| 660 And the heavens have smiled upon her;
And she is clothed with the glory of her God;
For he stands in the midst of his people;
Glory, and honor, and power and might,
Be ascribed to our God, for he is full of mercy,
Justice, grace and truth, and peace,
For ever and ever; Amen.
And again, verily, verily I say unto you, it is expedient, that every man who goes forth to proclaim mine everlasting gospel, that inasmuch as they have families and receive monies [moneys] by gift, that they should send it unto them, or make use of it for their benefit, as the Lord shall direct them, for thus it seemeth me good. And let all those who have not families, who receive monies [moneys], send it unto the bishop in Zion, or unto the bishop in Ohio, that it may be consecrated for the bringing forth of the revelations and the printing thereof, and for establishing Zion.
And if any man shall give unto any of you a coat, or a suit, take the old and cast it unto the poor, and go your way rejoicing. And if any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with him he that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he may become strong also.
Therefore, take with you those who are ordained unto the lesser priesthood, and send them before you to make appointments, and to prepare the way, and to fill appointments that you yourselves are not able to fill. Behold this is the way that mine apostles, in ancient days, built churches unto me.
Therefore let every man stand in his own office, and labor in his own calling; and let not the head say unto the feet, it hath no need of the feet, for without the feet how shall the body be able to stand? also the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified together, that the system may be kept perfect.
And behold, the high priests should travel, and also the elders, and also the lesser priests; but the deacons and teachers should be appointed to watch over the church, to be standing ministers unto the church.
And the bishop, Newel K. Whitney, also, should travel round about and among all the churches, searching after the poor, to administer to their wants by humbling the rich and the proud; he should also employ an agent to take charge and to do his secular business, as he shall direct; nevertheless, let the bishop go unto the city of New York, and also to the city of Albany, and also to the city of Boston, and warn the people of those cities with the sound of the gospel, with a loud voice, of the desolation and utter abolishment which awaits them if they do reject these things; for if they do reject these things the hour of their judgment is nigh: and their house shall be left unto them desolate. Let him trust in me and he shall not be confounded; and an hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed.
And verily, I say unto you, the rest of my servants, go ye forth as your circumstances shall permit, in your several callings, unto the great and notable cities and villages, reproving the world in righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days; for with you saith the Lord Almighty, I will rend their kingdoms. I will not only shake the earth, but the starry heavens shall tremble: for I the Lord have put forth my hand to exert the powers of heaven: ye cannot see it now, yet a little while and ye shall see it, and know that I am, and that I will come and reign with my people. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end: Amen.
CONTINUATION OF ELDER RIGDON'S TRIAL.
Sidney's first revelation in Kirtland was telling the people that the kingdom was rent from them, and they might as well all go home for they were rejected. The saints felt very bad and were almost distracted. When brother Joseph came home, (who was absent at the time) he called Sidney into council and there told him he had lied in the name of the Lord; and says he, 'you had better give up your licence [license] and divest yourself of all authority you can, for you will go into the hands of satan, and he will handle you as one man handeleth another, and the less authority you have the better for you.' Sidney gave up two licences [licenses] to brother Whitney, (who has got them at this day) and according to his own testimony, he was handled by satan just as brother Joseph said, and weltered in the most extreme agony for about two or three months, and then brother Joseph seeing that he had repented, said that he had suffered enough and restored him again. He made a tremendous blunder at the first revelation, but we would hardly suppose that a man who has been in the church so long as Sidney has, would make such a monstrous bluder [blunder] as he has made this time. The object of Sidney's revelation was to divide the church and scatter it. Brother Joseph has said at different times, that if elder Rigdon was to lead the church twelve months, he would lead them to the devil. When he attempted to lead the people in Kirtland, it
(page 660) |
