W. W. Phelps

“ I can only turn, then, to the infant church of Christ of latter day saints, and pray the Lord to keep it in the right way, and all things for the edification, and for the salvation of men, and for the glorification of God, will be in the possession of the saints.—The Lord has not changed, his gospel is the same from the beginning to the end; neither is he slack; his promises and gifts to men never fail, if they continue faithful in all his commandments: The Lord is the same in time and in eternity, yesterday, to—day and forever. ”

“ Yea, eternal life to fallen man has been made plain in these last days, so that all that will, may come into the celestial kingdom: into the presence of God! I love to behold the seed of Joseph gathering home for better days and I love to see the saints preparing to meet the Lord, when he comes in his glory. ”

“ As the church of Christ we plough not the ocean for wealth; we visit not foreign climes for gold; we risk not our lives among all manner of men for fame:—no; the servants of Jesus Christ go whithersoever he commands them to carry glad tidings—to proclaim salvation to all that will accept of it, according to the conditions of the gospel—that the kingdom of heaven may come:—yea, the joyful day be ushered in, when Israel shall be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, to meet their Redeemer, and have their ungodliness turned away. ”

“ The Indians occupy a large portion of the land of America, and, as they are a part of the creation of God, and are a remnant of the children of Israel, they must necessarily hear the gospel, and have a chance to be gathered into the fold of the Lord. Our government has already gathered many of the scattered remnants of tribes, and located them west of the Missouri, to be nationalized and civilized; and feeling, as every saint must, a deep interest in their salvation, I rejoice to see the great work prosper. The Indians are the people of the Lord; they are of the tribes of Israel ”

“ And how much is the joy of our hearts enlarged, when it is known the "poor Indians," are to be raised from their low estate, and miserable condition, by the everlasting gospel; even the fullness of the gospel contained in the book of Mormon, and other books of God? No wonder the pure in heart will return to Zion, singing songs of everlasting joy—no wonder there is joy in heaven over repenting sinners, and no wonder the prophet exclaimed:—"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace ”

“ In fact, the faith of the church of Christ of latter day saints, has not been sufficient, amid such a world of unbelief, to perform many great miracles. The sick have been healed; and speaking and interpreting other tongues are common: but thanks be to God, if the church continues to go from grace to grace, and from faith to faith, it will soon lack no good gift. ”

“ Where will you find a man that can say to a Dorcas, "In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise,"—and have her spirit return—and she again live? Not among the catholics; not among the episcopalians; not among the presbyterians ”

“ The reason I have for the above statement, in accordance with the book of Mormon, is, because, in this age of the world, with all its missionaries, and missionary societies, bible societies, tract societies, sunday school unions, and printing establishments,—counting all the inhabitants of the christian governments, believers and unbelievers, the closest calculations al-low only 200 millions to be christians! Thus, instead of "much fruit," (and there is probably as much now as there has been since the food.) the earth contains more than 500 millions of heathens! ”

“ This idea is greatly strengthened by reading Zenos' account of the tame olive tree in the book of Mormon, page 131. The branches planted in the nethermost parts of the earth, "brought forth much fruit," and no man that pretends to have pure religion, can find "much fruit" among the Gentiles, or heathen of this generation. ”

“ These tribes I suppose, must reside this side of the Rocky Mountains—because common report says that as many tribes embracing certainly as much population, must live west of the mountains. There are fine rivers, beautiful valleys, extensive plains, as well as fertile shores on the Pacific, for a vast number of inhabitants.—Again the Commissioners stated that "thirty tribes, containing a population of 156,310, have held treaties with the United States, and that there is an Indian population east of the Mississippi, of 92,676,"—making a total of 405,286. ”