Art Bulla

My Heart Beats for Love, Eternal Love--Yea, Even Conjugal Love Forever

 

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From “The Seer” by Apostle Orson Pratt, 1852:

   Heaven is the world where all the spirits, destined for this creation, had their origin: It is a world, consisting of a great variety of materials of a similar nature to those which enter into the constitution of our world. The difference between our world and a Heavenly one, consists, not in the diversity of the elements for they are the same, but in the difference of the organization of these elements. In our world, the elements, at the present time, are so organized, that continual changes are taking place of such a nature as to produce death and the dissolution of all organized substances. In a Heavenly world, the same elements are so combined that eternal duration is stamped upon every organization. The spiritual substances, connected with our world, are not permanently combined with the other elements; while in a Heavenly world, so far as these two classes of elements are combined, their union is immortal or eternal. A Heavenly world has once been in the same condition as our world, but its temporal organization has been dissolved, and the same elements have been reorganized after the pattern of the Heavenly order: it is thus changed from a temporal to an eternal state. In its temporal condition, it is terrestrial; in its eternal condition, it is celestial. Under the former, death usurps dominion, and spreads devastation and ruin throughout the whole organization: under the latter, eternal life reigns triumphant forevermore. In the one condition, it is a fallen world; in the other, it is a redeemed world. In the first state, it is a non-luminous body, borrowing its light from those of a higher order; in the second, it is a luminous body, radiating light upon the surrounding worlds. When a fallen world, it is inhabited by fallen beings; when a redeemed world, it is inhabited by celestial beings, redeemed from the grave, and glorified, and made like unto the God who created and redeemed them, whose sons they are, and henceforth they are Gods, ordained to do the works appertaining to Gods; and as their Father God has done before them, so will they do. Heaven, then, is a redeemed glorified world, inhabited by the Gods, and by their sons and daughters, who are the fruits of their own loins.

20. The Gods who dwell in the Heaven from which our spirits came, are beings who have been redeemed from the grave in a world which existed before the foundations of this earth were laid. They and the Heavenly body which they now inhabit we20. The Gods who dwell in the Heaven from which our spirits came, are beings who have been redeemed from the grave in a world which existed before the foundations of this earth were laid. They and the Heavenly body which they now inhabit were once in a fallen state. Their terrestrial world was redeemed, and glorified. and made a Heaven: their terrestrial bodies, after suffering death, were redeemed, and glorified, and made Gods. And thus, as their world was exalted from a temporal to an eternal state, they were exalted also, from fallen men to Celestial Gods to inhabit their Heaven forever and ever.

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21. These Gods, being redeemed From the grave with their wives, are immortal and eternal, and will die no more. But they and their wives will be supremely happy. All the endearing ties of conjugal love which existed in their bosoms, when terrestrial and Fallen beings, are now greatly increased and perfected which serve to swell their souls with feelings of rapturous delight, and unbounded love towards each other, and with joys that are everlasting. How beautiful--how interesting--how inexpressibly lovely will they appear in each others eyes! Full of virtue and goodness, knowledge and intelligence, affection and love they shine forth in all the brilliancy and glory of these Godlike attributes, inspiring each other, and all Heaven, with a fulness of Eternal joys.

But can several wives love one and the same man as their husband? Yes, if he treat them in a way to merit their confidence and love. There is no more difficulty in several women loving one husband than there is in several persons loving our Lord and Saviour. God is the Author of sexual or conjugal love, the same as He is of all other kinds of pure love; and if He unites several women to one man in the sacred bonds of matrimony, it is their duty to cultivate and increase the heavenly principle of pure love to their husband, until they love him with all their hearts, even as they love God; and he should love them in return, even as he loves God. There is no evil in love; but there is much evil resulting from the want of love. No woman should be united in marriage with a man unless she have some love for him; and if she love him in a small degree, this is capable of being increased to perfection. Any woman who loves righteousness can and does love a man who works righteousness; and she can, by cultivating this love, be happy in his society, as a friend and as a brother; and if she were united to him in marriage, she could love him as a husband; and if he were worthy, her love towards him may be increased until the perfect day. So it is with man. There is not a righteous good woman in the Church of God but what a righteous man loves as a friend and a sister; and if he were lawfully united to her in marriage, he could love her as a wife; and this love, by cultivation and mutual kindness, would grow stronger and stronger, until they were perfected in love.

