No. 11, Vol. XXV.

Price One Penny.

There is a large amount of spurious coin in circulation throughout the world, and a great many acts resulting from ostentatious vanity and pride which pass under the sacred name of benevolence; so there are a vast number of words and sentences which are dignified with the hallowed title of prayer, and pass current among men as such, but which, in reality, have no more claim to the true character implied by that word than counterfeit coin has to the name of money. Few, indeed, appear to have any correct understanding or appreciation of the nature and power of prayer, and even those who do are so subject to the influence of example and the tendency to imitation, which so powerfully affect the majority of the human family, that, unless they maintain a continual watch upon themselves and check this disposition in its incipient stages, they are very liable to fall into the same dead formality, monotonous routine of expressions and "vain repetitions" which characterise se many of these impious addresses to the Divine Majesty of heaven, which are daily proceeding from the mouths of millions of earth's vain mortals. We would be shocked at the irreverence and thoughtlessness which are characteristic of many of the peti

tions offered to the Ruler of the universe, did we not know that

"Words without thoughts to heaven never go,"

that they rise no higher than the low ideas which prompted them, and that they never reach the ear of the Lord to insult him by their vanity and senselessness. The Pharisaical and hypocritical repetitions against which the Savior warned his disciples, the beadnumbered Ave Marias of the Roman Catholic devotee, or the often reiterated and meaninglessly uttered "Lord have mercy upon us miserable sinners" of the Church of England, are no worse nor more ridiculous than the language used in addressing the Lord by too many of those who, from their experience in and acquaintance with the Gospel, ought to know better. If an individual should be permitted to enjoy the unusual privilege and honor of being presented to the Queen, that he might ask some favor, and should presume to address her as too many do the Almighty, he would at once be ejected from the presence. Imagine such a one using such language as this:-"I thank thee, O Queen, that I am permitted to stand before thee, O Queen, at this time, O Queen; and I ask thee, O Queen, to hear me at this time, O Queen, and let thy favor and blessing rest upon me, O

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opening or the close of a meeting, around the family altar or at the bedside of the afflicted, to go through the same formal routine of expressions. Such a course is destructive of all true faith, and cannot be pleasing to our heavenly Father. Prayer, to be of any avail either for ourselves or others, must have every energy of the soul thrown into it; the mind must be fixed on God and on the subject of our petition of him, and, in our present weak, ignorant and degraded condition, it certainly is impossible for us to concentrate our minds upon so many different subjects, at all times, with that degree of faith necessary to constitute the effectual, fervent prayer" which we are told "availeth much." There are times when there are particular blessings which we desire, either for ourselves or for others, and for which the Spirit of the Lord prompts us to pray, and at such times we should endeavor, as much as possible, to confine ourselves to the one object of our petitions, for if we do not, and allow our minds to wander upon a variety of subjects, although they may be legitimate and essential topics of prayer at other seasons, we doubt not the experience of many of the brethren and sisters who read this will have taught them that we shall assuredly grieve and quench the Spirit of the Lord.

The great secret of prayer is simplicity. We need to learn and remember that we are "not heard for our much speaking" to come before the Lord as a child to a parent, to ask simply and sincerely for those things we need and desire, and the fewer the words in which they are asked the better, so that they are appropriate, comprehensive and reverential. Many approach the Lord with much of the same feeling with which so many rise to speak in public-viz., that they must occupy a certain length of time, or they will feel dissatisfied and condemned. In both cases this feeling will at once destroy the true spirit in which either should be done. In approaching the Lord in prayer, we should reflect beforehand what it is we want, endeavor to realize the solemn nature of the act we are about to engage in and the glorious and exalted nature, character and position of the Being whom we are

