"Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, that you shall not purchase wine, neither strong drink, of your enemies;
"Wherefore, you shall partake of none, except it is made new among you; yea, in this my Father's kingdom which shall be built up on the earth.
"Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth."—(D. and C. 27:2-5.)
Meanwhile the use of water, and the disuse of wine, must continue, until the change predicted in this revelation shall have been divinely ordered; for that is the law governing the Latter-day Saints in this matter—not the law given to other peoples in former dispensations.
Signs of the Second Coming.—Jesus prophesied to the Nephites, as he had prophesied to the Jews, concerning the last days and the signs of his second coming. Those who would be wise upon this subject, or who desire to refresh their memories in relation thereto, should read the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, especially Joseph Smith's rendering, as it appears in the Pearl of Great Price. Read also the fifteenth, sixteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first chapters of Third Nephi.
Consecration.—The Savior having ascended into heaven, his servants, bearing the priesthood, and filled with the Holy Ghost, carried forward the mighty work he had inaugurated. The Gospel was preached, and the Church built up, as he had commanded, upon both hemispheres. Among Jews and among Nephites was introduced and practiced the law of consecration, the permanent establishment of which, in the days of Enoch, had resulted so gloriously. The Jewish record tells us:
"And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. * * *
"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
"And laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."—(Acts 4: 32, 34, 35).
The Book of Mormon thus testifies: