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formed his brethren that the man's name was Zelph, that he was "a white Lamanite," and had been killed in battle by the arrow found between his ribs."q

Kirtland Temple Visions.-By this same power Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in the Temple at Kirtland, Ohio (April 3rd, 1836), beheld Jehovah, the God of Israel; also Moses, Elias and Elijah, who committed to them spiritual keys necessary for carrying on various phases of the Lord's work."

Adam's Altar.-In 1838, after the main body of the Church had moved to Missouri, the Saints built several towns and projected others in Caldwell and other counties of that State. One of those towns was at Spring Hill, Davis County, where the men who made the survey for a new settlement came upon the ruins of an ancient altar, situated on a wooded hill overlooking the surrounding country. Straightway they reported to the Prophet their interesting find. He, upon beholding it, said to those who were with him: “There is the place where Adam offered up sacrifice after he was cast out of the Garden."s

The Old-New World.-America, according to Joseph Smith, is the Old World-not the New'. The primeval Garden was in the part now called Jackson County. Our First Parents, after their expulsion from Eden, dwelt in the place where this altar stood. The Lord named it Adamondi-Ahman, "because it is the place where Adam shall

p, 3 Nephi 2:14-16.

q, Hist. Ch. Vol. 2, pp. 79, 80.

r, D. and C. 110.

s, "Life of Heber C. Kimball," p. 222; Taylor's "Mediation and Atonement," pp. 69, 70; Whitney's "History of Utah"-Biography A. O. Smoot, Vol. 4, p. 99.

t, The Prophet's inspired declaration to that effect finds confirmation in the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Agassiz, and John Fiske.

come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the Prophet.""

All this by the power of seership—all this and more; for many other instances might be given. But these will suffice to show the nature of this rare and precious gift, and the manner of its exercise by the mighty Seer and Prophet holding the keys of this Gospel dispensation.

u, D. and C. 116.

ARTICLE SEVEN.

What Joseph Foretold.

The Proof of Prophecy.-To prove one a prophet, it is necessary to show, not only that he prophesied, but that things predicted by him came to pass. Measured by this standard, Joseph Smith's claim to the title is clear and unimpeachable. I shall not attempt to enumerate all his prophecies, but will mention some of the more notable, as demonstrating his possession of the wonderful power to unlock and reveal the future.

Earliest Predictions. The Angel Moroni's promise to the boy, that he, an obscure and unlettered country lad, should live to do a work that would cause his name to be known among all nations," has been often cited-too often to require extended comment here. The same may be said of Isaiah's familiar declaration, that in the presence of God's wondrous work, the wisdom of the wise should perish and the understanding of the prudent be hid. These promises are fulfilling daily. Passing them by with this brief mention, I take up one of the best known of Joseph Smith's predictions, namely, the "Revelation and Prophecy on War."

An Ominous Christmas Gift.-This tremendous forecast, relating not only to the fierce internecine struggle between the Northern and Southern States of the American Union, but to other and mightier upheavals as well, some past and some yet future, was launched at Kirtland, Ohio, on the 25th of December, 1832. It may be said, therefore, that it came as a solemn Christmas gift to the inhabitants of

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the world, warning them to prepare for terrible events.

War and Other Calamities. The Prophet declared that war would "be poured out upon all nations," beginning at a certain place. That place was South Carolina. The Southern States, divided against the Northern States, would call upon Great Britain, and Great Britain would call upon other nations, for defensive assistance against hostile powers. Slaves, rising against their masters, would be "marshalled and disciplined for war;" and the red remnants "left of the land" would "become exceeding angry" and "vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation." By bloodshed and famine, plague, earthquake and tempest, the inhabitants of the earth would mourn and "be made to feel the wrath and indignation and chastening hand of an Almighty God." The Proph et exhorted his followers to "stand in holy places and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come."

For nineteen years this prophecy remained in manuscript, though copies of it were carried by "Mormon” missionaries and read to their congregations in various parts of the world. In 1851 it was published at Liverpool, the first edition of "The Pearl of Great Price" containing it. Therefore, it was a matter of public note and printed record long before the dire fulfillment began.

Beginning of the Fulfillment. The revelation had been in existence twenty-eight years, three months, and seventeen days, when, on the twelfth of April, 1861, the Confederate batteries in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, opened fire on Fort Sumter, thus precipitating the war between the North and the South. As is well known, it arose over the slave question, a circumstance fulfilling another of Joseph Smith's predictions-one dated April 2nd, 1843.d

c, D. and C. 87.

d, Ib. 130:12, 13.

Southern States call on Great Britain.-How eleven of the Southern States, bent upon withdrawing from the Union and establishing an independent government south of the Mason and Dixon Line, cailed upon Great Britain, and were accorded a measure of encouragement by the ruling classes of that country, need scarcely be told here. The arrest and release of the Confederate commissioners, Mason and Slidell, who had been sent across the Atlantic to present the case of the seceding States at the Court of St. James; and the subsequent payment by the British Government of the Alabama claims ($15,500,000), for damages sustained by United States commerce at the hand of Confederate privateers, built and fitted out in British ports, tell in part the story.

The Negro and Indian Questions. It is also a matter of history, that many of the negro slaves, set free by President Lincoln's edict of emancipation, and trained as troops, fought in the Northern armies against their former. masters. Whether or not this was a complete fulfillment of the forecast concerning the once enslaved people, remains to be seen. The race question was not entirely settled by the Civil War; it still hovers as a dark cloud on our national horizon. As for Indian troubles, many of which have arisen since Joseph Smith prophesied concerning them, while apparently they have ceased to "vex," more may yet be heard from that quarter before the problem is finally solved.

An Effort to Avert Calamity.-Joseph Smith's last public act of a political character was an effort to save his country from the awful calamity that he saw impending. To some it may appear strange, even inconsistent, that a prophet, after making a prediction, would try to prevent it from coming to pass. But it is only a seeming inconsistency. It should be remembered that divine promises and

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