THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN—THE SAVIOR TESTIFIES OF HIMSELF—SILENCE THROUGHOUT THE LAND—HOW OFT WOULD CHRIST HAVE GATHERED HIS PEOPLE—THE DARKNESS DEPARTS.

(III. NEPHI CHAP. 9 AND 10.)

WHEN the heavenly voice had finished the recital of the calamities that had befallen the land and its inhabitants, the speaker commenced an appeal to those who yet lived, and revealed to them who he was. He declared unto them:

O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?

Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive: and blessed are those who come unto me.

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

I came unto my own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled.

And as many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God, and even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.

I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings;

And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin;

Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive: for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.

After the people had heard this glad message of forgiveness and redemption, they ceased their mourning for their dead relatives, and there was silence in the land for the space of many hours. Then again was the voice heard, even the voice of Jesus, recounting how oft he had sought to gather his Israel but they would not, and promising in the future that he would again gather them, if they would listen unto him. But if they would not heed him, the places of their dwellings should become desolate until the time of the fulfilling of God's covenant with their fathers. When the people heard this awful prophecy they began to weep and howl again because of the loss of their kindred and friends.

Three days had passed in darkness, in terror and in woe, when the thick mist rolled off the face of the land, revealing to the astonished eyes of the survivors how great had been the convulsions that had shaken the earth. When the darkness passed away the earth ceased to tremble, the rocks were no longer rent, the dreadful groanings ceased, and the tumultuous noises ended. Then nature was again at peace, and peace filled the hearts of the living; their mourning was turned to praise, and their joy was in Christ their Deliverer.

As on the eastern continent, so on this; at the time of Christ's resurrection, numbers of the saints who were dead arose from their graves and were seen and known by many of the living. Christ had suffered for the sin of the world, he had broken the bands of death, he had opened the portals of the tomb, and as soon as he came forth conqueror over death and hell, the faithful ones of many generations, who were prepared for the glories of eternity, came forth also. This was the first resurrection.