Dawn of the Last Dispensation

THE MESSENGER OF MORN.

Wake, slumbering world! Vain dreamer, dream no more!
The shadows lift, and o'er night's dusky beach
Ripple the white waves of morn. Awake! Arise!

Ocean of dispensations—rivers, rills,
Roll to your source! End, to thine origin!
And Israel, to the rock whence ye were hewn!
For He that scattered, gathereth his flock,
His ancient flock, and plants their pilgrim feet
On Joseph's mountain top and Judah's plains;
Recalls the Children of the Covenant
From long dispersion o'er the Gentile world,
Mingling their spirits with the mystic sea
Which sent them forth as freshening showers to save
The parched and withered wastes of unbelief.
Japheth! thy planet pales, it sinks, it sets;
Henceforth 't is Jacob's star must rise and reign.

* * * * * * * * *

Time, mighty daughter of Eternity!
Mother of centuries—seventy, seven-crowned!
Assemble now thy children at thy side,
And ere thou diest teach them to be one.
Link to its link rebind the broken chain
Of dispensations, glories, keys, and powers,
From Adam's fall unto Messiah's reign;
A thousand years of rest, a day with God,
While Shiloh reigns and Kolob once revolves!

Six days thou, Earth, hast labored; and the seventh,
Thy Sabbath, comes apace!—Night's sceptre wanes,
And in the East the silvery Messenger
Gives silent token of the golden dawn.

* * * * * * * * *

A living Prophet unto dying Time,
Heralding the Dispensation of the End,
When Christ once more his vineyard comes to prune,
When potent weak confound the puny strong,
Threshing the nations by the Spirit's power,
Rending the kingdoms with a word of flame;
That here the Father's work may crown the Son's,
And Earth be joined a holy bride to Heaven,
A queen 'mid queens, crowned, throned, and glorified.

Wherefore a Noble of the Skies came down,
In strength divine, a stirring role to play
In Time's tense tragedy, whose acts are seven.

His part to fell the false, replant the true,
To clear away the debris of the past,
The ashes of its dead and dying creeds,
And kindle newly on earth's ancient shrine
The Light that points to Life unerringly;
Crowning what has been with what now must be,
A mighty still bespeaking Mightier.

Earth rose from wintry sleep, baptized and cleansed,
And on her tranquil brow, that seemed to feel
The holy and confirming hand of Heaven,
The warm light in a wealth of glory streamed;

Nature's great floor green-carpeting anew
For some glad change, some joyful happening,
Told in the countless carolling of birds,
Gilding the foliage, brightening the flowers,
Mirroring mingled hues of earth and sky.

Glad happening, in sooth, for ne'er before,
Since burst the heavens when Judah's star-lit hills
Heard angel choristers peal joy's refrain
Above the mangered Babe of Bethlehem,
Had earth such scene beheld, as now within
The bosom of a sylvan solitude,
Hard by the borders of a humble home,
Upon that fair and fateful morn was played.

Players, immortal Twain, and mortal one,
Standing but fourteen steps upon life's stair;
Boy and yet man, thinker of thoughts profound,
Boy and yet man, dreamer of lofty dreams.
Not solemn, save betimes, when hovered near
Some winged inspiration from far worlds,
Some great idea's all-subduing spell;
Not melancholy—mirthful, loving life,
And brimming o'er with health and wholesome glee.
A stalwart spirit in a sturdy frame,
Maturing unto future mightiness.

Bowing to God, yet bending to no creed,
Adoring not a loveless deity,
That saved or damned regardless of desert,
Ne'er reckoning the good or evil done;
Loving and worshiping the God of love,
The gracious God of reason and of right,
Long-suffering and just and merciful,
Meting to every work fit recompense,
Yet giving more, far more, than merit's claim;
Bowing to Him, but not to man-made gods,
And shunning shameful strife where peace should dwell,
He holds aloof from those degenerate sects,
Bewildering Babel of conflicting creeds,
And pondering the apostolic line,
"Let any lacking wisdom, wisdom ask,"
In childlike faith, godlike humility,
Resolves to prove the promise by the test.

What pen can paint the marvel that befell?
What tongue the wondrous miracle portray?
Than theirs, the Vision's own, what voice proclaim
Whose dual presence dimmed the noonday beam,
Communing with him there, as friend with friend,
And giving to that prayer reply of peace?

