Why the Saints are persecuted.--Persecutions in different ages of the
World.--How Jethro came to Moses.--The Saints locate in Illinois.--A
short season of peace.--Hostilities resumed.--Perfidy of the Governor
of the State.--Assassination.--The Prophet's testimony that his work
was finished.--The Saints are driven.--Their journey.--War with the
remainder.--Extracts from Epistle.--Peace.--Perpetual Fund.--Labors of
the Elders.--Publications.--The work of twenty years.--The power of
truth.
Does the reader request to know the cause of those horrid persecutions?
I would ask, what caused the persecutions against the Saints anciently?
The answer of the one answers the other. It is acknowledged, however,
a singular phenomenon in human nature that a class of people, moral,
virtuous and innocent, should become an object of envy, hatred, malice,
spoliation and murder by their surrounding neighbors. Without entering
into an explanation of the secret cause of this phenomenon of mind,
we purpose only to present a few facts showing such is the nature
of mankind, not only religiously, but morally considered. The most
important moral, physical and philosophical discoveries have commonly
been attended with persecution, imprisonment confiscation of property,
banishment or martyrdom. The names of Seneca, Socrates, Columbus,
Galileo and Harvey, which now adorn the pages of history, were each
in their turn the butt of scorn, ridicule and contempt; and so it
generally has been with every man who has ever benefited the human
family. In religious discoveries the same effects have followed. Every
religious reformation has been attended with more or less persecution
and martyrdom, from righteous Abel down to the latest murder committed
upon the Latter-day Saints. Abel, through some appointed means,
obtained very important blessings from heaven; as soon as this was
known, he became an object of hatred, and was slain! And so on to the
coming of Christ like scenes followed in every age. Paul, speaking of
persecution, says: "Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings,
yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were
sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered
about in sheep skins and goat skins; being destitute, afflicted,
tormented; of whom the world was not worthy; they wandered in deserts,
and in mountains, and dens and caves of the earth." The occasion of
those persecutions arose not from their immorality, but from their
having received peculiar heavenly gifts and blessings. Jesus, the Son
of God, when in the world, had no other object but the good of mankind,
but when he began to affirm that God was His Father, and He was one
with His Father, and was doing His will, jealousy was stirred up, envy
arose, He was called seditious, an enemy to mankind, and His life was
sought and finally taken. His Twelve Apostles, without influence or
learning, bore testimony of knowledge actually received, and of having
authority to baptize both priests and people, rich and poor, bond and
free, with a promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost. But what was the
result? How were they received? Were they accounted good, peaceable
men, and well spoken of? No! far from it; most all people spoke against
them, and no doubt considered them wicked, designing men, for they
immediately set about whipping, stoning, imprisoning and killing them.
Their own brethren, the Jews, who were best acquainted with them, were
the most industriously engaged in this business. Ministers of the
Jewish laws, those educated for the purpose and who made it their daily
employment to expound and teach the people the word of God delivered
by the holy Prophets, were generally the foremost and most bitter in
these crusades against Jesus Christ, the Apostles and the Saints. Had
those persons who professed to understand the Scriptures and to whom
the people looked for proper explanations, been honest and virtuous
men, and used a righteous influence with the people, thousands, in
room of rejecting Jesus Christ and His Apostles, would have received
their testimony. So, in reference to ourselves, had the ministers and
clergy come to us like the good Jethro to Israel, with kind sympathy in
their bosoms, and shown us that friendship which one religious class
of people ought always to manifest for another, or had they used even
a moral influence in our favor, the evils and cruelties heaped upon
us by our enemies would have been much lessened, and those persons,
like Jethro, would have been spoken of with praise and honor to the
latest ages of posterity. But, alas! few instances of this kind can be
recorded. It is with pleasure, however, that we here mention that in
times of deep distress, brought upon the Saints by these persecutions,
when large public meetings were called in various parts of the United
States by virtuous and honorable citizens of the country, to express
their abhorrence and detestation of those crimes and cruelties, those
professing themselves ministers of the Gospel, in some instances, came
forward at those meetings and discountenanced the persecutions of the
Saints. Such acts of nobleness, independence of mind and human sympathy
will not be forgotten.
