Jews shall be gathered in all their lands of promise—Atonement ransoms man from the fall—The bodies of the dead shall come forth from the grave, and their spirits from hell and from paradise—They shall be judged—Atonement saves from death, hell, the devil, and endless torment—The righteous to be saved in the kingdom of God—Penalties for sins set forth—The Holy One of Israel is the keeper of the gate. [Between 559 and 545 B.C.]

 AND now, my beloved brethren, I have read these things that ye might know concerning the ^acovenants of the Lord that he has covenanted with all the house of Israel—

 That he has spoken unto the Jews, by the mouth of his holy prophets, even from the beginning down, from generation to generation, until the time comes that they shall be ^arestored^• to the true church and fold of God; when they shall be ^bgathered home to the ^clands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of promise.

 Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice, and ^alift^• up your heads forever, because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children.

 For I know that ye have searched much, many of you, to know of things to come; wherefore I know that ye know that our ^aflesh^• must waste away and die; nevertheless, in our ^bbodies^• we shall see God.

 Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great ^aCreator that he ^bsuffereth^• himself to become ^csubject^• unto man in the flesh, and ^ddie for ^eall^• men, that all men might become subject unto him.

 For as ^adeath^• hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful ^bplan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of ^cresurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the ^dfall; and the fall came by reason of ^etransgression; and because man became fallen they were ^fcut^• off from the ^gpresence of the Lord.

 Wherefore, it must needs be an ^ainfinite^{• b}atonement^•—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the ^cfirst^• judgment which came upon man must needs have ^dremained^• to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

 O the ^awisdom^• of God, his ^bmercy and ^cgrace! For behold, if the ^dflesh^• should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who ^efell^• from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the ^fdevil, to rise no more.

 And our spirits must have become ^alike^• unto him, and we become devils, ^bangels^• to a ^cdevil^•, to be ^dshut^• out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of ^elies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who ^fbeguiled^• our first parents, who ^gtransformeth^• himself nigh unto an ^hangel^• of light, and ⁱstirreth up the children of men unto ^jsecret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.

 O how great the ^agoodness^• of our God, who prepareth a way for our ^bescape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, ^cdeath^• and ^dhell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

 And because of the way of ^adeliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this ^bdeath, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.

 And this ^adeath of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is ^bhell^•; wherefore, death and hell must ^cdeliver^• up their dead, and hell must deliver up its ^dcaptive ^espirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive ^fbodies, and the bodies and the ^gspirits of men will be ^hrestored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

 O how great the ^aplan of our God! For on the other hand, the ^bparadise^• of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is ^crestored^• to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and ^dimmortal, and they are living souls, having a ^eperfect ^fknowledge^• like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.

 Wherefore, we shall have a ^aperfect^{• b}knowledge^• of all our ^cguilt, and our ^duncleanness, and our ^enakedness^•; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their ^frighteousness, being ^gclothed^• with ^hpurity, yea, even with the ⁱrobe^• of righteousness.

 And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the ^ajudgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the ^bjudgment^•, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.

 And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal ^aword^•, which cannot ^bpass^• away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are ^cfilthy^• shall be ^dfilthy^• still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the ^edevil and his angels; and they shall go away into ^feverlasting^• fire, prepared for them; and their ^gtorment is as a ^hlake^• of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end.

 O the greatness and the ^ajustice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be ^bfulfilled^•.

 But, behold, the ^arighteous^•, the ^bsaints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the ^ccrosses^• of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall ^dinherit^• the ^ekingdom of God, which was prepared for them ^ffrom^• the foundation of the world, and their ^gjoy^• shall be full ^hforever.

 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he ^adelivereth^• his saints from that ^bawful^• monster the devil, and death, and ^chell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

 O how great the ^aholiness^• of our God! For he ^bknoweth^{• c}all^• things, and there is not anything save he knows it.

 And he cometh into the world that he may ^asave all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the ^bpains^• of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of ^cAdam^•.

 And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.

 And he commandeth all men that they must ^arepent, and be ^bbaptized^• in his name, having perfect ^cfaith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.

 And if they will not repent and believe in his ^aname, and be baptized in his name, and ^bendure to the end, they must be ^cdamned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.

 Wherefore, he has given a ^alaw; and where there is ^bno^{• c}law^• given there is no ^dpunishment; and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him.

