CHAPTER VI.
ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE.
Boundless infinitude of time, and space,
And elements eternal! Who can trace
Earth with its treasures, Heaven with its spheres,
Time's revolutions, eternity's years?
But what are all these, when measured by thee,
But marks on thy dial, or motes on thy sea!
The idea of a God without "body, parts, or passions," is not more absurd or inconsistent than that modern popular doctrine, that all things were created from nonentity, or in other words, that something originated from nothing.
It is a self-evident truth, which will not admit of argument, that nothing remains nothing. Nonentity is the negative of all existence. This negative possesses no property or element upon which the energies of creative power can operate.
This mysticism must, therefore, share the fate of the other mysteries of false Theology and philosophy, which have for ages shrouded the world in the sable curtains of a long and dreary night. It must evaporate and disappear as a mere creation of fancy, while, in its place, are introduced the following self-evident and incontrovertible facts—
First. There has always existed a boundless infinitude of space.
Second. Intermingled with this space there exists all the varieties of the elements, properties, or things of which intelligence takes cognizance; which elements or things taken altogether compose what is called the Universe.
Third. The elements of all these properties or things are eternal, uncreated, self-existing. Not one particle can be added to them by creative power. Neither can one particle be diminished or annihilated.
Fourth. These eternal, self-existing elements possess in themselves certain inherent properties or attributes, in a greater or less degree; or, in other words, they possess intelligence, adapted to their several spheres.
These elements have been separated, by philosophers, into two grand divisions, viz.—
"PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL."
To a mind matured, or quickened with a fulness of intelligence, so as to be conversant with all the elements of nature, there is no use for the distinction implied in such terms.
To speak more philosophically, all the elements are spiritual, all are physical, all are material, tangible realities. Spirit is matter, and matter is full of spirit. Because all things which do exist are eternal realities, in their elementary existence.
Who then can define the precise point, in the scale of elementary existence, which divides between the physical and spiritual kingdoms? There are eyes which can discern the most refined particles of elementary existence. There are hands and fingers to whose refined touch all things are tangible.
In the capacity of mortals, however, some of the elements are tangible, or visible, and others invisible. Those which are tangible to our senses, we call physical; those which are more subtle and refined, we call spiritual.
Spirit is intelligence, or the light of truth, which filleth all things.
Its several emotions or affections, such as love, joy, &c., are but so many actions or motions of these elements, as they operate in their several spheres.
By these actions or emotions the elements manifest their eternal energies, attributes, or inherent powers.
In contemplating the works of creation, then, the student must not conceive the idea that space, or time, or element, or intelligence, was originated, but rather, that these are eternal, and that they constitute the energies which act, and the things acted upon, including the place and time of action.
The whole vast structure of universal organized existence, presents undeniable evidence of three facts, viz.—
First. The eternal existence of the elements of which it is composed.
Second. The eternal existence of the attributes of intelligence, and wisdom to design.
Third. The eternal existence of power, to operate upon and control these eternal elements, so as to carry out the plans of the designer.
It will be recollected that the last chapter recognizes a family of Gods, or, in other words, a species of beings, who have physical tabernacles of flesh and bones, in the form of man, but so constructed as to be capable of eternal life; that these tabernacles are quickened, or animated by a fulness of that holiest of all elements, which is called the Holy Spirit, which element or spirit, when organized, in individual form, and clothed upon with flesh and bones in the highest possible refinement, contains, in itself, a fulness of the attributes of light, intelligence, wisdom, love, and power; also that there are vast quantities of this spirit or element not organized in bodily forms, but widely diffused among the other elements of space.
A General Assembly, Quorum, or Grand Council of the Gods, with their
President at their head, constitute the designing and creating power.
The motive power, which moves to action this grand creative power, is wisdom, which discovers a use for all these riches, and inspires the carrying out of all the designs in an infinite variety of utility and adaptation.
Wisdom inspires the Gods to multiply their species and to lay the foundation for all the forms of life, to increase in numbers, and for each to enjoy himself in the sphere to which he is adapted, and in the possession and use of that portion of the elements necessary to his existence and happiness.
In order to multiply organized bodies, composed of spiritual element, worlds and mansions composed of spiritual element would be necessary as a home, adapted to their existence and enjoyment. As these spiritual bodies increased in numbers, other spiritual worlds would be necessary, on which to transplant them.
Again. In order to enable these organized spirits to take upon them a fleshly tabernacle, physical worlds, with all their variety and fulness, would be necessary for their homes, food, clothing, &c., that they might be begotten, sustained, and born, that they might live, die, and rise again to receive their inheritances on their respective earths.
Hence the great work of regeneration of worlds, or the renovation and adaptation of the elements to the resurrection and eternal state of man, would also be endless, or eternally progressive.
Through every form of life, and birth, and change, and resurrection, and every form of progress in knowledge and experience, the candidates for eternal life must look upon the elements as their home; hence the elements, upon the principle of adaptation, must keep pace with the possessors who use them, in all the degrees of progressive refinement.
While room is found in infinite space:
While there are particles of unorganized element in Nature's storehouse:
While the trees of Paradise yield their fruits, or the Fountain of
Life its river:
While the bosoms of the Gods glow with affection:
While eternal charity endures, or eternity itself rolls its successive ages, the heavens will multiply, and new worlds and more people be added to the kingdoms of the Fathers.
Thus, in the progress of events, unnumbered millions of worlds, and of systems of worlds, will necessarily be called into requisition, and be filled by man, and beast, and fowl, and tree, and all the vast varieties of beings, and things which ever budded and blossomed in Eden, or thronged the hills and valleys of the celestial Paradise.
When, in the endless progression of events, the full time had arrived for infinite wisdom to organize and people this globe which we inhabit, the chaotic elements were arranged in order. It appears at the commencement of this grand work, that the elements, which are now so beautifully arranged and adapted to vegetable and animal life, were found in a state of chaos, entirely unadapted to the uses they now serve.
There was one vast mixture of elements. Earth, water, soil, atmosphere—in short, the entire elements of which this mass was composed, seem to have been completely compounded, or mingled into one vast chaos, and the whole overwhelmed with a darkness so dense as to obscure the light of heaven.
Let us turn from the contemplation of scenes so sublimely fearful. Suffice it to say, the mandate came, darkness fled, the veil was lifted, light pierced the gloom, and chaos was made visible. Oh what a scene! A world without landscape, without vegetation, without animal life, without man, or animated beings. No sound broke on the stillness, save the voice of the moaning winds, and of dashing, foaming waters. Again, a voice comes booming over the abyss, and echoing amid the wastes, the mass of matter hears and trembles, and lo! the sea retires, the muddy shapeless mass lifts its head above the waters.
