The Redemption of Zion

Background
With the scene now set for the final chapter, after the Lord’s decree in the days of Enoch, that he would call upon the children of Noah and preserve a remnant of them, so long as the world should stand, we can understand the reason why he called Abraham, Issac and Jacob, then delivered the house of Jacob from their captivity in Egypt, and blessed them through the instrumentality of his servant Moses, but eventually cursed them and scattered them throughout the world, in consequence of their rebellion and idolatry, which scattering and judgment has brought a knowledge of Christ to the whole world and focused the attention of the nations on his people Israel. Now, through all this, we can see how he provoked his people to jealousy, by bringing the Gentiles into his covenant and blessing them in the stead of the house of Israel, which he cursed for the gospel’s sake.

And the Gentiles, having been grafted into the covenant, have prospered exceedingly, because of the faith of their fathers in Christ, the Lord having blessed them because of their faith in him, not withstanding the greatness of their stumbling block. The stumbling block for the unbelieving Jews was Christ, whom they could not accept as the promised Messiah, because they did not understand that the law of Moses, as a school master, was meant to teach them, to bring them to him.

In Christ, the law of Moses was fulfilled, and was done away at his coming, but the covenant that he made with his people, as explained by the prophets, was not all fulfilled at that point in time. The voices from the dust testify that Jesus taught them, as recorded in 3 Ne 15, saying:

Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.
Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end.
Behold, I do not destroy the prophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you, shall all be fulfilled.
And because I said unto you that old things have passed away, I do not destroy that which hath been spoken concerning things which are to come.
For behold, the covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the law which was given unto Moses hath an end in me.
Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.
Behold, I have given unto you the commandments; therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly testified of me. (3 Ne 15:4-10)

For the unbelieving Jews, the end of the Law of Moses was a stumbling block, but now for the believing Gentiles of the modern world, Jesus is not seen as “the law and the light,” a higher law which must be followed as diligently as was the Law of Moses, but as an escape from law altogether, as if Christians were no longer subject to law, because, in their view, the grace of God exempts them from having to obey any law. Hence, this great misunderstanding of the Gentiles has become a stumbling block to them, which the voices of the dust can take away, if they will only hearken unto them.

So, with this much understood, we are ready to see how his work, his marvelous work, has commenced in all the earth to once more gather his people in these latter days, as he did in ancient days, when everyday his name is blasphemed by the Gentiles, the sabbath day is broken, and the whole earth is drunken and staggering, intoxicated with iniquity and abominations, while they deny the God of Israel, and trust in their own understanding instead.

However, the world will stare and wonder as the Lord binds up the breach of his people and heals the stroke of their wound, through the instrumentality of Joseph, as he bares the arm of his power in the eyes of all the nations. And all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets –

The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh—
But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world;
That faith also might increase in the earth;
That mine everlasting covenant might be established;
That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers. (D&C 1:19-23)

As we have seen, in these latter days, it is the Gentiles who have rejected the God of Israel, and who fight against Zion, but the arm of the Lord shall be revealed, as he rises majestically to glorify and to sanctify his name in the eyes of “Egypt,” or the world, by having mercy on his afflicted, by delivering his people the second time from their long captivity, with great power and with a mighty hand; for the day has arrived that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people with great judgments; For modern men have strayed from his ordinances and have broken his everlasting covenant, just as Israel had done anciently.

In short, the name of the Lord is to be sanctified in the eyes of his people through the destruction of their enemies:

Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people: Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over. (2 Ne 8:22-23)

The ancient voices from the dust testify and warn that the wicked of their people felt the chastening hand of God, as great judgments fell upon them in in the land of America long ago, destroying the more wicked part of them. Then, after this great destruction was accomplished, Jesus himself came down from heaven to minister to the survivors, explaining in plainness and simplicity the fullness of his gospel, including the role of the house of Israel in the Father’s work, which he said would commence in the latter days, among the Gentile nations, after the descendants of his people had been scattered by the Gentiles and a remnant of them left among the Gentiles, like captives, and like sheep without a shepherd.

