| 779 AN EPISTLE OF THE TWELVE, TO THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS IN THE WORLD. GREETING:
BELOVED BRETHREN:-
As the purpose of God roll forth and the work of the Lord hastens to its accomplishment, it is necessary that we, as watchmen upon the towers of Zion, communicate with you from time to time, and put you in possession of such information as may be deemed necessary for your welfare, for the furtherance of the cause of God, and for the fulfilling of those great purposes which our heavenly father has designed in the rolling forth of the dispensation of the fulness [fullness] of times, 'spoken of by all the prophets since the world was.'
The Temple has progressed very rapidly since the death of our beloved Prophet and Patriarch. The diligence of those employed, and the willingness of the saints to contribute, have brought it to a state of forwardness, which has far exceeded our most sanguine expectation. You have already been informed that the capitols of the columns were all on; we have now to announce to you that by the time the spring opens we expect that every stone will be cut to complete the Temple, and it will not take long to lay them when they are all prepared.
Great numbers of carpenters, masons, and other workmen are daily engaged in this arduous undertaking, so that not only is stone being prepared, but the sash, flooring, seats, and other things are progressing rapidly; and it is our design, if possible, so to rush the work forward that the building will be enclosed, and certain portions of it in that state of forwardness, so that we shall be prepaired [prepared] to commence giving the saints their endowments next fall; that the elders of Israel may be prepared by the power and spirit of the great Jehovah, to fulfill with dignity and honor, the great work devolving upon them to perform.
We wish to inform you brethren that the work in which we are engaged is great and mighty, it is the work of God and we have to rush it forth against the combined powers of earth and hell, we feel it to be an arduous undertaking whilst you, many of you have been enjoying ease, prosperity, and peace at home, we have had to combat mobs and to wade through blood to fulfill ;the work devolving upon us, and you: we have been exerting our energies, expended our money; and employing our time, our labor, our influence and means for the accomplishment of this purpose; and feeling confident dear Brethren, that you would like to share with us the labor, as well as the glory, we make the following requests:
We wish all the young, middle aged, and able bodied men who have it in their hearts to stretch forth this work with power, to come to Nauvoo, prepared to stay during the summer; and to bring with them means to sustain themselves with, and to enable us to forward this work to bring with them teams, cattle, sheep, gold, silver, brass, iron, oil, paints and tools; and let those who are within market distance of Nauvoo bring with them provisions to sustain themselves and others during their stay. And let all the church send all the money, cloth, and clothing, together with the raw matereal [material] for manufacturing purposes; such as cotton, cotton yarn, wool, steel, iron, brass &C., &c., as we are preparing to go into extensive manufacturing operations, and all these things can be applied to the furtherance of the Temple.
There was a font erected in the basement story of the Temple, for the baptism of the dead, the healing of the sick and other purposes; this font was made of wood, and was only intended for the present use; but it is now removed, and as soon as the stone cutters get through with the cutting of the stone for the walls of the Temple, they will immediately proceed to cut the stone for and erect a font of hewn stone. This font will be of an ovel [oval] form and twelve feet in length and eight wide, with stone steps and an iron railing; this font will stand upon twelve oxen, which will be cast of iron or brass, or perhaps hewn stone, if of brass, polished; if of iron, bronzed:-upon each side of the font there will be a suit of rooms fitted up for the washings. In the recesses, on each side of the arch, on the first story, there will be a suit of rooms or ante-chambers, lighted with the first row of circular windows. As soon as a suitable number of those rooms are completed we shall commence the endowment.
Brethren, inasmuch ad you have long desired blessings, come up to the help of the Lord, and help to forward the work that we are engaged in; for we trust that these rooms will be finished by the first of December next, so that you may enter therein and receive wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and the power of the priesthood, which you have so long desired; that you may be prepared to go forth to the nations of the earth and build up the kingdom in all parts of the world; gather up Israel, redeem Zion; rebuild Jerusalem; ands fill the whole earth with the knowledge of God.
While upon this subject we would remind the brethren of their duty in tithing according to the laws, and commandments given through
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