# The Evening and the Morning Star, v1n06, editorial matter attributed to W. W. Phelps (editor)
# Date: November 1832 (Independence, Missouri)
# Source: http://www.centerplace.org/history/ems/v1n06.htm (centerplace.org transcription). Pieces: THE TRIBE OF JOSEPH; SACRED POETRY; THE GATHERING; TO THE SAINTS; HE THAT WILL NOT WORK, IS NOT A DISCIPLE OF THE LORD; THE BOOK OF JOB. Notes: unsigned editorials in Phelps-edited issue (confidence medium; 'To Man' June 1832 signed W. W. PHELPS = high); revelations, scripture extracts, reprints, hymns, and others' letters excluded; quoted matter and detected unmarked scripture paragraphs stripped; transcriber bracket-corrections removed (original spelling retained).

[THE TRIBE OF JOSEPH]

HAVING given a sketch of the history of the ten tribes, in our last, the next subject which presents itself, is the tribe of Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph in his youth and not only his dreams, one of which says, that the sun and moon, and the eleven stars made obeisance to him, but much of his life was a type of future events in relation to his seed. His being sold unto the Egyptians, was a wise plan of the Lord to show his power to Israel, and to convince the world, that he is merciful to such as keep his commandments, and seek the path of endless virtue; yea, all the workmanship of his hands. The history of Joseph, in full, cannot at present be given; but in part, it will occupy a great place in the hearts of such as seek diligently the kingdom of God and the welfare of scattered Israel. It is so well known that Joseph was the beloved of his father, that we can quote the words of the good old man pronounced upon him, as what should befal him, or come to pass among his seed, in the last days, without the fear of contradiction, and with a great deal of pleasure, as well as satisfaction, knowing that the very days have arrived for the fulfilment of that prophecy:

This is one of the greatest prophecies in the bible, and contains more of the economy of the Lord than will be seen till the Redeemer comes to dwell on the earth. What an admirable expression is that; the branches run over the wall; as plain as to have said, some of his seed shall cross the ocean. But the most profound is, From thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. It could not mean the birth of the Savior, for Paul says it is evident our Lord sprang from the tribe of Judah: But when Paul said to the Romans, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob, he must have meant the Deliverer, which is to come and gather his sheep into his fold, and becomes the good Shepherd: and according to the blessings of Moses, Joseph is the firstling of his bullock. Let us read it: And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together from the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

The beauty, the wisdom, and the extent of this blessing upon the seed of Joseph, have never yet been found out by the world, nor fully understood by all the saints.-In the first place, Moses s

Thus spake Lehi to his son Joseph, and who is there that can not rejoice when he reads such a glorious and sacred promise? When we look abroad in the earth and view the extent of the Lord's dominions in this world; when we reflect upon the space of time that the Lord has allowed the sons of men to set these dominations in order, by giving them the privilege of the gospel; and when we consider how much the Lord has promised to such as build up his kingdom on the earth, we are astonished! When Jacob, or as he was named, Israel, blessed the children of Joseph, he crossed his hands and put Ephraim the youngest first, saying his seed shall become a multitude of nations; and Lehi s

So, then, it appears, that Ephraim, besides becoming a multitude of nations, writes and keeps one of the sticks or books of the Lord. The stick of Judah, the bible, is about as much acknowledged and received as the Savior was, when he came to fulfil the words of the prophets, to be offered a sacrifice for sin. But there

is another light, which presents itself to us, which ought not to be omitted. Say, our Savior came through the tribe of Judah, and the Jews kept the record or the bible, as it is called, for the scepter was not to depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and then, that the Redeemer, shall come the second time, to the tribe of Joseph; and they have also written and kept a record, called the book of Mormon, for, from thence is the Shepherd the Stone of Israel:

Now mark, Ephraim is the first born; the Lord's dear son, and a pleasant child, and the Lord will have compassion upon him, notwithstanding it is said by the prophet Hosea, that they, (the seed of Ephraim) shall be wanderers among the nations; notwithstanding Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone; notwithstanding Ephraim hath mixed himself among the people; notwithstanding Ephraim is a cake not turned; notwithstanding Ephraim is like a silly dove without a heart, and notwithstanding Ephraim is a heifer taught, and loves to tread out the grain, Ephraim shall ride, for the Lord hath spoken it. Half the tribe of Manasseh, being absent near the lost tribes in the region of Arsareth, we shall not pretend to say as much in relatiou to Manasseh as Ephraim.

But to make all things plain let us remember, what the Lord has said in relation to Joseph as a house, or particular portion of Israel; that he would save it. The words of Zechariah are in point:

How plain the Lord has told the world, that he would do great things for the house of Joseph, and well might the Psalmist exclaim:

Here let us pause. The Lord is great and his words fail not. The shepherd of Israel, which comes leading Joseph like a flock, stir up thy strength before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh. Ah what precious words! Judah is to be gathered at old Jerusalem; the lost tribes, with the half tribe of Manasseh, will be restored by Elijah, which leaves Ephraim, the remaining half tribe of Manasseh, and Benjamin to be stirred up by the good shepherd.

