Go ye forth * * reproving the world in righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days;
For, with you, saith the Lord Almighty, I will rend their kingdoms; I will not only shake the earth, but the starry heavens shall tremble;
For I, the Lord, have put forth my hand to exert the powers of heaven; ye cannot see it now, yet a little while and ye shall see it, and know that I am, and that I will come and reign with my people.
Early in the month of October the Prophet departed with Bishop Whitney for the Eastern States, and made hurried visits to the cities of Albany, New York and Boston, returning to Kirtland on the sixth day of November, 1832. Three days previous to the latter date, on November 3rd, a son was born to him, whom he named Joseph.
To one not divinely sustained the burden of work now laid upon Joseph would have been oppressive. The little time he could snatch from the labors of the ministry was devoted to diligent labor upon the translation of the Bible; and in addition he was planning for the further progress of proselyting work and for the upbuilding of Zion, in Missouri. Upon this latter subject he bestowed much anxious thought. He communicated with the Elders there by letter, and gave them careful instruction concerning the distribution of inheritances to the Saints and the general management of affairs in that land.
On the 25th day of December, 1832, the following revelation and prophecy were given to Joseph, at Kirtland, Ohio:
Verily, thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls.
The days will come that war will be poured upon all nations, beginning at that place;
For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.
And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war;
And it shall come to pass also, that the remnants who are left of the land will marshal themselves, and shall become exceeding angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation;
And thus, with the sword, and by bloodshed, the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquakes, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all the nations; * * *
Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.
This revelation was made known at that time to the Saints and was a subject of constant remark in the Church; in 1851 it was published to the world and obtained a somewhat wide circulation. Nearly twenty-nine years after its date, its wondrous fulfillment began when the first gun was fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Since that time wars and rumors of wars have prevailed throughout the world. Peace has fled, and in view of all the Lord has said, it is not too much to expect it has fled no more to return till the reign of righteousness shall begin.
It is strange that the solemn warning uttered by Joseph in 1832 should have gone unheeded. His prophecy was not without its purpose. The Lord inspired his mind with visions of the future and with power to view the paths by which the nation might escape the impending disasters, but like other parts of His message of salvation to the human race this warning also was rejected.
CHAPTER XXIII.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS—THE TRANSLATION OF THE SCRIPTURES—THE WORD OF WISDOM REVEALED—JOSEPH SELECTS COUNSELORS— THE SAVIOR AND ANGELS APPEAR AFTER THE ORDINATION—LANDS PURCHASED IN AND AROUND KIRTLAND.
The warnings, of which he had been the chosen proclaimer to the world, imbued the Prophet with a sense of mankind's physical danger, as he had formerly been made to understand their spiritual jeopardy; and we find from all his writings and utterances of this period that he repeated often and in various ways the message of alarm.