If in the mind of the reader anything seems to be deficient in the conclusions from the statements quoted, certainly the account of the resurrection from the inspired writings of Ezekiel should dispel every doubt. The entire thirty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel should be read. In this vision of the prophet he saw the resurrection of the house of Israel, so real in its nature that bone came to bone, sinew to sinew; flesh and skin covered the frame, and the spirit entered the body of each. Thus a complete resurrection of the bodies was wrought out. Ezekiel says, after the Lord commanded, "So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied there was a noise, and behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them. * * * Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. * * * And they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army." (Ezek. xxxvii:7-10.) That this is to be an actual resurrection of the bodies of the dead is made plain by the twelfth and thirteenth verses: "Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves." * * * "Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Verses 26, 27. ) Thus there shall be a real, actual resurrection of the body, a complete reunion of the spirit with the body.
After the resurrection, those whose bodies and spirits are thereby reunited will join their living brethren, receive revelation from God, including the everlasting covenant, be gathered to their own lands, and continue to multiply and increase, with the sanctuary of God in their midst, and with His divine approval forevermore.
How beautiful, how joyous to contemplate, and how real and tangible is this, as contrasted with the poor, rambling, uncertain theories of uninspired men, who are controlled by the systems of men rather than guided by that "more sure word of prophecy," the revelations of God.
To the Latter-day Saints the doctrine of the resurrection is a living, tangible reality because, added to the testimonies of the Jewish Scriptures, the Old and the New Testaments, and the Book of Mormon, which corroborates the Bible, they have the testimony of men in this century, who have seen the living bodies of resurrected beings. Joseph Smith was a man of unblemished character. His veracity was never impeached. His honor in religion, in morality and business transactions, attested by friend and foe, were unsullied to the end of his mortal career, when he sealed his testimony with his innocent blood. His testimony is that he saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, the latter on several occasions. Joseph also had a visitation from John the Baptist, Peter, James, John, Moses, Elijah, Moroni and other ancient prophets of God who lived on the Eastern or Western hemispheres. He was not alone in being a witness to the existence of resurrected beings. Others in modern times also have seen these, and have published their testimonies to the world. Those who have received the witness of the Holy Ghost, and who also know that there is a resurrection and that the words of the Savior and the prophets are true and faithful, are numbered by the thousands.
This is my testimony on the subject: I testify in the name of the resurrected Redeemer that God has spoken from the heavens in this age of the world; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world; that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Most High, and received the revelations of God for the benefit of mankind; that angels and ancient prophets visited him and delivered to him the keys of the "dispensation of the fullness of times;" that Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, each in his time, has been the successor of the prophet Joseph Smith, and that Joseph F. Smith is now such successor. I also testify that all who receive this Gospel with honest hearts shall know that the doctrine is true, and if they are faithful unto death shall come forth in the resurrection of the righteous, to live and reign with Christ a thousand years. Those who reject this message, and who fight against the truth and persecute the advocates thereof will, unless they repent, die in their sins, and will remain unredeemed, their bodies in the earth, their spirits in bondage, until the thousand years are finished, when death, hell and the grave shall deliver up their dead to stand before God, living, resurrected beings, to receive the reward of their deeds, whether they be evil or whether they be good.
THE BOOK OF MORMON.
It is not the purpose in this brief chapter to enter into a detailed argument on the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon, but to state sufficiently what the sacred record purports to be. The Bible records some of the leading events in the dealings of the Almighty with His children upon the Eastern hemisphere, prefaced by the Mosaic history of the creation. The Book of Mormon is to the American continent what the Bible is to the Eastern. The Bible is more especially the stick of Judah, being written by Jewish prophets and apostles. Of the ten tribes carried into the North countries and lost from the world, the Bible gives no account, beyond brief statements which go to prove that they were lost to the rest of mankind.
Of the various colonies "scattered from the tower of Babel" upon all the face of the earth, according to Genesis, chapter xi., the Bible offers no information. Of the branches of Joseph which ran over the boundary walls of the other tribes of Jacob, extending to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills, the Jewish record is silent.
What became of them? Whither did they flee, and are they lost to God? Are they less His offspring because they went to people other lands? From the time the ten tribes were carried away, no communication has been established between them and the Gentile nations, and not until the discovery of America by Columbus was there any correspondence between the aborigines of America and the countries of Europe and the East. Because these were lost to Jew and Gentile, is it reasonable to suppose they were lost also to Him who is the Father of the spirits of all flesh, and who made of one blood all nations to dwell upon all the face of the earth? Reason, mercy, justice and the Bible all deny that these should not have revelations from God and write them as well as did the Jews. Jesus Himself most emphatically declared, "There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed, neither hid, that shall not be known." (Luke xii:2.) The Book of Mormon reveals the fact that from the Tower of Babel came a colony of people to the Western continent. They were led by a prophet to whom God spake and His words were written. They became a mighty nation on this land, having prophets and inspired men to lead them. Finally, like the Jews, they fell into apostasy and through war and bloodshed became extinct as a nation. The Book of Mormon gives a brief review of their rise, progress and fall. It also records the fact that in the days of Jeremiah, two colonies came from Jerusalem to America, years before Christ. It gives a history of God's dealings with them until four hundred years after Christ, covering a period of one thousand years.