her spirit firm and solid; but calm and serene. She spoke to him and said, "I shall soon be taken out of this body; but the gospel ❝ will never be taken away from you, if you are faithful. Be not discouraged, nor cast down: for God will not leave his people "without a leader. Elder James and Elder Joseph will be left, " and there will be a great increase of the gifts of God to all who "are faithful and obedient. Now you are a young man, and have "received many blessed gifts of God; go, be faithful and zealous; "and when you travel to your lot in the church, all these beautiful "gifts will be yours." Job wept, and expressed his sorrowful feelings in parting with her, never expecting to see her any more in this world. "Be of good comfort," said she; "cleave to Elder Joseph; he will be your father, and will take care of you."

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Thus she continued, as long as her strength remained, to exhort and comfort all who came to see her. She discovered no anxiety for herself; her principle concern seemed to be to encourage her children to persevere in the way of God, to comfort them in their sorrow, and reconcile them to her departure. And altho her bodily sufferings were great; yet she appeared calm, peaceable and comfortable in spirit, and her usual patience and fortitude appeared conspicuous to the end. She continually grew weaker in body until the 8th of September, between twelve and one o'clock in the morning, when she breathed her last, without a struggle or a groan. Before her departure, she repeatedly told those about her that she was going home. Just before she expired, she said, "I see broth"er William coming in a glorious chariot to take me home." Elder John Hocknell, who was greatly gifted in visions, testified that when the breath left her body, he saw in vision a golden chariot, drawn by four white horses, which received and wafted her soul out of his sight.*

*The visions, prophecies and revelations mentioned in this work, will perhaps be rejected by an unbelieving world, as the effects of enthusiasm, superstition and fanaticism. But tho there may be many, even among the professors of christianity, who, generally speaking, have no faith in such manifestations beyond the comprehension of their natural senses and daily experience; yet this cannot alter the truth, nor disannal facts. Therefore, let the sneering unbeliever reflect that the same charge will equally apply to the prophets and saints of all preceding dispensations, who abounded in those gifts. Elijah went up in a fiery chariot, and a cloud received Jesus out of sight. The prophets saw many wonderful visions, and received many revelations, and by divine inspiration, delivered many remarkable prophecies of future events; and who has ever assured man that those who walk in the Spirit of Christ, and enjoy communion with the heavenly world, shall not be able to see heavenly visions, and discern spiritual things, and be blessed with spiritual understanding, in this day, as well as under former dispensations? It is the darkness of a fallen nature which obscures the light of the soul, and the veil of the flesh which shuts celestial scenes from the view of man; but the Spirit of God is, "the same yesterday, to-day and forever.".

E

Thus departed from this mortal stage, that extraordinary female who was chosen of God to commence, in this latter day, the regeneration of a lost world; in whom Christ, in very deed, appeared the second time without sin unto salvation; whose life of righteousness excited against her the enmity of the wicked, and against whose character the envenomed tongue of slander has never ceased to pour forth its calumnies even to this day. In her the sufferings of Christ appeared conspicuous; in her the righteousness of Christ was clearly manifested to all her faithful followers. In her Christ was revealed the Lord from Heaven, a quickening Spirit; in her was renewed his example of perfect obedience to the will of his heavenly Father; in her was revived the way of life and salvation by the cross, and she plainly taught the impossibility of obtaining it in any other way. In her was first wrought the complete redemption of the female; and through her ministration a way was opened for the restoration of the female character to its proper lot and dignity, from which it had been degraded by the transgression of the first woman.

CHAPTER V.

A short account of the life and character of Elder William Lee.

WILLIAM LEE was the fourth son of John Lee, and the brother of Mother Ann Lee. He was born in the town of Manchester, in England, in 1740, and was brought up in the occupation of a blacksmith by his father. He was married, and had one son; and was afterwards an officer of horse in the king's royal guard, belonging to a volunteer regiment called the Oxford Blues.

In his person he was of a commanding figure, rather above middling height, thick set, large limbs and strong body. His hair was of a light chesnut brown, his eyes blue, his countenance open and very bold, calculated to inspire confidence and respect. He possessed a strong and robust constitution; his voice was strong, clear and sonorous; in short he was very remarkable for his strength, both of body and mind. In his faith he was firm, zealous and powerful. He feared not the face of man; but was faithful, laborious and persevering in the cause of God. In times of mobs and persecutions he was always undaunted, and often testified against the wickedness of his persecutors with a boldness and confidence which clearly evinced that he was a stranger to the fear of man.

Concerning his first embracing the testimony of the gospel, he gave the following account of himself. That he was a proud, haughty young man, fond of dress and gaiety, and ambitious of honor and fame: that in the midst of his pursuit of worldly glory

he fell under deep conviction of sin. In this state of mind he went to see his sister Ann, who was then a member of the society under the ministry of James and Jane Wardley. When he arrived at his sister's, being very gaily dressed, she reproved him for his pride, showed him his dangerous situation, and greatly increased his convictions. He immediately threw off his ruffles and his silks, and put his hands to work and his heart to God, and faithfully labored to find the forgiveness of his sins and acceptance with God.

Concerning some of his religious exercises, in the first of his faith, he gave the following account. "Before I confessed my "sins, I felt great tribulation; and after I had confessed them, I "cried to God, day and night, till I heard an audible voice from "Heaven, saying, William thy sins are forgiven." He further said, "Mother's testimony was so awakening to my soul, that "when I was at work over my anvil, I sometimes felt so weary "that I would have given any thing if I could have set down and "rested myself upon my anvil one minute; but I durst not; for I "felt my soul, as it were, upon the point of a needle, and there"fore kept my hands to work, and my soul in continual labor to "God. And often when I went to my meals, I felt so unworthy "to put any of the creation of God into my mouth, that I could "not eat, but wept and went back to my work again."

