to the manner of the restoration of the everlasting Gospel to the earth, and the consistency of his testimony in relation to the manner of the restoration of the apostleship, are strong presumptive evidences that beautifully harmonize with and strengthen each other; the evidence is therefore accumulative, and increases with every additional condition or circumstance in a multiplied ratio, and seems almost irresistibly to force conviction upon the mind. Fourth.--Joseph Smith not only professes, through the medium of angels, to have received a dispensation of the gospel, and the power and authority of the apostleship, but he also professes to have received, through _revelation_ and _commandment_ from God, a dispensation for the gathering of the Saints from all nations. Now the doctrine of the gathering of the Saints in the last days must either be _false_ or _true;_ if false, then J. Smith must be an impostor. It matters not how correct he may have been in all other points of his system, if this one point--the doctrine of the gathering--be false, he _must_ be a deceiver. Why? Because he professes to have received _this doctrine_ by direct _revelation_ and _commandment_. On the other hand, if the doctrine of the gathering of the Saints be a _true_ doctrine and scriptural, this will be another presumptive evidence that Mr. Smith was sent of God. Now a doctrine may be _true_ and not be _scriptural;_ as for example, Newton's doctrine or law of universal gravitation is a _true_ doctrine, but not a _scriptural_ one; that is, it can neither be proved nor disproved by the scriptures. So, Noah's doctrine of gathering into an ark--Lot's doctrine of fleeing out of Sodom--Christ's doctrine to depart out of Jerusalem and flee to the mountains to escape destruction, were all _true;_ but neither of them could be proved or disproved by any scripture given to any of the former prophets. So likewise Mr. Smith's doctrine of the gathering of the Saints in the last days might be _true_, even though there should be no former scripture that predicted such an event; but in this case such a doctrine would be no evidence that Mr. Smith, who advocated it, was sent of God; but if such a doctrine can be proved to be a _scriptural_ doctrine, that is, if the gathering of the Saints was predicted in ancient scriptures as an event to take place in a certain age, in a certain way, and through certain means, and Mr. Smith comes in _that age_, professing to have a message to gather the Saints in _such way_, and by _such means_ as the scriptures have foretold, then the exact and perfect agreement between the professed message of Mr. Smith, and the scriptural predictions relating to such a message or work, would be a presumptive evidence of great weight in favor of his divine mission.