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Chapter Twelve
THE MANIFESTO
D & C 132:66 "And now, as pertaining to this law,
verily, verily, I say unto you, I will reveal more
unto you, hereafter ; therefore, let this suffice
for the present."
More instruction would be forthcoming from God on the Law of
Sacrifice and that which was received was the Manifesto.
Abraham, who lived the law, also received a cancellation of
the law by God:
RB, Gen. 21:7 "And the child grew, and was weaned: and the
day that Isaac was weaned Abraham made a great feast, and
Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which Hagar had
borne unto Abraham, mocking; and she was troubled.
8 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bond-woman
and her son; for the son of this bond-woman shall not be
heir with my son, Isaac.
9 And this thing was very grievous unto Abraham because of
his son.
10 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous
in thy sight, because of the lad, and because of thy
BOND-WOMAN; in all that Sarah has said unto thee. hearken
unto her voice; FOR IN ISAAC SHALL THY SEED BE
CALLED .
.................
12 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread,
and a bottle of water, and gave unto Hagar, and she took the
child, and he sent her away; and she departed, and wandered
in the wilderness of Beer-sheba."
Note the term "bond-woman" instead of the legal term "wife."
Also, the explanation by God that Isaac was his legal son,
Ishmael being a recipient of the law of adoption.
Gen. 25:5 "And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
6 But unto the SONS OF THE CONCUBINES ,
which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away
from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the
east country."
The foregoing Bolded informs us again of the temporary
situation with Abraham's concubines and their sons for the
law had no further purpose than TO BLESS A CURSED NATION
WITH THE RIGHT OF PRIESTHOOD and A GENETIC UPLIFT. The term
"concubine" in the foregoing scripture is consistent with
the 132nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, Verse
37.
In 1890 more instruction came from God to President Wilford
Woodruff:
Woodruff, Chapter XVI, Explanation of the
Manifesto: Page 218 "Yes, I saw by vision
and revelation this Temple in the hands of the
wicked . I saw our city in the hands of the wicked.
I saw every temple in these valleys in the hands of
the wicked . I saw great destruction among the
people. All these things would have come to pass. as
God Almighty lives, had not that Manifesto been
given. Therefore, the Son of God felt disposed to
have that thing presented to the Church and to the world for
purposes in his own mind. The Lord had decreed the
establishment of Zion. He had decreed the finishing
of this temple. He had decreed that the salvation of the
living and the dead should be given in these valleys of the
mountains. And Almighty God decreed that the Devil should
not thwart it . If you can understand that, that is
the key to it."
Note the bolded where it is written that the temples would
be in the hands of the wicked which would result in the
ordinances for the salvation of the dead not being
performed. Let us analyze this situation. Was Johnson's army
too great a feat for God? Was the United States Government
stronger than the arm of the Almighty? What about the armies
of Pharaoh, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Jerusalem
and even the world save eight souls? Could the temples be
taken over by the wicked against God's will? Let us learn of
his power:
Isaiah 40:12 "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of
his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and
comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed
the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his
counsellor hath taught him?
14 With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and
taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him
knowledge, and shewed to him the way of
understanding?
.................
17 ALL NATIONS BEFORE HIM ARE AS NOTHING
;.......
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye
compare unto him?"
There is one area that is sacred to God and that is
"FREE AGENCY ." God never takes away our
free agency. Therefore, the wicked Pres. Woodruff saw in the
temple had to be the members of the Church who were not
taking care of the important ordinances of salvation
performed there for the living and the dead. Is it
conceivable to believe that righteousness can be promoted by
the belief that men will (if Congress gets their act
together) have more than one wife in this lifetime and many
in the eternities to propagate heaven and earth with
offspring. Does not this concept intensify the second
strongest instinct of the flesh (the sex drive) in men? And
to further believe that this idea was through divine
inspiration had to be in question when Brigham Young
cancelled reprinting copies of the publication "The Seer"
(because of the false doctrine it contained) where this
concept was promulgated.
God has prepared a way for His righteous purposes to be
accomplished in all dispensations of time and perhaps this
preparation came about in the wake of a snowstorm. The story
is as follows:
(From John Taylor's third letter to the Deseret
News , October 1871) Utah Denied Statehood
for 46 years because of a Snow Storm . "During Mr
Zachary Taylor's administration (as U. S. President) parties
began to define their attitude, and the Territorial question
threatened to be fierce; California, Deseret and New Mexico
all being expected to apply for admission, the President
wishing to remove the vexed question from Congress, sent two
delegates, one to Utah, the other to California. General
Wilson, as the delegate to Utah, came here in 1849, with a
request for us to unite with California and form a State,
that the Territorial question then agitating the nation
might be removed from Congress. I was one of a committee who
communicated with him on that subject, being interested on
the question. He informed us that if we felt unwilling to
form this union, he was requested by the President to appeal
to our patriotism to aid him in avoiding apprehended
difficulties. We acceded to his request and
agreed to form this union, on condition that we were each,
within two -years, to form a separate State constitution and
government.
The other delegate was sent by water to California for the
same purpose. General Wilson left late in the fall, with a
part of his family and an escort. He was detained for a
length of time by a severe snow storm, which prevented his
arrival in California at the time specif~ed. The other
delegate, not being able'to wait for him, made other
arrangements with the people of California, and his mission
was thus frustrated. Had it not been for a snow
storm, we should have been a free people ; as it
is, we have been living under the worst species of despotism
......a satrapy ...... from that time to the present. Does
freedom depend upon such adventitious circumstances: Are the
liberties of men depending upon such contingencies? Is this
the popular republical government guaranteed by the
Constitution of the United States?" ...... Millennial Star
33:769-74.
Since God knows the beginning from the end He must have been
aware of the opportunity for statehood which, at that time,
would have admitted Utah into the Union without the
government enacting laws that would prohibit polygamy. Is
heaven so lax that it is not aware, or is it safe to say, a
snowstorm paved the way for the Manifesto to be issued?
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