Birmingham age-herald., 1895-06-17
A VERY STRANGE LETTER
Which the Montgomery Darkies Have and Hold in Reyerence-Text of an "Epis-
 tie From Jesus Christ"

Montgomery, June 16.-(Special Corre- spondence.)-A great many negroes in and around Montgomery have in their possession a copy of the following let ter. which they set great store by. Where and from whom they obtained it they will not say. further than. that a prophet of the Lord gave it to them and bade them wear it next to their skins and never under any circumstances to part with it. They firmly believe in its fdcacy and are following out the in- strnctions of the prophet to the letter:
 Copy Of Letter From Jesus Christ,
 And found eighteen miles from Icon ium, siXty-fiVe years after our blessed SaVior's erueitixion, transmitted from the Holy City by converted Jew; faith fully translated from the original He breY copy, now in the possession of Lady Cuba's family at Messopotamia. This letter was written by Jesus Christ, and found under a great stone, both round and. large, at the foot of the cross, eighteen miles from Iconium, near a vil- lage called MeSsopotamia- Upon that stone was written and engraved. Blessed is he that shall turn me over" All people that saw it prayed 10 God earnestly, and desired He would make known to them th-- meaning of this writ ing that they might not attempt in vain to turn it over; in the meantime there came little child about or years old and turned it over without help, to the admiration of all the people present. and under this stone was found letter written by Jesus Christ. which was car ried to the city of Iconium, and there published by person belonging to the Lady Cuba, and on the letter was writ ten,s "The commandments of Jesus Christ signed by the angel Gabriel. twenty-eight years after our Savior's birth.
 A Letter of Jesus Christ.
 Whoever worketh on the Sabbath day shall be cursed; l command you to go to church and keep the Lords day holy, without doing any manner of work You shall not idly m!sspend your time in bedecking yourself with opportunities of costly apparel, and in dresses, for 1 have ordained it a day of rest, I will have it holy, that your sins may be for given you; you shall not break my com mandments, but observe and keep them written with my own hand, write them in your hearts and steadfastly observe this was written with my own hand, spoken by my own mouth. You shall not only go to church yourselves. but also your man servants and your maid servants, and observe my words and learn my commandments; you shall fin ish your labor every Saturday in the af- ternoon by o'clock at which hour the preparation for the Sabbath begins I advise you to fast five Fridays in every year, beginning with Good Friday and to continue the four Fridays immediately following, in remembrance of the five bloody wounds l received for all man. kind; you shall diligently and peacefully labor in your various vacations, wherein it hath pleased God to call you. You shall love one another with brotherly love, and cause them that are not bap- tized to come to church and hear the holy sacraments baptism and the Lords supper. and become members thereof: in so doing I will give you many blessings and comfort you In the great est temptation, and surely he that doeth to the contrary shall be cursed and un- profitable. I will also send hardness of heart upon them till I have destroyed them but especially upon the hardened and impatient unbelievers; he that hath given to the poor he shall not be un- profitable.
 Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. for the seventh day I have taken to myself; and he that hath copy of this letter written with my own hand and spoken with my own mouth, and keeps it without publishing it to others shall not prosper, but he that publishes it shall be blest of me, and though his sins be in number as the stars of the sky. and he that believes in this shall be pardoned, and if he believes not in this writing and my commandments will send my plaques upon him, and conshme both him and his children ano his cattle; and whosoever shall have a copy of this letter written with my own hand, and keep it in their house. nothing shall hurt them, neither pestilence lightning nor thunder shall do them any harm; and if a woman shall be with labor, a copy of this letter be about her and she firmly put her trust in Me, she shall be safely delivered of her birth You shall have no news Of Me, but bs the Holy Spirit, till the day of Judgment
 All prosperity shall be in the house where a copy of this letter shall be found
 (Signed) JESUS Cf1RlSl' National Educational Association, Denver