A Voice of Warning by Parley P. Pratt (read aloud books .txt) 📕

    Behold! the mount of Olives rent in twain:
    While on its top He sets His feet again,
    The islands, at His word, obedient, flee;
    While to the north He rolls the mighty sea;
    Restores the earth in one, as at the first,
    With all its blessings, and removes the curse.

Having restored the earth to the same glorious state in which it first existed—leveling the mountains, exalting the valleys, smoothing the rough places, making the deserts fruitful, and bringing all the continents and islands together, causing the curse to be taken off, that noxious weeds, and thorns, and thistles shall no longer be produced; the next thing is to regulate and restore the brute creation to their former state of peace and glory, causing all enmity to cease from off the earth. But this will never be done until there is a general destruction poured out upon man, which will entirely cleanse the earth, and sweep all wickedness from its face. This will be done by the rod of His mouth, and by the breath of His lips; or, in other words, by fire as universal as the flood. Isaiah xi, 4, 6-9: "But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion, and the falling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."

Thus, having cleansed the earth, and glorified it with the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea, and having poured out His Spirit upon all flesh, both man and beast becoming perfectly harmless, as they were in the beginning, and feeding on vegetable food only, while nothing is left to hurt or destroy in all the vast creation, the Prophets then proceed to give us many glorious descriptions of the enjoyments of its inhabitants. "They shall build houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them; they shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blest of the Lord, and their offspring with them; and it shall come to pass, that before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear." In this happy state of existence it seems that all people will live to the full age of a tree, and this, too, without pain or sorrow, and whatsoever they ask will be immediately answered, and even all their wants will be anticipated. Of course, then, none of them will sleep in the dust, for they will prefer to be translated, that is, changed in the twinkling of an eye, from mortal to immortal; after which they will continue to reign with Jesus on the earth.

Thus we have traced the Prophets through the varying scenes which conspire to restore the earth, and its inhabitants, to that state of perfection in which they first existed, and in which they will exist during the great Sabbath of creation. Having seen all things restored among the living, we will now inquire after those who sleep in the dust; but, in order to understand precisely the nature of their restoration, we must ascertain the particulars concerning the resurrection of Jesus, for He was an exact pattern after which all His Saints will be raised. We recollect, first, that he was clothed upon with flesh, and blood, and bones, like another man, and every way subject to hunger, thirst, pain, weariness, sickness, and death, like any other person—with this difference, that He was capable of enduring more than any other human body. Second, this same body was hung upon the cross, torn with nails, which were driven through His hands and feet, and His side pierced with a spear, from which there came out blood and water. Third, this same body, being perfectly lifeless, like any other corpse, was taken, without a bone being broken, and carefully wrapped in linen and laid in the tomb, where it continued until the third day; when, early in the morning, the women came to the sepulchre, and His disciples also, and found the linen clothes lying useless, and the napkin which was about His head carefully folded and laid by itself, but the body which had lain there was gone.

From all these circumstances, we discover that the same flesh and bones which were laid in the tomb were actually re-animated, and did arise and lay aside the linen which was no longer needed. And Jesus Christ came forth triumphant from the mansions of the dead, possessing the same body which had been born of a woman, and which was crucified; but no blood flowed in His veins, for blood was the natural life, in which were the principles of mortality, and a man restored to flesh and blood would be mortal, and, consequently, again subject unto death, which was not the case with our Savior, although He had flesh and bones after He arose, for when He appeared to His disciples, and they were afraid, supposing it was only a spirit, in order to show them their mistake, He said: "Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." And calling for something to eat, He was provided with a piece of broiled fish and honeycomb, and He did eat. And even afterwards, Thomas was invited to put his finger into the prints of the nails in His hands and feet, and to thrust his hand into His side, from which it was evident that He not only possessed the same body, but the same wounds also continued to show themselves for a witness, and will continue until He comes again, when the Jews will look upon Him whom they have pierced, and inquire, "What are these wounds in thy hands and in thy feet?"

O ye hard hearted, ye ungodly children of men! your eyes will very soon behold Him who was crucified for your sins; then shall ye see that the resurrection of the dead is a reality, something tangible, and that eternity is not a land of shades, nor a world of phantoms, as some suppose.

Among other things which Jesus did after the resurrection, we find Him in the humble attitude of broiling fish, and calling His disciples to come and dine. O what simplicity, what love, what condescension! Wonder, O heavens! Be astonished, O earth! Behold the Redeemer clothed upon with immortality, and yet seated by a fire of coals, in the open air, with His brethren, humbly partaking of a meal of fish, actually prepared by His own hands! O ye great and noble of the earth, who roll in luxury and refinement! O ye priests, who are loaded with the honors, titles, dignities, riches, and splendor of the world, here is a lesson for you, which will make you blush: boast no more of being followers of the meek and lowly Jesus!

But to return to the subject of the resurrection. Having proved to a demonstration, that our Savior rose from the dead, with the same body which was crucified—possessing flesh and bones, that He ate and drank with His disciples, it puts the matter forever at rest respecting the resurrection of the Saints. But if more proof were wanting, we have it in the prophecy of Job, quoted in a former part of this work, where he declares that his Redeemer will stand, in the latter-day, upon the earth, and he should see Him in the flesh, though worms should destroy the body which he then had. The fact is, the Saints will again receive their bodies, every joint being in its proper and perfect frame, and clothed upon with flesh, sinews, and skin, like as we now are; the whole being immortal, no more to see corruption, and clothed with a white robe of fine linen, suitable for immortality to wear. Well did the Apostle say, In heaven we have a more enduring substance (not shadow).

But in order to illustrate this subject still farther, we will carefully examine Ezekiel xxxvii, which we have touched upon before. In this vision, the Prophet is carried away in the Spirit, and a valley of dry bones is presented before him, and they are very numerous and very dry; and while he stands musing and contemplating the awful scene, a very wonderful question is proposed to him: "Son of man, can these dry bones live?" and he answered: "O Lord God, thou knowest." And the Lord said: "Son of man, prophesy upon these bones, and say, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." So he prophesied as he was commanded, and, as he prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone, and the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them. And again he prophesied to the winds, saying: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live;" and the breath entered into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army. We have heard many comments upon this vision; some compare it to sinners being converted, and some to the body of Christ, the Church, when dead as to the spiritual gifts; but the Church becoming dead, can no longer be said to be the body of Christ, as when she abides in the true vine, she lives and bears fruit, and is not dead, and when she does not abide in Him, she is cut off as a branch withered, and burned, instead of rising again. But did you ever hear the Lord's own explanation of this vision, in the same chapter? It so far surpasses all other comments, I am inclined to believe it; I will therefore write it in preference to any other, and run the risk of becoming unpopular by so doing. The Lord says: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore, prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live; and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." Thus you have the whole vision unfolded plainly, if the Lord's authority can once be allowed, which is seldom the case in this age of wisdom and learning. The fact is, all the seed of Israel are to be raised from the dead, and are to be brought into the land of Israel, which was given to them for an everlasting inheritance. And in order to do this, their old dry bones are to be brought together, bone to its bone, and every part of their bodies is to be reinstated; and it will make a great noise, and a wonderful shaking when they come together; and surely when they stand upon their feet they will make an exceeding great army.

This just explains the promise, so oft repeated in Scripture: "My servant David shall be their prince for ever;" indeed this same chapter makes the promise to them, that His servant David shall be raised up, and