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45.

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I have taught you the way of God; you must keep it am but one; I do my work; you must do yours. I wish you knew your day and your privilege; you have a privilege which many souls have desired and could not obtain. You are young, and you have a privilege to take up your crosses in the prime of your activity. If you take up your crosses against the lust of the flesh, "while you have power to please yourselves, you offer to God the "first fruits of your lives; and there is a glorious crown for all who "take up their crosses against the flesh in this world; Such souls "will receive that honor and crown of glory which no other souls can ever obtain.

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46. "All souls will have a privilege of this gospel, either in "this world or in the world of spirits; but those that have the offer "of the gospel in this world if they finally reject it, they will ne

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ver have another day.* You have your day now; you can travel "out of your loss by obedience, by taking up the same cross that "Christ did; but souls in the world of spirits have to travel "through sufferings, passing from prison to prison, until they find "the mercy of God. But those who voluntarily take up their crosses in this world, and faithfully endure to the end, will be more bright and glorious than any others; they will be kings and priests unto God."

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47. Mother Ann often taught the believers not to place their faith upon the person of any man or woman, but upon the power and gift of God manifested in the order of His appointment. For," said she, "if you place your faith upon man or woman, and they fail, you will "fail, but the power and gift of God never can fail.”

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48. After the decease of Elder William Lee, who had been an able support to Mother Ann, in the great weight of care and burden which such a body of believers brought upon her, she began visibly to decline in bodily strength; and knowing that her work on earth was nearly at a close, she endeavored to prepare the minds of the believers for the event. She repeatedly told them that she was about to leave them, and often warned them to be faithful. She said, "Brother William is gone, and it will soon be said of me, that I am gone too." She was continually visited by believers from a distance, and while her strength remained, she continued to counsel and encourage them to faithfulness in the way of God, telling them that her time was short, and they must keep the way of God for themselves.

49. About three days before her decease, Job Bishopt came to

* Meaning that they will never have another dispensation of the gospel after death; because this being the last dispensation of God's grace to man, those who finally reject all its offers, can have no more.

A faithful young believer and laborer among the people, who is now the first elder and father of the church in New Hampshire.

Watervliet, and feeling a great desire to see her once more in the body, she sent for him into her room. She was sitting in her chair; her bodily strength was far exhausted; but her mind was sound, and her spirit firm and solid; but calm and serene. She spoke to him and said, "I shall soon be taken out of this body; but the gospel "will never be taken away from you, if you are faithful. Be not discouraged nor cast down: for God will not leave his people "without a leader. Elder James and Elder Joseph will be left, ' and there will be a great increase of the gifts of God to all who 666 are faithful and obedient. Now you are a young man, and have "received many blessed gifts of God; go, be faithful and zealous; "and when you travel to your lot in the church, all these beautiful gifts will be yours." Job wept, and expressed his sorrowful feelings in parting with her, never expecting to see her any more in this world. "Be of good comfort," said she; "cleave to Elder Joseph; he will be your father, and will take care of you."

50. Thus she continued, as long as her strength remained, to exhort and comfort all who came to see her. She discovered no anxiety for herself; her principal concern seemed to be to encourage her children to persevere in the way of God, to comfort them in their sorrow, and reconcile them to her departure. And altho' her bodily sufferings were great; yet she appeared calm, peaceable and comfortable in spirit, and her usual patience and fortitude appeared conspicuous to the end. She continually grew weaker in body until the 8th of September, between twelve and one o'clock in the morning, when she breathed her last, without a struggle or a groan. Before her departure, she repeatedly told those about her that she was going home. Just before she expired, she said, "I see brother William coming in a glorious chariot to take me home.” Elder John Hocknell, who was greatly gifted in visions, testified that when the breath left her body, he saw in vision a golden chariot, drawn by four white horses, which received and wafted her soul out of his sight.*

The visions, prophecies and revelations mentioned in this work, will perhaps be rejected by an unbelieving world, as the effects of enthusiasm, superstition and fanati cism. But tho' there may be many, even among the professors of Christianity, who, generally speaking, have no faith in such manifestations beyond the comprehension of their natural senses and daily experience; yet this cannot alter the truth nor disannul facts. Therefore, let the sneering unbeliever reflect that the same charge will equally apply to the prophets and saints of all preceding dispensations, who abounded in those gifts. Elijah went up in a fiery chariot, and a cloud received Jesus out of sight. The prophets saw many wonderful visions, and received many revelations, and by divine inspiration, delivered many remarkable prophecies of future events; and who has ever assured man that those who walk in the spirit of Christ, and enjoy communion with the heavenly world, shall not be able to see heavenly visions, and discern spiritual things, and be blessed with spiritual understanding, in this day, as well as under former dispen sations? It is the darkness of a fallen nature which obscures the light of the soul, and the veil of the flesh which shuts celestial scenes from the view of man; but the Spirit of God is "the same yesterday, to-day and forever."

51. Thus departed from this mortal stage, that extraordinary female who was chosen of God to commence, in this latter day, the regeneration of a lost world; in whom Christ, in very deed, appeared the second time without sin unto salvation; whose life of righteousness excited against her the enmity of the wicked, and against whose character the envenomed tongue of slander has never ceased to pour forth its calumnies even to this day. In her the sufferings of Christ appeared conspicuous; in her the righteousness of Christ was clearly manifested to all her faithful followers. In her Christ was revealed the Lord from Heaven, a quickening Spirit; in her was renewed his example of perfect obedience to the will of his heavenly Father; in her was revived the way of life and salvation by the cross, and she plainly taught the impossibility of obtaining it in any other way. In her was first wrought the complete redemption of the female; and through her ministration a way was opened for the restoration of the female character to its proper lot and dignity, from which it had been degraded by the transgression of the first woman.

