Parley P. Pratt

“ What must have been his wonder and astonishment, when, after many years of wars and commotions, during which he marched forth, conquering and to conquer, gathering as a nest the riches of the nations, he at last pitched his camp near the walls of the strongest hold in all the earth? He gazed upon its walls of upwards of three hundred feet in height, with its gates of brass and its bars of iron: the people within feeling perfectly safe, with provisions enough to last the inhabitants of the city for several years. ”

“ The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
"Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. ”

“ I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. ”

“ A new world presented itself to the wondering nations of the East, destined, at no distant period, to become the theatre of the most glorious and astonishing events of the last days. This fact was no sooner demonstrated than their philosophical, geographical, and religious objections vanished in a moment; haughty ignorance and bigotry were for once constrained to cast their honors in the dust, and bow their reverend heads at the feet of real worth, and learn, in humble silence, that one fact, clearly demonstrated, was worth ten thousand theories and opinions of men. ”

“ He always takes a different course from the one marked out for Him by the wisdom of the world, in order to "confound the wise, and bring to naught the understanding of the prudent;" He chooses men of low degree, even the simple and the unlearned, and those who are despised, to do His work and to bring about His purposes, that no flesh shall glory in His presence. O ye wise, and ye learned, who despise the wisdom that comes from above! Know ye not, that it was impossible for the world by wisdom to find out God? Know ye not that all your wisdom is foolishness with God? ”

“ There our father Adam, whose hair is white like the pure wool, will sit enthroned in dignity, as the Ancient of Days, the great Patriarch, the mighty Prince; while thousands of thousands stand before him, and ten thousand times ten thousand minister to him; there he will hail all his children, who died in the faith of the Messiah; while Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Job, and Daniel, with all the Prophets and Apostles, and all the Saints of God of all ages, hail each other in the flesh. ”

“ One of the greatest obstacles in the way of the spread of truth, in every age, is the tide of public opinion. Let one ray of light burst upon the world in any age, and it is sure to come in contact with the traditions and long-established usages of men, and their opinions; or with some religious craft, so that, like the Ephesians, they counsel together what shall be done; their great goddess will be spoken against, her magnificence despised, her temple deserted ”

“ Yea, more—some of us have been stoned, whipped, and shot; our blood has been caused to flow, and still smokes to heaven, because of our religious principles, in this our native land, the boasted land of liberty and equal law! while we have sought in vain for redress. Officers of state have been deaf to the voice of Innocence, imploring at their feet for justice and protection in the enjoyment of rights as American citizens. ”

“ Well did the Apostle Peter say of you, that you know nothing, only what you know naturally as brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed. And thus you perish, from generation to generation, while all creation groans under its pollution; and sorrow and death, mourning and weeping, fill up the measure of the days of man!" But, O my soul, dwell no longer on this awful scene! let it suffice to have discovered, in some degree, what is lost. Let us turn our attention to what the Prophets have said should be restored. ”

“ O ye remnant of Joseph, your secret is revealed, ye who are despised, smitten, scattered, and driven by the Gentiles from place to place, until you are left few in number! "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest and not comforted," lift up your heads and rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh: yea, we have found your record, the oracles of God once committed to your forefathers, which have been hidden from you for a long time, because of unbelief. ”

“ This burning more especially applies to the fallen church, rather than to the heathen or Jews, whom they are now trying to convert. Woe unto you, Gentiles, who call yourselves the people of the Lord, but have made void the law of God by your traditions; for in vain do you call Lord, Lord, and do not the things which Jesus commands; in vain do ye worship Him, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Behold, the sword of vengeance hangs over you, and except you repent, it will soon fall upon you; and it will be more tolerable in that day for the Jews and heathen than for you. ”

“ The Messiah comes, convulses the earth, overthrows the army of the Gentiles, delivers the Jews, cleanses Jerusalem, cuts off all wickedness from the earth, raises the saints from the dead, brings them with Him, and commences His reign for a thousand years; during which time His Spirit will be poured out upon all flesh; men and beasts, birds and serpents, will be perfectly harmless, and peace and the knowledge and glory of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea ”

“ Great is the wisdom of man; great are the systems of modern divinity; great is the wisdom of uninspired priests, who come unto us with excellency of speech, and with man's wisdom, determined to know nothing among us save opinions and creeds of their own; and their speech, and their preaching, are with enticing words of man's wisdom, not in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power, for that is done away, that our faith should not stand in the power of God, but in the wisdom of man. ”

