Report of Mission Conferences for Three Weeks Ending January 18,1907. Somebody near you is struggling alone Faith, hope and courage together are gone; Turn on his darkness a beam of your light; Somebody near you is hungry and cold; Somebody near you is feeble and old, Under his burdens put hands kind and strong; Speak to him tenderly, sing him a song; Haste to do something to help him along Over his weary way. Dear one, be busy, for time flieth fast. Soon will our season of service be passed, Soon will our day be done. Somebody near you needs now a kind word; Died. POTTER-The seven-year-old son of Brother and Sister Daniel Potter, of Seven Pines, N. C. FARVE Sister Selena Farve, of Waveland, Miss., on Dec. 22. WARD--Mrs. E. J. Ward, of Water Valley, Miss., on Dec. 25th. Mrs. Ward was ninety-two years old. PUBLISHED BY THE SOUTHERN STATES MISSION CHATTANOOGA, TENN. PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY BY THE SOUTHERN STATES MISSION Office, 711 Fairview Avenue, Chattanooga, Tenn. A SCRAP BOOK OF MORMON LITERATURE Entered as second-class mail matter at Post Office, Chattanooga, Tenn. Be not so curious about tongues, do not speak in tongues except there be an interpreter present; the ultimate design of tongues is to speak to foreigners, and if persons are very anxious to display their intelligence, let them speak to such in their own tongues. The gifts of God are all useful in their place, but when they are applied to that which God does not intend, they prove an injury, a snare and a curse instead of a blessing.—JOSEPH SMITH, the Prophet. Vol. IV. FEBRUARY 15, 1907 No. 10 The Witch of Endor. BY ELDER CHARLES W. PENROSE, IN "THE IMPROVEMENT ERA," 1898. There are differences of opinion as to the facts narrated in the Bible concerning the visit of Saul, king of Israel, to the witch of Endor and her purported interview with the spirit of the departed Prophet Samuel. The popular view of this matter is that the witch, at the request of King Saul, "brought up" the spirit of Samuel and that Saul conversed with him and learned from him the fate which awaited him in his comingg battle with the Philistines. But the question arises, how could a witch, who under the law of Moses was not to be permitted to live, and with whom consultation was forbidden by the Lord, have power to bring forth at her bidding the spirit of a holy prophet? In answer to this query it has been suggested that the woman was not really a witch, but a prophetess who was in hiding. Why she was under the necessity of concealing her whereabouts is not made to appear. It has been alleged that the "prophetess" theory has been held by persons supposed to understand the question thoroughly. Be that as it may, careful investigation of the history of the event will show that there has been great misunderstanding of the subject. Let us first see what the historian relates: "And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. "And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. "And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. "Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. "And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up whom I shall name unto thee. "And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land; wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? "And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. "Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me Samuel. "And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? For thou art Saul. "And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. "And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. "And Samuel said to Saul, why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. "Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David? "Because thou obeydst not the voice of the Lord, not executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. "Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines." (1 Samuel 28: 4-19.) From the foregoing it is clear that the woman whom Saul visited was one of the class placed under ban, by the commandment of God, because they practiced divination with familiar spirits. Neither prophets nor prophetesses were then banished from the land or held in disrespect. It was only persons condemned by the Mosaic law who had to hide from the effects of its enforcement. Saul had tried every legitimate means to obtain supernatural guidance, but, as he had departed from the Lord, the Lord had departed from him. There was no answer from heaven to his inquiries; there was no word of the Lord by prophets; there was no communication through the Urim and Thummim; there was no manifestation by vision or by dream; there was no whispering of the divine spirit. In his desperation, Saul turned to the opposite power. In that he sinned. He knew that he was violating the law of the Lord. When he was serving God he "put away those that had familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land," but when he fell into darkness he sought the ways of darkkness and sealed his own doom. It is written: "So Saul died for his transgression, which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it." (I Chron. 