"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and
to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a
loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his
judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and
the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another
angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city,
because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication" (Revelation 14:6-8). In these inspired words John the
beloved apostle predicted the restoration of the gospel to the
earth, and the subsequent destruction of that power which had filled
the earth with the darkness of spiritual inebriety and wickedness.
That these events were not revelations of the past, but prophecies
of the future manifested to the Apostle John is made certain by what
he says in Chapter iv, verse 1: "After this I looked, and, behold, a
door was opened into heaven: and the first voice which I heard was
as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, Come up hither,
and I will show thee things which must be hereafter." The angels
spoken of in the 14th chapter, quoted above, were among the things
which John was told "must be hereafter." It should be observed that
when the angel should fly to the earth bearing the everlasting
gospel, it was to be at a time when every nation, and kindred, and
tongue, and people would be without that gospel in its fulness. That
this has been the condition of the world for a long time has already
been demonstrated to the reader.
In predicting events that would occur previous to his coming and
"the end of the world," Christ declared, "And this gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations, and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14). From this we
learn that the gospel as preached by Christ and delivered by him to
the apostles, is to be preached in all the world as a witness of his
second advent and a sign of the approaching end (See verse 3).
The foregoing predictions correspond with the prophecy of Isaiah:
"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with
their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their
heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept
of men; therefore I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this
people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their
wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men
shall be hid" (Isaiah 29:13, 14). All the prophets whose writings
have been collected in the sacred volume called the Bible, have
proclaimed the glory of the latter days and the final triumph of
truth over error, and the power of God over the deceptions of that
Evil One.
Thus not only the restoration of the gospel after the great apostasy
that was to take place was foretold by holy men of God, but the
manner of its revelation was also explained. It was to be by the
coming of an angel from heaven. To whom might it be expected that
this angel should appear? To the learned divines and contending
sectaries of modern Christendom? Do they not all declare that
revelation ceased when John received his vision, recorded in the
Book of Revelation? Do they not teach that though angels once
ministered to men the day of their coming has long since passed?
Have they any faith to call on God for a divine communication? And
will the Almighty reveal anything except to those who call upon him
in faith? God's ways are not as man's ways. Therefore, as Paul
expressed it, "not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of
the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty; . . . that no
flesh should glory in his presence" (I Corinthians 1:26-29). And as
quoted above, the Lord determined that in bringing forth his
latter-day work, "a marvelous work and a wonder," "the wisdom of the
wise should perish and the understanding of the prudent should be
hid."
It was in the year 1823 that the angel spoken of by John the
Revelator came with the everlasting gospel to a young man scarcely
eighteen years of age, of obscure though respectable parentage, and
without the learning of the schools. His name, too, was common, and
his occupation that of a farmer's boy. Joseph Smith, whom the Lord
raised up to receive his word, establish his Church, and prepare the
way for the Redeemer's second coming, was led to enquire of the Lord
through reading the scriptures, for the purpose of finding out which
of all the disputing religions was right. Coming to the Epistle of
James, 1st chapter and 5th verse, he read: "If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith,
nothing wavering." Relying on his word, he went into the woods to
pray, and in the simplicity of his heart called on God for the
wisdom which he felt he greatly needed. He was then not fifteen
years of age, but his faith was strong and wavered not. His prayers
were heard, and in a heavenly vision in open daylight, the Father
and the Son revealed themselves to his astonished gaze. The Father,
pointing to the Son, proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son, hear him."
Our Savior spoke to the boy, and in answer to his question as to
which of all the religious sects was right, he was told that they
had all gone out of the way, and was commanded to go after none of
them, but was promised that in due time the true gospel of Christ
should be revealed to him.
When the angel appeared to him three years later, it was in his
chamber, just as he had retired for the night. Coming in glory, the
angel showed to Joseph the place where an ancient record was hidden
in the side of a hill, containing the history of the former
inhabitants of the American continent, including an account of a
visit made to them by Jesus Christ after his resurrection from the
dead when he declared to them the same gospel that he had preached
in Palestine and also established his Church among them after the
same pattern as that organized on the eastern hemisphere. He was
informed that this record should be subsequently placed in his hands
to translate by the gift and power of God to be given to him through
means which the Lord had prepared for that purpose. This
manifestation was thrice repeated that night that Joseph might be
fully assured of its reality. Under the inspiration of Almighty God,
the young man was able to obtain possession of this precious record,
inscribed in small and curious characters upon metallic plates. The
gospel is there set forth in plain and simple language, and no one
who reads the book, which is called the Book of Mormon, with a
prayerful and unprejudiced heart, will fail to be impressed with its
divine origin.
