* literal descendants of Aaron,' who are pointed out by special revelation.

The Mormon church calls itself universal, because it claims to have preached in almost every nation, and in every congressional district of the United States; and to have established societies called 'Stakes of Zion,' on the model of the home-assembly, on the islands of the ocean, and on both continents. All are bound to obey the presidency-at home, in all things; and abroad, in things spiritual, independent of every consideration-and the converts are commanded to gather to the mountains as fast as may be convenient and compatible with their character and situation.

The Doctrine which has gradually evolved itself out of the history, experience, and crude speculation of the Mormon leaders generally, and more particularly of Orson Pratt, about 1848-49, is incredibly materialistic. Their Godhead is formed on Buddhistic principles. While professing to believe in the Trinity, they explain that God was once a man, who has, however, so advanced in intelligence and power that he may now be called (comparatively speaking) perfect, infinite, &c., but that he has still the form and figure of a man; he has even legs,' as is evident (according to Mr Pratt, an eminent Mormon) from his appearance to Abraham; though he has this advantage over his creature, that 'he can move up or down through the air without using them.' Christ is the offspring of the material' union, on the plains of Palestine, of God and the Virgin Mary-the latter being duly married after betrothal by the angel Gabriel. Yet he is believed to have had a previous existence, to have even made the universe out of 'unformed chaotic matter as old as God,' and his worship is enjoined as Lord of all. The Holy Spirit is vaguely described, but is also material. It would appear, however, that there is an older Trinity, that of 'Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael, which is Adam. Adam, again, is declared to be the 'god' of Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ the god of Joseph Smith; and Joseph Smith is now the god of this generation. But the whole affair is a mass of unintelligible jargon. The human intellect probably never sank into more absolute nonsense; all that can be definitely set before the mind is, that Mormons believe that by faith, obedience, holiness, any man may rise into a deity, and acquire the power of making, peopling, and ruling a 'world' for ever. The second article of the Mormon creed affirms that 'men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgressions'-an opinion which, if not very orthodox, is considerably more rational than those embodied in the first article. The third article states that 'through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.' The fourth article affirms these 'ordinances' to be: 1. Faith in the Lord Jesus (which is very curiously expounded). 2. Repentance. 3. Baptism (which takes place at eight years of age-that being, according to the Saints, the period at which moral

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responsibility begins). They also baptise for the dead, in accordance with St Paul's saying (1 Cor. xv. 29), and assert that, at the resurrection, all the persons for whom a man has been baptised will be added to his family. 4. Imposition of hands by the gift of the Holy Spirit. 5. The Lord's Supper, administered kneeling. The Saints, who are much averse to strong drinks, use water instead of wine in the sacrament, which is taken every week. The fifth article declares that 'men must be called to the work of God by inspiration;' the sixth, that the same organisation must now exist that existed in the primitive church; the seventh, that miraculous gifts-' discerning of spirits, prophecy, revelations, visions, healing, tongues,' &c.—have not ceased. The 'discerning of spirits' led Smith into a variety of curious speculations. He believes that the soul of man was not created, but 'coexisted equal with God. God," he says, never did have power to create the spirit of man at all—the very idea lessens man in my estimation-I know better!" He also believes in the transmigration of souls. Rebellious spirits descend into brute tabernacles, till they yield to 'the law of the everlasting gospel.' The eighth article is decidedly liberal; it expresses a belief that the word of God is recorded not only in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, but in all other good books.' As for the contradictions that exist in the first, Smith admits them, but alleges that they are 'corruptions,' and that they can be removed by his or any other prophet's inspired explanations. It is said that he has left an 'inspired translation' of the whole Bible in manuscript. The ninth article expresses a belief in all that God has revealed, is revealing, or will yet reveal. The tenth affirms the literal gathering of Israel, the restoration of the ten tribes (the 'American Indians,' who are, in consequence, treated with considerable humanity by the Saints), the establishment of the New Zion on the western continent-the millennial reign of Christ on earth, and the transformation of earth into a Paradise. The eleventh article maintains 'the literal resurrection of the body'-to 'flesh and bones,' but not blood-blood being, according to Smith, 'the principle of mortality.' The twelfth article asserts the absolute liberty of private judgment in matters of religion; the thirteenth declares it the duty of the Saints and all others to be subject to the powers that be,' whether monarchical or republican. The fourteenth and last is worthy of being universally accepted: 'We believe in being honest, true, chaste, temperate, benevolent, virtuous, and upright; and in doing good to all men ;' also, that an idle or lazy person cannot be a Christian, neither have salvation.'

