be children of God, so to gain and hold a re- lation to these ministering spirits, that we may have access to heavenly garners, where- in are hidden, not only "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" but the inspirations of soul love and life that shall wean the re- cipient from the love of sin, and the follies But, the great and important need of hu- manity is to convince them of the fact of the existence of these superior heavenly treas- ures:-to give them confidence and faith that God is, and is the rewarder of all them that diligently serve Him. To make this fact an However much infidelity exists today to a be- lief in the existence of God; the future ex- istence of man after the death of his mortal frame, in a world of soul life,-a spirit sphere, where human consciousness of misery or happiness is even more vividly to be realized than in this present world, the day of human progress is too far advanced for this phase of human weakness and folly to be of long du- ration; for, untold millions have, within the past quarter of a century, received, and are still receiving such, to them, undeniable evi-lack belief because the promised benefits, or dences that God is, and that man exists in a because the evidences of a future state for future world of spirit, that, as well the sun man's abode when done with time, are contra- might cease her shining as to cause such ry to their individual personal experience, millions to doubt their experiences. thus far in life. Like the King of Siam, when told by missionaries that the American rivers were often so congealed by cold, that his elephants could walk upon them, could not believe, it was so contrary to his experi- ence. Savage nations disbelieve in the laws governing the heavenly bodies, enabling the scientific to calculate eclipses; the conjunc- tion of planets; the times of the appearance These enlightened souls, for themselves, know that God is, and that He is working for the good of man through His ministering spirits, and, not all of these are yet in the spirit world, and divested of mortal frames. These avenues of open communication be- tween these orders of beings are the sources of new revelations of light and truth from Wisdom's inexhaustible fountains, now ac- cessible to man. Thus it behooves soul trav- Human experience is necessarily so finite, elers,-seekers after happiness,-the would that, to live, in the widest sense, life's experiences have to be accepted on the is but servilely and grudgingly given, can strength of the testimony of other people. It is a fact, but, doubtless revealed to the observation of but few persons, that a gorgeous butterfly is but the evolution of a caterpillar. And who, that has never examined the subject, but almost questionably wonders how electricity can be made to write; wires be made to talk; light be made to paint pictures; coal, black as tar, made to yield candles white as snow; and how dirty cotton rags can be made to yield sugar. But, these things, and thousands equally as strange, are facts, and forced upon our credulity, because demonstrable! Even so it is demonstrable that there is a God, the rewarder of the life sacrifices of the righteous, and the awarder of the just dues of the transgressors of His laws. A Revelator of the fact that happiness is not to be computed by the amount of earthly riches a person possesses; by the hours of idle leisure to spend in sensual pleasures; by the gaudy dress to wear; by the grandeur aud convenience of a tasty home; by the amount of beautiful and geous flowers bordering the clean cut lawns, nor the decorations upon the coffin containing the remains, when the soul has emigrated to its eternal bourne, and the costly monument erected over the casket when consigned to its mother earth; but by the innocence, righteousness, peace and harmony of life, compared with the laws of the Life-Giver! Divested of these graces of character, life is but a mocking chase for the goal of Heaven! But, while the gates of Paradise are wide open to souls who, spiritually, self-sacrificing ly, travel in harmony with the Divine will, by a loving and devotional obedience; they are not even ajar to souls who grudgingly conform to the same, in the ceremonial sense only; for, in the Kingdom of God, no forced compliance to His laws does He recognize as obedience; what is yielded by force, in God's sight, is but mockery, and not yielded at all in spirit and verity. gor Jesus introduced a travel of soul from the confines of the ceremonies of the Mosaic Levitical law and the fiat,-"Thou shalt" and "thou shalt not" to the freedom of conscience "Whosoever will, let him come and partake of the waters of life freely." That soul whose affected obedience to the laws of God never, while in that state, taste the bliss of His sweet love, nor feel the kindly sympathy of His nursing hand of care, much less can they be fed, filled and inspirited, with the vivifying juices of the fruits of the spirit, that grow in His heavenly vineyard! The environments of human creeds and empty forms of religion, is a hedge that fences out the flowers and fruit bearing trees of Paradise; and the refreshing dews of Heaven cannot distil upon the plants impaled in As well might the agriculttheir