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Show WOMAN'S LEXK)N ENT. It was while dwelling in the valley of Lemuel of Nephi, and also Zoram, the t n former s erva t o f Laban, t o ok each one a wife o f the davghtcrs of Ishmatl,' whose family had accompanied Lehi and his family into the wilderness, there were exactly five men and "five women who lIiitawlV"hirC" iTme. (See I. Nephi, 1 6, verse chap. 7.) "The "two sons of Ishmael brought their families with them,, but it is to be supposed that they were of youthful age as neither of their slsters were married until this time. These, with Jacob and Joseph, who were,afterwards born to Lehi, with Sariah.their mother, and the sistc ot wnom mention" is maue Nephi, chap.,5, verse 6, together with Ishmael's wife for he had died in the wilderness constituted the entire colo-- , ny that took passage on board the vessel that conveyed them to the lapd of America. But a division in the colony took place some time "afterwards, for we read that Nephi "arid his family, Sam and his family Zorahvand his family-Jacoand Joseph, his younger brethren, and Nephi's sisters (how many is not mentioned) separated from the rest and became the people of Nephi, and afterwards bore that name. Now, these, people did not marry at the early age we do today,but should they have done so,at the time that Jacob was speaking concerning the sin of whoredom among his people, there could not possibly have been more than three generations of married people, for it was immediately after the death of Nephi that Jacob cemmences his record, and starts out by saying that years had passed away since Lehi left Jerusalem, and in the second book records: "The words which Jacob, the brother of Nephi, spake unto the people of Nephi, after the death of Nephi," a portion of which was a denunciation of the sin of whoredom indulged in by- the people, as well as a reference to a "former command.that no man among them should "take more than one wife.". My object, in reviewing the early history of this people, is to show that there could not have been a great disparity in the sexes at this time, hence the consistency of the command as given by God to Lehi, (see Book of Jacob, chap. 3, verse 34,) is very apparent. But for the crime of which they w ere guilty. Jacob says they excused themselves "because of the things which were written concerning David and Solomon, his son." What was the sin of David? The Jewish record says: "In no one thing did he sin against me, save m the matter of Uriah, the Hittite' And the Prophet Nathan, when rebuking him, told him how the Lord had given him manywives, even the wives of his master Saul, and further says, "If that had been too little I would moreover have rriven unto thee such and such things." This, then,was the onty sin of David, and is it not presumable, that bec'ause God did not immediately destroy David, but put away his sin for being, that thepeople of Nephi took advantage of this leniency to justify themselves in their wicked acts? What was Solomon's sin? In marrying strange women taking them outside of the authority of God, and these women led away his heart, inso- - much that to please them he burnt incense and to sacrificed their Gods, which was an abomination to the Lord. Previous to this the Lord had told Solomon that lie would bless him above all men if he would walk in the ways and keep, the statutes and commandments as his father, David, had done. It is recorded of him, in connection with these strange women, "And Salomon did evil in the sightof the Lord, and 'went! not fnlly after the Lord, as did David, his ' r r; -f- ather." r -- hat-thtTscr- ns -- fn-ll- . -- -- b . fifty-fiv- e . - . the-tim- e the chastity of Wonaao, about which Jacob spoke' sjiayirigbe e n violated,b'e imperiled only outside of that covenant. The law given to the Nephites cofmned a man strictly to one. wife, consequently; no matter what authority he possessed, could have; given more than one wife to one man. Then, to take more w;as a crime before God, and this was the crime of which ... - - these men had been 0 uiltv.and j, which Jacob denounced in such strong language.; -It was this' unrighteous conduct which broke the hearts of, these men's wives, and caused sorrow and mourning to the fair daughters, of the people. How unlike the law that was given to Moses to protect plural wives in their rights of marriage; also how unlike the action of Laban, which was sanctioned by God, in giving his two daughters, to Jacob, and whose issue were mighty men, wielding both kingly and priestly power. The Lord understood the purposes of His own mind,, when Pie gave the 'law limiting the men of the Nephites to one wife, and He also understands His purposes in commanding His people y to take more than one wife, and as it was a sin against God then to take more thaa one wife, we would be equally culpable in rejecting the law A late revelapommanding plural marriage tion says, "By law are ye justified," and the revelation upon plural marriage' says that the ancients were justified in taking more wives because this was the law; and further, "And in nothing did they sin, save in those things which they received not of me." If I were writing for the benefit of unbelievers, I wquld ofTejLisome:)lher-x- planations of this (seemingly ambiguous) passage in the Book of Jacob, but suffice it to say that it is made, quite plain in the revelation on celestial marriage, and it; was a commandment given specially to the people of Nephi for the accom plishment of God's own purposes, and related to them