If the congregation will give their attention I will read a few
passages from the last chapter of Isaiah, commencing in the middle of
the 18th verse. [The speaker read from the 18th verse, commencing—"It
shall come," &c., unto the end of the 20th verse.]
There are some very great and important events predicted in these few
lines which I have read, concerning the gathering of all nations and
tongues, but more especially the gathering of the house of Israel, a
sign being promised—that when that period shall arrive, in the
purposes of God, a sign shall be given to the children of men, that
they may know when these great events are to take place. In this
passage we are not told what the sign shall be, we merely have it
promised; but we would naturally draw the conclusion that it will be
something of a peculiar character, something that can be distinguished
by the nations, kindred and tongues of the earth preparatory to the
great gathering that is promised in the Scriptures of truth, "I will
set a sign among them." And after setting this sign he will send
missionaries to Tubal, to Javan, to the isles that are afar
off, "to Tarshish, Pul and Lud, and to them that draw the bow." And it
is said concerning the missionaries who are thus sent forth, that
"they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles." Then, when the sign
is set, the missionaries are sent forth and the glory of God begins to
be declared among the Gentiles, the Lord will bring about the
gathering of his people Israel, bringing them upon horses, in
chariots, in litters, upon swift beasts and upon mules to his holy
mountain in Jerusalem; and he will gather all nations and tongues when
that dispensation shall come.
The Lord has set that sign; the Lord has sent forth the messengers
here spoken of to the various nations, as predicted, and already the
voice of these messengers is heard in the uttermost parts of the
earth, declaring the word of the Lord among the Gentiles, preparing
them for the great event predicted by the mouth of Isaiah the Prophet.
Do this people desire to know what the sign predicted by the mouth of
Isaiah means? Do you wish to know the nature of that sign? Let me
refer you to the words of the everlasting God that have been uttered
from the heavens, declared in this record brought forth in the last
days, the Book of Mormon. Let us refer to a prediction uttered by the
mouth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when he appeared personally
upon this great western continent, and taught the ancient nations of
America. He has told us by his own mouth what the sign should be for
the gathering of all the dispersed of his people, the house of Israel.
I will read the words of our Savior to the ancient inhabitants of this
western continent. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these
things" —the things which he had been speaking about to the
multitude—"shall surely come, as the voice of the Father hath
commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath
covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall Jerusalem
begin to be inhabited with my people, and it shall be the land of
their inheritance. And verily I say unto you, I will give you a sign
that you may know the time when these things shall be about to take
place, that I shall gather in from their long dispersion, my people, O
house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion. And
behold this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign, for
verily I say unto you that when these things which I declare unto you,
and which I shall declare unto you hereafter, of myself, and by the
power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be given unto you of the Father,
shall be made known unto the Gentiles" —that is, when this book, called
the Book of Mormon, should be made known unto the Gentiles—"that they
may know concerning this, my people, who are a remnant of the house of
Jacob, and concerning this, my people, who shall be scattered by them
in the latter days. Verily I say unto you when these things shall be
made known unto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father
from them unto you."
Now, such is the sign. First, this work will be made known to the
Gentiles, and will come forth from the Gentiles unto the Indians. "For
it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this
land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that
these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed,
that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he has
covenanted with his people, O house of Israel. Therefore when
these works, and the works which shall be wrought among you
hereafter" —that is, the works which were performed during the first
three or four centuries of the Christian era on the American
continent, recorded in their records called the Book of Mormon—"when
these works and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter
shall come forth from the Gentiles unto your seed, which shall dwindle
in unbelief because of iniquity."
