people, saying, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people; and behold, I have examined him before the council,

133. And I have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accused him.

134. For when ye took the adulterous woman before him, he said, Those that are without sin, cast the first stone upon her.

135. That was not saying that the whole nation was guilty of the same act; but those that were without sin of any kind, cast a stone upon her.

136. And as your conscience smote you with sin, ye have brought this man before me, and I have found nothing worthy of death.

137. And as he was born within Herod's jurisdiction, we sen him to be tried within his council; and he sent him back to me, saying, We accused and scourged him, but withal found no fault in him worthy of death.

138. The multitude then cried with a loud voice, saying, Crucify him, crucify him; for he hath perverted the nation with his sinful deeds.

139. But Pilate was unwilling to give him into their hands, and said again, What evil hath he done worthy of death? he has been chastised within Herod's council; why not let him go free? he is not guilty of death, and our law will not justify the act.

140. But the high-priests came forth, saying, Crucify him, crucify him, and release unto us Barabbas, the murderer.

141. For he is more worthy of life than this man, who perverteth the souls of a great multitude unto eternal damnation.

142. But, said Pilate, you can not find that he has done an evil; you have accused him of laying plans to overthrow the government, by say ing he was born King of the Jews.

143. But he has not said to the people that he was born king, or ever wished to be king, over your earthly laws; for he told you he was born king, or superior governor, over their spiritual minds.

144. And they all cried with a loud voice, saying, For this he shall be crucified; away with him, and give us Barabbas; for he has not deceived us by saying he was the Son of God.

145. And as for this Jesus, the son of Joseph, the poor carpenter, we do not believe in his miracles or his godly power.

146. For if he was the Son of God, he would have a legion of angels to protect him from our hands; but instead of receiving assistance from heaven, his disciples (that have been following him from place to place, and calling him master) have all forsaken him.

147. And he has form and features like those of any man; and we are unable to see any appearance of a God-like man.

148. Pilate spoke again, saying, It is not in our law to punish a man without we find in his conduct an act that is worthy of death.

149. And if we put him to death without a cause, his blood will be upon us and our children.

150. Then answered the multitude of minds, Let his blood be upon us and our children; we will crucify him.

151. And if you do not release Barabbas, and give us the so-called Christ, we will take him by force; for he shall be crucified.

152. As soon as Pilate heard these words, he knew he could have no influence upon their determined will.

153. And to prevent the multitude from rushing in upon the officers and rulers of the government, he led Christ forth, and said again, I wish you to remember that I say in this man's conduct I have found nothing worthy of death,

154. And I will not have his blood upon me; thus saying, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude.

155. For Christ was covered with blood from being scourged; and as Pilate took him by the hand to lead him forth, the blood gushed forth upon his hand.

156. And washing the blood from his hands before the multitude was to show he refused to take any part in crucifying a man he did not condemn.

157. But they were so agitated in mind, they did not notice the act; and as soon as Barabbas was released unto them, they scourged him and

let him go.

158. Then, taking Christ by force, they led him away, mocking and scourging him with any thing they could get in their hands, because he had not been condemned by the law.

159. They thought he ought to be punished before his death by the multitude; then they spit upon him; then plaited a crown of thorns, and placed it upon his head, saying, Hail! King of the Jews!

160. Why not now call your legions of angels to protect and take you from our hands? why receive this treatment if thou be the Son of God?

161. And as he did not answer or give a murmur, they began to fear within their own minds.

162. And as they were leading him away to be crucified, his follow

ers in wisdom sought him, saying, Master, what hast thou done that thou shouldst be crucified?

163. And as he looked upon their faces, he saw they were weeping, and he said unto them with a smile,

164. O daughters of Jerusalem, and masters of the law! weep not for me; but weep for yourselves and for your children.

165. For the time will shortly come when you will say, Blessed is the womb that never bare, and the paps that never gave suck.

