Chapter X: Conclusion (3)

One thing I cannot forbear to mention, and that is, in the part of the Book of Mormon translated from the "smaller plates" of Nephi, we find none of these comments or annotations mixed up with the record that we have already spoken of {158} as being peculiar to the abridgment made by Mormon--a circumstance, I take it, which proves the Book of Mormon to be consistent with the account given of the original records from which it was translated. There will be found, however, in this translation direct from the "smaller plates" of Nephi, as also in Mormon's abridgment, extracts from the old Jewish Scripture--especially from the writings of Isaiah--this is accounted for by the fact that when Lehi's colony left Jerusalem, they took with them copies of the book of Moses and the writings of the prophets, and a record of the Jews down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, all of which were engraven on plates of brass (see I. Nephi v, 10-13), and the Nephite historians transcribed passages from these sacred records into their own writings.

There are a few suggestions about these transcribed passages which may not be uninteresting to the reader, and which to the student will be invaluable, as they furnish an indirect evidence to the truth of the Book of Mormon.

The Nephites having transcribed passages from the brass plates they carried with them from Jerusalem into their records, wherever such passages occur in the Book of Mormon, and corresponding passages are found in our English Bible, it will be seen by the reader that so far we have two translations of the writings of the old Hebrew prophets; and it will be found on comparison that the passages in the Book of Mormon are stronger and more in keeping with the sense sought to be expressed by the prophet than the corresponding passages and chapters in the Bible. As a proof of this I ask the reader to compare I Nephi xx and xxi, with Isaiah xlvii and xlix.

In some instances there are sentences, in the Book of Mormon version of passages from Isaiah, not to be found in our English version, as witness the following:

BOOK OF MORMON. BIBLE.

O house of Jacob, come ye and O house of Jacob, come ye and
let us walk in the light of the let us walk in the light of the
Lord; _yea, come, for ye have all Lord.--_Isaiah ii_, 5.
gone astray, every one to his
wicked ways.--II Nephi xii_, 5.

In other instances it will be found that the sense of the passages is different, and that the passages in the Book of Mormon best accord with the sense of the whole:

{159} BOOK OF MORMON. BIBLE.

Therefore, O Lord, Thou hast Therefore hast Thou forsaken
forsaken Thy people, the house Thy people, the house of Jacob,
of Jacob, because they replenished because they replenished from the
from the east, and east, and _are_ soothsayers like unto
hearken unto soothsayers like the the Philistines, and they please
the Philistines, and they please themselves with the children of
themselves with the children of strangers.--_Isaiah 11_, 6.
strangers.--_II Nephi xii_, 6.

Their land is also full of Their land also is full of idols;
idols--they worship the work of their they worship the work of their
own hands, that which their own own hands, that which their own
fingers have made; and the mean fingers have made; and the mean
man boweth not down, and the man boweth down, and the great
great man humbleth himself not, man humbleth himself; therefore
therefore, forgive him forgive him not.--_Isaiah ii_, 8, 9.
not.--_II Nephi xii_, 8, 9.

Thou hast multiplied the nation, Thou hast multiplied the nation,
and increased the joy: they and not increased the joy:
joy before thee according to the the joy before thee according to
the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice the joy in harvest, and as men
when they divide the spoil.--_II Nephi rejoice when they divide the
xix_, 3. spoil.--_Isaiah ix_, 3.

Observe, too, the difference in the clearness of the following passages:

BOOK OF MORMON. BIBLE.

And when they shall say unto And when they shall say unto
you, seek unto them them that have you, seek unto them that have
familiar spirits, and unto wizards familiar spirits, and unto wizards
that peep and mutter; should that peep and that mutter; should
not a people seek unto their God? not a people seek unto their God?
for the living to hear from the for the living to the dead.--_Isaiah
_II Nephi xviii_, 19. viii_, 19.

Again the English translators of the Bible, in order to make the sense of various passages more clear, inserted here and there, words of their own; which are always written in _italics_, that the reader might know what words have been inserted by the translator, and for which he will find no exact equivalent in the original text. It is worthy of note that in those transcribed passages from the brass plates into the Book of Mormon, in almost every instance, the words in the Book of Mormon version are different to those substituted by the translators of the common English version; or are left out, as follows:

BOOK OF MORMON. BIBLE.

