“Extract.” Times and Seasons (Nauvoo, Illinois) 3, no. 6 (15 January 1842): 657–59.
O ye inhabitants of America, be it known unto you, that the land on which you dwell was given by the promise of God unto Joseph the son of Jacob, for an everlasting possession; and it was blessed by Moses, the man of God, and confirmed upon Joseph and upon Ephraim the crown, or top of the head of Joseph, for God’s good will towards them.
Also, be it known unto you, that Jesus Christ did appear in person to a remnant of Jacob, who were of the tribe of Joseph,—the forefathers of the American Indians—and did give unto them all this land for their inheritance. But this being a choice land above all other lands, or it being more blessed of the Lord than any other land, God did decree and confirmed it with an oath, that no nation should ever possess this land, unless they would serve him and keep his commandments. Therefore, be it known unto you, O ye Gehtiles who now possess this land, that it was because of this decree of the great Jehovah that your fathers were permitted to cross the great deep, and come to this land with power sufficient to dispossess the remnants of Joseph, (who had polluted their inheritance by transgression,) and take possession of their land. Yea, it was because of this decree that Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa, an obscure individual, was blessed with a largeness of mind which disdained to confine itself to the old beaten track, and was inspired to contend for eight years with the learned ignorance of the courts and councils of Europe, when (after many a fruitless struggle,) a small fleet was fitted out consisting of three small vessels, and placed under his command, which sailed from spain in 1492, under the patronage of Ferdinand and Isabella then on the united thrones of Castile and Arragon, which terminated in the discovery of America—the land of Joseph—a land more blessed of the Lord than any other land “for the precious things of Heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the Sun, and for the precious things put forth by the Moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth and the fullness thereof.”
And be it known unto you, O ye Gentiles, that this Columbus was inspired by the Almighty Jehovah to make this discovery, that the poor and meek of the earth, and the persecuted and oppressed of all nations might have a place to which they could fly and be secure from the iron grasp of poverty, wretchedness and want, and from the cruel unrelenting hand of the oppressor. And when in process of time the tyrants of the Eastern World began to extend their oppressions unto this land, God raised up a Washington and inspired him to resist their oppression and by the strong arm of military power to maintain and defend the rights of the American colonies as free and independent States, and after the definitive treaty was finally signed and the American colonies were acknowledged free and independent States by all the European powers, and the Commissioners, who were the sages of this government, assembled from the different States and met at Philadelphia on the memorable 10th of May 1787, for the purpose of organizing the General Government, God inspired them to frame the American Constitution so as thereby to establish the rights of man upon the broad basis of civil and religious liberty, that here might forever be found an asylum for the oppressed of all nations[657] to flee unto for refuge and protection from the power of their oppressors.
This was also done to prepare the way for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon—the stick of Joseph—that he might lift it up (in connection with the Bible) as an ensign upon the moantains, and set it as a sign among the people for the purpose of gathering and uniting the whole house of Israel into one nation upon their own land, and also for the purpose of reestablishing the kingdom of God upon the earth with all its officers, gifts and blessings.
Now be it known unto you, O ye inhabitants of these United States, that it is by the blessings of God, put upon this land for God’s good will unto Joseph, thereby making it a choice land above all other lands; and the decree of that same God, that whatsoever nation should possess it should serve him or be swept off (or dispossessed,) that you and your fathers have been permitted to dispossess the remnants of Joseph because of their transgressions; and to enjoy (in a national capacity) all those great national blessings and privileges which has caused the institutions of this nation to become the theme of philosophers and poets, and also to enjoy as individual citizens all the great blessings of civil and religious liberty which are so highly prized by every American citizen.
And be it known unto you further, that the Book of Mormon is true, and a divinely inspired record, therefore the prophecies and promises contained in it will all be fulfilled. And it has came forth in fulfilment of prophecy, therefore the time has come from the restoration of the whole house of Israel to their own lands and former blessings. Now therefore, wo, wo, wo unto you, O ye Gentiles who inhabit this land, except you speedily repent and obey the message of eternal truth which God has sent for the salvation of his people—in bringing forth the Book of Mormon and setting it as a sign unto this generation—yea, except ye repent and subscribe with your hands unto the Lord, and sir-name yourselves Israel, and call yourselves after the name of Jacob, you must be swept off, for behold your sins have reached unto heaven and God hath remembered your iniquities—the cries of the red men whom ye and your fathers have dispossessed and driven from their lands which God gave unto them and their fathers for an everlasting inheritance, has ascended into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and he has come down to deliver them—hear their plaintive cries—
“Great spirit of our fathers lend an ear,
“Pity the red man, to his cries give ear;
“Long hast thou scourged him with thy chastening sore,
“When will they vengeance cease, thy wrath be o’er;
“When will the white man’s dire ambition cease,
“And let our scattered remnants dwell in peace?
