Orson Pratt

“ We might, of course, by carefully searching the prophecies, judge of the particular period of age of the world in which that would take place; but to come to the exact year is out of the power of human wisdom, it cannot comprehend it; nothing but new revelation can put us in possession of this important knowledge. In vain may attempts be made, by the organization of societies, for the amelioration of the condition of the Jews; in vain will societies be organized for their restoration to their own land and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, until the Lord's time arrive. ”

“ Now, here is a definite prediction: if ye continue in his goodness, the goodness of God will be extended to you, though you are Gentiles, though you are grafted, contrary to nature, into the tame olive tree, but if you do not continue in his goodness, if you lose your faith, as the house of Israel lost it; if you cease to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom, as they have done, you also shall be cut off. And they also; that is, the Jews, if they abide not in unbelief, shall be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again ”

“ Your fathers were in possession of all the miraculous fruits and blessings and gifts of the kingdom. They could prophecy and see visions; they could hear the voice of the Lord speaking to them; they could enjoy the power and gift of the Holy Spirit; work miracles in the name of the Lord; heal the sick; cast out devils and perform all these miracles that are recorded in the Old Testament; and these were the fruits of that kingdom which you, the Jewish nation, once enjoyed; but because you have rejected your Messiah, rejected the testimony of the prophets concerning him ”

“ Those who are ransomed from among the nations, by the proclamation of the everlasting Gospel, those who listen to the angelic message that comes from heaven; they who have toiled with ox teams, mule teams and hand carts and wheelbarrows to get themselves here, to lay a foundation of the work of God in the midst of this desert. They need a highway here, that the balance who are to come hereafter, and they will come by hundreds of thousands, may come swiftly, and more speedily than by handcart conveyances. ”

“ And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. ”

“ A stone cut out of the mountains without hands—little in its beginning, insignificant, in the estimation of the great and powerful kingdoms of the world; but it is to roll forth, become a great mountain and fill the whole earth and to continue for ever. ”

“ We have been forty years, since the angel came, fulfilling that prediction; how many more years the Lord may bear with the nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles before they are cut off I do not know. How many more years will pass over our heads that we will have the privilege of declaring the fullness of the everlasting Gospel among the nations of the Gentiles is not revealed. ”

“ When the Almighty, in the present century, sent forth an angel from heaven, as we heard this forenoon, and restored the Gospel and the authority and power to preach it and administer its ordinances, and organized this Church on the earth, and sent forth his servants to all nations so far as they would open their doors to receive them, they were fulfilling the commands of the Most High given by the angel. ”

“ Hear what the Lord says by the mouth of the Psalmist David, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." They are not willing now and have not been willing for eighteen centuries past. But when the day of his power comes they will be willing to hearken, they will gather up to their promised land, for it will be the day of the Lord's power. In what respect will there be power manifested then? ”

“ After the Prophet Isaiah had delivered this prophecy they suffered severely at the hands of the Babylonians; who, about six centuries before Christ, came against the Jews. and Jerusalem and destroyed many of their nation, and carried the remnant of them into captivity to Babylon, where they remained some seventy years. They then returned and rebuilt their city and temple, and were chastened at various times from that period until their Messiah came, in fulfilment of the prophecies and predictions of Isaiah concerning the first advent of the Redeemer. ”