Now, beloved reader, when the Son of man comes shall he find faith on the earth? He will find some with Ephraim, if Hosea's words are true, that-From me is thy fruit found. Again, taking this parable for a sample, will he come to those that pray in fine houses and fast by states and nations, as it were, giving bountifully of their wealth, to Bible societies, and temperance societies, while the poor, are forgotten by them, or will he come to them that humble themselves and cry mightily, Not our will but thine, O God be done?

Joseph was a type of coming events unto his seed; Ephraim was to become a great many nations, and all these things were to be fulfilled in the last days.-The land of Joseph was to be blessed above all others, and Joseph was to be honored by his parents and brethren, according to his dream of the singing hosts of heaven. Joseph was sold into Egypt to save his father's household from famine as a type of what should be afterwards. It is thus said in the Book of Mormon, by Moroni the chief captain of the Nephites, who lived about seventy years before the birth of the Savior:

Now as Joseph caused all the Egyptians to leave the room when he made himself known to his brethren: So the branch of his seed, which was lead to this continent by the hand of the Lord, to prepare the land of their inheritance, and the other branches which are wandering among the nations, may be brought from the east, and gathered from the west, ready to meet the Redeemer when he brings again Zion.

In the view of this coming scene is a joy, which can not be known by them that are without the hope of a glorious resurrection. Before Joseph went into Egypt the great day of a thousand years' holiness on earth, was better known among some men than now. What started a party of high-mined men to build a Tower to go to heaven? The world had just been immersed with water: Zion had previously been taken to paradise, and for fear that it might again be destroyed, as they had again begun to trust in themselves, this evil generation, sat out to force themselves into heaven, without coming in as the Lord had appointed. Now, it is well known that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were so much in favor with the Lord, that he talked with them and gave them commandments, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and knew many things in relation to the last days, which they taught, to their posterity.

Although Joseph, or Ephraim, may be mixed among the nations, so that feet have scarce trod where he hath not been, & good and evil have not come to the lot of any on earth, more than him, still as the blessing to him was the greatest, and as he was lord over all Egypt, so shall he become a multitude of nations, reaching from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, among the rest of the saints.

Judah would not receive the Savior at his first coming, and he was crucified. He then manifested himself to the other tribes and remnants. The word was, whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. The Jews fall upon that stone and were broken: and, O ye inhabitants of the earth, beware! for if that stone falls upon you, it will grind you to powder. Remember that Joseph's glory, is the firstling of his bullock, & also, that with his horns, he is to push the people together from the ends of the earth.

God made the world in six days, and rested on the seventh, and blessed and sanctified it: and thus will he do with creation, for the creation of the spiritual world was in the likeness of the temporal; the temporal a preparation for man to enter into the Sacred Rest: The Lord has now begun to feed the flock of his heritage with the rod, as in days of old, and according to the days of his coming out of the land of Egypt, will he show marvelous things. The oceans have to roll back into one place; the valleys have to be exalted; the mountains have to flow down at his presence, the sun has to be darkened, and the moon turned into blood, and stars have to fall, then behold, he will come to reign on the earth with power and great glory, and all the holy angels with him; yea, with the church of the first born, even Zion which was received up to the bosom of the Father, in the days of Enoch, before the flood; that the righteous that died in the hope of a glorious resurrection, may arise and meet the Lord in the air, and live again, in the flesh, on the earth.

[SACRED POETRY]

EVERY thing that comes from the Lord, is sublime; this sublimity clothing the prophecies, and giving the Psalms a glory and sweetness, touching the saint's heart with thoughts that whisper like the still small voice to Elijah, and delighting the souls with words that moisten, as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion:

[THE GATHERING]

THERE is a great anxiety manifested to learn how the church of Christ prospers, since it commenced settling in the western part of the state of Missouri. To satisfy this inquiry, and more especially to publish the truth upon this great subject, that none may be deceived by flying reports, we shall endeavor to give all the information in our possession. Since the gathering commenced, which is a little over a year, the number of the disciples which have come from the east, and which have been baptized in this region, is 465

Children and those not members, about 345

This little flock, which is now enjoying the glorious privileges and blessings of the everlasting gospel, preparatory to the second coming of the Savior, have, as it were, almost simultaneously

come together from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee and Missouri, to worship God and keep his commandments, on the land of their inheritance.-So far, the disciples have been highly favored; coming, as most of them have, from different climates, and changing, as is necessarily the case, their modes of living, undergoing the troubles and hardships of a long and tedious journey, and planting themselves down without the conveniences and even necessaries, which most of them have been used to, it is certainly a matter of great joy, if not a miracle, that they are generally so healthy, so industrious, so thriving, and more than all, so contented to love the Lord and their neighbors as themselves. Reports, to be sure, have been circulated, that so many were moving in, that a famine must succeed, and some starve to death; perhaps a few believed so, but in the joyful language of the Psalmist we can exclaim: We have been young, and now are old; yet have we not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. The great consolation is, the promises of the Lord never fail; nor is his store-house ever empty. Virtue, honesty, diligence, industry, economy, and patience, added to that pure religion, and undefiled before God and the Father: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world, bring about the purposes of God, in their eternal salvation, and blesses the contrite soul with a sweet consolation and a prospect before it, that the world, with all its alluring, but vanishing appearances, can neither give nor take. We admit that the flowing together of so many saints has the appearance of a meeting of strangers; but as they already begin to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord, the world may witness that it is the preparation of Israel to meet his God. As the prophet said, Zion is a wilderness, but with faithful hearts raised to God, the wilderness will soon blossom as the rose, and, as the prospect brightens, we look forward with joy to the day when Zion shall arise and put on her beautiful garments and become the joy of the world.