Tell how, as Moses on the unknown Mount,
From whom in rage fled baffled Lucifer,
Who fain had guised him as the Son of God,
And won the worship of that prophet pure;—
Tell how with gloom he strove ere glory dawned,
And black despair met bright deliverance.
Tell how, in heart of that sweet solitude,
Within the silent grove, sequestered shade,
While spirit hosts unseen spectators stood,
Watching the simple scene's sublimity,
Eternity high converse held with Time.

Time, parent of the hovering centuries,
Mother of dispensations, travailing,
And bringing forth her last and mightiest child;
Heaven's awful Sire, through him both Sire and Son,
There blazoning the beginning of the End.

* * * * * * * * *

"'Twas from below!" Thus Bigotry in rage.
"Nay, from above," Faith's simple, firm reply.
"No vision is there now—the time is past."
"But I have seen," affirms the youthful Seer.
"God is a mystery, unknowable."
"God is a man—I saw Him, talked with Him."
"Man?" "Ay, of holiness—Exalted Man."

A strife of words, of warring tongues, now waged,
And weapons vied with words the truth to slay;
Nor truth alone, but her brave oracle,
A boy, by men, by neighborhoods, oppressed.
The wrangling sects forgave—well nigh forgot
Their former feuds and fears and jealousies;
And, joining hands, as Pilate Herod joined,
One guilty day when God stood man-condemned,

In friendly reconcilement's cordial clasp,
They doomed to death and hell "this heresy."
None sought, from "Satan's wile," a soul's reclaim,
But all were bent his humble name to blast;
And pious, would-be murder led the van
Of common hatred and hostility.

But Truth, thou mother of the living thought,
The deathless word, the everduring deed!
What puny hand thy giant arm can stay?
When crushed, or backward held, thine hour beyond?
Can bigot frown or tyrant fetter quell
Thy high revolt, O light omnipotent!
When God would speak with man, who tells him nay?
Can hell prevent, when heaven and earth would join?

Still through his soul the solemn warning rang;
Still from his mouth the startling message flamed:
"No church the Christ's! None, therefore, can I join.
All sects and creeds have wandered from the way.
Priestcraft, in lieu of Priesthood, sits enthroned,
Dead forms deny the power of godliness.
Men worship with their lips, their hearts afar.
None serve acceptably in sight of heaven.
Wherefore a work of wonder shall be wrought,
And perish all the wisdom of the wise."
—("Elias," Canto V.)

A Decreed Consummation.—The Gospel dispensation introduced by the Prophet Joseph Smith was rendered necessary by the apostasy of the Christian world from the ancient Faith, as delivered to the Saints in the Meridian of Time. Nevertheless, according to the foreknowledge of God, and in consonance with his all-wise purposes, this great, all-comprehending dispensation had been preordained from the beginning, as the "winding up scene," or final development, in the divine plan, having for its object the salvation of the sons and daughters of Adam.

"It is necessary, in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times; which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories, should take place and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time; and not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this the dispensation of the fulness of times."—(D. and C. 128:18.)

Joseph Smith's Work.—So wrote the Prophet, in the month of September, 1842, less than two years prior to his martyrdom. He had looked upon the face of God, as did Enoch, Moses, and other seers, in times of old. He had communed with angels, and received the Everlasting Gospel, as taught in the Book of Mormon, as well as in the Bible and in other ancient records of God's dealings with man. Empowered by the Priesthood, he had organized, after the heavenly pattern, the Church of Christ, the forerunner of the Kingdom never to be thrown down nor given to another people. He had gazed upon the glories of eternity, and portrayed in burning eloquence the final destiny of the human race, setting forth at the same time the conditions of salvation and exaltation in worlds to come. He had preached, and caused to be promulgated, in the two greatest nations of modern times, the United States and Great Britain, the Gospel message, for the gathering of Israel, the redemption of Zion, the building of the New Jerusalem, and the preparation of a people to greet the coming of the Lord. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." So declared the Savior of mankind. "Zion is the pure in heart," said Joseph Smith—"every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God." He had written concerning the ultimate goal of all righteous endeavor:

"This is why Adam blessed his posterity; he wanted to bring them into the presence of God. * * * Moses sought to bring the children of Israel into the presence of God, through the power of the Priesthood, but he could not. In the first ages of the world they tried to establish the same thing; and there were Eliases raised up who tried to restore these very glories, but did not obtain them; but they prophesied of a day when this glory would be revealed. Paul spoke of the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God would gather together all things in one, etc.; and those men to whom these keys have been given, will have to be there; and they without us cannot be made perfect. * * * All these authoritative characters will come down and join hand in hand in bringing about this work."—("History of the Church," Vol. III, pp. 388, 389.)

