The Call to Repentance

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles ¶

And again this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come, or the destruction of the wicked. ¶

The Call to Repentance

These words were spoken by our Savior to His disciples shortly before his crucifixion. They have reference to the day in which we live. In fulfilment of -that prediction the Elders of this Church have been preaching the Gospel in the nations of the earth for one hundred and ten years, they have been raising the warning voice and crying repentance. It was not only expedient, but it was inspirational that the Presidency of this Church, at the opening of this Conference should send forth a petition or an epistle not only to the Latter-day Saints, but to the people of the earth, calling them to repentance and giving unto them a warning. ¶

From the very beginning the Lord has called upon the Elders of the Church to raise the warning voice, and we read: ¶

Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of Him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say: Hearken ye people from afar; and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together. ¶

That is the call from the Lord to every soul upon the face of the earth, to give heed to His warning. Then continuing He says: ¶

For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated. ¶

And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed. ¶

And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days. ¶

And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them. ¶

And so they have gone forth, bearing witness of the restoration of the Gospel, preaching repentance, warning the people of the calamities that were to follow their preaching. ¶

A Warning to the World

Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people, for what I the Lord have decreed in them -- (that is, in the Elders) -- shall be fulfilled. ¶

And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious; ¶

Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure -- ¶

Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man. ¶

Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear: ¶

Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh. Then again the Lord gave this instruction: ¶

Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; ¶

And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; 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. ¶

That proclamation was given in the very beginning of this Church; it is found in the Preface which the Lord Himself wrote to this book of commandments. ¶

Further, again the Lord says: ¶

For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power of his own dominion. ¶

And also the Lord shall have power over His saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world. ¶

That was said more than a hundred years ago. Peace has been taken from the world, the devil does have power over his own dominion today, and the Lord has not yet come to dwell with His Saints, but that also shall be fulfilled. ¶

The Judgments to Come

Let me present another petition to the nations of the earth and to the Elders of the Church: ¶

Hearken ye, for, behold, the great day of the Lord is nigh at hand. ¶

For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble, and the trump of God shall sound both long and loud, and shall say to the sleeping nations: Ye saints arise and live; ye sinners stay and sleep until I shall call again. ¶

Wherefore gird up your loins lest ye be found among the wicked. ¶

Lift up your voices and spare not. Call upon the nations to repent, both old and young, both bond and free, saying: Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord; ¶

For if I, who am a man, do lift up my voice and call upon you to repent, and ye hate me, what will ye say when the day cometh when the thunders shall utter their voices from the ends of the earth, speaking to the ears of all that live, saying -- Repent, and prepare for the great day of the Lord? ¶

Yea, and again, when the lightnings shall streak forth from the east unto the west, and shall utter forth their voices unto all that live, and make the ears of all tingle that hear, saying these words -- Repent ye, for the great day of the Lord is come? ¶

And again, the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven, saying: Hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and hear the words of that God who made you. ¶

O, ye nations of the earth, how often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not! ¶

How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not! ¶

Behold the day has come, when the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full. ¶

Behold, verily I say unto you, that these are the words of the Lord your God. ¶

Wherefore, labor ye, labor ye in my vineyard for the last time -- for the last time call upon the inhabitants of the earth. ¶

The Word of the Lord to the Missionaries

Again speaking to the missionaries in an early day the Lord said: ¶

Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. ¶

Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads. ¶

He that seeketh me early shall find me, and shall not be forsaken. ¶

Therefore, tarry ye, and labor diligently, that you may be perfected in your ministry to go forth among the Gentiles for the last time, as many as the mouth of the Lord shall name, to bind up the law and seal up the testimony, and to prepare the saints for the hour of judgment which'is to come: ¶

That their souls may escape the wrath of God, the desolation of abomination which awaits the wicked, both in this world and in the world to come. Verily, I say unto you, let those who are not the first Elders continue in the vineyard until the mouth of the Lord shall call them, for their time is not yet come; their garments are not clean from the blood of this generation. ¶

Abide ye in the liberty wherewith ye are made free; entangle not yourselves in sin, but let your hands be clean, until the Lord comes. ¶

For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that f alleth from off a fig-tree. ¶

And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people. ¶

For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand. ¶

And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. ¶

And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people. ¶

And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come. Behold, and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him. ¶

These are the words of the Lord to His servants, and to the nations of the earth. As I look into your faces I see before me hundreds, thousands, who have been gathered out from the nations of the earth, either you or your parents, but you heard the Gospel in foreign lands. In obedience to this call you are here today. Nations have refused to hear the testimony of the Elders of Israel as it has been proclaimed, and the Lord has withdrawn them from among the nations, that is, many of them. He has done that because they have rejected the truth, and because of their wickedness. War comes because of wickedness; it never comes because of righteousness, but through the violation of the laws of God. ¶

The Word of the Lord Has Gone Forth

Now, the Lord has predicted all these things. We have known this; it has been taught to us for a hundred years. We have been informed that it is necessary to keep the commandments of the Lord, for us to repent of our sins, for us to walk in ways of righteousness, and do the thing that the Lord would have us do. The nations have had proclamations made to them from time to time. In the early days of this Church it was very customary for the Presidency of the Church to send forth a proclamation, not only to the Saints, but to the inhabitants of the earth, calling upon them to repent, to turn from their ways of wickedness to ways of righteousness, accepting the fulness of the Gospel as it has been revealed. ¶

It is nothing new -- should not be -- to us to see these calamities and these destructions taking place upon the face of the earth. We have been warned; the Authorities of the Church have spoken from the very beginning calling attention to these things. We have seen and we have read in the records the Lord has given us, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Book of Mormon, and the Pearl of Great Price, that all these things were due to come in the dispensation of the fulness of time. ¶

Now let me read this other scripture: ¶

Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion-- THE PURE IN HEART; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn. ¶

For behold, and lo, vengeance cometh speedily upon the ungodly as the whirlwind; and who shall escape it? ¶

The Lord's scourge shall pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yea, it shall not be stayed until the Lord come; ¶