A hymn was now sung, and the service (if such it may be called) having continued from half-past ten o'clock till two, finally concluded. As the congregation dispersed, I walked with the Mormon who had brought me over in his canoe, to see the temple. The building is a hundred and twenty feet in length, by eighty in breadth; and is designed to be the finest edifice west of Philadelphia. The Mormon informed me, that in this house the Lord designed to reveal unto his Church things which had been kept secret from the foundation of the world; and that He had declared that He would here restore the fulness of the priesthood. He showed me the great baptismal font, which is completed, and stands at the centre of the unfinished temple. This font is, in fact, a capacious laver, eighteen or twenty feet square, and about four in depth. It rests upon the backs of twelve oxen, as large as life, and tolerably well sculptured; but for some reason, perhaps mystical, entirely destitute of _feet_, though possessed of legs. The laver and oxen are of wood, and painted white; but are to be hereafter gilded, or covered with plates of gold. At this place baptisms for the dead are to be celebrated, as well as baptisms for the healing of diseases; but baptisms for the remission of sins are to be performed in the Mississippi. My companion told me that he was originally a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada; but that he had obtained greater light, and had been led to join the "latter-day saints." While he was a methodist he felt that he was perfectly right, and could confute all other sects, except the Roman Catholics. These had so much of the true and ancient Church mixed up with their corruptions, that he could not readily confute them. Many passages of the Scriptures remained at that time perfectly inexplicable to him, and he felt that no denomination was organized exactly on the primitive plan. But since he had been led to embrace Mormonism, new light had opened upon his soul; the Scriptures had become perfectly clear, and he had discovered a Church entirely conformable to the primitive model; having the same divinely appointed ministry; the same miraculous gifts of healing, and the unknown tongues; the same prophetical inspiration; the same close intercourse with the Almighty. I observed, that the truth of Mormonism depended on the determination of the question, whether Joseph Smith was, in fact, a prophet of God. He replied, that the inspiration of Joseph could be proved more readily than that of Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel. That Joseph had received revelations ever since he was fifteen years of age; and that the outlines of Mormonism were made known to him at a time when he could not possibly have planned so vast a work, or anticipated its triumphant success. While conversing on these subjects, we arrived at the "Nauvoo House," the hotel founded by "revelation." The walls are advanced about