A String of Pearls

But the Elder, after four days of continuous debate, only seemed to have got fairly into a condition to talk well, and doubly astonished the priests and people by the hurricane of thought, truth and logic that came rushing through his lips with such force as to sweep away their arguments and sophistry, holding spell-bound the audience, while he contrasted the man-made system of modern theology with the grand and glorious truths of God's revealed religion. He portrayed the sublimity of holy writ in its forecast of the glorious work of the latter days; the restoration of the gospel; the visitation of angels; the believer blessed with the gifts and signs following; the building up of the kingdom of God; the redemption of the human family and of the earth; until, at last, turning to the crowd of ministers who had been opposing him, he called upon them to turn from their erroneous doctrines and aid him in the promulgation of the true gospel, that must "be preached in all the world for a witness." He promised that if they would do so they should reap eternal life. Raising his hands towards heaven, he declared that he had spoken the truth to the people, that his hands were washed clean of their blood, and that his testimony was recorded in the archives of heaven, to be brought forth on the great day of God's judgment; and said, "you ministers, and you people, will meet it there that day."

At the close of this remarkable scene the men who had been opposing him began hurriedly leaving the platform. So excited were they in their movements, that the leading one of them left his Bible, cane and hat behind him.

Noticing these articles left behind, Elder Grant called and requested some one to carry them to the absent-minded owner, and one of the bystanders did so.

Elder Grant then dismissed the congregation, and from that day to this, Boone's Hill has been called War Hill, in memory of the religious battle fought there.

SIGN-SEEKING

BY J. H. VAN NATTA

PERSECUTING THE MISSIONARIES – A DISCUSSION – NOT CONTENT WITH BIBLE PROOFS – A SIGN DEMANDED – NO SIGNS PROMISED TO UNBELIEVERS – WARNED TO REPENT, OR ENDURE THE CURSE OF GOD – THE RESULT.

In the year 1841, three Elders – James M. Adams, James M. Emmett and Hiram Page – were traveling in Erie Country, Pennsylvania, preaching the gospel. The opposing power, which is always ready to contest the ground with the Elders, inch by inch, manifested itself there in a most violent manner. As usual, this opposition came from those who professed to be Christians. A Baptist minister and his sons disfigured Elder Emmett's pony by clipping off its hair, daubing tar on it, etc., and the Elders were also threatened, though the threats were not put into execution.

The Elders were finally challenged to debate with a number of preachers, on the subject of the gospel.

The challenge was accepted on condition that the preachers would confine their arguments to Bible proofs, which they agreed to do.

The discussion accordingly opened by Elder Adams preaching a discourse on the first principles of the gospel. He spoke in such a plain, pointed and forcible manner, that the opponents to the truth were disconcerted. When their turn to speak arrived, they laid aside the volume of inspiration which they had agreed to take as their guide, and commenced reading from Howe's "Mormonism Unveiled," a book written by one D. P. Hurlbut. This book contained the most glaring falsehoods and inconsistent ideas that wicked men could invent.

The umpires informed the preachers that they must not deviate from their written contract, but confine themselves to Bible proofs, as they had agreed to do. If the "Mormon" doctrine was false, it must be proved so from the Bible.

After the old preachers had tried in vain to produce any scripture proofs, or logic either, to sustain their false views, and the powerless form of religion which they held to, they were reinforced by a young Free-will Baptist preacher, named Solon Hill. It was soon evident that he could offer nothing in the way of argument, for he soon drifted into the same strain of slander and vituperation in which the others of his party had sought to indulge Finally, however, he hit upon a plan which he seemed to think would enable him to come off victor.

Turning to Elder Adams, he said, "If you are a servant of God, as you boldly say you are, I demand a sign of you, to convince me that you are genuine."

Elder Adams told him that he had taken a dangerous stand; that signs followed believers, but did not go before them; that signs came by faith, not faith by signs. He informed him who the first sign-seeker was – Satan, whose children had always been faithful in following his example. He testified that the truths of heaven had been plainly laid before them, that the Spirit had given unmistakable evidence of its truth, and that unless he repented of his sins, rendered obedience to the gospel and lived up to its requirements, the curse of God would rest upon him.

The meeting was dismissed without the preachers being able to disprove any of the truths advanced by the Elders; the people were left to reflect at leisure upon what they had listened to, and the preacher, Hill, to accept the consequence of disobeying the servant of God.

* * * * * * *

After a lapse of sixteen years from the time of the events just narrated, I happened to be in the same part of Pennsylvania upon a mission.

Calling one day at a house to water my horse, I saw one of the most deformed and repulsive looking beings I ever beheld.

On arriving at my destination, I informed my brethren of the hideous sight I had met with, when I was told that the being I had seen was what was left of the man who had demanded a sign from a servant of God.

In 1878, Elder Butler, of Ogden, was on a mission to the same place, and I wrote to him for information concerning Hill. His reply was, "He is still alive, and an object of charity."

There are two ways of knowing the truths of the gospel. One is to obey and live up to them. The antediluvians took the other way and were overwhelmed; and the man who wanted a sign also took it, and, as a consequence, had to drag out a long and most miserable existence, manifesting by his appearance to every beholder, that the curse of the Almighty was certainly resting upon him.

MISSIONARY INCIDENTS

By H. G. B

CHAPTER I

A BUSY MISSION – A RICH HARVEST OF SOULS – JUDGMENTS UPON OUR OPPONENTS.

I am writing from a place (Mount Airy, Surry County, N. C.) that I visited as a missionary first in 1868. Then I labored in company with Howard K. Coray, in this and Stokes Counties, N. C., and in some three or four Counties of Va., for two years and three months, during which time we baptized nearly three hundred souls, one hundred and sixty of whom accompanied us home to Utah. It is of some of the incidents of this mission that I wish to write.

