VOL. I
Religious Tracts
Published by
BEN. E. RICH
"We have gathered posies,
From other men's flowers;
Nothing but the thread that
Binds them is ours."
ARTICLES OF FAITH of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.—Joseph Smith, 5.
NOTES TO BE REFERRED TO DAILY BY MISSIONARIES: by Prest. Francis M. Lyman, In behalf of the Council of Twelve Apostles, 8.
THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH TELLS HIS OWN STORY: Joseph's First Vision—Reception Accorded the Prophet's Statement—Angel Moroni Visits the Prophet—The Angel Instructs the Boy—Joseph Views the Plates—Smith Family Meet with Adversity—Prophet Seeks Employment—Prophet Obtains the Plates—Translating the Plates Commenced—Martin Harris Shows Characters taken from the Plates to Learned Men—Aaronic Priesthood Received—Organization of the Church—Removal of Church to Kirtland, Ohio—Persecution in Missouri—Removal to Illinois—Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum—Illinois Persecution and Emigration West—Early Pioneer Days—Temples—Missionary Work—Attacks against the Book of Mormon, 11.
WHAT MORMONS BELIEVE: Epitome of the Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—First Principles—The Apostasy—The Restoration—Redemption of the Dead—The Book of Mormon—Church Government—Auxiliary Societies—Divine Authority.—By Apostle Charles W. Penrose, 29.
SALVATION: A Dialogue Between Elder Brownson and Mr. Whitby—The Fall and Atonement—The First Principles—Gifts of the Holy Ghost—Preaching Without Hire—History and Organization of the Church—The Visions of the Prophet—The Book of Mormon—Aaronic Priesthood Conferred—Brief History of the Church—Gathering of the Saints.—By Elder John Jaques, 39.
EXCLUSIVE SALVATION: Only One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism—Testimonies of Apostles Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and St. John.—By Elder John Jaques, 66.
THE ONLY WAY TO BE SAVED: Obedience to First Principles—Baptism—Immersion the Mode—Laying on of Hands—Gifts and Blessings—Authority Necessary—Apostasy—The Restoration.—By Prest. Lorenzo Snow, 77.
GOSPEL TO THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: Dead Preached to in the Spirit World—Baptism for the Dead—Necessity of this Vicarious Work—Elijah Bestows Keys for Vicarious Work.—By Prest. George Q. Cannon, 88.
JOSEPH SMITH AS A PROPHET: Predictions Uttered by Him and their Signal Fulfillment—His Prophetic Power Established by the Scriptural Rule. A Lectured Delivered.—By Elder Andrew Jensen, 92.
THE GOSPEL MESSAGE: An Explanation of Some of the Prominent Doctrines of the Church—One Gospel Only—The First Principles—Baptism—Laying on of Hands—Gifts and Miracles—Authority Necessary.—By Elder William Budge, 119.
THE ONLY TRUE GOSPEL, OR THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN FAITH: Only One True Gospel—The First Principles—Gifts and Miracles—Authority.—By Elder William Budge, 135.
JOSEPH THE PROPHET: The place of the Prophet as a Benefactor of Mankind—Visions of the Prophet—Priesthood Conferred—Organization of the Church—The New Jerusalem—Book of Abraham—Work for the Dead Established—Summary of the Work Accomplished by the Prophet.—By Elder B. H. Roberts, 141.
FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THE TRUE GOSPEL OF CHRIST: Is Belief alone Sufficient—Repent or Perish—Is Baptism Essential to Salvation—Baptism for the Dead—Object and Purpose of Baptism—Mode of Baptism—Authority to Baptize.—By Elder J. H. Paul, 147.
ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON: What the Book is—How the Ancient Plates were Transmitted—Abridgments—Plates of Ether—The Smaller Plates of Nephi—Quotations From Isaiah.—By Elder B. H. Roberts, 154.
THE SECOND COMING OF THE MESSIAH AND EVENTS TO PRECEDE IT: The Restoration of the Everlasting Gospel—The Coming of a Messenger—The Coming of Elijah—The Gathering of the Saints—The Restoration of the Gospel—The Testimony of the Three Witnesses—The Coming of the Messenger—Elijah Comes—Keys of Gathering Restored.—By Elder B. H. Roberts, 162.
THE CHARACTER OF THE MORMON PEOPLE: The Cause of Misrepresentation—Mormons Wronged by a Sensational Press—Testimony of Non-Mormon Witnesses—The Mission of the Mormon Elders—The Mountain Meadow Massacre.—By Elder B. H. Roberts, 173.
A REJECTED MANUSCRIPT: THE OTHER SIDE: A Rejected Manuscript—Salt Lake Valley—Social Conditions Among the Mormons—Attitude of Mormons Toward Education—Missionary Work—Stories about the Mormons—Persecution and Suffering—Loyalty of the Mormons—Tabernacle Choir—People of Travel—Temple Work.—By Leon R. Ewing, 192.
{iii} RAYS OF LIVING LIGHT: Necessity of Obedience—Character of the Godhead—The Atonement—First Principles of the Gospel—The Gift of the Holy Ghost—Divine Authority—A Departure from the Faith—The Restoration of the Gospel—The Book of Mormon—Modern Revelation—Salvation for the Dead—Baptism for the Dead—Fruits of the Gospel.—By Apostle Charles W. Penrose, 202.
A FRIENDLY DISCUSSION UPON RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS: The Godhead—The Fall and the Atonement—Faith—Repentance—Baptism for Remission of Sins—Holy Ghost—Laying on of Hands—Gifts of the Holy Ghost—Authority—Offices in The Church—Apostasy—Restoration.—By Ben. E. Rich, 263.
NIGHT OF THE MARTYRDOM: By Apostle Orson Hyde, 283.
DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. ITS FAITH AND TEACHINGS: Faith—Repentance—Baptism—Reception of the Holy Ghost and the Laying on of Hands—Authority—Apostasy—Restoration—Testimony of the Three Witnesses—Prophecy of Joseph Smith, the Seer, Given in 1832—Authority.—By Elder John Morgan, 286.
THE PLAN OF SALVATION: Pre-existence—Why We are here—Faith—Repentance—Baptism—Laying on of Hands—Future Existence—Baptism for the Dead.—By Elder John Morgan, 306.
STATEMENT OF PROMINENT NON-MORMONS: Opinions of the Leading Statesmen of the United States on the Edmunds Law—Gentile Opinions of the Mormon People—Statistics of Crime and Education—Refutation of the Spaulding Story—Judge Summer Howard on the Mountain Meadow Massacre—Rights of Self Government.—By Elder John Morgan, 327.
JOSEPH SMITH. WAS HE A PROPHET OF GOD? AN INVESTIGATION AND TESTIMONY: Books of the Bible Given to Meet the Special Condition and Need of the People—Contents of the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, the Poetical Books, the Prophetical Books—Interval of Fifty Years—Revival of Prophecy—Restoration of the Jews—The Last Prophets of the Old Covenant—Conclusions from the Foregoing—The New Testament—The Four Gospels—Gospel According to Matthew, Mark, Luke, St. John—Testimony of the Gospels—The Acts of the Apostles—The Epistles—Prophecies of the New Testament—Difficulties in Ascertaining the Meaning of the Scriptures—Christian Sects an Evidence—Retrospective Evidence—Prospective Evidence—Direct Evidence—Moral Evidence—Peculiarities of the Message—Effects of the Doctrine—Spiritual Evidence.—By Elder J. M. Sjodahl, 350.
PIONEER SKETCHES—UTAH IN 1850: By Elder James H. Martin, in the "Contributor," 1890, 429.
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS: Its Priesthood, Organization, Doctrines, Ordinances, and History.—By Elder John Jaques, 435.
{iv} PLAIN TALKS TO PARENTS: Paragraphs taken from the Writings of Apostle Orson Pratt, in the "Seer." 1853. 453.
MY REASONS FOR LEAVING THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND JOINING THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS: Apostasy—Officers Necessary in the Church—Gifts of the Holy Ghost—Baptism—Infant Baptism—Baptism for the Dead—Internal Corruption of Early Christian Church—Reformation—History of Mormon Church—Restoration—Book of Mormon.—By R. M. Bryce Thomas, London, England, 458.
THE EARLY CHRISTIANS: Letter Written to the Emperor Trajan by Pliny the Younger, while He was Governor of Bithynia. It is the First Connected Account of Christ's Followers that has come to us from a Pagan source, 486.
REORGANIZATION WEIGHED: Presidency Permanency—Appointment—Revelation on Permanent Order of Priesthood—Law of Lineage—Ordination.—By German E. Ellsworth, 489.
A GOSPEL OUTLINE: A few of the Most Important Scriptural References Bearing on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Arranged in Logical Order, and Designed to give to Missionaries—and all other Students of the Gospel—a Working Knowledge of such Scriptural Quotations as may be Required from the First.—By Elder Nephi Anderson, 503.
A CONTRAST BETWEEN THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST AND THE FALSE DOCTRINES OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.—By Apostle Parley P. Pratt, 517.
BAPTISM FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS, 526.
"GOOD TIDINGS" OF THE NEW AND EVERLASTING GOSPEL: First Principles—Men Judged According to Their Works—Obedience to the Gospel Necessary, 529.
A PLEA FOR MODERN REVELATION: By Apostle Orson Pratt, 533.
THE "UNKNOWN GOD" REVEALED: A Reply to a Georgia Editor's Urgent Appeal for a Restoration of the "Old Time" Faith in a Personal and Known God. The Godhead—Offices in the Church—How the Gospel Should be Preached—First Principles—Christ and God visit the Earth in these Latter Days—Persecution.—By Elder Ben. E. Rich, 536.
A GOSPEL LETTER: Written by Sister Lucy Mack Smith, the Mother of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Oldest Gospel Letter in the Church, only recently Discovered in New Hampshire, 543.
THE RESTORATION OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL: Joseph's First Vision—Angel Moroni Appears to the Prophet—The Three Witnesses—Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood Conferred—Persecution—Gathering—Restoration.—By Apostle George Teasdale, 547.
Articles of Faith, 5.
Atonement, 5, 40, 213, 264, 507.
Authority, 6, 31, 38, 85, 132, 139, 152, 216, 225, 277, 289, 300, 442, 511.
Angel, Moroni visits the Prophet, 15, 96, 443, 547.
Apostasy, 31, 86, 226, 227, 228, 279, 290, 459, 512, 532.
Astronomy of Abraham, 100.
Administrations, 515.
Abraham, Book, 144.
Appointment of President, 489.
Adam, Sin of, 213.
Angels same class of beings as we are, 505.
Agency, Man's free, 213.
Adam visits the Earth, 296.
Baptism, 5, 30, 42, 43, 79, 127, 137, 149, 214, 273, 287, 313, 466, 508, 530.
Baptism, Mode of, 45, 52, 152, 153, 216, 509.
Baptism, Purpose of, 128, 151, 215, 274, 508. 526, 530.
Baptism for Dead, 89, 150, 252, 322, 470.
Baptism, Infant, 151, 216, 468, 509.
Baptism, History of, 508.
Book of Mormon, 6, 33, 56, 480, 513.
Book of Mormon, Attacks against, 27.
Book of Mormon published in many languages, 452.
Book of Mormon, What it is, 154, 237.
Book of Mormon, How to read the, 154, 160.
Book of Mormon Abridgments, 155.
Battalion, Mormon, 25, 59, 198.
Belief alone insufficient, 147.
Belief, Genuine, 147.
Books of the Bible, Synopsis of contents of: Pentateuch, 352; Historical Books, 353; Poetical Books, 354; Prophetical Books, 354; Interval of Fifty Years, 360; Revival of Prophecy, 360; Last Prophets of Old Testament, 368; The New Testament, 371; The Four Gospels, 371; Matthew, 372; Mark, 373; Luke, 373; St. John, 373; Acts of the Apostles, 375; The Epistles, 377.
Christ, Personality of, 5.
Celestialized Earth, 516.
Cholera Predicted by the Prophet, 100. Christ's Second Coming, 109, 162, 515.
Contrast between the Doctrine of Christ and the False Doctrines of the Nineteenth Century, 517.
Choir, Tabernacle, 199.
Christian Sects an Evidence, 390.
Christian, Early, by Pliny, 486.
Discovery, Corroborative, 104.
Dead Preached to, 150. Doctrines, 439.
Doctrine and Covenants Published, 452.
Evidence, Moral, 411.
Evidence, Direct, 306.
Evidence, Spiritual, 424.
Emigration to Rocky Mountains, 59, 106, 444, 452.
Elijah, Prophet, visits the Earth, 91, 144, 164, 296.
Eden, Location of Ancient, 101.
Extracts, Direct extracts from Isaiah in Book of Mormon, 158.
Education, Attitude of Mormons toward, 195.
{vi}Faith, 5, 30, 42, 137, 203, 207, 209, 270, 286, 311, 507.
Future Existence, 316.
Father Revealed through the Son, 504.
Faith and Works, 148, 203, 508, 532.
Gathering, 6, 62, 98, 165, 258, 297, 513, 550.
Godhead, 29, 141, 208, 264, 504.
Godhead, Personality of, 503, 536, 537, 541.
God our Father in Heaven, 208.
Gifts of Spirit to remain, 219.
Government of Church, 35.
Gospel, Only one, 41, 121, 135, 136, 202, 529.
Growth of Church, 443.
Gospel Letter, Lucy Mack Smith, 543.
Holy Ghost, 30, 47, 138, 209, 288, 510, 540.
Holy Ghost, Gifts of, 84, 138, 217, 277 464.
Inspiration, Divine, 239.
Jerusalem, The New, 143.
Jesus Christ in express image of the Father, 208.
Jesus Christ the Son, 504.
Knowledge, Incentive to obtain, 201.
Knowledge of God Essential, 503.
Laying on of Hands, 5, 83, 129, 217, 276, 288, 314.
Loyalty of Mormons, 198.
Law of Lineage, 493.
Man may become perfect, 506.
Man's Spirit Immortal, 506.
Man punished for Actual Sins, 5.
Missionary Notes, 8.
Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, 23, 59.
Missionary Work, 26, 60, 195, 451.
Messenger, The Coming of a, 164, 168.
Mormons wronged by Press, 177.
Mission of Mormon Elders, 185.
Mountain Meadow Massacre, 187, 348.
Manuscript, Rejected, 191, 192.
Martyrdom, Night of the, 283.
Message, Peculiarities of the, 415.
Millennium, 516.
Marriage forever, 516.
Necessity of Holy Ghost in the Church, 221.
Necessity of Obedience to the Gospel, 531.
Organization, 6, 21, 53, 58, 60. 143. 437.
Ordination, 496.
Obedience, 78.
Officers, Early Civil, 446.
Omnipresence of God, 209.
Oaths, Test, 449.
Officers in the Church, 225, 278, 461, 511, 538.
Ordinances, 441.
Priesthood, Levitical, 224.
Plates, Joseph Views the, 17, 18.
Plates, Joseph Receives the, 55.
Priesthood, Aaronic, 20, 58. 60, 142, 223, 224, 295, 549.
Priesthood, Melchizedek, 60, 142, 223, 234, 296, 549.
Priesthood, Permanent order of, 492.
Persecution, Missouri, 22, 59.
Persecution, Illinois, 25, 59.
Pioneer Days, 26.
Principles, First, 41, 126, 137, 147, 228, 483, 529, 539.
Prophecies fulfilled, 240, 259.
Preaching without Hire, 50, 539.
Papers and Periodicals, Church, 60.
Prophecy of the New Testament, 380.
Prophet Predicts Removal West, 106.
Prophet Predicts Escape from Enemies, 107.
Prophecy about Stephen A. Douglas, 107.
Plates, How Plates were Transmitted, 155.
Plates of Ether, 156.
Plates, Smaller Plates of Nephi, 156.
Persecution and Suffering, 197, 260, 261, 451, SIS, 542, 550.
{vii}Presidency Permanency, 486.
Prophecy Foretelling Civil War, 298.
Repentance, 5, 30, 43, 137, 148, 212, 272, 287, 313, 508.
Revelation, 6, 141, 242, 489, 511, 533.
Revelation, Spurious, Received, 490.
Removal to Illinois, 22.
Restoration, 31, 87, 164, 166, 232, 280, 292, 478, 512, 532, 551.
Restored, Keys of Gathering, 171.
Restoration of the Jews, 366.
Reformation, 473.
Organization Weighed, 489.
Smith, Prophet Joseph, 11, 91, 141, 349.
Smith Family, 18.
Scriptures, Difficulty in Ascertaining the Meaning of the, 383.
Salvation for the Dead, 32, 144, 247, 471, 514.
Societies, Auxiliary, 37.
Salvation, Exclusive, 66.
Salvation, Individual, 213, 507.
Salvation, 515.
Sins, Remission of, 214.
Sins of the World, 214.
Sabbath, The, 514.
Signs, 114.
Spirits, Evil. 505.
Social Conditions among Mormons, 194.
Stories about Mormons, 196.
Statistics of Crime, 343.
Statistics of Education, 343.
Temples, 21, 26, 59, 143, 452.
Testimony of Non-Mormon Witnesses, 178.
Tithing, 514.
Tabernacle, Mormon, 193.
Testimony of Apostasy by Wesley, Smith's Bible Dictionary, Dr. Adam Clark, Roger Williams, 303.
Testimony of the Gospel, 374.
Urim and Thummim, 54.
Universal Salvation, 201.
Unity of Church, 513.
Visions, Joseph's 13, 14, 15, 21, 53, 93, 142, 547.
Vicarious Work for Dead, Necessity of, 89, 90.
Valley, Salt Lake, 193.
Witnesses, The Three, 110, 168, 294, 548.
Work Accomplished by Prophet, 145.
Work, Temple, 201.
Witnesses, The Eight, 241.
Warning, Day of, 262.
In presenting Volumes 1 and 2 of Scrap Book of Mormon Literature, the undersigned places within the reach of many of the saints a compilation of religious tracts that have been used and distributed by the elders of the Church in the performance of their missionary labors throughout different nations of the earth. Some of these tracts are used at present by the elders and have been instruments in the hands of the Lord of bringing thousands to a knowledge of the faith. The same may be said concerning those that are not now used, and which are contained within the covers of these volumes, which were distributed by the elders who labored as missionaries in various parts of the earth from thirty to sixty years ago. A religious tract contains the condensed thoughts upon the fundamental principles of the Gospel and the authors of many of these valuable documents, who were active in the missionary field more than half a century ago, are remembered among the brightest minds the Church has produced, they have now passed behind the veil to receive Eternal reward for their faithfulness. There are a few people in the Church who have bound volumes of religious tracts, which they have gathered together from time to time and which they prize beyond the price of money. This can be said by the compiler of these volumes and the appreciation of the few volumes of religious pamphlets which he has gathered in many missionary fields, and had bound together, conveyed to him the thought that many of the saints would appreciate having within their reach such valuable volumes. There is scarcely a man in the Church, who has performed missionary labors in his life, who will not find in these volumes something that will remind him of his missionary days, when canvassing from house to house distributing the word of God; and no doubt will bring back fond recollections of his missionary work. There are no better volumes than these for a family to have within the reach of their children, to enable them to make themselves acquainted with the fundamental doctrines of the Restored Gospel of our Lord and Savior. These documents will be invaluable to young men and ladies who are preparing themselves for future {4} missionary work. The Seventies, whose special calling it is to carry the Gospel abroad, will be benefited by perusing these pages. Many of the saints, by studying them, will remember the days of their conversion to the Gospel and will appreciate the manner in which they are now preserved for future generations. In reading these pamphlets one must understand that the Church has been a system of growth and while we have not changed in any manner the originality of the tracts, the reader will note that in giving the statistics the Church has had a wonderful growth since the first issuance of the pamphlets. It has been a labor of love upon the part of the compiler, who sincerely hopes to produce another volume at some future date that will make the compilation complete in every respect.
With a heart full of gratitude to God the Eternal Father for honoring me as He has done, in permitting me to take part in the spread of the Gospel, and praying His blessings upon those who may read the pages of these volumes, I remain,
Yours faithfully,
BEN. E. RICH.
1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
PERSONALITY OF GOD.—Gen. i. 26, 27; v. 1; ix. 6; xviii; xxxii, 24-30; Ex. xxiv. 9, 11; xxxiii. 9-11, 20-23; Num. xii. 7, 8; John v. 19, 20; Acts vii. 55, 56; Phil. ii. 5-8; Heb. i. 3.
PERSONALITY OF CHRIST.—Matt. iii. 17; John v. 26, 27; xv. xvi. xvii.; 1 Tim. ii. 5; 1 John v. 7.
HOLY GHOST.—Isaiah xi. 1-3; lxi. 1; Matt. iii. 16; Mark i. 10; Luke iii. 22; John i. 32, 33; xvi. 13, 14; Acts i. 5; ii. 4; viii. 17-19; xix. 2-6.
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
MAN PUNISHED FOR ACTUAL SINS.—Jer. xvii. 10; Matt. xii. 36, 37; xvi. 27; 2 Cor. v. 10; Rev. xx. 12-15.
3. We believe that, through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
ATONEMENT OF CHRIST.—Isa. liii.; Acts iv. 12; Rom. v. 12-19; 1 John i. 7-10.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: First, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
FAITH, REPENTANCE, BAPTISM AND LAYING ON OF HANDS.—Heb. xi.; Rom. i. 16, 17; x. 14, 15; Jas. ii. 14-26; Mark xvi. 15, 16; Acts ii. 38, 39; 2 Cor. vii. 9, 10; Isa. lv. 6, 7; Eph. iv. 25-32; Luke xiii. 3; Matt. iv. 17; Acts viii. 14-17; xix. 1-6; John iii. 5; Heb. vi. 1, 2.
{6} 5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by "prophecy and by the laying on of hands," by those who are in authority, to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
CALLED OF GOD.—Mark iii. 14; John xv. 16; xvii. 18; Acts xiii. 1-4; xiv. 23; Rom. x. 14, 15; Gal. i. 8-16; 1 Tim. ii. 7; Heb. iii. 1; v. 4-10; 1 Peter ii. 5-9: Rev. v. 9, 10.
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive church, viz: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.
ORGANIZATION.—1 Cor. xii; Eph. ii. 19-22; iv.
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS.—Mark xvi. 15-20; John xiv. 12; Acts ii. 17; 1 Cor. xii; 1 Thess. v. 19, 20; James v. 14, 15.
8. We believe the Bible to be the Word of God, as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the Word of God.
BOOK OF MORMON—Isaiah xxix. 4, 9-24; Ezekiel xxxvii. 15-28; Hosea viii. 12; John x. 16.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
LATTER-DAY REVELATIONS.—Ezekiel xx. 35, 36; Joel ii. 28, 29; Amos iii. 7; Mic. ii. 6, 7; Mal. iii. 1-4; iv; Acts ii. 17, 18; Jas. i. 5, 6; Rev. xiv-6.
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and the restoration of the Ten Tribes. That Zion will be built upon the American continent. That Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
GATHERING—Neh. i. 8, 9; Ps. 1. 5; cvii. 1, 7; Isa. ii. 2, 3; v. 26, 27; xi. 11-16; xliii. 5-9; xlix. 21; lx. 4, 5; Jer. iii. 14, 15; xvi 14-16; xxiii. 3-8; xxx. 1-8; xxxi. 8-12; xxxii. 37-39; 1. 4, 5; Ezek. xx. 33-38; xxxix. 28; Zech. xiv.; Matt. xxiv. 31; John xi. 52; Eph. i. 10; Rev. xviii. 4.
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our conscience, and allow all men the same privilege; let them worship how, where or what they may.
{7} 12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul "We believe all things, we hope all things," we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
JOSEPH SMITH.
"When the Twelve or any other witnesses stand before the congregations of the earth, and preach by the power and demonstration of the Spirit of God, and the people are astonished and confounded at the doctrine and say: 'That man has preached a powerful discourse, a great sermon,' then let that man, or those men, take care that they are humble and ascribe the praise and glory to God and the Lamb; for it is by the power of the Holy Priesthood and Holy Ghost that they thus speak. What art thou, O man, but dust? and from whom dost thou receive thy power and blessings but from God?"
—Joseph Smith, The Prophet.
Each missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is endowed with the Holy Priesthood of God, and is sent forth as a minister of the restored Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is believed to be morally clean and upright, and should keep himself pure, sweet, and unspotted from the sins of the world. He should avoid and resist the very appearance of evil, and after performing an honorable mission, should return to his home with clean hands and a pure heart. Among the many items of counsel given by the authorities of the Church before his departure for the mission field, he should have the following indelibly stamped upon his mind and heart:
1. Keep a brief, daily journal of your life's labors, especially of all your official acts.
2. Do all things with a prayerful heart; pray vocally morning and evening, oftener when necessary, and pray secretly every day. Make each prayer appropriate to the occasion, as those for the Sacrament and Baptism are.
3. Invariably keep the Word of Wisdom, refraining from the use of tea, coffee, tobacco and intoxicating drinks.
4. Guard against familiarity with womankind. There must be no sparking, kissing, or embracing of woman—your kisses should be for home consumption, and be brought home to your loved ones, where they belong. Kissing and hugging aside from this lead to immorality, and a fallen brother not only crucifies himself, but brings misery and woe to the kindred of both parties. Immorality is the bane of missionary life. There is little more enticing, and nothing more dangerous and deadly.
5. Build up and portray the excellencies of the Gospel, but do not tear down any man's religious structure. Grant sincerity of mind, as you claim it for yourself. Discover and recognize all things praiseworthy about you.
6. Be charitable to unfortunate conditions, and be sympathetic with the afflicted.
7. Bless, but do not curse.
8. Be genteel, and pattern after best in manly manners. Do not engage in rowdy or undignified sports, but follow in the demeanor of a dignified and manly minister.
{9} 9. Be pleasant and cheerful, but do not indulge in nonsense, ridicule and unseemly jesting.
10. Defend and justify the right, but contend with no man.
11. Be candid and sincere.
12. Hold sacred and do not use commonly such names as God, Jesus Christ, The Holy Ghost, Apostle, Prophet, Seer and Revelator. Elder or Brother are the common titles for members of the Melchizedek Priesthood. President and Bishop may be used where they belong.
13. Write your first name in full, or abbreviate, as "Geo." for George, "Wm." for William. Initials fail to determine the sex, or to specify clearly which person is meant.
14. Study the Scriptures carefully—the Jewish, Nephite and Latter-day revelations. Store your minds with knowledge of the truth, and the Spirit of the Lord will bring it forth in due season. As the Savior said: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."
15. Be cleanly in your person and clothing, spend as little money as possible, leaving the world and your brethren to assist you in the things that are needful, thereby proving that they are disciples of the Lord.
16. Lodge, feed and pray with the people as much as possible.
17. You are sent out to preach the first principles of the Gospel, and to call all men unto repentance. You are sent to teach, and not to be taught by the world.
18. Leave your visiting and sight-seeing until your mission is completed.
19. Proper living and serving the Lord and consequent growth and development of strength and stability at home will aid you in the mission field, and, on your return home, you will be better prepared thereby to continue your labors and keep from backsliding.
20. Be careful of what money you may have; see that you do not get robbed.
21. Do not borrow money of Saints or strangers.
22. Do not make promises to write or do other favors when you get home; wait until you get home, and then do all you reasonably can.
23. Do not praise the beauties of Zion, or magnify the virtues of the Saints. Fortify the people for the trials they must meet, as they will be tried in the furnace. Urge the people to stay and maintain the work abroad in the earth, by their {10} works and their means. Thus they will gain strength to be able to stand when they do gather to Zion. If they must apostatize, it is better that they do so in their native land.
24. Start right, by avoiding all evil habits; never say in public or in private that you do not know the Gospel is true.
25. Get an understanding of the Gospel, and teach it as the spirit directs.
26. Get the spirit of your mission and keep it.
27. Seek learning by faith as well as by good study. If deficient in good English, acquire a knowledge thereof so as not to betray ignorance; but do not depend upon fine words or upon the learning of the world.
28. Live near the Lord, so that you can approach and appeal to Him on all occasions.
29. Let all your talents, affections and power be centered on the work of the ministry.
30. Seek to know the will of the Lord, and to do it. When success attends your labors, give God the glory.
31. In going and in returning, and while sojourning, remember that the Church and the Saints will be judged by your actions.
32. Your duty to yourself and to your God is to do your very best, and to do it always.
33. Be appreciative of favors, and leave your blessing with the deserving.
34. Do not enter into debates with each other or with anyone else over obscure points and passages; nor should you seek to advance beyond what the Lord has revealed.
35. Honor the laws of the country in which you labor.
36. Observe strictly the rules of the Mission and Conference Presidents.
37. Be punctual, that the Spirit of the Lord may not be grieved by the unseemliness of tardy attendance.
38. Your lives are precious; care well for your health. Excesses are wrong and bring disaster. You should not walk too much, talk too much, fast too much, eat or drink too much, or attempt too much to do without needful things. Wisdom is one of the greater gifts.
39. Your ambition to make converts should not lead you to baptize those who are unworthy. Never baptize a married woman without the consent of her husband, or children under age without their parents' consent.
FRANCIS M. LYMAN,
In behalf of the Council of Twelve Apostles.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE EARLY VISIONS OF THE PROPHET AND THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
BY JOSEPH SMITH, HIMSELF. WRITTEN IN 1838.
"1. Owing to the many reports which have been put in circulation by evil-disposed and designing persons, in relation to the rise and progress of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, all of which have been designed by the authors thereof to militate against its character as a Church and its progress in the world—I have been induced to write this history, to disabuse the public mind, and put all inquiries after truth in possession of the facts, as they have transpired, in relation both to myself and to the Church, so far as I have such facts in my possession.
"2. In this history I shall present the various events in relation to this Church, in truth and righteousness, as they have transpired, or as they at present exist, being now the eighth year since the organization of the said Church.
"3. I was born in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and five, on the twenty third day of December, in the town of Sharon, Windsor county, State of Vermont. My father, Joseph Smith, Senior, left the State of Vermont and moved to Palmyra, Ontario (now Wayne) county, in the State of New York, when I was in my tenth year, or thereabouts. In about four years after my father's arrival in Palmyra, he moved with his family into Manchester, in the same county of Ontario.
"4. His family consisted of eleven souls, namely—my father, Joseph Smith; my mother, Lucy Smith (whose name, previous to her marriage, was Mack, daughter of Solomon Mack); my brothers, Alvin (who died November 19th, 1824, in the 27th year of his age), Hyrum, myself, Samuel Harrison, William, Don Carlos; and my sisters, Sophronia, Catherine, and Lucy.
"5. Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying, 'Lo, here!' and others, 'Lo, there!' Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist.
"6. For notwithstanding the great love which the converts to these different faiths expressed at the time of their conversion, and the great zeal manifested by the respective clergy, who were active {12} getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of religious feeling, in order to have everybody converted, as they were pleased to call it, let them join what sect they pleased—yet when the converts began to file off, some to one party and some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good feelings of both the priests and the converts were more pretended than real; for a scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued; priest contending against priest, and convert against convert; so that all their good feelings one for another, it they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions.
"7. I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father's family was proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that church, namely—my mother, Lucy; my brothers Hyrum, Samuel Harrison; and my sister Sophronia.
"8. During this time of great excitement, my mind was called up to serious reflection and great though my feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit. In process of time my mind became somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them; but so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong.
"9. My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of either reason or sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. On the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all others.
"10. In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself, What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?
"11. While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
"12. Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passage of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.
"13. At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to ask of God,' concluding that if He gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.
"14. So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning {13} of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.
"15. After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
"16. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
"17. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other—This is my beloved Son, hear Him!
"18. My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right—and which I should join.
"19. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight: that those professors were all corrupt; that 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.'
"20. He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did He say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven.
"21. Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before-mentioned religious excitement; and converging with him on the subject of religion, I took occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had had. I was greatly surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the Apostles, and that there would never be any more of them.
"22. I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy {14} of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects—all united to persecute me.
"23. It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself.
"24. However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a Voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.
"25. So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me, falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision, and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it, at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation.
"26. I had now got my mind satisfied so far as the sectarian world was concerned; and that it was not my duty to join with any of them, but to continue as I was until further directed. I had found the testimony of James to be true, that a man who lacked wisdom might ask of God, and obtain, and not be upbraided.
"27. I continued to pursue my common vocations in life until the twenty-first of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, all the time suffering severe persecution at the hands of all classes of men, both religious and irreligious, because I continued to affirm that I had seen a vision.
"28. During the space of time which intervened between the time I had the vision and the year eighteen hundred and twenty-three—having been forbidden to join any of the religious sects of the day, and being of very tender years, and persecuted by those who ought to have been my friends and to have treated me kindly, and if they supposed me to be deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate manner to have reclaimed me,—I was left to all kinds of temptations; and mingling with all kinds of society, I frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, {15} and the foibles of human nature; which I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations, offensive in the sight of God.
"29. In consequence of these things, I often felt condemned for my weakness and imperfections; when, on the evening of the above-mentioned twenty-first of September, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I might know of my state and standing before him; for I had full confidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I previously had one.
"30. While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, stand in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.
"31. He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as where his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.
"32. Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me.
"33. He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.
"34. He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;
"35. Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted "seers" in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.
"36. After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi, and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:
"37. For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
"38. And again he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will {16} reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
"39. He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers; if it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.
"40. In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people, but soon would come.
"41. He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be. And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here.
"42. Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he had spoken—for the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilled—I should not show them to any person; neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be destroyed. While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it.
"43. After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so, until the room was again left dark, except just around him, when instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended till he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before this heavenly light had made its appearance.
"44. I lay musing on the singularity of the scene, and marveling greatly at what had been told to me by this extraordinary messenger; when, in the midst of my meditation, I suddenly discovered that my room was again beginning to get lighted, and in an instant, as it were, the same heavenly messenger was again by my bedside.
"45. He commenced, and again related the very same things which he had done at his first visit, without the least variation: which having done, he informed me of great judgments which were coming upon the earth, with great desolations by famine, sword, and pestilence; and that these grievous judgments would come on the earth in this generation. Having related these things, he again ascended as he had done before.
"46. By this time, so deep were the impressions made on my mind, that sleep had fled from my eyes, and I lay overwhelmed in astonishment at what I had both seen and heard. But what was my surprise when again I beheld the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him rehearse or repeat over again to me the same things as before; and added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father's family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object {17} in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building His kingdom; otherwise I could not get them.
"47. After this third visit, he again ascended into heaven as before, and I was again left to ponder on the strangeness of what I had just experienced; when almost immediately after the heavenly messenger had ascended from me the third time, the cock crowed, and I found that day was approaching, so that our interviews must have occupied the whole of that night.
"48. I shortly after arose from my bed, and, as usual, went to the necessary labors of the day; but, in attempting to work as at other times, I found my strength so exhausted as to render me entirely unable. My father, who was laboring along with me, discovered something to be wrong with me, and told me to go home. I started with the intention of going to the house; but in attempting to cross the fence out of the field where we were, my strength entirely failed me, and I fell helpless on the ground, and for a time was quite unconscious of anything.
"49. The first thing that I can recollect was a voice speaking unto me, calling me by name. I looked up, and beheld the same messenger standing over my head, surrounded by light as before. He then again related unto me all that he had related to me the previous night, and commanded me to go to my father and tell him of the vision and commandments which I had received.
"50. I obeyed; I returned to my father in the field, and rehearsed the whole matter to him. He replied to me that it was of God, and told me to go and do as commanded by the messenger. I left the field, and went to the place where the messenger had told me the plates were deposited; and owing to the distinctness of the vision which I had had concerning it, I knew the place the instant that I arrived there.
"51. Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario county, New York, stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in the neighborhood. On the west side of this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box. This stone box was thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner towards the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground, but the edge all around was covered with earth.
"52. Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.
"53. I made an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by the messenger, and was again informed that the time to bring them forth had not yet arrived, neither would it, until four years from that time; but he told me that I should come to that place precisely in one year from that time, and that he would there meet with me, and that I should continue to do so until the time should come for obtaining the plates.
"54. Accordingly, as I had been commanded, I went at the end of each year, and at each time I found the same messenger there, {18} and received instruction and intelligence from him at each of our interviews, respecting what the Lord was going to do, and how and in what manner His Kingdom was to be conducted in the last days.
"55. As my father's worldly circumstances were very limited, we were under the necessity of laboring with out hands, hiring out by day's work and otherwise, as we could get opportunity. Sometimes we were at home, and sometimes abroad, and by continuous labor, were enabled to get a comfortable maintenance.
"56. In the year 1824 my father's family met with a great affliction in the death of my eldest brother, Alvin. In the month of October, 1825, I hired with an old gentleman by the name of Josiah Stoal, who lived in Chenango county, state of New York. He had heard something of a silver mine having been opened by the Spaniards in Harmony, Susquehanna county, state of Pennsylvania; and had, previous to my hiring to him, been digging, in order, if possible, to discover the mine. After I went to live with him, he took me, with the rest of his hands, to dig for the silver mine, at which I continued to work for nearly a month, without success in our undertaking, and finally I prevailed with the old gentleman to cease digging after it. Hence arose the very prevalent story of my having been a money-digger.
"57. During the time that I was thus employed, I was put to board with a Mr. Isaac Hale, of that place; it was there I first saw my wife (his daughter), Emma Hale. On the 18th of January, 1827, we were married, while I was yet employed in the service of Mr. Stoal.
"58. Owing to my continuing to assert that I had seen a vision, persecution still followed me, and my wife's father's family were very much opposed to our being married. I was, therefore, under the necessity of taking her elsewhere; so we went and were married at the house of Squire Tarbill, in South Bainbridge, Chenango county, New York. Immediately after my marriage, I left Mr. Stoal's, and went to my father's, and farmed with him that season.
"59. At length the time arrived for obtaining the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. On the twenty-second day of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, having gone as usual at the end of another year to the place where they were deposited, the same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge: that I should be responsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use all my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger, should call for them, they should be protected.
"60. I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict charges to keep them safe, and why it was that the messenger had said that when I had done what was required at my hand, he would call for them. For no sooner was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from me. Every stratagem that could be invented was resorted for that purpose. The persecution became more bitter and severe than before, and multitudes were on the alert continually to get them from me if possible. But by the wisdom of God, they remained safe in my hands, until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand. When, according to arrangement, the messenger called for them, I delivered them up to him; and he has them in charge until this day, being the second day of May, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.
{19} "61. The excitement, however, still continued, and rumor with her thousand tongues was all the time employed in circulating falsehoods about my father's family, and about myself. If I were to relate a thousandth part of them, it would fill up volumes. The persecution, however, became so intolerable that I was under the necessity of leaving Manchester, and going with my wife to Susquehanna county, in the state of Pennsylvania. While preparing to start,—being very poor, and the persecution so heavy upon us that there was no probability that we would ever be otherwise,—in the midst of our afflictions we found a friend in a gentleman by the name of Martin Harris, who came to us and gave me fifty dollars to assist us on our journey. Mr. Harris was a resident of Palmyra township, Wayne county, in the state of New York, and a farmer of respectability.
"62. By this timely aid was I enabled to reach the place of my destination in Pennsylvania; and immediately after my arrival there I commenced copying the characters off the plates. I copied a considerable number of them, and by means of the Urim and Thummim I translated some of them, which I did between the time I arrived at the house of my wife's father, in the month of December, and the February following.
"63. Sometime in this month of February, the aforementioned Mr. Martin Harris came to our place, got the characters which I had drawn off the plates, and started with them to the city of New York. For what took place relative to him and the characters, I refer to his own account of the circumstances, as he related them to me after his return, which was as follows:
"64. I went to the city of New York and presented the characters which had been translated, with the translation thereof, to Professor Charles Anthop, a gentleman celebrated for his literary attainments. Professor Anthop stated that the translation was correct, more so than any he had before seen translated from the Egyptian. I then showed him those which were not yet translated, and he said that they were Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic; and he said they were true characters. He gave me a certificate, certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were true characters, and that the translation of such of them as had been translated was also correct. I took the certificate and put it into my pocket, and was just leaving the house, when Mr. Anthon called me back, and asked me how the young man found out that there were gold plates in the place where he found them. I answered that an angel of God had revealed it unto him.
"65. He then said to me, 'Let me see that certificate.' I accordingly took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and tore it to pieces, saying that there was no such thing now as ministering of angels, and that if I would bring the plates to him, he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates were sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, 'I cannot read a sealed book.' I left him and went to Dr. Mitchell, who sanctioned what Professor Anthon had said respecting both the characters and the translation.
"66. On the 5th day of April, 1829, Oliver Cowdery came to my house, until which time I had never seen him. He stated to me that having been teaching school in the neighborhood where my father resided, and my father being one of those who sent to the school, he went to board for a season at his house, and while there the {20} family related to him the circumstances of my having received the plates, and accordingly he had come to make inquiries of me.
"67. Two days after the arrival of Mr. Cowdery (being the 7th of April) I commenced to translate the Book of Mormon, and he began to write for me.
"68. We still continued the work of translation, when, the ensuing month (May, 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying:
"69. Upon you, my fellow, servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do over again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.
"70. He said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us hereafter; and he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and that afterwards he should baptize me.
"71. Accordingly we went and were baptized. I baptized him first, and afterwards he baptized me—after which I laid my hands upon his head and ordained him to the Aaronic Priesthood, and afterwards he laid his hands on me and ordained me to the same priesthood—for so we were commanded.
"72. The messenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchisedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second. It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized.
"73. Immediately on our coming up out of the water after we had been baptized, we experienced great and glorious blessings from our Heavenly Father. No sooner had I baptized Oliver Cowdery than the Holy Ghost fell upon him, and he stood up and prophesied many things which should shortly come to pass. And again, so soon as I had been baptized by him, I also had the spirit of prophecy, when, standing up, I prophesied concerning the rise of this Church, and many other things connected with the Church, and this generation of the children of men. We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation.
"74. Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of. In the meantime we were forced to keep secret the circumstances of having received the Priesthood and our having been baptized, owing to a spirit of persecution which had already manifested itself in the neighborhood.
"75. We had been threatened with being mobbed, from time to {21} time, and this, too, by professors of religion. And their intentions of mobbing us were only counteracted by the influence of my wife's fathers family (under Divine Providence), who had become very friendly to me, and who were opposed to mobs, and were willing that I should be allowed to continue the work of translation without interruption; and therefore offered and promised us protection from all unlawful proceedings, as far as in them lay."
Such is the simple story of the divine calling of the Prophet of the nineteenth century, as told by Joseph Smith himself. He testified of these glorious things, and a few believed his words and were baptized. Thus were the initiatory steps for the establishment of the Church of Christ in completeness of power, gifts and ordinances established. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized on the sixth day of April, 1830, at Fayette, Seneca county, State of New York, and its history has been thrillingly eventful. From the time of its establishment the work has been spread abroad, the faithful Elders going forth, like the ancient disciples, proclaiming the Gospel, raising up and organizing branches. The gifts and power of God have been made manifest, the word being confirmed by signs following the believers.
In 1831, by revelation through Joseph the Seer, the few believers were directed to gather to the State of Ohio, the town of Kirtland being the headquarters of the Church. In the summer of the same year, Joseph Smith and a number of other Elders, by divine command, visited Jackson county, Missouri, which was designated as "Zion."
On April 3rd, 1836, in the Temple erected at Kirtland, the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery were blessed with a glorious vision of the Savior, whose appearance they described. He signified His acceptance of the Holy House, that had been erected to His name, promising many glorious blessings upon His people, on condition that the Holy Temple be kept free from pollution. They were also visited by Moses, who committed to them the keys of the gathering of Israel and the bringing of the Ten Tribes from the North country. Elias also appeared and bestowed upon them the dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham; and, lastly, there appeared Elijah the Prophet who, in fulfillment of the prediction of Malachi, conferred upon Joseph Smith the keys to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, informing them that the great and dreadful day of the Lord was near; and by virtue of the authority conferred upon them at that time, the hearts of those living are turning towards their dead progenitors, and a sympathetic search for genealogy is going on among the Latter-day {22} Saints, to be used by them in the great temples of the Church; where the living perform a work of salvation for the dead.
To follow the believers in the divine mission of Joseph Smith through the terrible storms of persecution, to which they were subjected, would consume volumes. Wherever they established themselves they were beset on very side by mobs, who burned or despoiled their homes, in many cases murdered them in cold blood, and committed upon helpless women revolting crimes against chastity. This was particularly the case in Missouri, in which state they subsequently settled, and where they were driven from county to county, and abused with such merciless cruelty, that nothing short of the power of God saved them from annihilation, as an organized body. In fact, the Governor of the state, a wretched person named Boggs, issued an order for the extermination of the Saints, and several thousand volunteers were raised and sent to execute this execrable decree. Joseph Smith and numbers of the leading Elders were thrown into prison where they were offered for food the flesh of their brethren who had been murdered by the mobs. A council of the Volunteer Militia Mobocrats was held in relation to the disposal of Joseph Smith and his brethren. Seventeen sectarian priests, who took part in the murderous work, were urgent in the demands that they be shot. The commission of this cold-blooded deed was only prevented by General Doniphan threatening to withdraw his regiment and free himself from such devilish doings.
Being driven by ruthless, relentless persecution, having been expelled from their homes and last refuge in Missouri, the Saints wended their weary steps to Illinois. Hundreds of them perished during the winter from hunger, cold, and general exposure. They built the beautiful city of Nauvoo, with a population of over 20,000, in Hancock county, Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi, where they also erected a beautiful temple. They flourished for a time, their numbers being greatly swelled by inflowing immigration from different parts of the Union and from Great Britain.
Again the fierce winds of persecution began to howl, as if the infernal regions had let loose their imps and commissioned them to take possession of the enemies of the people of God. Nothing seemed to satisfy them but the blood of the Prophet, and he seemed to realize it, for on his way to Carthage, Illinois, where he was murdered in cold blood, he said: "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am as calm as {23} a summer's morning. I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men; I shall die innocent, and it shall yet be said of me, 'he was murdered in cold blood.'" Fifty times had he been arrested on trumped-up charges, and forty-nine times had he been acquired by the courts of the land, innocent of any crime. Desperate and maddened by being continually foiled in their wicked designs, the mob finally declared that, "if law couldn't reach them, powder and ball should." On the 27th of June, 1844, while in jail, in the town of Carthage, and under the protective pledge of the governor of the State, Joseph Smith the Prophet, and his brother Hyrum, the Patriarch, were cruelly murdered by a furious mob, led by religious fanatics. Appended to the book containing the revelations received from the Lord by the Prophet Joseph, known as the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, is published the following narrative of the "Night of Martyrdom:"
1. To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we announce the Martyrdom of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith, the Patriarch. They were shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June, 1844, about five o'clock p.m., by an armed mob, painted black—of from 150 to 200 persons. Hyrum was shot first and fell calmly, exclaiming, "I am a dead man!" Joseph leaped, from the window, and was shot dead in the attempt, exclaiming, "O Lord my God!" They were both shot after they were dead in a brutal manner, and both received four halls.
2. John Taylor, and Willard Richards, two of the Twelve, were the only persons in the room at the time; the former was wounded in a savage manner with four balls, but has since recovered; the latter, through the providence of God, escaped, "without even a hole in his robe."
3. Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more (save Jesus only,) for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and the power of God, and has been the means of publishing it in two continents; has sent the fullness of the everlasting gospel which it contained to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city; and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people, and like most of the Lord's anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood—and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!
4. When Joseph went to Carthage to deliver himself up to the pretended requirements of the law, two or three days previous to his assassination, he said, "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but {24} I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offence towards God, and towards all men. I SHALL DIE INNOCENT, AND IT SHALL YET BE SAID OF ME—HE WAS MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD." The same morning, after Hyrum had made ready to go—shall it be said to the slaughter? Yes, for so it was,—he read the following paragraph, near the close of the twelfth chapter of Ether, in the Book of Mormon, and turned down the leaf upon it:—
5. "And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the Gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me, if they have not charity, it mattered not unto you, thou hast been faithful; wherefore thy garments are clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. And now I—bid farewell unto the Gentiles; yea and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood." The testators are now dead, and their testament is in force.
6. Hyrum Smith was 44 years old, February, 1844, and Joseph Smith was 38 in December, 1843; and henceforward their names will be classed among the martyrs of religion; and the reader in every nation will be reminded that the "Book of Mormon," and this book of Doctrine and Cov. of the church, cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of the ruined world: and that if the fire can scathe a green tree for the glory of God, how easy it will burn up the "dry trees" to purify the vineyard of corruption. They lived for glory; they died for glory; and glory is their eternal reward. From age to age shall their names go down to posterity as gems for the sanctified.
7. They were innocent of any crime, as they often proved before, and were only confined in jail by the conspiracy of traitors and wicked men; and their innocent blood on the floor of Carthage jail, is a broad seal affixed to "Mormonism" that cannot be rejected by any court on earth; and their innocent blood on the escutcheon of the State of Illinois, with the broken faith of the State as pledged by the Governor, is a witness to the truth of the everlasting gospel, that all the world cannot impeach; and their innocent blood on the banner of liberty, and on the magna charta of the United States, is an ambassador for the religion of Jesus Christ, that will touch the hearts of honest men among all nations; and their innocent blood, with the innocent blood of all the martyrs under the altar that John saw, will cry unto the Lord of Hosts, till He avenges that blood on the earth. Amen.
It was fondly hoped that, by the death of the great Prophet, the work he had been commissioned to establish would go out of existence. But it was destined to remain forever. Truth is imperishable. The enemies of the Church redoubled their efforts, thinking they could complete a work of demolition they imagined they had begun. But though, by the machinations of the wicked and the operations of fiendish hate, good and great men may be swept from the earth, the principles they advance remain behind. Men are subject to removal {25} from this sphere, it is true, but truth, eternal truth, is not susceptible to obliteration: "Truth crushed to earth will rise again." Joseph Smith was martyred, but another great man had been prepared to take up the link of the chain, which the wicked fondly hoped had been snapped never more to be welded. The Twelve Apostles, upon the death of Joseph Smith, were the highest authority of the Church. Brigham Young was their president, and recognizing this truth, he was, on December 5th, 1847, selected as president of the whole Church, and as such directed its affairs down to the time of his death in August, 1877.
Mob violence did not cease with the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. The dogs of war continued to let loose upon the Latter-day Saints until, finally, they had to enter into a compulsory agreement, or written compact, to leave the State of Illinois, and betake themselves to the Western wilds of America, where is was proudly hoped by their enemies, they would inevitably perish.
The compulsory exodus commenced under the leadership of Brigham Young, in the depth of the winter of 1846, when the friendless wanderers passed through hardships and sufferings, in the midst of ice, snowdrifts and a temperature frequently twenty degrees below zero.
While encamped on the western bank of the Missouri River, the general government sent an agent, calling for 500 of the ablest men among the Mormon exiles to aid the United States in the war against Mexico. These were promptly furnished, showing that accusations of disloyalty made against this despised people were unfounded. To add to the distress of the camp, at this juncture they learned that the sick and infirm who were left behind in Nauvoo, from inability to move with the main body, had been actually driven out of that city at the mouth of the musket and cannon by the brutal, inhuman mob.
On the 24th of July, 1847, the pioneers, led by Brigham Young, entered the valley of the Great Salt Lake. Successive companies followed, and the cultivation of the soil proceeded. Until the harvest of 1848 many suffered from hunger, living upon small roots and rawhide.
Mammoth volumes might be filled with narratives of the trials, vicissitudes, travels, hardships, afflictions and persecutions to which the Church of Christ has been subjected. We might speak of the difficulties the Latter-day Saints have had to cope with in their present beautiful location in the formerly barren but now smiling and fruitful valleys of the West, beyond the Rocky Mountains; how their crops have in past years {26} been destroyed by hordes of grasshoppers and crickets, yet they have plodded on their way, rejoicing and trusting in the God of Heaven, who, although He has seen fit to try and prove them, has never deserted them in the hour of need.
Before the advent of Western railroads on the American Continent the pilgrim Saints, with faces turned toward the pastures of the Rocky Mountains, had to traverse, mostly afoot, the broad and almost trackless prairies, over mountains and across rivers and valleys, their baggage and the more feeble of the people being conveyed by wagons hauled by oxen. In 1866, the Latter-day Saints in Utah, inspired with deep solicitude for the pilgrims on their weary way westward, with a largeness of heart and generosity that has seldom been equalled, forwarded to the frontiers 500 wagons, with a sufficient number of cattle and men to transport them 1,100 miles—from the Missouri River to Salt Lake City.
By the magic hand of industry, under the blessings of the God of Israel, that Western wilderness has been transformed into a picture of smiling fruitfulness. Besides the beautiful city of Salt Lake—the admiration of passing tourists, who flock there by thousands every year—there are nearly 500 other cities and settlements which "blossom like the rose."
Temples have been erected in Salt Lake City, St. George, Manti and Logan, at a cost of over seven millions of dollars, besides hundreds of tabernacles and churches scattered throughout that region which represent other millions in money. Thus are the Latter-day Saints manifesting their solicitude for the welfare of the fathers who have gone before, by preparing places wherein they can officiate for them, "That they may be judged according to men in the flesh and live according to God in the spirit."
Since then thousands of Elders have gone into all parts of the civilized world, traveling as the Apostles of old did, "without purse and without script," crying repentance to the nations, and calling on them to be baptized and escape the "damnation of hell." These Elders have left the farm, the workshop, the forge, the store, and, all the comforts of home and loved ones, and gone into Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Holland, France, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, East Indies, Cape of Good Hope, Mexico, South America, South Sea Islands, Sandwich Islands, Jersey Islands, Japan, Turkey and Jerusalem, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred, and tongue and people. As a result of their warning voice thousands and tens of thousands have yielded {27} obedience to the Gospel of the Son of God, and the Church now has a membership of over 400,000 souls, and fully that many more have kept the faith and passed beyond the vale, all during the remarkably short space of seventy-five years. There have been six presidents in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as follows: Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, and Joseph F. Smith, the present leader of the Church, who was a member of the Quorum of the Apostles for thirty-eight years, and who attained his present position through a long life of faithfulness. At the death of President Lorenzo Snow, his predecessor, he had become the chief Apostle and was finally chosen by the highest quorum in the Church to become the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, as was Brigham Young upon the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. President Joseph F. Smith is a son of the Patriarch, Hyrum Smith, who met his death in Carthage jail, June 27th, 1844.
Efforts have been made to destroy the work of God as instituted through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith, and all manner of falsehoods have been circulated against him and his unselfish labors. Especially have the shafts of the Evil One been directed against the Book of Mormon, men having invented all manner of theories as to its origin in order to discredit its divinity. The Solomon Spaulding story is still used by hireling priests, who "lie in wait to deceive." For fifty years and more has this been the stock-in-trade of those who object to the genuineness of this divine record, and notwithstanding these divines (?) know that the story has long ago been exploded, yet they continue to blind the eyes of their followers, because their "craft is in danger" directly the truth dawns on those who are honest in heart.
The Rev. Solomon Spaulding romance is easily told: D.P. Hurlburt, a man who was once a member of the Church, but who, because of his lascivious conduct, was excommunicated, was the originator of the fabrication that the Book of Mormon had its origin in Mr. Spaulding's tale. This man Hurlburt wrote a bitter assault on the Latter-day Saints in 1836, entitled "Mormonism Unveiled," which was published in Ohio. During the time Hurlburt was gathering material for this work, he obtained from the family of the then deceased clergyman the original of the "Manuscript Story," as it was called, but discovering that it would, if published, prove fatal to his assumptions, he suppressed it; and from that time it was entirely lost sight of until the latter part of the year 1884, when a Mr. L. L. Rice, residing at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, found it {28} among a numerous collection of miscellaneous papers which he had received from Mr. E. D. Howe, of Painesville, Ohio, the publisher of Hurlburt's "Mormonism Unveiled," when he, with his partner, purchased from that gentleman the business and good will of the Painesville Telegraph. In 1884 President James H. Fairchild, of Oberlin College, Ohio, was paying a visit to Mr. Rice, and he suggested that the latter look through his numerous papers, in the hope of finding amongst them some anti-slavery documents of value. In his search he discovered a package marked in pencil on the outside, "Manuscript Story," which, to their surprise, on perusal, proved to be the veritable, long lost romance of Rev. Dr. Spaulding, to which so much undeserved importance had been maliciously given. This manuscript was presented to Oberlin College, but not until an exact copy had been made by Mr. Rice, which has since been published in pamphlet form, and can be purchased at the Deseret News Book Store, Salt Lake City, Utah. Upon comparison it will be found that it does not bear the least resemblance in any manner to the Book of Mormon, and yet it was said that Joseph Smith obtained access to this manuscript and from its scanty pages elaborated this Book of Mormon, which he afterwards palmed upon the world as a divine record.
EPITOME OF THE DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
BY CHAS. W. PENROSE, OF THE "COUNCIL OF TWELVE APOSTLES."
The question is often asked, what do the "Mormons" believe, and wherein do their doctrines differ from those of other religious denominations? A reply will be found in the following epitome of "Mormonism," or rather of its leading principles, for it embraces all truth from every source.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the proper name of the body of religious worshipers commonly known as "Mormons." It was organized by the authority and commandment of God in the State of New York on the 6th day of April, 1830. It derives all its doctrines, ordinances, discipline and order of Priesthood from direct divine revelation.
The first principle of the Gospel as taught by this Church is faith. This embraces faith in God the Father and in his son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.
The Father is a glorified and perfect person, and Jesus Christ the Son is in His express image and likeness. One is an individual as much as the other. Each is a spirit clothed with a spiritual, yet tangible, immortal body. Spirit is substance, not immateriality. It is eternal in its essence, and so are the elements of that which is known as matter.
The Holy Spirit is not a personage of tabernacle, and His influence permeates all things and extends throughout the vast domain of space, which is boundless and occupied by limitless elements, and that Spirit, proceeding from the presence of God, gives life and light to all things animate, and is the power by which they are governed, and by which the Father and the Son are everywhere present.
Man is a dual being, also in the image of God, who is the Father of his spirit and the Creator of his body. Jesus was the First-born in the spirit and the Only-begotten in the flesh. {30} All men and women are the sons and daughters of God, and Jesus is their Elder Brother. By obedience to His Gospel in all things, mankind, through the redemption He has wrought, may be exalted with Him as joint-heirs to the eternal inheritance of the Sons of God, and become like Him and reign with Him in the Ineffable Presence forever.
Faith in God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost leads to the second principle of the Gospel, which is repentance. That is, conviction of sin, regret for its commission, and reformation by turning away from it, by ceasing to do evil and beginning and continuing to do well.
Repentance leads to remission of sins, which comes through baptism administered by one having authority, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Baptism is the third principle, and is immersion in water in the likeness of a burial, succeeded by a birth. Becoming dead to sin by repentance, the believer is buried in the liquid grave and brought forth from the womb of waters, thus being born of water to a new life in Christ Jesus.
The repentant believer, thus baptized, obtains the remission of sins through the shedding of Christ s blood. He who knew no sin died that sinners might be saved by obedience to His commandments. He did that for them which they could not do themselves; what they are able to do is required of them, in order that they may receive the benefits of His atonement.
Thus cleansed from sin, the new-born disciple is prepared to receive the Holy Ghost. The fourth principle is the bestowal of that gift by the laying on of hands of men called and ordained of God to thus officiate in His name.
Born of the water and of the spirit, the regenerated soul becomes a member of Christ's Church, and is entitled to such spiritual gifts as he or she may deserve and obtain by the exercise of faith. Some of these are wisdom, knowledge, prophecy, visions, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, discerning of spirits, healing the sick, etc., etc. All the manifestations of the power of God enjoyed in former times may be and are enjoyed in His Church in latter times.
The gift of the Holy Ghost opens the avenue to all intelligence. That Spirit leads into all truth and shows things to come. It is the Comforter and the Revealer. It bears witness of the Father and the Son, and brings mortals into communion with them and into union with one another. It is the true light given to every one in coming into the world, but is bestowed and manifested in a higher and fuller degree when conferred as a gift to the baptized, repentant believer.
{31} No person has the right to baptize or lay on hands or administer any ordinance of the Church, unless he is called of God and ordained to act in the name of Deity. The commission given to the Apostles of old does not confer any authority upon men in this age. It was for them alone upon whom it was bestowed, and those whom they were inspired and directed to ordain unto the same power. Without divine communication now, there can be no divine authority today.
When the Apostles of Christ were killed and their immediate successors appointed, the disciples were tortured and slain, and gradually darkness came over the world and pagan institutions were mingled with the rites and order of the Church, until the apostolic authority and the true Christian spirit and doctrine were entirely subverted. Reforms that were subsequently introduced merely lopped off some evils and made some improvements; but did not and could not restore the authority and power of the primitive Christian Church and Priesthood.
In these latter days the Father and the Son have appeared and revealed anew the Gospel. Angels have ministered to man. John the Baptist brought to earth the authority of the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood which he held when in mortality. Peter, James and John have conferred their keys of Apostleship received under the hands of Jesus of Nazareth, and the power and authority of the higher or Melchisedek Priesthood. Elijah the Prophet and others of the ancients have bestowed the keys they held, and they are all in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Under that authority the Church has been built up after the original pattern and with the same spirit, ordinances, gifts and blessings.
Joseph Smith, after accomplishing the work entrusted to him by the Lord, sealed his testimony with his blood, being cruelly slain with his brother Hyrum, at Carthage, Illinois, by a mob disguised, on June 27, 1844.
Joseph Smith was the instrument in the hands of the Lord to commence the work of restitution, and open the last dispensation, that of "the fulness of times." He received that divine authority under the hands of those heavenly messengers. He, by revelation and commandment, ordained others. Today there are on earth Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, {32} Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, divinely called and authorized to teach and administer the things of the Kingdom of heaven, and the power of God attends their ministrations.
Faith, repentance and baptism of water and of the Spirit administered by divine authority are essential to salvation. There is only one way. There is some good in all religions, but there is and can be but one divine religion, that is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to be preached to every creature. Persons who have died after reaching years of accountability without an opportunity of receiving it, will hear it in the spirit world, and may there obey or reject it. Heathens, Jews and all races, creeds and tongues will thus have the door of redemption opened to them. Infants who die before they become accountable need no baptism, but are all redeemed by the blood of Christ.
The spirit of man is the intelligent, responsible being, an entity both before and after dwelling in the body. It was in the beginning with the Father. The sons and daughters of God, after probation in the flesh, return to Him and then, until the resurrection, associate in such sphere as they have fitted themselves to occupy; the good with the spirits of the just, the evil with the spirits of the unjust. A disembodied spirit can learn, believe, repent and yield obedience, but cannot be baptized in water, the earthly medium of purification.
The living may be baptized for the dead. One who has received the ordinances of the Gospel can stand proxy for departed ancestors, who will receive the benefit of the earthly ordinances on obedience to the Gospel in the spirit. As the Spirit of Christ preached to the spirits in prison while His body was in the sepulchre, so His servants, bearing His authority, preach to "the dead" after finishing their work on earth. Ordinances for and in behalf of the dead are administered in temples built after a pattern revealed from heaven. Thus the living become saviors to the dead under Jesus Christ the Captain of their Salvation.
The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth was "the first-fruit of them that slept." All persons who have breathed the breath of life will also be raised from the dead, receiving their bodies again as He did. But everyone in his own order. Those who have put on Christ by obeying His Gospel will be Christ's at His coming, and will be quickened by His glory, the celestial, typified by the sun. After the lapse of a day of the Lord-a {33} thousand of our years-the rest of the dead will come forth, some in the terrestrial glory, typified by the moon, and others in the telestial glory, typified by the stars in their different magnitudes, the rest in a kingdom not of any degree of glory. All will be judged according to their works.
Progress is the eternal order of creation. The condemned will be punished for sin, as Divine justice shall determine both as to the severity and to the duration. The purpose of punishment is the vindication of the law and the reclamation of the transgressor. Eventually all who can be redeemed will be placed in some degree of glory and advancement. Only the sons of perdition who deny the Holy Ghost after having received it, who willfully pervert the power given to them to attain the highest exaltation and who shed innocent blood will be utterly lost.
The glory of those who are in Christ and become joint heirs with Him is to "inherit all things," and follow and participate with the Son and the Eternal Father forever in their glorious works. They will inherit the earth when it is purified and crowned with the glory and presence of God. They will reign as kings and priests and be ministers unto those of a lesser degree of glory in the eternal mansions.
This is the last dispensation. In it Israel will be gathered, Jerusalem be rebuilt, and Palestine be the abode of the sons of Judah. The elect of God will gather from all nations to Zion on the American continent. The earth will be cleansed from corruption. Paradise will bloom again, war will cease, peace will prevail, the enmity will depart from man and brute, the curse will be removed and this globe will be glorified, shining in its own light developed to perfection.
The Prophet of the nineteenth century was directed by the angel of God to the spot where the records of the history of the former inhabitants of this continent were deposited. He obtained and translated a portion of them into the English language. It is called the Book of Mormon, because the Prophet Mormon made an abridgment of more ancient records than his own, and inscribed them upon metallic plates in hieroglyphics reformed from the Egyptian.
That book has since been translated into other languages. It gives the history of two races. The first springing from a colony brought upon this land at the time of the dispersion from the Tower of Babel. The second descending from the families directed to this continent from Jerusalem six hundred {34} years before the Christian era, at the time when Zedekiah was king of Judea. It relates the wars, travels, religion, progress and decadence of those races-the progenitors of the American Indians, describes their cities, temples, forts, etc., and contains an account of the visit to this land of Jesus Christ, after His resurrection and ascension, with particulars of His ministry in establishing His Church here with the same principles, precepts, ordinances, Priesthood and blessings as in the Church on the Asiatic continent. It also speaks of the gradual apostasy of the people and the woes that came upon them through transgression.
The Book of Mormon does not take the place of the Bible, but is auxiliary to it and corroborates and supports it. The Bible is the record of God's dealings with His people in the eastern world; the Book of Mormon is the record of his dealings with His people on this western land, separated from the other hemisphere, and then unknown to its inhabitants. They, with the book of Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, are the standards of doctrine and discipline of the Church.
Inspiration by the Holy Ghost as bestowed upon the ancient Hebrew prophets, is viewed as revelation by the Latter-day Saints. It conveys the word and will of God. Every individual in the Church is entitled to it for his or her own guidance. The President of the Church, who is a prophet, a seer and a revelator, is entitled to divine communication by any of the means which God chooses to use for this purpose. But revelation does not come by the will of man. It is God who reveals His word at the time and in the manner which He selects. Revelation for the whole Church comes through the head alone, and thus order is preserved and conflicting doctrines excluded.
The doctrine of celestial, that is eternal marriage, is a feature of the "Mormon" faith. By the authority vested in the head of the Church, that which is sealed on earth is sealed in heaven, and the man and woman united under that authority in an everlasting covenant are joined forever. Such was the marriage of Adam and Eve before death came by sin. The redemption of Christ restored them to their primeval state, and they stand at the head of their posterity, immortal, perfected and eternal. By obedience and fidelity to the laws of God, men and women may attain to a similar estate and enjoy unending bliss, "the man being not without the woman nor the {35} woman without the man in the Lord." The family, the home, the relation of parents and children are thus the basis of present and future happiness, and the increase thereof being perpetual, therein is the glory of the redeemed, who dwell in the presence of God and the Holy Ones, continued forever.
The government of the Church of Christ devolves upon those who have been divinely appointed and have been accepted by the body of the Church, in which all things are to be done by common consent.
At the head is the Prophet, Seer and Revelator with two counselors. These three presiding High Priests thus selected form the First Presidency, having jurisdiction over the Church in all the world.
Next are the Twelve Apostles, forming a body equal in authority to the Presidency and constituting that Presidency at the death or removal of the head. They set in order the affairs of the Church in all the world under the direction of the First Presidency.
The patriarchs are Evangelists and are specially ordained to pronounce blessings on the Saints by the laying on of hands, declaring their lineage and predicting events in which they will figure in time and in eternity. There is a Patriarch to the whole Church, having authority to bless all its officers and members from the greatest to the least, holdings the keys of that power. There are other Patriarchs who hold authority within the various Stakes of Zion wherein they are appointed and in which they administer the sealing blessings.
The Seventy are a body of Elders forming an appendage to the Apostleship and traveling under their direction. Seven of the number preside over that body. There are a hundred and fifty of these "quorums," as they are called, each presided over by seven of their number, and all under direction of the First Seven Presidents. They form the chief missionary corps of the Church.
High Priests and Elders not belonging to the councils above mentioned, are local officers for local ministrations, but may be called into the missionary field if necessary. Ninety-six Elders form a "quorum," presided over by three of their number. There are a great many of these organizations. All these officers hold the Priesthood after the order of Melchisedek.
The Bishops stand at the head the Aaronic or lesser Priesthood, an appendage to the higher of Melchisedek Priesthood. {36} There are three who form the Presiding Bishopric of the Church. Other Bishops have charge of wards of the Church, and the function of the Bishopric is to minister in the temporalities of the Church. Priests, forty-eight of whom form a "quorum," presided over by a Bishop and two counselors; Teachers, twenty-four of whom form a "quorum," presided over by three of their number; and Deacons, twelve of whom form a "quorum," presided over by three of their number, constitute the rest of the organizations of the lesser Priesthood. They exist in all the wards, and are under the direction of the respective Bishoprics.
Apostles, Patriarchs, Seventies, High Priests and Elders may preach, baptize and lay on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and perform any duty of the Aaronic Priesthood, as the greater includes the less. Aaronic Priests may preach, teach and baptize for the remission of sins, but cannot confer the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. Teachers visit the members and see there is no iniquity permitted to remain in the Church. Deacons attend to temporal duties under the Bishops.
A Bishop should be a lineal descendant of Aaron, but in the absence of one of that lineage, a High Priest is selected and ordained to that office. With his two counselors, also High Priests, he has charge of an organized ward and sits in judgment upon transgressors and in cases of disputes between members. An appeal is allowed to the High Council.
Members residing in a given locality form a ward. A number of wards, generally those within a county, are organized into a Stake of Zion, presided over by three High Priests. A High Council, consisting of twelve High Priests, constitutes an ecclesiastical tribunal, to which appeals may be taken from decisions of the Bishops' courts. It is presided over by the Stake Presidency, who have jurisdiction over all the wards and their officers in the Stake. There are now fifty-five of these Stakes of Zion and a number of conferences and mission organizations in addition. A High Council decision is subject to review by the Presidency of the Church.
All the officers of the Church are presented twice a year before the body of the Church for their acceptance or rejection. The Stake and ward authorities are periodically subject to a similar regulation. All serve without salaries. Persons engaged constantly in Church service are supported, or partly sustained, according to needs, from Church funds. Missionaries have no stipends, but travel "without purse or scrip," either paying their own expenses or relying upon friends whom the Lord raises up to their aid.
{37} The revenue of the Church is derived from the tithes. One-tenth of a member's interest or increase each year is tithing. It is a free-will offering, not a tax. Temples, church buildings, etc., are erected and maintained from the tithing, and large amounts are expended for the support of the poor and the benefit of new settlements.
On the first Sunday of every month a fast is held, and the amount saved from fasting is donated to the poor. The Bishops have charge of those in need and are required to see that none are left to want.
The Relief Societies, composed of ladies, are organized auxiliary bodies who also minister to the poor, aged and afflicted, and help prepare the dead for burial. They hold meetings of their own for instruction in women's work and intellectual, moral and spiritual advancement.
The younger women and also the younger men are organized into Mutual Improvement associations, which they, separately, conduct themselves, but sometimes assemble in joint session.
The Primary associations are organizations of children under older supervision, for training in Gospel principles and moral conduct.
There are Sunday schools in all the wards and Stakes of Zion, connected with the Sunday School Union, and all thoroughly organized and ably conducted.
Religion classes are organized in the different wards for the purpose of giving systematic training in the principles and doctrines of religion to little children, thus supplying the kind of tuition which cannot be given in the public schools, from which all religious teachings are entirely excluded.
Amusements are provided for the members of the Church under direction of committees appointed by Church or ward authority. Music is of universal use, both vocal and instrumental, and is cultivated assiduously.
Education is an essential feature in the Church system, and academies and colleges are maintained according to the funds available. All truth is recognized as Divine and an accepted motto is: "The glory of God is intelligence."
The public school system is separate and apart from the Church schools, and is entirely under the direction of the State, no doctrinal or denominational teaching being permitted therein. It is supported by taxation.
The great distinctive feature of "Mormonism" among the "Christian" denominations is its claim of direct divine origin. Present and continuous revelation from God to the Church through its earthly head, and to every member who seeks for it in his or her own behalf and guidance, is a fundamental principle of the "Mormon" faith. Divine authority is associated with it.
The Church is, literally, Christ's Church, because He established it by personal communication and guides it by present revelation and inspiration, and its ministers receive their commissions by His direction. The Holy Ghost is in and with the Church, exactly as with the primitive Church and the Prophets of old.
Thus, what is commonly called "Mormonism" is to its disciples verily the work of God; originating with Him and developed and promulgated under His commands and by His power; and, therefore, it will abide and prevail, and overcome all opposition, and spread over the whole earth, preparing the way for the second advent of the Messiah and the redemption and regeneration of the earth. Every soul who receives it in sincerity is entitled to a witness from God of its truth, and herein is its strength and unity and vital force.
It has no conflict except with error. It wars against no nation, sect or society. It exercises no compulsion. It is the Gospel and Church and authority of Jesus Christ, restored to earth for the last days and for the last time, and therefore it will triumph and flood the world with light and truth, until darkness shall flee and Satan be bound and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and His Christ, and He shall reign over all the ransomed globe for evermore.
BY JOHN JAQUES,
ELDER IN THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
Elder Brownson. Good morning sir. Would it be agreeable to you to read a tract?
Mr. Whitby. O yes! thank you, sir. I take in many tracts, and read through most of them. What tracts do you distribute?
Elder B. They are upon the principles taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mr. W. The Latter-day Saints! Well, I cannot say that I exactly understand what their religion is. It is true, I hear a great deal about them, yet many things that I hear of them are so contradictory that I find it impossible to believe all. But if one fourth part of what is told me, is true, I must say that I cannot entertain a very high opinion of your religion. However, I think that every person ought to be at liberty to enjoy his own opinion, and I deem it especially wrong to condemn any party unheard. I make no profession of religion myself. My wife's sister, and her husband, are very staunch Wesleyans, and they tell me some extraordinary things of your people. But I always take a certain discount off what one religious person says of another's religion. Consequently I cannot believe all that Mrs. Whitby's sister and her husband tell me of your religion. And I think they are a little bigoted, for they sometimes say hard things of the Baptist and Church people, as well as of your people. But I have long wished to meet with one of the Latter-day Saint preachers, so that I might hear their own story, and I shall really consider it a favour if you will be pleased to give me a brief outline of your belief, that I may not judge your people wrongfully. I have a few leisure minutes just now.
Elder B. I shall only be happy to impart any information that may be beneficial to you, concerning our principles. I am aware that much misunderstanding prevails respecting the Latter-day {40} Saints, and it is ever a pleasure to me to dispel that misunderstanding, and enlighten those who are willing to learn.
Mr. W. Thank you. But we won't stand at the door. Would you walk in and sit down?
Elder B. I will, with pleasure.
Mr. W. Allow me to put your hat away.
Elder B. Thank you.
Mr. W. [To his daughter] Mary, hand the gentleman a chair, and hang his hat up in the passage. [To Elder B.] Now, sir, if you will be good enough to enlighten my mind concerning your principles, I will listen attentively, and, whether I approve of them or not, I shall certainly consider myself under obligations to you.
Elder B. I will gladly comply with your request.
Mr. W. But you will not consider me wearisome if I interrupt you, in the course of your relation, with an occasional question or remark, which I may be prompted to offer for my own satisfaction?
Elder B. Don't name it, sir. It will be pleasing to me to answer your questions, to the best of the ability that God may give me, or to listen to any remark which you may feel disposed to make. But to proceed. I will give you a brief view of the first principles of the doctrine of Jesus Christ, and will refer you to a few passages of Scripture in support of them.
Mr. W. Thank you. I am sure I shall be much gratified.
