--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - West, Joseph A. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 23 number: 2 published: 1919-12 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'West, Joseph A., "Present World Conditions and Prophecy," *Improvement Era* 23, no. 2 (December 1919): 140–144.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2302unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2302unse start_page: 140 end_page: 144 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1919-12) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2302unse publication_year: 1919 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1919, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Present World Conditions and Prophecy Present World Conditions and Prophecy By Joseph A. W est Before we can understand the period in which some of the revelations of the Lord are to be fulfilled, we must acquaint ourselves with the meaning of the word generation as applied thereto. First Nephi 12:11, 12 reads as follows: And the angel said unto me, Look, and I looked, and beheld three gen- erations pass away in righteousness \ after the visit of the Savior to the Nephites] * * * And I, Nephi, also saw many of the fourth generation, who passed away in righteousness. Alma, another great Nephite prophet, who in vision saw the same event (45:10) says: Behold, I perceive that this very people, the Nephites, according to the Spirit of revelation which is in me, in four hundred years from the time Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them, shall dwindle in unbelief. * * * Yea, I say unto you, that because they shall sin against so great light and knowledge; yea, I say unto you, that from that day, even the fourth geenration shall not all pass away, before this great iniquity shall come. The Savior, in III Nephi, also referring to the future apostasy of the Nephite people, says: But behold it sorroweth me because of the fourth generation from this generation, for they are led away captive by him, even as was the son of perdition. The Lamanite prophet Samuel uses the word generation to indicate a hundred years. See Helaman 13:9. All the Bible prophecies of Jesus respecting the destruction of Jerusalem that were to be fulfilled in the generation in which he lived were fulfilled within a hundred years. Wemay safely conclude, therefore, that generally, either in the new or old scriptures, where the word generation is used, a hundred years is meant. Jacob, a brother of Nephi, whom Nephi ordained 545 years B. C. to succeed him as the spiritual leader of the Nephite people, made the following prophecy: Behold, this land, saith God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land. And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no king upon the land who shall raise up unto the Gentiles: and I w^Il fortify this land against all other PRESENT WORLD CONDITIONS AND PROPHECY 111 nations; and he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, sailh God; for he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.— II Nephi 10:10-14. The following, relating to this same subject, appears in the Book of Ether, 2:12: Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it, shallbe free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ. While there were many kings upon the land of America before the coming of the Gentiles, there were to be none, ac- cording to the foregoing prophecy, after the Gentile power should become established here. It was to be a land of liberty unto them, and such it truly became, so much so that the bea- con light of freedom has extended from here unto the re- motest corners of the earth. Neither has any king, since then, permanently reigned here, although several attempts to estab- lish a kingdom upon this continent have been made. James Monroe, fifth President of the United States, was evidently inspired in line with the above prophecy, to proclaim to the world, what has since been known as the "Monroe Doc- trine." During the war of the rebellion, when we were straining every nerve to maintain the Union, a notable gathering of Catholic prelates, and other citizens of the Mexican republic, convened in the City of Mexico to devise means to overcome the revolutionary conditions then existing in that distracted country. As a result of these deliberations a petition was framed and sent to Napoleon III, then considered to be one of the most powerful monarchs of Europe, asking him to establish an em- pire in Mexico. It concluded with the following words: The Mexican nation adopts for its form of government a moderate the hereditary monarchy with a Roman Catholic prince, and asks that crown be tendered to Maximillian and in the event of his refusal appeals to Napoleon to nominate another Catholic prince. Maximilian accepted the proffered crown, and Napoleon sent an army of 35,000 men into Mexico, proclaimed Maximil- emperor, and undertook, with the powerful aid of the ian war-torn Catholics, to establish and maintain an empire in that republic. ... He was quite successful for a time, but as soon as the Civil War was over in this country, our government served notice upon Napoleon that an empire in Mexico, and the presence any favor of French troops there could not be regarded with ~A2 IMrROVEMEi I ERA by the United States. Napoleon, powerful as he was at the time, knew better than to prosecute his plans further, and at once resolved to withdraw his army. He notified Maximilian of his purpose and advised him to resign; but being intoxicated with his brief assumption of imperial power, and being strongly supported by the Catholic party of that country, Maximilian refused to take Napoleon's advice, but remained and continued his struggle for imperial sovereignty. It was but a short time, however, before the native valor of the Indian races, under their gallant leader, Juarez, himself a full-blooded Indian, overcame the Maximilian forces, took him prisoner, and later executed him and several of his gen- erals, defying every influence that was brought to bear to pre- vent it. In the meantime, Maximilian's wife, after a vain ap- peal to Napoleon to save her husband, appealed to all the other potentates of Europe with like result. It was while she was thus occupied that she suddenly became hopelessly insane, and so remained, cherishing a vain hallucination that