Church History in the Fulness of Times [antikvár]

IN THE LAST DAYS "shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed." This kingdom, as foreseen by Dániel, was likened unto a stone "cut out of the mountain without hands," which would roll forth and gain momentum until it eventually fiiled the whole earth (Dániel 2:44-45; see alsó D&C 65:2). Elder Mark E. Petersen, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, testified, 'The Church to which you and I belong is that stone. It has been cut out of the mountain without hands, and your destiny and mine is to help roll it forth" (in Conference Report, Oct. 1960, p. 82). From the days of Adam the prophets have looked forward to the time when the dispensation of the fulness of times would be ushered in and the Lord would "gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth," which are necessary for his second coming and millennial reign (Ephesians 1:10). The appointed hour foretold by all the holy prophets came in the spring of 1820 when God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. With this glorious vision the prophetic words of Isaiah began to be fulfilled, wherein he testified that the Lord would do "a marvellous work and a wonder" among the children of men (Isaiah 29:14). Joseph Smith, called of God, laid the foundation that his successors have built upon. Through the inspiration of heaven, the Prophet translated the Book of Mormon, received the holy priesthood, and organized the Church of Jesus Christ once again among mortal man. Through him the keys of the priesthood were restored. "And again, what do we hear? .. . "The voice of Michael, the archangel; the voice of Gábriel, and of Raphael, and of divers angels, from Michael or Adam down to the present time, all declaring their dispensation, their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty and glory, and the power of their priesthood; giving line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little; giving us consolation by holding forth that which is to come, confirming our hope!" (D&C 128:20-21). With the restoration of these keys Israel could now be gathered in from its long dispersion, and all saving ordinances of the gospel could now be administered for both the living and the dead.