| 69 time the church as a body has not been recognized as the Church of Christ. Every party that has arisen claiming to be the true church, have, and still continue to maintain, some if not all of the false doctrines that caused the rejection and overthrow of the first church. The organization of June, 1848, was upon the true foundation, and in this respect differs very materially from all the parties into which the church is divided."-Olive Branch, vol. 2, p. 90.
Though Kirtland, Ohio, was to be a temporary gathering place, the permanent place of gathering was to be in the valleys of Colorado and Gila Rivers, on the shores of the Gulf of California, then in Southern California. An extract from an article entitled, "The Word of the Lord to His People," reads as follows:-
"In the land of California shall my people find refuge from the evils and troubles that afflict the nations of the earth. There they shall have peace and enjoy all the blessings that those that remain faithful shall receive. They shall not make war upon those that dwell there, neither shall these have power to make war upon them; for my power shall be their defense, and my glory their salvation.
"The pure in heart shall be gathered there from amongst the nations and the righteous from all the people of the earth; the upright shall see the light of the truth and rejoice therein. They that have been oppressed by the unjust laws of men shall there find liberty. They that have been driven by their enemies shall there find a resting place. They that have been overthrown by the wicked shall there be built up.
"They that have been afflicted shall there find peace and repose; for the reward of the righteous that remain faithful shall be all those things which God has created for their good, and which all other nations strive to obtain, but fail because of their great wickedness."-Olive Branch, vol. 1, p. 25.
It was predicted in the Writings of Esdras that the government of the United States (Bethsula) should begin to fall in the seventieth year of the nation (1846) and in four years after the saints should establish a kingdom of righteousness that should finally be acknowledged as an independent
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