exclusively, asdid the building of an ark in Noah's time, or the crossing of the Red Sea by Israel especially related to them, and was for their salvation in each instance. Unbelievers, fault finders and opponents of the truth, will take ad vantage of every technicality and will trip them selves upon the stumbling blocks that have ap parently been left by the Almighty for this very Saint will not purpose. But a trues Latter-da- y cavil upon these points, for they know that there is a most beautiful harmony and consistency in every command given by God, and that they are exactly adapted to the circumstances and condition of the people, and the evil one knows this full well, too, hence his increasing attempts to thwart the purposes of the Almighty, and especialiyTslhis manF fest in regard to plural or celestial marriage Our enemies, who know nothing; of the spirit or genius of our religion will pick out and quote such sayings as that contained in the Book of Jacob, that have no more reference to this dispensation, or the law of the Lord as pertaining thereto, than the law of Moses as given to ancient Israel, would be aplicable to our condition For the Lord (as intimated by Jacob He would) has commanded His people, in .this last dispensa-- . ti'Sn to take more than one wife to raise up seed unto himself,and all the sophistical reasoning upon the subject, nor a denial by any number of persons, cannot alter the fact, for God's word "will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish that whereunto it has been given." 1 1 ' - ' " """ , Then, the sin of the Nephites, against which Jacob spoke so forcibly, ".must have been either in appropriating the wives of others, or in taking wives outside . of. the majriaexovena-oi r be impossible for a man to commif whore-- " dom with wives God had given him, neither could ' - no-jpLJ- y. " to-da- to-da- y. to-da- to-da- : August 3rd, y y. : - j. e. Taylor. his-taki- ng 45 me eti ng w e re .minutes- - of the -- 5 th ht, Ward P. A. were read, and remarks were made by the President on the condition of the' people at not-broug- the present time, and the outlook, etc. ' f -Brief remarks were made by Sisters H, M. Whitixey, MrA. Hyde, President of Relief Society Sanpete Stake, 'L.-- W. Kimball, M. W. Wilcox, B. W. Smith, Hicks and Sinah Bishop; Sister Dyer also spoke in tongues, and Sister Bishop gave the interpretation. Sisters E. Paul and Dr. E. S. Barney made instructive remarks, and a lady in the congregation spoke a sjafter whieh President Home - re vie wed w hat-hbeen'said," and adjourned the meeting. Kinging. Benediction by Sister Elizabeth Stevenson. '. - few-wor- ad Meeting at the same hour and place, on July 25th, Mrsl M. I. Home presiding. After singing, prayer was offered by Mrs. E, S. Taylor. Singing. Minutes ot previous meeting read by Miss Sarah McGregor.. Minutes of the P. A. from the 21st, 1 1 tip, 9th and 17th Wards were read, after which Prest. Home made sqme timely remarks, and was followed by Mrs. E. B. WeUs,who addressed most of her remarks to the young-- . Mrs. Clara A. Cannon bore a good testimony, and alluded to the imprisonment of her husband, and that she was denied the privilege of visiting him in prison, because she was a plural wife. Sister Julia Howe bore aood testimony. A verse was then sung by the congregation, and Sister Jane Fowler made a few remarks, and sang 7 ' a verse of a hymn. Sister- - E the- - thines- transpiring at the present time, and to the young in regard to purity of character. Sisters Dyer, Kettle, Wheeler, and others, whose names were not known, made a few re1 ' marks. Sister Mary Smalie spoke very impressively of her feelings at the present crisis, and referred to those who were our enemies here, and had made their money off the Mormons; thought it very wrong to deal with them at all. She also said she had seen three rainbows in the western sky on Friday morning, about five o'clock; they were very beautiful, and thought it a good omen. A sister name not known, and Sisters .Ann Richards and Annie Snow, and one or two others, bore faithful testimonies, and Prest Horneniade a few closing remarks and adjourned. the meeting for two weeks. Closed with singing. Prayer by Sister H. M. Whitney. . : . REORGANIZATION V. L. M. I. A. A special meeting of the Y. L. M. I. A. held in th Eighth Ward meeting house July 9th 1885 for by invitation BishopE.F.Sheets and CounselorsMcMurrinand Brockbank,and Sisters M. Dougal,Nellie Colebrook,E. S. Taylor and our former president M. S. Leaver. The officers appointed are as follows: Mrs. Mary Pratt Young, Prest., Mrs. Jeanett McMurrin and. Miss S. A. Miss Eva Morten-son- Hawkins, Counselors, Secretary, Mjss Li2zic "Chamberlain Assistant HowKate Miss, Secretary, ard Treasurer. After a short programme, - remaks were made by the invited guests. A vote of thanks was then tendered Mrs. S. M.' Leaver, for.thc efficient manner in which she had held her office and performed her duty. Eva Mortensox, Secretary. 18S5. I- - NOTICE. MEETING. R. S. AND Y. L. The Ladies' regular meeting was held irt the Fourteenth Ward Assembly July nth, Mrs. M. I. Home presiding. "After singing, prayer was offered by Mrs. M. W. Wilcox. Singing. As the minutes of the last semi-month- d semi-annu- ly JRooms-Saturday- As the time is near- - for drawing up reports for the conference, a few worcljr of en- coura geme nt and instructio n may "be of benefit. The great difficulties encountered by secretaries keeping their books in a Veil balanced state is realized, still, through perseverance' and diligence, ' ' , al - r ' . , |