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about to address, and then to offer our petitions as we feel led by the Spirit to do, no matter whether it occupies us five, ten, or fifty minutes, or whether we consume but one. The most powerful and effectual prayers of which we have any record in the sacred volumes which have been handed down to us from former generations, were brief and pointed, though comprehensive. The instances are too numerous to quote, but they are scattered throughout the Bible, from the petition of Abraham regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, down through a long series of God's servants and prophets, to the example set us by Jesus himself, and to the answer which he received when he said," Father, glorify thy name;" and we are assured that the poor Publican who was so overwhelmed with the consciousness of his own sinfulness and unworthiness that he could only say," God be merciful to me a sinner," was more acceptable and justified in the sight of God than the proud and educated Pharisee who could and did make a long and eloquent prayer. Had Peter been so long getting to the object of his petition when he was sinking in the water, as many of us are at the present day, he would have been drowned long before any one could have known what was the matter.

There are seasons when the spirit of prayer is poured out upon us and we feel a yearning desire to unbosom ourselves to, and pour out our soul before, our heavenly Father in child-like simplicity and fulness, as Jesus did when he continued in prayer all night unto his Father; but, like him, at such times we love to be alone, where no eye but God's can behold us, no ear but his hear us, and where we can hold sweet and uninterrupted communion with him through his Holy Spirit, until faith will break through the vail of darkness that hides him from our view, and we can converse with him almost face to face. But at such hallowed moments there are no "vain repetitions," our souls are filled with such unspeakable yearnings, such absorbing desires for so many blessings, that the only difficulty we experience is in finding time to express, in the briefest manner possible, the breathings and aspirations of our spirits. Like the ancient Nephites, when praying to Jesus on the occasion of one of

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and to approach before him in that way which will be acceptable to him, and with that child-like simplicity and faith which will enable us to realize our dependence upon him, at the same time that it will enable us to lay hold of his promises and plead them until we realize their fulfilment in our own case. If there is any one petition recorded in the Bible which is more applicable to us as Latter-day Saints, and which most of us have need to use more than another, it is,--" Lord teach us how to pray.”

Since the introduction of the Gospel | by the Prophet Joseph Smith, whom the Lord raised up to prepare the way for the second Advent of the Messiah, the cry of false prophet and delusion has gone forth to the world-the pulpit and the press have sent it forth and the learned and the wise have taken it up, and when the principles of truth, as taught by the Elders of Israel in these last days, are spoken about, they shake their wise heads and tell us that Joseph Smith was an impostor, that Brigham Young and his associates are leading the people astray; in fact, they look upon them as deluders, and we, who listen to and obey the doctrines they teach, as their dupes.

It is not my intention to notice the vile slanders and evil reports that have gone forth to the world concerning this people, but briefly to glance at some of the doctrines and delusions taught by these so-called bad men.

They teach us to believe that God is an unchangeable Being, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him; they teach us to believe in Jesus Christ, the Mediator and Redeemer, and that obedience to the Gospel will bring the same blessings in these days, give us the same assurance of our acceptance with God, as the followers of Jesus enjoyed in ancient times. We not only believe this, but are made the happy partakers of the blessings, by obedience to the Gospel as taught by the Prophet

Joseph: if this is delusion, then the Latter-day Saints are deluded. Jesus says,-"Whosoever doeth the will of my Father shall know of the doctrine, whether I speak of myself or of him that sent me." The Elders of this Church, who are sent forth to the world, teach the same doctrines. If, then, to get a knowledge that your worship is accepted of God, that you have embraced that form of doctrine which he owns; if to have the testimony of Jesus and the witness of the Spirit within you that God owns you as his child, that your sins are forgiven, and to be in possession of the Holy Ghost to lead and guide into all saving truth, be a delusion, then we are deluded, and we feel grateful to God for it. The faith we have received teaches us to lay hold upon the promises of God; to have the sick healed, the deaf made to hear, the eyes of the blind opened and the lame to walk; to have the vision of our minds opened so that we can understand, in a measure, the designs and purposes of God as they are brought about on the earth. It teaches us to eschew evil, to practice principles of purity and holiness, to "add to our faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge temperance, to temperance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness and charity," which charity is love; and this love is made manifest in the lives of the Elders of Israel who leave their homes and all that is near