1. Mankind, by disobedience to Me,
their God and Creator, have strayed far, very far from that way in which I intended their
feet should walk; and from that work in which I wished to have them engaged, while on
their short pilgrimage through time.
2. But, that man might not be as a
mere machine, deprived of the power of volition, or free agency, I placed him, when
created, in a peculiar situation or state of trial, and knowing the great weakness to
which he would be exposed, I gave him a solemn charge, concerning the dangers that lay in
his way; and that the most fatal consequences would ensue, should he persist in acts of
disobedience to that course which I had then instructed him to pursue. Having done this, I
left him to prove his fidelity and true obedience to my word.
3. But the irrational or animal
propensities, which is the inferior part, [through the serpent,] soon overruled his right
reason, and placed upon him strong bands, which held him in bondage to the law of sin and
death; and having polluted his seed, by acts of disobedience, the curse which followed,
and rested upon him, by increasing the inordinate and beastly passions of lust, which
never could be satisfied, had now become so strongly attached to the sensitive powers of
the mind, which now were bent on gratification, [that they] could never be removed, short
of a full cross being borne, against every propensity pertaining to that nature.
4. And by the influence of this
degraded and beastly propensity, (which never was, and never will be necessary for the
sake or procreation,) mankind, as a body, from the earliest ages , to the present day,
have been exalted in their own imaginations, inflated with pride and vanity to that degree
and extent, that I suffered their hearts to become hardened, their ears to become deaf,
and their eyes to become blind; for they had chosen their own way, therefore I did suffer
their delusion, saith the God of Heaven.
5. Not that it was my choice, but a
choice that they themselves had made, in open and willful rebellion against all the
fatherly and kind entreaties which I had sent forth to them, through messengers of my own
preparing.
6. Do not the records of eternal
justice and truth, declare this against you, O inhabitants of earth? Do not the countless
millions now groaning in chains and fetters of darkness, bound in eternity, witness this
truth?
7. The eternal record before my
throne, which shall bring a just reward to every human creature, declareth and sealeth
this solemn truth; your own way you have pursued, and not the way of your God.
8. Your own plans of salvation you
have embraced, and not the plans of your God. Your own paths you have pursued, and in them
your feet have been swift to shed blood; these are not the paths of your Creator God.
9. All forms, all creeds and systems
of religion that have been established by the sword, or supported by the force of arms,
are of man's own invention, that the life of that beastly nature, (after which the whole
world, from its creation to the present day, have wandered,) might be spared and kept
alive. It never emanated from my holy spirit, saith the God of Heaven; but frail and
mortal man, in his bigoted and darkened condition, hath invented it, and practiced the
same.
10. Hearken, all ye nations, and
give ear, O ye people of the earth, saith the Lord your God. Can you answer these
questions? Have your souls found that which saves you from committing sin in the present
tense? Have you found that which saves you from shedding the blood of your fellow
creatures? Have you found that which causes you to love your neighbors as yourselves?
11. Have you found that which saves
you from all the gratifications of lust, and beastly works of nature, only that which is
indispensable for the sake of procreation, or for the fulfilling of that great command
which I gave to the children of men, in early days; under which the most licentious and
beastly works of abomination have been cloaked, from that day to this?
12. The command was good, and stands
good, in its order and place, but not one act of gratification carried further than is
necessary for the propagation of your own species, can ever be covered by this command.
13. Have you found that which
enables you to dwell together in unity, harmony and peace, having all things in common,
and none saying that aught of the things that he possessed were his own? If not, what is
the matter? Ponder these things in your own hearts! Communities, you say, are good, if
they can agree.
14. But thus saith the Lord, have
you laid the axe to the root of the tree, or have you only lopped a few of the branches?
Have you found the golden cord of purity, that binds souls in one? Or do the bands of sin
and death surround you, and [cause you to be] broken in pieces?
15. What was the reason that the
inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah refused to hearken to the solemn warnings which I sent
forth unto them, through messengers of my own preparing? Did they not mock and scorn my
witnesses, and deride the word of my awful truth at their mouths, that unless they did
humble themselves and repent, they with their city, should be destroyed?
16. What was this, but the arrogance
of their spirit that refused to hearken to my word through those messengers, whom I did
send unto them?
17. What caused the inhabitants of
the antediluvian world, to mock and scorn, the solemn and righteous warning of my servant
Noah, although they were clearly shown, by the operations of my Spirit, through my
faithful servant, that unless they would cease from their awful wickedness, humble
themselves and repent, they should, by the judgment of my Almighty hand, be swept from the
face of the earth?
