Next, we learn from Genesis, i, 29, 30: "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree, yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so." From these verses we learn, that the earth yielded neither nauseous weeds nor poisonous plants, nor useless thorns and thistles; indeed every thing that grew was just calculated for the food of man, beast, fowl, and creeping thing; and their food was all vegetable. Flesh and blood were never sacrificed to glut their souls, or gratify their appetites; the beasts of the earth were all in perfect harmony with each other; the lion ate straw like the ox, the wolf dwelt with the lamb, the leopard lay down with the kid, the cow and bear fed together, in the same pasture, while their young ones reposed, in perfect security, under the shade of the same trees; all was peace and harmony, and nothing to hurt nor disturb, in all the holy mountain.
And to crown the whole, we behold man created in the image of God, and exalted in dignity and power, having dominion over all the vast creation of animated beings, which swarmed through the earth, while, at the same time, he inhabits a beautiful and well watered garden, in the midst of which stood the tree of life, to which he had free access; while he stood in the presence of his Maker, conversed with Him face to face, and gazed upon His glory, without a dimming veil between. O reader, contemplate, for a moment, the beautiful creation, clothed with peace and plenty; the earth teeming with harmless animals, rejoicing over all the plain; the air swarming with delightful birds, whose never-ceasing notes filled the air with varied melody; and all in subjection to their rightful sovereign, who rejoiced over them; while in a delightful garden—the capitol of creation, man was seated on the throne of this vast empire, swaying his sceptre over all the earth with undisputed right; while legions of angels encamped round about him, and joined their glad voices in grateful songs of praise, and shouts of joy; neither a sigh nor groan was heard throughout the vast expanse; neither were there sorrow, tears, pain, weeping, sickness, nor death; neither contentions, wars, nor bloodshed; but peace crowned the seasons as they rolled, and life, joy, and love reigned over all God's works. But, O, how changed the scene!
It now becomes my painful duty to trace some of the important changes which have taken place, and the causes which have conspired to reduce the earth and its inhabitants to their present state.
First, man fell from his standing before God, by giving heed to temptation; and this fall affected the whole creation, as well as man, and caused various changes to take place; he was banished from the presence of his Creator, and a veil was drawn between them, and man was driven from the garden of Eden, to till the earth, which was then cursed for his sake, and should begin to bring forth thorns and thistles; and with the sweat of his face he should earn his bread, and in sorrow eat of it, all the days of his life, and finally return to dust. But as to Eve, her curse was a great multiplicity of sorrow and conception; and between her seed and the seed of the serpent there was to be a constant enmity; it should bruise the serpent's head, and the serpent should bruise his heel.
Now, reader, contemplate the change. This scene, which was so beautiful a little before, had now become the abode of sorrow and toil, of death and mourning: the earth groaning with its production of accursed thorns and thistles; man and beast at enmity; the serpent slyly creeping away, fearing lest his head should get the deadly bruise; and man startling amid the thorny path, in fear, lest the serpent's fangs should pierce his heel; while the lamb yields his blood upon the smoking altar. Soon man begins to persecute, hate, and murder his fellow, until at length the earth is filled with violence, all flesh becomes corrupt, the powers of darkness prevail, and it repented Noah that God had made man, and it grieved him at his heart, because the Lord should come out in vengeance, and cleanse the earth by water.
How far the flood may have contributed to produce the various changes, as to the division of the earth into broken fragments, islands and continents, mountains and valleys, we have not been informed; the change must have been considerable. But after the flood, in the days of Peleg, the earth was divided. See Gen., x, 25. A short history, to be sure, of so great an event; but still it will account for the mighty revolution which rolled the sea from its own place in the north, and brought it to interpose between different portions of the earth, which were thus parted asunder, and moved into something near their present form; this, together with the earthquakes, revolutions, and commotions which have since taken place, have all contributed to reduce the face of the earth to its present state; while the great curses which have fallen upon different portions, because of the wickedness of men, will account for the stagnant swamps, the sunken lakes, the dead seas, the great deserts; witness, for instance, the denunciations of the Prophets upon Babylon, how it was to become perpetual desolations, a den of wild beasts, a dwelling of unclean and hateful birds, a place for owls; and should never be inhabited, but should lie desolate from generation to generation. Witness also the plains of Sodom, filled with towns, cities, and flourishing gardens, well watered; but O, how changed! A vast sea of stagnant water alone marks the place. Witness the land of Palestine; in the days of Solomon, it was capable of sustaining millions of people, besides yielding a surplus of wheat, and other productions, which were exchanged with the neighboring nations; whereas, now it is desolate, and hardly capable of sustaining a few miserable inhabitants. And when I cast mine eyes over our own land, and see the numerous swamps, lakes, and ponds of stagnant waters, together with the vast mountains, and innumerable rough places, rocks having been rent, and torn asunder, from centre to circumference, I exclaim, Whence all this?
