The Ancient Prophet's Specification

THE ANCIENT PROPHET'S SPECIFICATION ¶

It is specified by one of the ancient prophets that "In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come and say: Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths." (Micah 4:1,2) ¶

A FEW EVENTS SHOWING JOSEPH SMITH DIVINELY GUIDED ¶

Let us look at a few events in the history of the Latter-day Saints' Church and see if these satisfy the specifications contained in this ancient prediction. ¶

At the age of fourteen Joseph Smith became seriously interested in matters religious. In accordance with instructions which he found in holy writ, he concluded to "ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not." From that very hour, as we believe, until the early age of thirty-nine when he gave his life as a martyr, Joseph Smith was guided by Divine Providence in the establishment of the Church and the direction of its affairs. ¶

TEMPLE BUILDING ¶

For example, how, without divine guidance, could one so young and with so little chance for education have been wise enough to inaugurate the movement in temple-building that has aroused the interest of so many for so long a time? In less than a hundred years the followers of Joseph Smith have invested millions in nine different, splendid temples. The path these faithful followers have trodden has had temples constructed beside it all along the way. ¶

While the people after leaving New York located temporarily in Ohio, the inspiration of the Prophet seemed to indicate that Zion was to be established somewhere far away in the west. In June, 1831, he sent many of the elders westward on a preaching tour. The questions being asked by him and his associates were: "When will the wilderness be made to blossom as the rose? When and where will Zion be built in her glory, and where will the temple be located, unto which, in the last days, people from all nations are to come?" ¶

IN INDEPENDENCE ¶

The Prophet, Oliver Cowdery and other missionaries, met at Independence, Missouri about the middle of July, 1831. This land seemed so far west that they immediately located the city of Zion, the central gathering place of the Saints. Such was the intensity of the desire to locate a site and build a temple that under the inspiration of the spirit, Independence was chosen for this purpose. The lot then selected and dedicated is a spot on which the L. D. S. people hope, sometime, to erect a sacred building. By this act the people felt as if their Zion had been located and dedicated on the western borderline of civilization. ¶

The twelve hundred Church members in Missouri, in 1833, were being increased rapidly by immigration. By mob violence these twelve hundred were driven from their homes and robbed of their possessions. ¶

While these hardships and cruelties were severe, may not they, viewed in the light of more recent events, have been necessary in order to prepare a people strong enough and far-sighted enough to make the journey of a thousand miles across the desert and climb into the very top of the Rocky Mountains? Nothing less than years of severest training and discipline could prepare a people for such a task. ¶

The temple block in Independence had been dedicated in 1831. In December, 1832, through the Prophet, a direct command was given to "establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God." (D. & C. 88:119) The temple-building spirit rested so mightily upon the Prophet that the cornerstones of the temple in Kirtland were laid in July, 1833, and the building was finished and dedicated in March, 1836. ¶

While in this sacred structure there occurred rich outpourings of the spirit and many important heavenly manifestations, this temple was eventually abandoned. It did not satisfy the specifications named by the ancient prophet who clearly said that the temple to be built "in the last days," was to be established in the top of the mountains and was to be exalted above the hills. ¶

IN FAR WEST ¶

Those who are familiar with the history of the Church know that the temple-building spirit has been active in the hearts of this people from the beginning. Among the many sects and churches of today the Latter-day Saints are distinguished as builders of temples. ¶

On the Nation's birthday, in 1838, large numbers of church members participated in a Church celebration at Far West, Missouri, which included the laying of the foundation stones of a temple. Had this structure been completed the number of temples built by the Latter-day Saint people to date would have been ten instead of nine. ¶

IN ILLINOIS ¶

The training and preparation of this people for the work they were to accomplish continued to increase in severity. They were told in unmistakable terms they must leave the state of Missouri. Stripped of the accumulation of years many suffered with the cold and for the necessities of life. They stood facing a mid-winter exodus not knowing where to go. At this trying time the Prophet himself was in prison. Brigham Young, however, with his strong leadership came forward as President of the Council of Twelve and planned and carried into effect the exodus from Missouri to Illinois. On the 1st of May, 1839, it was decided to locate the headquarters of the Church at the town of Commerce in the state of Illinois. A year later this name was changed to Nauvoo. ¶

Soon the construction of dwellings was begun, and in the course of a comparatively short time a hamlet was transformed into a city. ¶

Prisons, mobs, persecutions, hunger and other hardships failed to dampen the temple-building ardor of the members of the Church. At a conference held on the 6th of April, 1841, the cornerstones of the Nauvoo temple were laid. On the 27th of June, 1844, while this structure was in the process of construction, the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum gave their lives as martyrs to the cause which, under divine guidance, they had instituted. Would one not naturally conclude that this peculiar people would lose interest in their peculiar work of building temples with these great leaders slain? But new leaders arose and the work continued going forward as we believe under the direction of Divine Providence. Actual labor was resumed within two weeks after the slaying of the Prophet. ¶

