According To The Laws And

The Old Catholic Church Traditions Are Worth More Than All You Have Said. Here Is A Principle Of Logic That Most Men Have No More Sense Than To Adopt. I Will Illustrate It By An Old Apple Tree. Here Jumps Off A Branch And Says, I Am The True Tree, And You Are Corrupt. If The Whole Tree Is Corrupt, Are Not Its Branches Corrupt? If The Catholic Religion Is A False Religion, How Can Any True Religion Come Out Of It? If The Catholic Church Is Bad, How Can Any Good Thing Come Out Of It?

By Their Complying With Your Request To Leave They [the Saints In Clay County] Are Surrendering Some Of The Dearest Rights Guaranteed In The Constitution Of Our Country; And That Human Nature Can Be Driven To A Certain Extent When It Will Yield No Further.

Let No Man Break The Laws Of The Land, For He That Keepeth The Laws Of God Hath No Need To Break The Laws Of The Land.

The Mayor, Aldermen And Councilors Of The City Of Nauvoo, Il, Before Entering Upon The Duties Of Their Office, Shall Take And Subscribe An Oath Or Affirmation That They Will Support The Constitution Of The United States, And Of This State And That They Will Well And Truly Perform The Duties Of Their Offices To The Best Of Their Skill And Abilities.

And Also Those To Whom These Commandments Were Given, Might Have Power To Lay The Foundation Of This Church, And To Bring It Forth Out Of Obscurity And Out Of Darkness, The Only True And Living Church Upon The Face Of The Whole Earth.