“ You have now beheld the power of God manifested, and the power of Satan; you see that there is nothing that is desirable in the works of darkness; that they cannot bring happiness; that those who are overcome therewith are miserable; while, on the other hand, the righteous are blessed with a place in the kingdom of God, where joy unspeakable surrounds them; there they rest beyond the power of the enemy of truth, where no evil can disturb them: the glory of God crowns them, and they continually feast upon His goodness, and enjoy His smiles. ”

“ Call to mind the Apostles in contact with the Jewish Rabbis, or with Gentile superstitions; in short, at war with every religious establishment on the earth. Witness the popular clamor: "If we let them thus alone, all men will believe on them, and the Romans will come and take away our place and nation." "These men that turn the world upside down have come hither also." "What new doctrine is this, for thou bringest certain strange things to our ears?" "These men do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, being Romans." ”

“ But the Jews and heathen never will be converted, as a people, to any other plan than that laid down in the Bible for the great restoration of Israel. And you yourselves are laboring under a broken covenant, and ripening for the fire as fast as possible. But do not count me your enemy because I tell you the truth, for God is my witness that I love your souls too well to keep back any truth from you, however severe it may seem. The wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy. ”

“ Thus, all these, together with the shepherds and the wise men from the east, began to rejoice with a joy unspeakable and full of glory, while the world around them knew not the occasion of their joy. After these things, all seemed to rest in silent expectation, until John had grown to manhood, when he came bounding from the wilderness of Judea, with a proclamation strange and new, crying: "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," baptizing unto repentance, telling them plainly that their King was already standing among them, on the point of setting up His kingdom. ”

“ But while they are at the point to swallow up the Jews, and lay waste their country, behold the Lord's fury comes up in His face, a mighty earthquake is the result, insomuch that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all the creeping things, and all men upon the face of the earth, shall shake at His presence, and every wall shall fall to the ground, and every man's sword shall be turned against his neighbor in this army, and the Lord shall rain upon Gog, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, great hailstones, fire and brimstone. ”

“ Now, let me inquire, Does the history of these United States give a plainer account of past events than Daniel's wisdom did of events which were then future, and some of them reaching down the stream of time for several hundred years, unfolding events which no human sagacity could possibly have foreseen? Man, by his own sagacity, may accomplish many things; he may plough the trackless ocean without wind or tide in his favor; he may soar aloft amid the clouds without the aid of wings; he may traverse the land with astonishing velocity without the aid of beasts ”

“ For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me." In the 13th verse, he says: "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts." ”

“ Now, you behold the apple tree, and all the trees, when they begin to shoot forth their leaves, ye know of your own selves that summer is nigh at hand; and so likewise when ye shall see great earthquakes, famines, pestilence, and plagues of every kind; the sea breaking beyond its bounds, and all things in commotion; the nations distressed with perplexity; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking for the things which are coming on the earth ”

“ Behold, whatever entices and leads to good, and to do good, is of God, and whatever does not, is of that wicked one. It is he that fills the hearts of men with evil to walk in darkness, and blaspheme God; and you may learn from henceforth, that his ways are to destruction; but the way of holiness is peace and rest. You now see why you could not obtain this record, that the commandment was strict, and that if ever these sacred things are obtained, they must be by prayer and faithfulness in obeying the Lord. ”

“ The city of Jerusalem was taken, after a long and tedious siege, in which the Jews suffered the extreme of famine, pestilence and the sword; filling houses with the dead, for want of a place to bury them, while women ate their own children, for want of all things. In this struggle there perished, in Judea, near one million and a half of Jews, besides those taken captive. Their country was laid waste, their city burned, their temple destroyed, and the miserable remnant dispersed abroad into all the nations of the earth ”

“ This new city, placed upon the new earth, with the Lord God and the Lamb in the midst, seems to be man's eternal abode, insomuch that, after all our longings for a place beyond the bounds of time and space, as saith the poet, we are at last brought to our proper senses, and given to understand that man is destined forever to inherit this selfsame planet, upon which he was first created, which shall be redeemed, sanctified, renewed, purified, and prepared as an eternal inheritance for immortality and eternal life ”

“ Thus you see, every mountain being made low, and every valley exalted, and the rough places being made plain, and the crooked places straight—that these mighty revolutions will begin to restore the face of the earth to its former beauty. But all this done, we have not yet gone through our restoration; there are many more great things to be done in order to restore all things. ”