made her case one of the most pathetic in history. Only recently mention was made of her in the public print. The proud monarch, Napoleon, who had tried to nullify God's decree that no king from among the Gentiles should reign upon the land of America after he had made it free, fin- ally lost his crown and died an ignoble death in a foreign land„ almost unlamented. His only eon met his death in far off South Africa, among semi-savages, while fighting under the British flag. Thus the name and fame of this once favored family perished from the earth. The fall of Maximilian and the events leading up to his tragic end occurred about thirty-seven years after the Book of Mormon was published. Now let us here take note of the balance of this remark- able prophecy: And I will fortify this land against all other nations; and he that fighteth against Zion [this land] shall perish. Germany and Austria-Hungary, two of the greatest and most powerful empires of Europe, attacked our ocean com- merce and compelled us to go to war with them to protect the lives, property, and rights of our citizens upon the high seas. As a result both of these great imperial powers have ceased to be, and their sovereigns and leading statesmen are either dead or exiles in foreign lands. These events also occurred 2,400 years after the above prediction was made and 88 years after itspublication to the world. I purposely refrain from quoting from I Nephi 13:12, etc., where the Lord is said to have showed Nephi the coming of PRESENT WORLD CONDITIONS AND PROPHECY 143 Columbus and the establishment of a great nation upon the land of America among the Gentiles, that should be "lifted up by the power of God above all other nations," and wherein the nucleus of his Church and Kingdom should be established. I do this for the reason that a number of these events were partly fulfilled before the Book of Mormon was published, and carping critics might say that anyone could write prophecy after the events predicted had mostly happened. In a revelation given by the Lord to Joseph, the Seer, on the 7th of March, 1831, appears the following. And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel; * * * and in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled; and there shall be men standing in that generation that shall not pass, until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land. (Doc. and Cov. 45:23-31.) In March, 1829, the following was given: For a desolating scourge shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth, and shall continue to be poured out from time to time, if they repent not, until the earth is empty, and the inhabitants thereof are consumed away rn<\ utterly destroyed by the brightness of my coming. (Doc. and Cov. 5:19.) The latter part of the first prediction and the fore part of the second have had their partial fulfilment in the influenza that has already ravaged the earth. It made its first appear- ance in the far east, among the Chinese, and from thence it extended across Europe and America to the eastern shores of Asia again, embracing in its march, every continent and almost every island of the sea. It has baffled the skill of the greatest physicians, for it has taken its toll from among the healthy and strong, and has resulted, it is claimed, in more deaths than the great world war just closed. It is also predicted in the foregoing revelation that "the tunes of the Gentiles were to be fulfilled" in the generation, or one hundred years, after "the light should break forth among them," which light was to be "the fulness of the gospel." The Book of Mormon, which contains the fulness of the gospel in its simplicty and purity, was published in the year 1830, and in that same year the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized by divine authority, given anew to the Prophet Joseph Smith and his associates. As to what was to happen when "the times of the Gentiles" were fulfilled we will quote further from sec. 45:24, 25, 26: And this I have told you concerning Jerusalem, and when that day shall come, shall a remnant be scattered among all nations; but ihey shall be Gentiles be gathered again, but they shall remain until the times of the fulfilled. And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and 144 IMPROVEMENT ERA (he whole earth shall be in commotion, and men's hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ dclayeth his coming until the end of the earth. At the time this prediction was made, March 7, 1831, and for 88 years thereafter, Palestine was under the dominion of Turkey, a nation infidel to every principle of Christianity, and which hated the Christians with an unquenchable hatred. It then appeared that this prophecy was absolutely impossible of fulfilment, but what do we see today? The Turk dispossessed of that land, and the same offered to the Jewish people by the British government in the following official communica- tion: Foreign Office, London, England, Nov. 2, 1917. Dear Lord Rothschild: I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of his Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with the Zionist aspirations, which have been submitted and approved by the Cabinet: "His Majesty's Government view with favor the establishment in Pales- tine, of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavor to facilitate the achievement of this object, It being clearly un- derstood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in other countries." Yours Sincerely, (signed) Arthur James Balfour, Secretary Foreign Affairs. This and later indications point to the near fulfilment of the wonderful prophecy regarding the gathering of the Jews to their own land after their long dispersion in a day of wars and rumors of war and when the whole earth is in commo- tion, so much so, that men's hearts are everywhere failing them for fear, and many are saying that the Lord delayeth his com- ing. Many of the Jews have already gathered in Jerusalem; and millions of dollars have been collected from all over the world to aid in rebuilding and re-inhabiting the once favored Land of Promise. Jewry is stirred from centre to circumference by the happy prospects of soon being able to gather to the land of their fathers, and are making every preparation to fulfil to the let- ter this wonderful prediction of our modern seer and the an- cient prophets. (To be Continued)