{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_35554/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_35554","id":"gutenberg_35554","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35554","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christianity","Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines","Latter Day Saints"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by the Mormon Texts Project,\nhttp://bencrowder.net/books/mtp. Volunteers: Benjamin\nBytheway, Meridith Crowder, Ben Crowder, Cameron Dixon,\nEric Heaps, Tod Robbins, David Van Leeuwen.\n\n\n\n\n\nA VOICE OF WARNING\nAND\nINSTRUCTION TO ALL PEOPLE,\n\nOR,\n\nAN INTRODUCTION TO THE FAITH AND DOCTRINE OF THE\nCHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.\n\n\nBy PARLEY P. PRATT.\n\n\nBehold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I\ndeclare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.--_Isaiah xlii,\n9_.\n\nProduce your cause, saith the Lord, bring forth your strong reasons,\nsaith the King of Jacob.--_Isaiah xli, 24_.\n\n\nELEVENTH EDITION.\n\n\nSALT LAKE CITY, UTAH:\n\nDESERET NEWS COMPANY, PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS,\n1881.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n  Preface to the Second European Edition\n  Preface to the First American Edition\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n  On Prophecy already Fulfilled.\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n  On the Fulfilment of Prophecy yet future.\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n  The Kingdom of God.\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n  The Book of Mormon--Origin of the American Indians, etc.\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n  The Resurrection of the Saints, and the Restoration of all things\n  spoken by the Prophets.\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n  The dealings of God with all Nations in regard to Revelation.\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n  A Contrast between the Doctrine of Christ, and the False Doctrines\n  of the nineteenth century.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nTO THE SECOND EUROPEAN EDITION.\n\n\nWhen the following Work was first published in America, in 1837, it\nwas but little known, and seemed to meet with little or no\nencouragement. Months passed away, and very few copies were sold or\nread. But, to the astonishment of the author, it worked itself into\nnotice more and more, by the blessing of God, and by virtue of its own\nreal merits; till, in two years, the first edition, consisting of\nthree thousand copies, was all sold, and many more were called for. A\nnew edition was published in 1839, consisting of two thousand five\nhundred copies; these were also disposed of. Other three editions have\nsince been published, making in all thirteen thousand copies now\ndisposed of, and the demand is still increasing both in America and\nEurope.\n\nIt has already found its way into most of the American States, and\ninto the provinces of the Canadas, as well as many parts of England,\nScotland, Ireland, and Wales. It has visited the cottages of the\nhumble, and the parlors of the great; and from the best information we\nhave on the subject, very few have risen from its perusal without a\ndeep and settled conviction of the truth of its principles.\n\nThe author has now in his possession the testimony of hundreds of\npeople, from different states and nations, all bearing witness that\nthis Work has been a means, in the hands of God, of saving them from\ninfidelity, from sectarian error and delusion, and of guiding them\ninto the light of TRUTH.\n\nAll these considerations, and an intense desire to impart the truth to\nmankind as widely as possible, have induced the author to send forth\nthis new edition; which he greatly desires may prove a blessing to\nthousands who are yet grovelling in darkness and superstition, and\nlead them to the true fold of God.\n\nIf there be anything to admire, or anything praiseworthy in this Work,\nthe author has no claim to the honor or the praise; it is justly due\nto Him who is the Source and Fountain of all TRUTH. The author was a\nhusbandman, inured to the plow--unpolished by education, untaught in\nthe schools of modern Sectarianism, (falsely called \"Divinity\")--\nreared in the wilds of America, with a mind independent, untrammelled\nand free. He drank of the pure fountain of Truth, unsullied and\nunmixed, as it unfolded in majesty of light and splendor from the\nopening heavens in all the simplicity of its nature. As such it has\nflowed from his pen in the following volume; not veiled in mystery;\nnot dressed in the pomp of high-sounding names, and titles, and\nlearned terms; not adorned in the gay attire of eloquence flowing from\nthe imagination and the passions; but standing forth in the undress of\nits own native modesty, as if conscious of the purity and innocence of\nits nature.\n\nHe is indebted not only to the _Spirit_ of Truth for the principles\ncontained in this Work, but also to several men, who have been made\nthe instruments in the hands of God, to reveal the knowledge of God to\nthis generation, and to be the founders and leaders of the Church of\nJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.\n\nAmong the foremost of these, he would make honorable mention of\nPresident Joseph Smith, by whose instrumentality most of these\nglorious truths (so well known to the ancients) have been restored to\nthe knowledge of the world--and whose zeal, labors, sufferings, and\nsubsequent murder, will stand forth as a bright memorial to all\nsucceeding ages, and be celebrated by happy millions yet unborn.\n\nWith an assurance that the principles of this Work will yet prevail\nover the whole earth, this new edition of the VOICE OF WARNING is now\nsent forth; and should the author be called to sacrifice his life for\nthe cause of Truth, he will have the consolation that it will be said\nof him, as it was said of Abel, viz: \"HE, BEING DEAD, YET SPEAKETH.\"\n\n                                               PARLEY P. PRATT.\n\nManchester, England,\n    Dec. 4, 1846.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nTO THE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION.\n\nDuring the last nine years, the public mind has been constantly\nagitated, more or less, through all parts of our country, with the cry\nof \"Mormonism, Mormonism, Delusion, Imposture, Fanaticism,\" etc.,\nchiefly through the instrumentality of the press. Many of the\nnewspapers of the day have been constantly teeming with\nmisrepresentations and slanders of the foulest kind, in order to\ndestroy the influence and character of an innocent society in its very\ninfancy; a society of whose real principles many of them know nothing\nat all. Every species of wickedness has been resorted to, and all\nmanner of evil has been spoken against them falsely; insomuch, that in\nmany places, houses and ears are closed against them, without the\npossibility of being heard for a moment.\n\nWere this the only evil, we might have less cause of complaint; but in\nconsequence of this we have been assaulted by mobs, some of our houses\nhave been torn down or burned, our goods destroyed, and fields of\ngrain laid waste. Yea, more--some of us have been stoned, whipped, and\nshot; our blood has been caused to flow, and still smokes to heaven,\nbecause of our religious principles, in this our native land, the\nboasted land of liberty and equal law! while we have sought in vain\nfor redress. Officers of state have been deaf to the voice of\nInnocence, imploring at their feet for justice and protection in the\nenjoyment of rights as American citizens.\n\nUnder these circumstances, what could be done? How were we to correct\nthe public mind? We were few in number, and our means of giving\ninformation very limited; the columns of most of the papers were\nclosed against us, their popularity being at stake the moment our\nprinciples were admitted. It is true we published a monthly paper, in\nwhich our principles were clearly set forth; but its circulation was\nlimited to a few thousands. Under these circumstances, had we the\ntongue of angels, and the zeal of Apostles, with our hearts expanded\nwide as eternity, with the intelligence of heaven, and the love of God\nburning in our bosoms; and commissioned to bear as joyful tidings as\never were borne by Michael, the Archangel, from the regions of glory;\nyet, it would have been as impossible for us to have communicated the\nsame to the public, as it was for Paul, when he stood in the midst of\nEphesus, to declare the glad tidings of a crucified and risen\nRedeemer, when his voice was lost amid the universal cry of \"Great is\nDiana of the Ephesians!\"\n\nGo, lift your voice to the tumultuous waves of the ocean, or try to\nreason amid the roar of cannon while the tumult of war is gathering\nthick around, or speak to the howling tempest while it pours a deluge\nover the plains; let your voice be heard amid the roar of chariots\nrushing suddenly over the pavements; or, what is still less useful,\nconverse with a man who is lost in slumbers, or reason with a drunkard\nwhile he reels to and fro under the influence of the intoxicating\npoison, and those will convince you of the impossibility of\ncommunicating truth to that soul who is willing to make up his\njudgment upon popular rumor, or to be wafted gently down the current\nof public opinion, without stopping for a moment to listen, to weigh,\nto hear both sides of the question, and judge for himself.\n\nOne of the greatest obstacles in the way of the spread of truth, in\nevery age, is the tide of public opinion. Let one ray of light burst\nupon the world in any age, and it is sure to come in contact with the\ntraditions and long-established usages of men, and their opinions; or\nwith some religious craft, so that, like the Ephesians, they counsel\ntogether what shall be done; their great goddess will be spoken\nagainst, her magnificence despised, her temple deserted; or, what is\nstill worse, their craft is in danger, for by this they have their\nwealth. Call to mind the Apostles in contact with the Jewish Rabbis,\nor with Gentile superstitions; in short, at war with every religious\nestablishment on the earth. Witness the popular clamor: \"If we let\nthem thus alone, all men will believe on them, and the Romans will\ncome and take away our place and nation.\" \"These men that turn the\nworld upside down have come hither also.\" \"What new doctrine is this,\nfor thou bringest certain strange things to our ears?\" \"These men do\nexceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs which are not lawful\nfor us to receive, being Romans.\" \"What will this babbler say, he\nseems to be a setter forth of strange gods?\" And many other such like\nsayings.\n\nOr, let us for a moment contemplate the events of later date; for\ninstance, the Mother Church against the reformers of various ages; see\nthem belied, slandered, degraded, whipped, stoned, imprisoned, burned,\nand destroyed in various ways, while the ignorant multitude were made\nto believe they were the very worst of men.\n\nAgain, think for a moment of the struggles of Columbus, an obscure\nindividual of limited education, but blessed with a largeness of\nheart, a noble genius, a mind which disdained to confine itself to the\nold beaten track; accustomed to think for itself, it burst the chains\nwhich, in ages past, had held in bondage the nations of the earth; it\nsoared aloft, as it were on eagle's wings; it outstripped and left far\nbehind the boasted genius of Greece and Rome; it penetrated the dark\nmysteries which lay concealed amid the western waters. Behold him\nstruggling for eight years against the learned ignorance of the courts\nand councils of Europe, while the sneer of contempt, the finger of\nscorn, and the hiss of derision, were the solid arguments opposed to\nhis theory.\n\nBut what was the result when, after many a fruitless struggle, an\nexpedition was fitted out, consisting of three small vessels? A new\nworld presented itself to the wondering nations of the East, destined,\nat no distant period, to become the theatre of the most glorious and\nastonishing events of the last days. This fact was no sooner\ndemonstrated than their philosophical, geographical, and religious\nobjections vanished in a moment; haughty ignorance and bigotry were\nfor once constrained to cast their honors in the dust, and bow their\nreverend heads at the feet of real worth, and learn, in humble\nsilence, that one fact, clearly demonstrated, was worth ten thousand\ntheories and opinions of men.\n\nHaving said so much to impress upon the human mind the necessity of\nhearing, and then judging, I would only add, that the object of this\npublication is to give the public correct information concerning a\nreligious system, which has penetrated every State from Maine to\nMissouri, as well as the Canadas, in the short space of nine years;\norganizing Churches and Conferences in every region, and gathering in\nits progress from fifty to a hundred thousand disciples; having, at\nthe same time, to sustain the shock of an overwhelming, religious\ninfluence, opposed to it by the combined powers of every sect in\nAmerica. What but the arm of Omnipotence could have moved it forward\namid the rage of mobs? having to contend with the prejudice of the\nignorant and the pen of the learned; at war with every creed and craft\nin Christendom; while the combined powers of earth and hell were\nhurling a storm of persecution, unparalleled in the history of our\ncountry.\n\nThis Work is also intended as a warning voice, or proclamation of\ntruth, to all people into whose hands it may fall, that they may\nunderstand, and be prepared for the great day of the Lord. Opinion and\nguesswork in the things of God are worse than useless; facts, well\ndemonstrated, can alone be of service to mankind. And as the Holy\nGhost can alone guide us into all truth, we pray God the Eternal\nFather, in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, that the Spirit of Truth\nmay inspire our hearts in inditing this matter; that we may be able to\nwrite the truth in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that it\nmay be the word of God, the everlasting Gospel, the power of God unto\nsalvation, to the Gentile first, and also to the Jew.\n\n\n\n\nA VOICE OF WARNING\nAND\nINSTRUCTION TO ALL PEOPLE.\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nON PROPHECY ALREADY FULFILLED.\n\n\n    We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well\n    that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,\n    until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing\n    this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private\n    interpretation; for the prophecy came not in old time by the will\n    of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved upon by the\n    Holy Ghost.--PETER.\n\nIn order to prove anything from Scripture, it is highly necessary in\nthe first place to lay down some certain, definite, infallible rule of\ninterpretation, without which the mind is lost in uncertainty and\ndoubt, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the\ntruth.\n\nThe neglect of such a rule has thrown mankind into the utmost\nconfusion and uncertainty in all their biblical researches. Indeed,\nwhile mankind are left at liberty to transform, spiritualize, or give\nany uncertain or private interpretation to the word of God, all is\nuncertainty.\n\n\"Whatsoever was written aforetime, was written for our profit and\nlearning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures,\nmight have hope.\" Now, suppose a friend from a distance should write\nus a letter, making certain promises to us on certain conditions,\nwhich, if we obtained, would be greatly to our profit and advantage:\nof course it might be said the letter was written for our profit and\nlearning, that through patience and comfort of the letter we might\nhave hope to obtain the things promised. Now if we clearly understood\nthe letter, and knew what to expect, then it would afford us comfort\nand hope; whereas, if there was any doubt or uncertainty on our minds\nin the understanding of the same, then could we derive no certain\ncomfort or hope from the things written, not knowing what to hope for;\nconsequently the letter would not profit us at all. And so it is with\nthe Scriptures. No prophecy or promise will profit the reader, or\nproduce patience, comfort, or hope in his mind until clearly\nunderstood, that he may know precisely what to hope for. Now, the\npredictions of the Prophets can be clearly understood, as much so as\nthe almanac when it foretells an eclipse; or else the Bible of all\nbooks is of most doubtful usefulness. Far better would it have been\nfor mankind, if the great Author of our existence had revealed nothing\nto His fallen creatures, than to have revealed a book which would\nleave them in doubt and uncertainty, to contend with one another, from\nage to age, respecting the meaning of its contents. That such\nuncertainty and contention have existed for ages, none will deny. The\nwise and learned have differed, and do still widely differ, from each\nother, in the understanding of prophecy. Whence then this difference?\nEither Revelation itself is deficient, or else the fault is in\nmankind. But to say Revelation is deficient, would be to charge God\nfoolishly; God forbid: the fault must be in man. There are two great\ncauses for this blindness, which I will now show:\n\nFirst, mankind have supposed that direct inspiration by the Holy Ghost\nwas not intended for all ages of the Church, but was confined to\nprimitive times; the \"Canon of Scripture being full,\" and all things\nnecessary being revealed; the Spirit which guides into all truth was\nno longer for the people: therefore they sought to understand, by\ntheir own wisdom, and by their own learning, what could never be\nclearly understood, except by the Spirit of Truth: for the things of\nGod knoweth no man, except by the Spirit of God.\n\nSecondly, having lost the Spirit of Inspiration, they began to\ninstitute their own opinions, traditions, and commandments; giving\nconstructions and private interpretations to the written word, instead\nof believing the things written. And the moment they departed from its\nliteral meaning, one man's opinion, or interpretation, was just as\ngood as another's; all were clothed with equal authority, and from\nthence arose all the darkness and misunderstanding on these points,\nwhich have agitated the world for the last seventeen hundred years.\n\nAmong the variety of commodities which attract the attention of\nmankind, there is one thing of more value than all others. A principle\nwhich, if once possessed, will greatly assist in obtaining all other\nthings worth possessing, whether it were power, wealth, riches,\nhonors, thrones, or dominions. Comparatively few have ever possessed\nit, although it was within the reach of many others, but they were\neither not aware of it, or did not know its value. It has worked\nwonders for the few who have possessed it. Some it enabled to escape\nfrom drowning, while every soul who did not possess it was lost in the\nmighty deep. Others it saved from famine, while thousands perished all\naround them; by it men have often been raised to dignity in the state;\nyea, more, some have been raised to the throne of empires. The\npossession of it has sometimes raised men from a dungeon to a palace;\nand there are instances in which those that possessed it were\ndelivered from the flames, while cities were consumed, and every soul,\nthemselves excepted, perished. Frequently, when a famine or the sword\nhas destroyed a city or nation, they alone who possessed it escaped\nunhurt. By this time the reader inquires, What can this be? Inform me,\nand I will purchase it, even at the sacrifice of all I possess on\nearth. Well, kind reader, this treasure is FOREKNOWLEDGE! a knowledge\nof things future! Let a book be published, entitled, \"A Knowledge of\nthe Future,\" and let mankind be really convinced that it did give a\ncertain, definite knowledge of future events, so that its pages unfold\nthe future history of the nations, and of many great events, as the\nhistory of Greece or Rome does unfold the past, and a large edition\nwould immediately sell at a great sum per copy; indeed, they would be\nabove all price. Now, kind reader, the books of the Prophets, and the\nSpirit of Prophecy were intended for this very purpose. Well did the\nApostle say, \"Covet earnestly the best gifts; but rather that ye\nprophesy.\"\n\nHaving said so much, we will now enter into the wide expanded field\nwhich lies before us, and search out the treasures of wisdom and\nknowledge which have been shining for ages like a light in a dark\nplace. We will explore regions unknown to many; we will gaze upon the\nopening glories which present themselves on every side, and feast our\nsouls with knowledge which is calculated in its nature to enlarge the\nheart, to exalt the mind, and to raise the affections above the\nlittle, mean, grovelling things of the world, and to make one wise\nunto salvation.\n\nBut, first, for the definite rule of interpretation. For this we will\nnot depend on any man or commentary, for the Holy Ghost has given it\nby the mouth of Peter: \"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the\nScripture is of any private interpretation.\" 2 Peter i, 20.\n\nThere is one grand division to be kept constantly, in view in the\nstudy of prophecy; namely, the distinction between the past and the\nfuture. The reader should be careful to ascertain what portion has\nbeen fulfilled, and what remains to be fulfilled: always remembering\nPeter's rule of interpretation will apply to both. Now, if we should\nfind in our researches that every prophecy which has been fulfilled to\nthe present year, has been _literally_ fulfilled, then it follows of\nnecessity that every prophecy which is yet future will not fail of a\n_literal_ fulfilment. Let us commence with the days of Noah. Gen. vi,\n17: \"And behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth,\nto destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under\nheaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.\"\n\nIn the verses which follow the above the Lord commands Noah to enter\nthe Ark, and take with him animals of every kind, etc. And in the 22d\nverse it is written, \"Thus did Noah, according to all that God\ncommanded him, so did he.\" It was well for Noah that he was not well\nversed in the spiritualizing systems of modern divinity; for, under\ntheir benighted influence, he would never have believed that so\nmarvelous a prophecy would have had a literal meaning and\naccomplishment. No, he would have been told that the flood meant a\nspiritual flood, and the Ark a spiritual Ark, and, the moment he\nthought otherwise, he would have been set down for a fanatic, knave,\nor fool; but it was so, that he was just simple enough to believe the\nprophecy literally. Here then is a fair sample of _foreknowledge_; for\nall the world, who did not possess it, perished by the flood.\n\nThe next prediction we will notice is Gen. xv, 13-16. \"And he said\nunto Abraham. Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a\nland that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict\nthem four hundred years. And also that nation, whom they shall serve,\nwill I judge; and afterwards shall they come out with great substance.\nAnd thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a\ngood old age; but in the fourth generation they shall come hither\nagain, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.\"\n\nThe evil entreating of the children of Israel four hundred years,\ntogether with their coming out with great substance, and the judgment\nof God upon Egypt, as well as the death of Abraham in a good old age,\nare all facts too well known to need comment here; suffice it to say,\nthat it is a striking example of the exact fulfilment of prophecy,\nuttered more than four hundred years before it had its accomplishment.\nFrom this we gather that none of those ancient men knew anything of\nthe modern system of spiritualizing.\n\nOur next is Gen. xix, 12, 13: \"And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou\nhere any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and\nwhatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: for we\nwill destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxed great before\nthe face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.\" Now,\nLot being simple enough to believe the thing in its literal sense,\ntook as many of his family as would follow, and escaped for his life;\nto the great amusement, no doubt, of the Sodomites, who probably stood\ngazing after, crying \"Delusion, delusion!\" they thinking all the while\nthat the prophecy was only a figure. Here is an example of a man\nescaping from the flames by _foreknowledge_ imparted to him, while the\nwhole city perished. O! what a blessing that Lot had no knowledge of\nthe modern manner of interpreting prophecy. If it had once entered his\nheart that he must come out of Sodom spiritually, instead of\nliterally, it would have cost him his life.\n\nLet us examine a prophecy of Joseph in the land of Egypt. Gen. xli,\n29-31: \"Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all\nthe land of Egypt: and there shall arise after them seven years of\nfamine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt;\nand the famine shall consume the land: and the plenty shall not be\nknown in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be\nvery grievous.\" Joseph then proceeds to give directions for corn to be\nlaid up in great abundance during the seven plenteous years, in order\nto provide against the famine. And Pharaoh, being no better versed in\nthe school of modern divinity than his predecessors, never once\nthought of any other interpretation but the most literal, And thus he\nwas the means, together with Joseph, in the hand of God, of saving,\nnot only their nation, but the house of Israel, from famine. This is\nanother striking example of the power of _foreknowledge_. _It_ not\nonly saved from famine, but it exalted Joseph from a dungeon to a\npalace; from the lowest degradation to the highest honor; so that they\ncried before him, \"Bow the knee!\" But, O! what death and mourning\nwould have followed had they dreamed only of spiritual famine and\nspiritual corn.\n\nHaving given a few plain examples of early ages, we will lightly touch\nupon some of the most remarkable events of prophecy, and its\nfulfilment, until we come down to the Jewish Prophets, where the field\nopens wide, touching in its progress the most remarkable events of all\nages, and terminating in a full development of the opening glories of\nthe last days.\n\nOne remarkable instance, concerning Elijah the Prophet, was, that he\nprophesied to Ahab that it should not rain for three years and\nupwards, which came to pass according to his word. There is also a\nremarkable instance of Hazael, the Syrian, who came to Elisha to\ninquire of the Lord concerning the king of Syria, his master, who was\nsick. The Prophet, earnestly beholding him, burst into tears: and\nHazael asked him, saying, \"Why weepest thou?\" and he, answering, said,\n\"The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.\" And he\nthen proceeded to unfold unto him the cruelties which he would\nafterwards exercise towards Israel, which are too horrible to mention\nhere, lest in so doing I might offend the delicate ear. But Hazael,\nastonished to hear these things predicted concerning himself, which at\nthat time filled him with horror, exclaimed with surprise, \"But what?\nis thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?\" Yet\nastonishing to tell, all was afterwards fulfilled to the very letter.\n\nIn the 21st chapter, 2 Chron., it is written that there came a writing\nto Jehoram from Elijah, which, after stating the great wickedness of\nwhich he had been guilty, in turning to idolatry, and also murdering\nhis brethren of his father's house, who were better than himself,\nproceeds thus: \"Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy\npeople, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods; and thou\nshalt have great sickness by disease of the bowels, until thy bowels\nfall out, by reason of thy sickness, day by day.\" In the same chapter\nit is written, that the Philistines and Arabians came against him, and\ntook his wives, and children, and goods captive; and after all this,\nthe Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease, and his\nbowels fell out by reason of his sickness, so he died of sore disease.\n\nIn the 6th chapter of Joshua, 26th verse, there is a wonderful\nprediction concerning Jericho: \"Cursed be the man before the Lord,\nthat riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho. He shall lay the\nfoundation thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he\nset up the gates of it.\"\n\nAfter this curse the city of Jericho lay waste for ages, none daring\nto rebuild it at the expense of their first-born and of their youngest\nson; until after a long succession of judges and kings, when hundreds\nof years had passed, Hiel the Bethelite, who lived in the days of\nAhab, probably supposing that the Lord had forgotten the curse\npronounced upon it by Joshua, ventured to rebuild the city: but no\nsooner had he laid the foundation thereof than Abiram his first-born\ndied, and, still persevering in the hardness of his heart, he set up\nthe gates thereof, with the loss of his youngest son, Segub, according\nto the word of the Lord by Joshua; see 1 Kings, xvi, 34. We might\nfill a volume with instances of a similar kind, dispersed through the\nhistorical part of the Scriptures; but we forbear, in order to hasten\nto a more full examination of the books of the Jewish Prophets. We\nshall trace them in their fulfilment upon Jerusalem, Babylon, Tyre,\nEgypt, and various other nations.\n\nBabylon, the most ancient and renowned city of the world, was\npleasantly situated on the banks of a majestic river, that flowed\nthrough the plains of Shinar, near to which the tower of Babel once\nstood. It was laid out four square, and surrounded with a wall upwards\nof three hundred feet high, and sixty miles in circumference; having a\nhundred gates of brass with bars of iron; twenty-five gates on each\nside, which opened to streets running through the city, a distance of\nfifteen miles; thus forming the whole city into exact squares of equal\nsize. In the midst of these squares were beautiful gardens, adorned\nwith trees and walks, diversified with flowers of varied hue; while\nthe houses were built upon the borders of the squares, directly\nfronting on the streets. In the midst of this city sat Nebuchadnezzar,\nenthroned in royal splendor and magnificence, and swaying his sceptre\nover all the kingdoms of the world, when it pleased God, in a vision\nof the night, to unveil the dark curtain of the future, and to present\nbefore him, at one view, the history of the world, even down to the\nconsummation of all things. Behold, a great image stood before him,\nwhose head was of fine gold, his breast and arms of silver, his belly\nand thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet and toes part of iron\nand part of miry clay. He beheld, till a stone was cut out of the\nmountain without hands, which smote the image upon the feet, which\nwere part of iron and part of clay, and brake them in pieces; then was\nthe iron, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces\ntogether, and became as the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and\nthe wind carried them away, and there was no place found for them; but\nthe stone which smote the image became a great mountain, and filled\nthe whole earth. When Daniel was brought in before the king, to tell\nthe dream and the interpretation, he exclaimed, \"There is a God in\nheaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king,\nNebuchadnezzar, what shall be in the latter days.\" Then, after telling\nthe dream, he continues thus: \"Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for\nthe God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and\nglory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the\nfield and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and\nhath made thee ruler over them all. Thou _art_ this head of gold. And\nafter thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another\nthird kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And\nthe fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh\nin pieces and subdueth all _things_; and as iron that breaketh all\nthese, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest\nthe feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the\nkingdom shall be divided: but there shall be in it of the strength of\nthe iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And\n_as_ the toes of the feet _were_ part of iron, and part of clay, _so_\nthe kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas\nthou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves\nwith the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even\nas iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall\nthe God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:\nand the kingdom shall not be left to other people, _but_ it shall\nbreak in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand\nforever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the\nmountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the\nbrass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made\nknown to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream\n_is_ certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.\"\n\nIn this great view of the subject we have presented before us, in\nsuccession, first, the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar; second, the Medes\nand Persians, who took Babylon from Belshazzar, and reigned over all\nthe earth; third, the Greeks under Alexander, who conquered the world,\nand reigned in the midst of Babylon; and fourth, the Roman empire,\nwhich subdued all things; fifth, its division into eastern and western\nempires, and its final breaking up or subdivision into the various\nkingdoms of modern Europe, represented by the feet and toes, part of\niron and part of clay. And, lastly, we have presented before us an\nentirely new kingdom, organized by the God of heaven in the last days,\nor during the reign of these kings, represented by the feet and toes.\nThis last kingdom was never to change masters, like all the kingdoms\nwhich had gone before it. It was never to be left to another people.\nIt was to break in pieces all these kingdoms, and stand forever. Many\nsuppose that this last kingdom alluded to was the kingdom of God which\nwas organized in the days of Christ, or his Apostles. But a greater\n_blunder_ could not exist; the kingdom of God set up in the days of\nChrist, or his Apostles, did not break in pieces any of the kingdoms\nof the world: it was itself warred against and overcome, in fulfilment\nof the words of Daniel, chapter vii, 21; \"I beheld, and the same horn\nmade war with the saints, and prevailed against them;\" also 22d verse,\n\"Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints\nof the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the\nkingdom;\" also verse 27th, \"And the kingdom and dominion, and the\ngreatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, shall be given to\nthe people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an\neverlasting kingdom; and all dominions shall serve and obey him.\"\n\nJohn records, Rev. xiii. 7, \"And it was given unto him to make war\nwith the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over\nall kindreds, and tongues, and nations.\" In fulfilment of these\nsayings, power has been given, to the authorities of the earth to kill\nthe Apostles and inspired men, until, if any remained, they were\nbanished from among men, or forced to retire to the desolate islands,\nor the dens and caves of the mountains of the earth, being men of whom\nthe world was not worthy; while at the same time, many false prophets\nand teachers were introduced in their place, whom men heaped to\nthemselves, because they would not endure sound doctrine. In this way\nthe kingdom of God became _disorganized_, and _lost_ from among men,\nand the doctrines and churches of men instituted in its place. But we\ndesign to speak more fully on this subject when we come to treat on\nthe subject of the kingdom of God. Suffice it to say, that the kingdom\nspoken of by Daniel is something to be organized in the last days, by\nthe God of heaven Himself, without the aid of human institutions or\nthe precepts of men. And, when once organized, it will never cease to\nroll; all the powers of earth and hell will not impede its progress,\nuntil at length the Ancient of Days shall sit, and the Lord Jesus will\ncome in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, as the King\nof kings, and Lord of lords, and destroy all these kingdoms, and give\nthe kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven,\nto the Saints. Then there will be but one Lord, and His name one, and\nHe shall be King over all the earth.\n\nWe will now return to Nebuchadnezzar, whom the Lord, by the mouth of\nJeremiah, calls His servant, to execute His judgment upon the nations.\nIt seems that the Lord exalted this great man, and made him a king of\nkings, and lord of lords, arming him with His own sword, and clothing\nhim with power and authority, for the express purpose of executing His\njudgments, and scourging and humbling all the nations of the earth.\nJeremiah, chapter xxv, says that the Lord purposed to bring\nNebuchadnezzar and his army against Jerusalem, and against all the\nnations round about, that he might bring them to desolation and\ncaptivity for seventy years; and after seventy years, He would turn\nand punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their iniquity.\nNow, who can trace the history of the fulfilment of these great\nevents, so exactly pointed out by Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, and\nnot be struck with astonishment and wonder at the marvellous _gift of\nprophecy_ enabling men in those days to read the history of the future\nas they read the history of the past? Indeed, the reader of history in\nthe nineteenth century, holding in his hand the history of the\nBabylonians, Medes and Persians, Greeks, Romans and Egyptians,\ntogether with that of the Jews, will hardly render himself more\nfamiliar with the events which transpired among those nations, than\nthe Prophets were seventy years previous to their accomplishment.