466 A FEW WORDS ON TITHING. to see and comprehend the goodness and wisdom exhibited in the government of God. That a better understanding of this subject may be gained, let us ask and answer a few plain, simple questions. And 1st, What is Tithing? In its primary and Scriptural sense, the tenth part of anything, or in other words, the INTEREST which the Lord requires for the life use of the property lent by him to man. From this answer it will be observed that Tithing or interest is due to the Lord, not only from the Saints, but from all men, whether Saints or sinners. 2nd. Is the law of Tithing a new one, or peculiar to this the last dispensation? No, it dates from as high antiquity as the Gospel itself; and in every age when the Lord has had a recognized people on the earth, it has been taught to and obeyed by them, and it will continue to be as long as the Gospel power is require to save. 3rd. Is the Lord poor and needy, that he asks for Tithes of all people? No, for the earth and all things therein are his. 4th. Why, then, does he demand Tithing, and require it to be paid? For the same reason that he requires obedience to every other principle of the Gospel-viz., the benefit of the creature, man. 5th. What benefit will result by obedience to this law? The Lord has said, "He that is tithed shall not be burned." (Doc. and Cov., sec. xxi, par. 5.) And again, "And shall observe this law, or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you." (Sec. cvii, par. 2.) Again, the Lord speaking to Israel by the Prophet Malachi, charges them with infidelity, and calls them robbers, even the whole nation, because they paid not their tithes. He afterwards entreated of them to obey this law, and promised if they would comply with its requirements, that he would pour them out a blessing that there should not be room enough to contain it. A further promise, great and precious, he makes to them, "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruits before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts." It is also recorded, "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." (Proverbs iii, 9, 10.) Saints! are these blessings desirable? They are attainable. 6th. In what is Tithing to be paid? In kind, or in what the increase consists of. "And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly." (2 Chron. xxxi, 5.) By a compliance with the requirements of this law, the means necessary to build TEMPLES to our God are obtained, wherein, only, many of the ordinances of the Gospel can be performed, and the blessings consequent thereon obtained. Saints! do you wish to be participators in these blessings? Then use the means by which the right is secured. These are some of the resulting benefits. We will mention one more; it is this, it draws the line of demarkation between the honest and the dishonest, for the law leaves it with the subject to say what the amount of his Tithing is. It therefore makes him the judge of his own case. Thus circumstanced, vile indeed is that person who would render an unrighteous judgment, and of such well might it be said, "Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me.' The whole world are at the present time under the curse, because they are using the Lord's property without rendering to him the Tithing or interest thereon, which it is his right to demand and have. 7th. When is this interest or Tithing to be paid, and for what period? In the times of thine increase, in the times of thine ingathering, year by year throughout all thy generations forever. A FEW WORDS ON TITHING. one-tenth of the property we then possessed. After this our Tithing is paid on the interest or increase of the remaining nine-tenths. For example, A, when he entered the Church, was possessed of £100. On this he owed £10, which as an honest man he paid. He had £90 left. By the use of this £90 he gained £20. This £20 is increase on which he owes as Tithing £2, and will pay it unless he become dishonest and a robber before God. This, by some, may be considered rather strong language, but it is such as the Lord used towards Israel when they paid not their Tithes; and if we pay not our Tithes, in this respect we are not unlike what Israel were. 10th. Who are required to pay Tithes? All men. They who pay it willingly and honestly will secure to themselves the favor of God; his blessings will be poured out on them; in six troubles he will be with them, and in seven he will not forsake them. They will become the FRIENDS of God, and, with Jesus Christ, heirs to the kingdom of the Father. Those who will not comply with this requirement, will bring on themselves the Lord's displeasure, will secure their banishment from his presence, and will stay the hand that would strew their pathway with every good. The Lord is the adversary of all such; therefore let this exhortation be sounded in their ears," Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." 11th. Where can the revelation on Tithing be found? In the book of Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii. Read this revelation all ye professing Saints, and from this time henceforth, for shame, let not the words pass the lips of any, "I did not know that to pay Tithes was a standing law in the Church." 12th. Do all professing Saints pay Tithes? No, they do not. Some pay all the Tithing they honestly owe, and reap the benefits. There are others who pay a small portion of what is 467 their honest Tithe, but who, Ananias and Saphira like, seek to defraud the Lord out of the remaining portion. Henceforth let all deal righteously with their God, and he will bless them with means whereby they may be gathered to the land of Zion. Others still there are who pay no Tithing. These seek to justify themselves, some on the plea of poverty, others of indebtedness to their fellow-men. These should bear in mind this fact, the Lord requires of them nothing but what they can do. Speaking solely from a temporal point of view, the poor of all others should obey the law of Tithing, that they might claim the fulfilment of the promise-I will multiply thy substance on thee exceedingly, I will bless thy bread and thy water, and I will take away sickness from the midst of thee. Those indebted, also, should pay their due to the Lord, so shall they retain the Lord as their friend, who will assist them in their times of need. There is still another class, many of whom do not pay Tithes; of this, are the rich in the things of this world, but extremely