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But cannot a woman love many men as well as for a man to love many wives? We answer, that love is under the control of both the sexes; they are agents in the cultivation and exercise of this affection, as in the cultivation and exercise of all the other attributes of their nature. A man has no right to love any woman as a wife unless God shall give her to him in marriage; he has power, as an agent, to limit his love where God limits it; and if he go beyond those limits he transgresses. So likewise a woman is limited by the law of God to one husband; and she has no right to suffer her love to go beyond those limits. Her love is under the control of her agency, and it must be confined where the law of God confines it, otherwise there is transgression. A man loves many wives because God gives him many; and he is required to love them, or become a transgressor. If God required a woman to have many husbands, or permitted her to have a plurality, it would then be her duty to cultivate the principle of love towards them all; but this would not be an easy task, unless the woman were made the head of the family; for one cannot serve two masters. And, as the husband stands as the master of the house, if a woman had two husbands or masters, she would be sure, according to the words of Christ, "to hate the one and love the other," for no one can love and serve two masters; but two can love one master; yes, a hundred wives can love one master or husband, for he is their head, even as Christ is the great Master and Head of the Church. As Christ is one, and is the Great Bridegroom, being married unto many, so likewise the man, being one husband, one bridegroom, may be married unto many. As the bride of Christ consists of a plurality of persons, so the bride of each of his faithful servants may consist of a plurality of individuals. The bride of Christ, though a plurality of persons, should be one in spirit, in love, and in good works; so likewise the bride of each of his servants, however many persons, should be perfectly one in their love and union of spirit.

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What can be more heavenly and God-like than to see a well regulated family, governed in wisdom and righteousness! It is the commencement of heaven on earth!--it is an organization destined to be eternal! The first born is represented in Scripture as the beginning of one's strength; how much greater will be his strength when he has a great number of wives and children! A foundation is then laid for a patriarchal kingdom, which shall increase in numbers without end, over which he will reign forever. How great reason has such a man to rejoice! How thankful ought he to be for the wives which God has given him, through whom he can multiply his seed as the stars of heaven! What joy and happiness it must give him to love so numerous a family, and to know that he is loved by them in return!

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Love is a principle, like knowledge, which can be imparted without diminishing the fountain from which it emanates. Love, in other words, begets love. We love that which is congenial to our minds; if we love purity and virtue in ourselves, we will love them in others; and when it is known by others that we love them, because of their virtue and goodness, they will love us for like reasons; thus love when founded upon true principle, is reciprocal. Virtue loveth virtue, truth embraceth truth, knowledge cleaveth unto knowledge; every good and heavenly attribute of our own nature we love when we see the same manifested by other beings. We love these virtues in either men or women. Sexual love, without the accompanying virtues, is not to be indulged, as it leads to evil. God has ordained that pure and virtuous love should be incorporated with sexual love; that, by the combination of the two, permanent unions in the marriage covenant may be formed, and the species be multiplied in righteousness. Pure and virtuous love should always exist between a husband and each of his wives, as well as sexual love: this will have a tendency to impress more permanently mind these heavenly principles upon the and constitution of the offspring; for the offspring will partake, in a greater or less degree, of the propensities and affections of the parents. How careful, then, ought the parents to be, lest they impress a disposition and tendency in the offspring that are calculated, if not strongly guarded, to ruin and destroy them as they grow up to act for themselves. God will hold parents accountable for these things, because they are principles over which they, as agents, have control. Every good principle which you would have your children inherit, should be predominant and reign in your own bosoms; for, though the spirits are pure and heavenly when they enter the infant tabernacle, yet they are extremely susceptible of influences either for good or for bad. The state of the parents' minds at the time of conception, and the state of the mother's mind during her pregnancy, will be constitutionally impressed upon the offspring, bringing with it consequences which, in a degree, have a bearing upon the future destiny of the child.

Love, with all the other virtues, should predominate in the bosoms of parents, in order that the same virtues may be inherited by the children. They should be infused into the very constitution of the child when in embryo; they should be instilled into the mind from infancy to manhood, that they may become incorporated as fixed and immovable principles in the mind of man, governing and controlling all the future actions of his life. In such children parents will have joy: they will be the strength of their patriarchal government; the honor and crown of their old age; their hope and glory in the resurrection; their foundation of an endless increase of kingdoms over whom they will reign forever, and with whom they will be associated as God's throughout the endless ages of eternity.

