World War II bombing aftermath
What
temple site was bombed during World War II before it was built?
A) The
site of the London, England Temple
B) The
site of the Freiberg, Germany Temple
C) The
site of the Tokyo, Japan Temple
D) The
site of the Hong Kong, China Temple
Yesterday’s answer:
(A) That
he would be martyred
The following from the
Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt
It
was now April; I had retired to rest one evening at an early hour, and was pondering
my future course, when there came a knock at the door. I arose and opened it,
when Elder Heber C. Kimball and others entered my house, and being filled with
the spirit of prophecy, they blessed me and my wife, and prophesied as follows:
“Brother Parley, thy wife shall be healed
from this hour, and shall bear a son, and his name shall be Parley; and he
shall be a chosen instrument in the hands of the Lord to inherit the priesthood
and to walk in the steps of his father. He shall do a great work in the earth
in ministering the Word and teaching the children of men. Arise, therefore, and
go forth in the ministry, nothing doubting. Take no thoughts for your debts,
nor the necessaries of life, for the Lord will supply you with abundant means
for all things.
“You shalt go to Upper Canada, even to the
city of Toronto, the capital, and there thou shalt find a people prepared for
the fulness of the gospel, and they shall receive thee, and thou shalt organize
the Church among them, and it shall spread thence into the regions round about,
and many shall be brought to the knowledge of the truth and shall be filled
with joy; and from the things growing out of this mission, shall the fulness of
the gospel spread into England, and cause a great work to be done in that land.
. . .”
. . . Parley and Thankful had been married
for nearly nine years and had not been able to have any children due primarily
to Thankful’s poor health and tuberculosis. Parley P. Pratt Jr. was born less
than a year after this prophecy on March 25, 1837. In December 1873, he [Parley
Jr.] published his martyred father’s [Parley P. Pratt] autobiography—a work
that has touched the lives of thousands of Saints throughout the world.
The fulfillment of this prophecy is almost
incalculable in its effect upon the history of the Church. Parley’s mission to
Upper Canada yielded key contacts that opened missionary work in Preston,
England, and then throughout the entire British Isles. From this contact,
scores of thousands of converts came into the fold of Christ.
Parley
continues with his narrative explaining his sharing the gospel to the group of
individuals that John Taylor associated himself with in Canada: In the
third evening I related the visions, manifestations and many of the details of the
organization and movements of the Church of the Saints.
The truth was now plainly before this
people, who had been in so wonderful a manner prepared for its reception, as
predicated by Brother Kimball on my head before leaving home. The man of the house
now rejected me, and the meeting of seekers after truth left his house, and
came and were baptized, and held their meeting at the house of the widow
Walton, who had received me, and who was now baptized with all her household,
who were of sufficient age to receive the gospel.
John Taylor and his wife, whose house I
first entered in Toronto, were also baptized. He soon became an assistant in
the ministry. This is that same John Taylor who is now one of the Twelve
Apostles.
The work soon spread into the country and
enlarged its operations in all that region; many were gathered into the Church,
and were filled with faith and love, and with the Holy Spirit, and the Lord
confirmed the Word with signs following. My first visit to the country was
about nine miles from Toronto, among a settlement of farmers, by one of whom I
had sent an appointment beforehand. John Taylor accompanied me—this was before
he was baptized—we rode on horseback. We called at a Mr. Joseph Fielding’s, an
acquaintance and friend of Mr. Taylor’s. This man had two sisters, young
ladies, who seeing us coming ran from their house to one of the neighboring
houses, lest they should give welcome, or give countenance to “Mormonism.” Mr.
Fielding stayed, and as we entered the house he said he was sorry we had come,
he had opposed our holding meeting in the neighborhood; and, so great was the
prejudice, that the Methodist meeting house was closed against us, and the
minister refused, on Sunday, to give out the appointment sent by the farmer.
“Ah!” said I, “why do they oppose
Mormonism?” “I don’t know,” said he, “but the name has such a contemptible
sound; and, another thing, we do not want a new revelation, or a new religion
contrary to the Bible.” “Oh!” said I, “if that is all we shall soon remove your
prejudices. Come, call home your sisters, and let’s have some supper. Did you
say the appointment was not given out?” “I said, sir, that it was not given out
in the meeting house, nor by the minister; but the farmer by whom you sent it
agreed to have it at his house.” “Come then, send for your sisters, we will
take supper with you, and all go over to meeting together. If you and your
sisters will agree to this, I will agree to preach the old Bible gospel, and
leave out all new revelations which are opposed to it.”
The honest man consented. The young ladies
came home, got us a good supper, and all went to meeting. The house was
crowded; I preached, and the people wished to hear more. The meeting house was
opened for further meetings, and in a few days we baptized brother Joseph
Fielding and his two amiable and intelligent sisters [One of these sisters was
Mary Fielding, wife to Hyrum Smith and mother of future Church President,
Joseph F. Smith. The other sister, Mercy Rachel Fielding married Robert B.
Thompson, personal secretary to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Their older brother,
James, still in England at the time, played a key role in opening that country
to the gospel, though he never joined the Church.], for such they proved to be
in an eminent degree. We also baptized many others in that neighborhood, and
organized a branch of the Church, for the people there drank in truth as water,
and loved it as they loved life.
After ministering in and about Toronto for
about two months I found it necessary to return home, as some of my debts were
pressing, and we needed a supply of our printed works to circulate among the
people. I accordingly gave out word, in a meeting in Toronto one Sunday
evening, that I should take boat for home next morning. Now all this time I had
asked no man for money, nor had I explained my circumstances. However, on
shaking hands at the close of the next meeting, several bankbills were secretly
shaken into my hands, amounting in all to several hundred dollars—including
subscriptions for books, periodicals, etc. I thanked the Lord God of Israel for
the fulfillment of the first installment of brother Kimball’s prophecy, and
went on my way rejoicing. On my arrival in Kirtland I was enabled to meet my most
urgent debts, and to get time on the remainder.
I found my wife had been healed of her seven
years’ illness from the time brother Kimball had ministered unto her, and I
began to realize more fully that every word of his blessing and prophecy upon
my head would surely come to pass. After a pleasant visit with the Saints, I
took my wife with me and returned again to Toronto, in June, 1836.
Concerning Parley’s mission in 1836 to the
people of Upper Canada, Heber C. Kimball had predicted that “from the things
growing out of this mission, shall the fulness of the gospel spread into
England, and cause a great work to be done in that land.” Just a few years
after this prophecy was made, the work was growing in England at a phenomenal
rate. The work there started with contact being made through one of Parley’s
converts, Joseph Fielding, whose brother, James Fielding, was a preacher in
Preston. Nearly all of James Fielding’s congregation joined the Church, and
from there the work spread to England.
Autobiography
of Parley P. Pratt, pg. 164-165, 170, 188-191, 196, 383.
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