18. And notwithstanding, they were
all doomed to suffer death, as a certain and sure consequence, if they refused to hearken;
yet, this only served to increase their epithets of scorn and derision upon righteous
Noah, for being such an old superstitious fool, (as they called him,) as to believe that
the Lord was going to overwhelm the world with a deluge of water.
19. Was not this refusal to hearken
to the tender warnings of my mouth, sent forth by means of my own choosing, to be
attributed to their gross wickedness, which had caused their senses to soar, in lofty and
exalted imaginations of their own great wisdom, and by this means, cause them utterly to
reject the most solemn and sacred warnings, that I, their God and Creator could send to
them, through one whose humble walk in life they disdained, from the very bottom of their
hearts?
20. Therefore, they received not of
my tender mercies, but were, in lieu thereof, compelled to meet Me in judgment, and enter
the eternal world with cries and screeches, under the most horrid and awful condemnation
of a guilty conscience, loaded with crimes and beastly abominations to sink their souls in
flames of hell, until, through sufferings, they had paid the utmost farthing, for all
their sinful deeds.
21. And the last error of their
lives, in refusing to hearken to my righteous word of warning, was worse than all the
rest; for here they sinned, saith the Lord God, against light and understanding; for the
humble walk of my servant Noah, brought forth fruits in their sight, declaratory that my
spirit dwelt in him.
22. Hearken, O ye children of men,
and incline your ears to hear, and your hearts to understand, the word of the Lord your
God, though you have not walked in my paths, and inclined your hearts to understand and do
my will, as I have required from the earliest ages,
23. Yet, I am a God of mercy and of
long forbearance, to such as have the least desire to return unto Me, through that medium
which I have appointed for them; that is, to keep my law and order of nature inviolated.
24. Love mercy, deal justly one with
another; fear Me, and keep my commandments throughout, which were given to regulate those
in a natural state. This requirement, is distinct and apart from that of the order of my
grace.
25. But consider, O inhabitants of
earth, and in a special manner, those of you who make a great profession of Christianity!
How have mankind treated, from the days of my servant Moses, to the present time, the
merciful displays of my goodness, whenever, in my wisdom I have seen fit to send it forth
unto them.
26. How oft did I have to scourge my
chosen people Israel, for their wicked and rebellious doings, in rising against that order
which I had appointed to lead and direct them, and thereby neglecting to keep my law,
which I had established through my servant Moses, for their protection, stay and support;
which, when strictly kept, would always ensure prosperity, and a blessing from my all
righteous hand to rest upon them by day and by night. But when they departed therefrom, a
curse was sure to follow.
27. Yet by all these things, how
little did they learn, in willing obedience, the paths of true wisdom? Surely, not so much
but that they set their hearts against Me their God. They surely were in my sight, a stiff
necked and rebellious people, who were determined on pursuing their own plans; and by this
means, they stood ready to destroy the animal body of the Christ whom I did send unto
them, because he did not come in that way which they had laid out for themselves.
28. They wished him to come in great
pomp and splendor, with mighty armies bowing at his feet. They wished to behold him as a
mighty monarch, swaying the regal sceptre upon an earthly throne, destroying by the edge
of the sword, all such as did not bow unto him in submission, and believe as he taught
them, supporting the religion of his own nation, and condemning that of others.
29. Had he descended upon them in
this manner and form, and held forth this testimony, it would at once have blended with
their own self-exalted views of the coming of a Messiah; and they would readily have
supported him, by force of arms, upon his throne.
30. But learn, O ye children of men,
that man's way, is not the way of his God and Creator. My way is equal for all; but man's
way is unequal, unjust, and cruel. Therefore, did I send my only begotten Son to earth,
clothed with the power of salvation, encompassed with a garment of humility and meekness,
offering eternal life and salvation, upon equal terms, to all who would make the required
sacrifice to obtain it.
31. I did not send him to court the
love, favor or affection of Monarchs, Kings or Princes; or to say unto the great ones of
the earth, Rabbi! Rabbi! But I sent him to proclaim, through the deepest scenes of
suffering and tribulation, peace on earth and good will to men, if they would receive him
in the name of his Father in Heaven, possessing the innocency of a lamb and the meekness
of a dove.
32. Showing unto all, by precept and
example, that he came in the perfect image of his Father, possessing a spirit of
forgiveness, patience and meekness, under the most painful and excruciating sufferings of
both soul and body, that was ever before shown forth upon the earth, by any spirit
dwelling within an earthly tabernacle; being, at the same time, possessed of my mighty
power to that extent, that he could raise the dead from their graves to life, or call from
the Heavens above, at any time, myriads of holy Angels and justified spirits to his
assistance.
