Orson Pratt April 1880
It is many months since I attempted, except on one occasion, to address a public congregation. On account of ill health and other circumstances, I have refrained from public speaking, except at the former meeting held in this house last winter. I do not know whether I shall be able to raise my voice to that loudness that the congregation will be able to understand; I will, however, do the best that I can. I pray my Father in heaven to pour out his Spirit upon me, that what I may say whether it be a few words or many may be indited by the gift and inspiration of the Holy Ghost without which all our preaching is in vain.
I certainly, for one, was very much instructed in our forenoon meeting, especially in regard to the remarks of the first speaker on the fiftieth anniversary since the organization of this church; and I was also very much instructed in the remarks made by the following speaker.
It is a great delight to me, as an individual, to look forth upon the large congregations of the Latter-day Saints who are assembled from time to time in these mountains, in the capacity of a General Conference. In all these assemblies and conferences I remember the early rise of this church; I remember when we were a small people, when we could assemble ourselves in a very small room, and that in General Conference. I remember the first Conference that I attended, on the 2d day of January, 1831, consisting perhaps of some seventy or eighty members in all, assembled in the house of Father Whitmer, whose sons were chosen to be especial witnesses in relation to this great latter-day work. I remember our trials, our difficulties, our gathering, our persecutions, our afflictions, more or less, from that day until the present time. Then I was but a boy nineteen years of age; now I am over sixty-eight, and in a few months more fifty years will have passed over my head since I was first baptized into this church. How thankful I ought to be that I am still living. How thankful I ought to be that I am still numbered with this people. How thankful I ought to be that I have the opportunity and privilege of administering in your public congregations, preaching the words of eternal life, lifting up my voice in humble testimony concerning the great work which the Lord our God has been doing during the last fifty years.
Among the ancient Jewish nation in the land of Palestine there was a law ordained in relation to the fiftieth year. Every fiftieth year was to be a peculiar year in the midst of that nation. There were many special times set apart by the Almighty, as times that were symbolical in their nature; times having reference to the future, among which was the cultivation of the earth for six years, and on the seventh year the land was made to rest. The tribes of Israel cultivated the soil, but they were required on the seventh year to let the whole land rest. I presume that the Lord had in view several things to be symbolized by these six years of labor and the resting on the seventh. This no doubt had a reference to the creation of the heavens and the earth, so that the Israelites might keep in remembrance the great work which was accomplished by the Lord our God in the beginning the formation or organization of the temporal heavens over our heads, and also of the earth upon which we stand. By resting on the seventh year from all their labors, they symbolized that which existed, or took place, when the seventh period or time came round in the creation. In six days, we are informed, this great work of creation was performed, at least so far as the spiritual portion thereof was concerned. On the seventh day, we are informed by new revelation, as well as instructed in part by old revelation, that the Lord rested. He did not commence resting, as some have supposed, on the sixth day evening, neither at midnight, nor early on the seventh day, because there was a certain work to be performed on the seventh day, which the Lord delayed until that time. On the seventh day the Lord formed the garden of Eden, planted the trees of that garden, laid out the work, beautified it, and also placed man in the garden, having formed his fleshly tabernacle, which was also the work of the morning of the seventh day, and he has informed us that on the morning of that day there was no flesh upon the earth except the man whom he had formed and placed in the garden. Yet all the children of men were created the day previous, or the period previous, called the sixth day, so that they all existed; but the Lord says "in heaven created I them." They were not created here upon the earth, but they were created in heaven; but on the seventh day man was placed here upon the earth, having a tabernacle of flesh and bones. So says the new translation, or that portion thereof contained in this book, called the "Pearl of Great Price." I have oftentimes thought, when reading these revelations, that they typified something; or that the Lord would not fully accomplish his work in six thousand years preparatory to the day of rest, but intended, on his part, to do something on the morning of the seventh thousand years, just as he did in the beginning. Was the spirit of man placed on the earth in a body of flesh and bones on the morning of the seventh day of the creation? He was. What was that typical of? Typical of the resurrection, when the righteous will again