The relation of these scenes of persecution is not offered as direct
evidence of the truth of our religion; but it is a plain evidence of
the corruption of any people who persecute or look silently on without
raising their voice or influence in behalf of the persecuted. The
evidence of the authenticity of our religion is to be found in the
fact of our possessing the fruits of the ancient Gospel, the gifts and
blessings promised the true believers; and if found in possession of
these blessings, that is a sufficient explanation of the cause of those
horrid persecutions.
Having been driven from Missouri, they then located in Illinois, in
the spring of 1839, as mentioned in the memorial. Here they built up
a beautiful city, called Nauvoo; obtained from the Legislature of
the State a city charter; organized several literary institutions;
established a printing press; commenced another Temple; built a number
of magnificent public edifices; opened hundreds and thousands of
large and extensive plantations in the surrounding country; and sent
forth hundreds of Elders as missionaries into different parts of the
world. Many began to indulge the fond hope of having here found an
asylum of peace; and being no more troubled with their enemies, would
be enabled to sit peaceably under the shade of their vine and fig
tree, and enjoy the fruit of their labors. It was not long, however,
before things transpired of a nature to convince them this anxiously
looked for period had not yet arrived. Their enemies in Missouri, not
satisfied with the cruelties and murders they had committed in driving
them from the State, continued their molestations. Not receiving any
check from the authorities of the country, they became emboldened in
their aggressions. They soon found plenty of corrupt and abandoned
characters in the State of Illinois willing to co-operate with them
in stirring up jealousy and raising excitement among the people, in
order more effectually to execute their murderous designs. Believing
that the continuance and prosperity of the Saints were dependent on the
existence of their Prophet, Joseph Smith, they set about concocting
schemes for his destruction. By resorting to false accusations and
perjury, they procured a State warrant for his apprehension, and also
that of his brother Hyrum. Aware that their diabolical schemes would
be frustrated if the prisoners had a legal trial, they succeeded in
lodging them in Carthage jail; a place where the Governor of the
State pledged himself they should be protected, and secure from mobs
and violence; but in every respect it was only suitable for the
accomplishment of their bloody deeds. On the 27th of June, 1844, while
Joseph and Hyrum were in this situation, awaiting their trial on the
following day, their enemies determined to execute their designs. About
5 o'clock p. m., of that day, an armed mob, painted black, of from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred persons, rushed from the surrounding
woods, drove away the sentinels guarding the prison, and poured through
the door and windows a torrent of lead _that laid the brothers low in
the arms of death! Then fell two worthy men_! Everlasting honor and
immortality is their portion, and their names henceforth are classified
with martyrs for truth! When this sad event occurred, two of the Twelve
Apostles, John Taylor and Willard Richards, were with them in prison,
as visitors. The former received four balls in his body, the other
escaped unharmed. These men live to tell the bloody tragedy which has
sealed disgrace upon their country.
A few months previous to this murder, Joseph, in giving instructions
to the Twelve in relation to the building up of Zion, preparatory to
the coming of the Son of God, informed them that _his work was finished
on the earth_, and from that time the responsibility of carrying the
Gospel to every nation devolved upon them; and, as he bid farewell to
some friends, on leaving for Carthage, he said: "_I am going like a
lamb to the slaughter_; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a
conscience void of offence towards God, and towards all men; I shall
die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me--_he was murdered in cold
blood_." An intimate acquaintance with those men from the early rise
of the Church to their martyrdom, justifies the writer in bearing this
testimony that _he knows_ they were virtuous, honorable and righteous
men--men whom God loved, and whom all good men would have respected,
loved and honored had they known their true character.
Contrary to the hopes and expectations of their enemies, the Saints
continued to build their Temple, and attend to their ordinary labors.
Petition after petition was presented to government for redress of
their grievances; but a deaf ear was turned to their supplications.
Their enemies, finding that no persecution nor even the martyrdom of
their Prophet could destroy their union, then determined to drive
them from their city; at last, persecution became so grievous and
insufferable that the Saints were forced to leave their houses in the
depth of winter, and wander in the western wilderness.
