Orson Pratt

“ So will the earth pass away in like manner. But by and by the same voice, the same power that calls forth our bodies from the sleeping tomb, that unites bone to its bone, sinews and skin and muscles, and the various compartments of the system, that breathes the breath of life into them, that makes them immortal, even so will the Lord God, in due time, speak by his power and call the scattered elements of this creation from their dispersion, bring them together again, and organize them into a new heaven and a new earth. Will there be one particle of the earth lost? ”

“ The curse came upon man—that being who could stand in the presence of God and converse with him face to face the seeds of mortality were sown in his immortal body;—a change came and his whole system was affected thereby. The seeds of death were placed within the tabernacle of man, within the tabernacle of the lion, of the ox, and every beast of the field, and every fish of the sea, and every fowl of the air. A very great change then came over this creation. First, it was spiritual in all its blessings and fullness of life and glory. ”

“ We have forgotten it, but we will remember it when we wake up in eternity, with all the fulness of knowledge that will be given after everything is made anew. Well, inquires one, what will be the occupation of this people, after descending upon the new earth? After Jesus has been on the earth a thousand years, God himself is to be on the new earth. ”

“ I would ask you, my brethren, upon what principle they receive an inheritance upon the new earth? It is by securing it through a promise here in this life. If you can secure 40, or 80, or 160, or 640 acres of land by promise here in this life—I do not mean the promise of mortal men, I would not give much for their promise concerning any blessing after death comes; but if you can get a promise from him who has a right to promise, (for the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof,) that you shall inherit the earth for an everlasting possession, then it will be given to you. ”

“ I do not have reference to the beginning of an endless past, but I have reference to the beginning relative to our little globe. In the beginning of our creation, the earth was very fair, quite different from what it is now. There were no children of mortality upon it, no animals that were mortal upon it, no birds, nothing wherein we observe life in this creation existed in its mortal state; but everything that had life was immortal; every bird, fish, fowl, insect, creeping thing, cattle, and man—all were immortal. ”

“ Because Jesus, the Great Creator, and also the Great Redeemer, will be himself on the earth, and his holy angels will be on the earth, and all the resurrected Saints that have died in former dispensations will all come forth, and they will be on the earth. What a happy earth this creation will be, when this purifying process shall come, and the earth be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the great deep! ”

“ They believe that the heaven and the earth will, at some future period have a great change wrought upon them. They expect that they will pass away but I believe that most of them consider that the earth will become annihilated; that the very materials of which it is composed will be reduced to nothing. I think that used to be, when I was a boy, a tenet of the sectarian world; it used to be their idea, that the earth was, in the beginning, made out of nothing by the word of God, and that it would be reduced to nothing when it passed away. ”

“ Does this make man immortal? No; man still retains his mortality, even after he is baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost—his body is subject still to death. It may be burned at the stake; it may pass away as the earth will pass away; not annihilated, not one particle of our earthly tabernacles shall be struck out of existence; but the elements may be separated asunder, they may mingle perhaps with other elements—all this may take place, even after we have been sanctified and purified by the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. ”

“ So the earth in a measure was renewed, not fully; no more than we are renewed fully by baptism; we are not made immortal, when we come out of the waters of baptism; we still retain the effects of the fall, so far as mortality is concerned. So does the earth; the earth retains the effects of sin and transgression that came upon its face. But notwithstanding it retains these effects so far as mortality is concerned, yet it was cleansed in a measure from this transgression. But alas! This earth has again become corrupted. ”

“ This is the promise to all that will repent of their sins and be baptized for the remission of the same, that they shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is another baptism, more effectual, more cleansing, more purifying in its nature, sanctifying the inner man and the outward man, and making him a new creature. So this earth in due time must be baptized with fire first, and then the Holy Ghost. Fire will cleanse all the proud and they that do wickedly from its face—all persons that are corrupt, all sinful persons, all disobedient persons, all who do not keep the commandments of God ”

“ Our view is that the elements out of which this and all other worlds were made existed from all eternity; they never had any beginning. There are a few individuals on the earth that make no profession of religion—some call them materialists—who believe this same principle; and in doing so, they have got one truth incorporated among their ideas, though they do not believe in God. The materials of this creation, according to our view, and that which God has revealed to us, in this last dispensation, have existed from all eternity. ”

“ Travel then, from one end of the earth to another, you can find no wicked man no drunken man, no man to blaspheme the name of the Great Creator, no one to lay hold on his neighbor's goods, and steal them, no one to commit whoredoms—for all who commit whoredoms will be thrust down to hell, saith the Lord God Almighty, and all persons who commit sin will be speedily visited by the judgments of the Almighty! ”

“ But in organizing this world the Lord did not call it into existence from nothing, but called the eternal elements that were spread abroad in space and commanded them to come together, according to certain laws; and the earth was formed and placed in its proper position, in the midst of many other creations which roll around the great central orb,—the sun. ”

“ We read in the 65th chapter of Isaiah that then "There will be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred old shall be accursed." ”

“ We are told in the words which I have read, that there is a period of time yet in the future, wherein this earth upon which we stand, where we have our being, and from which we derive our sustenance, will pass away; and the heavens that are over our heads will also pass away; at the time this great event shall happen, we are informed that a great white throne shall appear ”

“ Not only that, but also a flaming fire will rest upon the temple by night, covering the whole temple; and if you go inside of the temple, the glory of God will be seen there as it was anciently; for the Lord will not only be a glory and a defense on the outside of that wonderful building, but he will also be a glory and a power in the inside thereof, and it shall come to pass that every man and every woman who is pure in heart, who shall go inside of that temple, will see the Lord. ”

“ And it shall be that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, even unto them shall be no rain." From this it appears that people who refuse to come up to the land of Jerusalem, to worship God and to keep the feast of tabernacles, are to be immediately visited with famine. They shall have no rain, and that will stir them up, during the Millennium, to repent of their sins; but if the Egyptians do not come up from year to year to Jerusalem, they shall be visited with a great plague. ”

“ A great many of our scientific men consider that the earth has never had a beginning as an organ-ized body, but they look back many millions and millions of years, when they suppose that such and such an event brought about such and such a cause ”

“ I often feel my own weakness and imperfection as a man, when endeavoring to do a work of this nature. I oftentimes feel to ask myself the question—what am I, and how can I perform the work which the Lord requires at my hand, unless he assists me? ”

“ I shall touch upon those things according to the ideas and the faith of the people called Latter-day Saints. We do not believe that the earth was made out of nothing, like the modern Christian idea; we have no such belief ”

“ Well, now, they are right so far as the materials are concerned, but they are entirely out of the way so far as the great revolutions I have named are concerned, and so far as the annihilation of the earth is concerned. The earth never will have an end, so far as the materials are concerned. ”

“ He will go out into the four quarters of the earth, and gather together all that he can overcome, and bring them up against the camp of the Saints and the beloved city. He thinks that he will fight and overcome the camp of the Saints. ”

“ It will not come into their minds, unless God puts it there; but when they become immortal, after the thousand years have ended, then I think they will comprehend the process by which this world was made. ”