Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation. (Isaiah 45: 8).

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I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. (Psalm 85).

XXI. The darkness of unbelief should cover the earth, but the Lord would bring out of the ground the words of a book that is sealed, and would proceed to do a marvelous work among the nations.

For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. (Isaiah 29: 10-14).

XXII. This book, the stick or record of Joseph, is to be joined with the Bible, the stick or record of Judah, and these books are to become one.

Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions. * * * Behold I will take

the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. (Ezekiel 37: 16-19).

XXIII. Several great works are to mark the time of the end. The Gospel must first be published among all nations.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14).

XXIV. The Lord will suddenly come to his temple, which must be built somewhere to receive him.

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? (Malachi 3: 1-5).

XXV. The coming of the Lord will be preceded by the sending of Elijah, who will plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4: 5, 6).

XXVI. God's people shall be gathered to Zion.

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: and I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. (Jeremiah 3: 14-15).

For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God. Behold I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth. (Jeremiah 31: 6-8).

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XXVII. And the Jews shall return to the Holy Land.

Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. (Ezekiel 37: 21). And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God. (Amos 9:15).

XXVIII. Zion shall be exalted and Jerusalem shall be established.

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high moun

tain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength. (Isaiah 40: 9).

Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall behold Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down. (Isaiah 33:20).

XXIX. Then will the Lord begin his reign.

He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off. Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of deeper speech than thou canst perceive. But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. (Isaiah 33: 16-21).

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XXX. It will be a rule of righteousness, blessedness, and peace.

He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. (Psalm 72).

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 65: 25).

And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Micah 4: 3).

XXXI. The people shall be blessed.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. * * * And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35.)

XXXII. And Zion shall be glorified.

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. * The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders: but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. Thy sun

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shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. (Isaiah 60.)

XXXIII. The Saints shall inherit the kingdom.

And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (Daniel 7: 27.)

XXXIV. And the Son of David, both priest and king, suddenly coming to his temple-to the Church and the people prepared to receive him-shall rule the earth from Zion, the stronghold of God's people, and his everlasting dwelling-place.

And take heed lest that day come upon you unawares. (Luke 21:34.)

MOHAMMED AND THE SARACENS.

BY WARREN SHEPHERD, OF THE CLASS IN ORATORY, BRIGHAM YOUNG ACADEMY, PROVO.

Pre-eminent among men who have shaped the destiny of the world, stands Mohammed, the warrior prophet of Arabia; a fact attested by the circumstance that more than one-sixth of the human race are today his enthusiastic followers.

For centuries Mohammed has been looked upon as an impostor, and even as anti-Christ; but today, he is generally regarded as a reformer: that is, as a man who introduced into Arabia, a religion and a morality much superior to that which previously prevailed. A self-conscious impostor he certainly was not. He believed strongly in his mission, and that his mission was to turn his countrymen from polytheism to the worship of one God. Perhaps the greatest blemish in his career was the propagation of his doctrines by the sword.

In the ages previous to the advent of Mohammed, the most prominent religious beliefs of Arabia were those of the Magians and the Sabaeans, blended with idolatry and the senseless worship of many gods. The ancient Sabaean sages supposed the stars to be inhabited by angels, placed there by an Almighty power to supervise and govern the universe. But history tells us that this beautiful, highly-idealized faith was in later ages practically subverted, and that the stars themselves became objects of worship; and so far did such faith sink into grossness that graven images were at last made in honor of them.

From such a degradation of religious ideals, it was natural that the unity of creation should be lost sight of. Accordingly,