have fleshly tabernacles, formed, as in the beginning, out of the dust of the earth; when they will come forth from the grave with immortal bodies. These bodies will be flesh and bones, like unto the bodies of the first pair that were formed on the morning of the seventh day. Was the first man immortal? He was. Will those who shall be resurrected, or formed from the dust of the grave, in the morning of the seventh thousand years, also be immortal? They will; the one being typical of the other. Was there any curse upon the earth when the first man was permitted to occupy it with a body of flesh and bones? There was not. There was no death; indeed, man was "the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also." There were no beasts on the earth, no fowls to fly in the firmament of heaven, no fish to swim in the sea. But you may ask, how is this? Do we not read that on the fifth day God created great whales, fish of all kinds that could swim in the sea, &c.? Yes. How was it, then, that there was no flesh on the earth, neither in the sea, on the seventh day till man was placed there? All that we need in reconciling the two chapters is to understand the two creations. Everything was created first spiritual. The fish that swim in the waters were first made spiritual. The fowls that fly in the open firmament of the heavens, that were created also on the fifth day, were made spiritual. Their spirits existed and were formed; but God saw proper that on the seventh day the first flesh that should be on the earth should be man. Afterwards, out of the ground the Lord God made the beasts of the field and every creeping thing, and cattle, and every beast after his kind; that is, in the beginning, the first pairs were formed and placed upon this new creation, not before, but after man was placed here. Is this typical of anything? Yes; typical of the resurrection of beasts as well as of man, according to the revelations contained here in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. Everything to which the Lord has granted life will be brought forth in its time and in its season, be resurrected, receive its body, and the spirits of beasts, and the spirits of fowls, and the spirits of fish and all animated beings will receive their bodies in the resurrection, and be made immortal, as they were on the morning of the seventh day; the one being typical of the other. This is one thing, no doubt, that the Lord intended to symbolize, in order to keep in remembrance before the minds of the children of Israel concerning that first great work of his, "firstly spiritual, and secondly temporal, which was the beginning of his work."
Another thing intended to be typified by this seventh year, wherein the land was commanded to rest, was to show forth the future, to show forth the last of his work, which will be "firstly temporal and secondly spiritual," being the last of his work pertaining to this creation. But unto himself there is no beginning nor end of his works, neither to his words. Two great and important things were, therefore, symbolized by these ordinances which the children of Israel were required to observe throughout their generations, namely, the great future of this creation, commencing with the great temporal work in the morning of the seventh thousand years, wherein everything will be restored to its proper condition, as it was in the animal creation, with the fowls and fish and beasts, and man on the morning of the seventh day of creation.
Prior to this time, or during this period of time, wherein this second temporal work will commence, there will be a literal sounding of seven trumpets, as recorded in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, page 278, electrotype edition, which you can read at your leisure. I will give you the words of the revelation, so that you can read it when you go home. It is called the "Key to the revelations given to St. John on Patmos." Joseph, inquiring of the Lord about the sounding of the seven trumpets, is informed that the sounding would take place, not directly near the close of the six thousand years, or rather not during the period of the six thousand years, but after the seventh thousand years should commence. He says that the sounding of the seven trumpets typifies this: "That as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth; even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth and complete the salvation of man, and judge all things, and shall redeem all things, except that which he has not put into his power, when he shall have sealed all things, unto the end of all things; and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years; the preparing of the way before the time of his coming." Thus we see, that as man in the beginning "was formed out of the dust of the earth" "on the seventh day," in his immortal state, so he shall be brought forth in the resurrection from the dust of the grave, on the morning of the seventh thousand years, by the sounding of these trumpets, to inherit certain blessings, even as it was promised in the beginning.
We perceive, therefore, from the revelations of God, that the Lord instituted these ordinances and laws for the children of Israel for a double purpose, not only to commemorate the past, but to keep in the vivid remembrance of the children of Israel the great future, which they were never to lose sight of.