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Instead of a plurality of wives being a cause of sorrow to females, it is one of the greatest blessings of the last dispensation: it gives them the great privilege of being united to a righteous man, and of rearing a family according to the order of heaven. Instead of being compelled to remain single, or marry a wicked man who will ruin her and her offspring, she can enter a family where peace and salvation reign; where righteousness abounds; where the head of the family stands forth as a patriarch, a prince, and a saviour to his whole household; where blessings unspeakable and eternal are sealed upon them and their generations after them; her glory is eternal and her joy is full. Rejoice, then, ye daughters of Zion, that you live in this glorious era! Rejoice for yourselves and for your generations, because of the high honors and privileges conferred upon you! Rejoice that you have entered into blessings which have been withheld for many ages past because of wickedness! Rejoice Instead of a plurality of wives being a cause of sorrow to females, it is one of the greatest blessings of the last dispensation: it gives them the great privilege of being united to a righteous man, and of rearing a family according to the order of heaven. Instead of being compelled to remain single, or marry a wicked man who will ruin her and her offspring, she can enter a family where peace and salvation reign; where righteousness abounds; where the head of the family stands forth as a patriarch, a prince, and a saviour to his whole household; where blessings unspeakable and eternal are sealed upon them and their generations after them; her glory is eternal and her joy is full. Rejoice, then, ye daughters of Zion, that you live in this glorious era! Rejoice for yourselves and for your generations, because of the high honors and privileges conferred upon you! Rejoice that you have entered into blessings which have been withheld for many ages past because of wickedness! Rejoice and sing for gladness of heart in the glorious prospects which open before you! Rejoice in the mountains and dales of Utah! for it is the land of your freedom, where the iron yoke of Romish and Protestant superstitions will be broken from your necks; where you will have the privilege of uniting your eternal destiny with the man of your choice; where virtue will reign triumphant, and the vile seducer be unknown; where confidence shall wax stronger and stronger, being cemented by the love of God! Happy are the daughters of Zion! They would not exchange their condition with the queens of the earth! Worldly honors and worldly riches are not worthy to be compared with the blessings that they enjoy! They love their husbands, and their husbands love them; and this love is far greater than the love which dwells in the hearts of the wicked. The children of Zion love in proportion to the heavenly knowledge which they have received; for love keeps pace with knowledge, and as the one increases so does the other; and when knowledge is perfected, love will be perfected also. The wicked are not capable of loving in as great a degree as the righteous, because they are destitute of the knowledge of God, and do not appreciate wives or children as they ought. They do not fully realize the end and purpose of of [sic] the Almighty in joining the sexes in holy matrimony; and without a knowledge of these things they cannot love as the righteous; for love is of God, and they who live nearest to the Lord will love most; and they who love most will be the most happy.

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If we should inquire what constitutes the misery of the fallen angels, the answer would be, they are destitute of love; they have ceased to love God; they have ceased to have pure love one towards another; they have ceased to love that which is good. Hatred, malice, revenge, and every evil passion have usurped the place of love; and unhappiness, wretchedness, and misery, are the results. Where there is no love, there will be no desire to promote the welfare of others. Instead of desiring that others may be happy, each desires to make all others miserable like himself; each seeks to gratify that hellish disposition against the Almighty which arises from his extreme hatred of that which is good. For the want of love the torment of each is complete. All the wicked who are entirely overcome by these malicious spirits will have the heavenly principle of love wholly irradicated [sic] from their minds, and they will become angels to these infernal fiends, being captivated by them, and compelled to act as they act. They cannot extricate themselves from their power, nor ward off the fiery darts of their malicious tormentors. Such will be the condition of all beings who entirely withdraw themselves from the love of God. As love decreases, wickedness, hatred, and misery increases; and the more wicked individuals or nations become, the less capable are they of loving others and making them happy; and vice versa, the more righteous a people become the more they are qualified for loving others and rendering them happy. A wicked man can have but little love for his wife; while a righteous man, being filled with the love of God, is sure to manifest this heavenly attribute in every thought and feeling of his heart, and in every word and deed. Love, joy, and innocence will radiate from his very countenance, and be expressed in every look. This will beget confidence in the wife of his bosom, and she will love him in return; for love begets love; happiness imparts happiness; and these heaven born emotions will continue to increase more and more, until they are perfected and glorified in all the fulness of eternal love itself.

