[Footnote P: Pearl of Great Price, p 57.] After this the angel Moroni was sent to reveal the Book of Mormon; and as it contained an account of the gospel as it was taught to the ancient Nephites on the western hemisphere by the Messiah, and the prophets and apostles authorized to teach in his name; and as this record had been preserved for generations from the hands of wicked men, and has never been corrupted, it contains the fullness of the gospel in its plainness. While this Nephite record was in course of translation the Lord sent John the Baptist, as already stated in the chapter on authority, to restore the Aaronic Priesthood; afterwards Peter, James and John came and restored the Melchisedek Priesthood, and by the authority which these priesthoods conferred upon him, and under the direction of the Almighty, the Prophet Joseph Smith organized the church, and ordained men and sent them out to preach the gospel in all the world, as a witness that the end was near. For more than fifty years has this proclamation been sounded among the nations, and thousands have been gathered to the place appointed for the saints to assemble and prepare for the glorious coming of the Messiah. The work has met storms of opposition from the press, pulpit and Congress. Ridicule and the violence of mobs have assailed it; drivings, confiscations of property, imprisonment, and banishment have at various times conspired to dishearten those who have accepted it. But in spite of pulpit, press and Congress; in spite of ridicule, the violence of mobs, unjust imprisonment, schemes of confiscation and drivings, the church of Christ moves steadily on to the fulfillment of its high destiny, and the gospel is being preached in all the world. CHAPTER XXXIII. SALVATION FOR THE DEAD. The reader will have observed, doubtless, that according to the history of the gospel, as given in the last chapter, there have been long periods of time when it has not been upon the earth. One of these periods was from the time that Moses and the Holy Priesthood, together with the fullness of the gospel, were taken from among the children of Israel, until the restoration of the gospel in the days of Messiah's ministry in the flesh. Another such period was from the time the gospel was corrupted, in the first two or three centuries of the Christian era, and its restoration in the present dispensation, through the Prophet Joseph Smith. What became of those who lived in those long periods of time--those untold millions, who never so much as heard the gospel?--I might push the inquiry still further, by calling attention to the fact that even when the gospel has been upon the earth, there are countless millions who lived and died without having an opportunity of obeying it. What is their fate?