another woman, and he was under a vow, he hath broken his vow and hath committed adultery; and if she hath not committed adultery, but is innocent, and hath not broken her vow, and she knoweth it, and I reveal it unto you my servant Joseph, then shall you have power, by the power of my holy priesthood, to take her, and give her unto him that hath not committed adultery, but hath been faithful, for he shall be made ruler over many; for I have conferred upon you the keys and power of the priesthood, wherein I shall restore all things, and make known unto you all things in due time.

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XVII. And verily, verily I say unto you, that whatsoever you seal on earth, shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth in my name and by my word, saith the Lord, it shall be eternally bound in the heavens; and whosesoever sins ye shall remit on earth, shall be remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever sins ye retain on earth, shall be retained in heaven.

"XVIII. And again, verily I say, whomsoever you bless, I will bless, and whomsoever you curse, I will curse, saith the Lord; for I· the Lord am thy God.

"XIX. And again, verily I say unto you my servant Joseph, that whatsoever you give on earth, and to whomsoever you give any one on earth, by my word, and according to my law, it shall be visited with blessing, and not cursings, and with my power, saith the Lord, and shall be without condemnation on earth and in heaven, for I am the Lord thy God, and will be with thee, even unto the end of the world, and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation, and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father. Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and I will forgive all your sins; I have seen your sacrifices in obedience to that which I have told you; go therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as I accepted the offering of Abraham, of his son Isaac.

"XX. Verily I say unto you, a commandment I give unto my handmaid Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay herself, and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her; for I did it, saith the Lord, to prove you all, as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand, by covenant and sacrifice; and let my handmaid Emma Smith receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who were not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God; for I am the Lord thy God, and ye shall obey my voice; and I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things,

for he hath been faithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will strengthen him.

"XXI. And I command mine handmaid Emma Smith to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law; but if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things for her, even as he hath said; and I will bless him, and multiply him, and give unto him an hundred-fold in this world of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives, in the eternal worlds. And again, verily I say unto my handmaid, forgive my servant Joseph his trespasses, and then shall she be forgiven her trespasses, wherein she hath trespassed against me, and I the Lord thy God will bless her and multiply her, and make her heart to rejoice.

"XXII. And again I say unto my servant Joseph, put his property out of his hands, lest an enemy come and destroy him; for Satan seeketh to destroy; for I am the Lord thy God, and he is my servant; and behold! and lo, I am with him, as I was with Abraham thy father, even unto his exaltation and glory.

"XXIII. Now, as touching the law of priesthood, there are many things pertaining thereunto., Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was Aaron by mine own voice, and by the voice of Him that sent me; and I have endowed him with the keys of the power of this priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according to my law, and by my word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him. Let no one therefore set on my servant Joseph; for I will justify him; for he shall do the sacrifice which I require at his hands for his transgressions, saith the Lord your God.

“XXIV. And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood; if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent; and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then he is justified; he cannot commit adultery, for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him, and no one else; and if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him, therefore is he justified. But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she hath committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given to him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to ful

fil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father that he may be glorified.

"XXV. And again, verily, verily I say unto you, if any man have a wife who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood as pertaining these things, then shall she believe, and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law. Therefore it shall be lawful in me, if she receive not this law, for him to receive all things whatsoever I, the Lord his God will give unto him, because she did not administer unto him according to my word; and she then becomes the transgressor; and he is exempt from the law of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham, according to the law, when I commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife. And now, as pertaining to this law, verily, verily I say unto you, I will reveal more unto you hereafter; therefore let this suffice for the present. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega. Amen."

Elder W. W. Phelps said, in Salt Lake Tabernacle, in 1862, that while Joseph was translating the "Book of Abraham" in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1835, from the papyrus found with the Egyptian mummies, the Prophet became impressed with the idea that polgyamy would yet become an institution in the Mormon Church. Brigham Young was present, and was much annoyed at the statement made by Phelps; but it is highly probable that it was the real secret which was then divulged. There cannot be a doubt that Joseph went into polygamy at a

venture.

The following extract is from the pen of an unknown reviewer of a bound volume of "The True Latter-Day Saints Herald"-sold with other books relating to Mormonism—the ten years' gatherings of Charles L. Woodward, in New York, January 19th, 1880.

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"The True Latter-Day Saints Herald.' Vols. 1 to 22, 8vo. Vols. 1-16, bound in 3 vols. sheep. Vols. 17-22 unbound, uncut. Cincinnati, O., and Plano, Ill., 1860-1875, $40.

"This is the organ of Joseph Smith, the son of the Prophet, who, trading on antipolygamy, is said to have a following of not less than thirty thousand fools, known as Young Josephites.' Nothing better proves the truth of the old saying that a lie well stuck to is as good as the truth,' than the success of Joseph II. in making people believe that his father did not promulgate the polygamy 'revelation.' Knowing full well that even to-day there are women in Utah known by hundreds still living to have been Joe's 'plurals,' but relying upon the fact that the witnesses have told so many lies that they cannot be believed, even when they speak the truth, he calls for the progeny, with an air that settles it. Fortunately-all fortunately-Joe did have no little prophets by his numerous polygamous wives. Only by religious lunatics would this fact be accepted as disproof of marriage, whether to one or one hundred. The cry,Show us the progeny,' seems to be regarded by Joseph II. and his addle-brained adherents as a socdollager. Joseph I. never dared openly practise nor advocate polygamy. Nor did any of the Mormons until they were safe beyond the white settlements."

APPENDIX.

[From Scribner's Monthly, August, 1880.]

No. 1.

Mrs. Matilda Spaulding McKinstry's Statement Regarding "The Manuscript Found."

WASHINGTON, D. C., April 3, 1880.

So much has been published that is erroneous concerning "The Manuscript Found," written by my father, the Rev. Solomon Spaulding, and its supposed connection with the book called the Mormon Bible, I have willingly consented to make the following statement regarding it, repeating all that I remember personally of this manuscript, and all that is of importance which my mother related to me in connection with it, at the same time affirming that I am in tolerable health and vigor, and that my memory, in common with elderly people, is clearer in regard to the events of my earlier years rather than those of my maturer life.

During the war of 1812 I was residing with my parents in a little town in Ohio called Conneaut, I was then in my sixth year. My father was in business there, and I remember his iron foundry and the men he had at work, but that he remained at home most of the time, and was reading and writing a great deal. He frequently wrote little stories, which he read to me. There were some round mounds of earth near our house which greatly interested him, and he said a tree on the top of one of them was a thousand years old. He set some of his men to work digging into one of these mounds, and I vividly remember how excited he became when he heard that they had exhumed some human bones, portions of gigantic skeletons, and various relics. He talked with my mother of these discoveries in the mound, and was writing every day as the work progressed. Afterward he read the manuscript which I had seen him writing, to tho neighbors, and to a clergyman, a friend of his who came to see him.