SEVEN WOMEN AND ONE MAN.
By L. C. H.
THE passage reads: “And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name; take thou away our reproach.” A. R. V. We are told that the Book of Mormon forbids a woman to enter heaven alone, because of the reproach that for some reason attaches to womanhood. Men, more fortunate, may lead in as their wives any number of their less fortunate sisters. Hence polygamy and the “sealing” process. Polygamy among the Mohammedans is not voluntary on the part of woman; it is simply and undeniably compulsory. Nowhere on the face of the earth, except in polygamous Mormondom and the “sealing” process, did a plurality of women take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” They do it there, poor creatures—born and bred in that horrible belief, and amid its polluting influences and associations. The writer has a vivid recollection of the time when, in the summer and autumn of 1848, the Mormons were crossing the “American Desert” with their wheelbarrows, and so many left their bones to whiten on the dreary wastes in the attempt. Looking adown the ages, our Lord gives warning (Matt. 24:26) which, had those deluded people heeded, they had saved their lives and property: “If they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth.” If they shall say, “Behold, He is in the secret chambers [Spiritualism with its circles]; believe it not.” Why, Lord?—“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matt. 24:27. Our Lord’s coming is a very public occurrence. There will be no need to hunt for Him either in “desert” or “secret chamber.” Every one will know when He comes.