Molehills to mountains grow. Huge islands next appear, and continents at length expand to view, with hill and vale, in one wide dreary waste, unmeasured and untrodden.
The surface, warmed and dried by the cheering rays of the now resplendent sun, is prepared for the first seeds of vegetation.
A Royal Planter now descends from yonder world of older date, and bearing in his hand the choice seeds of the older Paradise, he plants them in the virgin soil of our new born earth. They grow and flourish there, and, bearing seed, replant themselves, and thus clothe the naked earth with scenes of beauty, and the air with fragrant incense. Ripening fruits and herbs at length abound. When, lo! from yonder world is transferred every species of animal life. Male and female, they come, with blessings on their heads; and a voice is heard again, "Be fruitful and multiply."
Earth—its mineral, vegetable and animal wealth—its Paradise, prepared, down comes from yonder world on high, a son of God, with his beloved spouse. And thus a colony from heaven, it may be from the sun, is transplanted on our soil. The blessings of their Father are upon them, and the first great law of heaven and earth is again repeated, "Be fruitful and multiply."
Hence, the nations which have swarmed our earth.
In after years, when Paradise was lost by sin; when man was driven from the face of his heavenly Father, to toil, and droop, and die; when heaven was veiled from view; and, with few exceptions, man was no longer counted worthy to retain the knowledge of his heavenly origin; then, darkness veiled the past and future from the heathen mind; man neither knew himself, from whence he came, nor whither he was bound. At length a Moses came, who knew his God, and would fain have led mankind to know Him too, and see Him face to face. But they could not receive His heavenly laws, or bide His presence.
Thus the holy man was forced again to veil the past in mystery, and, in the beginning of his history, assign to man an earthly origin.
Man, moulded from the earth, as a brick!
A Woman, manufactured from a rib!
Thus, parents still would fain conceal from budding manhood, the mysteries of procreation, or the sources of life's ever flowing river, by relating some childish tale of new born life, engendered in the hollow trunk of some old tree, or springing with spontaneous growth, like mushrooms, from out the heaps of rubbish. O man! When wilt thou cease to be a child in knowledge?
Man, as we have said, is the offspring of Deity. The entire mystery of the past and future, with regard to his existence, is not yet solved by mortals.
We first recognise him, as an organized individual or intelligence, dwelling with his Father in the eternal mansions. This organized spirit we call a body, because, although composed of the spiritual elements, it possesses every organ after the pattern, and in the likeness or similitude of the outward or fleshly tabernacle it is destined eventually to inhabit. Its organs of thought, speech, sight, hearing, tasting, smelling, feeling, &c., all exist in their order, as in the physical body; the one being the exact similitude of the other.
This individual, spiritual body, was begotten by the heavenly Father, in His own likeness and image, and by the laws of procreation.
It was born and matured in the heavenly mansions, trained in the school of love in the family circle, and amid the most tender embraces of parental and fraternal affection.
In this primeval probation, in its heavenly home, it lived and moved as a free and rational intelligence, acting upon its own agency, and, like all intelligence, independent in its own sphere. It was placed under certain laws, and was responsible to its great Patriarchal Head.
This has been called a "First Estate." And it is intimated that, of the spirits thus placed upon their agency, one-third failed to keep their first estate, and were thrust down, and reserved in chains of darkness, for future judgment. As these are not permitted to multiply their species, or to move forward in the scale of progressive being, while in this state of bondage and condemnation, we will trace them no further, as their final destiny is not revealed to mortals.
The spirits which kept their first estate, were permitted to descend below, and to obtain a tabernacle of flesh in the rudimental existence in which we find them in our present world, and which we will call a second estate.
In passing the veil which separates between the first and second estates, man becomes unconscious, and, on awakening in his second estate, a veil is wisely thrown over all the past.
In his mortal tabernacle he remembers not the scenes, the endearing associations, of his first, primeval childhood in the heavenly mansions. He therefore commences anew in the lessons of experience, in order to start on a level with the new born tabernacle, and to re-develope his intellectual faculties in a progressive series, which keep pace with the development of the organs and faculties of the outward tabernacle.
During his progress in the flesh, the Holy Spirit may gradually awaken his faculties; and in a dream, or vision, or by the spirit of prophecy, reveal, or rather awaken the memory to, a partial vision, or to a dim and half defined recollection of the intelligence of the past. He sees in part, and he knows in part; but never while tabernacled in mortal flesh will he fully awake to the intelligence of his former estate. It surpasses his comprehension, is unspeakable, and even unlawful to be uttered.
Having kept his second estate, and filled the measure of his responsibilities in the flesh, he passes the veil of death, and enters a third estate, or probationary sphere. This is called the world of spirits, and will be treated on more fully under its appropriate head.
Filling the measure of his responsibilities in the world of spirits, he passes, by means of the resurrection of the body, into his fourth estate, or sphere of human existence. In this sphere he finds himself clothed upon with an eternal body of flesh and bones, with every sense, and every organ, restored and adapted to their proper use.
He is thus prepared with organs and faculties adapted to the possession and enjoyment of every element of the physical or spiritual worlds, which can gratify the senses, or conduce to the happiness of intelligences. He associates, converses, loves, thinks, acts, moves, sees, hears, tastes, smells, eats, drinks and possesses.
In short, all the elements necessary to his happiness being purified, exalted, and adapted to the sphere in which he exists, are placed within his lawful reach, and made subservient to his use.
CHAPTER VII.
DESTINY OF THE UNIVERSE.
The mystic future, with its depths profound,
For ages counted as forbidden ground,
Now lifts its veil, that man may penetrate
The secret springs, the mysteries of fate;
Know whence he is, and whither he is bound,
And why the spheres perform their ample round.
The Grand Council having developed the vast structure of the heavens and the earth, with all their fulness, with the evident design of utility and adaptation to certain definite uses, it well becomes us to watch their progress, and to study with diligence their future and final destiny.
From a general traditional belief in an immaterial hereafter, many have concluded that the earth and all material things would be annihilated as mere temporary structures; that the material body, and the planets it occupies, make no part of eternal life and being; in short, that God, angels, and men, become at last so lost, dissolved, or merged in spirituality, or immateriality, as to lose all adaptation to the uses of the physical elements; that they will absolutely need no footstool, habitation, possession, mansion, home, furniture, food, or clothing; that the whole vast works and beautiful designs of the visible creation are a kind of necessary evil or clog on the spiritual life, and are of no possible use except to serve for the time being, for the home and sustenance of beings in their grosser, or rudimental state.
What a doleful picture! With what gloom and melancholy must intelligences contemplate the vast structure, as viewed in this light!
What a vastness of design!
What a display of wisdom!
What a field of labour in execution, do the works of creation present to the contemplative mind!
