SECTION
45
[Book
of Commandments 46, Kirtland D&C 15, LDS D&C 45]
Revelation
given through Joseph Smith, Jr., March 7, 1831, at Kirtland, Ohio. In
connection with this manifestation Joseph wrote: “To the joy of the
Saints who had to struggle against everything that prejudice and
wickedness could invent, I received the following”:
1a.
Hearken, O ye people of my church, to whom the kingdom has been
given, hearken ye, and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the
earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom
all things were made which live and move and have a being.
1b.
And again I say, Hearken unto my voice, lest death shall overtake
you; in an hour when ye think not, the summer shall be past, and the
harvest ended, and your souls not saved.
1c.
Listen to him who is the Advocate with the Father, who is pleading
your cause before him, saying,
1d.
Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in
whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was
shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be
glorified;
1e.
wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name,
that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.
2a.
Hearken, O ye people of my church, and ye elders, listen together,
and hear my voice, while it is called today, and harden not your
hearts;
2b.
for verily I say unto you that I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the light and the life of the world; a light that
shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.
2c. I
came unto my own, and my own received me not; but unto as many as
received me gave I power to do many miracles and to become the sons
of God, and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to
obtain eternal life.
2d.
And even so I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to
be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people and for
the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to
prepare the way before me.
2e.
Wherefore come ye unto it; and with him that cometh I will reason as
with men in days of old, and I will show unto you my strong
reasoning;
2f.
wherefore hearken ye together, and let me show it unto you, even my
wisdom, the wisdom of him who ye say is the God of Enoch and his
brethren, who were separated from the earth, and were received unto
myself;
2g. a
city reserved until a day of righteousness shall come:
2h. a
day which was sought for by all holy men, and they found it not,
because of wickedness and abominations, and confessed that they were
strangers and pilgrims on the earth, but obtained a promise that they
should find it, and see it in their flesh.
2i.
Wherefore hearken, and I will reason with you, and I will speak unto
you and prophesy, as unto men in days of old;
2j.
and I will show it plainly, as I showed it unto my disciples, as I
stood before them in the flesh, and spake unto them, saying,
2k. As
ye have asked of me concerning the signs of my coming, in the day
when I shall come in my glory in the clouds of heaven, to fulfill the
promises that I have made unto your fathers;
2l.
for as ye have looked upon the long absence of your spirits from your
bodies to be a bondage, I will show unto you how the day of
redemption shall come, and also the restoration of the scattered
Israel.
3a.
And now ye behold this temple which is in Jerusalem, which ye call
the house of God, and your enemies say that this house shall never
fall.
3b.
But verily I say unto you that desolation shall come upon this
generation as a thief in the night, and this people shall be
destroyed and scattered among all nations.
3c.
And this temple which ye now see shall be thrown down, that there
shall not be left one stone upon another.
3d.
And it shall come to pass that this generation of Jews shall not pass
away until every desolation which I have told you concerning them
shall come to pass.
3e. Ye
say that ye know that the end of the world cometh; ye say, also, that
ye know that the heavens and the earth shall pass away; and in this
ye say truly, for so it is; but these things which I have told you
shall not pass away until all shall be fulfilled.
3f.
And this I have told you concerning Jerusalem; and when that day
shall come, shall a remnant be scattered among all nations, but they
shall be gathered again; but they shall remain until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled.
4a.
And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the
whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail
them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the
end of the earth.
4b.
And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound; and
when the time of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth
among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fullness of my
gospel;
4c.
but they receive it not, for they perceive not the light, and they
turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men;
4d.
and in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled;
and there shall be men standing in that generation that shall not
pass, until they shall see an overflowing scourge, for a desolating
sickness shall come over the land;
4e.
but my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved;
but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God,
and die.
4f.
And there shall be earthquakes, also, in divers places and many
desolations; yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they
will take up the sword one against another, and they will kill one
another.
5a.
