of their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honors. And now, to prove ourselves worthy of the liberty conferred on us by them, in the providence of God, we do agree to be governed by such laws as shall perpetuate these high privileges, of which we know ourselves to be the rightful possessors, and of which privileges wicked and designing men have tried to deprive us, by all manner of evil, and that purely in consequence of the tenacity we have manifested in the discharge of our duty towards our God, who had given us those rights and privileges, and a right in common with others, to dwell on this land. But we, not having the privileges of others allowed unto us, have determined, like unto our fathers, to resist tyranny, whether it be in kings or in the people. It is all alike unto us. Our rights we must have, and our rights we shall have, in the name of Israel's God.

"Art. 1. All power belongs originally and legitimately to the people, and they have a right to dispose of it as they shall deem fit; but, as it is inconvenient and impossible to convene the people in all cases, the legislative powers have been given by them, from time to time, into the hands of a representation composed of delegates from the people themselves. This is and has been the law, both in civil and religious bodies, and is the true principle.

"Art. 2. The executive power shall be vested in the President of the whole Church, and his Councillors.

"Art. 3. The legislative powers shall reside in the President and his Councillors together, and with the Generals and Colonels of the society. By them all laws shall be made regulating the society.

"Art. 4. All offices shall be during life and good behavior, or to be regulated by the law of God.

"Art. 5. The society reserves the power of electing its own officers, with the exception of the Aids and Clerks which the officers may need in their various stations; the nomination to go from the Presidency to his second, and from the second to the third in rank, and so down through all the various grades. Each branch or department retains the power of electing its own particular officers.

Art. 6. Punishment shall be administered to the guilty in accordance to the offence; and no member shall be punished without law, or by any others than those appointed by law for that purpose. The legislature shall have power to make laws regulating punishments, as, in their judgments, shall be wisdom and righteousness.

"Art. 7. There shall be a Secretary, whose business it shall be to keep all the legislative records of the society; also to keep a register of the names of every member of the society; also the rank of the officers. He shall also communicate the laws to the Generals, as directed by laws made for the regulation of such business by the legislature.

"Art. 8. All officers shall be subject to the commands of the Captain-General, given through the Secretary of War; and so all officers shall be subject to their superiors in rank, according to laws made for that purpose."

The oath by which the Danites were bound in Missouri, is as follows:

"In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I do solemnly obligate myself ever to conceal, and never to reveal, the secret purposes of this society, called the Daughter of Zion. Should I ever do the same, I hold my life as the forfeiture."

This obligation was, however, subsequently altered, in a secret council of the Inquisition at Nauvoo, so as to read, —

"In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I do solemnly obligate myself ever to regard the Prophet, and First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, as the Supreme Head of the Church on Earth, and to obey them in all things the same as the Supreme God; that I will stand by my brethren in danger or difficulty, and will uphold the Presidency, right or wrong: and that I will ever conceal, and never reveal, the secret purposes of this society, called the Daughter of Zion. Should I ever do the same, I hold my life as the forfeiture, in a caldron of boiling oil."

Those who belonged to the society when under its old organization, but refused to take the new oath, were, together with those whose fidelity was doubtful, absolved from the Missouri obligation. But to the faithful of the band, and to about twelve hundred new members, the Nauvoo oath was administered by Joe Smith in person. While the candidate was yet kneeling before the altar, after having taken the oath, the Holy Prophet, assisted by Hyrum Smith, the Patriarch of the Church, and George Miller, the President of the High Priest's Quorum, approached, and said,

the

"In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and by the authority of the Holy Priesthood, we, the First President, Patriarch, and High Priest, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, representing the First, Second, and Third Gods in Heaven, Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, - do now anoint you with holy, consecrated oil, and by the imposition of our hands, do ordain, consecrate, and set you apart, for the holy calling, whereunto you are called; that you may consecrate the riches of the Gentiles to the House of Israel, bring swift destruction upon apostate sinners, and execute the decrees of Heaven, without fear of what man can do unto you. So mote it be. Amen."

It will be perceived from the above, that the Danites are solemnly bound, under penalty of forfeiting their lives in a horrid manner, to obey and execute the decrees of the Mormon leaders, whether the latter are right or wrong! No matter if they are commanded to commit treason, murder, arson, burglary, perjury, or any crime whatever; do it

they must, or violate their oath, and forfeit, in consequence, their life. And, in fact, all these crimes have been committed by them, in maný instances, no doubt, under the impression that they were doing God service! So grossly has the Prophet deluded his miserable followers!