Now this dwindling in unbelief of the American Indians is very evident
even to the antiquarians of our country, all of whom will admit that
once a civilized nation dwelt on this continent. No learned man living
disputes this. Why do they suppose any such thing? The ruins of their
ancient cities, palaces and temples, proclaim in the ears of all
living that once there dwelt on this hemisphere a great and powerful
people, who were civilized and understood the art of constructing
beautiful and substantial buildings. But now, O! how degraded, fallen
and sunk into the very depths of darkness are the descendants of that
once great, powerful and exalted people! "They shall dwindle in
unbelief because of iniquity;" because they rejected the Gospel. In
the fourth century of the Christian era they apostatized from the
religion of their fathers; they were cursed by the Almighty, a skin of
darkness came upon them; they were cursed in all that they set their
hands to do, and the withering curse of the Almighty has been upon
them from generation to generation, until the present day. They were
to dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity.
"For thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from the
Gentiles, that he may show forth his power to the Gentiles, for this
cause, that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that
they may repent, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and
know of the truth of my doctrine that they may be numbered among my
people, O house of Israel."
Such is the object of bringing this work forth to the Gentiles first.
That is why God prepared the way for a great and powerful nation, free
from all other nations under heaven, to be established here on this
continent. The great purpose which God had in view was to set up a
kingdom in the latter days in which there should be full and complete
religious liberty and freedom of conscience, that the kingdom might go
forth unto the ends of the earth; "and when these things shall come to
pass, that thy seed" —the American Indians—"shall begin to know
these
things. It shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work
of the Father hath already commenced, unto the fulfilling of the
covenant which he hath made unto the people, who are of the house of
Israel."
Now then, here is a prediction in Isaiah, that before the Lord gathers
Israel he would set up a sign, showing not only to us but to all
people, nations and tongues in the four quarters of the earth that he
is about to gather together all the people of the house of Israel.
That sign is when these American Indians shall begin to know the
Gospel taught and practiced by their ancient fathers. "When that day
shall come it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths,
for that which had not been told them shall they see, that which they
had not heard shall they consider; for in that day, for my sake, shall
the Father work a work which shall be a great and marvelous
work among them; and there shall be among them which will not believe
it, although a man shall declare it unto them. But behold, the life of
my servant is in mine hand," &c.
We will now pass on to the next page. "And then shall the work of the
Father commence at that day, even when this Gospel shall be preached
unto the remnant of this people" —unto the Indians—"verily I say
unto
you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the
dispersed of my people, yea even the tribes which have been lost,
which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem, yea the work shall
commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father to
prepare the way whereby they may come unto me; that they may call upon
the Father in my name, and then shall the work commence with the
Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his people may
be gathered home to the land of their inheritance. And they shall not
go out in haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them saith the
Father, and I will be their rearward."
Forty-five years have passed away since God brought forth this sign,
the Book of Mormon, and sent missionaries to the nations—to Tarshish,
Pul, Lud, Tubal, Javan, and to the islands afar off, that have not
heard his name neither have seen his glory and these missionaries have
declared his glory among the Gentiles. Forty-five years of
proclamation to the nations of the Gentiles! Forty-five years of
warning to all nations and tongues! Now after so long a period has
elapsed since God brought forth this wonderful sign, he has begun to
work among the remnants of the house of Israel, the American Indians,
upon this continent, by his own power. What is it that has stirred
them up to believe in this work? Has it been your exertion? Not
altogether; yet, no doubt, you, in some small degree, as far as your
faith would permit, have helped on the work among these wild tribes.
You have sought to recover them, you have fed and clothed them to some
extent; you have told them occasionally about the records of their
fathers; you have tried to bring them to repentance; but, after years
of labor, you have said—"Alas! Alas for them! What can be done to
reclaim a people so far fallen into the depths of ignorance and
corruption?" Your hearts have been almost discouraged so far as your
own labors were concerned. But how soon and how marvelously, when the
time had come, has the Lord our God begun to operate upon them as
nations and as tribes, bringing them in from hundreds of miles distant
to inquire after the Elders of this Church. What for? What do they
want with the Elders? They want to be baptized. Who told them to come
and be baptized? They say that men came to them in their dreams, and
spoke to them in their own language, and told them that away yonder
was a people who had authority from God to baptize them; but that they
must repent of their sins, cease their evil habits and lay aside the
traditions of their fathers, for they were false; that they must cease
to roam over the face of the land, robbing and plundering, and learn
to live as the white people.
