must be a visible head, to stand as the center of influence or leading power in that family. As the leading power of the visible church is vested in the Ministry, as the visible head; so in each separate family of the Society, which is considered as a branch of the church, the leading power is vested in the elders who are considered as the heads of their respective families. And so long as the visible head or leaders of any family conduct themselves in a manner worthy of this trust, it is necessary that they should be obeyed by all the members of the family. Without this obedience there can be no regulation, order nor harmony in the family.

But no one is required to yield obedience to any thing contrary to the established principles of the gospel, as revealed by the precepts and example of Jesus Christ; but obedience is required in conformity to those principles only. This is agreeable to the doctrine taught by Mother Ann. "You ought to have your faith "grounded in the power of God;" said she; "for that abideth "forever. But if your faith is only in creatures, and they should "fail, you are liable to come under loss." True faith leads to obedience.

Many will profess great union and submission to the Spirit of Christ, and yet object to a visible leader in the church. They are looking for Christ to reveal himself, as an invisible guide and teacher, to every individual, in a separate capacity, without any dependence upon the union of the body; and expect to be guided by the invisible spirit of Christ, in their own souls, separately, and independent of any visible leader. But this doctrine is contrary to every manifestation of the dealings of God with man, and is calculated to destroy the union and harmony of the church, by rendering every individual independent of the body.

But no person can be united to Christ, and yet be at variance with the members of his body. And while the true members of Christ's church are governed by his Spirit, they can have no objections against visible leaders: "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace." Therefore, if the Spirit of Christ rules in his church, (which cannot reasonably be denied,) that Spirit will bring forward those who are the most suitable for leaders, and remove them when they can be no longer useful, and supply their places with others better qualified for that duty. Obedience is therefore always safe as well as necessary.

But the great and common objection against visible spiritual leaders in the church of Christ, to whom all the members must be subject, appears to be this; "That the scriptures of the Old and New Testament contain all the necessary instructions for the christian's conduct through life, and are the only rule of faith and practice." If this be so, we would ask why are spiritual teachers appointed in almost every religious society? We are told that this js necessary in order to open and explain the scriptures, and give

the people a right understanding of them, and to exhort them to obedience, not to the teachers, but to the scriptures. But why then do these scripture expositors differ so much from each other in their sentiments? and why have their discordant opinions produced so many jarring systems of religion throughout the world? In order to be able expositors of the scriptures, they ought to possess a goodly portion of that Spirit which dictated the scriptures; otherwise they explain to no good purpose.

If these expositors were in real possession of the Spirit of Christ, they would not disagree about the meaning of the scriptures, nor concerning the duty of christians; but they would be of one heart and one mind, and would, of course, minister the same oneness of spirit to all those members of their church who faithfully adhered to their instructions. And hence there could be but one faith and one baptism among them, namely, the faith of Christ, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit; and this would unite them together, as one body, led and governed by one spirit. Then every faithful member of their church would feel the necessity of obedience, and would readily practice it from a principle of love and duty to that Divine Spirit which would then appear visible in the lives of their teachers. And these teachers, being the true ministers of Christ, would then teach them that one faith, and baptize them with that one baptism, which is the very life of the body of Christ.

But the truth is, while they profess to teach others, they themselves have need to be taught the first principles of the law of Christ, which necessarily includes obedience. Hence it is, that in their attempts to explain the scriptures, they have no spiritual guide; but are led by the dictates of human reason and human wisdom, which they themselves will acknowledge to be fallible; of course, all their instructions must be fallible. And hence also, they are at all times liable to put wrong interpretations upon the scriptures; and that this has long been practiced among them, their numerous systems of religion afford a very striking proof.

Many will plead, that the obedience of Christ is sufficient for all; and will quote the apostle's words: "For as by one man's "disobedience, many were made sinners; so, by the obedience of 66 one, shall many be made righteous." But if they rightly understood this passage, they would find it to be no argument in favor of their plea. It is by following Adam's example of disobedience, that many are made sinners; and so also, by following Christ's example of obedience, many are made righteous. By the disobedience of the first Adam, he received a corrupt seed, and this corrupt seed, which contained the evil influence of the wicked one, has been communicated to his posterity by natural generation; and they, by obeying this evil influence, become sinners. So, by the obedience of Jesus Christ, the second Adam, he received the seed Aa

of eternal life from God; and this seed, which contains the power of salvation, is communicated by spiritual regeneration, to all who are willing to receive it; and they, by obeying the influence of that power, received through faith, become righteous. Thus the apostle's expression is verified; and thus we may see that, in order to be made righteous, we must be obedient, even as he was.

As man first fell from a state of rectitude, and lost his union and relation to God, by disobedience; so he must rise from his lost state, and find his union and relation to Christ, by obedience. Short of this, no soul will ever find salvation, and secure an inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven.

CHAPTER IV.

The Confession of Sin.

As man, in his fallen state, is in the kingdom of darkness, and under the government of the prince of this world, who is a prince of darkness; so his introduction into the Kingdom of Christ, which is a kingdom of light, must depend on his coming to the light, and renouncing all the works of darkness. And as all sin, and all manner of wickedness, are the works or deeds of darkness; so the first step towards walking in the light, is to bring these deeds to the light.* And the only manner in which these evil deeds can be brought to the light and truly made manifest, is by confession.