Elder B. In the first place, we believe that there is a God in the heavens, who is the Creator and Preserver of this world and of men. God, having the right, has, in times past, manifested Himself to men, and revealed laws whereby they might be governed. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, who were created immortal—not subject to death, disobeyed the law of God. Death, and all the evils that induce it, were the penalty to which Adam, and Eve, and all their posterity were then subjected. And men cannot, of themselves, overcome this penalty, and obtain immortality.—Gen. i. ii. iii. Rom. v. 12. 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22. But God did not leave men to perish without hope. He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world, to take human nature upon him, and to satisfy the broken law by being put to death, thereby delivering men from the power of death.—John iii. 16. Rom. v. 8. 1 John iv. 9. As all men, through Adam's sin, without any agency of their own, were subjected to death, so will all men be redeemed there from, and placed before the throne of God, free from any condemnation for Adam's sin, for {41} Christ's atonement extends so far to men, unconditionally on their part, because they had no hand in Adam's sin.—1 Cor. xv. 22. But although men are thus, without conditions on their part, made free from the effects of Adam's sin, yet, as every man must, after this, answer for the deeds done in his body (Matt. xvi. 27. 2 Cor. v. 10. Rev. xx. 13), and as every man, in some thing or other, disobeys the law of God, it naturally follows that every man will need an atonement for his individual sins, as well as one from the sin of Adam. And in order that every man may escape the penalty for his individual sins, certain conditions must be complied with. I said that all men would be redeemed, unconditionally on their part, from the penalty of Adam's sin. I have referred you to a passage or two of Scripture upon the subject. I will refer you to another, Rom. v. 18, "Therefore, as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." Thus, you see, a man answers for his own sins only.
Mr. W. Just so. That seems reasonable.
Elder B. Now I will lay before you the conditions. But first, I will remark, that God has but one method of saving men. The scheme of salvation is an unchangeable scheme, both as respects the atonement of Christ, and the conditions required of men. Jesus Christ is the only name under heaven whereby men can be saved.—Acts iv. 12. 1 Tim. ii. 5. And although many men have preached divers kinds of contradictory doctrines, and have professed that they were all the doctrines of Christ, yet it is a fact that God does not send men to contradict each other. You cannot find, in the whole Bible, an instance of God's sending His servants to preach conflicting doctrines to a people, for that would conduce to endless discord, confusion, and strife, and it is written that "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace."—1 Cor. xiv. 33. And Paul the Apostle said that he or an angel from heaven, if found preaching any other Gospel than what he and his brethren had preached, should be accursed.—Gal. i. 9, 10. Depend upon it, sir, that two preachers, or two religious societies, who hold forth contrary doctrines, cannot both, in their teachings, be recognized of God. These inconsistencies cause many men to reject the Bible, and turn infidels.
Mr. W. Why that's just my argument. I say nothing against the Bible. I find no fault with that. But this is what puzzles me—how it is that two preachers, both believing one book, one revelation from God, one code of laws, should {42} preach contradictory doctrines, and form two religious societies, always opposing and differing from each other! I cannot fathom the matter. There are Mrs. Whitby's sister, and her husband, Wesleyans, as I told you, and his brother is a Baptist—all very strong in their faith. We have them all here together occasionally, and we get up quite lively discussions. Mrs. Whitby's sister's husband and his brother cannot agree at all with each other upon religious topics, especially baptism, and then I disagree with them both, and tell them that I am very well assured that either one is wrong, or both of them are, and, consequently, I cannot join either's society until a satisfactory decision is come to. I assure you we have matters rather warm at times. We all wax quite earnest.
Elder B. I have not the least doubt of it. Nothing is plainer than that God is not the author of both their systems of religion. But, as I was saying, the plan of salvation is unchangeable. So if we can find out what it was in the time of Jesus and the Apostles, we can decide what it is now.
Mr. W. True.
Elder B. I have shown, by the Scriptures, the doctrine of the atonement of Christ, and that certain conditions are required of every man to ensure the benefits of that atonement for his individual sins. I will now speak of the conditions. The first condition required of men is to believe that there is a God, and that they have done things that are displeasing in His sight, and that Jesus Christ has provided a way of escape through his atonement. I question whether any person exists who does not, at heart, believe that there is a God. And it appears to me that all men must acknowledge that they have, in their life time, done things that have not been right. But a faith in Christ's atonement is the result of a teachable spirit's hearing a message from God, to that effect. Now faith is required of all men, for "without faith it is impossible to please God."—Heb. xi. 6. And Jesus says—"He that believeth not shall be damned."—Mark xvi. 16. Some preachers say that faith is all that is necessary to salvation. But this is incorrect, for the Apostle says, that faith without works is dead, being alone.—James ii. If faith had been sufficient for salvation, Jesus Christ would never have made any other conditions known. The devils believe and tremble, but we are not informed that they will be saved. Faith is only valued by the works it leads to. Without works we have no evidence that a man has faith.
Mr. W. I see that clearly.
{43} Elder B. The next condition required is repentance. As all men have sinned, all men are required to repent of their sins. Says Jesus—"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."—Luke xiii. 3. See also Luke xxiv. 47. Acts xvii. 30. Now to repent, is not to mourn, and grieve, and hang down one's head like a bulrush, but to forsake everything that is evil, and to make a firm resolution, like a man, to follow those things no more. In short, to repent is to cease to do evil, and resolve to do well. This is what is required of all men.
Mr. W. That appears right enough.
Elder B. The third condition required is for men to be baptized in water, for the remission of their sins. This is a condition quite as important as any other, yet it is one which is little thought of by many persons, and much misunderstood by others.
Mr. W. That is a subject upon which I have thought much, when I have heard my friends argue the matter.
Elder B. It is a subject concerning which much diversity of opinion prevails amongst the religious world. Some persons believe baptism to be altogether unnecessary, and they sing—
"Were I baptized a thousand times,
It would be all in vain."
Others believe baptism to be an ordinance that can be attended to, or dispensed with, at the discretion of the believer. Now we do not agree with either of these kinds of persons. We believe that baptism is one of the essential conditions of salvation. We deem it absolutely necessary that all persons who believe and repent, should also be baptized. If we consider what baptism is for, we shall see at once its necessity. Baptism is for the remission of sins.
Mr. W. But does not Jesus say that his blood was to be shed for the remission of sins? And does not St. John say that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin?
Elder B. If you read the preceding part of the verse in which the last passage you have quoted occurs, you will find these words—"But if we walk in the light." Now to walk in the light, is to walk in obedience to the law of God, and, as baptism is a part of the law of God, we must attend to that ordinance, or the blood of Jesus Christ will not cleanse us from all sin. As to the other passage, I said, previously, that the atonement of Jesus Christ extended to the sins of all the human family, but to individual sins on conditions only. Three conditions I have named. The full benefit of the atoning blood {44} of Jesus Christ cannot be claimed, by any man, for his individual sins, until he is baptized. Baptism is nothing of itself, and cannot wash away our sins. But God has ordained that the blood of Christ for the remission of individual sins shall be available to no man till he has been baptized. No man is entitled to a pardon for his sins, until he obey that ordinance. So far, baptism is for the remission of sins; not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer—the return, of a good conscience towards God.
Mr. W. I think I understand you. In the winter, coals are given away to the poor of this town. The gift is free to the poor, but every one who receives it must produce a ticket signed by one of the committee. Without the ticket, the coals cannot be had. Baptism is of similar importance to salvation as the ticket is to the coals, I suppose.
Elder B. Yes. Naaman, the Syrian general, to cure his leprosy, was told to wash seven times in the river Jordan. The gift of cure was free to Naaman, but he could not have realized it independent of the seven washings. The mere washings would have availed nothing, but in their being the ordinance of the Lord consisted their efficacy. So with baptism for the remission of sins. That baptism is for the remission of sins, see Mark i. 4. Luke iii. 3. Acts ii. 38. xxii. 16. 1 Peter iii. 21. By this you will see that baptism is anything but nonessential to salvation.
Mr. W. Why, yes, I do.
Elder B. That baptism is an essential part of the righteous law of God is evident from the answer of Jesus, when John demurred to baptizing him—"Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness."—Matt. iii. 15. Jesus also says that baptism is a part of the counsel of God to men—"And all the people that heard him [John], and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him."—Luke vii. 29, 30. Baptism may also be considered the door of the Kingdom of God, or the law that adopts us into the family of God. Immediately after Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened over him, and God owned His Son. Jesus says, "He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door, is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth."—John x. 1-3. The sheepfold was the Kingdom of God, the door was baptism, the porter was John. Upon those {45} who attempt to enter any other way, will rest the imputation of dishonesty.
Mr. W. Not a very desirable imputation, certainly.
Elder B. No. But you see, by the illustration, the necessity of baptism.
Mr. W. I must confess I do.
Elder B. Baptism does not mean infant sprinkling or pouring. The true mode of baptism is by immersion.
Mr. W. That is my opinion of the matter. When my friends have been discussing the subject, it has always appeared to me that immersion was the proper form of baptism.
Elder B. True. This is plainly evident from the Scriptures. John the Baptist baptized in the river Jordan. If sprinkling or pouring were the mode, there would have been no necessity for his going into the river. It is true, I have seen representations of Jesus and John standing in the water, while John poured the water upon Jesus, but such a representation carries improbability upon its very face. If pouring would do, why go into the water? And we know that Jesus did go into the water, for he "went up straightway out of the water," after he was baptized, says the Evangelist.—Matt. iii. 16. "And the multitudes who went to John were baptized of him in Jordan."—Matt. iii. 6. Again, John baptized at Aenon, near to Salim, because there "was much water there."—John iii. 23. Of what advantage would much water have been, if sprinkling or pouring were the mode? A bucketful of water would sprinkle a thousand people. A very insignificant brook would suffice to baptize a nation, if pouring were the mode. If either of these were the mode, there was no necessity to choose a place of "much water." Unless immersion were the mode, we cannot see any sense in John's baptizing at Aenon because of the abundance of water there.
Mr. W-. Certainly not. But Mrs. Whitby's sister's husband, that is, Mr. Clarke, stands much upon this point—that it is declared that John baptized with water.
Elder B. I am aware that it is so written. And I am sure that I never entertained the idea that any one could administer baptism for the remission of sins, without water. John is spoken of as baptizing with water, distinguishing his baptism from the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire, which Jesus was to introduce.
Mr. W. I understand.
Elder B. Philip and the eunuch both went down into the {46} water.—Acts viii. 38. Jesus likens baptism to a birth.—John iii. 5. Now a birth argues a concealment, which immersion certainly is. St. Paul says we are buried with Christ by baptism, "that like as Christ was raised up from the dead, by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."—Rom. vi. 4. This is plain enough. But he goes on to say, "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." What could be a more beautiful illustration of baptism by immersion than is here presented. Immersion is a burial. Immersion is a planting in the likeness of Christ's death. Sprinkling or pouring answer neither one figure nor the other. If we are buried with Christ by baptism, we thenceforth walk in newness of life. If we are planted in the likeness of Christ's death, it is an earnest of our being one day fashioned in the likeness of his resurrection.
Mr. W. That is certainly a striking and appropriate figure. Your ideas agree with mine very much.
Elder B. Having settled the mode of baptism, I will now say a little on the candidates for that ordinance. Baptism being for the remission of sins, and no one, who is not old enough to discern right from wrong, being accounted a sinner in the sight of God, you will perceive that baptism is only necessary for those who have arrived at years of accountability. And faith and repentance invariably precede baptism. If you search the Bible through, you will find that the people were always taught before they were baptized. John taught the people to bring forth fruits meet for repentance, before baptism. Jesus commanded his disciples to go and teach all nations, and then baptize them. The Apostles ever taught the people to believe and repent, before they were baptized. Little children, being incapable of understanding the law of God, are not deemed responsible for non-observance of it, and, consequently, are not required to believe, repent, or be baptized. Not being subject to the law, little children are wholly subjects of the free grace of Jesus Christ, and his atoning blood redeems them without any conditions on their part. It is solemn mockery before God, to baptize little children, or to preach that they will not be saved without baptism. When they can readily distinguish between right and wrong, then commences their responsibility.
Mr. W. I perfectly agree with what you say. But Mr. Clarke holds that baptism is in lieu of circumcision, and we know that Abraham and his seed were commanded to observe circumcision when the child was eight days old.
{47} Elder B. Circumcision and baptism are two different ordinances, and have no relation to each other. Circumcision was a sign of the covenant which God made with Abraham and his seed. Baptism is for the remission of individual sins. Circumcision could only be performed on one sex. Baptism is binding on both. Circumcision was preceded by no teaching. Baptism is invariably preceded by faith and repentance. Both circumcision and baptism were observed by the children of Israel under Moses.—1 Cor. x. 2. So you see that circumcision and baptism are two distinct ordinances, widely differing in their nature and application.
Mr. W. I see they are.
Elder B. After men have been baptized, they are required to have hands laid upon them, that they may receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Then, according to their faithfulness and diligence in keeping the commandments of God, the various manifestations of the Holy Ghost are poured out upon men—such as the gift of speaking in foreign tongues, of the interpretation of tongues, prophecy, dreams, visions, the gift of healing, and of working miracles, discernment of spirits, &c.
Mr. W. Do you believe in having these things now? Why one of the principal reasons that I have never joined any religious body is, that I could read in the Bible of these great and glorious gifts being enjoyed in ancient times, and I could not find any people who contended for these things now. I have expressed my thoughts on these subjects to Mr. Clarke, and his wife, and his brother, but they all declare that these blessings were only given for the establishment of Christianity, and that they, not being intended to continue upon the earth, are not now given, and, indeed, are not now needed. But I could never see the reason for this. I could see in the Bible no reason why men should not obtain these blessings now as anciently. In fact, I think the Bible decidedly encourages all men to seek after these things, for Paul says, "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal." And we are well aware that salvation is just the same thing now as anciently. Men have now the same weakness to overcome, the same temptations to resist, the same devil to oppose them, and the same end to obtain as in the days of the Apostles. And why should men now not have the same blessings from the hands of the Lord to assist them in obtaining salvation, as the primitive Christians had to assist them? It is certain that either God has changed, or men have degenerated and become unworthy {48} of such distinguished blessings as the early Christians enjoyed. But I am pleased to find that you believe in obtaining these blessings, I shall be happy to listen further to your views of the matter. I am becoming much interested in your doctrines.
Elder B. I am aware that the popular cry is that the gifts and blessings of the Holy Ghost are "done away, and no longer needed." We know they are done away, because men do not seek them, and the ancient Saints sought them earnestly. Indeed it would be marvellous for the Lord to give these blessings to men when they do not care for them, and when they think them unnecessary. He is not so prodigal of the choice gifts of His Holy Spirit. He does not cast his pearls before swine. His Spirit does not always strive with men. When they do not wish to serve Him, He gives them up to the imagination of their own hearts, to walk in their own ways. This is the cause of all the divisions in the religious world. But where is the first Scripture that says, or even hints, that the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit were not intended for men until they become perfect? Not a single text of this description can be found between the lids of the Bible, but the whole tenor of the Book teaches to the contrary. Jesus Christ said that the signs Or gifts should follow those who believed.—Mark xvi. 17. He also said that the Comforter—the Holy Ghost, should abide with his disciples for ever.—John xiv. 16. Jesus also said that his Father would give His Holy Spirit to all them that asked Him.—Luke xi. 13. Peter said that God gave the Holy Ghost to all that obeyed Him.—Acts v. 32. On the day of Pentecost, Peter declared that the promise of the Holy Ghost was for the people before him, for their children, for all that were afar off, even as many as the Lord should call.—Acts ii. 39. Paul continually exhorted all Saints to seek diligently after the gifts of the Spirit, for he would not have his brethren ignorant of them, but to covet earnestly the best gifts.—1 Cor. xii. xiii. xiv. Solomon said, "Where there is no vision the people perish."—Proverbs xxix. 18. Joel prophesied that the Spirit of the Lord should be poured out most abundantly in the last days, the sons and daughters should prophesy, the old men should dream dreams, and the young men should see visions, and even upon the servants and handmaids, should the Spirit be bestowed, indeed the promise is that it should be poured out upon all flesh.—Joel ii. 28, 29. That does not look like the gifts being done away and no longer needed. It is true, Peter said that the out-pouring on the day of Pentecost was in fulfilment of Joel's prophecy, but that occasion did not {49} fully fulfil the terms of the prophecy, for very few received the Holy Spirit then, not all flesh. A more full and complete fulfilment yet awaits the prediction, and the time when will be discovered by reading the whole of the chapter—just about the second advent of the Redeemer.
Mr. W. But is it necessary to have laid hands upon one, in order to receive the Holy Ghost?
Elder B. Laying on of hands is the ordinance appointed of God for the imparting of the Holy Ghost.—Acts viii. 17-20., xix. 6. Heb. vi. 2.
Mr. W. Did not Cornelius receive it without the laying on of hands, and even before he was baptized?
Elder B. Cornelius was a Gentile. The Holy Ghost was poured out upon him and his household previous to baptism and the laying on of hands, to convince the Jews that the Gentiles were entitled to the blessings of the Gospel. Cornelius and his household were then baptized. Doubtless the gift of tongues was only imparted to them for the time being, as has been the case with persons in our day, before baptism and the laying on of hands. It is reasonable to believe that, after Cornelius and his household were baptized, Peter laid his hands upon them, as he did upon other disciples. Such a course would be pursued by the Latter-day Saints now in similar cases.
Mr. W. But do the Latter-day Saints actually obtain these gifts?
Elder B. Yes, some have the gift of tongues, some of interpretation of tongues, others have dreams, visions, and revelations, whilst many have been miraculously healed by the power of God.
Mr. W. Well, really my bosom burns to hear it. [Looking at his watch.] But I am sorry to say that my time has expired. I have some particular business to attend to just now. Would you wait and take dinner with us. I can spare a little more time after dinner.
Elder B. I am obliged to you, but I have several places to call at this morning, and it will be inconvenient for me to stay with you to-day. However, I will call upon you this day week, and give you any further information you may wish.
Mr. W. Well, call when you can stay and have dinner. But I wish to ask you whether you admit persons into your Church immediately on application, or do you keep candidates a certain time on probation.
Elder B. In ancient times candidates were not required to {50} submit to any probation, previous to entering the Church, at least I cannot read so in the Bible, neither do the Latter-day Saints require such a thing. We like men to come up boldly and say they repent of their sins, and wish to be baptized. When men do this, we do not presume to question their sincerity, unless we have very substantial reasons for doing so. We wish to encourage confidence between men, and we do not treat them as suspicious characters, until we have evidence for it. When a man turns from his sins, then is the time that he should be received with open arms by the Church, the blessings of full fellowship should not be withheld, for he is but weak in the faith, and he needs all possible encouragement.
Mr. W. I have no fault to find with your sentiments on that head. I am sure it is very good of you to spend your time in enlightening the minds of the people, by your tracts and conversation. Of course you have a salary from your society to support you.
Elder B. I am not an hireling, sir. I do not preach for hire or divine for money. The hireling is not the true shepherd of the flock. An hireling is apt to look a little more to the fleece than to the flock.
Mr. W. But you cannot live on the air!
Elder B. When Jesus Christ sent his disciples to preach in ancient times, he told them to go without purse or scrip, and their heavenly Father would see that they were provided for. Jesus said that those persons who received his servants received him, and those who rejected them rejected him, and whosoever would give only a cup of cold water to one of the least of his disciples should not lose his reward.—Matt. x. Mark vi. ix. Luke ix. This is how I am sent out, this is how all the Elders of the Latter-day Saints are sent out to preach to the world.
Mr. W. That's noble, certainly.
Elder B. It proves the world, whether they will receive one in the name of the Lord; it proves the servants of God, whether they can put their confidence in Him; and it proves the Lord, whether He will support His servants and open the way for them.
Mr. W. I really wish you would stay for dinner.
Elder B. I would, with pleasure, if my duties allowed.
Mr. W. Well, I cannot let you go away empty. I beg you will accept of five shillings, to assist you in your laudable purpose.
{51} Elder B. May the Lord bless you in your basket and in your store, and restore you an hundred fold.
Mr. W. Thank you. I have much enjoyed your conversation. I am sure I am greatly indebted to you. But I must now say good day. You will not fail to call next week?
Elder B. I will not. Good day sir.
LIVERPOOL: PUBLISHED BY S. W. RICHARDS, 15, WILTON STREET, LONDON.
If the Lord Almighty should give the human family their desire in full, they would not keep the broad road to destruction, but would go cross lots to hell.
—Brigham Young.
A man cannot deny the truth when the spirit of God is burning in his bosom.
—Francis M. Lyman.
As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become.
—Joseph Smith.
BY JOHN JAQUES, ELDER IN THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
Elder B. Good morning, sir. How do you do to-day?
Mr. W. O! good morning, sir. How do you do? I hope you are well. I am happy to see you. Come, walk in and sit down. I have been expecting you, and wishing you would come. I have many things of which to ask you to-day, if you will be kind enough to inform me concerning them. Since you were here last week, my mind has been much exercised respecting your principles. What I heard from you then, has appeared to me as near the truth as anything I ever heard before. If I had any prejudice against the Latter-day Saints previous to my meeting with you, I think it is now well nigh gone. Still there are some things connected with your people, of which I wish to learn a little more. I had not opportunity last week to name these things to you, as our time was short, and we seemed to occupy it so well with other conversation, that many questions which I wished to put to you, I really was obliged to postpone till a more favourable opportunity. But after dinner, I took my pipe, as I generally do, and sat in the corner, canvassing and weighing over what we had conversed upon, and other things which we had not. When I get my pipe, I reckon myself in my study, so I puzzled for full two hours over matters relating to your people. Finally, I thought I should have the privilege of seeing you again in a few days, when I could inquire of your more fully. Now you are here, for which I am glad. Would you first of all give me a brief description of the origin, progress, and present position of the Latter-day Saints, and of the organization and different officers of your Church?
Elder B. I will do so. About the year 1820, there was a great revival excitement among the religious societies in the town of Manchester, Ontario county, New York. This revival {53} was kept up with spirit by a series of camp meetings, in which preachers and people of all denominations joined. A multitude of converts was the result. But as they began to attach themselves to this or that society, a scene of strife and confusion prevailed, which contrasted strangely with the professions and former demeanour of both priests and people. In this town lived a young man, then in his fifteenth year. His father's family clung to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that body. This young man was deeply impressed during the above excitement. But the divisions and contentions of the religious societies puzzled him, and he reflected seriously upon their conduct, asking himself who, amidst all the strife, was right, and whom he must join. While in this anxious state, he one day opened his Bible, and read that golden counsel given by James—"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth unto all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him."—i. 5. This precious passage came with great force to the mind of this young man. The teaching exactly suited his case. He was unlearned, he was ignorant, he lacked wisdom. The preachers all claimed to be right, though, at the same time, they differed, and strove with each other. It was therefore folly to go to them to learn the truth. He wisely resolved to follow the advice of James, and "ask of God." Accordingly, this young man retired to a secluded spot, and kneeling down began to pray earnestly to the Almighty for guidance. The youth had scarcely done so, when he was suddenly seized by an invisible power, which rendered him speechless and helpless. Darkness seemed to hover around him. However, he exerted all his power to ask deliverance from the Lord, when a pillar of light, surpassing the brightness of the midday sun, appeared above the youth, and descended gradually till it fell upon him, and he felt released from his distressing bondage. When the light rested upon him, he saw two most glorious personages standing above him in the air. One spoke to him, pointing to the other, saying—"This is my beloved Son, hear him."
Mr. W. Then this young man actually saw and spoke to the Lord, and to his Son Jesus Christ!
Elder B. Yes. The young man asked the latter person, which of all the religious societies was right. In answer, the youth was informed that all were teaching incorrect doctrines, and that he must join none of the sects. To a certain extent this satisfied his mind. But on the evening of the 21st of September, 1823, he again prayed to the Lord for a manifestation from Him. While thus engaged, a light appeared in the {54} room, which increased until it became brighter than noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at the bedside, standing in the air.
Mr. W. A second vision!
Elder B. Yes. The personage had on an exceedingly white robe. His person was very glorious, and his countenance like lightning. Around him shone a halo or light superior to that which filled the room. He said he was a messenger from God, and was named Moroni [See Joseph Smith, the Prophet, page 19]. He called the young man by name, and told him that God had a work for him to do, which should cause his name to be good and evil spoken of among all people, and that a book written upon gold plates, and giving an account of the ancient inhabitants of America, was deposited in the earth, and with the book two stones in silver bows fastened to a breastplate, which were called anciently the "Urim and Thummim," and by which God revealed intelligence to His people. See Ex. xxviii. Lev. viii. 8. Deut. xxxiii. 8. I Sam. xxviii. 6. xxx. Ezra ii. 63.
Mr. W. I recollect reading of the priests using the Urim and Thummim among the children of Israel.
Elder B. Just so. On these plates was engraven the fulness of the everlasting Gospel, as Jesus Christ taught it to the ancient inhabitants of America. These sacred things were not to be shown to any person, except by commandment from the Lord. The place where they were deposited was shown to the young man's mind in this vision. After giving many more instructions, the messenger withdrew. While the young man lay musing on what he had seen and heard, the same messenger appeared again to him, repeating the former instructions, and adding others. A second time the messenger withdrew. Before morning he appeared a third time, and repeating what he had before communicated, added still further instructions, cautioning the youth to beware and not to be led astray. Whilst in the field the next day, the same messenger again stood before him, commanding him to go and tell his vision and the commandments he had received to his father. The youth obeyed, and his father told him that he must do as he was told by the angel, as it was of God. The young man accordingly went to the place where the records were deposited in a stone box, covered over by another stone, the middle part of the top of which was just visible above the ground. He raised the stone, and beheld the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breast-plate. He made an attempt to take them out, but the messenger again appeared to him and forbade {55} him, telling him the time had not yet come, but it would be four years longer. He was commanded to go to the place once a year, until the time appointed, and was informed that the messenger would meet him there. This commandment the youth obeyed, and received instruction and intelligence each time.
Mr. W. Though he was young, he certainly underwent a considerable course of experience before he was entrusted with the commission of the work.
Elder B. Truly so. The magnitude, importance, and sacred character of the work to which he was chosen, required the simplicity and obedience of youth, combined with the soberness and wisdom of maturity. Had an old man been chosen, he might have been too much indoctrinated with the opinions of the age, to readily obey the instructions of the heavenly messenger. Had not the youth been qualified for his great work, by a course of instruction and preparation, he might have been liable, in the lightness and thoughtlessness and inexperience of youth, to trifle with the sacred things committed to his charge.
Mr. W. Very true.
Elder B. On the 22nd of September, 1827, the angel placed the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breast-plate, in the youth's hands, charging him with the responsibility of their safe keeping. The plates were near eight inches long by seven wide, and a little thinner than ordinary tin. Engravings of the Egyptian hieroglyphic species filled both sides of the plates. They were bound together by three rings, at one edge, and were altogether about six inches thick. A part of the plates were sealed. The youth immediately prepared for their translation, which was done by means of the Urim and Thummim, as the language in which the plates were engraved was peculiar to the ancient inhabitants of America, and unknown to the present generation. About this time, he suffered much persecution, chiefly from religious persons, who had heard of his having visions, &c. He was compelled to flee for safety from Manchester, New York, to Pennsylvania. He continued to translate the record until he had finished those plates which were unsealed. All the plates were then delivered up again to the angel. After the translation, the Lord, by a heavenly messenger, showed the plates to three witnesses—Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris. The youth also showed the plates, by commandment, to eight other persons—Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, jun., John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, sen., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H. Smith. The testimony of these eleven witnesses precedes {56} the translation, which is entitled the Book of Mormon, the first edition of which was published in 1830.
Mr. W. I have heard much concerning this Book of Mormon, and have always understood it to be of an apocryphal or a fabulous nature. Your history of it is certainly strange, but, to be candid, I cannot say that it is any more improbable than many things which are contained in the Bible. It is not right to hastily condemn any thing that may appear strange, for it is truly said that "truth is strange—stranger than fiction." Could you give me a short description of the contents of this far-famed book?
Elder B. I know that many rumours and false statements are actively circulated concerning that book. Its true history I have just related. The book contains accounts of two separate and distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites, and they emigrated from the tower of Babel. Being a righteous people, their language was not confounded, and they were led by the Lord over the ocean to the continent of America, where, occupying the northern portion principally, they became a numerous, powerful, civilized, and refined nation, and had Prophets living among them. But they finally degenerated and became corrupt, so much so, that, after inhabiting the land about fifteen or sixteen centuries, the Lord utterly destroyed them. The records of this people were engraved on twenty-four gold plates which were found by the second race who peopled this continent. This last race consisted of two colonies. The first were descendants of Joseph, and left Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, about six hundred years before Christ, being directed by the Lord. They travelled by the borders of the Red Sea, then struck for the ocean, crossed the Pacific, and landed in South America. This colony, in the early part of their career, became divided into two parties. One party were termed Nephites, and were a righteous and enlightened people. The other were termed Lamanites, and became a wicked and ignorant people. The second colony were composed partly of the tribe of Judah. This people left Jerusalem in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, when the Jews were being carried captive to Babylon. These emigrants landed in North America, and soon after removed to the northern parts of South America, where, about four centuries after, they were discovered by the Nephites, in a partial state of civilization. These two peoples amalgamated, and became one great and enlightened people. Prophets existed among them. Jesus Christ himself visited them, after his resurrection, healed their sick, called twelve Apostles, and established his Church in {57} the land, in partial fulfilment of what he said to the Jews—"Other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."—John xiv. 16.
Mr. W. But he did not bring them, and make them of one fold with the Jews, having one shepherd. I have always understood that this passage related to the Gentiles.
Elder B. The Gentiles were not reckoned sheep then. Besides Jesus said, at another time, that he was "not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."—Matt. xv. 24. So he would not be likely to speak of ministering among the Gentiles. He went to the Nephites, and they heard his voice, and many followed after him. They will not be brought into one fold with the Jews, until all scattered Israel are gathered together, and "made one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all." The union of the stick or record of Joseph—the Book of Mormon, with the stick or record of Judah—the Bible, will be instrumental in producing this grand and glorious effect.—Ezek. xxxvii.
Mr. W. I certainly never saw so much apparent appropriateness and force in those prophecies before.
Elder B. Perhaps not. But to resume. The Nephites and Lamanites, after the visit of Jesus, ran well for a time. But they became corrupt, as years rolled on, and were often engaged in contention and bloodshed. Finally the Lamanites conquered and destroyed the Nephites, in the beginning of the fifth century after Christ. Their records were hid up in the earth by two of the last Nephite Prophets—Mormon and Moroni, in the hill where heaven directed the young man to go for the plates. The North American Indians are the descendants of the Lamanites, and what few of the Nephites mingled among them.
Mr. W. Well surely, that is a most interesting story. The record of half a world come to light! I must certainly read that book. How does it agree with the Bible doctrinally?
Elder B. Most admirably. Both books being written by inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, they run of course in complete unison. The Book of Mormon does not coincide with modern apostate religions, which have the form, but deny the power of godliness. That book, as may be expected, takes a bold and decided stand with the Bible, and fearlessly condemns all churches which are not backed up by the power and gifts and blessings of the Holy Ghost as the Primitive Church was. {58} On some vital points, which in the Bible appear ambiguous through mistranslation, interpolation, or perversion, the Book of Mormon speaks in the most plain and pointed language, so that none may misunderstand.
Mr. W. Indeed.
Elder B. I will now resume my narrative. On the 15th of May, 1829, the young man and a friend—Oliver Cowdery, being convinced of the necessity and the proper mode of baptism, went into the woods to pray on the subject. While praying, a heavenly messenger—John the Baptist, descended in a cloud of light, laid his hands upon their heads, and ordained them saying—"Upon you my fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness." The messenger said that the Aaronic Priesthood had not power to lay on hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost, but that that power should afterwards be given, and he commanded these two persons to baptize each other, and then re-ordain each other, which they straightway did, and the Spirit of God came upon them, and they prophesied. They afterwards received the Melchisedec Priesthood, which has power to lay on hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and to administer in spiritual blessings.
Mr. W. Why did they re-ordain each other? Was not the ordination of the angel sufficient?
Elder B. There was no one on earth who had authority to baptize these two persons, therefore the angel conferred it upon them, that they might be qualified to baptize each other. They were required to re-ordain each other after baptism, doubtless for the same reason that Jesus was baptized—that they might fulfil the law of God in its proper order, as far as possible, and thus become patterns for those who might believe on their words.
Mr. W. Very likely.
Elder B. When the Book of Mormon was published, some who read it became convinced of its truth, and were baptized. On the 6th of April, 1830, a Church, consisting of six members, was organized at Fayette, Seneca county, New York. That Church was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The youth who was the instrument in bringing forth the book, and in organizing the Church, was Joseph Smith. The Church increased rapidly in numbers, and in the gifts of {59} the Spirit. In the fall of the year, several Elders went to the state of Ohio, preaching, and baptized hundreds, and also introduced the Gospel into all the states west of New York. In 1831, a settlement was formed in Lake county, Ohio, and another in Jackson county, Missouri. The Saints in Ohio built a Temple to the Lord, at Kirtland, at the completion of which, in 1836, the power and glory of God were manifested in a remarkable degree. In consequence of continued persecution the Ohio settlement was abandoned in the year 1838. The Saints in Missouri laid the foundation stone for a Temple, at Independence, Jackson county, on the 3rd of August, 1831. This Temple is not yet built. The Saints were driven by mob violence from Jackson county to Clay county, in 1833. Soon after, they were driven from Clay county to Caldwell and other counties. In the winter of 1838-9, the Saints were expelled, at the bayonet's point, from the state of Missouri. In these awful persecutions and drivings, neither age, sex, nor condition was spared from the most revolting brutality, such was the relentless cruelty of the enemies of the Saints. In 1839, they began to gather on the east bank of the Mississippi, in the state of Illinois, and commenced to build up the city of Nauvoo, and soon afterwards a noble Temple. The Temple was finished and dedicated in 1846. In 1837, Elders were sent on a mission to Britain, where they succeeded in baptizing multitudes. In 1843, Elders were sent to the Society Isles, where numerous converts were made. On the 27th of June, 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and his brother Hyrum, the Patriarch, were cruelly murdered by a mob, armed and disguised, in Carthage jail, twelve miles from Nauvoo, where these two men of God were thrown, for pretended crimes, and held for trial under the government pledge of personal safety. During his lifetime, Joseph Smith was embroiled in nearly fifty law-suits, yet was never legally convicted of any offence to the law of the land. In 1846, the Saints, again assailed by persecution, were compelled to quit Nauvoo. Fifteen thousand to twenty thousand people were obliged to vacate their dearly bought homes, travel across the vast prairies, and seek a home among the wild fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains. While in this condition, the government of the United States required the Saints to furnish a battalion of able-bodied men to aid in the Mexican war. This unjust requisition was complied with, and five hundred men were immediately enrolled, and sent to California, leaving their wives and families destitute in an Indian country. In July, 1847, a pioneer company of the Saints entered the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Setting {60} aside the incidental privations of a new settlement, especially under these circumstances, that and the surrounding valleys have ever since been the peaceable and prosperous home of the Saints. They are now organized as a territory of the United States. Cities have been built, lands improved, and a Temple two hundred feet long is in progress. During the last four years, flourishing missions have been established in France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Italy, Switzerland, Malta, Gibraltar, Hindostan, Australia, and the Sandwich Isles; and Elders have recently been sent to Siam, Ceylon, China, the West Indies, British Guiana, and Chili. The Latter-day Saints in Britain now number about thirty thousand. About twenty thousand have left these shores to go to the head quarters of the Church. Between two thousand and three thousand leave Britain annually, for the same destination. The Book of Mormon is published in English, Welsh, French, German, Italian, Danish, and Polynesian. The Doctrine and covenants of the Church is published in English, Welsh, and Danish. The following papers and periodicals are now in circulation—The "Deseret News," published semi-monthly, at Great Salt Lake City; the "Seer," monthly, at Washington, United States; the "Millennial Star," weekly, at Liverpool; the "Udgorn Seion," in Welsh, weekly, at Merthyr Tydfil; the "Skandinaviens Stierne," in Danish, semi-monthly, at Copenhagen; and "Le Reflecteur," in French, monthly, at Lausanne.
Mr. W. The Latter-day Saints have certainly made a most extraordinary and rapid progress, notwithstanding their persecutions. How many kinds of ministers are there in your Church?
Elder B. In the Church of Christ there are two Priesthoods—the Melchisedec, and the Levitical or Aaronic. The Melchisedec Priesthood is the higher Priesthood, and, as I said before, holds the power to administer in spiritual things. Apostles, Patriarchs or Evangelists, Seventies, High Priests, and Elders, are of this Priesthood. The Levitical Priesthood is the lesser Priesthood, and holds authority to administer in temporal things and outward ordinances. Bishops, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons are of this Priesthood. The Apostleship is the highest office in the Church, and can officiate in all ordinances and blessings, spiritual or temporal, and build up the kingdom of God. One of the Apostles is chosen to be Prophet, Seer, and Revelator to the Church, and he has authority to give revelations from God for the guidance of the whole Church. Since the organization of the Church, in 1830, this Prophet, Seer, and Revelator has been also the President {61} of the Church in all the world. The President is assisted by two Counsellors holding the Apostleship. These three constitute what is termed the First Presidency of the Church. The duty of a Patriarch is to bless the Saints with Patriarchal blessings. Twelve of the Apostles are organized as a Quorum, whose duty it is to travel in all the world, and introduce the Gospel, and regulate the affairs of the Church in their travels. These Twelve are of course subject to the First Presidency. One of the Twelve is President of the Quorum. There are about thirty-three Quorums of Seventies, seventy in each Quorum, as the name implies. Each Quorum of the Seventies has seven Presidents. One of these seven presides over his associates. The seven Presidents of the first Quorum preside over all the Quorums of Seventies. The duty of the Seventies is to travel in all the world, and introduce the Gospel, under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve. The High Priests constitute a Quorum, which has a President with two Counsellors. The duty of the High Priests is more particularly to preside. Twelve High Priests are chosen as the High Council of the Church. The duty of the High Council is to try the most serious offences against the laws of the Church. The Elders constitute a Quorum, which has a President with two Counsellors. An Elder has authority to preach the Gospel, baptize, lay on hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and to administer in spiritual blessings. All the officers above an Elder are also called Elders. The duty of a Bishop is to administer in the temporal affairs of the Church, and to sit as a judge upon transgressors. The duty of a Priest is to preach the Gospel, and administer in outward ordinances—such as baptism, and the Lord's supper, and to visit the members of the Church, and exhort them to faithfulness. The duty of a Teacher is to be as a father to the members, to watch over them continually, and see that there is no lying, backbiting, evil speaking, or iniquity of any kind, in the Church, and that all the members meet together often, do their duty, and live in love and union. The duty of the Deacon is to attend to the temporal well-being and comfort of the Church, and to assist the Teacher in his duties when necessary. The Priests, the Teachers, and the Deacons, each constitute a distinct Quorum, having its respective President, with his two Counsellors. The lesser offices of the Priesthood are all embodied in the higher, consequently an officer can minister in the duties of any office beneath him. Thus an Apostle can administer in the duties of High Priest, Elder, or Deacon.
{62} Mr. W. You have a most wonderful and elaborate organization.
Elder B. No other organization in the world is so complete, or so beautifully adapted "for the perfecting of the Saints, the work of the ministry, or the edifying of the body of Christ," which St. Paul declares to be the end of the Priesthood.
Mr. W. How was so minute a knowledge of the various offices and their duties obtained? It is not given in the Bible.
Elder B. Neither the Bible nor the Book of Mormon so particularly describe the offices of the Holy Priesthood, or so clearly define their duties. By revelation from God, and by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, was this glorious knowledge given in these last days.
Mr. W. It's passing strange! And yet I feel glad—I cannot but admire your system—But why do the Latter-day Saints leave their native land, and go to America? as I understand they do.
Elder B. In a few words I can show you the propriety of that principle. You know very well that righteousness has no fellowship with unrighteousness. The righteous and the wicked can never live in peace and harmony. The laws of God can never be fully obeyed while the people of God are scattered among the wicked. The separation of the people of God from the wicked has been a prominent feature in all dispensations. Salvation can never be realized without this separation. Abraham was commanded to go with his family to a land that he knew not. The children of Israel were commanded to gather out of the land of Egypt, to the land of Canaan, and be separate from their enemies. The Israelites ever considered their dispersion among the nations as a most signal sign of the displeasure of the Lord. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and said how often he would have gathered her children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but the stubborn Jews would not listen to him, consequently they were scattered among all nations, the most fearful curse that ever befell that people. They still look forward, with the strongest confidence, to their gathering again to Jerusalem and to Palestine, and regard that gathering as ample recompense for the long, dreary night of scattering which they are now passing through. And the Lord has promised that the wonders of the last gathering of His people shall totally eclipse, and banish from their minds, the wonders of the gathering from Egypt.—Jer. xvi. xxxi. When the Latter-day judgments are being sent among the wicked, does not St. John {63} say that a voice is to be heard from heaven—"Come out of her [Babylon-the wicked nations], my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues?"—Rev. xviii. 4. And Joel says, "In Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, shall be deliverance," in the last days.—Joel ii. 32. We know where Jerusalem is, and God has revealed that the Mount Zion of the last days is in America, and has also commanded His people to gather there, and prepare themselves to dwell in peace when Jesus Christ shall come. The Jews will return to Jerusalem by and bye. At your leisure, read Isaiah ii. v. xi. xliii. xlix. Zech. x. Ezek. xi. xx. xxxiii. Zeph. iii. Jer. xxxii. Many other passages might be named, but these prove that a mighty gathering of the people of God was to occur in the last days. It is now being fulfilled.
Mr. W. I will read the passages. But I have one thing more to name. I am told that the Latter-day Saints believe in a man's having more wives than one. This, if true, is opposed to my feelings, and to my ideas of propriety and morality. Is this doctrine believed in and practised by your people? If so, how can you reconcile it with Scripture and morality?
Elder B. This doctrine is believed in by the Latter-day Saints. It is practised by them in the Territory of Utah. There is no law there to forbid polygamy. But they do not practise it in England, or in any country where the law of the land forbids the practice. Your feelings, and your ideas of propriety and morality, are induced by your education. In this country, men and women are educated to believe that polygamy is flagrantly immoral, and nothing more or less than licentiousness. This is a most erroneous idea. There is an immense difference between a man's holding illegal and promiscuous intercourse with the other sex, for the pleasure of the moment only, regardless of consequences, and his legally marrying several wives, and honourably supporting them and their children. In the first case, there is a grave abuse of the sexual powers, and a grievous violation of the highest and holiest principles. In the second case, there is nothing of this kind, but merely an extensive development of those powers and principles. There is far less licentiousness in the East, where polygamy prevails, than in the West, where it is illegal. As regards Scripture, there is not a word in the Bible condemning polygamy, not a word. On the contrary, the most righteous men known in sacred history, advocated and practised this principle. Did God favour them the less on that account? Not a jot. He was the author of the principle. In certain instances, an Israelite could not obey the law of God, without {64} taking more wives than one. For example—a childless widow had legal claim on her deceased husband's brother, or nearest male relative, for the fulfilment of marital duties. If the brother or relative refused to fulfil these duties, he was publicly disgraced by the woman. Deut. xxv.
Mr. W. I acknowledge that there is an essential difference between the two cases you mention. But as respects the law in Israel, I thought that Jesus Christ did away with that.
Elder B. There is no record of his doing away with it. He said—"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the Prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Matt. v. 17.
Mr. W. But would not polygamy make the women jealous of each other?
Elder B. There is no cause for it. We are all redeemed by one Lord—should that make us jealous of each other? We are all the children of one heavenly Father—should that make us jealous? You have several children—should that make your first-born jealous of the others? Just as little cause exists for the association of jealousy with polygamy. Indeed it is calculated to dispel jealousy. For instance—In this country, three young women all love the same young man. Being rivals, it is quite natural to suppose that the young women, through their jealousy, hate each other in exact proportion as they love the young man, because they know that the law will not allow him to be married to them all, and consequently when one has obtained him the others have irrecoverably lost him. If polygamy were allowed, this jealousy would not exist, because a woman would know she could be married to any man she loved, if she could win his affection, which part of the business might be safely entrusted to her.
Mr. W. But what advantages would accrue through a man's having more wives than one.
Elder B. I have just told you one very great advantage—a woman could, without fear of rivalry, become the wife of the man on whom she had set the purest and warmest affections of her soul. She would not be compelled, as many are now, to throw herself away on some brute in human form, who would scarcely pass the honeymoon before he treated her worse than his cattle. Such wretches do not deserve a wife at all. But what are women to do? You can't unsex them. Women are women, after all, and they know they have a right to husbands and protectors. If they cannot get as good as they wish, they will get as good as they can. Therefore leave their choice free as to whom they shall have. A woman gives herself wholly and entirely, body and affections, to a man. She {65} ought surely to be allowed to bestow such a gift on whom she pleases. She ought certainly to choose whatever man she pleases to hold unlimited and sole control over her person and property. If this were more extensively the case, we should hear less of wife beating and wife murdering, accounts of which figure so conspicuously in our newspapers. Now polygamy would grant the advantage named, whereas monogamy is one of the greatest bars to the happiness of the female sex.
Mr. W. But would you have all men marry several wives each?
Elder B. That would not necessarily follow. It would be more likely that good men would each have several wives, and that bad men would find it difficult to get any wife to ill-use and beat. This would bring to men a reward and a punishment, in which the women would be proud to administer, and which would do more for their protection than all the legislative enactments in the world.
Mr. W. Well, I must think upon this subject. I certainly do not feel to object so much to it as I did before I named it to you.
Mary. [Mr. W.'s daughter.] Dinner's ready, please, father.
Mr. W. Then I suppose we must retire. You shall stay and have dinner with me, and then you shall be at liberty to attend to your business, as I think I shall have detained you long enough to day. By the bye, I have read the tract you lent me, I like it very well. I shall certainly go to your meetings, and hear a little more, and I will not promise you that I shall not be a Latter-day Saint yet, for I must say that your religion is more consistent with the Bible than any other which I have examined.
Elder B. You can't do better, sir, I assure you.
LIVERPOOL: PUBLISHED BY S. W. RICHARDS, 15, WILTON STREET, LONDON.
BY JOHN JAQUES, ELDER IN THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
The doctrine of Exclusive Salvation, or salvation by one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one method, one system, one Gospel, one Priesthood only; is at the present time an exceedingly unpopular doctrine. But popularity or unpopularity can never make truth error, nor error truth. If the doctrine of exclusive salvation be a false doctrine, world-wide popularity will never make it true. If, on the contrary, it be a true doctrine, the most crushing unpopularity will never destroy its immutability and truthfulness. The subject, then, should be investigated in the abstract, entirely independent of popularity or unpopularity. Let us rather call to our aid common sense, reason, and revelation. My object will be to show most clearly that exclusive salvation is a true, reasonable, and scriptural doctrine, that it is an absolute impossibility for a real Bible believer to entertain a contrary thought.
Ostensibly a great part of Christendom disavow exclusive salvation. But, if the point be pressed home, all sects must acknowledge the truth of the doctrine, or at once proclaim themselves false teachers, impostors, deluders, entirely destitute of the least shadow of legal authority to officiate as teachers of religion. One or other of these conclusions is inevitable.
I ask the Baptist minister, what induces him to occupy his time in preaching up a particular creed? Why not labor in the fields, or at some mechanical trade? He answers, he can be more usefully employed in preaching. I ask, of what use is his preaching? His answer must be, for the salvation of souls. But I may further remark, the established church is supposed to exist for the very purpose of saving souls; has colleges for to properly qualify persons to preach; has a church in nearly every village where salvation is supposed to be taught; has ministers who are paid, pensioned, salaried, for the express purpose of doing this necessary work of salvation. Why not leave the work of salvation to them altogether? Why interfere in their appointed and acknowledged {67} calling? His answer must be, his only answer can be, that the established church is not the true church; that its ministers have no true authority, and that they do not preach the true method of salvation; that his own Baptist church is the true church of Christ; that Baptist ministers are the true authorized preachers of salvation, and that they preach the true and only method of salvation. He cannot shrink from this. He is driven in a corner. There is no way of escape. He must either own his neighbor churchman a false teacher, and himself a true one, or confess himself a base, hypocritical impostor, having no authority whatever: a wretched wanderer to the depraved vitiated mental tastes and itching ears of a dishonest or deluded portion of the community. Thus he cannot deny the doctrine of exclusive salvation; he is pushed upon it, and it breaks him to pieces.
Some might be inclined to suggest the idea that both Episcopalian and Baptist churches are true, that the ministers of both churches have authority—equal authority, the one with the other. This is virtually condemning both parties. It is utterly impossible for two opposing churches of equal authority to be one true church, or part and parcels of the true church. No sane person could broach such an idea. Two conflicting principles can never become one principle, worlds without end. One principle must drop. If you tell me that two disagreeing sects have equal authority, I am bold to affirm that neither of them have any authority at all, and every sensible man will back my affirmation. Her Majesty, Victoria, is the true and rightful queen of England. Her claim is undoubted, her authority is indisputable. She reigns exclusively. Why? Because she is the nation's only true sovereign. It is the thing impossible for any other woman to have just claim to equal authority. The royal prerogative is vested solely in one person. No other person can have the slightest legal claim to it. So the true and legal authority and prerogative of salvation can be solely vested in one church. No other church can have the slightest lawful claim to it. The true Church may have many branches upon various portions of the earth's surface, but they must all be united, and subject to the Head.
Two true churches, two true creeds, two true preachers, differing from each other, contradicting each other, present an irreconcilable impossibility. It is perfectly senseless—monstrous—the wildest, most far-fetched idea that could be conceived. Its birthplace must have been "beyond the bounds of time and space." The simplest capacity, the narrowest {68} mind, can perceive at a glance the thorough unreasonableness of such an idea. Yet unreasonable as it is, senseless as it is, monstrous as it is, still it is a favourite point, a bright specimen of the wise folly of our "gospel blaze," Christendom. Can we wonder at the rapid spread of deism, atheism, infidelity, or unbelief, when we consider the foolish, nonsensical doctrines which are gravely taught in our day, with all the sanctity, longfacedness, impudence, and insolence, imaginable? Can we wonder the world is sick of religion? Is it strange that intelligent Roman Catholics should consider sectarianism a wicked soul-destroying heresy? What is the natural effect of men seeing an hundred opposing sects, all believing differently, teaching differently, and acting differently, yet at the same time taking one another by the hand as brothers, and with all gravity declaring to the world they have conjointly one faith, one hope, one calling? Why, the natural, the legitimate effect is, that straightforward thinking men will consider them all as so many arch deceivers, conniving at the accomplishment of party purposes, or grossly ignorant of what they affirm, and in either case their profession is a misnomer upon themselves. On the other hand: what is the natural effect upon clear-minded men of an hundred different sects, all calling themselves Christians, all believing in one Bible, one code of laws, all professing to be guided by one spirit; yet, at the same time, none teaching in accordance with the Bible, each one teaching contrary doctrines, each one governed by contrary laws, each one actuated by contrary spirit, each one openly declaring all the rest are false, and, of course, condemning them to eternal flames? Let us take the answer of Cobbett, "The natural, the necessary effect is, that many will believe that none of them have truth on their side, and, of course, that the thing is false altogether, and invented solely for the benefit of those who teach it, and who dispute about it." The French infidels knew full well there could be but one true religion; consequently, if forty were presented before them, thirty-nine must of necessity be false.
View it whichever way we will, the notorious inconsistency of sectarianism is singularly manifest. THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUE FAITH. Common sense, reason, and revelation establish the undeniable fact. It is, out of sheer necessity, an incontrovertible truth. A deist, or an atheist, is called all sorts of ill names, and his society considered pestiferous by professing Christians, because he will not associate the inconsistencies, confusions, and glaring contradictions of modern Christianity, with the beautiful, sublime, and magnificent idea of an overruling {69} Deity, possessing infinite power, wisdom and glory. Whilst these same professing Christians embrace with cordial affection those who credit the monstrous lie, the base calumny, the heaven-daring libel, that the Great Jehovah is the grand author of all this confusion. O folly! Fie, fie! Christendom!
The doctrine of exclusive salvation is an eternal principle, indestructible as the Throne of Jehovah. It existed before the first creation, has existed ever since, and will exist after the last creation. Were it not for this principle of exclusiveness there would be no law, no justice, no mercy, no order, no organization, no honor, no glory, no virtue; no reward, no punishment, no heaven, no hell; nothing to fear, nothing to hope. This earth would be as good as heaven, and Jehovah's throne no more to be desired than the prison-house of the damned. It is this very principle of exclusiveness that creates the difference between truth and error, between angels and devils, between salvation and damnation. It is this very principle that determines, with unerring certainty, every gradation between virtue and vice, between honour and dishonour, between glory and shame.
But now let us examine scripture evidence upon the subject of exclusive salvation. We will begin in the beginning, and trace downwards in the course of time.
The only way in which the harmony of heaven could be maintained was by rigid observance of the exclusive doctrine of perfect submission to the head. Lucifer, son of the morning, undertook to question the point. He was cast down. Others sided with him and shared his fate.
Adam was placed in the garden of Eden, where was everything that would please the eye, captivate the senses, or delight the heart. Jehovah revealed to him the doctrine of exclusive salvation: "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The only, the exclusive method of salvation proposed from sin, sorrow, and death, was this,—abstinence from the fruit from a particular tree. It was an irrevocable decree, by lawful authority, even the Eternal God. It mattered not what the devil said, what Eve said, or what any other personage said, however exalted his station or great his authority. The doctrine of exclusive salvation was given; it was true, it was faithful. The devil, wily and subtle, preached against exclusive salvation; said it was a false doctrine: "Ye shall not surely die." He deceived Eve; Eve persuaded Adam; Adam transgressed; the devil was proved a liar; Adam discovered by painful experience, and his posterity to this day are witnesses in themselves of the truth of the {70} doctrine of exclusive salvation. Thus it will be seen that it is a true doctrine, and the devil the opposer of it from the beginning.
But we must pass hastily through the scriptures. We have not space nor time to examine the testimony of the ancient worthies, the prophets, one by one, or we should discover that they all, without exception, preach the doctrine of exclusive salvation; who were sent to preach at all.
We come to Noah, the famous diluvian preacher of righteousness. One hundred and twenty years whilst the ark was building did Noah preach the doctrine of exclusive salvation. The only, the exclusive method of salvation prepared and appointed, was the ark. It was perfectly immaterial what other prophets or teachers might teach or believe. The doctrine of Noah was true, and God would authorize no one to preach any other contrary doctrine. Noah's doctrine was an exceedingly unpopular doctrine, if we may judge by his numerical success. The majority of mankind made light of it: "They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark." The terrific roar of the overflowing waters was a fearful testimony to the antediluvians, in favour of the doctrine of exclusive salvation.
Lot preached the doctrine of exclusive salvation; and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah experienced its truth to their utter dismay, consternation, and destruction.
Moses preached the doctrine of exclusive salvation, and the punishments consequent upon opposition to this doctrine were severely felt by the Egyptians at the Red Sea, by the Israelites in the wilderness, and by the Canaanites who fell before the children of Israel.
Looking up to the brazen serpent made by Moses, was the exclusive method of salvation from the deadly effects of the bite of the fiery serpents which the Lord sent.
Korah, Dathan, Abiram, Saul, Uzzah, and the prophets of Baal, can testify to the truth of this doctrine.
Naaman's indignant wrath, and haughty pride were all in vain; his servant persuaded him that the exclusive method of salvation from his leprosy consisted in obedience to the voice of God, even washing himself seven times in the river Jordan. No matter what Naaman or anybody else thought or said. Six washings in the river Jordan would not have availed anything, neither would seven washings in any other river but the river Jordan have produced the desired effect.
{71} Repentance at the preaching of Jonah, proved exclusive salvation to the Ninevites.
John the Baptist preached the doctrine of exclusive salvation: "And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth forth not good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire."
Jesus Christ preached the doctrine of exclusive salvation: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me. He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. There shall be one fold and one shepherd. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." Exclusive enough this. There were many Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes, in the days of Jesus, but their religions were not sufficiently exclusive: "Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
On the day of Pentecost, Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, preached the doctrine of exclusive salvation to men of every nation under heaven. Hear him: "Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Save yourselves from this untoward generation." Three thousand persons believed the word of exclusive salvation by Peter, and in token thereof were baptized the same day. The reader will recollect that these three thousand persons were not what are generally considered wicked sinners, but religious, devout men, who had proven their sincerity and faithfulness by coming up from all nations to Jerusalem, expressly "to worship." But their religion, their devotion, their worship was insufficient; it was not exclusive enough, and Peter had sufficient charity to boldly proclaim this. Sincerity in an individual is no proof that he is in the "right way." I might wish to go from Manchester to Edinburgh, but if I unwittingly started on the London road, with my back to Edinburgh, I should not reach the place of my destination, but every step I took would increase the distance between me and it. The only, the exclusive means by which I could reach Edinburgh, would be to travel on the road to Edinburgh.
{72} Hear Peter further: "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved."
Though Cornelius received the ministration of angels, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, he found that salvation was exclusive, and Peter commanded him to be baptized, in order that he might be saved.
The devils know the truth of the doctrine of exclusive salvation. Said one,—"Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?"
James preached the doctrine of exclusive salvation: "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
Jude preached the doctrine of exclusive salvation. "It was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves; sensual, having not the Spirit."
St. John preached the doctrine of exclusive salvation: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not of us. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone into the world. We are of God; He that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of truth, and the Spirit of error. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed; for he that biddeth him God speed, is partaker of his evil deeds."
Lastly, the apostle Paul firmly believed and strenuously contended for the doctrine of exclusive salvation. He knew it was the hope of the righteous, and the bulwark of heaven. {73} What does he say? "Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions amongst you: but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment, for it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions amongst you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul? For ye are yet carnal; for whereas, there is amongst you envying and strife, and divisions; are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul, and another I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal [A]? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
[Footnote A: For whilst one saith, I am of Wesley; and another says, I am of Luther; and another says, I am of Calvin; and another says, I am of Campbell, are ye not carnal? We have need to learn again the first principles of the gospel.]
"Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another: but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again. If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, {74} one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every kind of doctrine by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie and wait to deceive. That ye stand fast in one Spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel, when the Lord Jesus Christ shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy. Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine: continue in it; for in doing this thou shalt both save thy self and them that hear thee. This know, also, that in the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobates concerning the faith. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived; for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears: and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. They profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and to every good work reprobate."
With such an overwhelming flood of Scripture testimony in favour of salvation by one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one Priesthood, one Gospel, how does our blood boil within us, and our bosoms burn with indignation, when we recollect that teachers of religion, with the Bible in their hands, have the unblushing effrontery to promise us salvation by just what Lord, what faith, what baptism, what priesthood, what gospel we choose? And some have actually the infamous audacity to tell us that we can be saved without any priesthood or {75} any baptism at all! Oh, how have our eyes been blinded! How grossly we have been deceived! How awfully we have been deluded! How completely we have been "bewitched!" How horribly we have been imposed upon! How has the truth been turned into fables! How has the word of God been made of none effect through the traditions of men! "Our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit!"
Hear for yourselves, think for yourselves, judge for yourselves, act for yourselves, and then you will know for yourselves that every prophet that came with the "Burden of the word of the Lord," preached EXCLUSIVE SALVATION.
Why, the very presence of a new prophet argued that all the people were "gone astray." The very presence of a prophet of the Lord always did, and always will, involve the salvation or damnation of the people to whom he is sent. Jehovah does not trifle with men, but expects to be heard and obeyed through his servants the prophets.
The Lord never did send two or more contradictory messages to any people. It is thoroughly inconsistent with his character and perfections. When two men profess to have been sent by the Lord to the same people with conflicting messages, it is a certain truth that one or both of them are false teachers, impostors, wicked designing men, feeding and fattening on the credulity of the people. The message which any true prophet brings is always an exclusive message. It is approbation or condemnation. It proves a saviour or life unto life, or of death unto death. There is no middle course. The people must receive or reject it. If received, it will prove their exclusive salvation. If rejected, it will prove their exclusive damnation. There is no alternative. It is a stern law of necessity. A truth that proves itself without reason, and without argument. If a people to whom Jehovah sends a message have power to receive or reject that message with impunity, they are not accountable creatures. Jehovah has no power over them. They are his equals. And who thinks of rendering homage to their equals, especially when those equals send a message to us requiring our implicit submission, filled with terrible denunciations in case of our refusal? No one, certainly. We should treat the message and its authors with perfect contempt.
In precisely a similar condition, do the opposers of the doctrine of exclusive salvation place the all-powerful Jehovah.
If Wesleyan Methodism be true; if Wesleyan Methodist preachers be sent of God; then every other form of religion {76} is a gross imposture, and all other preachers are false teachers, crafty deluders, having no authority whatever from God. Every man who does not become a real Wesleyan Methodist must be damned, and every one who does become a real Wesleyan Methodist must be saved.
On the contrary, if the Roman Catholic church be the true church; if Roman Catholic priests be sent of God; then Wesleyan Methodism, then "Mormonism," and every other ism is false; then Wesleyan Methodist preachers, and all other preachers are false teachers; if we believe their words it will not save us; if we reject their messages we shall not be damned, If the Roman Catholic religion be true, we cannot be saved without becoming Roman Catholics, and we must be damned if we do not become Roman Catholics. No other religion will save us or avail us one jot, and no other religion can condemn us. If the Roman Catholic religion be false, we cannot possibly be saved by it; neither can we possibly be condemned by it. It is altogether powerless: it is worse than useless.
God never did, and never will save a single soul by means of a false religion, or through the medium of false prophets. He will not give the glory and power of salvation to imposters: or impostures: but he will judge all the world by that system, that Gospel, that Priesthood, that man which He has ordained, and by no other. When the works of false religions and false prophets are presented before the bar of God, the great Judge of all the earth will say—Who hath required this at your hands? Depart from Me ye cursed; I never knew you. Then if not before, will all know for themselves the truth of the doctrine of exclusive salvation. Then will it be manifest that those authorized of God, and those alone, have power to bind one earth and bind in heaven, to loose on earth and loose in heaven. Salvation will be confined exclusively to those who obeyed the warning voice of the duly empowered servants of God, and damnation will be poured out exclusively upon those who rejected the warning voice of those servants. What, then, becomes of Sectarianism? It will be blasted to the four winds of heaven. It will crumble to dust before the majestic march of Eternal Truth. It will be swallowed up in the victorious triumph of the Kingdom and Sons of God. Amen.
Published by F. D. Richards, 15 Wilton Street, Liverpool.
BY LORENZO SNOW,
ONE OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
"He that judgeth a matter before he heareth it, is not wise."
There are certain principles established of God, which, being understood and observed, will put men in possession of spiritual knowledge, gifts, and blessings. In early ages of the world, also in the days of the apostles people came into possession of spiritual powers and various privileges, by obtaining an understanding of, and faithfully attending to, certain rules which the Lord established: as, for instance, Abel, obtaining information that offering up sacrifices was an order instituted of God, through which men might receive blessings, he set himself to work, observed the order, and performed the sacrifice, whereby he obtained glorious manifestations of the Most High. Again, when the Antediluvians had corrupted themselves, and the time arriving at which destruction was coming upon them, the Lord revealed a course whereby the righteous might escape; accordingly, all who understood and observed that course, were sure to realize the blessing promised. Joshua, before obtaining possession of Jericho, had to observe certain steps appointed of God. The steps having been properly taken, according to commandment, the object immediately fell into his possession. Another instance—the case of Naaman, captain of the Syrian host—it appears, that being afflicted with the leprosy, and hearing of Elisha, the prophet, he made application to him for the removal of that affliction. The prophet, having the Holy Ghost upon him, which is the Mind of God, informed him that, by washing in Jordan's water's seven times, he might be restored. At first, Naaman thought this too simple and was displeased, and disposed not to conform—not to make use of means so simple. After due consideration, however, humbling himself, he went forth, complying with the rules; when, lo! the blessing directly followed. Under the Mosaic dispensation, forgiveness of sins was obtained {78} upon the same principle as those blessings were to which I have alluded. An animal was to be carried before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, by the individual wishing to obtain forgiveness of sins; it was then to be offered up in a particular manner; this being done, the promised blessing immediately followed.
When the Gospel dispensation was introduced, gifts and blessings were obtained upon similar principles—that is, upon obedience to certain established rules. The Lord still marked out certain acts, promising to all those who would do them, certain peculiar privileges; and when those acts were performed—observed in every particular—then the blessings promised were sure to be realized. Some vainly imagine that, under the Gospel dispensation, gifts and blessings are obtained, not by external observances, or external works, but merely through faith and repentance, through mental operations, independent of physical. But, laying aside the traditions, superstitions, and creeds of men, we will look to the word of God, where we shall discover that external works, or outward ordinances, under the Gospel dispensation, were inseparably connected with inward works, such as faith and repentance. In proof of this, I introduce the following observations:—The Savior says, "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Again, he says, "He that heareth my words, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a man that built his house upon a rock." And, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Likewise, he says, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."—John iii. 5. These sayings of our Savior require men to perform external works in order to receive their salvation.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter says to the surrounding multitude—"Repent and be baptized, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." In this prophetic statement, we learn that people were to perform an external work (baptism in water) in order that they might receive the remission of sins, and afterwards the gift of the Holy Ghost. But, before attending to the outward work, the inward work must be performed—faith and repentance. Faith and repentance go before baptism, and baptism before the remission of sins and the reception of the Holy Ghost. Hence, we see the useless and unscriptural practice of baptizing infants. They cannot exercise faith and repentance, qualifications necessary previous to baptism; then, why require the outward work?
{79} Some suppose they must obtain religion before they are baptized, but the Savior and apostles teach us to be baptized in order to get religion.
Some deem it wrong to number baptism among the essential principles ordained of God, to be attended to in obtaining remission of sins. In reply, we say that the Savior and apostles have done so before us, therefore we feel obligated to follow their example. The destruction of the Antediluvian world by water was typical of receiving remission of sins through baptism. The earth had become clothed with sin as with a garment; the righteous were brought and saved from the world of sin, even by water; the like figure, even baptism, doth now save us, says Peter (1 Peter iii. 21), by the answer of "a good conscience toward God." Noah and his family were removed, and disconnected from sins and pollutions, by means of water; so baptism, the like figure, doth now remove our souls from sins and pollutions, through faith on the great atonement made upon Calvary. Many express surprise that such blessings should be had through baptism. Naaman, when told to wash in Jordan seven times, was equally surprised; but, trying the experiment, he found the word of God to be true; his leprosy, his physical pollution, was thereby removed, and was typical of the removal of spiritual pollutions in the Gospel dispensation, by baptism in water, through faith and repentance. Through the means of water Naaman, we have seen, obtained a miraculous blessing; also the blind man, whom the Savior directed to Wash in the pool of Siloam, received his sight by means of water.
The Savior, after coming out of the river Jordan, received the Holy Ghost. These examples show clearly that water has been appointed a medium through which heavenly blessings are obtained. "Be baptized," says Peter, "for the remission of sins."—Acts ii. 38. Ananias says to Saul (Acts xxii. 16), "Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins." In the city of Samaria, the people baptized by Philip, it is said, rejoiced. They rejoiced because of the remission of their sins, through baptism; so, also, in the case of the Eunuch (Acts viii. 39), after coming out of the water, having obtained remission of his sins, his conscience becoming void of offence toward God, he was enabled to go on his way rejoicing.
Be baptized, says Peter, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost. To obtain the gift of the Holy Ghost is to obtain religion. Faith and repentance were to go before baptism, but remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost were to follow this ordinance. Every unprejudiced {80} mind can see that this is in perfect agreement with the saying of our Savior, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God." If religion were promised before baptism in water, our Savior would have said, born of Spirit and of water (see John iii. 5); but he said, "Except ye be born of water and of the Spirit." "What God has joined together," the Scripture says, "let no man put asunder;" but we put asunder this order of things, when we say a man must be born of Spirit, then of water, or must get religion—-get the Holy Ghost—and then be baptized.
Peter (Acts ii.) preached the same order of things as above mentioned, when he said, "Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost"—that is, be "born of water," then he shall be "born of Spirit." Paul himself, though he had a vision of the Lord Jesus, yet received not the Holy Ghost; he did not receive religion, until he had washed his sins away through baptism, as administered by Ananias. There is one instance, and but one, where the Holy Ghost was given before baptism—I mean, in the Apostolic dispensation. Cornelius and his friends, who had assembled together to hear the message from Peter, received the Holy Ghost previous to baptism—Acts x. 44. This was done, however, to convince Peter that the Gentiles had a right to receive Gospel privileges. Cornelius and his friends were Gentiles, and Peter would not have baptized them, unless he had first seen the power of God resting upon them. He looked upon the Gentiles as heathen, and too wicked and sinful to receive Gospel privileges with the people of God—the Jewish nation. He did not imagine they were to receive the Holy Ghost, and thereby be prepared to sit down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Jewish prophets; but, when he saw the Holy Ghost resting upon them, being astonished, he immediately exclaimed—"Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized?" He then commanded them to be baptized. This receiving the Holy Ghost before baptism, was an exception to a general rule, and arose from peculiar circumstances, as I have shown. God, if he sees fit, can depart from a general rule, and confer blessings; but man has not this privilege; he must observe the order laid down, or he can have no claim upon the promise. After Elisha had laid down the order whereby Naaman could obtain removal of his leprosy, God, if He had chosen, could have removed it in some other way; but, at the same time, Naaman could not have claimed the blessing until he had taken the course marked out.—See 2nd Kings, chap 5. If we will observe {81} the order of the Gospel, a promise is left us, we shall have its blessings, otherwise we have no claims to urge; and it is worse than folly for men to say, "Lord, Lord," and do not His commandments.
It is plainly manifest that external works must be attended to, as well as faith and repentance, in order to receive Gospel privileges.
Baptism in water, forming a part of the Gospel of Christ, we notice therefore, that the servants of God, in early ages, were very particular in attending to its administration; also, it is evident, that unless peculiar blessings actually were experienced, through baptism, they would have neglected enforcing its observance. If, as some suppose, that faith, repentance, and prayer answer the purpose, in receiving the fulness of Gospel privileges, then it is very evident that baptism was a vain and useless work, and had no need to be observed. Naaman would have been performing a vain and foolish work, when washing seven times in Jordan's waters, had it been in his power to have been recovered from his affliction merely through faith, repentance, and prayer. Also, Noah and his family were very foolish in performing an external work, in building an ark, provided they could have obtained the same blessing through faith, repentance and prayer. Furthermore, the Israelites, could they have obtained forgiveness of sins through faith, repentance, and prayer; it would have been folly in them to offer up animals for that purpose. So also under the Gospel dispensation, the three thousand people, on the day of Pentecost, who were baptized in one day, were very unwise and foolish in submitting to the trouble of baptism, provided the same blessings could have been realized by exercising only faith, repentance, and prayer. The Eunuch would not have alighted from his carriage, and accompanied Philip into the water, if nothing had been required in receiving Gospel blessings but inward works; neither would Ananias have commanded Saul to arise and be baptized, washing away his sins, unless he had known assuredly that baptism, an outward work, must necessarily accompany the inward works of faith and repentance, in order that Saul might come into and obtain possession of Gospel privileges. Paul would not have baptized those twelve men, alluded to in Acts xix., if mental operations could have given them the gift of the Holy Ghost (lst Cor. i. 14); neither would he have baptized the household of Stephanas, also Crispus and Gaius, and permitted Apollos to water or baptize those whom he planted or enlightened (lst Cor. iii. 6), unless baptism had been absolutely essential to {82} receiving Gospel privileges; nor would Peter, when speaking of Noah and family being saved by water, have said—"The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us" (lst Pet. iii. 12); nor would Christ have said—"Except ye are born of water and of the Spirit ye cannot enter the kingdom of God." I might multiply proofs of this kind, but sufficient has already been said in proof that baptism is absolutely necessary with faith and repentance.
We will now occupy a moment in endeavoring to obtain a proper view of the mode in which baptism was administered. It is quite evident that there was but one way or mode in which this ordinance was to be administered, and that mode was explained to the apostles, and strictly adhered to in all their administrations. In order that we may obtain a proper notion of this subject, it will be necessary to refer to the circumstances under which baptism was administered.
It says of John, that he baptized at Aenon, "because there was much water there;" then, if sprinkling had been the mode, we can hardly suppose he would have gone to Aenon, because there was much water at that place: for a very little water indeed would have sprinkled all Judea, which he could have obtained without having performed a journey to Aenon. We are told, also, that he baptized in Jordan, and after the ordinance was administered to our Savior, he came up out of the water, expressly signifying that he had been down into the water, in order that the ordinance might be administered in a proper manner. Again, it speaks of the Eunuch, that he went down into the water with Philip, and then came up out of the water. Now, it must be acknowledged, by every one who makes any pretensions to reason and consistency, that had sprinkling a little water on the forehead answered the purpose, then those persons never would have gone into the water to receive the ordinance. Paul, in writing to the Saints, gives us a plain testimony in favour of immersion—(2nd Col. 12th verse; also, 6th Romans, 4th verse). That apostle states there, that the Saints had been buried with Christ by baptism.
It is plainly evident they could not have been buried by baptism, without having been entirely overwhelmed or covered in water. An object cannot be said to be buried when any portion of it remains uncovered; so, also, a man is not buried in water by baptism unless his whole person is put into the watery element. This explanation of the apostle, upon the mode of baptism, very beautifully corresponds with that given by our Savior—"Except ye be born of water," &c. To be born of a thing signifies being placed in that thing, and emerging {83} or coming forth from it; to be born of water must also signify being placed in the womb of waters, and being brought forth again. I trust sufficient has already been said to convince every reasonable and unprejudiced mind that immersion was the mode in which the ordinance of baptism was administered in the early days of Christianity, when the Gospel was proclaimed in its purity and fulness; therefore, I will close my observations upon this point.
We learn, from 6th Hebrews, that the laying on of hands was enumerated among the principles of the Gospel. It is known by all, that this ordinance, as well as baptism for the remission of sins, by immersion, is quite neglected at the present day in the Christian churches; a few remarks, therefore, upon this subject I hope will prove profitable. We have several instances where Christ laid his hands upon the sick and healed them; and, in his commission to the apostles, last chapter of Mark, he says—"These signs shall follow them that believe;" "they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." &c. Ananias laid his hands on Saul, who immediately received his sight, after this ordinance was administered. Paul, when shipwrecked upon the island of Melita, laid his hands upon the father of Publius, the governor of the island, and healed him of a fever. These few remarks show clearly that laying on of hands has been appointed of God to be a medium through which heavenly blessings may be obtained.
Although the healing of the sick was connected with the administration of this ordinance, yet, when we pursue the subject further, we shall discover that a still greater blessing was connected with this ordinance. We are told that, in the city of Samaria, men and women had been baptized by Philip, which caused great rejoicing in those baptized. They probably were rejoicing in consequence of having received remission of sins, through faith, repentance, and baptism, and of receiving some portion of the Holy Spirit of God, which naturally followed them, after having obtained the answer of a good conscience, by the remission of their sins. Through this portion of the Holy Spirit, which they came in possession of, they began to see the kingdom of God. For, it will be recollected that our Savior has declared that no man can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again; and, in the verse following, he says he cannot enter into it except he is born twice; first of water, then of the Spirit. Now, those people in Samaria had been born of water—they had received the first birth, therefore, they were in a state of seeing the kingdom of God, of contemplating, with the eye of faith, its various blessings, {84} privileges, and glories; but, as they had not been born the second time—that is, of the Spirit—they had not entered into the kingdom of God—they had not entered into possession of Gospel privileges in their fulness. When the apostles at Jerusalem heard of the success of Philip, they sent Peter and John to Samaria, for the purpose of administering the laying on of hands. Accordingly, when they arrived in Samaria, they laid their hands upon those that had been baptized, and they received the Holy Ghost. Simon the sorcerer, perceiving the Holy Ghost was given through the laying on of hands, offered the apostles money of they would confer upon him the authority of administering that sacred ordinance; so it is plainly evident that those people in Samaria were born of the Spirit, were introduced into the Gospel—kingdom into possession of Gospel privileges—by means of the laying on of hands. We will adduce another instance of the kind. It is found recorded in Acts xix. Paul, we are told there, found twelve brethren at Ephesus, upon whom he laid his hands, and they received the Holy Ghost immediately—viz., through this ordinance they were born spiritually into the kingdom of God; for previous to this they had seen the kingdom of God, having been born of water only.
