MORMONS 6J
"We believe that preat and terrible judgments await the nations of the wicked, and that after the message of the Look of Mormon has been sufficiently sounded iu their ears, if they reject it, they will be overthrown aud wasted away until the earth sliall no longer be encumbered with them. New and unheard-of i)lai;ues will sweep through the nations, baffling the skill of the most experienced and learned physicians, depopulating whole cities and towns, and carrying oft" millions of wretched beings in every quarter of our globe. Nations, no longer restrained by the Spirit of God, which will cease striving iu them, will rise against nations, till the whole earth, comparatively epeakiug, shall be filled with blood and carnage. Thrones aud empires shall be cast down — new governments will be erected but to meet with the same tate. Peace shall be taken from among the nations, aud it shall happen as with the Papists so with the Protestants, as with their ministers so with the people whom they have deceived— they shall all fall into the ditch and perish together be- cause they reject the voice of the LortI from the heavens, and the voice of his servants whom he hath sent to tes- tify against their wickedness and prepare the way of the Lord for his second coming.
"liut the righteous shall escape, for the Lord shall gather them from all nations unto a land of peace, and his arms shall be stretched out over them, and liis glory shall be upon them for a defence, aud 'they shall be the only people under heaven that shall not be at war with one another,' for thus hath the Lord spoken.
" We believe that in this generation a house of the Lord shall be built by the Saints upon Mount Zion, and a cloud of glory shall rest upon it by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night, and that the face of the Lord will be unveiled, and the pure in heart shall see him and live. O Zion, how glorious are thy habitations, aud how blessed are thy children ! Many people shall come unto thee to be taught in the ways of the Lord and instructed in his paths; for out of thee shall proceed forth a perfect law which shall establish righteousness iu the earth.
" We believe that the ten tribes of Israel, with the dis- persed of Judah, shall soon be restored to their own lands, according to the covenants which God made with their ancient fathers, and that when this great work of restitution shall take place the power of God shall be made manifest in signs and wonders, and mighty deeds far exceeding anything that took place in their exodus from Egypt.' Jerusalem will be rebuilt, together with a glorious toni])le, and the Lord shall visit them also, as well as his 8;tints in Zion. In that day the name of the Lord shall become great unto the ends of the earth, and all nations shall serve and obey him, for the wicked shall have perished out of the earth.
" We believe that all persons who wish to escape the judgments of great Babylon must come out from among both the Papists and the Protestants, for they are the ■whore of all the earth, and have made the nations drunk with their abominations, and are to be burned by tire; therefore woe unto that man or woman that shall stand iu connection with them, for the hour of their judgment is at hand.
"And we now bear testimony to all, both small and great, that the Lord of Hosts hath sent us with a message of glad tidings — the everlasting gospel, to cry repentance to the nations, and piepaic the way of his setMuid coiniiii:. Therefore repent, O vf nations, biiih (Jcntilcs and .Iiws, and cease from all Vdtir n-il drcls, and come forth wiili broken hearts and contrite spirits, and be buiitizcO in wa- ter, in tlie name of the B'ather, Son, and Holy Ghost, /<-/• reinU.sion of xinit, and ye shall receive the gift of the Uoly Spirit, by the laijivu on of the hands of the apostles or el- ders of this Church ; and signs shall follow them that be- lieve, and if they continue faithful to the end they shall be saved. But woe unto them that heaiken not to the message which God has now sent, for the day of ven-
feance aud burning is at band, and they shall not escape, 'hercfore remember, O reader, and perish not J"
The reader will notice that Mr. Pratt does not dwell at any length upon the first article, but simply restates ill other words what is embodied in the Confession. Yet this very article has given rise to a most materialistic tendency, developing in some points into pantheism. The explanatory statements which they have from time to time given to this article warrant the assertion that, while they profess belief in the Trinity, their Godhead is formed on Buddhistic principles, and develops a sys- tem of anthropomorphism which has never been equalled by any heretic sect of the Christian Church, though it was ai)proached by the Egyptian monks whom Theojih- iUis (([.v.) anathematized in the fourth century. The ISIormons explain that Cod was once a man, who has, however, so advanced in intelligence and jiower that he may now be called (eoniparaiively speaking) perfect, infinite, etc., but that he has still the form and figure of a man; he has even "legs," as is evident (according to