\n\nThe Jews were reduced to subjection by Nebuchadnezzar; their city,\nJerusalem, was burned, together with their temple; their princes,\nnobles, and people were carried to Babylon, together with all their\nholy things. All the particulars of this destruction and captivity\nwere distinctly foretold by Jeremiah, and the time of its continuance,\nviz., seventy years. After subduing the Jews, the king of Babylon\nmarched his army against Tyre, the city of merchants, situated at the\nhaven of the sea, surrounded not only by the sea, but by a strong\nwall. A hold so strong required the utmost skill and perseverance of\nNebuchadnezzar and his whole army, who labored incessantly for a long\ntime, and at length succeeded in taking Tyre, and bringing it into\ncaptivity for seventy years. After which they returned and established\ntheir city, for Jeremiah had previously foretold the reduction of\nTyre, its captivity for seventy years, and its restoration at the\nexpiration of that time. After the restoration of Tyre, the city\nflourished for a time, but was afterwards reduced to an entire\ndesolation. Its ruined fragments are seen to this day in the bottom of\nthe sea; its site has become a barren rock, only occupied by poor\nfishermen. All this desolation, and even its present appearance of\ndesolation and perpetual waste, were clearly pointed out by the\nProphets.\n\nBut when the king of Babylon had succeeded in taking Tyre, after many\na bald head and peeled shoulder, caused by the hard service of his\narmy in the siege, the Lord, by the mouth of Ezekiel, promised to give\nthe spoils of Egypt unto him, for wages for his army, in order to pay\nhim for the great service, wherewith he had served God, against Tyre.\nNext, witness his war in the taking of Egypt, and bringing it into\ncaptivity, until the seventy years were accomplished.\n\nAnd, finally, trace him executing the Lord's vengeance and anger\nagainst Uz, upon the kings of the Philistines, and Askelon, Azaah;\nEkrom, Edom, Moab, Ammon; Dedan, Tema, and Buz; and upon the kings of\nArabia, Zimri and Elam; and upon all the kings of the Medes; and upon\nall the kings of the north, far and near; and finally upon all the\nkingdoms of the world, who were to be drunken, and spew, and fall to\nrise no more, because of the sword which He would send among them.\nBut, when the Lord had accomplished all his mind on these nations, He\npurposed, in turn, to punish this great monarch, and those who\nsucceeded him; and also the city and nation over which he reigned; and\nfinally to make it perpetual desolations. And all this for their pride\nand haughtiness. The Lord exclaims: \"Shall the ax boast itself against\nhim that heweth therewith, or shall the saw boast itself against him\nthat shaketh it?\" etc. But, in order to trace the events of the return\nof the Jews, and the other nations, from their seventy years'\ncaptivity and bondage, and the punishment of Babylon, another and very\ndifferent character from that of Nebuchadnezzar is introduced by the\nProphets--one who is in Scripture termed the Lord's anointed. He may\nbe considered one of the most extraordinary characters that ever the\nheathen world produced: his mildness, courage, perseverance, success,\nand, above all, his strict obedience to the command of _that_ God\nwhich neither he nor his fathers had known, all go to prove that\nIsaiah was not mistaken when he called him by name, as the Lord's\nanointed, to deliver the nations from bondage, to scourge and subdue\nthe greatest city and monarchy that have at any time existed on the\nearth, and to restore the Jews, and rebuild their city and temple.\nIndeed, he was one of those few whom the world never produces except\nfor extraordinary purposes. But let us hear the Prophet's own\ndescription of him, Isaiah, chapter xlv: \"Thus saith the Lord to his\nanointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue nations\nbefore him: and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him\nthe two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go\nbefore thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in\npieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron. And I\nwill give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret\nplaces, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy\nname, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel\nmine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee,\nthough thou hast not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none else,\nthere is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known\nme: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west,\nthat there is none besides me.\" In the 13th verse, he says: \"I have\nraised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he\nshall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price\nnor reward, saith the Lord of hosts.\" The reader will bear in mind\nthat Isaiah lived about one hundred years before the Jewish captivity,\nand one hundred and seventy years before Cyrus caused their return.\n\nHere I would pause and inquire, What power but the power of the great\nGod could enable one man to call another by name, a century before his\nbirth, and also to foretell correctly the history of his life? What\nmust have been his wonder and astonishment, when, after many years of\nwars and commotions, during which he marched forth, conquering and to\nconquer, gathering as a nest the riches of the nations, he at last\npitched his camp near the walls of the strongest hold in all the\nearth? He gazed upon its walls of upwards of three hundred feet in\nheight, with its gates of brass and its bars of iron: the people\nwithin feeling perfectly safe, with provisions enough to last the\ninhabitants of the city for several years. How could he think of\ntaking that city? Who would not have shrunk from such an undertaking,\nunless inspired by the great Jehovah? But, turning the river Euphrates\nfrom its course, and marching under the walls of the city, in the\ndried bed of the river, he found himself in possession of the city,\nwithout any difficulty; for Belshazzar, the king, was drinking himself\ndrunk, with his nobles and concubines, and that, too, from the vessels\nof the House of the Lord which his father had taken from Jerusalem,\nand his knees had already smote together with horror, from the\nhandwriting on the wall, which Daniel had just been called in to\ninterpret, giving his kingdom to the Medes and Persians. Having\nsubdued this great monarchy, he seated himself upon the throne of\nkingdoms; and, becoming familiar with Daniel, he was, no doubt,\nintroduced to an acquaintance with the Jewish records, and then the\nmystery was unfolded: he could then see that God had called him by\nname, that the Almighty hand girded him for the battle, and directed\nall his work; he could then understand why the treasures of the earth\npoured themselves into his bosom, and why the loins of kings had been\nunloosed before him, and why the gates of brass had been opened, and\nthe bars of iron burst asunder. It was that he might know that there\nwas a God in Israel, and none else, and that all idols were as\nnothing; that he might also restore the Jews, and rebuild their city\nand temple, and fulfil God's purposes upon Babylon. He accordingly\nissued his proclamation to the Jews to return, and for the nations to\nassist them in rebuilding, \"for,\" said he, \"God hath commanded me to\nbuild him an house at Jerusalem.\" Ezra, chapter i, 2, 3, says: \"Thus\nsaith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all\nthe kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an\nhouse at Jerusalem, which is in Judea. Who is there among you of all\nhis people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which\nis in Judea, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, he is the\nGod which is in Jerusalem.\"\n\nWhat powerful argument, what mighty influence was it which caused\nCyrus to be convinced that it was the God of heaven who dwelt at\nJerusalem, who alone was God, and who had done all these things? He\nhad not been traditioned in the belief of the true God, nor of the\nholy Scriptures. Nay, he had ever been very zealous in the worship of\nidols; it was to idols he looked for assistance in the former part of\nhis life. I reply, it was the power of God, made manifest by prophecy\nand its fulfilment; not in a spiritualized sense, not in some obscure,\nuncertain, or dark, mysterious way, which was difficult to be\nunderstood; but in positive, literal, plain demonstration, which none\ncould gainsay or resist. Isaiah says that this was the object the Lord\nhad in view when he revealed such plainness. And Cyrus manifested that\nit had the desired effect.\n\nI would here remark that when we come to treat of that part of\nprophecy which yet remains to be fulfilled, we shall bring proof\npositive that the heathen nations of the latter days are to be\nconvinced in the same way that Cyrus was; that is, there are certain\nevents plainly predicted in the Prophets, yet future, which, when\nfulfilled, will convince all the heathen nations of the true God, and\nthey shall know that he hath spoken and performed it. And all the\ngreat and learned men of Christendom, and all societies, who put any\nother than a _literal_ construction on the word of prophecy, shall\nstand confounded, and be constrained to acknowledge that all has come\nto pass even as it is written.\n\nBut to return to our research of prophecy and its fulfilment. The\nProphets had not only predicted the reduction of Babylon by Cyrus, but\nthey had denounced its fate through all ages, until reduced to entire\ndesolation, never to be inhabited, not even as a temporary residence\nfor the wandering Arab: \"And the Arabian shall not pitch tent there.\"\nSee Isaiah, xiii, 19-22.\n\nMr. Joseph Wolfe, the celebrated Jewish missionary, while traveling in\nChaldea, inquired of the Arabs whether they pitched their tents among\nthe ruins of Babylon, to which they replied in the negative, declaring\ntheir fears that, should they do so, Nimrod's ghost would haunt them.\nThus all the predictions of the Prophets concerning that mighty city\nhave been fulfilled.\n\nEdom also presents a striking fulfilment of plain and pointed\npredictions in the Prophets. These predictions were pronounced upon\nEdom at a time when its soil was very productive and well cultivated,\nand everywhere abounding in flourishing towns and cities. But now its\ncities have become heaps of desolate ruins, only inhabited by the\ncormorant, bittern, and by wild beasts, serpents, etc., and its soil\nhas become barren; the Lord has cast upon it the line of confusion,\nand the stones of emptiness, and it has been waste from generation to\ngeneration, in express fulfilment of the word of prophecy.\n\nWe will now give a passing notice of the vision of Daniel, recorded in\nthe eighth chapter of his prophecies, concerning the ram and the goat.\nThe reader would do well to turn and read the whole chapter; but we\nwill more particularly notice the interpretation, as it was given him\nby Gabriel, recorded from the nineteenth to the twenty-fifth verses.\nAnd he said: \"I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of\nthe indignation, for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram\nwhich thou sawest having two horns, are the kings of Media and Persia:\nand the rough goat is the king of Grecia; and the great horn that is\nbetween the eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas\nfour stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation,\nbut not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when\nthe transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance,\nand understanding dark sentences, shall stand up; and his power shall\nbe mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully,\nand shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the\nholy people; and through his policy also he shall cause craft to\nprosper in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and\nby peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince\nof princes; but he shall be broken without hand.\" In this vision we\nhave first presented the Medes and Persians, as they were to exist\nuntil they were conquered by Alexander the Great. Now, it is a fact\nwell known that this empire waxed exceedingly great for some time\nafter the death of Daniel, pushing its conquests westward, northward,\nand southward, so that none could stand before it; until Alexander,\nthe king of Grecia, came from the west, with a small army of chosen\nmen, and attacked the Persians upon the banks of the river, and\nplunging his horse in, and his army following, they crossed, and\nattacked the Persians, who stood to oppose them on the bank with many\ntimes their number; but, notwithstanding their number, and their\nadvantage of the ground, they were totally routed, and the Grecians\nproceeded to overrun and subdue the country, beating the Persians in a\nnumber of pitched battles, until they were entirely subdued. It is\nalso well known that Alexander, the king of Greece, went forth from\nnation to nation, subduing the world before him, until, having\nconquered the world, he died at Babylon, at the age of thirty-two\nyears. And thus, when he had waxed strong, the great horn was broken,\nand for it came up four notable ones towards the four winds of heaven.\nHis kingdom was divided among four of his generals, who never attained\nunto his power. Now, in the latter time of their kingdom, when the\ntransgression of the Jewish nation was come to the full, the Roman\npower destroyed the Jewish nation, took Jerusalem, caused the daily\nsacrifice to cease, and not only that, bat afterwards destroyed the\nmighty and holy people, that is, the Apostles and primitive\nChristians, who were slain by the authorities at Rome.\n\nNow, let me inquire, Does the history of these United States give a\nplainer account of past events than Daniel's wisdom did of events\nwhich were then future, and some of them reaching down the stream of\ntime for several hundred years, unfolding events which no human\nsagacity could possibly have foreseen? Man, by his own sagacity, may\naccomplish many things; he may plough the trackless ocean without wind\nor tide in his favor; he may soar aloft amid the clouds without the\naid of wings; he may traverse the land with astonishing velocity\nwithout the aid of beasts; or he may convey his thoughts to his\nfellows by the aid of letters. But there is a principle which he can\nnever attain to; no, not even by the wisdom of ages combined; money\nwill not purchase it; it comes from God only, and is bestowed upon man\nas a free gift. Says the Prophet to the idols, \"_Tell us what shall\nbe, thai we may know that ye are gods_.\"\n\nWe will now proceed to show how exactly the prophecies were fulfilled\n_literally_ in the person of Jesus Christ. \"Behold,\" said the Prophet,\n\"a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.\" Again, Bethlehem should be\nthe place of his birth, and Egypt, where he sojourned with his\nparents, the place out of which he was to be called. He turned aside\nto Nazareth, for it was written, \"He shall be called a Nazarene.\" He\nrode into Jerusalem upon a colt, the foal of an ass, because the\nProphet had said, \"Behold thy King cometh, meek and lowly, riding upon\na colt,\" etc. And again, saith the Prophet: \"He shall be afflicted and\ndespised; he shall be a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; he\nshall be led as a lamb to the slaughter, and, like a sheep dumb before\nhis shearers, so he opened not his mouth; in his humiliation his\njudgment was taken away; and who shall declare his generation, for his\nlife is taken from the earth. He was wounded for our transgressions,\nand by his stripes we are healed; he was numbered with the\ntransgressors; he made his grave with the rich.\" Not a bone of him is\nbroken; they divide his raiment; cast lots for his vesture; give him\ngall and vinegar to drink; betray him for thirty pieces of silver; and\nfinally, when it was finished, he rested in the tomb until the third\nday, and then rose triumphant, without seeing corruption. Now, kind\nreader, had you walked up and down with our dear Redeemer during his\nwhole sojourn in the flesh, and had you taken pains to record the\nparticular circumstances of his life and death, as they occurred from\ntime to time, your history would not be a plainer one than the\nProphets gave of him hundreds of years before he was born. There is\none thing we would do well to notice concerning the manner in which\nthe Apostles interpreted prophecy, and that is this--they simply\nquoted it, and recorded its literal fulfilment. By pursuing this\ncourse, they were enabled to bring it home to the hearts of the people\nin the Jewish synagogues, with such convincing proof that they were\nconstrained to believe the supposed impostor whom they had crucified\nwas the Messiah. But had they once dreamed of rendering a\nspiritualizing or uncertain application, like the teachers of the\npresent day, all would have been uncertainty and doubt, and\ndemonstration would have vanished from the earth.\n\nHaving taken a view of the Old Testament Prophets, concerning prophecy\nand its fulfilment, and having shown clearly that nothing but a\nliteral fulfilment was intended, the objector may inquire whether the\nsame mode will apply to the predictions contained in the New\nTestament. We will therefore bring a few important instances of\nprophecy, and its fulfilment, from the New Testament; after which we\nshall be prepared to enter the vast field which is still future. One\nof the most remarkable prophecies in sacred writ is recorded by Luke,\nchap, xxi, 20-24: \"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with\narmies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them\nwhich are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let them which are in\nthe midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries\nenter thereinto; for these be the days of vengeance, that all things\nwhich are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with\nchild, and to them that give suck in those days; for there shall be\ngreat distress in the land, and wrath upon this people; and they shall\nfall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all\nnations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until\nthe times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.\" This prophecy involves the\nfate of Jerusalem and the temple, and the whole Jewish nation, for at\nleast eighteen hundred years. About the year seventy, the Roman army\ncompassed Jerusalem. The disciples remembered the warning which had\nbeen given them by their Lord and Master forty years before, and fled\nto the mountains. The city of Jerusalem was taken, after a long and\ntedious siege, in which the Jews suffered the extreme of famine,\npestilence and the sword; filling houses with the dead, for want of a\nplace to bury them, while women ate their own children, for want of\nall things. In this struggle there perished, in Judea, near one\nmillion and a half of Jews, besides those taken captive. Their country\nwas laid waste, their city burned, their temple destroyed, and the\nmiserable remnant dispersed abroad into all the nations of the earth;\nin which situation they have continued ever since, being driven from\none nation to another, often falsely accused of the worst of crimes,\nfor which they have been banished and their goods confiscated. Indeed,\nthey have been mostly accounted as outlaws among the various nations;\nthe soles of their feet have found no rest, and they have been a hiss\nand a byword; and people have said, \"These are the people of the Lord,\nand are gone forth out of his land.\"\n\nDuring all this time the Gentiles have possessed the land of Canaan,\nand trodden under foot the holy city where their forefathers\nworshipped the Lord. Now, in this long captivity, the Jews have never\nlost sight of the promises respecting their return. Their eyes have\nwatched and failed with longing for the day, when they might possess\nagain that blessed inheritance bequeathed to their forefathers; when\nthey might again rear their city and temple, and re-establish their\npriesthood, and worship as in days of old. Indeed they have made\nseveral attempts to return, but were always frustrated in all their\nattempts; for it was an unalterable decree, that Jerusalem should be\ntrodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles should\nbe fulfilled. On the subject of this long dispersion, Moses and the\nProphets have written very plainly; indeed, Moses even mentioned the\nparticulars of their eating their children secretly in the siege and\nin the straitness, wherewith their enemies should besiege them in all\ntheir gates. Whoever will read the twenty-eighth of Deuteronomy, will\nread the history of what has befallen the Jews, foretold by Moses with\nall the clearness that characterizes the history of past events, and\nall this thousands of years before its accomplishment.\n\nOur next is found in Acts xxi, 10, 11, where a Prophet named Agabus\ntook Paul's girdle and bound his own hands and feet, and said: \"Thus\nsaith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that\nowneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the\nGentiles.\" The fulfilment of this prediction is too well known to need\nany description. We therefore proceed to notice a prophecy of Paul,\nrecorded in 2 Tim. iv, 3, 4: \"For the time will come, when they will\nnot endure sound doctrine, but, after their own lusts, shall they heap\nto themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away\ntheir ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.\" This\nprophecy has been fulfilled to the very letter; for it applies to\nevery religious teacher who has arisen from that day unto the present,\nexcept those commissioned by direct _revelation_ and _inspired_ by the\n_Holy Ghost_. But, to convince the reader of its full accomplishment,\nwe need only point to the numberless priests of the day who preach for\nhire, and divine for money, and who receive their authority from their\nfellow man; and as to the fables to which they are turned, we need\nonly to mention the spiritualizings and private interpretations which\nsalute our ears from almost every religious press and pulpit.\n\nBut there is another prophecy of Paul well worth our attention, as\nillustrative of the times in which we live; it is found in the first\nfive verses of the third chapter of 2 Timothy: \"This know also that in\nthe last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of\ntheir own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient\nto parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce\nbreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that\nare good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than\nlovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power\nthereof: from such turn away.\" From the last verse of this quotation\nwe learn to our _astonishment_ that this _sum_ of awful _wickedness_\napplies to _professors_ of _religion_ ONLY; that is, this would be the\ncharacter of the (so called) Christian part of the community in the\nlast days. Do not startle, kind reader; we do not make the application\nwithout proof _positive_ to the point, for, remember, non-professors\nhave no _form of godliness_, but those ungodly characters spoken of\nwere to have a _form of godliness_, _denying the power thereof_. But,\nif you doubt Paul's testimony on the subject, look around you, examine\nfor yourselves. \"By their fruits ye shall know them.\" My heart is\npained while I write. Alas, has it come to this; has the Spirit of\nTruth removed the veil of obscurity from the last days, only to\npresent us with the vision of a fallen people; an apostate church,\nfull of all manner of abominations, and even despising those who are\ngood; while they themselves have nothing left but the form of\ngodliness, denying the power of God; that is, setting aside the direct\ninspiration and supernatural gifts of the Spirit, which ever\ncharacterize the Church of Christ? Was it for this only that the Holy\nSpirit opened to the view of holy men the events of unborn time,\nenabling them to gaze upon the opening glories of the latter days? O\nye Prophets and Apostles, ye holy men of old, what have you done if\nyou stop here; if your prophetic vision only extended down the stream\nof time to the present year? Alas! you have filled our minds with\nsorrow and despair: the Jews you have left wandering in sorrow and\ndarkness, far from all their hearts hold most dear on earth; their\nland a desolation, their city and temple in ruins, and they, without\nthe knowledge of the true Messiah. The Gentiles, after partaking of\nthe root and fatness of the tame olive tree, having fallen, after the\nsame example of unbelief, are left without fruit, dead, plucked up by\nthe roots, with naught but a form of godliness; while the powers that\ncharacterized the ancient church have fled from among men. Is this the\nconsummation of all your labors? Was it for this you searched, toiled,\nbled, and died? I pause for a reply; if you have a word of comfort yet\nin store, concerning the future, let it quickly speak, lest our souls\nshould linger in the dark valley of sorrow and despair!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nON THE FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY YET FUTURE.\n\nWhat is Prophecy but History reversed?\n\n\nHaving made the discovery and produced sufficient proof that the\nprophecies, thus far, have been LITERALLY fulfilled--to the very\nletter--we hope the reader will never lose sight of the same rule with\nregard to those yet future. And, while we stand upon the threshold of\nfuturity, with the wonders of unborn time about to open upon our view,\npresenting before our astonished vision the most mighty and majestic\nscenes, the most astonishing revolutions, the most extraordinary\ndestructions, as well as the most miraculous displays of the power and\nmajesty of Jehovah, in His great restoration of His long dispersed\ncovenant people from the four quarters of the earth: I say, as these\nscenes are about to open to our view, let us bow before the great I\nAM, in the name of Jesus, and pray in faith for His Spirit to enlarge\nour hearts and enlighten our minds, that we may understand and believe\nall that is written, however miraculous it may be. But, O! kind\nreader, whoever you are, if you are not prepared for persecution, if\nyou are unprepared to have your name cast out as evil, if you cannot\nbear to be called a knave, an impostor, or madman, or one that hath a\ndevil; or if you are bound by the creeds of men to believe just so\nmuch and no more, you had better stop here; for if you were to believe\nthe things written in the Bible that are yet to come, you will be\nunder the necessity of believing miracles, signs and wonders,\nrevelations, and manifestations of the power of God, even beyond\nanything that any former generation has witnessed; yes, you will\nbelieve that the waters will be divided and Israel go through dryshod,\nas they journey to their own land, as they did in the days of Moses;\nfor no man ever yet believed the Bible without believing and expecting\nsuch glorious events in the latter days. And I will now venture to say\nthat a believer in the Bible would be something that very few men have\never seen in this generation, with all its boasted religion: for there\nis a great difference between believing the book to be true when shut,\nand believing the things therein written. It is now considered in\nChristendom a great disgrace not to believe the Bible when _shut_: but\nwhosoever tries the experiment will find it a greater disgrace to\nbelieve that the things therein written will surely come to pass.\nIndeed, it is our firm belief in the things written in the Bible, and\ncareful teaching of them, that is one great cause of the persecution\nwe suffer. For let the prophecies be understood by the people, and let\nthem roll on in their fulfilment, and this will blow to the four winds\nevery religious craft in Christendom, and cause the kingdom of Christ\nto rise upon their ruins, while the actual _knowledge_ of the _truth_\nwill cover the earth as the waters do the sea.\n\nHaving said so much by way of caution, if there are any of my readers\nso bold, and regardless of consequences, as to dare with me to gaze\nupon the future, we will commence with Isaiah xi, 11, 12, 15, 16: \"And\nit shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand\nagain the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which\nshall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and\nfrom Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from\nthe islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations,\nand shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the\ndispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. And the LORD\nshall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian Sea; and with his\nmighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it\nin the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be\nan highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left from\nAssyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of\nthe land of Egypt.\"\n\nHere you behold an ensign to be reared for the nations; not only for\nthe dispersed of Judah, but the outcasts of Israel. The Jews are\ncalled dispersed, because they are scattered among the nations; but\nthe ten tribes are called outcasts, because they are cast out from the\nknowledge of the nations, into a land by themselves. Now, the reader\nwill bear in mind that the ten tribes have not dwelt in the land\nof Canaan since they were led captive by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria.\nWe have also presented before us, in the fifteenth verse, the\nmarvelous power of God, which will be displayed in the destruction of\na small branch of the Red Sea, called the tongue of the Egyptian Sea;\nand also the dividing of the seven streams of some river, and causing\nmen to go over dryshod; and, lest any should not understand it\n_literally_, the fifteenth verse says: \"There shall be a highway for\nthe remnant of his people, which shall be left from Assyria, _like as\nit was to Israel when he came up out of the land of Egypt_.\" Now, we\nhave only to ask whether, in the days of Moses, the Red Sea was\n_literally_ divided, or whether it was only a figure? For as it was\nthen so shall it be again. And yet we are told by modern divines that\nthe days of miracles have gone forever; and those who believe in\nmiracles, in our day, are counted as impostors, or, at least, poor\nignorant fanatics, and the public are warned against them, as false\nteachers who would, if possible, deceive the very elect. On the\nsubject of this restoration the Prophets have spoken so fully and\nrepeatedly, that we can only notice a few of the most striking\ninstances, which will go to show the particular circumstances and\nincidents attending it, and the manner and means of its\naccomplishment. The sixteenth chapter of Jeremiah, fourteenth,\nfifteenth and sixteenth verses, says: \"Therefore, behold, the days\ncome, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, the Lord liveth\nthat brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but,\nthe Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land\nof the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I\nwill bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.\nBehold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall\nfish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt\nthem from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of\nthe rocks.\" Now it has ever been the case with Israel, when they\nwished to express the greatness of their God, to say, The Lord liveth,\nwhich brought up our fathers out of the land of Egypt. This saying at\nonce called to mind the power and miracles of that memorable event,\nand associated with it all that was great and grand, and was\ncalculated to strike the mind with awe, under a lively sense of the\npower of Israel's God. But, to our astonishment, something is yet to\ntranspire which will cast into momentary forgetfulness all the great\nevents of that day, and the children of Israel shall know that their\nGod liveth, by casting their minds upon events of recent date, which\nshall have transpired, still more glorious and wonderful than their\ncoming out of Egypt. They will exclaim, The Lord liveth, which\nrecently brought the children of Israel from the north, and from all\nlands whither He had driven them, and hath planted them in the land of\nCanaan, which He gave our fathers. With this idea will be associated\nevery display of grandeur and sublimity, of wonder and amazement;\nwhile they call to mind the revelations, manifestations, miracles and\nmercies displayed in bringing about this great event, in the eyes of\nall the nations. In view of this, Jeremiah exclaims, in the last verse\nof this chapter: \"Therefore, behold, I will _this once_ cause them to\nknow, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall\nknow that my name is the Lord.\"\n\nBut the means made use of to bring about this glorious event are, not\nonly the raising of a standard, the lifting up of an ensign, so that\nwe may know when the time is fulfilled, but fishers and hunters are to\nbe employed to fish and hunt them from every mountain, from every\nhill, and out of the holes of the rocks. Let the reader mark here: men\nwere not to send missionaries, who were not inspired, to go and teach\nIsrael several hundred different doctrines, and opinions of men, and\nto tell them they supposed the time had about arrived for them to\ngather; but the God of heaven is to call men by actual revelation,\ndirect from heaven, and to tell them who Israel is; who the Indians of\nAmerica are, if they should be of Israel; and also where the ten\ntribes are, and all the scattered remnants of that long lost people.\nHe it is who is to give them their errand and mission, and to clothe\nthem with power from on high to execute the great work, in defiance of\nopposing elements, and all the opposition of earth and hell combined.\nBut do you ask: \"Why is the Lord to commission men by actual\nrevelation?\" I reply, because He has no other way of sending men in\nany age. \"No man,\" says the Apostle, \"taketh this honor upon himself,\nbut he that is called of God, as was Aaron.\" Now, we all acknowledge\nthat Aaron was called by revelation.\n\nNow the great Jehovah never did, nor never will, acknowledge the\npriesthood or ministry of any man who is not called by revelation, and\ninspired, as in days of old. But, \"O!\" says the reader, \"you startle\nme, for the whole train of modern divines profess no revelation later\nthan the Bible, and no direct inspiration or supernatural gift of the\nSpirit. Do you cast them all off, and say that they have no\nauthority?\" I reply, No, for the Bible does it, and I only humbly\nacquiesce in the decision, as they are nowhere known in the Scripture,\nexcept as teachers whom the people have heaped to themselves (the word\nheap does not mean a few, but many). But to prove more fully that God\nwill give revelations in order to bring about this glorious work, we\nwill refer you to Ezekiel xx, 33-38. It reads: \"As I live, saith the\nLord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and\nwith fury poured out, will I rule over you; and I will bring you out\nfrom the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye\nare scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and\nwith fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the\npeople, and there will I plead with you face to face. Like as I\npleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so\nwill I plead with you, saith the Lord God, And I will cause you to\npass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the\ncovenant, and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them\nthat transgress against me; I will bring them forth out of the country\nwhere they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel;\nand ye shall know that I am the Lord.\"\n\nYou discover that this promise begins with a double assurance: first,\nwith an oath, _as I live_; second, with an assurance, _surely, with a\nmighty hand_, etc. And, in the close of the same chapter, lest the\npeople should possibly misunderstand him, he exclaims: \"O Lord, they\nsay of me, doth he not speak in parables?\" Here we have the children\nof Israel brought from among all nations, with a mighty hand and a\nstretched out arm, and with fury poured out (O ye nations who oppose\nthese things, beware, remember Pharaoh, and learn wisdom), we see them\nbrought into the wilderness of the people; and there the Lord is to\nplead with them, face to face, just as he did with their fathers in\nthe wilderness of Egypt. This pleading face to face can never be done\nwithout revelation, and a personal manifestation, as much so as in old\ntimes. Now I ask, were all His manifestations to Israel in the\nwilderness mere fables not to be understood literally? If so, this\nwill be so too; for one will be precisely like the other, no parable,\nbut a glorious reality. He will cause them to pass under the rod, and\nbring them into the bond of the covenant.\n\nThis brings to mind the new covenant so often promised in the\nScriptures, to be made with the house of Israel and with the house of\nJudah, just in time to gather them from their long dispersion. Some\nmay suppose that the new covenant which was to gather Israel made its\nappearance in the days of Christ and his Apostles. But Paul tells us\nit was yet future in his day. So, in his eleventh chapter to the\nRomans, he says, \"that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until\nthe fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel shall be\nsaved; as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer,\nand shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is my covenant\nunto them, when I shall take away their sins.\" From this we learn that\nPaul placed that covenant in the future, even down to the restoration\nof Israel, in the last days, when the times of the Gentiles should be\nfulfilled. Then there should come a Deliverer for Israel, and not\nbefore, seeing that they had rejected the first coming of that\nDeliverer. And he himself said to the Jews: \"Behold, your house is\nleft unto you desolate; for I say unto you, ye shall not see me\nhenceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of\nthe Lord.\" Then, and not until then, should the covenant be renewed\nwith Israel. And even when the Apostles inquired, saying, \"Wilt thou\nat this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?\" the Savior made\nanswer, that it was not for them to know the times and seasons which\nthe Father had put in His own power; but they were to receive power,\nand bear witness of Him, etc.; as much as to say, that work is not for\nyou Apostles to accomplish, but shall be done in the Lord's own time,\nby whom He will; but go ye and do the work I have commanded you.\n\nAgain, Isaiah, lxi, 8, 9, in speaking of this covenant, tells us that\nit should make their seed known among the Gentiles, and their\noffspring among the people; and should cause all that see them to\nacknowledge them that they are the seed that the Lord hath blessed.