Orson Pratt

“ The day is at hand, the morning has broken, the sun of the Gospel has arisen in the eastern horizon, and is beginning to shine with a degree of splendour. The time is near—how near, no man knoweth: the day and the hour when the Son of Man shall come is a secret. In a revelation given to this Church, it is said that no man shall know until he comes; therefore we cannot expect to know the day nor the hour; but we know it is near at hand, and what a consolation it is. There may be men that will know within a year—that will have revelation to say within one or two years when the Lord shall appear. ”

“ The word of God which is planted in your hearts begins to grow, to produce joy, light, and happiness; your mind begins to understand; you begin to receive revelation, and to receive those communications from the heavens that cause you to enjoy those blessings that you have heard spoken of by the servants of God. This makes all the Latter-day Saints witnesses; and thus we have a cloud of witnesses—a great army that can witness the truths of heaven as they have been revealed in these last days. This Spirit of revelation gives the Latter-day Saints boldness in their testimony. ”

“ Could we have stood forth before the people and borne testimony as natural men to the great truths revealed from heaven? No, we could not. We should have shrunk from the task. It would have appeared too great for us to perform. The powers of darkness would have been able to crush us before them, without the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Lord foreknew this, and consequently he never designed that the great principles of his Gospel should be published to the nations, only by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. ”

“ And instead of the testimonies of the servants of God being smothered up by the persecution of our enemies, and the light being hidden under a bushel in some obscure corner, the decree of Heaven is that the light shall go forth, shining more and more glorious in the midst of the nations, and it will penetrate the darkest corners of the earth—it will visit the islands of the sea, until it has searched out every creature under heaven. There is no ear but shall hear, and no heart but shall be penetrated by the truths that shall be sent forth in this last dispensation. ”

“ There will be all the former-day Saints, Enoch and his city, with all the greatness and splendour that surround them: there will be Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as they sit upon their thrones, together with all the persons that have been redeemed and brought near unto the presence of God. All will be unfolded and unveiled, and all this will be for the wicked to look upon, as well as the righteous; for the wicked will not as yet have been destroyed. ”

“ Are we honest enough? and are we filled with integrity enough to be ready for the Saviour and his holy angels? Is there a sufficiency of union? Have we that firmness in our minds that we can stand in their presence—that we can look them in the eye and say that all is right? ”

“ One thing is certain—that every nation under the heavens will array itself against the kingdom of God. Inasmuch as some individuals among the nations receive it, they will muster their forces and try to destroy the saints of the living God. To prepare for this, we must increase in the Spirit of God as our enemies increase in the spirit of darkness against us, and by the power of God proclaim in their ears a testimony that will overcome the wicked. There is no possibility of the wicked triumphing over this Latter-day Kingdom. ”

“ The world, during the last seventeen centuries and upwards, have been engaged in preaching what they termed the Gospel; they have been engaged in preaching many principles that are true; they have preached many of the first principles, such as faith and repentance; they have preached the ordinances and institutions of heaven; they have reasoned with the people; they have portrayed many great and glorious truths before the people ”

“ After all nations have heard the proclamation, there will be silence in the heavens, and I do not know but on the earth too; for the people will doubtless be overpowered with astonishment to see an angel, the sound of whose trump shall pierce the ears of all living. ”

“ If you Missionaries will seek for the testimony of the Holy Ghost to go with you—if you will seek diligently for the power of God to accompany you, you need not be afraid of the nations; for your testimony will condemn the people who reject it, and it will save all those who receive it. ”

“ Light has shone from heaven upon your understandings. You have tasted of that light by the spiritual sensations, or the spiritual faculties of your mind. You have understood and feasted upon the light that has come from heaven ”

“ I simply mention these things to show how one thing after another is to precede the coming of the Lord.
After the angels have sounded this in the ears of all living, we are informed that there will be a great sign in the heavens. It is not to be limited so that some few only of the human family can see it; but it is said, "All people shall see it together!" At least, it is to be like our sun seen over one entire side of the globe, and then passing immediately round to to the other, or else it will encircle the whole earth at the same time. ”

“ You don't know them because you have seen the sick healed, or the blind receive their sight. You don't know them because you have seen the lame made to walk, or laid your hands upon the sick and seen them raised to perfect soundness, but because God has made them manifest to your hearts. ”

“ One thing is certain—that we cannot comprehend them, unless God shall give more revelation and manifest many things in their fulness which have heretofore only been revealed in part.
Many things that were unveiled to the ancient Prophets have become very much corrupted by men who have formed systems to suit their own darkened minds. The revelations of John, now so obscure, so dark, and so intricate, that scarcely a person can comprehend the great things that are pointed out to take place in the last days, will be unfolded. ”

“ I do not look for this people to be eternally assailed by their enemies, nor do I look for the Elders to be continually asleep; but I expect that they will bear a faithful testimony among the people of every nation where they are sent. ”

“ It is true, the Lord has given us information and bestowed upon us great favour by new revelation, and the Spirit bears witness that they are from heaven. We know them to be such. We comprehend them, we discern them, and say that God designed to reveal them to his servant Joseph. There are many who can comprehend those things and realize that they are from some superior source than the natural mind of man. ”

“ All our exertions, our reading, our meditations, and our endeavours to obtain the truth, without we obtain it lawfully, and not as natural men and women, will prove, in a measure, unavailing, though it may serve in some degree to remove darkness, to manifest what has been done, or what is to be done. ”

“ For instance, what the seven thunders uttered and several other things that are mentioned, no man understands, and will not until the proper time shall come. Since the days of John, it has been changed and altered by men who did not possess the Spirit of revelation, and from them it has been handed down to us in its present imperfect form, and we never shall understand it until God reveals it unto his servants the Prophets in the last days. ”

“ When this takes place, there will be Latter-day Saints living upon the earth, and they will ascend and mingle themselves with that vast throng; for they will be filled with anxiety to go where the Saints of the Church of the Firstborn are, and the Church of Firstborn will feel an anxiety to come and meet with the Saints on earth, and this will bring the general assembly of the redeemed into one ”

“ They also declare that men have been called by revela-tion from God, and sent forth with authority to baptize for the remission of sins. You hear this testimony, which is calculated to increase your confidence and your faith in the principles of life. ”

“ Although this is not going to take place next Sabbath, yet we know one thing—that in many of the revelations given to this Church, the Lord has closed by saying—"Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give unto every man according to his works." ”