This, then, was the Gospel order in the days of the apostles—belief on Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. When this order was understood, and properly attended to, power, gifts, blessings, and glorious privileges followed immediately; and, in every age and period, when these steps are properly attended to, and observed in their proper place and order, the same blessings are sure to follow; but, when neglected, either wholly or in part, there will be either an entire absence of those blessings or a great diminishing of them. Christ, in his commission to the apostles, speaks of some supernatural gifts that those received who yielded obedience to this order of things.—See Mark, last chap. Paul (1 Cor. xii.) gives a more full account of the various gifts that attended the fulness of the Gospel: he mentions nine of them, and informs us they are the effects or fruits of the Holy Ghost. Now, the Holy Ghost was promised unto all, even as many as the Lord should call.—See Acts ii. This gift being unchangeable in its nature and operations, and being inseparately connected by promise with this scheme or order of things, it becomes reasonable, consistent, and Scriptural to anticipate the same gifts and blessings; and if Noah, after having built the Ark, could claim and obtain his temporal {85} salvation according to promise; or Joshua, having compassed Jericho the number of times mentioned, could go up on her prostrated walls and make captive her inhabitants; or the Israelites, having offered up the sacrifices commanded, could then, as promised, receive forgiveness of their sins; or Naaman, after having complied with the injunction of Elisha, in washing seven times in Jordan's waters, could demand and obtain his recovery; or, lastly, the blind man, after having washed in the pool of Siloam, if he could then claim and realize the promised reward, then, I say, with propriety and consistency, that whenever a man will lay aside his prejudice, sectarian notions, and false traditions, and conform to the whole order of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then there is nothing beneath the celestial worlds that can prevent his claiming and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and all the blessings connected with the Gospel in the apostolic age. To obtain religion that will save us in the presence of God, we must obtain the Holy Ghost, and, in order to obtain the Holy Ghost, we must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, then repent of our sin (that is, forsake them), then go forward and be immersed in water for the remission of sins, then receive the laying on of hands. But there is one thing which I have not noticed and it is something of great importance. What I allude to is, that concerning the authority of administering the ordinances of baptism and laying on of hands. Unless they are administered by one who is actually sent of God, the same blessings will not follow. The apostles and seventies were ordained by Jesus Christ to administer in the ordinances of the Gospel, through which the gifts and blessings of the eternal worlds were to be enjoyed. Hence, Christ, says to the Apostles, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they shall be remitted; and whose soever sins ye retain, they shall be retained:" that is, every man that would come, in humility, sincerely repenting of his sins, and receive baptism from the apostles, should have his sins forgiven through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, and through the laying on of hands should receive the Holy Ghost; but those that would refuse receiving this order of things from the apostles would have their sins remain upon them. In view of this, Paul says—"We are savours of life unto life, or of death unto death." He was a minister of life unto those who received the Gospel, which he had authority to administer—but a minister of death to those refusing compliance. This power and authority of administering the Gospel was conferred upon others by the apostles, so that the apostles were not the only ones who held this responsible office. And every man, in every {86} age, who holds the authority of administering the fulness of the Gospel, becomes, in this respect, like the apostles, viz., a messenger of life unto life, or of death unto death, according as his message shall be received or rejected. Now, until some one can be found that holds an office like this—some one having authority to baptize and lay on hands—no one is under any obligation to receive those ordinances, nor need he expect the blessings, unless they have been administered legally.
It is very evident that the authority of administering in Gospel ordinances has been lost for many centuries; for no man can have this authority, except he receive it by direct revelation—either by the voice of God, as Moses did, or by the ministering of angels, as John the Baptist received his message, or by the gift of prophecy, as Paul and Barnabas received theirs.—Acts xiii. 2. Now, it is plain that men have denied immediate revelation for many hundred years past, consequently have not received it, and therefore could not have been sent of God to administer in the fulness of the Gospel. God never sends a man on business, except He reveal himself to that man—never sends a man with a message (in other words), unless he reveal that message to him in a direct manner. The church established by the apostles gradually fell away, wandered into the wilderness, and lost her authority (her priesthood), and, departing from the order of God, she lost, also, her gifts and graces; she transgressed the laws, and changed the ordinances of the Gospel; changed immersion into sprinkling, and quite neglected laying on of hands; despised prophecy, and disbelieved in signs following.—(Rev. xii. 6, Isaiah xxiv. 5.) In consequence of this, the Gentiles have been cut off from the fulness of Gospel privileges, as Paul said to them in Rom. xi. 22—"If you continue not in the goodness of God, you also shall be cut off."
John, in his Revelations, having seen and spoken of the wandering of the church into darkness, and the beast, the Gentiles making war against the Saints and overcoming them (xiii. 7), speaks, in chap. xiv. 6, 7, of the restoration of the Gospel—"I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth." So it is evident that prophecy was to be fulfilled at some time previous to our Savior's second advent.
That those into whose hands this Tract may fall be without excuse in the great and coming day of the Lord, I now bear testimony, having the highest assurance, by revelation from God, that this prophecy has already been fulfilled, that an Angel from God has visited man in these last days, and restored that {87} which has long been lost, even the priesthood,—the keys of the kingdom,—the fulness of the everlasting Gospel—and commanded men to cry, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him;" to call upon the wise virgins (Matt. xxv. 6) to arise from their slumber, be baptized for the remission of sins, that they might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and thereby "trim up their lamps," and thus be prepared to stand when the Bridegroom shall appear, for, saith Malachi iii. 2, "Who may abide the day of his coming? Who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap." Answer, those that now repent of their sins, and receive the message God is sending, those that will forsake their false traditions, and come out from under the blighting and benighting influence of a hireling priesthood whom God has not sent, and with whom he is not well pleased. I say, and now bear testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, that the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has sent me to say unto you, "Come out of her, I ye people of God, O ye wise virgins, or else you must partake of her iniquities, and you must receive of her plagues."—Rev. xviii. 4. I say, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost having borne witness, that the anger of God is kindled against the abominations, hypocrisy, and wickedness of the religious world, and from the heavens has he uttered his voice in anger against those who "divine for money and teach for hire;" and unless they speedily repent, and be baptized for the remission of their sins, receiving the message the Almighty is now sending unto all people, they will be destroyed by the brightness of the coming of the Son of Man, which is now at hand—even at your doors—O ye inhabitants of the earth!
Liverpool, England.
BY PRESIDENT GEORGE Q. CANNON, IN THE JUVENILE INSTRUCTOR.
Strangers ask many questions about the Temple. They want to know how it will be used and for what purpose, and they cannot understand why we attach such importance to that building. Perhaps some of our young people may have similar thoughts. But the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. Several have already been built, and doubtless many more will in course of time be erected—in fact, as the Saints increase in numbers the need for these buildings will increase also. In them ordinances are administered by means of which God has promised to those who are faithful.
It has been a subject of frequent inquiry in Christendom as to what the fate of the heathen would be. The general belief was that there were but two places after death to which men and women would go, one being heaven and the other hell.
The Bible says that there is no other name given under heaven whereby man can be saved than that of Jesus.
Now, as the heathen never heard the name of Jesus, what will be their fate in eternity? How can they get to heaven under such circumstances? If they cannot, the question arises, would it be just to condemn people for not obeying laws of which they had never heard; for not doing something which they had never been told how to do or that it was necessary should be done?
Yet there are many men who profess to be ministers of Jesus who state that the heathen will be sent to hell. This doctrine has made many people infidels. They could not believe that any being could be merciful or just who would thus punish innocent people with eternal torment for not obeying laws of which they had never heard. They, therefore, rejected all the teachings and all the beliefs of those who taught such ideas.
The Prophet Joseph Smith received many important revelations in the early days of the Church concerning these matters. Among other revelations which he received was one {89} which explained that there were more than two places to which the souls of men were consigned after death; and that it was erroneous to teach the doctrine commonly believed in by Christendom that there were only two. That revelation taught that there were different degrees of glory to which the inhabitants of the earth were consigned, and that men and women would receive rewards and punishments according to the deeds done in the body. Some men were more righteous than others, and they would receive a greater reward. Some men would be more wicked than others, and they would receive punishment according to their crimes.
Then the Lord also revealed to His Prophet a doctrine which is set forth in the scriptures, but which the world could not understand. It was that the gospel of Jesus is preached after death to those who die in ignorance of it, and to those who having heard it, had rejected it and had been punished therefor. The Apostle Peter sets forth in great plainness this doctrine when he said:
"By which also he (Jesus) went and preached to the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah."
Noah had declared to them how they could be saved, but they had rejected his words, and they were destroyed. Their spirits were committed to a prison which the Lord had prepared for them, and there they remained in torment, being punished for their great wickedness, until the crucifixion of the Savior. After His Spirit left His body He went and opened the prison doors to them and declared to them the gospel of salvation. They then had the opportunity of repenting. And thus it is, as we are taught, in this dispensation, the Elders of this Church are engaged, while in the spirit world awaiting their resurrection, in preaching to the millions of human beings who once lived upon this earth, but who died in ignorance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They preach to them as living Elders now hope, this heavenly message which comes to them freighted with so many glorious promises, and feeling humble and contrite they receive the truths which they are taught and live as best they can according to the light given to them.
But baptism is as necessary in its place as faith and repentance.
How can they be baptised?
This is not possible in the condition in which they are placed, but the Lord has provided means. He has revealed that living, men and women can be baptized for those who are {90} dead. If a man's father died in ignorance of the Gospel, the son can be baptized for and in behalf of the father. If a woman's mother never heard the Elders or never obeyed the Gospel in the flesh, she can go forth and be baptized in the temple for and in behalf of her mother. Hands can be laid upon the head of the living person, and he or she can be confirmed and the Holy Spirit be sealed upon them for and in behalf of the dead.
The Lord has taught that this can be done under proper circumstances in the temples which may be erected in Zion or in any of her Stakes. Therefore in the Temple at Salt Lake as well as in the other temples, there is a font resting upon twelve oxen, three looking to the north, three to the south, three to the east and three to the west, and in this font the holy ordinance of baptism can be administered to living people for and in behalf of their dead relatives and ancestors. This is one of the purposes for which temples are required, and not only are baptisms and the laying on of hands administered for the dead, but other ordinances are also administered, it being just as necessary that those who have died and have not received these ordinances should receive them as it is that the living should receive them. It requires the same obedience and submission to the laws of the Lord on the part of one class as on the part of another. If any one could have been saved without obedience to these principles, surely our Savior, the Son of God, could have been. He had committed no sin, and it might be asked why should He be baptized, for baptism is for the remission of sins. But the Savior respected the law of the Gospel and obeyed the ordinances thereof, and when John, feeling his own unworthiness, remonstrated with Him about His coming to be baptized, Jesus replied: "Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness."
We shall of necessity be a temple-building people, because there is an immense work to be done for the redemption of the dead. Millions have been born and have died between the time the Gospel was taken from the earth and the time of this restoration in these days. These millions will have to be officiated for, and this will doubtless form one of the chief labors of the people of God during the thousand years of peace which we are approaching, when Satan will be bound and righteousness will reign throughout the earth. We are on the threshold of that great era, and we have every assurance that that blessed period is not far distant. The prophet Malachi in speaking of the latter days, makes the following prediction:
{91} "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
The angel Moroni in speaking to the Prophet Joseph Smith in reference to this prediction of Malachi's uses a little different language. He quotes Malachi as saying:
"And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers; if it were not so, the whole world would be utterly wasted at his coming."
Now as soon as the people hear the Gospel preached by the Elders, they naturally inquire, "What has become of my father and my mother? They were good people, but they died without being baptized. What will be their fate?" In this way they fulfill the words of Malachi.
That spirit has filled the hearts of all the Latter-day Saints, that is, of all who are true Latter-day Saints. They want to have their ancestors saved as well as themselves. Their hearts naturally, therefore, turn to their kindred who are dead, and in the temples now built they can officiate for them as fast as they can obtain their names. In this way they become saviors as the prophet Obadiah said they should.
And there can be no doubt concerning the heart of the fathers being turned to the children. It is easy to imagine that the spirits who hear and accept the Gospel when it is preached in the spirit world by men in authority are exceedingly anxious to receive the blessings bestowed upon those who obey baptism, laying on of hands and other ordinances. Therefore their heart turns to their children, and thus the words of the prophet Malachi are fulfilled.
The prophet Elijah has appeared, as Malachi said he should, and fulfilled the prediction upon that point. In Section 110 of the Book of Covenants the record is to be found concerning his appearance in the Temple at Kirtland. He came to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in that temple, and used these words:
"Behold the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors."
PREDICTIONS UTTERED BY HIM AND THEIR SIGNAL FULFILMENT.
HIS PROPHETIC POWER ESTABLISHED BY THE SCRIPTURAL RULE.
A Lecture delivered by Elder Andrew Jenson before the Students' Society in the Social Hall, Salt Lake City, Friday Evening, January 16, 1891.
I will take for my text the following words of the Prophet Moses spoken to the children of Israel while they were journeying in the wilderness of Arabia.
"The prophet who shall presume to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak * * * even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart: How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken; but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him." Deut. xviii: 20-22.
The passage which I have read may be taken as a key by which to distinguish a true prophet from a false one. The first definition of the word prophet, according to the standard dictionaries is, "one who prophesies; one who foretells future events; a predicter; a foreteller; a seer." In this light we shall proceed to test the claims of Joseph Smith, whom the Latter-day Saints claim to be the great Prophet of the Nineteenth Century. We claim for him that he was visited by holy beings, who restored to him the fulness of the gospel of {93} Jesus Christ, with authority to administer in all the ordinances of the same; that he received from the angel Moroni certain gold plates that had been hidden in the earth for fourteen hundred years, and that he translated the engravings upon these plates into the English language by the gift and power of God, the result of which was the Book of Mormon. We further claim that he organized the Church of Christ once more upon the earth, and that he received by direct revelation a code of laws and commandments by which to govern the affairs of that Church, according to the original pattern given by Jesus and His Apostles eighteen hundred years ago. We further claim that it is of the utmost importance for all people who desire eternal salvation, to know whether these things are true or not. If Joseph Smith is what he professed to be: A true Prophet of God, no one can reject his testimony without being condemned; while on the other hand, if he was an impostor, or a false prophet, we can reject him without fear of Divine punishment, and the condemnation will rest upon the man who assumes to speak in the name of the Lord presumptuously. In this lecture I shall confine myself to his prophetic and inspired utterances by proving their fulfilment and truthfulness mostly from a historic standpoint.
JOSEPH'S FIRST VISION.
One of the first declarations made by Joseph Smith, when he was only a boy between fourteen and fifteen years of age, was, that the whole Christian world had gone astray, and that the true Church of Christ was not to be found upon the earth. What a startling declaration! Could anything be more presumptuous on the part of a common uneducated farmer's boy than such as assertion? Preachers of the various denominations in the neighborhood where the boy resided became exasperated and at once denounced him as an impostor or a fraud. This boy had seen nothing of the world, save the tract of country in Vermont, where he was born, and the western wilds of the State of New York, where he now resided with his parents. He had perhaps never been even introduced to any of the prominent divines of the day, who had never crossed the threshold of any important institution of learning, who had never thoroughly examined the creed of any one denomination, much less having a knowledge of them all, who had never crossed the ocean to acquaint himself with the great learning of Europe, with its thousands of preachers and its universities and institutions of learning. What did he know {94} about the creeds and organizations existing among the millions of Christians in Europe and America, thus to denounce them all without further ceremony. Why, even Luther, the great reformer of the sixteenth century, with his profound learning and thorough knowledge of the Catholic creed, did not denounce the Roman Catholic Church in such a manner as that. He did not say it was rejected as a whole and that it was not the Church of Christ; he simply contended that it had incorporated into its system, doctrines, sacraments and ordinances which were not true and not warranted in the Bible. Luther simply desired to reform the Church, to purge it and remove from it erroneous doctrines and wicked practices. But Joseph Smith, without any more knowledge of the religions of the world than what opportunities his attendance of the numerous revival meetings held in his immediate neighborhood had given him, denounced them all as false. Whence, then, his authority for the sweeping declaration he made as to the condition of the so-called Christian churches? His story is a simple, plain and unembellished one. He tells in his own straightforward manner how, after attending the different revival meetings without being able to conclude which of the denominations was the right one for him to join, he went into the woods to pray to the Lord for that wisdom which the Apostle James promises shall be given the honest believer. The result was an attack of the power of darkness which threatened him with destruction, then a light far above him in the sky, then an envelopment in that light which descended upon him, then a vision of two glorious personages standing above him in the air, one of whom speaking to him, while pointing to the other, said: "This is my beloved son, hear him." Here, then, was Jesus Christ being introduced by His Father to Joseph Smith, the praying boy, who next was informed by the Great Redeemer Himself, that all the sects of the day were wrong, that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight, that the modern professors and teachers taught for doctrine the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; that he (Joseph) should join none of these churches, but that the true church should be revealed to him at some future time. This, then, was Joseph's authority, Jesus Christ himself, the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, He that was crucified and put to death on Mount Calvary, but who arose triumphant from the grave, the founder, the organizer, the head, the President of the Christian Church, explained to Joseph Smith the condition of the world. There is no higher authority than He. If anyone in heaven or earth has a right to {95} say what is true Christianity, and what is not, Christ himself, the founder of the church, has that right. With that authority to back him, Joseph Smith had no fear that his declarations would be met with successful contradiction. There is only one question that can present itself to our minds in that connection, and that is: Did the boy tell the truth? Did he really converse with Jesus Christ, or was it an imagination of a bewildered and excited mind? We shall see as we proceed. I will first introduce the Prophet's own testimony, concerning this his first vision. He says in his history:
"It has often caused me serious reflections, both then and since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, so as to create in them a spirit of the hottest persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it was, and was often cause of great sorrow to myself. However it was, nevertheless, a fact, that I had had a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad, and he was ridiculed and reviled; but all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know unto his last breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking to him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.
"So it was with me; I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak unto me, or one of them did; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me and speaking against me, falsely, for so saying, I was led to say in my heart, Why persecute for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision, and who am I that I can withstand God? Or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I have seen a vision. I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dare I do it, at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God and come under condemnation."
Since the time Joseph had this vision the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have traversed the globe, they have visited all the so-called Christian nations of the earth; they have examined the creeds and organizations of the Christian sects of every land and every clime, and have learned beyond doubt that the true Church of Christ was not upon the earth at the time Joseph made his sweeping declaration, and that it does not exist outside of the Church organized {96} under the direction and authority of the Redeemer Himself by Joseph Smith.
On the 22nd of September, 1823, Joseph Smith, after spending the previous night under the tutorship of the angel Moroni, was again visited by that holy personage on the hill Cumorah in the western part of the State of New York, and was shown the plates, which were delivered to him four years later and from which he translated the Book of Mormon. While standing on this historic hill, with the angel at his side, he again received glorious instructions and warnings, and among other things was told that when he should bring forth the Book of Mormon, the workers of iniquity would seek his overthrow. Says the angel:
"They will circulate falsehoods to destroy your reputation, and also will seek to take your life; but remember this, if you are faithful, and shall hereafter continue to keep the commandments of the Lord, you shall be preserved to bring these things forth; for in due time he will give you a commandment to come and take them. When they are interpreted, the Lord will give the holy Priesthood to some, and they shall begin to proclaim this Gospel and baptize by water, and after that they shall have power to give the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. Then will persecution rage more and more; for the iniquities of men shall be revealed, and those who are not built upon the rock will seek to overthrow the Church; but it will increase the more opposed, and spread further and further."
The angel further told him:
"Your name shall be known among the nations; for the work which the Lord will perform by your hands shall cause the righteous to rejoice and the wicked to rage; with the one it shall be had in honor and with the other in reproach." (Historical Record, page 362.)
These prophetic sayings have had so literal a fulfilment that no further explanation is necessary. If the predictions here made were Joseph's own productions, and no angel of God had a part in it, is it not strange that every word of it should prove true?
In 1831 the Saints were commanded to gather to Jackson County, Mo., which was designated as a land of inheritance for the Saints in the last days, and also as the identical spot where they should build that great city, the New Jerusalem, about which the ancient Prophets and Saints had sung, prayed and rejoiced so much. Joseph Smith had just arrived in that {97} goodly land, together with a number of his brethren, when a revelation, containing some very strange sayings was given on the 1st of August, 1831. The Lord said:
"Hearken, O ye Elders of my Church, and give ear to my word, and learn of me what I will concerning you, and also concerning this land unto which I have sent you. For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven. Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning these things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation cometh the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand. Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may lay it to heart, and receive that which shall follow." (Doc. and Cov., lviii: 1-5.)
Here is an opportunity for sound reasoning. If Joseph Smith was an impostor, and if he was trying to carry out a scheme with a view to benefit himself financially; or if he was ambitious and seeking for vain glory or the honor of men, could anything be more absurd than to predict troubles and difficulties, when none such were immediately apparent.
If a schemer was doing that which Joseph on that occasion was doing, namely, planting a colony of his followers in one of the most desirable sections of country within the borders of the United States, would he not have enlarged upon the prospects ahead and predicted success and prosperity instead of difficulties and tribulations? Most assuredly he would. But Joseph spoke as he was directed by the Lord, and his own desires or ambition, if any such he possessed, cut no figure in the matter.
And now, to the fulfilment of the prophecy or revelation? No one who is acquainted with the history of the Church will hesitate to testify that since that time the Saints have indeed passed through much tribulation. In less than three years after the revelation was given they were driven from their homes in Jackson County. Three years after that they were forced to leave their temporary possessions in Clay County, Mo., and still two years later, under the exterminating order of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, they were driven from the State of Missouri. Seven years after their expulsion from that State, wicked mobs, after first killing the Prophet and Patriarch in cold blood in Carthage jail, drove the Saints from Nauvoo into the wilderness, which was full of savage Indians; and even after coming to these mountains we have been subject to wicked prosecutions and persecutions. If all this don't mean "much tribulation," what does it mean?
In a revelation given through Joseph Smith in Kirtland, Ohio, Sept. 11, 1831, the following occurs:
"For behold, I say unto you that Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the Lord shall be upon her. And she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall come to her out of every nation under heaven." (Doc. and Cov. 64: 41, 42.)
The many different nationalities represented in this Territory today is conclusive proof of the fulfilment of this remarkable prophecy, which was uttered at a time when the Church consisted of only a few persecuted people, and the Elders had only commenced preaching in a few of the States.
On the 25th of December, 1832, Joseph Smith received a remarkable revelation in regard to war. I will read an extract:
"Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the war, that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls. The days will come when war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place. For behold the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations, and thus war will be poured out upon all nations." (Doc.& Cov., Sec. 304.)
In a communication which was written a few days later to N. C. Seaton, editor of a paper published in Rochester, N.Y., the Prophet wrote:
"I am prepared to say by the authority of Jesus Christ that not many years shall pass away before the United States shall present such a scene of bloodshed as has not a parallel in the history of our nation." (Historical Record, page 406.)
I will refer to another prediction on the same subject, which was made by Joseph Smith in Carthage, Ill., two days before he was martyred. A number of the officers of the troops, then stationed in Carthage, and other persons curious to see Joseph, visited him in his room. Joseph asked them if there was anything in his appearance which indicated that he was the desperate character his enemies represented him to be. The answer was:
"No, sir; your appearance would indicate the very contrary, General Smith, but we cannot see what is in your heart, neither can we tell what are your intentions."
"Very true, gentlemen, you cannot see what is in my heart, and you are therefore unable to judge me or my intentions; but I can see what is in your hearts, and will tell you what I see. I can see you thirst for blood, and nothing but my blood will satisfy you. It is not for crime of any description that I and my brethren are thus continually persecuted and harassed by our enemies; but there are other motives, and some of them I have expressed, so far as relates to myself; and inasmuch as you and the people thirst for blood, I prophesy, in the name of the Lord, that you shall witness scenes of blood and sorrow to your entire satisfaction. Your souls shall be perfectly satiated with blood, and many of you who are now present shall have an opportunity to face the cannon's mouth from sources you think not of; and those people that desire this great evil upon me and my brethren shall be filled with regret and sorrow because of the scenes of desolation and distress that await them. They shall seek for peace and shall not be able to find it. Gentlemen, you will find what I have told you to be true." (Historical Record, page 563.)
On the 17th of December, 1860, nearly 28 years after the above revelation on war was given, its fulfilment commenced, for on that day a convention assembled in Charleston, S. C., which, after three days' deliberation, passed a resolution to the effect that the union hitherto existing between South Carolina and the other States, under the name of the United States of America, was dissolved. This was the beginning of the rebellion. By the 1st of February, 1861, six other States had followed the example of South Carolina and withdrawn from the Union, and a new government was formed under the name of The Confederate States of America. Not only was South Carolina the first State to commence the rebellion, but here also, as if to cause a double fulfilment of Joseph's prophecy, on April 12, 1861, the first gun was fired from a Confederate battery against Fort Sumter standing at the entrance to Charleston harbor.
The ruinous war that followed is a matter of history. The Union losses alone, according to the report of the Provost-General, amounted to 280,397 men, who were either killed outright in battle, or who died subsequently of wounds or diseases, not counting the thousands who were crippled and maimed for life. The loss on the side of the Confederates was about the same. Truly, as Joseph predicted, the United States never witnessed such a scene of bloodshed before. The losses in the revolutionary war, in the war of 1812, and in the war with Mexico in 1846 were only small affairs compared with this last and terrible war of the rebellion, so accurately predicted by the Prophet Joseph Smith. This prediction alone and its literal fulfilment should be sufficient to convince every reasonable man {100} and woman who will take pains to investigate the subject thoroughly, that Joseph, indeed, was a prophet of the Living God.
In 1834 Joseph Smith marched from Ohio to Missouri, a distance of about one thousand miles, as the leader of the illustrious body of men known in Church history as Zion's Camp. On this long and wearisome journey, some of the brethren indulged in a spirit of rebellion and fault-finding, which was rebuked by the Prophet, first in a mild manner and finally very strongly, as he told the brethren that the Lord had revealed to him that a scourge would come upon the camp, in consequence of the fractious and unruly spirit that had appeared among them. Still, if they would repent and humble themselves before the Lord, the scourge might, in a great measure, be turned away, "but, as the Lord lives," he said, "the camp will have to suffer for giving way to unruly tempers." (Historical Record, page 582.) This prediction was fulfilled a few weeks later when the brethren had arrived in Clay County, Mo. On the 21st of June, 1834, the cholera broke out in the camp and raged fearfully for several days. Altogether sixty-eight of the Saints were attacked with the dreadful disease and thirteen died. Finally Joseph called some of the surviving brethren together and told them that if they would humble themselves before the Lord and covenant to keep His commandments, and obey his (Joseph's) counsel, the plague should be stayed from that hour and there should not be another case of cholera among them. The brethren covenanted to that effect and the plague was stayed.
July 3, 1835, a man by the name of Michael H. Chandler came to Kirtland, Ohio, to exhibit four Egyptian mummies, together with some two or more rolls of papyrus, covered with hieroglyphic figures and devices. They had been obtained from one of the catacombs of Egypt, (near a place where once stood the renowned city of Thebes) by the celebrated Antonio Sebolo, in the year 1831. Joseph Smith, upon examining the rolls of papyrus, discovered that one of them contained the writings of Abraham and another the writings of Joseph who was sold into Egypt. The whole collection was bought by the Saints, and Joseph subsequently translated the writings of Abraham which, together with a number of illustration, were published in the Times and Seasons, at Nauvoo, Ill., {101} in 1843, and which we now have in the little excellent work called the Pearl of Great Price, under the caption of the Book of Abraham. This book, besides giving a history of the creation of the earth and man, also introduces a new doctrine in regard to astronomy. It tells of a planet called Kolob, near which is the throne of God, and around which everything in the great universe revolves in regular order. At that time the generally accepted theory among astronomers was that, with the exception of the few planets (among which is our own earth) which sweep regularly around the sun, all the heavenly bodies called stars, were fixed or stationary, and that the sun, furnishing light and warmth for our earth, besides being the centre of gravitation for our solar system, was the nearest fixed or stationary star. Hence, when Joseph Smith, in the astronomy of Abraham, introduced the doctrine that there was a grand centre set far beyond the limits of our own solar system, he was derided by not a few, who ascribed the idea to his ignorance, in not having even a superficial knowledge of the principles of astronomy. But the theories of men change as the Lord gives them more light and intelligence, and today the doctrine advanced in the Book of Abraham is a generally accepted one among astronomers. In proof of this I will introduce the following extract of a letter from Lieutenant M. F. Maury, of the United States Navy, a man acknowledged on all sides as one of the most eminent scientific men living, dated, Washington, D.C., Jan. 22, 1855.
"It is a curious fact that the revelations of science have led astronomers of our day to the discovery that the sun is not the dead center of motion around which comets sweep and planets whirl; but that it, with its splendid retinue of worlds and satellites, is revolving through the realms of space, at the rate of millions of miles in a year, and in obedience to some influence situated precisely in the direction of the star Alcyon, one of the Pleiades. We do not know how far off in the immensities of space that center of revolving cycles and epicycles may be; nor have our oldest observers or nicest instruments been able to tell us how far off in the skies that beautiful cluster of stars is hung, whose influences man can never bind. In this question alone, and the answer to it are involved both the recognition and exposition of the whole theory of gravitation." (Family Bible, published by Henry S. Goodspeed & Co., New York, page 18.)
Here is another proof that Joseph was a prophet and an inspired man, and that the Book of Abraham is true.
In 1832 Joseph Smith made the startling declaration that the Garden of Eden had its existence on the American continent—even {102} in Jackson County, Mo. People as a rule ridiculed the idea and thought Joseph very ignorant indeed in not knowing that which every school boy at that time was supposed to know, that Asia was the cradle of mankind. And when he further declared that the Grand River Valley in Daviess County, Mo., was the valley in which Adam our father had lived and that he (Joseph) on an adjoining hill had discovered the remnants of an altar upon which the great Patriarch had offered sacrifice, the world thought that Joseph Smith was either a religious crank, a blasphemer or a fool. I will introduce an item of history in order to make this more plain. It was in the summer of 1838 when the Saints were flocking into Missouri from different parts of the country that it became evident that there would not be room for all to settle in the immediate vicinity of Far West, or in Caldwell County. The Prophet, therefore, together with others, started out to select other gathering places. Arriving at a hill where there was a fine spring of water, at a point where Grand River suddenly changes its course from a southerly to an easterly direction, he was struck with the natural beauty of the country and also with what he thought would be a fine townsite on the slope of the hill. Accordingly, the accompanying surveyors began their work of running lines for streets and lots, and it was decided to name the place Spring Hill; but they had not proceeded far when the Lord, on May 19, 1838, gave a revelation through the Prophet Joseph, naming the place Adam-ondi-Ahman, "because," said the Lord, "it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the Prophet." (Doc. and Cov., sec. 116.) Joseph was also told that it was the place where Adam, as mentioned in a previous revelation, three years before his death, blessed his posterity, when they rose up and called him Michael the Prince, the Archangel; and he, being full of the Holy Ghost, predicted what should befall his posterity to the latest generations. (Doc. and Cov., 107: 53-56.)
With all the claims of our American people, none, so far as I know, had up to that time imagined for our country the honor of being the home of our first parents, but since then it has become a favorite theory with many. A few years after Joseph had proclaimed that the great Mississippi Valley was the first home of man, the learned antiquarian, Samuel L. Mitchell of New York, with other gentlemen eminent for their knowledge of natural history, advanced the theory that America was the land where Adam dwelt. He supported his theory by tracing the progress of colonies westward from America {103} over the Pacific Ocean to new settlements in Europe and Africa. (Juvenile Instructor, vol. 9: 278). Other scientists have reasoned elaborately from the relics found in different parts of North and South America, and have proven that the Western Continent was inhabited before the flood. Now, if Adam dwelt in America, Noah also dwelt here and must have built his ark on this continent. Without entering into a detailed argument to prove this, I will simply read the following from an able and lengthy article entitled "Old America," written by G. M. O., and published in the ninth volume of the Juvenile Instructor:
"Modern science has given us very accurately drawn charts of the course of the wind through the atmosphere surrounding us. We have no reason to believe these wind currents have changed since the creation. Now the prevailing current of wind over the central part of North America is from the west, and possibly this was the course followed by the tornado during the deluge. Now if the ark had been built in Armenia, where the mountain Ararat is situated, and it is found that the wind and currents have general eastern direction, the ark would, during the one hundred and fifty days or five months of the deluge (that is from the commencement until the waters gained their greatest depth), have gone in an eastern course, say at the rate of about forty miles a day, some six thousand miles, or beyond China; or if it floated faster, it would have left the ark somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. This would be an unreasonable theory to adopt, being entirely inconsistent. But the ark being built in America, somewhere, we may imagine in the latitude of Missouri, when taken up by the eastern-borne current, and wafted by the hurricane following the same course, it is not out of the way to suppose it to have progressed as far as Ararat, some six or seven thousand miles from America, even had it traveled at a more rapid rate than forty or fifty miles a day. Over sixteen hundred years had passed from the creation until the ark was finished. In this time mankind had increased and multiplied and spread out far beyond the country around Eden (the Mississippi Valley), as signs of an antediluvian population indicate, and we may suppose the ark was built some distance east of the Garden, between the States of New York and Missouri. Couple this supposition with the circumstances connected with the flood, the current flowing from America, with the fact of the ark's resting in an easterly direction from this country, and we can form no other reasonable conclusion than that here the miraculous vessel was constructed and freighted with its treasure of animal life, and the progenitors designated and set apart to renew the human race. That the ancient Americans knew of the deluge is beyond dispute, as we have several versions of the story of the flood that have been handed down as tradition by different nations, and in one instance we have a picture-written description of it, an old Toltec record, fortunately preserved from the wholesale destruction that followed the conquest."
Suffice it to say that it is no longer considered an absurd theory that America was the cradle of man, and the home of Adam, Noah and the other antediluvian patriarchs, but it has {104} taken many years of patient study and thorough investigation of scientific problems for men of learning to come to the same conclusion that Joseph Smith did by revelation between fifty and sixty years ago. The following was published in the DESERET NEWS of Sept. 18, 1888:
"A CORROBORATIVE DISCOVERY.
"A short time ago the Washington Post made a remarkable statement regarding the location of the Garden of Eden. It announced that Dr. Campbell of Versailles had lately discovered that it was on this continent, and near where St. Louis now stands. That gentleman, according to the Post, asserted that the Mississippi River is the Euphrates of Scripture, and that the Bible furnishes evidence of the correctness of his conclusions.
"It is probable that Dr. Campbell is not aware of the fact that he is not the discoverer of what he now announces, the Prophet Joseph Smith having many years ago stated that the Garden of Eden was located in what is now known as the State of Missouri. The Prophet also pointed out the precise spot where Adam offered sacrifice to the Lord, and where, as the great patriarchal head of the race, he blessed his children previous to his departure from the earth. That sacred spot in Missouri was designated by the Prophet as Adam-ondi-Aham, the meaning of which is—the land where Adam dwelt."
My conclusion is this: If scientific men, by the evidences produceable at this late day can indicate that the Garden of Eden was at or near the place where St. Louis, Mo., now stands, the Lord, who originally planted the garden himself, could designate the exact spot and tell His prophet that that first garden, the original paradise of man, was located in Jackson County, Mo., just 150 miles northwest of St. Louis.
In connection with this, I desire to relate a little experience of my own. About two years ago, in company with Elders Edward Stevenson and Joseph S. Black, I visited Adam-ondi-Ahman, in Missouri, and as we stood upon the site of the altar that I have referred to and looked over the beautiful valley lying south and east of us, I said to myself, "Can it be possible that these stones—fragments of which I held in my hand—were once parts of the altar upon which our first parent offered sacrifice to God?"
I had previously listened to the testimony of Presidents Wilford Woodruff, A. O. Smoot and other men of prominence and unimpeachable character, to the effect that they were present with the Prophet Joseph in 1838 when the glorious facts relating to that particular tract of country were revealed. But I desired a direct testimony from the Lord concerning the matter, and consequently made it a subject of prayer. And I desire, on this occasion, to bear my testimony that I received {105} an answer to my prayer sufficient to convince me that these things are true.
On the 31st of October, 1838, Joseph and a number of his brethren, all prominent men in the Church, were betrayed by Col. George M. Hinkle into the hands of the mob militia who had surrounded Far West, Mo., determined to sack the town. Although Joseph had only been in Missouri a few months and had not done the least harm to a single soul there, nearly the whole population of that State, including its highest officers, both civil and military, had become so exasperated, through the stream of lies which had been circulated through the country concerning the Saints and their motives, that they had fully determined to kill the leaders of the Church; and there were scores in that mob militia camp to which Joseph and his brethren were brought that memorable day who would have considered it a great honor to put to death Joseph and his fellow-prisoners. They knew also that there would be no danger of them being brought to justice for such a deed, even if they should assassinate them without orders from any commander. It was on this occasion that the mobbers cursed and shouted like mad-men and swore that Joseph and those with him should never see their friends or families again alive; and to prove that this was not the boast and threat of the common soldier only, I will refer you to what John Clark, the head general and commander of the whole militia, said in his notorious speech which he delivered before the brethren at Far West, after he had made them prisoners of war. Referring to Joseph and his fellow prisoners, who then were on the road to Jackson County in the hands of Gen. Lucas and his army, General Clark said:
"As for your leaders, do not once think—do not imagine for a moment—do not let it enter your minds, that they will be delivered, or that you will see their faces again, for their fate is fixed, THEIR DIE IS CAST, THEIR DOOM IS SEALED."
But while, from a human standpoint, it seemed absolutely impossible for Joseph and his brethren to escape from their enemies alive, Joseph rose up in the spirit of his prophetic calling, and prophesied that they ALL should be delivered alive. Parley P. Pratt, one of the prisoners with Joseph, writes the following:
"As we arose and commenced our march on the morning of the 3rd of November, Joseph Smith spoke to me and the other prisoners {106} in a low but cheerful and confidential tone. Said he: 'Be of good cheer, brethren; the word of the Lord came to me last night that our lives should be given us, and that whatever we may suffer during this captivity, not one of our lives should be taken.'
"Of this prophecy I testify in the name of the Lord, and though spoken in secret, its public fulfilment and the miraculous escape of each one of us is too notorious to need my testimony."—Parley P. Pratt's Aut., page 210.
Notwithstanding the fact that they were sentenced on two or three different occasions to be shot, that several attempts were made to poison them while incarcerated in filthy dungeons; that forty men at a certain time and place entered into a conspiracy that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed the "Mormon Prophet," all the brethren in due course of time, escaped from their persecutors and would-be murderers, and, although they suffered as only few men have suffered, they arrived safely, and all alive, among their friends in Illinois. This surely is another proof of Joseph Smith's prophetic gift, while General Clark at the same time is proven to be a false prophet.
Under date of Saturday, August 6, 1842, Joseph wrote:
"I passed over the river to Montrose, Iowa, in company with General Adams, Col. Brewer and others and witnessed the installation of the officers of the Rising Sun Lodge of Ancient York Masons at Montrose, by General James Adams, deputy grand master of Illinois. While the deputy grand master was engaged in giving the requisite instructions to the master elect, I had a conversation with a number of brethren in the shade of the building on the subject of our persecution in Missouri and the constant annoyance which had followed us since we were driven from that State. I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains; many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors or lose their lives in consequence of exposure or disease, and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the Rocky Mountains." (Historical Record, page 487.)
I need spend no time to prove the fulfilment of this remarkable prophecy. All of you who are present in this hall tonight can testify to its literal fulfilment. The Latter-day Saints have indeed become a mighty people in these mountains, numbering as they do now about two hundred thousand souls, organized into thirty-two Stakes of Zion, or nearly five hundred wards and branches; and this does not include the Saints in Mexico and Canada. It is also a matter of history {107} that the Saints, for years after the prediction was uttered, continued to suffer persecution and affliction from their enemies; that many apostatized, while others, who proved faithful and true to their covenants, were put to death for conscience sake, and the remainder were driven by a ruthless mob from the beautiful city of Nauvoo into the western wilderness in the year 1846.
Early in the year 1844, while the spirit of renewed persecution was brooding in Hancock County, Illinois, Joseph was inspired to make preparations for sending an expedition to the Rocky Mountains, to seek out a new location for the Saints, as it had been revealed to him that they would not be permitted to remain much longer in their Illinois homes. On Sunday, Feb. 25, 1844, while the Prophet was engaged in selecting brethren to go on this expedition, he gave them some important instructions, and prophesied, "that within five years the Saints should be out of the power of their old enemies, whether they were apostates or of the world;" and the Prophet also told the brethren to record it, that when it came to pass, they need not say they had forgotten the saying. (Historical Record, page 542.)
Five years after this prediction was uttered the Saints had been driven from Nauvoo; the noble band of Pioneers had, under the guidance of Jehovah, been led to these valleys in 1847, about three years after the prediction was made; and in 1849 (five years after) the bulk of the exiles from Nauvoo had gathered here, thirteen hundred miles from their Illinois persecutors.
I will now refer you to another most remarkable prophecy and its fulfilment. Among the prominent men of Illinois, who befriended the Saints when they were expelled from Missouri, was Stephen A. Douglas, afterwards known as the "Little Giant," and who became one of the great statesman of our nation. This man continued friendly to the Saints for many years, and especially to Joseph Smith, in whose case he, as an Illinois district judge, rendered a fair and impartial decision at Monmouth, June 10, 1841, at a time when the Missourians were endeavoring to get Joseph Smith into their power. After that he and the Prophet exchanged visits, and on one occasion when Joseph dined with him in Carthage, Illinois, May 18, 1843, {108} he listened to a lengthy explanation from the Prophet about the Missouri persecutions. Winding up the conversation, Joseph spoke of the dire effects that would flow to the nation if the United States should refuse to redress the wrongs of murder, arson and robbery committed against the Saints in Missouri and the crimes committed upon the Saints by the officers of the government. Turning to Judge Douglas he said:
"You will aspire to the presidency of the United States, and if ever you turn your hand against me or the Latter-day Saints, you will feel the weight of the hand of the Almighty upon you; and you will live to see and know that I have testified the truth to you, for the conversation of this day will stick to you through life."
This remarkable prophecy concerning Judge Douglas personally has had a literal fulfilment. Judge Douglas continued to rise in prominence in the nation as long as he remained a friend to the Saints. But, finally he turned against them, and at the time the excitement ran high against the "Mormons" in 1857, and preparations were being made to send an army against the people of Utah, Judge Douglas thought he would add a little to the great popularity he had already achieved by doing the most popular thing that could be done at the time, namely, denouncing the "Mormons." Hence, in a political speech which he delivered in Springfield, Ill., June 12th, 1857, and which was published in the Missouri Republican of June 18th following and partly republished with comments in the DESERET NEWS of September 2nd, 1857, Senator Douglas attacked the Saints in Utah in a most fierce and unwarranted manner, and among many other bitter expressions which he made, he called "Mormonism, a loathsome, disgusting ulcer," to which he recommended that Congress apply the knife and cut it out. In the DESERET NEWS of the date mentioned, the prophecy of Joseph Smith was republished with warning remarks, directed to Mr. Douglas, who at that time, in fulfilment of Joseph's words, was already aspiring to the presidency of the United States. In the campaign of 1860 he became the candidate of the Independent Democratic party for that position. It is asserted that no man ever entered into a campaign with brighter prospects of success than did Senator Douglas on that occasion. His friends viewed him as sure to be seated in the Presidential chair, because of his great popularity. But, alas, he and his friends had reckoned without Divine interposition. He had lifted his hands against the Saints of the Most High God and denounced the people whom {109} he knew to be innocent and whom he ought to have defended. The result was that he was sadly defeated at the election, as he only received two electoral votes against seventeen cast for Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and eleven cast for J. C. Breckenridge (Democrat).
When the result of the election became known in Utah Apostle Orson Hyde published the following in the DESERET NEWS of December 12, 1860:
"EPHRAIM, Utah Ter., Nov. 27, 1860.
"Will the Judge now acknowledge that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet? If he will not, does he recollect a certain conversation had with Mr. Smith at the house of Sheriff Backenstos, in Carthage, Illinois, in the year 1843, in which Mr. Smith said to him: 'You will yet aspire to the presidency of the United States. But if you ever raise your hand, or your voice against the Latter-day Saints, you shall never be President of the United States.'
"Does Judge Douglas recollect that in a public speech delivered by him in the year 1857, at Springfield, Illinois, of comparing the Mormon community, then constituting the inhabitants of Utah Territory, to a 'loathsome ulcer on the body politic,' and of recommending the knife to be applied to cut it out?
"Among other things the Judge will doubtless recollect that I was present and heard the conversation between him and Joseph Smith, at Mr. Backenstos' residence in Carthage, before alluded to.
"Now, Judge, what think you about Joseph Smith and Mormonism?
ORSON HYDE."
A few months later, or in June, 1861, Judge Douglas died in disappointment and grief. Never has the saying of any Prophet of God been more literally and minutely fulfilled than the prediction made by the Prophet Joseph Smith concerning this man.
CHRIST'S SECOND COMING.
Some have thought that Joseph Smith was an enthusiast or a religious fanatic, and that his prophetic utterances were the result of his impulsive nature or visionary mind. But such was not the case. When he was under the influence of the Spirit of God his mind was perfectly calm and collected, and his countenance beamed with heavenly intelligence.
While some of his contemporaries allowed their zeal and enthusiasm to lead them into erroneous expectations, he would reason with them calmly and endeavor to balance their minds. To illustrate this I will relate an incident that transpired shortly before he suffered martyrdom:
A man by the name of Miller, the founder of the sect known as Millerites, was preaching to the people in the Eastern States in 1844, that the Savior would make His appearance that {110} year. This caused considerable excitement at the time, and a number of people were quite alarmed about it. Joseph Smith hearing of these predictions, declared that they would not be fulfilled, and said he, "I will take the responsibility upon myself to prophesy in the name of the Lord, that Christ will not come this year, as Father Miller has prophesied, and I also prophesy that Christ will not come in forty years; and if God ever spoke by my mouth, he will not come in that length of time. Brethren, when you go home, write this down that it may be remembered."
More than forty years have passed since 1844; hence here we again have Joseph proven to be a true Prophet, while Father Miller missed it very much.
When Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon, with Oliver Cowdery as scribe, the following words of Moroni directed to the translator, occurred in the translation:
"Behold ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto those who shall assist to bring forth this work (meaning the Book of Mormon). And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these things are true. And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established, and the testimony of three and this work * * * shall stand as a testimony against the world at the last day."—Ether v: 2-4.
Here is a positive promise that the plates of the Book of Mormon should be shown to three "by the power of God." I will now read the testimony of three men who, as soon as this promise was made known, desired of the Lord to be chosen as these three special witnesses, and who, when their desire was granted, prepared and signed the following:
"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people unto whom this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record—which is the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who come from the tower of which hath been spoken; and we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for His voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates, and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man; and we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true; and it is marvelous {111} in our eyes; nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it: wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.
OLIVER COWDERY,
DAVID WHITMER,
MARTIN HARRIS."
This is plain, strong testimony. Joseph Smith or any other man could easily enough have made a promise like the one made in the 5th chapter of Ether, but he could not have called down an angel from heaven, nor caused the voice of God to be heard, in order to have the promise fulfilled. The Lord only could fulfill this prediction, and he did it, in his own way, time and place. But, says the skeptic, the three witnesses subsequently left the Church and deserted Joseph Smith. Yes, that is true, and this is what makes their testimony of ten-fold more weight. If their testimonies were not true, if any fraud or deception had been practiced in regard to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon they would undoubtedly have exposed the same as soon as the break occurred between Joseph Smith and themselves. But the facts are these: They always remained true to their testimony, even in their darkest hours. Then why did they leave the Church? They fell into transgression; they sinned against God and had to be dealt with the same as other transgressors; for although a man may have seen angels and had glorious visions, etc., he has no license to any more than those less favored.
We will now briefly allude to the individual witnesses:
Oliver Cowdery, after his excommunication in Far West, April 11, 1838, engaged in law business and practiced for some years as a lawyer in Michigan, but he never denied the truth of the Book of Mormon. On the contrary, he seems to have used every opportunity he had to bear testimony of its divine origin. While in Michigan, a gentleman, on a certain occasion, addressed him as follows: "Mr. Cowdery, I see your name attached to this book. If you believe it to be true, why are you in Michigan?" The gentleman then read the names of the Three Witnesses and asked: "Mr. Cowdery, do you believe this book?" "No, sir," was the reply. "Very well," continued the gentleman, "but your name is attached to it, and you declare here (pointing to the book) that you saw an angel, and also the plates, from which the book purports to be translated; {112}and now you say you don't believe it. Which time did you tell the truth?" Oliver Cowdery replied with emphasis, "My name is attached to that book, and what I there have said is true. I did see this; I know I saw it, and faith has nothing to do with it, as a perfect knowledge has swallowed up the faith which I had in the work, knowing, as I do, that it is true."
At a special conference held at Kanesville, Iowa, October 21, 1848, Oliver Cowdery was present and made the following remarks:
"Friends and Brethren.—My name is Cowdery, Oliver Cowdery. In the early history of this Church I stood identified with her, and one in her councils. True it is that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance; not because I was better than the rest of mankind was I called; but to fulfill the purposes of God, He called me to a high and holy calling.
"I wrote, with my own pen, the entire Book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he translated it by the gift and power of God, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, or, as it is called by that book, 'holy interpreters.' I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was transcribed. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the 'holy interpreters.' That book is true. Sidney Rigdon did not write it; Mr. Spaulding did not write it; I wrote it myself as it fell from the lips of the Prophet. It contains the Everlasting Gospel, and came forth to the children of men in fulfilment of the revelations of John, where he says he saw an angel come with the Everlasting Gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. It contains principles of salvation; and if you, my hearers, will walk by its light and obey its precepts, you will be saved with an everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God on high. Brother Hyde has just said that it is very important that we keep and walk in the true channel, in order to avoid the sandbars. This is true. The channel is here. The holy Priesthood is here.
"I was present with Joseph when an holy angel from God came down from heaven and conferred on us, or restored, the lesser or Aaronic Priesthood, and said to us, at the same time, that it should remain upon the earth while the earth stands.
"I was also present with Joseph when the higher or Melchisedek Priesthood was conferred by holy angels from on high. This Priesthood we then conferred on each other, by the will and commandment of God. This Priesthood, as was then declared, is also to remain upon the earth until the last remnant of time. This holy Priesthood, or authority, we then conferred upon many, and is just as good and valid as though God had done it in person.
"I laid my hands upon that man—yes, I laid my right hand upon his head (pointing to Brother Hyde), and I conferred upon him this Priesthood, and he holds that Priesthood now. He was also called through me, by the prayer of faith, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ."
{113}Soon afterwards Oliver Cowdery was rebaptized, but while making preparations to come to Utah, he was suddenly stricken with death in Richmond, Mo., March 3rd, 1850. Elder Phinehas H. Young, who was present when he died, testifies:
"His last moments were spent in bearing testimony of the truth of the Gospel revealed through Joseph Smith, and the power of the Holy Priesthood which he had received through his administration."
David Whitmer, who died in Richmond, Mo., Jan. 25th, 1888, was also true to his testimony until the last, although he never united himself with the Church after his excommunication in 1838. During the last few years of his life he was frequently visited by representatives of the press and many others, to whom he would always bear strong and faithful testimonies of the divinity of the Book of Mormon.
On one occasion when the report reached him that he was accused by a certain party of having denied his former testimony, he wrote the following, which was published in the Richmond (Mo.) Conservator of March 25, 1881:
Unto all Nations, Kindreds, Tongues and People, unto whom these presents shall come:
"It having been represented by one John Murphy, of Polo, Caldwell County, Missouri, that I, in a conversation with him last summer, denied my testimony as one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
"To the end, therefore, that he may understand me now, if he did not then; and that the world may know the truth, I wish now, standing as it were, in the very sunset of life, and in the fear of God, once for all to make this public statement:
"That I have never at any time denied that testimony or any part thereof, which has so long since been published with that book, as one of the Three Witnesses. Those who know me best, well know that I have always adhered to that testimony. And that no man may be misled or doubt my present views in regard to the same, I do again affirm the truth of all my statements as then made and published.
"He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear; it was no delusion; what is written is written, and he that readeth let him understand. * * * * * *
"In the Spirit of Christ, who hath said: 'Follow thou me, for I am the life, the light and the way,' I submit this statement to the world; God in whom I trust being my judge as to the sincerity of my motives and the faith and hope that is in me of eternal life.
"My sincere desire is that the world may be benefited by this plain and simple statement of the truth.
"And all the honor to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen!
DAVID WHITER, SEN. RICHMOND, Mo., March 19, 1881.
{114}Three days before his death Mr. Whitmer called his family and some friends to his bedside and addressing himself to the attending physician, said:
"'Dr. Buchanan, I want you to say whether or not I am in my right mind, before I give my dying testimony.'
"The doctor answered: 'Yes, you are in your right mind, for I have just had conversation with you.'
"He then addressed himself to all around his bedside in these words: 'Now you must all be faithful in Christ, I want to say to you all, the Bible and the record of the Nephites (Book of Mormon) is true, so you can say that you have heard me bear my testimony on my death-bed. All be faithful in Christ, and your reward will be according to your works. God bless you all. My trust is in Christ forever, worlds without end. Amen.'"
Martin Harris also absented himself from the Church for many years, but was always true to his testimony in regard to the Book of Mormon. He finally emigrated to Utah, arriving in Salt Lake City, August 30, 1870, in care of Elder Edward Stevenson. He located in Smithfield, Cache County, and later in Clarkson, where he died July 10, 1875, being nearly ninety-three years of age.
A few hours before his death, when prostrated with great weakness, Bishop Simon Smith came into his room; Martin Harris stretched forth his hands to salute him and said: "Bishop, I am going." The Bishop told him that he had something of importance to tell him in relation to the Book of Mormon, which was to be published in the Spanish language, by the request of Indians in Central America. Upon hearing this, Martin Harris brightened up, his pulsation improved, and, although very weak, he began to talk as he formerly had done previous to his sickness. He conversed for about two hours, and it seemed that the mere mention of the Book of Mormon put new life into him.
It will also be remembered that Martin Harris, soon after his arrival in Utah, spoke to a large congregation of Saints and strangers in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, where he bore a faithful testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon.
Also the eight witnesses, whose testimony is published in the Book of Mormon after the testimony of the three witnesses, remained true to their testimonies until the last; they are all dead now.
In December, 1830, a few months after the Church was {115} organized in Fayette, N.Y., with six members, the following predictions were made:
"I give unto thee a commandment, that thou shalt baptize by water, and they shall receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, even as the Apostles of old. * * * For I am God, and mine arm is not shortened; and I will show miracles, signs and wonders unto all those who believe on my name. And whoso shall ask it in my name in faith, they shall cast out devils; they shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk; and the time speedily cometh that great things are to be shown forth unto the children of men."—Doc. & Cov. xxxv: 6-10.
Again, in September, 1832, in a revelation given to Joseph Smith and six Elders, "as they unveiled their hearts and lifted their voices on high," the following glorious promises were made:
"Therefore, as I said unto mine Apostles I say unto you again, that every soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost; and these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name they shall do many wonderful works; in my name they shall cast out devils; in my name they shall heal the sick; in my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf; and the tongue of the dumb shall speak; and if any man shall administer poison unto them it shall not hurt them; and the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them." Doc. and Cov., 84, 64-72.
If Joseph Smith had been an impostor and his revelations consequently not genuine, would he have dared to make promises like those contained in the forgoing? Could anything have proven more disastrous to his schemes than to promise people gifts which were not in his power to give? If he was not a servant of God would he not studiously have avoided to connect the Lord with any of his schemes in such a way? Could he imagine that God would sanction his doings by pouring out his gifts and blessings upon people who were being deceived by a wicked impostor? Certainly not. If Joseph Smith was not called of God he would have had to re-echo the old, old sectarian song from the dark ages: These things (the gifts and blessings following the believer) have ceased, because they are no longer necessary. It is a well-known fact that the signs which were promised by the Savior and enumerated in St. Mark, 16th chapter, 17th and 18th verses, did follow the believers. The Acts of the Apostles are full of examples of this kind. It is also a known fact that when Christianity in the days of Constantine the Great, and later became mixed up with Paganism and was then made the State Religion of {116} the Roman empire, and the people were compelled at the edge of the sword to accept it, that these signs did not follow the members of this false church. But when the clergy, in order to blind the masses, told the people that the reason why the members did not enjoy these blessings, as in former years, was that they were no longer necessary, they told a deliberate falsehood. The real cause was that this apostate church had "transgressed the law, changed the ordinance and broken the everlasting covenant," and that Christ did not recognize this new form of so-called Christianity as His doctrines of salvation, nor accept of the order of their organization as anything akin to the Church organized by Himself and His Apostles. Hence, He withheld His gifts, signs and blessings from them, and for hundreds of years they were unknown so far as church gifts were concerned.
An anecdote that I heard a friend relate several years ago will illustrate the contrast between the true Church of Christ and fallen Christianity. A prominent cardinal of the Roman Catholic church, on a certain occasion, visited the Pope of Rome, and together with him examined the contents of the treasure chamber at the Vatican where gold, diamonds and other costly things were deposited. While gazing upon the costly treasures the Pope remarked. "We can not truthfully say now as Peter and John said anciently that we have no silver and gold." "No, that is true," answered the cardinal, "and there is something else we cannot say. We cannot command the lame in the name of Jesus Christ to arise and walk."
We all remember the beautiful story related in the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, of a certain man who had been lame from his mother's womb and who daily lay at the gate of the Temple of Jerusalem to ask alms of those who entered; and how he, seeing Peter and John about to go in, also asked them for alms. Peter, after fastening his eyes upon the cripple, together with John, said, being moved upon by the power of God: "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he, leaping up, stood and walked, and entered with them into the Temple, walking and leaping, and praising God.
The contrast is this: The Apostles of the true Church had no silver and gold, for they had been sent out to preach without purse or scrip; but they possessed the power of God to such an extent that they healed the sick, the lame, the blind, etc. The Catholic Church is wealthy, has plenty of silver and {117} gold, but not the power of God. Joseph Smith was also poor as regards this world's goods, but he was powerful in the Priesthood, and in the strength of the Lord, and hundreds were healed under his administrations. How then about the promises made in the revelations from which I have quoted? The answer is easily given and can be stated briefly. They have been fulfilled to the very letter. There are thousands in the Church who can testify and who do bear testimony continually to the effect that the gifts and blessings follow the believers, who have embraced the Gospel as restored through Joseph Smith. Not only in the United States, but in Europe, upon the islands of the sea, and in all parts of the world where the Gospel has been preached by our Elders, have the sick been healed under their administration, the lame have received their strength, the blind have been restored to their sight and the deaf to their hearing; evil spirits have been cast out; the gifts of prophecy, of tongues, the interpretation of tongues, and, in short, all the gifts and blessings enjoyed by the former-day Saints have been and are now being enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints. Our books, pamphlets, papers and periodicals are full of instances of this kind, and should an attempt be made to gather, compile and publish testimonies of this nature, we would have material enough for a book larger than the Bible and Book of Mormon combined. In the face of all these testimonies, what additional proofs do we need to establish the fact that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet.
Time will not permit me to multiply proofs any further, although I have only presented a few of the many that might be cited. But in the fact of the evidence already adduced, I claim positively that no one has the right to denounce Joseph Smith as a false prophet, for in the light of the key given by Moses, he must of necessity be a true prophet, as the things spoken by him in the name of the Lord have come to pass. Even his most bitter opponents have failed in one solitary instance to prove his prophetic utterances false. Add to this the consistency of his life, his almost unparalleled zeal in bearing testimony of the things the Lord revealed to him, and this in the midst of the most trying persecutions, sufferings, imprisonments and trials to which he was constantly subjected, during his entire life, and finally his martyrdom in Carthage jail for the sake of the testimony he bore and the principles he advocated. And I would ask, What more proofs does mankind {118} want to establish the fact that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the living God? If the divine calling of any Prophet in any age and dispensation of the world has been proven, then I claim Joseph Smith's prophetic calling has been established beyond dispute. The proofs for this are so numerous, clear and positive that they ought to convince every honest soul.
And now, in conclusion, I will bear my own testimony, which is, that I know by the inspiration of the Almighty, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and that the doctrines he promulgated are also true; for desiring to know the "will of the Father" I sought unto God to know whether "the doctrine was of God" or whether Joseph Smith "spoke of himself," and the result was the testimony that I bear here tonight, and that I have borne to thousands both in this land and in Europe. I ask God to grant to every honest soul, who desires salvation and exaltation in the Kingdom of God, the same testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
"By a proper observance of the Word of Wisdom, man may hope to regain what he has lost by transgression and live to the age of a tree, that as the sun's rays in springtime gladden all nature and awaken life and hope, the Word of Wisdom given of God may remove the thorns and briers from our pathway and strew the same with joy and peace."
Wilford Woodruff.
BEING A DISCOURSE, GIVING AN EXPLANATION OF SOME OF The PROMINENT DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, DELIVERED BY ELDER WILLIAM BUDGE, AT CHESTERFIELD, AUGUST 10TH, 1879.
(Phonetically Reported.)
My Brethren, Sisters and Friends:
I am thankful for the privilege of speaking to you a short time this afternoon. I am anxious to explain, whenever opportunity affords, the nature of our faith. And I presume that, on this occasion, I am justified in feeling that our friends who have kindly visited our meeting room have come for the purpose of learning something regarding that subject.
In this free country, where we congratulate ourselves in enjoying and allowing the greatest freedom to everybody, I presume we will, all of us, speaker and congregation, exercise the privilege of explaining and reflecting upon the things that may be said; so that our friends, I trust, will leave us understanding a little more about the nature of our religion than when they came to the meeting.
I can feel, in part, the interest that exists, even in the minds of our friends. They have, doubtless, heard about the Latter-day Saints. They have had the opinions of men who have spoken in the pulpits, and who have written books about the "Mormons," and they, very likely, have come here under certain impressions in regard to the "Mormon's" faith.
I am sorry to say that experience has taught me that the public generally have been deceived. I am gratified sometimes in listening to acknowledgments of this kind from our friends who have heard for themselves, and have thus been able to judge intelligently as to whether the reports which they have heard from our enemies are correct or not.
It seems strange, but it is nevertheless true, that many people who wish to know the faith of the Saints go to their enemies to learn of them. I do not know whether our kind {120} friends have thought of the inconsistency and injustice of such a course as this. If I wished to learn what the Roman Catholics believed in, I do not think, at present, that I would go to the Protestant Church to learn it; or, if I wished to learn what any denomination of professing Christians believe, I do not think it would be just for me to go to some other denomination to ascertain it. In the first place other churches might be led—perhaps unwittingly, perhaps intentionally—to misrepresent the faith of their neighbors, and I might be deceived through their misrepresentations. On the other hand, there is no need of my going to any one church to learn the faith of another people, because I can go just as easily to their own church to listen to their explanations, and thus be sure of getting information of their peculiar views, without trusting to the misrepresentations of their neighbors. Now I submit that such a course as this is right; it is just, and accords with our impressions of a fair and just hearing and consideration from the parties most interested, as to whether their faith be correct or not.
Of course we have no disposition, as Latter-day Saints, even if we had the power, to constrain any person to believe our doctrines. We have not the power; we have not the disposition. It is not for the purpose of using an undue influence in any respect, or in any degree, in favor of our faith, that we preach to our friends. We simply wish to explain to them the nature of that religion of which we are ministers—laboring under a feeling of anxiety to deliver the message with which we have been sent, that our friends may have the privilege of receiving or rejecting it, just as they think proper. But, in the meantime, while we are explaining it, my friends, be pleased to follow me with your faith and sympathy and good wishes, so far as your assistance may help me to lay before you the peculiar faith and doctrines of the Church with which I am connected, that you may be able to judge, and I will place before you, as plainly and briefly as I possibly can, some of the prominent doctrines of our Church.
I approach the subject feeling that I have the sympathy of many good friends, because I feel there exists an impression upon their minds that a system of religion that has more power with it than those now taught, is necessary. I approach the examination of this subject because I believe that many of our kind, honest, well-wishing friends—those who desire to serve God according to his will and pleasure—are under the impression that there exists a confusion so general, and errors so prevalent, that religion seems to be losing its {121} hold upon the minds of the people; and, of course, we, who have faith in God and in his revealed word—as contained in the Old and New Testaments—deplore a state of things which indicates a departure from that respect and reverence which we wish to see existing and manifested on the part of the people towards the Supreme Being.
What is the reason, my friends, that people are becoming irreligious? What is the reason that people talk of sacred things lightly? What is the reason that men, who have heretofore been respected as ministers of religion, are now little thought of? It is simply because the religions that are taught are losing their hold upon the minds and affections of the people; because the religions that are taught do not supply the want that men and women feel; because the word preached by most ministers carries with it no power to convince people as to the truthfulness of the doctrines that are presented, or the sinful condition of the people to whom they are taught.
The present condition of the Christian world does not present that union, that love, that we expect from the perpetuation of the doctrines that Christ taught, and it is this fact, understood by many, that increases their doubts and strengthens their objections to what is called "Christianity." The New Testament teachings lead us to expect a state of unity in the Christian Church. The admonitions of the Apostles were to the effect that the Saints in early days should be united together, that they should understand alike, that they should speak the same things, that they should be of the same mind and of the same judgment. Such are the words of the Apostle, to be found in I Cor., 1, 10.
Now, my friends, does such a state of things exist around us in connection with the Christian churches that we might expect from the nature of a perfect religion, introduced by Christ? Does there exist, at the present time, a state of things so perfect as to agree with the expectations raised from the teachings of St. Paul in this Scripture that I have quoted? I think not. I am safe, I believe, in stating—and I think our friends are prepared to agree with me—that there does not exist amongst the Christian denominations, that unity and that oneness of faith, peace, kindness, and love which, by reading the New Testament, we might expect to appear amongst them as the true fruits of Christianity. And it is upon this I wish to make a few remarks before proceeding to explain to you, from the Bible, the nature of our faith.
Of course the existence of a number of denominations called "Christian" cannot be denied. But we are told that all {122} the Christian churches exhibit to us one church: that if one denomination does not teach the whole perfect plan of religion revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ, all the churches put together do; although there may be divisions existing amongst the members of these denominations. Unless we accept this view we must object to Christianity on the ground that we cannot find which of all the Christian denominations teach the truth. Here is one church called Christian that teaches certain doctrines, another more or less in its teachings contradicts them, a third teaches doctrines that are in conflict with the other two; and so we might go through them all, and speak in like terms of those who think honestly enough that they are serving God.
Now, my friends, I will ask—First:—Is it reasonable to suppose that God would sustain two distinct religious churches as his churches? Is it reasonable to suppose that God would set up two distinct religious bodies, the ministers of which teach different doctrines? After learning from the Bible so much indicating the anxiety of God's inspired servants for a time of perfect unity, I say it is not reasonable to suppose it. And just so long as two distinct religious systems exist, teaching different doctrines and preaching different principles, there exist a conflicting influence, division, feelings perhaps very strong if the difference in doctrine is very decided. If it is not reasonable, what are we to do? How can we account for such a condition of things?
This leads to the position we occupy. We want to know something more.
Is it true that the bodies called "Christian" at present represent the Church of Christ? Or is it true that they have ignored some things belonging to the perfect doctrine of Christ, and taken as their guide, their own conclusions in regard to what is right, which leads to this division of doctrine? How is it? But I will endeavor to show that it is unscriptural as well as unreasonable for us to receive different Christian bodies as the Church of Christ.
I will direct your attention to a few passages from the word of God. Jesus, when he sent the Apostles to preach in the first place, said to them, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." Not any system that might be termed a Gospel. There was no choice left to anybody. He spoke definitely in regard to the Gospel plan which he, the Son of God, came to the earth to set up. Paul, in the first chapter of Galatians, 8th verse, says, "Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than {123} that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Paul, one of the apostles, taught the Gospel, the same Gospel that Peter, James, John and others taught. They all taught the same system. And Paul said in another place, that he went up, by revelation to Jerusalem, taking Barnabas and Titus with him, and communicated the Gospel which he preached among the Gentiles (Gal. ii, 1, 2), thus showing that he taught the same thing everywhere. You see, Paul's words and practice show that he did not admit of the least change or alteration from the Gospel as taught by Christ, and preached by the apostles to the people. In another place it is said, "Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrines of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son," (2 John ix,) showing us that he taught strictly the necessity of abiding in that form of doctrine which had at first been delivered. I quote these passages to show you that the Gospel which Christ and the apostles first taught was intended to be taught continually, without change, and that none had a right, not even an angel from heaven, to preach any other Gospel than that which had been delivered at the first.
Do you agree with this? Because I am about to examine, in detail, some of the doctrines that will readily show to you the difference between the ministers of the true Gospel, and the ministers of the so-called Gospels that are preached at the present time. But are you prepared to come to the conclusion, with me, that it is the old Gospel, Christ's Gospel, the doctrine of the apostles that we ought to seek and follow, if we expect eternal life? Or do you think you are safe in following the teachings of men, who have made great changes from the ancient Gospel, with the following passage before you? If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed" (2 John, 10th verse). Do you think you can obtain God's blessing by being members of a church or churches that teach doctrines opposed to what Christ taught? How is this?
"Well, certainly," says one—a Bible believer—"of course I wish to have the religion of the Bible. I would like to have the religion of Christ. I do not admit of any departure." This is right. This is consistent. Of course, if there is a question as to whether God has made any change in his primitive faith, revealed through Christ, we shall consider it; for I am willing also to make a change, if God has authorized it. I am quite willing to accept any doctrine that God has revealed from heaven for my salvation. I confess to you that I have {124} no disposition whatever to maintain private views or speculations which may have been engendered on my own part, through reflection. I wish the doctrine of Christ, as Christ taught it, as the apostles taught it, and I will not, with the light that I possess, depart one particle from the letter and spirit of that ancient plan. And if there are any friends here who have heard that the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not believe in the Bible, let them judge. There are no practices pleasing to God, or likely to bring his blessings upon the heads of the children of men, except those inculcated by him, through his servants by the power of revelation from heaven, so that we will not depart from the Book. We will not teach doctrines that are opposed to this book, but we are prepared to show our friends, in the spirit of kindness, that doctrines opposed to those contained in this Book are displeasing to God, and are not calculated to bring peace and salvation to the children of men.
"But," says one, "what matters it whether we go this road that you point out or some other? You know if we can get to heaven one way, is not that as good as another?" We will try to illustrate this idea. If a man wish to go to London, says the enquirer, may he not go the road that leads towards the south, or a road that leads towards the north, as the case may be; what matters it so that he gets to London? It would not matter in the least. He might go the road that led to the north, or that which led to the south, and by making a shorter or longer journey, as the case might be, he might get to London. But you see there is no parallel between this figure and the facts in regard to religion, because there are not two ways to get to heaven. This is the difference. There are two ways to get to London probably, perhaps more, but you see there is only one way to get to heaven, so that when we admit, as an illustration, a figure of this kind, we start with an error and it leads us astray.
The Bible speaks of one way. It speaks of two ways. It speaks of a broad road, that leads to destruction, and it speaks of a narrow way that leads to eternal life. So you see there is only one way that leads to heaven, and if any one persuades us that the wide road will lead us there, he deceives us, for there is only one way, and it is narrow. The Bible is very plain upon this, because the doctrines are steadfast and sure, and the words are plain that there is but one way that leads to life and glory. Now that is the way we want to find out.
Jesus came, he said, to do his Father's will, not his own. He called apostles and ordained them, and he said, "As I have {125} been sent, so send I you. Go and preach the Gospel to every creature." That was their business. But he said, "Tarry ye first in Jerusalem, until ye are endowed with power from on high." Jesus called the apostles. He ordained them himself. He instructed them personally, and he commissioned them to preach the Gospel to every creature. But he wished them to tarry at Jerusalem until they received power from on high; a certain gift which God had promised, that they might be qualified, in every sense, to discharge the important duty devolving upon them, of administering words of salvation to a fallen world. The apostles did this. They gathered in Jerusalem. They were there on the Day of Pentecost, and whilst there, in the upper room, the endowment of which Jesus spoke was given unto them. The Holy Ghost came upon them, in the upper room, as a mighty rushing wind, and it sat upon them as cloven tongues of fire. And, whilst under that influence, the apostles who were sent to preach the Gospel, stood up—at least Peter did, as the mouth-piece of the rest at that time—to preach the Gospel that Christ sent them to declare. Now, what was it? Let us lay a good foundation as we proceed.
Were they qualified to preach it? I do not think any Christian will doubt it. If they were not prepared to teach the Gospel of the Son of God, then I would have no hope, my friends, of hearing it in this life. Never. Jesus himself chose them. He ordained them; he instructed them, and after all this, as you will find, in the 2nd chap, of the Acts of the Apostles, 1st, 2nd and 3rd verses, they assembled in Jerusalem, and had fulfilled unto them the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ, receiving the endowment of which I have been speaking.
I think that all my friends here are certainly prepared to accept the words that Peter spoke, and acknowledge them to be true. What did Peter say? First, he preached Christ and him crucified. You see the people, who had gathered together on the day of Pentecost, were people who had no faith in Christ. They had rejected him and his instructions. They had been of those who persecuted Christ and the apostles. They were of those who had either personally or in their sympathies sustained the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, Peter, knowing this, stood up and preached to them, first Christ and him crucified, and he was successful. Who can doubt it? Peter, a servant of God, ordained by the Son of God. Peter, upon whom the Spirit of God rested as tongues of fire, as the Scriptures have it. This man stood up and argued the point, and explained about Jesus. And who can doubt the result? I am sure we would have been disappointed {126} if we had been told in the Bible that Peter was not successful. He was successful. Many believed on him, and the result of their belief was that they said, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts ii, 37). No wonder they asked that question. People who had either helped to crucify the Lord, or who had rejoiced when he was crucified, as many of them did, to be convinced that that same Jesus whom they had assisted to crucify was indeed the Lord, the Christ, and when they were convinced of this they cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
Peter was prepared to tell them. He had the very instructions that were needed, and the words of Peter are applicable to-day, my friends, to you and to me, so far as we have not obeyed them.
We are believers in Christ, I trust. We have fortunately made our appearance in this life, in the midst of a people who at least believe in the divinity of Christ, and we have received impressions favorable to this end; therefore the words of Peter, spoken to those who believed in the divinity of Christ, are applicable to us, and are the words of salvation to us, if that ancient Gospel is not changed. What were the words? He says, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts ii, 38).
Was that the Gospel? Yes, unless the apostles disobeyed the instructions of Christ, because they were sent to preach the Gospel, and they were endowed that they might preach it perfectly and represent God, the Maker of heaven and earth, in the words and spirit by which they presented it unto the people.
Now, my friends, faith in Christ was the first principle of the Gospel; repentance of sins was the second principle; baptism for the remission of sins was the third principle, and then the reception of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands, as taught by Peter on that day in Jerusalem. Is there any objection to this? "None at all," says one, "that is Scriptural; we cannot object to it." A Bible believer cannot object to it. But what is becoming of us if such doctrines are not taught? "Well," says one, "are they not taught?" No. "Faith in Christ" is taught, and "Repentance of sins is taught," although by some people the latter is taught first, before faith in Christ. Some teach that we must repent of our sins before we can have faith in Christ. This is a mistake. We cannot possibly repent of sin committed unless we are convinced that we have committed the sin. We cannot repent of laws broken, {127} which Jesus has taught through his apostles, unless we are first convinced that Jesus was divine, and had the authority to teach them; so that faith in Christ and his divine mission must be the foundation of our practice as Christians. And the first effect that faith in Christ produces, is repentance of the sins which we have committed. So repentance is the second principle of the Gospel. But we differ a little more about the third principle. Just read your Bible, and you will find that Peter taught baptism for the remission of sins (Acts ii, 38). Again, John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of Christ, baptized for the remission of sins (Mark, i, 4). "John was sent from God." You will find this in the 1st chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, 6th verse. John himself said, in the 33rd verse of the same chapter, "He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me," referring to the instructions he received from the Father regarding Christ. Both passages assert this, that John the Baptist was sent by God to baptize with water, and we are taught in the Bible that he did teach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. That is just what we might expect. John was God's servant. So was Peter. They both taught the same doctrine. John taught baptism, and Peter told the people to be baptized every one of them. You will remember the servant of God who was sent to speak to Paul, to instruct him just after his conversion. He went to him, and when the scales fell from the eyes of Paul, or Saul, this man of God said to him: "Why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord" (Acts xxii, 16.) Be baptized and wash away his sins? Yes. Now, that agrees exactly with the doctrine of Peter, and the doctrine of John the Baptist. They were all three servants of God, and they all taught the same doctrine, and those who heard and believed that doctrine possessed the self-same faith; so that so far as baptism is concerned, the ancient Saints did teach and practice the self-same doctrine—baptism for the remission of sins.