The destruction of the wicked of these ancient people, before Jesus descended and walked among them two millennia ago, is clearly a pattern and warning for the coming destruction of the wicked in the latter days. According to their record, the voices of the dust recount that the cup of the Lord’s fury was poured out without measure upon them. Then, as the survivors lay in the midst of the ruin and the ensuing darkness caused by it, they heard the voice of God speaking to them:

And it came to pass that there was a voice heard among all the inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land, crying:
Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!
Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof.
And behold, that great city Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof to be drowned.
And behold, that great city Moronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their iniquities and their abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them.
And behold, the city of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk, and the inhabitants thereof to be buried up in the depths of the earth;
Yea, and the city of Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Mocum and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Jerusalem and the inhabitants thereof; and waters have I caused to come up in the stead thereof, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more unto me against them.
And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of Gimgimno, all these have I caused to be sunk, and made hills and valleys in the places thereof; and the inhabitants thereof have I buried up in the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up any more unto me against them.
And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire because of their sins and their wickedness, which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth, because of their secret murders and combinations; for it was they that did destroy the peace of my people and the government of the land; therefore I did cause them to be burned, to destroy them from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them.
And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations.
And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against them.
And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations. (3 Ne 9:1-10)

For three days, total darkness covered the land, and the moans and cries of the people, and the creaking and groaning of the earth, created a scene of complete terror and dismay, but the voice they heard went on to declare repentance and salvation to the survivors:

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. (3 Ne 9:13-22)

After the darkness lifted and the groanings of the earth ceased, the cries and lamentations of the people abated and they began to look around at the amazing destruction that had occurred in the land.

And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place.
And they were also conversing about this Jesus Christ, of whom the sign had been given concerning his death.
And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.
And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they understood it not.
And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came.
And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:
Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.
And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.
And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.
And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had been prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after his ascension into heaven.
And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:
Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:
Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him. (3 Ne 11:1-17)

Thus, in this marvelous account of the Book of Mormon, the voice of warning whispering to us from the dust as it were, we see that the Father has fulfilled his promise to Enoch, saying:

And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem, …and my work shall go forth, for inasmuch as the knowledge of a Savior has come unto the world, through the testimony of the Jews, even so shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people— (Moses 7:62 & D&C 3:16)

To which the Lord in our day adds:

And to the Nephites, and the Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the Zoramites, through the testimony of their fathers—
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And for this very purpose are these plates preserved, which contain these records—that the promises of the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to his people;
And that the Lamanites might come to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might know the promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved. Amen. (D&C 3:17-20)

The Commencement – The Morning Breaks
All of this was unknown to the world, when on a beautiful morning in the Spring of 1820, a young boy in upstate New York, USA, retired to the woods near his home in Palmyra, NY, to ask wisdom of God, whose promise to give knowledge and wisdom to those who ask for it in faith was burning in his heart.

However, the boy, Joseph Smith, Jr, received more than he bargained for that morning, much, much more, for he found out that he was called to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to bring forth the sealed book, containing this marvelous testimony of Jesus Christ in America, a book that was recorded by a people destroyed by the hand of God upon them, but with the promise that it would come forth in the latter days, to become the vision of all, the initial basis of the Lord’s revelation, wherein he was to proceed to perform a marvelous work, even his marvelous work and wonder that would cause the wisdom of the wise to perish and the understanding of the prudent to be hid.

Eventually, by the power of God, Joseph translated the record of the ancient Americans, and, after laying the foundation of the work he was called to do, he gave his life and sealed his testimony that it was not his work, but the work of God, sealing his testimony of this with his own blood, which was shed by a mob of assassins barely twenty-four years after he knelt in that sacred grove of trees near his family’s home in Palmyra, New York.

But all this was in fulfillment of the words of the prophets, saying that the Lord would bring again Zion and all those that lay down their lives for the cause of Zion would partake of the glory to come, because the Lord lives and will come down in judgment upon an unbelieving and idolatrous world, drunken and staggering under sin and iniquity. And then shall that which the prophet Isaiah has written come to pass, saying:

Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
For thus saith the Lord: Ye have sold yourselves for naught, and ye shall be redeemed without money.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that my people shall know my name; yea, in that day they shall know that I am he that doth speak.
And then shall they say: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings unto them of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!
And then shall a cry go forth: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is unclean; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.
For ye shall not go out with haste nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward.
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
As many were astonished at thee—his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—
So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. (3 Ne 20:36-45)

This is what is meant by the prophets, when they say that the “Lord will bring again Zion.” It means that the covenant that the Father made with his people (and the Father and the Son are one) will be fulfilled and that Jerusalem shall again be inhabited by his people and it shall be the land of their inheritance. Of course, the wicked will oppose the work, and Mount Easu will oppose the work, and many of the Christians will oppose the work, even though the truth of it is declared to them by the weak and simple of the earth. And because of this opposition and unbelief, the servant of the Lord shall be marred.

The Setback – The Servants Flee
Joseph Smith’s teachings, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants, the Bible and American Indian folklore all come together and point to a momentous change that must unavoidably come to modern America.