In the beginning of February, 1846, President Brigham Young, the Twelve
Apostles, with their wives and families, and thousands of others,
left the city of Nauvoo, traveling in a westerly direction, as they
were guided by the Spirit of God. By reason of being exposed to the
inclemency of the weather, and having only the thin covering of tents
and wagons to protect them from its fury, many who had previously
suffered from persecution could endure no longer, and fell asleep in
death.
Having journeyed two hundred miles, they encamped and made a temporary
settlement, called Garden Grove; forty miles in advance of this
they made another, called Mount Pisgah; one hundred and fifty miles
beyond this, they made a third settlement at Council Bluffs. While
here resting from the fatigue of journeying, many were overtaken with
sickness, which was the result of former severe privations. In the
midst of their troubles, at a time when every man was required more
than ever to watch over and protect his helpless wife and family from
the hordes of savage Indians and wild beasts of the forest, with which
they were surrounded, a message was received from the President of the
United States, requesting five hundred men to enter the army and march
against the Mexicans. This demand, though strange and heartrending, was
complied with; five hundred men were thus taken from the camps of the
Saints, leaving behind them fathers, mothers, wives and children in the
midst of afflictions, many of whom were dwelling in miserable log huts,
tents, and wagons, with scarcely the common necessaries of life.
A few months after their departure, their enemies still burning with
rage, and finding the body of the Saints beyond their reach, made an
attack on those remaining in Nauvoo, an account of which we extract
from a general epistle of the Twelve, December 23, 1847:
In September, 1846, an infuriated mob, clad in all the horrors of
war, fell on the Saints who had still remained in Nauvoo for want
of means to remove; murdered some, and drove the remainder across
the Mississippi into Iowa, where, destitute of houses, tents, food,
clothing or money, they received temporary assistance from some
benevolent souls in Quincy, St. Louis, and other places, whose
names will ever be remembered with gratitude. But at that period
the Saints were obliged to scatter to the north, south, east and
west, wherever they could find shelter and procure employment. And,
hard as it is to write it, it must ever remain a truth on the page
of history, that while the flower of Israel's camp was sustaining
the wings of the American eagle, by their influence and arms, in
a foreign country, their brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and
children were driven by mob violence from a free and independent
State, of the same national republic, and were compelled to flee
from the fire, the sword, the musket and the cannon's mouth as
from the demon of death. * * * Their property in Hancock County,
Illinois, was little or no better than confiscated; many of their
houses were burned by the mob, and they were obliged to leave
most of those that remained without sale; and those who bargained
sold almost for a song; for the influence of their enemies was
to cause such a diminution in the value of property, that from a
handsome estate was seldom realized enough to remove the family
comfortably away; and thousands have since been wandering to and
fro, destitute, afflicted and distressed for the common necessaries
of life, or unable to endure have sickened and died by hundreds;
while the Temple of the Lord is left solitary in the midst of our
enemies; an enduring monument of the diligence and integrity of the
Saints.
While the Saints were passing through those scenes of persecutions,
sufferings and deep affliction, many glorious manifestations of divine
approbation were given them, which we should have been happy here to
record, did our limits and the nature of the work admit.
The Saints in the wilderness continued their journeying as
circumstances would allow; having to cut their way through woods and
valleys, over rivers and mountains, a distance of fourteen hundred
miles. At length, on the 21st of July, 1847, the pioneers discovered
a beautiful valley beyond the "Pass" of the great Rocky Mountains,
being a portion of the Great Basin of Upper California, near the
southern shore of the Great Salt Lake. On the 24th the President and
first company entered this their present home; other companies, year
after year, continue their emigration to this point. Here Israel will
remain till the indignation of an offended God is poured out upon the
nations. Here will peace and happiness dwell, while nation is at war
with nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and here the people of "many
nations shall come and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain
of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of
His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for the law shall go forth of
Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Micah iv: 2.
Though persecution, poverty, sickness and trials of every description
have come upon this people, they have stood the fiery trial, and given
evidence to all men, to angels and to God, of their faith, virtue and
fidelity. Now the Church of the living God, far beyond the reach of
mobs and strife, in her hiding place, shall grow like a tree planted by
rivers of waters, till "she looketh forth as the morning, fair as the
moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." Cant.
vi: 10.