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Could wicked and malicious beings, who have irradicated [sic] every feeling of love from their bosoms, be permitted to propagate their species, the offspring would partake of all the evil, wicked, and malicious nature of their parents. However pure the spirits might be, when permitted to enter such degraded tabernacles, yet, being extremely susceptible to influences, they would speedily partake of all the evil nature which characterized the spirits of the father and mother: thus they would soon become devils incarnated in flesh and bones. Such would be the dreadful consequences of offspring, brought into existence by parents destitute of the principles of love, like the fallen angels. The same consequences, to a certain degree, would result from the multiplication of wicked parents. In proportion as the pure love of God is irradiated from their hearts, the unholy passions take the place thereof, and the offspring partake of these unlovely principles which are engendered in the nature and constitution of the infant tabernacle, and begin to act upon the pure spirit that takes up its abode therein, forming, modifying, and and [sic] bending, in a great measure, its inclinations, until, by the time that it grows up to know good from evil, it becomes prepared to plunge headlong into all the vices of its ungodly parents: thus the parents, for the want of that holy and pure affection which exists in the bosom of the righteous, not only destroy their own happiness, but impress their own degraded and unlovely passions upon the constitution of their offspring. It is for this reason that God will not permit the fallen angels to multiply: it is for this reason that God has ordained marriages for the righteous only: it is for this reason that God will put a final stop to the multiplication of the wicked after this life: it is for this reason that none but those who have kept the celestial law will be permitted to multiply after the resurrection: it is for this reason that God has ordained that the righteous shall have a plurality of wives; for they alone are prepared to beget and bring forth offspring whose bodies and spirits, partaking of the nature of the parents, are pure and lovely, and will manifest, as they increase in years, those heaven-born excellencies so necessary to lead them to happiness and eternal life.

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The Celestial male and female, after the resurrection, will be perfected in knowledge, and in holiness, and in pure affection and love: they will know as God knows; be pure as He is pure, and love as He loves: their knowledge, their purity, and their affections, before their celestial glorification, will increase alike, and keep pace with each other, until they are perfected, when they will enjoy in fulness every attribute and affection which God himself enjoys, and will be like Him in all these things. Then, and not till then, will they be permitted to propagate that higher order of beings called spirits. As the character of parents in this life is impressed, in a great measure, upon their children, so likewise the character of the celestial parents will be incorporated in the very being of their spirit offspring. The unorganized spirit-matter will not only take the form or image of the celestial parents, but every particle thereof will begin to develope [sic] the germs of all those eternal attributes which dwell in all their fulness in both father and mother.

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If beings who are not perfected should have the privilege of propagating a spirit offspring, they could not impress the organized spirit embryo with the elements of those higher attributes which appertain to the celestial; and, consequently, if the germ of the infant spirit were conceived and fashioned in imperfection, the superstructure or infant spirit itself could never advance to perfection. The eternal attributes must be properly developed, in order that they may be properly perfected; this is the reason why none but those who attain to the fulness of celestial glory, and become God's, will be entrusted with wives, and with power to propagate sons and daughters; that this, the most important of all things--the organizatian [sic] of immortal spirits, may be brought about through the highest, and most exalted, and most glorious personages in the universe, that they may infuse into the very constitution of their beloved children the germs of all the great, and pure, and sublime attributes which are perfected in all their fulness in themselves.

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If none but Gods will be permitted to multiply immortal children, it follows that each God must have one or more wives. God, the Father of our spirits, became the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh. Hence, the Father saith concerning him, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." We are informed in the first chapter of Luke, that Mary was chosen by the Father as a choice virgin, through whom He begat Jesus. The angel said unto the Virgin Mary, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore, also, that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." After the power of the Highest had overshadowed Mary, and she had by that means conceived, she related the circumstance to her cousin Elizabeth in the following words: "He that is Mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name" It seems from this relation that the Holy Ghost accompanied "the Highest" when He overshadowed the Virgin Mary and begat Jesus; and from this circumstance some have supposed that the body of Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost without the instrumentality of the immediate presence of the Father. There is no doubt that the Holy Ghost came upon Mary to sanctify her, and make her holy, and prepare her to endure the glorious presence of "the Highest," that when "He" should "overshadow" her she might conceive, being filled with the Holy Ghost; hence the angel said, as recorded in Matthew, "That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost;" that is, the Holy Ghost gave her strength to abide the presence of the Father without being consumed; but it was the personage of the Father who begat the body of Jesus; and for this reason Jesus is called "the Only Begotten of the Father;" that is, the only one in this world whose fleshly body was begotten by the Father. There were millions of sons and daughters whom He begat before the foundation of this world, but they were spirits, and not bodies of flesh and bones; whereas, both the spirit and body of Jesus were begotten by the Father--the spirit having been begotten in heaven many ages before the tabernacle was begotten upon the earth.