Who are these men who have been to the Indians and told them to repent
of their sins, and be baptized by the "Mormons?" They are men who
obtained the promise of the Lord, upwards of eighteen centuries ago,
that they should be instruments in his hands of bringing about
the redemption of their descendants. The Lord God promised them the
privilege of working for and in behalf of their descendants in the
latter days; and they have begun the work. All this was foretold in
this record, the Book of Mormon.
Now I will read a little for the benefit of the Latter-day Saints, for
though they have this record lying upon their shelves. I fear there
are some who are careless about reading its contents, and perhaps do
not understand the signs of the times, and the fulfillment of the
purposes of God, which are here so clearly set forth. Jesus appeared
on this American Continent soon after his resurrection, three
different times that are recorded, and how many other times that are
not recorded, I do not know. But he showed himself to them and brake
bread with them. But the third time he came to the Twelve whom he had
chosen on this land—as he was about to leave them he put a very
important question to them. He said unto his twelve disciples,
speaking unto them one by one—"What is it that you desire of me, after
that I am gone unto the Father?" And they all spake save it were
three—"We desire that after we have lived unto the age of men, that
our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, and that we
may speedily come to thee in thy kingdom." And he said unto
them—"Blessed are ye because ye have desired this thing of me;
therefore after that ye are seventy-two years old ye shall come unto
me in my kingdom; and with me ye shall find rest." And when he had
spoken these words unto the nine, he then turns to the three and said
unto them—"What will ye that I shall do unto you, when I am gone to the
Father?" And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they dare not speak
unto him the thing which they desired. And he said unto them—"Behold, I
know your thoughts, and you have desired the thing which John, my
beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before I was lifted up by the
Jews, desired of me. Therefore more blessed are ye, for ye shall never
taste of death." These three men had the promise that they should
never taste death; "but," said the Savior unto them—"ye shall live
to
behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even
until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the
Father, when I come in my glory with the powers of heaven. And ye shall
never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory ye
shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to
immortality; and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father. And
again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh,
neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world; and all this
will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye
have desired that ye may bring the souls of men unto me, while the
world shall stand. And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy;
and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall
be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall
be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are
one; And the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the
Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men, because of me."
What a glorious promise was made to these three men! Did they receive
any change? Yes, they did; not to immortality however, but a change
sufficient was wrought in their bodies that death should not
have power over them. But let us read a little further, it is very
interesting. "And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these
words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the
three who were to tarry;" that is, he touched the nine who were to
preach until they were seventy-two years old and who were then to be
taken home to God, "and then he departed. And behold, the heavens were
opened, and they (the three) were caught up into heaven, and saw and
heard unspeakable things. And it was forbidden them that they should
utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the
things which they saw and heard; And whether they were in the body or
out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a
transfiguration of them." That is the way that they received their
partial change. "But it came to pass that they did again minister upon
the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the
things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which
was given them in heaven."
Now these men lived in the first century of the Christian era on this
continent; and when that generation all passed away they also lived in
the second century of the Christian era, and ministered to the ancient
inhabitants on this land. And when the second century had all passed
off the stage of action they also lived in the third century; and in
the fourth century the Lord took these three men from the midst of the
remnant of Israel on this land. Where did he take them? I do not know,
it is not revealed. Why did he take them away? Because of the apostasy
of the people, because the people were unworthy of the ministration of
such great and holy men; because they sought to kill them; because
they cast them into dens of wild beasts twice; and these men of God
played with these wild beasts as a child would play with a suckling
lamb, and received no harm from them. They cast them three times into
a furnace of fire, and they came forth therefrom and received no hurt.
They dug deep pits in the earth and cast them therein, supposing that
they would perish; but by the power of the word of God that was in
them, they smote the earth in the name of the Lord, and were delivered
from these pits. And thus they went forth performing signs, wonders
and miracles among this remnant of Israel, until their wickedness
became so great that the Lord commanded them to depart out of their
midst. And the remnant of Israel, from that day to the present—between
fourteen and fifteen centuries—have been dwindling in unbelief, in
ignorance, and in all the darkness which now surrounds them; but
notwithstanding their darkness and misery, the three Nephites, for
many generations, have not administered to them, because of the
commandment of the Almighty to them.