poor in spirit. They cannot pay Tithes because the amount thereof is too great; they cannot afford to pay so much. Let such remember that no punishmerts of heaven are so severe as those for mercies abused; let them also beware lost their riches take to themselves the wings of the morning and fly away. There are to be found some among the Elders who endeavor to palliate the neglect on the part of the people to pay Tithing, on the plea that such are poor. To one and all let it be said Those who do not pay Tithes are not so poor in purse as they are poor in spirit, and if they do not awake to duty, poverty will be their portion they will be found unworthy to be numbered among the Saints; they will apostatize. Hear it all ye pro fessing Saints in Zion and throughout the world, They will apostatize, saith the Lord. This is a gathering dispen sation, and with but very few ex ceptions, all professing Saints desire to gather with the Lord's people in the land of Zion. There is also ano ther fact which it will be well to bear in mind, it is this: that while this is a 468 SLIGHTLY T'OTHER WAY. gathering dispensation, the Lord desires to gather such only as are honest at heart. Those who will be dishonest with the Lord here, will be dishonest with the Lord there, except they repent, for should such go to Zien, they would be sure to take themselves with them. Some may perhaps infer that we would concentrate all the saving power of the Gospel in, and make the reception of all blessings consequent on, the one act of paying our Tithing. We answer, No. There are many other duties we have to perform; but we will add, that those who will honestly pay their Tithing, will perform every other duty which the Gospel enjoins, for money is the great stumbling block in the way of life, and the love thereof the root of all evil. Again, Tithing may be regarded as the revenue of the kingdom of God. This being the case, it becomes at once the duty of every loyal citizen of that kingdom to aid, in proportion to his means, in its maintenance, and in the faithful administration of its laws and ordinances. It is written, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." True as this may be, we will reverse the statement, and when reversed it constitutes a rule without an exception. When reversed it will read, Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also," for if it is with us at heart, "the kingdom of God or nothing," we will devote not only our Tithing, but ALL THAT WE POSSESS, together with ourselves, to its interest and support. We have perhaps said enough on this subject, at least for the present. But before we close our remarks, let us exhort the Saints that henceforth they look not on the paying of their Tithes as a duty or requirement only, but as a VERY GREAT PRIVILEGE; for by paying your Tithes and neglecting not the weightier matters of the Gospel, you will make the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit your friends, and having so done, when ye shall fail in mortality, They will receive you into everlasting habitations. A. MINER. SLIGHTLY TOTHER WAY. Some people, who ought to know better, of course they had, seem to be very fond of charging the inhabitants of this Territory with seeking and inciting to a conflict with the general governmeut. This charge in various styles and colors comes from penny-aliners who visit Utah, from speculators and other evil disposed persons, with whom the wish is father to the thought, from editors of newspapers and other journals, from makers of books and would-be makers of literary reputations and fortunes, from members of legislatures and members of the judiciary, in short, from all sorts of official, would-be official, and non-official people, who are either careless or malicious in what they say about the "Mor our misfortune to be chronically inclined, we must say that it has always appeared to us that the "Mormon" people have taken especial pains, not only to conduct themselves without deserved reproach, but to pursue an extremely conciliatory course, in order, if possible, to live peaceably, righteously, and godly in this present evil world, and we certainly are not blind, cross-eyed, nor near-sighted, neither do we see double. We do not know any more peaceable pursuit than agriculture, to which the major portion of our citizens are devoted. That pursuit is far less conducive to brawls, to inciting conflicts with the general government or any other body, than is gold digging, or the pursuit of politics, or gambling, or loafing, or office seeking. It may be urged that some hard things have been said in Utah of some officials of the government. Very likely, and perhaps those government SLIGHTLY TOTHER WAY. 469 people to feed thousands of weary emigrants, pilgrims to the land of gold, and to feed the neighboring Territories, to set them on their feet, to give them a fair start in Territorial life? For several of these neighboring Territories would scarcely have been heard of yet, had it not been for the "Mormon" bread and butter with which their people have been supplied. We think it a most indubitable sign of a strong desire to avoid the possibility of any conflict with the general officials have deserved to have some hard things said of them, and something done against them too-eh! If none of our citizens have spoken sharply of some public officials, then our citizens are no true Christians, are no true Americans, are no lovers of liberty and all that. For we take it that this is a land of freedom-in fact, we have heard so quite a number of times, and that in these United States public men and public measures are proper subjects for public criticismthat such criticism has a healthy ten-government, for the "Mormons" to dency. come all this long way into the untrodden desert, and pitch their humble tents by the waters of the Salt Lake. It may be said that our people teach and practise polygamy. What if they do? That is virtuous, honorable, manlv. People in all other parts of the Union are given to different practices, of the most damnable and degrading kind, which our people are not. The citizens of Utah set a good and healthy example by marrying their women, preserving them as decent and honorable women, wives and mothers, whereas in other parts of the Union, if the truth were really known, probably one Very likely some public men and some public measures have been sharply criticized in Utah; but if there have been said in this Territory, concerning the general government or individual officials, things a tithe as bitter as what are daily spoken and printed all over the Union, then our understanding is at fault. One reason for this condition is, if government or government officials do anything which our citizens consider culpable, they are apt to speak their minds about it, and then go on with their particular business, whereas to find fault with, condemn, and often abuse the govern-half, certainly a very large portion, of ment, or a part of it, is the only or chief thing many people in other parts of the Union can find to do. There are politicians and newspapers in the States which will say harder things of the government and of certain government officials in a week, than will be heard in Utah in a generation, else we are greatly mistaken. 