I want to talk a little about this. One says, "Well, I have always been taught that baptism was a doctrine of Christ anciently, but I have been under the impression that it was not necessary to salvation." That may be, my friends, we have been taught a great many things, and good Christian people have believed a great many things that Christian people have rejected since. But that is no reason why we should change the Bible doctrine. The thing is right here. "Well," says one, "I thought we were not able of ourselves to do anything to help to save ourselves." This requires proper understanding. {128} If baptism brings the remission of sins, and baptism is not attended to by us, we cannot obtain the blessing. Certainly not. God gives us bread to eat, but he does not present it to us. A man sows seed in the ground and he sees to it and he harvests it and it is threshed and prepared and placed before us in the shape of flour, but we have no disposition to deny that it is the gift of God. If it were not for God's goodness we should have no bread. If it were not for the gift of God, we could not attend to the ordinance that brings remission of sins. We have not power, of ourselves, to bring within our reach a single saving principle belonging to the plan of eternal life. It is all God's free gift. It is all in consequence of his mercy, and his charity, and his goodness and love, and pleasure manifested to us that we have any privilege at all that will help to make us better or that will bring us into his church and kingdom and give us a right to say that we are really his children. The fact that he has laid down ordinances, through which a remission of sins is brought to us does not warrant us in saying that we do it of ourselves, and when people talk like this it is likely to deceive.
Now, my friends, the Bible says, in the place I have quoted, that baptism is for the remission of sins. Do we believe this? If we do you know we must also come to the conclusion necessarily that we cannot have a remission of sins without it. If God has placed the ordinance of baptism in his church, as part of his divine system for a certain purpose, the object cannot be obtained without it. The means which God reveals for certain purposes must be used. We cannot say, and it would be unreasonable in us to say, that when God speaks from heaven in regard to any particular thing we can ignore his advice when we please and adopt something else that suits us. It is wrong, and it is this disposition that has led to the present deplorable state of things.
"Well," says one, "I have thought that baptism was for an outward sign of an inward grace, or of membership in the Church." Another error, you see! The Bible does not say anything about that. Of course the act of a person embracing the principles of the Gospel and becoming a member of the church, may be a sign, but baptism was not set in the church for that purpose. It was taught in the Church, and administered for the remission of sins and nothing else. And no man or woman can obtain a place in God's kingdom, or enjoy his presence here or hereafter, unless their sins are washed away in baptism, as Paul's were washed away when he accepted the advice of the good and inspired man, Ananias, who instructed him.
1{129} When I think of the importance of this offer which God has made, my heart is filled with thankfulness instead of a disposition to discard what he has taught. It is strange, and we can only account for it on the ground of the waywardness of men naturally, to think that we would attempt to do things in opposition to the will of God. Is there a more important blessing offered to mankind than the remission of sins? Have we any hope of enjoying the glory of God in our present sinful condition? Surely not, for nothing sinful or unholy can enter the courts of glory. Then if God has so put in his Church an ordinance for the purpose of enabling us, like Saul, to wash away our sins, why not be prepared to receive it with joy instead of cultivating or encouraging a disposition to ignore it?
Baptism for the remission of sins is the third principle of the Gospel of Christ. Then comes the ordinance of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Peter says on the day of Pentecost, to which we have directed your attention, "And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." What did that consist of? The gift of God's Spirit. The reception of God's power, a portion of his power. The reception of an influence which leads those who possess it near to God in their feelings and in their faith. A spirit which produces not only that inward consciousness of acceptance with God, as his son or daughter, but a power which gives outward manifestations of its divinity. Jesus did promise to the apostles when he sent them out first, that "These signs shall follow them that believe." Here are his words, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned, and these signs shall follow them that believe." The words of Christ, in the last chapter of Mark, 15th and following verses.
"Well," says one, "You know we do not believe in miracles now. These signs were miracles, but we do not believe in them now." That may he, my friends. This is the very reason why we are here, because there is such a great disbelief in the Bible; because there is a disposition to ignore the Bible; because there is a disposition to ignore the promises of Christ; and we wish to show you the things that are denied; we wish to point out to you the doctrines our fathers have denied; that our teachers have denied, and we wish to show you that they are in the Bible, the word of God, in the book which some have gone so far as to assert that the Saints do not believe in. But is it true that the promises of God were fulfilled anciently in regard to this matter? Yes! In the 19th {130} chapter and 6th verse of the Acts of the Apostles, you will find an instance related of the Apostles laying their hands on some that had been baptized, and they spake with tongues. This was one of the gifts that was manifested, in consequence of their receiving that spirit which produced them. See also Mark, 16th and 20th.
You must not consider that, in teaching these doctrines, we are advancing something of ourselves, something new. If we were teaching new doctrine you would have a right to call us to account and ask us for the proof. We are teaching old doctrine. We are teaching the New Testament doctrines, instead of those of our Christian friends. We have no spirit of enmity in the least degree, towards any living soul, and when we refer to the faith of our Christian friends remember, it is simply to make the difference between their views and ours more distinct to you. I say instead of our friends calling us to account, it is the Latter-day Saints who have the right to come out and say to their christian friends "See here, why do you deny signs which Christ said should follow believers?" What believers did Christ speak about? Why believers in his Gospel. He taught us that these signs should follow believers. Well then, if our Christian friends deny that, we have the right to call them to account. If Christ said that these miracles—manifestations of Almighty power—should follow the believers, I say what reason have you to deny it? The question is not now whether the Latter-day Saints possess the power or not. The question at issue at present is, not whether the teachers of other churches have the power or not. The question is, Does Christ promise that power to believers in the Gospel? I say he does, and I say that those who deny that such powers should follow believers, teach that which is contrary to the word of Christ, and contrary to the facts that appeared in connection with the teachings and administration of the doctrines of Christ. So that it is not the Latter-day Saints that introduce a new doctrine, and we say to our friends. Hear us, we beseech you. Hear the message we have to deliver, for God has sent us to teach the old religion, the religion of Jesus, the simple plan which was revealed from heaven in ancient days, to save the children of men.
Peter said, on the Day of Pentecost, speaking of the Gospel and its attendant blessings, "for this promise is unto you"—that is, to the people who stood before him—"to your children and unto all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
You see it was not confined to the members of the church {131} in the first place, as some would have us believe. The promise of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost was made to the children of those who heard Peter, and to all who were afar off, even as many as the Lord our God should call. And if it be true that God is calling sinners to repentance now, we should see the same power manifested to-day, that is, if we have the true Gospel. There can be no doubt of this.
Which will you have, my friends, the doctrine of the Bible or the doctrines of men? If you accept the doctrines of the Bible you will have to become Latter-day Saints, and of course that would be out of the question for a good many. But we cannot find these doctrines anywhere else, and that is a perplexity. What shall we do about them? When I am speaking to you I think of the position I occupied myself, when I heard the Latter-day Saints first. I went to their meeting, not expecting to hear anything that would interest me by any means, but I heard the Bible doctrine taught. I could not deny it. I found I had been mistaken. I did not incline in my heart to fight against God, but considerations came up. If I become a Latter-day Saint, people will call me a "Mormon." If I embrace these doctrines, my friends will point at me the finger of scorn. If I become a Latter-day Saint my good neighbors will say I am deceived and led astray, and that I have embraced a doctrine that is in opposition to the teachings of Christ. Of course these things flashed through my mind when I considered and read the Bible to ascertain positively whether these "Mormons" taught the truth or not. I thought this—well! I have been religious for the purpose of making my peace with God, but I have been mistaken and led astray by men whom God had not sent to preach the Gospel; but now I have found the truth, the old promises relating to God's power, all things as at the beginning, have been restored, and I have the promise of obtaining a place with the righteous, according to the mind and will of my Heavenly Father. Let friends say what they please, let them say I am deceived, but I believe this Bible is true. Let them say whatever they may in regard to my faith; no matter. I thought of the time of Christ. They called Christ hard names; and of the apostles they spake a great deal of evil. In fact the Bible says they called them all manner of evil, and although I expected my friends would denounce me, still when I thought of what Christ had suffered, I was reconciled and instead of fighting against God, I was willing to accept his doctrine, in order to obtain his blessings.
{132} I state to you my friends, that since the day I entered this Church, I have rejoiced exceedingly. I have found proofs upon proofs. I have had reason to rejoice in consequence of the manifestations of God's power, confirmatory of the doctrines, and I can say that the Church of Christ is set up, its doctrines are taught, its practices are practised, its promises are fulfilled, and the evidence of its divine power are manifested in the midst of this people.
I would like to say a few words in regard to another point. I have just said that I had been taught a religion by men whom God had not sent. I would like to explain. You will excuse us if we seem to be very extreme in our views. We have taken the liberty to teach you the truth, just as we have it, and when we say something that comes in contact with what you have received, excuse us. There is no bad feeling at all, or unfriendliness in the least. But we believe in persons being invested with the proper authority to preach the Gospel. Paul says, speaking of the authority of the holy priesthood, "No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron" (Heb. 5, 4), Faith cometh by hearing, and how can we hear without a "preacher" (Rom. x, 14-17). "No man taketh this honor unto himself, except he be called of God as was Aaron." Now that is very plain, and what does it mean? Simply what it says. That no man has a right to administer in the ordinances of religion, except he be sent of God as was Aaron, for how can a man preach except he be sent? (Rom. x, 15). If that be admitted, of course the next question of importance is, How was Aaron sent? By turning to the history we have of God's dealings with Moses, in reference to the gathering of the Israelites, from Egypt, you will find that God instructed Moses to call Aaron to be his helper. (Ex. iv, 15, 16.) Here is the proof. No man can preach the Gospel simply because he feels inclined within himself to be a preacher. No man can preach the Gospel—that is with God's approval and authority—unless God commission him. God commissioned every one of his preachers in ancient times. He spoke from heaven. He directed those who held this authority to call others. Christ called the apostles as he was called. His Father called him: he called the apostles, and he said, "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you" (St. John xx, 21). "He that receiveth you receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." The authority was here you see. God called Moses; he instructed Moses to call Aaron; so that Aaron stood exactly in the same relation to God as did the apostles: {133} the latter being called of God the Father through Christ. That would be evident, because one whom God had authorized to act as his servant was instructed by him to call Aaron. Now, you observe, no man has a right to exercise the authority of the Priesthood, unless he is called of God, as was Aaron.
Are the preachers—those who commonly preach in connection with the churches of the present day—called of God as was Aaron? Or, in other words, are they called by revelation from God? This is the question. We do not doubt the propriety of their being called in this way, because the Bible says they ought robe. Do our Protestant ministers, at the present time, profess to be sent of God as was Aaron? Is there a minister connected with the Christian denominations of the present day who professes to be sent of God by direct revelation? Not one. It does not require any argument at all. They do not profess that they have heard from God. They say that God has not spoken since the last book of the New Testament was written. They say it is a sin, and they find fault with the Latter-day Saints because we believe that God does speak; that he has a right to speak; and that it is necessary we should have his approval and commission in order to qualify us to attend to the business of his Church. So that our present Christian teachers do not profess to be called of God as was Aaron. They deny all revelation at present, or since the Bible was written.
You know the ministers, among their other errors, receive pay for preaching. That is an innovation also. The ancient apostles, and seventies, and bishops, and so on, were not paid for preaching. But our present ministers are. The preachers of this Church, with whom I am connected, are not paid for teaching. They preach without money, without purse, and without scrip. Now, the preachers of the present churches make a business of preaching. They learn to be preachers. They are brought up to be preachers in consequence of their parents or guides finding in this way a place where they make a living. Such ministers sometimes acknowledge one kind of revelation. Not that God tells the people about his will, or that he manifests his power, but they sometimes tell us they have received a call from one congregation to another. But there is one peculiarity about it, viz.: the congregation that calls them is a congregation that almost invariably offers them more money than the congregation to which they have been attached. This is the only instance of any kind of revelation being acknowledged by our Christian teachers. God has not spoken, say they, by inspired men, since the days of the ancient {134} apostles. He has not spoken directly to the Church. He has not authorized a single man to preach, but sometimes a call is given from less money to more. And though they are feeling full of love and affection for the congregation with which they have labored for years, yet they are sorry and regret so much that that call must be made, which takes them from among their old friends to a new congregation. But, you see, the new congregation offers the most money, and that cannot be disregarded.
My friends, these are a few of the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Are we displeased with anybody? No, not at all. All are at liberty to believe what they please. But we are placed under obligations to deliver the message which God has sent. We say we are not solely dependant on the Bible, because God has revealed the Gospel, and we possess a living Priesthood divinely appointed. We do not wish you to think that we regard the Bible lightly. Of course you will have noticed, from our remarks, that this is not the case. But we say from the Bible alone, without revelation, we could not have been able to obtain all the knowledge we have received. Why, millions of people have read the Bible but have not discovered some of these doctrines. They have not been led to preach even all the things contained therein, and if they had discovered the doctrine, this Bible cannot lay on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. That part of the work that is necessary for man's salvation must be done by one whom God authorizes. Therefore the Bible alone is not sufficient. It contains the truth. It is the word of God. It contains the instructions of the apostles. But it does not contain the divine authority that is necessary to commission a man to baptize or administer in any ordinance pertaining to the house of God.
Now, my friends, may God bless you. And my brethren and sisters, may the Holy Spirit, which leads into all truth, abide upon us, and may we who have found the truth have a disposition to retain it. May we have the moral courage to say, "Let God be served. Let his truth be obeyed." Let the Almighty be honored, and if other people choose to follow their own fancies, or the deceptions presented before them by men whom God has not sent, as for us and our house, let us serve God.
May God bless us, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
He that judgeth a matter before he heareth it is not wise.—Solomon.
BY WILLIAM BUDGE,
An Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"Prove all things: hold fast that which is good."—1 Thess. v, 21.
"And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto nations, and then shall the end come."—Matt. xxiv. 14.
At a time like the present, when all society is impressed with a foreboding of coming changes in the affairs of men, we may, with propriety, call the attention of those who look to the Scriptures for divine guidance to the foregoing important text. It was given by the Savior as a warning, and its fulfillment is to be a sign of the end of the world as it is, under man's dominion, and of the coming of Jesus Christ, according to the predictions of the Prophets. It is like all other warnings given of God, simple, easy to be understood, and sure to be fulfilled. Let us try to understand its meaning and spirit, without prejudice and in the fear of God.
What is to be understood by this Gospel of the kingdom? Is it possible that another Gospel might have been mistaken for the one of which Jesus spoke? Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians (1-8, 9), prohibits any one from preaching any other Gospel than he had preached, and, no doubt, it was the danger of a false or perverted Gospel being accepted for the true one which led the Savior to express himself as he did, when he said this Gospel. He certainly had reference to the Gospel which he had taught and sent his Apostles to teach, and to none other. Let us try to find it. There is no other religious system like it, and we cannot find it unless we are guided strictly by the word of God.
{136} It is important it should be known to us, so that when it is preached as a "sign" of coming judgments and of the end of the world, we may be enabled to recognize it. Some may say, "we have had the Gospel preached for generations." Not the Gospel spoken of by Jesus, for its restoration was to be a Latter-day work and a "sign" or warning; something strange and remarkable. An appeal to the word of God will, however, decide the matter for such as seek the truth, and if we teach not according to the Scriptures, there can be no light in us. Besides, Christianity, as it is called, is represented by many forms and faiths, and without reference to the Bible it would be very difficult to make a distinction with any degree of assurance. We could not accept all the systems of Christianity as the Gospel of Christ, for the Apostle Paul says there is but one faith (Eph. 4-5), and to receive one religious system on the recommendation of its teachers as the true Gospel, and reject all the rest, without a substantial Scriptural reason, would be unwise, as we would still be in doubt. The true Gospel is one, not many systems. All but one are perversions of the Gospel of Christ, as truly now as anciently. I submit that the surest way to find the Gospel is to find it from the revelations of God, as taught by Jesus and other inspired men, and accept their doctrines even if we must, by so doing, reject the faith of our fathers, as it is God's ways and not man's we should seek and walk in, if we wish to obtain eternal life. Jesus says to his Apostles (Mark 16-15), "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature," and we believe they did so, and will endeavor to find what their instructions were. What effect did Jesus expect from the preaching? faith, for he continues (Mark 16-16) by saying, "he that believeth," etc., shall be saved. Again, Paul, when asked by the jailor what he should do to be saved, says (Acts 16-30, 31), "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," both of which Scriptures establish the fact that faith is the first principle or condition upon which salvation is promised; or, in other words, the first principle of the Gospel of Christ, or the beginning of true Christian worship. Faith must be the first principle of revealed religion as it is the first effect created in us, through the administration of the word. We hear and faith is the first consequence, the most immediate, natural and unchangeable result. The Scriptures say (Rom. 10-17), "faith cometh by hearing," and our experience confirms this. The principles of the Gospel are always the same, for the same purpose, and invariably taught in the same order.
Repentance of all sin is the second principle of the unchangeable {137} plan through which salvation is promised. Peter, the Apostle, tells the gathered multitude on the day of Pentecost, who already believed that Jesus was the Christ, and who then asked what they should do, that they should repent, and be baptized every one of them. (Acts 2-38). Repentance, according to the Scriptures, follows faith. But is it necessarily so? It is, for we cannot repent before we believe; we cannot repent of sin against God, until we believe that there is a God. We cannot repent of a wrong done by us, against our fellow-man until we believe we have wronged him. The propriety of the advice of the Apostle is very apparent. His hearers, under the influence of the power which rested upon the Apostles, believed that he whom they had crucified was the Christ. Repentance of the part they took in that great wickedness was to be expected. Baptism, being promised after repentance, and the history stating that many were baptized, we must conclude that repentance was a result of the preaching, and that effect agrees with the organization of our natures.
Baptism is the third principle of the Gospel of Christ, and follows repentance; Peter places it there when he says, "Repent and be baptized," and John preached the "Baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." (Mark 1-4). A little reflection will show how consistent the Scriptural citations are. Baptism is an ordinance of the Gospel, administered for a special purpose—as well as being simply a commandment, namely: for the "remission of sins." It is not reasonable to suppose that any person could receive the remission or forgiveness of sins without repentance, or that any one would desire baptism that his sins might be washed away (Acts 22-10) without having already repented. Baptism necessarily follows repentance, as through its administration the sins repented of are remitted: thus our necessities, and the Scriptures are in unison. This order must be right, as each principle follow as an effect of the one preceding it.
We will trace the Gospel plan a little further. It is a code of divine laws, calculated to improve the human race. Being perfect, every principle is revealed in its order, and for its own special purpose. Faith, Repentance and Baptism, as taught in the foregoing pages, administered by one having authority, prepares a disciple to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, as promised in Acts 2-38, which is the Comforter spoken of by Jesus, that would lead the Saints into all truth. How consistent are the doctrines of Christ, as taught in the word of God. Faith is begotten in the human mind by preaching, repentance naturally follows, and baptism is then administered {138} that the sins repented of may be washed away, preparing the sinner for the greatest gifts of God to man, the Holy Spirit, which is the seal of adoption into the Kingdom of God. No man can enter into the Kingdom except he be born of the water and of the Spirit (John 3-5).
The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is given to all those who comply with the conditions herein set forth, by the laying on of the hands of the Elders of the Church of Christ, according to the ancient practice (Acts 8-18), in explanation of which I will quote from Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, 12th chap., 4th to the 12th verse:
"Now there are diversities of gifts, by the same Spirit.
"And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
"And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
"To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
"To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.
"But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ."
The fact of these miracles not existing in the so-called Christian churches of the present day, is no reason that we should deny the necessity of their existence. If they were enjoyed by the early Saints, why should not the Saints of God possess them now? If God promised these gifts to all those who kept his commandments in former times, and to their children, and to all that were afar off, even unto as many as the Lord our God should call (Acts 2-39), why should not the Church enjoy them now? If they were necessary for the comfort, encouragement, or edifying of the ancient Church (1 Cor. 14-12), why should not the followers of Christ be benefitted by them now? To these questions we can only answer, there is no reason. The word of God directs us to seek for and cultivate them (1 Cor. 14-1 & 39). We should therefore be prepared to reject every statement to the effect {139} that our heavenly Father did not intend that they should continue on the earth, as the promises of God are true, and not one jot or tittle of them will fall to the ground unfulfilled.
The next question of importance connected with this subject is that of authority; the authority which man must hold from God to make his administrations valid. We should not be prepared to acknowledge the action of any man who might take upon himself the direction of our affairs, but we ought to be prepared to sustain those whom we send or have commissioned to represent us. We understand this well enough to know that we should not expect a firm or company to be responsible to us for what a pretended agent might promise. It would simply be absurd on our part to do so. How much less then could we look for our heavenly Father to sustain those who administer in holy things without authority from Him? How foolish for us to expect that the special blessings of the Almighty would follow the pretensions of a fraud!
We are instructed by the words of Jesus, when He said, "As my Father sent me, so send I you" (John 20-21). And we are warned by Paul in the following words: "And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron" (Heb. 5-4.) The honor here referred to is the "Priesthood," or the authority to administer in the things of God, as will be seen by reference to the preceding verses. How was Aaron called? We answer by direct revelation from God (Ex. 4, 14 to 16). Modern ministers are now set apart by men who deny the necessity of revelation altogether, or take unto themselves the authority they seem to have, because they feel they are called to preach and administer in the ordinances of the House of God. There is in this no higher calling than may be found among the Hindoos, and the anger of the Lord is kindled against all those who solemnly attempt to usurp the powers and privileges of the holy "Priesthood," and he will destroy their influence among the people.
Beloved friends, be not deceived by those who take unto themselves the "honor" of the Priesthood, and who preach for hire and divine for money, for they are not sent, and they preach not according to the law and the testimony, and Paul says that if "we or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed" (Gal. 1-8).
The principles herein explained are true and faithful, and confirmed by Holy Writ. The Elders of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," who preach them, have not discovered {140} them by their own wisdom, for they have been revealed from heaven, by the power of God, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and are now being preached as a witness of the speedy coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This Gospel is preached as before without money and without price, by those whom God has sent, who have met with opposition in every form, and many of them have suffered even unto death. Still the work is onward, the kingdom is being set up, and it will grow and increase until it fills the whole earth.
We testify of its divinity, and that it is being preached in fulfillment of the prediction of Christ, as a "witness" to all nations of his near approach. But "as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man" (Matt. 24-37 to 40); many will reject the message and perish.
LIVERPOOL, February 1st, 1879.
We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the Celestial Kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has none, and this is his punishment. When cast out by the Savior he asked to go into the herd of swine, preferring a swine's body to none.
—Joseph Smith, The Prophet.
BY ELDER B. H. ROBERTS, IN THE CONTRIBUTOR, 1890.
Among those who may be accounted the benefactors of our race, we claim for the Prophet Joseph Smith, the second place. To Him who died that man might live, upon whom was laid the iniquity of us all; by whose stripes we are healed; who brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel; who by way of pre-eminence is called the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father—to Him must be assigned, forever, the first place among the benefactors of mankind. And next to him is the Prophet, who was chosen to stand at the head of the dispensation of the fullness of times.
Born in obscurity—in the western wilds of the state of New York, and of humble parents, without the advantages of worldly education; with no knowledge of ancient languages or history to begin with; untutored in the sciences, and unlearned in theology, Joseph Smith has done more for the salvation of the children of men than any reformer, theologian or ecclesiastic that has lived since the days of the earthly ministry of the Son of God. It is to prove his right and title to the high place we have assigned him in the roll of honor—in the list of the benefactors of humanity—that this paper is written, rather than to give a biographical sketch of his well known career.
Notwithstanding the very explicit revelation, which God had given of himself; of His person, His attributes, His powers, through His Son Jesus Christ; for in Him dwelt all the fullness of the God-head bodily, the world had gone far astray, in its conception and knowledge of God. Men had conjured up to themselves a being without body, without parts and passions, and worshiped it for God—a being that never was, nor is, nor ever shall be. Of the absurdity of such a description of God, however, we need not speak.
Another idea equally false and equally baneful in its effects on true religion, and as universally accepted as the above conception of the being and character of Deity, was the doctrine that the volume of revelation was closed.
Such was the state of the world in respect to these matters, when Joseph Smith announced that he had received a {142} new revelation; that he had seen both the Father and the Son, and had conversed with them in a glorious vision, in the full light of day. His testimony was that both Father and Son possessed a body, parts, organs, dimensions in form like man, and each resembled the other. This revelation was soon followed by the visitation of an angel, Moroni, one of the ancient Prophets of the American continent, who made known the existence of the Book of Mormon; a volume of scripture compiled from the voluminous records kept by that enlightened people, who anciently inhabited America, the ruins of whose civilization are the astonishment of the archaeologists of today. Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, from the ancient and now unknown language in which it was written, into English, and thus gave the world a new volume of scripture, equal in bulk and equal in importance to the New Testament. Thus, since faith is bottomed on evidence, the foundation of faith was widened. The world now had two volumes of scripture instead of one; the testimony of each sustaining the other. That volume of scripture is not the voice of one witness merely, but like the Bible it contains the testimony of many witnesses for God. Who can estimate the value of this work, that comes in a day when unbelief is prevalent in the earth, to renew and sustain the sinking faith of humanity!
While yet the work of translating this valuable book was in progress, the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery were visited by John the Baptist, whom God had raised from the dead, and he conferred upon them an Aaronic Priesthood, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels; of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. This ordination, therefore, gave the Prophet and his fellow laborer the authority to preach repentance and baptism. They began by baptizing each other.
Subsequently they were ordained to the Apostleship under the hands of the Apostles Peter, James and John. This gave them the right and power to build up the Church and Kingdom of God in all the world. Accordingly on the 6th of April, 1830, the Prophet organized the Church. The Gospel began to be publicly proclaimed; those who believed were baptized for the remission of sins; received the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and the gifts and powers of that spirit were manifested among the Saints by speaking in tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, inspired dreams, healing the sick, and all those gracious gifts and powers enjoyed by the ancient Saints. High Priests, Elders, Bishops, {143} Priests, Teachers and Deacons, were ordained as the work of the ministry increased. Branches of the Church were organized, and men holding proper authority set to preside over them. Finally these branches were grouped together and organized into stakes of Zion, with a presidency of three High Priests to preside over them. High Councils, consisting of twelve High Priests, with the Presidency of the Stake, as the presidency thereof were organized, forming courts possessing both original and appellate jurisdiction in the ecclesiastical affairs of the stakes, in which they were respectively established.
In 1835 he organized a quorum of the Twelve Apostles, men who are chosen especially to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ, and who constitute a traveling High Council, with authority to regulate all the affairs of the Church in all the world. At the same time quorums of seventy were organized to be their helps in the ministry, this being an order of the Priesthood designed to travel and preach the Gospel in all the nations of the earth. Thus he organized the Church and all the quorums thereof. But he did more than that.
In the Book of Mormon it is predicted that a splendid city called Zion, or New Jerusalem shall be built upon this continent, a city noted not for its manufactories, nor for commerce; but for its temples and sanctuaries for worship and learning; a city on which the glory of God will shine. The place where this city and where the chief temple is to be built was indicated by the Prophet, and the temple site dedicated under his direction. This was at Independence, Jackson county, Missouri. Between twelve and fifteen hundred of the Saints gathered to that place to lay the foundation of the city of Zion, but their enemies prevented them by driving them away from the lands they had purchased, and burning their houses Thus the work was hindered for the time being, but the location of Zion was pointed out, a commencement was made, and eventually the design of the Lord will be accomplished.
A temple was designed by the Prophet and built by the united efforts of the Saints at Kirtland, Ohio. In it the Lord Jesus appeared to the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery, and declared His acceptance of the house which had been built to His name. On the same occasion Moses the great leader and law giver to ancient Israel, appeared to them and committed upon them the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north. Thus the power to restore {144} Israel to their lands, from which they have long been exiled, was given to him; and the work of the gathering which ultimately will result in the restoration of all the tribes of Israel to their possessions has begun.
While he was in Nauvoo he translated from the rolls of Egyptian papyrus, obtained from the catacombs of Egypt, the Book of Abraham, containing an account of the patriarch's sojourn in Egypt, and many important principles relative to the work of God in the salvation of man. He also made an inspired translation, or, what would be more properly called an inspired revision of the Jewish Scriptures—the Bible. That work, however, was not published during his life time, and is practically lost to the world, because it is questionable if those into whose hands his manuscript fell have preserved the integrity of his work.
We should fall very short of stating the extent of the great work of the Prophet Joseph, if we stopped with what he did for the children of men this side of the grave. His work did not stop there. It reached beyond. At the time Moses visited him and committed to him the keys of the gathering of Israel, the Prophet Elijah came also, and revealed those principles of which the prophet Malachi speaks, which are to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. The principles then revealed brought to light the doctrine of salvation for the dead.
Thus the work accomplished through the Prophet Joseph effects two worlds—the spiritual world as well as the one in which we dwell; and already the work in the former exceeds that which has been done in the latter. Salvation has been carried to those who sit in darkness in the spirit world; their hearts have been made glad and have been turned to their children, who can administer in the ordinance of salvation for them. A perfect flood of light has been thrown upon the sentence uttered by one of the prophets of old, who in speaking of the fathers, said: "They without us cannot be made perfect."
Nor must we omit to mention the new light which the Prophet shed upon the relationship of husband and wife. Under the darkness of an apostate Christianity, men and women were content to be united together, as husband and wife, until death did them part; but the Prophet Joseph brought forth the principle that the union of man and wife was designed in the economy of God to be eternal; that it was the means through which the race of the Gods was {145} multiplied and new kingdoms added to the dominions of the great Eloheim; and that as long as there was room in infinite space, or elements in the exhaustless store-house of nature, or as long as the bosom of the Gods glowed with affection, just so long would new worlds be created and peopled with the ever increasing offspring of the righteous.[A]
[Footnote A: The substance of the latter part of this paragraph is taken from P. P. Pratt's Key to Theology.]
Nor did he merely teach this principle as a theory; a beautiful thing to be contemplated at a distance; but qualified with the possession of that God-given power which binds on earth and in heaven, and so directed of the Lord, he established this order of marriage in the Church—an order in which tens of thousands rejoice, as they look forward with joyful anticipation, to an eternal union, with the families they have raised up in this life, in the midst of hopes and fears, poverty and toil, sickness and tears.
Such are the chief things accomplished by this great Prophet. We have given but an outline of his work. A volume would scarce suffice to point out its importance, or trace out its relationship to the general designs of the Lord in respect to the redemption of our earth and its inhabitants. It cannot be expected that we shall undertake it in this brief article. Let it be sufficient here to say that even our imperfect enumeration of what he did will prove what was claimed in the outset, viz.: That Joseph Smith, despised as he was by the world, has done more than any other man, save Jesus Christ, for the salvation of our race.
That the work he accomplished during his brief, but glorious career, was wonderful, goes without saying. The wonder grows upon us as we take into account the circumstances under which he did it. His life's labor was performed in the midst of stupendous difficulties. Opposition met him at every turn. Religious bigotry now ridiculed him for a fool, and now denounced him a knave; now claiming that he was beneath contempt; and now that he was the most dangerous imposter that had arisen since Mohammed, and invoked all powers at its command for his destruction. Poverty, hardship, and the hatred of his fellow men, dogged his footsteps through all his life. He was waylaid by assassins, beaten by mobs, cast into prisons, robbed of his property, worried with vexatious law suits, dragged before judges and betrayed by false brethren. He himself said in speaking of his life: "I have waded in tribulation neck-deep, but every {146} wave that has struck me has but wafted me nearer to Deity."
Such were the circumstances under which he stood forth as a witness for God; brought forth new volumes of scripture; restored to earth the Gospel of the Son of God, with authority to administer the ordinances thereof; organized the Church; set in order the quorums of the Priesthood, and defined their duties and powers; sent the Gospel into every state of the Union, into Canada and England; laid the foundation for the gathering of Israel; opened the door for the salvation of the dead; commenced the work of building up Zion; founded Kirtland, Far West and Nauvoo, with its magnificent temple—a work accomplished under circumstances which give him a fame and name that cannot be slain, but which will grow brighter as time on silent wheels rolls by.
So soon as we discover ourselves in a fault, we should repent of that wrong doing and as far as possible repair or make good the wrong we may have committed.
—Lorenzo Snow.
There is nothing that will lead to damnation and destruction quicker than self-justification of sin.
—Brigham Young.
J. H. PAUL.
The question "What shall I do to be saved?" involves the fate of every man and woman on earth; and rational persons cannot rest satisfied until they have a correct understanding in regard to it.
First principles. Heb. 6: 1, 2.
The Scriptures teach that the first step toward salvation is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; that the second step is to repent and turn from sin; that the third step is to be baptized by immersion for the remission of sins; and that the fourth step is to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands by those having authority to confer it. These are first among the saving principles of the Gospel of Christ; and while men may claim that the requirements instituted by Him for the salvation of mankind are no longer necessary, the sincere seeker after salvation will prefer to believe the revealed word of God.
Rom. 1: 16. Heb. 11: 6.
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; and "without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." But what constitutes the faith and belief named here? Is it a mere intellectual assent or opinion? Must we also do as well as believe?
Genuine Belief. John 17: 3. 1 John 2: 3, 4.
The beloveth disciple writes: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Construe this statement with another passage of Scripture, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, {148} and the truth is not in him." The devils believe—and tremble. James 2: 19.
Matt. 28: 19, 20.
Jesus said to his apostles: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." The disciples were sent to teach all nations, and they were instructed to enjoin obedience to "all things whatsoever" Christ gave as commandments. His language is so comprehensive that no command can be omitted.
Gal. 3: 7. John 8: 39. Gen. 26: 5. James 1: 22.
"Know ye therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." But, "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."
Faith and works. James 2: 14-22.
"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?"
Luke 6: 46. Luke 11: 28. John 14: 15-21. Rev. 22: 14.
"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" "But he said, Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." "If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Salvation is won by the works of a lifetime.
True repentance. Luke 18: 13. Ezek. 18: 30. Luke 13: 5. Matt. 3: 7, 8.
Belief in God is followed by an utterance which lies deep in the troubled heart of man: "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" The answer of the Almighty to the godly sorrow of His penitent children is: "Repent, and turn yourself from all your transgressions." "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Genuine repentance is such a sorrow for past sin as produces a reformation of life, and bears fruit in good works. It leads him that steals to steal no more; him that gets drunk {149} to break from that habit; him that blasphemes to desist from that evil and learn to do well. All need to repent. Even the best men fall far short of their ideal. Repentance is therefore one of the conditions of salvation. It must precede the forgiveness of sins; and those who do not repent are not eligible for baptism.
The counsel of God.
One of the most remarkable fallacies of modern times is the wide-spread doctrine that we can be saved without complying with the ordinances and other requirements which our Savior instituted for the salvation of men.
Luke 7: 29, 30.
John the Baptist, a servant of the Most High, taught and administered baptism; the Lord said that those who received this baptism justified God, but that there were others who "rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him." Now, men cannot be saved by rejecting the counsel of God against themselves. Then, as it is the counsel of God for men to be baptized, they cannot be saved without baptism, which is therefore essential to salvation.
The command of God. Acts 11: 14. Acts 10: 48.
The Lord sent His angel to Cornelius, and told him to send for Peter, who would tell him words whereby he and all his house should be saved. Cornelius did so, and when the Apostle came, "he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." If Cornelius had rejected baptism as non-essential, could he have been saved? No; for the angel informed him that Peter would tell him how to be saved, and the Apostle "commanded them to be baptized." The righteous man had to be baptized.
Baptism essential. Gal. 3: 26, 27.
The Apostle Paul says: "Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." If it is necessary "to put on Christ" to obtain salvation, then it is essential to be baptized, for we put on Christ by baptism.
Mark 16: 15.
The Lord Jesus, in sending out His Apostles, said: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not," (and consequently is not baptized) "shall be damned." Here the Lord positively declares that it is only the baptized believer who shall be saved.
The new birth. John 3: 5.
Jesus said to Nicodemus: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water" (that is, baptized in water) "and of the Spirit," (that is, baptized in the Spirit) "he cannot {150} enter into the kingdom of God." If entering the kingdom of God is essential to salvation, then being "born of water," or being baptized, is essential also, for by doing the latter we make the former possible.
The thief on the cross. John 20: 11-17.
Some have supposed that the thief who was crucified beside the Lord went to heaven, and it is believed that he was not baptized; therefore, it is argued, if one can be saved without baptism, others can. But the supposition is incorrect: Jesus said to the thief, "to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise," and three days afterwards said to Mary, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." By this we learn that paradise and heaven are two distinct places, and as Jesus did not go to heaven on the day He was crucified, neither did the thief; for they were both together in paradise.
The dead preached to. I Peter 4: 6.
Here the seeker after truth may properly inquire. "If it is necessary for all men and women to be baptized, what will become of the good people who have died without having that privilege?" To this the reply of the Scriptures is that the dead who died without hearing the Gospel will have it preached to them. They who obey it will be saved, but they who reject it will be condemned, as though they were in the flesh. "For this cause was the Gospel preached" [by Christ] "to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh."
The dead baptized for. I Cor. 15: 29. The Spirits in prison. I Peter 3: 18-20.
"But a dead person cannot be baptized," says one. Very true; but God is just. He has provided a way in which the dead can be baptized for, by the living, as shown by the Apostle Paul in his questions: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" Paul referred to baptism for the dead, as a proof of the resurrection, his questions showing plainly that "baptism for the dead" was both believed in and practiced by the early Christians. Peter says: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometimes were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water." That is: Those who rejected the Gospel in the days of Noah were kept in the prison of the spirit world until the Gospel was {151} again offered to them; and the same fate awaits all those who in this life reject this glad message.
The remission of sins. Mark 1: 4.
When John was in the wilderness he preached the "baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."
Acts 2: 38.
"On the day of Pentecost, many persons were convinced that Jesus was the Christ, and cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter replied: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins."
Here we find the inspired Apostle, after Christ's ascension into heaven, teaching that baptism is for the remission of sins.
The case of Paul. Acts 22: 16.
Paul saw a vision in which he was directed to go to a certain place, where it should be told him what to do. He did so, and there fasted and prayed three days. Then the Lord sent to him Ananias, who said, "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins." Why did not the Lord remit Paul's sins through his fasting and prayer? For the reason that He has instituted baptism for that purpose, and all who desire the blessing of remission of sins must comply with His law.
"Inward grace."
"But," says one, "that doctrine is strange to me; I was always taught that baptism was an outward sign of an inward grace." No such doctrine can be sustained by the Scripture. You must be baptized and have your sins washed away before you are even prepared for the reception of an "inward grace."
"But Peter tells us," urges the objector, "that baptism is 'not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God.'" And Peter states the truth. Ananias did not tell Paul to be baptized and wash away "the filth of the flesh," but to be baptized and wash away his sins.
Infant baptism. Mark 10: 14.
Infant baptism is contrary to reason and Scripture; infants are without sin; "of such is the kingdom of heaven." It is true that the sin of Adam passed upon all mankind; but Christ took that sin upon Himself and atoned for it upon the cross. The Bible teaches that the sins for which men should be baptized are their individual sins, and not the sin they were born in, for the Lord Jesus atoned for that.
Forgiveness is the gift of God. Acts 8: 18.
It will not do to say that baptism remits a man's sins, for that is the work of the Lord. The "laying on of hands" does not give the Holy Ghost, for it is the "gift of God." The {152} blowing of rams' horns did not throw down the walls of Jericho; it was the power of Jehovah. "Simon saw that through the laying on of the Apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given."
Buried in water. Eph. 4: 5. Rom. 6: 4, 5. Mark 1: 10. Col. 2: 12. John 3: 23.
The mode of baptism was also designated by the Lord, and His instructions were strictly obeyed by His servants. Paul testifies that there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism," and describes the manner in which the ordinance was performed: "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." As the Lord had been buried in the watery element in the river Jordan, "coming up out of the water," so also were the Saints "buried with him in baptism;" they received the ordinance by immersion in the same element, according to the prescribed method. John baptized "in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there."
Born again. Matt. 3: 13-17. Acts 8: 17-19. Acts 19: 5, 6.
Jesus insisted on receiving baptism "to fulfill all righteousness." When he had been "born of water," and had come up out of that element, the Spirit of God came upon Him, and the voice of God was heard: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This is the pattern. So likewise the repentant believer goes down into the water, with the one sent of God to baptize, and is buried therein and raised up again in the likeness of Christ's resurrection; he is thus born of the water, receiving the baptism appointed by the Lord; the remission of his sins comes from God through His Son Jesus Christ, and is given in baptism; he is cleansed and purified, his past sins are blotted out; he is like a newborn babe before his God, and is then prepared to receive the Holy Ghost, which "dwelleth not in unclean tabernacles," and which is imparted to the baptized believer by the laying on of hands by those having authority to officiate in this ordinance. As his body was enveloped in the waters of baptism, so his soul is enveloped in the Holy Ghost, and he is baptized with divine fire; he is "born of water and of the Spirit," and made a citizen of the kingdom of God.
Called of God. Heb. 5: 4. Exod. 4: 14-16.
The Scriptures also teach that, for the ordinance to be effectual, it must be performed by one authorized to act in {153} the name of the Lord; for "no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." Aaron was called by the voice of God, through Moses.
Divine authority. Matt. 28: 19. Mark 3: 14. John 15: 16.
The Savior commanded His Apostles to "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." But He had given them the divine commission to act in His name wheresoever He should send them: "He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that he might send them forth to preach." The divine authority which they possessed was the source of their power. This fact He impressed upon them, saying: "ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." If they had started out on their own authority without being chosen, God certainly would not have recognized ordinances performed by them in His name.
Imperfect baptism is not baptism. Acts 19: 11-16. Acts 19: 1-6.
The Apostle Paul, by the power of God, cast out evil spirits; but when the sons of Sceva, on whom the divine authority had not been conferred, attempted to do this, they met with failure. When the Apostle went to Ephesus, he found certain persons who claimed to have been baptized "unto John's baptism." Paul discerned that they had not received John's baptism, for they knew nothing of the Holy Ghost. Probably some unauthorized person—perhaps with good intent, but nevertheless without authority—had been along that way baptizing "unto John's baptism," but not with it, for that could only be done by a duly commissioned servant of God. After they received a proper understanding of the true ordinance they were baptized again, "and when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied."
Go thou and do likewise.
The experience of the men of Ephesus affords an interesting lesson. They had been mistaken, but when the truth was presented to them they accepted it gladly. They received the Gospel ordinance, viz.: Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, administered by one having divine authority; the burial in, and the birth from the watery element, without which ordinance the Lord has said that no man can enter the kingdom of heaven. "Enter ye in at the strait gate" that leads to life eternal.
Suggestions to the Reader.
BY ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.
The reader of the Book of Mormon will do well to remember that it is a translation of a record inscribed on gold plates, which was an abridgment made from more extensive records kept by the ancient civilized peoples of America—chiefly by the people known in the Book of Mormon as Nephites. The abridgment, for the most part, is made by one Mormon, a Nephite prophet who was born 311 A.D., and slain by his enemies in the year 400 A.D. The parts which are not his abridgment are the first 157 pages (N. E.), which bring us to the "Words of Mormon," page 158; and from page 563 (N. E.) to the end of the volume—sixty pages.
This latter part of the record was made by Moroni, the son of Mormon, who was also the one who hid up the plates containing his father's and his own abridgment, in the year 421 A.D.; and who, having been raised from the dead, revealed the existence of these plates to Joseph Smith, on the 21st of September, 1823. The first 157 pages are a verbatim translation from what are known as the "smaller plates" of Nephi—we will explain.
The first Nephi, who left Jerusalem with a small company of colonists led out from that city by his father, Lehi, 600 B.C., and who afterwards became their leader, prophet, and their first king, made two sets of plates, on which he proposed engraving the history of his people. On the larger of these two sets he engraved an account of his father's life, travels, prophecies, etc., together with his genealogy; and upon them also he recorded a full history of the wars and contentions of his people, as also their travels, and an account of the cities they founded and colonies they established. These larger plates were preserved in the care of succeeding kings, or judges of the republic when the kingdom was transformed into one; and, in a word, upon them was written a full history of the rise and fall of the nations which existed in America from the landing of this colony from Jerusalem to 400 A.D., a period of nearly one thousand years.
{155} It is quite evident that as these plates were transmitted from king to king, or from one ruling judge of the republic to another, or given into the possession of a prophet, that they each recorded the historical events of his own day, and gave to such account his own name—hence Mormon found in these "larger plates" of Nephi—the Book of Mosiah, the Book of Alma, the Book of Helaman, etc.
Furthermore, it happened that there were colonies from time to time that drifted off into distant parts of the land, and became lost for a season to the main body of the people; and there were missionary expeditions formed for the conversion of the Lamanites; and these parties, whether missionary or colonial, generally kept records; and when these colonists or missionary parties were found, or returned to the main body of the people, their records were incorporated within the main record, being kept by the historian—hence there was, sometimes, a book within a book, and the current of events was interrupted to record the history of these detached portions of the people, or some important missionary expedition.
Mormon, when abridging these plates of Nephi, gave to each particular division of his abridgment the name of the book from which he had taken his account of the events recorded—hence the Books of Mosiah, Alma, Helaman and III. and IV. Nephi in his abridgment. He also, in some instances at least, followed the subdivisions we have alluded to, hence we have the record of Zeniff within the Book of Mosiah (page 181, N. E.); the account of the church founded by the first Alma (page 213); and the account of the missionary expeditions of the sons of Mosiah to the Lamanites within the Book of Alma (page 283).
Again we caution the reader to remember that the Book of Mormon is, for the most part, an abridgment from the "larger plates" of Nephi; but it is quite evident that Mormon frequently came to passages upon the plates of Nephi which pleased him so well that he transcribed them upon the plates containing his abridgment, verbatim. An example of this will be found beginning on page 163, in the second line of the ninth paragraph, and ending with page 169—the words of King Benjamin to his people. The words of King Benjamin are also renewed on page 170, in the second line of the fourth paragraph, and continue to the close of the chapter. There are many such passages throughout Mormon's abridgment.
In addition to this, Mormon frequently introduces remarks of his own by way of comment, warning, prophecy or admonition, and since there is nothing in the text, either quotation {156} marks or a change of type to indicate where these comments, or what we might call annotations, begin or end, they are liable to confuse the reader—a difficulty that we hope will be obviated by this caution. So much for Mormon's abridgment. Now to consider the part of the work done by his son Moroni. This is from page 563 to the end of the volume. He closes up the record of his father, Mormon, and then gives us an abridgment of the twenty-four plates of Ether which were found in North America by the people of Limhi, in the second century B.C.; and then concludes his work with notes on the manner of ordaining priests and teachers, administering the sacrament of the Lord's supper, baptism, spiritual gifts, together with a sermon and some of his father's letters. In his abridgment of the record of the Jaredites, the peculiarity of mixing up his comments, admonitions and prophecies with his narrative, is even more marked than in the abridgment of Mormon, therefore the reader will need to be doubly on his guard.
We have already said that the first 157 pages of the Book of Mormon was not a part of Mormon's abridgment. Those pages are a verbatim translation of the "smaller plates" of Nephi, and became connected with Mormon's abridgment in this manner: Mormon had abridged the "larger plates" of Nephi as far as the reign of King Benjamin, and in searching through the records which had been delivered to him, he found these "smaller plates" of Nephi. They contained a brief history of events connected with the departure of Lehi and his colony from Jerusalem to their landing in America, and thence down to the reign of this King Benjamin—covering a period of about 400 years. These plates were made by Nephi, that upon them might be engraven an account of the ministry of the servants of God, among his people, together with their prophecies and teachings. They contain, in other words, an ecclesiastical history of the Nephites, while the "larger plates" of Nephi contained a political, or secular history of the same people. (See I. Nephi, ix chapter; also xix, 1-5.)
Mormon was particularly well pleased with the contents of these "smaller plates" of Nephi, because upon them had been engraven so many prophecies concerning the coming and mission of the Messiah; and instead of condensing their history into an abridgment, he took the plates and attached them to the abridgment of Nephi's "larger plates." "And this I do for a wise purpose," says Mormon, "for thus it whispereth me according to the Spirit of the Lord which is in me." (Words of Mormon, page 159 N.E.). Nephi, also, in speaking of these "smaller plates," says, "the Lord hath commanded the to make {157} these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not." (I. Nephi ix, 5.) What that wise purpose was we shall see further on.
By Mormon attaching these "smaller plates" of Nephi to his own abridgment of Nephi's "larger plates," it will be seen there was a double line of history of the Nephites for about 400 years, and the wisdom of this arrangement is seen in the following: When Joseph Smith had translated the first part of Mormon's abridgment—amounting to 116 pages of manuscript, he listened to the importunities of Martin Harris, who was giving him some assistance in the work of translating, and who desired to show that portion of the work to his friends. The result was the manuscript was stolen from him; the records were taken from Joseph by the angel, and he lost his power to translate for a season. After a time, however, he was permitted to go on with the work, but the Lord made it known to him that it was the design of those into whose hands the manuscript had fallen to wait until he had translated that part again, and then by changing the manuscript in their possession would bring it forth and claim that he could not translate the same record twice alike; and thus they would seek to overthrow the work of God.
But the heavenly messenger commanded Joseph Smith not to translate again the part he had already translated, but instead thereof he should translate the "smaller plates" of Nephi, and that account was to take the place of Mormon's abridgment up to the latter days of the reign of King Benjamin. (Doc. and Cov., D&C 10.) Thus it is that we have the "words of Mormon," beginning on page 158, explaining how the "smaller plates" of Nephi came into his possession and attached to the plates containing the record he himself was making, and connecting the historical narrative of the "smaller plates" of Nephi with his own abridgment of Nephi's "larger plates." The "words of Mormon," interrupting as they do the history of the Nephites, have caused no little confusion in the minds of unthoughtful readers; but after it is understood that they are merely the link connecting the ecclesiastical history engraven on the "smaller plates," of Nephi to Mormon's abridgment, and they take the place of the first part of Mormon's record, the difficulty will disappear.
One thing I cannot forbear to mention, and that is, in the part of the Book of Mormon translated from the "smaller plates" of Nephi, we find none of these comments or annotations mixed up with the record that we have already spoken of {158} as being peculiar to the abridgment made by Mormon—a circumstance, I take it, which proves the Book of Mormon to be consistent with the account given of the original records from which it was translated. There will be found, however, in this translation direct from the "smaller plates" of Nephi, as also in Mormon's abridgment, extracts from the old Jewish Scripture—especially from the writings of Isaiah—this is accounted for by the fact that when Lehi's colony left Jerusalem, they took with them copies of the book of Moses and the writings of the prophets, and a record of the Jews down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, all of which were engraven on plates of brass (see I. Nephi v, 10-13), and the Nephite historians transcribed passages from these sacred records into their own writings.
There are a few suggestions about these transcribed passages which may not be uninteresting to the reader, and which to the student will be invaluable, as they furnish an indirect evidence to the truth of the Book of Mormon.
The Nephites having transcribed passages from the brass plates they carried with them from Jerusalem into their records, wherever such passages occur in the Book of Mormon, and corresponding passages are found in our English Bible, it will be seen by the reader that so far we have two translations of the writings of the old Hebrew prophets; and it will be found on comparison that the passages in the Book of Mormon are stronger and more in keeping with the sense sought to be expressed by the prophet than the corresponding passages and chapters in the Bible. As a proof of this I ask the reader to compare I Nephi xx and xxi, with Isaiah xlvii and xlix.
In some instances there are sentences, in the Book of Mormon version of passages from Isaiah, not to be found in our English version, as witness the following:
BOOK OF MORMON. | BIBLE. |
O house of Jacob, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord; yea, come, for ye have all gone astray, every one to his wicked ways.--II Nephi xii, 5. | O house of Jacob, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord.--Isaiah ii, 5. |
In other instances it will be found that the sense of the passages is different, and that the passages in the Book of Mormon best accord with the sense of the whole: {159}
BOOK OF MORMON. | BIBLE. |
Therefore, O Lord, Thou hast forsaken Thy people, the house of Jacob, because they replenished from the east, and hearken unto soothsayers like the the Philistines, and they please themselves with the children of strangers.--II Nephi xii, 6. | Therefore hast Thou forsaken Thy people, the house of Jacob, because they replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like unto the Philistines, and they please themselves with the children of strangers.--Isaiah 11, 6. |
Their land is also full of idols--they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made; and the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not, therefore, forgive him not.--II Nephi xii, 8, 9. | Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made; and the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself; therefore forgive him not.--Isaiah ii, 8, 9. |
Thou hast multiplied the nation, and increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.--II Nephi xix, 3. | Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: the joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.--Isaiah ix, 3. |
Observe, too, the difference in the clearness of the following passages:
BOOK OF MORMON. | BIBLE. |
And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to hear from the II Nephi xviii, 19. | And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead.--Isaiah viii, 19. |
Again the English translators of the Bible, in order to make the sense of various passages more clear, inserted here and there, words of their own; which are always written in italics, that the reader might know what words have been inserted by the translator, and for which he will find no exact equivalent in the original text. It is worthy of note that in those transcribed passages from the brass plates into the Book of Mormon, in almost every instance, the words in the Book of Mormon version are different to those substituted by the translators of the common English version; or are left out, as follows:
BOOK OF MORMON. | BIBLE. |
What mean ye? ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor.--II Nephi xiii, 15. | What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor?--Isaiah iii, 15. |
{160} The above is a case where the inserted word of the translator, which I have written in italics, is omitted, and to my mind the passage as it stands in the Book of Mormon is stronger, more beautiful, because more harmonious. Here is a passage where different words are used than those inserted by the translators:
BOOK OF MORMON. | BIBLE. |
Say unto the righteous, that it is well with them; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. | Say ye unto the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. |
Woe unto the wicked! for they shall perish; for the reward of of their hands shall be upon them.--II Nephi xiii, 10, 11. | Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him.--Isaiah iii, 10, 11. |
I think it will be readily conceded that the above passage as it stands in the Book of Mormon is much superior to the version given in our common Bible, indeed it is so throughout, and when it is remembered that Joseph Smith and those who assisted in translating that work were most likely uniformed as to the supplied words of the translators being written in italics, it is an incidental evidence that those passages in the Book of Mormon to which are found corresponding passages in the Bible were not merely copied from the Bible, but in the Book of Mormon we have really another translation of those passages taken from original records of the Hebrews, uncorrupted by the hand of man, and hence more perfect.
One suggestion more I would make to the readers of the Book of Mormon, and that is that they read it prayerfully, with a real desire to know if it is of God. If they will peruse it with that desire in their hearts, I am sanguine that the Spirit of God which searches all things, yea, the deep things of God, will bear witness to their understanding that the book is of divine origin, and they will have a witness from God of its truth. Such a promise, in fact, is contained within the book itself. When Moroni—into whose keeping the plates of the Book of Mormon were given—was closing up the sacred record previous to hiding it up unto the Lord until the time should come for it to be revealed as a witness for God, he engraved the following passage on the plates as words of counsel to those into whose hands the record should fall:
And when ye shall receive these things (i.e., the things written in the Book of Mormon) I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in {161} Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost; and by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things (Moroni x, 4, 5).
Here, then, is a means by which every person into whose hands the Book of Mormon falls may find out for himself, not from human testimony, not from the deductions of logic, but through the power of the Holy Ghost, whether the Book of Mormon is of divine origin or not. This test must be final, either for or against it, to every individual who complies with the conditions enjoined by Moroni. Those conditions are, that they into whose hands the record falls shall inquire of God with a sincere heart, with real intent, and having faith in Christ; and to those who so proceed he promises without equivocation that they shall receive a manifestation of its truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, if these directions are complied with faithfully and honestly, and the manifestation follows not, then they may know it is not of God. If the manifestation comes, of course the divine origin of the book is confirmed, for the Holy Ghost would not confirm by any manifestation of its power an imposition. Therefore, reader, whoever you may be, undertake the reading of the Book of Mormon with a prayerful heart, and you will find in it a new volume of Scripture to you, a treasury of sacred knowledge able to make you wise unto salvation.
"We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property and the protection of life."
—Joseph Smith, The Prophet.
BY ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.
Of all events that will take place in the immediate future, the most important to mankind is the glorious appearing of the Son of God, generally spoken of as the Second Advent of the Messiah. And if there is one thing that the writers of Scripture are more explicit in than another, it is in relation to this all-important event.
The writer of the Acts of the Apostles, giving an account of the last meeting of the risen Messiah with His disciples in Palestine, and His last words to them, says:
"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And, while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts i, 9-11).
From this we learn that the same person whom the disciples had seen go up into heaven was to return in like manner. And this agrees with the words of Jesus Himself.
"For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father, with His angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works" (Mat. xvi, 27).
From this last quotation we not only learn that the Son of God is to come in the glory of His Father, accompanied by His angels, but that He at that time "Will reward every man according to his works." And to this testimony agrees that of other sacred writers.
St. Jude, after referring to certain wicked characters who were like clouds without rain, or like raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, says:
{163} "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (Jude, 14, 15).
Paul bears witness to the same thing:
"For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch-angel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (i Thess. iv, 14-17).
And again:
"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day" (ii Thess. i, 7-10).
From the foregoing passages of Scripture the reader learns two very important things: first—that the Son of Man in a glorious manner is to return to this earth; second—that when He shall so come, it will be to execute judgment—to reward the righteous for their faithfulness, and to punish those who "know not God, and who obey not the Gospel, with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power."
No believer in the inspiration of the Scriptures can possibly doubt the truth of what these passages teach, viz., that the Son of God will verily come, and that to judgment! But in all other ages of the world, when God has decreed judgments upon a people or nation, He has first sent divinely-appointed messengers to warn them of the impending evil, that peradventure, some might repent and be saved. For example,—when God decreed that He would destroy the Antediluvians by a flood for their wickedness, he first sent Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among them to warn them of the approaching calamity: When destruction was hanging over the cities of the plain—Sodom and Gomorrah—the Lord sent His angels {164} to first gather out righteous Lot and his family: When destruction was decreed against Nineveh, the prophet Jonah was sent to cry repentance to the people, and in this instance the warning was heeded, and the calamity was turned aside: Whenever bondage, famine, disease, or judgment of any character, was about to overtake ancient Israel for their wickedness, prophets were sent to warn them, that they might repent and escape the sore affliction.
This has been the course pursued by the Almighty in all ages and among all people; and now that mighty judgments are pronounced against the ungodly at the coming of the Son of God, may we not reasonably expect that God will be true to His custom in the past, and send messengers to warn the nations of the near approach of those calamities? Basing our conclusion on the experience of past ages, it would be reasonable to expect the Lord to so proceed. But the Scriptures themselves speak of a number of incidents that will take place as a preparatory work to the glorious coming of our Lord. Among these may be mentioned:
I.—THE RESTORATION OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL.
The great event is thus described by John the Revelator:
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him: for the hour of his judgment is come" (Rev. xiv, 6, 7).
II.—THE COMING OF A MESSENGER.
to prepare the way for the Son of God, when He shall come in the glory of His Father. This event is foretold by the prophet Malachi:
"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years" (Malachi iii, 1-4).
III.—THE COMING OF ELIJAH.
to whom is given the peculiar mission of turning the heart {165} of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers. Malachi thus describes Elijah's mission:
"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their father's, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi iv, 5, 6).
IV.—THE GATHERING OF THE SAINTS.
The Scriptures are replete with passages in relation to this event, but I can here refer only to a few. When John the Revelator was about to foretell the downfall of Babylon, he says:
"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye may not be partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double" (Rev. xviii, 4-6).
The Psalmist bears this testimony:
"Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself" (Psalm i, 3-6).
So Isaiah:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it" (Isaiah ii, 2-4).
"And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they will come with speed swiftly" (Isaiah v, 26, 27).
"And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel [not the Jews alone, but all Israel], and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth" (Isaiah xi, 12).
So Paul:
"Having made known to us the mystery of his will * * * that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him" (Eph. i, 9, 10).
{166} And lastly, the testimony of Jesus:
"And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. xxiv, 30, 31).
All believers in the Holy Scriptures, then, must believe in and are looking forward to the glorious coming of the Son of God. They also must believe that these four events we have named, will precede that coming. That is, they believe and are expecting that when those judgments connected with the coming of the Messiah are about to overtake the inhabitants of the earth, an ANGEL will come with the Everlasting Gospel, which must be preached to all nations; that a MESSENGER will come to prepare the way before the Lord, that ELIJAH will come to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and vice versa; and that God's SAINTS will be gathered together.
And now, in all sincerity of heart, and in the fear of God, the writer testifies to all men unto whom his words may come, that the first three events have taken place, and the fourth, the gathering of the Saints, is now going on, and the coming of the Son of God, together with the attendant judgments, are near at hand.
occurred in the following manner:
In the spring of 1820, Joseph Smith, then a lad between fourteen and fifteen years of age, being exercised on the subject of religion, and not knowing which of the contending sects of religion were accepted by God as His Church, fortunately came upon that excellent advice given by the Apostle James, viz.:
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James i, 5).
In full, child-like confidence that God would fulfil His word, he called upon the Lord in prayer, and in answer received an open vision, in which he beheld the Father and the Son, who revealed to him the startling truth that man had transgressed the laws of the Gospel, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant, and that none of the churches or sects were acknowledged of His as His church or kingdom, and he was commanded to join none of them. He was {167} also informed that the time was at hand when the Gospel would be restored, and was told that he was a chosen instrument to assist in bringing about the purposes of God.
Let not the reader impatiently cast away this tract at the statement that God did not acknowledge any of the sects or churches as His church or kingdom. Let it be remembered, according to the prophecy of the Revelator we have quoted (Rev. xiv, 6, 7), that every nation, kindred, tongue, and people in the hour of God's judgment, are to be without the Gospel, or why would there be any need of an angel being sent from heaven with it to the earth, if it was anywhere on the earth? The learned John Wesley said that the reason the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer enjoyed was because the love of many waxed cold, the Christians had turned heathens again and only had a dead form left (Wesley's works, vol. VI, ser. 89). The Church of England in her Homily on Perils of Idolatry (page 3) says: "Laity and clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages, sects and degrees have been drowned in abominable idolatry, most detested by God and damnable to man for eight hundred years or more."
But to return to our account of the restoration of the Gospel. More than three years passed before Joseph Smith was again blessed with a heavenly vision. But on the night of the 21st of September, 1823, while engaged in prayer in his bedchamber, "I discovered," says he,
"A light appearing in the room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bed-side, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor. * * * Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was gloriously beyond description; and his countenance truly like lightning. * * * He called me by my name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni. That God had work for me to do, and that my name should be had for good or evil among all nations, kindred, and tongues; or that it should be good or evil spoken of among all people. He said that there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this [the American] continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fullness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants [or America]. Also that there were two stones in silver bows (and these stones, fastened to the breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim of Thummim) deposited with the plates, and the possession and use of these stones was what constituted Seers in ancient or former times, and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book."
The angel then quoted a number of prophecies from the Jewish Scriptures, among them the first part of the third chapter {168} of Malachi, and also the fourth chapter of the same book, the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, and the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the close. He stated that these prophecies would be fulfilled in this generation.
Four years after this first visit of the heavenly messenger, in the meantime being instructed by him in doctrine and principle, the tablets containing the ancient history of America, together with the Urim and Thummim by which they were to be translated, were given into his charge. In the course of two years the work of translation was completed, and in the winter of 1829-30 the Book of Mormon—for so the record is called—containing the "fulness of the everlasting Gospel," as taught to the ancient peoples of America, was given to the world.
Nor is the world asked to receive this important message on the statement of Joseph Smith alone, but the Lord has given other witnesses, and their statement has been published with every edition of the Book of Mormon, and is as follows:
THE TESTIMONY OF THE THREE WITNESSES.
"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom his work shall come, * * * We declare with words of soberness that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, * * and the engravings thereon, and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true; and it is marvelous in our eyes, nevertheless the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment seat of Christ, and shall dwell with Him eternally in the heavens."
"OLIVER COWDERY,
"DAVID WHITMER,
"MARTIN HARRIS."
Though these three witnesses; through transgression, lost the Spirit of God, and wandered away from the fold of Christ, they never denied the testimony they bore to the truth of the Book of Mormon. Two of them previous to their death came back to the Church, and died in the faith. The other—David Whitmer—died at Richmond, Mo., in January, 1888, and on his deathbed, as he had always done previously, solemnly declared that his testimony concerning the Book of Mormon was true.
While the Book of Mormon was in course of translation, a very important event took place, viz, the coming of the MESSENGER {169} to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. This is described by Joseph Smith as follows:
"We (Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery) still continued the work of translating; when in the ensuing month (May, 1829), we, on a certain day, went into the woods to pray, and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for remission of sins.
"While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us; saying unto us—'Upon you, my fellow servants, 'in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins,' and this shall never be taken from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord of righteousness.'
"The messenger who visited us on this occasion, and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament; and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John who held the keys of the Melchisedec Priesthood, and who would in due season visit us and confer that, the higher Priesthood, upon us, which holds the keys of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and right to all the offices in the church."
Subsequently, in fulfilment of this promise, Peter, James, and John came to them, and conferred upon them the higher order of priesthood—the Melchisedec. This gave them the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church of Christ, and the power and authority to organize the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth.
In 1836, in the Kirtland Temple, Ohio, Elijah the Prophet came, in fulfilment of Malachi's prophecy (Mal. iv, 5, 6), and made known those principles which would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, viz., the doctrine of salvation for the dead. From the keys of knowledge which Elijah restored great light has been thrown upon the plan of salvation, showing it to be more perfect and more extensive than ever man dreamed of in his philosophy. It is learned from the keys of knowledge which he restored that the innumerable millions who have died without a knowledge of Christ or of His Gospel, together with those who have been deceived by the teachings of pseudo ministers of Christ, are not eternally lost, but that since the spirit of man when separate from the body retains all the faculties of mind, the gospel is preached in the spirit-world to the disembodied spirits, and that on condition of their {170} accepting the Gospel, and living according to the laws of God in the spirit, they may be saved on condition of the outward ordinances of the Gospel being administered vicariously for them upon the earth by their agents—their relations. That the Gospel is preached to departed spirits is evident from the Scriptures. Peter said:
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water" (I Peter iii, 18-20),
Men may turn and twist that passage all they please, but its plain simple statement is that the spirit of Christ, while His body lay in the tomb, went and preached to the spirits which were disobedient in the days of Noah. And again he says:
"For for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit" (I Peter iv, 6).
That the ancient Saints also knew something about performing ordinances vicariously for the dead is evident from this remark of the Apostle Paul:
"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead" (I Cor. xv, 29).
And we ask—if there was no such thing among the ancient Saints as baptism for the dead, why, then, does Paul refer to it in such positive terms?
The Gospel of Christ is not limited in its powers to save to this life, or this world alone. Its powers enter into the spirit-world. And by its proclamation in the world of spirits the fathers will learn that they are dependent upon the children still in this world for the performance of the outward ordinances of the Gospel; hence, their hearts will be turned to the children. The children on the earth will learn that it is within their power to attend to ordinances of the Gospel for their progenitors; hence, the hearts of the children will be turned to the fathers. It is because of this—because of the knowledge restored by Elijah, that the Latter-day Saints, wherever they have planted their feet, have sought, even in the days of their greatest poverty, to build a temple, the {171} proper place in which to attend to these ordinances for the dead; and they thus witness to the world that the hearts of the children are turned to the fathers.
The same day that Elijah came to the Kirtland Temple—3rd April, 1836—Moses came also, and committed the Keys of the Gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the earth, and the leading of the Ten Tribes from the land of the north. And it is because he came and restored that authority, and communicated the commandment for the Saints to gather together, that thousands have left their homes in the land of their birth, and have cast in their lot with the Latter-day Saints in the land of America, and are now where the prophets predicted the people of God and the House of God would be established in the last days—"in the tops of the mountains"—and some out of all nations are flowing unto them, and they are taught in the ways of the Lord, and are seeking to walk in His paths (see Isaiah ii, 1-4). The cry from heaven which St. John heard in his visions is now of a truth being sounded among the nations: "Come out of her (Babylon), my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities" (Rev. xviii, 4, 5). And the Saints by their flight to the gathering places which God has appointed, as well as by word, are testifying to the world that the hour of God's judgment is at hand, and they are seeking to be prepared for the coming of the Messiah.
Thus the most important events which are to take place before the glorious coming of the Son of God have been fulfilled. We know not the day nor the hour in which the Master will come, but we know that the preparatory work to that event has made considerable progress:—The GOSPEL has been restored to the earth, and is being preached to all nations for a witness that the end is near:—The MESSENGER has come and restored the authority of God to man, that the way might be prepared for His coming and judgment:—ELIJAH has come and performed his mission:—And the SAINTS are gathering together to the tops of the mountains, and are building up the House of God. And as the fig tree putting forth its leaves proclaims the approach of summer, so these things indicate the near approach of that time when the Son of God will be "revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God {172} and who obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." This is the word of God and remember, O reader! that it is written, though heaven and earth pass away, not one jot nor tittle of the word of God shall fail, but all shall be fulfilled.
Despise not this testimony and warning because he who bears it is a representative of a cause and people everywhere spoken against. Remember that Satan has ever opposed the work of God, and those who labored to establish it. If he did so in former ages, will not this opposition be more fierce in the dispensation when the work of God is to become triumphant, resulting in the overthrow of the powers of darkness and binding them? Such, it would seem, are the plain dictates of reason—such are the facts. Be not deceived, then, reader, whoever you may be, by the infamous falsehoods in circulation about the Latter-day Saints, but examine these things with a prayerful heart that you may know of their truth and escape the calamity that shall befall those who "reject the counsels of God against themselves."
"Seek to know God in your closets, call upon Him in the fields. Follow the directions of the Book of Mormon, and pray over and for your families, your cattle, your flocks, your herds, your corn and all things that you possess; ask the blessings of God upon all your labors, add everything that you engage in."
—Joseph Smith.
BY ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.
In the ancient City of Rome, at the time that St. Paul went there on an appeal to Caesar's judgment seat, about the year 62 A.D., the followers of Christ were denominated, "That sect which is everywhere spoken against." And as it was with the Christians then, so it is with the "Mormons" now. Everything that is wicked or damnable was once charged upon the Christians. Even the just historian Tacitus was so far deceived by the wicked misrepresentations of their enemies, as to speak of them as "a set of people who were holden in abhorrence for their crimes, and called by the vulgar 'Christians.'" He also says—speaking of them as a body—"They were criminals, and deserving the severest punishment." The same writer calls their religion a "pernicious superstition." Indeed, we may say to the opponents of "Mormonism," however skilful they may be in the use of calumny or the distortion of facts, it would be difficult for them to charge upon the "Mormons" more heinous crimes than were charged upon primitive Christians. It was commonly reported of them that in the celebration of the Eucharist they were in the habit of slaying a male child, whose flesh they ate, and whose blood they drank in remembrance of the body and blood of the founder of their religion. In short, they were held to be the enemies of mankind, the disturbers of social customs, and a standing menace to all governments; while their religion was looked upon as the sum of villainy and absurdity. In the same light the "Mormons" are regarded to-day. But perhaps I shall be pardoned for suggesting that it is just possible that the world is as much mistaken respecting the character and religion of the "Mormons" now, as it formerly was respecting the "Christians" and their religion.
No prejudice is so cruel as that growing out of religious controversy. At any rate, we know that the most cruel wars {174} have risen through a determination to resist religious innovations, or efforts to reform religious systems. While the acts of inhuman cruelty, which most disgrace our race, have been perpetrated in vain endeavors to suppress what have been considered heresies, and silence their advocates. In short, the most unrelenting hatred, the most lasting prejudices have grown out of differences in religious opinions. The Messiah, doubtless, was guided as much by His knowledge of human nature as He was by inspiration when He exclaimed:
"Think not that I have come to bring peace upon earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household" (Matt. x, 34-36).
It is because "Mormonism" involves a religious controversy that the prejudices against it are so deep seated, and the misrepresentation of its devotees so persistent.
Joseph Smith, in his youth, announced a new revelation from God; and as the Christian world had been, and are, taught that no more revelation is to be given, that the Bible contains all that God ever did, and all that He ever will reveal to man, the proclamation that God had again spoken aroused the ire of the religious teachers of that day, and when, in spite of their efforts to stay its progress, they saw the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints increasing in numbers and influence, these pseudo religious teachers sought to overwhelm with falsehood, misrepresentation and slander what they could not overcome with reason and fairness. And the absurd, childish stories then invented by religious opponents of "Mormonism" they still rehashed with variations to suit ever shifting conditions, the mass constantly growing as fast as new falsehoods or distorted facts can be marshalled into service.
On this point I quote the following from the New York World of recent date. The World is one of the leading journals of America, and, in giving an epitome of the history and faith of the "Mormons," it said:
"In matters of dogma there was little or nothing in its creed to distinguish it from any other orthodox sect, but its possession of an alleged addition to the Bible and the austerity and severity of the code of morals inculcated drew to it immediately a large following. The same spirit of intolerance which in Massachusetts slit the ears of Quakers and banished Baptists under pain of death, blazed forth as fiercely as in the days of Athanasius and Arius. The pulpit rang with denunciations of the new sect, every calumny that could be invented was {175} invented and believed, and the Mormons were driven from place to place, robbed, beaten, imprisoned and murdered, exactly as the founders of every other Christian sect were persecuted."
There are two classes of men in Utah who are interested in defaming the character of the "Mormon" people. These are the religious and political adventurers who have drifted into the Territory. The former went there professedly to convert the "Mormons" from the error of their way; but not being successful in getting sufficient converts from the "Mormon" Church to establish congregations that could pay their salaries, they have ever been dependent upon the people of the Eastern States for their support and means with which to build churches. They soon discovered that the amount of means they could raise depended upon the strength of the feeling they could incite in the minds of their supporters in the Eastern States. The more licentious and blood-thirsty the "Mormon" community was represented to be, the greater Christian heroes were these ministers considered, and therefore the more readily were "ducats" poured into their laps to carry on this spiritual war, against the supposed man of sin situated in the Rocky Mountains. Granting a few honorable exceptions, these professed ministers of Christ have invented and retailed the most abominable falsehoods respecting the Latter-day Saints, well knowing that the prejudice existing against the "Mormon" religion would so blind the eyes and close the ears of the people that it would be next to impossible for their calumnies and misrepresentations to be exposed. And if now and then their base purposes were brought for a moment to the light, and some few of their falsehoods contradicted, the effect could only be momentary, and the exploded sensational reports of "Mormon" atrocities would be supplanted by ten thousand others more horrible but equally baseless.
The political adventurers, alluded to in the above, are men who have come into the Territory principally by being appointed to the Federal offices within the gift of the President of the United States. It must be understood that a Territory in the American Government occupies much the same relationship to that government that a crown colony does to the imperial government of Great Britain; and the President appoints the Governor, Secretary, the District judges, the Marshal, Commissioners, {176} and indirectly a number of other officers in the Territory. It has been the policy of the chief executives of the nation in the past to reward their supporters, or the supporters of their political friends in the respective states with appointments to these positions; and to satisfy popular clamor raised by religious opponents, men with avowed hatred of "Mormonism" have usually been sought to fill these Federal offices. Another fact bearing on the character of these appointees must be taken into consideration; and that is, as a general thing, men who will consent to accept an appointment to positions in the Territories are fifth or sixth rate politicians, whose political prospects where they are known have dwindled to a forlorn hope. No man who has an opportunity of succeeding in political or business life in his own state will consent to abandon his prospects and life long associations for a temporary position in a Territory where, from the very nature of things, he can never hope for a hearty support of the people among whom he thrusts his unwelcome presence. Why? Because he is not of them. He is not their choice for the position; he is not responsible to the community for the manner in which he discharges his official duties—a condition of affairs that is absolutely incompatible with the existence of harmony between the administrator of the laws and the community they effect, in a country where the people are educated to the idea that "Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed."
I find these two points relative to political and ecclesiastical adventurers sustained by the testimony of James W. Barclay, a member of the British Parliament, who visited Utah in 1883, and published the results of his observations in the January No., 1884, of the Nineteenth Century. The Century is a monthly magazine published in London. He says:
"I apprehend that the animosity of Mormonism is principally due to the efforts of the host of hungry office-seekers who would find lucrative posts in Utah were the Mormons disfranchised, and by the missionaries from the Eastern States who come to turn the Mormons from the error of their ways, and whose income depends on the strength of the feelings they can excite in their supporters. Utah is still a Territory, and, as such, its Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and Marshal, and other officials of the Federal Government, are nominated by the President of the United States, and are of course non-Mormons; but the municipal and other local officials are elected by the Mormons.
