The Lord's death signalized by great calamities on western continent.--The Voice of the Lord Jesus Christ heard.--His visitations to the Nephites.--The Nephite Twelve.--Baptism among Nephites.--The Mosaic law fulfilled.--Address to Nephites compared with Sermon on the Mount.--Sacrament of bread and wine instituted among Nephites.--Name of Christ's Church.--The Three Nephites.--Growth of the Church.--Final apostasy of Nephite nation Chapter 40. THE LONG NIGHT OF APOSTASY. The great falling away as predicted.--Individual apostasy from the Church.--Apostasy of the Church.--Constantine makes Christianity the religion of state.--Papal claims to secular authority.--Churchly tyranny.--The Dark Ages.--The inevitable revolt.--The Reformation.--Rise of Church of England.--Catholicism and Protestantism.--The apostasy affirmed.--Mission of Columbus and the Pilgrim Fathers predicted in ancient scripture.--Fulfilment of the prophecies.--Establishment of American nation provided for Chapter 41. PERSONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD THE ETERNAL FATHER AND OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST IN MODERN TIMES. A new dispensation.--Joseph Smith's perplexity over sectarian strife.--The Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ appear to and personally instruct Joseph Smith.--Visitation of Moroni.--The Book of Mormon.--Aaronic Priesthood restored by John the Baptist.--Melchizedek Priesthood restored by Peter, James, and John.--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.--Divine manifestations in Kirtland Temple.--The Lord Jesus Christ appears.--Specific authority of olden dispensations conferred by Moses, Elias, and Elijah.--The Holy Priesthood now operative on earth Chapter 42. JESUS THE CHRIST TO RETURN. Ancient predictions of the Lord's second advent.--Modern revelation affirms the same.--Today and tomorrow.--The great and dreadful day near at hand.--Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven.--The Millennium.--The celestial consummation Index CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION. It is a matter of history that, at or near the beginning of what has since come to be known as the Christian era, the Man Jesus, surnamed the Christ, was born in Bethlehem of Judea.[1] The principal data as to His birth, life, and death are so well attested as to be reasonably indisputable; they are facts of record, and are accepted as essentially authentic by the civilized world at large. True, there are diversities of deduction based on alleged discrepancies in the records of the past as to circumstantial details; but such differences are of strictly minor importance, for none of them nor all taken together cast a shadow of rational doubt upon the historicity of the earthly existence of the Man known in literature as Jesus of Nazareth.