As we have had to describe scenes of sorrow and suffering, harrowing to
the feelings of the virtuous, we feel happy, indeed, that we can now
direct the reader to the present favorable situation of the Saints. The
following extract we take from the same general epistle:
We are at peace with all nations, with all kingdoms, with all
powers, with all governments, with all authorities under the whole
heavens, except the kingdom and power of darkness, which are from
beneath, and are ready to stretch forth our arms to the four
quarters of the globe, extending salvation to every honest soul;
for our mission in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is from sea to sea,
and from the rivers to the ends of the earth; and the blessing of
the Lord is upon us; and when every other arm shall fail, the power
of the Almighty will be manifest in our behalf; for we ask nothing
but what is right, we want nothing but what is right, and God has
said that our strength shall be equal to our day; and we invite
all presidents, and emperors, and kings, and princes, and nobles,
and governors, and rulers, and judges, and all nations, kindreds,
tongues and people under the whole heaven, to come and help us to
build a house to the name of the God of Jacob, a place of peace,
a city of rest, a habitation for the oppressed of every clime,
even for those that love their neighbor as they do themselves, and
who are willing to do as they would be done unto; and this we are
determined to do, and we will do, God being our helper; and we will
help every one that will help to sustain good and wholesome laws
for the protection of virtue, and the punishment of vice.
The kingdom which we are establishing, is not of this world; but it
is the kingdom of the great God. It is the fruit of righteousness,
of peace, of salvation to every soul that will receive it, from
Adam down to his latest posterity. Our good will is towards all
men, and we desire their salvation in time and in eternity; and we
will do them good so far as God will give us the power and men will
permit us the privilege, and we will harm no man; but if men will
rise up against the power of the Almighty to overthrow His cause,
let them know assuredly that they are running on the bosses of
Jehovah's buckler, and as God lives they will be overthrown.
Come, then, ye Saints; come, then, ye honorable men of the earth;
come, then, ye wise, ye learned, ye rich, ye noble, according
to the riches, and wisdom, and knowledge of the great Jehovah,
from all nations, and kindreds, and kingdoms, and tongues, and
people, and dialects, on the face of the whole earth, and join the
standard of Emanuel, and help us to build up the Kingdom of God,
and establish the principles of truth, life and salvation, and you
shall receive your reward among the sanctified, when the Lord Jesus
Christ cometh to make up His jewels; and no power on earth or in
hell can prevail against you. * * *
Come, then, ye Saints of Latter-day, and all ye great and small,
wise and foolish, rich and poor, noble and ignoble, exalted and
persecuted, rulers and ruled of the earth, who love virtue and hate
vice, and help us to do this work, which the Lord hath required
at our hands, and inasmuch as the glory of the latter house shall
exceed that of the former, your reward shall be an hundredfold, and
your rest shall be glorious. Our universal motto is, "_Peace with
God, and good will to all men_."
The following we extract from a private letter written in the Valley
respecting their peace and prosperity:
All is stillness. No elections, no police reports, no murders, no
wars in our little world. How quiet, how still, how peaceful, how
happy, how free from excitement we live. Our old firelocks have not
been rubbed up, or our swords unsheathed because of any alarm. No
policeman, or watchmen of any kind have been on duty to guard us
from external or internal danger. The drum has beat, to be sure,
but it was mingled with merry-making, or its martial sound was
rather to remind us that war had once been known among the nations,
than to arouse us to tread the martial and measured step of those
who muster for the war, or march to the battle field. Oh, what
a life we live! It is the dream of the poets actually fulfilled
in real life. Here we can cultivate the mind, renew the spirits,
invigorate the body, cheer the heart, and ennoble the soul of man.
Here we can cultivate every science and every art calculated to
enlarge the mind, accommodate the body, or polish or adorn our
race. And here we can receive and extend that pure intelligence
which is unmingled with the jargon of mystic Babylon, and which
will fit a man, after a long life of health and usefulness, to
enjoy the mansions of bliss, and the society of those who are
purified in the blood of the Lamb.
Here no prisoners groan in solitary cells; no chains or fetters
bind the limbs of man; no slave exists to tremble, toil and sweat
for nought, or fear and crouch full low to please his fellow man.
Here all are free to do right, and are warned, and chastened and
corrected if caught in doing wrong.