The open confession of sin to the witnesses of Christ, was practiced in the primitive church, and was considered as the first necessary step for the admission of the sinner to the privileges of the gospel, and the only door of entrance into the church of Christ. But the subsequent innovations and scandalous abuses of this doctrine, in the church of Rome, have rendered it obnoxious in the eyes of all the protestant sectaries. And when these innovations and abuses are duly considered, it cannot be a matter of surprise that the doctrine was rejected; for who could reasonably suppose that Jesus Christ or his apostles could ever authorize or sanction such abominations? Besides, the money exacted by the papal clergy, for the pretended pardon of sins, was a heavy tax upon the people, who found it much cheaper, as well as much more agreeable to their feelings, to conceal their iniquities, than to confess then at so great an expense.

Hence the rejection of this doctrine by the protestant reformers, met the popular feeling; and a general belief soon prevailed, that the doctrine itself was the invention of the Romish church, and was purposely designed to draw money from the people. This belief still prevails; and so strong is the prejudice against the doc

*See John iii. 19, 20, 21.

trine, that among all classes of protestant professors, wherever it is mentioned, the general cry is, This is rank popery-I don't believe in confessing sins to man-We must confess our sins to God alone, and not to man. And indeed, such scandalous abuses of a divine principle, given in tender mercy to lost man, were sufficient to destroy the faith of the multitude, and create unbelief in the principle, wherever these abuses were known.

But the abuse of a divine institution proves nothing against the institution itself. In this case, it ought to be considered as an evidence of its divine origin: for it was evidently a knowledge that this was an institution maintained in the primitive church, that enabled the catholic clergy to support its authority, after they had so basely corrupted it. For no man, in his rational senses, could be brought to believe that his sins could be pardoned for money, if he were not first led into a full belief, founded on something more than human authority, that the practice of confessing sin before the witnesses of God, was an institution of Divine appointment; and therefore supposed he must do it, even if he was obliged, on account of clerical avarice, to pay out his money for the privilege.*

But this gracious principle, tho it had been so much and so long abused in the church of Antichrist, was renewed in all its purity, in the very commencement of the work of God which gave rise to the United Society. And it was followed by such evident displays of Divine Power, as to carry the most powerful conviction in favor of its divine origin. And all who received faith in the testimony, and honestly confessed their sins, were blessed, in their obedience, with an overcoming power over all sin, and felt a living witness in their own souls, that this testimony was, in very deed, the testimony of God. They did not feel as tho they were confessing their sins to man, but to God, in the presence of his witnesses; and they were fully convinced that they could not find access to God in any other way. And this testimony has been maintained to this day, as the first principle of obedience to the law of Christ. It was a doctrine continually enjoined by our first parents in the gospel; and often, when people came to confess their sins, they were reminded of the sense they ought to have of it, in the following words: "Remember, if you confess your sins, you must confess them to "God: we are but his witnesses."

That sinners are required to confess their sins in the presence of God's witnesses, in order to find the forgiveness of God; and that this is both scriptural and rational, and the only true order of confession, will appear evident from the following considerations.

Just so many, at the present day, feel it their duty to attend the assemblies of those who profess to worship God on the sabbath, because it was an institution of the primitive church, even tho, in its present corrupted state, they are obliged to purchase this privilege, and pay out their money to a hireling preacher, who professes to preach a free gospel witheut money and without price!

1. We presume it will not be denied that all mankind are born into the world with a sinful nature. And it is equally true that all who arrive at the age of maturity, and are capable of discerning between good and evil, find that this nature brings forth, in them, the fruits of actual sin. Hence it is generally admitted by all professors of religion, that a confession of sin, of some sort, is necessary, in order to find forgiveness and acceptance with God. But there is a wide difference of opinion respecting the manner in which this confession ought to be made. Many contend for a secret confession to God alone. But we would ask, where is the sinner's assurance that he can find God in the secret chamber, and make confession to his acceptance? We read that "The sacrifice of the "wicked is an abomination to the Lord; but the prayer of the "upright is his delight." Again: "The Lord is far from the "wicked; but he heareth the prayer of the righteous."* And again; "If I regard iniquity in my heart," saith David, "the Lord will "not hear me."

We find that, in all ages of the world, the established order of God's intercourse with man, has been through the agency of man. And altho, in many instances, there have been occasional manifes tations of the Divine Spirit to individuals, revealed in various manners; yet none could ever be brought into covenant relation with God's chosen people, without living agents, selected for that purpose. Witness the case of Saul of Tarsus, Cornelius the centurion, and others, who, tho they were called by a manifestation of Divine light, could not be brought into fellowship with the body of God's chosen people, without the agency of living witnesses belonging to that body.

Nor do we find that God ever held any immediate intercourse with mankind, at large, or with any body of people, as such; but he has always revealed himself through the agency of certain individuals, whom he had chosen as messengers of his will to others; and the people were always required to learn the will of God from these individuals, as agents or witnesses of God, and to find access to God through them. And it is worthy of particular remark, that God has always chosen his agents from among the most honest and upright, or those who have come the nearest to him in the works of righteousness. Witness Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel and the prophets, who were all chosen as the agents of God, to do his work and reveal his will, and to stand between him and the people.

We find also, that wherever God has had a covenant people, who have walked in his statutes, and have kept themselves from those pollutions in which the rest of mankind have lived, there he has placed his name, and there he has been found, and there he