6

The religious views of the Mormons are, it will thus be seen, an extraordinary jumble. They have something in common with nearly every sect that has ever been known. Hebraism, Persian Dualism, Brahmanism, Buddhistic apotheosis of saints; Christianity, both in its orthodoxy and heterodoxy; Mohammedanism, Drusism, Free

HISTORY OF THE MORMONS.

masonry, and latterly, Methodism, Swedenborgianism, Mesmerism, and Spirit-rapping, have all contributed something. The Saints do not deny this. Smith, in fact, declares that as every religion in the world has a little truth mixed with error,' it is the duty of his followers to pick it out, that 'all the good and true principles may be gathered together;' 'otherwise,' he adds, 'we shall never become pure Mormons.

We are told that the preaching from the pulpit and the usual extempore teachings are restricted to the promulgation of doctrines like those commonly inculcated by the Christian sects which hold to faith, repentance, baptism, and the resurrection of the body. "Their mode of conducting worship,' says Gunnison, 'is to assemble at a particular hour, and the senior priest then indicates order by asking a blessing on the congregation and exercises, when a hymn from their own collection is sung, prayer made extempore, and another sacred song, followed by a sermon from some one previously appointed to preach, which is usually continued by exhortations and remarks from those who "feel moved upon to speak." Then notice of the arrangement of the tithe-labour for the ensuing week, and information on all secular matters interesting to them in a church capacity, is read by the council-clerk, and the congregation dismissed by a benediction.' Everything of a gloomy or sombre character is excluded from the ordinances; and during the assembling and departure of the congregation, their feelings are exhilarated by an excellent band of music playing marches, waltzes, and animating anthems.

In all their social and domestic relations, the Mormons are represented as being uniformly cheerful. Though professedly living in anticipation of a miraculous millennium, they object not to enjoy the hour that now is, and cordially participate in all the healthful and gladdening satisfactions which this temporary state affords. It is one of their peculiarities to blend the serious with the gay, and to invest their most light and frivolous pastimes with a kind of religious 'In their social gatherings and evening-parties,' says sanction. Lieutenant Gunnison, 'patronised by the presence of the prophets and apostles, it is not unusual to open the ball with prayer, asking the blessing of God upon their amusements, as well as upon any other engagement; and then will follow the most sprightly dancing, in which all join with hearty good-will, from the highest dignitary to the humblest individual; and this exercise is to become part of the temple-worship, to "praise God in songs and dances." These The private balls and soirées are frequently extended beyond the time of cock-crowing by the younger members; and the remains of the evening repast furnish the breakfast for the jovial guests. cheerful happy faces, the self-satisfied countenances, the cordial salutation of brother or sister on all occasions of address, the lively strains of music pouring forth from merry hearts in every domicile,

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as women and children sing their "songs of Zion," while plying the domestic tasks, give an impression of a happy society in the vales of Deseret.'