Yet all this wisdom of design, all this labour of execution, after serving a momentary purpose, to be thrown away as an incumbrance to real existence and happiness.
All these "spiritual," "immaterial" vagaries have no foundation in truth.
The earth and other systems are to undergo a variety of changes, in their progress towards perfection. Water, fire, and other elements are the agents of these changes. But it is an eternal, unchangeable fact, a fixed law of nature, easily demonstrated and illustrated by chemical experiment, that neither fire nor any other element can annihilate a particle of matter, to say nothing of a whole globe.
A new heaven and a new earth are promised by the sacred writers. Or, in other words, the planetary systems are to be changed, purified, refined, exalted and glorified, in the similitude of the resurrection, by which means all physical evil or imperfection will be done away.
In their present state they are adapted to the rudimental state of man. They are, as it were, the nurseries for man's physical embryo formation. Their elements afford the means of nourishing and sustaining the tabernacle, and of engendering and strengthening the organ of thought and mind, wherein are conceived and generated thoughts and affections which can only be matured and consummated in a higher sphere—thoughts pregnant with eternal life and love.
As the mind enlarges, the aspirations of an eternal being, once ennobled and honoured in the councils of heaven, among the sons of God, reach forth too high, and broad, and deep, to be longer adapted to the narrow sphere of mortal life. His body is imprisoned, chained to the earth, while his mind would soar aloft, and grasp the intelligence, wisdom and riches of the boundless infinite.
His rudimental body must therefore pass away, and be changed, so as to be adapted to a wider and more glorious sphere of locomotion, research, action and enjoyment.
When the planet on which he dwells has conceived, brought forth, and nourished the number of tabernacles assigned to it in its rudimental state, by infinite wisdom, it must needs be acted upon by a chemical process. The purifying elements; for instance, fire, must needs be employed to bring it through an ordeal, a refinement, a purification, a change commensurate with that which had before taken place in the physical tabernacle of its inhabitants. Thus renovated, it is adapted to resurrected man.
When man, and the planet on which he lives, with all its fulness, shall have completed all their series of progressive changes, so as to be adapted to the highest glories of which their several characters and species are capable, then, the whole will be annexed to, or numbered with the eternal heavens, and will there fulfil their eternal rounds, being another acquisition to the mansions, or eternally increasing dominions of the great Creator and Redeemer.
Worlds are mansions for the home of intelligences.
Intelligences exist in order to enjoy.
Joy, in its fulness, depends on certain principles, viz.—
Life Eternal. Love Eternal. Peace Eternal. Wealth Eternal. &c.
Without the first, enjoyment lacks durability.
Without the second, it can hardly be said to exist.
Without the third, it would not be secure.
Without the fourth, it must be limited, &c.
Eternal life, in its fulness, implies a spiritual intelligence, embodied in the likeness of its own species and clothed upon with an outward tabernacle of eternal, incorruptible flesh and bones. This state of existence can only be attained by the resurrection of the body, and its eternal re-union with the spirit.
Eternal life thus attained, and endowed with the eternal attributes of intelligence and love, could never exercise, or derive enjoyment from the affections of the latter, unless associated with other beings endowed with the same attributes.
Hence the object, or necessity of eternal kindred ties, associations, and affections, exercised as the attributes of that charity which never ends.
The third proposition, viz.—
Eternal Peace, could never be secured without the development of Eternal Law and government, which would possess in itself the attributes of infinite truth, goodness and power.
Any government short of this, could never guarantee Eternal Peace. It would be liable to be overthrown, by the lack of truth to discern, disposition to execute, or power to enforce, the measures necessary to insure peace.
The fourth proposition, viz.—
Eternal Wealth, must, of necessity, consist of an everlasting inheritance or title, defined and secured by this eternal government, to portions of the organized elements, in their pure, incorruptible and eternal state.
In order to be wealthy, eternal man must possess a certain portion of the surface of some eternal planet, adapted to his order or sphere of existence.
This inheritance, incorruptible, eternal in the heavens, must be sufficiently extensive for his accommodation, with all his family dependencies. It must also comprise a variety of elements, adapted to his use and convenience. Eternal gold, silver, precious stones, and other precious materials would be useful in the erection and furnishing of mansions, and of public and private dwellings or edifices.
These edifices combined, or arranged in wisdom, would constitute eternal cities. Gardens, groves, walks, rivulets, fountains, flowers and fruits, would beautify and adorn the landscape, please the eye, the taste, the smell; and thus contribute gladness to the heart of man.
Silks, linens, or other suitable materials would be necessary to adorn his person, and to furnish and beautify his mansions.
In short, eternal man, in possession of eternal worlds, in all their variety and fulness, will eat, drink, think, converse, associate, assemble, disperse, go, come, possess, improve, love and enjoy. He will increase in riches, knowledge, power, might, majesty and dominion, in worlds without end.
Every species of the animal creation ever organized by creative goodness, or that ever felt the pangs of death, or uttered a groan while subject to the king of terrors, or exulted in the joys of life and sympathy, and longed for the redemption of the body, will have part in the resurrection, and will live for ever in their own spheres, in the possession of peace, and a fulness of joy, adapted to their several capacities.
O Child of earth, conceived in corruption!
Brought forth in pain and sorrow! sojourning
In a world of mourning, mid sighs and tears,
And groans, and awaiting in sadness thy home
In the gloomy grave, as food for worms;
Lift up thy head, cast thine eyes around thee,
Behold yon countless hosts of shining orbs,
Yon worlds of light and life. Then turn to earth,
Survey the solid globe, its mineral wealth,
Its gems, its precious stones, its gold, its springs;
Its gardens, forests, fruits, and flowers;
Its countless myriads of breathing life,
From Mote to Man, through all the varied scale
Of animated being.
Visit the gloomy caverns of the dead,
The ancient sepulchre, where e'en the worm
Of death himself, has died for want of food,
And bones disjointed are crumbled fine, and
Mingled with the dust.
Nay, deeper still, descend the fathomless
Abyss of souls condemned, in darkness chained,
Or thrust in gloomy dungeons of despair—
Where the very names of Mercy, of Hope,
And of death's conqueror remain unknown.
Observe with care the whole, indulge in tears,
But hope, believe, and clothed with charity
Which never fails, thine eyes enlightened,
Thy person clad in light ethereal.
Time fades, and opens on eternity.
Again review the scene beheld before.
You startle, seem surprised! confused! o'erwhelmed!
Death is conquered, corruption is no more,
All is life, and the word ETERNITY
Is inscribed in characters indelible,
On every particle and form of life.
Socrates, Plato, Confucius, and many other philosophers and divines have written largely on the immortality of the soul or spirit of man.
Some of these have suffered, with joy and cheerfulness, imprisonment, torture, and even death, with only this limited view of eternal existence.