\nNow, we know that it is a question which can only be decided by\nrevelation, whether the aborigines of America are the seed of Jacob or\nnot. Again, it is a matter of uncertainty where the ten tribes are, or\nwho they are; but the new covenant, whenever it makes its appearance,\nwill reveal these things, and will leave the matter no longer in\nsuspense; we shall then know their seed among the Gentiles, and their\noffspring among the people. But, O! how different was the effect of\nthe covenant made eighteen hundred years ago in its effects upon\nIsrael; it cast them off in unbelief, and caused all that have seen\nthem or heard of them ever since to acknowledge that they are the seed\nthat the Lord hath _cursed_. When the covenant is renewed in the last\ndays, the Lord will bring them into the bond of the covenant, by\nmanifesting Himself to them face to face. Let me inquire, How does God\nmake a covenant with the people in any age? The answer is, By\ncommunicating His will to them by actual revelation; for, without\nthis, it would be impossible to make a covenant between two parties.\nIn order to illustrate this subject, let us bring an example. We see\nhow we make covenants with each other. For instance, a young man\nwishes to enter into a covenant of matrimony with a young lady; but\ndeprive him of the privilege of revealing his mind to her, cut off all\ndirect communication between them, and a covenant could never be made;\nand so it is with the Almighty. He never did enter into a covenant\nwith His creatures, without revelations; and He never can do it. In\nshort, whenever He made a covenant with the people, where a whole\npeople were concerned, He included in the covenant the priesthood,\noffices, and authorities, together with the ordinances and blessings\nwhich pertain to His covenant; and so will He do at this time.\nWhenever the new covenant is established, it will organize the kingdom\nof God with all its offices, ordinances, gifts, and blessings as in\nthe days of old; but more of this when we come to treat of the kingdom\nof God.\n\n\"But,\" says the inquirer, \"what need have we of the renewal of a\ncovenant which has never been broken? If the Lord made a covenant in\nthe days of the Apostles, called a new covenant, why should that\ncovenant still be renewed again, seeing it is in full force, until it\nis broken by one party or the other?\" This is an important inquiry,\ninvolving the fate of all Christendom in its decision; we must\ntherefore be very careful to make the decision perfectly plain, and\nthe proof easy to be understood. That there was a covenant made\nbetween God and the people in the days of Christ and His Apostles,\nnone will attempt to deny, and if that covenant never has been broken,\nit must be of force to the present day, and consequently there is no\nneed of a new one. It therefore remains for us to prove that that\ncovenant has been broken, completely broken, so that it is not in\nforce, either among Jews or Gentiles, having lost its offices,\nauthorities, powers, and blessings, insomuch that they are nowhere to\nbe found among men. In order to do this, we must examine what were its\noffices, authorities, powers, and blessings, and then see whether they\nare still known among men.\n\nWe read that its offices consisted of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists,\nPastors, and Teachers, all inspired and set in the Church, by the Lord\nHimself, for the edifying of the saints, for the work of the ministry,\netc. And they were to continue in the Church, wherever it was found,\nuntil they all came to the unity of the faith, and unto the measure of\nthe stature of a man in Christ.\n\nSecondly, the gifts of the Spirit, which some call supernatural, were\nthe powers and blessings which pertained to that covenant, wherever it\nexisted, among the Jews or the Gentiles, so long as the covenant was\nof force. Now, I would ask the world of Christendom, or either of its\nsects or parties, if they have Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists,\nPastors and Teachers inspired from on high, together with all the\ngifts and blessings of the Holy Spirit, which pertained to the Gospel\ncovenant? If not, then the offices and powers of that covenant have\nbeen lost. And it must be through the breaking of that covenant that\nthey were lost, for in this way the Jews lost these privileges, when\nthey were handed to the Gentiles. And Paul told the Gentiles, in his\neleventh chapter to the Romans, that if they did not abide in the\ngoodness of God, they would fall, as the Jews had done before them.\n\nBut in order to prove, by further demonstration, that the Gospel\ncovenant has been broken, by Jew and Gentile, and all people, so as to\nbe no longer in force, I shall quote Isaiah, xxiv, 1-6: \"Behold, the\nLord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it\nupside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it\nshall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant,\nso with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with\nthe buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the\nborrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to\nhim. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the\nLord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the\nworld languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do\nlanguish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof;\nBECAUSE THEY HAVE TRANSGRESSED THE LAWS, CHANGED THE ORDINANCE, BROKEN\nTHE EVERLASTING COVENANT. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth,\nand they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of\nthe earth are burned, and few men left.\" In these few verses, we\ndiscover a like calamity awaiting priests and people, rich and poor,\nbond and free, insomuch that they are all to be burned up but a few;\nand the complaint is that the earth is defiled under the inhabitants\nthereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the\nordinance, and broken the everlasting covenant. Now this could not be\nspeaking of any other than the covenant, ordinance, and laws of the\nGospel, made with the people in the days of the Apostles; because,\nhowever any former covenant may have been broken, yet the inhabitants\nof the earth have never been destroyed by fire, all but a few, for\nhaving broken any previous covenant. But this destruction is to come\nby fire, as literally as the flood in the days of Noah; and it will\nconsume both priests and people from the earth, and that, too, for\nhaving broken the covenant of the Gospel, with its laws and its\nordinances; or else we must get a new edition of the Bible, leaving\nout the twenty-fourth of Isaiah.\n\nNow, having settled this question, I trust the reader will see the\nneed of a new covenant, in order to save the few that are not to be\nburned. We will therefore drop this subject for the present, and turn\nagain to the subject of the gathering of Israel. You will please turn\nand read the thirty-sixth, thirty-seventh, thirty-eighth, and\nthirty-ninth chapters of Ezekiel. In the thirty-sixth chapter you will\ndiscover a promise that Israel are to return from all the nations\nwhither they have been scattered, and to be brought again to the land\nwhich God gave to their fathers; Jerusalem is to be filled with flocks\nof men, and all the desolate cities of Judea are to be rebuilt, fenced\nand inhabited; the land is to be fenced, tilled and sown, insomuch\nthat they shall say: \"This land that was desolate is become like the\ngarden of Eden.\" \"I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it; and the\nheathen shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant\nthat that was desolate.\" \"So shall the waste cities be filled with\nflocks of men, and they shall know that I am the Lord.\" In the\nthirty-seventh chapter you will find, after the vision of the\nresurrection of the dead, the Prophet goes on to speak of the two\nnations becoming one nation upon the mountains of Israel, and one king\nbeing king to them all; and when this takes place, they are no more to\nbe divided into two kingdoms. Moreover, the Lord's tabernacle is to be\nwith them, and His sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. He will\nforever be their God, and they shall be His people. \"And the heathen\nshall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall\nbe in the midst of them forevermore.\" Now, it is a fact well known,\nthat Judah and the ten tribes have never been one nation, upon the\nmountains of Israel, since the day they were first divided into two\nnations.\n\nBut, when this does take place, even the very heathen are to know it,\nand are to be convinced of the true God, as was Cyrus. Now if the\nmissionaries should convert the world, before the Lord does this great\nwork, then it will save the Lord the trouble of doing it in His own\nway, and it will save the trouble of fulfilling the Prophets, and the\nword of the Lord will fail, and all the world lay hold of infidelity.\nWell did the Lord say: \"My ways are not as your ways, nor my thoughts\nas your thoughts.\" Chapters xxxviii and xxxix present us with a view\nof many nations united under one great head, whom the Lord is pleased\nto call Gog; and being mounted on horseback, and armed with all sorts\nof armor, they come up against the mountains of Israel, as a cloud to\ncover the land; their object is to take a prey, to take away silver\nand gold, and cattle, and goods in great abundance.\n\nThis is an event which is to transpire after the return of the Jews,\nand the rebuilding of Jerusalem; while the towns and the land of Judea\nare without walls, having neither bars nor gates. But while they are\nat the point to swallow up the Jews, and lay waste their country,\nbehold the Lord's fury comes up in His face, a mighty earthquake is\nthe result, insomuch that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the\nair, and all the creeping things, and all men upon the face of the\nearth, shall shake at His presence, and every wall shall fall to the\nground, and every man's sword shall be turned against his neighbor in\nthis army, and the Lord shall rain upon Gog, and upon his bands, and\nupon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, great\nhailstones, fire and brimstone. And thus He will magnify Himself, and\nsanctify Himself, in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know\nthat He is the Lord; thus they shall fall upon the open field, upon\nthe mountains of Israel, even Gog and all his army, horses and\nhorsemen; and the Jews shall go forth and gather the weapons of war,\nsuch as handstaves, spears, shields, bows and arrows; and these\nweapons shall last the cities of Israel seven years for fuel, so that\nthey shall cut no wood out of the forest, for they shall burn the\nweapons with the fire; and they shall spoil those that spoiled them,\nand rob those that robbed them, and they shall gather gold and silver,\nand apparel, in great abundance.\n\nAt this time the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the field shall\nhave a great feast; yea, they are to eat fat until they be full, and\ndrink blood until they be drunken. They are to eat the flesh of\ncaptains, and kings, and mighty men, and all men of war. But the Jews\nwill have a very serious duty to perform, which will take no less than\nseven months; namely, the burying of their enemies. They will select a\nplace on the east side of the sea, called the Valley of the\nPassengers, and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude, and\nthey shall call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. And the scent shall go\nforth, insomuch that it shall stop the noses of the passengers; thus\nshall they cleanse the land. \"And I will set my glory among the\nheathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have\nexecuted, and my hand that I have laid upon them: so the house of\nIsrael shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and\nforward. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into\ncaptivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed against me,\ntherefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of\ntheir enemies; so fell they all by the sword. According to their\nuncleanness, and according to their transgressions, have I done unto\nthem, and hid myself from them. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Now\nwill I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the\nwhole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name: after\nthat they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby\nthey have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their own\nland, and none made them afraid. When I have brought them again from\nthe people, and gathered them out of their enemy's lands, and am\nsanctified in them in the sight of many nations; then shall they know\nthat I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into\ncaptivity among the heathen; but I have gathered them into their own\nland, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide\nmy face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit upon the\nhouse of Israel, saith the Lord God.\"\n\nIn the foregoing, we discover that the heathen are to know that the\nhouse of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, and are\ngathered again by the hand of God, after having borne their shame for\nall their trespasses: and the house of Israel will know that it was\nthe Lord their God who caused them to be led into captivity among the\nheathen, and that He it was that gathered and defended them, and He\nwill hide His face no more from them, but will pour out His Spirit\nupon them.\n\nO ye blind, ye stiffnecked, ye hardhearted generation, with the Bible\ncirculated among all nations, will whole nations be so blind as to\nfulfil this prophecy, and not know it until it brings destruction upon\ntheir own heads? Why all this blindness? Alas! it is because of false\nteachers, who will tell them the Bible must be spiritualized. Others\ndeclare that these prophecies can never be understood until they are\nfulfilled. If this be the case, then we can never escape the judgments\npredicted in them, but must continue the children of darkness, until\nthey come upon us unawares and sweep us from the earth. Then, where\nwill be the consolation of looking back and seeing them fulfilled? But\nblessed be God, He has told us by the mouth of Daniel that many shall\nrun to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased, and that the wise\nshall understand, but none of the wicked shall understand. And now, I\nwould ask, who are more wicked than the wilfully blind leaders of the\nblind, who tell us we cannot understand the Scriptures?\n\nZachariah, in his fourteenth chapter, has told us much concerning the\ngreat battle and overthrow of the nations who fight against Jerusalem;\nand he has said, in plain words, that the Lord shall come at the very\ntime of the overthrow of that army; yes, in fact, even while they are\nin the act of taking Jerusalem, and have already succeeded in taking\none half the city, and spoiling their houses, and ravishing their\nwomen. Then, behold their long expected Messiah, suddenly appearing,\nshall stand upon the Mount of Olives, a little east of Jerusalem, to\nfight against those nations and deliver the Jews. Zachariah says, The\nMount of Olives shall cleave in twain, from east to west, and one half\nof the mountain shall remove to the north, while the other half falls\noff to the south, suddenly forming a very great valley, into which the\nJews shall flee for protection from their enemies, as they fled from\nthe earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah; while the Lord\ncometh and all the saints with him. Then will the Jews behold that\nlong, long expected Messiah, coming in power to their deliverance, as\nthey always looked for Him. He will destroy their enemies, and deliver\nthem from trouble at the very time they are in the utmost\nconsternation, and about to be swallowed up by their enemies.\n\nBut what will be their astonishment, when they are about to fall at\nthe feet of their Deliverer, and acknowledge him their Messiah! They\ndiscover the wounds which were once made in his hands, feet, and side;\nand, on inquiry, at once recognize Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the\nJews, the man so long rejected. Well did the Prophet say, they should\nmourn and weep, every family apart, and their wives apart. But, thank\nheaven, there will be an end to their mourning; for He will forgive\ntheir iniquities, and cleanse them from all uncleanness. Jerusalem\nshall be a holy city from that time forth, and all the land shall be\nturned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon, and she shall be lifted up and\ninhabited in her place, and men shall dwell there, and there shall be\nno more utter destruction of Jerusalem; \"and in that day there shall\nbe one Lord, and His name one, and He shall be King over all the\nearth.\"\n\nJohn, in his eleventh chapter of Revelations, gives us many more\nparticulars concerning this same event. He informs us that, after the\ncity and temple are rebuilt by the Jews, the Gentiles will tread it\nunderfoot forty and two months, during which time there will be two\nProphets continually prophesying and working mighty miracles. And it\nseems that the Gentile army shall be hindered from utterly destroying\nand overthrowing the city, while these two Prophets continue. But,\nafter a struggle of three years and a half, they at length succeed in\ndestroying these two Prophets, and then overrunning much of the city;\nthey send gifts to each other because of the death of the two\nProphets, and in the mean time will not allow their dead bodies to be\nput in graves, but suffer them to lie in the streets of Jerusalem\nthree days and a half; during which the armies of the Gentiles,\nconsisting of many kindreds, tongues, and nations, passing through the\ncity, plundering the Jews, see their dead bodies lying in the street.\nBut, after three days and a half, on a sudden, the spirit of life from\nGod enters them, and they will arise and stand upon their feet, and\ngreat fear will fall upon them that see them. And then they shall hear\na voice from heaven, saying, \"Come up hither,\" and they will ascend up\nto heaven in a cloud, their enemies beholding them. And, having\ndescribed all these things, then come the shaking, spoken of by\nEzekiel, and the rending of the Mount of Olives, spoken of by\nZachariah. John says: \"The same hour there was a great earthquake, and\nthe tenth part of the city fell; and in the earthquake were slain of\nmen seven thousand.\" And then one of the next scenes that follow is\nthe sound of voices, saying: \"The kingdoms of this world are become\nthe kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever\nand ever.\"\n\nNow, having summed up the description of these great events spoken of\nby these Prophets, I would just remark, there is no difficulty in\nunderstanding them all to be perfectly plain and literal in their\nfulfilment.\n\nSuffice it to say, the Jews gather home, and rebuild Jerusalem. The\nnations gather against them to battle. Their armies encompass the\ncity, and have more or less power over it for three years and a half.\nA couple of Jewish Prophets, by their mighty miracles, keep them from\nutterly overcoming the Jews; until at length they are slain, and the\ncity is left in a great measure to the mercy of their enemies for\nthree days and a half; the two Prophets rise from the dead and ascend\nup into heaven. The Messiah comes, convulses the earth, overthrows the\narmy of the Gentiles, delivers the Jews, cleanses Jerusalem, cuts off\nall wickedness from the earth, raises the saints from the dead, brings\nthem with Him, and commences His reign for a thousand years; during\nwhich time His Spirit will be poured out upon all flesh; men and\nbeasts, birds and serpents, will be perfectly harmless, and peace and\nthe knowledge and glory of God shall cover the earth as the waters\ncover the sea; and the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under\nthe whole heaven, shall be given to the saints of the Most High.\n\nDuring this thousand years, Satan will be bound, and have no power to\ntempt the children of men. And the earth itself will be delivered from\nthe curse, which came by reason of the Fall. The rough places will\nbecome smooth, the barren deserts fruitful; the mountains leveled; the\nvalleys exalted; the thorn and thistle shall no more be found, but all\nthe earth shall yield her increase in abundance to the saints of God.\nBut, after the thousand years are ended, then shall Satan be loosed,\nand shall go out to deceive the nations which dwell in the four\nquarters of the earth, to gather them to battle, and to bring them up\nto battle against the camp of the saints. Then the great and last\nstruggle shall take place between God and Satan, for the empire of the\nearth. Satan and his army shall be overthrown. And after these great\nthings, come the end of the earth, the resurrection of the wicked, and\nthe last judgment. And there shall be a new earth and a new heaven,\nfor the former earth and the former heaven shall have passed away,\nthat is, they will be changed from temporal to eternal, and made fit\nfor the abode of immortals. Then cometh Jerusalem down from God, out\nof heaven, having been renewed as well as the heavens and the earth.\n\"For,\" says He, \"behold, I make all things new.\"\n\nThis new city, placed upon the new earth, with the Lord God and the\nLamb in the midst, seems to be man's eternal abode, insomuch that,\nafter all our longings for a place beyond the bounds of time and\nspace, as saith the poet, we are at last brought to our proper senses,\nand given to understand that man is destined forever to inherit this\nselfsame planet, upon which he was first created, which shall be\nredeemed, sanctified, renewed, purified, and prepared as an eternal\ninheritance for immortality and eternal life; with the holy city for\nits capital, the throne of God in the midst, for its seat of\ngovernment; and watered with a stream, clear as crystal, called the\nWaters of Life, issuing from the throne of Jehovah; while either side\nis adorned with trees of never fading beauty. \"Blessed are they that\ndo his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life,\nand may enter in through the gates into the city.\" By this time we\nbegin to understand the words of the Savior: \"Blessed are the meek,\nfor they shall inherit the earth.\" And also the song which John heard\nin heaven, which ended thus: \"We shall reign on the EARTH.\"\n\nReader, do not be startled; suppose you were to be caught up into\nheaven, there to stand with the redeemed of every nation, kindred,\ntongue, and people, and join them in singing, and to your\nastonishment, all heaven is filled with joy, while they tune the\nimmortal lyre, in joyful anticipation of one day reigning on the\nearth--a planet now under the dominion of Satan, the abode of\nwretchedness and misery, from which your glad spirit had taken its\nflight, and, as you supposed, an everlasting farewell. You might\nperhaps be startled for a moment, and inquire within yourself: \"Why\nhave I never heard this theme sung among the churches on earth?\" Well,\nmy friend, the answer would be--\"Because you lived in a day when\npeople did not understand the Scriptures.\"\n\nAbraham would tell you, you should have read the promise of God to\nhim, Gen. xvii, 8, where God not only promised the land of Canaan to\nhis seed for an everlasting possession, but also to him. Then you\nshould have read the testimony of Stephen, Acts, vii, 5, by which you\nwould have ascertained that Abraham never had inherited the things\npromised, but was still expecting to rise from the dead and be brought\ninto the land of Canaan, to inherit them. \"Yes,\" says Ezekiel, \"if you\nhad read the thirty-seventh chapter of my prophecies, you would have\nfound a positive promise, that God would open the graves of the whole\nhouse of Israel, who were dead, and gather up their dry bones, and put\nthem together, each to its own proper place, and even clothe them\nagain with flesh, sinews, and skin, and put His Spirit in them, and\nthey should live; and then, instead of being caught up to heaven, they\nshould be brought into the land of Canaan, which the Lord gave them,\nand they should inherit it.\"\n\nBut, still astonished, you might turn to Job; and he, surprised to\nfind one unacquainted with so plain a subject, would exclaim: \"Did you\nnever read my nineteenth chapter, from the twenty-third to the\ntwenty-seventh verses, where I declare, I wish my words were written\nin a book, saying, that my Redeemer would stand on the earth in the\nlatter-day; and that I should see Him in the flesh, for myself, and\nnot another; though worms should destroy this body?\" Even David, the\nsweet singer of Israel, would call to your mind the thirty-seventh\nPsalm, where he repeatedly declares that the meek shall inherit the\nearth forever, after the wicked are cut off from the face thereof.\n\nAnd last of all, to set the matter forever at rest, the voice of the\nSavior would mildly fall upon your ear, in his sermon on the mount,\ndeclaring emphatically: \"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit\nthe earth.\" To these things you would answer: \"I have read these\npassages, to be sure, but was always taught to believe that they did\nnot mean so, therefore, I never understood them until now. Let me go\nand tell the people what wonders have opened to my view, since my\narrival in heaven, merely from having heard one short song. It is\ntrue, I have heard much of the glories of heaven described, while on\nearth, but never once thought of their rejoicing in anticipation of\nreturning to the earth.\" Says the Savior: \"They have Moses and the\nProphets; if they will not believe them, neither would they believe\nalthough one should rise from the dead.\"\n\nWe will now return to the subject of the coming of Messiah, and the\nushering in of that glorious day, called the Millennium, or rest of a\nthousand years. We gather from the field of prophecy, through which we\nhave passed: first, that that glorious day will be ushered in by the\npersonal coming of Christ, and the resurrection of all the saints;\nsecond, that all the wicked will be destroyed from the earth, by\noverwhelming judgments of God, and by fire, at the time of His coming,\ninsomuch that the earth will be cleansed by fire from its wicked\ninhabitants, as it once was by water; and this burning will include\npriests as well as people: all but a few shall be burned. This burning\nmore especially applies to the fallen church, rather than to the\nheathen or Jews, whom they are now trying to convert. Woe unto you,\nGentiles, who call yourselves the people of the Lord, but have made\nvoid the law of God by your traditions; for in vain do you call Lord,\nLord, and do not the things which Jesus commands; in vain do ye\nworship Him, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Behold,\nthe sword of vengeance hangs over you, and except you repent, it will\nsoon fall upon you; and it will be more tolerable in that day for the\nJews and heathen than for you. Behold, ye flatter yourselves that the\nglorious day spoken of by the Prophets will be ushered in by your\nmodern inventions and moneyed plans, which are got up in order to\nconvert the Jews and heathen to the various sectarian principles now\nexisting among yourselves; and you expect, when this is done, to\nbehold a millennium after your own heart. But the Jews and heathen\nnever will be converted, as a people, to any other plan than that laid\ndown in the Bible for the great restoration of Israel. And _you\nyourselves_ are laboring under a broken covenant, and ripening for the\nfire as fast as possible. But do not count me your enemy because I\ntell you the truth, for God is my witness that I love your souls too\nwell to keep back any truth from you, however severe it may seem. The\nwounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy. Now,\nconcerning the signs of the times, the inquiry often arises: \"When\nshall these things be, and what signs shall there be when these things\nshall come to pass?\" I am often asked the question, whether it is near\nat hand; I will therefore tell you all, whereby you may know for\nyourselves when it is nigh, even at the doors, and not be dependent on\nthe knowledge of others.\n\nNow, you behold the apple tree, and all the trees, when they begin to\nshoot forth their leaves, ye know of your own selves that summer is\nnigh at hand; and so likewise when ye shall see great earthquakes,\nfamines, pestilence, and plagues of every kind; the sea breaking\nbeyond its bounds, and all things in commotion; the nations distressed\nwith perplexity; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking\nfor the things which are coming on the earth; when you see signs in\nthe heaven above, and in the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor\nof smoke, the sun turned to darkness, the moon to blood, and stars\nhurled from their courses; when you see the Jews gathering to\nJerusalem, and the armies of the nations gathering against them to\nbattle, you may know, with a perfect knowledge, that Christ's coming\nis near, even at the doors. \"_Verily, I say_ unto you, _this_\ngeneration shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.\" Heaven\nand earth shall pass away, but not one word of all that the Lord has\nspoken by the mouth of His holy Prophets and Apostles shall fail.\n\nWhoever will look to the word of the Prophets, and to the sayings of\nJesus Christ, on this subject, the same will be convinced that all the\nsigns of which I have spoken are clearly pointed out as the signs of\nHis coming. But, notwithstanding all these things are written, His\ncoming will overtake the world unawares, as the flood did the people\nin the days of Noah. The reason is, they will not understand the\nProphets. They will not endure sound doctrine; their ears are turned\naway from the truth, and turned to fables, because of false teachers,\nand the precepts of men; and what is still worse, when God sends men\nwith the New and Everlasting Covenant, and clothes them with boldness\nto testify to the truth, they will be treated as the servants of God\nhave been before them by the fallen churches; every church will cleave\nto its own way, and will unite in saying: \"There is no need of these\nnew things, the good old way is right;\" while at the same time they\nare walking in as many different ways as there are sects, and only\nagree in persecuting and speaking all manner of evil against the\nfishers and hunters whom God shall send. But, thank heaven, there are\nindividuals in every sect who are humbly seeking the truth, and who\nwill know the voice of truth, and be gathered out, and planted in the\nNew and Everlasting Covenant; and they will be adopted into the family\nof Israel, and will be gathered with them, and be partakers of the\nsame covenant of promise. Yea, as Jeremiah says, in the sixteenth\nchapter of his Prophecies: \"The Gentiles shall come unto thee from the\nends of the earth, and shall say, surely our fathers have inherited\nlies, vanities, and things wherein there is no profit.\" But as the\nJews overlooked Christ's first coming, by not understanding the\nProphets, and fastening their whole expectations on His glorious\ncoming in the last days, to restore the kingdom to Israel, and avenge\nthem of their enemies, and, by this mistake, were broken and\nscattered; so the Gentiles will overlook the prophecies concerning His\nsecond coming, by confounding them with the last judgment, which is to\ntake place more than a thousand years afterward. But this fatal\nmistake, instead of causing the Gentiles to be broken and scattered,\nwill cause them to be ground to powder.\n\nO my brethren, according to the flesh, my soul mourns over you, and\nhad I a voice like a trumpet, I would cry, Awake, awake and arouse\nfrom your slumber, for the time is fulfilled, your destruction is at\nthe door, \"for I have heard from the Lord God of Hosts, a consumption,\neven determined upon the whole earth!\" Prepare to meet your God I And\nagain, Awake, O house of Israel, and lift up your heads, for your\nredemption draweth nigh: yea, depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from\nhence, gather home from your long dispersion, rebuild your cities;\nyea, go ye out from the nations, from one end of heaven to the other;\nbut let not your flight be in haste, for the Lord shall go before you,\nand the God of Israel shall be your rearward! And finally, I would say\nto all, both Jew and Gentile, Repent ye, repent ye, for the great day\nof the Lord is at hand; for if I, who am a man, do lift up my voice,\nand call upon you to repent, and ye hate me, what will ye say when the\nday cometh, when the thunders shall utter their voices to the ends of\nthe earth, speaking to the ears of all that live, saying: \"Repent, and\nprepare for the great day of the Lord?\" Yea, again, when the\nlightnings shall streak from the east unto the west, and shall utter\nforth their voices unto all that live, and make the ears of all that\nhear to tingle, saying these words: \"Repent ye, for the great day of\nthe Lord is come?\" And again, the Lord shall utter His voice out of\nheaven, saying: \"Hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and hear the\nwords of that God who made you: O ye nations of the earth, how oft\nwould I have gathered you together as a hen gathereth her chickens\nunder her wings, but ye would not! How often have I called upon you by\nthe mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by\nmine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of\nlightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of\nearthquakes and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famine and\npestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trumpet, and by\nthe voice of judgments, and by the voice of mercy, all the day long,\nand by the voice of glory and honor, and the riches of eternal life,\nand would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but you would\nnot! Behold, the day has come, when the cup of the wrath of mine\nindignation is full.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE KINGDOM OF GOD.\n\n\"Seek first the Kingdom of God.\"\n\n\nThis was the command of the Savior, while on the earth, teaching the\nchildren of men.\n\nHaving taken a general view of the prophecies, past and future, we\nshall now proceed to fulfil this command, and search out the kingdom\nof God. But, before we advance, I would again caution the reader not\nto accompany me in this research, unless he is prepared to sacrifice\neverything, even to his good name, and life itself, if necessary, for\nthe truth; for if he should once get a view of the kingdom of God, he\nwill be so delighted that he never will rest satisfied short of\nbecoming a subject of the same. And yet it will be so unlike every\nother system of religion now on earth, that he will be astonished that\nany person, with the Bible in his hand, should ever have mistaken any\nof the systems of men for the kingdom of God. There are certain\npowers, privileges, and blessings, pertaining to the kingdom of God,\nwhich are found in no other kingdom, nor enjoyed by any other people.\nBy these it was over distinguished from all other kingdoms and\nsystems, insomuch that the inquiring mind, seeking the kingdom of God,\nand being once acquainted with these peculiarities concerning it, need\nnever mistake it, or be at a loss to know when he has found it. But,\nbefore we proceed any further in our research, let us agree upon the\nmeaning of the term, the Kingdom of God, or the sense in which we will\nuse it; for some apply this term to the kingdom of glory above, and\nsome to the individual enjoyment of their own souls, while others\napply it to His organized government on the earth. Now, when We speak\nof the kingdom of God, we wish it to be understood that we mean His\norganized government on the earth.\n\nNow, reader, we launch forth into the wide field before us in search\nof a kingdom. But stop, let us consider--what is a kingdom? I reply,\nthat four things are required in order to constitute any kingdom in\nheaven or on earth; namely, first, a king; secondly, commissioned\nofficers duly qualified to execute his ordinances and laws; thirdly, a\ncode of laws by which the subjects are governed; and fourthly,\nsubjects who are governed. Where these exist in their proper order and\nregular authority, there is a kingdom, but where either of these\nceases to exist, there is a disorganization of the kingdom;\nconsequently an end of it, until reorganized after the same manner as\nbefore. It this respect the kingdom of God is like all other kingdoms;\nwherever we find officers duly commissioned and qualified by the Lord\nJesus, together with His ordinances and laws existing in purity,\nunmixed with any precepts or commandments of men, there the kingdom of\nGod exists, and there His power is manifest, and His blessings are\nenjoyed as in days of old.\n\nWe shall now take a view of the setting up of the kingdom of God in\nthe days of the Apostles. The first intimation of its near approach\nwas by an angel to Zachariah, promising him a son, who should go\nbefore the King to prepare his way. The next manifestation was to\nMary, and finally to Joseph, by a holy angel, promising the birth of\nthe Messiah: while at the same time, the Holy Ghost manifested unto\nSimeon, in the temple, that he should not die until he had seen the\nSavior. Thus, all these, together with the shepherds and the wise men\nfrom the east, began to rejoice with a joy unspeakable and full of\nglory, while the world around them knew not the occasion of their joy.\nAfter these things, all seemed to rest in silent expectation, until\nJohn had grown to manhood, when he came bounding from the wilderness\nof Judea, with a proclamation strange and new, crying: \"Repent ye, for\nthe kingdom of heaven is at hand,\" baptizing unto repentance, telling\nthem plainly that their King was already standing among them, on the\npoint of setting up His kingdom. And while he yet ministered, the\nMessiah came, and was baptized, and sealed with the Spirit of God,\nwhich rested on Him in the form of a dove; and soon after began the\nsame proclamation as John, saying--\"Repent ye, for the kingdom of\nheaven is at hand.\" Then, after choosing twelve disciples, He sent\nthem forth into all the cities of Judea, with the same proclamation--\n\"The kingdom of heaven is at hand;\" and after them He sent seventy,\nand then another seventy, with the same news, so that all might be\nwell warned and prepared for a kingdom which was soon to be organized\namongst them.\n\nBut when these things had produced the desired effect, in causing a\ngeneral expectation, more especially in the hearts of His disciples,\nwho daily expected to triumph over their persecutors, by the\ncoronation of this glorious personage, while they themselves were\nhoping for a reward for all their toil and sacrifices for His sake, by\nbeing exalted to dignity near His person, what must have been their\ndisappointment, when they saw their King taken and crucified, having\nbeen mocked, derided, ridiculed, and finally overcome, and triumphed\nover, both by Jew and Gentile? They would gladly have died in battle\nto have placed Him upon the throne; but tamely to submit without a\nstruggle, to give up all their expectations, and sink in despair from\nthe highest pitch of enthusiasm to the lowest degradation, was more\nthan they could well endure. They shrank back in sorrow, and returned\nevery man to his own net, or to their several occupations, supposing\nall was over; probably with reflections like these: \"Is this the\nresult of all our labors? was it for this we forsook all worldly\nobjects, our friends, our houses and lands, suffering persecution,\nhunger, fatigue and disgrace? And we trust it should have been He who\nwould have delivered Israel; but alas, they have killed Him, and all\nis over. For three years we have awakened a general expectation\nthrough all Judea, by telling them that the kingdom of heaven was at\nhand, but now our King is dead, how shall we dare to look the people\nin the face?