The testimony of Captain Burton in his clever but somewhat irritating and mocking book, The City of the Saints, and of Mr Dixon, in his New America (the most valuable work on Mormonism that has yet appeared), is equally emphatic. The latter gives a description of the Mormon theatre erected by Brigham Young that is positively charming; and, in fact, it is beyond all question that the Mormon community of Utah is one of the happiest and most comfortable in the world. The time is gone by when the public can be excited by the monstrous calumnies of infuriated and reckless adversaries, who sought to persuade us that the Salt Lake City was an earthly Gehenna, where every vice was practised without shame or restraint; that men were drawn to it by the vilest of motives, and that the character of its inhabitants had its counterpart only in our dens of infamy at home. This notion, or any, even the faintest approach to it, is utterly false. The Mormons are not a sensual, or impure, or demoralised community at all: they are exactly the opposite. We must, if we honestly wish to understand them and their system, try to subordinate our preconceived theories to the facts. Whatever aversion we may entertain to polygamy, either as a thing wrong in itself (because tending to the dishonouring of women as a class, with all the injurious consequences to the family), or as a barbarous attempt to restore an obsolete form of domestic life, we are driven to allow that its evils have not yet become apparent. They may be at work, and may one day come to the surface, but in the meantime the Mormons are entitled to assert that their community is free of the horrible sin and viciousness that prevail elsewhere; the obtrusive and loathsome vices which are the reproach of our large cities are almost unknown; there are no wretched prostitutes, no illegitimate children, no vile seducers; their wives, as far as can be ascertained, are happy, virtuous, and healthy; and, in a word, they boldly challenge comparison, in regard to their domestic and social purity and felicity, with any monogamic community in the world.

The later history of this extraordinary sect may be briefly sketched. After founding the Salt Lake City, an emigration fund was established, and settlers poured in from all parts of Europe and America. In 1850, the government of the United States admitted the region occupied by the Mormons into the Union as a territory, under the name of Utah, and Brigham Young was appointed governor by President Fillmore. District judges were also appointed by the federal government, but these were looked upon with great suspicion and mistrust by the Saints, who finally drove them out of the country in 1851. Brigham Young was now suspended from his office of governor, and Colonel Steptoe of

He arrived the United States' army was appointed his successor. in Utah in 1854, but found it prudent, after some time, to withdraw from the country. During the next two years, the collisions between the United States' officers and the Saints became more and more frequent, and in the spring of 1856, the whole of the former were forced to flee from the territory. A new governor, Alfred Cumming, was appointed by the authorities at Washington in 1857, and also a new superintendent of Indian Affairs; besides, a force of 2500 men was sent to enforce obedience to the laws of the United States. The Saints attacked their supply-trains, and compelled the enemy to winter at some distance from the Salt Lake. In the early part of next year, negotiations were entered into between the contending parties; the Mormons submitted to the federal authority, and the federal troops were allowed to encamp on the western side of Lake Utah, about forty miles from Salt Lake City, where they remained till 1860, when they withdrew.

The exact number of the Saints cannot be ascertained, but it is believed to amount to at least 200,000, of whom perhaps one half are scattered over the Old World; the rest are chiefly in Utah.

In drawing what we have written to a close, it may safely be asserted that though the Mormon metaphysics are for the most part nonsense, and their Bible a clumsy, dull, and illiterate forgery, yet what the Mormons do is in many ways commendable. The world may very well permit them to indulge in their millennial fancies and patriarchal crotchets, so long as they live peaceably and honestly Their among themselves, and make no intolerant aggressions on the beliefs and religious systems that differ from their own. steadfast and honourable industry, the unity of aim and sentiment that subsists among them, their zealous devotion to a central idea, their reverent, if perverted, recognition of a Supreme Power over them, the pleasant fellowship that results from their social regulations, and the robust and sterling independence by which they are distinguished as a community; these, and other highly creditable qualities and characteristics, assuredly entitle them to the honest respect of all candid and discriminating persons. danger as a sect is the practice of polygamy. they must come into collision with the forces of a monogamic civilisation. The opening of the Pacific Railway in 1869, at once brings them in contact with the ordinary usages and notions of the civilised world, and places them at the mercy of the United It was no doubt very prudent and politic of States' executive. Dr Richards, one of the chief Mormon dignitaries, to grace the ceremony of opening that magnificent line of railway with his presence; but though its immediate effect may be beneficial to the Saints, its ultimate but no less certain effect must be not Mormonism has achieved only hurtful but absolutely ruinous. wonders, but in order to give itself a chance of life, it has been

Their grand Sooner or later,