33. And because I sent him, clothed
in the attitude of meekness and humility, as I had predicted for
hundreds of years before, by the mouths of my prophets, that he would come, they, as a
body of people, rejected him and gnashed upon him with their teeth.
34. But a little chosen band, who
were accounted poor and illiterate men, he did gather around him, unto whom he imparted
the words of eternal life, and baptized them with the holy spirit; and the few that
received his testimony into honest and sincere hearts, became his true followers through
life, and ended their days under the heavy hand of persecution for so doing. But I, the
God of Heaven, have kept a record of these doings, from the earliest ages of the world
unto the present day.
35. I again repeat the question,
saith the Lord; Where is the nation, where are the people, either few or many, that have,
in truth, denied themselves of all the enjoyments of sinful pleasure, by renouncing the
world with all its alluring enchantments, for the sake of embracing the blessed gospel of
that holy Savior, whom I sent forth to begin a work on earth which should never have an
end? though the wickedness of man should quickly destroy the body, which, by my Almighty
hand had been prepared, as a receptacle for that saving spirit, while it acted in the
capacity of a local agent, in time below?
36. Give ear, O inhabitants of
earth, and hearken all ye people who dwell in her! The Lord your God hath stooped from his
throne, to visit the earth in mercy and in judgment. His holy Angels have come forth to
execute judgment at his word, and show mercy at his pleasure. Vials filled with mercy, and
vials filled with wrath, He hath placed in their hands.
37. Hear my voice, O ye Angels, and
sound aloud your trumpets to the children of men, saying, Shall the spirit of the Lord
your God, always strive with man to no purpose? Will He always endure to be scorned,
mocked and frowned upon by the mites of his creation, who are but worms of the dust, and
small ones too?
38. Will He always receive a
negative answer to his kind entreaties? Do not your own hearts bear witness in the sight
of your God, O ye inhabitants of earth, that ye have perverted the way of the Lord, and
the cross of his Christ ye have not borne in truth; nor bowed your necks under the yoke of
the blessed Savior?
39. Doth not the haughtiness of man
declare that his spirit is high and lifted up, exalted above all that is of God?
40. Doth not the spirit of
oppression, and the hand that grindeth the faces of the poor, declare that justice hath
departed from the earth, and the blessing of the Almighty withdrawn from her inhabitants?
41. Doth not the spirit of bigotry
and despotism rule in the hearts of the children of men? Are they not ready and willing,
if not bound by civil laws, to support a religion that suits their own natural and carnal
views, even at the point of the sword, and still maintain, that this is the religion of
the Son of God, the Prince of Peace?
42. The Heavens bear witness against
you, and the earth crieth unto Me with a loud voice, to be avenged on her inhabitants, for
the rivers of innocent blood, which they have caused to flow upon her surface.
43. O ye Monarchs, Kings and
Princes, and all ye Nobles, Lords and Commons, hearken to my voice of solemn warning,
saith the Lord your God; all ye Rulers of the people, and such as move at their command,
44. Bow down your spirits, from the
Monarch on his throne, to the humblest peasant dwelling in a lonely cottage. Humble both
soul and body; roll in sackcloth and ashes, and proclaim ye solemn fasts throughout your
lands. Prepare, prepare, O thou mortal man! prepare, prepare, all ye inhabitants of earth,
for the day of my visitation beginneth to dawn upon you; for my anger is kindled against
you, and who may quench it? The arm of my wrath is stretched out towards you, and who may
turn it back?
45. Naught but your cries and
lamentations in the lowest of humiliation, will cause my hand of judgment to be stayed
from the earth, saith the Lord of hosts; For I purpose to visit her in judgment, for her
wickedness and abomination, and I will fill unto her a cup such as she never drank, since
by my hand she was created. And her inhabitants have no time to lose, in preparing to meet
Me their God.
46. My times and seasons, I have
revealed not unto man; but I will shortly convince all flesh that my hand is upon the
earth, in very deed.
47. Look not for my word to be
showered down from the natural heavens above: Look not for my word through those that are
high and lifted up, and feel themselves far above their fellow creatures.
48. Look not for the second coming
of my blessed Son in the natural clouds of heaven; for I have already sent him, and the
foundations of my new Heavens and new earth, are already laid, never more to be
overthrown, and ye believe it not. But ye may look for my word of solemn warning, from
those in humble walks of life; and from the mouths of harmless children, saith the Holy
One of Israel, shall ye hear my word.