The essence of that change is the falling of the judgment of the God of Israel upon the Gentiles who now possess the land. The truth is, the Gentiles, mostly descended from Europeans, but also from the Russians and the heathen nations, and Africa (literally non-Israelite nations – strangers), were brought to this land by the hand of God and set up as a free people, starting with the journey of Columbus, in 1492.

How do we know that Americans are brought here by the hand of God? It’s true that Columbus tells us so in his writings, but the Book of Mormon not only tells us that this is so, but also explains why the Lord did what he did. The extent of the mercy of the Lord to the Gentiles, and also the judgments upon his people, and then again the extent of the mercy of the Lord to his people, and also his judgments upon the Gentiles, which are revealed in the Book of Mormon, are so grand and so sweeping that only Isaiah was given the power to deliver the totality of that message to mankind. The Apostle Paul understood this and wrote about it in part, in Romans 11, as did many of the prophets before him.

However, even the descendants of the ancient Americans were taught about it by their fathers. They counted down to November and December of 2012, because Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed Serpent, harmless as a dove, but wise as a serpent, caused a great stone to be carved so that they would not forget the ancient teachings that, while the Gentiles were brought to their land, the land of America, by the hand of the Father, to their overthrow and destruction, the Lord would eventually have mercy upon them, by removing this long oppression from off their necks, after five full cycles of the Dawn Star (5 x 104 years = 520 years), when the Gentiles would have become fully ripened in iniquity and guilty of rejecting Christ in modern times, just as the ancients had done in times of old.

The Book of Mormon doesn’t give us dates, but it describes the destruction coming upon the Gentiles as something the likes of which they have never heard. Among other things, their chariots are to be cut off, their idols, witchcrafts and sorceries will cease, and their cities will be utterly destroyed.

So what about the restored Church? How does it survive through all this? The awful truth is, It doesn’t escape altogether. The Lord trieth the righteous; that is, just as the hedge in the Lord’s parable, given by revelation to the prophet Joseph Smith, is broken down, by the coming of the enemy by night, the truth is that the U.S. constitution, protecting the Church, is now broken down. Sadly, according to the parable, the servants of the nobleman will soon arise in fear and flee, leaving the office of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the twelve olive trees, to be broken down and the works of the Lord’s servants destroyed.

In other words, the body of the Latter-day Saints, the suffering servant of the Lord, shall be marred, but because the life of his servant is in his hands, the Lord will heal him, though this great evil is permitted to come upon him, as a refiners fire, and this because of the unbelief of those who reject the truth that is declared unto them.

But the Lord will show unto the children of men that his wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. For just as he does in the parable, he will send his servant to gather his warriors, the scattered strength of his house, into a great army, and lead them in a military march back to his vineyard to redeem it, for it belongs to him.

The Jews have long had a tradition that there are two messiahs, or anointed ones, whom the Lord chose to work mighty miracles in behalf of his people. Of course, one is the Savior, Messiah Ben David, whom the Jews rejected, but who nevertheless is the Redeemer of the world, who has been trampled under the feet of men that salvation might come unto the children of men, while the other is Messiah Ben Joseph, who shall be sent to gather together Israel before the great and terrible day of the Lord, that they might prepare themselves for the glorious return of their great Deliverer, that they might receive him when he comes, and be caught up to meet him in the air at his appearing.

According to the rabbinical tradition, Messiah Ben Joseph, the anointed son of Joseph, will gather Israel around him; lead them as a fearsome army in a great march to the decimated vineyard of the Lord to redeem it; and there to establish temple worship and civil government in Jerusalem of old.

Of course, the rabbis have always thought of this remarkable tradition in terms of Jerusalem, in the land of Israel, not in terms of a new holy city, in the land of America. But now we see, from the voices of the dust, that Joseph will be gathered to build a new city in America, called New Jerusalem, where Zion will be established, and from where the law and the word of the Lord shall go forth, in preparation for the great and dreadful day of the Lord, which shall burn up the wicked, leaving them neither root nor branch.

So, we can see what the hedge in the parable of the vineyard is, and we can see what the twelve olive trees are, but what is the tower that the servants failed to finish, after having laid the foundation thereof? Clearly, the Lord gave the commandment to build the tower in order to guard against the enemy he knew was coming, and protect the vineyard from surprise attack.

To understand what the tower in the parable represents, we need to know how it would have served to protect the vineyard, or, in other words, the work of the Twelve Apostles, from the enemy, an enemy that comes by night, stealthily, to first break down the hedge, and then to take upon themselves the fruit of the vineyard and break down its twelve trees and destroy the works of the Lord’s servants.