Keys Committed.—Already, when the Prophet wrote those words, had this phase of the Latter-day work begun; he having received, under the hands of heavenly messengers, the keys held by them as presiding authorities over past dispensations. The following record of visions manifested to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in the Kirtland Temple, April 3, 1836, tells its own wonderful story:

"The vail was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened.

"We saw the Lord standing upon the breast work of the pulpit, before us, and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber.

"His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of his head was white like the pure snow, his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying—

"I am the first and the last, I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain, I am your advocate with the Father.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.

"After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all generations after us should be blessed.

"After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said—

"Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come,

"To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse.

"Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors."—(D. and C. 110:1-4, 11-16.)

Elijah's Mission.—"Why send Elijah?" asks the Prophet, and he answers his own question thus: "Because he holds the keys of the authority to administer in all the ordinances of the Priesthood; and without the authority is given, the ordinances could not be administered in righteousness." In the same connection he informs us that "Elijah was the last prophet who held the keys of the Priesthood."—("History of the Church," Vol. IV, p. 211.)

Salvation for the Dead.—The mission of Elijah—the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, to the end that past and present might be bound together, and the dead as well as the living saved and glorified, was the all-engrossing thought in the mind of the Prophet, as his last day on earth drew near. From his place of retirement, during a period of trouble and persecution, he wrote thus to the Saints upon this all-important theme:

"Verily thus saith the Lord, let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease."

* * * * * * * * * * *

"When any of you are baptized for your dead, let there be a recorder, and let him be eye witness of your baptisms: let him hear with his ears, that he may testify of the truth, saith the Lord.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"You may think this order of things to be very particular, but let me tell you, that it is only to answer the will of God, by conforming to the ordinance and preparation that the Lord ordained and prepared before the foundation of the world, for the salvation of the dead who should die without a knowledge of the gospel.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"Whatsoever you record on earth, shall be recorded in heaven; and whatsoever you do not record on earth, shall not be recorded in heaven; for out of the books shall your dead be judged, according to their own works, whether they themselves have attended to the ordinances in their own propria persona, or by means of their own agents.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"To be immersed in the water and come forth out of the water, is in the likeness of the resurrection of the dead, in coming forth out of their graves; hence this ordinance was instituted to form a relationship with the ordinance of baptism for the dead, being in likeness of the dead.

"Consequently the baptismal font was instituted as a simile of the grave, and was commanded to be in a place underneath where the living are wont to assemble.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"And now, in relation to the baptism for the dead, * * * I will give you a quotation from one of the prophets, who had his eye fixed on the restoration of the Priesthood, the glories to be revealed in the last days, and in an especial manner this most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel, viz., the baptism for the dead; for Malachi says, last chapter, verses 5th and 6th, 'Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.'

"I might have rendered a plainer translation to this, but it is sufficiently plain to suit my purpose as it stands. It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse, unless there is a welding link of some kind or other, between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other, and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect."—(D. and C. 127, 128.)

A Gathering Dispensation.—The mission of the Everlasting Gospel in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times is the gathering together of all things in Christ—things in heaven, and things upon the earth; the consummation decreed concerning the sanctification and glorification of this planet. It is distinctively the day of gathering—the spiritual harvest—time of all the ages.

The Ensign Lifted.—The founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lifted the Ensign for the gathering of scattered Israel, a step preliminary to the mightier achievements that are to follow; and it devolved upon Joseph Smith, a lineal descendant of Joseph of old, to raise the standard and begin the work, particularly that portion of it affecting the fortunes of the children of Ephraim. For thus saith the Lord:

"I AM A FATHER UNTO ISRAEL, AND EPHRAIM IS MY FIRST BORN."