Could these martyrs to a portion of truth so limited, and yet so full of hope and consolation, have handled immortal flesh and bones in the persons of Enoch or Elijah translated, or of Jesus raised from the dead; could they have learned from their sacred lips, and realized the full import of that joyful sentence—
"Behold! I make all things new;"
could they have contemplated eternal worlds, of matter in all its elements and forms of animal life, indissoluble and everlasting; could they have beheld eternal man, moving in the majesty of a God, amid the planetary systems, grasping the knowledge of universal nature, and with an intellect enlightened by the experience and observations of thousands and even millions of years; could they have had a glimpse of all this, and heard the promise—
"There shall be no more death,"
issuing from the fountain of truth, prompted by infinite benevolence and charity, re-echoing amid the starry worlds, reaching down to earth, vibrating, with a thrill of joy, all the myriads of animated nature, penetrating the gloomy vaults of death, and the prisons of the spirit world, with a ray of hope, and causing to spring afresh, the well-springs of life, and joy, and love, even in the lonely dungeons of despair! O! how would their bosoms have reverberated with unutterable joy and triumph, in view of changing worlds.
Could the rulers of this world have beheld, or even formed a conception of, such riches, such nobility, such an eternal and exceeding weight of glory, they would have accounted the wealth, pleasures, honours, titles, dignities, glories, thrones, principalities and crowns of this world as mere toys—the play-things of a day, dross, not worth the strife and toil of acquiring, or the trouble of maintaining, except as a duty, or troublesome responsibility.
With this view of the subject, what man so base, so grovelling, so blind to his own interests, as to neglect those duties, self-denials, sacrifices, which are necessary in order to secure a part in the first resurrection, and a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory in that life which never ends?
CHAPTER VIII.
KEY OF KNOWLEDGE, POWER, AND GOVERNMENT.
Heaven's Nobility, whom worlds obey,
Clad in the brightness of eternal day,
Enthroned in majesty, as "Priests and Kings,"
To whom the universe its incense brings!
Angels, its ministers! Heaven is its throne!
The stores of infinitude are all its own!
Having given a general view of the powers, operations and effects of Theology, as developed amongst the nations of antiquity, the mysteries of the Godhead, the law of nature, and the origin and destiny of the universe, the subject next in order is the KEY of knowledge, power and government, as developed in the heavens and on the earth, for the organization, order, peace, happiness, education, improvement, and exaltation of intelligences in the image of God—His sons and daughters.
The great family of man, comprising the inhabitants of unnumbered millions of worlds, in every variety and degree of progress, consists of five principal spheres, or grand divisions, in the scale of progressive being, viz.—
First. The Gods, composed of embodied spirits, who inhabit tabernacles of immortal flesh and bones in their most refined state, and who are perfected in all the attributes of intelligence and power.
Second. The Angels, who are also composed of spirits and immortal flesh and bones, less refined, and endowed with vast intelligence and power, but not a fulness.
Third. Embodied Spirits, without a tabernacle of flesh and bones. These are they who hate passed the veil of death, and are awaiting a resurrection.
Fourth. Embodied Spirits, with mortal tabernacles, as in the present world.
Fifth. Embodied Spirits, who have not yet descended to be clothed upon with mortality, but who are candidates for the same.
There is also a sixth division, but of those we need not speak, as they are not, as yet, included in the scale of progressive being, not having kept their first estate.
The spirits of all men in their primeval states, were intelligent. But among these intelligences some were more noble, that is to say, more intelligent than others.
And God said, these will I make rulers in my kingdoms.[A] Upon this principle was manifested the election, before the foundation of the world, of certain individuals to certain offices, as written in the Scriptures.
[Footnote A: See Book of Abraham, translated from Papyrus, lately taken from the Catacombs of Thebes in Egypt.]
In other words, certain individuals, more intelligent than the others, were chosen by the Head, to teach, instruct, edify, improve, govern, and minister truth and salvation to others; and to hold the delegated powers or keys of government, in the several spheres of progressive being.
These were not only chosen, but set apart, by a holy ordinance in the
eternal worlds, as Embassadors, Foreign Ministers, Priests, Kings,
Apostles, &c., to fill the various stations in the vast empire of the
Sovereign of all.
Jesus Christ, being the first Apostle thus commissioned, and the President of all the powers thus delegated, is Lord of lords, and King of kings, in the heavens and on the earth. Hence this Priesthood is called the Priesthood after the order of the Son of God. It holds the keys of all the true principles of government in all worlds, being without beginning of days or end of life. It was held by Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Melchisedec, and others. Abraham obtained this Priesthood, and an election of the same in his seed after him to all generations. The decree went forth in an everlasting covenant, that in Abraham and his seed, all the nations and kindreds of the earth should be blessed.
Of this lineage according to the flesh were the Prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and the Jewish Apostles. Since the covenant and election thus manifested, the keys of revelation, government and miraculous powers on earth have been held exclusively by the literal descendants of this noble and royal house.
The Gentiles could partake of a portion of the same blessings, but this could only be done through their ministry, and by adoption into the same family.
This election or covenant with the house of Israel will continue for ever. In the great restoration of all things, this lineage will hold the keys of Priesthood, salvation and government, for all nations. As saith the Prophet Isaiah—"The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted."
And again—"Ye shall be the priests of the Lord; men shall call you the ministers of our God: but strangers shall build your walls, and the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and your vine dressers."
This Priesthood, including that of the Aaronic, holds the keys of revelation of the oracles of God to man upon the earth; the power and right to give laws and commandments to individuals, churches, rulers, nations and the world; to appoint, ordain, and establish constitutions and kingdoms; to appoint kings, presidents, governors or judges, and to ordain or anoint them to their several holy callings, also to instruct, warn, or reprove them by the word of the Lord.
It also holds the keys of the administration of ordinances for the remission of sins, and for the gift of the Holy Spirit; to heal the sick, cast out demons, or work miracles in the name of the Lord; in fine, to bind or loose on earth and in heaven. For the exercise of all which powers the student of Theology will find abundant precedents in the sacred Scriptures.
Man holding the keys of the Priesthood and Apostleship after the order of the Son of God, are his representatives, or embassadors, to mankind. To receive them, to obey their instructions, to feed, clothe, or aid them, is counted the same, in the final judgment, as if all had been done to the Son of God in person. On the other hand, to reject them, or their testimony or message, or the word of God through them, in any matter, is counted the same as if done to Jesus Christ, in his own person. Indeed, such embassadors will be the final judges of the persons, rulers, cities or nations to whom they are sent.
Although the chosen instruments to hold the keys of this Priesthood must be the literal lineage of Israel, yet that lineage are not all thus commissioned, nor indeed are any of them Priests merely because they are of the chosen seed. Such an instrument must be revealed, and his ordination which he had before the world began, be renewed and confirmed upon his fleshly tabernacle, or he cannot be a Priest on earth.
