"Hearken unto me, saith the Lord your God, for my servant Oliver Cowdery's sake. It is not wisdom in me that he should be entrusted with the commandments, and the moneys which he shall carry into the land of Zion, except one go with him who shall be true and faithful.” In a paper drawn up by Sidney Rigdon in June, 1838, when the great schism took place in the church, which led to the secession of Dr. Hurlbut, and the exposure made by Mrs. Davison, it is stated that Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and another, were united with a gang of "counterfeiters, thieves, liars, and blacklegs of the deepest dye, to deceive, cheat, and defraud the saints." Martin Harris, the last of the three, is spoken of, at the time of the schism, by Joseph himself, in the following terms, in a paper called the Elder's Journal::-"There are negroes who wear white skins, as well as black ones. Grames Parish and others who acted as lackies, such as Martin Harris, &c., but they are so far beneath contempt that a notice of them would be too great a sacrifice for a gentleman to make." While, by means of "revelations," those who were not longer to be trusted were pointed out to the notice and condemnation of true believers, Joseph Smith took care to have special "revelations" upon matters relating to his own comfort. "It is meet," says a reve. lation" of the Lord in February, 1831, "that my servant Joseph Smith, jun., should have a house built, in which to live and translate." A second "revelation" of the same month says: "If ye desire the mysteries of my kingdom, provide for him (Joseph Smith, jun.) food and raiment, and whatsoever thing he needeth." Nor was Joseph, according to the "Revelations," to labour for his living. "In temporal labours," says another "revelation" of July, 1830, "thou shalt not have strength; for that is not thy calling. Attend to thy calling, and thou shalt have wherewith to magnify thine office, and to expound all scriptures." In a revelation given to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, in December, 1830, when the scheme was yet in its first infancy, the Lord is represented as saying: "Behold, verily, verily, I say unto my servant Sidney, I have looked upon thee and thy works. I have heard thy prayers, and prepared thee for a great work. Thou art blessed, for thou shalt do great things. Behold thou wast sent forth, even as John, to prepare the way before me, and before Elijah, which should come, and thou knew it not. Thou didst baptize by water unto repentance, but thou receivedst not the Holy Ghost; but now I give unto thee a commandment, that thou shalt baptize by water, and they shall receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, even as the apostles of old. "And it shall come to pass, that there shall be a great work in the land, even among the Gentiles: for their folly and their abominations shall be made manifest in the eyes of all people; for I am God, and mine arm is not shortened, and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe in my name. And whoso shall ask in my name, in faith, they shall cast out devils, they shall heal the sick, they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk; and the time speedily cometh, that great things are to be shown forth unto the children of men; but without faith shall not anything be shown forth, except desolations upon Babylon-the same which has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And there are none that doeth good, except those who are ready to receive the fulness of my Gospel, which I have sent forth to this generation. 'Wherefore, I have called upon the weak things of the world-those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit: and their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler, and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me, and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them. And the poor and the meek shall have the Gospel preached unto them, and they shall be looking forth for the time of my coming, for it is nigh at hand: and they shall learn the parable of the fig-tree: for even now already summer is nigh, and I have sent forth the fulness of the Gospel by the hand of my servant Joseph and in weakness have I blessed him, and I have given unto him the keys of the mystery of those things which have been sealed, even things which were from the foundation of the world, and the things which shall come from this time until the time of my coming, if he abide in me; and if not, another will I plant in his stead. "Wherefore, watch over him, that his faith fail not; and it shall be given by the Comforter the Holy Ghost, that knoweth all things and a commandment I give unto thee, that thou shalt write for him: and the Scriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect; for they will hear my voice, and shall see me, and shall not be asleep, and shall abide the day of my coming, for they shall be purified, even as I am pure. And now I say unto thee, tarry with him, and he shall journey with you;-forsake him not, and surely these things shall be fulfilled. And inasmuch as ye do not write, behold it shall be given unto him to prophesy : and thou shalt preach my Gospel, and call upon the holy prophets to prove his words, as they shall be given