But are they always to remain silent? Are there no more manifestations
to come from these three men? Are they never again to remember the
remnants of the House of Israel on this land? Let us read the promise.
"Behold, I was about to write the names of those who were never to
taste of death, but the Lord forbade; therefore I write them not, for
they are hid from the world. But behold I have seen them." Mormon saw
them nearly four centuries after they were caught up into heaven, and
after they received their partial change. Mormon saw them and they
administered unto him. He says—"Behold, I have seen them, and they have ministered unto me. And behold they will be among the
Gentiles, and the Gentiles shall know them not." They will, no doubt,
call them poor deluded Mormons, and say that they ought to be hooted
out of society, and that they ought to be persecuted, afflicted, and
hated by all people. "They will be among the Gentiles and the Gentiles
shall know them not. They will also be among the Jews, and the Jews shall
know them not. And it shall come to pass when the Lord seeth fit in
his wisdom that they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of
Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall
bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be
fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in
them. And they are as the angels of God, and if they shall pray unto
the Father in the name of Jesus they can show themselves unto
whatsoever man it seemeth them good. Therefore, great and marvelous
works shall be wrought by them, before the great and coming day when
all people must surely stand before the judgment seat of Christ; Yea
even among the Gentiles shall there be a great and a marvelous work
wrought by them, before that judgment day."
Now, having read these things, let us come back again to this
spiritual movement that we hear of among the remnants of Jacob, in
these western deserts, in the northwest hundreds of miles, in the
west and in the southwest. It is not confined to hundreds, but
thousands testify that men have appeared individually in dreams,
speaking their own language and, as Brother Hyde said last Tuesday,
these men tell their descendants what their duties are, what they
should do, and how they should hunt up this people, repent of their
sins, be bap tized, etc. And the parties who have been thus instructed
time and time again, have fulfilled the commandments that they
received, and some of them have come hundreds of miles to be baptized,
and they are now desirous of laying aside their savage disposition,
their roaming habits, and they want to learn to cultivate the earth,
to lay down their weapons of war, cease stealing and to become a
peaceable good people.
The work thus commenced will not stop here. The Book of Mormon
says—"When thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a
sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath
already commenced unto the fulfilling of his covenant which he hath
made with his people who are of the House of Israel." This remnant,
the American Indians, do not comprise all Israel, they are but a small
remnant of one single tribe, namely the descendants of that Joseph who
was carried into Egypt. Away in yonder north countries, where I do not
know, but away in those regions are ten tribes of the house of Israel.
How do you know they are in the north country? Because this Bible has
told us that in the latter days they should come out of the north
country, and if they were not in the north country they could not come
from there. Jeremiah says in his thirty-first chapter—"Behold I will
bring them from the north, the blind and the lame with them, and the
woman with child; they shall come, a great company out of the north
countries." Where will they go to? Will they go immediately to
Palestine, where they formerly had their inheritance? No. Jeremiah
tells us where they will go; he tells us there is to be a place called
Zion before these tribes come out of the north countries, and when
they come with a great company, the blind and the lame with
them, and the Lord God leads them with supplication and with tears and
with prayers, bringing them forth from those dreary, desolate, cold
arctic regions: when that day shall come there shall be a Zion
prepared to receive these ten tribes, before they finally go back to
Palestine. Is there anything in the Scriptures about this? Yes. In the
same chapter of Jeremiah we read that "they shall come and sing in the
height of Zion." Zion, then, will have to be built up before they
come; Zion will have to be reared somewhere and prepared to receive
them; and it will be a holy place, and it will be a holy people who
will build up Zion, so much so that the Lord will bring these ten
tribes in to the height of Zion, into the midst of it.
