29. Concerning the state of peace, prosperity, and duration of human life, characteristic of that period, we read:—"There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer: and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord."[1119]

30. The Lord's voice is heard to-day declaring the same prophetic truths, as is shown in the revelations touching the Millennium given in the present dispensation of the Church.[1120] In 1831, the Lord addressed the elders of His Church, and said:—"For the great Millennium, of which I have spoken by the mouth of my servants, shall come; for Satan shall be bound, and when he is loosed again, he shall only reign for a little season, and then cometh the end of the earth."[1121] On another occasion these words were spoken:—"For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.... And again, verily, verity, I say unto you, that when the thousand years are ended, and men again begin to deny their God, then will I spare the earth but for a little season, and the end shall come."[1122]

31. The Millennium then is to precede the events usually indicated by the scriptural phrase, "the end of the world." During that period, all conditions will be propitious for righteousness; Satan's power will be suspended; and men, relieved to some extent from temptation, will be zealous in the service of their reigning Lord. Nevertheless, sin will not be wholly abolished, nor will death be banished; though children will live to reach maturity in the flesh, and then may be changed to a condition of immortality in the "twinkling of an eye."[1123] Both mortal and immortal beings will tenant the earth, and communion with the heavenly powers will be common. The Latter-day Saints believe that during that millennial era they will be privileged to continue the vicarious work for the dead, which constitutes so important and so characteristic a feature of their duty,[1124] and that the facilities for direct communication with the heavens will enable them to carry on their labor of love without hindrance. When the thousand years are passed, Satan will again assert his power, and those who are not then numbered among the pure in heart will yield to his influence. But the liberty thus recovered by "the prince of the power of the air"[1125] will be of short duration; his final doom will speedily follow, and with him will go to the punishment that is everlasting, all who are his. Then the earth will pass to its celestial condition, and become a fit abode for the glorified sons and daughters of our God.

NOTES.

1. "The Anointed One."—"Christ, the official name of the Redeemer of mankind, as Jesus, or in the Hebrew, Joshua, 'Savior,' was His natural name. Christ means 'anointed,' from chrio, 'to anoint.' Under the Old Testament dispensation, high priests, kings, and prophets were appointed to their office by the pouring of the sacred oil upon their heads. The rite was performed by the recognized officer of Jehovah, and was an outward testimony that their appointment proceeded direct from God himself, as the source of all authority, and as being under the ancient covenant, in a peculiar way, the governor of his people. The oil used in the consecration of priests, and the anointing of the tabernacle and sacred vessels, was a special preparation of myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia (Exo. xxx, 23-25), which the Jews were forbidden to apply to the body, or to copy under pain of death. It was no doubt intended to typify the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit."—Cassell's Bible Dictionary, p. 257.

2. The Seventh Thousand Years.—"As each seventh year was Israel's year of remission, so of the world's seven thousands, the seventh shall be its sabbatism."—Fausset's Bible Cyclopedia, p. 685. "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God"; or, as given by marginal reference, instead of "rest," the "keeping of a sabbath."—Heb. iv, 9.

3. Millennial Peace.—"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."—Isa. xi, 6-9; see also lxv, 25.

4. The Earth before, during, and after the Millennium.—"There are three conditions of the earth spoken of in the inspired writings,—the present, in which everything pertaining to it must go through a change which we call death; the millennial condition, in which it will be sanctified for the residence of purer intelligences, some mortal and some immortal; and the celestial condition, spoken of in the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of Revelation, which will be one of immortality and eternal life."—Compendium, by Elders F. D. Richards and James A. Little, p. 202.

[LECTURE XXI.]

REGENERATION AND RESURRECTION.

Article 10.—We believe ... That the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.