\"\n\nWith these reflections, each pursuing his own course, all was again\nturned to silence, and the voice had ceased to be heard in Judea,\ncrying: \"Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\" Jesus slept\nin the arms of death; a great stone with the seal of of state, secured\nthe tomb where he lay, while the Roman guard stood in watchful\nsilence, to see that all was kept secure; when suddenly, from the\nregions of glory, a mighty angel descended, at whoso presence the\nsoldiers fell back as dead men, while he rolled the stone from the\ndoor of the sepulchre, and the Son of God awoke from His slumbers,\nburst the bonds of death, and soon after appearing to Mary, He sent\nher to the disciples with the joyful news of His resurrection, and\nappointed a place to meet them. When, after seeing Him, all their\nsorrow was turned into joy, and all their former hopes were suddenly\nrevived, they had no longer to cry--\"The kingdom of heaven is at\nhand,\" but were to tarry at Jerusalem until the kingdom was\nestablished; and they prepared to unlock the door of the kingdom, and\nto adopt strangers and foreigners into it as legal citizens, by\nadministering certain laws and ordinances, which were invariably the\nlaws of adoption, and without which no man could ever become a\ncitizen.\n\nHaving ascended up on high, and having been crowned with all power in\nheaven and on earth, He again comes to His disciples, and gives them\ntheir authority, saying unto them: \"Go ye into all the world, and\npreach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, and is\nbaptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.\nAnd these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they\ncast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up\nserpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them;\nthey shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.\" Mark, xvi,\n15-18. Now I wish the reader not to pass over this commission until he\nunderstands it, because when once understood, he never need mistake\nthe kingdom of God, but will at once discover those peculiarities\nwhich were forever to distinguish it from all other kingdoms or\nreligious systems on earth. Lest he should misunderstand, we will\nanalyze it, and look at each part carefully in its own proper light;\nfirst, they were to preach the Gospel, or in other words, the glad\ntidings of a crucified and risen Redeemer, to all the world; secondly,\nhe that believed, and was baptized, should be saved; thirdly, he that\ndid not believe what they preached should be damned; and fourthly,\nthese signs should follow them that believed: first, they were to cast\nout devils; second, to speak with new tongues; third, to take up\nserpents; fourth, if they drank any deadly thing, it should not hurt\nthem; fifth, they were to lay hands on the sick, and they should\nrecover.\n\nNow, it is wilful blindness, or ignorance of the English language,\nthat has ever caused any misunderstanding here. For some tell us that\nthose signs were only to follow the Apostles; and others, that they\nwere only to follow believers in that age. But Christ places the\npreaching, believing, salvation, and the signs that were to follow,\nall on an equal footing; where one was limited, the other must be;\nwhere one ceased, the other did. If the language limits these signs to\nthe Apostles, it limits faith and salvation also to them. If no others\nwere to have these signs follow them, then no others were to believe,\nand no others were to be saved. Again, if the language limits these\nsigns to the first age or ages of Christianity, then it limits\nsalvation to the first ages of Christianity, for one is precisely as\nmuch limited as the other; and where one is in force, the other is;\nand where one ends, the other must stop. And as well might we say,\npreaching of the Gospel is no longer needed; neither faith nor\nsalvation; these were only given at first to establish the Gospel; as\nto say, the signs are no longer necessary, they were only given at\nfirst to establish the Gospel. But, says the astonished reader: \"Have\nnot these signs ceased from among men?\" I reply, prove that they have\nceased, and it will prove that the Gospel has ceased to be preached,\nthat men have ceased to believe and be saved, and that the world is\nwithout the kingdom of God; or else it will prove that Jesus Christ\nwas an impostor, and His promises of no effect.\n\nNow, having analyzed and understood this commission, let us still\npursue the subject of the organization of the kingdom of God in the\ndays of the Apostles. The Savior, having given them their authority,\ncommands them to tarry, and not undertake their mission, until they\nwere endowed with power from on high. But why this delay? Because no\nman was ever qualified, or ever will be, to preach the Gospel, and\nteach all things whatsoever Jesus commanded him, without the Holy\nGhost; and a very different Holy Ghost, too, from the one enjoyed by\nmen who are not inspired, for the Holy Ghost of which Jesus spake\nwould guide into all truth, bring all things to remembrance,\nwhatsoever He had said unto them, and show them things to come--not to\nmention that it would enable them to speak in all the languages of the\nearth. Now, a man who preaches needs that Holy Ghost very much; first,\nto guide into all truth, that he may know what to teach; second, to\nstrengthen his memory, lest he might neglect to teach some of the\nthings which were commanded him; and, third, he needs to know things\nto come, that he may forewarn his hearers of approaching danger, and\nthat would constitute him a prophet. From this, the reader may see how\ncareful Jesus was that none should preach His Gospel without the Holy\nGhost. He may also learn how different the Spirit of Truth is from the\nspirit now abroad in the earth, deceiving the world, under the name of\nthe Holy Ghost. If the churches of the present day have the Holy\nGhost, why are they so much at a loss to understand truth? Why do they\nwalk in so many different ways and doctrines? Why do they need whole\nlibraries of sermons, tracts, divinities, debates, arguments, and\nopinions, all written by the wisdom of men, without even professing to\nbe inspired? Well doth the Lord complain, saying: \"Their fear toward\nme is taught by the precepts of men.\" But to return; the Apostles\ntarried at Jerusalem until endowed with power, and then they commenced\nto proclaim the Gospel.\n\nHere we have discovered several things towards a kingdom: first, we\nhave found a King, crowned at the right hand of God, to whom is\ncommitted all power in heaven and on earth; second, commissioned\nofficers, duly appointed to administer the affairs of government;\nthird, the laws by which they were to be governed were ALL THINGS\nWHATSOEVER JESUS HAD COMMANDED HIS DISCIPLES TO TEACH THEM.\n\nAnd now, if we can find how men became citizens of that kingdom, I\nmean as to the rules of adoption, then we have found the kingdom of\nGod in that age, and shall be very much dissatisfied with every thing\nin our own age, professing to be the kingdom of God, which is not\naccording to the pattern.\n\nIt happened that there were no natural born subjects of that kingdom,\nfor both Jew and Gentile were included in sin and unbelief; and none\ncould be citizens without the law of adoption. All that believed on\nthe name of the King had power to be adopted, but there was but one\ninvariable rule or plan by which they were adopted; and all that\nundertook to claim citizenship, in any other way whatever, were\ncounted thieves and robbers, and could never obtain the seal of\nadoption. This rule was laid down in the Savior's teaching to\nNicodemus, namely: \"Except a man be born of water (that is, baptized\nin water), and of the Spirit (that is, baptized with the Spirit), he\ncannot enter into the kingdom of God.\"\n\nNow, to Peter were given the keys of the kingdom; therefore it was his\nduty to open the kingdom to Jew and also to Gentile. We will therefore\ncarefully examine the manner in which he did adopt the Jews into the\nkingdom on the day of Pentecost.\n\nNow, when the multitude came running together on the day of Pentecost,\nthe Apostle Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice\nand reasoned with them from the Scriptures, testifying of Jesus\nChrist, and His resurrection and ascension on high--insomuch that many\nbecame convinced of the truth, and inquired what they should do. These\nwere not Christians, but they were people who were that moment\nconvinced that Jesus was the Christ; and because they were convinced\nof this fact, they inquired--\"What shall we do?\" Then Peter said unto\nthem: \"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus\nChrist, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of\nthe Holy Ghost: for the promise is unto you, and your children, and to\nall that are afar of, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.\" My\nreader, do you understand this proclamation? If you do, you will see\nthat this Gospel is not generally preached in modern times. Let us\ntherefore analyze and examine it, sentence by sentence. You recollect\nthey already believed, and the next thing was for them to repent;\nfirst, faith; second, repentance; third, baptism; fourth, remission of\nsins; and fifth, the Holy Ghost. This was the order of the Gospel.\nFaith gave the power to become sons, or citizens; repentance, and\nbaptism in His name, was the obedience through which they were\nadopted; and the Holy Spirit of promise was the seal of their\nadoption, and this they were sure to receive if they would obey.\n\nNow, reader, where do you hear such preaching in our day? Who teaches\nthat those who believe and repent, should be baptized, and none\nothers? Perhaps the reader may say the Baptists do; but do they call\nupon men to be baptized as soon as they believe and repent? And\nmoreover, do they promise the remission of sins, with the gift of the\nHoly Ghost? Recollect, now, what effect the Holy Ghost has upon people\nwho receive it. It will guide them into all truth, strengthen the\nmemory, and show them things to come. And Joel has said, it would\ncause them to dream dreams, to see visions, and to prophesy. O! my\nreader, where do you find a Gospel like this preached among men? Would\nmen go mourning for weeks upon weeks, without the forgiveness of sins,\nor the comfort of the Holy Spirit, if Peter stood among us to tell\nprecisely how to get such blessings? Now, what would you think of a\ncamp meeting, where three thousand men should come forward to be\nprayed for, and one of the ministers should (Peter like) command them\nevery one to repent, and be baptized for the remission of sins,\npromising that all who obeyed should receive the remission of sins and\nthe gift of the Holy Ghost, which should cause them to dream dreams\nand prophesy; and then should arise with his brethren of the same\ncalling, and the same hour commence baptizing, and continue until they\nhad baptized them all; and the Holy Ghost should fall upon them, and\nthey begin to see visions, speak in other tongues, and prophecy? Would\nnot the news go abroad, far and wide, that a new doctrine had made its\nappearance, quite different from any thing now practised among men? O\nyes, says the reader, this, to be sure, would be something new, and\nvery strange to all of us. Well, strange as it may seem, it is the\nGospel, as preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost; and Paul\ndeclares that he preached the same Gospel that Peter did; and he has\nalso said: \"Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other\ngospel, let him be accursed.\" Now, the reader need no longer be\nastonished to see that these signs do not follow them that believe\nsome other gospel, or doctrine, different from that preached by the\nApostles.\n\nBut now let us return to the kingdom of God organized in the days of\nthe Apostles; you discover that three thousand persons were adopted\ninto the kingdom the first day the door was opened. These, together\nwith the numerous additions which were afterwards made, were the\nsubjects of this kingdom; which, being fitly framed together, grew\ninto a holy temple in the Lord. Thus, we have cleared away the rubbish\nof sectarian tradition and superstition, which arose in heaps around\nus; and having searched carefully, we have at length discovered the\nkingdom of God, as it existed at its first organization in the days of\nthe Apostles; and we have seen that it differs widely from all modern\nsystems of religion, both in its offices, ordinances, powers, and\nprivileges, insomuch that no man need ever mistake the one for the\nother.\n\nHaving made this discovery, we shall proceed to examine the progress\nof the kingdom among Jew and Gentile; and what were its fruits, gifts,\nand blessings as enjoyed by its citizens.\n\nSoon after the organization of the kingdom of God at Jerusalem, Philip\ncame to Samaria, and there preached the Gospel: and when they believed\nPhilip, they were baptized, both men and women, and had great joy. And\nafterwards, Peter and John came from Jerusalem, and prayed, and laid\ntheir hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. Mark here, they\nfirst believed, and then were baptized, having great joy, and yet had\nnot received the Holy Ghost. But that was afterwards given, by the\nlaying on of hands and prayer, in the name of Jesus. O how different\nfrom the systems of men!\n\nWitness Paul's conversion while on his journey to Damascus: the Lord\nJesus appeared to him in the way; but instead of telling him his sins\nwere forgiven, and pouring the Holy Ghost upon him, He sent him to\nDamascus, telling him that it should there be told him what he should\ndo. And coming to Damascus, Ananias being sent, commanded him not to\ntarry, but to \"arise and be baptized, and wash away his sins, calling\non the name of the Lord;\" then he arose and was baptized, and was even\nfilled with the Holy Ghost, and straightway preached that Jesus was\nthe Christ.\n\nAgain, witness Peter going to Cornelius, a Gentile of great piety,\nwhose prayers were heard, and whose alms were remembered, and who had\neven attained to the ministering of an angel; yet with all his piety,\nand the Holy Ghost poured out upon him and his friends, before they\nwere baptized, they must be baptized, or they could not be saved. Why?\nBecause the Lord had commanded the Apostles to preach to every\ncreature, and every creature who would not believe and be baptized,\nshould be damned, without one exception. Witness the words of the\nangel to Cornelius: \"He (Peter) shall tell thee words whereby thou and\nall thy house shall be saved.\" Now, query, could Cornelius have been\nsaved without obeying the words of Peter? If so, the angel's errand\nwas in vain.\n\nNow, perhaps a minister, who should find a man as good as Cornelius\nwas, would say to him: \"Go on, brother, you can be saved, you have\nexperienced religion, you may indeed be baptized to answer a good\nconscience, if you feel it your duty; or, if not, it is no matter, a\nnew heart is all that is really necessary to salvation,\" etc.; as much\nas to say, that the commandments of Jesus are not absolutely necessary\nto salvation; a man may call him Lord, Lord, and be saved, just as\nwell as by keeping His commandments. Oh vain and foolish doctrine! Oh\nye children of men, how have you perverted the Gospel! In vain do ye\ncall Him Lord, Lord, and do not obey His commandments.\n\nNext, we call to mind the jailor and his household, who were baptized\nthe same hour they believed, without waiting for the day; and Lydia\nand her household, who attended to the ordinance the first sermon they\nheard on the subject. Also Philip and the eunuch, who stopped the\nchariot at the first water they came to, in order to attend to the\nordinance, although the eunuch had heard of Jesus, for the first time,\nonly a few minutes before. Now, I gather from all those examples of\nancient days, and from the precepts laid down in them, that baptism\nwas the initiating ordinance, by which all those who believed and\nrepented were received and adopted into the church or kingdom of God,\nso as to be entitled to the remission of sins, and the blessing of the\nHoly Ghost; indeed, it was the ordinance through which they became\nsons and daughters; and because they were sons, the Lord shed forth\nthe Spirit of His Son into their hearts, crying, Abba, Father. It is\ntrue, the Lord poured out the Holy Ghost upon Cornelius and his\nfriends, before they were baptized; but it seemed necessary, in order\nto convince the believing Jews that the Gentiles also had part in this\nsalvation. And I believe this is the only instance, in the whole\nrecord, of the people receiving the Holy Ghost without first obeying\nthe laws of adoption. But mark! Obeying the laws of adoption would\nnot constitute a man an heir of the kingdom, a citizen entitled to the\nblessings and gifts of the Spirit, unless those laws and ordinances\nwere administered by one who had proper authority, and was duly\ncommissioned from the King; and a commission given to one individual\ncould never authorize another to act in his stead. This is one of the\nmost important points to be understood, as it brings to the test every\nminister in Christendom; and questions the organization of every\nchurch on earth, and all that have existed since direct inspiration\nceased.\n\nNow, in order to come at this subject in plainness, let us examine the\nconstitution of earthly governments in regard to the authority and\nlaws of adoption. We will say, for instance, the President of the\nUnited States writes a commission to A. B., duly authorizing him to\nact in some office in the government, and, during his administration,\ntwo gentlemen from Europe come to reside in this country, and, being\nstrangers and foreigners wishing to become citizens, they go before A.\nB., and he administers the oath of allegiance in due form, and\ncertifies the same, and this constitutes them legal citizens, entitled\nto all the privileges of those who are citizens or subjects by birth.\nAfter these things, A. B. is taken away by death, and C. D., in\nlooking over his papers, happens to find the commission given to A.\nB., and, applying it to his own use, assumes the vacant office;\nmeantime, two foreigners arrive, and apply for citizenship, and being\ninformed by persons ignorant of the affairs of government, that C. D.\ncould administer the laws of adoption, they submit to be administered\nunto by C. D., without once examining his authority; C. D. certifies\nof their citizenship, and they suppose they have been legally adopted,\nthe same as the others, and are entitled to all the privileges of\ncitizenship. But by and by, their citizenship is called in question,\nand they produce the certificate of C. D.; the President inquires--\n\"Who is C. D.? I never gave him a commission to act in any office, I\nknow him not, and you are strangers and foreigners to the\ncommonwealth, until you go before the legally appointed successor of\nA. B., or some other of like authority, who has a commission from the\nPresident direct in his own name.\" In the meantime, C. D. is taken and\npunished according to law, for practising imposition, and usurping\nauthority which was never conferred upon him.\n\nAnd so it is with the kingdom of God. The Lord authorized the Apostles\nand others by direct revelation, and by the spirit of prophecy, to\npreach and baptize, and build up His church and kingdom; but after a\nwhile they died, and a long time passed away, and men, reading over\ntheir commission, where it says to the eleven Apostles--\"Go ye into\nall the world and preach the Gospel to every creature,\" etc., have had\nthe presumption to apply these sayings as their authority, and without\nany other commission, have gone forth professing to preach the Gospel,\nand baptize, and build up the church and kingdom of God; but those\nwhom they baptize never receive the same blessings and gifts which\ncharacterized a saint or citizen of the kingdom in the days of the\nApostles. Why? Because they are yet foreigners and strangers, for the\ncommission given to the Apostles never commissioned any other man to\nact in their stead. This was a prerogative the Lord reserved unto\nhimself. No man has a right to take this ministry upon himself, but he\nthat is called by revelation, and duly qualified to act in his calling\nby the Holy Ghost.\n\nBut the reader inquires with astonishment, \"What! are none of all the\nministers of the present day called to the ministry, and legally\ncommissioned?\" Well, my reader, I will tell you how you may ascertain\nfrom their own mouths, and that will be far better than an answer from\nme; go to the clergy, and ask them if God has given them any direct\nrevelation since the New Testament was finished; inquire of them\nwhether the gift of prophecy ceased with the early age of the church;\nand, in short, ask them if revelations, prophets, the ministering of\nangels, etc., are needed or expected in these days, or whether they\nbelieve that these things are done away, no more to return to the\nearth; and their answer will be that the Bible contains sufficient,\nand that since the canon of Scripture was filled, revelation, the\nspirit of prophecy and the ministering of angels have ceased, because\nno longer needed. In short, they will denounce every man as an\nimpostor who pretends to any such thing. And when you have obtained\nthis answer, ask them how they themselves were called and commissioned\nto preach the Gospel, and they will be at a loss to answer you, and\nwill finally tell you that the Bible commissioned them, saying--\"Go ye\ninto all the world,\" etc. Thus, you see, all who have no direct\npersonal revelation from the King of heaven, either by angels, the\nvoice of God, or the spirit of prophecy, are acting under authority\nwhich was given to others, who are dead, and their commission stolen,\nand their authority usurped; and the King will say--\"Peter I know, and\nPaul I know, I commissioned them, but who are you? I know you not, I\nnever spoke to you in my life; indeed you believed it was not\nnecessary for me to speak in your day. Therefore you never sought in\nfaith for any revelation, and I never gave you any; and even when I\nspake to others, you mocked them, and called them impostors, and\npersecuted them, because they testified of the things I had said unto\nthem, therefore depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,\nprepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungered, and ye\nfed me not; I was naked, and ye clothed me not; I was a stranger, and\nye took me not in; sick and in prison and ye visited me not.\" \"Ah!\nLord, when did we fail in any of these things?\" \"Inasmuch as you have\nnot done it unto the least of these my brethren (taking them for\nimpostors, because they testified of the things which I had revealed\nunto them), ye have not done it unto me.\" But to return: having\nexamined the kingdom of God as to its offices and ordinances, and\nhaving discovered the only means of adoption into it, let us examine\nmore fully what are the blessings, privileges, and enjoyments of its\ncitizens. You have already seen that they were to cast out devils,\nspeak with new tongues, heal the sick by the laying on of hands in the\nname of Jesus, as well as to see visions, dream dreams, prophesy, etc.\n\nBut let us look at the kingdom in its organized state, and see whether\nthese promises were verified to Jew and Gentile, wherever the kingdom\nof God was found in all ages of the world.\n\nPaul writing, first, \"To the church of God at Corinth;\" second, \"To\nthem that are sanctified in Christ Jesus;\" third, \"To them who are\ncalled to be saints;\" and fourth, \"To all that in every place call on\nthe name of Jesus Christ our Lord,\" says to them all, in 1 Corinthians,\nxii, 1: \"Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have\nyou ignorant.\" And then, continuing his instructions, a few verses\nfurther on, he says: \"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to\nevery man to profit withal; for to one is given, by the Spirit, the\nword of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;\nto another faith by the same Spirit; to another, the gifts of healing\nby the same Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another,\nprophecy; to another, discerning of spirits; to another, divers kinds\nof tongues; to another, the interpretation of tongues; but all these\nworketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man\nseverally as He (Christ) will. For as the body is one, and hath many\nmembers, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one\nbody; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into\none body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free;\nand have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not\none member, but many. If the foot shall say, because I am not the\nhand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if\nthe ear shall say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is\nit therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where\nwere the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?\nBut now hath Got set the members, everyone of them in the body, as it\nhath pleased Him. And if they were all one member, where were the\nbody?\" I reply, it would not exist. \"But now are they many members,\nyet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need\nof thee; nor again, the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay,\nmuch more those members of the body which seem to be more feeble, are\nnecessary; and those members of the body which we think to be less\nhonorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor: and our uncomely\nparts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no\nneed: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more\nabundant honor to that part which lacked: that there should be no\nschism in the body; but that the members should have the same care for\none another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer\nwith it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.\nNow, ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God\nhath set some in the church, first, apostles; secondarily, prophets;\nthirdly, teachers; after that, miracles, then gifts of healings,\nhelps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all\nprophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the\ngifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But\ncovet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more\nexcellent way.\" From the thirteenth verse of the above chapter, we\nlearn that the Apostle is still speaking to the whole church in all\nages, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free, even all who should ever\ncompose the body of Christ, and showing that Christ's body consisted\nof many members, baptized by one spirit into one body, possessing all\nthese different gifts, some one gift, and some another: and then\nexpressly says, that one member possessing one gift, should not say to\nanother member possessing another gift, we have no need of thee.\n\nAnd having shown that it required apostles, prophets, evangelists,\npastors, and teachers; together with the gifts of prophecy, miracles,\nhealing, and all other gifts, to compose the church, or body of\nChrist, in any age, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free; and having\nutterly forbidden any of the members ever to say, of any of these\ngifts: \"We have no need of thee,\" He declares the body never could be\nperfected without all of them, and that if they were done away, there\nwould be no body, that is, no church of Christ in existence. Having\nshown all these things clearly, he exhorts them to covet earnestly the\nbest gifts. And in the thirteenth chapter, exhorts them to faith,\nhope, and charity, without which all these gifts would avail them\nnothing: and in the fourteenth chapter repeats the exhortation:\n\"Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye\nmay prophesy.\" Again, in Ephesians, i, 17, Paul prays that the Lord\nwould give unto the church the Spirit of WISDOM and of REVELATION, in\nthe KNOWLEDGE of God. Again, in Ephesians, iv, he tells them there is\none body and one Lord, one Spirit, one faith, and one baptism; and\nthat Christ ascended up on high, led captivity captive, and gave gifts\nto men. And He gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and some,\nevangelists; and some, pastors and teachers. And if the reader inquire\nwhat these gifts or offices were for, let him read the twelfth verse:\n\"For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for\nthe edifying of the body of Christ.\" And if he inquire how long these\nwere to continue, the thirteenth verse says: \"Till we all come in the\nunity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a\nperfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of\nChrist.\" And if he still inquire what further object Christ had in\ngiving these gifts, let him read the fourteenth verse: \"That we\nhenceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about\nwith every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning\ncraftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.\"\n\nNow, without these gifts and offices, first, the saints cannot be\nperfected; second, the work of the ministry cannot proceed; third, the\nbody of Christ cannot be edified; and fourth, there is nothing to\nprevent them from being carried about with every wind of doctrine.\nNow, I boldly declare that the cause of all the division, confusion,\njars, discord, and animosities; and the fruitful source of so many\nfaiths, lords, baptisms, and spirits; and of the understanding being\ndarkened; and of men being alienated from the life of God, through the\nignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts,\nis, because they have neither apostles, prophets, nor gifts, inspired\nfrom on high, to whom they give heed; for, if they had such gifts, and\nwould give heed unto them, they would be built up in one body, in the\npure doctrine of Christ, having one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and\none hope of their calling; yea, they would be edified, built up unto\nChrist in all things, in whom the whole body, fitly joined together,\nwould grow into an holy temple in the Lord.\n\nBut so long as the cunning craftiness of men can persuade them that\nthey have no need of these things, so long they can toss them about\nwith every wind of doctrine, just as they please.\n\nNow, reader, I have done our examination of the kingdom of God, as it\nexisted in the Apostles' days; and we cannot look at it in any other\nage, until renewed again in the last days, for it never did, nor never\nwill exist, without apostles and prophets, and all the other gifts of\nthe Spirit.\n\nWere we to take a view of the churches, from the days that inspiration\nceased until now, we should see nothing like the kingdom which we have\nbeen viewing with such admiration and delight. But instead of apostles\nand prophets, we should see false teachers, whom men had heaped to\nthemselves; and instead of the gifts of the Spirit, we should see the\nwisdom of men; and instead of the Holy Ghost, many false spirits;\ninstead of the ordinances of God, commandments of men; instead of\nknowledge, opinion; guess work, instead of revelation; division,\ninstead of union; doubt, instead of faith; despair, instead of hope;\nhatred, instead of charity; a physician, instead of the laying on of\nhands for the healing of the sick; fables, instead of truth, evil for\ngood, good for evil; darkness for light, light for darkness, and in a\nword, anti-Christ instead of Christ; the powers of earth having made\nwar with the saints, and overcome them, until the words of God should\nbe fulfilled.\n\nO my God, shut up the vision! for my heart sickens while I gaze; and\nlet the day hasten on when the earth shall be cleansed by fire from\nsuch awful pollutions; but first, let Thy promise be fulfilled, which\nThou didst make by the mouth of Thy servant John, that Thou wouldst\ncall Thy people out of her, saying: \"Come out of her, my people, that\nye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her\nplagues;\" and then, O Lord, when Thou hast called Thy people out from\nthe midst of her, by the fishers and hunters whom Thou hast promised\nto send in the last days to gather Israel; yea, when Thine everlasting\ncovenant has been renewed, and Thy people established thereby; then\nlet her plagues come in one day, death, mourning, and famine; let her\nbe burned with fire; that the holy Apostles and Prophets, and all that\nfear Thy name, small and great, may rejoice, because Thou hast avenged\nthe blood of Thy saints upon her. I ask these things in the name of\nJesus Christ. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE BOOK OF MORMON--ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS, ETC.\n\n\n    Ye gloomy scenes, far hence, intrude no more!\n    Sublimer themes invite the muse to soar\n    In loftier strains, while scenes both strange and new\n    Burst on the sight, and open to the view.\n\n    Lo! from the opening heavens, in bright array\n    An angel comes--to earth he bends his way:\n    Reveals to man, in power, as at the first,\n    The fulness of the Gospel long since lost.\n\n    See earth, obedient, from its bosom yield\n    The sacred truth it faithfully concealed.\n    The wise, confounded, startle at the sight,\n    The proud and haughty tremble with affright.\n\n    The hireling priests against the truth engage,\n    While hell beneath stands trembling, filled with rage;\n    False are their hopes, and all their struggles vain;\n    Their craft must fall, and with it all their gain;\n    The deaf must hear, the meek their joy increase;\n    The poor be glad, and their oppression cease.\n\nWhile darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people, every\nman walking in his own way, and looking for gain from his quarter, the\nLord having for a long time held His peace, and the people having\nfondly flattered themselves that the voice of inspiration would never\nagain sound in the ears of mortals, to disturb or molest them in their\nsinful career; while a few were looking for the consolation of Israel,\nand crying to God for the ushering in of that long-expected day, when\nan angel should fly through the midst of heaven, having the\neverlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth--\nsuddenly, a voice is heard from the wilderness, a cry salutes the ears\nof mortals, a testimony is heard among them, piercing to the inmost\nrecesses of their hearts, when all at once the heathen begin to rage,\nand the people to imagine a vain thing; the clergy lift a warning\nvoice, crying impostor, false prophets, beware of delusion, etc.;\nwhile the professor of religion, the drunkard, the swearer, the\nlearned, and the ignorant soon catch the sound and reiterate it again\nand again. Thus it re-echoes from one end of our country to the other,\nfor a long time, and if any one should be so fortunate as to retain\nhis sober senses, and should candidly inquire, \"What is the matter?\"\nthe reply is: \"We hardly know anything about it, but suffice it to\nsay, some fellows have made their appearance, Paul like, who testify\nsomething about the ministering of angels, or some revelation or\ninspiration, just as though the religion of ancient days, and the\nfaith once delivered to the saints, were returning to the earth in\nthis enlightened age; so that not only this our craft is in danger,\nbut our modern systems of religion, built upon the wisdom and learning\nof men, without direct inspiration, are like to be spoken against, and\ntheir great magnificence despised, though worshiped by all the world.\"\nAnd then all again cry with a loud voice, saying: \"Great is the wisdom\nof man; great are the systems of modern divinity; great is the wisdom\nof uninspired priests, who come unto us with excellency of speech, and\nwith man's wisdom, determined to know nothing among us save opinions\nand creeds of their own; and their speech, and their preaching, are\nwith enticing words of man's wisdom, not in demonstration of the\nSpirit, and of power, for that is done away, that our faith should not\nstand in the power of God, but in the wisdom of man.\"\n\nIn the midst of the noise and clamor, and prejudice of an opposing\nworld, it is difficult to get the people to understand the facts of\nthe case, in relation to one of the most important subjects ever\npresented to the consideration of mankind.\n\nThe Book of Mormon has perhaps been less understood, and more\nmisrepresented, by the world at large, than any other publication\nwhich has ever appeared.\n\nAmerica and England have, as it were, been flooded with publications\nagainst the said book; and many of them written by those who had never\nseen the book, or by those who had only read a page or two in it, or\nslightly looked it through with a biased mind, and a determination\nto find fault. By some of these it has been represented as a romance;\nby others, as a new Bible, calculated to displace the Bible, or do\naway with it. Some have pronounced it a \"silly mess of stuff,\" not\nworth the perusal; and others, the most ingenious literary work ever\nput together. Some have found fault with it for being so much like the\nBible, and agreeing with it; and others have condemned it for not\nbeing sufficiently like the Bible, and for disagreeing with it. Some\nhave denounced it as notoriously corrupt, immoral, and blasphemous in\nits principles; and others have condemned it for being so exceedingly\npure and moral in its principles, as to be just calculated to deceive.\nOne clergyman, in particular, in a tract of sixty pages on this book,\ncondemns it for being \"a strange mixture of _faith_ and _works_, of\nthe _mercy_ of God and the obedience of the _creature_.\" Some literary\npersons have pronounced it as altogether _ancient_ in its _style_,\n_language_, and _subjects_, and as bearing great internal evidence of\nits own antiquity; while others have condemned it, as bearing every\nmark of being a modern production. Some have said that there were no\ndefinite predictions of the future contained in it, by the fulfilment\nor failure of which its prophetic merits might be tested; and others\nhave quoted largely from its most plain and pointed predictions, which\nrelate to circumstances about to be fulfilled, and have condemned it\non account of its plainness.