We are commanded to insert the following letters, the reasons for which will be clearly seen hereafter by the public, as they are now by those who are diligently examining the writings of Joanna Southcott, to know the true meaning of the Bible concerning these latter days. A COPY OF A LETTER FROM JOANNA TO THE REV. MR. POMEROΥ. REV. SIR, I have a message from God unto you. If you will not be a just judge, be an unjust judge, that I may be avenged of my adversary. Therefore render unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's, and unto God the things which are God's: but the things that are God's you have kept back, and you say, committed to the flames. Then my answer is, out of your own mouth will I condemn you and you will find you have a God to deal with; therefore you must give a satisfactory answer, why you burnt the letters? and what they contained? -You may say, I am he that troubleth Israel: but I have not troubled Israel; but I am troubling you and your father's house, which I mean are the Bishops, because you call them reverend fathers in God. They have acted just like you, to keep back the truths of the Bible, as you have kept back the truths of my writings; they have denied the truths of the Bible, as you have denied the truths of my writings; they have denied the promise made in the fall to the woman; that though they must own it was a promise made, yet they deny it to be a promise to be claimed; or a promise that ever the Lord will fulfil. Then what do men make THE REV. MR. POΜΕΒΟΥ. 45 of their Bibles? It was to shew what mankind is, that the Lord ordered me to put the writings in your hands, and concealed from me, that you would go from your word, and not be as good as your promise. And now, sir, I must come to the purpose with you. You may think it strange, when I tell you, there is not one man upon earth, hath strengthened my faith so much to prove clearly my visitation from the Lord, as you have: you may ask me how? To this I answer: When I first sent to you concerning my prophecies, in 1796, you declared to me, they were never from the Devil; but have often pleaded with me, if they were not from myself? But I was the judge there; and knew they were not of myself; and as you affirmed they were not from the Devil, then I knew they must be from the Lord. Now, while you affirm my writings were not from the Devil, you acted as a worthy, religious minister; as a wise man, as a good man, and as one that seemed to wish to be clear in judging, before you condemned. You told me, in 1796, you was willing to receive any thing from my hands, that you might be a judge of the truth; and when the truth followed by the Bishop's death, you asked me in Mr. Taylor's house, and in Mrs. Taylor's presence, in January 1797, if I could put into your hands the events of the wars concerning Italy, or England; then you would believe my calling was of God? The week following I put in your hands what would happen to Italy, which took place within the six months you mentioned; as you asked me what would happen in three months, or six months. I put in your hands, England would seek for peace, but in vain; for we had involved ourselves in such tumults of war, that the wise men, with all their wisdom, would not be able to make a peace; and that large sums of money would be demanded at the end of the year: all these truths, you know followed. But I confess you simply asked me if I did not know these things from myself; which, you know, I told you, I knew no more from myself than your fablea At the same time there were in the writings events that were to take place in years to come, that now seem bursting out in all nations; and you told me yourself, you knew they would be true; yet for some time disputed with me, if it was not from myself, for my own knowledge; but when I assured you it was not from myself, and I had no knowledge of my own, you asked me, why I did not publish to the world? For, if you was clear you was called of God, you would fear no man. And now, sir, I am clear I am called of God; for the wondrous visitation that hath happened to me for the three months past, is impossible to come from any but a God; therefore I shall fear no man's words, neither shall I be dismayed at their looks: for little do men know what lieth before them. You know I put in your hands the truth of the harvests in 1799, and the 1800; and it has stood me in pounds to put writings in your hands, which you always promised faithfully to keep, and faithfully to deliver to me, whenever my trial was > and now my trial draweth near, and I shall hold you to your words, and to your promises; and if you go from them, I have more just grounds to publish you to the world, that the Devil has taken the advantage over you, than you could have to publish to the world that I was led by the Devil; to put your name in print, as the Lord had commanded me; but that command you said was from the Devil. Now, sir, reflect on the change of your conduct: how you acted before, when you said my writings were not from the Devil, how faithfully you promised to act. How you said you would meet with six, or with twelve to prove my writings. How you asked me, in Mr. Taylor's house, in 1801, to put the prophecy in your hands of that harvest, that I told you I had put in Mr. Jones's; for you said, in Mrs. Taylor's pre THE REV. MR.POMEROY. 47 sence, if you was to be the judge, the writings ought to be put in your hands; which I complied with, and carried them to you. You promised to keep the whole safe; and told me you had every one of my letters in your bureau, that you would keep safely for me. But as soon as the Lord put you to the trial, to see if you could bear the mockery of men, and the ridicule of the world, for his sake, by having your name in print, how soon did the fine gold become dim! How soon did you begin to act like Pilate, fearing the Jews! and just so you began to fear men, that you should lose your honour amongst them. But know what our Saviour said: He that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it; but he that saveth it, shall lose it. Now you tried to save your honour amongst men; and that is the way you have lost it: for the honour of the world worketh death to the honour of God; and that death you soon fell into; for you began in the Spirit, but you ended in the flesh. Here your wrath began, by fearing the honour of men; and you let the sun go down upon your wrath; and so you gave place to the Devil, Then you sent to me to give in my sacrament ticket, to turn me from the altar, which I faithfully delivered up to you, at your request, as I well knew there were other ministers I could go to, to receive the sacrament; but after that your conscience seemed to reprove you, you sent me a note to come again, and invited me to come by Mrs. Taylor; then, after that, you sent for me to give up the second note; and because I had mis laid it, and could not find it directly, you seemed to be angry that it was not returned; but as soon as I found it I faithfully returned it to you. Then you came to Mrs. Taylor's, and told her and me how you was situated, and how the ministers were all plaguing you, that you could not go into company, if I would not sign that you had said my writings were from the Devil. Mrs. Taylor expostulated 1 with you, that you had never said they were from the Devil, but you had affirmed to the contrary; but you made answer, you had said it was from the Devil, my putting your name in print, which I confess was true; and as you cried, and said I should kill you if I would not sign it, I gave you the advantage of that word, as you thought it would reclaim your injured honour. But how did you yourself go on with principles to lose that honour, that you with subtilty went to claim ? I returned to you every demand you had of me, by returning the sacrament tickets, though I never promised it before you demanded them, and then I returned them. But how unjustly did you deal with me? As soon as I demanded all my writings, you went from the promises of a man, refused to return me one of my letters, but told Mr. Taylor that you had burnt them, and that you was persuaded to do it, so you broke your word, you broke your promise, and you dealt unjustly with me. Now do you think the Lord is another such as yourself, to break all his words, all his promises, and to act unjustly, as you have done? This change of conduct in you truly convinceth me, that you gave the Devil that advantage over you, that you published to the world he had over me. And now I shall call to your remembrance the words I said unto you in Mr. Taylor's house, when Mrs. Taylor said to me, she feared your advertisement would hurt the cause; you know I made answer, that was impossible: for what was of men would come to nothing, but what was of God they could. not overthrow, lest they were found to fight against God. You answered, that was true. And now I answer, you are fighting against God: but you can. not fight against God and prosper. See how soon your eyes were darkened; "see how soon your understanding was hid, when you were seeking the praise of man more than the praise of God; and the |