A New Witness for God: History of the Mormon Church and the Book of Mormon. B. H. Roberts

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СКАЧАТЬ of the peculiar situation of the Saints it was deemed prudent to discontinue further labor on the house until the Lord should open the way for its completion. The apostles then took leave of some seventeen Saints who were present and started on their way to fulfill their missions beyond the Atlantic. Thus the commandment and prophecy which the mobs of Missouri so confidently boasted should fail, were fulfilled.

      In a revelation given in March, 1831, after telling some of the judgments and commotions which shall precede the glorious coming of the Lord Jesus, occurs this prophecy: "But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites [the American Indians] shall blossom as the rose. Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed."¹²

      In order to have a complete understanding of this prophecy it is necessary to explain that the word "Zion" refers not only to a land called Zion, and a city called Zion, but also to a people, as will be clearly seen in the above, where "Zion" is not only to rejoice upon the mountains, but is also to "be assembled together," which really could only be consistently said of a people. In another revelation the Lord says: "Let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion, the pure in heart; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn."¹³ With this explanation of the word "Zion" let us now consider the prophecy:

      First, then, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, Jacob, that is Israel, or descendants of Israel, shall flourish in the wilderness.

      Second, the American Indians shall blossom as the rose, that is, they will be in a blessed and happy condition.

      Third, Zion, the pure in heart, the Saints of God, shall flourish upon the hills, rejoice upon the mountains and shall be assembled together unto the place which the Lord has appointed.

      The parts of the prophecy which are in progress of fulfillment are the first and third items. Israel is flourishing in the wilderness, and Zion, or the Saints of God, who are also, for the most part, descendants of Israel gathered from among the Gentile nations are rejoicing upon the mountains; and though the Lamanites are not yet blossoming as the rose, neither has "the great day of the Lord" come; and before that day does come, this second item of the prophecy, referring to the Lamanites, will be fulfilled. Let it be borne in mind that the prophecy was uttered in March, 1831, long ere the Saints had so much as dreamed of settling in the Rocky Mountains.

      At this juncture I may be permitted to introduce another prophecy of Joseph Smith's relating to this same subject, and then consider the fulfillment of both at once.

      Under date of August 6th, 1842, the prophet records the following in his history: "Passed over to Montrose, Iowa, in company with General Adams, Colonel Brewer and others, and witnessed the installation of the officers of the Rising Sun Lodge of the Ancient York Masons, at Montrose, by General James Adams, deputy grand master of illinois. While the deputy grand master was engaged in giving the requisite instructions to the master elect, I had a conversation with a number of brethren, in the shade of the building, on the subject of our persecutions in Missouri, and the constant annoyance which has followed us since we were driven from that state. I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains, many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors, or lose their lives in consequence of exposure or disease; and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains.¹⁴"

      At that date, August 6th, 1842, the Rocky Mountains seemed like a country afar off to the people of Illinois. The Missouri River was the extreme frontiers of the United States. All beyond that was well nigh an unexplored wilderness filled with savages. The church was fairly settled at Nauvoo, the state authorities were apparently very friendly, the future of the Saints in Illinois seemed propitious. Yet in the midst of all these favorable circumstances the prophet predicted much affliction for some of the Saints, death from persecution for others, apostasy for many, and for the great body of the church an exodus to the Rocky Mountains, where some of those present who were listening to the prediction, should live to assist in making settlements and building cities in the Rocky Mountains where they would see the Saints become a mighty people.

      There can be no question as to the reality of these two predictions, the one of March, 1831, and the other of August, 1842, or of their being of a character to test the divine inspiration of him who uttered them. That they were proclaimed some years before the events predicted in them began to be fulfilled, or even there was any thought or prospect of such events taking place, is well known; that the latter prophecy has been fulfilled to the uttermost, the whole history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from August, 1842, until now witnesses. The Saints suffered many afflictions in Illinois. Their homes, fields, stacks of grain, stock and other property were destroyed; their prophets and a number of others were killed outright by mob violence; many more perished from exposure and disease occasioned by being driven from their homes at an inclement season of the year. In those trying times, following the martyrdom of the prophet and the expulsion from Nauvoo, many turned away from the faith, and it is too generally known to need comment, that the great body of the church made its way to the Rocky Mountains, where cities, towns and villages have been founded, the wilderness subdued, and the Saints are fast becoming a mighty people.

      Footnotes

      1. Doc. and Cov., Sec. xi: 1-4. See also Sec. iv, Sec. vi, Sec. xii, and Sec. xiv, where the same prophecy is repeated.

      2. Doc. and Cov., Sec. ciii, 5-14.

      3. Holes dug in the ground and covered over with brush and earth.

      4. 1895.

      5. A stake of Zion is a division of the church comprised of several ecclesiastical wards; and is presided over by a presidency consisting of three high priests.

      6. The language of General Clark was: "As for your leaders, do not once think—do not imagine for a moment—do not let it enter your mind that they will be delivered, or that you will see their faces again; for their fate is fixed—their die is cast—their doom is sealed."—Autob. P. P. Pratt, p. 266.

      7. Pratt's Autob., p. 210.

      8. Mill. Star, Vol. xvii, p. 85; also, Doc. and Cov., Sec. cxxii.

      9. A temple site had been selected at Far West and an excavation made for the foundation. It is this "spot" that the revelation refers. The excavation for the temple at Far West still remains, or did in 1884, when the writer visited it.

      10. Doc. and Cov., Sec. cxviii.

      11. One of the leaders of the mob forces by the name of Bogart, referring to this revelation, said to Elder Theodore Turley: "As a rational man, you must give up the claim that Joseph Smith is a prophet and an inspired man; the Twelve are scattered all over creation; let them come here if they dare; if they do they will be murdered. As that revelation cannot be fulfilled, you must now give up your faith. This is like all the rest of Joseph Smith's damned prophecies!" (Cannon's Life of the Prophet, p. 285.)

      12. Doc. and Cov. Sec. xlix: 24, 25.

      13. Doc. and Cov. Sec. xcvii: 21.

      14. Mill. Star, Vol. xix, p. 630.

      CHAPTER XXII.

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