



Produced by the Mormon Texts Project
(MormonTextsProject.org), with thanks to Paul Freebairn
and Cheryl Jennings for proofreading.







[Frontispiece Image: Mount Calvary.]


THE HAND OF

PROVIDENCE,


AS SHOWN IN THE

HISTORY OF

NATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS,


From the Great Apostasy to the Restoration of the Gospel.


ILLUSTRATED.


BY ELDER J. H. WARD.


SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH:

Published at the Juvenile Instructor Office. 1883.



PREFACE.

Don't throw this book down carelessly. It will do you no harm. It
assumes no dictation. It may benefit you if you will read it carefully.

"We have plenty of histories."

True. But most are too large to be of practical value to the sons and
daughters of toil. Many are written in the interest of some party or
sect, and in order to gain favor, they flatter the vanity of men.

"But they tell of wonderful deeds, and thrilling adventures."

Very true. Some of them are mostly composed of recitals of legalized
slaughter, and praise of tyrants who have climbed to power over the
mangled bodies of their fellow-men, and whose names will not live
in one grateful memory; while the real benefactors of the race, the
unfolding of new and higher truths and, above all, the over-ruling hand
of God are unnoticed, or, at most, barely mentioned.

"Does God rule the world?"

Yes, verily. The greatest actors on the theatre of the world are only
instruments in the hand of God, for the execution of His purposes.

"Where have you obtained the facts contained in this volume?"

From many authentic works, some of them not easily accessible to most
readers.

{IV.}

"This will be a good book for the young, and all those who have not the
opportunity to consult larger works, will it not?"

With this idea it has been written and to this end I dedicate it to my
children as heirs in the kingdom of God, to the youth of Zion and to my
earnest friends everywhere.

THE AUTHOR.

Salt Lake City,

March 16th, 1883.



CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Injustice of Roman Governors--Nero Emperor--Vespasian and Titus
Sent to Judea--Fortifications of Jerusalem--Titus Offers Terms of
Peace--Horrors of the Siege--Women Devour their own Children--Temple
Burned--City Destroyed--Dispersion of the Jews--Universal
Apostasy--Priesthood no More--Ideas of God Perverted--Worship
Corrupted with Heathen Rites--Persecution of Christians--Emperor
Constantine--Rise of Monastic Order.

CHAPTER II.

Description of Arabia--Arabian Customs--Birth of Mahomet--Early
Life--Journey to Syria--Christian Sects--Doctrines Taught by
Mahomet--His Marriage--Proclaims Himself a Prophet--Persecution--Flees
to Medina--Becomes Powerful--Sickness and Death--Personal Appearance.

CHAPTER III.

Causes of Triumphs--Abou-Beker Elected Caliph--War Declared--Fall of
Bozrah--Battle of Aiznadin--Siege of Jerusalem--Departure of Roman
Emperor--Saracen Fleet--Eastern Conquests--Fall of Alexandria--Conquest
of Northern Africa--Conquest of Spain--Battle of Poictiers--Extent of
Saracen Empire.

CHAPTER IV.

Intellectual Stagnation--Saracens and Jews Revive Learning--University
of Bagdad--Public Schools--Medical College of Cairo--Circulating
Library--Modern Form of Books--Arabic Notation--Discoveries in
Chemistry--Rotundity of the Earth--Mariner's Compass--Discoveries of
Alhazin--Astronomical Observatories--Golden Age of Judaism--Cities of
Andalusia--Saracen Dwellings--Condition of Women--Female Physicians.

CHAPTER V.

Jerusalem the Sacred City--Alexandria Noted for Philosophy--School of
Hypatia--Mob Murders Her--Doctrines of Cyril--Jerusalem a Scene of
Suffering--Fulfillment of Prophecy--Herculaneum and Pompeii--Their
Destruction--Evidences {VI.} of their Wickedness--Excavations--Roman
Rule--Removal of Capital--Crimes of Constantine--Commencement
of Greek Empire--Description of Constantinople--Its
Capture by Crusaders--Taken by the Turks--Intellectual
Degradation--Priestcraft--Debauchery--Turkish Rule.

CHAPTER VI.

Growth of Relic-Worship--Schemes of the Roman Pontiffs--Manufacture
of Relics--Their Great Variety--Value of Relics--Insults Offered to
Pilgrims--Peter the Hermit--Crusades--Disorderly Rabble--Terrible
Suffering--Capture of Jerusalem--Terrible Massacre--Capture
of Constantinople--Crusades of the Children--Results of the
Crusades--Revival of Learning.

CHAPTER VII.

