| Show fulfillment OF PROPHECY THE condition of affairs on our earth is becoming more and more critical the times are per perilous peri loup ilour the saints should observe the signs according to the admonitions of the revelations given to the church to do this they must keep themselves informed regarding current events and compare the record of them with the predictions of the prophets relating to the conditions that were to be precursory of the coming of christ those who become absorbed in the things of the world the pursuit of riches and attendant carm cares are not likely to be fully alive to the importance ance of the times in which we livo live those theme who treat life as a perpetual joke by devoting themselves to earthly pleasures pies ures are still less likely to view the realities of our period from the standpoint of what has been revealed from the almighty concerning them if the observant course recommended be pursued those who take it will readily see how powerfully the claims of jospph joseph smith to having been raised up and inspired of bod ind for a divine purpose are sustained by the present situation of human affairs through him came light into the world concerning the future his prophecies are more or less verified by every existing cond tion s whether it be moral social terrestrial or atmospheric he gave to the world the book of mormon a history of god dealings with the ancient peoples who inhabited the american continent it not only contains a record of the past but many predictions of prophets relating to our day although these prophecies are not the direct utterances of joseph smith they were brought to light through his agency and therefore prove the genuine character of his bis mission one of the most prominent of the book boob of mormon prophets prophet was nephi son eon of lehi the head of 01 the bohny of people who left jerusalem jerusalem eru salem years before christ came me to this continent and established themselves upon this favored laud land echi was a great man having strong characteristics one of which was the plainness of his big speech he made aay prophecies in relation to our mines ahnes knowing that the record would come forth in the litter jatter days daya for the benefit enofia of all who should receive it he ie depicted the present situation of the world in the following succinct and unmistakable language as an recorded on page but behold in the last days daya or in the days day of the gentiles yea behold all the nations of the gentiles gen tiles and also alao the jews both oth those who shall come upon this land and those who shall be upon other lands yea even upon all the lands of the earth behold they will be drunken with iniquity equity qu ity and all manner of abominations and when that day shall come they tan be visited of the lord of floats hosts with thunder and with earthquake and with h great noise and with storm and with ath tempest and with the flame of devouring fire no 01 one a e will deny the correctness of ephis phoil 1 delineation of the moral situa tiou on of f the inhabitants of the world with without out respect to nationality such a denial would be useless because the daily record ot of crime of the most hor ble character and embracing every known phase of it proves the faithfulness of the appalling picture that he most abitia abominable anable offenses offe uses against the he laws wo of god and man are increase 1119 ng alarmingly alarming gly is a fact that can be easily ily demonstrated by the process of comparison if the insane race for wealth ealta pleasure and power be thrown ID it will be seen now bow clearly are the words orda of the prophet f fulfilled u I 1 ailed they will te be drunken with iniquity and all wenner of abominations the fhe prophecy embodied in the quote quota cioll on is bullum in being a strick lag u illustration ot of condensation A umber number of elemental disturbances are named med they were to be in our time s conspicuous 00 no for frequency and intensity lubens ity it W not there would have been ric 00 fliP special ectal point in naming them in connection with the peculiar condl tona ansof of the latter days thunder to Is first on nephis list of visitations in this particular prophecy accounts conae ae daily from all parts parta of the earth biving giving descriptions of thunderstorms unprecedented in the regions where tiley ey occur the reverberations a are re de picked as deafening ing and terrorizing while e the accompanying lightning is lot kotonly only intensely vivid but frequent Y y destructive of human life and prop arky bah n it being ng the means of setting buildings abon gB on fire and performing many centric operations Q aj earthquakes arth quakes accompanied by great riols aises as if the earth were groaning are I 1 more or or less lees frequent and exceed 1 destructive the latest being that recorded dyed d in the dispatches as having destroyed ea troyed a town in mexico the dumcy and destructive chat char actor at of storms and tempests is a matter remark in the public jou journals the nia in such buch that in some places place where IK they are specially common the ennst are 1 kept P to some extent in a nai tion ef cf dread it to is nonsense to say ay cavalierly that such things have always been and are therefore but a continuation of what has occurred in the past where Is ie there the information that would justify an assertion to the effect that such atmospheric disturbances tur bances have ever been as prevalent as now take our own loved country as an example in some parts of it so otten often have tempests tempest 8 and storms of great vio violence leuce and deo destructive force appeared almost annihilating towns and villages that storm collars cellars have become a part ot of residential architecture this provision of means of refuge in connection with dwelling houses bouses has been almost unknown until within the last few years in connection with this subject it may not be amiss to mention a fact of which we have been informed when the elders of the church go out into the world a part of their proclamation Is in to warn the people of coming calamities in some parts of the southern states where districts have been visited by terrorizing storms numbers of the people not connected with the church have sought out the elders so they could be near them at such times believing that they would thus be safe from injury during the elemental war As an an object lesson lemon in relation to the prevalence of storms in the present period we need only refer no further back than to the tern tem condition of the oceans notably the atlantic during last winter the last of the visitations na medby in the prophecy quoted in this art cle is that of the flame of devouring fire 12 it is only needful in this branch of the subject to direct attention to the daily record which is appalling numbers of towns and cities are bet being practically swept out of existence fly the devouring element in the var various lous countries of our globe As stated some time since in the press dispatches the question was recently raised in a meeting of insurance people held in liverpool whether it was advisable for european companies to operate in the United States where fires increased with such phenomenal rapidity during the last few years that the american business had bad been conducted at a loss lose there are many predictions of the prophet especially those of joseph smith which relate to the tahe present e n time that are receiving a literal Pr verification ir a ii in the present condition of the world but this article has bim extended already to greater length than was intended consequently further treatment of this subject must be deterred deferred thereto there is enough to show to the baiata Saint lill at least that the days in which we live are momentous |