Here, too, we are all rich--there is no real poverty; all men have
access to the soil, the pasture, the timber, the water power, and
all the elements of wealth, without money or price.
In this peaceful country many thousand Saints have already assembled.
They have laid out a city called "Great Salt Lake City." In addition
to their private dwellings, they have raised several elegant and
magnificent public buildings. Many mills are in operation, and
factories are also in course of erection. Public institutions for
education have been established; one of these the State Legislature
has endowed with an annual sum of five thousand dollars for the term
of twenty years. Having come "up through great tribulation," they are
not forgetful in their prosperity of their brethren who are still
in adversity, scattered among the nations. Accordingly they have
established a "Perpetual Emigrating Fund," for the emigration of the
poor. Many thousand dollars have already been donated for this purpose.
As the gathering of Israel from every nation has been decreed by the
Lord, this fund has been so arranged as to be increased to millions, by
which the poor and virtuous among men can be assisted, and with perfect
assurance lift up their heads and rejoice, for the hour of their
deliverance is nigh!
In the same valley, and others adjacent, they are establishing other
cities; while the country around is appropriated to farming purposes.
And thus "the wilderness, and the solitary place shall be glad for
them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." Every
thing necessary to their comfort and refinement will continue to
flow with the tide of emigration. The wisdom and ingenuity of the
industrious will soon enable the sons and daughters of God to be
arrayed with the workmanship of their own hands.
Four hundred miles south of the Great Salt Lake City an extensive
settlement is being made. Likewise one on the borders of the Pacific
Ocean, near to the port of San Diego. They have also organized a State
government, called the "State of Deseret," and have now their claims
for admission into the Federal union before the Congress of the United
States.
That the reader may understand how this people are viewed by the public
at large, we subjoin the following extract from an American newspaper:
We wish to call the reader's attention to the new and most
extraordinary condition of the Saints. Several thousand of them
have found a resting place in the most remarkable spot on the
North American continent. Since the children of Israel wandered
through the wilderness, or the Crusaders rushed on Palestine,
there has been nothing so historically singular as the emigration
and recent settlement of the Saints. Thousands of them came from
the Manchesters and Sheffields of England to join other thousands
congregated from western New York and New England--boasted
descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers--together, to establish a colony
in the west. Having a Temple amid the churches and schools of Lake
County, Ohio, and driven from it by popular opinion, they build the
Nauvoo of Illinois. It becomes a great town; twenty thousand people
flock to it. They are again assaulted by popular persecution;
their Prophet murdered; their town depopulated; and, finally,
their Temple burned. Does all this persecution to which they have
been subjected destroy them? Not at all. Seven thousand are now
settled in flourishing circumstances on the plateau summit of the
North American continent. Thousands more are about to join them
from Iowa, and thousands more are coming from Wales. The spectacle
is most singular, and this is one of the singular episodes of
the great drama of this age. The spot on which the Saints are
now settled is geographically one of the most interesting in the
western world.--_Cincinnati Atlas_.
In concluding this brief history of the temporal situation of the
Saints, we feel peculiar pleasure in being able to leave them in such
prosperous circumstances. The wisdom, cunning and powers of men have
been exerted to stay the progress of truth and destroy the union of
the Saints, but their efforts have only been a melancholy exhibition
of their own folly and wickedness, and produced the opposite of their
intention. By this practical lesson may all people learn that the
purposes of God cannot be overthrown.
Now "the Lord shall comfort Zion, He will comfort her waste places, and
He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden
of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and
the voice of melody." Isaiah li: 3. For He hath said: "Arise, shine,
for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee;
for, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the
people; but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen
upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the
brightness of thy rising." lx: 1--3.
As we have traced the history of the body of the Church, we will now
very briefly glance at the labors of the Elders during the same period.
We have already observed that those whom God called to publish His
Gospel, were not the mighty of the earth--according to the wisdom and
learning of the world; but they were honest and pure in heart. Men
who "counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ;" and to spread abroad this knowledge they made every
possible sacrifice. They willingly set aside every worldly interest,
the comforts of home and friends, and went forth preaching every where
they had opportunity. Whithersoever they went, the Lord confirmed their
testimony by His Spirit; thereby thousands were led to forsake their
false and discordant religions and become obedient unto the Gospel. By
repenting of their sins at the command of God, and being baptized by
His servants, who had received a delegation of authority from heaven,
they received the remission of their sins and the gift of the Holy
Ghost, which enabled them to know for themselves it was the work of God.