After being thus favored of the Lord, Joseph Smith received a
visitation from John the Baptist, who held authority in ancient
times to preach and administer baptism by immersion for the
remission of sins. He came as a ministering angel, and ordained
Joseph Smith and his companion, Oliver Cowdery, to that priesthood
and authority. Thus endowed, these young men baptized each other,
and at a later date were ministered to by the Apostles Peter and
James and John, who ordained them to the apostleship, with authority
to lay hands on baptized believers and confer the gift of the Holy
Ghost, also to build and organize the Church of Christ according to
the original pattern.
On the sixth day of April, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ was
organized in the State of New York, with six members, Latter-day
Saints who had been baptized for the remission of sins and had been
confirmed by the laying on of hands. The Holy Ghost was manifested
unto them, and as the Church grew in numbers the gifts of the Spirit
were imparted, and the organization was eventually made complete
with apostles, prophets, seventies, elders, priests, teachers,
deacons, also bishops and other officers that were in the primitive
Christian Church; indeed, all the grades of the Melchizedek and
Aaronic Priesthood, with their keys, powers and endowments, and all
the ordinances, ministrations and divine manifestations necessary to
the true Church of Christ. Men thus divinely authorized, were sent
out into the world to preach the gospel like the apostles of old,
without purse or scrip, without salary and without pay of any kind,
depending upon the Lord and friends whom he might raise up to
minister to their temporal wants. Wherever they went and people
received their testimony and were baptized for the remission of
sins, the Holy Ghost was poured out upon them through the laying on
of hands, and they invariably obtained a testimony from God that
they were accepted of him, and that he had in very deed
re-established his Church on earth. There are now many thousands of
living witnesses to the truth of these things. They are natives of
various countries, speaking different languages, reared in divers
religions; they are now brought to the unity of the faith; they have
come to a knowledge of the truth; doubt has fled and darkness has
been dispersed; the light of heaven shines in their souls. They are
in the straight and narrow way. They are members of the body of
Christ, and his Spirit, which searcheth all things, yea the deep
things of God, is the abiding witness from on high and shows them
things past, present and to come.
This is the latter-day work spoken of by the holy prophets. It is
the dispensation of the fulness of times, in the which God will
"gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven and which are on earth, even in him" (Ephesians 1:10). It is
the last and greatest of all dispensations. In it will be
accomplished the "restitution of all things, which God hath spoken
by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began" (Acts
3:21). It is to prepare the way for the second advent of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who will come "in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory," and "in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that
know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,
. . . when he shall come to be glorified in his saints" (II
Thessalonians 1:8, 10). In this dispensation, after all people have
been warned and the gospel has been preached for a witness to all
nations, and the elect are gathered together from the four winds,
namely, the east, west, north and south, the great tribulations and
judgments will be poured out, the end of the world, that is, the end
of the rule of Satan and of the wicked will come, the kingdoms of
this world will become the kingdom of our God and his Christ, and he
will reign over them forever.
"The times of ignorance God hath winked at, but he now commands all
men everywhere to repent." Therefore, O, ye inhabitants of the
earth, hearken to the voice of the Lord, which is unto all people,
Christian and Pagan, preachers and hearers, Papists, Protestants,
infidels, secularists and agnostics, rich and poor, kings,
presidents, rulers, peasants and men and women of all races,
religions and degrees, saying, Repent of your sins, of your false
creeds, of your dead forms, and of all your unbelief and iniquities,
and come unto me and be baptized by my servants, on whom I have
placed my authority, and receive the laying on of their hands, and
you shall have the remission of your sins and the gift of the Holy
Ghost, and shall know that I am God, and that I have set my hand to
accomplish my great work in the earth, and if you abide in me you
shall inherit the earth when it is cleansed and glorified, and shall
be crowned with eternal life!