The fleshly body of Jesus required a Mother as well as a Father. Therefore, the Father and Mother of Jesus, according to the flesh, must have been associated together in the capacity of Husband and Wife; hence the Virgin Mary must have been, for the time being, the lawful wife of God the Father: we use the term lawful Wife, because it would be blasphemous in the highest degree to say that He overshadowed her or begat the Saviour unlawfully. It would have been unlawful for any man to have interfered with Mary, who was already espoused to Joseph; for such a heinous crime would have subjected both the guilty parties to death, according to the law of Moses. But God having created all men and women, had the most perfect right to do with His own creation, according to His holy will and pleasure: He had a lawful right to overshadow the Virgin Mary in the capacity of a husband, and beget a Son, although she was espoused to another; for the law which He gave to govern men and women was not intended to govern Himself, or to prescribe rules for his own conduct. It was also lawful in Him, after having thus dealt with Mary, to give her to Joseph her espoused husband. Whether God the Father gave Mary to Joseph for time only, or for time and eternity, we are not informed. Inasmuch as God was the first husband to her, it may be that He only gave her to be the wife of Joseph while in this mortal state, and that He intended after the resurrection to again take her as one of his own wives to raise up immortal spirits in eternity.

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As God the Father begat the fleshly body of Jesus, so He, before the world began, begat his spirit. As the body required an earthly Mother, so his spirit required a heavenly Mother. As God associated in the capacity of a husband with the earthly mother, so likewise He associated in the same capacity with the heavenly one. Earthly things being in the likeness of heavenly things; and that which is temporal being in the likeness of that which is eternal; or, in other words, the laws of generation upon the earth are after the order of the laws of generation in heaven. But if we have a heavenly Mother as well as a heavenly Father, is it not right that we should worship the Mother of our spirits as well as the Father? No; for the Father of our spirits is at the head of His household, and His wives and children are required to yield the most perfect obedience to their great Head. It is lawful for the children to worship the King of Heaven, but not the "Queen of heaven." The children of Israel were severely reproved for making offerings to the "Queen of heaven." Although she is highly exalted and honored as the beloved bride of the great King, yet the children, so far as we are informed, have never been commanded to pray to her or worship her. Jesus prayed to His Father, and taught His disciples to do likewise; but we are nowhere taught that Jesus prayed to His heavenly Mother: neither did he pray to the Holy Ghost as his Father. If He were begotten by the Holy Ghost, then He would have called him His Father; but, instead of doing so, the Holy Ghost himself was subject unto Jesus; and He had power to send him as His minister after he returned to his Father.

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Next let us enquire whether there are any intimations in Scripture concerning the wives of Jesus. We have already, in the 9th No. of this volume, spoken of the endless increase of Christ's government. Now, we have no reason to suppose that this increase would continue, unless through the laws of generation, whereby Jesus, like His Father, should become the Father of spirits; and, in order to become the Father of spirits, or, as Isaiah says, "The Everlasting Father," it is necessary that He should have one or more wives by whom He could multiply His seed, not for any limited period of time, but forever and ever: thus He truly would be a Father everlastingly, according to the name which was to be given Him. The Evangelists do not particularly speak of the marriage of Jesus; but this is not to be wondered at, for St. John says: "There are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." (John 21: 25.) One thing is certain, that there were several holy women that greatly loved Jesus--such as Mary, and Martha her sister, and Mary Magdalene; and Jesus greatly loved them, and associated with them much; and when He arose from the dead, instead of first showing Himself to His chosen witnesses, the Apostles, He appeared first to these women, or at least to one of them--namely, Mary Magdalene. Now, it would be very natural for a husband in the resurrection to appear first to his own dear-wives, and afterwards show himself to his other friends. If all the acts of Jesus were written, we no doubt should learn that these beloved women were his wives. Indeed, the Psalmist, David, prophesies in particular concerning the Wives of the Son of God. We quote from the English version of the Bible, translated about three hundred and fifty years ago: "All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia: when thou comest out of the ivory palaces, where they have made thee glad, Kings' daughters were among thine honorable WIVES: upon thy right hand did stand the QUEEN in a vesture of gold of Ophir." (Psalm 45: 8, 9.) That this passage has express reference to the Son of God and His Wives, will be seen by reading the sixth and seventh verses which are as follows: "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God thy God, hath annointed [sic] thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." This Being, whom the Psalmist here calls God, is represented in the next verses as having "honorable Wives." If any should still doubt whether this prophecy has reference to the Son of God, they may satisfy themselves by reading Paul's application of these passages in the eighth and ninth verses of the first chapter of his epistle to the Hebrews: "But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath annointed [sic] thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Paul applies the words of the prophet David to the son of God, to the annointed [sic] Messiah, who is called God, and whose "throne is forever and ever." Let it be remembered, then, that the Son of God is expressly represented as having "honorable Wives." King James' translators were not willing that this passage should have a literal translation, according to the former English rendering, lest it should give countenance to Polygamy; therefore they altered the translation to honorable women instead of wives; but any person acquainted with the original can see that the first translators have given the true rendering of that passage. Indeed, the very next sentence most clearly demonstrates this; for the Son of God is represented as having a "QUEEN" standing upon His right hand, clothed "in a vesture of gold." This Queen is exhorted in the following endearing language; "Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty, for he is thy Lord; and worship thou Him." (Verses 10, 11.)