He further stated, that he frequented the society of James and Jane Wardley; and when he was in tribulation, he sometimes opened his trials and feelings to them, and was encouraged by them; but instead of crying to God for victory over the evil which caused his tribulation, he suffered himself to rest upon their encouragement, which gave him some releasement of mind. But when he returned to his sister again, she would often spoil his comfort by shewing him his real situation, which would again plunge him into deeper tribulation than he had felt before. This made him cry earnestly to God, till he gained releasement for himself, according to her counsel.

When Mother Ann received the revelation of God against the flesh, William united with her, and zealously stood forth in her defence against her persecutors. This raised the enmity of his neighbors and acquaintances, who opposed and persecuted him. He frequently suffered abuse from mobs and persecutors, and some of the scars which he received from the wicked, in consequence of his faith and testimony, he carried with him through life. He once received a stroke upon his head, from a mob, with an iron fire-hook, which fractured his scull; he fell apparently dead, and bled profusely. But the wicked, with all their abuses, were never able to overcome his faith, nor suppress his testimony.

He passed through many scenes of suffering, both of body and

soul, and seemed destined, through the whole course of his faith, to suffer for the gospel's sake. Tho in his creation he was a man of remarkable strength of body, as well as of fortitude of mind; yet such was often the degree of his sufferings, that he has been, in a short time, reduced to the weakness of a child, through excess of sufferings. But he was often suddenly released by the power of God, and often had his soul instantly filled with heavenly songs of joy and comfort. It is asserted by those who were intimately acquainted with him during the whole period of his ministry in America, that he was truly, "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;" that he was indeed an apostle in sufferings; and that, at times, when he was released from sufferings, he was often filled with such fulness of heavenly joy, that his soul seemed to be in the mansions of glory.

Elder William's soul was greatly enriched with the gifts of God, in visions, revelations, and other divine manifestations; and he abounded in mercy, love and charity; but possessed a very powerful spirit, and maintained a swift testimony against all sin. Tho he seldom spoke much in public; yet he was eminently useful in teaching, encouraging and strengthening the believers under all their trials and difficulties. He was remarkable for tenderness of heart, and would often weep like a child, for the sufferings and afflictions of God's people. In tears he often expressed his great thankfulness for the gospel, and for the gifts and blessings of God, both in things spiritual and temporal. So feelingly alive was his soul to the goodnes and mercy of God, even for the smallest benefits, that he has been observed, when going to wash himself, to weep and say, "I thank Heaven for this water; for it is the bless"ing of Heaven."

Many times when he sat down to his meals, he would express his thankfulness, with tears in his eyes, for the goodness of God in providing these temporal blessings for the comfort and support of life. One day at Ashfield, as he was going to sit down to the table with a number of young believers, he spoke and said, “I fear "that you are not so thankful as you ought to be, for the good "things that God provides for you; but you will eat and drink "of these precious things, and not consider from whence they come. The sin of ingratitude is a great sin; see that you are "not guilty of it. I often eat my food with thankfulness and tears, (6 every mouthful I eat." They sat down, and Elder William's tears flowed, with frequent expressions of thankfulness to God, during the whole time they were eating."

Tho Elder William possessed great kindness and charity, and such flows of heavenly love, that he never failed to gain the love and affections of every faithful believer; yet in reproving sin, such was the power of God in him, that his very spirit seemed like

a two-edged sword against sin, and every one that had any feeling sense of sin at such times, could not but tremble at the sound of his voice. Sometimes he used to reprove the believers for walking about in a careless, thoughtless manner, as tho they did not feel the fear of God, and would say to them, "You ought to pass 66 by each other like angels; but instead of that, you appear to me 46 more like the troubled sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. "But I can but be sorry for you; and it feels to me as if there were .66 no sorrow like my sorrow."

In delivering a short and very powerful testimony against sin, to an assembly of believers at Petersham, in which he admonished the people to a faithful and honest confession of their sins, he concluded in these words; "Altho we rebuke sin; yet we have "nothing against the soul; it is only against the devil that soweth "tares among the wheat. One sin, wilfully covered, will be like "mountains of lead upon the soul, to sink it from the presence of "God."

Being one day in conversation with Ephraim Welch,* concerning the war which then existed in America, and the great troubles occasioned thereby, Elder William said, "Wars will never cease "until God has finished his work with the nations of the earth; "and altho it may be buried, like fire, for a season; yet it will "break out, with sevenfold increase, among the nations of the "earth." Again he said; "The same sword which has persecu"ted the people of God, will be turned into the world among them"selves, and it will never be sheathed until it has done its work,"

Sometimes he used to say, "We are poor; but we are able to "make many rich; poor afflicted people of God! Once I served "God out of fear; but now I serve him out of pure love." Sometimes he used to say, "I love my Mother; altho she is my sister; CC yet she has become my Mother, and the Lord God has made me "to love her." When great numbers of believers came to Watervliet, to see them, he would often meet them at the door, and say, "Come in, brethren and sisters, come in; we have but little room " in our house; but we have a great deal of room in our hearts."

Tho Elder William was not gifted in public speaking; yet he had a very feeling soul; and his speeches, whether in public or private, were often very pathetic, and always sententious and powerful, capable of awakening the attention and feelings of the most stupid and careless. He labored but little in public word and doctrine; but his gift and strength were almost continually exercised in sufferings. His work of suffering continued to the end of his days; nor did he appear to die by any natural infirmity; but seemed to give up his life in sufferings.

During the last days of his life, tho his end was evidently near,

* A believer who lately deceased at Hancock,