That they make no scruple whatever to commit perjury, when deemed requisite for the welfare of their Church, or of its priests and chief men, is abundantly proved, not only by the atrocious falsehoods they have propagated about me, falsehoods so gross as to be almost unworthy of notice or refutation, but by the testimony given before Judge King, of Missouri, and published in 1841, by order of the General Assembly of that State; which testimony affords ample proof, that the Mormons of the Danite Order had no hesitation in committing the most barefaced perjuries, when they could thereby advance the interests of their rulers. This is particularly shown in the testimony of Colonel George M. Hinkle, T. C. Burch, Esq., Fanny Brewer, and others, which I have copied into this work.

Now, what material difference is there between this Joseph Smith and the leader of a band of highway robbers, or the captain of a crew of pirates? Does not the Mormon deserve more utter condemnation than either the bandit or the buccaneer, inasmuch as his wickedness is upon a more extensive scale, and is perpetrated in the name of religion and of the Most High God, thus blaspheming and desecrating the holiest names and objects to the vilest and most atrocious purposes?

The number of Danites is now about two thousand, or two thousand five hundred, and, as I before observed, they are drawn from the "huge paws" of the Mormon Church.

DESTROYING ANGEL.

From the élite of the Danites, or Daughter of Zion, twelve men are selected, who are called Destructives, or Destroying Angel, and sometimes Flying Angel. Their

duty is to act as spies, and watch the movements of all persons, both Saints and Gentiles, and to report all that they hear and observe to the First Presidency, as circumstances may require.

This band was at first called only "Destructives," or "Destructionists," and their leader or captain the "Destroying Angel;" but in time, the latter appellation was given to the whole body. They are bound by the following oath:

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"In the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, I do covenant and agree to support the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in all things, right or wrong; I will faithfully guard them, and report to them the acts of all men, as far as in my power lies; I will assist in executing all the decrees of the First President, Patriarch or President of the Twelve; and that I will cause all who speak evil of the Presidency, or Heads of the Church, to die the death of dissenters and apostates, unless they speedily confess and repent; for pestilence, persecution, and death, shall follow the enemies of Zion. I will be a swift herald of salvation, and messenger of peace to the Saints, and I will never make known the secret purposes of this society, called the DESTROYING ANGEL, my life being the forfeiture in a fire of burning tar and brimstone. So help me God, and keep me steadfast."

The members of this band, when engaged in the execution of any important decree, are clothed in female apparel, wearing a snow-white robe and a scarlet girdle. This is the band alluded to by Judge King in his communication to the Executive of Missouri, and by Thomas B. Marsh and others. They are bound to consecrate the riches of the Gentiles to the house of Israel, which, in plain English, means, to rob and plunder the people who are not Mormons, and appropriate the spoils to the use of the Church. They also pledge themselves to poison the wells and the food and drink of dissenters, apostates, and all enemies of Zion, and to murder those who refuse to tithe or contribute the tenth part of their property to the use of the Church, and, in short, to destroy by fire and sword all the enemies of Mormonism, and to assist in all things in building up the kingdom spoken of by the prophet Daniel.

These Destructives, in their capacities of spies and informers, are of great service to the Prophet, and assist materially in extending and confirming his influence over the Mormons. They generally call upon him every morning, and make a detailed report of the sayings and doings

of various persons in Nauvoo, or elsewhere, as the Prophet may direct them. These reports are listened to with great attention by Holy Joe, and carefully treasured up for future use. When he is desirous of making an impression on any individual of his followers, he turns to the particulars of that individual's conduct and conversation, communicated by the spies, calls upon him at a convenient opportunity, and gravely informs him that he has received from the Lord a revelation respecting him. The person thus addressed is, of course, not a little startled by this extraordinary announcement, and earnestly requests to be informed of the nature of the facts so graciously communicated by the Lord. Joe then, with all due solemnity, proceeds to state that the Angel of the Lord had come down and told him, that on such and such a day, brother Johnson, or Thompson, or whatever the name may be, had, at such or such a place, done and said so and so. Brother Johnson of course opens his eyes very wide, at this revelation, and is more firmly than ever convinced that Smith is the Prophet of the Lord! "For how else," reasons he, "could he know so particularly what I have been doing, when I am quite sure he was not within a mile of me?" Thus deluded, brother Johnson takes good care to communicate his extraordinary case to his cronies, and the result is a general persuasion among the mass of the Mormons, that Joe Smith is not far from omniscient, and that it is safest to be very careful of their sayings and doings, for there is no telling whether or not the Angel of the Lord is watching them, in order to communicate to the Prophet their proceedings.

ORDER LODGE.

This is a secret lodge or society, established by Joe Smith, in consequence of a special revelation from Heaven, which he pretended to have received respecting it. It was intended to enable him more effectually to execute his clandestine purposes. None but the very élite of the Mor