TRIBULATIONS PREDICTED.
In 1831 the Saints were commanded to gather to Jackson County, Mo., which was designated as a land of inheritance for the Saints in the last days, and also as the identical spot where they should build that great city, the New Jerusalem, about which the ancient Prophets and Saints had sung, prayed and rejoiced so much. Joseph Smith had just arrived in that goodly land, together with a number of his brethren, when a revelation, containing some very strange sayings was given on the 1st of August, 1831. The Lord said:
"Hearken, O ye Elders of my Church, and give ear to my word, and learn of me what I will concerning you, and also concerning this land unto which I have sent you. For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven. Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning these things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation cometh the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand. Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may lay it to heart, and receive that which shall follow." (Doc. and Cov., lviii: 1-5.)
Here is an opportunity for sound reasoning. If Joseph Smith was an impostor, and if he was trying to carry out a scheme with a view to benefit himself financially; or if he was ambitious and seeking for vain glory or the honor of men, could anything be more absurd than to predict troubles and difficulties, when none such were immediately apparent.
If a schemer was doing that which Joseph on that occasion was doing, namely, planting a colony of his followers in one of the most desirable sections of country within the borders of the United States, would he not have enlarged upon the prospects ahead and predicted success and prosperity instead of difficulties and tribulations? Most assuredly he would. But Joseph spoke as he was directed by the Lord, and his own desires or ambition, if any such he possessed, cut no figure in the matter.
And now, to the fulfilment of the prophecy or revelation? No one who is acquainted with the history of the Church will hesitate to testify that since that time the Saints have indeed passed through much tribulation. In less than three years after the revelation was given they were driven from their homes in Jackson County. Three years after that they were forced to leave their temporary possessions in Clay County, Mo., and still two years later, under the exterminating order of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, they were driven from the State of Missouri. Seven years after their expulsion from that State, wicked mobs, after first killing the Prophet and Patriarch in cold blood in Carthage jail, drove the Saints from Nauvoo into the wilderness, which was full of savage Indians; and even after coming to these mountains we have been subject to wicked prosecutions and persecutions. If all this don't mean "much tribulation," what does it mean?
THE GATHERING OF THE NATIONS.
In a revelation given through Joseph Smith in Kirtland, Ohio, Sept. 11, 1831, the following occurs:
"For behold, I say unto you that Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the Lord shall be upon her. And she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall come to her out of every nation under heaven." (Doc. and Cov. 64: 41, 42.)