 For the ^aatonement^• satisfieth the demands of his ^bjustice upon all those who ^chave^• not the ^dlaw^• given to them, that they are ^edelivered from that awful monster, death and ^fhell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them ^gbreath^•, which is the Holy One of Israel.

 But wo unto him that has the ^alaw^• given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that ^btransgresseth them, and that ^cwasteth the days of his ^dprobation, for awful is his state!

 O that cunning ^aplan^• of the evil one! O the ^bvainness^•, and the frailties, and the ^cfoolishness^• of men! When they are ^dlearned^• they think they are ^ewise^•, and they ^fhearken not unto the ^gcounsel^• of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their ^hwisdom^• is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.

 But to be ^alearned^• is good if they ^bhearken^• unto the ^ccounsels^• of God.

 But wo unto the ^arich^•, who are ^brich^• as to the things of the ^cworld. For because they are rich they despise the ^dpoor, and they persecute the meek, and their ^ehearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their ^ftreasure is their god. And behold, their ^gtreasure^• shall perish with them also.

 And wo unto the deaf that will not ^ahear^•; for they shall perish.

 Wo unto the ^ablind that will not see; for they shall perish also.

 Wo unto the ^auncircumcised^• of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day.

 Wo unto the ^aliar^•, for he shall be thrust down to ^bhell.

 Wo unto the ^amurderer^• who deliberately ^bkilleth^•, for he shall ^cdie.

 Wo unto them who commit ^awhoredoms^•, for they shall be thrust down to hell.

 Yea, wo unto those that ^aworship^• idols, for the devil of all devils delighteth in them.

 And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their ^asins^•; for they shall ^breturn^• to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.

 O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in ^atransgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that ^bcunning^• one. Remember, to be ^ccarnally^•-minded is ^ddeath, and to be ^espiritually^•-minded is ^flife^{• g}eternal.

 O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will ^arevile against the ^btruth^•; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are ^chard^• against all ^duncleanness; but the ^erighteous^• fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.

 O then, my beloved brethren, ^acome^• unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the ^bway^• for man is ^cnarrow^•, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the ^dgate^• is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.

 And whoso ^aknocketh, to him will he open; and the ^bwise^•, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their ^clearning, and their ^dwisdom^•, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves ^efools^• before God, and come down in the depths of ^fhumility, he will not open unto them.

 But the things of the wise and the ^aprudent shall be ^bhid^• from them forever—yea, that happiness which is prepared for the saints.

 O, my beloved brethren, remember my words. Behold, I take off my garments, and I shake them before you; I pray the God of my salvation that he view me with his ^aall^•-searching eye; wherefore, ye shall know at the last day, when all men shall be judged of their works, that the God of Israel did witness that I ^bshook^• your iniquities from my soul, and that I stand with brightness before him, and am ^crid^• of your blood.

 O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the ^achains^• of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the ^brock of your salvation.

 Prepare your souls for that glorious day when ^ajustice shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of ^bjudgment, that ye may not shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful ^cguilt^• in perfectness, and be constrained to exclaim: Holy, holy are thy judgments, O Lord God ^dAlmighty^•—but I know my guilt; I transgressed thy law, and my transgressions are mine; and the devil hath ^eobtained me, that I am a prey to his awful misery.

 But behold, my brethren, is it expedient that I should awake you to an awful reality of these things? Would I harrow up your souls if your minds were pure? Would I be plain unto you according to the plainness of the truth if ye were freed from sin?

 Behold, if ye were holy I would speak unto you of holiness; but as ye are not holy, and ye look upon me as a ^ateacher^•, it must needs be expedient that I ^bteach^• you the consequences of sin.

 Behold, my soul abhorreth sin, and my heart ^adelighteth in righteousness; and I will ^bpraise^• the holy name of my God.

 Come, my brethren, every one that ^athirsteth^•, come ye to the ^bwaters; and he that hath no ^cmoney^•, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.

 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your ^alabor^• for that which cannot ^bsatisfy^•. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and ^cfeast^• upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.

 Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give ^athanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts ^brejoice^•.

 And behold how great the ^acovenants of the Lord, and how great his ^bcondescensions unto the children of men; and because of his greatness, and his ^cgrace and ^dmercy, he has promised unto us that our seed shall not utterly be destroyed, according to the flesh, but that he would ^epreserve them; and in future generations they shall become a righteous ^fbranch unto the house of Israel.

 And now, my brethren, I would speak unto you more; but on the morrow I will declare unto you the remainder of my words. Amen.