If the Mormons could be disfranchised in a body, 500 lucrative posts in Utah would be open to Gentile office-seekers. According to the legislature which might be adopted, the offices would be filled {177} either by the President of the United States or by the small minority of Gentiles in Utah."
Unfortunately the religious and political adventurers in Utah can succeed in their designs the more readily because the agents sending out the Associate Press dispatches to the entire press of the country are in sympathy with these parties or controlled by them; so that all information going out to the country at large from that source is generally distorted to the disparagement of the "Mormons."
In addition to this, it will be remembered that the American Press is nothing if not sensational. This is true in a general sense, it is doubly so in relation to the "Mormon Question." Ever ready to pander to the prejudice of the populace, and finding the "Mormon" people the victims of popular hate and without political influence, the American Press has recklessly traduced the character of as noble a community as ever graced God's earth. Every sensational rumor derogatory to their character has been seized upon with avidity and published without reserve, while the correction of the mis-statements or the vindication of their character has seldom struggled through the columns of the press to the public eye. The people of America, and other countries, too, have taken everything for granted that has been said against the "Mormon" people, no matter how absurd it is, or how unreliable the source from whence it came. Very few men have had the fairness to investigate "Mormonism" for themselves, or inquire into the character of the "Mormon" people.
Respecting the misrepresentation of the "Mormon" people and the source from whence the public has drawn its views and fed its prejudices, I introduce the testimony of Mr. Phil. Robinson, an English journalist and correspondent of note, and a traveler of world wide experience; and who is at present the editor of the Court and Society Review, published in London. Mr. Robinson went to Utah in 1882, where he remained for three months. He visited nearly every town and village in the Territory, and saw the people at their firesides and at work in their fields, as well as in their public meetings—in fact he saw them in all the relations of life—and on the subject of their misrepresentation, he says:
"Whence have the public derived their opinions about it [meaning {178} Mormonism]? From anti-Mormons only. I have ransacked the literature of the subject, yet I really could not tell any one where to go for an impartial book about it later in date than Burton's "City of the Saints" published in 1862. There is not, to my knowledge, a single Gentile work before the public that is not utterly unreliable from its distortion of facts. How can anyone have respect for literature or the men who, without knowing anything of the lives of Mormons, stigmatize them as profane, adulterous and drunken? These men write of the squalid poverty of the Mormons, of their obscene brutality, of their unceasing treason towards the United States, of their blasphemous repudiation of the Bible, without one particle of information on the subject, except such as they gather from the books and writings of men whom they ought to know are utterly unworthy of credit, or from the verbal calumnies of apostates; and what the evidence of apostates is worth history has long ago told us * * * I am now stating facts; and I, who have lived among the Mormons and with them, can assure my readers that every day of my residence increased my regret at the misrepresentation these people have suffered" ("Sinners and Saints," Roberts and Sons, Boston).
TESTIMONY OF NON-MORMON WITNESSES.
I here introduce the testimony of a number of non-"Mormon" witnesses to the character of the "Mormon" people and their religion.
First, I refer to the article by Mr. Barclay, M. P., published in the Nineteenth Century, January, 1884:
"Mormon home-steads have a tidier appearance than is usual in the West, and the general air of comfort and prosperity which prevails is the best evidence of the persevering, industrious habits of the people...There is nothing peculiar in the Mormon creed to account for the great influence which Mormonism exercises among its followers.
"The success of Mormonism and its steady progress must therefore be due either to the manner in which Mormons carry into practice the religion they profess, or to its organization. In my opinion the results are due to two influences. First, there is no religious caste or class. From the president downwards, the office-bearers of the Church are selected by the voice of the Mormon community; they require no special qualification, and no one receives any salary or other emolument; the missionaries dispatched to all parts of the world do not receive even traveling expenses. And, in the second place, Mormonism interests itself as much in the temporal as in the spiritual concerns of its members: Church and State are, in short, identical.
"The Mormon community is an enlarged family, bound together by privileges and duties, one principal duty being to care for the helpless and the needy. At the same time, every individual has full freedom of action. There is no compulsion on any Mormon beyond the public opinion of his fellows, and none is possible. Apostasy {179} even does not appear to be attended with serious consequences to the apostate's material interests. Some of the largest merchants in Salt Lake City have apostatized from the Church, and although the population of Utah is about nine-tenths Mormon, their business seems to prosper as before....
"In morality, as far as shown by statistics, the Mormons greatly excel the Gentiles in their midst, and the general population of the States. In the winter of 1881, a census was taken of the prisoners in Utah, with the following result:—In the City prison were twenty-nine convicts, and in the County prison six convicts, all non-Mormons. In the penitentiary, out of fifty-one prisoners only five were Mormons, two of whom were for polygamy; and of 125 prisoners in the lock-ups, eleven were Mormons, some for polygamy.
"The arrests in Salt Lake City, from the 1st of January to the 8th of December, 1881, were classified as follows:
Mormons: Non-Mormons: Men and boys 163 Men and boys 657 Women 6 Women 194 Total 169 Total 851 "Of the population of Salt Lake City, about 75 per cent. is Mormon, and 25 per cent. non-Mormon. Of the suicides in Utah, 90 per cent., and of the homicides and infanticides 80 per cent., are committed by the 17 per cent. of non-Mormons. . . . .
"The Mormons, as a people, are tolerant, temperate, peaceable, and industrious. Temperance is in some cases carried to the extreme of abstinence from alcohol of all kinds, tobacco, and tea. Before the Federal Government exercised so much authority as now, drinking saloons and other establishments of vice were prohibited; and, although a few professing Mormons keep drinking saloons, they are held in disgrace....
"Certain it is that, whatever the causes may be, there is among the Latter-day Saints a mutual feeling of helpfulness and trust, and whatever the Gentiles may say, the sentiments towards the heads of the community are respect, confidence, and I might say affection. I had the pleasure of traveling for some days in the company of a Mormon Elder, a gentleman of great ability, intelligence and courtesy, and I was much struck by the evident cordiality of his reception by his co-religionists, as well as by his genuine kindness, without any tinge of condescension towards his humbler brethren. There was on both sides an evident feeling of perfect equality combined with respect and affection. It is the same with the President. So far as I observed and could learn, President Taylor is regarded with greater respect by the Mormons than is the President of the United States by its citizens, and at the same time his office is open to all, and he is prepared to hear what the humblest Mormon has to say."
Again I turn to the testimony of Mr. Robinson:
"I have seen and spoken to and lived with Mormon men and women of every class, and never in my life, in any Christian country, {180} have I come in contact with more consistent piety, sobriety and neighborly charity. I say this deliberately, without a particle of odious sanctimony, these folks are in their words and actions as Christian as ever I thought to see men and women . . . The Mormons are a peasant people, with many of the faults if peasant life, but with many of the best human virtues as well....The demeanor of the women in Utah, as compared with Brightan or Washington, is modesty itself; and the children are just such healthy, vigorous, pretty children as one sees in the country or by the sea-side in England...... Utah-born girls, the offspring of plural wives, have figures that would make Paris envious; and they carry themselves with almost oriental dignity. There is nothing, so far as I have seen, in the manners of Salt Lake City to make me suspect the existence of that licentiousness of which so much has been written, but a great deal on the contrary to convince me of a perfectly exceptional reserve and self-respect. It is only a blockhead that could mistake the natural gayety of the country for any other than it is. I know, too, from medical assurance, that Utah has the practical argument of healthy nurseries to oppose to the theories of those who attack its domestic relations on physiological grounds. . .. A healthier and more stalwart community I have never seen; while among the women I saw many refined faces, and remarked that robust health seemed the rule....
"Mutual charity is one of the bonds of Mormon union. It is published officially that the bishops of every ward are to see there are no persons going hungry.' What a contrast to turn from this text of universal charity to the infinite meanness of those who can write of the whole community of Mormons as 'the villainous spawn of polygamy!' . . . Instead of the Mormons being as a class profane, they are as a class singularly sober in their language, and indeed in this respect resemble the Quakers.
"The payment of the tithings is as nearly voluntary as the collection of a revenue necessary for carrying on a government can possibly be allowed to be... It is not true that the Church interferes with the domestic relations of the people. When I remember what classes of people their men and women are chiefly drawn from, and the utter poverty in which most of them arrive, I cannot in sincerity do otherwise than admire and respect the system which has fused such unpromising material of so many nationalities into one homogeneous whole."—Sinners and Saints."
Bishop D. S. Tuttle, for years an Episcopal clergyman in Salt Lake City, an opponent of "Mormonism," but an honorable one, in a lecture on "Mormonism," delivered in New York and published in the New York Sun, says:
"In Salt Lake City alone there are 17,000 Latter-day Saints. Now, who are they? I will tell you, and I think, that after I have concluded, you will look on them more favorably than you have been accustomed to do. Springing from the centre of your own State (N.Y.) in 1830, they drifted slowly westward until they finally rested in the Basin of the Great Salt Lake. I know that the people of the east have obtained the most unfavorable opinion of them, and have judged them unjustly. They have many traits that are worthy of admiration, {181} and they believe with fervent faith that their religion is a direct revelation from God. We of the east are accustomed to look upon the Mormons as either a licentious arrogant or rebellious mob, bent only on defying the United States Government and deriding the faith of the Christians. This is not so. I know them to be honest, faithful, prayerful workers, and earnest in their faith that heaven will bless the Church of Latter-day Saints. Another strong and admirable feature in the Mormon religion is the tenacious and efficient organization. They follow with the greatest care all the forms of the old church."
I next quote from the contribution of the Rev. John C. Kimball of Hartford, Connecticut, U. S. A., to The Index, published in Boston, Mass., 1884. After introducing the testimony of a number of writers to the general good character of the "Mormon" people, he says:
"Still stronger is the evidence derived from official statistics as to their intelligence and virtue. In Salt Lake City, in 1881, the published reports show that the arrests for crime were fourteen times as many among the Gentiles, in proportion to their number, as among the Mormons; and taking the Territory as a whole, the Gentile population furnished forty-six convicts in the penitentiary, where the Mormon population, number for number, furnished one! According to the United States census, Massachusetts has four times as many convicts to the same population as Utah; four and a half times as many idiots and insane, and nine times as many paupers. Utah in school attendance, according to the same authority [the United States census for 1880], is ahead of Massachusetts; and with all that has been said about the ignorance of its people and its immense foreign immigration, its proportion of people that cannot read and write is put down as less than that of New England. And still more striking, the women there instead of being kept in ignorance and subjection, are educated in the same studies and to the same extent as the boys and men, are equally fitted to earn their own living out in the world and to maintain an independent career."
Captain Burton, of the British army, published in 1862, a book on the "Mormon" people and faith called the City of the Saints. He says:
"Mormonism is emphatically the faith of the poor. . . I cannot help thinking that morally and spiritually as well as physically its proteges gain by their transfer from Europe to Utah. . . . In point of more morality, the Mormon community is perhaps purer than any other of equal numbers. . . . The penalties against chastity, morality and decency are exceptionally severe. . . . I was much pleased with their religious tolerance. The Mormons are certainly the least fanatical of our faiths, owning like the Hindus, that every man should walk his own way, while claiming for themselves superiority in belief and practice."
{182} Testimony of like character and of equal respectability could be adduced without limit, but we think sufficient is here set down to convince people disposed in the least degree to be fair-minded, however prejudiced they may previously, have been, that the reckless charges of crime and immorality made against the Latter-day Saints in Utah by their enemies, are wickedly false, and have been invented to deceive. I ask you again to cast your eye over the statements presented to you, and consider the character of the men who make them. They are not the statements of the occasional tourist of a day, but the conclusions of men of thought and travel and education, who visited Utah for the express purpose of becoming acquainted with the strange faith, and, to the world, the still stranger people.
I shall be told, however, that the "Mormons" believe in and some of them practise a plurality of wives, and therefore they must be a bad people. But not so fast. Before such a conclusion is drawn it will be necessary to prove that a plurality of wives as practised by the Mormons is in and of itself evil. That principle is as much a part of the religious faith of the women as of the men, and is practised by and with the consent of all parties concerned. It is practised because the people believe that God has commanded it by revelation direct to the Church, for the accomplishment of His own wise purposes—the rearing of a purer and better race of people. Their faith in that revelation is considerably strengthened by reading in the Holy Scriptures how God favored and blessed with His approval that form of marriage among the worthy patriarchs of old; nay, how even God Himself gave to David, according to His own Word (2 Sam. xii., 7, 8), a plurality of wives; thus becoming a party to the evil, if evil it was. But that which God sanctions and approbates can never be said to be evil. And that God did sanction the plural wife system of marriage and approve it is evident from the lives of nearly all the patriarchs and prophets spoken of in the Bible.
I know it is said by Christians that this was in very ancient times, when people lived under the Mosaic Law, and that the law of carnal commandments was superceded by the new dispensation under Christ. Very well, then, shifting the controversy to what is known as the Christian dispensation, we challenge {183} the whole world to produce a single passage from the New Testament directly condemning the plural marriage system of the old patriarchs, or a passage which, by fair interpretation, even by implication condemns it. Such a passage cannot be found. And yet the writers of the New Testament did not hesitate to condemn in the most direct and positive manner every species of sin;—strange, is it not, that they failed to condemn plural marriage, if it was by them or their Master considered sinful? The fact becomes more strange when it is understood that they lived in a country and among a people who practised it. Furthermore, Abraham, Jacob, and the prophets were frequently the theme of conversation and discourse with the writers of the New Testament, and if the plural wife system practised by them was sinful, is it not singular that no condemnation of it should creep into the pages of the New Testament somewhere?
I apprehend that much of the prejudice existing against the marriage system of the Latter-day Saints arises from confounding it with the polygamy of the East—with the harems of Turkey, or the bigamy occasionally practiced in Christian communities; yet we hope to show, so far as may be shown in a few brief sentences, that there is not and cannot be, from the very nature of society in Utah, anything that resembles the Eastern harem, nor do the evils exist which grow out of the ordinary case of bigamy.
In the first place, women in Utah are as free to marry whom they please as they are in any part of the world. Mr. Phil. Robinson says:—
"It is a mistake to suppose there are no educated women in Utah: . . . the young ladies appear as free and independent as in other parts of the United States. . . . if the women of Utah are slaves, their bonds are loving ones and dearly prized. They are today in the free and unrestricted exercise of more political and social rights than are the women of any other part of the United States."—"Saints and Sinners."
To this add the testimony of Mr. Barclay, in the article from the Nineteenth Century, before quoted:—
"The young ladies appear as free and independent as in other parts of the United States; and, if I might hazard an opinion, the young men of Mormondom will find considerable difficulty in persuading them to be content with the share of a husband."
The women of Mormondom are as free to bestow or withhold their hands in marriage as they are in England, and {184} there has not been a day since 1862—the year in which the first law of Congress was passed against polygamy—but what it has been within the power of the wife or wives of a man to send him to the penitentiary, the United States Courts being only too glad to entertain her suit, and break up the polygamous family associations. Yet, in all these years, there have not been half-a-dozen such cases. This entire freedom of women among the "Mormons" robs their plural marriage system of every feature of resemblance to the polygamy of the East; and what is here set down proves that whatever of plural marriage exists in Utah, does so by the mutual consent of all the parties concerned.
In common bigamy the first marriage is studiously concealed by the party contemplating the second marriage. A man represents himself to a lady as a bachelor, and under false pretences and fraud obtains possession of her person. Soon she discovers that she has been betrayed, deceived, degraded,—the sense of shame and sorrow following producing indescribable misery. Nor has it been less productive of evil to the first wife. Her happiness, too, has been wrecked by the perfidy of the wretch she called husband. She has been neglected, abandoned, made an outcast. Where she looked for loyalty, she found treason; where she implicitly trusted, she has been deceived, and her misery and shame is as great as the other victim's.
Now, none of these evils grow out of the plural marriage system of the Mormons. In the first place, a plurality of wives, under certain conditions and restraints, is one of the social institutions of the Society of Utah, and has been for more than a generation. As before remarked, it is practised because the "Mormon" people believe it is commanded of God; it is therefore accepted by both man and woman as part of their religious faith, and is regarded as such by the whole population,—as well by those who do not practise it as by those who do. Consequently it breeds no scandal; it brings no reproach. The position of the plural wife is just as honorable, in every sense of the word, as that of the first wife. She is, in fact, a wife, with all the holy associations growing out of that relationship, and is honored everywhere as such. The same ceremony which unites a man to his first wife is employed to unite him to his second or third, and the same authority—the authority of God—performs it.
As with the plural wife, so with the plural wife's children; {185} they are equally honorable with the children of the first wife,—society makes no distinction between them. When a man takes a plural wife no concealment is made of his first marriage, nor is his first family deserted; all is open and honest. There is no deceit, no fraud practiced, nor can there be. The sanction of the first wife, and the sanction of parents must be obtained, together with the sanction and recommendation of the Bishop who presides over the branch of the Church where the parties live, and who has to be able to state in his recommendation that the parties are members of the Church in good standing; that means that they are honest before God and man, virtuous, faithful in discharging every religious and moral duty, and temperate withal. And unless such a recommendation can be given, the relationship cannot be contracted.
Such, in brief, is an outline of the conditions hedging about the practice of this principle of plural marriage, against which Christians can find no law, either in the Old or New Testament, which even so much as bears the complexion of condemnation, but very much which will bear witness of God's approval of it, even allowing His only-begotten Son, so far as His earthly parentage is concerned, to come through such a lineage, a number of his earthly progenitors being the offspring of plural wives, and themselves practising it. Surely our Christian friends, who look forward to reclining upon Abraham's bosom as one of the highest privileges to be enjoyed in heaven, ought not to criticise too severely the system of marriage which he practised.
Much complaint is made by the people of England because the Elders from Utah, who are traveling in this country as missionaries, do not make any particular effort to explain or urge upon people the doctrine of plural marriage. Strangers attend our meetings, and are surprised to hear nothing said upon the subject of plurality of wives, and go away disappointed; as if our Elders on every occasion should have something to say upon that subject. I assure my readers that it is not because the Elders have any disposition to conceal the fact that the Latter-day Saints believe in the rightfulness of the doctrine under the conditions herein set down; or through any fear that the Word of God can be shown to condemn it. The fact is, the Elders from Utah are servants of God sent {186} forth with a message to the nations of the earth to the effect that God has spoken from heaven, and restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which, in consequence of the wickedness and violence of men a few centuries after Christ, was taken from the earth, together with the authority to administer in its ordinances. But this Gospel is now restored, together with its ancient powers, gifts, blessings, and authorities, and by the faithful Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ is being preached as a witness in all the world. It is the business of the Elders from Utah to make this important proclamation to the inhabitants of the earth, and call upon them to repent of their sins, and warn them that the hour of God's judgment is here, and His glorious coming at hand. The practice of plural marriage in Utah is a very insignificant matter in comparison with the importance of the great message we are here to deliver. We are not here to urge upon people the acceptance of plural marriage, but to declare the message above alluded to; though, of course, at proper times and under proper circumstances, we shrink not from the most rigid inquiry into the various principles of our faith.
In conclusion, I wish to say that I have been reared in Utah, have grown up in a Mormon community, taught in their schools, instructed in their faith. It has been my good fortune to listen frequently to the public discourses of their leading Elders, and to enjoy a personal acquaintance with many of them, and never, either in public or in private have I been taught anything contrary to the strictest interpretation of the principles of morality. I know that the entire people, and especially the young, are taught and always have been to regard virtue as the pearl of great price, while adultery and fornication are considered sins next in degree of enormity to the shedding of innocent blood.
It has fallen to my lot to travel through nearly all the States of America and the greater part of England, which has given me the advantage of comparing the "Mormon" community with communities existing under other systems of religion and different social customs. I need only say that that comparison—reviled, scorned, even hated as the "Mormons" are—has {187} made me more proud of my people, and my heart swells with gratitude to the Giver of all good that it has fallen to my lot to be reared among the "Mormons."
It is frequently claimed by our enemies, and especially by apostates, that the "Mormons" teach one set of doctrines in England as "milk for babes,"—doctrines which are harmless and even commendable, but that quite different doctrines are taught in Utah; and that murder, robbery, adultery, and, in fact, every crime known to man is not only winked at, but taught as a duty, as part of the religion of the Saints. To support these statements, garbled quotations and mutilated extracts from the utterances of the leading Elders of the Church are cited from the Journal of Discourses, followed up by the assertion that these discourses are only preached in Utah; when, in fact, the Journal of Discourses was a semi-monthly periodical published in Liverpool, commencing in 1854 and continued up to some two years ago, and widely circulated in England; the Church authorities having nothing to fear from a publication of their discourses, where all that they said was presented to the people.
In the summer of 1857, a company of emigrants passed through Utah, en route for California. They took what is known as the southern route, and while going through some of the settlements in Southern Utah, they were both impertinent and abusive. They poisoned several springs, and also the carcass of an ox which had died. Several Indians drinking the water and eating the carcass died from the effects. The result was that the Indians became enraged, and being joined by a few white men—among them John D. Lee—who, unfortunately, were Mormons, the entire company, excepting a number of children, were cruelly and inhumanly murdered. This horrid crime has been charged upon the Mormon Church, and especially upon the leading Elders. The charge is not true. It is wickedly and maliciously false; was proven to be so by repeated failure of the efforts of his enemies to fasten the crime upon Brigham Young.
John D. Lee had two trials for complicity in the horrid affair. In the first trial the jury disagreed. At the second trial, one James Haslam gave the testimony which I here introduce. It is taken from the records of the court. But that the reader may understand its force, I may briefly explain that in 1857, upon the misrepresentations of a United States judge, the United States authorities at Washington had rashly ordered armed forces to Utah to put down a supposed {188} rebellion of the Mormon people, and in consequence of that "army" approaching Utah, there was considerable excitement throughout the Territory. This fact made the emigrants passing through Utah both arrogant and abusive to the people of the "Mormon" settlements, and a council of leading men in those settlements was held to determine upon the course to be pursued towards the emigrants, and it was decided to send a messenger to Brigham Young to learn his views upon it. That messenger was Haslam; but before he returned the massacre had taken place—John D. Lee having led the Indians to the attack. This is the testimony as it appears on the court records:—
"James Haslam, of Wellsville, Cache Valley, was sworn. He lived in Cedar City in 1857; was ordered by Haight to take a message to President Young with all speed; knew the contents of the message: left Cedar City on Monday, September. 7, 1857, between 5 and 6 p.m., and arrived at Salt Lake on Thursday at 11 a. m.; started back at 3 p.m., and reached Cedar about 11 a. m. Sunday morning, September 13th; delivered the message from President Young to Haight, who said it was too late. Witness testified that when leaving Salt Lake to return, President Young said to him, 'Go with all speed, spare no horseflesh. The emigrants must not be meddled with, if it takes all Iron County to prevent it. They must go free and unmolested.' Witness knew the contents of the answer. He got back with the message the Sunday after the massacre, and reported to Haight, who said, 'it is too late.'"
In opening the case of the second trial of John D. Lee, Mr. Sumner Howard, Ex-Chief Justice of Arizona, and the United States prosecuting Attorney said:—
"He proposed to prove that John D. Lee, without any authority from any council or officer, but in direct opposition to the feelings and wishes of the officers of the Mormon Church, had gone to the Mountain Meadows, where the Indians were then encamped, accompanied only by one little Indian boy, and had assumed command of the Indians, whom he had induced, by promises of great booty, to attack these emigrants; that in his attack on the emigrants he was repulsed; that finding he could not get the emigrants out, he sent word to the various settlements of Southern Utah for men to be sent to him, representing that the men were needed for various purposes, to some saying the Indians had attacked the emigrants, and it was necessary to have men sent to draw off the Indians, to others that men were necessary to protect the emigrants, and still others that the emigrants were all killed, and that they were required to bury the dead; these men went in good faith to perform a humane act; that he had arranged with the Indians to bring the emigrants out from their corral, or fort, by means of a flag of truce; that by this act of perfidy he had induced the emigrants to give up their arms and place themselves under his protection, loading the arms and the wounded with the helpless children into two wagons, which he had ordered for the purpose; that he then started the wagons ahead, following them himself, and the women following next, the men bringing up the rear in single file; that Lee, after having traveled from three-quarters of a mile to a mile, gave the order to fire, and the slaughter commenced; that Lee shot one woman with his rifle, and {189} brained another woman; then drawing his pistol, shot another, and seizing a man by the collar and drawing him out of the wagon, cut his throat; that he gathered up the property of the emigrants and took it to his own place, using and selling it for his own benefit and use. All these charges against John D. Lee, he (District Attorney Howard) proposed to prove to the jury by competent testimony beyond reasonable doubt, or beyond any doubt, and thought no appeal to the jury would be required to induce them to give a verdict in accordance with the evidence."
At the conclusion of the trial, Mr. Howard
"Repeated again that he had come for the purpose of trying John D. Lee, because the evidence led and pointed to him as the main instigator and leader, and he had given the jury unanswerable documentary evidence proving that the authorities of the Mormon Church knew nothing of the butchery until after it was committed, and that Lee, in his letter to President Young a few weeks later, had knowingly misrepresented the actual facts relative to the massacre seeking to keep him still in the dark and in ignorance.
"He had received all the assistance any United States official could ask on earth in any case. Nothing had been kept back, and he was determined to clear the calender of every indictment against any and every actual guilty participator in the massacre, but he did not intend to prosecute any one that had been lured to the meadows at the time, many of whom were only young boys, and knew nothing of the vile plan which Lee originated and carried out for the destruction of the emigrants."
"As stated by Mr. Howard, Lee misrepresented the facts to Brigham Young respecting the massacre, and kept him in the dark as to the part he had taken in the butchery, always saying it was the Indians who had done it, and whom he tried in vain to restrain. Nor did the facts in the case come to the knowledge of Brigham Young until 1870; and as soon as he and the Church authorities learned that Lee was implicated in the heartless deed, they immediately excommunicated him from the Church,—a thing they would not dare to do had they been connected with him in the crime, or in any degree responsible for it.
"Numerous efforts have been made to fasten, the responsibility of this awful crime upon the leaders of the Mormon Church. Inducements were held out to John D. Lee to implicate Brigham Young, but all to no purpose. After his death, however, a supposed confession of his is published by the enemies of the Mormon people, and on that the world is asked to believe that the Mormon Church and people are responsible for the bloody tragedy; the thing is too monstrous and absurd for credence. And no people more emphatically condemn that crime than do the Latter-day Saints. Of it the late President John Taylor said, in an article he furnished for the press, in 1882:—
"I now come to the investigation of a subject that has been harped upon for the last seventeen years, namely, the Mountain Meadows massacre. That bloody tragedy has been the chief stock-in-trade for {190} penny-a-liners, and press and pulpit, who have gloated in turns by chorus over the sickening details. 'Do you deny it?' No. 'Do you excuse it?' No. There is no excuse for such a relentless, diabolical, sanguinary deed. That outrageous infamy is looked upon with as much abhorrence by our people as by any other parties in this nation or in the world, and at its first announcement its loathing recital chilled the marrow and sent a thrill of horror through the breasts of the listeners. It was most certainly a horrible deed, and like many other defenceless tragedies, it is one of those things that cannot be undone. The world is full of deeds of crime and darkness, and the question often arises—Who is responsible therefore? It is usual to blame the perpetrators. It does not seem fair to accuse nations, states, and communities for deeds perpetrated by some of their citizens, unless they uphold it."
"It is by no means improbable that some future text book, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: Joseph Smith, The Mormon Prophet."
—Josiah Quincy, 1844.
LEON R. EWING.
"They are slaves who fear to speak
For the fallen and the weak;
They are slaves who dare not be,
In the right with two or three."
It is difficult for a fair-minded person to realize how hard it is to find space in leading newspapers and magazines for words of defense when expressed in favor of an unpopular people. Their columns are open to attacks, but seldom do we find one blessed with sufficient independence of mind to present the unpopular side to the public. The lady from Ohio who is the author of the following manuscript is not the first to discover this. This manuscript was rejected by "Modern Culture," "Current History," "The Arena," "The Forum," "The World's Work," "Munsey's," "Harper's Monthly," "McClure's," and "The Worlds Today." It was then sent to Ben E. Rich of Atlanta, Georgia, accompanied by a letter, from which we quote as follows:
"Your name has within the last year or two come to me as that of a representative of the Mormon people, and I therefore take the liberty of calling your attention to a matter that will doubtless interest you. Upon more than one occasion I have sojourned in the state of Utah for a considerable length of time, and have had abundant opportunities of judging your people from more than one standpoint. I have met them in both city and country, in their homes (polygamous and otherwise), and in their business. I have met them socially in many ways, and have mingled with them when they have met in exercise of their religious faith. When first thrown among them, I knew of nothing that would cause me to be predisposed in their favor, having read many things derogatory to their character as American citizens, and to their virtue and purity in social and family relations. I endeavored, however, to judge them on their own merits and not on opinions advanced by other people. As a result, I found much to admire and little to condemn. Above everything else, I found them sincere and honest, and learned to know that the mistakes and blunders of individuals were of the head and not of the heart. I have come to regard many of them as my friends, and will always feel an interest in the people as a whole. I have, however, been much annoyed by the scurrilous articles that have of late been written about them, and have often had in my mind to take up the cudgel in their defense. As to the truth of many of the adverse stories that have been told in the past, I am in no position to judge, {192} but of the untruth of the more recent ones, I am sure. Looking at the past in the light of the present, I am inclined to the belief that those earlier stories contain much fiction, and some have been absolutely disproved.
"A particularly objectionable article having not long ago come to my notice, I wrote in protest to the magazine publishing it. The editor in a personal reply requested me to write him what I knew personally about the subject under discussion. I thereupon decided to offer him for publication something in the nature of a response to the previous article, thus showing the Mormon people as I knew them to be. The magazine in question ("Modern Culture," now consolidated with "Current History"), after having kept them manuscript several weeks, at last returned it with a curt refusal. Upon my demanding an explanation and asking if the objection lay in either diction or lack of style in composition, I received from the Editor a personal assurance, that the objection lay only in the unsuitableness of the subject. I afterwards offered it to one magazine after another, always with the same result. I persevered, however, each failure making me more than ever aware of the difficulty of presenting the truth of a matter so long surrounded by prejudice, but receiving the manuscript back again with the same regularity with which I sent it. I will add that but one publication, "The World's Work," offered me a reasonable excuse, and some of them have since solicited articles on different subjects from my pen. "The World's Work" presented a very fair exposition of the Social System, upon which much of Utah's prosperity is founded, in the issue of the month previous to that in which I offered mine. Thinking the matter over, I am more than ever anxious that in some way, the true conditions prevailing in Utah shall come to the notice of the American people, deeming it a simple justice due them. I have therefore taken the liberty of thus arousing your interest in that which I would fain call the "Rejected Manuscript," and of submitting it to you, with the request that, if agreeable to you, it may in some way be brought before the people."
With the opening remarks in this introduction, and the quotation we make from the author's letter, we give to the public the "Rejected Manuscript" without further comment.
Utah and Salt Lake City! How many are the tales which have been told us of this unique city and its queer inhabitants. They have been represented to us as a people, "deep, dark and mysterious;" a people to be avoided as one would the fallen angels. A people promulgating a religion aimed at the very foundation of civilization, and undermining its holiest and purest institutions. We have been solemnly informed that once within the clutches of its religious fanatics, escape would be well nigh impossible. Statements which might be applicable to a description of Thibet, are even now in print, {193} and quite recently, "horrible" stories of persecution in which the misguided and degraded "Mormons," having first torn down and trampled upon the American flag, resorted to the flinging of mud, as well as sticks and stones, at the devoted head of its sole defender. Until within a few years, Utah figured as the "Darkest Africa" of this our free and happy Union. But the tourist has at last, with admirable bravery, invaded its forbidden precincts, overrun its quiet villages, crowded the quaint streets of its cities, and laid bare the awful secret of its hidden mystery.
Alas, it is but as a "tale that is told," it is even as the "big dark" of our childish fears, which only needed investigation to prove its utter nothingness. We find after all, only a kindly people, busily engaged, for the most part, in overcoming an unproductive soil, and putting themselves in a way to use to advantage and profit, the splendid resources with which nature and their own thrift have bountifully provided them. Broad and fertile valleys now smile back at us, where unfruitful wastes once frowned, and prosperous cities and towns give evidence of true western enterprise; and the people—they are not so very much unlike other people. One might exclaim, with a fair tourist whose itinerary last summer, gave her a day or two in Salt Lake City—"Well, I don't see any one who looks like a Mormon!" What could she have been expecting? There is a tradition among the people in question, that horns have ceased to decorate their brows, and that even the rudest of them are quite harmless.
Apropos of Salt Lake City; as all roads once led to Rome, so also are there very few western-bound tourists, who do not find themselves, at some stage of their wanderings, guests within its gates. They come from everywhere, and their expectations are varied. They go in great crowds to the Tabernacle organ recitals, where a matchless instrument is touched by a master hand, while ten thousand can be comfortably seated beneath its pillarless dome, and lose not one vibration. Ah! How can one describe a scene so inspiring? The vast audience spell-bound, entranced, forgetful alike of time and place, deaf to all else save the voice of the wonderful organ, bearing to them great waves of melody, now glorious and triumphant in the Tannhauser and William Tell, now low and wailing in Il Trovatore. Now it is the Lost Chord and now the Angels' Chorus, lacking only articulation to make it human. And so we listen and marvel, and make good resolutions, and the music grows soft and faint, and far away, and ceases; and we find ourselves in a silence that is intense, vainly striving {194} to catch one more harmonious whisper. It is all over. We are glad, if we may, to take the hand of the organist, and then we go streaming out into the sunshine, and the great, bustling, workaday world claims us once more. We go our various ways feeling the better for this happy hour, snatched out of the glowing heart of the busy day, and resolve to go again if time permits. And all this is free. Free as the air we breathe, and the grass we tread upon, twice a week throughout the year, save only the winter months. Really, for semi-barbarians, this is doing very well. When we see this great Tabernacle filled on a Sabbath afternoon and hear the charm of five hundred voices added to that of the organ, and listen to the straightforward addresses of several unsalaried "Saints," our thoughts go back to the half empty churches of the East, and we feel that we have come upon at least one mystery. Whatever are the doctrines Mormonism teaches, its votaries seem to be earnest and do not look like a priest-ridden people. In their family life they are extremely hospitable, and he is fortunate indeed who is admitted as a guest within their homes. We are charmed by their hearty welcome, and the unostentatious kindness that is showered upon us.
Socially, nothing comes amiss with them that can be classed under the head of innocent amusements; and so the great dancing pavilion and the bathing beach at Saltair are thronged daily and nightly throughout the season. Saltair! There is nothing to equal it. One thousand couples can dance upon its polished floor, while the soft breezes from over the great Salt Lake cool the flushed cheek and stimulate the most lagging appetite; or, we join the bathers and go for a dip in its briny water. Refreshed and invigorated, we rest upon the broad balconies and watch the sun in a "sea of crimson and purple and gold" as it sinks behind the mountains, which are really islands, set like gems, in the bosom of the great lake. Later, we find ourselves-wondering if famed Italian and Venetian moons can give us any clearer light, and how their radiance can flood a night more delicious than this. The strains of "Home, Sweet Home," in the closing waltz, and the thinned-out ranks of the dancers, warn us that the last train for the city is due, and sixteen miles might prove wearisome, however bright the moonlight. Saltair is upon every one's lips. No visitor misses it, unless compelled by an adverse fate; and we find ourselves drawn back again and again, each time more charmed than the last. Like the mountains, it attracts and fascinates—the mountains, which rear their misty outlines in the blue distance, and beckon and mock us. Five miles away {195} they appear as tantalizingly close; indeed, we might run over to the base of one, by way of a constitutional before breakfast. We discover, alas! that "distance lends enchantment." We are left in no possible doubt that there is a distance. The main street of the city apparently runs directly into them, and City Creek Canon, from whose clear stream its thirsty thousands drink, is reached by only a short drive. Salt Lake is truly a mountain-girt city, and its founders must have resembled them in strength of purpose and steadfast effort. To have reclaimed the desert and, in part, peopled a state, is no small achievement.
The Mormons foster education and educational institutions. "The glory of God is intelligence," they tell us, and intelligence for women as well as for men. Women, in the Mormon estimate, occupies a very high position, both in Church and state. You are surprised? You thought her subjected to all sorts of humiliating treatment, and that polygamy held her hopelessly in subjection? Ah! why not let polygamy rest as the dead issue that it really is? Why be always dragging it out and dangling its supposed horrors in the face of every advancement! Its practice was limited to but three per cent of those who believed in it as a principle; but even though an "Angel in Heaven" should declare the truth in the matter prejudice would stop its ears and refuse to hear. Why fill our minds with the blood-curdling tales of yellow back literature, when all the riches of the master minds of bygone centuries are at our disposal? Why not show to those whom we considered deluded a manner of living that will win them to us? Let us hear no more of the divorce courts and the brothel, before we cast the first stone at our brothers. Divorce is practically unknown among the Mormons, and when we assail Salt Lake City for morals we must remember that half her population is "Gentile," and that for the last twelve years the head of her city government has been drawn from that source.
In forming an impartial estimate of a people, we choose for our consideration neither the class that is designated as the upper stratum, nor those whose worldly possessions place them it the bottom, but go rather to the great middle class, those who hold a position between the two extremes. The Mormons profess to have no upper and no lower classes. They aim to meet on common ground, whatever their worldly inheritance may be. Their young men are called upon to give two or three years, and oftentimes more, of their life to the spreading of the gospel as they believe and teach it; and rich {196} and poor, they go cheerfully, away from home and friends, amid unfriendly strangers, without other recompense than the consciousness of a duty performed. These are the much talked about and much dreaded missionaries, against whose "pernicious" influences we are warned. Considering the fact that these same Elders are in many cases beardless youths, is it not strange that contact with them is so feared, and discussions looked upon as so dangerous? Surely Christianity in all the nineteen hundred years that have elapsed since its establishment, has given us sufficient knowledge with which to defend ourselves. Why then all this flurry? Are we to be forced to believe ourselves on the weaker side? But, you say they are such "smooth fellows." True, but is the smoothness to be all on one side? Let us mass our forces and meet them on even ground, and who knows whose may be the victory?
We have all been told of the shield, over the appearance of which, in ancient times, two warriors quarreled, only to discover at the last that it presented an entirely different side to each. Is there not a possibility that, after all has been said and done, we may find there are also two sides to the Mormon question? History, we say, points with unerring finger to bloody deeds and insubordination. In one long procession they pass before us, "Mountain Meadow Massacre," "Danite Raids," "Bloody Atonement," political intrigues and gross depravity. They have been called a blot upon our Western civilization, and today the map of Utah is presented with a huge octopus disfiguring its fair proportions, and whose tentacles reach out into adjoining states. We have surely told you how unreliable are the stories told us of early pioneer days beyond the Mississippi, and how fabulous are legends which come to us of its early settlers. We have not considered how large a part the prejudice, which always follows a religious belief that deviates even in the least from what is known as orthodox, has played in the lurid tales with which our too eager ears have been regaled. We have fallen into the same error for which we censure the ancient knights; we have neglected to look upon the other side of the shield. What sad tales of persecution and long suffering we find here. Tragedies as sad as any in Reformation days. From Kirtland to Nauvoo, and across the trackless prairie they were driven, their weary way marked by the graves of those whose physical strength was not sufficient, until they reached at last what, to them, was a promised land, the valley of the great Salt Lake. Desolate and unpromising as it was, they have made it blossom {197} as the rose. To quote a recent descriptive work, "By industry as remarkable as it was well directed, the desert was converted into an oasis, and the bare earth, with its poverty of sands and sage brush, was made to cover its nakedness with the green vestures of an almost unexampled fecundity."
How much truth there is in all that is urged against them, and how mistaken we may be as to their motives and the underlying principles which dominate their rough and rugged exterior, those of us who are enough interested must determine for ourselves. Strange, is it not, that we hear so little mention of the horrors of Haun's Mill, and so few detailed accounts of the mid-winter expulsion from Nauvoo? General Thomas L. Kane, of Philadelphia, visited their deserted city soon after their enemies had driven them away, and in a lecture delivered on the subject before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, used these words:
"Dreadful, indeed, was the suffering of these forsaken beings; bowed and cramped by cold and sunburn, alternating as each weary day and night dragged on, they were almost all of them, the crippled victims of disease. They were there because they had no homes, nor hospitals, nor poorhouse, nor friends to offer them any. They could not satisfy the feeble cravings of their sick; they had not bread to quiet the fractious hunger-cries of their children. Mothers and babes, daughters and grandparents, all of them alike were bivouacked in tatters, wanting even covering to comfort those whom the sick shivers of fever were searching to the marrow. These were Mormons, famishing in Lee County, Iowa, in the fourth week of the month of September, in the year of our Lord, 1846. The city—it was Nauvoo, Illinois. The Mormons were the owners of that city and the smiling country around. And those who had stopped their plows, who had silenced their hammers, their axes, their shuttles, and their workshop wheels; those who had put out their fires and eaten their food, spoiled their orchards and trampled under foot their thousands of acres of unharvested bread—these were the keepers of their dwellings, the carousers in their Temples, whose drunken riot insulted the ears of their dying."
They had the added agony of camping on the snow covered ground without shelter, in plain sight of their confiscated possessions and desolated hearthstones. Another writer thus describes the awful scene:
"Out into the trackless American wilds, into an Indian country, the 'Mormons' wended their way, weary and destitute, for more than fifteen hundred miles, their pathway being marked by the graves of their dead. The history of their privations and suffering is harrowing in the extreme. The {198} lives of not less than a thousand of their number were sacrificed in the relentless persecutions connected with the exodus from Illinois."
Need we be surprised that a feeble protest was raised against the too zealous enforcement of laws framed to this very end, or that a sense of injustice should be the result of such vigorous treatment?
We hear nothing nowadays of the battalion furnished by the Mormon refugees, for the defense of the flag in California and Mexico, at a time, too, when every able-bodied man was needed for defense against hostile Indians, hunger and all the other dangers attendant upon pioneer travel. In answer to this demand, Brigham Young said:
"You shall have your battalion, Captain Allen; and if there are not young men enough, we will take the old men, and if they are not enough, we will take the women."
In three days the force was mustered and ready to march. And again to the assembled people:
"I say unto you, magnify the laws. There is no law in the United States, or in the Constitution, but I am ready to make honorable."
Here is the message which came over the wires when amid the turmoil of the first years of the Civil War, the Overland telegraph line was completed:
"Utah has not seceded, but is firm for the Constitution and laws of our once happy country, and is warmly interested in such useful enterprises as the one so far completed."
A similar demonstration of patriotism and love of progress took place when the first iron horse, over the Union Pacific, came puffing into the Territory:
"Utah bids you welcome. Hail to the great National highway."
And this from their Articles of Faith:
"We believe in being subjects to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates; in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."
These do not sound like the utterances of a people, jealously guarding from the intrusion of civilization, a region in which they might entrench themselves, and defy the advancement of law, order and Christianity. As our luxurious Pullman bears us swiftly and comfortably over the rolling prairie, do we ever give a thought to the patient, downtrodden ones {199} who marked out the path for us? Those who, in the words of one of their own poets:
"As armed with mighty faith, no foe could vaunt,
No powers appall, no pending danger daunt."
And what of the Mountain Meadow Massacre and the Danite band? The daring perpetrator of the former outrage was willingly given over to the just retribution which awaited him, arid the existence of the "Avenging Angels" as an organization under the direction and receiving the sanction of Mormon leaders, was long ago exploded as the fabrication of an over-excited and too active imagination. We can find no more substantial foundation remaining to it than that which underlies any other myth or tradition. "Let the dead past bury its dead." Let us take the Mormon people as we find them today and try to discover in them a little good rather than wholesale evil. Let us commend them for the benefit, however small, that they have bestowed upon their day and generation, and cover with the mantle of charity, if enough of that priceless commodity be left in the world, the unintentional evil they may have done, and the mistakes they may have made. The wrong doing of individuals should not be visited upon the heads of the entire community, and narrow, personal prejudices should not be allowed to warp our good judgment.
This is an age of wide research and broad acquirements, and we will not find our Mormon countrymen very far behind in the race for all that broadens and enlightens. They have their own poets, their own artists and their own musicians. You can find them represented in the universities and in the studios, and in the conservatories of music of more than one foreign city, as well as in those of our own fair land. Wherever education and culture congregate, you will find a colony of them; and they are not unknown in the scientific and the professional world; neither are they lacking in manufacturers and financiers. The great Tabernacle organ (second to none in the country) is presided over by one of their own young musicians, and the baton is wielded by one of their own faith, over the Tabernacle choir, which has more than once earned the wonder and applause of California audiences. It is a Mormon girl, granddaughter of one of Mormonism's great leaders, who has recently made her debut, and taken by storm one Eastern city after another, charming them alike by her personality and her ability; and whose marvelous voice a conservative Boston paper has likened to that of Patti. An exploring {200} party, sent out by a Mormon institution of learning, has only just returned after having penetrated with infinite hardship, privation and determination, deeply into the forbidden wilds of South Africa, endeavoring to give to the world of science and research information that is valuable and rare.
One of the remarkable things about the Mormons is, that they are a travelled people. As we meet them and converse with them, we wonder at the various phases of human life with which they seem to be familiar, and the ease with which many of them are able to settle, for themselves, many vexed social problems. But they are either extremely modest, or foreign sojourn has become so ordinary a thing with them, that they attach no unusual significance to it; for it is only upon questioning them, or after having known them some time, that the secret of it is made known.
Ah, yes, we say, travel is a good schoolmaster, and we broaden and deepen under its discipline. But there are many kinds of travelers; the mere globe trotter, hastening from one capital to another, seeing much, but perceiving little, and resembling the woman who was asked by a friend what most impressed her in one of Germany's tourist-infested cities. After due consideration she replied, "Well, I think of all the things I remember with most delight, the very best were the delicious Frankfort sausages." "Ye gods and little fishes!" Frankfort sausages, indeed! If she was an American we renounce all claim to her. He who would reap lasting benefit must be possessed of the "seeing eye," and know the meaning of insight as well as sight. But if travel alone can do so much for us, of how much greater value the sojourner under many skies, and amid various manners and customs, gleaning a little here and a little there, and adding daily to our lore of people and things. Not alone is this true of the Mormon man, but in a great measure true also of the woman. They have extended their itinerary to the islands of the sea, and countries oriental. They have practically belted the globe, and gathered from the rich treasures of its world-old storehouses, that which centuries have been amassing; and they bring it all and lay it at the feet of their well-beloved home land. For they are proud of their country, proud of the flag she flies and intensely proud of their lovely "Deseret." They are proud of their heroic men and women, brave daughters of the desert, tried and true, who laid the foundations upon which they are engaged in building a superstructure that will do lasting honor to those who suffered so much in establishing it.
{201} A great incentive for the acquisition of knowledge is given to the advocate of Mormonism by the belief that no advancement made in this life will go as naught when death overtakes him. He will go on progressing throughout the countless ages of eternity, without the power of sin to retard his efforts, and with all the vast recourses of celestial lore to accelerate his speed. He accounts for different degrees of intelligence observed in individuals in this life, by his theory of pre-existence, in which some had attained a greater advancement than had others. He does not deny salvation to any of the human race, and believes that no erring soul will be forever lost. He hopes for all his dead a chance for glorification equal to his own; and in the beautiful temples scattered over Utah, he unselfishly does for them, what is to him a work of redemption. The largest and most beautiful of them all is visible to the visitor to Salt Lake City, standing in the midst of the city. Its white and glistening towers, supporting the gilded statue of the Mormon angel "Moroni," come into sight long before the outlines of any other architecture. Built of native granite, at an outlay of nearly three million dollars, forty years were given to its construction and embellishment.
In all justice to these people, let us say, "We admire you for the progress you have made, the stern determination you have shown, and while we may not agree with you in your religious tenets, we recognize you as brother Americans and co-patriots, under a flag and constitution which is broad enough to shelter all creeds and all true men. We believe you when you say that plural marriage is a thing of the past, and we think the better of you for honoring ties already formed." So will we prove ourselves possessed of Christian toleration for those who dare dispute our pet theories, and place ourselves in a way to do a tardy justice. "We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." (Articles of Faith.) Truly, if Utah and her people were one-half as bad as she has been painted, she would deserve a fate ten times more dreadful than any that her enemies have as yet devised for her. A just God could do no less than cause the thunderbolts of His wrath to fall upon her and consume her, that the earth might be purified of her polluting influence. But how different from the awful picture do we really find her!
No. 1.
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
There are so many different religious systems in the world, each claiming not only to be right but to be divine, that a rational mind, unwarped by sect or creed, is likely to become bewildered and disgusted in efforts to reach and embrace religious truth. The claim frequently put forth that all the Christian sects are right is a palpable absurdity. Truth is always consistent with itself. It is error that causes confusion. Two opposing systems cannot both be correct. They may both be wrong, but it is impossible for both to be right. There may be some truth in every religion that has been foisted upon the world. Indeed, without that no system could have continued existence. It is that portion of each religion which is true that keeps it alive and makes its errors plausible.
To say that God is the author of the conflicting religions which distract mankind, is to charge him with inconsistency and folly. That which comes from God must of necessity be true. This needs no argument; it is so self-evident that many thinking people, beholding the contention and strife of ages over religious affairs, have formed the opinion that all religions are human, conceived in the minds of men and promulgated for selfish purposes. Yet, admitting that there is a Supreme Being, the Creator of all things, who is the embodiment of truth, justice, mercy, wisdom, and love, it seems unreasonable to think that He would leave His intelligent creatures without a guide on the road to the eternal future.
As there is but one Supreme God, there can be but one true religion. That religion must be of divine origin. It must come from God to man. Religions invented by men would necessarily vary. Man cannot by his Own searching find out God, or the ways of God, but Deity can enlighten man and reveal Himself and His will to mortals. The infinite can condescend to the finite, while the finite of itself cannot grasp or comprehend the infinite. It is of the utmost importance that mankind should learn what God requires, in order that {203} men and women may be fitted for His presence and be in harmony with Him in time and in eternity. The true religion, therefore, that which God reveals, that which he has revealed, and that which he may yet reveal, should be considered of greater value than anything else. Nothing that is perishable can be compared with it. That which endures forever is immeasurably above that which only lasts for time. He that gains this "pearl of great price" is rich above all computation.
One of the great errors into which people have fallen in reference to religion is that God must accept any mode of worship, any sort of ordinances, and any kind of church that men may establish, so long as they are sincere in their intentions and devout in their desires. God must be worshiped not only in spirit, but in truth. His word is truth. His spirit is the spirit of truth. God's religion, then, will be the truth, and nothing but the truth, and he will accept of nothing short of this. The inventions of men, whatever may be their motives, are not of God, and therefore, are vain. The precepts and opinions and vagaries of man-appointed preachers and teachers, not being authorized or inspired of God, cannot be relied upon and are not acknowledged in Heaven. Christendom as well as heathendom is in a ferment with human conceptions and conflicting theories in relation to God, His will, His purposes, and His requirements. The result is spiritual Babylon, which is confusion. God is not with it, for He is the author of peace, and order and harmony.
"Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it;" so said the great Teacher whom professing Christians regard as the Savior of the world (Matthew VII, 14). He also declared: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." (John X; 1.) Also, "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Matt. 15; 9.) And further, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matt. IV; 4.)
The nations that are called heathen are, no doubt, as sincere in their idolatrous worship as are the Christian nations in their opposing creeds and devotional exercises. If mere sincerity and devout motives are sufficient for God's acceptance, then heathendom is on a par with Christendom in the sight of Heaven. But the objector will no doubt reply, "Heathen religions lack the one essential feature of acceptance with God, faith in Jesus Christ. Having that, doctrinal differences do {204} not matter; faith alone is sufficient for salvation. Christ is the way, the truth, and the light, and whosoever believeth in him shall have eternal life." That is another of the astonishing errors of modern religious people and teachers. Seizing upon a few isolated texts from the New Testament, relying upon the letter of the word alone, regardless of the spirit and meaning thereof, they altogether ignore numerous other texts in the same volume, which make plain the intent and signification of those which they select. Their eyes are blinded to the pure truth, they stumble in the way, and the blind leading the blind, they are in danger of falling into the ditch together.
Jesus of Nazareth truly said, "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John III, 16.) But he also said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John X; 27.) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do because I go to my Father." (John XIV; 12.) "If a man love me, he will keep my word." (v; 23.) "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself unto him," (v. 21.) "If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love." (John XV; 10.) "Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven" (Matt. VII; 21.) "And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke VI; 46.) "Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven; for I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven." (Matt. V; 19-20.) "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sands, and the rain descended and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (Matt. VII; 26, 27.) "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruits is hewn down and cast into the fire. Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matt. VII; 19.) When the rich young man asked the Savior what {205} he should do that he might have eternal life, he was not told there was nothing for him to do but believe in Christ, but the answer was, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." (Matt. XIX; 17.) After Christ's resurrection when he sent his Apostles into all the world to preach the Gospel to every creature, he added, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." (Matt. XXVIII: 20.)
The Apostles thus authorized obeyed these instructions, and not only proclaimed belief in Jesus Christ as necessary to salvation, but obedience to his teachings as equally essential. The history of their travels, as narrated in the book called the Acts of the Apostles, demonstrates this to be true. Such of their epistles as have been preserved and compiled in the New Testament, also bear this witness. These records show beyond reasonable dispute that the faith in Christ which is sufficient for salvation, comprehends faith in his teachings and obedience to his commands.
The belief in Christ which is taught by modern Christian sects is thus condemned by the Apostle James: "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James II; 20, 24, 26.)
The Apostle Paul is generally cited as the great preacher of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. But that he is misunderstood on that subject is evident from his Epistle to the Romans, in which, while he proclaims the doctrine of justification by faith, he also affirms emphatically the necessity of good works as the fruits of faith; as for instance: "Who will render to every man according to his deeds; to those who by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory, and honor and immortality, eternal life. But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness; indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile. But glory, honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. For there is no respect of persons with God." (Romans II; 6-11.)
It is to this very epistle that the advocates of salvation by faith alone chiefly refer when seeking support for their irrational theory, and they quote: "Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans V; 1.) Also, "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law {206} of faith." (Chap. III; 27.) But they neglect to add what follows, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law," (v. 28). The tenor of the whole epistle is to the effect that the law of Moses is insufficient; that "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall be no flesh justified in his sight." (v. 20). That justification and redemption come through the atonement made by Christ, and that faith in him, which includes belief in his teachings and obedience to his commands, is the one way of salvation.
Another quotation common with the disciples of the faith alone doctrine is this: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans X; 9.) But here again they omit the following verse: "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (v. 10.)
This is the key to the whole matter. The faith that saves is the faith that leads to obedience, which is "better than sacrifice." That obedience must be given to "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Belief, prayer, devotional exercises, of themselves will not prepare man for the presence and society of his Maker. To dwell with Him, man must be assimilated to His likeness. This can be effected only by compliance with His commands. Man's future will be determined by his present course. In the glorious vision given to John the Beloved, we find this: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works." (Rev. XX; 12.)
This tract is but preliminary to others, in which the one everlasting way of life and plan of salvation will be plainly pointed out, for the benefit of mankind and the glory of the Supreme and Eternal God, to whom be honor and praise forever. Amen.
No. 2.
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
The first principle of revealed religion is Faith in God. True religion must begin with faith in the true God. Faith in false Gods, leads to false religions. Without faith there can be no religion in the soul of man. "Without faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Heb. XI; 6.) In a general sense faith is the assurance in the soul of the existence of unseen things, that is, unseen by the natural eye. The principle of faith, that is, the power to believe, is planted in man by the gift of God. It is developed by evidence. Faith in God is brought into action by the word of God. Whether spoken by Deity Himself, by angels sent from His presence, or by men divinely authorized and appointed to speak in His name under the influence of His Holy Spirit, the word of God is the same. When that word is written it is scripture.
Evidences of the existence of a Supreme Being are seen in vast profusion. They appeal to every rational mind. The order, beauty, and sublimity of the heavenly bodies, moving through space in silent majesty, each in its own orbit, balancing and counter-balancing each other without an error in time or revolution, all preserving their own identity and performing their own mission, proceeding thus through everlasting ages, are perennial witnesses of the existence, power, and glory of God. The earth itself, with its relations to other planets, its products, its seasons, its adaptation to the needs of the creatures that inhabit its surface or its atmosphere, joins in the grand chorus of the music of the spheres, "forever singing as they shine, the Hand that made us is Divine." Nature, however, while proclaiming the existence of Deity, does not disclose His personality or reveal His will. A knowledge of God can only come from God. Faith leads to that knowledge.
The greatest religious teacher among men was Jesus, the Nazarene. In his personality God was manifest in the flesh. {208} He revealed Deity to humanity. He showed that God was in reality the Father of the spirits of men. He proclaimed that he was in the beginning with God; that he came forth from God, and would return to God, and that all mankind were his brethren, made in the image of God and part of his eternal family. This presents God as actually and literally "Our Father which art in heaven." It takes away the mystery with which false faiths have enveloped the Supreme Being, beclouding the minds of men, and making God utterly incomprehensible. Jesus taught that his Father and our Father is a personal being, man being in his likeness, Jesus himself being in his express image. He taught also that he was sent into the world to save mankind, and bring them back to the Father's presence; that no man could come unto God but by him. The true Christian religion, therefore, combines faith in Jesus Christ the Son, with faith in God the eternal Father. Christ further taught the existence of a divine spirit, proceeding from God, to enlighten the souls of men; that is, the Holy Ghost, by which the mind and will of God may be made known to man, and by which holy men chosen of God have been inspired in different ages to declare his word.
These three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, form the eternal Godhead. They are not one person, as erroneously declared by modern Christian churches, but are separate and distinct substances, though one in mind and power and dominion. Jesus of Nazareth, as the Son of God, was a personality as distinct from the personality of the Eternal Father as is that of any earthly son from his father. The Holy Spirit, though proceeding from both the Father and the Son, is not either of them, but has an identity of its own. It is true that Jesus said, "I and my Father are one." (John X; 30), but he also said, "My Father is greater than I," (John XIV; 28).
That the unity of the Godhead is not oneness in person, is made very clear in the account of the baptism of Jesus Christ: The Son on that occasion coming up out of the waters of Jordan, the Holy Spirit descending upon him in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father from heaven proclaiming, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. III; 16-17.) Jesus said, "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world. Again I leave the world and go to the Father." (John XVI; 28.) He also prayed to the Father, and in the prayer recorded by John, explained in unmistakable language what he meant when he declared "I and my Father are one." After praying for his Apostles, he said: {209} "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their words, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us. That the world may believe that Thou hast sent me." (John XVII; 17-18). Concerning the Holy Spirit he said: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you. But if I depart I will send him unto you." (Chap. XVI; 17.) Many more of the sayings of the Savior might be adduced, but these are sufficient to show the distinct personality of each of the three that form the Godhead, while they are in perfect unity of mind and purpose and action. If they are one substance, as taught in modern Christendom, then all who believe on them, in all ages, are to be made also one substance, thus losing their identity and becoming one vast, incomprehensible and inconceivable individuality.
The omnipresence of God has bewildered many minds which are unable, because of modern false teachings, to understand how God the Eternal Father can be a person after whose form and image man is created, and yet be present throughout his vast creations. But the explanation is simple in the light of truth. It is by his Holy Spirit, which permeates all things, and is the life and the light of all things, that Deity is everywhere present. Our Father has his dwelling place in the eternal heavens. Christ is at his right hand, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from them throughout the immensity of space. By that agency God sees and knows and governs all things. By it mankind may be brought into union and communion with God. It guides into all truth. It recalls the past, manifests the present, and reveals the future. It is the testimony of Jesus and the spirit of prophecy. It is the light of Christ, and "lighteth every man that cometh into the world." It is the "inspiration of God which giveth the spirit of man understanding." To that degree it shines on every soul, but as the gift of the Holy Ghost it is a far greater and higher light. Then it is the abiding witness that bears record of the Father and the Son; that "searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God."
Faith in God the Father and in Jesus Christ, the Son, and in the Holy Ghost is but the beginning of true religion. It is exhibited in works of obedience which will be explained in other tracts of this series. Faith is also a principle of power. All human exertion springs from its exercise. This is exemplified in all the acts of life. In a higher sense it is a spiritual force. It was by faith, in this degree, that the wonderful {210} works of the Prophets and Apostles and other holy men of old, were accomplished, as recorded in the Old and New Testaments, and in the sacred books of the Seers and Sages who were not of the Hebrew race. For, faith is the same principle in all ages and among all nations. It was by this faith that the sick were healed, the blind received their sight, the lame were made to walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, the sting of the serpent and the virulence of poison were made harmless, divine dreams and heavenly visions were beheld, and the glories of eternity were unfolded to the Saints and servants of God in the early Christian Church. It was by faith that lepers were cleansed, water was turned into wine, multitudes were fed with a few loaves and fishes, the winds and the waves were stilled, and the dead were raised to life, when the Divine Master walketh on earth in the flesh. These marvels are called "miracles." They are deemed supernatural, but they were the natural results of the exercise of the spiritual force called faith. It was by the same power that the heavens were closed that there was no rain for three years and six months; that the barrel of meal and the cruse of oil failed not, and that the ravens brought food in the days of Elijah the Prophet. By the same faith the children of Israel were led out of Egypt by Moses, the Red Sea was divided, manna was brought from heaven and water from the rock, and people bitten by serpents were healed in the wilderness. It was also by that faith that the early patriarchs prevailed, and some of them walked and talked with God. And indeed, it was by faith that the worlds were brought into material existence, order coming out of chaos, light springing forth from darkness, and life, in its various forms, being developed through the word of the Eternal God, in whom this principle of faith is manifest in its full and complete perfection.
This is the faith spoken of in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. Also in the Epistle of Jude, in which he urged upon the Church when writing upon the "common salvation," that they should "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints." In modern Christendom it is taught that this faith, with all the gifts, signs and glorious manifestations which it produces, are "done away and no longer needed." But this is another of the many grievous errors of spiritual Babylon. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. A principle of truth never changes. Cause and effect do not vary by the lapse of time. The faith exercised in the first century of the Christian era or of human existence on earth, must inevitably {211} bring forth similar results in the latter days. The absence of the effect proves the absence of the cause.
The true religion contains the true faith. It is the one thing needful. It is the one way of salvation. To know the only living and true God and Jesus Christ, whom He hath sent, is to gain eternal life, (John XVII: 3.) Living faith is the starting point in the path to that knowledge. While it has existed in a small degree, and has been exercised occasionally and in a limited manner during the centuries that have passed since the Apostolic age, the faith "once delivered to the Saints" has faded almost out of active life, even among professing Christians whose minds have been blinded by the traditions of men and the dogmas and theories of human invention. While good men and women have served God and sought after Him to the best of their ability, through the long night of darkness which has intervened from the days of divine revelation down to the present century, they have not been able to find that "closer walk with God" and exercise that mighty faith enjoyed in ancient times and which is essential to the true religion. Thank God! that faith has been restored to earth, and through it divine communication is once more opened up, man may commune again with his Maker, and all the blessings obtained at any time thereby may now be received by the obedient sons and daughters of God. Concerning this all-important matter other tracts of this series will be presented to the public, that truth may prevail and that Divine light may shine up on the world!
"The reason why the Lord will pour out his judgments upon the nations is because of the blasphemous spirit of wickedness and corruption that reigns among men."
—Wilford Woodruff.
No. 3
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
In previous tracts of this series it has been shown that there can be but one true religion, because there is but one Supreme God, that it must be revealed from Him instead of being made by man, and that the first principle of that religion is faith, which can be made manifest only by works. Let us now see what those works are which are essential to salvation. The first fruit of faith in God and in Jesus Christ is repentance of sin. Sin against God is the transgression of his law. Conviction of sin comes through faith in God and his law. Conviction leads to humility and repentance and obedience. Sorrow for sin is not of itself true repentance, which comprehends not only regret for the past, but reformation for the future. It includes determination to forsake and refrain from sin. As the Apostle Paul expressed it, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of." (2 Cor. VII; 10). When the sinner is sorry because he has been found out, that is not true repentance. Grief is an element of repentance because when a believer perceives that he has broken a law of God, he feels remorse. But unless he resolves to turn away from that transgression, and not repeat it, he does not reach full repentance.
"Cease to do evil, learn to do well," has been the word of God and his inspired servants through all the ages. It is a step forward in practical religion. It is absolutely necessary to salvation. Without it belief in Christ is vain. He said himself, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." (Luke XIII; 3). "God commandeth all men everywhere to repent." (Acts XVII; 30). Jesus instructed that, "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations." (Luke XXIV; 47). The idea that people may sin against God and against humanity, and by mere belief in the merits of the Savior be absolved from all the consequences of their guilt, is one of the greatest of the many {213} absurdities which have been grafted by the hand of man upon the tree of religion.
Christ gave Himself a sacrifice to save mankind from their sins, not in their sins. His work is to redeem humanity by lifting it up to Deity. His Gospel teaches purification from sin and exultation into the righteousness of God. The atonement wrought out on Calvary is as much misunderstood by modern divines who preach it, as were the teachings of Moses and the Prophets by the sectaries who rejected the Nazarene. That atonement was for a dual purpose. First, to redeem mankind from the consequences of the original sin committed in the Garden of Eden, and second, to open the way of salvation from the actual sins committed by the posterity of Adam.
As to the first, redemption will come to all the race without effort on their part. Death came into the world in the beginning because the divine law was broken. It passed upon all the descendants of the transgressor. Christ gave himself a sacrifice for that sin. As by one came death, so by one will come life. "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." (I Cor. XV; 22). As the sons and daughters of Adam were not personally engaged in or responsible for the transgression which brought death, so they are not required to do anything in the work which shall restore them to life. The resurrection will be as broad as the death. The raising up will be co-extensive with the effects of the fall. But when through Christ the resurrection is accomplished, the dead, small and great, who are thus brought up and redeemed from the grave will be judged according to their works. (Rev. XX).
As to the second—the actual sins of each individual salvation will come through faith in Christ and obedience to his Gospel. Each intelligent person is accountable for his own acts. He must do what is required in order that he may be saved from his sins. The power is inherent in man to do right or to do wrong. In this he is a free agent. He can resist evil and do good, or resist good and do evil, as he elects. No matter how great may be the force of circumstances and environments, and the pressure of hereditary influences, the volition of the creature remains. The doctrine of rewards and punishments is predicated upon individual freedom of the will and personal responsibility for its exercise. Christ has done for mankind that and that alone which they were not able to do for themselves. That which they can perform is required of every one. They can believe, they can repent, and they can receive and obey the commandments of Christ given as conditions to salvation. Unless they do {214} this, although they will be raised from the dead and appear before the Eternal Judge, they cannot be exalted to dwell in His presence.
Thus it will be seen that while Christ died, unconditionally, for the original sin by which death came into the world, he died as a propitiation for the actual sins of the world conditionally. And it was to proclaim these conditions and offer them to every creature, that he sent his Apostles forth as ministers of salvation. There is no other way to eternal life. The plan of salvation is not changed to suit the notions and opinions of man. It does not vary in different ages, nor among different nations. It is the "everlasting Gospel." The law of Moses was a temporary and imperfect law of carnal commandments, given because the Gospel had been rejected by the Israelites. It answered its purpose and passed away when the one eternal Gospel plan was restored by Jesus Christ, through whom alone mankind can be saved, and that salvation cannot be obtained except by faith in him, which comprehends obedience to his requirements.
It has been shown that faith is the first principle of the Gospel, and repentance—the forsaking of sin, is the second, and it is now necessary to present the third principle, which is remission of sins. The popular idea in modern Christendom is that repentance of itself brings remission of sins. That is another serious mistake. Payment of debts is not brought about by simply ceasing to get credit; determination to sin no more does not wipe out sins already committed. God is a being of order and of law. He has instituted the means whereby each sinner may receive a cleansing from the past. His laws are as uniform in the spiritual world as in the natural world; obedience to those laws is as necessary in one sphere as in the other. Remission of sins comes to the repentant believer, through baptism, when it is performed by divine direction and under divine authority.
Baptism for the remission of sins was preached and practiced by John, the forerunner of Jesus. "John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." (Mark I; 4). Jesus Christ honored that baptism in person and by his teachings. He also sent his Apostles to preach it to every creature. (Matt. XXVII; 19-20, also Mark XVI; 15-13). Previous to preaching that baptism, he instructed his Apostles to "tarry at Jerusalem until they were endowed with power from on high." (Luke XXIV; 47, 49). That power was bestowed upon them on the day of Pentecost, when they were assembled in one place with {215} one accord, and the Holy Ghost was manifested to them in visible form. To the people who gathered to hear the Apostles, forming a great multitude, Peter preached the first Gospel sermon after the resurrection of Christ, as is recorded in the 2nd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. After testifying of the mission and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, in response to their inquiry, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" "Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even to as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts II; 37, 38). Three thousand people on that day received the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and were baptized for the remission of their sins.
This great blessing is given in baptism to those who believe and repent, but comes through the atonement wrought out by Jesus Christ. "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins." (Heb. IX; 22). The blood of Christ answers for the blood of the sinner who complies with the conditions required in Christ's Gospel. The benefits of that atonement are offered to all to whom the Gospel is preached, but are obtained only by those who render obedience to it. The scripture is often quoted which says, "The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin." But this is only part of the text, and is therefore misleading. Here is the scripture as it stands: "This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth; but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John I; 5-7).
Baptism was instituted for the remission of sins by divine command. It is therefore essential. It is a sign of cleansing, purification, death to sin, burial from the world and resurrection to a new life in Christ Jesus. For, baptism means immersion. The sprinkling or pouring of water on the body is not baptism. The ordinance of baptism preached by John, the forerunner, by Christ himself, and by the Apostles whom he sent as his messengers, was both a burial and a birth. When Jesus was baptized by John it was in the river Jordan: "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need {216} to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering, said unto him, suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him, and lo, a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. III; 13-17). Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." (John III; 5). Jesus himself set the example, and was born of the water and of the spirit, and though he knew no sin, had to be baptized in order to "fulfill all righteousness." When Philip baptized the great man of Ethiopia, "they went down both into the water and he baptized him and when they were come up out of the water, the spirit of God caught away Philip." (Acts VIII; 35-39). John baptized in Enon, near to Salim, because there was much water there. (John III; 23). Paul likened baptism to a burial and a resurrection. (See Rom. VI; 4, 5; Col. II; 12). Peter cited the flood as a figure of baptism. (I Peter III; 21).
The order of the Gospel as taught by Christ and his Apostles was first faith, second repentance, third baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, with the promise of the Holy Ghost to all who complied therewith. Infant baptism is a palpable heresy. Sin is the transgression of the law. Infants cannot commit sin. Baptism must follow faith and repentance. Infants cannot exercise faith, and they have nothing to repent of even if they were capable of repentance. God never authorized any one to baptize an infant. Jesus blessed little children and said, "Of such is the Kingdom of heaven." Baptism to be acceptable to God must be performed by one having actual divine authority. It must be administered in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. No man has the right to assume that authority. It must come from God or the baptism will be void and of no effect. When properly administered it brings remission of sins, and the baptized believer becomes a new creature, stands clean before God, and is prepared to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Further explanations on this all-important subject will be given in succeeding tracts. Let the reader ponder, investigate, and enter upon the path of eternal life and salvation!
No. 4
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
The gift of the Holy Ghost is the greatest boon conferred by God upon man in the flesh. It is "the anointing from above which teacheth all things." It is the "abiding witness" of the Father and son. It is the spirit of revelation. It guides into all truth, brings things past to remembrance, makes manifest present light, and shows things to come. Without it no man can know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, nor can he say truly and without doubt that Jesus is the Lord. Its reception is the fourth step or principle in the Gospel of Christ. The preceding principles, namely, faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, have been explained briefly in the foregoing tracts of this series. After the baptism or birth of water comes the baptism or birth of the spirit.
This gift from God is conferred by the laying on of the hands of men called of God and endowed with authority to perform this sacred ordinance. No man of himself in his own name, however learned, experienced, or wise, can bestow this great gift upon others. He might lay his hands upon them, but they would not receive that spirit. It proceeds from God alone. He will honor that which is performed according to His directions by His authorized servants. The reception of the Holy Ghost as an endowment or gift from God is essential to salvation. The natural light or inspiration given at birth to all humanity is not equal to it. That is the common heritage of humanity, but the gift of the Holy Ghost is a far higher and greater bequest from Deity, and is given only to those who obey the Gospel, and in the way that God Himself has appointed.
That the gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred by the laying on of hands, and that this is the Gospel method, is clearly established by the New Testament. In the 8th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles an account is given of the ministry of {218} Philip, in which the following occurs: "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." "Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the Apostle's hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money." (Verse 12-20). In the 19th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles it is related that Paul found some disciples in Ephesus who had not been properly baptized. He gave them necessary instructions, and we read: "When they heard this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve." The ordinance of the laying on of hands is enumerated among the "first principles of the oracles of God," and one of the foundation "doctrines of Christ," in Hebrews V; 12, and VI; 2. Paul exhorted Timothy, "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." (2 Tim. I; 6).
These quotations are sufficient to show the order of the Gospel as taught by the Apostles of Jesus Christ, who received their instructions and authority from Him, and who all preached the same doctrines and administered the same ordinances wherever they went. The departures therefrom that are witnessed in modern times are the work of uninspired ministers, unauthorized of God, and should be rejected by the honest seeker after religious truth.
The Holy Ghost is the same in all ages and among all peoples. Its effects are also the same. In the days of the early Christian Church the fruits of that spirit were enjoyed by the members. They are thus described by the Apostle Paul: "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law." (Gal. V; 22, 23). "But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit {219} withal. For to one is given by the spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same spirit; to another faith by the same spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; But all these worketh that one and the selfsame spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." (lst Cor. XII; 7-11). Paul exhorted the Saints to "Follow after charity and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy," and after explaining his reasons for this instruction he concluded, "Wherefore brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues." (lst Cor. XIV; 39).
The absence of these gifts and manifestations of the spirit in the various religious sects at the present day is attempted to be accounted for by the airy excuse: "They are all done away and are no longer needed." Yet they were part and parcel of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and incorporated in the Church—the body of Christ—as some of its members. "Every tree is known by its fruits." If the spirit that animated the Church of Christ in the Apostolic age inspired the churches of the 19th century, would not the same fruits be brought forth by it, and be enjoyed today? Has the spirit of God changed? Or have not men changed the ordinances and institutions of heaven, and built up churches and promulgated doctrines of their own? But the advocates and apologists of sectarian theology will quote: "Charity never faileth, but whether there be prophecies they shall fail; whether there be tongues they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away." (lst Cor. XIII; 8). Why do they not continue the quotation, and give the succeeding verses which form an integral part of the scriptural argument? Is it because that would sweep away the crutches of their lame and halting pretence and cast their false theory prone in the dust? This is what follows: "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." Will it be claimed that this promised perfection has come? Do latter-day sectaries know more, understand better, and see clearer in divine things than did the Apostle Paul? Has anything "perfect" come upon modern Christendom except "perfect" confusion? That Paul had reference to a condition yet in the future in making his prediction is evident from his further remark: "For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known." (Verse 12).
{220} The gifts of the spirit enumerated above are the evidences of its possession by the disciples of Jesus Christ. They are the signs of true faith. They accompany the reception of the Gospel and obedience to its requirements. When the resurrected Christ gave the eleven Apostles their great commission, he said unto them: "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not, shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." (Mark XVI; 15-18). These gifts were not merely for those Apostles, but were to "follow them that believe." Christ gave them as the sign of true belief in Him and in His sayings. They belong to his Church. They are to be done away until that which is perfect is come, and the sons and daughters of God behold their Redeemer face to face, and see as they are seen and know as they are known. Whatever necessity existed for their possession and exercise in the first century of the Christian era, exists in the 19th century, not only for the blessing and comfort of the disciples of the Savior, but for the promulgation of His Gospel among nations that yet sit in darkness and are numbered among heathens and idolaters.