What will then take place? They shall flow together to the goodness of
the Lord, for the wheat, the wine, the oil, for the young of the
flock; their souls shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not
sorrow anymore at all. Why? Because they have got among a good
people, where there is no need to sorrow; they have come up into a
land that is choice above all other lands, a land that brings forth
wheat, and grapes for the producing of wine, where flocks, herds, &c.,
are multiplied, and their souls will be like a watered garden, and all
the sorrows they have experienced for twenty-five hundred years, in
the cold regions of the north, will be done away; and they will not
sorrow anymore at all.
This same thing is predicted in the sixteenth chapter, as well as in
the thirty-first of Jeremiah. The Lord says in the sixteenth
chapter—"Behold the days shall come when it shall no more be said the
Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of
Egypt;" but instead of that saying, there will be another more
glorious saying, namely, that "the Lord liveth who brought up the
children of Israel from the north country, and from all other
countries whither he has driven them." But will that do away the
former saying—"The Lord liveth who brought up Israel out of the land
of Egypt?" Yes. Some may suppose that as the Jews retain that saying
to this day it never would be done away. The Jews, wherever they may
be scattered, whether in Christian lands, or among the heathens where
they are anxious to convert them to idolatry, say, "We worship that
God who brought up our fathers out of the land of Egypt, and wrought
signs, wonders and mighty deeds in bringing them forth, leading them
through the waters of the mighty deep into the Promised Land,
Palestine." But notwithstanding they have retained this saying, it
will be one day done away, superseded by the manifestations of God's
power in bringing Israel from the north country and all other
countries whither they have been scattered, and gathering them to
their own land. The Israel of the latter day has got to cross the sea
dry-shod, just as ancient Israel did. It is thus predicted in the
eleventh chapter of Isaiah. After saying that the Lord would lift up
an ensign for the nations, he declares, "I will gather the outcasts of
Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth,
and I will cause them to pass through the river in its seven streams,
and I will smite the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and an highway shall
be cast up unto Israel that was left from Assyria, like as it was to
Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt." They shall go over
dry-shod. They will not have to refer back three or four
thousand years to the miracles wrought anciently by the God they
worship, but they will tell of things wrought in their own day, which
have taken place while they themselves live. "The Lord liveth that
brought up Israel out of the north country; the Lord liveth who, in
our day, smote the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and also the river Nile
in its seven mouths; the Lord liveth who, in our day, cast up a
highway in the midst of the great deep, for his chosen to come over."
Now I will quote a parallel prophecy, delivered to Joseph Smith, one
of the greatest Prophets who has lived on the earth in any generation,
save it be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some forty-three years
ago, in speaking of the lost ten tribes of Israel, the Lord says—"They
who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the
Lord; and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer
stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall
flow down at their presence. And an highway shall be cast up in the
midst of the great deep. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them,
And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living
water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land. And
they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of
Ephraim, my servants. And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall
tremble at their presence." To show that they come with power, they
come on a highway cast up for them; the ice feels the power of God and
flows down, making room for them; and the barren deserts of the north,
wherever they may go and need water, will yield forth pools of living
water to quench their thirst. As they come to sing in the height of
Zion, the everlasting hills, this great Rocky Mountain range,
extending from the arctic regions south to the central portions of
America, will tremble beneath the power of God at the approach of that
people. Then will be fulfilled the saying of David, that the mountains
shall skip like rams, and the little hills like lambs, before his
people. The very trees of the field will clap like hands, as the
Psalmist David has said. Then will be fulfilled the passage that was
quoted yesterday by brother Woodruff—"Sing O heavens, be joyful O
earth, and break forth into singing O mountains, for the Lord hath
redeemed his people," &c. And when they get to Zion they will begin to
say—"The place is too strait for me, give place to me that I may
dwell;" then the saying will go forth—"Behold I was a captive. Zion
was a captive, moving to and fro, tossed to and fro, and not
comforted. Behold I was left alone." But where have this great company
been, where has this mighty host come from? They have come from their
hiding place in the north country; they have been led thence by the
Prophets of the Most High God, the Lord going before their camp,
talking with them out of the cloud, as he talked in ancient days with
the camp of Israel, uttering his voice before his army, for his camp
will be very great. So says the Prophet Joel, and his prophecy will
be fulfilled. When they return to Zion to sing in the height thereof,
"They will fall down there and be crowned with glory by the hands of
the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim."