\n\nIn the midst of all these jarring statements, it now becomes our duty\nto show, as far as possible, what the Book of Mormon really is.\n\nWhen the Lord confounded the languages at Babel, he led forth a colony\nfrom thence to the Western Continent, which is now called America.\nThis colony, after crossing the ocean in eight vessels, and landing in\nthat country, became, in process of time, a great nation--they\ninhabited America for some fifteen hundred years. They were at length\ndestroyed for their wickedness, about six hundred years before Christ.\nA prophet by the name of Ether wrote their history, and an account of\ntheir destruction.\n\nEther lived to witness their entire destruction, and deposited his\nrecord where it was afterwards found by a colony of Israelites, who\ncame from Jerusalem six hundred years before Christ, and re-peopled\nAmerica. This last colony were the descendants of the tribe of Joseph;\nthey grew and multiplied, and finally gave rise to two mighty nations.\nOne of these nations was called Nephites--one Nephi being their\nfounder; the other was called Lamanites, after a leader of the name\nLaman.\n\nThe Lamanites became a dark and benighted people, of whom the American\nIndians are still a remnant. The Nephites were an enlightened and\ncivilized people, they were a people highly favored of the Lord, they\nhad visions, angels, and the gift of prophecy among them from age to\nage; and finally, they were blessed with a personal appearance of\nJesus Christ after his resurrection, from whose mouth they received\nthe doctrine of the Gospel, and a knowledge of the future down through\nall succeeding ages. But after all the blessings and privileges\nconferred upon them, they fell into great wickedness in the third and\nfourth centuries of the Christian era, and finally were destroyed by\nthe hands of the Lamanites. This destruction took place about four\nhundred years after Christ.\n\nMormon lived in that age of the world, and was a Nephite, and a\nProphet of the Lord. He, by the commandment of the Lord, made an\nabridgment of the sacred records, which contained the history of his\nforefathers, and the Prophecies and Gospel which had been revealed\namong them; to which he added a sketch of the history of his own time,\nand the destruction of his nation. Previous to his death, the abridged\nrecords fell into the hands of his son Moroni, who continued them down\nto A. D. 420; at which time he deposited them carefully in the earth,\non a hill which was then called Cumorah, but is situated in Ontario\nCounty, township of Manchester, and State of New York, North America.\nThis he did in order to preserve them from the Lamanites, who overran\nthe country, and sought to destroy them and all the records pertaining\nto the Nephites. This record lay concealed, or sealed up, from A. D.\n420 to September 22, 1827, at which time it was found by Mr. Joseph\nSmith, jun., he being directed thither by an angel of the Lord.\n\nThe following account of the discovery and translation of this record\nis extracted from a tract by Elder Orson Pratt, published at\nEdinburgh, in 1840, entitled, \"Remarkable Visions,\" etc., to which our\nreaders are referred for further particulars:--\n\n\"'How far below the surface these records were placed by Moroni, I am\nunable to say; but from the fact that they had been some fourteen\nhundred years buried, and that, too, on the side of a hill so steep,\none is ready to conclude that they were some feet below, as the earth\nwould naturally wear, more or less, in that length of time; but they\nbeing placed toward the top of the hill, the ground would not remove\nas much as at two-thirds, perhaps. Another circumstance would prevent\na wearing of the earth; in all probability, as soon as timber had time\nto grow, the hill was covered, after the Nephites were destroyed, and\nthe roots of the same would hold the surface: however, on this point,\nI shall leave every man to draw his own conclusion, and form his own\nspeculation.' But suffice it to say, 'a hole of sufficient depth was\ndug; at the bottom of this was laid a stone of suitable size, the\nupper surface being smooth; at each edge was placed a large quantity\nof cement, and into this cement, at the four edges of this stone, were\nplaced erect four others; their bottom edges resting in the cement, at\nthe outer edges of the first stone. The four last named, when placed\nerect, formed a box; the corners, or where the edges of the four came\nin contact, were also cemented so firmly, that the moisture from\nwithout was prevented from entering. It is to be observed, also, that\nthe inner surface of the four erect or side stones was smooth. This\nbox was sufficiently large to admit a breastplate, such as was used by\nthe ancients to defend the chest, etc., from the arrows and weapons of\ntheir enemy. From the bottom of the box, or from the breastplate,\narose three small pillars, composed of the same description of cement\nused on the edges; and upon these three pillars was placed the record.\n* * * This box containing the record was covered with another stone,\nthe bottom surface being flat, and the upper crowning.' When it was\nfirst visited by Mr. Smith, on the morning of the twenty-second of\nSeptember, 1823, 'a part of the crowning stone was visible above the\nsurface, while the edges were concealed by the soil and grass. From\nwhich circumstance, it may be seen, that however deep this box might\nhave been placed by Moroni at first, the time had been sufficient to\nwear the earth, so that it was easily discovered, when once directed,\nand yet not enough to make a perceivable difference to the passer by.\n* * * After arriving at the repository, a little exertion in removing\nthe soil from the edges of the top of the box, and a light pry,\nbrought to his natural vision its contents.'\n\n\"While viewing and contemplating this sacred treasure with wonder and\nastonishment, behold! the angel of the Lord, who had previously\nvisited him, again stood in his presence, and his soul was again\nenlightened as it was the evening before, and he was filled with the\nHoly Spirit, and the heavens were opened, and the glory of the Lord\nshone round about and rested upon him. 'While he thus stood, gazing\nand admiring, the angel said, Look!' And as he thus spake, he beheld\nthe Prince of Darkness, surrounded by his innumerable train of\nassociates. All this passed before him, and the heavenly messenger\nsaid: 'All this is shown, the good and the evil, the holy and impure,\nthe glory of God, and the power of darkness, that you may know\nhereafter, the two powers, and never be influenced or overcome by that\nwicked one. Behold, whatever entices and leads to good, and to do\ngood, is of God, and whatever does not, is of that wicked one. It is\nhe that fills the hearts of men with evil to walk in darkness, and\nblaspheme God; and you may learn from henceforth, that his ways are to\ndestruction; but the way of holiness is peace and rest. You now see\nwhy you could not obtain this record, that the commandment was strict,\nand that if ever these sacred things are obtained, they must be by\nprayer and faithfulness in obeying the Lord. They are not deposited\nhere for the sake of accumulating gain and wealth, for the glory of\nthis world; they were sealed by the prayer of faith, and because of\nthe knowledge which they contain, they are of no worth among the\nchildren of men, only for their knowledge. On them is contained the\nfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it was given to His people\non this land; and when it shall be brought forth by the power of God,\nit shall be carried to the Gentiles, of whom many will receive it, and\nafter, will the seed of Israel be brought into the fold of their\nRedeemer by obeying it also. Those who kept the commandments of the\nLord on this land, desired this at His hand, and through the prayer of\nfaith obtained the promise, that if their descendants should\ntransgress and fall away, a record might be kept, and in the last\ndays, come to their children. These things are sacred, and must be\nkept so, for the promise of the Lord concerning them must be\nfulfilled. No man can obtain them if his heart is impure, because they\ncontain that which is sacred. * * * By them will the Lord work a great\nand marvelous work; the wisdom of the wise shall become as naught, and\nthe understanding of the prudent shall be hid, and because the power\nof God shall be displayed, those who profess to know the truth, but\nwalk in deceit, shall tremble with anger; but with signs and with\nwonders, with gifts and with healings, with the manifestations of the\npower of God, and with the Holy Ghost, shall the hearts of the\nfaithful be comforted. You have now beheld the power of God\nmanifested, and the power of Satan; you see that there is nothing that\nis desirable in the works of darkness; that they cannot bring\nhappiness; that those who are overcome therewith are miserable; while,\non the other hand, the righteous are blessed with a place in the\nkingdom of God, where joy unspeakable surrounds them; there they rest\nbeyond the power of the enemy of truth, where no evil can disturb\nthem: the glory of God crowns them, and they continually feast upon\nHis goodness, and enjoy His smiles. Behold, notwithstanding you have\nseen this great display of power, by which you may ever be able to\ndetect the evil one, yet I give unto you another sign, and when it\ncomes to pass, then know that the Lord is God, and that He will fulfil\nHis purposes, and that the knowledge which this record contains, will\ngo to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people under the\nwhole heaven. This is the sign: when these things begin to be known,\nthat is, when it is known that the Lord has shown you these things,\nthe workers of iniquity will seek your overthrow; they will circulate\nfalsehoods to destroy your reputation; and also will seek to take your\nlife! but remember this, if you are faithful, and shall hereafter\ncontinue to keep the commandments of the Lord, you shall be preserved\nto bring these things forth; for in due time He will again give you a\ncommandment to come and take them. When they are interpreted, the Lord\nwill give the Holy Priesthood to some, and they shall begin to\nproclaim this Gospel and baptize by water, and after that, they shall\nhave power to give the Holy Ghost by the laying on of their hands.\nThen will persecution rage more and more; for the iniquities of men\nshall be revealed, and those who are not built upon the Rock will seek\nto overthrow this Church; but it will increase the more opposed, and\nspread farther and farther, increasing in knowledge, till they shall\nbe sanctified, and receive an inheritance where the glory of God will\nrest upon them; and when this takes place, and all things are\nprepared, the ten tribes of Israel will be revealed in the north\ncountry, whither they have been for a long season; and when this is\nfulfilled, will be brought to pass that saying of the Prophet, 'And\nthe Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from\ntransgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.' But, notwithstanding the\nworkers of iniquity shall seek your destruction, the arm of the Lord\nwill be extended, and you will be borne off conqueror, if you keep all\nHis commandments. Your name shall be known among the nations, for the\nwork which the Lord will perform by your hands shall cause the\nrighteous to rejoice and the wicked to rage; with the one it shall be\nhad in honor, and with the other in reproach; yet, with these it shall\nbe a terror, because of the great and marvelous work which shall\nfollow the coming forth of this fulness of the Gospel. Now, go thy\nway, remembering what the Lord has done for thee, and be diligent in\nkeeping His commandments, and He will deliver thee from temptations,\nand all the arts and devices of the wicked one. Forget not to pray,\nthat thy mind may become strong, that when he shall manifest unto\nthee, thou mayest have power to escape the evil, and obtain these\nprecious things.\"\n\nWe here remark, that the above quotation is an extract from a letter\nwritten by Elder Oliver Cowdery, which was published in one of the\nnumbers of the \"Latter-day Saints' Messenger and Advocate.\"\n\nAlthough many more instructions were given by the mouth of the angel\nto Mr. Smith, which we do not write in this book, yet the most\nimportant items are contained in the foregoing relation. During the\nperiod of the four following years, he frequently received instruction\nfrom the mouth of the heavenly messenger, and on the morning of the\ntwenty-second of September, A. D. 1827, the angel of the Lord\ndelivered the records into his hands.\n\nThese records were engraved on plates which had the appearance of\ngold. Each plate was not far from seven inches in width by eight\ninches in length, being not quite as thick as common tin. They were\nfilled on both sides with engravings, in Egyptian characters, and\nbound together in a volume, as the leaves of a book, and fastened at\none edge with three rings running through the whole. This volume was\nsomething near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed.\nThe characters of letters upon the unsealed part were small, and\nbeautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity\nin its construction, as well as much skill in the art of engraving.\nWith the records was found a curious instrument, called by the\nancients the Urim and Thummim, which consisted of two transparent\nstones, clear as crystal, set in the two rims of a bow. This was in\nuse in ancient times by persons called Seers. It was an instrument by\nthe use of which they received revelation of things distant, or of\nthings past or future.\n\nIn the mean time the inhabitants of that vicinity, having been\ninformed that Mr. Smith had seen heavenly visions, and that he had\ndiscovered sacred records, began to ridicule and mock at those things.\nAnd after having obtained those sacred things, while proceeding home\nthrough the wilderness and fields, he was waylaid by two ruffians, who\nhad secreted themselves for the purpose of robbing him of the records.\nOne of them struck him with a club before he perceived them; but being\na strong man, and large in stature, with great exertion he cleared\nhimself from them, and ran towards home, being closely pursued until\nhe came near his father's house, when his pursuers, for fear of being\ndetected, turned and fled the other way.\n\nSoon the news of his discoveries spread abroad throughout all those\nparts. False reports, misrepresentations, and base slanders flew as if\nupon the wings of the wind in every direction. The house was\nfrequently beset by mobs and evil designing persons. Several times he\nwas shot at, and very narrowly escaped. Every device was used to get\nthe plates away from him. And being continually in danger of his life,\nfrom a gang of abandoned wretches, he at length concluded to leave the\nplace, and go to Pennsylvania; and accordingly packed up his goods,\nputting the plates into a barrel of beans, and proceeded upon his\njourney. He had not gone far, before he was overtaken by an officer\nwith a search warrant, who flattered himself with the idea that he\nshould surely obtain the plates; after searching very diligently, ho\nwas sadly disappointed at not finding them. Mr. Smith then drove on;\nbut before he got to his journey's end, he was again overtaken by an\nofficer on the same business, and after ransacking the wagon very\ncarefully, he went his way, as much chagrined as the first at not\nbeing able to discover the object of his research. Without any further\nmolestation, he pursued his journey until he came into the northern\npart of Pennsylvania, near the Susquehanna River, in which part his\nfather-in-law resided.\n\nHaving provided himself with a home, ho commenced translating the\nrecord, by the gift and power of God, through the means of the Urim\nand Thummim; and being a poor writer, he was under the necessity of\nemploying a scribe, to write the translation as it tame from his\nmouth.\n\nIn the meantime, a few of the original characters were accurately\ntranscribed and translated by Mr. Smith, which, with the translation,\nwere taken by a gentleman named Martin Harris to the city of New York,\nwhere they were presented to a learned gentleman named Anthon, who\nprofessed to be extensively acquainted with many languages, both\nancient and modern. He examined them, but was unable to decipher them\ncorrectly; but he presumed, that if the original records could be\nbrought, he could assist in translating them.\n\nBut to return. Mr. Smith continued the work of translation, as his\npecuniary circumstances would permit, until he had finished the\nunsealed part of the records. The part translated is entitled the\n\"Book of Mormon,\" which contains nearly as much reading as the Old\nTestament.\n\n\"Well,\" says the objector, \"if it were not for the marvellous, the\nbook would be considered one of the greatest discoveries the world\never witnessed. If you had been ploughing, or digging a well or cellar\nand accidentally dug up a record containing some account of the\nancient history of the American continent, and of its original\ninhabitants, together with the origin of the Indian tribes who now\ninhabit it; had this record had nothing to do with God, or angels, or\ninspiration, it would have been hailed by all the learned of America\nand Europe, as one of the greatest and most important discoveries of\nmodern times, unfolding a mystery which had, until then, bid defiance\nto all the researches of the learned world. Every newspaper would have\nbeen filled with the glad tidings, while its contents would have\npoured upon the world a flood of light, on subjects before concealed\nin the labyrinth of uncertainty and doubt. But who can stoop, and so\nhumble himself as to receive anything, in this enlightened age,\nrenowned for its religion and learning, from the ministering of\nangels, and from inspiration? This is too much: away with such things,\nit comes in contact with the wisdom and popularity of the day.\" To\nthis I reply, The Lord knew that before He revealed it; this was one\nprincipal object He had in view; it is just the manner of His dealing\nwith the children of men; He always takes a different course from the\none marked out for Him by the wisdom of the world, in order to\n\"confound the wise, and bring to naught the understanding of the\nprudent;\" He chooses men of low degree, even the simple and the\nunlearned, and those who are despised, to do His work and to bring\nabout His purposes, that no flesh shall glory in His presence. O ye\nwise, and ye learned, who despise the wisdom that comes from above!\nKnow ye not, that it was impossible for the world by wisdom to find\nout God? Know ye not that all your wisdom is foolishness with God?\nKnow ye not that ye must become as a little child, and be willing to\nlearn wisdom, from the least of His servants, or you will perish in\nyour ignorance?\n\nBut what are the evidences which we gather from Scripture, concerning\nthe coming forth of this glorious work? We shall attempt to prove:\nfirst, that America is a land promised to the seed of Joseph; second,\nthat the Lord would reveal to them His truth as well as to the Jews;\nand third, that their record should come forth, and unite its\ntestimony, with the record of the Jews, in time for the restoration of\nIsrael, in the last days.\n\nFirst, Genesis, xlviii, Jacob, while blessing the two sons of Joseph,\nsays: \"Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.\" In\nthe same blessing, it is said of Ephraim, \"His seed shall become a\nmultitude of nations.\" Now put the sense of these sayings together,\nand it makes Ephraim a multitude of nations in the midst of the earth.\nIn Genesis, xlix, it is prophesied concerning Joseph, while Jacob was\nblessing him, that he should be \"a fruitful bough by a well, whose\nbranches run over the wall: the archers have sorely grieved him, and\nshot at him, and hated him, but his bow abode in strength.\" Again, he\nfurther says: \"The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the\nblessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bound of the everlasting\nhills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the\nhead of him that was separate from his brethren.\" Now I ask, Who were\nJacob's progenitors, and what was the blessing conferred upon him?\nAbraham and Isaac were his progenitors, and the land of Canaan was the\nblessing they conferred upon him, or that God promised them he should\npossess. Recollect that Jacob confers on Joseph a much greater land\nthan that of Canaan; even greater than his fathers had conferred upon\nhim, for Joseph's blessing was to extend to the uttermost bound of the\neverlasting hills. Now, reader, stand in Egypt, where Jacob then\nstood, and measure to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills, and\nyou will land somewhere in the central part of America. Again, one of\nthe Prophets says, in speaking of Ephraim: \"When the Lord shall roar,\nthe children of Ephraim shall tremble from the west.\" Now let us sum\nup these sayings, and what have we gained? First, that Ephraim was to\ngrow into a multitude of nations in the midst of the earth; second,\nJoseph was to be greatly blessed in a large inheritance, as far off as\nAmerica; third, this was to be on the west of Egypt or Jerusalem.\n\nNow let the world search from pole to pole, and they will not find a\nmultitude of nations in the midst of the earth, who can possibly have\nsprung from Ephraim, unless they find them in America; for the midst\nof all other parts of the earth is inhabited by mixed races, who have\nsprung from various sources; while here an almost boundless country\nwas secluded from the rest of the world, and inhabited by a race of\nmen, evidently of the same origin, although as evidently divided into\nmany nations. Now, the Scriptures cannot be broken; therefore, these\nScriptures must apply to America, for the plainest of reasons: they\ncan apply to no other place.\n\nNow, secondly, we are to prove that God revealed himself to the seed\nof Joseph or Ephraim--their location we have already proved--dwelling\nin America. For this, we quote Hosea, viii, 12; speaking of Ephraim,\nhe says by the spirit of prophecy: \"I have written to him the great\nthings of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.\" This is\nproof positive and needs no comment, that the great truths of Heaven\nwere revealed unto Ephraim, and were counted as a strange thing.\n\nThird: Were these writings to come forth just previously to the\ngathering of Israel? Answer: They were, according to Ezekiel,\nthirty-seventh chapter, where God commanded him to \"Take one stick,\nand write upon it For Judah, and the children of Israel his\ncompanions; then take another stick, and write upon it For Joseph, the\nstick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions; and\njoin them one to another, into one stick, and they shall become one in\nthine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee,\nsaying, Wilt not thou show us what thou meanest by these? say unto\nthem, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the stick of\nJoseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his\nfellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and\nmake them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand; and the\nsticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.\nAnd say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the\nchildren of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and\nwill gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land;\nand I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of\nIsrael; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no\nmore two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any\nmore at all.\"\n\nNow, nothing can be more plain than the above prophecy; there are\npresented two writings, the one to Ephraim, the other to Judah; that\nof Ephraim is to be brought forth by the Lord, and put with that of\nJudah, and they are to become one in their testimony, and grow\ntogether in this manner, in order to bring about the gathering of\nIsrael. The eighty-fifth Psalm is very plain on the subject: speaking\nof the restoration of Israel to their own land, it says, \"Mercy and\nTruth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each\nother. _Truth shall spring out of the earth:_ and Righteousness shall\nlook down from heaven. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good;\nand our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before\nHim, and shall set us in the way of His steps.\" Now the Savior, while\npraying for His disciples, said: \"Sanctify them through Thy\n_truth_--Thy _word_ is _truth_.\" From these passages we learn, that\nHis word is to spring out of the earth, while Righteousness looks down\nfrom heaven. And the next thing that follows is, that Israel are set\nin the way of His steps, and partaking of the fruit of their own land.\nJeremiah, xxxiii, 6, speaking of the final return from captivity of\nboth Judah and Israel, says: \"I will reveal unto them the abundance of\npeace and truth.\" And Isaiah, speaking of the everlasting covenant,\nwhich should gather them, makes this extraordinary and very remarkable\nexpression: \"Their seed shall be known amongst the Gentiles, and their\noffspring among the people.\" Now, reader, let me ask, can any one tell\nwhether the Indians of America are of Israel, unless by revelation\nfrom God? Therefore this was a hidden mystery, which it was necessary\nto reveal in time for their gathering.\n\nSo much, then, we have produced from the Scriptures, in proof of a\nwork, like the book of Mormon, making its appearance in these days; to\nsay nothing of Isaiah, xxix. But says one, \"What is the use of the\nBook of Mormon, even if it be true?\" I answer: First, it brings to\nlight an important history, before unknown to man. Second, it reveals\nthe origin of the American Indians, which was before a mystery. Third,\nit contains important prophecies, yet to be fulfilled, which\nimmediately concern the present generation. Fourth, it contains much\nplainness in regard to points of doctrine, insomuch that all may\nunderstand, and see eye to eye, if they take pains to read it.\n\n\"But what are its proofs, as to chosen witnesses who testify to its\ntranslation by inspiration?\" For this testimony, I refer the reader to\nthe testimony of the witnesses in the first page of the Book of\nMormon; he will there find as positive testimony as has ever been\nfound in the other Scriptures concerning any truth which God ever\nrevealed. Men there testify, not only that they have seen and handled\nthe plates, but that an angel of God came down from heaven, and\npresented the plates before them, while the glory of God shone round\nabout them, and the voice of God spoke from heaven, and told them that\nthese things were true, and had been translated by the gift and power\nof God, and commanded them to bear record of the same to all people.\n\nBlessed be the Lord God of our fathers! He has visited His people, and\nthe dayspring from on high has dawned upon our benighted world once\nmore; for no sooner had the Book been translated, and men begun to\nbear record of the same, than the Angel of the Lord came down from\nheaven again, and commissioned men to preach the Gospel to every\ncreature, and to baptize with water for the remission of sins. No\nsooner did the people begin to believe their testimony, and be\nbaptized, than the Holy Ghost fell upon them, through the laying on of\nhands in the name of Jesus; and the heavens were opened: and while\nsome had the ministering of angels, others began to speak in other\ntongues, and prophesy. From that time forth, many of them were healed\nby the laying on of hands in the name of Jesus; and thus mightily grew\nthe word of God, and prevailed. And thus, thousands have been raised\nup to testify that they do know for themselves, and are not dependent\non the testimony of any man, for the truth of these things, for these\nsigns follow them that believe. And when a man believes the truth,\nthrough the testimony of God's witnesses, and then these signs follow,\nnot only them, but him also; if he has the ministering of angels, if\nhe has been healed, or heals others, by the laying on of hands in the\nname of Jesus, or if he speaks in other tongues, or prophesies, he\nknows it for himself; and thus is fulfilled the saying of Scripture,\n\"If any man do my will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be\nof God.\" Thus faith comes by hearing, and knowledge by obeying; but\nhearing comes by preaching, and preaching comes by sending; as it is\nwritten--\"How shall they preach, except they be sent?\"\n\nBut there are many who say--\"Show us a sign, and we will believe.\"\nRemember, faith comes not by signs, but signs come by faith. Gifts\nwere not given to make men believe; but what saith the Scripture?\n\"Gifts are for the edifying of the Church.\" If otherwise, why was it\nnot written--\"Faith comes by miracles,\" instead of \"Faith comes by\nhearing?\" I always take it for granted, that a man or woman who comes\ndemanding a sign in order to make them believe, belongs to a wicked\nand adulterous generation, at least, to say no worse; for any person\nwho will go to Jesus, with a pure heart, desiring and praying in\nfaith, that he may know the truth concerning these things, the Lord\nwill reveal it to him, and he shall know, and shall bear testimony,\nfor by the Spirit of God they shall know truth from error: as it is\nwritten--\"My sheep hear my voice.\" And he that will not come unto\nJesus by faith, shall never know the truth, until, too late, he finds\nthe harvest is over, and the summer is ended, and his soul not saved.\n\nThus the religion of Jesus, unlike all other religious systems, bears\nits own weight, and brings certainty and knowledge, leaving no room\nfor imposition. And now I say unto all people, Come unto the Father in\nthe name of Jesus; doubt not, but be believing, as in days of old, and\nask in faith for whatsoever you stand in need of; ask not that you may\nconsume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness not to be shaken,\nthat you will yield to no temptation, but that you will keep His\ncommandments, as fast as He makes them manifest unto you; and if ye do\nthis, and He reveals to you that He has sent us with a new and\neverlasting covenant, and commanded us to preach, and baptize, and\nbuild up His Church as in days of old, then come forward and obey the\ntruth; but if you do not know, or are not satisfied that He has sent\nus, then do not embrace the doctrine we preach. Thus to your own\nmaster you shall stand or fall; and one day you shall know, yea, in\nthat great day, when every knee shall bow, then shall you know that\nGod has sent us with the truth, to prune His vineyard for the last\ntime, with a mighty pruning.\n\nWe shall now introduce much circumstantial evidence, from American\nantiquities, and from the traditions of the natives, etc.\n\nFirst, says Mr. Boudinot: \"It is said among their principal or beloved\nmen, that they have it handed down from their ancestors, that the book\nwhich the white people have, was once theirs: that while they had it\nthey prospered exceedingly, etc. They also say, that their fathers\nwere possessed of an extraordinary Divine Spirit, by which they\nforetold future events, and controlled the common course of nature;\nand this they transmitted to their offspring, on condition of their\nobeying the sacred laws; that they did, by these means, bring down\nshowers of blessings upon their beloved people; but that this power,\nfor a long time past, had entirely ceased.\" Colonel James Smith, in\nhis journal, while a prisoner among the natives, says: \"They have a\ntradition, that in the beginning of this continent, the angels or\nheavenly inhabitants, as they call them, frequently visited the\npeople, and talked with their forefathers, and gave directions how to\npray.\"\n\nMr. Boudinot, in his able work, remarks concerning their language:\n\"Their language, in its roots, idiom, and particular construction,\nappears to have the _whole genius_ of the Hebrew; and what is very\nremarkable, and well worthy of serious attention, has most of the\npeculiarities of that language.\" There is a tradition related by an\naged Indian, of the Stockbridge tribe, that their fathers were once in\npossession of a \"Sacred Book,\" which was handed down from generation\nto generation; and at last hid in the earth, since which time they had\nbeen under the feet of their enemies. But these oracles were to be\nrestored to them again; and _then_ they would triumph over their\nenemies, and regain their rights and privileges. Mr. Boudinot, after\nrecording many traditions similar to the above, at length remarks:\n\"Can any man read this short account of Indian traditions, drawn from\ntribes of various nations; from the west to the east, and from the\nsouth to the north, wholly separated from each other, written by\ndifferent authors of the best character, both for knowledge and\nintegrity, possessing the best means of information, at various and\ndistant times, without any possible communication with each other; and\nyet suppose that all this is the effect of chance, accident, or\ndesign, from a love of the marvelous, or a premeditated intention of\ndeceiving, and thereby ruining their well established reputation? Can\nany one carefully, and with deep reflection, consider and compare\nthese traditions and nations with the position and circumstances of\nthe long lost ten tribes of Israel, without at least drawing some\npresumptive inferences in favor of these wandering natives being\ndescended from the ten tribes of Israel?\"\n\n\"Joseph Merrick, Esq., a highly respectable character in Pitsfield,\nMass., gave the following account: That in 1815, he was leveling some\nground under and near an old wood-shed standing on a place of his,\nsituated on _Indian Hill_. He ploughed and conveyed away old chips and\nearth to some depth. After the work was done, walking over the place,\nhe discovered, near where the earth had been dug the deepest, a black\nstrap, as it appeared, about six inches in length, and one and a half\nin breadth, and about the thickness of a leather trace to a harness.\nHe perceived it had, at each end, a loop of some hard substance,\nprobably for the purpose of carrying it. He conveyed it to his house,\nand threw it into an old tool box. He afterwards found it thrown out\nat the door, and again conveyed it to the box.\n\n\"After some time, he thought he would examine it; but in attempting to\ncut it, found it as hard as bone; he succeeded, however, in getting it\nopen, and found it was formed of two pieces of thick rawhide, sewed\nand made water-tight with the sinews of some animal, and gummed over;\nand in the fold was contained _four_ folded pieces of parchment. They\nwere of a dark yellow hue, and contained some kind of writing. The\nneighbors coming in to see the strange discovery, tore one of the\npieces to atoms, in the true Hun and Vandal style. The other three\npieces Mr. Merrick saved, and sent them to Cambridge, where they were\nexamined, and discovered to have been written with a pen, in _Hebrew_,\nplain and legible. The writing on the three remaining pieces of\nparchment, was quotations from the Old Testament. See Deut., vi, from\n4--9; also xi, 13--21; and Exodus, xiii, 11--16, to which the reader\ncan refer, if he has the curiosity to read this most interesting\ndiscovery.\n\n\"On the banks of White River, in Arkansas Territory, have been found\nruins erected no doubt by an enlightened population, of the most\nextraordinary character, on account of their dimensions, and the\nmaterials of which they were erected. One of these works is a wall of\nearth, which encloses an area of six hundred and forty acres, equal to\na mile square, and having, in its centre, the foundation of a large\ncircular building, or temple. Another, yet more strange, and more\nextensive, consists of the foundations of a great city, whose streets,\ncrossing each other at right angles, are easily traced through the\nmighty forest. And besides these are found the foundations of\n_houses_, made of _burnt_ bricks, like the bricks of the present time.\nThese have been traced to the extent of a mile.\"\n\nThe foregoing is taken from Priest's American Antiquities, and from\nthe same work we extract the following, page 246:\n\n\"_Ruins of the City of Otolum, discovered in North America_.--In a\nletter of C. S. Rafinesque, whom we have before quoted, to a\ncorrespondent in Europe, we find the following: 'Some years ago, the\nSociety of Geography, in Paris, offered a large premium for a voyage\nto Guatemala, and for a new survey of the antiquities of Yucatan and\nChiapa, chiefly those fifteen miles from Palenque.'\"\n\n\"I have,\" says this author, \"restored to them the true name of\n_Otolum_, which is yet the name of the stream running through the\nruins. They were surveyed by Captain Del Rio, in 1787, an account of\nwhich was published in English, in 1822. This account describes partly\nthe ruins of a _stone_ city, of no less dimensions than seventy-five\nmiles in circuit; length, thirty-two, and breadth twelve miles, full\nof palaces, monuments, statues, and inscriptions: one of the earliest\nseats of American civilization; about equal to Thebes of ancient\nEgypt.\"\n\nIt is stated in the _Family Magazine_, No. 34, p. 266, for 1833, as\nfollows: \"Public attention has been recently excited, respecting the\nruins of an ancient city, found in Guatemala. It would seem that these\nruins are now being explored, and much curious and valuable matter, in\na literary and historical point of view, is anticipated. We deem the\npresent a most auspicious moment, now that the public attention is\nturned to the subject, to spread its contents before our readers, as\nan introduction to future discoveries, during the researches now in\nprogress.\"\n\nThe following are some of the particulars, as related by Captain Del\nRio, who partially examined them, as above related, in 1787: \"From\nPalenque, the last town northward in the province of _Ciudad Real de\nChiapa_, taking a southwesterly direction, and ascending a ridge of\nhigh land, that divides the kingdom of Guatemala from Yucatan, at the\ndistance of six miles, is the little river _Micol_, whose waters flow\nin a westerly direction, and unite with the great river _Tulijah_,\nwhich bends its course towards the province of _Tobasco_. Having\npassed Micol, the ascent begins, and at half a league, or a mile and a\nhalf, the traveler crosses a little stream called Otolum; from this\npoint heaps of stone ruins are discovered, which render the roads very\ndifficult for another half league, when you gain the height whereon\nthe stone houses are situated, being still fourteen in number in one\nplace, some more dilapidated than others, yet still having many of\ntheir apartments perfectly discernible. These stand on a rectangular\narea, three hundred yards in breadth by four hundred and fifty in\nlength, which is a fraction over fifty-six rods wide, and eighty-four\nrods long, being in the whole circuit, two hundred and eighty rods,\nwhich is three fourths of a mile, and a trifle over. This area\npresents a plain at the base of the highest mountain forming the\nridge. In the centre of this plain is situated the largest of the\nstructures which has been, as yet, discovered among these ruins. It\nstands on a mound, or pyramid, twenty yards high, which is sixty feet,\nor nearly four rods, in perpendicular altitude, which gives it a lofty\nand beautiful majesty, as if it were a temple suspended in the sky.