One of the potent proofs of the possession of the Holy Ghost in the early Christian Church was the unity it established. No matter what were the conflicting faiths and opposing creeds entertained by the people of that day previous to receiving the spirit of the everlasting Gospel, after baptism and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, they all became one in Christ Jesus. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "There is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all." (Eph. IV; 4-6). "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. III; 27-28). "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful." (Col. III; 15). "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body so also is Christ. For by one spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be {221} Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one spirit." (1 Cor. XII; 12, 13). In His prayer to the Father that all who believed in Him might be one, Jesus spoke of this unity as proof to the world that God had sent Him. (John XVII; 21). The great purpose of the gift of the Holy Ghost was to guide into all truth, and bring its possessors to "the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God." Strife, contention, division, are not the fruits of the Holy Spirit, but come from beneath. "For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." (James III: 16).
The presence and inspiration of the Holy Ghost, with its gifts, manifestations and divine light are the signs of spiritual life and divine acceptance. Without the Holy Ghost there is no true, living Church of Christ on earth. It can be obtained in no other way than that which God has appointed. Following the birth of water, the birth of the Holy Spirit makes man a new creature, and initiates him into the Church or Kingdom of God. Its various gifts are within his reach according to his faith and diligence in seeking after them. They are as obtainable in this age as at any former period. By the Holy Ghost mankind may come to the knowledge of God. In its light the sayings and writings of inspired men may be clearly understood. The Bible is no longer a sealed book. The heavens are not closed against mortals. Darkness flees before it and mysteries vanish. It brings peace and comfort to the soul. It awakens and thrills the spiritual sense. It unfolds the things of eternity and the glories of immortality. It links earth and heaven. It fills the soul with joy unspeakable, and he who gains and keeps it has boundless wealth and everlasting life!
No. 5.
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
The ordinances of the Gospel referred to in previous tracts of this series, cannot be effectually administered without divine authority. That authority does not and cannot originate in man. It may be assumed, it is true, and presumptuous men may claim to be called of God without communication from Him. But their performances will be without avail and will not be recognized in heaven, either in time or in eternity. When there is no revelation from God there can be no divine authority on earth. Baptism, even if solemnized according to the form and pattern followed by the Savior and his appointed servants, will be of no avail and will not bring remission of sins, unless the officiating minister has received authority from Deity to act in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Men may lay their hands on the baptized believer in the form of confirmation, but if they have not been divinely appointed to do so, the Holy Ghost will not flow to the convert, and the performance will be void in the sight of heaven. Those who have the temerity to act in that manner will be counted guilty of taking the name of the Lord in vain. No council, convocation, conference, synod, or presbytery, composed of any number of learned, devout, and venerable persons, without divine communication can confer the smallest amount of divine authority. Their power is only human, their decisions, their commissions and their creeds are equally valueless in the plan of salvation.
Whenever the Almighty desired to communicate with man on earth, he selected His own representatives and endowed them with authority to speak and act in His name. What they uttered by the power of the Holy Ghost, and what they administered as He directed, was recognized by Him as if performed and spoken by Deity in person. When He gave them authority to call and ordain others to the same duties, their administrations were also accepted by the Lord, and were fully efficacious. This divine authority was called the Holy {223} Priesthood. It was bestowed in the earliest ages. It existed among the Patriarchs, was exercised in the Mosaic dispensation, was held by many of the Prophets, and was established in the Christian Church by the Savior himself. There were two orders or branches, of that Priesthood.
The higher, which includes the lower, came to be known as the Melchisedek Priesthood. This was because Melchisedek, the King of Salem, who lived in the time of Abraham and from whom, "the father of the faithful" received his blessing, obtained a great power in that Priesthood. It is referred to in the Epistle to the Hebrews, 7th chapter. Much controversy has arisen over the meaning of the third verse, which says: "Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a Priest continually." The difficulty has arisen through the application of these remarks to the individual instead of to the Priesthood which he held. The higher, or Melchisedek Priesthood was not limited, as the Levitical Order subsequently was, to a special lineage. It did not depend upon parentage or descent, and it was an eternal Priesthood, those who possessed it worthily retaining it through life, and being Kings and priests unto God forever.
The Lesser Priesthood was held notably by Aaron and his sons, in the line of the first born, and has therefore been called by his name. It had authority to administer in the lesser ordinances and in temporal affairs, but not in the higher and more spiritual concerns of the Kingdom of God. But no man could take this honor unto himself. He must be called of God as Aaron was, or he could not hold that Priesthood. (Heb. V; 4.) Aaron was called by revelation through Moses the Prophet, and ordained under his hands.
This being so, as a matter of course, no man can take unto himself the higher, or Melchisedek Priesthood. Unless called of God by revelation and properly ordained, he could not obtain that authority. Even Jesus of Nazareth, though he was the Son of God, did not assume that Priesthood. He was "called of God, a High Priest after the order of Melchisedek." It is written further: "So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a High Priest but He that said unto him thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." (Heb. V; 3, 10.)
It has been erroneously taught among the Christian sects of the present age that this Priesthood, in both of its branches or orders, was done away in Christ. That it has not been on earth for several centuries may be true, and therefore the {224} authority to administer in the name of the Lord has not been enjoyed among men. But the authority held by Jesus Christ as "a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedek" was conferred by him upon his Apostles, to whom he gave the keys of that power and authority, so that what they sealed on earth should be sealed in heaven, and what they loosed on earth should be loosed in heaven. (Matt. XVIII; 18.) He said to them: "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." (John XX; 21.) Again he said: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you; that ye should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain." (John XV; 16.) The Apostles thus authorized had power to call others to this Priesthood and ministry, when directed by the Holy Ghost, as Moses called and ordained his brother Aaron.
The law of carnal commandments in which the lesser or Levitical Priesthood administered was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, but the Priesthood or authority to administer in the name of the Lord was not then abolished, the higher, or Melchisedek Priesthood was restored. That was the change in the Priesthood referred to in Heb. VII; 12: "For the Priesthood being changed there is made of necessity a change also of the law." From this it is evident that the Priesthood was not abolished, but the law of the Gospel being introduced by Christ in place of the Mosaic Code, the higher Priesthood was also introduced, for the Gospel is a higher law than that of Moses. The sacrifice of animals in which the lesser Priesthood administered was no longer required, after the great sacrifice of the Son of God of which they were typical, so that function of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood was discontinued. But the administration of the ordinances of the Gospel was necessary, and could not be rightfully performed without divine authority. Therefore, the Priesthood of God held by Jesus Christ, and by his Apostles and by others called of God through them, was a part of and essential to the Christian dispensation.
The term "called of God" appears to be as much misunderstood as is the subject of the Priesthood of God. Men assume to act in the name of Jesus Christ, either because they feel or imagine they have a call in their hearts to this ministry, or because they have been called by some person or conclave having no more divine communication and authority than they had themselves. In contrast to their assumption let us view the case of Saul of Tarsus, afterwards called Paul the Apostle. In the narration of his case as given in Acts XXII {225} he says that on his way to Damascus the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him in glory, and he was stricken blind thereby. He received his sight by miracle and was informed: "The God of our Fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldst know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldst hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Paul subsequently received another divine communication, informing him that the Lord would send him unto the Gentiles. (Verses 12-21.) After all this he was not authorized to act as a minister of the Gospel, because he had not yet been properly called and ordained.
It was ten years after this, according to the chronology of the New Testament, that Paul was ordained to the Priesthood or authority to act in the name of the Lord. It is stated that certain Prophets and Teachers were in the Church at Antioch, and "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.' And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands upon them they sent them away." (Acts XIII; 2, 3; see also Acts IX; 15-18.) Paul in his epistles invariably declared that he was not called by the will of man; and he taught that no man of himself could rightfully assume the authority to administer in the name of the Lord. To the Galatians he wrote: "Paul an Apostle (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead)." (Gal. I; 1.) Writing to Titus, Paul said: "For this cause left I thee in Crete. That thou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain Elders in every city as I had appointed thee." (Titus I; 5.) Writing to Timothy, Paul says: "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." (I Tim. IV; 14.) It was thus that the seven Deacons were ordained, as recorded in Acts VI; 6.
That there was a divinely appointed ministry in the Church established by our Savior, must be evident to every mind open to the truth, on reading the New Testament; also that these were essential to the Church, and that without them there can be no true Church of Christ on earth. Explaining this subject and stating the order of the Christian ministry given by Christ, Paul says: "And he gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers." (Eph. IV; 11.) These inspired men were, {226} as we have seen, called of God, not of men, and were appointed and ordained to their respective callings by divine authority. It is claimed that these were necessary only in the first days of the Church of Christ on earth, and that they are no longer needed. But the succeeding verses of the scripture we have quoted show most positively to the contrary. They were given Paul says, "For the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive." (Verses 12-14.) Without these divinely ordained and inspired men, holding this Holy Priesthood, the work of the ministry cannot be performed acceptable to God, neither can the Church be perfected. They are absolutely necessary until all shall come to the unity of the faith and a knowledge of the Son of God. The absence of that divine authority, and of the gift of the Holy Ghost, has caused the division and dissension that now exist among professing Christians, who are, "tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine," led hither and thither by unauthorized and uninspired men, and by the "cunning craftiness" whereby hirelings who preach for money, "lie in wait to deceive" and "make merchandise of the souls of men."
All the ministrations, ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, performances and ceremonies that have been instituted by men and conducted under merely human authority, whether devoutly, sincerely, and piously, or with wilful intent to impose upon the ignorance and credulity of mankind, are void in the sight of heaven, are not recognized of God, and have no virtue or effect as aids to salvation. God's house is a house of order, and He will accept only that which He has authorized and ordained. However startling this may appear, it is the eternal truth, which will stand the test of both reason and revelation. Truth is mighty and will prevail. The remedy for these tremendous evils will be pointed out in succeeding pamphlets.
No. 6.
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
That there has been a great departure from the doctrines, ordinances and discipline of the Church as it existed in the days of Christ and His Apostles, must be evident to every unbiased enquirer into religious truth. This has been demonstrated to some extent in tracts already presented to the reader. But the full measure of the apostasy that has taken place would take volumes to represent in detail. The proofs are ample that it has been universal
When Jesus Christ commenced His ministry on earth He found the people who claimed to be the special subjects of divine blessing and approbation, with all their Priests and ministers and learned divines, entirely out of the way of life and salvation. None were acceptable unto God. He denounced the most pious, respectable, devout and educated among them as hypocrites and "whited sepulchres." Their foreign missionary enterprises he declared obnoxious to the Almighty, and informed them that when they compassed sea and land to make one proselyte they made him "two fold more the child of hell." (Matt. XXIII; 15). He pronounced them blind guides who made clean the outside, but within were full of extortion and excess. The spirit of the Lord had departed from those who honored His name with their lips, but who had departed from His ways, and who, in place of the word of God, "taught for doctrine the commandments of men." They were without authority from God, although they claimed to have it by descent and ordination through a long line of predecessors and prophets. It should not be deemed impossible that a similar universal apostasy could take place after the establishment of the Church of Christ by Him and His Apostles. But whether so considered or not, the facts are too patent to be denied when they confront the honest and enlightened mind.
It has been shown that the Gospel as taught and administered by Christ and His Apostles required first, faith in {228} God and Jesus Christ; second, repentance, which included reform of conduct; third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands of divinely authorized men; and that obedience to these brought the gifts of the spirit, including love, joy, peace, patience, brotherly kindness, charity, healings, tongues, interpretations, discerning of spirits, miracles, prophecy, revelation, and the unity in one body of all who were baptized into the Church, no matter what had been their previous beliefs. Also that the ordinances of the Gospel were administered by men inspired of God, who were in communion with Him, and who were ordained to act for and in behalf of Deity, so that what they performed by that authority on earth was acknowledged and sealed in heaven. And that in the Church of Christ there were Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers, Elders, and other officers, who were constituent parts of the body of Christ. This may be further seen by a careful reading of 1st Cor. XII, from which it clearly appears that God placed these in the Church, that they were all essential to its existence, and that one of them could not say to any of the others, "I have no need of thee."
Look at the condition of so-called Christendom today! There are no inspired Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers, administering by divine authority and in the power and demonstration of the Holy Ghost. In their place there are contending Priests and Teachers guided by the wisdom of men, the learning of the schools and the traditions of the Fathers, not even claiming that there is any direct communication between them and God, but persuading mankind that revelation has ceased, and the voice of prophecy is hushed forever. Not one of the clashing, jarring and discordant sects of the day proclaim the Gospel as it was preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost, and as taught by all the duly authorized servants of God in the primitive Christian Church. The gifts and signs which Christ promised to true believers, and which were enjoyed by the members of His Church according to their needs and their faith, are not only absent from the churches of these degenerate times, but are pronounced needless and "done away." There is no "unity of the faith," no actual "knowledge of the Son of God," no manifestations of His divine acceptance nor of the power and glory of the Holy Ghost.
What is the reason of this transformation? Has God changed? Is Christ divided? Is the Holy Spirit dead? Or, have not men changed the order, ordinances, discipline, doctrines, {229} and spirit of the Church of Christ? Is not the prediction of Isaiah the Prophet concerning these times literally fulfilled? "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant." He said it should be "As with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him." (Isaiah XXIV; 2-5).
The deplorable condition of affairs in modern Christendom was foreseen and predicted by the Apostles of Jesus Christ, whose forebodings have come down to us in the New Testament. Paul, writing to Timothy, spoke in this wise: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away." (2nd Tim. III; 1-5). Also: "Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot rod." (lst Tim. IV; 1, 2). Paul further said: "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (lst Tim. IV; 1-4). Paul also said they should be "ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." Writing to the Thessalonians he said: "Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first." (2nd Thess. II; 1-3).
The Apostle Peter also foresaw this great apostasy, and {230} spoke of it in this wise: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that brought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness they shall with feigned words make merchandise of you, whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not and their damnation slumbereth not." (II Peter; 1-3.)
The "falling away" commenced in the time of the Apostles, and hence their numerous warnings and exhortations to the Saints, rebuking schisms and divisions, and counseling unity, showing that the Spirit of the Lord promoted union and led people to the knowledge of the truth, while dissension and strife came from that Evil One, and led to darkness and death. That the great apostasy commenced at a very early period is shown by the words of Paul, "for the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only He that now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way." (II Thess. II; 7.) By the time the Apostles were taken out of the way, most of them slain by the hands of wicked men, the apostacy had assumed such proportions that only seven of the Churches were deemed worthy of a divine communication through the Apostle John, who had been banished to the island of Patmos. And in that revelation most of them were denounced by the Lord because they had "left their first love," and were commanded to repent or he would remove them out of their place. Some of them were "neither cold or hot," others had given away to seducing spirits, and had committed abominations and imbibed false doctrines. (See Rev., chapters I, II, and III.) In that same vision John the beloved saw the Church in the form of a woman, clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head taken away into the wilderness, to remain for a lengthened period, and in her place he saw "a woman sitting upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy," and though decked with gold and precious stones, she held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, and the name upon her head was Mystery. He saw further that all nations were made to drink out of that golden cup, by which they were made drunken. (See Rev. XII; 1-6; XVII; 1-5; XVIII; 2, 3.)
It is clear from these predictions in the New Testament, and others that might be cited, that the departure from the purity, simplicity and unity of the Gospel of Christ was to be {231} universal; and that these prophecies were fulfilled we have the testimony of the Church of England. In her Homily on the Perils of Idolatry she declares: "Clergy and laity, learned and unlearned, men, women and children, of all ages, sects and degrees, of whole Christendom, a most horrible and dreadful thing to think, have been at once buried in the most abominable idolatry, and that for eight hundred years or more." That being true, how is it possible to believe that the Church of Christ had any existence on earth after that long continued darkness and apostacy? How could there be any remnant left of the divine authority held by the Apostles and Priesthood of the original Christian Church? If the Romish Church, from which the Church of England seceded, had no divine authority, then the Church of England could have none, for all she had she obtained from that Church. If the Romish Church possessed that authority, still the Church of England could have none, for Rome excommunicated her with all her priests and ministers. The Church of England being without divine authority, all the various contending sects that have sprung from her are of necessity in a similar condition, for none of them even claim to have received any revelation from God restoring that authority and re-establishing the Church of Christ.
From the Pope of Rome down to the latest minister presuming to act in the name of the Lord, there is not and cannot be one who holds the Holy Apostleship or any portion of that sacred Priesthood which God placed in the Church, and which Paul declared essential to its existence. Good men, learned men, devout men, there have been by millions; noble, pious, and blessed women also, with them, have done the best they could according to their light and opportunities; but darkness "has covered the earth and gross darkness the people," and the apostacy from primitive Christianity, as foretold by its founders, has been awful and universal!
But thank God, the restoration was also predicted, and it will be a pleasing task in further tracts to set this forth, as revealed and brought about by revelation from God the Eternal Father, through Jesus Christ His Son and the Holy Angels sent from their presence, to usher in the last and greatest of all dispensations.
No. 7.
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." (Rev. XVI; 6-8.) In these inspired words John the beloved Apostle predicted the restoration of the Gospel to the earth, and the subsequent destruction of that power which had filled the earth with the darkness of spiritual inebriety and wickedness. That these events were not revelations of the past, but prophecies of the future manifested to the Apostle John, is made certain by what he says in Chapter IV, verse 1: "After this I looked and behold, a door was opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter." The angels spoken of in the XIV chapter, quoted above, were among the things which John was told "must be hereafter." It should be observed that when the angel should fly to the earth bearing the everlasting Gospel, it was to be at a time when every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people would be without that Gospel in its fullness. That this has been the condition of the world for a long time has already been demonstrated to the reader.
In predicting events that would occur previous to his coming and "the end of the world," Christ declared, "And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come." (Matt. XXIV; 14.) From this we learn that the Gospel as preached by Christ and delivered by Him to the Apostles, is {233} to be preached in all the world as a witness of His second advent and a sign of the approaching end. (See verse 3.)
The foregoing predictions correspond with the prophecy of Isaiah: "Wherefore the Lord said, forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men; Therefore I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid." (Isaiah XXIX; 13, 14.) All the Prophets whose writings have been collected in the sacred volume called the Bible, have proclaimed the glory of the latter days and the final triumph of truth over error, and of the power of God over the deceptions of that Evil One.
Thus not only the restoration of the Gospel was foretold by holy men of God, after the great apostacy that was to take place, but the manner of its revelation was also explained. It was to be by the coming of an angel from heaven. To whom might it be expected that this angel should appear? To the learned divines and contending sectaries of modern Christendom? Do they not all declare that revelation ceased when John received his vision, recorded in the Book of Revelation? Do they not teach that though angels once ministered to men, the day of their coming has long since passed? Have they any faith to call on God for a divine communication? And will the Almighty reveal anything except to those who call upon Him in faith? God's ways are not as man's ways. Therefore, as Paul expressed it, "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, that no flesh should glory in His presence." (I Cor. I; 26-29.) And as quoted above, the Lord determined that in bringing forth His latter-day work, "a marvelous work and a wonder," "the wisdom of the wise should perish and the understanding of the prudent should be hid."
It was in the year 1823 that the angel spoken of by John the Revelator came with the everlasting Gospel to a young man scarcely eighteen years of age, of obscure, though respectable parentage, and without the learning of the schools. His name, too, was common, and his occupation that of a farmer's boy. Joseph Smith, whom the Lord raised up to receive His word, establish His Church, and prepare the way {234} for the Redeemer's second coming, was led to enquire of the Lord through reading the scriptures for the purpose of finding out which of all the disputing religions was right. Coming to the Epistle of James, 1st chapter and 5th verse, he read: "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." Relying on this word, he went into the woods to pray, and in the simplicity of his heart called on God for the wisdom which he felt he greatly needed. He was then but fourteen years of age, but his faith was strong and wavered not. His prayers were heard, and in a heavenly vision in open daylight, the Father and the Son revealed themselves to his astonished gaze. The Father, pointing to the Son, proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son, hear Him." Our Savior spoke to the boy, and in answer to His question as to which of all the religious sects was right, he was told that they had all gone out of the way, and was commanded to go after none of them, but was promised that in due time the true Gospel of Christ should be revealed to him.
When the Angel appeared to him, three years later, it was in his chamber, just as he had retired for the night. Coming in glory, the Angel showed to Joseph the place where an ancient record was hidden in the side of a hill, containing the history of the former inhabitants of the American continent, including an account of a visit made to them by Jesus Christ after His resurrection from the dead, when He declared to them the same Gospel that he had preached in Palestine, and also established His Church among them after the same pattern as that organized on the eastern hemisphere. He was informed that this record should be subsequently placed in his hands to translate by the gift and power of God to be given to him through means which the Lord had prepared for that purpose. This manifestation was thrice repeated, that Joseph might be fully assured of its reality. Under the inspiration of Almighty God, the young man was able to obtain possession of this precious record, inscribed in small and curious characters upon metallic plates. The Gospel is there set forth in plain and simple language, and no one who reads the book, which is called the Book of Mormon, with a prayerful and unprejudiced heart, will fail to be impressed with its divine origin.
After being thus favored of the Lord, Joseph Smith received a visitation from John the Baptist, who held authority in ancient times to preach and administer baptism by immersion {235} for the remission of sins. He came as a ministering angel, and ordained Joseph Smith and his companion Oliver Cowdery, to that Priesthood and authority. Thus endowed, these young men baptized each other, and at a later date were ministered to by the Apostles Peter, James and John, who ordained them to the Apostleship, with authority to lay hands on baptized believers and confer the gift of the Holy Ghost, also to build up and organize the Church of Christ according to the original pattern.
On the sixth day of April, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ was organized in the state of New York, with six members, Latter-day Saints who had been baptized for the remission of sins and had been confirmed by the laying on of hands. The Holy Ghost was manifested unto them, and as the Church grew in numbers the gifts of the spirit were imparted, and the organization was eventually made complete with Apostles, Prophets, Seventies, Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, also Bishops and other officers that were in the primitive Christian Church; indeed all the grades of the Melchisedek and Aaronic Priesthood, with their keys, powers and endowments, and all the ordinances, ministrations and divine manifestations necessary to the true Church of Christ. Men thus divinely authorized, were sent out into the world to preach the Gospel like the Apostles of old, without purse or scrip, without salary and without pay of any kind, depending upon the Lord and friends whom He might rise up to minister to their temporal wants. Wherever they went and people received their testimony and were baptized for the remission of sins, the Holy Ghost was poured out upon them through the laying on of hands, and they invariably obtained a testimony from God that they were accepted of Him, and that He had in very deed reestablished His Church on earth. There are now many thousands of living witnesses to the truth of these things. They are natives of various countries, speaking different languages, reared in divers religions; they are now brought to the unity of the faith; they have come to a knowledge of the truth. Doubt has fled and darkness has been dispersed; the light of heaven shines in their souls. They are in the strait and narrow way. They are members of the body of Christ, and His spirit, which searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God, is the abiding witness from on high and shows them things past, present, and to come.
This is the latter-day work spoken of by the Holy Prophets. It is the dispensation of the fulness of times, in the which "God will gather together in one all things in Christ, both {236} which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him." (Eph. I; 9, 10.) It is the last and greatest of dispensations. In it will be accomplished the "restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His Holy Prophets since the world began." (Acts III; 21.) It is to prepare the way for the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will come "in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory," and "in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He shall come to be glorified in his Saints." (II Thess. I; 7-10.) In this dispensation, after all people have been warned and the Gospel has been preached for a witness to all nations, and the elect are gathered together from the four winds, namely East, West, North and South, the great tribulations and judgments will be poured out, the end of the world, that is, the end of the rule of Satan and of the wicked will come, the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and His Christ, and He will reign over them forever.
"The times of ignorance God hath winked at, but He now commands all men everywhere to repent." Therefore, oh! ye inhabitants of the earth, hearken to the voice of the Lord, which is unto all people, Christian and Pagan, preachers and hearers, Papists, Protestants, infidels, secularists and agnostics, rich and poor, kings, presidents, rulers, peasants and men and women of all race, religions and degrees, saying, repent of your sins, of your false creeds, of your dead forms, and of all your unbelief and iniquities, and come unto me, and be baptized by my servants, on whom I have placed my authority, and receive the laying on of their hands, and you shall have the remission of your sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and shall know that I am God, and that I have set my hand to accomplish my great work in the earth, and if you abide in me you shall inherit the earth when it is cleansed and glorified, and shall be crowned with eternal life!
No. 8.
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
"Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven." So prophesied the Psalmist, (Ps. LXXXV; 11). This may be viewed as a figurative expression, but it has been literally fulfilled in the 19th century. In the midst of the disputations over the meaning of many parts of the Bible, which have caused so many heart-burnings and bitter feelings among preachers and professors of religion, out of the earth has come forth a sacred record containing divine truth in such plainness and simplicity as to settle in the minds of believers those controversies which have agitated the world of theology. When the American continent was discovered by Columbus and others, who were led to cross the great waters in search of unknown lands, a dark-skinned race, composed of many different tribes but evidently of a common origin, were found in possession of the Western Continent. Varying in their characteristics from the white, the black, the yellow, and all the European, Asiatic and Ethiopian branches of the human family, their origin became a cause of wonder and scientific investigation. The general conclusion arrived at was, that at some remote period their ancestors had migrated from some portion of the Eastern Hemisphere, but when, or how, or why this emigration had taken place was a profound mystery.
But in the year 1829 a book was published in the state of New York, claiming to have been translated from metallic plates found in a hill-side in that State, by a young man who was directed to their place of deposit by an Angel of God, and who was inspired in the work of translation to decipher the hieroglyphics inscribed on those plates, being aided in the work by an instrument, discovered with them, called the Urim and Thummin. The plates had the appearance of gold, were not quite so thick as common tin, were about six inches by seven in size, were engraved on both sides, and were fastened together in the shape of a book by three rings at the back. Acting under instructions of the heavenly messenger the {238} young man, Joseph Smith, proceeded as quietly as possible to perform the arduous task required of him. As he was but a poor scholar, he obtained the assistance of a scribe to write, as he dictated word by word. The news of the discovery, however, became noised around, and ridicule from both preachers and people was followed by attempts at violence, so that the plates had to be concealed, and, with their translator, removed from place to place.
A farmer, named Martin Harris, who had become interested in the work, received from Joseph Smith a copy of some of the hieroglyphics with their translation. These he carried to New York and submitted them to some learned linguists, among them Prof. Anthon, who after examining them, pronounced them true characters and the translation, so far as he could determine, to be correct. He wrote a certificate to this effect, and gave it to Martin Harris. But questioning him as to how the young man had obtained the record containing these characters, he was informed that it was revealed to him by an Angel of God. He then requested Mr. Harris to let him look at the certificate he had given him. On receiving it he tore it up, declaring that there was no such thing as angels from heaven now-a-days, but said if the book was brought to him he would endeavor to translate it. A portion of the record being sealed, Martin Harris informed him of that fact, when he exclaimed, "I cannot read a sealed book." As will be seen subsequently, he was, though unwittingly, fulfilling a scriptural prophecy.
That portion of the record which was not sealed was finally translated into the English language by Joseph Smith, and formed a volume of about 600 pages, which was published as the Book of Mormon. This title was given to it because a Prophet named Mormon, by command of God, about four hundred years after Christ, compiled and abridged the records of Prophets who ministered on the American continent, back to about 600 years before Christ, when a colony of Israelites was led from Palestine across the waters and became a numerous people, the ancestors of the present race of American Indians. The account of their travels, their establishment on the Western Hemisphere, the revelations of God to them, their division through wickedness into separate tribes, the manner in which the hue of their complexion was changed, their wars, their works, their buildings, their customs, their language, the words of their prophets, are all given in great plainness in the Book of Mormon. An account is also given of the visit of our Lord Jesus Christ to this people {239} after His resurrection, fulfilling His own prediction recorded in John X; 16: "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold. Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." That these "other sheep" were not the Gentiles, as popularly supposed, is clear from Christ's statement, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel." (Matt. XV; 24.) He established His Church among them, ordaining Twelve Apostles, and giving them the same Gospel, authority, gifts, powers, ordinances and blessings as He gave to His "sheep" on the Eastern Hemisphere. Thus the fulness of the Gospel is contained in the Book of Mormon, which stands as a witness of the truth of the Bible. The two records supporting each other, and both united bearing testimony to an unbelieving world that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of the Eternal God and the Savior of the world.
This record also contains an account of a colony directed of the Lord to the Western Continent at the time of the scattering of the people from the land of Shinar and the confusion of tongues, at the stoppage of the building of the Tower of Babel. The ruins of their cities and temples and fortifications, discovered by travelers and archaeologists since the publication of the Book of Mormon, are silent but potent witnesses of the truth of the record. Each succeeding year brings forth further evidences of this character, that form a cloud of witnesses to the divine mission of the Prophet, Seer, and Translator, Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon has since been published in many languages and submitted to the scrutiny of the religious and scientific world, and no one as yet has been able to point out wherein it disagrees with the Jewish Scriptures or with the facts developed by antiquarian research and scientific investigation. Yet it was brought forth in this age by an unlearned youth, not acquainted with the world, reared in rural simplicity without access to the literature of the time, and without even the ordinary acquirements of the schoolboy of the present.
According to the Book of Mormon, the people who journeyed from Jerusalem to the American Continent, taking with them the genealogy of their fathers and writings of the Law and the Prophets, were of the tribe of Joseph through Ephraim and Manasseh, and were led out of Palestine when Zedekiah was King of Judah. In keeping the record which was subsequently abridged by the Prophet Mormon, they used the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians. Their hieroglyphs and symbols, however, were changed and modified, {240} so that the characters upon the plates revealed to Joseph Smith, where they had lain hidden for about 1,400 years, was a reformed Egyptian. How this uneducated youth was able to bring forth a work of such magnitude and importance, unless by inspiration of Almighty God, and by the means explained, remains a mystery to unbelievers. For a long time it was pretended by enemies of the work that one Solomon Spaulding wrote a Manuscript story, which in some unexplained manner fell into the hands of Joseph Smith, who worked it over into the Book of Mormon. But that foolish tale has signally failed of its purpose, for in recent years the Spaulding manuscript has come to light, and is now deposited in the Library of Oberlin College, Ohio, and proves to be as unlike the Book of Mormon as Jack the Giant Killer is dissimilar to the Bible.
The colonization of America by the seed of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, fulfills the blessing pronounced on the head of Joseph and his sons by the Patriarch Jacob. (See Gen. XLVII; also XLIX; 22-26;) also the blessing pronounced by the Prophet Moses, (Deut. XXXIII; 13-17). The historical portion of the Book of Mormon shows that the American Continent, possessed by a "multitude of nations," the seed of Ephraim and Manasseh, is the "blessed land" bestowed on Joseph in addition to his portion in Canaan. There are to be found the "everlasting hills" and the "ancient mountains," "the precious things of heaven, and the precious things of the earth," and all of the characteristics of the country unto which the branches of the "fruitful bough," were to "run over the wall," as Jacob predicted. That the word of the Lord was to be given to the seed of Ephraim may be seen from Hosea VIII; 11, 12: "Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be made unto him to sin. I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing." The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is foreshadowed by Isaiah the Prophet, Chapter XXIX; 4-9. It is the voice of a fallen people whispering "out of the dust." It has come at a time when the world is "drunken, but not with wine," staggering under the influence of false doctrine, and without Prophets and Seers. It is the "marvelous work and the wonder," which the Lord was to bring to pass for the confounding of those who had turned things upside down, and who worshipped Him with their mouths while their hearts were far from Him.
The words of the book, Isaiah said, were to be presented to the learned, saying, "Read this I pray thee," and he was to {241} say, "I cannot for it is sealed." The book itself was to be "delivered to him that is not learned;" and that it was to be read is clear from verse 18: "And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness, the meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel." The coming forth of the Book of Mormon as the "stick of Joseph," is also predicted in Ezekial XXXVII; 15-22. The interview of Martin Harris with Prof. Anthon, related above, fulfilled one portion of Isaiah's prophecy, the other portions have come to pass in the translation of the book by the unlearned youth and its reception by the meek and poor among men, and by the restoration of sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, who have seen and heard the words of the book and bear testimony to its divine origin. The "Stick of Judah"—the Bible, is now joined with the "Stick of Joseph"—the Book of Mormon—and, as Ezekial foretold, they have become one in the hand of the Lord, as a witness for Him and His Son Jesus Christ in the latter days.
As a preface to the Book of Mormon the testimony of three witnesses, namely, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris, is published, declaring "with words of soberness" that an angel of God came down from heaven and brought and laid before their eyes the plates from which the book was translated; that the voice of God from heaven declared that it had been translated by the gift and power of God, and commanded them to bear record of it. Also the testimony of eight witnesses is given, who saw the plates naturally, handled them, inspected the engraving thereon, and turned over the leaves that had been translated. In addition to these witnesses, chosen of the Lord to bear record of these facts, thousands of people, of various nationalities, have received divine testimony that the book is true, and that Joseph Smith, who translated it by the gift of God, was a true Prophet, called of God to usher in the dispensation of the fulness of times proclaim anew the everlasting Gospel, the one plan of salvation, re-establish the Church of Christ on earth, and prepare the way for the coming of Him whose right it is to reign, and for the final redemption of the earth from sin and satan, from darkness and death. And every person who will read the Book of Mormon with an unprejudiced mind and will ask God in faith, in the name of Jesus Christ, concerning it, shall surely receive a witness of its truth, and be guided in the way of eternal salvation.
No. 9.
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
In proclaiming the great truths that the silence of centuries has been broken; that the voice of God has again been heard from heaven; that Jesus Christ His Son has manifested Himself in these latter days; that Angels from the courts of glory have ministered to man on earth in the present age; that a sacred record has been brought forth from the ground disclosing the history of a hemisphere; and bearing the same truths as those recorded in the Bible; that a Prophet, Seer and Revelator has been raised up to bring in the last dispensation; that Apostles and other inspired servants of God now minister among them; that the Church of Christ with all its former organization, ordinances, gifts, signs and spiritual power has been reorganized on earth; and that communications may be had with Deity by men and women of faith now, as at any period in the world's history, the servants of God are met with the assertion that the day of revelation has long since passed, and that they must of necessity be either impostors or deluded, because there is to be no more scripture, prophecy, miracles, angelic ministrations, visions or actual communication from heaven to earth. This popular error is fostered and propagated by the ministers of various so-called Christian denominations, and is accepted by the masses of the people as a settled and foregone conclusion.
On what ground is such an irrational position assumed? Is not the Almighty declared in scripture to be unchangeable? Has not His work on earth always been conducted by men divinely chosen, appointed and inspired? Is there not as much need of divine revelation to settle religious feuds and doctrinal differences in the 19th century, as at any previous period? Would not the word of the Lord be of much more value to mankind than the varied opinions of uninspired men, no matter how great be their human learning? Ought {243} not the inhabitants of the earth to be not only willing, but eager to receive a message from the eternal worlds?
"Ah!" exclaims the objector, "but there were to be no more Prophets after Christ. He finished the divine plan and completed the revelation of God to the earth. He warned His disciples against false prophets and false Christs, and said if it were possible they would deceive the very elect." Does not the very fact Christ said there would be false prophets, convey the idea that there would be true Prophets also? If there were to be no more true Prophets, it would have been easy for the Savior to plainly say so, and thus there would be no place left for deceivers. But He declared emphatically: "Wherefore, behold I send unto you Prophets and wise men and scribes, and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues and persecute them from city to city." (Matt. XXIII; 34.) Were not Prophets established in the Church of Christ as members of His body? Read I Cor. XII; 28: "And God hath set some in the Church; first Apostles, secondarily Prophets, thirdly, Teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." Did not Christ promise His disciples that after He went away the Comforter should come? And was not one of the offices of that spirit to show them "things to come?" (John XVI; 13.) Was not the gift of prophecy bestowed upon members of the Church of Christ as one of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit? (I Cor. XII; 10.) And can anybody possess the true testimony of Jesus without that spirit? The angel that appeared to John the Apostle said: "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Rev. XIX; 10.) Paul prayed for the Ephesians: "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." (Eph. I; 17.) If revelation and prophecy ceased with Christ, what about the New Testament, all written after His death and resurrection, by men now believed to be inspired? Did not the Apostle John behold a glorious vision and receive a grand revelation, when banished to the Island of Patmos?
Here again the objection will be raised: "But that revelation was the last communication from heaven, and its closing chapter forbids any further revelation." That is also a popular error promulgated by men professing to be ministers of Christ, and finding themselves destitute of divine power and inspiration. Here is the passage they quote: "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of {244} this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." (Rev. XXII; 18.) It is astonishing how plain and simple language can be wrested from its evident meaning to suit the purpose of sophistry. There is not a word in that text which conveys the remotest intimation that revelation and prophecy were to cease, or that God would no more speak to man. It is a prohibition against the addition by man of anything to that which God reveals. The next verse forbids the taking away of anything from the "book of this prophecy." That is, the Book of Revelation. These commands have reference to that one book, and that only. The compilers of the New Testament have placed it last in the collection of scriptural books, and the strained, unnatural and absurd application which has been made of the words we have quoted have been attached to the whole volume of the Bible. It is all wrong and ridiculous. The idea that the Almighty placed a seal upon His own mouth when He simply forbade men to add to what He said, is certainly most remarkable for sane people to entertain. If that singular notion were correct, then both the angel who gave the revelation, and John, who received it, violated the heavenly injunction, for we read that the angel gave to John a mission in figurative manner, which he thus explained: "Thou must prophecy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." (Rev. X; 11.) It is well known that the Epistles of St. John were written after he received the revelation on Patmos.
While the true Church of Christ remained on earth the spirit of revelation and prophecy also remained. When that spirit departed there was but a dead form left. Only by the restoration of divine communication with man could the Church of Christ be re-established on earth. Only by raising up a Prophet to commence the latter-day dispensation could our Heavenly Father maintain His invariable method from the beginning of the world. And instead of men, professing to be His servants, opposing and fighting against divine revelation, they ought to hail with gladness the re-opening of the heavens and shout for joy that the rays of the Millennial morning have burst upon the world.
It is passing strange that persons familiar with the prophetic writings in the Bible, could hold the opinion that there would be no revelation in the latter days. The Bible teems with prophecies of the latter-day glory, when the mightiest miracles ever wrought by divine power should be displayed; {245} when God should set up an "ensign for the nations," "assemble the outcasts of Israel," gather together "the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth," and not only repeat the wonders of the Mosiac journey from Egypt to Canaan, but display His power to such an extent that it will no more be said, "The Lord liveth that brought the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but the Lord liveth which brought up and which led the seed of the House of Israel from the north country and from all countries whither I have driven them." (See Isaiah XI; 6-16; Jer. XXIII; 3-8; Zech. X; 6-11.) Not only is the Lord to gather Israel and Judah, "with a mighty hand and a stretched out arm," but He is to bring "His elect together from the four quarters of the earth." They are to go up in the tops of the mountains, where the House of the Lord is to be reared, from which His law is to go forth, and where His people shall learn of His ways and walk in His paths. When He has rebuked the nations, cleansed the earth from its iniquity, so that the meek shall inherit it, He is to pour out His spirit upon all flesh, with the result not only that His sons and His daughters shall prophesy and see visions, but "they shall all be taught of God," until "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the great deep." (Joel II; 28-32; Isaiah XI; 9; Micah IV; 1-7; Isaiah XXXV; Isaiah LIV; 13.)
That there was to be a new and final dispensation after the great apostacy from primitive Christianity foretold by the Apostles, is evident from the statement of Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians. He says: "Having made known unto us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him." (Eph. I; 9, 10.) How could this, the greatest of all dispensations, be ushered in without a Prophet and without revelation from God? Did the Almighty ever commence a dispensation since the world began without a Prophet to declare His word, and without revealing His will? The Apostle Peter calls this great dispensation "the times of restitution of all things spoken of by all the Holy Prophets since the world began," in which Jesus Christ is to come in glory. (Acts III; 20, 2l.) If all things are to be restored in that great gathering dispensation, then Prophets must be restored, revelation, angelic visitations, gifts, signs, miracles and all the manifestations of former times must also be restored. {246} For, the consummation of all things is to be accomplished, and the earth be prepared for the presence of its rightful ruler, its Redeemer and King.
Be it known to all people that the Lord, in His infinite mercy, has once more opened the heavens and revealed Himself to man. The last dispensation has been commenced. The voice of Christ has again been heard. Angels have come down from heaven to earth. Prophets, Apostles and other inspired men declare the word and will of the Lord. A sacred record of the ancient people of a vast continent has been brought out of the ground and, united with the Jewish Bible, bears witness that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and that by faith mankind in all ages may learn of Him and have communion with Him. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, baptism is administered by divine authority for the remission of sins, the Holy Ghost is conferred as of old, by the laying on of hands of men clothed with the Holy Melchisedek Priesthood, the unity of the faith is enjoyed, the sick are healed, prophecies are uttered, the gift of tongues and interpretation is attainable, and by visions and dreams and the witness of the Comforter, God is testifying to those who receive His word, that He has commenced a great latter-day work spoken of by His Holy Prophets.
The man chosen of God to commence the work of the last dispensation was Joseph Smith, who was slain at Carthage, Illinois, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. No Prophet who ever lived on earth, except the Son of God Himself, accomplished a greater work, brought forth more truth or received greater revelations from on high than he. Having finished the grand mission required of him by the Lord, he sealed his testimony with his blood, and stands with the martyrs who will be crowned in the presence of God and the Lamb as Kings and Priests unto them forever. The truth of this testimony has been sealed upon the hearts of many thousands of people, who rejoice in the certain knowledge that they are accepted of God. And this knowledge may be obtained by every soul who shall believe in Christ, repent of sin, be baptized for the remission of sin, and receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, oh reader! Come unto the light, obey the Gospel and be saved! This is the only way of eternal life and everlasting happiness in the Father's presence.
No. 10.
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John III; 5.) This sweeping declaration was made by Jesus Christ to Nicodemus, when that prominent Israelite visited the Savior at night. The Apostle Peter said concerning Jesus Christ: "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts IV; 12.) The words of Peter were spoken when he was "filled with the Holy Ghost." The words of Jesus came from him as the Son of God. They vitally affect the whole human family. They being true, not a soul can enter into the kingdom of God unless he or she is a true believer in Jesus Christ, and has been born of the water and of the spirit. Even Christ himself had to comply with this law, in order to "fulfill all righteousness." He was born of the water in His burial by baptism in Jordan, and His coming forth from the womb of waters; he was then born of the spirit by the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Here is the example for all mankind, who are required to "follow in His steps." This is the "strait and narrow way."
The question which naturally arises in the thoughtful mind on hearing these declarations is, "How could people believe in Jesus Christ when His name was not preached to them?" And coupled with that comes the query: "What has become of the many millions of earth's inhabitants who died without the opportunity of being born of water and of the spirit?" The heathen nations, worshiping false gods, knew nothing of Jesus as the Savior of mankind. Even the chosen people Israel who were under the Mosaic law, did not walk in that way of salvation. Since the days when the Apostles and other authorized servants of Christ administered the ordinances of the Gospel, and during the times when "darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the people," down to the present age when it is claimed by the Latter-day Saints that the Church of Christ, the Holy Apostleship, and the fulness of the Gospel have been restored, myriads of {248} good people have passed away without receiving that new birth in the manner that Christ declared to be essential. Have they all perished? Is it possible that they are doomed to destruction? Will the Eternal Father reject all these His children because they did not obey a law which was not made known to them?
Justice, mercy, reason, and common sense revolt at such an idea. As Paul has it: "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent?" (Rom. X; 14.) Yet the word of God must stand. It endureth forever, and He is no respecter of persons. "And He is to judge the secrets of all men by Jesus Christ according to His Gospel." It is for that reason that the Gospel was to be preached to "every creature." According to the notion prevalent in modern Christendom, there will be many millions of people shut out of the kingdom of heaven, because they did not believe in a Savior about whom they knew nothing. And it is taught that there is no possible chance of salvation for those who die without faith in Christ. Sectarians sing: "There's no repentance in the grave, nor pardon offered to the dead." The preachers of the sects limit the mercy of God to this probation. They teach that at death the soul goes either to heaven or to hell, and its state and condition is fixed forever. If this awful doctrine were true, Satan would gain the victory over Christ, claiming as his a vast and overwhelming proportion of the human family, leaving to our great Redeemer but a small and trifling troop out of the immense and countless hosts of the armies of humanity.
The solution of this, to many, puzzling problem is simple in the light of the true Gospel of Christ restored in the latter days. "The mercy of God endureth forever." It is not confined to the narrow boundaries of this little earth, nor tied up within the limits of time. The spirits of men and women are His sons and daughters, whether if the body or out of the body. "His tender mercies are over ALL HIS WORKS." No one can be justly or mercifully judged by the Gospel without hearing that Gospel, and having the opportunity to receive or reject it. Why, then, should not the Gospel of Jesus Christ be made known to those who never heard it in the flesh, after they have left the body and dwell in another sphere? Do not all the sects of Christendom, almost without exception, believe that the spirit of man is immortal, and {249} is therefore living and sentient when the body is dead? And if that is true, are not the spirits of men and women able to receive instruction and information when out of the body? Is it not the spirit of man that receives and stores up intelligence conveyed through the bodily senses? Why should the change called death, which is the separation of the body and the spirit, cut off all means of divine communication to the living, immortal intelligent being that has simply "shuffled off the mortal coil?" There is no good reason why the spirit thus advanced one stage in its experience should not be capable of still further progress and of receiving light, knowledge, wisdom and religious teaching, especially if information essential to its eternal welfare was withheld while it dwelt in the body. Revelation as well as reason bears testimony that the word of God can be preached to the departed as well in the sphere to which they have gone, as on any part of this earthly globe.
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit, by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah; while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls, were saved by water." (I Peter III; 18-20). Here is a declaration which like a ray from the sun of righteousness, puts to flight the fogs and mists of modern eschatology and opens up to view a vast field of understanding, wherein the justice, wisdom and mercy of God are displayed in glorious review. The spirits of those rebellious people who were destroyed by the flood, after suffering about 2,000 years in their prison house, were visited by the Son of God while His body was lying in the sepulchre. This was in fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah concerning Him; for instance: "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." (Isaiah LXI; 1). And further: "To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." (Isaiah XLII; 7). And again: "That thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth. To them that are in darkness, show yourselves." (Isaiah XLIX; 9).
The common notion is that when Christ on the cross bowed his head and gave up the ghost, he went direct to {250} heaven, as it is supposed all good people do, but on the third day after this, when Christ appeared to Mary, he said unto her: "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father." (John XX; 17). The time spent by the Savior between His death and His resurrection, instead of being in heaven was among the "spirits in prison," the captives whom He went to deliver. Thus Jesus could preach without His body, and the spirits whom He visited could hear also without their bodies. But what was the nature of His preaching to those who were held in captivity? Let Peter answer this question. "For, for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (I Peter IV; 6.) Thus it appears that the same Gospel which was preached to men in the body was also preached to men out of the body, so that all might be judged by the same Gospel, which is to be preached to "every creature." That the message of deliverance to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that were bound was successful is evident from the scriptural statement concerning Christ: "He led captivity captive." (Eph. IV; 8).
Jesus promised His disciples that the works which he did, they should do also. The mission and Priesthood which His Father gave to Him He gave to them also. It is therefore clear that the work of redemption commenced on earth will be carried on in the sphere beyond the veil. And that it will be performed in the latter times, may be learned without doubt from the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the end of the world, in which he foretells as one of the events of that period: "And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high and the kings of the earth upon the earth, and they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited." (Isaiah XXIV; 20-22).
The spirit of man when out of the body, being an intelligent entity, a thinking, progressive and responsible being, capable of hearing and believing or rejecting truth, must be also capable of repenting of evil and learning to do well. Thus the mercy of God can reach such a being independent of the mortal structure in which it was permitted to dwell on earth. The idea that the eternal future of man is fixed at death comes from a mistaken notion concerning "the judgment day." Both Christ and His Apostles taught that the time of judgment was set by the Father to take place "when the Son of Man shall {251} come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him." (Matt. XXV; 31-46). Paul declared that Christ would come to judge the quick and the dead "at His appearing and His kingdom." (2 Tim. IV; 1). It was at that day that Paul expected to obtain "a crown of righteousness." (Verse 8.) And the time of the judgment is fixed in the book of Revelation to be after the resurrection from the dead, when "the small and the great shall stand before God, and the books shall be opened, and the dead shall be judged out of the things written in the books according to their works." (Rev. XX).
The popular notion that final judgment takes place at the death of each individual, and that he is then and there exalted to heaven or thrust down to hell, is utterly wrong and unscriptural. Yet it has prevailed in Christendom for many centuries, and it remained for the Prophet of the 19th century, Joseph Smith, by divine inspiration to bring forth the glorious light in the midst of dense spiritual darkness, and show forth the mercy and goodness of Almighty God in providing means by which every soul of Adam's race, either in the body or out of the body, may learn the way of the Lord, the everlasting Gospel, the only plan of salvation. It is to be preached to all them that are dead who could not hear it while living in the flesh, and they can repent and turn unto God and be taught the things of His kingdom. The doctrine of purgatory, which is part of the Roman Catholic creed, is a perversion of this doctrine of Christ, but the idea of the former came from a misunderstanding of the latter. There is an intermediate state in which the spirits of the departed remain between death and the resurrection of the body, and, as will be pointed out in a succeeding tract, there are works which may be performed by the living in behalf of the dead, but only such as are impossible of performance in the spirit world.
The Apostle Paul declared that Jesus Christ "gave Himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due time." (1 Tim. II; 6). The time has now come. The testimony of this great truth is proclaimed by Prophets and Apostles raised up in these latter days, and by the voice of Angles from Heaven, and by the witness of the Holy Ghost, which bears record of the Father and the Son. Let all people rejoice and praise the Lord for this new revelation of his loving kindness and tender mercies extended over all His works, and let His light shine to the uttermost parts of the earth and penetrate to the darkest abode of the regions behind the veil, that truth may triumph everywhere and God be glorified in the obedience and salvation of His children.
No. 11.
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead? If the dead rise not at all, why are they then baptized for the dead?" (1 Cor. xv: 29.) This was an argument used by the Apostle Paul with the Corinthians, who doubted the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. It is evident that they were familiar with baptism for the dead. For, the Apostle was reasoning with them from what they knew. The influence of Greek philosophy affected the minds of the Saints at Corinth, and the Apostle found it necessary to write to them his splendid treatise, to convince them that as Christ was actually raised from the dead, so all mankind should be brought forth from their graves, as the Savior himself declared. And appealing to their good sense he asked the question why they were baptized for the dead, if, as some among them maintained, there was to be no resurrection of the dead.
This doctrine, that the living could be baptized in behalf of the dead, has not been understood in the so-called Christian world for many hundreds of years. It was known to the early fathers, but became obsolete when the authority held by the Apostles and their associates was taken from the earth and spiritual darkness settled upon the world. Yet, if that was part of the doctrine of Christ in the Apostolic age, it is part of it now. But who among all the sects of the age teaches it? Who has authority to administer it? Who knows anything of the manner in which the ordinance should be solemnized? It is because of the profound ignorance of modern teachers of religion on this important subject that they endeavor, whenever the text given above is quoted, either to cover it with a cloud of meaningless explanation, or to treat it as unworthy of attention, or to set it aside as something "done away."
In the revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ anew in the present age baptism for the dead was made known to the Prophet Joseph Smith as a necessary part of the doctrine of {253} Christ. Its purpose, the form of the ordinance, who should administer it, who should receive it, how it would affect both the living and the dead, and everything to render it acceptable to God and efficacious to the departed, was made known to the Prophet of the nineteenth century.
It has already been demonstrated that the Gospel preached by our Savior and His Apostles to the living was also preached to the dead, that is, to the spirits of those who had once dwelt in the body on earth. Also that such persons are capable of receiving the truth, of faith, of repentance, of obedience and reform. It has been further shown that baptism for the remission of sins and the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, both ordinances to be administered by actual divine authority, are essential to salvation. But it will be evident to the thoughtful reader that while the internal or spiritual requirements of the Gospel can be complied with by disembodied persons, the outward and material ceremonies are of the body, and can only be performed on the earth. Water is an earthly element or composition of material elements, and pertains to this mundane sphere. It is for this reason that the living must be baptized for the dead. If those who die unbaptized are to obtain salvation the necessary ordinances will have to be attended to by proxy.
If any professing Christian objects to the idea of salvation by proxy, the all-important fact that the entire plan of salvation hinges on that principle should be sufficient to sweep away the objection entirely and forever. "The wages of sin is death." "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Jesus of Nazareth died instead of sinners. The just was offered for the unjust. The innocent Christ was a substitute for the guilty men. The whole doctrine of the atonement rests upon the principle of salvation by proxy. Jesus is called the Captain of our salvation. He is the head of the host of the army of saviors. It was predicted by Obadiah the Prophet that, "Saviors shall come upon Mount Zion" in the latter days, and "the kingdom shall be the Lord's" (verse 21). And the inspired writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of those worthies who through faith performed great wonders and prevailed and obtained a witness from God in olden times, declared: "These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." (Heb. XI; 39, 40.) Thus the work of human redemption is to be carried on until all the people {254} of the earth shall be judged according to the Gospel, every soul having had an opportunity of receiving or rejecting it, either in the body or in the spirit state, and of obeying the ordinances thereof, either in person or vicariously, the living acting for the dead.
At the first glance this doctrine may strike the modern Christian mind as new and dangerous, but the more it is investigated in all its bearings, the clearer its truth is made apparent, and the more glorious it becomes. The thought that those who receive and obey the Gospel of Christ in its fulness while in the flesh, can aid in the work of redemption for their ancestors who are in the spirit world, is most delightful to the reverent soul. It shows the value of those genealogies which Israel, the covenant people of God, were moved upon in olden times to preserve. It simulates the faithful in Christ to good works that they may become "Saviors on Mount Zion." It explains how the nations composed of millions upon millions of souls that never heard the Gospel or the name of Christ Jesus, may ultimately be redeemed and made heirs of salvation. It points out the way by which Christ shall eventually obtain the victory over Satan and prove himself "a ransom for all," presenting His perfect work to the Father, not one soul having been lost but the sons of perdition, who sinned unto death and could not be forgiven in this world or in the world to come.
The ordinances for the dead, as revealed from heaven to the Prophet Joseph Smith, must be attended to in the way provided by the Lord or they will not be accepted of Him. They must be administered in sacred places built according to a heavenly pattern, and administered by those who have authority to loose on earth and it shall be loosed in heaven, to seal on earth and it shall be sealed in heaven. Persons who have themselves complied with the requirements of the Gospel, may be baptized and administered to in other necessary ordinances for and in behalf of their departed kindred and ancestors, as far back as their line of progenitors can be ascertained. This work must be attended to in Zion. This necessitates the gathering of the Saints, "the elect of God" from all parts of the earth. They are commanded of the Lord to come out of Babylon, that they "be not partakers of her sins and that they receive not of her plagues." (Rev. XVIII; 4). In compliance with this requirement they are gathered from all nations, "to the mountain of the Lord's house in the tops of the mountains, where they can learn of His ways and walk in His paths," and build up Zion, where {255} they can officiate as saviors and prepare for the coming of the great King. (See Micah IV; 1-4; Isaiah II; 2-5; Psalms CII; 16).
The gathering of Judah is also to be accomplished in this dispensation of the fulness of times. Their gathering place is Jerusalem. They will return to the land of their forefathers chiefly in unbelief. A few of that race will begin to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, but the masses of that people will not receive Him in that light until He comes and "His feet shall stand again on the Mount of Olives." He will then appear as their Deliverer from the hosts that will assemble against them for a spoil and a prey. They will then look upon Him whom their forefathers have pierced, and beholding the scars of the wounds He received when "He came to His own and His own received Him not," but hung Him upon the cross, will come to the understanding that Jesus is indeed the Son of God as well as the son of David, and is their Messiah, their Redeemer, and their King. They will then receive His Gospel, the only plan of salvation; "a nation will be born in a day unto the Lord;" and in the Temple that will be reared to His name they will officiate for their dead until all the links in the chain of their ancestry, back to the time when the Gospel was on the earth previous to the enunciation of the Mosiac code, the law of carnal commandments, are made complete. All the promises made to Israel and Judah through their Prophets will be fulfilled, and Christ will "reign in Mount Zion and Jerusalem" and fill the earth with His glory! (See Zech. XIV; 8-23; Jer. XXIII; 3-8; XXXII; 37-44; Ezek. XXXIV; 13-16; XXXVIII; 8-23; Ezek. XXXIX; Isaiah XXIV; 23).
While the House of Judah is to rebuild Jerusalem, in expectation of a Messiah, but in unbelief of the Savior and His atonement, the descendants of the House of Israel which was scattered and dispersed among the nations, will gather as the elect of God to the latter-day Zion upon the land of Joseph in the tops of the mountains, where the House of God is "exalted above the hills," and where the revelations of His will are made known and the ordinances of His House for the living and the dead can be administered. The blood of Israel, though mixed with that of the Gentiles, is counted as the seed of Abraham to whom the promises of old were made, and not one of them will fail. Their gathering place is on "the land shadowing with wings" which Isaiah saw in vision "beyond the rivers of Ethiopia," where the Lord has "lifted up an ensign on the mountains," and from which His "swift messengers" {256} are now going forth as "ambassadors" of the great King and are bringing Israel from afar to "the place of the name of the Lord of Hosts, the Mount Zion." (Isaiah XVII.) There, in the Temple built to His name according to the pattern He has revealed, baptisms and all the ordinances necessary on earth in the work of salvation for the living and the dead, are performed by divine authority, and there the Spirit of God is poured out in rich effusion, bearing witness to the humble of heart and contrite of spirit that they and their labors of love are accepted of Him and sealed and recorded in heaven.
There "the wilderness and the solitary place have been made glad" because of them. The parched ground and the thirsty land have brought forth springs of water, the desert is made to "blossom as the rose." There the ransomed of the Lord have come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy. "The place of their defense is the munition of rocks," and they are looking for the time which is near at hand, when they shall behold "the King in His beauty." (See Isaiah XXXV; also XXXII; 13-20; XXXIII; 15-17; XLIX; 22-23; LII; 7-12; Psalm CVII; 1-7; 33-43; Isaiah XLI; 18-20.)
From the foregoing it will be seen that our Heavenly Father is not bound by the small notions and narrow creeds of modern religious sects and teachers. "His ways are not as man's ways nor His thoughts as their thoughts." "As high as the heavens are above the earth," so is His plan of salvation above the inventions of the worldly wise. The Gospel is to be preached to every responsible and accountable creature. They who do not hear it while in the body will hear it in the spirit world, and even those who through folly and darkness received it not will, after having been beaten with "many stripes" and having paid the "uttermost farthing" of the debt thus incurred, have mercy extended to them when justice has been satisfied, and at length through the ministration of the Holy Priesthood of God on earth and behind the veil, and the ordinances performed in person or vicariously, all the sons and daughters of God in the race of Adam will come forth from the grave; and finally "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ to the glory of God the Father." Then Jesus, having finished His work of redemption, will present it to the Eternal Father, that He may be all in all.
This glorious work for the salvation of the human family is now in progress under the revelation and authority of the Most High, and no matter how much it may be opposed by ignorance or malice, by Satan or foolish men, it will go on {257} to complete and glorious victory. Evil will be overcome, darkness dispersed, Satan and his hosts be bound, the earth and its inhabitants be redeemed, Paradise will be restored, Eden will bloom again, Christ will reign as King, the Tabernacle of God will be with men, and all things above, beneath, around, will sing praises to the Most High, to whom be glory and dominion forever. Amen.
"I have had sufficient experience in this work to know that the hand of God is in it; that it is controlled and guided by His spirit and by revelation from Heaven. It is the design of God to establish his Kingdom upon earth to be thrown down no more."
—Wilford Woodruff.
There is no other way beneath the heaven that God hath ordained for man to come to Him, except through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins; then follows the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Any other course is in vain.
—Joseph Smith, The Prophet.
No. 12.
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?" so said the Savior of mankind, (Matt. VII; 16). The Latter-day Saints, or "Mormons" as they are commonly called, have been derided and persecuted and all manner of evil has been spoken against them, even by people who call themselves Christians. That in this false witness has been borne against them, may be definitely proved if the criterion given by Christ is accepted. Having obeyed the Gospel as restored to earth by angelic visitations and administered by divine authority, large numbers of the Saints have congregated in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains in obedience to the command, "Gather my Saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." (Psalm L; 5). And also: "Come out of her (Babylon) my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Rev. XVIII; 4).
In the year 1847 a company of Pioneers, led by the Prophet Brigham Young, successor of the Martyr Joseph Smith, who was slain for the Gospel's sake, marched from the Missouri River across prairies and mountains, sand wastes and rivers, through the wilderness known as the Great American Desert, to the place in the mountains where they had been directed by Joseph Smith when living with them in Nauvoo. On July 24th of that year they halted in the valley of the Great Salt Lake, beheld by Brigham Young in vision before they commenced their weary journey. Not a human habitation was to be seen. The sun-baked land brought forth sagebrush and weeds. Rain was almost unknown and the melting snows from the mountain tops came down but in narrow and scanty streams. But they plowed the parched ground and turned upon it the trickling waters; they sowed in faith and trusted in God for the harvest which alone could save them from starvation. The little band was composed of but 147 persons who had left civilization more than a thousand miles behind. Today nearly three hundred thousand people, gathered from all parts of the world, dwell in peace and harmony in flourishing cities {259} and towns or upon fruitful farms and luxuriant ranches, reaping the results of thrift and industry and the blessings of God upon the land and upon their labors. In the cities are fine residences, comfortable cottages, business establishments, manufacturing enterprises, broad streets lined with magnificent trees and with clear streamlets on either side, lighted by electricity and supplied with pure water from works owned by the people. Grand school houses have been erected, spacious places of worship, noble public buildings and splendid temples costing from one million to four million dollars each. All kinds of grains and fruits and flowers are produced in abundance; the rainfalls have wonderfully increased, springs have burst forth in dry spots, grass grows on the hillsides and in the meadows, cattle and sheep graze on a thousand hills, and the face of nature smiles and shines with beauty.
This marvelous transformation has been brought about by the blessings of Almighty God upon the faith and works of His Saints gathered from afar. Zion that brought good tidings—the everlasting Gospel restored to earth—has gone up "into the high mountain." The spirit has been poured out from on high, and the wilderness has become a fruitful field. "The people of the Lord dwell in peaceable habitations, in sure dwellings, in quiet resting places." They are sowing "beside all waters." "The wilderness and the solitary place is glad for them, the desert rejoices and blossoms abundantly." They are the "ransomed of the Lord, and have come to Zion with songs of everlasting joy." (See Isaiah XL; 9; XXXII; 15-20; XXXV; 1-10).
Every Sabbath day the children assemble in Sunday schools under a system which is not excelled in any part of the world. In the afternoon and evening the Saints assemble in their Tabernacles and meeting houses, and receive instruction by the voice of inspiration and the reading of holy writ. Societies are organized for the instruction of juveniles, of young men and women, of ladies of mature age and for all classes of the community. To serve God and keep His commandments is held up as the first duty of His people. To labor for the salvation of the living and the redemption of the dead is placed above all earthly consideration. The Church has now in the mission field fifteen hundred or more missionaries, traveling "without purse and scrip," without pay of any kind, depending upon God and friends whom He may raise up to them for their daily sustenance. The Church organization revealed from heaven is recognized by all who investigate, as the grandest and most complete ever known on earth. The {260} industry, order, devotion, unity and brotherly love displayed by the Latter-day Saints are the admiration and commendation of both friend and foe. The work they have performed under divine direction is a marvel to all who have visited the cities of the Saints or know of their achievements. What is the tree that has brought forth these excellent fruits? It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Let the tree be judged by its fruits.
It is true that the "Mormons" are a people who have been "everywhere spoken against," but this was a characteristic of the Saints in the original Christian Church. Paul said: "They that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Jesus exclaimed: "Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you." He prophesied of his disciples: "Ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." But there are a number of brave men who, after visiting Utah, have not been afraid to speak their honest sentiments concerning that despised people. Among them are the following, whose published remarks are but samples of others that might be adduced:
Bishop D. S. Tuttle of the Episcopal church, who resided in Salt Lake City, had the following in the New York Sun: "We of the East are accustomed to look upon the Mormons as either a licentious, arrogant, or rebellious mob, bent only on defying the United States government and deriding the faith of the Christians. This is not so. I know them to be honest, faithful, prayerful workers, and earnest in their faith that heaven will bless the Church of Latter-day Saints. Another strong and admirable feature in the Mormon religion is the tenacious and efficient organization. They follow with the greatest care all the forms of the old Church."
Henry Edger says, in the New York Evolution: "Driven by mob violence from one state to another, despoiled of their legitimate possessions—fruits of honest toil—this despaired and grossly wronged people found their way at last across the trackless desert and by an almost unexampled perseverance and industry created an oasis in the desert itself."
Elder Miles Grant, editor of the World's Crisis, says: "After a careful observation for some days we came to the settled conclusion that there is less licentiousness in Salt Lake City than in any other one of the same size in the United States; and were we to bring up a family of children in these last days of wickedness, we should have less fears of their moral corruption were they in that city than in any other."
Gov. Safford of Arizona wrote as follows: "They have no {261} drones, and the work they have accomplished in so short a time is truly wonderful. All concede that we need an energetic, industrious, economical and self-relying people to subdue and bring into use the vast, unproductive lands of Arizona. These Mormons fill every one of the above requirements."
Gen. Thomas L. Kane of Pennsylvania, after four years experience with the Mormons, declared: "I have not heard a single charge made against them as a community, against their habitual purity of life, their willing integrity, their toleration of religious difference of opinion, their regard for the laws, their devotion to the Constitutional government under which we live, that I do not from my own observation or upon the testimony of others know to be unfounded."
Chief Justice White, sent to Utah by the U. S. government, testified: "Industry, frugality, temperance, honesty are with them the common practices of life. This land they have redeemed from sterility and occupied its once barren solitudes with cities, villages, cultivated fields and farm-houses, and made it the habitation of a numerous people, where a beggar is never seen and alms-houses are neither needed nor known."
The late Hon. Bayard Taylor, U. S. minister to Germany, remarked, "We must admit that Salt Lake City is one of the most quiet, orderly and moral places in the world. * * * The Mormons as a people are the most temperate of Americans. They are chaste, laborious and generally cheerful, and what they have accomplished in so short a time under every circumstance of discouragement, will always form one of the most remarkable chapters in our history."
Notwithstanding the facts set forth in the foregoing, the Congress of the United States was moved upon for several years by anti-Mormon preachers of different sects, and by petitions from good, pious, but deceived "Christian" people, also by adventurers who desired to profit by inroads upon the Mormons, to enact stringent and oppressive measures looking to the suppression of what they called "Mormonism." It was thought by the enemies of the Saints that they could be driven again from their possessions, as they had been driven by mob violence from the states of Missouri and Illinois, where their property became a prey to their so-called Christian persecutors, and where many of their number were brutally murdered in cold blood, their Prophet and Patriarch, Joseph and Hyrum Smith, being among the number. For some time these efforts gave great promise of success. Much suffering was endured by the Saints, but they possessed their souls in patience, having faith in the promises of God made to {262} them through their Prophets and Apostles, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit. The day of their deliverance from this injustice, sorrow, and tribulation has come. Their true character has been measurably recognized, and Utah has been admitted into the Union as a free and sovereign State, on an equal footing with the other states in the Federal compact.
There yet remains in the world great ignorance concerning the Latter-day Saints, their purposes and works, their doctrines and teachings, and the spirit and power of their faith. To these they invite the investigation of every rational mind. They urge comparison of their principles, their Church and the ordinances, gifts, and spirit thereof with those set forth in the New Testament, in contrast with the contending and discordant religions of modern Christendom. They know that they have received the truth, and that God has revealed it in the present age. They have received a divine witness, every one for himself. They are building up Zion in the West. They are sending forth the Gospel into all the world as a witness to the nations before the end shall come.
This is a day of warning. It will be followed by a time of judgments. The Lord is about to shake terribly the kingdoms of this world. War, pestilence, famine, earthquake, whirlwind, and the devouring fire, with signs in the heavens and on the earth, will immediately precede the great consummation which is close at hand. These are the last days. All that has been foretold by the Holy Prophets concerning them is about to be literally fulfilled. The everlasting Gospel has been restored to the earth as one of the signs of the latter days. Israel is being gathered. The elect of God are assembling from the four quarters of the earth. The way is opening for the redemption of Judah. Soon all things will be in commotion: "men's hearts failing them for fear and looking for the things that are coming on the earth." The places of refuge appointed are in Zion and in Jerusalem. The Lord, even Jesus the Messiah, will come to His Holy Temple. He will be glorified in his Saints, but will "take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel." He will break in pieces the nations as a potter's vessel. He will sweep the earth as with a besom of destruction. He will establish righteousness upon it and give dominion to His people. "The meek shall inherit the earth and the wicked be cut off forever." Therefore, repent and turn unto Him all ye nations, and obey Him all ye people, for these words are true and faithful and are given by His spirit! Salvation has come unto you; reject it not lest ye fall and perish. The time is at hand!
(Compiled from a Work Entitled "Mr. Durant of Salt Lake City.")
BY BEN E. RICH.
This pamphlet is written in the form of a conversational discussion, because in this style information to the reader can be conveyed by a method that is at once simple and agreeable.
The scene of this narrative is a small town in the southwestern part of Tennessee, which we shall call Westminster. In this pretty village is a home of entertainment for strangers. It can scarcely be termed a hotel as it partakes largely of the character of a private residence with accommodations for a limited number of guests, and visitors are attracted to it by its home-like characteristics. A planter named Marshall was the proprietor of the premises, which are known as Harmony Place.
At the particular time of which we write (Sept., 189-), the house had three guests—a lawyer named Brown, who had selected Westminster as a place favorable for the establishment of the practice of his profession; a physician named Slocum, who had a similar intention, and a clergyman named Fitzallen, a tourist who was traveling in the pursuit of health and pleasure.
At this time another visitor made his appearance. He was an attractive looking man aged about thirty, with genial manners and a striking clear method of presenting his thoughts in the course of conversation. This was Charles Durant, who hailed from the West.
The evening of the first day that marked the stranger's advent into Westminster saw the entire personnel of Harmony Place on the veranda.
One subject after another was taken up, discussed and disposed of, or at least laid aside to give way to some other. The conversation proceeded from point to point until the topics of {264} the quiet gathering assumed more the aspect of an intellectual melange than anything else. Two subjects which agitate us nationally and sometimes locally more than any other—politics and religion—had, so far escaped; they had not, however, been unthought of, and presently the latter was begun by the minister saying:
"Representing to some extent, as I do, the church, I am pleased to be able to state that in the matters of organization, discipline and places of worship, America is thoroughly Christianized."
"I partially concur with you," said the lawyer, "and yet I belong to no church at all—do not, in fact, endorse Christianity as a department of civilized life."
"Why, how is this?" said Fitzallen, "I thought nearly everybody in this country must be orthodox to some extent, at least."
"Not so with me, I assure you," the other replied, "and the strange part of it is, that my views are the result of investigation and the peculiar explanations of those who make religious teaching their calling. Those who accept the creeds which are supposed to base their tenets upon the Bible, do not, it appears to me, live up to their professions, and the clergy—no offense intended—are more addicted to money-getting than soul-saving."
The stranger from the West was listening to all this with the air of one deeply interested. It was as if a desired opportunity had come, and he was not reluctant about replying when questioned as to his own views. It came when the churchman, after announcing his determination to "labor" with the infidel, turned to the newcomer and said:
"I do not know whether you will be for or against me in this discussion, but as you come from what we of the East are prone to regard as the land where restraints are not severe, I presume you are disposed to assist him rather than me."
"Well, gentlemen," said Durant, "this topic interests me, and while I and my opinions are unknown to you all, I will, if agreeable to you, endeavor to throw some light upon the subject. I am a believer in religion and lay claim to a testimony of the truth of the gospel of Christ from a divine source, and yet I often find myself opposed by ministers."
"I cannot imagine why this should be the case," said Fitzallen, "if you are, as you state, a true believer in Christ and have a witness of Him."
"If you will permit me to ask a few questions during your conversation with Mr. Brown, I may be able to take a general {265} part in the discussion, provided, however, that should we differ upon any point it will be in a friendly manner."
"Certainly," said the clergyman, "I am sure it will be a pleasure to me to have you join in our conversation, and I do not doubt that Mr. Brown and the other gentlemen feel the same way."
The entire party expressed approval of the proposed interchange of opinions.
"Then, Mr. Brown," said Fitzallen, "what particular part of the Christian faith appears to you as being the most difficult to understand?"
"I confess there are many. However, let us commence with one of the principles of your belief. I will refer to some of the literature of the Church of England. The first article of religion contained in the Church of England Prayer-Book is: 'There is but one living and true God, everlasting; without body, parts or passions; of infinite power, wisdom and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible: and in the unity of this Godhead there are three persons of one substance, power and eternity—the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.' According to this, then, your belief is that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one person, without body, parts or passion."
"You have certainly quoted correctly from the prayer-book; I fail to see anything wrong with that. What fault have you to find with it?"
"I cannot form a conception of a God who has neither body, parts nor passions. So far as the Bible is concerned, I fail to see from what part of that book you derive such a conclusion."
"Well, Mr. Brown, using your own language, 'so far as the Bible is concerned,' let us do as Isaiah commands, 'go to the law and to the testimony' (Isaiah viii: 20) and I will soon convince you that the Bible plainly sets forth the fact that the Father and the Son are one. In fact, Jesus himself declares that He and His Father are one (John x: 30). Is this not true?"
"Excuse me," said Durant, "but is it not more reasonable for us to believe that He meant that He and His Father are united in all things as one person?—not that they are actually one and the same identity?"
"Certainly not," said the reverend, "our Savior meant just what He said when He declared that He and His Father were one."
"I differ from you," said the stranger, "for He also asked {266} His Father to make His disciples one, even as He and the Father were one, as you will see by reference to John xvii:20 and 21, and by your argument it must have been His wish for those disciples to lose their separate and distinct identities."
"Stranger," said Mr. Brown, "your view of the case, I must confess, appears reasonable."
"Let me ask," said the preacher, "did not Jesus say, 'He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father.'" (John xiv: 9.)
"Yes," said the westerner, "for as Paul says, 'He was in the express image of His (Father's) person' (Heb. i: 3), and this being the case, Jesus might well give them to understand that when they had seen one they had seen the other. When Jesus went out to pray, He said, 'O, my Father, if it be possible let thus cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.' (Matt. xxvi: 39.) Now then, to whom was our Savior praying? Was he asking a favor of himself?"
"Oh, no; He was then praying to the Holy Spirit."
"By such admission you have separated one of the three from Jesus, for in the beginning you declared that the three were one; and now that we have one of the three separated from the others, let us see if we can separate the other two. In order to do this, I refer you to the account of the martyrdom of Stephen. While being stoned to death he looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and that Jesus was standing on the right hand of God. (Acts vii: 55.) Would it not be impossible for a person to stand on the right hand of himself? In further proof that Jesus is a separate person from the Father we will examine the account of His baptism. On coming up out of the water, what was it that lighted on Him in the form of a dove?" (Matt. iii: 16.)
"We are told it was the Spirit of God."
"Exactly! And whose voice was it that spoke from the heavens, 'This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!' (Matt. iii: 17.) Now, mind you, there was Jesus, who had just been raised from the water, being one person, the Holy Ghost which descended from above and rested upon Him in the form of a dove, making two personages; and does not the idea strike you very forcibly that the voice from heaven belonged to a third person? And then again I will draw your attention to—"
The churchman was getting heated. Said he: "These are things which we are not expected to understand; and, my young friends, I would advise you to drop such foolish ideas, for—"
"Excuse me. Did you say 'foolish ideas?' Why, my dear {267} sir, we are told in the Bible that 'This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.' (John xvii: 3.) Therefore it should be our first duty to find out the character and being of God. You say we are not expected to understand these things, while the Bible says these are what we must understand if we desire eternal life. It also says we can understand the things of man by the spirit of man, but to comprehend the things of God we must have the spirit of God; and as you profess to be one of His servants, you are presumed to be in possession of the necessary light to understand the true and living God, also Jesus Christ whom He sent. You say God has no body; did our Savior have one? If so, then His Father had one, for I have just proved by the words of Paul that Christ was in the express image of his person. (Heb. i: 3) Jesus appeared in the midst of His disciples after His resurrection with a body of flesh and bones, and called upon His disciples to satisfy themselves on this point by touching Him; 'for,' says He, 'a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have.' (Luke xxiv:39.) Then He called for something to eat and He did eat (verses 42, 43), and with this tangible body He ascended into heaven and stood, as Stephen says, on the right hand of God. (Acts vii:55.) Now if He has no body, what became of the one He took away with Him?"
