Though the early church had been destroyed and the priesthood taken from the earth; yet God did not give it up as lost, nor entirely withdraw His Spirit. Then as now "the earth is the Lord's," and He will yet make good His claim to it. It is a blood-bought world, and He who ransomed it at so dear a price will one day return to rule over it as King of kings and Lord of lords. The earth that was bedewed with the Savior's tears and sweat--the earth that was trodden by His hallowed feet--the earth that drank His life blood shall yet throw off the curse that has so long blighted it and receive its paradisaic glory. Through agencies the most diverse the minds of men were developed and disciplined for the reception of truth until in the Lord's due time in a prepared place and among a people prepared to receive His truth, He would again restore His priesthood, and set up His kingdom upon the earth. {20} CHAPTER II. MAHOMET. DESCRIPTION OF ARABIA--ARABIAN CUSTOMS--BIRTH OF MAHOMET--EARLY LIFE--JOURNEY TO SYRIA--CHRISTIAN SECTS--DOCTRINES TAUGHT BY MAHOMET--HIS MARRIAGE--PROCLAIMS HIMSELF A PROPHET--PERSECUTION--FLEES TO MEDINA--BECOMES POWERFUL--SICKNESS AND DEATH--PERSONAL APPEARANCE. Far away in the south-western part of Asia, lies a strange and peculiar country called Arabia. It is bounded on the north by Syria, on the east by the Persian Gulf, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the west by the Red Sea, and comprises more than a million of square miles, or about twelve times the area of Utah. This vast region possesses a diversified landscape. In some places vast sandy deserts stretch away farther than the eye can reach; in others, immense piles of dark volcanic rock rear aloft their barren peaks, around whose base the dry, hot winds have drifted the sands of the desert for untold centuries. However, in the secluded valleys of the mountains, and along the base of the great mountain chains, may be found many fertile tracts, where, watered by pure and never-failing mountain streams, and warmed by the rays of a tropical sun, the earth produces in abundance nearly every kind of grain, vegetable, fruit, flower and aromatic shrub that can conduce to the happiness of man. Indeed, some portions are so wonderfully productive, that in ancient as well as modern times it has received the significant title of "Araby the blest." Most of the inhabitants of this country are generally considered to be the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham. Many of them lead a wild, nomadic life, supported by their flocks and herds and the spontaneous productions of the soil, {21} and retain among their laws and customs, many of the usages that prevailed in the primitive, patriarchal times of their great ancestor. Others live in towns and cities and engage in commerce, either with foreign countries or with distant parts of their own land.