166. For great tribulation will shortly come upon this people; and they will hide their heads, and call upon the rocks and hills to cover them from their thoughts of guilt.

167. And at that time you will see great tribulation from my enemies; for if they destroy me, they will seek to destroy my followers,

168. That they may rid themselves of those that have learned my wisdom, for fear it will brighten and grow with a power that will overcome their ignorance and evil, and they will be brought to the light.

169. But forgive them; for they know not what they do. At the time of their death they will see the legions of angels, and also the right hand of justice that is with me'; but now they are not able to see through their ignorance.

CHAPTER LVI.

1. WHEN the multitude heard these words, they trembled with fear; for they felt as if the same hand of justice was grasping them, and saying, Thou art guilty of taking innocent blood.

2. But as they had all things ready for his crucifixion, the priests and officers were in great haste to have their work accomplished;

3. And they placed Christ upon the cross, driving spikes of wood through his hands and feet; then raising the cross in the heavens, where the heat from the sun could beat down upon him,

4. And where he could see all they did, they parted his garments, that were covered with blood, saying, Hail, King of the Jews, save thyself.

5. And they wrote a superscription in letters, which read, This man is the King of the Jews, and placed it upon his forehead.

6. Then they placed the malefactors upon a cross, in like manner as they did Christ,

7. Putting one upon the right, and the other upon the left of Christ, saying, The guilty shall die together.

8. The guilty malefactor upon the left hand said unto Christ, If thou be the Son of God, why not save thyself and us?

9. For we are all condemned of guilt before your God, and with guilt we must die together.

10. But the man upon the right rebuked him, saying, Not so; you and I are guilty, and we must die to receive the reward of our evil deeds.

II. But as for this man, I heard Pilate say he was not guilty; and as he is not guilty, I know he will look upon us with pity when he shall enter the kingdom, where he will receive the blessings of God, which he deserves;

12. For no man could endure the punishment that he has received since he came among these evil-doers, without giving a murmur, without God or His holy angels be with him.

13. Christ, seeing the man's faults, and the sentiments he uttered,

said, In truth, I will remember thee, and give thee instructions when we shall have passed from darkness into light.

14. When the high-priests heard those words, they pierced them with arrows, saying, Thou that hast been guilty unto death, railing upon us! a few hours will bring the death that thou deservest.

15. And death will tell thee the laws of Mosses, that thou hast disobeyed, and art condemned to die by his law.

16. The clouds that had begun to collect before Christ was placed upon the cross, continued to collect with great rapidity, and the heavens were darkened, and all began to feel gloomy;

17. For they had never experienced an hour of darkness at the time of crucifying their guilty, before that day, and they felt as if God was reprimanding them for spilling innocent blood.

18. And the thousands of Christ's followers (that had come from a far-off country to meet at Jerusalem upon their feast-day) saw Christ hanging upon a cross, surrounded by officers armed with weapons, and they could not approach him.

19. And they all wept, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Master, what hast thou done deserving death? If thou art alive, speak unto us, that we may know?

20. And as he was nearly exhausted from the loss of blood, he could not answer; but looking upon them, that they should know he felt their sympathy, he saw Mary, his mother, and Mary Magdalene, (the woman the Pharisees acc used of adultery,) weeping with a heart-rending sympathy.

21. And as he received their feeling of pure affection, he spoke with a feeble voice, saying, My God! my God! why not let me die, and get away from this place of gloom?

22. Those that were standing near by heard his voice, and believed he was calling his angels to come to his assistance.

23. But as they did not see the angels coming, they concluded he was asking for a drink, as was natural for all that had hung upon the cross in the sun.

24. And they took their sponge, (that was attached to a reed,) and gave him a drink; and as soon as he drank from the sponge, his spirit left the body.

25. But this was not known to the officers, for they kept watching his countenance, to see the expression of his countenance when his life should depart from his body.

26. But they continued to watch his countenance until the rain and