"And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him, I have set thee to be at the head—a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over them for ever.
"And Adam stood up in the midst of the congregation, and not withstanding he was bowed down with age, being full of the Holy Ghost, predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation."—(D. and C. 107:40-56.)
The Ancient of Days.—Here is given, by the Prophet, a glimpse of the glorious sequel:
"Daniel, in his seventh chapter, speaks of the Ancient of Days; he means the oldest man, our Father Adam, Michael; he will call his children together and hold a council with them to prepare them for the coming of the Son of Man. He (Adam) is the father of the human family, and presides over the spirits of all men, and all that have had the keys must stand before him in this grand council. This may take place before some of us leave this stage of action. The Son of Man stands before him, and there is given him glory and dominion. Adam delivers up his stewardship to Christ, that which was delivered to him as holding the keys of the universe, but retains his standing as head of the human family."—("History of the Church," Vol. III, p. 386.)
Place of the Council.—The place of the council mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, is thus pointed out by the finger of the Lord:
"Revelation to Joseph the Seer, given near Wight's Ferry, at a place called Spring Hill, Davis County, Missouri, May 19th, 1838, wherein Spring Hill is named by the Lord,
"Adam-ondi-Ahman, because, said he, it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet."—(D. and C. 116.)
Adam-ondi-Ahman.—At that very spot, Spring Hill, Davis County, Missouri, in the year 1838, the Latter-day Saints, by direction of the Prophet, began to build a city, naming it Adam-ondi-Ahman, afterwards abbreviated to Diahman. While engaged in making the survey, some of the brethren came upon the ruins of an ancient altar, which the Prophet, on beholding, declared to be the identical altar upon which Adam offered sacrifices after he was expelled from Eden. The Garden of Eden, Joseph said, was in Jackson County, Missouri, from which part the Saints had been driven, as if to typify reminiscently the original expulsion. In both instances, the tree of disobedience bore the same bitter fruit. In Jackson County the New Jerusalem is to be built, and a people prepared for the glorious coming of the Lord. That America is the Old World, not the New, science now affirms; but the fact was first proclaimed by revelation, whose other name, in this case, is Joseph Smith the Prophet.
Cain and Abel.—Adam's offering of sacrifice was acceptable to the Lord, being in accordance with the divine command, and because it truly symbolized the Lamb of God, who was to come. Abel, Adam's son, offered a similar sacrifice—"the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering" (Gen. 4:4). But Cain, Abel's eldest brother, who had also been taught the law of sacrifice, took it upon himself to deviate from the divine instruction, and instead of a lamb, he "brought of the fruit of the ground," an offering in no way typical of the Savior. Hence, his offering was rejected. The Prophet Joseph, commenting upon these facts, says: "God will not acknowledge that which He has not called, ordained, and chosen." He quotes Paul (Heb. 11:4): "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he being dead, yet speaketh"—and then asks:
"How doth he yet speak? Why, he magnified the priesthood which was conferred upon him, and died a righteous man, and therefore has become an angel of God by receiving his body from the dead, holding still the keys of his dispensation; and was sent down from heaven unto Paul to minister consoling words, and to commit unto him a knowledge of the mysteries of godliness."