"This is nonsense! You know that God is a spirit, and I think we would better not delve too deeply into matters which we are not permitted to comprehend."
"Pray listen a while longer, for I have yet more to say in regard to what you call nonsense, although if it be such, I must insist that it is Bible nonsense. You say God is a spirit; does that prove He has no body? We are also told we must worship Him in spirit. Am I to understand from this that we must worship him without a body? Have you a spirit? Yes. Have you also a body? Yes. Were you made in the image of God, body and spirit? So says the Bible. Man was created in the image of God. (Gen. i: 26, 27.) Then God has a body and, consequently, must have parts. Moses talked with Him face to face, as one man talks with another (Ex. xxxiii: 11), and he also saw His back parts. He promised (Num. xii: 8) to speak with Moses mouth to mouth. We are told in the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy that He has a hand and arm. The Psalm (cxxxix: 16) tells us He has eyes, and Isaiah (xxx: 27) says He has lips and tongue. John describes His head, hair and eyes. (Rev. i: 14.) And as for passions, we are told in the Bible that He exercises love and is a jealous God. Are {268} these not parts and passions? It would appear that all who believe in the Scriptures must conclude that they are parts and passions, and that the Creator is a God after whose likeness we are made."
"Well, I had no idea when I commenced this conversation with Mr. Brown that I was to find such an antagonist in yourself. One would naturally come to the conclusion that you had made the Bible a study."
"I have as a Christian studied the record; in fact, at a very early age my parents required me to commit and remember a very important verse in that good old book. It is found in the fifth chapter of the gospel according to St. John, being the 39th verse, and reads as follows: 'Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me.'"
"That is proper, but I must again warn you against plunging into mysteries which we cannot understand."
"But Peter tells us that 'no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation' (II. Peter i:20), and these are the things which we should seek for information upon; for lack of information by the ministers upon these points is to a great extent, the cause of many persons being in Mr. Brown's frame of mind today."
"If your assertion be correct, perhaps it would be better for me to withdraw and leave Mr. Brown in your hands."
"I beg your pardon," said Durant, "I did not mean to offend you; I will endeavor to be more careful during the rest of the conversation."
"We will resume the discussion at another time. Tonight I only intended remaining a short time, having an important engagement; so, if you will excuse me, I will wish you all good evening."
"Well," said Mr. Brown, "things have taken a very peculiar turn. I seem to be out of the contest. I have heard more that appears reasonable from you, Mr. Durant, regarding religion than ever before in my life, and I must also admit that if my early teaching on religious matters had been of this character, I believe I would have been a Christian. I am somewhat familiar with the doctrines of different Christian societies, and from the way you express yourself regarding the personality of God, I would like very much to hear your views regarding other differences. Do you disagree with these ministers very much on other principles?"
"I am afraid the difference on many important principles is just as great as that concerning the personality of God. But {269} if you really desire to go with me in this search after the kingdom of God, and the others are willing, I assure you it will give me great pleasure."
Unanimous approval was expressed at once, and Mr. Brown continued, saying:
"I never before had as great a desire in this direction, and must confess that my curiosity has become quite aroused."
"Then," said Durant, "we will take King James' translation of the Scriptures as the law-book, and 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God' for our text; and if we should discover before we have finished that the teachings of men differ greatly from the teachings of Christ, I will be somewhat justified in saying that religionists have 'transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.'" (Isaiah xxiv: 5. Jere. ii: 13.)
"Very well," said Mr. Brown, "I will proceed," and obtaining the family Bible he continued: "And should your assertions prove correct, it would account for the increase of infidelity, and it might also cause others as well as myself to stop and consider. Now, then, to the 'law and testimony.' Give me the chapter and verse, that I may know you make no mistake."
The doctor then for the first time took part, saying: "I am also becoming very much interested, and think I shall join you with my Bible. Let us all come into the circle."
"All right, we will examine the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the Bible, principle by principle. In order to have a clear understanding concerning this, it will be necessary for us to go back to the days of our Father Adam. Through the transgression of our first parents, death came upon all the human family, and mankind could not, of themselves, overcome the same and obtain immortality. To substantiate this, see first, second and third chapters of Genesis, Romans 5th chapter and 12th verse, and I. Corinthians 15th chapter and 21st and 22nd verses. But in order that they should not perish, God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to satisfy this broken law and to deliver mankind from the power of death. (John iii: 16; Romans v: 8; I. John iv: 9.) And as all become subject to death by Adam, so will all men be resurrected from death through the atonement of Christ (I. Cor. xv: 20-23; Rom. v: 12-19), and will stand before the judgment seat of God to answer for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression. (Acts xvii:31; Rev. xx:12-15; Matt. xvi:27.) Am I right as far as I have gone?"
"Yes," said the doctor, "I have been following you with your quotations, and find them correct. Proceed."
{270} "Then I have proved one of the principles of some of the so-called Christians incorrect, for they do not believe that the wicked will have the same chance of resurrection as the righteous. Jesus Christ did not die for our individual sins, except on condition that we conform to the plan He marked out, which will bring us a remission of our sins. The only way we can prove that we love Him is by keeping His commandments (John xiv: 15); therefore, if we say we love God and keep not His commandments, we are liars and the truth is not in us. (I. John ii: 4.) I think I have proved to your satisfaction that there is something defective in their understanding of the attributes of God, and I think I can prove also that they do not keep His commandments. Christ has given us to understand two things which you must remember while on this search after the 'kingdom of God.' First, that we must follow Him; secondly, that when He left His disciples He was to send them the Comforter that would lead them into all truth; therefore we must follow Christ and accept all the principles which were taught by His disciples while in possession of the Holy Spirit, though it should prove the whole world to be in error."
"Thus far your arguments are reasonable, also in accordance with Holy Writ; and as there is no other name given us except Jesus Christ whereby we can be saved (Acts iv: 12), you may now lay before us the conditions; but give us chapter and verse as I said before, that we may know you speak correctly."
"We will now examine into the conditions; but first remember that God does not send men into the world for the purpose of preaching contrary doctrines, for this always creates confusion, and God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. (I. Cor. xiv: 33.) Paul has said if any man teach another gospel let him be accursed. (Gal. i: 8, 9.) The first condition is this: To believe there is a God (not the kind mentioned in the English prayer-book), but the God that created man in His own image, and to have faith in that God and in Jesus Christ whom he has sent."
"Go on," said the party in concert.
"Well," continued Durant, "the kind of faith required is that which will enable a man, under all circumstances, to say, 'I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God Unto salvation.' (Rom. i: 16.) This is the kind of faith by which the worlds were framed; by which Noah prepared an ark; by which the Red Sea was crossed as on dry land; by which the walls of Jericho fell; it was by faith that kingdoms were subdued; righteousness was wrought; {271} promises were obtained, and the mouths of lions were closed. (Heb. xi: 32, 38.) This faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. x: 17), and the lack of this faith and the absence of prayer and fasting caused even the Apostles to fail on one occasion in casting out devils. (Matt. xvii: 14, 20.) No wonder, then, that without faith it is impossible to please God. (Heb. xi: 6.) Faith, then, is the first grand stepping-stone to that celestial pathway leading towards salvation. The more we search into eternal truth, the more we discover that God works upon natural principles. All the requirements which He makes of us are very plain and simple. How natural that the principle of faith should be the primary one of our salvation! With what principle are we more familiar? Faith is the first great principle governing all things; but great as it is, it is dead without works. (James ii:14-17.) We must not expect salvation by simply having faith that Jesus is the Christ, for the devils in purgatory are that far advanced. (James ii: 19.) In fact, if you will read the entire second chapter of James you will see that faith without works is as dead and helpless as the body after the spirit has departed from it. It is folly to think of gaining exaltation in His presence unless we obey the principles he advocated (Matt. vii: 21), for no one speaks truthfully by saying he is a disciple of Christ while not observing His commandments. (John viii:31.) In fact, the only way by which man can truthfully say he loves Jesus Christ is by keeping His commandments." (John xiv: 12-21.)
"Is it not recorded in Holy Writ," said the doctor, "that if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved?"
"You have referred to the words used by Paul and Silas to the keeper of the prison. These disciples were asked by this jailer what should he do to be saved, and was assured, as you have quoted, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.' Then the disciples immediately laid before them those principles which constitute true belief, and not until this man and his house had embraced the principles taught by these disciples were they filled with true belief and really rejoiced. (Acts xvi: 31, 33.) You see by this example that we must not deceive ourselves by thinking that we can be hearers of the word only and not doers. (James i: 22, 23.)
"But," said the lawyer, "here is a passage found in the tenth chapter of Romans, which, in my opinion, will be difficult for you to explain. The passage referred to reads as follows: 'If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the {272} dead, thou shalt be saved.' Now, then, it looks to me as if salvation is here promised through faith alone. How do you explain it?"
"Very easily. Let us thoroughly examine this passage in all its different phases. In the first place, this letter was written by Paul to individuals who were already members of the church. They had rendered obedience to the laws of salvation, and having complied with those requirements were entitled to salvation, providing their testimony remained within them like a living spring; and in order that they should not become lukewarm, Paul exhorted them to continue bearing testimony of the divinity of Christ, and not let their hearts lose sight of the fact that God had raised His Son from the dead, and inasmuch as they kept themselves in this condition, salvation would be theirs. This is the only sensible view one can take of this passage. Unquestionably Paul was speaking to sincere members of the church, who had been correctly initiated into the fold of Christ, not aliens living 1800 years after."
"That appears to be correct, but further on in the same chapter we find this expression: 'For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' It appears to me here that reference is not made to those who had embraced the gospel and those who had the faith, but salvation is made general to whomsoever shall call upon the name of the Lord." (Rom. x: 13.)
"Exactly, but the next verse gives an explanation so simple that none can fail to understand it: 'How, then, shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher? So, then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' In other words, if there is faith, there have been works, and having true faith, no person will remain in that condition without complying with further works of salvation to which that faith urges him."
"I see," said Brown, the others remaining silent, but interested; "you are right."
"Now, then, gentlemen," said Durant, "I maintain as before stated, that faith is the first principle of the gospel leading to salvation, but it will not bring us to the summit of the ladder—water—without the other principles."
"Well, suppose we accept this as the first round in the ladder, where will we find the second?"
"The second follows, just as naturally as the second step follows the first when a child learns to walk. When faith in God is once created, the knowledge that we have at some {273} time, perhaps many times during our lives done things displeasing to Him, naturally follows immediately, therefore repentance makes its appearance as the second principle of the gospel. When John came preaching in the wilderness, as the forerunner of Christ, his message to the people was, 'Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' (Matt. iii: 2.) When Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, it was with a message calling them to repentance. (Mark i: 15.) When He chose His disciples and began sending them forth it was to call mankind to repentance. (Mark vi: 7-12.) When He upbraided the cities wherein the most of His mighty works were done, it was because they repented not. (Matt. xi: 20.) True repentance is that which will cause him who stole to steal no more; that which will keep corrupt communications from our mouths; that which will cause us to so conduct our walks through life as not to grieve the Spirit of God; that which will cause all bitterness, wrath, anger and evil speaking to be put away from us, and will make us kind one to another, tender-hearted and forgiving, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven us. (Ephesians iv: 28-32.) When he who has committed a sin shall commit it no more, then he has repented with that Godly sorrow which worketh repentance to salvation, and not with the sorrow of the world, bringing with it death. (II. Cor. vii: 10.) When a sinner thus repents more joy is found in heaven than over ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance. (Luke xv: 7.) This, then, is the second round in the gospel ladder according to the plan given us by the master, and without it, faith is of no substantial benefit."
"Your reasoning is both logical and just," said Brown, "and no one can find any fault with those doctrines. This world of ours would certainly be more pleasant if these things were followed, and when a person is filled with that kind of faith, and has truly repented, it must be clear that he is entitled to salvation."
"But he must not stop at that," the speaker went on; "there are other principles just as necessary for him to obey. If I am in possession of enough faith to convince me that I have sinned against you, and the knowledge of this causes me sincerely to repent, I must not and cannot rest until I am satisfied I have your forgiveness for the wrong. So it is with sinning against God and His laws; He has marked out the path of repentance and it is our duty to follow that divine way until we arrive at the sacred altar of forgiveness. Sin must be forgiven before it can be wiped out, and God in His wisdom {274} selected and placed in His church water baptism for this purpose. It is a means whereby a man can receive remission of sin."
"And do you really believe that Baptism brings remission of sin?" queried the lawyer.
"Certainly; provided, however, honest faith and sincere repentance go before it, and the ordinance is administered in the proper way by one endowed with divine authority; otherwise I believe it is of no avail whatever."
"It seems to me you surround the principle of baptism with more safeguards than anyone else of whom I have ever heard."
"Perhaps I do, and yet it should not be the case. Every principle of the gospel should be well and carefully protected, and the failure on the part of man to do this is the main cause of so many different so-called plans of salvation existing among us today, when there should be only one true and perfect plan, as found in the days of Christ."
"It does seem strange that there should be so many roads leading, as is claimed, in one direction. I declare, I never thought of that before."
"Well, we will try to cover all those points before we finish. Let us examine this principle. Let us see if the idea of water baptism appears reasonable. The Lord has wisely and kindly selected this form of ordinance for the remission of sins. It was with this object in view that John advocated the principle. (Mark i: 4.) Peter promised it on the day of Pentecost. (Acts ii: 38.) Saul also received aid to arise and have his sins washed away. (Acts xxii: 16.) And so it was taught by different disciples as a means whereby God would remit sins."
"And as you have already stated, there are various modes of baptism among various sects. What is your method?"
"The only correct form is that explained in the Bible. Baptism was performed anciently by immersion, in fact no other mode was thought of until centuries after the day of Christ. The word baptize is from the Greek baptizo or bapto, meaning to plunge or immerse, and such noted writers as Polybius, Strabo, Dion Cassius, Mosheim, Luther, Calvin, Bossuet, Schaaf, Baxter, Jeremy Taylor, Robinson, and others, all agree that with the ancients immersion, and no other form, was baptism. The holy record itself explains the mode so plainly that even a wayfaring man may understand. John selected a certain place on account of there being much water. (John iii: 23.) Christ Himself was baptized in a river, after which He {275} came up out of the water. (Mark i: 5-10.) Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water (Acts viii: 38, 39), and Paul likens baptism to the burial and resurrection of Christ, dying from sin, buried in water, and resurrection to a new life. (Rom. vi: 3-5.) Jesus declares that a man must be born of the water as well as of the spirit. (John iii: 5.) By being immersed we are born of the water, and we cannot liken baptism to a birth when performed in any other way. How mankind can accept any other form, in the face of all these facts, is more than I can account for. I think enough has been said to show that I am correct in my views regarding the object and mode of baptism, so now let us inquire who are proper subject."
"Why, all who have souls to save, I suppose," said the doctor.
"Yes, providing they have obeyed the two principles, already mentioned; that is, faith and repentance; for Christ commanded His apostles to teach before baptizing. (Matthew xxviii: 19 and 20.) The candidate must believe before he can be baptized (Mark xvi: 16). Before Philip baptized the people of Samaria they believed the gospel as he taught it. (Acts viii: 12.) When the eunuch asked for baptism at the hands of this same disciple, Philip answered: 'If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.' (Acts viii: 37.) All persons, then, who are capable of understanding, are fit subjects for baptism, as soon as they believe and have repented. None are exempt, not even was Cornelius, who was so generous that a report of his good deeds reached the throne of God. His prayers were so mingled with faith that they brought down an angel from heaven; yet through baptism alone was it possible that he could gain membership in the fold of Christ. (Acts x.) We see, then, that all, except little children are proper subject for this ordinance, provided, as stated, they have faith, and have truly repented of their sins."
"And do you claim that little children are exempt?" said the doctor.
"I do; baptism is for the remission of sins, and little children being free from sin, are of necessity exempt."
"I do not see how you make that doctrine accord with the teachings of the Bible. Did not Jesus say, 'Suffer little children to come unto me?'"
"He did, but instead of administering the ordinance of baptism to them, He took them in His arms and blessed them, declaring at the same time that they were pure and free from sin like unto those who are in the kingdom of heaven. A little {276} child is free from sin, is pure in heart, in fact, is the great example of goodness which Christ points out for us to follow. (Mark x: 13-16.) Baptism, then, is for people who are old enough to embrace it intelligently, not for children who cannot understand its significance, and who already belong to the kingdom of heaven."
"We have now examined three of the fundamental principles of the gospel of salvation. There is one more that I wish to touch upon, after which we will discuss a subject that is of more interest to you, perhaps, than any of these. The principle which I now wish to speak of is the gift of the Holy Ghost, which in olden times always followed obedience to the principles we have discussed, and when once received brought with it some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When the first sermon was delivered after the crucifixion of Christ, at the time when the apostles were endowed with power from on high, a multitude of people were pricked in their hearts, and asked Peter and the rest of the apostles what they should do. Peter answered this all-important question; and so far as authority to do so was concerned, we must admit that he, of all men at that peculiar time, was fully capable, for he was in possession of the keys of the kingdom of God, bestowed upon him by Christ himself. He was the senior apostle, and, with his brethren, had been endowed with power from above. Therefore, he, more than any minister of our day, occupied a place that enabled him to answer correctly, and with authority."
"You are stating the case properly, but what did he tell them?" queried the man of law.
"His answer is found in the second chapter of Acts, beginning with the 38th verse. You will observe that as soon as he discovered that they had faith, he taught them repentance, then baptism for the remission of sins, and followed these doctrines with a promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost."
"Yes, commencing at the verse mentioned it says: 'Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.'"
"But how were they to receive the Holy Ghost?"
"By the laying on of hands. When Peter went down into Samaria for the purpose of bestowing this gift on those whom Philip had baptized, he did it by the laying on of hands. (Acts viii: 17.) Ananias conferred it upon Paul in the same manner (Acts ix: 17), and Paul did the same in the case of those who {277} were baptized at Ephesus (Acts xix: 2-6); and when people received this birth of the Spirit (John iii: 5), they also received the promised blessings; they were entitled to the signs which He promised would follow; for, said He, 'These signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover' (Mark xvi: 17, 18). We have now discovered the conditions: faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, with the promise of Christ that the signs shall follow."
"You must remember, my friend, that the signs were only given in order to establish the church in the days of the apostles; but now they are dispensed with and no longer needed."
"To the law and to the testimony," replied Durant, "and give me chapter and verse to substantiate the assertion you have just made."
"If you will read the 13th chapter of the 1st Corinthians, you will learn that 'whether there be prophecies they shall fail, and whether there be tongues they shall cease.'"
"If you will take pains to read the two verses following, you will see that 'we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.' My friend, instead of this quotation proving that these things are done away, it establishes the assertion that they shall remain until perfection shall come. Surely no reasonable man will say that we have come to perfection."
"I have understood that these gifts were no longer needed. This certainly is the conclusion that the ministers of the day have come to."
"But this is not surprising to me, for this good old Bible declares that the time will come when the people will turn from sound doctrine to fables." (II. Tim. iv: 4.)
"I must admit that you have convinced me that baptism is a necessity, and when I am baptized, the ordinance will be performed in the proper manner," said the doctor.
"I am pleased to learn that, but I may have another surprise for you yet. May I ask, who do you intend shall baptize you?"
"My minister, I suppose; why?"
"If the words of the Bible be true, there may be a doubt as to whether your minister is authorized to baptize you."
"Do you mean that these men, ministers of the gospel, have {278} no authority to officiate in that ordinance? I wonder what you will undertake next, but proceed, for I am now prepared for surprises."
"I assure you, my dear sir, I only wish to refer to a few doctrines from the Bible which are necessary to be understood by you in order that you may obtain eternal life. Thus far we have only examined the first principles of the gospel, but now we will speak of the officers whom Christ placed in His Church, and learn by what means men receive authority to act in the name of God. Paul tells us that God has placed 'first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after which gifts of healing,' etc. (I. Cor. xii: 28), and says the work is built upon the foundation of apostles. (Eph. ii: 20.) He furthermore declares that these officers have been placed in the Church for the work of the ministry, and will remain until we all come to a knowledge of the truth. (Eph. iv: 11-13.) Have all mankind come to a knowledge of the truth? If not, why has the Church dispensed with the officers that God placed in it for the purpose of bringing all to a unity of the faith? Paul tells us that these officers were placed in the Church to keep us from being tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine which is taught by man. (Eph. iv: 12-14.) At the present time, when men declare that they have no need of apostles or prophets, they are divided, and subdivided, and in fact carried about by every doctrine that is promulgated—as Paul saw that they would be, if inspired apostles and prophets were not found to lead them. In losing these officers, the Church lost her authority, together with all her gifts and graces, and the so-called Christian Churches today are disrobed of all her beautiful garments; and even those who pretend to defend her are crying out that her gifts, graces and ordinances are useless in this age of the world. Did Christ establish the true order or did He not? We say He did and would ask, has any man a right to change it? And if any man or even an angel from heaven should alter it in the least, will he not come under the condemnation that Paul uttered when he said: 'Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed?' (Gal. i: 8.) Christ placed these officers and the ordinances in the Church for the perfecting of the Saints; and any one teaching contrary to this is a perverter of the gospel, and an anti-Christ in the full meaning of the word. The difference between the Church of Christ on the one hand, and the Catholic Church, with all her posterity composing the whole protestant world on the other hand, amounts to this: One had apostles, {279} prophets, etc., who led the Church by inspiration or by divine revelation; while the others have learned men to preach learned men's opinions; have colleges to teach divinity instead of the Holy Ghost; instead of preaching the gospel without hire, their ministers must have large salaries each year, and they are not certain of the doctrines which they teach, when they should be in possession of the gift of knowledge, prophecy and revelation. Now then, in what church do we find apostles and prophets?"
The doctor replied, "There are none; but you must remember there must be a preacher, for 'how shall they hear without a preacher?'" (Rom. x: 14.)
"And in the next verse he asks, 'how shall they preach except they be sent?' This same apostle says that no man is to take the honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron. (Heb. v: 4.) Aaron was called by revelation (Ex. iv: 14-17); hence we see that no man is to preach the gospel except he be called by revelation from God. As I said instead of men being called by revelation—as the Bible declares they should be—in our day they argue that God has not revealed Himself for almost eighteen hundred years. Go and ask your minister if he has been called by revelation, and he will tell you that such manifestations are not needed now, which assertion I think will prove to you that he has no authority to baptize for the remission of sins."
"But did not Jesus say, 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel?'"
"He did, but was He then talking to modern ministers? When He gave His apostles authority to preach, did that give all men who feel disposed to take the honor unto themselves, the same authority? He gave His apostles to understand that they had not chosen Him, but He had chosen them (John xv: 16); but in this day men reverse the condition. Then again, He sent His servants into the world to preach His gospel without purse or scrip. (Luke x: 4.) Paul says his reward is this, 'That when I preach the gospel I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.' (I. Cor. ix: 18.) Now, go and ask your minister if he does the same, and I think that you will find that he must have a salary."
"Then what has become of the gospel?" said the lawyer.
"Paul says that the coming of Jesus Christ will not be, save there be 'a falling away' (II. Thess. ii: 3) and that 'in the last days perilous times shall come.' (II. Tim. iii: 1.) People 'will not endure sound doctrine,' but will 'heap to themselves {280} teachers having itching ears, and shall turn from the truth to fables (Tim. iv: 3, 4), and will have a form of godliness, but will deny the power thereof.' (II. Tim. iii: 5.) Peter also says these false teachers will make merchandise of the souls of men. (II. Peter ii: 1-3.) They are doing so by demanding a salary for preparing sermons to tickle the people's itching ears. Micah, iii:11, says, 'The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, 'Is it not the Lord among us?' Now, my friends, do not the different sects of the day present us with a literal fulfillment of all these sayings? Have they not transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance and broken the everlasting covenant? (Isaiah xxiv: 5.) John Wesley in his 94th sermon, referring to the condition of the Church after it had departed from the right way and lose the gifts, says: 'The real cause why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian Church was because the Christians were turned heathen again and had only a dead form left.'"
"It would appear, then, that God has forsaken mankind and left us without any hope," said Mr Marshall.
"No, He has not; but this falling away is the result of mankind forsaking God, by changing His gospel and departing from its teachings, as I have already shown. But He has promised through His servants, that there would be a dispensation when He would gather together all things in Christ (Eph. i: 10), and would restore all things which He has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. (Acts iii: 20, 21.) This dispensation was called the dispensation of the fullness of times. (Eph. i: 10.) Daniel, who received by revelation, the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, saw what would take place in later times, when the God of heaven would set up a kingdom. (Dan. ii: 44.) John, the revelator, while on the desolate island, Patmos (some ninety years after Christ), saw how this gospel would be restored: Namely, that an angel would bring it from heaven. (Rev. xiv: 6), and Christ says it 'shall be preached in all the world as a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.' (Matt. xxiv: 14.) As God is always the same, and has but one plan for the redemption of the human family, we may expect to see the same gospel with like promises preached in a similar way. Where do we find it as it existed anciently? But as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. (Matt. xxiv: 37; Luke xvii: 26, 27.) Noah was sent by the Lord to foretell the coming of the flood, {281} but the people rejected his testimony; in fact, whenever God has revealed His mind and will to men in days gone by, the world, instead of receiving the same, have rejected the message and said all manner of evil concerning the prophets, and in many instances have killed them, as was the case with Christ Himself. Now then, my friends, we are living in the dispensation of the fullness of times when God is gathering together all things in Christ. An angel has come from the heavens and brought the everlasting gospel, and on the 6th day of April, 1830, God—through revelation to man—organized the Church of Jesus Christ, in the exact pattern of the true Church, as it existed in the days of Christ, with apostles, and prophets, and since that day the servants of God have been traveling through the world preaching the same, as a witness that the end will soon come. They call upon mankind to exercise faith in God our eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ; also to repent of and turn from their sins, and be baptized by one who has been called of God by revelation, and receive the laying on of hands for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost. As servants of God they then promise that the convert shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or man (John vii: 17); and, furthermore, that the signs which followed the believers in the days of the ancient apostles will follow the believer at the present time, for the same cause will always produce the same effect. My friends, as a servant of God, I call upon you to obey these principles and you shall have the promised blessings. I am an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My home is in Salt Lake City, Utah."
The listeners were very much surprised, but those who read the quotations from the Bible, were not slow to inform Mr. Durant that the Good Book substantiated his argument. Thanking him for the patient explanation of his belief, each obtained his card containing the articles of faith of his Church, and bidding each other good-night, all retired.
Kind reader, a word before we separate; if you are not a member of what is commonly called the Mormon Church, having read the foregoing pages, you must certainly acknowledge that you know more concerning its doctrines, from a "Mormon" standpoint, than you ever knew before.
We have tried to present to you, in a plain and very simple {282} manner, some of the first principles of our faith, the true gospel of Jesus Christ. What do you think of them? Will they, or will they not, stand scrutiny? It is left with you to answer, and as God has blessed you with free agency, it is your privilege to judge and decide.
Do not treat these doctrines indifferently, nor carelessly throw them aside.
Should they be true, the message is of the utmost importance to you. Surrounded with so many proofs, the faith of the Latter-Day Saints demands your further investigation.
Books, tracts, and sermons, in great numbers, and within easy reach, are at your command. Read, listen, investigate! Thousands have done so before, and bear testimony to having received a knowledge of the divine truth, as herein presented.
I part from you with the words of the poet—
"Know this, that every soul is free
To choose his life and what he'll be,
For this eternal truth is given,
That God will force no man to heaven.
"He'll call, persuade, direct aright—
Bless him with wisdom, love, and light—
In nameless ways be good and kind
But never force the human mind.
"Freedom and reason make us men;
Take these away, what are we then?
Mere animals, and just as well,
The beasts may think of heaven or hell."
BY APOSTLE ORSON HYDE, IN HIS PUBLICATION, "THE FRONTIER GUARDIAN," UNDER DATE OF JUNE 27, 1849, ISSUED AT COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA.
Twenty-seventh of June, 1844. Eventful period in the calendar of the nineteenth century! That awful night! I remember it well: I shall never forget it! Thousands and tens of thousands will never forget it! A solemn thrill—a melancholy awe comes o'er my spirit! The memorable scene is fresh before me! It requires no art of the pencil, no retrospection of history, to portray it. The impression of the Almighty Spirit on that occasion will run parallel with eternity! The scene was not portrayed by earthquake, or thunderings, and lightnings, and tempests; but the majesty and sovereignty of Jehovah was felt far more impressively in the still, small voice of that significant hour, than the roaring of many waters, or the artillery of many thunders, when the spirit of Joseph was driven back to the bosom of God, by an ungrateful and bloodthirsty world! There was an unspeakable something, a portentious significancy on the firmament and among the inhabitants of the earth. Multitudes felt the whisperings of woe and grief, and the forebodings of tribulation and sorrow that they will never forget, though the tongue of man can never utter it. The Saints of God, whether near the scene of blood, or even a thousand miles distant, felt at the very moment the Prophet lay in royal gore, that an awful deed was perpetrated. O, the repulsive chill! the melancholy vibrations of the very air, as the prince of darkness receded in hopeful triumph from the scene of slaughter! That night could not the Saints sleep, though uninformed by man of what had passed with the Seer and Patriarch, and far, far remote from the scene; yet to them sleep refused a visitation—the eyelids refused to close—the hearts of many sighed deeply in secret, and inquired, "Why am I thus?"
One of the Twelve Apostles, while traveling a hundred {284} miles from the scene of assassination, and totally ignorant of what was done, was so unaccountably sad, and filled with such unspeakable anguish of heart without knowing the cause, that he was constrained to turn aside from the road and give utterance to his feelings in tears and supplications to God. Another Apostle, twelve hundred miles distant, while standing in Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, with many others, was similarly affected, and was obliged to turn aside to hide the big tears that gushed thick and long from his eyes. Another, President of the High Priests, while in the distant state of Kentucky, in the solitude of midnight, being marvelously disquieted, God condescended to show him, in a vision, the mangled bodies of the two murdered worthies, all dripping in purple gore, who said to him, "We are murdered by a faithless state and cruel mob."
Shall I attempt to describe the scene at Nauvoo on that memorable evening? If I could, surely you would weep, whatever may be your faith or skepticism, if the feelings of humanity are lodged in your bosom; all prejudice and mirth would slumber, till the eye of pity had bedewed the bier, and the heart had found relief in lamentation. Before another day dawned, the messenger bore the tidings into the afflicted city; the picket guards of the city heard the whisper of murder in silent amazement, as the messenger passed into the city. There the pale muslin signal for gathering the troops hung its drooping folds from the Temple spire (as if partaking of nature's sadness), and made tremulous utterance to the humble soldiery to muster immediately. As the dawn made the signal visible, and the bass tone of the great drum confirmed the call, fathers, husbands, and minor sons, all seized the broken fragment of a dodger, or a scanty bone, for the service that might be long and arduous before their return, or swallowed some thickened milk (as might be the case), and fled to the muster ground; the suspicious mother and children followed to the door and window, anxious to see the gathering hosts emerge from their watch-posts and firesides, where rest and food were scanted to the utmost endurance. The troops continued to arrive, and stood in martial order, with a compressed lip and a quick ear. They waited with deathly but composed silence, to hear the intelligence that mournful spirits had saddened their hearts with during the night. The speaker stood up in the midst, not of a uniform soldiery of hirelings, for they had no wages; their clothing was the workmanship of the diligent domestic—the product of wife and daughters' arduous toil; their rations {285} were drawn from the precarious supplies earned in the intervals between preaching to the states and nations of the earth, and watching against the intrusions and violence of mobs. The speaker announced the martyrdom of the Prophet and Patriarch, and paused under the heavy burden of the intelligence.
But here I must pause; my pen shall touch lightly, as it must feebly, that hallowed—that solemn and ever-memorable hour! The towering indignation; the holy and immutable principle of retribution for crime that dwells eternally in the bosom of God, insensibly impelled the right hand almost to draw the glittering sword, and feel the sharpness of the bayonet's point and its fixedness to the musket's mouth. But the well-planted principle of self-command, and also of observing the order of Heaven and the counsel of the Priesthood, soon returned the deadly steel to the scabbard; and the victorious triumph of loyalty to God, in committing evil-doers to Him that judgeth righteously, and who hath said, "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay," prevailed over the billows of passion; and in the transit of a fleeting moment the holy serenity of the soldiery, depicted by an occasional tear, showed to the angels and men that the tempest of passion was hushed, and wholly under the control of the spirit of wisdom and of God!
It is just as mean and contemptible in the eyes of angels and the Almighty, to go to law, and thereby wrong a fellow-being, as it is to steal his property.
—Brigham Young.
BY ELDER JOHN MORGAN.
"Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."—JOHN v. 39.
"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."—ISAIAH VIII., 20.
We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
We believe that, through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
We believe that to obtain salvation it is necessary to obey the following principles of truth.
The principle of faith is the moving cause of all action. A man must have faith to believe that God will answer his prayers before he will offer them. It requires faith to accomplish any given work to which we set our hands.
Noah had faith in the promise God made to him, while the world of mankind perished through their lack of faith. Faith caused Noah to act, while the unbelieving people of his day, who had not faith, derided and refused to accept his testimony, and the result was that Noah and his household were saved, while destruction overtook the unbelievers.
Lot believed the word of the Lord and fled out of Sodom while the people stood still and perished.
The same results follow the acceptance or rejection of the principle in all ages of the world.
{287} "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. x., 17). "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Heb. xi., 6). "For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto then.: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it" (Heb. iv., 2).
Repentance we believe to be sorrow for and turning from sin, not moaning and groaning over the past and continuing the same way of living; but to quit lying, drinking, swearing, stealing, and to be honest, virtuous, charitable, forgiving, and to serve God in spirit and truth—this is repentance.
"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke xiii., 3). "Repent ye, and believe the Gospel" (Mark i., 15). "Repent * * * * every one of you" (Acts ii., 38). God "commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts xvii., 30). "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbors * * * neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: * * * Let no corrupt communication proceed out Of your mouth, * * grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. * * * Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice" (Eph. iv., 25-31). "Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which * * they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. v., 21).
The necessity for baptism was plainly taught by our Saviour and the Apostles. Comparatively speaking, it stood in the same light to the kingdom or church of God that the oath of allegiance does to any temporal government. Jesus stated to Nicodemus that a man could not enter the kingdom of God without having first obeyed this ordinance.
To become a citizen of an earthly government where a person is not born so, a man is required to subscribed to a certain prescribed oath. To become a citizen of the government of God requires that a person must be baptized in water, in obedience to the command of the Great Head of the government, and the laws of the kingdom as they are found in the Bible, the book of commandments for the Church of Christ.
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved:" (Mark xvi., 15, 16). "Verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John, iii., 5). "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name {288} of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. xxviii., 19). "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you" (Acts ii., 38).
Its form should be by immersion. "Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through faith" (Col. ii., 12.) "Were all baptized of Him in the River of Jordan" (Matt. iii., 6; Mark i., 5-9). "Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water" (Matt. iii., 16; Mark i., 10). "John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there" (John iii., 23). "And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water" (Acts viii., 36-39).
ITS OBJECT.-"John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" (Mark i., 4). "And he came into the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" (Luke iii., 3 ). "Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins" (Acts ii., 38). "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins" (Acts xxii., 16).
The vital importance of this ordinance seems to be entirely overlooked by the majority of the Christian world, yet the most emphatic stress was placed upon it by the early teachers of Christianity. It is referred to frequently by every writer in the New Testament.
The nature of its workings and the manner of obtaining it were carefully dwelt upon by the various writers, and it does seem that only willful blindness could so far lead the people away from the primitive custom and practice of laying on of hands to acquire this gift.
But some may answer, "We are already in possession of the Holy Ghost."
We ask then, "Will it do the same things it did anciently?" If not, why not? What has caused it to lose its power, and become the uncertain teacher it is to-day? For if the Christian world of the present age is in possession of this blessing, why does it teach the people of one church that a certain principle is true, and the people of another church that the same principle is untrue? What of the multiplied thousands of beliefs, creeds, faiths, dogmas and doctrines that flood the land? Are they all inspired by the Spirit of God, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and sustained by the doctrines of the Bible? If not, which are right and which wrong?
{289} These are questions of great importance, and should be well considered. Let the word of God speak for itself in the following quotations:
"And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues and prophesied" (Acts xix., 6). "Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the Apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money" (Acts viii., 17-19). "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of hands of the presbytery" (I. Tim. iv., 14). "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands" (II. Tim. i. 6). "Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands" (Heb. vi., 2). "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. * * * For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another, divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues" (see context, I. Cor. xii). "Our Gospel came, in power * * and in the Holy Ghost" (I. Thess. i., 5). "And ye SHALL receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts ii., 38).
We here introduce the testimony of some of the Christian writers who wrote immediately after the death or banishment of the Apostles:
Tertullian, in the second century, says: "After baptism, succeeds the laying on of hands, with prayer, calling for the Holy Ghost."
Cyprian, writing in the third century, says: "Our practice is, that those who have been baptized in to the church should be presented that by prayer and imposition of hands they may receive the Holy Ghost."
Augustine, in the fourth century, says: "We still do what the Apostles did when they laid their hands on the Samaritans and called down the Holy Ghost upon them" (Gahan's Church History, page 73; Mosheim's Church History, volume I, page 91).
We believe that a man must be endowed with authority before God will recognize his acts as a minister of the Gospel.
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you" (John xv., 16).
"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (II. Peter i., 21).
{290} "He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me" (John xiii., 20).
"As thou has sent me into the world" (John xvii., 18).
"Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. xviii., 18).
"And when they had ordained them elders in every church" (Acts xiv., 23).
"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent? (Rom. x., 14, 15).
"And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron" (Heb. v., 4).[A]
[Footnote A: "Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words into his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth: and will teach you what he shall do." (Exodus iv., 14, 15.)]
"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Gal. i., 8).
These were the principles taught by the Savior and His Apostles, and we see no reason for their alteration and change to the present accepted ideas of the Christian world; and but for
of the primitive Christian church, they would have remained emphatically the same, with apostles, prophets, healings, gifts, tongues, etc., to the present day.
Paul, by the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, wrote to the Saints, prophesying of the future. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (I. Tim., iv,1).
"And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, with the giver of usury to him. * * * The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant (Isaiah, xxiv., 2-5).
"And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the Saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hands until a time and times and the dividing of them" (Dan. vii., 25).
"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the {291} beast. * * * And it was given unto him to make war with the Saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations" (Rev. xiii., 4-7).
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. * * * Let no man deceive you by any means: FOR THAT DAY SHALL NOT COME, except there come a FALLING AWAY FIRST" (II. Thess. ii., 1-3).
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away" (II. Tim. iii., 1-5).
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (II. Tim. iv., 3, 4).
"The priests thereof teach for hire." (Micah iii., 11).
From the foregoing the reader can readily see that the prophets and apostles of God were looking forward to the time when the Saints would be overcome, their church broken up, their officers killed, and no one left upon the earth with authority to administer in the ordinances of the Gospel. No prophets, no apostles, no gift of the Holy Ghost, no one to act as a mouthpiece to the children of men. Only darkness and unbelief, war and bloodshed, strife and contention, division and discord, lo here and lo there.
Through all the long ages, from the day when the power of a corrupt and licentious church overcame the Saints of the Most High, drove them into dens and caves of the mountains; caused them to wander, clothed in sheep skins and the skins of wild animals; killed the prophets of God, and drove the priesthood from the face of the earth, men, left to their own devices, went into such excesses that angels must have wept over their condition.
The laws of God were ignored, the ordinances were changed, and the everlasting covenant was broken. The "woman" (church) arrayed in purple and scarlet, drunken with the blood of the Saints, mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, rose up and bore universal sway; and, as time passed by, gave birth to a legion of Children—churches (Rev. xvii., 4-6).
"The mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the away. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming" (II. Thess. ii., 7 8).
{292} These were the words of the great Apostle; and, reader, by examining the balance of the chapter, you can form some idea of the great power that was to grow up and deceive the nations of the earth, perverting the Gospel, teaching men and women that prophets and apostles were not necessary, that the gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer required; until to-day warring, jarring Christianity has become a spectacle to the whole world.
Confusion confounded reigns supreme—wars and rumors of wars on every hand—until the heart sickens and the soul faints in contemplation of the terrible condition to which poor, suffering, deceived and misguided humanity has been brought.
The power of the evil one would seem to have obtained universal sway over the hearts of men, leading them on the broad road to destruction, with no power sufficient to stem the nightly current of sin.
But a just God has decreed that the day should come when "Righteousness shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the great deep," or in other words, "at the end of a time and times and dividing of time," He would again assert His power and authority on the earth, and bring to pass His purposes.
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Dan. ii., 44).
This prophecy of Daniel affords us some conception of the power of the kingdom. By reading the entire chapter we learn that Daniel's interpretation of the king's dream ended with the setting up of the kingdom of God upon the earth never more to be thrown down.
The Babylonish kingdom, which flourished in the days of Daniel, in the fifth and sixth centuries before Christ, was succeeded by the Medo-Persian government from 538 to 331, B. C. The Macedonian kingdom, founded by Alexander the Great, continued from 331 to 161, B.C.; while the Roman empire succeeded the last named kingdom, from 161, B. C., to 483, A. D.
These governments successively represented the head of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of brass, and the legs of iron.
Now, lastly, should come the kingdoms represented by the feet and toes, or the KINGDOMS OF TO-DAY, partly strong and partly broken. In the days of THESE kings should the God of heaven set up a kingdom never more to be thrown down.
{293} "But," says one, "that was accomplished in the days of Christ!"
No, certainly not; for if so, why then did He, when He instructed His disciples to pray, tell them to pray for an already accomplished fact: "Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven?" Have Christians throughout the world, for nearly two thousand years past, been taught to pray for the coming of an event which had already transpired?
The dividing of times has not yet come: but by turning to the Book of Revelation, we read how the power and authority of God, and the principles of the true and everlasting Gospel were to be restored to the earth; how the kingdom spoken of by Daniel, and prayed for by the disciples, was to be set up never more to be thrown down, how the kingdoms of this world were to become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ; how the promise of Jesus was about to be made good, that upon this ROCK (of revelation) would He found His church, and the gates of hell should not prevail against it, and how the Saints should possess the kingdom of the Most High.
John the Revelator, bound and captive upon the Isle of Patmos, had the vision of heaven opened up to him, and he saw an angel leave the throne of God and wend his flight to this planet. A new song was being sung in heaven; the day and hour had come when the dispensation of the fullness of times was to be ushered in (Eph. i., 10; Matt. xxiv., 31), when God would send His angels to bring order out of chaos, system out of confusion, and gather His people (the honest-in-heart) together in one place, that they might prepare themselves to welcome the Great King of the world when He should come in clouds of glory, surrounded by His angels.
"I saw," says John, "another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him: for the HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT is come" (Rev. xiv., 6, 7).
This, then, was how the gospel was to be restored to the earth.
"But," says the reader, "I thought the Gospel was already upon the earth."
If so, what necessity was there for an angel to come from heaven with the everlasting gospel, if it was already being taught to men? And, dear reader, you can readily see that none are excepted. It was to every nation, kindred, tongue, {294} and people—proving conclusively that the Gospel was not on the earth, but that the day had come when darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the people.
How must the angels around the throne have shouted for joy when the decree went forth, and the commandment was given for the initiatory steps to be taken to reclaim this planet from the grasp of "Lucifer the son of the morning," and to fit and prepare it for the habitation of angels, celestialized beings and God!
How must our mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, in the spirit world, with all the saints of by-gone ages, have rejoiced to know that the redemption of the world was nigh, and the promise of Paul to the Thessalonians (I., iv., 16) that "the dead in Christ shall rise first," was to be made good!
Reader, we now beg of you to lay aside prejudice, and to examine what follows, with an honest intention and a desire to do right; to know the will of God and to do it; for great and mighty events are daily transpiring, that were prophesied of by all the holy prophets, from the days of Adam down until today.
The Gospel that the angel was to bring back to the earth was for every nation.
Angels have not, in times gone by, preached to or taught the masses of the people, but have delegated this power to men. So, in this instance, men became the recipients of the precious charge, the Everlasting Gospel.
TESTIMONY OF THE THREE WITNESSES.
"Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, unto whom this work [A] shall come. * * We declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and engraving thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true, and it is marvelous in our eyes, nevertheless the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it, wherefore to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with Him eternally in the heavens.
"OLIVER COWDERY,
"DAVID WHITMER,
"MARTIN HARRIS."
[Footnote A: The Book of Mormon.]
We have now hurriedly traced the outlines of the doctrines of Jesus Christ as they were in the primitive Christian church; {295} the apostacy of the people from the truth, the fulfillment of the prophecies of great and mighty prophets; the building up of an apostate church, the whore of all the earth, the mother of harlots; noticing the fact that she gave birth to a numerous offspring, who, true to their born instincts, as like begets like, are to-day vigorously engaged in throwing stones at their mother church, or grandmother, as the case may be.
We have shown how the Gospel was to be restored to the earth, and have given the testimony of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon. We will now examine further proof relative to this remarkable proclamation.
We have seen that, so far, it has been incontestably shown that if the Bible be true, in no other way than this could God's work have been brought about. We now quote from the history of Joseph Smith, the great Latter-day Prophet, Seer and Revelator:
"We [Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery] still continued the work of translation; when in the ensuing month [May, 1829,] we on a certain day went into the woods to pray, and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins.
"While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descending in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us; saying unto us—'Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins: and this shall never be taken from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.'
"The messenger who visited us on this occasion, and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament; and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Melchisedec Priesthood, and who in due season visit us and confer that, the higher Priesthood, upon us, which holds the keys of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost and right to all the offices in the church."
Thus was the way opened up for the ushering in of the great latter-day dispensation and the fullness of the everlasting Gospel.
"And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man" (Luke xvii., 26); and as Noah knew when the flood was to come, and prepared himself therefor, so the comparison would not be complete unless some knew of the second coming of the Savior.
"But," says one, "of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matt. xxiv., 36); and the same might have been said appropriately of the {296} birth of our Lord two thousand years prior thereto. But as the first coming was heralded by angels who came to the shepherds upon the plains of Bethlehem, and lighted the earth with their glory, singing the glad songs of "Peace on earth, good will toward men," so His second coming was ushered in by visits to the earth of great and mighty angels.
John the Baptist came to confer the Priesthood of Aaron.
Peter, James and John the Revelator came to confer the Melchisedec Priesthood.
Elijah came (Mal. iv., 5) to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers. (I. Peter iii., 18, 19, 20; iv., 6; I. Cor. xv., 19-29).
Moses came to confer the keys of the gathering of the house of Israel to their promised land—the carrying of the Jews back to Jerusalem, of the ten tribes from the north country (Jer. xxxi., 8, 9; Ezek. xx., 34, 35), and of the descendants of Joseph (The American Indians) to their possessions.
Michael, or Adam, came to give the authority that links the generation of men together, from the days of Father Adam down to to-day.
In short, all the authority necessary has been received to enable men to become co-workers with Jehovah, angels and the spirits of just men made perfect, in building up an everlasting kingdom, instead of the man-made governments of today. A kingdom is to be established to which the Great King shall speedily come, "in the clouds of glory," surrounded by His angels; and the Saints of other days, who are singing the songs of heaven, will speedily have fulfilled the words of John, "He has made us kings and priests unto the Lord our God, and we shall reign on earth."
The promise of Jesus that the "meek shall inherit the earth" is coming to pass, as also the words of Job: "I know that my redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another" (Job xix., 25-27).
All these and many more grand and glorious promises are about to be fulfilled. The decree has gone forth, God hath declared by His own mouth, and the mouths of all the holy prophets, that His power and authority over the earth will be asserted; and who is man, to contend with God?
An appeal is made to the honest in heart to heed this call—to pause, to mediate, to ask God, "who giveth to all men liberally," for wisdom to know what to do.
{297} Here are evidences worthy of their attention:
The testimony of the three witnesses; the signs following the believers; the eyes of the blind opened; the ears of the deaf unstopped; the tongue of the dumb made to sing; the lame man to leap as an hart; devils cast out; unknown tongues spoken, and the interpretation thereof given by the spirit of inspiration; prophecy fulfilled, and the Spirit of God making manifest to the honest in heart the great fact that God has again spoken from the heavens.
Many questions are asked relative to our belief on the subject of gathering, and we again turn to the Scriptures to answer the questions:
These things are not done or spoken in a dark corner, but as good men as are in existence to-day testify of them.
"And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it" (Isa. ii., 2-4).
"And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly" (Isa. v., 26).
"And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel (not the Jews alone, but all Israel) and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth" (Isa. xi., 12).
"I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers" (Jer. xxx., 3).
"Behold I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the coasts of the earth" (Jer. xxxi., 814).
"I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered" (Ezek. xx., 34).
"I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land" (Ezek. xxxvi., 24).
"Blow the trumpet, * * gather the people, * * assemble the Elders (Joel ii., 15, 16).
"And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds" (Matt. xxiv., 31).
"That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth" (Eph. i., 10).
"Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev. xviii., 4).
The reader asks, "What are we to come out of?"
Out of "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth" (Rev. xvii., 5).
"Who and what is that?"
"The waters which thou sawest where the whore (mystery, Babylon) sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Rev. xvii., 15).
{298} So out of every nation, kindred, tongue and people shall the honest in heart be gathered to a great central gathering place, to be protected while the scourges of God pass over the earth. Read the following prophecy and study the signs of the times:
PROPHECY OF JOSEPH SMITH, THE SEER, GIVEN IN 1832.
"Verily thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls.
"The day will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place.
"For behold the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations in order to defend themselves against other nations; and thus war shall be poured out upon all nations.
"And it shall come to pass after many days slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshalled and disciplined for war.
"And it shall come to pass also, that the remnants who are left of the land will marshal themselves, and shall become exceedingly angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation;
"And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed, the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plagues, and earthquakes, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightnings also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath and indignation and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations;
"That the cry of the Saints, and the blood of the Saints, shall cease to come up in the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, from the earth, to be avenged of their enemies.
"Wherefore stand ye in holy places and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen."
Has this prophecy been fulfilled? Let the people of the North and South answer the query.
Let the thoughtful reader stop and reflect for a moment on the condition of affairs upon the face of the whole earth. The sword is reaping its harvest of death; nation warring against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Famine is asserting its sway and untold thousands are starving, perishing, dying for lack of food. Pestilence, in all its horrid forms, stalks in the train of these dire calamities. Earthquakes are making the earth to tremble. Storms, whirlwinds and cyclones are sweeping away cities, towns and villages. The sea, heaving itself beyond its bounds, is thundering its testimonies into the ears of the children of men. Signs in the heavens above and in the earth beneath, betoken the fact that great and mighty events are at our doors. Fear has taken hold upon the hearts of the {299} strong men and the mighty men. Man distrusts his fellowman. Nations and people have become corrupted; fraud and speculation are sapping the vitals of the man-made governments of the earth. The people are tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine that comes along, and when will the end be?
Startle not, reader, for it will not be until He comes whose right is to rule and reign as King of kings. Not until Jesus of Nazareth sets His feet upon the earth and brings order out of chaos, system out of confusion, and bids the angry waves of the sin-tossed world, "Peace, be still," will there be peace among men.
"Now," says one, "I understand His meaning when He said, 'I come not to bring peace, but a sword;'" but thanks be to the Most High, the day is near at hand when "the meek shall inherit the earth," when sorrow and sighing shall flee away, when "the tabernacle of God," will be "with men, and He will dwell with them. * * And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain" (Rev. xxi., 3, 4).
But oh! the woe, the want, the misery, the evils and the lamentation that will go up from the face of the earth before that day does come! All ye people of the earth, heed, oh, heed the warning voice that God sends to you and go out from the midst of Babylon ere another angel shall fly through the midst of heaven saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen."
Ye Saints of the living God, cease not your efforts until your feet stand in safe places, in the tops of the mountains, in the shadow of "the house of the God of Jacob," where you may more fully learn of "His ways and walk in His paths;" for the day is near at hand when "the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Micah iv., 2).
The time is fast approaching when the "kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ," and when John's prophetic vision shall be fulfilled: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, * * * and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Rev. xx., 4).
The time has come for the righteous-the redeemed "out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation," to be gathered out, to become kings and priests unto God, and to "reign on the earth" (Rev. v., 9, 10). {300}
In brief manner this subject has been previously alluded to, but a more extended examination is deemed necessary, owing to the importance that attaches to it.
This principle enters largely into every department of man's existence upon the earth. Governments are mainly founded upon it, and authority is fundamentally necessary to establish republics, empires, monarchies and principalities.
The President of the United States must first conform to certain laws and requirements before his acts as President are legal and binding upon the people; so also with all the affairs of the general government. And this is likewise true of the state officials, including the governors, judges, legislators, sheriffs, magistrates, and even the unimportant office of bailiff can only be filled by a man who has fulfilled all the requirements necessary and demanded by the law of the land.
A man who would undertake to fill one of the offices alluded to, without conforming to the law, would be counted an impostor and dealt with as the law directs.
All civilized nations recognize this principle and act accordingly. Even church organizations place great stress upon the necessity that there exists for men to be ordained to their several offices; and a man, before he can legally perform, the marriage ceremony, must first conform to certain rules and laws laid down by the church authority to render the marriage legal. A lay member could not act in the capacity of an elder until authority had been granted him by those who held the power to give authority. Neither could an elder fill the office of a bishop without first conforming to certain rules.
These rules are necessary to the good government of society and the people generally, and without them confusion confounded would reign supreme.
If every man who desired to act as governor was to set up his claims and be allowed to act in that capacity, there would be an end to order. So with all other offices. A few men would sustain one man, as governor, other men would sustain another man, and still other men would sustain their man, until eventually brute force would be the means whereby men would hold their offices.
This principle applies also to admitting men to be citizens of a government. A man who comes from some foreign nation and seeks to become a citizen of the United States must obtain his papers of citizenship and take the oath of allegiance. Not only must he attend to these duties, but he must see that the {301} officer who signs his papers and administers the oath is a duly accredited officer of the government; otherwise his papers are worthless and he is not yet a citizen.
If these things be true as regards man's temporal affairs, how much more true are they when applied to eternal salvation.
Daniel, the young Hebrew prophet, had the visions of futurity opened up to him and saw the time when God would establish a kingdom upon the earth, never more to be thrown down. (Dan. ii., 44; vii., 27).
Many hundreds of years after Daniel's day, Jesus of Nazareth came upon the earth and reiterated the assertion of Daniel, and told His disciples to continue "unceasingly to pray for that kingdom to be set up," and through one of His apostles He revealed how the kingdom was to be established.
John the beloved disciple says: "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel" [or the laws of the kingdom] "to preach" [or proclaim] "unto them that dwell on the earth" (Rev. xiv., 6).
It would naturally be supposed that the heavenly messenger would be endowed with authority to empower men to admit citizens into the kingdom he came to establish, and that no one could take this authority unto himself, "but he that is called of God as was Aaron;" and that he who might dare to do so, without first being authorized, would render himself liable to the penalty God's law inflicts upon all impostors, usurpers and wolves in sheep's clothing generally.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God," was the command of the Great King, who in the future is to rule over this kingdom. But before the reader can do so he must first find out what it is like; and in this matter we are not left in doubt, for Jesus and His apostles have placed upon record the names of the officers necessary in the kingdom, the necessary laws to govern and control it, the manner of admitting citizens and, in short, all the details, so that the "wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err" in seeking to obey the command, "seek ye first the kingdom of God."
By turning to the writings of Paul (I. Cor. xii., 28), we find that "God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers."
Now if this is the pattern of the officers of the kingdom (church), all we have to do is to start upon our search and examine the various claims that are set up; for there are a multitude of organizations that lay claim to the title of the church or kingdom of God.
It is not necessary to hunt in the midst of the heathen and {302} pagan nations of the earth, for they lay no claim to the title, but will answer you frankly, "We know nothing of your kingdom or its officers." Then let us turn to the Catholic world and examine their claims. We find that they have a pope, cardinals and priests, but no apostles nor prophets, no officers to correspond with the description given by Paul. Next let us view the Protestant denominations. Go back to the earliest reformers, Huss, Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin, Knox, Henry VIII, and Wesley. Examine all their organizations and we find none of them lay claim to having these officers in their churches, but, on the contrary, ignore and repudiate them by saying, "They are no longer needed."
Examine all denominations, all orders, all faiths, and we find that in this respect they are deficient and lacking, while poor, weak, fallible man sets up his judgment, and by man's wisdom seeks to enter the kingdom of God.
The Christian world acknowledges that it takes legal authority to make a man a citizen of any temporal government set up by man, but when it comes to the government of God, any man who sees proper to do so can set out with a new set of ideas, called a creed, and establish a church, baptize, bless the communion, and go forward in this way, ordaining men to various offices, and yet denying all the time that God has revealed anything, or bestowed any gift of authority.
Are these legal officers of the kingdom of God? Is the reader so far lost in the mazes of tradition as to suppose for one moment that God will recognize officers appointed in any such way, much less their acts?
But lest we do injustice to these different denominations, let us give them one more chance to prove their position correct; for we would gladly avoid seeing the whole Christian world in error and transgression.
Paul, the great apostle, says that God placed in the Church, in addition to its officers, "miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues," and urged upon the people to seek earnestly for these gifts.
Search the world over and find, if you can, an organization, other than that represented by the Latter-Day Saints, that lays claim to and possesses these great blessings.
The Christian world, having changed the order of the Church of God, have lost these gifts, and in endeavoring to justify themselves, say they are no longer needed. Some of them, more honorable than the rest, acknowledge the true state of affairs and confess the lamentable condition they are in.
{303} Mr. Wesley states that the reason the gifts are no longer in the church "is because the love of many waxed cold, and the Christians had turned heathen again, and had only a dead form left" (see Vol. I, Sermon 94).
Smith's Bible Dictionary (page 163) also says: "We must not expect to see the church of holy scriptures actually existing in its perfection on the earth. It is not to be found thus perfect, either in the collected fragments of Christendom, or still less in any of those fragments." The names of sixty-five learned divines and Biblical scholars are on the preface page, as contributors to and endorsers of this book.
Dr. Adam Clark, in his commentaries (page 452) on the 4th chapter of Ephesians, says: "All these officers and the gifts and graces conferred upon them were judged necessary by the Great Head of the church, for its full instruction in the important doctrines of Christianity. The same officers and gifts are still necessary, and God gives them, but they do not know their places."
Roger Williams refused to continue as pastor over the oldest Baptist church in America, on the grounds that there was "no regularly constituted church on earth, nor any person authorized to administer any church ordinance; nor can there be until new apostles are sent by the Great Head of the church, for whose coming I am seeking" (see Picturesque America, page 502).
"Till that great and notable day of the Lord come, we can not, from the prophetic word, anticipate a universal RETURN to the original Gospel, or a general restoration of the kingdom of God, in its primitive form" (Christianity Restored, Alex. Campbell, page 181).
Having brought forward for the consideration of the reader the foregoing points, we now proceed to examine the results that will naturally flow from this terrible situation of affairs; and while we do so, we plead with you, reader, to lay aside prejudice, and, as you value your soul's salvation, seek earnestly to know the truth; "for what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"
Having thrown aside the officers of the church, Christianity lost its authority and could no longer administer in the ordinances of the Gospel for the salvation of the souls of the children of men. Instead of the officers and endowments of the kingdom or church of God, man-made doctrines and changeable creeds have been substituted, until to-day the Christian world is "driven and tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine." Weakness, imbecility and lack of authority are {304} written on its every movement; vice, sin and wrong-doing prosper and flourish under the very droppings of the sanctuary.
To-day one theory is taught, tomorrow another. Men have "builded cisterns that will not contain water;" in short, have turned from the apostle at the head of the church, and the prophet in the church of the living God, and heaped to themselves teachers, having itching ears, who have turned the hearts of the people from the truth, and led them astray after fables, until "darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people."
Conflicting creeds and faiths fill the world with a war of words, until the hearts of honest men become sick, sick!—sick of the petty jealousies and miserable trickery of professing Christianity—sending the blood-guilty murderer, with his hands reeking with the blood of his victims, from the gallows to eternal glory and the presence of Deity; while an honest man, because he differs from them in belief, must be consigned to a never ending hell!
Oh consistency! thy name is not modern Christianity!
Without apostles, without prophets, without the gifts, without authority, shorn of all thy pristine beauty and loveliness, all thy grandeur and glorious attributes; torn and divided into a multitude of fragments, continually dividing and sub-dividing, thy talk sounds like that of the scribes of old, "without authority."
And what of thy teachers? "Blind leaders of the blind." Prophecy foretells their doom: Struggling to uphold the columns of the house of Babylon, the dwelling place of "the mother of harlots," and her numerous offspring, they will be crushed in her downfall, unless they speedily repent and turn to the true and living God, be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, and receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, that will "lead them into all truth, and bring to their remembrance things of the past, and show them things to come," for the promise is unto all that "the Lord our God shall call." To members of churches as well as non-members—to the whole world does this proclamation come.
God has set up His Kingdom, or church, upon the earth, never more to be thrown down. His duly appointed and authorized officers are ready to admit men and women as citizens of this kingdom, or church. He or she who hears the sound of this gospel and heeds it not will be under condemnation. He or she who heeds and renders obedience to it will reap life everlasting.
God will not recognize the man-made devices whereby men {305} seek to save themselves by climbing up some other way. He will repudiate the acts of unauthorized men who administer in the ordinances of the gospel; and after once this gospel comes to their ears, if they persist in their course, it will bring condemnation upon their heads. Before they heard it, "they had no sin," in not obeying; now "they have no cloak for their sin," the truth having been taught.
"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of my myself" (John vii., 17).
May the peaceful influence of the Holy Spirit be with those who desire to know the truth, and come unto God, and serve Him with all their "might, mind and strength."
"As we see the infant taken away by death, so may the youth and middle-aged, as well as the infant, be suddenly called into eternity. Let this, then, prove as a warning to all, not to procrastinate repentance, or wait until upon the death-bed, for it is the will of God that man should repent and serve Him in health, and in the strength and power of his mind, in order to secure His blessing, and not wait until he is called to die."
—Joseph Smith.
THE PLAN OF SALVATION.
BY ELDER JOHN MORGAN.
In the midst of the Christian world there are very many conflicting theories in relation to man's existence here and hereafter; also as to the duties he owes to himself, his fellowman and to his Creator. It is an undisputed question that some knowledge of
WHERE WE CAME FROM, WHY WE ARE HERE, AND WHERE WE GO AFTER WE LEAVE THIS PROBATION,
is essential to the enjoyment and well-being of the human family.
In the following pages of this tract we shall seek to briefly set forth the belief of the Latter-day Saints on these points. While they may differ widely from the accepted ideas of the Christian world, we may be allowed to mildly suggest that the difference is not so much between those sects of the day and the Latter-day Saints, as it is between those sects and the Bible, a fact for which we are in no sense responsible, and a fact that we can in nowise alter or change, even were we so disposed.
It is deemed proper in the commencement of this investigation to refer to another point so that we may clearly understand each other. It is this: sincerity of belief does not, by any means, establish the correctness of a principle. Testimony of an unimpeachable character can alone do that. Man's belief does not affect a principle in the least. The whole world may believe it, and yet it be untrue; the whole world may refuse to believe it, and yet it be true. The unbelief of the people of Noah's day did not stay the flood; the unbelief of the Jews did not prove Jesus an impostor; and the killing of the apostles did not prove their doctrines false. The assassination of Joseph Smith was no proof one way or another as to the divine nature of his authority; neither will the rejection of the doctrines he taught prove them wrong. If they {307} are true, though he was slain, his followers mobbed, driven and persecuted, yet in the end they will rise triumphant over every obstacle and grow stronger and stronger, as error shall grow weaker and weaker.
In presenting the principles of pre-existence the first principles of the gospel and baptism for the dead, we shall simply quote scripture; and we again state that if there is any difference of opinion, it is between the reader and holy writ.
The Apostle Paul's injunction to the Thessalonians was: "Prove all things: hold fast that which is good" (I Thess. v. 21); and the wise man, Solomon, asserted: "He that judgeth a matter before he heareth it, is not wise."
Let us, then, refer to the word of the Lord, which is the end of argument, and see what the teachings of the Great Creator of all are.
Speaking to Job, one of the most ancient writers of the Bible, He says: "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? * * * When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job xxxviii, 2-7.)
Job certainly must have been somewhere when the "foundations of the earth were laid," or why the question?
There was doubtless more meaning to the words, "When ALL the sons of God shouted for joy," than one at first supposes. The reader asks, "Who were these sons of God?" Luke, in giving the genealogy of the human family, gives the necessary information on this subject: "Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the SON OF GOD" (Luke iii, 38). But let us turn to another text. One of the ancient writers says: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." (Ecc. xii, 7).
Let us ask ourselves how it would be possible to return to a place, point or locality, which we had never visited. How could we return to God unless we had once been in His presence? The logical conclusion is unavoidable, that to enable us to return to Him we must have once enjoyed His associations, which must have been in a pre-existent state, before we became clothed upon with this body of flesh and bone.
Again, we find that the apostles must have had some conception of pre-existence, judging from their question to Jesus: "Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John ix, 2.) It will, doubtless, require no argument {308} to convince the reader that the justice of God would scarcely permit the punishment of the individual before the crime was committed. If so, then the sin must have been committed before he came upon the earth, for he was born blind. It was evident that the question was not a doubtful one in the minds of the apostles as to whether a man could sin previous to his existence in the flesh, but as to whether this particular man had sinned or not.
Paul, in his writings to the Hebrews, says: "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" (Heb. xii. 9.) We here gain the information as to who the sons of God were who shouted for joy in the beginning. We also learn the reason why we address Him as, "Our Father which art in heaven," is to distinguish Him from the father of our earthly tabernacles. In other words, He is the Father of the spirits that inhabit our bodies, in precisely the same sense that our earthly fathers are the fathers of our bodies of flesh and bone.
When death ensues, we bury the earthly body, which decomposes and mingles with the elements surrounding its place of deposit; but what of the spirit which "returns unto God who gave it?"
When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, "They were affrighted, and supposed they had seen a spirit." But He corrected them, saying, "Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke xxiv. 37-39). From these, words we may gather the information that man, while existing as a spirit, was not clothed upon with flesh and bone, but nevertheless, existed in the exact shape and form that he now possesses. He had eyes to see, ears to hear and many other faculties with which man is here endowed. He was also doubtless in possession of intelligence, and much that goes to ennoble man. He had the ability to pass from place to place, increase in knowledge, and perform certain duties that devolved upon him in that sphere of action.
An unembodied spirit is one that has not yet taken upon itself a body. An embodied spirit is one dwelling in the flesh. A disembodied spirit is one that has passed through this stage of existence and laid its body down in the grave, to be finally taken up and again united, spirit and body, those of the righteous never more to be separated.
The word of the Lord to Jeremiah was: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a {309} prophet unto the nations" (Jer. i. 5). Here we have the sure word of the Lord relating to one of the children of men who was but a type of the rest, only that in this particular case we have the fact made known that, for good and sufficient reasons, our common Father in the heavens saw proper to ordain one of His children to a certain office prior to sending him down upon the earth. Having so gained the confidence of his Father while in his first or pre-existent state, he was ordained to a high and holy calling, previous to his advent upon the earth, and we learn from holy writ, that this confidence was not misplaced, but that he in honor filled his mission and proved himself true to the trust reposed in him, not veering or turning a hair's breath from the line of his duty, though met by obstacles that would have appalled the stoutest heart.
The reader will please be cautious not to confound the principle of fore-ordination with that of predestination, in the case of Jeremiah, for there is a broad distinction between the two. A man may be fore-ordained, set apart or commanded to do a certain work, yet he retains his agency in the matter, and it is optional with him whether he performs the duty assigned him or not. If predestined to perform a certain work, there would be no choice but to do that work. Not having any choice, he would not incur the responsibility of his own actions, nor control them, but would be controlled by the power which predestined him. While Jeremiah was fore-ordained to be a prophet to the nations, we do not read that he was predestined to fill the office of a prophet by any means.
The principle of pre-existence is plainly illustrated in the life of our Savior, who thus spoke to the people: "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?" (John vi. 62.) Again, "And no man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven." To all human appearances, Jesus resembled very much the rest of the children of our common Father. So close was this resemblance, that those by whom He was surrounded failed to see any contrast between Him and any ordinary man. They enquired of each other, "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren James and Joses, and Simon and Judas?"
Let us ask ourselves the question: Is it so difficult to comprehend our own pre-existence, when that of Jesus is so plainly taught, and also that of many of the Biblical characters of whom we read? Paul, the great apostle, speaking of himself, says, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." (Titus i. 2.) Here {310} was a promise made to Paul of eternal life, "before the world began," continued upon obedience, as was said to Cain aforetime, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" (Gen. iv, 7.) Yet, notwithstanding this promise, Paul was under the necessity of performing certain duties to enable him to claim the promise made. After being stricken with blindness on the way up to Damascus, and hearing the voice of a risen Redeemer, he was told to "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." (Acts ix. 6.) After fasting and prayer, he was visited at the end of three days, by one Ananias, who had been commanded of the Lord, in vision, to visit Paul, and was furthermore told that he was a "chosen vessel," or in other words, one whom the Lord had made promises to, before the "world began," and who had a mission to perform before "Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." The question of Ananias was, "And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts xxii. 16.)
We have presented for the consideration of the reader but a few Biblical proofs of man's pre-existence, out of the many that can be selected, yet consider that sufficient has been advanced to show conclusively that the claim of the Latter-day Saints to a belief in this principle, is founded upon holy writ. Their ideas only coincide with the prophets and servants of God in all ages of the world who have alluded to this subject.
Having answered this question: Where did we come from? let us now consider
A wise Creator must have had some great object in view in the creation of the earth, and placing upon it His children, to pass through what they are called upon to, while in this probation. A knowledge of this object is almost positively necessary to enable the human family to act well their part. Let us then examine what He had in view.
The primary object of man's existence upon the earth, is to obtain a body of flesh and bone; for without this it is impossible to advance in the grand scale of being in which he is to move, in the eternal worlds.
It is necessary also for him to learn, by actual experience, the difference between good and evil. As was said of our first parents, "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil." (Gen. iii. 22.) It is necessary that man should taste the bitter to enable him to appreciate the sweet. No proper appreciation of the value of {311} eternal life could be arrived at, without having experienced its opposition.
A man must first feel the effects of sickness to enable him to fully appreciate the great boon of health. He must feel the effects of pain before he can enjoy immunity therefrom. He must feel the influence and power of death, before he can appreciate eternal life. He must comprehend the effects of sin, before he can enjoy "the rest promised to the faithful." There are many experiences that he can gain in the flesh that cannot be obtained elsewhere. There are ordinances to be performed and eternal unions to be perfected, that in the wise economy of the great Creator, must be effected here on the earth. Baptism for the remission of sins and marriages for eternity, are prominent features of duty that devolve upon man in his second estate, or during his existence upon the earth. It is not all of man's duty to care for himself alone, to selfishly neglect his fellow man, and seek aggrandizement himself at their expense. "Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you," is called the Golden Rule, by which men should be governed in this life. In brief, man has a work to do to prepare himself for a future exaltation in the eternities to come. He is called upon to "work out his salvation with fear and trembling," for the work done in this life will have its influence in that to come. By obedience to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, he prepares himself for the grand and glorious exaltation held in reserve for those who worship God in "spirit and in truth." As Jesus said to His apostles, "I go to prepare a place for you," for "in my Father's house are many mansions."
Having learned why we are here, let us next examine what is the nature of the duties devolving upon us.
To enable a man to perform any work whatever, requires that he have faith in the ultimate result of his work. No farmer would plant, unless he expected to reap; no builder build, unless he expected to inhabit; no speculator invest, unless he expected to increase his means; no journey would be attempted, unless there existed hope of reaching the destination. So, likewise, no commandment of God would be obeyed, unless there existed faith that certain blessings would follow obedience.
With this idea plainly before us, we can comprehend the assertion of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to {312} God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Heb. xi. 6).
We find the active workings of the principles of faith in the many cases of healing performed by our Savior. "Thy faith hath made thee whole," was the invariable remark He made to one and all: and we find Him speaking to the apostles in the strongest terms about their lack of this great principle. Upon one occasion they came to Him with the question, "Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." (Matt. xvii. 19, 20.) Again we read, "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (Matt. xiii. 58), or in other words, they had no faith in the claim he made of being the Messiah; consequently they were deprived of the blessings that fell to those that had faith, as mankind today are depriving themselves of many great and glorious blessings, through their unbelief in the divine calling of Joseph Smith, the prophet and seer.
We often hear the same cry today that greeted the ears of Jesus, "Master, we would see a sign from thee." But He answered and said unto them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." (Matt. xii. 38, 39).
What was true of the generation was true of the individual, and what was true then is true now, which places sign-seekers in a most unenviable position, but doubtless where they justly belong. Faith is not produced by sign-seeking, but in the words of Paul, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom. x. 17).
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, He left this grand test of faith upon record, to serve as a guide for all future generations: "And these signs shall follow them that believe" (or have faith): "In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark xvi. 17, 18).
"But," says one, "was it not intended that these gifts and blessings should be limited to the days of the apostles, and to the apostles themselves?" Read again, "shall follow them that believe;" and again the preceding verse reads, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." If you limit the signs following the believer to the days of the apostles you must also limit a salvation to that day. But it is today as it was in the {313} day Paul wrote to the Hebrews: "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." (Heb. iv. 2).
The cultivation of this principle of faith is the first step in our duties in this life. The second step is that of
"Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin." (Ezek. xviii. 30). "Let the wicked forsake his way" (Isa. lv. 7). "Repent * * * every one of you" (Acts ii. 38). "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke xiii. 3).
We understand that repentance does not consist in mourning over sins committed, and then repeating the same sin or one equally heinous, but that Ezekiel meant for the people to cease from doing wrong, to quit their evil practices, and walk in the path of rectitude, virtue and true holiness. "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death." (II. Cor. vii. 10). We believe that the "sorrow of the world" here alluded to, is the too-prevalent practice of crying, groaning and moaning over our wrong-doings, and then continuing the same practices.
The third step for man to take in this life to secure salvation in the eternal world, is to be
"He that believeth" (that is, he that hath faith) "and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark xvi. 16), was the emphatic assertion of our Savior. Again, we find that man came under condemnation by refusing obedience to this commandment:
"But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him" (Luke vii. 30). So the world of today will, in the end, find themselves under condemnation for refusing to obey this principle of the gospel.
"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John iii. 5).
Paul, writing to the Hebrews, says: "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrines of Christ, let us go on unto perfection: not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands." (Heb. vi. 1-2). Here are four principles all classed together, all equally important, all {314} equally necessary, and all required at our hands by those fixed and eternal laws of truth and justice, by which the worlds are governed, and by which we may return back into the presence of God, and dwell with the just and true and the pure of all ages.
The fourth step necessary for man to take while in this state of probation, is to receive
for the reception of the Holy Ghost. This is a principle, to a great extent, ignored by the Christian world, yet plainly taught in the scriptures.
Peter, and his brethren of the twelve, had doubtless all been baptized, and endeavored to lead holy lives during their association with Jesus; yet we find Him, just previous to His ascension on high, telling them: "Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them." (Luke xxiv. 49, 50).
We find a still further explanation of the manner of obtaining this gift and blessing, in the Acts of the Apostles, where He "commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence" (Acts i. 4, 5).
Turning to the account of the ministry of Philip, in Samaria, we find that after the Samaritans had exercised FAITH sufficient to cause them to repent, they had been BAPTIZED under the hands of Philip. "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost (for as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost" (Acts viii. 14-17).
Paul, writing to Timothy, charged him thus: "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery" (I. Tim. iv. 14); and again, "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands" (II. Tim. i. 6).
We also call the attention of the reader to the account of {315} Paul's visit to the baptized Saints of Ephesus, and his inquiry of them: "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. * * * Then they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them: and they spake with tongues and prophesied" (Acts xix. 2-5).
Sufficient has doubtless been said to clearly establish the fact that the gift of the Holy Ghost was formerly obtained by the laying on of the hands of those who held the authority to do so. Nowhere do we find that the order here laid down has been supplanted or annulled. On the contrary, the apostles spoke in the strongest terms against any innovation upon the established forms that Jesus taught them.
Paul, writing to the Galatians, speaks of those who were "perverting" the gospel; doubtless teaching that the laying on of hands was not necessary, or else that it was done away with, and says, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Gal. i. 8).