(To be continued.)  The Seer; Orson Pratt

 

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33  Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:

34  And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.

35  And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

36  Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.

37  But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

38  But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

39  And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

40  When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

41  They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

42  Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (This refers, saith the Lord, now, to two stones, one is Jesus and the other is the 2^nd witness of the Father, even the one mighty and strong who has been “cut out” (excommunicated) from the mountains without hands (authority).

43  Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you (at that time, the Jews, but now, saith the Lord, the Mormons), and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

44  And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

 

(Matthew 21:33 - 44)

 

44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain  (Daniel 2:44 - 45)

“I am like a huge rough stone rolling down from a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated force against religious bigotry, priestcraft, lawyer-craft, doctor-craft, lying editors, suborned judges and jurors, and the authority of perjured executives, backed by mobs, blasphemers, licentious and corrupt men and women-all hell knocking off a corner here and a corner there. Thus will I become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 304.)

We would let the poor curses alone, if they would stay at home and mind their own business. The American continent never was designed for such a corrupt Government as the United States' to flourish or prosper long upon it. After they should become ripened in iniquity, it was not intended they should continue. The Lord has designed another thing, and for this reason we are here in these mountains: the little stone has been rolling up hill.

(Journal of Discourses, 26 vols., 6:, p.205)

 

• The Revelations of Jesus Christ: http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000020307/The-Revelations-of-Jesus-Christ.aspx
• "But we ask, does it remain for a people who never had faith enough to call down one scrap of revelation from heaven, and for all they have now are indebted to the faith of another people...does it remain for them to say how much God has spoken and how much He has not spoken?"  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Two 1834-37 Pg.60
•  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44 Pg.365
     When a man goes about prophesying, and commands men to obey his teachings, he must either be a true or false prophet. 
•  Our website: http://www.artbulla.com
•  "All men are liars who say they are of the true Church without the revelations of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which is after the order of the Son of God."  Joseph Smith; TPJS p. 376
• "He that can mark the power of Omnipotence, inscribed upon the heavens, can also see God's own handwriting in the sacred volume: and he who reads it oftenest will like it best, and he who is acquainted with it, will know the hand wherever he can see it...." (T.P.J.S., p. 56)

·         10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (New Testament | Galatians 1:10 - 12)

 

 

• The Revelations of Jesus Christ: http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000020307/The-Revelations-of-Jesus-Christ.aspx
• "But we ask, does it remain for a people who never had faith enough to call down one scrap of revelation from heaven, and for all they have now are indebted to the faith of another people...does it remain for them to say how much God has spoken and how much He has not spoken?"  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Two 1834-37 Pg.60
•  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44 Pg.365
     When a man goes about prophesying, and commands men to obey his teachings, he must either be a true or false prophet. 
•  Our website: http://www.artbulla.com
•  "All men are liars who say they are of the true Church without the revelations of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which is after the order of the Son of God."  Joseph Smith; TPJS p. 376
• "He that can mark the power of Omnipotence, inscribed upon the heavens, can also see God's own handwriting in the sacred volume: and he who reads it oftenest will like it best, and he who is acquainted with it, will know the hand wherever he can see it...." (T.P.J.S., p. 56)

·         10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (New Testament | Galatians 1:10 - 12)