“Or shall we (driven to the western shore)
“Become extinct and fall to rise no more?
“Forbid, Great Spirit; make thy mercy known,
“Reveal thy truth, thy wandering captives own,
“Make bare thine arm of power for our release,
“And o’er the earth extend the reign of peace.”
And again; wo, wo, wo unto the nation of these United States, for your sins are increased before God in that ye have suffered the persecutions and oppression from which your fathers fled when they came to this land, to be practiced within your borders. Yea, he have suffered one of the free and independent states of your boasted confederacy, to rise up and persecute and oppress the people of the Lord, until many a free born son of America has bit the dust, and the soil of Joseph’s ‘blessed’ land, has drank their blood, which has smoked to Heaven and calls for vengeance upon the murderers, and for judgment upon this nation, who still acknowledges affinity with them. Yea, and the cries of persecuted and oppressed American citizens who have been driven from their possessions and robbed of their property, and thus reduced to beggary and want, have been made to you for redress and protection in vain. The cries of helpless orphans and sorrowing widows for redress of the accumulated wrongs which they have suffered from a portion of this nation, and for protection from the murderers of their fathers and husbands, have not been regarded by you; but they have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth; their cries have cried for judgment upon this nation, and it has appeared unto them, “for an account of all their sufferings shall be required of the rulers of this nation and of every one who has assisted their plunderers,” saith the Lord.
And again; wo, wo, wo unto all the inhabitants in all this land, (except they speedily repent and be baptised in the name of the Lord for the remission of their sins, by those whom God has specially commissioned by Revelation from Heaven, and sent to warn this generation[658] of the judgments which await them; and to baptise them that believe that they may receive the Holy Ghost, and signs follow them, for behold your sins were very great, they have reached unto Heaven.—Yea, you are “lovers of your own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy; without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good; traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleesure more than lovers of God.” And you “have a form of Godliness,” but “deny the gifts and power of God.”—(See 2d Tim. 3d chapt. from 1st to 9th verse.)—Therefore you have all gone out of the way, you have become corrupted. Because of pride and because of false teachers and false doctrine, your churches have become corrupted; and your churches are lifted up; because of pride you are puffed up. You rob the poor because of your fine sanctuaries; you rob the poor because of your fine clothing, and you persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in your pride you are puffed up. You wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride and wickedness, and abominations and whoredoms you have all gone astray, save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err, because they are taught be the precepts of men. O ye wise and learned, and rich, who are puffed up in the pride of your hearts, and all you who preach false doctrines and all who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord; wo, wo, wo unto you, saith the Lord God Almighty, for you shall be thrust down to hell. Wo unto you who turn aside the just for a thing of naught, and revile against that which is good and say that it is of no worth; for the day has come that the Lord God will speedily visit you with his great and sore judgments unto your utter distruction.—For except ye speedily repent of all your wickedness and abominations, and believe in and obey the words of Jesus Christ contained in the Book of Mormon, (it shall be done even as Moses said,) you shall be cut off from among the people who are of the covenant, for the remnant of Jacob whom ye and your fathers have dispossessed of their land shall be among you; yea, in the midst of you, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who if he go through both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces and none can deliver.—Yea, their hand will be lifted up upon their adversaries and all their enemies will be cut off. (See Micah 5th chapt. from the 7th to the 10th verse.)
Now therefore, hear the word of the Lord by the mouth of Joseph Smith, his Prophet, given and written on the 23d day of July 1837,—“Verily, verily I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face. Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth. A day of wrath—a day of burning—a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth said the Lord. And upon my house shall it begin; and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord.”
Now therefore, hear and take warning! for as a day of wrath and of burning, and of desolation, of weeping, of mourning and of lamentation did come as a whirlwind, (that is, suddenly, when they were not expecting it) upon the Lord’s house—the church of God —in the state of Missouri in the fall of 1838, so will a day of wrath and of burning, and of desolation, of weeping, of mourning and of lamentation come as a whirlwind upon all the inhabitants of this land, and upon all the face of the earth in fulfilment of the above prediction, and they cannot escape it, for the Lord hath spoken it. Now therefore pause and consider! for the day has come that judgment has began at the house of God. And if it has begun with us, what will the end be of these who obey not the Gospel of God! I answer, they will be utterly destroyed, for it is the hour of God’s judgment; and the generation in which the Lord will come with ten thousand of his saints to execute judgment upon all; as Enoch prophecied. (See Jude 14th and 15th verses.) And to take vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel.