A BAPTISM AND A CONVERSATION ON MARRIAGE.

It will be remembered that on the evening of Mr. Durant's speech in the Town Hall at Westminster, an old lady came to him at the close of the meeting and whispered a "God bless you" to him. The truths uttered by him had made a deep impression upon her and were working to bear fruit. She had now made application to be baptized, convinced, as she was, of the truths of the gospel, and that this servant of God was authorized, by direct calling from Him through revelation, to perform the solemn ceremony. It was agreed, therefore, that the baptism should take place on an afternoon some time before the day of his departure to his home in the West.

He made it a point to obtain a conversation with the lady, and show to her the importance of the step she was about to take. It is no simple or indifferent affair. It is a contract with God, fraught with wonderful results, to the person who makes it, that will either lead to rich blessings or to condemnation. When one man makes a contract with another, the breaker of such a contract must be willing to suffer the ignominy attending his deceit. In baptism, the subject makes a solemn vow with his Creator, and, rising from the waters in which he is buried in the likeness of the death of Christ, he should thenceforth walk in newness of life, and should not serve sin. He is made free from sin, and becomes a servant to God, he has his fruit unto holiness and the end is everlasting life. (Romans vi.)

The earnestness of the new convert's faith and repentance was inquired into, and it was pointed out to her that she should prepare herself to receive the testimony of the Spirit, which is made known to different individuals in different ways not always by unusual manifestations, but frequently by the calm self-consciousness of peace that comes from a performance of righteous acts, in which the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, heirs and joint heirs with Christ. We must not look for approval from friends, relatives or people of the world, in taking this step, but be prepared to suffer with Christ that we may be also glorified with Him, and exclaim with Paul: "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom. viii: 18.) Like Christ, one must bear the cross upon the lone way, full of hope, confidence and zeal, knowing that the end is everlasting life.

Having said this much, and given many other incidental instructions, that would thoroughly impress the new convert with the sacredness and importance of the step about to be taken, Mr. Durant, members of the Marshall family, and a number of strangers, anxious to witness the ceremony, made their way, on a pleasant afternoon, to a beautiful wood where a stream wound its clear, slow waters in fantastic forms to empty into one of the large rivers. The autumn tints, the sun casting its warm influence to the earth through the gray atmosphere, the rustle of the wind in the falling leaves, and the beauty of nature all around, made the scene grand and romantic. Some who had gone along to make sport of the "Mormon baptism," were awed into strange silence by the beauty of the scene, and by the solemnity and scripture-like simplicity of the ceremony. After a word of prayer had been offered, in which Mr. Durant invoked the blessings of God upon the ordinance about to be performed, and asked that all disturbing spirits might be banished, he took the lady by the hand and waded with her out into the water, and, in the stillness which followed (those upon the shore unconsciously remaining uncovered), he was heard to say, as he held the old lady's hands in his left, and raised his right hand into the air: "Julia Howard, having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

Then he immersed her in the water, and both came forth again out of the water.

The company soon dispersed, and upon arrival at her home, the new convert was confirmed, she preferring this to having that ordinance performed upon the water's edge, which is frequently done. Mr. Durant placed his hands upon her head, and by virtue of his calling and authority, confirmed her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and, in the manner of the apostles of old, bestowed upon her the gift of the Holy Ghost which he promised should be a light to her all her days.

The Elder was about to leave, having welcomed the new member and congratulated her upon the step she had taken, when he was somewhat surprised by a remark she made in which she expressed a desire to gather with the Saints.

The spirit of gathering had already rested upon her, and he explained to her the importance of this principle of the gospel. The Father desires that His children shall be gathered in unto one place where their hearts shall be prepared against the day when tribulation and desolation shall come upon the wicked. The Psalmist referred to this subject and exclaimed: "Gather my Saints together who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." (Ps. 1: 5.) Isaiah, looking to the future, saw that in the last days the mountain of the Lord's house should be established in the tops of the mountains to which all nations should go. (Isaiah ii: 2.) Here the Lord was to give them one heart, and make an everlasting covenant with them. (Isaiah xxxii: 37-44.) And in that day the Lord should set His hand again the second time to recover the remnants of His people. (Isaiah xi: 11-16.) John, the revelator, saw this time, and heard a voice from heaven saying: "Come out of her [Babylon] my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Rev. xviii: 4.) It was, therefore, in strict accordance with the scriptures that she should have the desire to gather, as well as that the Saints should have an assembling place where they might learn to walk in the paths of God more strictly than in the world. There are ordinances, too, to be performed in the holy temples, for the living and the dead, that cannot be done elsewhere. It is not well, however, that this act of gathering should be considered thoughtlessly and in haste, but rather with deliberation and careful forethought.

In the conversation, Elder Durant had incidentally remarked, that marriage was not only for time but also for all eternity. The newly wedded couple, Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland, who had remained to witness the confirmation, were naturally interested in this, and the subject was further inquired into by them.

"What is the belief of the Latter-day Saints in relation to marriage?" said Mr. Sutherland.

"We believe," said Durant, "that marriage is ordained of God, and is binding for eternity, when properly performed by a servant of God having authority."

"Then it would appear that you believe in the family relation continuing throughout eternity?"

"Certainly, why not? Everything that is done by the Lord receives the impress of eternity. That being the case, marriage, being sanctioned and ordained of Him, is also eternal if performed by one having power as the ancient apostles had, to bind on earth and it should be bound in heaven. It then becomes a work of God, and, as the Preacher exclaims: 'I know that whatsoever God doeth it shall be forever; nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it.' (Eccles. iii: 14.) Can you think of anything more comforting than that the loving ties formed in this world are to endure through out the ages of eternity?"

"It is certainly more pleasant than to dwell upon a union that shall last only 'till death do you part;' but what proofs have you that your view of the matter is correct?"

"In the first marriage that was ever performed, when the Creator joined together Adam and Eve as the parents of the human race, we have no record of its being done to last only 'till death do you part,' and we do not learn that He set any limit to the continuance of their marriage relations. Why should we doubt that the gift of Eve to Adam, was designed to be eternal? They were married before the Fall, before death came into the world. They were eternal beings not subject to death; death was not considered when God gave her to be his companion and helpmeet. Why then should we conclude that death should void the contract or separate them any more than that it should destroy the spirit? If their spirits could be restored with resurrected bodies, why should not the eternal work of God in joining them as one remain unbroken? The whole second chapter of Genesis breathes the spirit of everlasting union between Adam and Eve. In the eighteenth verse we are told by the Lord that, 'it is not good that the man should be alone.' Adam, the man, was created an eternal being, and when God said that it was not good for him to be alone, we must conclude it was not good that he should be alone in immortality; so the Lord gave him Eve for no particular period of his life, but evidently, as she was also an eternal being, to be his wife forever the union to last as long as they should last eternally."

"That seems reasonable, and it is a pleasant hope you have," said Claire.

"With us it is more than a hope; it is knowledge. There are other passages of scripture which bear upon the inseparable connection between man and wife, in marriage as ordained of God. Paul (Eph. v: 22) says: 'The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the Church.' Christ remains forever the head of the Church, and even so the husband remains the head of the wife eternally."

"What do you mean by saying 'in marriage as ordained of God?' Is not all marriage ordained of Him?" said Mr. Sutherland.

"By marriage as ordained of God, I mean marriage performed in the way He has appointed, by a man whom He has authorized to act in His stead. What man does of himself, without authority from God, must be like him limited to this life. Now, like the authority to baptize, this authority to marry in the way God has ordained, must come by revelation from Him, for no man can take these honors to himself. To find this authority, we must look for it among a people who believe in revelation, and not among churches who declare that the heavens are sealed, and that no further revelation is necessary."