A Late Mormon Miracle.
THE Ottowa Free Trader gives the follow-ing, with an endorsement of its truth:
"It appears that the prophet Strang needed a house, and he determined his followers should build it for him. So he called them together, and told them that in consideration that they would erect the house, the Lord had authorized him to promise them an extraordinary endow-ment. The building was soon completed, and now they apply for their reward. All the saints are gathered together in the church, the prophet takes them through a variety of ceremonies, such as head washing, feet washing, &c., and concludes by anointing the heads of all with a composition 'that had a queer smell.' They are then directed to adjourn to another room, that was totally dark, where they were to re-ceive the endowment, which was to be in the shape of an extraordinary and visible manifest-ation of the spirit, rendering them at once im-pregnable thenceforth to all the shafts of Satan. Arrived in the dark room, sure enough, the heads of all shone as if lit up by the brightness of the sun, and great was the rejoicing of the saints thereat. But prophet William, who was present, although staggered a little, mistrusted that 'all was not gold that glittered;' so he took some of the ointment and submitted it to an examination, and lo, the discovery! He found that it was a mixture of oil and phosphorus! and that hence the whole illuminating operation was a gross cheat. He took the first oppor-tunity to acuse prophet Strang publicly, and before the whole congregation, of the imposition, who so far from denying it, coolly acknow-ledged the corn, and then preached a sermon, justifying the act, and maintaining that all the miracles of Christ, Moses, &c., were wrought in the same way—that is, by natural means"
