| 592 TIMES AND SEASONS.
"Truth will prevail."
Vol. V. 14.] CITY OF NAUVOO, ILL. AUG. 1, 1844. [Whole No. 98
HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH.
(continued.)
Upon my return from Amherst conference, I resumed the translation of the scriptures.-From revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many important points, touching the salvation of man, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled. It appeared self-evident from what truths were left, that if God rewarded everyone according to the deeds done in the body, the term "heaven," as intended for the saints eternal home, must include more kingdoms than one. Accordingly on the 16th of February, 1832, while translating John's gospel, myself and elder Rigdon saw the following
VISION.
Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior;-great is his wisdom; marvelous are his ways; and the extent of his doings none can find out; his purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand: from eternity to eternity, he is the same and his years never fail.
For thus saith the Lord, I the Lord am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness, and in truth unto the end; great shall be their reward, and eternal shall be their glory; and to them will I reveal all mysteries; yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old; and for ages to come will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom; Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations; their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heeaven [heaven]; and before them the wisdom of the wise shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall come to nought [naught]; for by my spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power I will make known unto them the secrets of my will; yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.
We, Joseph Smith, jr. and Sidney Rigdon, being in the spirit on the 16th of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, by the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened, and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God, even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his only begotten Son, who was in the bosom if the Father, even from the beginning, of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear is the fulness [fullness] of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision; for while we were doing the work of translation which the Lord had appointed unto us, we came to the 29th verse of the 5th chapter of John, which was given unto us as follows:-speaking of the resurrection of the dead, conserning [concerning] those who shall hear the voice of the Son of man-and shall come forth; they who have done good in the resurrection of the just, and they who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust. Now this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the Spirit: and while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understanding, and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about: and we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness [fullness];-and saw the holy angels, and they who were sanctified before his throne, worshiping [worshipping] God and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever. And now after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all, which we give of him, that he lives; for we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the only begotten of the Father; that by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created; and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God, who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the only begotten Son-whom the Father loved, and who was in the bosom of the Father-and was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, and was called Perdition: for the heavens wept over him; he was Lucifer a son of the morning; and we beheld and lo, he is fallen! is fallen! even a son of the morning. And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the vision: for we beheld satan, that old serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and his Christ; wherefore he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasses
(page 592) |