I remember very well, that after laboring some months in Virginia, and baptizing some thirty persons, we left Burke's Garden, Va., the 20th of January, 1868, reaching this point after three days' travel. We were absent from Burke's Garden just two months to a day, and during that time we held fifty-four public meetings, baptized thirty persons, and organized them into a branch of the Church. In addition to our public meetings, we visited from place to place among the people, constantly teaching, both day and night, often till after midnight.

It was generally understood where we were to visit, each day and night, for a week ahead, and at each of these places, crowds of the neighbors would assemble, coming from their homes, guided through the darkness of the night by their pitch-pine torch-lights.

When, on these occasions, we met with the people, we had to do a vast amount of teaching and singing (Elder Coray being an excellent singer), and answer hundreds of questions. What one could not think of another would. And thus we had to teach and explain and answer the demands made upon us day after day, and night after night, until our instructions in this manner covered hundreds of discourses, and until we were so nearly worn out, that we had sometimes to retire to the woods and hide, to get a little respite from our too-constant labor.

We indeed literally sowed the seed in tears and in peril, in the midst of opposition and bitter persecution. But the Lord fully magnified His name, His cause, and His servants, in all that we had to do and to bear.

The new Methodist church in this place, which was denied us to preach in, was, two days afterwards, struck by lightning, and so nearly demolished that, I am told, it was never repaired. A man, who was a class leader, who abused his sister for going to our meetings, and shamefully lied about Elder Coray and myself, and said all manner of evil, falsely, against the Latter-day Saints and the gospel, was found by his wife, the next morning, dead by her side; and because his body did not get cold like ordinary corpses, he was not buried for nearly a week after his death.

Two wealthy and prominent men, who used their influence and the power of their wealth and position-to retard the work of the Lord here, met with sudden and unexpected deaths.

Many other incidents of like nature might be mentioned that occurred here during our stay. So many of them, in fact, occurred, that great fear came upon the people.

While we labored in poverty, in all humility, contrite in spirit, reaching out in our weakness after the honest-in-heart, many souls were added to the Church. The poor had the gospel preached to them, the Lord giving us a harvest of sheaves. The people hung upon our words as the words of life; every expression and every movement was narrowly watched. They read their Bibles as they had never read them before; "They that erred in spirit came to understanding, and they that murmured learned doctrine;" and they rejoiced in the Holy One of Israel.

How faithful then ought we messengers of the gospel to be, in the trust that is reposed in us, to carry this glad message to our poor, fallen brethren and sisters in humanity!

In conclusion, I wish to offer a little advice to the boys and young men who may read this: Be very diligent in storing your minds with all useful knowledge – with all the truths of the new and everlasting gospel. Live pure lives in the sight of heaven, and the angels that constantly watch every act of your lives. Be truthful, honest, sober, virtuous and faithful in all things. The Almighty wants you, with your innocence and purity and strength, to redeem the nations that sit in darkness. And you may yet stand before rulers, kings, emperors, and the great of all nations of the earth, when they will tremble and quail before you, because of the power of God that will rest upon you.

CHAPTER II

VISIT TO A BAPTIST MEETING – ABUSE OF THE VARIOUS CHURCHES, ESPECIALLY THE "MORMONS" – BOASTED BIBLE-NAME AND RELIGION – RETURN TO THE TEXT – THE "HARD-SHELL" WAIL – REPLY TO THE FALSE ASSERTIONS – THEIR "BIBLE-NAME" DISPROVED – THE TRUE SCRIPTURE NAME POINTED OUT.

While Brother H. K. Coray and I were laboring as missionaries in North Carolina, we attended a Baptist meeting, rather on his account than mine, as he had never been to such a meeting.

It was on Saturday, and the meeting was held in a bowery in the edge of a wood, in Stokes County.

Shortly after our arrival, the meeting was opened in the usual way, by the minister, the Rev. Mr. Mourning, the leading preacher of that denomination. He arose and read his text from the Song of Solomon, 8th chapter and 8th verse: "We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts," etc., after which, the preacher launched out in a discourse made up from abuse and slander of other denominations.

First he commenced a tirade against the Methodists, by saying:

"There is the Methodist church; I do not read in the Bible of the Methodist church; therefore, that church cannot be the true church. Neither do I read of the Presbyterian church; it is, therefore, not God's church. Nor do I read anything in the good book about the Lutheran church; nor does the scriptures say anything about the Campbellite church, nor the Catholic church, nor the Quaker church."

Thus he went on, mentioning all the leading sects of the present day, saying none of these could possibly be the true church, because the Bible was silent as to their names.

He seemed to take some pains to save the "Mormons" till the last, so as to be thoroughly warmed up, that he might be the better able to do justice to their case.

After awhile, getting all the steam on – mustering all his force, he opened his battery upon the "Mormon" Church, saying the "Mormon" Church was not mentioned anywhere in the scriptures, nor the "Mormon" religion; neither the "Mormon Bible," nor "Joe" Smith, nor Brigham Young, not even the word "Mormon" was mentioned there.

He finished up his abuse of the "Mormons" by saying they were the most dangerous, and altogether the worst of the whole bad lot.

"But," said he, referring to the Baptist church, "ours is the Primitive Baptist church – a Bible name. Ours is a Bible church, a Bible religion," etc.

"Sometimes," he added, "we are called 'Iron Jackets,' sometimes, 'Hard Shells,' but these are nicknames. Our true Bible name is 'Primitive Baptists.'"