_Lev_. 27. 30 the tithe of the land shall be the Lord's. 32 the tenth of the herd and the flock shall be holy. 33 not to search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it. _Num_. 18. 26-28 the Levites paid a tenth of their tithes to the priests. _Deut_. 12. 17, 18 tithes to be eaten in the place the Lord should choose. _Chap_. 14. 23, 24. 28 the tithe of the third year to be laid up. 14. 22, 23 thou shalt surely tithe all he increase of thy seed. 26. 12 hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thy increase. 2 _Chron_. 31. 5, 6 Israel brought the tithes of all things, abundantly. _Neh_. 10. 37, 38 the tithes of Israel were brought to the Levites, and they paid a tenth to the house of the Lord. 13. 12 men appointed over the treasuries of the house of the Lord. _Amos_ 4. 4 bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years. _Mal_. 3. 8 wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 10 bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse. _Matt_. 23. 23 Pharisees paid tithes, but omitted the weightier matters of the law. _Luke_ 11. 42 for ye tithe mint and rue, and pass over judgment and the love of God. 18. 12 I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all I possess. _Heb_. 7. 5 the sons of the Levites to take tithes of the people. 6, 8, 9. _See Sermon by B. Young, J. of D., Vol. 1, page 51_. " " _G. Q. Cannon, " " 15, " 147_. " " _F. D. Richards, " " 16, " 59_. " " _B. Young, " " 16, " 111_. APOSTACY OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. The Gospel dispensation inaugurated by our Savior, while on his earthly mission, was not a gathering one. Israel had already been widely scattered. That scattering was soon to result in the complete desolation of the land of Palestine. Wherever the people received the Gospel through the preaching of the apostles, they were organized into churches. They not only had their old traditions and customs to contend with, but there was no relief from the general pagan influences under which they had been educated. Add to these things, the persecutions the early Saints were exposed to, and it could not well be otherwise than that many of them should be weak in the faith. The epistles of the apostles inform us that they had often contended with false teachers and doctrines in the primitive churches. "Even now," said the apostle John, "are there many anti-Christs." 1 _John_ 2. 18. The apostle Paul, in his second epistle to Timothy, informs us, that "In the last days perilous times shall come;" 2 _Tim_. 3. 1. In the following three verses he enumerates all manner of wickedness which shall be prevalent in the latter times. He evidently means in the Christian churches, or among those who profess godliness, for in the fifth verse of the same chapter, he speaks of their having "A form of godliness, but denying the power thereof."