There were indications of persecution on every hand when the capstone of the Nauvoo temple was laid on the 24th of May, 1845. Not until May, 1846, was the building wholly completed and ready for dedication. Nauvoo by this time had a population of twenty thousand. Could anything less than divine inspiration induce these builders to struggle on in the midst of poverty and persecution and thus carry out their ever-increasing desire to construct a temple? ¶

Feeble efforts were made in the fall of 1844 to bring to justice the murderers of the Prophet. In the fall of 1845 encouraged by the acquittal of the slayers of the Prophet, mobs became more and more bold and more and more vicious. ¶

When the people had to decide between exodus and extermination by massacre, they concluded to leave the state. Is it possible that this people still needed a more severe, a more trying training? ¶

Although the exodus of the people had begun, ordinance work in the temple was continued. In a few months after its dedication "the people whose energy and substance, whose sweat and blood had been spent in its rearing, were driven into the wilderness or slain." The temple was in the possession of a mob. Fire and wind finally destroyed it. So complete has been its destruction that literally not one stone is left upon another. ¶

The people had dedicated a temple site in Independence, they had constructed a temple in Kirtland, the foundation of a third had been laid in Far West, and a fourth had been built in Nauvoo. Not one of these, however, satisfied the specifications of the scripture. The temple to be constructed "in the last days" is not to be located on the seashore nor in the valley nor on the bank of a river, but "in the top of the mountains," and it is to be "exalted above the hills." ¶

To these people who were being driven, robbed and persecuted, the following words of the Master gave great satisfaction: "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven." (Matt. 5:11, 12.) ¶

Perhaps no one can tell why in the wisdom of Providence, these severe experiences were necessary. Now the people, however, were thoroughly prepared. They were ready. They had their faces set like flint toward the west. ¶

THE HISTORIC JOURNEY ¶

While Nauvoo was less than seven years old, it now had twenty thousand inhabitants. These were compelled to leave their homes and journey far beyond the confines of civilization. It was in mid-winter, February 4, 1846, that this multitude began crossing the waters of the Mississippi. Ferries were used until the river was frozen. After that the crossing was made on the ice. With their sick, sleeping in tents and wagons, great hardships were necessarily endured. "There is no parallel in the world's history," says Bancroft, "of this migration from Nauvoo." (Whitney's History of Utah, page 217.) ¶

"The people of Iowa have told me," said Colonel Thomas L. Kane, "that from morning to night they passed westward like an endless procession. They did not seem greatly out of heart, they said; but at the top of every hill, before they disappeared they were to be seen looking back, like banished Moors, on their abandoned homes and far-seen temple and its glittering spires." (See Anderson's Brief History of the Church, page 82.) ¶

On the 14th of January, 1847, President Young announced instructions to guide the Saints in their travels. Early preparations were made to vacate Winter Quarters and depart for their unknown inheritance in the wilderness. ¶

One hundred forty-four men, able bodied, were selected to lead on this westward journey. Because of illness one returned to camp leaving the number of one hundred forty-three with three women and two children. They had seventy-two wagons, ninety-three horses, fifty-two mules, sixty-six oxen, and nineteen cows, besides seventeen dogs and some chickens. (See Anderson's Brief History of the Church, page 90.) ¶

This historic journey was begun April 7, 1847. All of April passed, May also, and still the Pioneers continued their journey onward across the American desert. June went by as did also nearly all of July, and yet they with their oxen and slowly moving teams wended their way westward, climbing the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, higher and higher, and higher, to the very place that answers the specifications prescribed by the Prophet anciently. Who will deny that such a journey made under such conditions was directed by the power of God? ¶

THE TEMPLE IN SALT LAKE CITY ¶

The long and trying trip seems to have increased rather than to have diminished the interest of the people in temple building. From the day the cornerstones were laid for the Salt Lake temple until it was dedicated, forty years elapsed. ¶

The death of the great temple-builder, Brigham Young, occurred when the walls of the Salt Lake temple extended but twenty feet above the surface of the ground. The work so well begun by him was continued during the whole administration of President John Taylor and the intensity of the effort seemed to increase during the administration of his successor, President Wilford Woodruff up to the very hour when it was dedicated, April 6, 1893. The capstone of the mighty structure was laid by him in the presence of a throng that numbered forty thousand within the confines of the temple block, while other thousands, unable to secure a place inside the walls, stood in the streets or looked from nearby windows and the roofs of adjoining buildings. ¶

THE SPECIFICATIONS OF THE ANCIENT PROPHET FULFILLED ¶

The edifice completed stands on this block. It speaks for itself. It is located in the top of the mountains. It is exalted above the hills and people from all nations have come unto it. Thus the specifications laid down by the prophet of old are satisfied, his prophecy fulfilled. ¶

These are the days, too, in which, as Daniel says, "the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed." That kingdom is located here, and in the language of Daniel, "it shall not be left to other people, and it shall endure forever." This is the place, this is the kingdom, and Jesus of Nazareth is the King. ¶