| 748 of the land: therefore I did cause them to be burned, to destroy them from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them. And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations; and because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them, might not cry unto me from the ground against them; and many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations."
Now, gentle reader, with all these facts before you, and the light and knowledge of the nineteenth century to explain them, what think ye of the "ruins," and what think ye of the spirit of revelation? What has the boasted wit, wisdom, and learning, of the Gentile world performed in the space of four thousand years? Ah! the problem is easily solved. They have made a great noise in piling up monuments of their greatness which after generations discover as "ruins." So let us say once for all:-without revelation from God the world is but a wilderness.
KEYS.
This may be thought by some to be rather a singular caption for a religious article, but when duly considered, it is presumed, that persons of candor will reflect upon it as an expression, or as a term, when used in the revelations of God, conveying the meaning of power, authority, and knowledge: The symbolical meaning of the word "key" or "keys" pertaining to the priesthood of the Son of God, cannot, or will not be fully defined to the present generation, because the world is unworthy of the information.
The first important passage in the bible, relating to this matter, is found in Isaiah; the which, with some other very curious knowledge unexplained, we will here quote:
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.
And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.
In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed and be cut down and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it."
Now, permit us to read our translation of the two first verses from the Hebrew of Michaelis: And it shall be in that day that I call unto my servant, through Eliakim, (Hebrew, God raises up) the son of Hilkiah; that I will cause him (my servant) to be clothed with thy robe, (i.e. Isaiah) and to be strengthened with thy girdle, &c., &c, and he (i.e. the servant) shall be a father to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
The next verse, the 22nd is fully expounded by John in his Revelations on the Isle of Patmos. And shows that Jesus Christ is the "servant" spoken to in the two previous verses, and that he holds the "key of David."
"The nail fastened in a sure place," remains a mystery to the world, and will, but the wise understand. As to the "offspring and issue of his father's house" being appended to Jesus Christ, the Latter-day Saints believe that-but if any man believes that the 25th verse is a true translation and explanation of the "nail," he is welcome to his opinion; he knows nothing of the key of David, and little about the keys of the kingdom.
As Nephi said, it supposes us that the "keys" of the kingdom of heaven, spoken of in Matthew 16:19, was a symbolical expression which conveyed to the saints then an idea similar to the "horns of Joseph" at any rate, power, authority, knowledge, and the assurance of eternal life, seem to be locked or unlocked by these "keys" as much as the prisons of the dead, or "death or hell," are opened and shut by the keys that are held by the resurrected Savior.
That great phrase-I have all power in heaven and on earth delivered unto me, coupled with "if any man will follow me," let him keep my commandments, has often passed through the mind of holy men, and they have spoken as moved by the Holy Ghost: but unaccountable and mysterious as it may appear to some, the
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