| Show A DAY OF DECEPTION 0 ONE E of the prominent doctrines of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints is the coming of the savior again to earth this advent is not to be like the first then he came as the babe of bethlehem he was despised and rejected of men crowned with thorns spit upon and derided and finally crucified and slain when he comes again it is to be as the royal son of david to reign and rule as king of kings and lord of lods this advent the saints believe is in near biear at hand As foretold in scrip ture it is to be preceded by several important events which are to be signs of his approach among these are the restoration of toe the 9 gospel of the kingdom with all its powers gifts and manifestations and the authority to administer its ordinances ordinance the he preaching of that to all nations the gathering of the elect that ii ia the saints of god who are obed obedient lent to his will from all pails of the world thees the establishment of zion the restoration of the jews to palestine the out pouring of the latter day judgments judgment signs in heaven hcan en and on the earth wars pl plagues famiie earthquakes eath quakes land and ocean phenomena trouble perplexity and distress unexampled and the preparation of a people to receive him in ills his glory incidental to his coming to take possession of his kingdom there are ta be temporary tempo iary appearances of the risen redeemer he is to come suddenly to his temple to manifest himself to those who look for his ale appearing to stand upon the mount of olives to descend as he ascended after his resurrection etc these are preliminary appearances his advent with alth ten thousand of his saints in the glory op of his father will be the ew awning c owning ning event of this wonderful age the grand climax of the worlds drama the beginning ot of a new era many of the occurrences which he and other prophets of old time predicted as signs of Hs ha coming have already taken place others are hap happening ng daily As su surely rely as the buds herald the spring so do the signs of the times portend the see second advent ono one of the warnings he tave of his near approach and of which he bade his people beware was of false christs and false prophets in another column we print an account of a few of the vagaries deceptions and im postures which have recently disturbed society and led away many credulous people these should serve as caution signals to the saints there are to be such strong delusions in the latter days that they will deceive if possible the very elect there is a disposition among many people to accept as divine almost anything that appears miraculous or out of the ordinary course of nature the love of the marvelous is not confined to any class claes 0 or community it exists largely among some of the latter day saints lack of faith is a striking characteristic of the age in which we live and particularly ticul arly of the class clam who are called educated it is a great detect defect but the other extreme of too large credulity is an evil of which all should be on their guard every evary wonder is not a reality and as all is not gold that glitters so all is not divine that appears to be 11 super alper natu natural na ral satan is a factor in the suni sum of this worlds realities lie is the embodiment of all the opposites to hose attributes that conati constitute tuti deity he is the prince of the power of the air the ruler within certain bou bounds of the lower world and he is the arch debei deceiver ver of noen men and nations he is a great Imitator and will counterfeit the divine so as to lead astray the most astute who have not the grand key to test and detect his impositions As an angel of light aye as the messiah himself he may appear to deceive and destroy the latter day saints should be careful to preserve themselves from error and to keep within the lines of the law of god and the revelations he has gl gien en for their guide while they ought to covet to prophesy and desire spiritual gifts they should not be too anxious for marvels not to accept as divine every manifesta tion of extraordinary power and they must beware of postures impostures im which will multiply and become more and more delusive as the advent of the lord draws near the promise of his coming is true and faithful it will not fall fail and to those who are prepared and worthy he may reveal himself in vision or otherwise as he may eon descend but there will be false appearances pe arances and lying spirits and designing men and the foolish both ignorant and learned will be led astray in the church of christ are ample safeguards against delusion and error under the keys and gu guidance of the holy priesthood none need be beguiled by the evil one possessed of the holy ghost as a gift from god the humblest saint may be kept from straying and may walk in the light though darkness surrounds mystery is of babylon simplicity and plainness are of the truth and safety lies in the strait and narrow way of duty where no igni ignis fatrus leads to the quagmires of folly and despair by dayube day obe diance to the word of the lord and compliance with the rules he has revealed and by seeking forthe guidance of that calm common sense and rational spirit which to is his girl to the faithful they will learn learh all that Is needful to know of his great designs and coming purpose fand be prepared for the grand consummation while W hile those who are too eager for the mysteries and too ready for the marvelous marve louB may be blinded by the adversary and become a pre prey balso to the deceiver beware or of bals christs Oh ristp beware of false prophet tri |