him. Keep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound, and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good and Satan shall tremble, and Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish; and Israel shall be saved in mine own due time. And by the keys which I have given, shall they be led, and no more be confounded at all.. Lift up your heads and be glad your redemption draweth nigh. Fear not, little flock-the kingdom is yours until I come. Behold, I come quickly even so. Amen." : In another revelation, also given in December, 1830, the voice of the Lord to Edward Partridge was: "Thus saith the Lord God, the mighty one of Israel, Behold, I say unto you, my servant Edward, that you are blessed, and your sins are forgiven you, and you are called to preach my Gospel as with the voice of a trumpet; and I will lay my hand upon you by the hand of my servant Sidney Rigdon, and you shall receive my Spirit, the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which shall teach you the peaceable things of the kingdom: and you shall declare it with a loud voice, saying, Hosannah, blessed be the name of the most high God. "And now this calling and commandment give I unto you concerning all men, that as many as shall come before my servants Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith, jun., embracing this calling and commandment, shall be ordained and sent forth to preach the everlasting Gospel among the nations, crying, Repentance: saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation, and come forth out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted with the flesh. "And this commandment shall be given unto the elders of my church, that every man which will embrace it with singleness of heart, may be ordained and sent forth, even as I have spoken. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God: wherefore gird up your loins, and I will suddenly come to my temple : An extract from one more "revelation" will suffice for the pre sent. It purports to have been given, in July, 1830, to Emma Smith, the wife of Joseph, through Joseph himself: "The office of thy calling shall be for a comfort unto my servant Joseph Smith, jun., thy husband. And thou shall go with him at the time of his going, and be unto him for a scribe, while there is no one to be a scribe for him, that I may send my servant Oliver Cowdery whithersoever I will. And it shall be given to thee also to make a selection of sacred hymns, as it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me to be had in my church." The hymn-book of Emma Smith does not appear to have been published; but a little hymn-book, containing hymns selected by Brigham Young, the present head of the church, and successor of Joseph Smith, has gone through eight editions. The eighth was published in Liverpool, in 1849. A few extracts will not be out of place. The following hymn, which is sometimes sung on shipboard in Liverpool prior to the departure of Mormon emigrants, is, in point of literary merit, among the best in the volume : "Yes, my : native land, I love thee; Friends, connections, happy country, Can I leave thee, Far in distant lands to dwell? "Home! thy joys are passing lovely, Can I--can I say 'Farewell ?' Far in distant lands to dwell? "Holy scenes of joy and gladness Far in distant lands to dwell? "Yes! I hasten from you gladly, From the scenes I love so well; "In the deserts let me labour, On the mountains let me tell Far in distant lands to dwell! "Bear me on, thou restless ocean, Let the winds my canvas swell; Native land, farewell! farewell!" The next is a hymn for the Twelve Apostles, who have been sent to different parts of Europe, to "gather" the Saints to the Salt Lake Valley in Deseret : "Ye chosen twelve, to ye are given The keys of this last ministry To every nation under heaven, From land to land, from sea to sea. "First to the Gentiles sound the news, And then before it reach the Jews, Prepare on Europe's shores to stand. "Let Europe's towns and cities hear Prepare their hearts His praise to sing. "India and Afric's sultry plains Must hear the tidings as they roll- "Listen! ye islands of the sea, For every isle shall hear the sound; Though long since lost, shall soon be found. "And then again shall Asia hear, Where angels first the news proclaimed ; Eternity shall record bear, And earth repeat the loud Amen. "The nations catch the pleasing sound, Messiah then will come to reign." Many of their fugitive hymns and songs, not hymn-book, are adapted to popular tunes, such as the open sea;" 66 included in their "The sea, the sea, Away, away to the mountain's brow," &c. One to the first-mentioned tune is inserted in the Times and Seasons, page 895, and commences: "The sky, the sky, the clear blue sky, Oh, how I love to gaze upon it! The upper realms of deep on high, I wonder when the Lord begun it!" The following additional specimens of Mormon devotional poetry appear in their authorized organ, the Times and Seasons. The first is sung to the tune of a pirate song by Mr. Henry Russell, called, "I'm afloat, I'm afloat," and written by Miss Eliza Cook : "I'm a Saint, I'm a Saint, on the rough world wide, The earth is my home, and my God is my guide! Up, up with the truth, let its power bend the knee: I am sent, I am sent, and salvation is free. I fear not old priestcraft, its dogmas can't awe : |