engines of destruction, are plied as warmly as ever.

This is the reign of error, and a day of trouble, and we caution the disciples of the blessed Savior, to be aware and not assert or write, things as truth without evidence, or a knowledge of their own. The present generation is very much given to lying, and, as a natural consequence, a lie will be believed and circulated by ten persons, where the truth can scarcely be heard by one. Good is seemingly, perished among all nations, and men's hearts fail them, while looking for those things which are about to take place on the earth. No man can calculate from last year's experience, and say, as it was in eighteen hundred and thirty-two, it will be in eighteen hundred and thirty-three: For the Lord is exerting the powers of heaven, and will, ere long, shake terribly the earth; yea, his arrows are shot to the ends of it, and all flesh will know, that he hath put forth his hand to rebuke the world for its pollutions, and abominations.

In proof of this the saints are gathering home to the land of Zion, that they may be ready to meet the Lord when he comes suddenly to his temple. And besides this, the Spirit of the Lord, as it were, works upon the great men of the earth, to hasten the work of the gathering, in its time. The President of the United States, in relation to the remnants of Joseph, thus speaks in his last Message: I am happy to inform you, that the wise and humane policy of transferring from the Eastern to the Western side of the Mississippi, the remnants of our aboriginal tribes, with their own consent and upon just terms, has been steadily pursued, and is approaching, I trust, its consummation. By reference to the report of the Secretary of War, and to the documents submitted with it, you will see the progress which has been made since your last session, in the arrangement of the various matters connected with our Indian relations. With one exception, every subject involving any question of conflicting jurisdiction, or of peculiar difficulty, has been happily disposed of, and the conviction evidently gains ground among the Indians, that their removal to the country assigned by the United States for their permanent residence, furnishes the only hope of their ultimate prosperity.

This is true, and we can only say, verily all things move to further the work of the Lord: and now to conclude, we can say as we did at the beginning, many years have rolled away, since the Morning Stars sang together, but few more shall pass, till the Sons of God will shout for joy! The Lord will come the second time: The Lord will bring again Zion! Let earth rejoice, and let all things, even the bells upon the horses, be HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