When I read the Book of Mormon, it informs me, that while Christ was crucified among the Jews, this whole American continent was shaken to its foundation, that many cities were sunk, and waters came up in their places; that the rocks were all rent in twain; that mountains were thrown up to an exceeding height; and that other mountains became valleys; the level roads spoiled, and the whole face of the land changed. I then exclaim, These things are no longer a mystery; I have now learned to account for the many wonders, which I everywhere behold, throughout our whole country. When I am passing a ledge of rocks, and see they have all been rent and torn asunder, while some huge fragments are found deeply imbedded in the earth, some rods from whence they were torn, I exclaim, with astonishment, These were the groans! the convulsive throes of agonizing nature! while the Son of God suffered upon the cross!
But men have degenerated, and greatly changed, as well as the earth. The sins, the abominations, and the many evil habits of the latter ages, have added to the miseries, toils, and sufferings of human life. The idleness, extravagance, pride, covetousness, drunkenness, and other abominations, which are characteristics of the latter times, have all combined to sink mankind to the lowest state of wretchedness and degradation; while priestcraft and false doctrines have greatly tended to lull mankind to sleep, and cause them to rest infinitely short of the powers and attainments which the ancients enjoyed, and which are alone calculated to exalt the intellectual powers of the human mind, to establish noble and generous sentiments, to enlarge the heart, and to expand the soul to the utmost extent of its capacity. Witness the ancients conversing with the Great Jehovah, learning lessons from the angels, and receiving instruction by the Holy Ghost, in dreams by night, and visions by day, until at length the veil is taken off, and they are permitted to gaze, with wonder and admiration, upon all things past and future; yea, even to soar aloft amid unnumbered worlds, while the vast expanse of eternity stands open before them, and they contemplate the mighty works of the Great I AM, until they know as they are known, and see as they are seen.
Compare this intelligence with the low smatterings of education and worldly wisdom which seem to satisfy the narrow mind of man in our generation; yea, behold the narrow-minded, calculating, trading, overreaching, penurious sycophant of the nineteenth century, who dreams of nothing here, but how to increase his goods, or take advantage of his neighbor; and whose only religious exercise or duties consist of going to meeting, paying the priest his hire, or praying to his God, without expecting to be heard or answered, supposing that God has been deaf and dumb for many centuries, or altogether stupid and indifferent like himself. And having seen the two contrasted, you will be able to form some idea of the vast elevation from which man has fallen; you will also learn how infinitely beneath his former glory and dignity he is now living, and your heart will mourn, and be exceedingly sorrowful, when you contemplate him in his low estate—and then think he is your brother; and you will be ready to exclaim, with wonder and astonishment: "O man! how art thou fallen! Once thou wast the favorite of heaven; thy Maker delighted to converse with thee, and angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect, were thy companions; but now thou art degraded, and brought down to a level with the beasts; yea, far beneath them, for they look with horror and affright at your vain amusements, your sports, and your drunkenness, and thus often set an example worthy of your imitation. Well did the Apostle Peter say of you, that you know nothing, only what you know naturally as brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed. And thus you perish, from generation to generation, while all creation groans under its pollution; and sorrow and death, mourning and weeping, fill up the measure of the days of man!" But, O my soul, dwell no longer on this awful scene! let it suffice to have discovered, in some degree, what is lost. Let us turn our attention to what the Prophets have said should be restored.
The Apostle Peter, while preaching to the Jews, says: "And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the heavens must receive, until the times of the restitution (restoration) of all things which God hath spoken, by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." It appears from the above, that all the holy Prophets from Adam to Christ, and those that followed after, had their eyes upon a certain time, when all things should be restored to their primitive beauty and excellence. We also learn, that the time of restitution was to be at or near the time of Christ's second coming; for the heavens are to receive Him, until the times of restitution, and the Father shall send Him again to the earth.