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LIARS' DEPARTMENT

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Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 26, 1858

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 12, No. 15.

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LIARS' DEPARTMENT.

By Editor

BLESSED are ye, says the Saviour, when men shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. According to present prospects we shall soon be in a position to claim that promise in its fullest extent. The voice of slander, public as well as private, is beginning to be more frequently heard. The following account of the meetings Bro. Waggoner lately held in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, as given by a writer in "The Cedar Valley Times," will illustrate:
'THE ISMITES.—For some time past there has been some kind of a religious sect holding meetings in this place. They have a large circus tent in which they preach and pray with great furor. They hold that the world is going to turn a corner and go to ruin in a fearfully short time—that all the so-called "orthodox" churches are going to hell—that the United States is "the last beast"—that the soul sometimes dies—that their own is the only true religion, &c. A great many more go to hear their dogmas than would be supposed, while several have joined them. Some say they are Millerites, some that they are Mormons in disguise, and others that they are Spiritualists. They seem to be propped up on all these doctrines, and it requires a critical distinction to determine their character. Some of them have asserted that a man might have three wives, with a privilege of a change at any time—that smacks of Mormonism; they argue the destruction of the world in the present generation—that is Millerism; they say, "marriages are made in heaven," and that, in view of the short period of our stay here, it is not best to be married, but just make a temporary "selection"—which looks to me like Spiritualism, Freeloverism, or any thing of that character. For want of a better name, I call them Ismites. Some of the "wise men" of this vicinity have been annoying these sophists with hard questions, insomuch that they have struck their tent, and are about to seek new quarters.'
Some of our readers will recollect that the 'Midnight Cry' in 1843, found it necessary to have a 'Liars' Department,' in order to show up and refute the foul slanders then perpetrated against believers in the soon coming of the Saviour. Such a department may again be necessary. The above paragraph would answer for a very good commencement.