As the Lord does not hire but commands men to do His work, He required
them to go forth without purse and scrip, and try the world. In
accomplishing this work, great indeed were the privations they had to
endure. Though many received their message with joy, and gladly obeyed
its requirements, many opposed and persecuted. Those "whose craft was
in danger," were most bitter in their opposition; but all their efforts
to stop the progress of truth only accelerated its speed. "So mightily
grew the word of God, and prevailed," that in a few years churches were
established in the principal towns and cities of the United States and
in the Canadas.
In the year 1837, a few of the Twelve Apostles, and other Elders, in
obedience to the command of God, left their native land to introduce
the Gospel in Great Britain. At first a few meeting houses were opened
for their use; but shortly afterwards, all were shut against them;
nevertheless they persevered, and the Lord crowned their labors with
success. As it was in America, so in England, some rejoiced in the
restoration of the ancient Gospel, while others mocked, derided and
persecuted. Since its introduction, it has spread into every county in
England and Wales; and through Scotland, Ireland and the islands of the
British Channel. Churches are established in the principal towns and
cities, and in many of the surrounding villages of those countries, so
that at present there are between forty and fifty thousand Saints in
Her Britannic Majesty's dominions. Favorable accounts have also been
received of the spread of truth in France, Denmark, Australia and the
East Indies. In the islands of the Pacific Ocean, three thousand souls
have been turned from their idolatrous and superstitious worship, and
become obedient to the light of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
While this unparalleled work has been performed, the Twelve have ever
been foremost in introducing the Gospel in foreign lands; bearing
the burden and heat of the day; and while the Saints are comfortably
situated in the Valley, in the enjoyment of the blessings of heaven and
earth, they are far from their families, traveling on both continents.
Wherever they have gone the word has been established in power, and
in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; and through faith and
supplication the sick and afflicted have been restored, the lame have
been made to walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak and the blind to
see. The knowledge of these things is possessed by the Saints, as they
are of frequent occurrence. For bearing testimony of them they have
suffered the persecution we have related; and while it ever remains
a witness against the wicked, it is an imperishable monument of the
worthiness of God's people to inherit that crown of life which fadeth
not away, eternal in the heavens.
While the word has been so extensively preached, it has also been
widely published by the press. Many thousand copies of the Book of
Mormon and Book of Doctrine and Covenants have been published in
America and Great Britain. Besides those standard works, many other
lesser works of great importance have also been published, and
many thousand copies of pamphlets and replies to objectors in both
countries. During the residence of the Saints in Ohio and Missouri,
they issued two periodicals, called the _Messenger and Advocate_, and
_Evening and Morning Star_. In Illinois they had other two periodicals,
called the _Times and Seasons_, and _Nauvoo Neighbor_. In the cities
of New York and Philadelphia, where large and influential churches
were established, they published two others, called _The Prophet_, and
_Gospel Reflector_. Those papers and periodicals obtained extensive
circulation, through which the word of God was strenuously advocated.
In 1840, a periodical entitled _The Latter-day Saints' Millennial
Star_, was commenced in England, and is now published at Liverpool,
having obtained a weekly circulation of upwards of twenty-three
thousand copies. In Wales they have established a publication called
_Zion's Trumpet_. On the western frontier of the United States, there
is a large newspaper published, called the _Frontier Guardian_. Those
papers are conducted by the Elders with great ability, and much good
has been effected through their instrumentality.
Thus, in the short space of twenty years, a work has been accomplished
without a parallel in the world's history. A work which has been
tested on every side; it has been the object of misrepresentation in
every part of the world; it has been opposed by the most talented
theologians; it has overcome difficulties the most appalling; it has
passed through trials the most fiery, and, like gold issuing from the
furnace, has shone brighter and brighter; and while it has surmounted
every obstacle, it has not only shown that "truth is mighty and
will prevail," but has also shown that it has been sustained by One
whose arm is omnipotent, and whose word shall be fulfilled and work
accomplished though earth and hell oppose.