"And it came to pass that Moses looked and beheld the world upon which he was created, and as Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created of the same, he greatly marveled and wondered."—Book of Moses 1:8.

The fruits of the Gospel as relates to the peopling of the earth through Adam, are not fully ripe. The generations of that lineage are still incomplete; but it is interesting to study the general outline of the plan which was laid for that purpose before the earth was formed, a part of which has now been rendered into history. As made known to John the Revelator on the Isle of Patmos, this plan, presented to him by signs the meaning of which was revealed^[39] to the Prophet Joseph Smith, contemplated the division of human history into seven periods of one day each, according to the Lord's reckoning.

The first should be a day of peace; the second, a day of war and conquest; the third, a day in which commerce should have its rise; the fourth, a day of war; the fifth, a day of persecution; the sixth, a day of preparation for the Sabbath, or Millennium; the seventh, a day of peace and rest. Let the student follow down the history of the world with this outline in mind, and he cannot fail to be impressed with the coincidence, so far, of the prophecy and its fulfillment.

Not only were the periods set, and the work to be accomplished in each determined, but the order in which the spirits to take bodies on this earth should come forth, was outlined before the earth was made. Abraham says, as hereinbefore quoted:

"Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was, and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said, These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and He said unto me, Abraham, thou art one of them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born."^[40]

When we recall the promise made to Abraham, after his advent upon the earth, that through him and his seed should all the children of the earth be blessed; when we see in the history of the world how the seed of Israel has been scattered among all nations; and when we witness the purpose of the Lord, now going forward, to gather into one family under that lineage all the descendants of Adam, this passage and that promise take on peculiar significance.

Furthermore, that the course of the star of empire was set from the first, is evident from the revelation given to Adam three years before his death at the altar of Adam-ondi-Ahman, as related in the Doctrine and Covenants. We read:

"And Adam stood up in the midst of the congregation; and notwithstanding he was bowed down with age, being full of the Holy Ghost predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation."^[41]

Among those spirits in the midst of whom the Lord stood when He saw and chose as His rulers the noble and great ones, there were no doubt many who were less intelligent. How could these spirits be so placed in the generations of Adam's race as to make the most of them? The solution of the problem is disclosed in the following extract from the Book of Mormon:

"For, behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word; yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore, we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true."^[42]

Superior minds, that is to say, have been sent to the earth, among all peoples, in all ages of the world, to teach, to bring forth new inventions, to give laws, to make discoveries, to establish or to overthrow governments, according to the varying capacities and intelligence and necessities of the peoples among whom they were appointed by the Supreme Head to labor.

The sentiment awakened by a contemplation of this passage of scripture, is one of the utmost reverence, admiration and love for a Being of such wisdom and mercy.

But not only has the Lord determined the general course of civilization on the earth, but even the work of individuals, apart from His prophets, has been under His direction, as was that of Columbus, of whom we read in the Book of Mormon, as follows:

"And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles who was separated from the seed of my brethren by many waters; and beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land."^[43]

Instances of this character, however, are too numerous to mention here, but they show that not only in a general way, but in many details, the peopling of the earth has proceeded under a well-defined, predetermined plan.

Not only has the history of mankind on the earth been outlined from the beginning, but the rewards awaiting them, according to the light they have received and their obedience thereto, have been fixed. For it will be remembered from what was developed under the head of "Covenants of the Gospel," that all who have taken bodies upon the earth in the lineage of Adam, are under the same promise of obedience to "whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them," in their day and generation.

After describing the torment of those spirits who become sons of perdition, the revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, continues:

"And again, we bear record, for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ, concerning them who come forth in the resurrection of the just, they are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given, that by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power, and who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.

"They are they who are Priests and Kings, who have received of his fullness, and of his glory. And are Priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchisedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son; wherefore, as it is written, they are Gods, even the sons of God—wherefore all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ's and Christ is God's.

"And they shall overcome all things; wherefore let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet—these shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ for ever and ever. These are they whom he shall bring with him when he shall come in the clouds of heaven, to reign on the earth over his people. These are they who shall have part in the first resurrection.

"These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood. These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical.

"And, again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the first born, who have received the fullness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament. Behold, these are they who died without law, and also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh.

"Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. These are they who are honorable men on the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fullness. These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fullness of the Father; wherefore they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.

"These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God. And now this is the end of the vision which we saw of the terrestrial, that the Lord commanded us to write while we were yet in the Spirit.

"And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament. These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus. These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit. These are they who are thrust down to hell. These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil, until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb shall have finished his work.

"These are they who receive not of his fullness in the eternal world, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial; and the terrestrial through the ministration of the celestial; and also the celestial receive it of the administering of angels who are appointed to minister for them, or who are appointed to be ministering spirits for them, for they shall be heirs of salvation.

"And thus we saw in the heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all understanding, and no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it.

"And thus we saw the glory of the terrestrial, which excels in all things the glory of the telestial, even in glory, and in power, and in might, and in dominion.

"And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in all things— where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne for ever and ever; before whose throne all things bow in humble reverence and give him glory for ever and ever. They who dwell in his presence are the church of the first born, and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fullness and of his grace; and he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.

"And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the sun is one.

"And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the moon is one.

"And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one, for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world;

"These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.

"These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fullness of times when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work. When he shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father spotless, saying—I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. Then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the throne of his power to reign for ever and ever.

"But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the sea shore, and heard the voice of the Lord, saying—these all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne for ever and ever; for they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared, and they shall be servants of the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end."

From all of which it appears that the history of mankind was pre-arranged from beginning to end, before the foundations of the earth were laid.