divine authority of the person who preaches it. But baptism "for the remission of sins," unconnected with other parts of the doctrine of Christ, would be no evidence either for or against the divine authority of any man. The many thousands of miracles wrought in this church, being connected as they are with an infallible doctrine, and with a vast number of other proofs, have carried an almost irresistible conviction to the minds of vast multitudes, who have, in consequence, yielded obedience to the message, and become in their turn the happy recipients of the same power of God, by which they themselves can also heal the sick and work by faith in the name of the Lord; thus demonstrating to themselves the truth of the Saviour's promise, viz:—that certain miraculous "signs shall follow them that believe." (See Mark, chap. xvi.)

There is one thing connected with Joseph Smith's message which will at once prove him to be an impostor or else a true prophet. It is a certain promise contained in a revelation which was given through him to the apostles of this Church in the year 1832. It reads as follows: "Go ye into all the world, and whatsoever place ye cannot go into, ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all the world unto every creature. And as I said unto mine apostles, even so I say unto you, for you are mine apostles, even God's high priests; ye are they whom my Father hath given me—ye are my friends; therefore, as I said unto mine apostles, I say unto you again, that every soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost. And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name they shall do many wonderful works; in my name they shall cast out devils; in my name they shall heal the sick; in my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf; and the tongue of the dumb shall speak; and if any man shall administer poison unto them it shall not hurt them; and the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them. * * * Verily, verily, I say unto you, they who believe not on your words, and are not baptized in water in my name, for the remission of their sins, that they may receive the Holy Ghost, shall be damned, and shall not come into my Father's kingdom, where my Father and I am. And this revelation unto you, and commandment, is in force from this very hour upon all the world." (Doctrine and Covenants, page 86. [Sec. 84:62-75]) Here, then, this great modern prophet has presented himself before the whole world with a bold unequivocal promise to every soul who would believe on his message—a promise, too, that no impostor would dare to make with the most distant hope of success. An impostor might indeed make such a promise to his followers, but they never would realize a fulfilment of it. If these miraculous signs have not followed according to the above promise, then the tens of thousands who have complied with the conditions would know Joseph Smith to be an impostor, and with one accord would turn away, and that would be the end of the imposition. But the very fact that vast multitudes are annually being added to the Church, and continue therein year after year, is a demonstrative evidence that the promise is fulfilled—that the Holy Ghost is given, and the miraculous signs also. Dare any other societies in all the world make such a promise unto the believers in their respective systems? No, they dare not; they know full well that it would be the speedy downfall and utter overthrow of their vain, unauthorized, and powerless religions. O, what a wide and marked difference between the religion of Joseph Smith and that of Protestant and Catholic religion—between his authority and that of sectarian divines! The one promises all the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost to his followers, the other is as powerless as the dry stubble prepared for the burning. While the followers of this great prophet cast out devils, speak with new tongues, heal the sick, open the eyes of the blind, cause the lame to walk, obtain heavenly visions, and converse with angels, the followers of those unauthorized, deluded, and crafty sects not only deny these great and glorious gifts, or impute them in these days to the power of the devil, but they grasp the sword, and fire-arms, and deadly weapons, to kill off the Saints, and drive them from the face of what they call civilized society. While the one class are suffering martyrdom by scores for their testimony, the other class are rolling in all the luxuries and splendors of Great Babylon, with fat salaries of from ten to twenty-seven thousand pounds sterling per annum.

As we have briefly examined into the nature of the evidences in favour of Joseph Smith's divine mission, it may be well at the close of this number to give a short summary of the proofs and arguments contained in the foregoing.