One who already holds the authority, or keys of Priesthood, can reveal, by the word of the Lord, and ordain and anoint others to similar callings, and through these ordinances fill them with the Holy Spirit, as a qualification for their holy calling. By this means Joshua succeeded Moses, Elisha succeeded Elijah, &c. And by this means the great Apostle of the Father chose and ordained the Twelve Apostles of the Jews, and gave the keys or presidency of the kingdom to Peter.
There have, however, been times when, by a general martyrdom or apostacy, the keys of this power have been taken from the earth, (see chapters 2, 3, 4.) In such case there would be no longer visions, revelations or miraculous gifts from the Lord, manifested among men, because the Priesthood is the channel, and the ordinances are the means, through which such blessings are enjoyed by man. In the absence of these offices and powers, darkness, ignorance, superstition, priestcraft and kingcraft, idolatry, and every species of abuse, would fill the earth, and usurp the place of the true government of the kingdom of God.
The most remarkable and long continued instance of this kind, which perhaps ever transpired in our world, commenced with the destruction of the Apostles and Saints who immediately succeeded the Lord Jesus Christ, and continued until the present century, producing in its consequences all the human butcheries, wars, oppressions, misrule, ignorance, superstitions, kingcraft, priestcraft, and misery, which have visited the world in the false name of Christianity.
On the Western Hemisphere, the Apostleship, oracles, miracles, and gifts of the Spirit, ceased from among the people in the fourth century.
The precise time of the discontinuance of these powers on the eastern continents, or in the Roman world, is not known. Suffice it to say, the last of the Twelve Apostles predicted, in his vision on the Isle of Patmos, the reign of a certain power which should make war with the Saints, overcome them, be drunken with their blood, and hear rule over all nations. "And by thy sorceries," said he, "were all nations deceived." If these predictions have had their fulfilment, then it is the height of inconsistency for any one to contend, that Rome or any nation has perpetuated the Priesthood, Apostleship, or Church. This would be the same as to say, the Saints were destroyed, and yet perpetuated; all nations were deceived, and yet had the truth.
Could a universal or catholic power at once destroy the Saints, and perpetuate them? Could the same power, at the same time, be the conservator and promulgator of a system of universal salvation, and of universal deception?
But leaving the prediction, and the reasoning on this subject, what are the facts which present themselves for our own inspection, clearly visible to all men?
Do we not find the world, for many ages, and up to the present time, destitute of those manifestations, visions, powers, and keys of knowledge and government, which would enlighten, purify and exalt the race, and establish permanent righteousness and peace? In short, have the powers of the eternal Priesthood, as described and exemplified in the Holy Scriptures, and in this work, been manifested for the government of the Catholic, or Protestant world, or any nation thereof, since the destruction of the ancient Saints and Apostles?
If we answer this last question in the negative, then, we verify the truth of the prediction by the last of the Twelve; if in the affirmative, we deny both the truth of the prediction, and the facts which clearly present themselves in the past history and present circumstances of the world called "Christian."
When there is no longer a commissioned Priesthood perpetuated on the earth, it becomes necessary, in order to restore the government of God, for the man or men last holding the keys of such power, to return to the earth as ministering angels, and to select, by the word of the Lord, and ordain, certain individuals of the royal lineage of Israel, to hold the keys of such Priesthood, and to ordain others, and thus restore and re-organize the government of God, or His kingdom upon the earth.
After the destruction of the Apostles and Saints, who succeeded Jesus
Christ, there is but one dispensation or restoration predicted by the
Prophets.
That dispensation will fulfil the times of the Gentiles, complete their fulness, restore the kingdom to Israel, gather home their twelve tribes, organize them into a theocratic government, that is, a government founded and guided by Prophets, Priesthood, visions and revelations. It will, in fact, not only restore to them the ministration of angels, but receive its final consummation, by the resurrection of the ancient Saints, and their return to the earth, accompanied by the Son of God, in his own proper person. To this dispensation, all nations must submit.
All merely human religious or political institutions, all republics, states, kingdoms, empires, must be dissolved, the dross of ignorance and falsehood be separated, and the golden principles of unalloyed truth be preserved, and blended for ever in the one consolidated, universal, eternal government of the Saints of the Most High, and all nations shall serve and obey Him.
CHAPTER IX.
REVIVAL OR RESTORATION OF THE SCIENCE OF THEOLOGY IS THE PRESENT AGE.
A modern Prophet! Yes, a mighty Seer!
From Israel's royal line, must next appear;
Clad in the spirit of Elijah's power,
To prune the vineyard in th' eleventh hour;
To light the dawn of that effulgent day,
When King Messiah shall his sceptre sway.
The nineteenth century opened upon the world with far more favourable auspices than any other age since the destruction of the people of the Saints, and the reign of universal mystery. That spirit of freedom, and independence of thought, of speech, and of action, which a few centuries before had germinated in Europe, and which, after a stunted growth amid the thorns and thistles of kingcraft, the tares of priestcraft, and the weeds of superstition, in the old world, transplanted itself, and obtained a more vigorous growth in the new world, had now grown to a degree of maturity, and become consolidated, opening resources for all nations, under the inestimable guarantee of constitutional liberty.
To this standard the most enterprising, intelligent, and thinking of every nation in Europe, had commenced to gather like a flowing stream. Here, far separated from the practical influence, the false glare, the empty show, or even the senseless name and titles of a self-styled or imaginary nobility, their minds enlarged, their energies had full scope, and their intellectual faculties, unfettered and free, and surrounded with inexhaustible stores of unoccupied elementary riches, soon opened and developed new channels of thought, of action, of enterprise and improvement, the results of which have revolutionized the world in regard to geographical knowledge, commerce, intercommunication, transportation, travel, transmission of news, and mutual acquaintance and interchange of thought.
The triumphs of steam over earth and sea, the extension of railroads, and, above all, the lightning powers of the telegraph, are already, gradually but rapidly, developing, concentrating and consolidating the energies and interests of all nations, preparatory to the universal development of knowledge, neighbourly kindness, and mutual brotherhood.
Physically speaking, there seems to need but the consummation of two great enterprises more, in order to complete the preparations necessary for the fulfilment of Isaiah and other Prophets, in regard to the restoration of Israel to Palestine, from the four quarters of the earth, and the annual re-union of all nations to the new standards, holy shrines and temples of Zion and Jerusalem, under the auspices of that great, universal and permanent theocracy which is to succeed the long reign of mystery.
One of these is the Great Eastern Railway from Europe to India and China, with its branches, and accompanying telegraphic wires, centering at Jerusalem.