Moreover, they were not only required, in the days of ancient Israel, to let their lands remain uncultivated in the seventh year, and to rest, but the Lord also, in order to doubly fix this idea upon their minds, established what is termed a year of Jubilee. After seven times seven years had passed away that is, forty-nine years then came the fiftieth year, which seemed to be above all the rest, so far as the observance thereof was concerned, and so far as certain duties were required at their hands. It was to be a year of rest, a year of jubilee a year wherein all real estate that had been sold during the past fifty years was to return again to the original owners. They could not sell their lands as we sell ours; that was not permitted; no man could sell his land in that time for fifty-one, fifty-two, nor one hundred years, nor to the people and their heirs forever. No such thing existed in those days as now exist in this and among other nations; their lands could only be sold for fifty years; then came the year of redemption, wherein all lands that were sold were to return to their original owners, or to the tribe, or their descendants, as the case might be; it matters not who bought it or paid for it, that was always understood in the deed of sale. It was the custom in those ancient times to purchase individuals for a certain term of years, in consequence of debts, &c., that they may have contracted; they would buy the people, not exactly as hired servants, but they were compelled, according to the laws of the nation, to remain in servitude for a certain period of time; but that period never extended beyond the year of Jubilee. When that notable year came, all those hand-maidens and servants that may have been sold in consequence of the debts that they had contracted, were to go free; all had the promise of liberty. It was a year of general release from bondage. There are a great many other privileges that might be named, set forth in the revelations of God, that existed in the year of Jubilee. Whether such a year will again be established by revelation, I do not certainly know; whether the Lord will command his servants to commemorate past events by the establishment of such a custom, in a time to come, is not fully revealed. It is revealed, however, in part, so that we may draw some conclusions from what has been revealed in ancient times. Moses says, by the word of the Lord, that when that people, Israel, should corrupt themselves before the heavens, and should do after the manner of the abominations of the heathen nations round about should forget the Lord their God, should bow down to the idols of the heathen nations, and turn away from the Lord, that he would send certain curses upon them, and among those curses they were to be scattered to the uttermost parts of the earth, &c., as mentioned in the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy. A long list of plagues is given that should follow them among all the nations whither they should be driven. After they had experienced all these things, Moses says: "When thou shall return unto the Lord thy God, and shall obey his voice, according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart and with all thy soul; that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the utmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the Lord thy God will bring thee unto the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shall possess it, and he will do thee good and multiply thee above thy fathers." Now, notice the conditions of this gathering: "And shall obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day." What were they commanded in that day? Among other things they were commanded to keep the year of Jubilee; to keep a great many other ordinances, such as the seventh year to let their land rest; also to keep certain feasts, such as the feast of tabernacles and the passover; and many other things, all of which were commanded in that day, and in that age, by the mouth of the servant of God, even Moses; when they should remember all these things, even every commandment, not neglecting one, then the Lord their God, should permit them to enjoy all the blessings of the promised land. I draw the conclusion, from this saying, that there will be a time when Israel shall return to their own lands, and that they will again keep the year of jubilee; I draw the conclusion that they will also offer up, as it is written in the Scriptures, offerings to the Lord; that they will keep all the commandments given unto them through the servant of God, even Moses. How long these institutions, given to Moses, will be observed; how long they will be compelled or required to give heed to that which he commanded them, through Moses, I do not know. The time may come, when they prove to the Lord that they can keep those commandments and do his will the time may come when some of these ordinances may be done away.
But because such events may happen among Israel in their great future, is no evidence that we, as Latter-day Saints, should institute any of these things among ourselves, unless we are directed by divine revelation from the heavens. I do not know that we are under any obligations to keep any of the ordinances, rites, and ceremonies, that were given in the days of Moses, unless we receive direct revelation for ourselves in relation to these matters. If the Lord should, at some future period of the history of this Church, see proper to give us a commandment to keep every fiftieth year sacred unto him, in order to commemorate certain events that took place in the past, I think that this people will be ready and willing to obey such a commandment.