What mean ye? ye beat my people What mean ye _that_ ye beat my
to pieces, and grind the faces people to pieces, and grind the
of the poor.--_II Nephi xiii_, 15. faces of the poor?--_Isaiah iii_, 15.

{160} The above is a case where the inserted word of the translator, which I have written in _italics_, is omitted, and to my mind the passage as it stands in the Book of Mormon is stronger, more beautiful, because more harmonious. Here is a passage where different words are used than those inserted by the translators:

BOOK OF MORMON. BIBLE.

Say unto the righteous, that Say ye unto the righteous, that
it is well with them; for they _it shall be_ well _with him_; for they
shall eat the fruit of their doings. shall eat the fruit of their doings.

Woe unto the wicked! for they Woe unto the wicked! _it shall
shall perish; for the reward of be ill with him_; for the reward
of their hands shall be upon of his hands shall be given
them.--_II Nephi xiii_, 10, 11. him.--_Isaiah iii_, 10, 11.

I think it will be readily conceded that the above passage as it stands in the Book of Mormon is much superior to the version given in our common Bible, indeed it is so throughout, and when it is remembered that Joseph Smith and those who assisted in translating that work were most likely uniformed as to the supplied words of the translators being written in italics, it is an incidental evidence that those passages in the Book of Mormon to which are found corresponding passages in the Bible were not merely copied from the Bible, but in the Book of Mormon we have really another translation of those passages taken from original records of the Hebrews, uncorrupted by the hand of man, and hence more perfect.

One suggestion more I would make to the readers of the Book of Mormon, and that is that they read it prayerfully, with a real desire to know if it is of God. If they will peruse it with that desire in their hearts, I am sanguine that the Spirit of God which searches all things, yea, the deep things of God, will bear witness to their understanding that the book is of divine origin, and they will have a witness from God of its truth. Such a promise, in fact, is contained within the book itself. When Moroni--into whose keeping the plates of the Book of Mormon were given--was closing up the sacred record previous to hiding it up unto the Lord until the time should come for it to be revealed as a witness for God, he engraved the following passage on the plates as words of counsel to those into whose hands the record should fall:

And when ye shall receive these things (i.e., the things written
in the Book of Mormon) I would exhort you that ye would ask God,
the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not
true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent,
having faith in {161} Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto
you by the power of the Holy Ghost; and by the power of the Holy
Ghost ye may know the truth of all things (Moroni x, 4, 5).

Here, then, is a means by which every person into whose hands the Book of Mormon falls may find out for himself, not from human testimony, not from the deductions of logic, but through the power of the Holy Ghost, whether the Book of Mormon is of divine origin or not. This test must be final, either for or against it, to every individual who complies with the conditions enjoined by Moroni. Those conditions are, that they into whose hands the record falls shall inquire of God with a sincere heart, with real intent, and having faith in Christ; and to those who so proceed he promises without equivocation that they shall receive a manifestation of its truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, if these directions are complied with faithfully and honestly, and the manifestation follows not, then they may know it is not of God. If the manifestation comes, of course the divine origin of the book is confirmed, for the Holy Ghost would not confirm by any manifestation of its power an imposition. Therefore, reader, whoever you may be, undertake the reading of the Book of Mormon with a prayerful heart, and you will find in it a new volume of Scripture to you, a treasury of sacred knowledge able to make you wise unto salvation.

_"We believe that no government can exist in peace, except
such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each
individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control
of property and the protection of life."_

--_Joseph Smith, The Prophet_.

{162}

THE SECOND COMING OF THE MESSIAH AND EVENTS TO PRECEDE IT.

BY ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.

Of all events that will take place in the immediate future, the most important to mankind is the glorious appearing of the Son of God, generally spoken of as the Second Advent of the Messiah. And if there is one thing that the writers of Scripture are more explicit in than another, it is in relation to this all-important event.

The writer of the Acts of the Apostles, giving an account of the last meeting of the risen Messiah with His disciples in Palestine, and His last words to them, says:

"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was
taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And, while
they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two
men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which
is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as
ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts i, 9-11).

From this we learn that the same person whom the disciples had seen go up into heaven was to return in like manner. And this agrees with the words of Jesus Himself.

"For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father, with His
angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works"
(Mat. xvi, 27).

From this last quotation we not only learn that the Son of God is to come in the glory of His Father, accompanied by His angels, but that He at that time _"Will reward every man according to his works."_ And to this testimony agrees that of other sacred writers.

St. Jude, after referring to certain wicked characters who were like clouds without rain, or like raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, says:

{163} "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these,
saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints,
to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly
among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly
committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have
spoken against Him." (Jude, 14, 15).

Paul bears witness to the same thing:

"For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we
say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and
remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which
are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the arch-angel, and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to
meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (i
Thess. iv, 14-17).

And again:

"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming
fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not
the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from
the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his
saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our
testimony among you was believed) in that day" (ii Thess. i, 7-10).

From the foregoing passages of Scripture the reader learns two very important things: first--that the Son of Man in a glorious manner is to return to this earth; second--that when He shall so come, it will be to execute judgment--to reward the righteous for their faithfulness, and to punish those who "know not God, and who obey not the Gospel, with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power."

No believer in the inspiration of the Scriptures can possibly doubt the truth of what these passages teach, viz., _that the Son of God will verily come, and that to judgment_! But in all other ages of the world, when God has decreed judgments upon a people or nation, He has first sent divinely-appointed messengers to warn them of the impending evil, that peradventure, some might repent and be saved. For example,--when God decreed that He would destroy the Antediluvians by a flood for their wickedness, he first sent Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among them to warn them of the approaching calamity: When destruction was hanging over the cities of the plain--Sodom and Gomorrah--the Lord sent His angels {164} to first gather out righteous Lot and his family: When destruction was decreed against Nineveh, the prophet Jonah was sent to cry repentance to the people, and in this instance the warning was heeded, and the calamity was turned aside: Whenever bondage, famine, disease, or judgment of any character, was about to overtake ancient Israel for their wickedness, prophets were sent to warn them, that they might repent and escape the sore affliction.

This has been the course pursued by the Almighty in all ages and among all people; and now that mighty judgments are pronounced against the ungodly at the coming of the Son of God, may we not reasonably expect that God will be true to His custom in the past, and send messengers to warn the nations of the near approach of those calamities? Basing our conclusion on the experience of past ages, it would be reasonable to expect the Lord to so proceed. But the Scriptures themselves speak of a number of incidents that will take place as a preparatory work to the glorious coming of our Lord. Among these may be mentioned:

I.--THE RESTORATION OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL.

The great event is thus described by John the Revelator:

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and
to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with
a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him: for the hour of his
judgment is come" (Rev. xiv, 6, 7).

II.--THE COMING OF A MESSENGER.

to prepare the way for the Son of God, when He shall come in the glory of His Father. This event is foretold by the prophet Malachi:

"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he will prepare the way
before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his
temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in:
behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide
the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for
he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap: and he shall
sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the
sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may
offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the
offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in
the days of old, and as in former years" (Malachi iii, 1-4).

III.--THE COMING OF ELIJAH.

to whom is given the peculiar mission of turning the heart {165} of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers. Malachi thus describes Elijah's mission:

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of
the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart
of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to
their father's, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse"
(Malachi iv, 5, 6).

IV.--THE GATHERING OF THE SAINTS.

The Scriptures are replete with passages in relation to this event, but I can here refer only to a few. When John the Revelator was about to foretell the downfall of Babylon, he says:

"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her,
my people, that ye may not be partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she
rewarded you and double unto her double according to her works: in
the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double" (Rev. xviii,
4-6).

The Psalmist bears this testimony:

"Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall
devour before him and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he
may judge his people. _Gather my saints together unto me; those
that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice_. And the heavens
shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself" (Psalm
i, 3-6).

So Isaiah:

"And it shall come to pass in the _last days_, that the mountain
of the Lord's house shall be established in the _top of the
mountains_, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations
shall flow unto it" (Isaiah ii, 2-4).

"And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar, and will
hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they will
come with speed swiftly" (Isaiah v, 26, 27).

"And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble
the outcasts of Israel [not the Jews alone, but _all Israel_], and
gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the
earth" (Isaiah xi, 12).

So Paul:

"Having made known to us the mystery of his will * * * that in the
dispensation of the fullness of times he might _gather together in
one_ all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are
on earth; even in him" (Eph. i, 9, 10).

{166} And lastly, the testimony of Jesus:

"And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven,
with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a
great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather his elect from the
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. xxiv, 30,
31).

All believers in the Holy Scriptures, then, must believe in and are looking forward to the glorious coming of the Son of God. They also must believe that these _four_ events we have named, will precede that coming. That is, they believe and are expecting that when those judgments connected with the coming of the Messiah are about to overtake the inhabitants of the earth, an ANGEL will come with the Everlasting Gospel, which must be preached to all nations; that a MESSENGER will come to prepare the way before the Lord, that ELIJAH will come to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and _vice versa_; and that God's SAINTS will be gathered together.

And now, in all sincerity of heart, and in the fear of God, the writer testifies to all men unto whom his words may come, that the first three events have taken place, and the fourth, the gathering of the Saints, is now going on, and the coming of the Son of God, together with the attendant judgments, are near at hand.

THE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL

occurred in the following manner:

In the spring of 1820, Joseph Smith, then a lad between fourteen and fifteen years of age, being exercised on the subject of religion, and not knowing which of the contending sects of religion were accepted by God as His Church, fortunately came upon that excellent advice given by the Apostle James, viz.:

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him"
(James i, 5).

In full, child-like confidence that God would fulfil His word, he called upon the Lord in prayer, and in answer received an open vision, in which he beheld the Father and the Son, who revealed to him the startling truth that man had transgressed the laws of the Gospel, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant, and that none of the churches or sects were acknowledged of His as His church or kingdom, and he was commanded to join none of them. He was {167} also informed that the time was at hand when the Gospel would be restored, and was told that he was a chosen instrument to assist in bringing about the purposes of God.

Let not the reader impatiently cast away this tract at the statement that God did not acknowledge any of the sects or churches as His church or kingdom. Let it be remembered, according to the prophecy of the Revelator we have quoted (Rev. xiv, 6, 7), that every nation, kindred, tongue, and people in the hour of God's judgment, are to be without the Gospel, or why would there be any need of an angel being sent from heaven with it to the earth, if it was anywhere on the earth? The learned John Wesley said that the reason the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer enjoyed was because the love of many waxed cold, the Christians had turned heathens again and only had a dead form left (Wesley's works, vol. VI, ser. 89). The Church of England in her Homily on Perils of Idolatry (page 3) says: "Laity and clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages, sects and degrees have been drowned in abominable idolatry, most detested by God and damnable to man for eight hundred years or more."

But to return to our account of the restoration of the Gospel. More than three years passed before Joseph Smith was again blessed with a heavenly vision. But on the night of the 21st of September, 1823, while engaged in prayer in his bedchamber, "I discovered," says he,

"A light appearing in the room, which continued to increase until
the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage
appeared at my bed-side, standing in the air, for his feet did not
touch the floor. * * * Not only was his robe exceedingly white,
but his whole person was gloriously beyond description; and his
countenance truly like lightning. * * * He called me by my name,
and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence
of God to me, and that his name was Moroni. That God had work
for me to do, and that my name should be had for good or evil
among all nations, kindred, and tongues; or that it should be
good or evil spoken of among all people. He said that there was
a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of
the former inhabitants of this [the American] continent, and the
source from whence they sprang. He also said that _the fullness of
the everlasting Gospel was contained in it_, as delivered by the
Savior to the ancient inhabitants [or America]. Also that there
were two stones in silver bows (and these stones, fastened to
the breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim of Thummim)
deposited with the plates, and the possession and use of these
stones was what constituted Seers in ancient or former times, and
that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book."

The angel then quoted a number of prophecies from the Jewish Scriptures, among them the first part of the third chapter {168} of Malachi, and also the fourth chapter of the same book, the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, and the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the close. He stated that these prophecies would be fulfilled in this generation.

Four years after this first visit of the heavenly messenger, in the meantime being instructed by him in doctrine and principle, the tablets containing the ancient history of America, together with the Urim and Thummim by which they were to be translated, were given into his charge. In the course of two years the work of translation was completed, and in the winter of 1829-30 the Book of Mormon--for so the record is called--containing the "fulness of the everlasting Gospel," as taught to the ancient peoples of America, was given to the world.

Nor is the world asked to receive this important message on the statement of Joseph Smith alone, but the Lord has given other witnesses, and their statement has been published with every edition of the Book of Mormon, and is as follows:

THE TESTIMONY OF THE THREE WITNESSES.

"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto
whom his work shall come, * * * We declare with words of soberness
that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and
laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, * * and
the engravings thereon, and we know that it is by the grace of God
the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear
record that these things are true; and it is marvelous in our eyes,
nevertheless the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear
record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of
God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are
faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all
men, and be found spotless before the judgment seat of Christ, and
shall dwell with Him eternally in the heavens."

"OLIVER COWDERY,

"DAVID WHITMER,

"MARTIN HARRIS."

Though these three witnesses; through transgression, lost the Spirit of God, and wandered away from the fold of Christ, they never denied the testimony they bore to the truth of the Book of Mormon. Two of them previous to their death came back to the Church, and died in the faith. The other--David Whitmer--died at Richmond, Mo., in January, 1888, and on his deathbed, as he had always done previously, solemnly declared that his testimony concerning the Book of Mormon was true.

THE COMING OF THE MESSENGER.

While the Book of Mormon was in course of translation, a very important event took place, viz, the coming of the MESSENGER {169} to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. This is described by Joseph Smith as follows:

"We (Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery) still continued the work
of translating; when in the ensuing month (May, 1829), we, on a
certain day, went into the woods to pray, and inquire of the Lord
respecting baptism for remission of sins.

"While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord,
a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having
laid his hands upon us, he ordained us; saying unto us--'Upon
you, my fellow servants, 'in the name of Messiah, I confer the
Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering
of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by
immersion for the remission of sins,' and this shall never be taken
from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering
unto the Lord of righteousness.'

"The messenger who visited us on this occasion, and conferred this
Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is
called John the Baptist in the New Testament; and that he acted
under the direction of Peter, James and John who held the keys of
the Melchisedec Priesthood, and who would in due season visit us
and confer that, the higher Priesthood, upon us, which holds the
keys of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and
right to all the offices in the church."

Subsequently, in fulfilment of this promise, Peter, James, and John came to them, and conferred upon them the higher order of priesthood--the Melchisedec. This gave them the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church of Christ, and the power and authority to organize the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth.

ELIJAH COMES.

In 1836, in the Kirtland Temple, Ohio, Elijah the Prophet came, in fulfilment of Malachi's prophecy (Mal. iv, 5, 6), and made known those principles which would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, viz., the doctrine of salvation for the dead. From the keys of knowledge which Elijah restored great light has been thrown upon the plan of salvation, showing it to be more perfect and more extensive than ever man dreamed of in his philosophy. It is learned from the keys of knowledge which he restored that the innumerable millions who have died without a knowledge of Christ or of His Gospel, together with those who have been deceived by the teachings of pseudo ministers of Christ, are not eternally lost, but that since the spirit of man when separate from the body retains all the faculties of mind, the gospel is preached in the spirit-world to the disembodied spirits, and that on condition of their {170} accepting the Gospel, and living according to the laws of God in the spirit, they may be saved on condition of the outward ordinances of the Gospel being administered vicariously for them upon the earth by their agents--their relations. That the Gospel is preached to departed spirits is evident from the Scriptures. Peter said:

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in
the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: _by which also he went
and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were
disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days
of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight
souls were saved by water"_ (I Peter iii, 18-20),

Men may turn and twist that passage all they please, but its plain simple statement is that the spirit of Christ, while His body lay in the tomb, went and preached to the spirits which were disobedient in the days of Noah. And again he says:

"For for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are
dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but
live according to God in the spirit" (I Peter iv, 6).

That the ancient Saints also knew something about performing ordinances vicariously for the dead is evident from this remark of the Apostle Paul:

"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the
dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead" (I
Cor. xv, 29).

And we ask--if there was no such thing among the ancient Saints as baptism for the dead, why, then, does Paul refer to it in such positive terms?

The Gospel of Christ is not limited in its powers to save to this life, or this world alone. Its powers enter into the spirit-world. And by its proclamation in the world of spirits the fathers will learn that they are dependent upon the children still in this world for the performance of the outward ordinances of the Gospel; hence, their hearts will be turned to the children. The children on the earth will learn that it is within their power to attend to ordinances of the Gospel for their progenitors; hence, the hearts of the children will be turned to the fathers. It is because of this--because of the knowledge restored by Elijah, that the Latter-day Saints, wherever they have planted their feet, have sought, even in the days of their greatest poverty, to build a temple, the {171} proper place in which to attend to these ordinances for the dead; and they thus witness to the world that the hearts of the children are turned to the fathers.

KEYS OF GATHERING RESTORED.

The same day that Elijah came to the Kirtland Temple--3rd April, 1836--Moses came also, and committed the Keys of the Gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the earth, and the leading of the Ten Tribes from the land of the north. And it is because he came and restored that authority, and communicated the commandment for the Saints to gather together, that thousands have left their homes in the land of their birth, and have cast in their lot with the Latter-day Saints in the land of America, and are now where the prophets predicted the people of God and the House of God would be established in the last days--"in the tops of the mountains"--and some out of all nations are flowing unto them, and they are taught in the ways of the Lord, and are seeking to walk in His paths (see Isaiah ii, 1-4). The cry from heaven which St. John heard in his visions is now of a truth being sounded among the nations: "Come out of her (Babylon), my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities" (Rev. xviii, 4, 5). And the Saints by their flight to the gathering places which God has appointed, as well as by word, are testifying to the world that the hour of God's judgment is at hand, and they are seeking to be prepared for the coming of the Messiah.

Thus the most important events which are to take place before the glorious coming of the Son of God have been fulfilled. We know not the day nor the hour in which the Master will come, but we know that the preparatory work to that event has made considerable progress:--The GOSPEL has been restored to the earth, and is being preached to all nations for a witness that the end is near:--The MESSENGER has come and restored the authority of God to man, that the way might be prepared for His coming and judgment:--ELIJAH has come and performed his mission:--And the SAINTS are gathering together to the tops of the mountains, and are building up the House of God. And as the fig tree putting forth its leaves proclaims the approach of summer, so these things indicate the near approach of that time when the Son of God will be "revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God {172} and who obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." This is the word of God and remember, O reader! that it is written, though heaven and earth pass away, not one jot nor tittle of the word of God shall fail, but all shall be fulfilled.

Despise not this testimony and warning because he who bears it is a representative of a cause and people everywhere spoken against. Remember that Satan has ever opposed the work of God, and those who labored to establish it. If he did so in former ages, will not this opposition be more fierce in the dispensation when the work of God is to become triumphant, resulting in the overthrow of the powers of darkness and binding them? Such, it would seem, are the plain dictates of reason--such are the facts. Be not deceived, then, reader, whoever you may be, by the infamous falsehoods in circulation about the Latter-day Saints, but examine these things with a prayerful heart that you may know of their truth and escape the calamity that shall befall those who "reject the counsels of God against themselves."

_"Seek to know God in your closets, call upon Him in the fields.
Follow the directions of the Book of Mormon, and pray over and for
your families, your cattle, your flocks, your herds, your corn and
all things that you possess; ask the blessings of God upon all your
labors, add everything that you engage in."_

--_Joseph Smith_.

{173}

THE CHARACTER OF THE MORMON PEOPLE.

BY ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.