The other is the Great Western Railway, with its branches and accompanying telegraphic lines, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Politically speaking, some barriers yet remain to be removed, and some conquests to be achieved, such as the subjugation of Japan, and the triumph of constitutional liberty among certain nations where mind, and thought, and religion are still prescribed by law.
These things achieved, even the most incredulous in regard to the truth of Scripture Prophecy will be constrained to acknowledge, that, physically and politically speaking, there is nothing impossible, or even improbable, in the belief, that the twelve tribes of Israel will be concentrated from all nations in their own land, that Jerusalem will become the capitol of political government, the seat of knowledge, and the shrine of worship, for the yearly resort of all the nations and countries included in the world known to the Prophets of old; while the Western Hemisphere, separated as it is, by two great oceans, from the Old World, will naturally form its own central capitol, its Zion, or New Jerusalem, to which all its tribes and nations may perform their annual visits for instruction, devotion, and mutual interchange of thought, of fellowship and affection.
Can the student of prophecy contemplate all these preparations, clearly predicted thousands of years ago, and now bursting upon the world with seemingly preconcerted connexion and exactness, revolutionizing all things in a single age, and not be struck with the reflection, that the hand of God must be in all this, and that moral energy and spiritual light must be forthcoming from the heavens commensurate with the physical and political preparations for a new Era?
The same Prophets who have contemplated and described the development of national freedom, universal intercourse, mutual peace, knowledge, union of worship, reunion of the tribes of Israel; that have described highways, trains of cars flying as it were with a cloud, ocean steamers, ships, litters and swift beasts, as the instruments of restoration, have also predicted that, in connexion with all these preparations, a new dispensation should be manifested, a new covenant established, "A Standard" for the nation, "An Ensign" for the people. In short, "Swift Messengers," "Teachers," Prophets would be commissioned, revelations be manifested, and a new organization be developed, fitted to the times, and with principles and laws adapted to the reorganization, order, and government of a renovated world.
Where and when should we look for the "grain of mustard seed," the germ, the nucleus of such organization? Of course in a land of free institutions, where such organization could be legally developed, and claim constitutional protection, until sufficiently matured to defend itself against the convulsions, the death struggles, the agonizing throes, which precede the dissolution of the long reign of mystic tyranny; and at a time when modern freedom had been consolidated, nationalized, and its standard recognized among the nations.
Such an organization should also be looked for, in its first development, as cotemporary with the first dawn or development of the physical and political means provided for the same result.
The beginning of the present century gave birth to those chosen instruments who were destined to hold the keys of restoration for the renovation of the world.
The United States of America was the favoured nation raised up, with institutions adapted to the protection and free development of the necessary truths, and their practical results. And that Great Prophet, Apostle, and Martyr—
JOSEPH SMITH,
was the Elias, the Restorer, the presiding Messenger, holding the keys of the "Dispensation of the fulness of times."
Yes, that extraordinary man, whose innocent blood is now dripping fresh, as it were, from the hands of assassins and their accessories, in the United States, was the chosen vessel honoured of God, and ordained by angels, to ordain other Apostles and Elders, to restore the Church and kingdom of God, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and to be a messenger in the spirit and power of Elijah, to prepare the way of the Lord. "For, behold, he will suddenly come to his temple!"
Like John, who filled a similar mission preparatory to the first advent of the Son of God, he baptized with water unto repentance, for the remission of sins; like him, he was imprisoned; and like him, his life was taken from the earth; and finally, like all other true messengers, his message is being demonstrated by its progressive fulfilment—the powers, gifts, and signs following the administration of his message in all the world, and every minute particular of his predictions fulfilling in the order of events, as the wheels of time bring them due.
But in one important point his message differs from all former messages. The science of Theology revived by him will never decline, nor its keys be taken from the earth. They are committed to man for the last time. Their consummation will restore the tribes of Israel and Judah; overthrow all corrupt institutions; usher in the reign of universal peace and knowledge; introduce to the earth her lawful and eternal King, the crucified Nazarene, the resurrected Messiah; banish darkness and death, sorrow, mourning and tears, from the face of our globe; and crown our race with the laurels of victory and eternal life.
Ages yet unborn will rise up and call him blessed. A thousand generations of countless myriads will laud his praise and recount his deeds, while unnumbered nations bask in the light and enjoy the benefits of the institution founded by his instrumentality.
His kindred, the nation that gave him birth, and exulted at his death, nay, his very murderers and their posterity, will yet come bending unto him, and seek his forgiveness, and the benefits of his labours.
But, Oh! the pain! the dark despair! the torments of a guilty conscience! the blackness of darkness, in the lower hell, which the guilty wretches will experience before that happy day of deliverance!
Oh! the countless myriads of the offspring of innocent and honourable men who will walk the earth, tread on the ashes, or plow and reap over the bones and dust of those miserable murderers and their accomplices who have consented to the shedding of innocent blood! ere the final trump shall sound, which calls up their sleeping dust from its long slumbers in the tomb, and their spirits from the prison of the damned.
And even when this, to them almost interminable, period has rolled away, and they rise from the dead, instead of a welcome exaltation to the presence and society of the sons of God, an eternal banishment awaits them. They never can come where God and Christ dwell, but will be servants in the dominions of the Saints, their former victims.
This extraordinary personage was born in Sharon, Windsor County,
Vermont, United States, December 23rd, 1805.
He removed with his father, during childhood, and settled near Palmyra, in Wayne County, New York. Amid these forest wilds he was reared a farmer, and inured to all the hardships, toils, and privations of a newly settled country. His education was therefore very limited. When about seventeen years of age, he had several open visions, in which a holy angel ministered to him, admonished him for his sins, taught him repentance, and faith in the crucified and risen Messiah, opened to him the Scriptures of the Prophets, unfolding the field of prophecy pertaining to the latter-day glory, and the doctrines of Christ and his ancient Apostles.
On the 22nd Sept., 1827, the angel directed him to a hill a few miles distant, called anciently Cumorah. Around this hill, in the fifth century of the Christian era, had rallied the last remnant of a once powerful and highly polished nation called the Nephites.
Here, two hundred and thirty thousand men, women and children, marshalled themselves for a last defence, in legions of ten thousand each, under their respective commanders, at whose head was the renowned Mormon, the General of a hundred battles. And here they received the enemy in untold numbers, and melted away before them, till none remained except a few that fled to the southward, and a few that fell wounded, and were left by the enemy among the unburied dead.
Among these latter were General Mormon, and his son, and second in command—General Moroni.
These were the last Prophets of a nation, now no more. They held the sacred records, compiled and transmitted from their fathers, from the remotest antiquity. They held the Urim and Thummim, and the compass of Lehi, which had been prepared by Providence, to guide a colony from Jerusalem to America.
In the hill Cumorah, they deposited all these things. Here they lay concealed for fourteen hundred years. And here did the angel Moroni direct the young Joseph to behold these sacred things, in their sacred deposit, and to receive, from these long-silent and gloomy archives, an abridged record of the whole, and with it the Urim and Thummim.
The abridged record, thus obtained, was engraved in Egyptian characters, on gold plates, by the hands of the two Prophets and Generals—Mormon and Moroni. By the instructions of the angel, and the use of the Urim and Thummim, the youthful Joseph, now a Prophet and Seer, was enabled to translate the abridgment, or rather the unsealed portion which was destined for the present age.
This done, the angel of the Lord appeared to three other persons, called Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer; showed them the golden plates, and the engravings thereon; bore testimony of their correct translation by the Prophet Joseph, and commanded them to bear a faithful testimony of the same. Two of these were respectable farmers, and the other was a school-master.
Early in 1830, this translation with the accompanying testimony, was published in English, in the United States, under the title of the Book Of Mormon.
It is now, 1853, translated and published in nearly all European languages.
This book more deeply interests the world, and every intelligent, accountable being therein, than any other book, save the Jewish Scriptures, which is now extant. Its history penetrates the otherwise dark oblivion of the past, as it regards America, through the remote ages of antiquity; follows up the stream of the generations of man, till arriving at the great fountain, the distributor of nations, tribes and tongues—the Tower of Babel, it ceases, or is lost in, and sweetly blended with, that one great undivided Adamic river, whose source is in Paradise, the cradle of man; whose springs issue from beneath the throne of the Eternal; and whose secret fountains comprise the infinite expanse, the boundless ocean of intellect, fact, and historic truth, as recorded in the archives of eternity. Its prophetic vision opens the events of unborn time. The fate of nations; the restoration of Judah and Israel; the downfall of corrupt churches and institutions; the end of superstition and misrule; the universal prevalence of peace, truth, light and knowledge; the awful wars which precede those happy times; the glorious coming of Jesus Christ as King; the resurrection of the Saints, to reign upon the earth; the great, grand rest of a thousand years; the jubilee of universal nature upon our planet, are all predicted in that book. The time and means of their fulfilment are pointed out with clearness, showing the present age more pregnant with events than all the ages of Adam's race which have gone before it. Its doctrines are developed in such plainness and simplicity, and with such clearness and precision, that no man can mistake them. They are there as they flowed from the mouth of a risen Redeemer, in the liquid eloquence of love, mingled with immortal tears of joy and compassion, and were written by men whose tears of overwhelming affection and gratitude bathed his immortal feet.
It was ascertained by revelation, by means of the Urim and Thummim, that the youthful Prophet Joseph was of the house of Israel, of the tribe of Joseph.
He continued to receive visions, revelations, and the ministry of angels, by whom he was at length ordained to the Apostleship, or High Priesthood after the order of Melchizedec, to hold the keys of the kingdom of God, the dispensation of the fulness of times.
Thus qualified, he proceeded, on the 6th of April, A.D. 1830, to organize the Church of the Saints, which then consisted of six members. The gifts of healing, of prophecy, of visions and miracles, began to be manifested among the believers, thus confirming his testimony with signs following.
In this same year, the principles restored by him were proclaimed, and
Branches of the Church were organized in various parts of his own
State, in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and elsewhere; and the number of his
disciples increased from six members, to upwards of one thousand.
During the three following years, hundreds of ministers, ordained by him, were sent out in all directions through the country, and Branches of the Church were organized in most of the States of the American Union.
In eighteen hundred and thirty five, he ordained by commandment of the Lord, a quorum of Twelve Apostles, and several quorums of seventy, as a traveling ministry.
In 'thirty-six, a temple was completed and dedicated, in Kirtland, Ohio; in which these quorums, and the Priesthood in general were assembled in a school of the Prophets, and were instructed, and anointed to their holy calling. In this same year, some of the Apostles visited Upper Canada, and spread the fulness of the Gospel in Toronto and all the region round, gathering several Branches of the Church.
In 'thirty-seven, a mission was sent to England, which was attended with the same powers, and with remarkable success.
In 'thirty-eight, the State of Missouri undertook the extermination of the Church from its borders, murdered many men, women and children, and finally succeeded in the forcible expulsion of about ten thousand people, and the seizure of their lands and property.
In eighteen hundred and forty, the quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited England, gathered great numbers into the Church, and published the Book of Mormon, and several other works, among which was a periodical called the Millennial Star, which now, in 1853, has a circulation of nearly eighteen thousand copies weekly.
Between the years 'forty, and 'forty-four, our youthful Prophet gathered about him many thousands of his disciples; erected the great city of Nauvoo, on the banks of the Mississippi; commenced the erection of one of the most splendid temples in the world; and organized a legion of citizen soldiers for its defence. This legion comprised nearly six thousand men, and was commanded by the young Prophet Joseph, who held a government commission, as Lieutenant-General.
From this centre of science and heavenly light, there emanated rays, by the aid of a foreign ministry, penetrating afar, and lighting up the dawn of that effulgent day which is destined to break over all the earth, and shine for ever.
Apostles, High Priests, Elders, Counsellors and Ministers of every degree, here thronged our youthful Prophet and hero, and were taught in this great school of Theology and spiritual philosophy; while a hundred thousand disciples in the nation and beyond the seas, looked to this centre for light and instruction.
Such was the progress of the science of Theology, revived in the present age; such the result of fourteen years of the ministry of an unlettered youth, crying in the wilderness the proclamation of repentance, baptizing for the remission of sins, and holding the keys of this divine, eternal power.
His unparalleled success, and still increasing influence, now alarmed his former persecutors, and raised their jealousy and envy to the highest pitch of frenzy and madness.
Several counties of Illinois combined with the former enemies, who had robbed and destroyed the Saints in Missouri, and, calling public meetings, passed resolutions to destroy the city of Nauvoo, and to force the Saints, once more, to abandon their homes and farms to the possession of the land pirates. They also entered into covenant, to take the life of the young Joseph.
To resist this overwhelming storm, our hero and Prophet marshalled his legion of six thousand men, in his beloved city of Nauvoo, prepared for the most vigorous defence, and awaited the onset. The cowardly enemy soon discovered the impropriety of an open attack, and resolved on stratagem. They caused a magistrate of their own number to issue a writ; and sent a constable to bring the person of Joseph into the midst of those who had sworn to kill him. To yield to this mockery would be to lose his life. To resist it would be construed into treason and would bring on him the whole forces of the State. This stratagem succeeded—Nauvoo, its legion and its general, were declared in rebellion. His Excellency, Thomas Ford, Governor of the State of Illinois, mustered an army, marched to the scene of conflict, took sides with the enemy, and in fact incorporated their entire forces with his own troops.
With this formidable force he marched to Carthage, a small town eighteen miles from Nauvoo. He then sent a captain, named Singleton, to take command of the Nauvoo legion, and demanded its Lieutenant-General to repair to Carthage, and place himself in the hands of those who had publicly combined to take his life. Sooner than have submitted to these insults and humiliating demands, the legion would have joyfully marched to Carthage, and cut to pieces this cowardly band of rebels against American institutions and all the rights of man.
But the Saints were located between two powerful States, who were now combined against the laws, constitutions and liberties of their country. To destroy one army, or even resist its most extravagant demands, would be to draw upon themselves and families, the overwhelming forces of the ferocious, ignorant, and worse than savage beings, who had long thirsted for their plunder and their blood.
The young Prophet had no confidence in the Governor's pledge to protect his person. He felt the hour had come, when his own blood alone could appease the enemy, and preserve the lives of his flock. He restrained the ardour of the legion; called upon them, by the love they had ever borne to him as a Prophet and Apostle; and conjured them, by the respect and confidence they had shown him as their General, to submit to the extravagant demands of his Excellency, and leave the event with God. He now took an affectionate leave of his beloved legion, who were dissolved in tears; tore himself from the embraces of his aged and widowed mother, and frantic wife and children, and repaired to Carthage. He was accompanied by his brother Hyrum, and the two of the Twelve, that were not abroad on foreign missions, who would not forsake him. On the way he was cheerful but solemn. He spoke little, but observed to those about him, "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offence towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent: and it shall yet be said of me—He was murdered in cold blood."
Arriving at Carthage, he delivered himself to his enemies; answered to the charge in the original writ, to enforce which all the Governor's forces had been mustered, and was then committed to prison to answer the charge of treason.
In this dungeon he was still accompanied by the two Apostles and his brother Hyrum, who were determined to die with him.
Here as the four friends sat in the upper room, singing hymns, on the afternoon of the 27th day of June, 1844, the prison was suddenly surrounded with demons in the flesh, armed with muskets and bayonets, and their faces as black as Cain—the original murderer. These commenced firing through the doors and windows of the prison, while a portion assaulted and broke open the door. Hyrum suddenly fell, and died without a groan, being pierced with four balls. Taylor fled, wounded and bleeding, to the window, and was about to throw himself out, when a ball aimed at his heart, hit his watch in his vest pocket, and threw him back into the room. The other Apostle, Willard Richards, stood and parried the guns with his hand staff, receiving slight injury.
In the midst of all this scene, the Prophet's presence of mind did not forsake him. He saw his brother Hyrum fall, stiffen and die. He then exclaimed, in the anguish of his soul—"O my brother!" and sprang for the window, amid showers of ball as thick as hail. He instantly threw himself from the upper story into the midst of the bristling bayonets of the enemy, and, on alighting, was pierced with a shower of balls, and instantly died without a struggle or a groan.
His presence of mind, and prompt action, in thus throwing himself among the enemy, drew them from the prison in time to save the lives of the two Apostles, which was, no doubt, the object of this, the last glorious act of his life.
Thus ended the mortal career of a youth who had revealed the ancient history of a continent; restored to man the keys and powers of the divine science of Theology; organized the Church and kingdom of God, and revealed, and re-established those principles, which will eventually prevail, and govern the sons of earth, in countless ages yet unborn. "The good shepherd," said Jesus, "layeth down his life for the sheep."
When the news of this horrid tragedy spread abroad, the fear of vengeance from the Nauvoo legion seized the Governor, his troops, and the whole gang of pirates; all fled, and even the inhabitants of the guilty villages in the vicinity, vacated their habitations, and fled in terror and dismay.
As the news reached Nauvoo, a thrill of horror and of anguish unutterable ran, as with electricity, through every pulse. The legion sprang to arms, and would have desolated the whole rebel counties, now left unprotected, had not their judgments balanced the burning attribute of justice which swelled their bosoms.
As it was, they smothered their resentment, and prepared for the burial of the illustrious dead. The bodies of the two martyrs were borne to the city; being met by the entire populace, bowed with sorrow, bathed in tears, and their bosoms upheaved with a sense of sorrow and outraged humanity, such as, perhaps, an entire populace at once never felt, since man was doomed to mourn.
The Twelve, who were abroad, soon returned, soothed and comforted the sheep, and exhorted them to union and perseverance. The work on the temple was resumed, and finally completed, at an expense of many hundred thousand dollars. In this holy edifice, after its dedication to the Lord, a portion of the Priesthood received those holy washings, anointings, keys, ordinances, oracles and instructions, which were yet wanting to perfect them in the fulness of the Priesthood.
In the autumn of 1845, the enemy again rallied, and commenced to desolate the borders of the Nauvoo settlements by fire and sword.
Wearied with long continued vexation and persecution, the council of the Apostles now determined to seek peace for the Saints, amid the far-off and almost unexplored deserts and mountains of the interior. In February, 1846, this emigration was commenced, headed by the Apostles and their families.
On the 24th of July, 1847, the first pioneers of this vast emigration, headed by the President of the whole Church, Brigham Young, entered the Valley of Great Salt Lake.
In the meantime, the beautiful Nauvoo, and its surrounding farms and villas fell a prey to the enemy, after a vigorous defence. Its temple, the pride and glory of America, was laid in ashes. Its last remnant plundered, robbed of their all, sick, destitute, wounded, bleeding, dying, at length disappeared beyond the horizon of the illimitable plains of the west, and, for a moment, the curtain of oblivion closed over this strange drama, and the kingdom of God seemed lost to mortal view.
Again it rises, and what do we behold!
The banner of freedom unfurled a thousand miles from the frontiers of the persecuting foe; its waving folds, amid the snow-clad peaks of the Rocky mountains, inviting to liberty and light, the oppressed of every clime; and a free and sovereign State rising, in majesty and smiling splendour, amid the fastnesses of nature's eternal ramparts; while the exhaustless treasures of the golden mountains of California, revealed by the providence-guiding keys of modern Theology, are poured like a flowing stream into the treasury of the Lord, to aid in the gathering and subsistence of the Saints.
Can the student of Theology contemplate all these grand events and their results, all verging to one focus, all combining to prepare the way for the consummation of the entire volume of unfulfilled prophecy, and still be so much at a loss as to query, like one of old, "Art thou he that should come; or, look we for another?" If so, we can only recommend, to one so slow of heart, to search the Scriptures, and all good books extant on the subject. And, while he searches, let him turn from his sins, and live in newness of life, and call upon God, the Father of all, in the name of Messiah, that his understanding may be enlightened, and his stubborn heart subdued, and constrained to yield to the force of Truth.