By John Taylor, One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth."—Psalm lxvii. 4. Liverpool: Published by S. W. Richards, 15, Wilton Street. London: Sold at the Latter-Day Saints' Book Depot, 35, Jewin Street; and by all booksellers. MDCCCLII. London: Printed by W. Bowden 5, Bedford Street, Holborn....

It was Elder Taylor's intention to superintend the publishing of The Government of God in person, previous to his departure for Great Salt Lake City last spring; but the numerous cares attending the French and German Missions, of which he was President; the translation of the Book of Mormon into the French and German languages; the establishment of L'Etoile du Déseret at Paris, and Zions Panier at Hamburg; together with a multitude of other business connected with the welfare of the Kingdom of G

The Kingdom of God is the government of God, on the earth, or in the heavens. The earth, and all the planetary systems, are governed by the Lord; they are upheld by his power, and are sustained, directed, and controlled by his will. We are told, that "by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by h

We will now turn our attention a little to the government of man, and see how that will compare with the foregoing, for man stands at the head of this beautiful creation; he is endued with intelligence and capacity for improvement; he is placed as a moral agent, and has the materials put into his hands to work with, the works of his Father as a pattern, the conduct of many of the inferior creation as an example—and might make the earth a garden, a paradise, a place of uninterrupted happiness and

I purpose in this Chapter to shew the incompetency of the means made use of by man for the accomplishment of the purposes of God—the establishment of His Kingdom, or Millennial reign. Now, if it is the kingdom of God, that is to be established, it must be introduced by God. He must not only be the originator of it, but the controller also, and any means short of these must fail of the object designed. The great evils that now exist in the world are the consequences of man's departure from God. T

Having shewn in the foregoing chapters, that the rule of God is perfect where he governs alone, that the rule of man is imperfect, and has introduced confusion and misery, and that the plans of men are not competent to restore the world to happiness, and the fulfilment of the object for which it was created; it now devolves upon us to investigate the way that this thing can, and will be accomplished; for there is a time spoken of in the Scriptures, when there will be a reign of righteousness. Fi

We next enquire, What is the object and design of man's existence on the earth; and what is his relationship thereto? for all this magnificent world, with its creation, life, beauty, symmetry, order, and grandeur, could not be without design; and as God existed before man, there must have been some object in man's creation, and in his appearance on the earth. As I have before stated, man existed before he came here, in a spiritual substance, but had not a body; when I speak of a body, I mean an

This is a subject which it may be necessary for us to inquire into, in order that we may find out how far man is responsible. For if man be not a moral agent, he cannot be responsible for the present position of the world; and it would be unjust in God to punish him for acts that were not his, and for circumstances over which he had no control. By a careful examination of the Scriptures, we shall find that man has had certain powers vested in his hands, which he holds subject to the control and

We will now enquire, What part the Lord has ever taken in the moral government of the world. In the last chapter I shewed that man has a moral agency; acting under the Lord, and is, consequently, responsible to him for his acts, as a moral agent. But does he leave him alone and unassisted to carry out his designs? No. Looking upon man as his son, he has from time to time offered his services and instructions, as a father. He has given revelations, instructing and warning his people. He has given

Having traced out in the preceding chapters the nature of man, his destiny and parentage, spiritual and temporal; what his object is in being here; what his relation to this earth is; his moral agency; and shown that God has never controlled his actions; we will next enquire a little about the earth; whose right it is to govern it; and who has governed it. It will not be necessary to say a great deal here about the earth, and its organization, for we have touched on this subject before, and it i

The above are grave questions, and will necessarily require examination, for they concern the earth and its inhabitants. Their true solution will affect man in time and in eternity. The world cannot remain as it is, for the following reasons:— First. It would be unreasonable. Secondly. It would be unjust. Thirdly. It would be unscriptural. Fourthly. It would frustrate the designs of God, in regard to the spirits of the righteous; the dead; the progression of the world, and its final exaltation;

It would be almost unnecessary to answer such a question as the above, were it not for the opinions that are entertained in the world concerning a purely spiritual kingdom, particularly as in a preceding chapter I have clearly pointed out a literal kingdom, rule, and reign. But I have introduced this merely to meet some questions that exist in the minds of many, relative to a spiritual kingdom, arising from certain remarks of our Saviour's, where he says, "My kingdom is not of this world;" and a

How will the kingdom of God be established? We have already shown very clearly, that none of the means which are now used among men are commensurate with the object designed, and that all the combined wisdom of man must, and will fail, in the accomplishment of this object; that the present forms of political and religious rule cannot effect it; that philosophy is quite as impotent; and that as these have all failed for ages, as a natural consequence they must continue to fail. We have portrayed

Having said so much pertaining to the Kingdom, we come to our last proposition, and enquire, What will be the effects of the establishment of Christ's kingdom, or the reign of God on the earth? This is, indeed, a grand and important question, and requires our most serious and calm deliberation. If, after all this distress, tribulation, war, bloodshed, and sacrifice of human life, the condition of the world is no better, man is certainly in a most unhappy, hopeless situation. If it is nothing mor

This electronic edition was produced by the Mormon Texts Project. Volunteers who helped with this book include: Tanya Ross, Meridith Crowder, Tod Robbins, Ben Crowder, Bryce Beattie, Stephen Cranney, Tyler Thorsted, Eric Heaps, Jason Barron, Jean-Michel Carter, David Willde, and Tom Nysetvold. Special thanks to Trevor Nysetvold for his complete proof of the final version. It was produced using scans generously made available by Archive.org. Email Tom Nysetvold (tomnysetvold@gmail.com) to report