[Joseph Smith Diary] ... the following sentiments occur[r]ed to my mind:
Motto of the Church of [Jesus] Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Constitution of our country formed by the Fathers of Liberty. Peace and good order in society. Love to God and good will to man. All good and wholesome Laws, And virtue and truth above all things, And Aristarchy live forever!!! But Wo to tyrants, Mobs, Aristocracy, Anarchy and Toryism, And all those who invent or seek out unrighteous and vexatious lawsuits under the pretext or color of law or office, either religious or political.
Exalt the standard of Democracy! Down with that of Priestcraft, and let all the people say Amen! That the blood of our Fathers may not cry from the ground against us.
Sacred is the Memory of that Blood which bought for us our liberty.
Signed: Joseph Smith, Jr.
... Quest[ions] on Scripture
1st Who is the stem of Jesse spoken of in the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th and 5th verses of the 11th Chap[ter] of Isaiah?
Ans[wer] Verily thus saith the Lord, It is Christ.
Q[uestion] 2d What is the Rod spoken of in the 1st verse of the 11th Chap[ter] that should come of the stem of Jessee?
Ans[wer] Behold thus saith /the Lord/, it is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a de[s]cendant of Jessee as well as of Ephraim or of the house of Joseph, on whome thare is laid much power.
Q[u]est[ion] 3d What is the Root of Jessee spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th Chap[ter]?
Ans[wer] Behold thus saith the Lord, it is a de[s]cendant of Jessee as well as of Joseph unto whom rightly belongs the Priesthood and the kees of the Kingdom for an ensign and for the geathering of my people in the Last days.
Questions by Elias Higby
=1st Q[uestion] What is me[a]nt by the command in Isaiah 52d Chap[ter], 1st verse which saith, "Put on thy strength O ZION," and what people has I[sa]iah referance to?
A[nswer] He had reference to those whome God should call in the last days who should hold the power of Priesthood to bring again Zion and the redemption of Israel. And to put on her strength is to put on the authority of the priesthood which She (Zion) has a right to by lineage. Also to return to that power which she had lost.
Q[ues[tion] 2d What are we to understand by Zions loosing herself from the bands of her neck, 2d verse?
A[nswer] We are to understand that the scattered remnants are ex[h]orted to return to the Lord from whence they have fal[l]en which if they do the promise of the Lord is that he will speak to them or give them revelation. See 6th, 7th, and 8th verses. The bands of her neck are the curses of God upon her or the remnants of Israel in their scattered condition among the Gentiles.
[Source: Faulring, Scott (ed.), An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith: Joseph Smith Diary, 1838, http://amzn.to/jsdiaries]
No comments:
Post a Comment