10: 13.) The law of God concerning these forbidden arts was given through the Prophet Moses, and forms part of the Mosaic code. As, for instance. "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God." (Lev. 19: 31.) "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer; for all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord, and because of these abominations, the Lord thy God shall drive them out before thee." (Deut. 18: 10-12.) The witch of Endor, then, instead of being a prophetess of the Lord, was a woman that practiced necromancy; that is, communication or pretended communication with the spirits of the dead; but she was led by a familiar spirit. In other words, she was a spiritual medium, similar to those modern professors of the art who claim to be under the control of some departed notable, and through him or her to be able to communicate with the dead. It should be observed that in the seance with the king of Israel, Saul did not see Samuel or anybody but the medium or witch. She declared that she saw an old man coming up, and that he was covered with a mantle. It was she who told Saul what Samuel was purported to have said. Saul "perceived that it was Samuel" through what the witch stated to him. The conversation that ensued between Samuel and Saul was conducted through the medium. All of this could have taken place entirely without the presence of the Prophet Samuel. The woman, under the influence of her familiar spirit, could have given to Saul the message supposed to have come from Samuel, in the same way that messages from the dead are pretended to be given to the living by spiritual mediums of the latter days, who, as in the case under consideration, perform their work at night or under cover of darkness. It is beyond rational belief that such persons could at any period, in ancient or modern times, invoke the spirits of departed servants or handmaidens of the Lord. They are not at the beck and call of witches, wizards, diviners or necromancers. Pitiable indeed would be the condition of spirits in paradise if they were under any such control. They would not be at rest, nor be able to enjoy that liberty from the troubles and labors of earthly life which is essential to their happiness, but be in a condition of bondage, subject to the will and whims of persons who know not God and whose lives and aims are of the earth, earthy. Nor is it in accordance with correct doctrine that a prophetess or prophet of the Lord could exercise the power to bring up or bring down the spirits of prophets and Saints at will, to hold converse with them on earthly affairs. That is not one of the functions of a prophet or a prophetess. The idea that such things can be done at the behest of men or women in the flesh ought not to be entertained by any Latter-day Saint. The Lord has said: "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto wizards that peep and that mutter, should not a people seek unto their God for the living to hear from the dead? To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to the word it is because there is no light in them." (Isaiah 8: 19, 20; Book of Mormon, p. 98: v. 19, 20.) If the Lord It has been suggested that in this instance the Lord sent Samuel in the spirit to communicate with Saul, that he might know of his impending doom; but this view does not seem to harmonize with the statements o the case made in the Scripture, which gives the particulars. desired to impart this information to Saul, why did He not respond when Saul inquired of Him through the legitimate channels of divine communication? Saul had tried them all and failed to obtain an answer. Why should the Lord ignore the means He himself established, and send Samuel, a prophet, to reveal himself to Saul through a forbidden source? Why should He employ one who had a familiar spirit for this purpose, a medium which He had positively condemned by His own law? "But," it is argued, "the prediction uttered by the spirit which was manifested on that occasion was literally fulfilled. Israel was delivered into the hands of the Philistines, and Saul and his three sons and his armorbearer and the men of his staff were all slain. It was therefore a true prophecy." Admitting that as perfectly correct, the position taken in this article is not in the least weakened. If the witches, wizards, necromancers and familiar spirits, placed under the ban of the law, did not sometimes foretell the truth, there would have been no need to warn the people against consulting them. If the devil never told the truth, he would not be able to deceive mankind by his falsehoods. The power of darkness would never prevail without the use of some light. A little truth mixed with plausible error is one of the means by which they lead mankind astray. There is nothing, then, in the history of the interview between Saul and the woman of Endor which, rationally or doctrinally, establishes the opinion that she was a prophetess of the Lord or that Samuel actually appeared on that occasion. There is no satisfactory evidence that the spirits of the departed communicate with mortals through spiritual mediums or any of the means commonly employed for that purpose. Evil spirits, no doubt, act a; "familiars" or as "controls," and either personate the spirits of the dead or |