Among Israel, in ancient days, they had the law of plurality of marriage. Did we adopt that in this Church from these old ancient commandments? No, we did not. Did that give us any authority in the least? No; the laws given to Moses have no bearing upon us, unless God should renew his commandments and laws to us as a people; for we profess, like Israel of old, to be under the direction and guidance of new revelation. Like the Church of God in all former ages, we receive no new ordinances, neither old ordinances, only by new revelation. Did we presume to baptize with water on the authority of old revelation? No. Did we presume to lay hands upon the people to confirm upon them the Holy Ghost, by the authority of ancient revelation? No. Did we presume to establish the Church of Jesus Christ, or organize it, about fifty years ago, because they established one eighteen hundred years ago and upwards? No. Did we presume to officiate in any order of the priesthood by virtue of any ancient revelation given to the ancient Saints? No. We did not undertake to do any of these things by virtue of former revelation; but all we have done in this Church has been done by direct communication and revelation from heaven; all the ordinances that we administer have been directed by new revelation; all the priesthood that this people hold this day was given by new revelation; all the various duties of the priesthood to be performed by us in our day were given by new revelation; and we would not dare presume to enter into this or that form of marriage, pertaining to plural matrimony, by any former revelation; it has been by new revelation that these things have been done.
We say that this is the kingdom of God, established on the earth. We say that it was organized by divine revelation. We say that the authority was sent down from heaven and conferred upon the heads of mortal man in our generation. We have seen these things in the former days of this Church, or at least in the first rise of the Church. The Lord our God was pleased to confer the authority that is symbolized by these pictures here in this hall. We have no authority given by any other people, any other nation, any other sect, any other denomination; we do not consider their pretensions to divine authority worth the ashes of a rye straw we mean the whole of their authority put together. Hence the Lord has given all these things by his own power. Now, if this be the kingdom of God, as we testify, organized and set up by his own divine will, the authority restored by his own power, the ordinances renewed by divine revelation, what then should we expect in the future? Should we expect to lay down these principles in the future, and say they are no longer required? No. In all our future doings, in all our future journeyings, in all our future administrations among the inhabitants of the earth, from this time henceforth and forever, the Lord our God is our Lawgiver, the Lord our God is our King, the Lord our God is our Revelator, the Lord our God will direct in all these things.
The year of jubilee! These are words that sound very pleasantly to my ears. I am looking forward to the Great Jubilee that is now near at hand, and when I hear the words spoken from this stand, when I read these ordinances that were instituted among ancient Israel, and when my thoughts reach out to the great future, to the time when there will be a jubilee indeed, my heart rejoices before the Lord. A jubilee for all the Saints of God, wherein they will be subject to no power, save it be the power of God and the power that he has ordained; wherein there will be no earthly governments to triumph over the Saints of that kingdom; wherein there will be but one government upon the face of the whole earth, and the dominion and the greatness of that dominion and that kingdom will extend forth under the whole heavens. It will be a time of jubilee a time wherein the inhabitants of the earth will rejoice, a time wherein the inhabitants of heaven will rejoice, a time when the inhabitants of heaven will join with the inhabitants of the earth in one great, grand, general assembly, although we will afterwards be permitted to spread forth in our generations over the face of the earth, to perform various duties required at our hands; but yet, in the commencement of that grand period it will be a general assembly of the Church of the First-born of the living and the dead who have died in Christ. Jesus will be our King; he will be our Lawgiver; he will reign over us. The resurrected Saints will be with us. We will hear the words of their mouths. They will also be kings and priests; they will administer among their households of the generations that shall be in mortal flesh; they will be called the priests of God, and will administer in power and great glory during the happy period of the Millennium.
A year of Jubilee! No sorrow, no sighing, no bondage among the people of God, but all will be free, full of joy, full of blessings; and this jubilee will last for one thousand years. Amen.
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