Now what does this mean? A people that have had such mighty power, a
people before whose camp the Lord of hosts has been seen, and his
glory by day and by night; a people before whom the mountains
and the hills tremble and flee; shall a people of that description
fall down and be crowned by another people? Who are this other people,
that is, these highly favored children of Ephraim? What particular
blessing has the Lord for Ephraim? He holds the birthright. "Ephraim
is my firstborn," saith the Lord in the 31st chapter of Jeremiah. The
firstborn in the great latter-day work, holding the keys of blessings
for all the twelve tribes of Israel. God has an order in his kingdom.
Certain blessings can be received in one way; other blessings are
ordained to be received in another form, by certain authorities that
are appointed, and who hold the keys pertaining to these blessings.
God did not take away the birthright of Reuben, the firstborn of
Israel, and transfer it to the heads of the sons of Joseph for a
purpose that was of no particular account; but he transferred the
birthright from Reuben to Joseph that they might hold it as the
firstborn among all the tribes of Israel, to bless them in the latter
days.
How long will they who come from the north countries tarry in the
heights of Zion? Some time. They have got to raise wheat, cultivate the
grape, wine and oil, raise flocks and herds, and their souls will have
to become as a watered garden. They will dwell in Zion a good while,
and during that time, there will be twelve thousand chosen out of each
of these ten tribes, besides twelve thousand that will be chosen from
Judah, Joseph, and the remaining tribes, one hundred and forty-four
thousand in all. Chosen for what? To be sealed in their foreheads. For
what purpose? So that the power of death and pestilence and plague
that will go forth in those days sweeping over the nations of the
earth will have no power over them. These parties who are sealed in
their foreheads will go forth among all people, nations and tongues,
and gather up and hunt out the house of Israel, wherever they are
scattered, and bring as many as they possibly can into the Church of
the firstborn, preparatory to the great day of the coming of the
Lord. One hundred and forty-four thousand missionaries! Quite a host.
All this has got to take place. There are persons in this congregation
who will be in the midst of Zion, when the ten tribes come to Zion
from the north countries, and will assist in bestowing the blessings
promised by the Almighty upon the heads of the tribes of Israel. There
are servants of God in the midst of this congregation who will lay
their hands upon many of each of these twelve thousand, chosen out of
the ten tribes, and set them apart as missionaries to visit the
nations of the earth and hunt up the remnants of the seed of Jacob.
Having spoken concerning the gathering of the ten tribes, I will refer
again to their Prophets. "Their Prophets shall hear his voice." Do not
think that we are the only people who will have Prophets. God is
determined to raise up Prophets among that people, but he will not
bestow upon them all the fulness of the blessings of the Priesthood.
