A terrible revolution will take place in the land of America, such as has never been seen before; for the land will be literally left without a supreme government, and every species of wickedness will run rampant. Father will be against son, and son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against mother. The most ter-[62]rible scenes of murder and bloodshed, and rapine that have ever been looked upon will take place. ...Many will come with bundles under their arms to escape the calamities, and there will be no escape except by fleeing to Zion. *** While the terrible revolution of which I have spoken has been going on, England will be neutral until it becomes so inhuman that she will interfere to stop the shedding of blood. ...During this time the great White Horse will have gathered strength sending out Elders to gather the honest in heart among the Pale Horse, or people of the United States, to stand by the Constitution of the United States, as it was given by inspiration of God. *** Peace and safety in the Rocky Mountains will be protected by a cordon band of the White Horse and the Red Horse. (Visions of the Latter Days, p. 50-51) President Wilford Woodruff related a vision given to him which portrayed the poor and pitiful condition of those who were fleeing for protection: ...The next I knew I was just this side of Omaha. It seemed as though I was above the earth, and looking down at it. As I passed along upon my way east, I saw the road full of people, mostly women, with just what they could carry in bundles on their backs traveling to the mountains on foot. ...Everywhere I went I saw the same scenes of horror and destruction. [63] ...I supposed this was the end, but no, I was given to understand that the same horrors were being enacted all over the country--East, West, North, South. (Prophetic Years, by Anderson, p. 54) This could be the time which the Prophet Isaiah was describing when he said, Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war, and in that day seven women shall take hold of one man. After this destruction, the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel, where there will be a dwelling place of mount Zion and a place of refuge. (see Isaiah 3:25 and 4:1-6) Some of the modern leaders in Israel have thought that this nation would not fall. But the early leaders and prophets of the Church have clearly described the destruction and collapse of this nation: ...I prophesy in the name of the Lord God of Israel, unless the United States redress the wrongs committed Upon the Saints in the state of Missouri and punish the crimes committed by her officers that in a few years the government will be utterly overthrown and wasted, and there will not be so much as a potsherd left, for their wickedness in permitting the murder of men, women and children, and the wholesale plunder and extermination of thousands of her citizens to go unpunished. (Joseph Smith, T.P.J.S., pp. 302-303) * * * Joseph said that if they succeeded in taking his life, which they did, war and con-[64]fusion would come upon the nation, and they would destroy each other, and there would be mob upon mob from one end of the country to the other. (Brigham Young, J.D. 10:255) * * * The nation that kills the prophets of God in any age must expect to reap cursings instead of blessings, unless it speedily repent. Judgment must begin at the house of God first, and we are perfectly willing it should. I told General Kane that the Government of the United States would be shivered to pieces. (Brigham Young, J.D. 12:119) * * * When I contemplate the condition of our nation, and see that wickedness and abominations are increasing, so much so that the whole heavens groan and weep over the abominations of this nation and the nations of the earth, I ask myself the question, can the American nation escape? The answer comes, No; its destruction, as well as the destruction of the world, is sure; just as sure as the Lord cut off and destroyed the two great and prosperous nations that once inhabited this continent of North and South America because of their wickedness, so will he them destroy; and sooner or later they will reap the fruits of their own wicked acts, and be numbered among the past. (Wilford Woodruff, J.D. 21:301) The Doctrine and Covenants also tells of the nations fall and of the destructions preceding it: [65] And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations;... (D. & C. 87:6) When a people or nation have been warned of destructions but refuse the warning, they will have less chance of survival than those who have not had the warning. Those who reject the message to gather may deserve destruction with the unbelievers. Disobedience is a worse sin than disbelief. Those who have been enlightened in relation to this work and wilfully linger, slothfully delaying the time of their departure to the ark of safety, must run the risk of perishing in the midst of the coming ruin, for those who persistently put off the day of salvation have no promise of protection. (Mill. Star 42:441) The counsel the Lord has given is always the wisest to follow--and when He said the Saints should gather to Zion, it may prove to be the means of saving lives. Consider the following story which may have occurred many times in many similar circumstances. A Latter-day Saint family living in Germany refused to accept the leaders advice to stay in their native land. Even though the family was large and very poor, the eight members (including six unmarried children) set their faces to the West. They cut their expenses to the bone, dedicated their efforts [66] to the Lord, and concentrated on one thought--gathering with the Saints in Utah. First the two sons came and then a daughter. Their combined efforts finally brought the five other members to Zion. Later all of the children were well fed, well clothed and happily married. Then war broke out and this family received word from their Fatherland that the city they had left--and where some of their relatives had remained--had been bombed to rubble. Scarcely a building remained and only a few people survived. Those that escaped remained the victims of famine, disease, a continuation of life with war and its atrocities, and many times an early death. Those survivors who remained in their native land did so in opposition to the revelations of the Lord, but in accordance to the advice of the present leadership of the Church. When the Saints have been warned of coming dangers and told to gather for safety, they have no premise of safety if they disobey. The calamities which the Lord foretold should fall upon the wicked inhabitants of the earth in the last days have been of a most fearful character. There should be earthquakes, tempests, pestilence, famine, war. How could His children escape if they lived scattered over the face of the earth? Foreseeing these dangers, the Lord instituted the gathering of His people from all lands, that they might stand in holy places, and not be moved. (Mill. Star 60:350) President Brigham Young signifies the time when millions would be gathered into these mountain valleys. Notice that at this same time many Saints would be caught in a scattered condition. [67] An inland Empire will be established in these valleys of the mountains, which will be a place of refuge for millions of people to gather to, when the great day of the judgment of God comes upon the earth, and the righteous come here for safety. Our people will go East, West, North and South, but the day will come when they will be glad to come back. We will be shut out from the rest of the world. (Prophecies of Brigham Young, by Pyramid Press, p. 4) * * * Previous to the death of Joseph, he said that the time would come when the SAINTS would be glad to take a bundle, if they should get one, under their arms and start to the mountains, and that they would flee there, and that if they could pick up a change of linen they would be glad to start with that, and to go into the wilderness with anything, in order to escape from the destruction that is coming on the inhabitants of the earth. (J.D. 4:203) The principle of gathering is difficult for many Saints to obey. They are wrapped in a sense of false security by believing that God will protect them in Babylon when it falls. The subject and practice of Gathering is a great stumbling block to many who make but a partial investigation of the Gospel as revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith; for, say they, Cannot God save me as well in my native land, as in the land of America? Why is it necessary for me to leave the lands of my fathers, and take my journey to the wilds of a distant conti-[68]nent? Nothing is impossible with God, and he can save me just as well in one place as another! With these consoling reflections they quiet any feelings of uneasiness which may arise in their minds, caused by the signs of the times, or by the declarations of the servants of God. Doubtless the Lord could do many things which he never will, and there is one thing for certain he never intends doing--that is, to save a man who will not strive to save himself, by rendering obedience to the principles laid down in the Gospel. The doctrine of Gathering has been taught, to a greater or less extent, in every dispensation given to man. (Mill. Star 39:212) Warnings of coming destructions have been heard for over a century. The fears of approaching calamities are taking possession of all people, and the spirit of God is withdrawing from all nations. The gathering of Israel is one of the only means given by God for the safety and protection of His people. Those who gather to Zion have a greater guarantee of safety than those who reject this part of the Gospel and as a result will suffer with the wicked.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 09:59:04 +0000
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