CHAPTER V.

A short account of the life and character of Elder William Lee.

1. WILLIAM LEE was the fourth son of John Lee, and the brother of Mother Ann Lee. He was born in the town of Manchester, in England, in 1740, and was brought up in the occupation of a blacksmith by his father. He was married, and had one son; and was afterwards an officer of horse in the king's royal guard, belonging to a volunteer regiment called the Oxford Blues.

He

2. In his person he was of a commanding figure, rather above middling height, thick set, large limbs, and strong body. His hair was of a light chesnut brown, his eyes blue, his countenance open and very bold, calculated to inspire confidence and respect. possessed a strong and robust constitution; his voice was strong, clear and sonorous; in short, he was very remarkable for his strength, both of body and mind. In his faith he was firm, zealous and powerful. He feared not the face of man; but was faithful, laborious and persevering in the cause of God. In times of mobs and persecutions he was always undaunted, and often testified against the wickedness of his persecutors with a boldness and confidence which clearly evinced that he was a stranger to the fear of

man.

3. Concerning his first embracing the testimony of the gospel, he gave the following account of himself. That he was a proud, haughty young man, fond of dress and gaiety, and ambitious of honor and fame: that in the midst of his pursuit of worldly glory, he fell under deep conviction of sin. In this state of mind he went to see his sister Ann, who was then a member of the society under the ministry of James and Jane Wardley. When he arrived at his sister's, being very gaily dressed, she reproved him for his pride, showed him his dangerous situation, and greatly increased his convictions. He immediately threw off his ruffles and his silks, and put his hands to work and his heart to God, and faithfully labored to find the forgiveness of his sins and acceptance with God.

4. Concerning some of his religious exercises, in the first of his faith, he gave the following account. "Before I confessed my sins, "I felt great tribulation; and after I had confessed them, I cried to "God, day and night, till I heard an audible voice from Heaven, "saying, William, thy sins are forgiven." He further said, "Mother's testimony was so awakening to my soul, that when I was "at work over my anvil, I sometimes felt so weary that I would "have given any thing if I could have set down and rested myself

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upon my anvil one minute; but I durst not; for I felt my soul, as "it were, upon the point of a needle, and therefore kept my hands "to work, and my soul in continual labor to God. And often when "I went to my meals, I felt so unworthy to put any of the creation " of God into my mouth, that I could not eat, but wept and went back "to my work again.”

5. He further stated, that he frequented the society of James and Jane Wardley; and when he was in tribulation, he sometimes opened his trials and feelings to them, and was encouraged by them; but instead of crying to God for victory over the evil which caused his tribulation, he suffered himself to rest upon their encouragement, which gave him some releasement of mind. But when he returned to his sister again, she would often spoil his comfort by shewing him his real situation, which would again plunge him into deeper tribulation than he had felt before. This made him cry earnestly to God, till he gained releasement for himself, according to her counsel.

6. When Mother Ann received the revelation of God against the flesh, William united with her, and zealously stood forth in her defence against her persecutors. This raised the enmity of his neighbors and acquaintances, who opposed and persecuted him. He frequently suffered abuse from mobs and persecutors, and some of the scars which he received from the wicked, in consequence of his faith and testimony, he carried with him through life. He once received a stroke upon his head, from a mob, with an iron fire-hook, which fractured his skull; he fell apparently dead, and bled profusely. But

he was evidently supported by divine power, and the wicked, with all their abuses, were never able to overcome his faith, nor suppress his testimony.

7. He passed through many scenes of suffering, both of body and soul, and seemed destined, through the whole course of his faith, to suffer for the gospel's sake. Tho' in his creation he was a man of remarkable strength of body, as well as of fortitude of mind; yet such was often the degree of his sufferings, that he has been, in a short time, reduced to the weakness of a child, through excess of sufferings. But he was often suddenly released by the power of God, and often had his soul instantly filled with heavenly songs of joy and comfort. It is asserted by those who were intimately acquainted with him during the whole period of his ministry in America, that he was truly a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;”that he was indeed an apostle in sufferings; and that, at times, when he was released from sufferings, he was often filled with such fulness of heavenly joy, that his soul seemed to be in the mansions of glory.

8. Elder William's soul was greatly enriched with the gifts of God, in visions, revelations, and other divine manifestations; and he abounded in mercy, love and charity; but possessed a very powerful spirit, and maintained a swift testimony against all sin. Tho' he seldom spoke much in public; yet he was eminently useful in teaching, encouraging and strengthening the believers under all their trials and difficulties. He was remarkable for tenderness of heart, and would often weep like a child, for the sufferings and afflictions of God's people. In tears he often expressed his great thankfulness for the gospel, and for the gifts and blessings of God, both in things spiritual and temporal. So feelingly alive was his soul to the goodness and mercy of God, even for the smallest benefits, that he has been observed, when going to wash himself, to weep and say, "I thank Heaven for this water; for it is the blessing of "Heaven."

9. Many times when he sat down to his meals, he would express his thankfulness with tears in his eyes, for the goodness of God in providing these temporal blessings for the comfort and support of life. One day at Ashfield, as he was going to sit down to the table with a number of young believers, he spoke and said, "I fear that you are not so thankful as you ought to be for the good things "that God provides for you; but you will eat and drink of these precious things, and not consider from whence they come. The "sin of ingratitude is a great sin; see that you are not guilty of it. "I often eat my food with thankfulness and tears, every mouthful I eat." They sat down, and Elder William's tears flowed, with