\nThis is surrounded by other edifices, namely, five to the northward,\nfour to the southward, one to the southwest, and three to the\neastward, fourteen in all.\n\n\"In all directions, the fragments of other fallen buildings are seen\nextending along the mountain, that stretches east and west either way\nfrom these buildings, as if it were the great temple of worship, or\ntheir government-house, around which they built their city, and where\ndwelt their kings and officers of state. At this place was found a\nsubterranean stone aqueduct, of great solidity and durability, which\nin its course passes beneath the largest building.\"\n\nLet it be understood, this city of Otolum, the ruins of which are so\nimmense, is in North, not South America, in the same latitude with the\nisland of Jamaica, which is about eighteen degrees north of the\nequator, being on the highest ground between the northern end of the\nCaribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, where the continent narrows\ntowards the Isthmus of Darien, and is about eight hundred miles south\nof New Orleans.\n\nThe discovery of these ruins, and also of many others, equally\nwonderful, in the same country, is just commencing to arouse the\nattention of the schools of Europe, which hitherto have denied that\nAmerica could boast of her antiquities. But these immense ruins are\nnow being explored under the direction of scientific persons, a\nhistory of which, in detail, will, doubtless, be forthcoming in due\ntime; two volumes of which, in manuscript, we are informed, have\nalready been written, and cannot but be received with enthusiasm by\nAmericans.\n\nA gentleman who was living near the town of Cincinnati, in 1826, on\nthe upper level, had occasion to sink a well for his accommodation; he\npersevered in digging to the depth of eighty feet, without finding\nwater; but still persisting in the attempt, his workmen found\nthemselves obstructed by a substance, which resisted their labor,\nthough evidently not stone. They cleared the surface and sides from\nthe earth bedded around it, when there appeared the stump of a tree,\nthree feet in diameter, and two feet high, which had been cut down\nwith an ax. The blows of the ax were yet visible. It was nearly of the\ncolor and apparent character of coal, but had not the friable and\nfusible quality of that substance. Ten feet below, the water sprang\nup, and the well is now in constant supply and high repute.\n\nIn Morse's Universal Geography, first volume, p. 142, the discovery of\nthe stump is corroborated: \"In digging a well in Cincinnati, the stump\nof a tree was found in a sound state, ninety feet below the surface;\nand in digging another well, at the same place, another stump was\nfound, at ninety four feet below the surface, which had evident marks\nof the ax; and on its top there appeared as if some iron tool had been\nconsumed by rust.\"\n\nWe might fill a volume with accounts of American antiquities, all\ngoing to show that this country has been inhabited by a people who\npossessed a knowledge of the arts and sciences, who built cities,\ncultivated the earth, and who were in possession of a written\nlanguage. But the things which we have here introduced are abundantly\nsufficient for our purpose. If a few characters in Hebrew have been\nfound in the earth in America, written on parchment, then it is just\nas easy to admit that a whole volume has been found in the earth in\nAmerica, written on plates, in Egyptian characters. The astonishing\nfacts of the stumps found eighty or ninety feet under ground at\nCincinnati, and similar discoveries in many other parts of North and\nSouth America, such as buried cities, and other antiquities, all go to\nprove that there has been a mighty convulsion and revolution, not only\nof nations, but of nature; and such a convulsion as is nowhere else so\nreasonably accounted for, as in the following extraordinary and\nwonderful account of events, which transpired in this country, during\nthe crucifixion of Messiah, which we extract from the Book of Mormon,\nNephi, v, 2-11:\n\n\"And it came to pass, in the thirty and fourth year, in the first\nmonth, in the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such\nan one as never had been known in all the land; and there was also a\ngreat and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch\nthat it did shake the whole earth, as if it was about to divide\nasunder; and there were exceeding sharp lightnings, such as never had\nbeen known in all the land. And the city of Zarahemla did take fire;\nand the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the\ninhabitants thereof were drowned; and the earth was carried up upon\nthe city of Moronihah, that, in the place of the city thereof, there\nbecame a great mountain; and there was a great and terrible\ndestruction in the land southward. But, behold, there was a more great\nand terrible destruction in the land northward; for, behold, the whole\nface of the land was changed, because of the tempest, and the\nwhirlwinds, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the exceeding\ngreat quaking of the whole earth; and the highways were broken up, and\nthe level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough, and\nmany great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and\nmany were shook till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth,\nand the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left\ndesolate; and there were some cities which remained, but the damage\nthereof was exceeding great, and there were many in them who were\nslain, and there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind, and\nwhither they went, no man knoweth, save they know that they were\ncarried away; and thus the face of the whole earth became deformed,\nbecause of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and\nthe quaking of the earth. And, behold, the rocks were rent in twain;\nthey were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that\nthey were found in broken fragments, and in seams, and in cracks, upon\nall the face of the land.\n\n\"And it came to pass, that when the thunderings, and the lightnings,\nand the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did\ncease--for, behold, they did last for about the space of three hours:\nand it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all\nthese great and terrible things were done in about the space of three\nhours; and then, behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.\n\n\"And it came to pass that there was a thick darkness upon all the face\nof the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof, who had not\nfallen, could feel the vapor of darkness; and there could be no light\nbecause of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither\ncould there be fire kindled with their fine and exceeding dry wood, so\nthat there could not be any light at all; and there was not any light\nseen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor\nthe stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the\nface of the land.\n\n\"And it came to pass, that it did last for the space of three days,\nthat there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and\nhowling, and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were\nthe groanings of the people, because of the darkness and great\ndestruction which had come upon them. And in one place they were heard\nto cry, saying, O that we had repented before this great and terrible\nday, and then would our brethren have been spared, and they would not\nhave been burned in that great city of Zarahemla! And in another place\nthey were heard to cry and mourn, saying, O that we had repented\nbefore this great and terrible day, and had not killed and Stoned the\nprophets and cast them out; then would our mothers, and our fair\ndaughters, and our children have been spared, and not have been buried\nup in that great city Moronihah; and thus were the howlings of the\npeople great and terrible.\n\n\"And it came to pass, that there was a voice heard among all the\ninhabitants of the earth upon the face of this land, crying, Wo, wo,\nwo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth,\nexcept they shall repent, for the devil laugheth, and his angels\nrejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my\npeople; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they\nare fallen. Behold, that great city of Zarahemla have I burned with\nfire, and the inhabitants thereof. And behold, that great city Moroni\nhave I caused to be sunk in the depth of the sea, and the inhabitants\nthereof to be drowned. And behold, that great city Moronihah have I\ncovered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their\niniquities and their abominations from before my face, that the blood\nof the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against\nthem. And behold the city of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk, and the\ninhabitants thereof to be buried up in the depths of the earth: yea,\nand the city of Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of\nMocum and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Jerusalem and the\ninhabitants thereof, and waters have I caused to come up in the stead\nthereof, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my\nface, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up\nany more unto me against them. And behold the city of Gadiandi, and\nthe city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of\nGimgimno, all these have I caused to be sunk, and made hills and\nvalleys in the places thereof; and the inhabitants thereof have I\nburied up in the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and\nabominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and\nsaints should not come up anymore unto me against them. And behold\nthat great city of Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of\nthe king of Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire, because of\ntheir sins and their wickedness, which was above all the wickedness of\nthe whole earth, because of their secret murders and combinations; for\nit was they that did destroy the peace of my people and the government\nof the land: therefore I did cause them to be burned, to destroy them\nfrom before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints\nshould not come up unto me any more against them. And behold, the city\nof Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and tho city of\nKishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants\nthereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets, and\nstoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their\nwickedness and their abominations; and because they did cast them all\nout, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire\nand destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid\nfrom before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints\nwhom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against\nthem; and many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land\nand upon this people, because of their wickedness and their\nabominations.\n\n\"O, all ye that are spared, because ye were more righteous than they,\nwill ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be\nconverted, that I may heal you? Yea, verily, I say unto you, if ye\nwill come unto me, ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of\nmercy is extended towards you, and whomsoever will come, him will I\nreceive; and blessed are those who come unto me. Behold, I am Jesus\nChrist, the son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all\nthings that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I\nam in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father\nglorified his name. I came unto my own, and my own received me not.\nAnd the Scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled. And as many as\nhave received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God; and\neven so will I to as many as shall believe on my name; for, behold, by\nme redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled. I am\nthe light and life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning\nand the end. And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of\nblood: yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done\naway, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt\nofferings; and ye shall offer, for a sacrifice unto me, a broken heart\nand a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart\nand a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy\nGhost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me, at the\ntime of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy\nGhost, and they knew it not. Behold, I have come unto the world to\nbring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin:\ntherefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him\nwill I receive; for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I\nhave laid down my life, and have taken it up again: therefore, repent\nand come unto me, ye ends of the earth, and be saved.\n\n\"And now, behold it came to pass, that all the people of the land did\nhear these sayings; and did witness of it. And after these sayings,\nthere was silence in the land for the space of many hours: for so\ngreat was the astonishment of the people that they did cease lamenting\nand howling for the loss of their kindred which had been slain;\ntherefore there was silence in all the land for the space of many\nhours.\n\n\"And it came to pass, that there came a voice again unto the people,\nand all the people did hear, and did witness of it, saying, O ye\npeople of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of\nJacob; yea, who are of the house of Israel, how oft have I gathered\nyou as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have\nnourished you. And again, how oft would I have gathered you, as a hen\ngathereth her chickens under her wings; yea, O ye people of the house\nof Israel, who have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel;\nye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would\nI have gathered you, as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would\nnot. O, ye house of Israel, whom I have spared, how oft will I gather\nyou, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will\nrepent and return unto me with full purpose of heart. But if not, O\nhouse of Israel, the places of your dwellings shall become desolate,\nuntil the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers.\n\n\"And now it came to pass, that after the people had heard these words,\nbehold, they began to weep and howl again, because of the loss of\ntheir kindred and friends. And it came to pass that thus did three\ndays pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed\nfrom off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and\nthe rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and\nall the tumultuous noises did pass away, and the earth did cleave\ntogether again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and\nthe wailing of the people who were spared alive, did cease, and their\nmourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise\nand thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer. And thus\nfar were the Scriptures fulfilled, which had been spoken by the\nprophets.\"\n\nHere, then, is an account which shows, clearly and definitely, how and\nwhen the American antiquities became buried; how the stumps of trees\nwere placed eighty or ninety feet under ground; how cities were sunk,\nand overwhelmed; how mountains fell and valleys rose; how the rocks\nwere rent, and how the whole face of the continent became altered and\ndeformed. We now close this subject by saying to all the people, if\nyou wish information on the antiquities of America; if you wish\nhistorical, prophetical, or doctrinal information of the highest\nimportance, read carefully the Book of Mormon.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTHE RESURRECTION OF THE SAINTS, AND THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS\nSPOKEN BY THE PROPHETS.\n\n\nThis is one of the most important subjects upon which the human mind\ncan contemplate; and one perhaps as little understood, in the present\nage, as any other now lying over the face of prophecy. But, however\nneglected at the present time, it was once the groundwork of the\nfaith, hope, and joy of the Saints. It was a correct understanding of\nthis subject, and firm belief in it, that influenced all their\nmovements. Their minds once fastening upon it, they could not be\nshaken from their purposes; their faith was firm, their joy constant,\nand their hope like an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast,\nreaching to that within the veil. It was this that enabled them to\nrejoice in the midst of tribulation, persecution, sword, and flame;\nand in view of this, they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods,\nand gladly wandered as strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they\nsought a country, a city, and an inheritance that none but a saint\never thought of, understood, or even hoped for.\n\nNow, we can never understand precisely what is meant by restoration,\nunless we understand what is lost or taken away; for instance, when we\noffer to restore anything to a man, it is as much as to say he once\npossessed it, but had lost it, and we propose to replace, or put him\nin possession of, that which he once had; therefore, when a Prophet\nspeaks of the restoration of all things, he means that all things have\nundergone a change, and are to be again restored to their primitive\norder, even as they first existed.\n\nFirst, then, it becomes necessary to take a view of creation, as it\nrolled in purity from the hand of its Creator; and if we can discover\nthe true state in which it then existed, and understand the changes\nthat have taken place since, then we shall be able to understand what\nis to be restored; and thus, our minds being prepared, we shall be\nlooking for the very things which will come, and shall be in no danger\nof lifting our puny arm in ignorance, to oppose the things of God.\nFirst, then, we will take a view of the earth, as to its surface,\nlocal situation, and productions.\n\nWhen God had created the heavens and the earth, and separated the\nlight from the darkness, His next great command was to the waters,\nGenesis, i, 9: \"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven, be\ngathered together into _one place_, and let the dry land appear: and\nit was so.\" From this we learn a marvelous fact, which very few have\never realized or believed in this benighted age; we learn that the\nwaters, which are now divided into oceans, seas, and lakes, were then\nall gathered together, into _one_ vast ocean; and, consequently, that\nthe land, which is now torn asunder, and divided into continents and\nislands, almost innumerable, was then _one_ vast continent or body,\nnot separated as it now is.\n\nSecond, we hear the Lord God pronounce the earth, as well as\neverything else, very good. From this we learn that there were neither\ndeserts, barren places, stagnant swamps, rough, broken, rugged hills;\nnor vast mountains covered with eternal snow; and no part of it was\nlocated in the frigid zone, so as to render its climate dreary and\nunproductive, subject to eternal frost, or everlasting chains of ice--\n\n    Where no sweet flowers the dreary landscape cheer,\n    Nor plenteous harvests crown the passing year.\n\nBut the whole earth was probably one vast plain, or interspersed with\ngently rising hills, and sloping vales, well calculated for\ncultivation; while its climate was delightfully varied, with the\nmoderate changes of heat and cold, of wet and dry, which only tended\nto crown the varied year with the greater variety of productions, all\nfor the good of man, animal, fowl, or creeping thing; while from the\nflowery plain or spicy grove, sweet odors were wafted on every breeze;\nand all the vast creation of animated being breathed naught but\nhealth, and peace, and joy.\n\nNext, we learn from Genesis, i, 29, 30: \"And God said, Behold, I have\ngiven you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of _all_ the\nearth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree, yielding seed;\nto you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to\nevery fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth,\nwherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it\nwas so.\" From these verses we learn, that the earth yielded neither\nnauseous weeds nor poisonous plants, nor useless thorns and thistles;\nindeed every thing that grew was just calculated for the food of man,\nbeast, fowl, and creeping thing; and their food was all vegetable.\nFlesh and blood were never sacrificed to glut their souls, or gratify\ntheir appetites; the beasts of the earth were all in perfect harmony\nwith each other; the lion ate straw like the ox, the wolf dwelt with\nthe lamb, the leopard lay down with the kid, the cow and bear fed\ntogether, in the same pasture, while their young ones reposed, in\nperfect security, under the shade of the same trees; all was peace and\nharmony, and nothing to hurt nor disturb, in all the holy mountain.\n\nAnd to crown the whole, we behold man created in the image of God, and\nexalted in dignity and power, having dominion over all the vast\ncreation of animated beings, which swarmed through the earth, while,\nat the same time, he inhabits a beautiful and well watered garden, in\nthe midst of which stood the tree of life, to which he had free\naccess; while he stood in the presence of his Maker, conversed with\nHim face to face, and gazed upon His glory, without a dimming veil\nbetween. O reader, contemplate, for a moment, the beautiful creation,\nclothed with peace and plenty; the earth teeming with harmless\nanimals, rejoicing over all the plain; the air swarming with\ndelightful birds, whose never-ceasing notes filled the air with varied\nmelody; and all in subjection to their rightful sovereign, who\nrejoiced over them; while in a delightful garden--the capitol of\ncreation, man was seated on the throne of this vast empire, swaying\nhis sceptre over all the earth with undisputed right; while legions of\nangels encamped round about him, and joined their glad voices in\ngrateful songs of praise, and shouts of joy; neither a sigh nor groan\nwas heard throughout the vast expanse; neither were there sorrow,\ntears, pain, weeping, sickness, nor death; neither contentions, wars,\nnor bloodshed; but peace crowned the seasons as they rolled, and life,\njoy, and love reigned over all God's works. But, O, how changed the\nscene!\n\nIt now becomes my painful duty to trace some of the important changes\nwhich have taken place, and the causes which have conspired to reduce\nthe earth and its inhabitants to their present state.\n\nFirst, man fell from his standing before God, by giving heed to\ntemptation; and this fall affected the whole creation, as well as man,\nand caused various changes to take place; he was banished from the\npresence of his Creator, and a veil was drawn between them, and man\nwas driven from the garden of Eden, to till the earth, which was then\ncursed for his sake, and should begin to bring forth thorns and\nthistles; and with the sweat of his face he should earn his bread, and\nin sorrow eat of it, all the days of his life, and finally return to\ndust. But as to Eve, her curse was a great multiplicity of sorrow and\nconception; and between her seed and the seed of the serpent there was\nto be a constant enmity; it should bruise the serpent's head, and the\nserpent should bruise his heel.\n\nNow, reader, contemplate the change. This scene, which was so\nbeautiful a little before, had now become the abode of sorrow and\ntoil, of death and mourning: the earth groaning with its production of\naccursed thorns and thistles; man and beast at enmity; the serpent\nslyly creeping away, fearing lest his head should get the deadly\nbruise; and man startling amid the thorny path, in fear, lest the\nserpent's fangs should pierce his heel; while the lamb yields his\nblood upon the smoking altar. Soon man begins to persecute, hate, and\nmurder his fellow, until at length the earth is filled with violence,\nall flesh becomes corrupt, the powers of darkness prevail, and it\nrepented Noah that God had made man, and it grieved him at his heart,\nbecause the Lord should come out in vengeance, and cleanse the earth\nby water.\n\nHow far the flood may have contributed to produce the various changes,\nas to the division of the earth into broken fragments, islands and\ncontinents, mountains and valleys, we have not been informed; the\nchange must have been considerable. But after the flood, in the days\nof Peleg, the earth was divided. See Gen., x, 25. A short history, to\nbe sure, of so great an event; but still it will account for the\nmighty revolution which rolled the sea from its own place in the\nnorth, and brought it to interpose between different portions of the\nearth, which were thus parted asunder, and moved into something near\ntheir present form; this, together with the earthquakes, revolutions,\nand commotions which have since taken place, have all contributed to\nreduce the face of the earth to its present state; while the great\ncurses which have fallen upon different portions, because of the\nwickedness of men, will account for the stagnant swamps, the sunken\nlakes, the dead seas, the great deserts; witness, for instance, the\ndenunciations of the Prophets upon Babylon, how it was to become\nperpetual desolations, a den of wild beasts, a dwelling of unclean and\nhateful birds, a place for owls; and should never be inhabited, but\nshould lie desolate from generation to generation. Witness also the\nplains of Sodom, filled with towns, cities, and flourishing gardens,\nwell watered; but O, how changed! A vast sea of stagnant water alone\nmarks the place. Witness the land of Palestine; in the days of\nSolomon, it was capable of sustaining millions of people, besides\nyielding a surplus of wheat, and other productions, which were\nexchanged with the neighboring nations; whereas, now it is desolate,\nand hardly capable of sustaining a few miserable inhabitants. And when\nI cast mine eyes over our own land, and see the numerous swamps,\nlakes, and ponds of stagnant waters, together with the vast mountains,\nand innumerable rough places, rocks having been rent, and torn\nasunder, from centre to circumference, I exclaim, Whence all this?\n\nWhen I read the Book of Mormon, it informs me, that while Christ was\ncrucified among the Jews, this whole American continent was shaken to\nits foundation, that many cities were sunk, and waters came up in\ntheir places; that the rocks were all rent in twain; that mountains\nwere thrown up to an exceeding height; and that other mountains became\nvalleys; the level roads spoiled, and the whole face of the land\nchanged. I then exclaim, These things are no longer a mystery; I have\nnow learned to account for the many wonders, which I everywhere\nbehold, throughout our whole country. When I am passing a ledge of\nrocks, and see they have all been rent and torn asunder, while some\nhuge fragments are found deeply imbedded in the earth, some rods from\nwhence they were torn, I exclaim, with astonishment, These were the\ngroans! the convulsive throes of agonizing nature! while the Son of\nGod suffered upon the cross!\n\nBut men have degenerated, and greatly changed, as well as the earth.\nThe sins, the abominations, and the many evil habits of the latter\nages, have added to the miseries, toils, and sufferings of human life.\nThe idleness, extravagance, pride, covetousness, drunkenness, and\nother abominations, which are characteristics of the latter times,\nhave all combined to sink mankind to the lowest state of wretchedness\nand degradation; while priestcraft and false doctrines have greatly\ntended to lull mankind to sleep, and cause them to rest infinitely\nshort of the powers and attainments which the ancients enjoyed, and\nwhich are alone calculated to exalt the intellectual powers of the\nhuman mind, to establish noble and generous sentiments, to enlarge the\nheart, and to expand the soul to the utmost extent of its capacity.\nWitness the ancients conversing with the Great Jehovah, learning\nlessons from the angels, and receiving instruction by the Holy Ghost,\nin dreams by night, and visions by day, until at length the veil is\ntaken off, and they are permitted to gaze, with wonder and admiration,\nupon all things past and future; yea, even to soar aloft amid\nunnumbered worlds, while the vast expanse of eternity stands open\nbefore them, and they contemplate the mighty works of the Great I AM,\nuntil they know as they are known, and see as they are seen.\n\nCompare this intelligence with the low smatterings of education and\nworldly wisdom which seem to satisfy the narrow mind of man in our\ngeneration; yea, behold the narrow-minded, calculating, trading,\noverreaching, penurious sycophant of the nineteenth century, who\ndreams of nothing here, but how to increase his goods, or take\nadvantage of his neighbor; and whose only religious exercise or duties\nconsist of going to meeting, paying the priest his hire, or praying to\nhis God, without expecting to be heard or answered, supposing that God\nhas been deaf and dumb for many centuries, or altogether stupid and\nindifferent like himself. And having seen the two contrasted, you will\nbe able to form some idea of the vast elevation from which man has\nfallen; you will also learn how infinitely beneath his former glory\nand dignity he is now living, and your heart will mourn, and be\nexceedingly sorrowful, when you contemplate him in his low estate--and\nthen think he is your brother; and you will be ready to exclaim, with\nwonder and astonishment: \"O man! how art thou fallen! Once thou wast\nthe favorite of heaven; thy Maker delighted to converse with thee, and\nangels, and the spirits of just men made perfect, were thy companions;\nbut now thou art degraded, and brought down to a level with the\nbeasts; yea, far beneath them, for they look with horror and affright\nat your vain amusements, your sports, and your drunkenness, and thus\noften set an example worthy of your imitation. Well did the Apostle\nPeter say of you, that you know nothing, only what you know naturally\nas brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed. And thus you perish,\nfrom generation to generation, while all creation groans under its\npollution; and sorrow and death, mourning and weeping, fill up the\nmeasure of the days of man!\" But, O my soul, dwell no longer on this\nawful scene! let it suffice to have discovered, in some degree, what\nis lost. Let us turn our attention to what the Prophets have said\nshould be restored.\n\nThe Apostle Peter, while preaching to the Jews, says: \"And He shall\nsend Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the\nheavens must receive, until the times of the restitution (restoration)\nof all things which God hath spoken, by the mouth of all His holy\nprophets since the world began.\" It appears from the above, that all\nthe holy Prophets from Adam to Christ, and those that followed after,\nhad their eyes upon a certain time, when all things should be restored\nto their primitive beauty and excellence. We also learn, that the time\nof restitution was to be at or near the time of Christ's second\ncoming; for the heavens are to receive Him, until the times of\nrestitution, and the Father shall send Him again to the earth.\n\nWe will now proceed to notice Isaiah, xl, 1-5. \"Comfort ye, comfort ye\nmy people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry\nunto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is\npardoned; for she hath received of the Lord's hand, double for all her\nsins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the\nway of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.\nEvery valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be\nmade low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places\nplain; and tho glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh\nshall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.\"\n\nFrom these verses we learn, first, that the voice of one shall be\nheard in the wilderness, to prepare the way of the Lord, just at tho\ntime when Jerusalem has been trodden down of the Gentiles long enough\nto have received, at the Lord's hand, double for all her sins, yea,\nwhen the warfare of Jerusalem is accomplished, and her iniquities\npardoned. Then shall this proclamation be made as it was before by\nJohn, yea, a second proclamation, to prepare the way of the Lord, for\nHis second coming; and about that time every valley shall exalted, and\nevery mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be\nmade straight, and the rough places plain, and then the glory of the\nLord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the\nmouth of the Lord hath spoken it.\n\nThus you see, every mountain being made low, and every valley exalted,\nand the rough places being made plain, and the crooked places\nstraight--that these mighty revolutions will begin to restore the face\nof the earth to its former beauty. But all this done, we have not yet\ngone through our restoration; there are many more great things to be\ndone in order to restore all things.\n\nOur next, is Isaiah, twenty-fifth chapter, where we again read of the\nLord's second coming, and of the mighty works which attend it. The\nbarren desert should abound with pools and springs of living water,\nand should produce grass, with flowers blooming and blossoming as the\nrose, and that, too, about the time of the coming of their God, with\nvengeance and recompense, which must allude to His second coming; and\nIsrael is to come at the same time to Zion, with songs of everlasting\njoy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Here, then, we have the\ncurse taken off the deserts, and they becomes fruitful, well-watered\ncountry.\n\nWe will now inquire whether the islands return again to the\ncontinents, from whence they were separated. For this subject we refer\nyou to Revelations, vi, 14. \"And every mountain and island were moved\nout of their places.\" From this we learn that they moved somewhere;\nand as it is the time of restoring what has been lost, they\naccordingly return and join themselves to the land whence they came.\n\nOur next is Isaiah, xiii, 13, 14, where \"The earth shall remove out of\nher place, And shall be as the chased roe, which no man taketh up.\"\nAlso Isaiah, lxii, 4: \"Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither\nshall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called\nHephzibah, and thy land Beulah; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and\nthy land shall be married.\"\n\nIn the first instance, we have the earth on a move like a chased roe;\nand in the second place, we have it married. And from the whole, and\nvarious Scriptures, we learn, that the continents and islands shall be\nunited in one, as they were on the morn of creation, and the sea shall\nretire and assemble in its own place, where it was before; and all\nthese scenes shall take place during the mighty convulsion of nature,\nabout the time of the coming of the Lord.\n\n    Behold! the mount of Olives rent in twain:\n    While on its top He sets His feet again,\n    The islands, at His word, obedient, flee;\n    While to the north He rolls the mighty sea;\n    Restores the earth in one, as at the first,\n    With all its blessings, and removes the curse.\n\nHaving restored the earth to the same glorious state in which it first\nexisted--leveling the mountains, exalting the valleys, smoothing the\nrough places, making the deserts fruitful, and bringing all the\ncontinents and islands together, causing the curse to be taken off,\nthat noxious weeds, and thorns, and thistles shall no longer be\nproduced; the next thing is to regulate and restore the brute creation\nto their former state of peace and glory, causing all enmity to cease\nfrom off the earth. But this will never be done until there is a\ngeneral destruction poured out upon man, which will entirely cleanse\nthe earth, and sweep all wickedness from its face. This will be done\nby the rod of His mouth, and by the breath of His lips; or, in other\nwords, by fire as universal as the flood. Isaiah xi, 4, 6-9: \"But with\nrighteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the\nmeek of the earth; and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His\nmouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. The\nwolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down\nwith the kid; and the calf and the young lion, and the falling\ntogether; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear\nshall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion\nshall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the\nhole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the\ncockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy\nmountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as\nthe waters cover the sea.\"\n\nThus, having cleansed the earth, and glorified it with the knowledge\nof God, as the waters cover the sea, and having poured out His Spirit\nupon all flesh, both man and beast becoming perfectly harmless, as\nthey were in the beginning, and feeding on vegetable food only, while\nnothing is left to hurt or destroy in all the vast creation, the\nProphets then proceed to give us many glorious descriptions of the\nenjoyments of its inhabitants. \"They shall build houses and inhabit\nthem; and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them; they\nshall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another\neat; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine\nelect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor\nin vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the\nblest of the Lord, and their offspring with them; and it shall come to\npass, that before they call I will answer, and while they are yet\nspeaking I will hear.\" In this happy state of existence it seems that\nall people will live to the full age of a tree, and this, too, without\npain or sorrow, and whatsoever they ask will be immediately answered,\nand even all their wants will be anticipated. Of course, then, none of\nthem will sleep in the dust, for they will prefer to be translated,\nthat is, changed in the twinkling of an eye, from mortal to immortal;\nafter which they will continue to reign with Jesus on the earth.