| 601 be completed to secure the salvation of the church in the last days, for God requires of his saints to build him a house wherein his servants may be instructed, and endued with power from on high, to prepare them to go forth among the nations, and proclaim the fullness of the gospel for the last time, and bind up the law and seal up the testimony, leaving this generation without excuse, and the earth prepared for the judgments, which will follow. In this house all the ordinances will be made manifest, and many things will be shown forth, which have been hid from generation to generation.
The set time to favor the stakes of Zion is at hand, & soon the Kings and the Queens, the princes and the nobles, the rich and the honorable of the earth, will come up hither to visit the Temple of our God and to enquire [inquire] concerning his strange work; and as Kings are to become nursing fathers, and Queens nursing mothers in the habitations of the righteous, it is right to render honor to whom honor is due; & therefore expedient that such, as well as the saints, should have a comfortable house for boarding and lodging when they come hither, and it is according to the revelations that such a house should be built.
The foundation of this house, and also of the Temple, are laid and the walls of the basement stories of each nearly completed; and the finishing of the whole is depending on the exertions of the saints. Every saint on earth is equally interested in these things, and each is under equal obligations to do all in their power to complete the buildings by their faith and by their prayers; with their thousands and their mites, their gold and their silver, their copper and their zinc, their goods and their labors, until the top stone is laid with shoutings and the place is prepaired [prepared] to be filled with the glory of the Highest; and if there are those among you, who have more than they need for the gathering, and for assisting the destitute, who desire to gather with them, they cannot make a more acceptable offering unto the Lord, than by appropriating towards the building of his Temple.
He that believeth shall not make haste, but let all the saints who desire to keep the commandments of heaven and work righteousness, come to the place of gathering as soon as circumstances will permit. It is by united efforts that great things are accomplished, and while the saints are scattered to the four winds, they cannot be united in action, if they are in spirit; they cannot all build at one city, or lift at one stone of the great Temple, tho' their hearts may all desire the same things. We would not press the subject of the gathering upon you, for we know your hearts, and your means; and so far as means fail, let patience have its perfect work in your soul, for in due time you shall be delivered if you faint not.
We are not altogether ignorant of the increase of difficulty among the laboring classes in England since our departure, through the stoppage of factories and similar occurrences, and we would council those who have, to impart unto those, who have not, and cannot obtain; remembering that he who giveth unto the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and he shall receive in return four fold.
The idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer, neither must he starve who would, but cannot, find employment. Inasmuch as ye desire the fullness of the earth, let not the cries of the widow, the fatherless and the beggar, ascend to heaven or salute your ears in vain, but follow the example we have set before you, and give liberally of your abundance, even if it be but a penny, and it shall be returned unto you good measure, pressed down and running over, shall the Lord return into your store house.
Cultivate the spirit of patience, long suffering, forbearance, & charity among yourselves, & ever be as unwilling to believe an ovil [evil] report about a brother or a sister, as though it were about yourself; and as you dislike to be accused, be slow to accuse the brethren, for the measure you meet shall be measured to you again, and the Judge condemneth no man who is not accused. Keep all the commandments, nothing fearing, nothing doubting, for this is virtue, this is wisdom, and the wise, the virtuous, and meek shall inherit the earth and the fullness thereof. In all things follow the council which you shall receive from the President and council who are among you; and inasmuch as you uphold Elders Pratt and Richards and Snow, by the prayer of faith, you shall recieve [receive] right council.
Remember that those whom John saw on mount Zion were such as had come up through great tribulation; and do not imagine that you can ever constitute a part of that number without sharing a part of their trials. You must necessarily pass through perils, and trials, and temptations, and afflictions by sea and land, in your journeyings hither, and if you cannot settle it in your hearts to endure unto the end as good soldiers, you may as well remain where you are to be destroyed, as to suffer all the privations and hardships you will be obliged to suffer before the walls of Zion shall be built, no more to be thrown down, and after all to turn away and be destroyed.
The ancient prophet has said they shall wear out the saints of the Most High. This has already been fulfilled to some extent, for many, through the abundance of their persecutions, have become exhausted and laid their bodies down to rest, to rise no more till the morn of the first resurrection; and although the people of these States are at peace with us, yet, there are those who would gladly wear out and destroy the weak in faith, through the influence of their foolish lies. When you arrive on our shores, and while sailing up our rivers, you need not be surprised if your ears are saluted, by the false and filthy language of wicked and designing men, who are ever ready to speak evil of the things they understand not, and who would gladly blast the character of the Prophet of the Most High God, and all connected with him, with their foul anathemas, beyond any thing which you have ever thought of. We would not dishearten you, neither would we have you ignorant of the worst that awaits the righteous.
If the saints are not prepaired [prepared] to rejoice and be glad, when they hear the name of the prophet, and their own name, cast out as evil, as glutonous [gluttonous], wine bibber, friend of publicans and sinners, Belsebub [Beelzebub], thief, robber, and murderer, they are not prepared for the gathering. The wheat and tares must grow together till the harvest; at the harvest the wheat is gathered together into the threshing floor, so with the saints. The stakes are the threshing floor.
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