The fulness will be reserved to be given to them after they come to
Zion. But Prophets will be among them while in the north, and a
portion of the Priesthood will be there; and John the Revelator will
be there, teaching, instructing and preparing them for this great
work; for to him were given the keys for the gathering of Israel, at
the time when he ate that little book while on the Isle of Patmos. At
that time, John was a very old man; but the Lord told him that he must yet prophesy before many kingdoms, and nations, and peoples,
and tongues, and he has got that mission to perform, and in the last
days the spirit and power of Elias will attend his administrations
among these ten tribes, and he will assist in preparing them to return
to this land. Whether missionaries will be sent from Zion to hunt up
these dispersed tribes in the north I do not know; but one thing I do
know, from that which is reported by those who have tried to find a
passage to the pole, that there is a warmer country off there, and
that birds of passage go north to find a warmer climate. That I know
from the writings of intelligent men who have been on voyages of
discovery. And I know, furthermore, that they have crossed by means of
dogs and sledges a certain portion of this great band of ice and have
come to an open sea, which proves that there is a warmer country
further north. There is a tract of country around the pole, some seven
or eight hundred miles in diameter, that no man among the nations
that we are acquainted with, has ever explored. But how much of that
land may be fit for habitation I am not prepared to say, for I do not
know. I know it would be a very easy matter for the Lord God, by the
aid of great mountain ranges encircling them around about, to produce
a band of ice which would prevent other nations and people very easily
reaching them. I also know that it would be a very easy matter for the
Lord God to cause deep and extensive valleys, very deep in comparison
with high ranges of mountains around them, where the temperature would
be comparatively mild, the same as in these mountains here. We see all
the rigors of an arctic winter on our eastern ranges of mountains,
while at the same time here are deep valleys in which there is a
comparatively warm climate, which makes me think of that which was
spoken by the mouth of Isaiah the Prophet in referring to the
latter-day work. He says that "when it shall hail, coming down upon
the forests, the city shall be low in a low place," where the climate
is warm.
Let me say a few more words in regard to certain things that have
already taken place, predicted in the Book of Mormon by our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, when he appeared on this western hemisphere and
taught this remnant of Israel. He told them of certain events which
should transpire before the remnants of Joseph should be converted. He
says—"Verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep which are
not of this land" —meaning America—"neither of the land of
Jerusalem,
neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to
minister. For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice;
neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them. But I have
received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that
they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and
one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them." After leaving
this continent, he went to the lost tribes and placed one measure of
leaven in the meal that was in that country, having already planted a
little leaven among the Jews at Jerusalem, and another little portion
of leaven here in America, after which he goes to the lost tribes, and
plants leaven in the third mess of meal, and left it to work. He
says—"I command you that ye shall write these sayings after I am
gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen
me and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost,
and also of the other tribes which they know not of, these sayings
which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the
Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of
their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because
of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge
of me, their Redeemer. And then will I gather them in from the four
quarters of the earth; and I will fulfill the covenant which the
Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel."
Now I want you to take particular notice of the following paragraph,
or a portion of it, which I will read. "But wo, saith the Father,
unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles" —having reference more
particularly to the Gentiles of this great nation—"for notwithstanding
they have come forth upon the face of this land, and have scattered my
people who are of the house of Israel; and my people who are of the
house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been
trodden under foot by them; And because of the mercies of the Father
unto the Gentiles, and the judgments of the Father upon my people who
are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after
all this, and I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel
to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast
out from among them" —just as our forefathers have done for two or
three generations past in smiting, destroying, casting out and driving
the poor American Indians—"thus commanded the Father that I should say
unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my
gospel" —meaning sinning against this fulness of the Gospel, that is
the Book of Mor mon, when it shall be sent forth in the latter
days—"when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall be
lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the
whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits,
and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and
priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they
shall do all these things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel,
behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from
among them."
This prophecy has been fulfilled. It was delivered and in print before
there was any Latter-day Saint Church in existence. Now how did Joseph
Smith, a farmer's boy, know naturally anything about the Lord's taking
this work—the Book of Mormon—and this people who believe in the
fullness of the Gospel and the bringing of them out from this Gentile
nation to these solitary regions? How did he know this so far back as
the year 1830? How did he know this before the Church was organized
with six members? Yet it has all come to pass. How unlikely it was for
such a thing to come to pass, if there was no God in it! If the
Gentiles should reject this Gospel which the Lord has brought forth by
his power; "and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above
all nations, peoples, kindreds and tongues, and shall be filled with
all manner of lyings, deceits, mischiefs, hypocrisy, murders and
whoredoms, and shall reject the fulness of my Gospel, Behold, saith
the Father, I will bring the fulness of my Gospel from among them."