\n\nThus we have traced the Prophets through the varying scenes which\nconspire to restore the earth, and its inhabitants, to that state of\nperfection in which they first existed, and in which they will exist\nduring the great Sabbath of creation. Having seen all things restored\namong the living, we will now inquire after those who sleep in the\ndust; but, in order to understand precisely the nature of their\nrestoration, we must ascertain the particulars concerning the\nresurrection of Jesus, for He was an exact pattern after which all His\nSaints will be raised. We recollect, first, that he was clothed upon\nwith flesh, and blood, and bones, like another man, and every way\nsubject to hunger, thirst, pain, weariness, sickness, and death, like\nany other person--with this difference, that He was capable of\nenduring more than any other human body. Second, this same body was\nhung upon the cross, torn with nails, which were driven through His\nhands and feet, and His side pierced with a spear, from which there\ncame out blood and water. Third, this same body, being perfectly\nlifeless, like any other corpse, was taken, without a bone being\nbroken, and carefully wrapped in linen and laid in the tomb, where it\ncontinued until the third day; when, early in the morning, the women\ncame to the sepulchre, and His disciples also, and found the linen\nclothes lying useless, and the napkin which was about His head\ncarefully folded and laid by itself, but the body which had lain there\nwas gone.\n\nFrom all these circumstances, we discover that the same flesh and\nbones which were laid in the tomb were actually re-animated, and did\narise and lay aside the linen which was no longer needed. And Jesus\nChrist came forth triumphant from the mansions of the dead, possessing\nthe same body which had been born of a woman, and which was crucified;\nbut no blood flowed in His veins, for blood was the natural life, in\nwhich were the principles of mortality, and a man restored to flesh\nand blood would be mortal, and, consequently, again subject unto\ndeath, which was not the case with our Savior, although He had flesh\nand bones after He arose, for when He appeared to His disciples, and\nthey were afraid, supposing it was only a spirit, in order to show\nthem their mistake, He said: \"Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not\nflesh and bones as ye see me have.\" And calling for something to eat,\nHe was provided with a piece of broiled fish and honeycomb, and He did\neat. And even afterwards, Thomas was invited to put his finger into\nthe prints of the nails in His hands and feet, and to thrust his hand\ninto His side, from which it was evident that He not only possessed\nthe same body, but the same wounds also continued to show themselves\nfor a witness, and will continue until He comes again, when the Jews\nwill look upon Him whom they have pierced, and inquire, \"What are\nthese wounds in thy hands and in thy feet?\"\n\nO ye hard hearted, ye ungodly children of men! your eyes will very\nsoon behold Him who was crucified for your sins; then shall ye see\nthat the resurrection of the dead is a reality, something tangible,\nand that eternity is not a land of shades, nor a world of phantoms, as\nsome suppose.\n\nAmong other things which Jesus did after the resurrection, we find Him\nin the humble attitude of broiling fish, and calling His disciples to\ncome and dine. O what simplicity, what love, what condescension!\nWonder, O heavens! Be astonished, O earth! Behold the Redeemer clothed\nupon with immortality, and yet seated by a fire of coals, in the open\nair, with His brethren, humbly partaking of a meal of fish, actually\nprepared by His own hands! O ye great and noble of the earth, who roll\nin luxury and refinement! O ye priests, who are loaded with the\nhonors, titles, dignities, riches, and splendor of the world, here is\na lesson for you, which will make you blush: boast no more of being\nfollowers of the meek and lowly Jesus!\n\nBut to return to the subject of the resurrection. Having proved to a\ndemonstration, that our Savior rose from the dead, with the same body\nwhich was crucified--possessing flesh and bones, that He ate and drank\nwith His disciples, it puts the matter forever at rest respecting the\nresurrection of the Saints. But if more proof were wanting, we have it\nin the prophecy of Job, quoted in a former part of this work, where he\ndeclares that his Redeemer will stand, in the latter-day, upon the\nearth, and he should see Him in the flesh, though worms should destroy\nthe body which he then had. The fact is, the Saints will again receive\ntheir bodies, every joint being in its proper and perfect frame, and\nclothed upon with flesh, sinews, and skin, like as we now are; the\nwhole being immortal, no more to see corruption, and clothed with a\nwhite robe of fine linen, suitable for immortality to wear. Well did\nthe Apostle say, In heaven we have a more enduring _substance_ (not\nshadow).\n\nBut in order to illustrate this subject still farther, we will\ncarefully examine Ezekiel xxxvii, which we have touched upon before.\nIn this vision, the Prophet is carried away in the Spirit, and a\nvalley of dry bones is presented before him, and they are very\nnumerous and very dry; and while he stands musing and contemplating\nthe awful scene, a very wonderful question is proposed to him: \"Son of\nman, can these dry bones live?\" and he answered: \"O Lord God, thou\nknowest.\" And the Lord said: \"Son of man, prophesy upon these bones,\nand say, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.\" So he prophesied\nas he was commanded, and, as he prophesied, there was a noise, and\nbehold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone, and\nthe sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them.\nAnd again he prophesied to the winds, saying: \"Come from the four\nwinds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live;\"\nand the breath entered into them, and they lived and stood upon their\nfeet, an exceeding great army. We have heard many comments upon this\nvision; some compare it to sinners being converted, and some to the\nbody of Christ, the Church, when dead as to the spiritual gifts; but\nthe Church becoming dead, can no longer be said to be the body of\nChrist, as when she abides in the true vine, she lives and bears\nfruit, and is not dead, and when she does not abide in Him, she is cut\noff as a branch withered, and burned, instead of rising again. But did\nyou ever hear the Lord's own explanation of this vision, in the same\nchapter? It so far surpasses all other comments, I am inclined to\nbelieve it; I will therefore write it in preference to any other, and\nrun the risk of becoming unpopular by so doing. The Lord says: \"Son of\nman, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, Our\nbones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.\nTherefore, prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God,\nBehold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up\nout of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel: and ye\nshall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my\npeople, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit\nin you, and ye shall live; and I shall place you in your own land.\nThen shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it,\nsaith the Lord.\" Thus you have the whole vision unfolded plainly, if\nthe Lord's authority can once be allowed, which is seldom the case in\nthis age of wisdom and learning. The fact is, all the seed of Israel\nare to be raised from the dead, and are to be brought into the land of\nIsrael, which was given to them for an everlasting inheritance. And in\norder to do this, their old dry bones are to be brought together, bone\nto its bone, and every part of their bodies is to be reinstated; and\nit will make a great noise, and a wonderful shaking when they come\ntogether; and surely when they stand upon their feet they will make an\nexceeding great army.\n\nThis just explains the promise, so oft repeated in Scripture: \"My\nservant David shall be their prince for ever;\" indeed this same\nchapter makes the promise to them, that His servant David shall be\nraised up, and shall be a prince among them, while the Lord shall be\ntheir King; while both they that are alive, and they that are dead,\nshall be restored, and become one nation, in the land, upon the\nmountains of Israel; while David comes forth and reigns as a prince\nand shepherd over them for ever; and the Lord Jesus reigns as King of\nkings, and Lord of lords, in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before\nHis ancients gloriously.\n\n    O glorious day! O blessed hope!\n    My soul leaps forward at the thought;\n    When in that happy, happy land,\n    We'll take the ancients by the hand;\n    In love and union hail our friends;\n    And Death and Sorrow have an end.\n\nI now no longer marvel, when I call to mind that Abraham counted\nhimself a stranger and a pilgrim, seeking a better country, and a city\nwhose builder and maker is God. It seems after this restoration there\nwill be but one more change necessary, in order to fit the earth for\nman's eternal inheritance; and that change is to take place at the\nlast day, after man has enjoyed it in peace a thousand years. We have\nnow discovered the great secret, which none but the Saints have\nunderstood (but was well understood by them in all ages of the world),\nwhich is this, that man is to dwell in the flesh, upon the earth, with\nthe Messiah, with the whole house of Israel, and with all the Saints\nof the Most High, not only one thousand years, but for ever and ever.\nThere our father Adam, whose hair is white like the pure wool, will\nsit enthroned in dignity, as the Ancient of Days, the great Patriarch,\nthe mighty Prince; while thousands of thousands stand before him, and\nten thousand times ten thousand minister to him; there he will hail\nall his children, who died in the faith of the Messiah; while Abel,\nEnoch, Noah, Abraham, Job, and Daniel, with all the Prophets and\nApostles, and all the Saints of God of all ages, hail each other in\nthe flesh. Jesus, the great Messiah, will stand in the midst, and, to\ncrown the whole, will gird himself, and administer bread and wine to\nthe whole multitude, and He himself will partake of the same with them\non the earth, all being clothed in fine linen, clean and white. This\nis the marriage supper of the Lamb, Blessed are they who partake\nthereof.\n\nHaving traced the great restoration of the earth and its inhabitants,\nuntil we find them in the full enjoyment of the promises made to their\nfathers; and having learned that a future state is not a state of\nshadows and fables, but something tangible, even a more enduring\nsubstance, we shall now take a view of the division of their land, and\nthe laying out of their city, oven the holy city, where the tabernacle\nof God and His sanctuary shall be forevermore, for of course this was\nthe city sought for by Abraham and others, who found it not.\n\nThis view is given in the last chapter of Ezekiel, where he divides\nthe land, by lot, to the whole twelve tribes; and lays off the city,\nand sanctuary in the midst, with its twelve gates, three on each side,\nthe whole lying four square. But in the forty-seventh chapter, we have\na description of a beautiful river, which will issue forth from the\neastern front of the temple, from under the sanctuary, and run\neastward into the Dead Sea, healing the waters, and causing a very\ngreat, multitude of fishes; so that from Engedi, and Eneglaim, the\nfishers spread forth their nets; while the miry places shall not be\nhealed, but shall be given to salt. And on either side shall grow all\ntrees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, nor shall the fruit thereof\nbe consumed; it shall bring forth new fruit according to its months,\nbecause of the waters issuing from the sanctuary; and their fruits\nshall be for meat, and their leaves for medicine.\n\nBut to set forth more fully the building of the city, and the\nmaterials of which it will be built, we quote Isaiah, liv, 11, to the\nend of the chapter: \"O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not\ncomforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy\nfoundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and\nthy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And\nall thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the\npeace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established;\nthou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from\nterror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely\ngather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together,\nagainst thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold I have created the smith\nthat bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an\ninstrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No\nweapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue\nthat shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is\nthe heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is\nof me, saith the Lord.\"\n\nFrom these verses we learn something of the beauty of their city, and\nof the materials of which it is composed. Their stones of fair colors,\ntheir foundations of sapphires, their windows of agates, their gates\nof carbuncles, and all their borders of pleasant stones, are well\ncalculated to beautify the place of His sanctuary, and to make the\nplace of His feet glorious, as well as to give a lustre and\nmagnificence to the whole city, of which the Gentiles, with all their\nboasted wealth and grandeur, can form but a faint idea; and then to\nmark, in the same description, the knowledge, as well as the peace and\nsecurity, of all the inhabitants; while they who gather together\nagainst them to battle are sure to fall for their sake: surely this is\nthe heritage of the servants of the Lord, surely this is a delightful\ncity, and well worth a pilgrimage like Abraham's.\n\nBut in order to form a still more striking idea of the prosperity,\nwealth, beauty and magnificence of the cities of Zion and Jerusalem,\nwe will quote Isaiah lx: \"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the\nglory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall\ncover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall\narise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the\nGentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy\nrising. Lift up thine eyes, round about, and see; all they gather\nthemselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far,\nand thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Thou thou shalt see,\nand flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged;\nbecause the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the\nforces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels\nshall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Epha; all they from\nSheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall\nshow forth the praises of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be\ngathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto\nthee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will\nglorify the house of my glory. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and\nas the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and\nthe ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver\nand their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to\nthe Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee. And the sons\nof strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister\nunto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had\nmercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they\nshall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the\nforces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the\nnation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish: yea, those\nnations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto\nthee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify\nthe place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet\nglorious. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending\nunto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down\nat the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the\nLord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.\n\n\"Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went\nthrough thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many\ngenerations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt\nsuck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy\nSavior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. For brass I will\nbring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and\nfor stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine\nexactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,\nwasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy\nwalls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy\nlight by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto\nthee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy\nGod thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon\nwithdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and\nthe days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all\nrighteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my\nplanting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one\nshall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord\nwill hasten it in his time.\"\n\nIn this chapter we learn--First, that there is a city to be built in\nthe last days, unto which, not only Israel, but all the nations of the\nGentiles, are to flow; and the nation and kingdom that will not serve\nthe city shall perish and be utterly wasted. Second, we learn that the\nname of that city is Zion, the city of the Lord. Third, we learn that\nit is called the place of His sanctuary, and the place of His feet.\nFourth, that the best of timber, consisting of fir, pine, and boxwood,\nis to be brought in great plenty, to beautify the place of His\nsanctuary, and make the place of His feet glorious. Fifth, the\nprecious metals are to abound in such plenty, that gold is to be in\nthe room of brass, silver in the room of iron, brass in the room of\nwood, and iron in the room of stones. Their officers are to be peace\nofficers, and their exactors righteous exactors; violence is no more\nto be heard in the land; wasting nor destruction within their borders.\nTheir walls are to be Salvation, and their gates Praise: while the\nglory of God, in the midst of the city, outshines the sun. The days of\ntheir mourning are ended; their people are ail righteous, and are to\ninherit the _land_ forever, being the branch of the Lord's planting,\nthat He may be glorified. A little one shall become a strong nation,\nand the Lord will hasten it in His time.\n\nThe Psalmist David has told us, concerning the time of the building of\nthis city, in his one hundred and second Psalm, from the thirteenth to\nthe twenty-second verse: \"Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion;\nfor the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come. For Thy\nservants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. So\nthe heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the\nearth Thy glory. When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in\nHis glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise\ntheir prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come: and\nthe people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. For He hath\nlooked down from the height of His sanctuary; from Heaven did the Lord\nbehold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those\nthat are appointed to death; to declare the name of the Lord in Zion,\nand His praise in Jerusalem; when the people are gathered together,\nand the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.\"\n\nFrom this scripture we learn--First, that there is a set time to build\nup Zion, or the city of which Isaiah speaks, namely, just before the\nsecond coming of Christ; and that when this city is built, the Lord\nwill appear in His glory, and not before. So from this we affirm, that\nif such a city is never built, then the Lord will never come. Second,\nwe learn that the people and kingdoms are to be gathered together, to\nserve the Lord, both in Zion and Jerusalem; and third, that this Psalm\nwas written expressly for the generation to come, and the people which\nshall be created shall praise the Lord, when they read it and see it\nfulfilled.\n\nI will now call the attention of the reader to the first paragraph of\nthe sixth chapter of the Record of Ether, contained in the Book of\nMormon: \"For he truly told them of all things from the beginning of\nman; and how that after the waters had receded from off the face of\nthis land (America), it became a choice land above all other lands, a\nchosen land of the Lord, wherefore, the Lord would have that all men\nshould serve Him who dwell upon the face thereof; and that it was the\nplace of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and\nthe holy sanctuary of the Lord. Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ,\nand he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land: and he spake\nalso concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence\nLehi should come; after it should be destroyed, it should be built up\nagain a holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a New\nJerusalem, for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up\nagain, and become a holy city of the Lord, and it should be built up\nunto the house of Israel; and that a New Jerusalem should be built up\nupon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which\nthings there has been a type; for as Joseph brought his father down\ninto the land of Egypt, even so he died there; wherefore, the Lord\nbrought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem,\nthat He might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph, that they should\nperish not, even as He was merciful unto the father of Joseph, that he\nshould perish not; wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall\nbe built up on this land, and it shall be a land of their inheritance;\nand they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the\nJerusalem of old, and they shall no more be confounded, until the end\ncome, when the earth shall pass away. And there shall be a new heaven\nand a new earth, and they shall be like unto the old, save the old\nhave passed away, and all things have become new. And then cometh the\nNew Jerusalem: and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they\nwhose garments are white through the blood of the Lamb; and they are\nthey who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of Joseph who were\nof the house of Israel. And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old, and\nthe inhabitants thereof; blessed are they for they have been washed in\nthe blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and\ngathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north\ncountries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which\nGod made with their father Abraham. And when these things come,\nbringeth to pass the Scripture which saith, \"There are they who were\nfirst, who shall be last: and there are they who were last, who shall\nbe first.\"\n\nFrom this prophecy we learn--First, that America is a chosen land of\nthe Lord, above every other land. Second, that it is the place of the\nNew Jerusalem, which shall come down from God, out of heaven, upon the\nearth, when it is renewed. Third, that a New Jerusalem is to be built\nin America, to the remnant of Joseph, after a similar pattern, or like\nunto the old Jerusalem in the land of Canaan; and that the old\nJerusalem shall be rebuilt at the same time, and, this being done,\nboth cities will continue in prosperity on the earth, until the great\nand last change, when the heavens and the earth are to be renewed.\nFourth, we learn that when this change takes place, the two cities,\ntogether with the inhabitants thereof, are to be caught up into\nheaven, and being changed and made new, the one comes down upon the\nAmerican land, and the other to its own place as formerly: and, fifth,\nwe learn that the inhabitants of these two cities are the same that\ngathered together and first builded them. The remnant of Joseph, and\nthose gathered with them, inherit the New Jerusalem. And the tribes of\nIsrael, gathered from the north countries, and from the four quarters\nof the earth, inhabit the other; and thus all things being made new,\nwe find those who were once strangers and pilgrims on THE EARTH, in\npossession of that better country, and that city, for which they\nsought.\n\nWe will now turn to John's Revelation, and examine the city after it\nis made new, and see if it is anything like the pattern which it\nexhibited previous to its final change, Rev. xxi: \"And I saw a new\nheaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were\npassed away; and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy\ncity, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a\nbride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of\nheaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will\ndwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God himself shall\nbe with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from\ntheir eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor\ncrying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things\nare passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make\nall things new. And He said unto me, Write, for these words are true\nand faithful. And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega,\nthe beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst, of\nthe fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall\ninherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But\nthe fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and\nwhoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have\ntheir part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is\nthe second death.\n\n\"And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven\nvials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come\nhither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me\naway in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that\ngreat city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,\nhaving the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most\nprecious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall\ngreat and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates, twelve angels,\nand names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of\nthe children of Israel. On the east, three gates; on the north, three\ngates; on the south, three gates; on the west, three gates. And the\nwall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the\ntwelve Apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden\nreed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.\nAnd the city lieth four square, and the length is as large as the\nbreadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand\nfurlongs: the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.\nAnd he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four\ncubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And\nthe building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was of pure\ngold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the\ncity were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first\nfoundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony;\nthe fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the\nseventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth,\na chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And\nthe twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one\npearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were\ntransparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God\nAlmighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need\nof the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God\ndid lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of\nthem which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of\nthe earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it\nshall not be shut at all by day; for there shall be no night there.\nAnd they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And\nthere shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither\nwhatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie; but they which are\nwritten in the Lamb's book of life.\" Also, twenty-second chapter, he\nsays: \"And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as\ncrystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the\nmidst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there\nthe tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her\nfruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of\nthe nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God\nand of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him. And\nthey shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And\nthere shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light\nof the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign\nforever and ever. And He said unto me, These sayings are faithful and\ntrue: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show\nunto His servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I\ncome quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy\nof this book.\"\n\nFrom this beautiful description, we learn--First, that the new earth\nis not to be separated by any sea, consequently, what is now called\nthe Eastern and Western Continents will then be one land. Secondly,\nwe learn that the Lord will make not only the heavens and earth, but\n_all things_ new (including of course, the cities of Jerusalem and\nZion, where His tabernacle will have been for more than a thousand\nyears). Thirdly, we learn that the city will lie four square, and have\ntwelve gates, with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, inserted,\none on each gate; three gates on the north, three on the south, three\non the east, and three on the west; precisely after the same manner in\nwhich it will exist temporally during the thousand years, as described\nby Ezekiel. Fourthly, we learn that it will be composed of precious\nstones, and gold, as the temporal city also will be, as described by\nIsaiah. Fifthly, a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal,\nwill flow through this renewed city, proceeding from the throne of\nGod, just as living waters will flow from the sanctuary in the\ntemporal city, as described by Ezekiel. Sixthly, the tree of life will\nstand on either side of the river, even the tree which will have once\nborne twelve manner of fruits, and have yielded its fruit every month,\nits leaves having been for the healing of the nations. But now, when\nJohn sees it, the nations have no need of healing, for there is no\nmore death, neither pain, nor sorrow, for the former things have\npassed away, and all things are become new, consequently, he speaks in\nthe past tense, and says they _were_ for the healing of the nations;\nof course, referring to the times when they existed temporally,\naccording to Ezekiel, before their final change.\n\nNow, of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: Ezekiel and\nthe other Prophets have presented us with the view of the cities of\nZion and Jerusalem, as they will exist during the one thousand years\nof rest called the Millennium; and John has given us a view of the\nsame cities, after their final change, when they come down from God\nout of heaven, and rest upon the new earth. But Ether has given us a\nsketch of them as they are to exist, both in their temporal and in\ntheir eternal state: and he has told us plainly concerning their\nlocation, first and last, namely, the New Jerusalem, in America,\ninhabited by the remnant of Joseph, and those gathered with them, who\nhave washed their robes, and made them white, in the blood of the\nLamb: and the other Jerusalem, in its former place, inhabited by the\nhouse of Israel gathered from the north countries, and from all\ncountries where they were scattered, having washed their robes, and\nmade them white, in the blood of the Lamb. And here is the end of the\nmatter.\n\nI would only add, that the government of the United States has been\nengaged, for upwards of nine years, in gathering the remnant of Joseph\nto the very place where they will finally build a New Jerusalem, a\ncity of Zion, with the assistance of the Gentiles, who will gather\nthem from all the face of the land: and this gathering is clearly\npredicted in the Book of Mormon, and other revelations, and the place\nbefore appointed, and the time set for its fulfilment. And except the\nGentiles repent of all their abominations, and embrace the same\ncovenant, they will soon be utterly destroyed from off the face of\nthis land; as it is written by Isaiah: \"The nation and kingdom that\nwill not serve thee shall perish. Yea, those nations shall be utterly\nwasted.\" And as it is written by the Prophet Nephi in the Book of\nMormon (n. e.), 3 Nephi, xxi:\n\n\"And, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you a sign, that ye may know\nthe time when these things shall be about to take place, that I shall\ngather in from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel,\nand shall establish again among them my Zion.\n\n\"And behold, this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign,\nfor verily I say unto you, that when these things which I declare unto\nyou, and which I shall declare unto you hereafter of myself, and by\nthe power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be given unto you of the\nFather, shall be made known unto the Gentiles, that they may know\nconcerning this people who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, and\nconcerning this my people who shall be scattered by them.\n\n\"Verily, verily, I say unto you, when these things shall be made known\nunto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father, from them\nunto you;\n\n\"For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in\nthis land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father,\nthat these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your\nseed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which He hath\ncovenanted with His people, O house of Israel;\n\n\"Therefore, when these works, and the works which shall be wrought\namong you hereafter, shall come forth from the Gentiles, unto your\nseed, which shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity;\n\n\"For thus it behoveth the Father that it should come forth from the\nGentiles, that He may shew forth His power unto the Gentiles, for this\ncause, that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that\nthey may repent and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and know\nof the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among my\npeople, O house of Israel;\n\n\"And when these things come to pass, that thy seed shall begin to know\nthese things, it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that\nthe work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of\nthe covenant which He hath made unto the people who are of the house\nof Israel.\n\n\"And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings shall\nshut their mouths; for that which had not been told them shall they\nsee; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.\n\n\"For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which\nshall be a great and marvellous work among them; and there shall be\namong them who will not believe it, although a man shall declare it\nunto them.\n\n\"But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore\nthey shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them.\nYet I will heal him, for I will shew unto them that my wisdom is\ngreater than the cunning of the devil.\n\n\"Therefore it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not believe in\nmy words, who am Jesus Christ, whom the Father shall cause him to\nbring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he\nshall bring them forth unto the Gentiles (it shall be done even as\nMoses said), they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the\ncovenant.\n\n\"And my people who are a remnant of Jacob, shall be among the\nGentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the\nforest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go\nthrough both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can\ndeliver.\n\n\"Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their\nenemies shall be cut off.\n\n\"Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles, except they repent, for it shall come\nto pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses\nout of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots,\n\n\"And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy\nstrongholds;\n\n\"And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy hand, and thou shalt have\nno more soothsayers;\n\n\"Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of\nthe midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy\nhands;\n\n\"And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I\ndestroy thy cities.\n\n\"And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and\nenvyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, shall be done\naway.\n\n\"For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day\nwhosoever will not repent and come unto my beloved Son, them will I\ncut off from among my people, O house of Israel;\n\n\"And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the\nheathen, such as they have not heard.\n\n\"But if they will repent, and hearken unto my words, and harden not\ntheir hearts, I will establish my Church among them, and they shall\ncome in unto the covenant, and be numbered among this the remnant of\nJacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance,\n\n\"And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also, as\nmany of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city,\nwhich shall be called the New Jerusalem;\n\n\"And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in,\nwho are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New\nJerusalem,\n\n\"And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also\nwill be in the midst;\n\n\"And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when\nthis Gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily\nI say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence\namong all the dispersed of my people; yea, even the tribes which have\nbeen lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem.\n\n\"Yea, the work shall commence among all the dispersed of my people,\nwith the Father, to prepare the way whereby they may come unto me,\nthat they may call on the Father in my name;\n\n\"Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father, among all\nnations, in preparing the way whereby His people may be gathered home\nto the land of their inheritance\n\n\"And they shall go out from all nations; and they shall not go out in\nhaste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them, saith the Father,\nand I will be their rearward.