domains. urist attempt, hopefully, to raise corn, wheat, and the luscious summer fruits of the earth in the deep gloomy grottoes and caves of its bosom, wherein the stylactite displays its bleached, fanciful subterranean grandeur, as for a soul to anticipate cultivating the flowers and fruits of Heaven while entombed in the caverns of earth bound loves and foolish fancies that attract life's journey:ren to the haunts of sinful pleasure, or charm the senses so as to detract them from the pursuits of To attempt to gain soul food by stuffing life with the pleasures of the physical senses, on the one hand, and loading it with torturing pangs of physical sufferings on the other, is as fruitless of gain as grasping at the shadow of a flower, which, in the sunshine of today is, but, in the clouds of even, the night of darkness, or the morrow of storms, has no existence! solid virtue. Shall the human race forever, like the Prodigal son of the parable, feed on husks, while in our Heavenly Father and Mother's house, and growing in Their Heavenly Vineyard of love, there is blissful soul food enough, and fruits of exquisite richness, ard soul sustaining and inspiring sweetness? Shall the sin frost bitten flowers of earthly sensual pleasure forever lure the soul to disappointed hopes of happiness? Shall the dried fruits of a lifeless, soulless, empty form of godliness forever starve the needy soul into a skeleton ghoul of a soulless form? Shall mere wordy righteousness and sentimental songs of and about the bliss of heaven forever to be the lullaby of quiet for the soul into an incubus of imagination that a heaven is already in the grasp of the spirit, which the future day of trial will reveal to be only a mirage in the distant horizon? one. SHAKER MANIFESTO. The answer lies within the purpose and power of every soul traveler, each one for Angel missionaries in armies, are commissioned to hold out the sceptred boon of royal bliss and glory, to every successful winner in the race of life who reaches re demption's goal from the thraldom of earth and sin, set free by salvation's purifying fur nace of trials in the fire of truth. Who so wills, and emphatically strives, a heaven to win, to such the gates are ajar! Come, come, all created souls come! The Gospel trumpet of free salvation is sounding an inviting welcome blast. The sun of revealed truth is beaming forth in resplendent brightness! A high way of purity and holiness is cast up, beautiful for the feet of those who would walk in Wisdom's ways of pleasantness, and all things are ready for a soul birth right in the Paradise of God, to all who choose to be born anew! Mt. Lebanon, N. Y. THE SIMPLE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. 3 Why is this thus? Why should Christiɛnity be the prey of so many and much contentions? Why, when there is only "one Lord, one faith and one baptism," should there be almost numberless divisions of opinions as to what genuine Christianity really is? Why, in the face of the reasonable facts, that Christianity is so simple as to be understood by a child; and "the wayfaring man, though a fool (to any worldly logic or theological ingenuity,) needs. not err therein," should there be such demands for Colleges, Universities, etc., for the training of the young, by the most skilled theologians and ingenious scholars, simply that they may know and teach what some ignorant, unpretentious fishermen learned from the lips and observed in the life-walks of the Master? These Universities and Colleges are not for the learning of the simple religion of Jesus. It may seem The most singular feature of so-called harsh; it may be deemed severe to asChristian theology-the one which strikes sert of them, that the peculiar teachings with greatest surprise the so-called heagiven and learned therein, are devices then-is the multiform presentation of it that obscure the really simple life, charfrom multiplying persuasions or churches. acter and religion of Jesus, and are inNor this only; but the most consum-tended for the upbuilding of peculiar mate ingenuity is demanded of him who theories, that really teach the full cross preaches, that the gospel of Christ may of Christ unnecessary, and a great deal be made significant, according to this or of the worldly life not only admissable that peculiar persuasion. in the Church of Christ, but so harmoThe question here presents itself forci- nious as to become sacraments therein! bly: Why any more differences of We are not antagonistic to the most opinion concerning what Christianity re-liberal educations; but we consider any ally is, than there is regar 'ing Buddh-education that obstructs the truthful ism, Mosai m, or Mohammedanism? presentation of the most vital and imBut concerning these last mentioned, portant subject-soul religion-to be a there are no differences worth menperversity and a villainous perversity tioning among the professors of those pe- too, of God given talents for obtaining culiar doctrines. Judaism is identical the wisdom. world over-it has but one churchal ex G. A. LOMAS. We asseverate, that there is no need ponent; and so with the followers of and of any extraordinary education, nor in believers in Buddha and Mohamet. genious renderings of the scriptures |