In the Introduction it is believed the reader will find a fitting background from which are projected with majestic boldness the great events and splendid doctrines of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. That dispensation, of which this history is but the chronicle, bears an important relation to all former dispensations since {VIII} the world began. It is the ocean into which they as streams flow. It is their complement, and unifying force--it makes them all one; and demonstrates that while things to men appear but in parts, God forever stands in the presence of the whole, and dispenses His providences with reference to His perfect comprehension of the end from the beginning. It is to exhibit this relation of dispensations that the Introduction is written, and the importance of the subject must be the apology for its length. {IX} Table of Contents. Volume I. Preface. Introduction. Antiquity of the Gospel. The Gospel Revealed to Adam. Establishment of the Ancient Church. The Gospel _Versus_ the Law. From Moses to John the Baptist and Messiah. The Dispensation of the Meridian of Time. The Identity of the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time and the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times Considered. Joel's Prophecy of the Dispensation of the Last Days. Daniel's Prophecy of the Rise of the Kingdom of God in the Last Days. The Announcement of the Universal Apostasy. Character of the Early Christians. The Rise of False Teachers. The Development of False Doctrines After the Death of the Apostles. The Revolution of the Fourth Century: Constantine. Christianity Made a Persecuting Religion. Persecution of "Heretics." Christianity Before and After Constantine. Decline in Moral and Spiritual Living Among Christians. Loss of Spiritual Gifts. Departure of "Christendom" from the True Doctrine of Deity. The Christian Doctrine of God. Paganization of the Christian Doctrine of God. The Church of Christ Displaced by the Churches of Men. Testimony of Prophecy to the Universal Apostasy. Conclusion. {X} CHAPTER I. Joseph Smith's Birth and Lineage--The Prophet's First Vision--"This is My Beloved Son." The Prophet's Introduction Birth and Ancestry. Religious Excitement in Western New York. Reflection on Divided Christendom. Perplexity of the Prophet. The Promise of St. James Tested. Effort of Satan to Destroy the Prophet. The First Vision. State of Christian World. Sectarian opposition. Reflections Upon Sectarian Oppositions. All Doubts Settled. CHAPTER II. The Visitation of Moroni--Existence of the Book of Mormon Made Known. Interval of Three Years, 1820-23. Confession of Errors. Appearing of Moroni. Moroni's Message. Ancient Prophecies Quoted. Plates not to be Shown. Second Appearing of Moroni. Third Appearing of Moroni. Fourth Appearing of Moroni. The Hill Cumorah. The Nephite Record. Fourth Annual Visitation to Cumorah. Story of Being a Money Digger. The Prophet's Marriage. CHAPTER III.