The Morning Dawns--Rise of Knighthood--Principles of
Knights--Apostate Priests Held in Contempt--Waldenses--Persecutions
in Southern France--Rise of the Inquisition--Liberal Policy of
Frederick--"Everlasting Gospel"--Its Remarkable Teachings--Bacon's
Discoveries--Geographical Knowledge--Azores and Canary Islands--Travels
of Marco Polo--Condition of European States--Modern States.

CHAPTER VIII.

Lesson from Heathen Mythology--Vicissitudes of Roman Church--Boniface
Pope--Advancement in Civilization--Work of the Roman Church--Invention
of Printing--Gutenberg--Bible First Printed--Columbus--His Wonderful
Dream--His Great Voyage--Discovery of America--Trials and Triumphs.

CHAPTER IX.

History in Words--British Coat of Arms--The Ten Tribes--Account
of Esdras--Dispersion of the Tribes--Mixed Seed of Israel--Effect
on European Society--Jewish Influence--Discovery of Cape of Good
Hope--Pacific Ocean Discovered--Magellan's Voyage--Discovers Cape
Horn--Distance Sailed--Death of Magellan--Voyage Completed--Its Effect
on the Public--Huss and Jerome Burned--John Ziska--Persecutions
of Waldenses--Capture of Mentz--Dispersion of Printers--Hans
Boheim--Joss Fritz--Sale of Indulgences--Martin Luther Burns the Pope's
Letter--Grand Council at Worms--Rome in a Rage--Luther Kidnapped.

CHAPTER X.

Germany Aroused--Peasants' War--Muntzer's Proclamation--Emperor
Quarrels With the Pope--Results in Other {VII.} Countries--Growth
in Modern Languages--Luther's Crowning Work--Power of
Superstition--Witchcraft--Reformers not Inspired--Extracts from
Mosheim--Battle-Ax of God--Copernicus--Galileo--Newton--Death of
Bruno--Change in Commercial Affairs--Spanish Armada--Blessed by the
Pope--Destroyed by a Storm--Its Effect on Europe--England's Influence
and Position--America the Land of Refuge.

CHAPTER XI.

Columbus Destroyed Papal Dogmas--Cruelty of Spaniards--Their
Retribution--Relics in Massachusetts--Newport Tower--Mounds in
Ohio--Remains Found in Iowa--Plates Found in Illinois--Ancient Mexican
Pyramids--Human Sacrifices--View from the Great Pyramid--Ancient
American Sculptures--Mammoths--Mexican Customs--Religious
Rites--Computation of Time--Arts and Sciences--Description of Peru--Its
Civilization--Massacre of the Incas--Testimony of Travellers--Indian
Traditions.

CHAPTER XII.

England's Development--Reign of Elizabeth--Influence of the
Bible--Tyranny of the Kings--Jacques Cartier--Discovery of the
St. Lawrence--Quebec Founded--Acadia Colonized--Transferred to
England--Extracts from Longfellow's Poem--Virginia Settled.

CHAPTER XIII.

Character of the Colonists--They Leave England--Sojourn in
Holland--Brewster's Printing Press--Puritans Embark for America--Their
Trust in God--Robinson's Prophecy--Plymouth Founded--Sufferings of the
Colonists--Conflict in England--Peculiarities of the Puritans--Harvard
College Founded--Extent of Settlements--First Confederation.

CHAPTER XIV.

Description of Holland--A Land of Refuge--Tyranny of Alva--The Struggle
for Independence--Siege of Leyden--The Country Submerged--Famine in the
City--Speech of the Mayor--Heroic Conduct--Trust in God--Storm Raises
the Waters--Spaniards Retreat--Leyden is Saved--Thanksgiving--Waters
Retire.

CHAPTER XV.

Rise of Quakerism--George Fox--William Penn--Founds
Pennsylvania--Kindness to the Indians--Philadelphia Founded--Maryland,
Carolina and Georgia Settled--Roger Williams--Rhode Island Founded--Its
Toleration.

{VIII.}

CHAPTER XVI.

Condition of English Society--Manufacture of Gin and Rum--Origin of
Methodism--Eloquence of Whitfield--John and Charles Wesley--Remarkable
Teachings--Robert Raikes--John Howard--William Wilberforce--Mechanical
Inventions--Growth of American Freedom--Three Great Battles--Cook's
Voyages--Extension of the English Language--Greatness of
Pitt--Washington's Early Life--Benjamin Franklin.

CHAPTER XVII.

Gathering of Political Forces--General Revolution--Civil
Reformers--Decay of Old Institutions--Rosseau and His
Writings--Voltaire--Holland, a Political Refuge--American
Settlers--Lines of Albert B. Street--Growth of the Colonies--Love for
England--Causes of Revolution--Manufactures Forbidden--Stamp Act--Tax
on Tea--Philadelphia Convention--Address to the King--Appeal To
England--To Canada--Incident in Old South Church, Boston--Paul Revere's
R