Since there is no longer any doubt that the enemy, who is breaking down the U.S. Constitution, is called the New World Order, a scientific dictatorship, imposed by murderous, secret combinations (conspiracies) of the elite of the world, who, the voices of the dust tell us, seek to bring all lands, nations and countries into captivity, in order to execute their plans to bring to pass the destruction of all people, then the tower would have to represent something that would have enabled the servants of the Lord to see and understand this, alerting them to the impending danger in time to make ready and prevent these wicked machinations from taking effect.

This implies in turn that what was needed was great diligence in teaching theory, principal, doctrine and the law of the gospel – in short, all things that pertain to the kingdom of God that are expedient for the Saints to understand, including things in heaven, things in the earth and under the earth, history, or the things which have been, current events, or things which are, and prognostications, or things which must shortly come to pass, including things which are at home, things which are abroad, and the wars and perplexities of the nations. But this is not all. It is expedient that the saints should also understand the judgments of God that are upon the land and have a knowledge of countries and kingdoms, that they might not be deceived by the efforts of the New World Dictatorship to subvert the institutions of nations, overthrow the family, and corrupt its individual citizens, in a full spectrum effort to completely dominate them.

Had this great commandment been kept, to educate and teach the saints in this manner, they would have easily perceived and been prepared to thwart the efforts of the global elite in Utah, if not in the United States. However, though the foundation for keeping the commandment to build the “tower” was laid, when Joseph belatedly organized the political kingdom of God on the earth, as commanded by the Lord, the leading brethren, the servants of the Lord, quarreled among themselves and eventually concluded that the tower was nothing more than “a debating school,” which was not needed all that much, given the pressing needs of life on the Utah frontier.

Consequently, the building of this organization, which was begun and called the “Kingdom of God and His Laws, with the Keys, Powers and Judgment thereof in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ,” or Council of Fifty for short, was neglected and never completed.

Had it been completed, it would not have been circumscribed in its investigations, deliberations and actions, as was the Church itself, by the imposition of the pernicious tax laws, instituted by the cabal of elites and its dupes, but would have been free to counter the efforts of the elite, to counter the dumbing-down of the education of the saints, with respect to things of heaven and earth and the historical development of tyranny and its dependence on gaining economic control of nations by murder and deception, and political control by murder, deception, graft and corruption.

The Council of Fifty, under the direction of its president and the twelve, who were standing members of it, would have no doubt instituted local councils in every city, county and state, where its influence was sufficient, in order to warn and advise officials in local and state governments against the efforts of the elite to beguile their economic, political and educational leaders into partaking of the set of poisonous theories, principals, doctrines and laws, which are purposely designed to subvert and destroy the freedom, sovereignty and morality of upright citizens.

Moreover, since the membership and the works of the Council were not made public, the enemy would not have had as much occasion to demonize and vilify it in the public eye, as it did similar educational efforts by private citizens such as Robert Welch and others, whose efforts were necessarily public, and with the august prestige of the prophet and the twelve apostles behind the Council, not to mention the attendant blessings of the Lord upon it, the Council’s efforts behind the scenes would have been much more effective than others.

But, alas, it was not to be, just as the Lord foretold in the D&C 101 parable. The Church can do nothing now, but continue to proclaim the truth concerning the fullness of the gospel of Christ, serve the living and the dead in brotherly love, and administer relief to the needy, for as long as it can do so, before the actions of the enemy cause the servants of the Lord to arise and to be very afraid and to flee before them.

But shall this prospect deter us? No, never! Let us recall the words of the prophet Joseph:

Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.

Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers!

“Behold, the great day of the Lord is at hand; and who can abide the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap; and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation. (D&C 128:22-24)

Surely, if we redeem our kindred dead from their prison, they will be grateful and will be free to come to the aid of their mortal descendants in their own time of need. The Lord has promised the saints that he would preserve them, even if it must needs be by fire, and as the prophet cried to him, so do we:

In that day thou shalt come, O Lord; and [we] will put [our] trust in thee. Thou shalt say unto thy people, for [our ears] hath heard thy voice; thou shalt say unto every soul, Flee unto my mountain; and the righteous shall flee like a bird that is let go from the snare of the fowler.
For the wicked bend their bow; lo, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart, to destroy their foundation.
But the foundations of the wicked shall be destroyed, and what can they do?
For the Lord, when he shall come into his holy temple, sitting upon God’s throne in heaven, his eyes shall pierce the wicked.
Behold his eyelids shall try the children of men, and he shall redeem the righteous, and they shall be tried. The Lord loveth the righteous, but the wicked, and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth. (JST, Psalm 11:1-5)

Selah.