For twenty-seven years the Lord has been fulfilling this directly
before the eyes of all this nation. Little did they think when they
came upon us in Nauvoo, and drove us out from our homes and
firesides and told us to flee away beyond this great chain of rocky
mountains, that they were fulfilling this great prophecy uttered
before this people had an existence. "I will bring the fulness of my
Gospel from among them;" and mark the next sentence—"and then I will
remember my covenant." When? When he gets the people out from the
midst of this nation. "Then I will remember my covenant which I made
unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my Gospel unto
them." Has it been fulfilled? Yes. It is over a quarter of a century
since the Lord brought us out, and laid a foundation for us to live
here; and we have been enabled by his power to erect towns villages
and cities, to open up farms, and begin to live, and we have got a
broad foundation laid; and now, the next thing is—"I will bring the
fulness of my Gospel unto thee, O house of Israel;" that is, unto the
Indians; in other words—they shall come unto a knowledge of the
fulness of my Gospel. "Yet if the Gentiles will repent and return unto
me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people,
the house of Israel."
That is the only hope that we Gentiles have. No hope for us whatever,
no hope for this great and powerful nation, only by being numbered
with these poor, degraded, despised, outcast, dark, and benighted
Indians. Are you willing to be numbered with them? In what respect?
Not to come down to their customs and habits, their uncleanness,
filth, wickedness, darkness and ignorance; but be numbered with them
in the inheritance of this great continent, which was given to them by
promise, the same as Palestine was given to Abraham and Isaac. God
gave it by the mouth of Jacob, who pronounced it upon the head of his
son Joseph, it was promised that he should have a separate land from
that given to Abraham and Isaac. Read it in the 49th chapter of
Genesis. The Lord gave North and South America to these Indians,
nearly six hundred years before Christ. And he promised that the
Gentiles, in the latter days, who should come upon the face of this
land, if they would repent when this Gospel should come forth unto
them, they should have the privilege of receiving their inheritance in
common with this remnant of Israel—these Indians. But if they did not
repent there is another decree. And what is that? "They shall be
utterly cut off from among my people." Thus it is predicted and you
have read it for forty-five years. In another place the Lord says—"If
they will not repent, behold I will cut off the cities of their land,
I will throw down all their strongholds, and I will cut off their
horses out of the midst of them, and I will execute vengeance and fury
upon them such as they have not heard of." In another place, which I
have not time to turn to and read, it says—"And it shall come to pass
that every soul that will not repent of their sins and come unto my
beloved son, will I cut off from among my people, O, house of Israel,
and it shall be done unto them even as Moses has said, they shall be
cut off from among my people."
Now Moses has told us of that time, and it is repeated again in the
3rd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, that the Lord would raise up
a Prophet, and it should come to pass that every soul that would not
hear that Prophet should be cut off from among the people. We are told
that that Prophet was Jesus, and we believe it. Jesus Christ was that
Pro phet, and the day is to come, as sure as the Lord lives in
yonder heavens, when every soul that will not repent, and receive his
work, will be literally cut off from among the people, just as Moses
has predicted. And it shall come to pass that "kings shall shut their
mouths, for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that
which they have not heard shall they behold," a marvelous work and a
wonder, a work that the Lord would perform in the latter days. A
strange work, a strange act, so-called by Isaiah the Prophet.
O that I had time to go into the numerous prophecies in the Book of
Mormon, and point out the desolations that are to come upon this
nation and this generation, if they do not repent! But every jot and
every tittle that has not been fulfilled since the coming forth of the
Book of Mormon, will be fulfilled to the very letter. Zion will arise,
clothed with the glory of her God; the Lord will be her defense; he
will be her shield and her buckler; and the power of his own right
hand will protect his people. And it shall come to pass that every
nation, and every kindred and tongue and people that will fight
against the people of God, and against his Zion, will perish out of
the earth, and all nations that "fight against Mount Zion shall become
as the dream of a night vision. Like a hungry man who dreams and
thinks that he eats, but he wakes and his soul has appetite;" so, in
the latter days, it shall be with not only one nation but all the
nations that fight against Mount Zion. God has stretched forth his
hand to exert the powers of the heavens, and he will fulfill and
accomplish his work; and there is no power beneath the heavens that
can stay his almighty hand. Amen.