And now, when I the Lord had spoken these words unto my disciples,
they were troubled;
5b.
and I said unto them, Be not troubled, for when all these things
shall come to pass, ye may know that the promises which have been
made unto you shall be fulfilled;
5c.
and when the light shall begin to break forth, it shall be with them
like unto a parable which I shall show you;
5d. ye
look and behold the fig trees, and ye see them with your eyes, and ye
say, when they begin to shoot forth and their leaves are yet tender,
that summer is now nigh at hand;
5e.
even so it shall be in that day, when they shall see all these
things, then shall they know that the hour is nigh.
6a.
And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking
forth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of
the coming of the Son of man;
6b.
and they shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown forth
in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath;
6c.
and they shall behold blood and fire, and vapors of smoke; and before
the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the
moon be turned into blood, and stars fall from heaven;
6d.
and the remnant shall be gathered unto this place; and then they
shall look for me, and behold I will come;
6e.
and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and
great glory, with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me
shall be cut off.
7a.
But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his
trump, and the saints that have slept, shall come forth to meet me in
the cloud;
7b.
wherefore if ye have slept in peace, blessed are you, for as you now
behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye come unto me and your
souls shall live, and your redemption shall be perfected, and the
saints shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth.
8a.
Then shall the arm of the Lord fall upon the nations, and then shall
the Lord set his foot upon this mount, and it shall cleave in twain,
and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro;
8b.
and the heavens also shall shake, and the Lord shall utter his voice
and all the ends of the earth shall hear it, and the nations of the
earth shall mourn,
8c.
and they that have laughed shall see their folly, and calamity shall
cover the mocker, and the scorner shall be consumed, and they that
have watched for iniquity, shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.
9a.
And then shall the Jews look upon me and say, What are these wounds
in thy hands, and in thy feet?
9b.
Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them,
These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of
my friends.
9c. I
am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son
of God.
9d.
And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they
lament because they persecuted their King.
10a.
And then shall the heathen nations be redeemed, and they that knew no
law shall have part in the first resurrection; and it shall be
tolerable for them; and Satan shall be bound that he shall have no
place in the hearts of the children of men.
10b.
And at that day when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be
fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins; for they that are
wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for
their guide, and have not been deceived, verily I say unto you,
10c.
They shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide
the day, and the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance;
10d.
and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow
up without sin unto salvation, for the Lord shall be in their midst,
and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their King and their
lawgiver.
11a.
And now, behold, I say unto you, It shall not be given unto you to
know any further concerning this chapter, until the New Testament be
translated, and in it all these things shall be made known;
11b.
wherefore I give unto you that you may now translate it, that ye may
be prepared for the things to come; for verily I say unto you, that
great things await you;
11c.
ye hear of wars in foreign lands, but, behold, I say unto you, They
are nigh, even at your doors, and not many years hence ye shall hear
of wars in your own lands.
12a.
Wherefore, I the Lord have said, Gather ye out from the eastern
lands, assemble ye yourselves together ye elders of my church;
12b.
go ye forth unto the western countries, call upon the inhabitants to
repent, and inasmuch as they do repent, build up churches unto me;
12c.
and with one heart and with one mind, gather up your riches that ye
may purchase an inheritance which shall hereafter be appointed unto
you, and it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a
city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the most high
God;
12d.
and the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord
also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it;
and it shall be called Zion.
13a.
And it shall come to pass, among the wicked, that every man that will
not take his sword against his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion
for safety.
13b.
And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven;
and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with
another.
13c.
And it shall be said among the wicked, Let us not go up to battle
against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible, wherefore we
can not stand.
14.
And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out
from among all nations, and shall come to Zion singing, with songs of
everlasting joy.
15a.
And now I say unto you, Keep these things from going abroad unto the
world, until it is expedient in me, that ye may accomplish this work
in the eyes of the people and in the eyes of your enemies, that they
may not know your works until ye have accomplished the thing which I
have commanded you;
15b.
that when they shall know it, that they may consider these things,
for when the Lord shall appear he shall be terrible unto them, that
fear may seize upon them, and they shall stand afar off and tremble;
15c.
and all nations shall be afraid because of the terror of the Lord,
and the power of his might. Even so. Amen.