Amid all things, for it is appointed for all once to die, twelve persons have died since the emigration commenced to this land: that is, nine here, and three upon the way. There have been solemnized six marriages.

Our news from abroad is cheering. The harvest is truly abundant, but the laborers are few.-New churches have been built up in Missouri; in Illinois; at Fulton, near Cincinnati, Ohio; at Guyandotte, Virginia; in Spafford, Onondaga Co. at Tompkins, Delaware Co. and at Essex Co. N. York; at Benson, North Troy, and Charleston, Vermont; at Bath, New Hampshire; in N. Rowley and Boston, Massachusetts, and how many in other places we can not s

To continue: It gives us pleasure, knowing that these are the last days, and making it our duty, as faithful servants of the Lord, in the hope that the example will cause the elders generally, to go and do likewise, to lay before the disciples, all the news that will benefit Zion, or cheer the inquiring soul abroad: For this purpose we give the following extract of a letter, from one of the elders of this church, to a brother of this place,-Dated Benson, (Vt.) September 20, 1832.

[TO THE SAINTS]

THE Lord has said, Blessed are they who have come up to this land with an eye single to my glory, according to my commandments.

[HE THAT WILL NOT WORK, IS NOT A DISCIPLE OF THE LORD]

PURPOSING to do the will of God in all things, every disciple must do with his might, whatsoever his hand finds to do, knowing that the idler is to be had in remembrance before the Lord. There is no respect of persons; every one ought to do his best to be approved in the sight of God. The old command is:

All men are after the sample of their father Adam. He was put into the garden to dress it; or, in other words, man was made to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it. All men, then, to live according to the will of the Lord, must labor.-And what can be more just? for there is no specimen of idleness in the creation, or works of the Lord. When the morning dawns, the invisible hand that drew the curtains of night around us for sleep and repose, opens the windows of day for the labor and refreshment of them that live upon the earth:

Who can fail to see industry in the fly that furbishes her wings in the window? or among the cattle grazing upon a thousand hills? or with the bees culling the flowers of the land-scape for their sweets? or in the river running with all its glassy majesty? or in the green growing race of earth, from the grass to the trees, each with every blade, and every limb pointing to heaven? yes, who can look upon so much industry, and suppose that man was made to live without labor? Not the disciple of Jesus Christ.

Since the heaven was stretched out as a curtain between this world and the world beyond, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the planets, nor the stars, have ceased for a moment, (except when Joshua commanded otherwise,) from performing their daily labors, and why does man, while he lives, shrink from what the Lord meant he should do? why not fill the measure of his days in helping himself and assisting others, that, when he appears before the bar of God, to give an account of his stewardship, he may hear the pleasing acceptance of his Lord and Master:-Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, now be lord over many.

[THE BOOK OF JOB]

MEN of moral characters, as well as the disciples of Jesus Christ, generally venerate sacred or sublime writings. Faultless rules, pure principles, and the truth, coming from man, or through the Spirit of the living God, have ever found friends, and while virtue has a mansion in the heart of man, we fear no change. Dr. Blair, who lived up to such good opinions of good things, when reviewing the bible, thus speaks of the book of Job: It is known to be extremely ancient; generally reputed the most ancient of all poetical books; the author uncertain.-It is remarkable, that this book has no connexion with the affairs or manners of the Jews, or Hebrews. The scene is laid in the land of Uz, or Idumaea, which is a part of Arabia; and the imagery employed is generally of a different kind, from what I before showed to be peculiar to the Hebrew poets. We meet with no allusion to the sacred history, to the religious rites of the Jews, to Lebanon or to Carmel, or any of the peculiarities of the climate of Judaea. We find few comparisons founded on rivers or torrents; these were not familiar objects in Arabia. But the longest comparison that occurs in the book, is to an object frequent and well known in that region, a brook that fails in the season of heat, and disappoints the expectation of the traveller .

The poetry, however, of the book of Job, is not only equal to that of any other of the sacred writings, but is superior to them all, except those of Isaiah alone. As Isaiah is the most sublime, David the most pleasing and tender, so Job is the most descriptive, of all the inspired poets. A peculiar glow of fancy, and strength of description, characterize the author. No writer whatever abounds so much in metaphors. He may be said, not to describe, but to render visible, whatever he treats of. A variety of instances might be given. Let us remark only those strong and lively colours , with which, in the following passages, taken from the 18th and 20th chapters of his book, he paints the condition of the wicked; observe how rapidly his figures rise before us; and what a deep impression, at the same time, they leave on the imagination.

Again: Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen, and lead in the rock forever!-For I know my Redeemer liveth, and he will stand at the latter day upon the earth.

