In solemn council sat the Gods;

      From Kolob's height supreme,

      Celestial light blazed forth afar

      O'er countless kokaubeam;

      And faintest tinge, the fiery fringe

      Of that resplendent day,

      'Lumined the dark abysmal realm

      Where earth in chaos lay.

      Silence. That awful hour was one

      When thought doth most avail;

      Of worlds unborn the destiny

      Hung trembling in the scale.

      Silence self-spelled, and there arose,

      Those kings and priests among,

      A power sublime, than whom appeared

      None nobler 'mid the throng.

      A stature mingling strength with grace,

      Of meek though God-like mien;

      The glory of whose countenance

      Outshone the noonday sheen.

      Whiter his hair than ocean spray,

      Or frost of Alpine hill.

      He spake;—attention grew more grave,

      The stillness e'en more still.

      "Father!"—the voice like music fell,

      Clear as the murmuring flow

      Of mountain streamlet trickling down

      From heights of virgin snow.

      "Father," it said, "since one must die,

      Thy children to redeem,

      From spheres all formless now and void,

      Where pulsing life shall teem:

      "And mighty Michael foremost fall,

      That mortal man may be;

      And chosen Savior yet must send,

      Lo, here am I—send me!

      I ask, I seek no recompense,

      Save that which then were mine;

      Mine be the willing sacrifice,

      The endless glory Thine!

      "Give me to lead to this lorn world,

      When wandered from the fold,

      Twelve legions of the noble ones

      That now thy face behold;

      Tried souls, 'mid untried spirits found,

      That captained these may be,

      And crowned the dispensations all

      With powers of Deity.

      "Who blameless bide the spirit state

      Shall clothe in mortal clay,

      The stepping-stone to glories all,

      If man will God obey,

      Believing where he cannot see,

      Till he again shall know,

      And answer give, reward receive,

      For all deeds done below.

      "The love that hath redeemed all worlds

      All worlds must still redeem;

      But mercy cannot justice rob—

      Or where were Elohim?

      Freedom—man's faith, man's work, God's grace—

      Must span the great gulf o'er;

      Life, death, the guerdon or the doom,

      Rejoice we or deplore."

      Still rang that voice, when sudden rose

      Aloft a towering form,

      Proudly erect as lowering peak

      'Lumed by the gathering storm;

      A presence bright and beautiful,

      With eye of flashing fire,

      A lip whose haughty curl bespoke

      A sense of inward ire:

      "Send me!"—coiled 'neath his courtly smile

      A scarce concealed disdain—

      "And none shall hence, from heaven to earth,

      That shall not rise again;

      My saving plan exception scorns.

      Man's will?—Nay, mine alone.

      As recompense, I claim the right

      To sit on yonder throne!

      "Ceased Lucifer. The breathless hush

      Resumed and denser grew.

      All eyes were turned; the general gaze

      One common Magnet drew.

      A moment there was solemn pause—

      Listened Eternity,

      While rolled from lips Omnipotent

      The Father's firm decree:

      "Jehovah, thou my Messenger!

      Son Ahman, thee I send;

      And one shall