66 But, as words are but wind," let us come to deeds. Was it seeking a conflict with the government when the "Mormon” people retired from the various States to Ohio, from Ohio to Missouri, from Missouri to Illinois, from Illinois to this barren, arid, inhospitable valley of the Great Salt Lake Was it seeking a conflict with the government for our people to help conquer for the Union the Territory west of Texas and the Black Hills? Is it seeking a conflict with the government for our people to redeem these parched valleys from the grasp of sterility and grasshoppers, and convert them into flourishing gardens, and orchards, and farms? Was it seeking a conflict with the government for our the women are in that degraded condition which humbles a true woman into the dust, which is a crying disgrace to the nation, and which bespeaks anything but true manliness on the part of the men, for we hold that a man who will degrade a woman in her own esteem, or in the estimation of the community, is no man, albeit he may be an M.C., a Governor, a General, or even a learned Judge. Such a fellow shrinks from the responsibilities and abuses the privileges of manhood, and therefore has no right to them, but that which was designed to be a blessing to him should be placed beyond his reach, and given to somebody who is worthy, and let the transgressor go the downward path alone. Instead of our people seeking a conflict with the government, it is far more apparent that the government seeks a conflict with our people; or rather, if we must speak the unadulterated truth, that certain persons seek to incite the government to a conflict with the people of this Territory.— Salt Lake Daily Telegraph. 470 LOSS OF SHIPS IN THE WHITE SEA. LOSS OF SHIPS IN THE WHITE SEA. After running down to the S. W. end of the opening, all the ships took the pack, with their bows to the southward, and keeping sail upon them to drive them into the pack for better safety. It will be remembered that a short | ashore. time since great numbers of vessels became encompassed in icepacks in the White Sea, and that several ships were lost. The subjoined interesting account is from the pen of Captain Thomas Herald, of the barque Albania, of Dundee : We made the ice on the 12th June, between Nagel and Sweetnose, ten miles off shore. Got up as far as Sweetnose with clear water, and ice lying in patches, and there we were detained with S.E. winds, and ice coming down, until the 15th. The wind veering round, and a passage opening along the Lapland shore, and drift ice coming down upon us from the N.W., were very happy to get out of our difficulty by entering this, which proved to be a sad trap for me. We got along this way as far as Catchcove Point about half way between Orlofka | and Gorodetzki; where the ice was blocking the channel up. After lying to for some time, the ice again opened, and the Verona steamer coming up, she entered the drift ice, and we all followed suit the Sirocco, Avon, and Albania taking the lead. After being well entered it fell calm, and suddenly off from the land came a heavy squall, catching us; and we had not room to manoeuvre the ship for ice. Some were caught aback, making their position very dangerous. The Albania, in veering, had either to run into the Avon caught aback, or take the ice. We took the least evil, and then tumbled and tossed about, destroying the copper very much, the ice not being packed enough to keep her lying still. On Tuesday morning, the ice clearing away again off the land, the fleet proceeded onward, coning their way through the drift ice, until reaching Donilow (a small rocky isle), when the headmost vessels commenced shortening sail and heaving to, and others anchoring. The vessels which anchored had to heave up again, being pursued by the drift ice from the N.E., so that there were only two ways to get ut of the danger-either to force a passage or take the pack, or be driven Whilst this was going on, it was interesting to see the different manner some of the vessels were handled, especially those the captains of which had never before been amongst ice. Some were sailing into the pack with their sails aback, and shaking in case they should injure their bows. A schooner simply entered and tried to back off again, when I called to him "Give it to her" (i.e., use more sail). He asked, "Is that good? have you known that done before !" My reply was, Certainly." "Then that is good," he said, and pushed her into the pack with a will. But when he asked, after being for the time in safety, "What time he should get out again," I said I could not tell him, but to put his trust in Providence. Poor fellow, I think his ship went down next day. About seven in the evening of Tuesday the sight was beautiful-the fleet all lying quiet, with their heads to the southward, nearly in line, as if ranged so under the eye of a strict admiral, ready for a contending foe. All went well with us until next morning (Wednesday) at four a.m., when the tide turned. Then the vessels got all canted in different directions, some falling into tiers, others athwart hawse of one another; then the smash commenced-masts and yards breaking, jibbooms carried away, &c. We got foul of a Norwegian barque, carrying away foretopgallantmast, and then parted, very thankful that there was nothing worse. The steamer got into a tier with six or seven together. The rest of the fleet fared much the same way, and many too near the land were driven ashore by the tide at low water. I counted at this time 22 on shore, and five sinking; five on a reef at Pialitsa Creek, with little chance of recovery, their crews getting provisions on shore, and rigging tents there-the |