to teach the old religion, the religion of Jesus, the simple plan which was revealed from heaven in ancient days, to save the children of men. Peter said, on the Day of Pentecost, speaking of the Gospel and its attendant blessings, "for this promise is unto you"--that is, to the people who stood before him--"to your children and unto all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." You see it was not confined to the members of the church {131} in the first place, as some would have us believe. The promise of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost was made to the children of those who heard Peter, and to all who were afar off, even as many as the Lord our God should call. And if it be true that God is calling sinners to repentance now, we should see the same power manifested to-day, that is, if we have the true Gospel. There can be no doubt of this. Which will you have, my friends, the doctrine of the Bible or the doctrines of men? If you accept the doctrines of the Bible you will have to become Latter-day Saints, and of course that would be out of the question for a good many. But we cannot find these doctrines anywhere else, and that is a perplexity. What shall we do about them? When I am speaking to you I think of the position I occupied myself, when I heard the Latter-day Saints first. I went to their meeting, not expecting to hear anything that would interest me by any means, but I heard the Bible doctrine taught. I could not deny it. I found I had been mistaken. I did not incline in my heart to fight against God, but considerations came up. If I become a Latter-day Saint, people will call me a "Mormon." If I embrace these doctrines, my friends will point at me the finger of scorn. If I become a Latter-day Saint my good neighbors will say I am deceived and led astray, and that I have embraced a doctrine that is in opposition to the teachings of Christ. Of course these things flashed through my mind when I considered and read the Bible to ascertain positively whether these "Mormons" taught the truth or not. I thought this--well! I have been religious for the purpose of making my peace with God, but I have been mistaken and led astray by men whom God had not sent to preach the Gospel; but now I have found the truth, the old promises relating to God's power, all things as at the beginning, have been restored, and I have the promise of obtaining a place with the righteous, according to the mind and will of my Heavenly Father. Let friends say what they please, let them say I am deceived, but I believe this Bible is true. Let them say whatever they may in regard to my faith; no matter. I thought of the time of Christ. They called Christ hard names; and of the apostles they spake a great deal of evil. In fact the Bible says they called them all manner of evil, and although I expected my friends would denounce me, still when I thought of what Christ had suffered, I was reconciled and