Shall I, who have witnessed the visions of eternity, and beheld the glorious mansions of bliss, and the regions and the misery of the damned,--shall I turn to be a Judas? Shall I, who have heard the voice of God, and communed with angels, and spake as moved by the Holy Ghost for the renewal of the everlasting covenant, and for the gathering of Israel in the last days,--shall I worm myself into a political hypocrite? Shall I, who hold the keys of the last kingdom, in which is the dispensation of the fullness of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy Prophets since the world began, under the sealing power of the Melchizedec Priesthood,--shall I stoop from the sublime authority of Almighty God, to be handled as a monkey's cat-paw, and pettify myself into a clown to act the farce of political demagoguery? No--verily no! The whole earth shall bear me witness that I, like the towering rock in the midst of the ocean, which has withstood the mighty surges of the warring waves for centuries, _am impregnable,_ and am a faithful friend to virtue, and a fearless foe to vice,--no odds whether the former was sold as a pearl in Asia or hid as a gem in America, and the latter dazzles in palaces or glimmers among the tombs. I combat the errors of ages; I meet the violence of mobs; I cope with illegal proceedings from executive authority; I cut the guardian knot of powers, and I solve mathematical problems of universities, _with truth--diamond truth; and God is my "right hand man_." [2] And to close, let me say in the name of Jesus Christ to you, and to presidents, emperors, kings, queens, governors, rulers, nobles, and men in authority everywhere, Do the works of righteousness, execute justice and judgment in the earth, that God may bless you and her inhabitants; and The laurel that grows on the top of the mountain Shall green for your fame while the sun sheds a ray; And the lily that blows by the side of the fountain Will bloom for your virtue till earth melt away. With due consideration and respect, I have the honor to be Your most obedient servant, JOSEPH SMITH. P.S. The court-martial will attend to your case in the Nauvoo Legion. J. S. {79}_Tuesday, 14.--_In the evening called at the office with Mr. Southwick, of Dixon, and had my letter to James Arlington Bennett read. _Wednesday, 15.--_Mayor's court in the office. "Erskine _versus_ Pullen." Nonsuit. P.M. At the office. Suggested the idea of preparing a grammar of the Egyptian language. [Sidenote: Grammar for the Egyptian Language Suggested.] Prayer-meeting at the old house. I spoke of a petition to Congress, my letter to Bennett, and intention to write a proclamation to the kings of the earth. _Thursday, 16.--_Held a court--"Averett _versus_ Bostwick." At home the remainder of the day. Chilly east wind and foggy.