And when ye shall receive these things (i.e., the things written in the Book of Mormon) I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in {161} Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost; and by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things (Moroni x, 4, 5). Here, then, is a means by which every person into whose hands the Book of Mormon falls may find out for himself, not from human testimony, not from the deductions of logic, but through the power of the Holy Ghost, whether the Book of Mormon is of divine origin or not. This test must be final, either for or against it, to every individual who complies with the conditions enjoined by Moroni. Those conditions are, that they into whose hands the record falls shall inquire of God with a sincere heart, with real intent, and having faith in Christ; and to those who so proceed he promises without equivocation that they shall receive a manifestation of its truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, if these directions are complied with faithfully and honestly, and the manifestation follows not, then they may know it is not of God. If the manifestation comes, of course the divine origin of the book is confirmed, for the Holy Ghost would not confirm by any manifestation of its power an imposition. Therefore, reader, whoever you may be, undertake the reading of the Book of Mormon with a prayerful heart, and you will find in it a new volume of Scripture to you, a treasury of sacred knowledge able to make you wise unto salvation. _"We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property and the protection of life."_ --_Joseph Smith, The Prophet_. {162} THE SECOND COMING OF THE MESSIAH AND EVENTS TO PRECEDE IT. BY ELDER B. H. ROBERTS. Of all events that will take place in the immediate future, the most important to mankind is the glorious appearing of the Son of God, generally spoken of as the Second Advent of the Messiah. And if there is one thing that the writers of Scripture are more explicit in than another, it is in relation to this all-important event. The writer of the Acts of the Apostles, giving an account of the last meeting of the risen Messiah with His disciples in Palestine, and His last words to them, says: