Orson Pratt

“ God has said that he "will pour out his Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophecy." Young men and old men shall receive knowledge from the heavens. ”

“ When we come to converse with Enoch and his city face to face, and hear from their own mouths the declaration of their own history, and the preaching of the Gospel in that age of the world, it will unfold a vast amount of knowledge in regard to the events before the flood. ”

“ And hence we see that God did work miracles for his people on the eastern continent. Is it any more marvelous that he should preserve the brass plates from being dimmed by time? No. They exist, and in the own due time of the Lord, he will inspire a mighty seer, and give him the Urim and Thummim, and enable him to bring forth these sacred scriptures.
Now, to show you the value of the scripture of the brass plates, over the Jewish records, translated by King James, let me refer you to the Book of Mormon. ”

“ It is not enough that these different records referred to should be revealed, and that the islands of the sea should deliver up their knowledge, but it is necessary that the heavens should give the knowledge which was before our earth was created. And you are students in this great university, which God has established, to study concerning God, and get a knowledge of things in the heavens and things that are past and present, and things that are to come—a knowledge that comes through the power and inspiration of the Holy Ghost. ”

“ And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded lest he should look for that he ought not, and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them is called seer. And behold, the king of the people, who is in the land of Zarahemla is the man who is commanded to do these things, and who has this high gift from God."
I have read this to give you an idea how the Israelites that inhabited this continent, before the days of Christ, came to the knowledge of the first colony that came from the Tower of Babel. ”

“ Now the Lord did many things of this kind in ancient days. If there should be any strangers present let me show you how the Lord can do many wonderful things. Let me refer you to the pot of manna the substance of which would not keep over twenty-four hours, except on Sunday, and then it was preserved from becoming nauseous. But on a certain occasion the children of Israel were to collect a pot of this manna, and it was placed in the Tabernacle of the congregation, and instead of becoming nauseous, it remained just as fresh in future generations, as on the morning it was gleaned up. ”

“ We go to the book of Doctrine and Covenants, where we find that the Lord is to reveal many of his great and marvelous purposes, that have been kept hid from the foundation of the world; and things that have not been revealed to any former generation. ”

“ It will not be necessary for one man to say to his neighbor, know ye the Lord, for all shall know him. Then it will not be necessary for us to preach so much, because the Lord our God will teach them from on high. Old and young, male and female, will receive knowledge ”

“ And there they found a people called the people of Zarahemla. And some of the Nephites desired to return to the Land of Nephi, which they did. In about a century afterwards, there being no communication between the colonies, they sent out a number of men to see if they could find the people of Zarahemla. And they were lost, and came to a part of a country covered with bones. This is what I am going to read. And as a testimony that these things were true they brought twenty-four plates of gold, and breast-plates of brass and copper, and swords, &c. ”

“ And the people became very numerous. Now to confine the sacred records in one place, and to keep the people in ignorance in regard to their contents, would not be reasonable. Hence we are informed that they were written and sent forth throughout all the land, and this will account for the extracts from the Scriptures written in ancient Hebrew, discovered in the mounds that have been opened in Ohio, among which were the ten commandments. The people of this land were well acquainted with the Scriptures. ”

“ And behold, also, they have brought breast plates, which are large, and they are of brass and of copper, and are perfectly sound. And again, they have brought swords, the hilts thereof have perished, and the blades thereof were cankered with rust; and there is no one in the land that is able to interpret the language or the engravings that are on the plates. Therefore I said unto thee canst thou translate? And I say unto thee again, knowest thou of any one that can translate? for I am desirous that these records should be translated into our language ”