\"\n\nO ye remnant of Joseph, your secret is _revealed_, ye who are\ndespised, smitten, scattered, and driven by the Gentiles from place to\nplace, until you are left few in number! \"O thou afflicted, tossed\nwith tempest and not comforted,\" lift up your heads and rejoice, for\nyour redemption draweth nigh: yea, we have found your record, the\noracles of God once committed to your forefathers, which have been\nhidden from you for a long time, because of unbelief. Behold! they are\nabout to be restored to you again; then shall you rejoice; for you\nshall know that it is a blessing from the hand of God; and the scales\nof darkness shall begin to fall from your eyes; and the Gentiles shall\nnot again have power over you; but you shall be gathered by them, and\nbe built up, and again become a delightsome people; and the time has\ncome; yea, the work has already commenced; for we have seen you\ngathered together, from all parts of the land, unto the place which\nGod has appointed for the Gentiles to gather you; therefore lay down\nyour weapons of war, cease to oppose the Gentiles in the gathering of\nyour various tribes, for the hand of your great God is in all this,\nand it was all foretold by your forefathers, ten thousand moons ago.\nTherefore suffer them peaceably to fulfil this last act of kindness,\nas a kind reward for the injuries you have received from them.\n\nIt is with mingled feelings of joy and sorrow that I reflect upon\nthese things. Sorrow, when I think how you have been smitten; joy,\nwhen I reflect upon the happy change that now awaits you; and sorrow\nagain, when I turn my thoughts to the awful destruction that awaits\nthe Gentiles, except they repent. But the eternal purposes of Jehovah\nmust roll on, until all His promises are fulfilled, and none can\nhinder; therefore, O God, Thy will be done! But while I still linger\nupon this subject, with feelings that are easier felt than described,\nmethinks I can almost hear the Indian's mournful chant resounding\nthrough his native woods. It whispers thus:\n\n    Great Spirit of our fathers, lend an ear;\n    Pity the red man, to his cries give ear;\n    Long hast Thou scourged him with Thy chastening sore;\n    When will Thy vengeance cease, Thy wrath be o'er?\n\n    When will the white man's dire ambition cease,\n    And let our scattered remnants dwell in peace?\n    Or shall we, driven to the western shore,\n    Become extinct, and fall to rise no more?\n\n    Forbid, great Spirit! make Thy mercy known;\n    Reveal Thy truth; Thy wandering captives own;\n    Make bare Thine arm of power, for our release,\n    And o'er the earth extend the reign of peace.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE DEALINGS OF GOD WITH ALL NATIONS, IN REGARD TO REVELATION.\n\n\n    \"And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on\n    all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before\n    appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should\n    seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him,\n    though He he not far from every one of us; for in Him we live,\n    and move, and have our being.\"--Acts, xvii, 26-28.\n\nIn this text we learn--First, that all nations are made of one blood.\nSecondly, they are designed to dwell on all the face of the earth\n(America not excepted). Thirdly, that the Lord has determined the\nbounds of their habitation, that is, He has divided the earth among\nHis children, giving each nation that portion which seemed Him\ngood--for instance the land of Canaan, to Israel; Mount Seir, to Esau;\nArabia, to Ishmael; America, to the remnant of Joseph, etc., as a\nfather parcels off a large tract of land to his several children. And\nfourthly, He has granted unto all the nations of the earth the\nprivilege of feeling after Him and finding Him; since He is not so\nvery far from every one of them, whether they be in Asia, Africa,\nEurope, America, or even upon the islands of the sea. Now, if any\nnation, in any age of the world, or in any part of the earth, should\nhappen to live up to their privilege, what would they obtain? I\nanswer, revelation, for the best of reasons, because no people ever\nfound God in any other way, nor ever will. Therefore, if they found\nGod, they found Him by revelation, direct from Himself, He revealing\nHis will to them; and if they did not find Him in this way, they never\nknew Him. And if they did obtain revelation, it was their privilege to\nwrite it, and make a record of the same, and teach it to their\nchildren; and this record would be sacred, because it would contain\nthe word of God; and thus it would be a HOLY BIBLE, no matter whether\nit was written by the Jews, the Ten Tribes, the Nephites, or the\nGentiles. I would just as soon have the Gospel written by Nephi,\nMormon, Moroni or Alma, as the Gospel written by Matthew, Mark, Luke,\nor John. Again, I would just as soon believe a revelation given in\nAmerica, as believe a revelation given in Asia; for if ever a nation\nfailed to get a revelation, it was because they did not attain unto\nthat which was their privilege But why, then, was any nation over left\nin darkness, from age to age, without the light of revelation to guide\nthem? I answer, because their forefathers, in some age of the world,\nrejected revelation, cast out and killed the Prophets, and turned a\ndeaf ear to the things of God, until God took away that which they\nenjoyed, and committed it to some other people, and left them from\ngeneration to generation to grow up in ignorance, until He should see\nfit again to send His light and truth to that nation; but those who\nreject no light are under no condemnation, and the mercy of God hath\nclaim upon them, through the blood of Christ which atoneth for the\nsins of the world. The heathen who never had the light of revelation\nwill be saved by the blood of Christ; while their forefathers who\nrejected the light are condemned, for this is their condemnation, that\nwhen light came they rejected it.\n\nNow on this subject, let us examine the history of various ages. In\nthe morn of creation, men had light by direct revelation, for Adam,\nCain and Abel talked with the Lord. In the next age, men had light by\nrevelation, for Enoch walked with the Lord, and not only saw the first\ncoming of Christ, but His second coming also, and he exclaimed:\n\"Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints, to take\nvengeance on the ungodly,\" etc., as it is written in Jude. From which\nit appears that Enoch knew and prophesied concerning the Messiah, with\nall the plainness of an Apostle. Again, in Noah's day there was\npositive revelation. And all these were Gentiles, or, rather, the word\nIsrael had not yet been named upon Jacob by the angel. Now, if it was\nthe privilege of so many Gentiles to get the word of the Lord, and to\nhave the knowledge of the true God by revelation, it was the privilege\nof all the rest; and if any ran into darkness and worshiped idols,\nuntil God gave them over to work all uncleanness with greediness, and\nfinally took the oracles of God from them, and confined them more\nparticularly to Abraham, it was because they had for a long time\nrejected them, and rendered themselves unworthy of them; so that from\nthe days of Israel the oracles of God seemed to pertain more\nparticularly to the chosen seed, chosen for that very purpose, namely,\nthat to them might be committed the oracles of God, the Priesthood,\nthe service of God, and the promises which had been in existence from\nthe beginning, among the Gentiles, who had long rendered themselves\nunworthy of such blessings.\n\nBut in process of time Israel rendered themselves unworthy of a\ncontinuance of such blessings, by stoning and killing the Prophets,\nand rejecting the Messiah, and all those that God sent unto them,\nuntil at length the Lord took the kingdom from them as a nation, and\ngave it again to the Gentiles; in the meantime winking at all the\nignorance through which the Gentiles had passed, from the time the\nkingdom had been taken from them until restored again. But as soon as\nthe kingdom of God was restored again to the Gentiles, He commanded\nthem all everywhere to repent, and then if they did not do it they\nwere under condemnation, but not before. But no sooner was the kingdom\ntaken from the Jews, than the fruits of it disappeared from among\nthem, and they were dispersed into all the nations of the earth where\nthey have never again heard the voice of inspiration commanding them\nto repent. And if any Gentile has commanded them to repent and be\nbaptized (in the name of the Lord), without being inspired and\ncommanded to do it, it was an imposition practised upon them. Not that\nrepentance was any harm, but the imposition consisted in professing to\nbe sent with a message when they were not, for when God commands men\nto repent, He sends somebody with the command, in order that they may\nteach it to those for whom He designs it; and when He does not command\nthem to do a thing, He does not require it at their hand. Any man who\nsays that the Jews, as a nation, have been commanded to repent and be\nbaptized, for the last seventeen hundred years, says that which he\ncannot prove, unless he can prove that there has been a new revelation\nwithin that time, commissioning some man to go to them with such an\nerrand; neither will any generation of Jews, which have existed since\ninspiration ceased, be condemned for rejecting any message from God,\nfor He has sent no message to them, consequently they have rejected\nnone; but their forefathers, who did reject the things of God, are\nunder condemnation.\n\nAgain, when men were sent with the Gospel to the Gentiles, they were\ncommanded to repent; and this command was in force, whenever men came\npreaching, who were sent by proper authority, and inspired by the Holy\nGhost; but when they had killed the Apostles and inspired men, and\nabused their privileges, until God took them away, and left them\nwithout inspiration, then the sin was answered upon that generation;\nand those who have since come upon the stage of action have never been\ncommanded to repent and be baptized (except by some new revelation),\nand any man who says that God has commanded a Gentile to repent and\nobey the Gospel since the days that inspiration ceased, or since the\ndays that Apostles and Prophets ceased from among men, says that which\nhe will not be able to prove, unless he proves that some revelation\nhas been given since that time, again commissioning men to go to the\nGentiles with such an errand.\n\nThe fact is, God requires nothing more of a generation than to do\nthose things which He commands them, and a generation to whom He\nreveals nothing, or to whom He does not send men with a message from\nHim, have no message to obey, and none to reject, and consequently\nnothing is binding on them, except the moral principles of right and\nwrong, which are equally binding on all ages of the world, according\nto the knowledge people have of moral rectitude.\n\nBut in these last days God has again spoken from the heavens, and\ncommissioned men to go, first to the Gentiles, commanding them\neverywhere to repent and obey the Gospel; and then He has commanded\nthem to go to the Jews also, and command them to repent, and obey the\nGospel; thus restoring again that which has been so long lost from the\nearth. And wherever their voices shall be heard issuing this\nproclamation, in the name of Jesus, according as He has commanded\nthem, then and there the people are under obligation to repent and be\nbaptized. And he that repents and is baptized shall be saved; and he\nthat does not believe their testimony, and repent and be baptized,\nshall be damned, for this plain reason, because God has sent them, by\nrevelation, with this very errand, to this very generation, and they\nwho reject the least of God's ambassadors reject Him that sent him,\nand therefore they are under condemnation from that time forth. But\nthe message which God has sent these men with, is binding only on the\ngeneration to whom it is sent, and is not binding at all upon those\nwho are dead and gone before it came; neither will it be binding on\nany generation which shall come after, unless God should raise up men\nand send unto them with the same Gospel, and then that generation to\nwhom He sends them, will be saved or damned, according as they receive\nor reject their testimony.\n\nPeople frequently ask this question--\"If God has sent men with certain\ntruths which are binding on the people, and without which they cannot\nbe saved, what will become of the good people who have died before the\nmessage came?\" I answer, if they obey the message which God sent to\ntheir own generation, they will be saved; but if not, they will be\ndamned: but if God sent no message to that generation, then they\nrejected none, and, consequently, are under no condemnation; and they\nwill rise up in judgment against this generation, and condemn it; for\nif they had received the same blessings which are now offered to us,\nthey would no doubt have received them gladly. The principle of\ncondemnation, in all ages of the world, is no other than rejecting the\nvery message which God sends to them while they pretend to cleave\nclosely to that which He has sent in former ages.\n\nWoe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ye garnish the\nsepulchres of the Prophets, and say: \"If we had lived in the days of\nour fathers, we would not have stoned and killed the Prophets as they\ndid.\" But ye yourselves are witnesses, that you allow the deeds of\nyour fathers; for they killed the Prophets, and you build their\nsepulchres. This was the testimony of the Savior to the Jews, who were\npretending to stand stiffly for their former Prophets, and at the same\ntime rejecting Jesus and His Apostles. And so it is now in the\nnineteenth century. You Christians (so called) garnish the tombs of\nthe Messiah and His former Apostles, and even build fine chapels to\ntheir memory, entitling them Saint Peter's Church, Saint Paul's\nChurch, Saint John's Church, etc.; and you say: \"If we had lived in\nthe days of the Apostles, we would not have stoned and killed them.\"\nBut ye yourselves are witnesses, that ye allow the deeds of your\nfathers: for they killed the Apostles, and you build chapels in honor\nof them; while at the same time, if a Prophet or an Apostle comes\namong you, you will forthwith shut your houses against him, as soon as\nhe testifies of what God has sent him to testify, for you say there\nare to be no more Prophets or Apostles on the earth, and you forthwith\npronounce him a false Prophet; and if a mob rise and kill him, or burn\nhis house, or destroy his goods, you will either rejoice, or sit in\nsilence and give countenance to the deed, and perhaps cry, \"False\nProphet!\" while your press and pulpits teem with all manner of lies\nconcerning him. Woe unto you, priests, Pharisees, hypocrites! but fill\nye up the measure of your fathers, for as they did, so do ye.\nVengeance belongs to God. He will speedily avenge His elect, who cry\nunto Him day and night.\n\nBut to return to the subject of Revelation. \"There is nothing secret\nthat shall not be revealed: neither hid that shall not be known;\" this\nwas a maxim of the Savior. And again: \"The knowledge of the Lord is to\ncover the earth, as the waters do the sea.\" Now, I ask how this great\noverturn is to be brought about? And I know no better way to answer\nthis question, than to quote the prophecy of Nephi, Book of Mormon\n(n.e.), 2 Nephi, xxix, 11-14: \"For I command all men, both in the\neast, and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the\nislands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto\nthem: for out of the books which shall be written, I will judge the\nworld, every man according to their works, according to that which is\nwritten.\n\n\"For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews, and they shall write it; and\nI shall also speak unto the Nephites, and they shall write it; and I\nshall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel which I\nhave led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto\nall the nations of the earth, and they shall write it.\n\n\"And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the\nNephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the\nNephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of\nIsrael; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the\nNephites and the Jews.\n\n\"And it shall come to pass, that my people which are of the house of\nIsrael, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions;\nand my word also shall be gathered in one. And I will show unto them\nthat fight against my word, and against my people who are of the house\nof Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham, that I\nwould remember his seed for ever.\"\n\n\n\n\n[Transcriber's note: the material in the following chapter was\noriginally printed in two side by side columns.  Side by side\npairs of paragraphs are separated from following pairs by three\nasterisks.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nA CONTRAST BETWEEN THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST AND THE DOCTRINES OF\nNINETEENTH CENTURY.\n\n\n    \"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of\n    Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ,\n    he hath both the Father and the Son.\"--2 JOHN, 2.\n\nDOCTRINE OF CHRIST.\n\n\nDOCTRINES OF MEN.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd these signs shall follow them that believe.\n\n\nAnd these signs shall not follow them that believe, for they are done\naway and no longer needed.\n\n* * *\n\nIn my name shall they cast out devils.\n\n\nIn His name they shall not cast out devils.\n\n* * *\n\nThey shall speak with new tongues.\n\n\nThe gift of tongues is no longer needed.\n\n* * *\n\nThey shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it\nshall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall\nrecover.\n\n\nIf they take up serpents, they will bite them; if they drink any\ndeadly thing it will kill them. They shall not lay hands on the sick,\nand if they do they shall not recover; for such things are done away.\n\n* * *\n\nHe that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and\ngreater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.\n\n\nHe that believeth on Christ shall not do any of the miracles and\nmighty works that He did, for such things have ceased.\n\n* * *\n\nThere is nothing secret that shall not be revealed, neither hid that\nshall not be known.\n\n\nThere is to be no more revelation, for all things necessary are\nalready revealed.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd He shall send His angels, and they shall gather His elect from the\nfour winds, etc.\n\n\nAnd there is to be no more ministering of angels, for such things are\ndone away.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd I saw an angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the\neverlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, etc.\n\n\nAngels do not appear in this enlightened age, because they are no\nlonger needed.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all\ntruth; again, \"He shall show you things to come.\"\n\n\nAnd inspiration is no longer needed in this age of learning and\nrefinement. Again, it shall not show you things to come: for then you\nwould be a Prophet, and there are to be no Prophets in these days.\n\n* * *\n\nIf ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you\nwill, in my name, and I will give it you.\n\n\nIt is not so in these days, we must not expect to heal the sick and\nwork miracles, consequently we must not expect to receive what we ask\nfor.\n\n* * *\n\nFather, neither pray I for these alone, but for all them that shall\nbelieve on me through their words, that they may all be one, even as\nwe are one.\n\n\nAnd we are all good Christians, and we all believe on Him through the\nApostles' words, although divided into several hundred sects.\n\n* * *\n\nOne Lord, one faith, and one baptism.\n\n\nMany Lords, many faiths, and three or four kinds of baptism.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd by one Spirit are ye all baptized into one body.\n\n\nAnd by many spirits are we all torn asunder into different bodies.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd God gave some Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, Evangelists;\nand some, Pastors and Teachers; for the perfecting of the Saints, for\nthe work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.\n\n\nAnd there are to be no more Apostles, and no more Prophets. But the\nwork of the ministry, the perfecting of the Saints, and the edifying\nof the different bodies of Christ, can all be done very well without\nthese gifts of God, only give us money enough to educate and employ\nthe wisdom of men.\n\n* * *\n\nThese gifts and offices were to continue until we all come into the\nunity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a\nperfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.\n\n\nApostles, miracles and gifts were to continue during the first age of\nChristianity, and then were to cease, because no longer needed, having\naccomplished their purpose.\n\n* * *\n\nThese gifts and offices were given that we henceforth be no more\nchildren, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of\ndoctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they\nlie in wait to deceive.\n\n\nTracts, creeds, sermons and commentaries of uninspired men, together\nwith a hireling priesthood, are now necessary in order to keep men\nfrom being carried about with every wind of doctrine, etc.\n\n* * *\n\nFor no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of\nGod, as was Aaron.\n\n\nFor no man taketh this honor unto himself, but one who has been\neducated for the purpose, and commissioned by men.\n\n* * *\n\nBut how shall they preach, except they be sent (of God)?\n\n\nBut how shall they preach except they be well educated for the\npurpose, and sent (by the board of officers)?\n\n* * *\n\nIs any sick among you? let him call for the Elders of the Church; and\nlet them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the\nLord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall\nraise him up; and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven\nhim.\n\n\nIf any are sick among you, do not send for the Elders of the Church;\nor, if the Elders come, do not let them lay hands on them, neither let\nthem anoint them in the name of the Lord, for this is all \"Mormon\"\ndelusion, but send for a good physician, and perhaps they may get\nwell.\n\n* * *\n\nRepent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ,\nfor the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy\nGhost; for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all\nthat are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.\n\n\nRepent and come to the anxious seat (penitent form), every one of you,\nand cry, \"Lord, Lord,\" and may be you will get forgiveness of sins;\nand you may be baptized or not; but if you do, you will not get the\nHoly Ghost as they did anciently, for such things are done away.\n\n* * *\n\nIt shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour\nout my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall\nprophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall\ndream dreams; etc.\n\n\nAnd in these last days the Lord will not pour out His Spirit so as to\ncause our sons and daughters to prophesy, our old men to dream dreams,\nand our young men to see visions; for such things are no longer\nneeded, and it is all a delusion, and none but the ignorant believe\nsuch things.\n\n* * *\n\nCovet earnestly the best gifts, but rather that ye prophesy.\n\n\nDo not covet any of the supernatural gifts, but especially beware of\nprophesying, for such things are done away.\n\n* * *\n\nCovet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.\n\n\nDo not prophesy, and it is all a delusion to speak in tongues.\n\n* * *\n\nBut in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the\ncommandments of men.\n\n\nIt matters not what kind of doctrine, or what system, a man embraces,\nif he is only sincere and worships Jesus Christ.\n\n* * *\n\nI thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast\nhid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them\nunto babes; even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.\n\n\nWe thank God that He has revealed nothing to any person, wise or\nsimple, for many hundred years, but that our wise and learned men have\nbeen able to know God without a revelation, and that we shall never be\nfavored with any more.\n\n* * *\n\nNo man knoweth the Son but the Father, neither knoweth any man the\nFather save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.\n\n\nWe all know God in this enlightened age, and yet neither the Father\nnor the Son has revealed any thing to any of us, for we do not believe\nrevelations are necessary now.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God,\nand Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.\n\n\nAnd we cannot know for ourselves, by any positive manifestation, in\nthese days, but must depend on the wisdom and learning of men.\n\n* * *\n\nI thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is\ngiven you by Jesus Christ, that in everything ye are enriched by Him\nin all utterance, and in all knowledge, even as the testimony of\nChrist (the spirit of prophecy) was confirmed in you, so that ye come\nbehind in no good gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus\nChrist.\n\n\nWe thank the Lord always, in behalf of the Church in these days, that\nshe has no supernatural gifts given unto her, and that she is not\nenriched by Christ, neither in the gift of utterance, nor in the gift\nof knowledge; neither has she the testimony of Jesus (the spirit of\nprophecy) confirmed in her, and she comes behind in all the gifts; nor\nis she waiting for, or expecting, the coming of the Lord; for He has\ncome once, and never will come again till the great and last day, the\nend of the earth.\n\n* * *\n\nThe foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is\nstronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, how that not\nmany wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are\ncalled: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to\nconfound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to\nconfound the things which are mighty, and base things of the world,\nand things which are despised, hath God chosen; yea, and things which\nare not, to bring to nought things that are; that no flesh should\nglory in His presence.\n\nThe wisdom of men, and the learning of men, are better than the\ninspiration of the Almighty, for that is not needed any longer; for\nyou see your calling, brethren, how that the wise and learned, and\nnoble, and mighty are called in these days; for we have chosen such to\nconfound the foolish, the unlearned, and the ignorant; yea, to\nconfound the base things of the world which are despised, that flesh\nmight glory in His presence.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of\nspeech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God; for I\ndetermined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him\ncrucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much\ntrembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words\nof man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power; that\nyour faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of\nGod.\n\n\nAnd we, brethren, when we came unto you, came with excellency of\nspeech, and with the wisdom and learning of man; and our speech and\nour preaching were with enticing words of man's wisdom, not in\ndemonstration of the Spirit and power, for that is done away; that\nyour faith should not stand in the power of God, but in the wisdom of\nman.\n\n* * *\n\nBut we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom,\nwhich God ordained before the world unto our glory; which none of the\nprinces of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have\ncrucified the Lord of glory.\n\n\nBut we speak the wisdom of man in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom\nwhich none but the learned knew; for had others known it, they would\nnever have been under the necessity of employing us to tell it to\nthem.\n\n* * *\n\nBut God hath revealed them unto us, by His Spirit; for the Spirit\nsearcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.\n\n\nBut God hath revealed nothing unto us by His Spirit; for the wisdom\nand learning of man search all things; yea, all the deep things which\nare necessary for us to know.\n\n* * *\n\nFor what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which\nis in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of\nGod.\n\n\nFor what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man, which\nis in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man by the Spirit of\nGod in these days, for it is done away, or it reveals nothing.\n\n* * *\n\nNow we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which\nis of God: that we might know the things that are freely given to us\nof God.\n\n\nNow we have not received the Spirit of God, but the spirit of the\nworld, that we might not know for a certainty, but that we might guess\nat, or give our opinion of, the things of God.\n\n* * *\n\nWhich things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom\nteacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth: comparing spiritual\nthings with spiritual.\n\n\nWhich things also we speak, not in the words which the Holy Ghost\nteacheth, but which man's wisdom teacheth; for the inspiration of the\nHoly Ghost is done away.\n\n* * *\n\nBut the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for\nthey are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they\nare spiritually discerned.\n\n\nBut the learned man may receive and understand the things of God by\nhis own wisdom, without the inspiration of the Spirit; for who will be\nso foolish as to believe in visions and revelations in this religious\nage?\n\n* * *\n\nLet no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in\nthis world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.\n\n\nLet no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in\nthe things of God, let him get the wisdom of men, that he may be wise.\n\n* * *\n\nFor the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God: for it is\nwritten, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The\nLord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore,\nlet no man glory in men.\n\n\nFor the wisdom of God is foolishness with the world, for it is\nwritten, Let us educate young men for the ministry; and again, Let no\nman preach who has not been educated for the purpose; and especially,\nreceive no man who professes to be inspired.\n\n* * *\n\nNow concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.\n\n\nNow, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, we would have you entirely\nignorant, for they are not needed at all in this generation.\n\n* * *\n\nBut the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit\nwithal.\n\n\nBut the manifestation of the Spirit is given to no man to profit at\nall.\n\n* * *\n\nFor to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another, the\nword of knowledge by the same Spirit.\n\n\nBut to one is given, by the learning of men, the word of wisdom; and\nto another, the word of knowledge by human learning.\n\n* * *\n\nTo another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, the gifts of healing\nby the same Spirit.\n\n\nAnd to another, faith, by the same Spirit; but to none the gift of\nhealing by the same Spirit.\n\n* * *\n\nTo another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another,\ndiscerning of spirits; to another, divers kinds of tongues; to\nanother, the interpretation of tongues.\n\n\nAnd to none the working of miracles, and to none to prophesy; and to\nnone discerning of spirits; and to none to speak with divers kinds of\ntongues, and to none to interpret tongues.\n\n* * *\n\nFor as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of\nthat one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.\n\n\nFor as the body is composed of many sects and parties who are opposed\nto each other, and have no gifts, and being many sects, are but one\nbody, so also is Antichrist.\n\n* * *\n\nFor by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be\nJews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made\nto drink into one Spirit.\n\n\nFor by many spirits are we all baptized into many bodies, whether we\nbe Catholics or Protestants, Presbyterians or Methodists, but have all\ndrunk into one spirit, even the spirit of the world.\n\n* * *\n\nFor the body is not one member, but many.\n\n\nFor the body is not one sect, but many.\n\n* * *\n\nBut now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it\nhath pleased Him.\n\n\nBut now hath the God (of this world) set the sects and parties in the\nbody (of Antichrist) as it hath pleased him.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd if they were all one member, where were the body?\n\n\nAnd if they were all one sect, where were the body?\n\n* * *\n\nBut now are they many members, but one body.\n\n\nBut now are they many sects, yet but one body (even Babylon).\n\n* * *\n\nNow ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.\n\n\nNow ye are the body of Antichrist, and members in particular.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd God hath set some in the Church: first, Apostles; secondly,\nProphets; thirdly, Teachers; after that, miracles; then, gifts of\nhealings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.\n\n\nAnd man hath set some in the church, first, a hireling priest;\nsecondly, a board of officers; thirdly, tracts; then commentaries,\ncreeds, and diversities of opinions; hence, societies and wondrous\nhelps.\n\n* * *\n\nBlessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and\nshall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake:\nrejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven;\nfor so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you.\n\n\nWoe unto you, when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all\nmanner of evil against you falsely for Christ's sake. Lament ye, and\nbe exceedingly sorrowful in that hour, for little is your reward among\nmen, for so persecute they the Latter-day Saints.\n\n* * *\n\nGive to him that asketh thee; and from him that would borrow of thee\nturn thou not away.\n\n\nGive to him that asketh of thee, if he be able to make thee a similar\npresent; and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away, if\nhe be able to pay thee again with good interest.\n\n* * *\n\nBe ye therefore perfect even as your Father who is in heaven is\nperfect.\n\n\nDo not think to be perfect, for it is impossible to live without sin.\n\n* * *\n\nTake heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them;\notherwise ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven.\n\n\nTake heed that you do your alms before men, to be seen of them;\notherwise, you have no reward nor praise from the children of men.\n\n* * *\n\nTherefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before\nthee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that\nthey may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their\nreward.\n\n\nTherefore when thou doest thine alms, publish it in the Missionary\nHerald, or some other paper, that you may get praise of the world.\nVerily I say unto you, You shall have your reward.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are; for\nthey love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the\nstreets, that they may be seen of men.\n\n\nAnd when thou prayest, be like the hypocrites in days of old; go\nbefore the public and cry mightily, not expecting to be heard and\nanswered, for that would be miraculous, and miracles have ceased.\n\n* * *\n\nMoreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad\ncountenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto\nmen to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.\n\n\nMoreover, when ye fast, be like the hypocrites, of a sad countenance,\nthat ye may appear unto men to fast; so that you may get your reward.\n\n* * *\n\nLay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust\ndoth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up\nfor yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth\ncorrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where\nyour treasure is, there will your heart be also.\n\n\nLay up for yourselves abundance of treasures on the earth, where moth\nand rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; for\nif your heart is only in heaven, it is no matter how rich you are in\nthis world; for now it is come to pass that ye can serve God and\nmammon.\n\n* * *\n\nTherefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do\nye even so to them: for this is the law and the Prophets.\n\n\nTherefore all things whatsoever men do to you, do ye even so to them;\nfor this is the law and the practice.\n\n* * *\n\nEnter ye in at the straight gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is\nthe way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in\nthereat.\n\n\nEnter ye in at the wide gate, where the multitude go: for it cannot be\nthat all our great and learned men are wrong, and nobody right but a\nfew obscure individuals.\n\n* * *\n\nBecause straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto\nlife, and few there be that find it.\n\n\nFor the narrow way is not altogether too straight, but only a very few\ntravel in it.\n\n* * *\n\nBeware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but\ninwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.\nDo men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?\n\n\nBeware of Prophets who come to you with the Word of God; you may know\nat once they are false, without hearing them or examining their\nfruits; popular opinion is against them; whereas, if they were men of\nGod, the people would speak well of them.\n\n* * *\n\nWherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that\nsaith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but\nhe that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.\n\n\nIf we are only sure that we have experienced religion, and we pray\noften, we shall be saved, whether we do the Lord's will or not; for it\nmattereth not what system we embrace, whether it be right or wrong, if\nwe are only sincere.\n\n* * *\n\nAnd it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people\nwere astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one having\nauthority, and not as the scribes.\n\n\nAnd it came to pass, when men had ended these sayings, the people were\npleased with their doctrines, for they taught them not as men having\nauthority, but as the scribes.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"pg-footer\">","title":"A Voice of Warning: Or, an introduction to the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":56225}