The reader has now examined the fourth step for man's advancement in the probation in which he is now living: and in the words of our Savior, "He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber" (John x. 1).
We have traced man from a pre-existent state, before the world began, when he dwelt in the presence of the Father and of our elder Brother Jesus, and mingled with the spirits who have or shall come into this sphere of action.
As it is beautifully expressed in one of the songs of Zion:
"Oh, my Father, Thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place!
When shall I regain Thy presence,
And again behold Thy face?
In Thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside?
In my first, primeval childhood,
Was I nurtured near Thy side?
"For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth,
And withheld the recollection,
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whisper'd, 'You're a stranger here;'
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere."
{316} This is certainly a grander and nobler conception of man's origin than that of some of the would-be philosophers of today, who advocate the idea of evolution from a lower scale.
Having described the nature of the duties (to have faith in God and His promises, to repent of his sins, to be baptized for their remission, and to receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost) that he must perform in this life to lay a foundation for future exaltation, we now turn to the consideration of man's
Upon this subject there is a great diversity of opinion among men, and almost every possible conjecture has, from time to time, held the attention of the human family. If we are to judge by the accepted creeds of the Christian world, we find that an almost universal belief exists in future punishment.
We find also that the fear of future punishment is used as a mighty power to influence the minds of the people in a religious sense. The fearful horrors of a never-ending punishment of the guilty are portrayed in the liveliest colors from the Christian pulpits of the land. They are so clearly defined, that in many instances we find that the love and justice of God are lost sight of in the description of the fearful character of the punishment He inflicts, not so much upon unbelievers as upon those who reject the creeds, articles of faith and discipline, whereby men seek to "know God."
Let the reader lay aside preconceived notions, tradition and prejudice, and examine this subject with a desire to know the truth.
We shall again refer to holy writ, and ask the candid attention of the reader to the proofs we place before him.
If we had the history of two persons, the one good and the other bad, after they left the earth, or laid down their bodies in death, it would serve as a guide to decide upon the future destiny of the whole human family. Fortunately, there is left upon record such information, and by it we can determine this all-important question.
No one will dispute the assertion that Jesus of Nazareth was appropriately termed the "Just One," a person of pure and holy life.
The confession of guilt by one of the men crucified beside Jesus, is testimony enough to convict him of being a bad man. "We receive the due rewards of our deeds; but this man hath done nothing amiss" (Luke xxiii, 41), were the words of the {317} malefactor, thus confessing that death was the proper penalty for the many crimes that he was guilty of.
Now, here are two persons that were born upon the earth, lived out a certain number of years, and then laid down their lives, their bodies becoming cold and inanimate in death, while their spirits, freed from their earthly tenements, passed into another stage of existence, leaving their remains to be cared for in the ordinary rites of sepulture.
While suffering the agonies of crucifixion, a conversation was carried on between them, which will serve our purpose in opening up an investigation.
"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise:" (Luke xxiii, 42, 43.)
The request of the thief was so favorably looked upon, that he had the promise made that he should accompany Jesus to a place which He designated as paradise. He could not have consistently granted him the privilege of entering into His kingdom, when He had replied to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born of water" (baptized) "and of the Spirit" (receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost), "he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John ii, 5.) The thief, not having attended to these ordinances, could lay no claim to that privilege; but, says Jesus, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."
We are aware that the majority of the Bible-believing world are of the opinion that the thief was permitted to enter heaven, and enjoy the presence of God; but is this idea a correct one? Let us candidly examine it and see; for on it hangs a great principle of truth.
After the body of Jesus had lain three days in the tomb, the spirit again entered into it. The angels rolled the stone away from the mouth of the sepulchre, and the resurrected Redeemer of the world walked forth, clothed upon with an immortal body of flesh and bones.
Mary, who seemed to have some special interest in the Savior, came early to the tomb, and, weeping, discovered that the body of her Master was not there. A voice spake to her, saying, "Mary." She turned herself, and saith unto him, "Rabboni;" which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, "Touch me not; for I AM NOT YET ASCENDED TO MY FATHER: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father: and to my God and your God." (John xx, 16, 17.)
{318} Here we have the assertion of Jesus, Himself, that during the three days immediately subsequent to His crucifixion, while His body lay in the tomb, His spirit did not go into heaven or the presence of His Father. Logically, it must follow, neither did that of the thief. The generally-accepted idea, therefore, of the thief's being saved, must inevitably fall to the ground. Jesus asserted that "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise," and upon His return to earth He informed Mary that He had not ascended to His Father.
The question naturally arises, where had He been during these three days? We are not left in doubt upon this point, but scripture plainly points out the character of the duties He was called upon to perform while His body rested in peace in the newly-made tomb of Joseph. He to whom Jesus transferred the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and who stood at the head of the twelve apostles, would certainly be accepted as a competent witness in this matter; and, by turning to his epistles, we gain this information: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also He went and PREACHED UNTO THE SPIRITS IN PRISON." (I. Peter iii, 18, 19.) Here we have an account of what He was doing during the three days' absence from the body: preaching unto the spirits in prison, also a very clear explanation as to where the thief went. It was to a prison world, where he would have an opportunity to hear the Savior preach the gospel of deliverance to the captive spirits, "Which some time were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah." (I. Peter iii, 20.)
We now understand what Isaiah, the prophet, meant when speaking of Jesus. He says, "That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth" (Isaiah xlix,); and again, "He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound" (Isaiah lxi, 1); and again, "To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house" (Isaiah xlii, 7.)
How appropriately do these passages coincide with and support the assertion of Peter relative to Jesus preaching to the "spirits in prison!" Men, who in the days of the flood failed to obey the commandments of God, and for two thousand long, weary years had suffered the penalty for their wrong doing, had been fulfilling the principle so clearly enunciated by our Savior when He said, "Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid {319} the uttermost farthing." (Matt. v, 26.) "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes." (Luke xii, 47, 48.)
With what joy must these long-suffering spirits, held in confinement, have greeted the Redeemer when He appeared and preached to them the glad tidings of great joy, and presented for their acceptance the EVERLASTING GOSPEL! Through its means they could have their prison doors opened, and themselves delivered from the grasp of Lucifer, the son of the morning, who is appropriately described as one who "made the earth to tremble, and did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners." (Isaiah xiv, 16, 17.)
How grand and glorious is the plan of salvation that the Creator has ordained for His children, reaching from eternity to eternity, and covering in its details every possible emergency; controlling, guiding and directing their footsteps while in a pre-existing state; teaching them while sojourners upon the earth, and extending beyond the grave into the spirit world, there to cause their hearts to rejoice and gladden under its benign influence, growing and increasing in might and majesty, power and glory, as the ages roll by, until the inspired words of our divine Master shall be fulfilled: "Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess."
Well might Jesus say to the apostles just previous to His death, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice" (John v. 25, 28).
Turning again to the epistle of Peter, we find this assertion: "Who shall give an account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (I. Peter iv. 5, 6.)
Jesus, upon one occasion, when explaining the gospel to the apostles, said, "Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come" (Matt. xii. 32).
This, in perfect plainness, explains itself to mean, that there is a class of sins that can be forgiven in this world, and a class {320} that cannot; also that there is a class of sins that can be forgiven in the world to come, and a class that cannot.
Peter, speaking of the patriarch David, says, "For David is not ascended into the heavens" (Acts ii. 34). But David himself, knowing full well that the mercy of the Lord endureth forever, says, "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell." (Psalms xvi. 10). He knew that after he had paid the penalty of the deeds done in the body, there would be a way whereby he might gain a place in the midst of the righteous in the presence of God.
If the present generation desire to know what will be the result of their disobedience to the proclamation of the principles of the gospel, and their contending against the servants of God who proclaim them, let them read what Isaiah says: "The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage. * * * And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the hosts of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited" (Isaiah xxiv. 20-22).
After having waited, perhaps, as long as they did who rejected the word of God in the days of Noah—after having passed through, perchance, thousands of years of punishment, until they have "paid the uttermost farthing," then the gospel will again be presented to them, and "they will be visited." Another opportunity will be given them, to hearken unto the truth; but, in the meantime, the Saints of former and latter days will have advanced in the scale of progression and passed beyond the reach of those who, today, "reject the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized." A separation will have taken place, in which there shall be "weeping and wailing," sorrow and mourning, over the neglect to obey the gospel when there was opportunity.
In accordance with divine law, "they were judged every man according to their works" (Rev. xx. 13), not indiscriminately consigning all grades and classes of sinners to the same punishment, and that to continue forever; but meting out judgment according to their works, some with many stripes and some with but few.
Would it not be a libel upon justice, if a judge, presiding over one of our ordinary courts should award to every criminal brought before him the same punishment? "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, {321} how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things unto them that ask Him?" Certainly the law of poor, weak, mortal man is not superior to that of the Judge of all.
Paul beautifully and aptly expresses the principle in writing to the Corinthians: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (I. Cor. xv. 19); but knowing that the gospel would be preached to the spirits in prison, and that untold millions of those who failed to accept the gospel here would do so there, he felt to rejoice in his heart instead of being the most miserable of men. He was fully aware that there was but one way to be saved, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism," (Eph. iv. 5); that it was positively necessary for man to pass through the door to enter into the sheep-fold; that the many devices whereby men sought to save themselves must of necessity fail, for "God's house is a house of order." He knew there was only one name under heaven whereby men might be saved; that obedience to this law was a prime necessity to salvation, for "in vain do ye say, Lord, Lord, and do not the things I command you."
Knowing these facts, the life of every good and true man, as was Paul, would be rendered miserable at the thought that so many millions of the human family must irretrievably perish, and be subject to torture throughout all the eternities to come; but understanding the great principle of the mission of our Savior to the prison world, they can rejoice in the fact that the plan of salvation is a complete one. They have hope that, not only in this life, but in the life to come, the gospel will be preached and men be taught its precepts.
We here introduce the evidence of some learned men, who have reputation for scholarly ability, far and wide.
Prof. Taylor Lewis, a prominent English writer, states: "We are taught that there was a work of Christ in hades. He descended into hades; He made proclamation in hades to those who are there, in ward."
Bishop Alford says: "I understand these words (I. Peter iii. 19) to say that our Lord, in His disembodied state, did go to the place of detention of departed spirits, and did there announce His work of redemption; preach salvation in fact, to the disembodied spirits of those who refused to obey the voice of God when the judgment of the flood was hanging over them."
Prof. A. Hinderkoper, a German writer, says: "In the second and third centuries every branch and division of the Christian church, so far as their record enables us to judge, {322} believed that Christ preached to the departed spirits." (Haley's Discrepancies of the Bible.)
"As to the endlessness of punishment, I have said that the law that punishes sin is itself endless and for aught I know in the other state souls may be passing from right to wrong and wrong to right, and that may go on forever. I believe that we go out of this world free to do good or evil, and I believe that if a soul repent and turn to God, even in hell, he will not turn it away.
REV. H. W. THOMAS,
"Chicago, Ill."
"I believe that if sufficient probation is not furnished in this world to infants, idiots, antediluvians, heathens and some children who have no moral chance, God will provide some probation in hades.
REV. NEWMAN SMYTHE,
"Hartford, Conn."
These writers were willing to ignore the teachings of tradition, and let the words of inspired men mean just what they said, without any "private interpretation."
God being no respecter of persons, it would be manifestly unjust for one portion of the human family to have the privilege of hearing the sound of the gospel in this life, while so great a proportion never hear it, and lie under condemnation from the fact. No; the plan of salvation is complete, and, reaching from our pre-existent state, applies to our present condition, and will extend to the future state, until every son and daughter of Father Adam have had ample opportunity to embrace its tenets, and live in accordance with its spirit.
We have now examined the gospel proof of pre-existence, and quoted the testimony of Jesus and many of the servants of the Most High. We have gone over the ground of the duties that pertain to this life, connected with faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost [A] and examined the scriptures relative to preaching to spirits in prison.
[Footnote A: Should the reader desire a more complete treatise on these important points, we refer to Tract No. 1.]
We now take one more step in our investigation, and shall endeavor to learn if there is a way wrought out for the deliverance of the prisoners bound and captive in the grasp of Satan.
The fact of their being preached to, is one evidence that something could be done to mitigate their condition, for it {323} would be cruelty intensified, if, after being taught the gospel, it would be necessary to inform them that there was no deliverance.
The word of the Lord through the Prophet Malachi was, "Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Mal. iv. 5, 6.) Here was a work for the translated prophet of Israel to perform at some future period of time, with the fearful consequence of non-compliance placed before us, that the Lord would smite the earth with a curse. The nature of that work is briefly set forth as turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and that of the children to the fathers.
The Apostle Paul asserts that they without us could "not be made perfect," or in other words, that their salvation was necessary to our happiness or perfection.
Jesus, speaking to Nicodemus, said: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
"But," asks the reader, "how shall a spirit be born of water, or be baptized in the water?"
Very many of those who have gone into the spirit world had never submitted to the ordinance of baptism, while vast numbers of those who had been baptized, had the ordinance administered by one who held no rightful authority whatever, and whose acts God will not by any means recognize.
They stand in the same position to the "kingdom of God" that a man does, who, as an alien to the government of the United States, has received his papers of citizenship from a man who held no office under the government, and, as a consequence, had no authority to confer those rights upon anyone.
Paul, writing to the Hebrews, speaks of baptism in the plural: "Not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, and of the doctrine of baptisms." (Heb. vi, 1, 2.)
Many have supposed this passage to sanction the idea of different modes of baptism, but, by turning to another of Paul's epistles, we learn clearly his meaning. We gain also the information how we may be instruments in the hands of a wise Creator in doing a work for the dead. "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they baptized for the dead?" (I. Cor. xv, 29.)
{324} We have here an explanation as to how their prison doors may be opened, and they set free: by the ordinance of the gospel through the baptism for the dead. Those that are in the flesh can do vicarious work for their dead, and become "saviors upon Mount Zion."
We here insert an account of the visit of Elijah to the earth, in fulfillment of the promise of the Lord through Malachi.
On the 3rd day of April, 1836, the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, while in the temple of Kirtland, had the vision of heaven opened, and Elijah, the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before them, and said: "Behold the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he" (Elijah) "should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors." (Doc. and Cov., new edition, page 405.)
Elijah the prophet having come, and conferred the authority to baptize for the dead, the Latter-day Saints are assiduously engaged in erecting temples, wherein this ordinance may be performed. The object of Elijah's visit having been partially accomplished, in causing the hearts of the fathers, dead and gone, to turn to the children here on earth, the children are feeling after the fathers and seeking to open their prison doors, and bring them through the door of baptism into the sheepfold.
Not only are the Elders of Israel traveling, preaching the gospel, and baptizing the people by the thousand, but the Saints are flocking to the temples of the Lord, and redeeming their dead from the grasp of Satan. They are performing a great and mighty work for the human family who have lived upon the earth in the different ages of the world's history, and who, in some instances, by revelation, make manifest to their children or friends, the fact that they have accepted the gospel in the spirit world.
The patriarchs and prophets of former days, with Peter, James and the apostles who lived in the meridian of time, with Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other prophets of the "dispensation of the fullness of times" in the latter days, are earnestly engaged in the work of giving information and directing the preaching of the gospel in the spirit world.
{325} Associated with our Father in the heavens, with the angels, and the good and true of the earth, we can afford to smile at the puny efforts of man to overthrow the work of God. What! can man strive against the bucklers of Jehovah? Can the designs that have been in process of fulfillment since the world began, now be stayed in their onward progress, because they do not happen to meet the approval of the people of today?
In conclusion, let us examine one more question that has doubtless presented itself to the mind of the reader, and that is the question of future punishment. If, by preaching to the spirits in prison, bringing them to a knowledge of the truth, and being baptized for them, released them from their prison house, it logically follows that there must be an end to future punishment.
We hear the question asked, "Do not the scriptures say that it is 'eternal punishment' and 'everlasting punishment?'" We answer, "Yes." But let us not put any private interpretation on these terms, but correctly understand their meaning.
Eternal punishment is God's punishment; everlasting punishment is God's punishment; or, in other words, it is the name of the punishment God inflicts, He being eternal in His nature.
Whosoever, therefore, receives God's punishment, receives eternal punishment, whether it is endured one hour, one day, one week, one year, or one age. "And they were judged every man according to their works." (Rev. xx, 13). Some shall be beaten with few and some with many stripes (Luke xii, 47, 48). Here we have plainly set forth the fact that all men are not punished alike, that some receive a greater punishment than others.
That, as their works are so shall be the punishment awarded them. "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them." (Rev. xx, 12, 13.)
These were the words of John, upon the Isle of Patmos, and most impressively he adds, "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (Rev. xx, 19.)
We consider that enough has been said to establish the {326} principles we have advanced, and we will call upon all to whom these words shall come, to exercise faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, to repent of their sins, to be baptised for the remission of them, to receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then to serve the God of Israel with all their might, mind and strength.
"Many men will say, 'I will never forsake you, but will stand by you at all times.' But the moment you teach them some of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God that are retained in the heavens and are to be revealed to the children of men when they are prepared for them, they will be the first to stone you and put you to death. It was the same principle that crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, and will cause the people to kill the Prophets in this generation."
—Joseph Smith.
"The angel taught Joseph Smith those principles which are necessary for the salvation of the world, and the Lord gave him commandments and sealed upon him the Priesthood, giving him power to administer in the ordinances of the Lord."
—Wilford Woodruff.
"When you see a people loaded with irons and delivered to the executioner, be not hasty to say—This is an unruly people that would trouble the peace of the earth. For peradventure it is a martyr's people, which suffer for the salvation of humanity."
LA MENNAIS.
OPINIONS OF THE LEADING STATESMEN OF THE UNITED STATES ON THE EDMUNDS LAW.
GENTILE OPINIONS OF THE "MORMON" PEOPLE.
STATISTICS OF CRIME AND EDUCATION.
REFUTATION OF THE SPAULDING STORY.
JUDGE SUMNER HOWARD ON THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE.
BY ELDER JOHN MORGAN.
The attention of the candid, thinking, reader is called to the following extracts culled from the speeches made by the distinguished gentlemen, who, in defense of the Constitution of the United States, opposed the passage of the Edmunds law:
Showing the Unconstitutionality of the Law, and that it is not Morals but Money that is the moving cause of the present Crusade against the "Mormons."
What I object to in this bill is that it is a bill of attainder, unconstitutional in the Territories, unconstitutional in the States, unconstitutional wherever the flag of the Republic wavers to-day in supremacy. It is a bill of attainder because it {328} inflicts a punishment, in the language of the Supreme Court of the United States, without trial by a judicial tribunal.
Mr. President, as I said before, I am prepared for the abuse and calumny that will follow any man who dares to oppose any bill here against polygamy; and yet, so help me God, if my official life should terminate to-morrow, I would not give my vote for the principles contained in this measure.
This, Mr. President, is to all intents and purposes an ex post facto law. If I have rightly constructed the language in which the seventh section is couched, it undertakes to create a crime and punish a man for the commission of it at a time before the statute itself was enacted, certainly before this method of punishment is prescribed; and if I understand anything in reference to constitutional law, it is that you cannot impose a new punishment upon one who has been guilty even of a crime against the law, so as to make it retroactive in its effect and in its operation.
Now we have the entire case under the Constitution. I submit to the honorable committee and to the Senate that this bill is amenable to two constitutional objections in the particulars I have named. First, it is an ex post facto law, punishing men for crimes heretofore committed, and to which the punishment now sought to be annexed was not annexed at the time of their commission. The next is that it is a bill of attainder, a bill of pains and penalties, whereby the legislative department of the Government usurps the functions of the judicial, and puts a man under condemnation without trial and without even the due observance of the forms of law. As the act stands on its face, and as the purposes of it are entirely apparent from its whole tenor, I think there could not be a more flagrant violation of the Constitution.
In my opinion, sir, it is a cruel measure, and will inflict unspeakable sufferings upon large masses, many of whom are innocent victims.
There is nothing theocratic in the government of the Mormon Church that is exhibited to the world. It does not claim to govern the Territory of Utah. It acknowledges the authority {329} of the Government of the United States. You cannot assail it by declaring it as a matter of opinion on the part of the American Congress that for a man to worship God according to his belief, as Mormons do (however contrary to our opinions and our wishes), is a theocracy to be suppressed with fire and sword. But if you will make war upon it, let it not be by striking down the liberties of your people and doing violence to your own holy faith; but assail it with the red right hand of war, with the sword to stab it out, and say to them: "Proclaim your heresies and conduct your rites beyond the limits of this Territory of the United States." Sir, this is worse than open, flagrant war. This is asserting to the people that what our fathers, acting under the teachings of the Christian religion, fought for more than a hundred years to accomplish, shall be thrown away. This is an assertion by the Congress of the United States that there may be a trial by a packed and prejudiced court, by partial jurors, by a man's enemies, and not his friends; that a government shall be constructed in which the vast majority—nine-tenths of the people—in defiance of the principles which control our whole political system, a government of a minority shall be constructed through penal provisions and through verdicts of courts selected and organized to try and convict!
The bill proposes to apply a religious test to the Mormons, in so far as it punishes the Mormon for his opinions, it is a religious test applied. He believes that Joseph Smith was a prophet as much as I believe that Jeremiah was a prophet; and while I think he is in an egregious error, I have no right to proscribe him because of his belief as long as he does not practice immorality. And I have no right to do more as a legislator than to prescribe rules to punish him for his immoralities, and leave him to the full enjoyment of his religious opinions, just as I claim the right to enjoy my own opinions. If we commence striking down any sect, however despised or however unpopular, on account of opinion's sake, we do not know how soon the fires of Smithfield may be rekindled or the gallows of New England for witches again be erected, or when another Catholic convent will be burned down.
We do not know how long it will be before the clamor would be raised by the religious institutions of this country, that no member of a church who holds the infallibility of the Pope or the doctrine of transubstantiation should hold office or {330} vote in this country. We do not know how long it would be before it would be said that no member of a church who believed in close communion and baptism by immersion as the only mode, should vote or hold office in this country. You are treading on dangerous ground when you open this floodgate anew. We have passed the period where there is for the present any clamor on this subject, except as against the Mormons; but it seems there must be some periodical outcry against some denomination. Popular vengeance is now turned against the Mormons. When we are done with them, I know not who will next be considered the proper subject of it.
To accomplish this great object the Territorial practices of half a century are to be blotted out, local self-government is to be destroyed, the church is to be plundered, and the prosperous region of Utah is to be subjected to the rule of satraps whose unlimited power will enable them to rob and pillage the people at pleasure. If this system is once inaugurated, bitter as was our experience in the South during the late reconstruction period when our affairs were being regulated, it was mildness itself compared with what is in store for Utah as long as the wealth accumulated by the Mormons is not exhausted.
Mr. President, I shall be a party to no such proceedings. Other sections of the Union have frequently run wild in keeping up with New England ideas and New England practices on issues of this character. I presume they will do so again, but I, for one, shall not be a party to the enactment or enforcement of unconstitutional, tyrannical, and oppressive legislation for the purpose of crushing the Mormons or any other sect for the gratification of New England or any other section. The precedents which we are making, when the persons and parties in the States who feel it their duty to regulate the affairs of others find themselves unemployed and the regulation of Mormonism no longer profitable, will be used against other sects. Whether the Baptists, or the Catholics, or the Quakers will be selected for the next victim does not yet appear. But he who supposes that this spirit of restless and illegal intermeddling with the affairs of other sections will be satiated or appeased by the sacrifice of the Mormons has read modern history to little advantage.
The Mormon sect is marked for the first victim. The Constitution and the practices of the Government are to be disregarded and if need be trampled down to gratify the ire of dominant intermeddling.
And such is the fanaticism now prevalent in reference to the {331} Mormon sect, that when it is clearly shown the regulation which they desire can not take place within the Constitution and laws, the restless regulators will doubtless be ready to follow the example of Mr. Stevens and regulate Mormonism outside of the Constitution. But why should Southern men become camp-followers in this crusade?
The Mormons may, however, be consoled by the reflection that their privileges need not be curtailed if they are obedient, nor the present practice diminished, but they must change the name and no longer conduct the wicked practice in what they call the "marriage relation."
The Government considers this no great hardship, as it freely permits in the Mormons, if called by the right name, what it does not punish in other people. For, without violating the policy of the Government in so far as it has been proclaimed by its Utah Commission, if the Mormons will conform to its requirements as to the mode, the practice of prostitution in Utah need not in the slightest degree be diminished. The clamor is not against the Mormon for having more than one woman, but for calling more than one his wife. And the Mormons will do well to remember that the policy of putting the whole population, men, women, and children to the sword, and filling the whole land with wailing, blood, and carnage will not be wanting in advocates if a portion of them still continue, each to cohabit with more than one woman in what they call "the marriage relation."
The Government and people of the United States have deliberately determined that they must call it by the proper name. Let the Mormon who has a plurality of women remember that he must conform to the practice elsewhere and call but one of them his wife.
This, Mr. President, is the point we have reached. This is the distinction we have drawn. This is our present policy and practice as applied to the Territory of Utah. What consummate statesmanship!
Others who feel it their duty upon such hollow pretexts to destroy a prosperous Territory by such unconstitutional and illegal means as are proposed will doubtless proceed with this unnatural warfare until they have seen the result of their folly.
Let those whose ambition prompts them to such deeds of daring take part in this tyrannical and illegal conquest over a helpless people, who, to gratify an insatiate fanaticism, are to be crushed without the morals of this country being in the slightest degree improved or illegal sexual intercourse in the {332} least degree diminished, and let them enjoy the fruits of their triumph.
But as I have sworn to support the Constitution of the United States, and can not therefore belong to the army of the conquerors, I shall have no right to claim any of the trophies of the victory. Nor when the slaughter comes shall I have upon my hands the stain of the blood of any of the victims. Nor shall I share in the responsibility when in future our present unconstitutional and unjustifiable legislation against the Mormons shall be used as a precedent for like legislation to crush some other sect or denomination, who may have chance, as the Mormons now do, to fall under the ban of popular fanaticism and indignation which will afford another pretext for New England interference and regulation.
There are over fifty millions of people in the United States; and there are probably twenty times as many persons practicing prostitution, or illegal sexual intercourse, in the other parts of the Union as the whole number who practice it in Utah. Many of the features of its practice in the other States and Territories, including foeticide, illegal divorce, etc., are quite as revolting, or more so, than in Utah. It is assumed in the other parts of the Union, where a greatly larger number of persons practice sexual impurity than the whole number of Mormon polygamists, that polygamy must be put down at any cost. It is certainly a matter of great importance that polygamy, prostitution, foeticide and illegal divorce, whether practiced in Utah or in any other part of the United States, should be put down. And if we have it in our power by constitutional means to accomplish that end no one would be more rejoiced than I. But having taken a solemn oath to support the Constitution of the United States, I cannot as a Senator vote for a measure which I am satisfied is a plain violation of the Constitution to crush out polygamy, or to accomplish any other object. And we would do well to bear in mind that if the Congress of the United States disregards and violates the Constitution of the United States in its eager haste to crush a sect but little over one hundred thousand strong, the result of the precedent may be the crushing out of one sect after another, until it ends in the complete overthrow of the liberties of fifty millions of people, who are expected to applaud our efforts to crush the Mormons without regard to constitutional difficulties or constitutional obligations.
No matter what the popular applause may be on the one hand or the popular condemnation on the other, I will join in {333} no hue and cry against any sect that requires me to vote for measures in open violation of the fundamental law of the land. And we would do well to bear in mind that an illegal persecution of any sect always excites sympathy for the persecuted and greatly increases its number. The late Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, when asked what would be the effect of the Edmunds bill on Mormonism, replied, "The effect will be to make more Mormons."
But I may be asked, "What means can we adopt to destroy this great evil in Utah?" I reply we can not do it by passing unconstitutional laws, or adopting illegal or unconstitutional means, or by striking down republican government in the Territory.
The Christian churches of this country spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every year sending missionaries to foreign lands where polygamy is practiced. In India and in China alone more than 500,000,000 of people practice or acquiesce in the practice of polygamy. And yet the Christian churches are not discouraged, but they send missionaries there, hoping finally to convert the whole mass of the people. Why, then, should we not send missionaries to Utah, where only about 12,000 people practice and a little over 100,000 people believe in polygamy? If the Christian churches are willing to make the effort to convert 500,000,000 of polygamists in the East, why should they not with less effort convert 100,000 within the limits of our own land? If the first task is within the range of possibility, what is there to discourage us from the smaller undertaking? There are a great many people in Utah who might be converted by the proper effort. They are our neighbors, our fellow-citizens. Shall we give them up as reprobates, and make no effort to save them, and join in a crusade to crush them? They speak our language, they are within easy reach. Why give them up and turn to the heathen of other lands, who neither understand our language nor have anything of race or sympathy in common with us? Have the Christian churches done their duty to the Mormon people? If you can not convince their leaders you can convert thousands of the people. It may be easier to cry "Crucify them" than it is to try to help convert them. But can the churches reconcile it to conscience that duty is as well performed in the one case as in the other?
Now it seems to me that if the Supreme Court of the {334} United States knows what a bill of attainder is, the eighth and ninth sections of this act are clearly in violation of the Constitution. When I took a seat in this House I took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States. I can not and will not swear to a lie even to emphasize my abhorrence of polygamy or to punish a Mormon, and with my views of this act I would have had to do so if I had voted for the bill when it passed. It would seem that after organizing a packed jury to convict, the authors of the bill ought then to have been willing to await a conviction before depriving American citizens of the right to vote or hold office. For what is an American, deprived of those rights? He may live in a land of boasted freedom, but thus stripped of the rights and privileges that freemen most value, he is no better than a slave.
Let the carpet bagger, expelled finally from every State in the American Union with the brand of disgrace stamped upon his brow, lift up his head once more and turn his face toward the setting sun. Utah beckons him to a new field of pillage and fresh pastures of pilfering. Let him pack his grip sack and start. The Mormons have no friends, and no one will come forward to defend or protect their rights. A returning board, from whose decision there is no appeal, sent out from the American Congress baptized with the spirit of persecution and intolerance, will enter Utah to trample beneath their feet the rights of the people of that far-off and ill-fated land. Mr. Speaker, I would not place a dog under the dominion of a set of carpet-baggers, re-enforced by a returning board, unless I meant to have him robbed of his bone. A more grinding tyranny, a more absolute despotism was never established over any people.
The Mormons have been guilty of believing in, and some of them practicing, polygamy. But they have been guilty of another sin also. They have committed the offense of belonging to the democratic party. That Territory now has a population about large enough to be admitted into the Union. It would not do to let it enter the Union as a democratic State. There is not now the least danger of it. After it has passed under the manipulations of the returning board, after her people have been driven from their homes under the oppressive laws that will be passed under the powers conferred by this law, after the carpet-bagger has gone in and taken possession, Utah, clothed in the habiliments of the republican party, will be welcomed into the sisterhood of States. I did desire to notice some other features of this law, but time forbids. It {335} was passed under the operation of the previous question, and no one had the opportunity to discuss it or to point out its imperfections. The Delegate sent here by the people of that Territory, by a barefaced usurpation on the part of the governor, was denied a certificate of election, and was not allowed to take the seat to which he had been elected, or to speak in behalf of his people while they were being robbed of their rights.
The bill which Senator Hoar has reported is an ex post facto law, because it changes the rules of evidence as already indicated. The Edmunds bill is a bill of attainder; and it is an ex post facto law, because it punishes these people without a judicial trial; it increases the punishment for polygamy by disfranchisement and disqualification to hold office. Every Senator and every Representative who voted for that bill had taken a solemn oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and yet, unmindful of that oath, actuated by the spirit of religious bigotry and fanaticism which I have denounced here to-night, they lost sight entirely of their constitutional obligations, and nullified one of the most important provisions of that great instrument.
The end and object of this whole system of hostile measures against Utah seems to be the destruction of the popular rule in that Territory. I may be wrong—for I can only reason from the fact that is known to the fact that is not known—but I do not think that the promoters of this legislation care a straw how much or how little the Mormons are married. It is not their wives, but their property; not beauty, but booty, that they are after. I have not much faith in political piety, but I do most devoutly believe in the hunger of political adventurers for spoils of every kind. How else can you account for the struggles they are now making to get possession of all the local offices in the Territory, including the treasurer, auditor, and all depositories of public money? If they do not want to rob the people, why do they reach out their hands for such a grab as this?
{336} Coming back to the original and fundamental proposition that you have no authority to legislate about marriage in a Territory, you will ask what then are we to do with polygamy? It is a bad thing and a false religion that allows it. But the people of Utah have as good a right to their false religion as you have to your true one. Then you add that it is not a religious error merely, but a crime which ought to be extirpated by the sword of the civil magistrate. That is also conceded. But those people have a civil government of their own, which is as wrong-headed as their Church. Both are free to do evil on this and kindred subjects if they please, and they are neither of them answerable to you. That brings you to the end of your string. You are compelled to treat this offense as you treat others in the States and in the Territories—that is, leave it to be dealt with by the powers that are ordained of God or by God Himself, who will in due time become the minister of His own justice.
* * * * *
In regard to the unholy crusade periodically waged against the "Mormons" by godless men, and specially revived at every recurring Congressional session for the purpose of provoking proscriptive anti-Mormon legislation, the following forcible and faithful word-picture (which is as true as photography, and to which over 150,000 Utonians can make oath), drawn by the Honorable Thomas Fitch, ex-United States Senator, unmistakably illustrates the motives which inspire every such wicked ringocratic movement.
At the constitutional convention held in Salt Lake City, February, 1872, Mr. Fitch, United States Senator from Nevada, said;
There is no safety for the people of Utah without a State government; for under the present condition of affairs, their property, their liberties, and their very lives are in constant and increasing jeopardy. James B. McKean (United States Chief Justice in Utah) is morally and hopelessly deaf to the most common demands of the opponents of his policy, and in a case where a Mormon or a Mormon sympathizer, or a conservative Gentile, be concerned, there may be found rulings unparalleled in all the jurisprudence of England or America. The mineral deposits have attracted here a large number of restless, unscrupulous and reckless men, the hereditary foes of {337} industry, order and law. Finding the courts and federal officers arrayed against the Mormons, with pleased lacrity this class have placed themselves on the side of courts and officers. Elements ordinarily discordant blend together in the same seething cauldron. The bagnios and hells shout hosannas to the courts; the altars of religion are infested with the paraphernalia and the presence of vice; the drunkard espouses the cause of temperance; the companion of harlots preaches the beauties of virtue and continence. All believe that license will be granted by the leaders in order to advance their sacred cause, and the result is an immense support from those friends of immorality and architects of disorder who care nothing for the cause, but everything for the license. These constitute a nucleus of reformers and a mass of ruffians, a centre of zealots and a circumference of plunderers. The dramshop interest hopes to escape the Mormon tax of $300 per month by sustaining a judge who will enjoin a collection of the tax, and the prostitutes persuade their patrons to support judges who will interfere by habeas corpus with any practical enforcement of municipal ordinances. Every interest of industry is disastrously affected by this unholy alliance, every right of the citizen is threatened, if not assailed, by this ungodly combination.
Your local magistrates are successfully defied, your local laws are disregarded, your municipal ordinances are trampled into the mire, theft and murder walk through your streets without detection, drunkards howl their orgies in the shadow of your altar; the glare and tumult of drinking saloons, the glitter of gambling hells, and the painting flaunt of the bawd plying her trade, now vex the repose of streets, which beforetime heard no sound to disturb their quiet save the busy hum of industry, the clatter of trade, and the musical tingle of mountains streams. In prosecuting Mormons the prosecution have tried their cases beforehand on the streets, in the newspapers, by public meetings, by petitions, and over the telegraph wires, by means of their leading adviser, the Salt Lake agent of the Associated Press. There is no evidence so base or worthless but is sufficient to indict a Mormon; there is no evidence sufficiently damning to indict a man who would swear against a Mormon. In support of these statements a volume of details of acts of injustice and tyranny might be compiled from the official records. One instance will suffice. Brigham Young, an American citizen of character, of wealth, of enterprise; an old man who justly possesses the love and confidence of his people, and the respect of those who know and comprehend {338} him, has been sent to prison upon the uncorroborated oath of one of the most remarkable scoundrels that any age has produced, a man known to infamy as William A. Hickman, a human butcher, by the side of whom all malefactors of history are angels; a creature who, according to his own published statement, is a camp follower without enthusiasm, a bravo without passion, a murderer without motive, an assassin without hatred.
The religious and secular leaders of Utah, men who are respected by many honest, earnest people who are not of their faith, men who are believed to be innocent by many influential and independent journals not of their way of thinking, men who are held fast in the embrace of a hundred thousand hearts, men who have filled the land with monuments of industry and progress and human happiness, are likely to be sacrificed because a manufactured and unjust public sentiment demands their conviction.
I say deliberately, that with the history of the past behind me, with the signs of the present before me; I say with sorrow and humiliation that the Mormon charged with crime who now walks into the courts of his country goes not to his deliverance, but to his doom; that the Mormon who in a civil action seeks his rights in the courts of his country goes not to his redress, but his spoliation. The Mormons have been joined each year by a few desperate outcasts, men who were outlawed for crime as the Mormons were outlawed for religion. Such men followed the tide of Mormon immigration; they attached themselves to Mormon trains; they professed belief in the Mormon faith and devotion to the Mormon leaders. It was impossible to know their histories, it was impossible to fathom their motives. They were given food, given shelter, given employment, although seldom trusted. Let such men be tempted by assured promises and they will swear their crimes upon others whose lives and hearts contrast with theirs as the white snow contrasts with the mire it covers. How many such men are there in Utah? Convicted liars, professional thieves, confessed assassins, trembling perjurers, who have hung for years upon the outskirts of the little societies which gathered together and built themselves up amid these mountain fastnesses. One such man has served to accuse and caused to be imprisoned several of your most honored citizens. Half a dozen such, instigated by cowardice and avarice, with savage hearts filled with a lust of rapine, would crowd every jail in the Territory.
{339} The Mormons are judged abroad, not by their thousands of deeds of charity and kindness, but by a few deeds of blood unjustly accredited to their leaders. You will never hear how tens of thousands of people have been brought from famine and hopeless toil to lives of peace and plenty, of the thousands of passing emigrants who have been fed and sheltered and succored.
Your antagonist is hydra-headed and hundred-armed. Whether by bigoted judges, by packed juries, by partisan officers, by Puritan missionaries, by iron-limbed laws, by armies from abroad, or by foes and defections at home, the assault is continuous and unrelenting, though unprovoked.
Now, in order to preserve the thrift, the industry, the wealth, the progress, the temperate life, the virtues of Utah from spoliation and devastation and ruin; in order to save a hundred noble pioneer citizens and this honest, earnest, calumniated people from outlawry, or the gibbet, or incarceration, you must have a State government. Every other refuge of good men, every other protection of innocent men is closed in your faces. A State government means juries impartially selected from all citizens, and judges chosen by a majority of the people, and officers of your own selection; it means honest, economical government; it means peace and security, and exemption from persecution.
"By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? Can an impure fountain send forth pure water?"—JESUS.
Bishop D. S. Tuttle—now and for years past an Episcopal clergyman in Salt Lake City—in a lecture on "Mormonism," published in the New York Sun, November, 1877, held these views:
"In Salt Lake City alone there are over 17,000 Latter-day Saints, Now, who are they? I will tell you, and I think, that after I have concluded, you will look on them more favorably than you have been accustomed to do. Springing from the centre of your own State (New York) in 1830, they drifted slowly westward until they finally rested in the basin of the Great Salt Lake. I know that the people of the east have obtained the most unfavorable opinion of them, and have {340} judged them unjustly. They have many traits that are worthy of admiration, and they believe with a fervent faith that their religion is a direct revelation from God. We of the east are accustomed to look upon the Mormons as either a licentious, arrogant or rebellious mob, bent only on defying the United States Government and deriding the faith of the Christians. This is not so. I know them to be honest, faithful, prayerful workers, and earnest in their faith that heaven will bless the Church of Latter-day Saints. Another strong and admirable feature in the Mormon religion is the tenacious and efficient organization. They follow with the greatest care all the forms of the old church."
From the caustic pen of Henry Edger, in the New York Evolution, July, 1877:
The Federal Government is doing at this moment a great injustice to the 200,000 Mormons in Utah. We have no right to demand any conditions of Mormons more than Presbyterians or Methodists. The Federal Government engaged in a crusade of extermination against a people with such a record as the Mormons have to show, is a spectacle of which no one can be proud. Unfortunately we need not go out into the Rocky Mountains to find debasing, superstitious and immoral practices, sheltering themselves under the cloak of religion; nor do we need go to Utah to find polygamy openly and shamelessly practised. A polygamy which sacrifices utterly and dooms to a fate most horrible all the wives but one, deceiving and betraying her also, is surely not very much morally superior to a polygamy that, for the first time in modern society, completely shuts out that horrible social institution, prostitution. That the government of the United States can virtually introduce the brothel, the gambling house and various other charming New York institutions into Salt Lake under color of abolishing Mormon polygamy is unhappily only too plainly evident. Driven by mob violence from one State to another, despoiled of their legitimate possessions—fruits of honest toil—this despised and grossly wronged people found their way at last across the trackless desert and by an almost unexampled perseverance and industry created an oasis in the desert itself.
Elder Miles Grant, the Adventist, and editor of The World's Crisis, says:
"After a careful observation for some days, we came to the settled conclusion that there is less licentiousness in Salt Lake {341} City than in any other one of the same size in the United States; and were we to bring up a family of children in these last days of wickedness, we should have less fears of their moral corruption, were they in that city than in any other. Swearing, drinking, gambling, idleness, and licentiousness have made but small headway there, when compared with other places of equal size."
In a late visit of Governor Safford, of Arizona, to a "Mormon" colony on the Little Colorado, he writes:
We were kindly received by the colonists, numbering some 400 souls, who made us welcomed and gave us freely of such comforts as they had, as this people do to all strangers who come among them. Every one works with a will. They have no drones, and the work they have accomplished in so short a time is truly wonderful. All concede that we need an energetic, industrious, economical and self-relying people to subdue and bring into use the vast unproductive lands of Arizona. These Mormons fill every one of the above requirements. Tea, coffee, tobacco and spirituous liquors they do not use. They are spoken of by those living nearest to them as the kindest of neighbors, and all strangers receive a hearty welcome among them. They have a splendid robust looking lot of children, and are very desirous of having schools.
General Thomas L. Kane, of Pennsylvania, says:
I have given you in terms the opinion my four years' experience has enabled me to form of the Mormons, preferring to force you to deduce it for yourselves from the facts. But I will add that I have not heard a single charge made against them as a community—against their habitual purity of life, their willing integrity, their toleration of religious differences of opinion, their regard for the laws, their devotion to the constitutional government under which we live—that I do not, from my own observation, or upon the testimony of others, know to be unfounded.
Chief Justice White, formerly of Huntsville, Alabama, in charging the Grand Jury, Salt Lake City, February, 1876, said:
I do not utter the language of prejudice, nor treat lightly or derisively the Mormon people or their faith. No matter how much I differ from them in belief, nor how widely they differ from the American people in matters of religion, yet {342} testing them and it by a standard which the world recognizes as just, that is, what they have practised and what they have accomplished, and they deserve higher consideration than ever has been accorded to them. Industry, frugality, temperance, honesty, and in every respect but one, obedience to the law, are with them the common practices of life.
This land thy have redeemed from sterility, and occupied its once barren solitudes with cities, villages, cultivated fields and farm houses, and made it the habitation of a numerous people, where a beggar is never seen and alms houses are neither needed or known. These are facts and accomplishments which any candid observer recognizes and every fair mind admits.
United States Prosecuting Attorney Dickson:
It was a matter of history that the Mormons did not cohabit together, in the sense as used by the other side, without a form of marriage, and it was alone this form of marriage and the practice under it, and not sexual sins, that Congress was legislating against. They knew that those sins are not upheld in Utah, but are condemned by the Mormons and deplored by the Gentiles; they recognized the Mormon system of marriage as a constant menace against monogamous marriage, and thus legislated against it, and it was the prevention of its continuance that was the primal object of the law. The cause and necessity of the act showed its intention and the only objects against which it should be directed; and for this it could be extended to its full purpose. The design and only purpose of the law was to root out and extirpate polygamy. The two systems of marriage could not dwell side by side. If polygamy was allowed to grow, without being placed under the ban of the law and of public opinion, it would in the end supplant the monogamic system, and was a constant threat and menace to and jeopardized the latter, and Congress so viewed it.
The following statistics covering the year 1882, obtained mainly from Gentile sources, furnish their own comment.
Let the reader bear in mind that the non-"Mormons" of Utah are clamorous for the enforcement of unconstitutional laws against the "Mormons," for the purpose of purifying their morals and Christianizing their practices.
These men and their associates, are the ones, who engage in the wholesale denunciation of the "Mormon" people. {343}
| Assault and battery | 40 | 260 |
| Assault with intent to kill | 40 | 260 |
| Assault with deadly weapons | 2 | |
| Assault with intent to commit rape | 7 | |
| Assault with threats | 1 | 5 |
| Murder | 18 | |
| Manslaughter | 1 | 15 |
| Attempt to murder | 1 | |
| Accused of murder | 4 | |
| Threatening to murder | 6 | |
| Mayhem | 1 | |
| Dueling | 2 | |
| Prostitution | 1 | |
| Keeping brothels | 95 | |
| Lewd conduct | 27 | |
| Insulting women | 6 | |
| Exposing person | 3 | |
| Nuisance | 9 | |
| Obscene and profane language | 5 | |
| Forgery and counterfeiting | 4 | 24 |
| Drunkenness | 8 | |
| Drunk and disorderly | 68 | 307 |
| Drunk and profane | 29 | 151 |
| Selling liquor without license | 12 | 136 |
| Gambling and keeping gambling houses | 18 | |
| Mail and highway robbery | 1 | 52 |
| Grand larceny | 1 | 6 |
| Burglary | 3 | 48 |
| Disturbing peace | 1 | 8 |
| Bigamy | 34 | 111 |
| Destroying property | 1 | |
| Arson | 15 | 26 |
| Obtaining money under false pretenses | 26 | |
| Opium smoking, etc | 25 | |
| Stealing railroad rides | 16 | |
| Vagrancy | 19 | |
| Violating prison rules | 147 | |
| Total | 6 |
So that the Mormons, comprising seventy-eight per cent. of the population of the Territory, contributed one-eighth of the arrests made during 1882, and the non-Mormons, having only twenty-two per cent., contributed seven-eighths.
In those pursuits having a demoralizing tendency, the distribution was as follows:
| Mormons. | Non-Mormons. | |
| No. saloons and breweries | 16 | 146 |
| No. billiard tables and bowling alleys | 1 | 46 |
| No. gambling houses | 10 | |
| Total | 17 | 202 |
{344} The number of brothels throughout the Territory was twelve, all kept by non-Mormons; number of inmates not given.
The criminal record of Salt Lake City, for 1882, shows that in a population of about 25,000, divided between Mormons and non-Mormons as nineteen to six, the total number of arrests was 1,561, of which 188 were Mormons, and 1,373 non-Mormons.
If it should be suspected that these territorial and city exhibits show an unfair discrimination in favor of the Mormon population, through the sympathy of the Mormon police officers and magistrates, such suspicion will be removed by the summary of the records of the territorial penitentiary for the same year. It will be recollected that for the conviction of this class of criminals, the whole machinery of the law, judicial and ministerial, is in the hands of the Federal government. The number of penitentiary convicts for the year was twenty-eight. Of these but one was an orthodox Mormon, and she a woman, confined for one day for contempt of court; five others were Mormons only by reason of their parentage, and the remaining twenty-two were; eight Catholics, four Methodists, one Jew, one Adventist, one Presbyterian, and seven of no religious faith.
In 1870, according to the United States census report (taken in Utah by non-Mormons), Utah's enviable record stood as follows:
| School attendance, 5 to 18 years. | Illiteracy, cannot read or write, 10 years and upwards. | Paupers. | Insane and Idiotic. | Convicts. | Printing and Publishing Establishments. | Church Edifices. | |
| UTAH | 35 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 19 |
| UNITED STATES | 31 | 26 | 31 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 17 |
| PENNSYLVANIA | 30 | 10 | 45 | 17 | 9 | 9 | 14 |
| NEW YORK | 21 | 9 | 59 | 23 | 12 | 7 | 12 |
| MASSACHUSETTS | 25 | 12 | 55 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| DIST. OF COLUMBI | 27 | 40 | 23 | 35 | 9 | 11 | 8 |
| CALIFORNIA | 24 | 10 | 41 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 9 |
Among the many theories advanced by the opponents of truth, to account for the existence of the Book of Mormon, is the untenable, but widely believed, story that one Solomon Spaulding wrote it, and that it was surreptitiously appropriated by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Thousands, doubtless, believe this silly attempt to an explanation to-day; but the following correspondence will probably serve to enlighten the minds of those who wish information on this subject.
Letter from President Fairchild, of Oberlin College, Ohio, New York Observer of February 5th, 1885:
SOLOMON SPAULDING AND THE BOOK OF MORMON.
The theory of the origin of the Book of Mormon in the traditional manuscript of Solomon Spaulding will probably have to be relinquished. That manuscript is doubtless now in the possession of Mr. L. L. Rice, of Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands,[A] formerly an anti-slavery editor in Ohio, and for many years State printer of Columbus. During a recent visit to Honolulu, I suggested to Mr. Rice that he might have valuable anti-slavery documents in his possession which he would be willing to contribute to the rich collection already in the Oberlin College library. In pursuance of this suggestion Mr. Rice began looking over his old pamphlets and papers, and at length came upon an old, worn and faded manuscript of about 175 pages, small, quarto, purporting to be a history of the migration and conflicts of the ancient Indian tribes which occupied the territory now belonging to the States of New York, Ohio and Kentucky. On the last page of this manuscript is a certificate and signature giving the names of several persons known to the signer, who have assured him that to their personal knowledge, the manuscript was the writing of Solomon Spaulding. Mr. Rice has no recollection how or when this manuscript came into his possession. It was enveloped in a coarse piece of wrapping paper, and endorsed in Mr. Rice's handwriting, "A Manuscript Story."
[Footnote A:—Since the publication of this letter, the M.S.S. has been placed in Oberlin college library by Mr. Rice.]
There seems no reason to doubt that this is the long lost story. Mr. Rice, myself and others compared it with the Book of Mormon and could detect no resemblance between the two, in general or detail. There seems to be no name nor incident {346} common to the two. The solemn style of the Book of Mormon, in imitation of the English Scriptures, does not appear in the manuscript. The only resemblance is in the fact that both profess to set forth the history of the lost tribes. Some other explanation of the origin of the Book of Mormon must be found, if any explanation is required.
JAMES H. FAIRCHILD.
From Bibliotheca Sacra.
Rev. C. M. Hyde, D.D., of the North Pacific Missionary Institute, contributes an article to the Boston Congregationalist, in which he gives a history of the manuscript from the beginning and of the attempts made by Hurlburt, Howe and others to connect it with the Book of Mormon, and thus concludes his lengthy and interesting contribution:
The story has not the slightest resemblance in names, incidents or style to anything in the Book of Mormon. Its first nine chapters are headed: Introduction; An Epitomy of the Author's Life, and of his Arrival in America; An Account of the Settlement of the Ship's Company; Many Particulars respecting the Natives; A Journey to the N. W.; A Description of the Ohohs; Description of the Learning; Religion; An Account of the Baska, Government and Money.
There is no attempt whatever to imitate Bible language, and to introduce quotations from the Bible, as in the Book of Mormon. On the contrary, Rev. Solomon Spaulding seems to have been a man who had no very high regard for the Bible. There are two manuscript leaves in the parcel of the same size and handwriting as the other 171 pages of manuscript. A few sentences will show the views of the writer. "It is enough for me to know that propositions which are in contradiction to each other can not both be true, and that doctrines and facts which represent the Supreme Being as a barbarous and cruel tyrant can never be dictated by infinite wisdom. * * * But, notwithstanding I disavow my belief in the divinity of the Bible, and consider it as a mere human production, designed to enrich and aggrandize its authors, yet casting aside a considerable mass of rubbish and fanatical rant, I find that it contains a system of ethics or morals which cannot be excelled on account of their tendency to ameliorate the condition of man." It would seem improbable from such avowed belief that Rev. Solomon Spaulding was an orthodox minister, who wrote the Book of Mormon in Biblical style, while in poor health, for his own amusement. The statement is more probable that he wrote this Manuscript Found, with {347} the idea of making a little money, if he could find some one to print it for him.
It is evident from an inspection of this manuscript, and from the above statements that who ever wrote the Book of Mormon, Solomon Spaulding did not.
The manuscript is now in the possession of Professor James H. Fairchild, or rather of Oberlin College, Ohio, of which he is President. It was sent there to be deposited in the college library, by Mr. L. L. Rice, of Honolulu, Sandwish Islands, among whose papers it was found at that place. Mr. Rice lived formerly in Ohio, and in 1839-40 he and his partner bought the Painesville, Ohio, Telegraph, of E. D. Howe, and in the transfer of type, presses, stock, etc., there was a large collection of books, manuscripts, etc., among them the manuscript in question. E.D. Howe was the publisher of a book against Mormonism, called "Mormonism Unveiled," and obtained the "Manuscript Found" from the notorious "Dr." D. P. Hurlburt, who obtained it from Mrs. Davidson, Solomon Spaulding's widow, who had remarried. Hurlburt never returned it. The reason assigned to Mrs. Davidson for its non-publication as an expose of the Book of Mormon was, that when examined it was found not to be what had been expected. One has only to glance through it to see the propriety of that conclusion.
When Mr. Rice moved to Honolulu this manuscript, with other literary rubbish that had not been destroyed, was taken with him. It was not until Prof. Fairchild, being on a visit to Mr. Rice, questioned him concerning any old papers he might have in his possession relating to anti-slavery matters, that in looking for them this manuscript was turned up. It bore the following endorsement:
"The writings of Solomon Spaulding proved by Aron Wright, Oliver Smith, John N. Miller and others. The testimonies of the above gentlemen are now in my possession.
(Signed), D.P. HURLBURT.
The chain of evidence is complete. There can be no doubt that this is the long lost "Manuscript Found," about which there has been so much speculation. Mr. Rice and Professor Fairchild both examined it critically, compared it with the Book of Mormon, and came to the conclusion that there was not the slightest connection between the two books, and no similarity whatever in matter, purpose, narrative, names, language, style, or anything else. The manuscript looks old and {348} faded, has 170 odd pages, small quarto, and was tied up, with a string in a coarse paper wrapper.
We give below an extract from the Lee trial, showing briefly and conclusively that the authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the "Mormon" people, were innocent of any complicity whatever, in the terrible tragedy enacted at Mountain Meadows, that on the contrary President Brigham Young sought by every means in his power to save the unfortunate emigrants.
Remarks made by Mr. Sumner Howard, Ex-Chief Justice of Arizona, and United States Prosecuting Attorney at the second trial of John D. Lee:
"He proposed to prove that John D. Lee, without any authority from any council or officer, but in direct opposition to the feelings and wishes of the officers of the Mormon Church, had gone to the Mountain Meadows, where the Indians were then encamped, accompanied only by a little Indian boy, and had assumed command of the Indians, whom he had induced, by promises of great booty, to attack these emigrants. All these charges against John D. Lee, he (District Attorney Howard) proposed to prove to the jury by competent testimony, beyond reasonable doubt, or beyond any doubt, and thought no appeal to the jury would be required to induce them to give a verdict in accordance with the evidence."
"James Haslam, of Wellsville, Cache Valley, was sworn. He lived in Cedar City in 1857; was ordered by Haight to take a message to President Young with all speed; knew the contents of the message; left Cedar City on Monday, September 7, 1857, between 5 and 6 p.m., and arrived at Salt Lake on Thursday at 11 a. m.; started back at 3 p.m., and reached Cedar about 11 a. m. Sunday morning, September 13th; delivered the answer from President Young to Haight, who said it was too late. Witness testified that when leaving Salt Lake to return, President Young said to him: "Go with all speed, spare no horseflesh. The emigrants must not be meddled with, if it takes all Iron County to prevent it. They must go free and unmolested.' Witness knew the contents of the answer. He got back with the message the Sunday after the massacre and reported to Haight, who said, 'It is too late.'"
At the second trial the evidence was plain and direct as to Lee's complicity in the massacre; he was convicted by "Mormon" {349} testimony, and a verdict of "guilty" was brought in against him by a "Mormon" jury.
At the close of the second trial U. S. District Attorney Sumner Howard, in his opening address, repeated again that he had come for the purpose of trying John D. Lee, because the evidence led and pointed to him as the main instigator and leader, and he had given the jury unanswerable documentary evidence, proving that the authorities of the Mormon Church knew nothing of the butchery until after it was committed, and that Lee, in his letter to President Young a few weeks later, had knowingly misrepresented the actual facts relative to the massacre, seeking to keep him still in the dark and in ignorance. He had received all the assistance any United States official could ask on earth in any case. Nothing had been kept back, and he was determined to clear the calendar of every indictment against any and every actual guilty participator in the massacre.
"When the Gentiles reject the Gospel it will be taken from them and given to the house of Israel."
—Wilford Woodruff.
"We have never violated the laws of this country; we have every right to live under their protection, and are entitled to all the privileges guaranteed by our State and National Constitution."
—Joseph Smith.
WAS HE A PROPHET OF GOD? AN INVESTIGATION AND TESTIMONY, BY J. M. SJODAHL. 1891.
The controversy between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the various churches of the world turns upon one great question, viz.: Has God again revealed His will to mankind through Joseph Smith, the Prophet? If He has, and this can be proven, then the controversy is at an end, and it is the duty of all to accept the message of that prophet as from God. Then to accept the gospel which Joseph Smith preached is to accept God, who sent him, and to reject it is to reject God. This question is, therefore, one of the greatest importance and should be carefully considered by everyone who is concerned about the salvation of his own soul and the souls of those who are dear to him.
The question is a twofold one, and each part of it demands a separate consideration.
1. Are the books of the Bible all that is necessary for the guidance of men to eternal life and exhaltation, or, is continuous revelation necessary?
2. Is there any evidence, supposing continuous revelation to be necessary, that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God?
The question: Are the books of the Bible all that is necessary to guide us to the attainment of eternal salvation? has been variously answered.
The Romanists claim that they are not. They give to genuine tradition the same authority as to the written word and submit both to the interpretation of their infallible Pope.
Most of the Protestants deny the authority of the tradition and the infallibility of any one representative of the church. They claim that the written word, as contained in the Bible, is the only necessary and authoritative guide in matters of religion. An eminent Baptist divine, Dr. Angus, says: "As {351} the Holy Scriptures claim to be regarded as the book of God, a divine authority, so they claim to be the only authority. It is not a rule, it is the rule both of practice and faith. To ascertain its meaning, we employ reason and the opinions of good men, and the experience of a devout heart; but no one of these helps, nor all combined, can be regarded as of coordinate authority." (Bible Handbook, page 69.)
Bishop Grundtvig was aware of the weakness of this Protestantic position, taken and vigorously defended by the reformers. For the guidance of the "church" he claimed in the first place a "living word," a continuous tradition, expounding the "written word," which, he insisted, is nothing but a dead letter until quickened by the Holy Spirit, present in the "church;" and in his view, curiously enough, not the books of the Bible but the Apostolic Symbol was the written word, par excellence, composed, probably, by our Savior himself and transmitted from the Apostles to the posterity in all ages. The worthy bishop gave to the Apostolic Symbol the place that is otherwise generally accorded to the books of the Bible, and agreed with the Romanists in holding the necessity of a living interpreter, directed by the Spirit, while, with the Protestants, he denied the claims of the Pope, or any pope, as to the monopoly of this office.
The Latter-day Saints hold that the books of the Bible were sufficient for the people to whom they were addressed and for the purpose for which they were written. As records of God's dealings with mankind in ages past, and as prophecies of things yet future, they contain instructions for all ages and all nations; but as circumstances change, as new emergencies arise, and the plans of God develop, continued revelations are just as necessary for the guidance of the church as revelation ever was. "A religion that excludes new revelation from its principles, is just the very religion that suits the devil * * * for he knows well that God has nothing to do, nor ever had, with any religion that did not acknowledge prophets and revelators, through whom He could speak and reveal His will to His sons and daughters." (Orson Pratt. The Seer, vol. ii, No. 5, May, 1854.)
Thus the various views on the question may be briefly stated.
The word of God, the Bible itself, amply justifies, I think, the position of the Latter-day Saints on this important question. The purposes for which the various books were written; the difficulties that present themselves when the exact meaning of many passages is investigated; the usual dealings of God {352} with His people, as explained in the Bible, and many predictions of new revelations, all these facts give evidence of the correctness of the position taken by the Church of Christ in this last dispensation. What man needs, is not only a Bible and a genuine tradition, expounded by an interpreter, even if this should have, in some degree, the Holy Spirit, but he needs first of all and above all a direct communication with God, his heavenly Father. He may study the written word humbly and carefully, and thereby he will certainly, through the aid of the Holy Spirit, acquire much useful knowledge concerning religion and eternal truths; he will, if following the precepts laid down, be led onward and forward and attain a certain degree of eternal happiness. But the knowledge necessary for the work to be done in connection with the establishment of the dispensation of the fulness of times or for the obtaining of the glory emanating from the ordinances of this dispensation, he will never acquire by his own study of any amount of sacred literature.
The truth of this statement becomes self-evident, when we mark the purpose for which the sacred books were written. If there were any book of the Bible by God designated to be a complete code of laws, all-sufficient for all times and all conditions, such a fact might reasonably be expected to be either expressly stated, or implied somewhere within the covers of the sacred volume. But no such statement is to be found, nor can it be shown to be implied, when the scope of each book is clearly understood.
The Pentateuch, for instance, contains the principles on which the Jewish theocracy was founded, a dispensation that was, according to prophetic declarations, only to last for a certain time. In the first eleven chapters of Genesis we find a few outlines of the Patriarchal dispensation, and some of the ordinances of that dispensation are referred to without any detailed account. The last chapters of Genesis contain merely a brief historical sketch of the transition from the patriarchal dispensation to the Mosaic dispensation. The remaining books of Moses (as indeed all of the Old Testament) are chiefly an incomplete history of the dealings of God with that one nation which He had chosen for the purpose of communicating His will to mankind, until the appearance of the promised "Seed." But the dispensation itself was a transient one. The principles upon which it was founded must necessarily {353} also be subject to such modifications as a new dispensation would require. Paul, the greatest Jewish scholar of his age, is very emphatic on this point. "It (the Mosaic law) was added because of transgression, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made." "Before faith came we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come we are no longer under a schoolmaster." (Galatians iii, 23-25.) "(God) also has made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death (the Mosaic law), written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? * * For if that which is done away (the law) was glorious, much more that which remaineth." (II Cor. iii, 6-11.)
The laws of the Mosaic dispensation have, according to the same apostle, no more claim or binding force, relative to the members of the Christian dispensation, than a dead husband has to a living wife: "For the woman which has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband; * * wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ." (Rom. vii, 2-4.)
Of the remaining historical books of the Old Testament much need not be said. The book of Joshua describes the settlement of the Israelites in the Holy Land. In the Judges we read of repeated apostasy, its punishment and God's mercy in delivering the penitent. The books of Samuel show the establishment of the ancient prophetic office and also the rejection of this divine appointment and of God as the ruler, and how God, yielding to the demands of His blinded people, allows them to have a king. In the Books of the Kings, to which the Chronicles seem to be a supplement, we can trace the awful consequences of the revolt of the people against the prophetic office, until the nation, after a short time of prosperity under David and Solomon, falls to pieces and are carried away captives. {354}
The poetical books are effusions of devout hearts contemplating the past mercies of God, His present goodness and faithfulness, and containing more or less distinct predictions of the future events in the Kingdom of God. The Psalms, many of which were composed by David, were intended for the edification of the people when gathered to their national festivities in Jerusalem. The singing of them formed, no doubt, an important part of the service. The book of Job and the Song of Songs are specimens of early dramatic compositions. The hero of the book of Job was an inhabitant of Uz, in the northeast part of the Arabian desert, and a contemporary, perhaps, of Terah, the father of Abraham. There are some grand lessons laid down in the book. The question is discussed whether great suffering is not an evidence of great guilt. The friends of Job affirm this, while he himself, under the greatest afflictions, denies it, appealing to God's righteousness and faithfulness. The Song of Songs, the best one of the one thousand and five which Solomon composed (I Kings iv, 32), is a description of wedded love, one of the noblest affections which man is capable of enjoying, and was probably composed when Solomon introduced into his family an Egyptian princess (I Kings iii, 1; vii, 8; ix, 24) as a plural wife. The Proverbs, and the Ecclesiastes contain many sentiments showing both the wisdom and the vanity of the world, pointing to Him who is the Wisdom, the Truth, and the Light of the World.
In all these books we find truths scattered as numerous and as beautifully as the stars in a clear November evening sky; but the very scope of each book is such that it cannot be accepted as a closed and finished code of revelations, sufficient for all contingencies that can ever arise in the history of the human race, any more than the beautifully sparkling light of the stars is all that is necessary for the illumination of the earth.
These contain many predictions bearing directly on the last days, for prophecy is a record of future events, as history is a record of past events. But in reading ancient prophecy, one very common error must be avoided, viz., to suppose that the prophets generally described the events of the last days. This they evidently do not do. Their prophecies generally {355} concern such events as were immediately future in their own time, and in which their own generation was, on that account, mostly interested. Prophecies are often read as if they all related to events which are still future, and which we therefore look at with anxious interest, whereas the truth is that events long ago transpired, and which we have almost forgotten, but which once were the great epochs of history, form the important theme of the bulk of prophetical predictions. In some cases prophecy covers the ground of events yet to transpire. But then, it is noticeable that the more remote the events described are, the more vague and dim the visions concerning them become, until we clearly perceive that, were it not for the new additional light of continued revelations upon the last scenes of the history of the world, we would never, from the first predictions delivered, be able to form a clear and distinct idea of these scenes.
Notice, as an illustration of this, the first prediction of the "seed of woman" who should crush the head of the serpent, and follow the gradual development of this prophecy, until later prophets are able by the Spirit of God to describe not only many minute details of the birth, life and death of our Savior (Isaiah), but also the precise time for his coming in the flesh (Daniel). And so it is with all predictions given. They increase in clearness as the events draw near. They indicate, therefore, by their very nature the necessity of continued revelation, as the first rays of morning indicate the approach of the coming daylight.
In reading the prophetical books, this must be kept in view.
JONAH is the most ancient of the prophets whose written records have come down to us. He lived more than eight hundred years before Christ. His book is a narrative of how the prophet was called on a mission to the great city of Nineveh but in disobedience to the command of God, he fled in an opposite direction, intending to go to Tarshish. On the way, however, a great storm arose. Jonah, on his own suggestion, was thrown into the sea, and by a great fish carried back to the land he had left. After this miraculous deliverance, he goes to Nineveh and delivers his message, which results in the repentance of the inhabitants and the repeal of the announced judgment.
The spiritual lessons conveyed in the narrative are very important and instructive. Yet the prediction delivered is one that chiefly concerned the people of Nineveh for whom it was intended.
It has been observed that the prophet himself, in his {356} miraculous deliverance from the deep, furnishes "the fullest and nearest shadow of Christ's lying in the grave, which the scriptures afford," but then it must also be remembered that this type would by no means have been clear to us had not Christ himself pointed it out. It is only through new revelation on the subject that we are enabled to see the resemblance between the deliverance of Jonah and the resurrection of Christ. This "fullest and nearest shadow" is therefore in itself a proof of the necessity of continuous revelation.
JOEL was contemporary with Jonah. He lived B.C. 810-795, and addressed himself to Judah. He first delineates an impending devastation under the picture of successive armies of locusts, and of burning drought.
There are some differences of opinion as to the events to which these opening visions refer. They most probably refer to the successive subjugations of the country by Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans.
Then follows an exhortation to penitence, fasting and prayer, and a promise of deliverance from the evils predicted. In the second chapter, v. 18-31, the effusion of the Holy Spirit, previous to the destruction of Jerusalem and subsequent calamities, "the great and terrible day of the Lord," is clearly predicted. But here again a new revelation, which was given through Peter (Acts ii, 16-21) was needed to point out that the fulfilment of the prediction took place at the day of Pentecost. The Jews were well conversant with the writings of this prophet and held him in great reverence, but they could not see the connection between the prophecy and its fulfilment, until pointed out to them by an inspired servant of God. And this remark applies to almost all prophecy.
The last clause of the last verse of the second chapter, as well as the third chapter, refer to events yet future. The gathering of the nations of the earth to the valley of Jehosaphat and their destruction, the establishment of Jerusalem as the holy city and the glorious state of the millennial kingdom are the themes treated on. But—let us repeat the remark—when the fulfilment of these predictions comes, the world will need inspired men to point that fulfilment out, just as the Jews needed on the day of Pentecost. The book of Joel furnishes decisive proof of the necessity of continuous revelation.
AMOS was another contemporary of Jonah and of Joel. He lived B.C. 810-785. His residence was Bethel, and he was sent as a messenger to Israel. The first two chapters of his book contain predictions of the judgments of God upon the {357} various states surrounding Judea. "The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem," an indication of the anger of Jehovah against these states. The punishment of Syria, of the Philistines, of Tyre, Edom and Ammon, Moab, and, finally, also of Judah and Israel are foretold. The prophet then devotes four chapters to exhorting the people to repentance, reminds them of what God had done for them. But as he sees that his exhortations have no effect, he sets forth in visions the approaching destruction of the people, until the inhabitants of Bethel tried to prohibit him from prophesying any more among them (chapter vii). The prophet, however, continues in the name of the Lord, who had called him to the office, to describe the near destruction of the nation. And having done so he closes his book with a few verses (chapter ix, 11-15) on a still future restoration, the glory of which shall be shared by Edom and other Gentile nations, a prediction that is referred to by Peter (Acts, xv, 17), as beginning to be fulfilled in the establishment of the Church of Christ. And here, again, a new revelation was required to make the precise meaning of the prediction clear.
HOSEA was a native of Israel, and lived B.C. 800-725. His ministry lasted about sixty years, until the ten tribes were led captive by the Assyrians, and his prophecies are almost exclusively directed against Israel, the most prominent tribe of which was Ephraim, with the capital of Samaria. At the time of this prophet the idolatry commenced by Jeroboam in Dan and Bethel had continued for one hundred and fifty years, and all classes of the people were sunk in vices of various kinds.
The first three chapters of his book contain a symbolic representation of the fallen people and God's statement that He had now rejected them. In order to exemplify this, the prophet is commanded to wed a "wife of whoredoms" and to give to the children names indicating the wrath of God. The prophet having complied with this command is again directed to love another adulteress "according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel" (iii; 1), thus giving to the ten tribes remarkable object lessons concerning their faithlessness towards Jehovah. The severe denunciations in this part of the book close with promises of a final restoration (chapter ii, 14-24; iii, 4, 5).
The following chapters reiterate more fully the subjects of the first three. In chapters iv-x, the prophet brings up the charges against the people: "There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, lying, killing, {358} stealing and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood." "The priests are like the people." For these sins the judgment of destruction is pronounced, but the book closes with a prediction of God's blessings as the final outcome.
Whether these last promises refer to the return of some Israelites under Ezra or whether they remain to be fulfilled is not clear from the book itself. Paul, directed by the Spirit of revelation, applies some of these promises to the Gentiles (Romans ix, 25, 26), an application that could not be made except by the light of continuous revelation.
ISAIAH lived B.C. 765-698 and was, consequently, part of the time contemporary with Hosea. He prophesied among the Jews, as Hosea prophesied among the Israelites.
The political aspect of the world at this time is important to notice. Judea and Israel had not long been two kingdoms, and the latter was fast approaching her destruction. With Moab, Edom and the Philistines, Judah had repeated conflicts, each of these tributaries striving more or less successfully to gain independence. Assyria was now growing in strength and extending her conquests on all sides. Egypt had been subdued by Ethiopia and the two countries were strengthened by a union. A struggle between Egypt and Assyria, the two rival powers of the world, was coming, and both of these powers endeavored to secure the alliance of Judah as well as of Israel, wherefore the injunctions of the prophets were for the people of God to keep a strictly neutral position without any regard to flatteries or threatenings. Babylon had just commenced her struggle for independence, and tried to form an alliance with Judah, for which purpose a special ambassador, Merodach Baladan, was sent to King Hezekiah. This pious king in an unguarded moment, entertained the messengers and displayed to them his own treasures and the treasures of the house of the Lord, which kindness and courtesy drew forth from the more clear seeing prophet of God the awful announcement that the time would come when all these treasures would be carried away into Babylon, and that even the princes of Judah should be made base slaves in the palace of Babel (chapter xxxix).
During the time of this prophet, the kingdom of Judah was invaded by the combined forces of Syria and Israel. This unfortunate kingdom, Israel, had fallen through idolatry and every sin, but she filled her cup of iniquity by combining with an idolatrous nation in war upon her brethren. This brought the long predicted destruction, and Israel was captured {359} by the Assyrians. The event stands out more clearly as a judgment of God when it is remembered that the same Assyrian power was miraculously, defeated when attempting to invade Judah.
If we keep these facts in view, the writings of Isaiah become intelligible and clear.
The first twelve chapters of this book contain reproofs, warnings and promises, chiefly directed to Judah and Israel. In these promises, predictions of the coming Messiah and his work are prominent. The next chapters (xiii-xxiii) are directed against Assyria, Babylon, Moab, Egypt, Philistia, Syria, Edom and Tyre. In chapters xxiv-xxxv the sins and the misery of the people are rebuked. The Assyrian invasion is predicted and the destruction of Samaria, while the deliverance of Jerusalem is being promised. The following four chapters are historical, describing the invasion of Senacherib and the defeat of his army, and also the sickness of the King Hezekiah and his recovery. The closing chapters (xl:lxvi) are again prophetic, embracing events from the Babylonian captivity to the establishment of the millennial Kingdom of Christ. The deliverance of the Jews from Babylon, the character, sufferings, death and glory of Messiah; the gospel call of the Gentile world; the wickedness of the Jews in rejecting Messiah and their consequent scattering; their final return and the prevalence of the Kingdom of God, all these are clearly predicted, but the subjects are often blended together, and the transition from one to another is sometimes so rapid as to render it difficult to follow the connection. Indeed, in order to understand fully the passages that refer to events yet future, some divine revelation seems to be necessary. For it is only by the aid of the spirit of prophecy that prophecies can be fully understood.
MICAH, B.C. 758-699, was a contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, and lived in the southern part of the kingdom of Judah. He does little more than reiterate the predictions of the two mentioned prophets, adding such illustrations and exhortations as were suitable to the class among whom he labored.
One of his most remarkable predictions states that the gift of prophecy should be withdrawn from the ten tribes for a long time. "Therefore, night shall be sent you, that ye shall not have a vision, and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God" (iii: 6, 7). {360} Here it is predicted that the people should be left in spiritual darkness because of the cessation of prophecy, but the darkness shall not be an everlasting one, for it is a "night" caused by the "setting of the sun," and consequently, as day follows night, so a time will again come when the prophetic day shall dawn upon the people. This is clearly implied in the language used, so that the very threat to withdraw the Spirit of prophecy implies a promise of its renewal.
NAHUM, B.C. 720-690. This prophet was contemporary with Micah and Isaiah. He commenced his ministry at the time of the captivity of the ten tribes. And while the Assyrian power was boasting over this success, he is called upon to announce the fall and destruction of their great metropolis, Nineveh. This is the theme of the whole book. Nahum wrote his predictions in poetical form, and its sublimity of style is unsurpassed. The twelfth and thirteenth verses of the first chapter are a parenthetic insertion, giving to the captives in Assyria a promise of deliverance at some future time.
For a space of one hundred and fifty years the voice of prophecy had now been heard among the people. Sometimes two or more inspired men had been raised up at the same time, in different parts of the country. But with the death of Isaiah, Micah, and Nahum, an interval of fifty years comes, during which period no prophecies were delivered, as far as we know. During this time the ten tribes toil in their captivity, and Judah, still in possession of his inheritance in Palestine, is growing in sin and hastening on to destruction. But as this fatal moment approaches, God again sends inspired messengers to warn the people, and to declare His decrees. He never overthrows nations without due warning. He never said that further revelations were superfluous.
ZEPHANIAH, B.C. 640-609, revives the prophetic office again after fifty years' interval. It seems that God left the people to themselves during the reign of the wicked King Manasseh, and first whey Josiah had ascended the throne the voice of God was again heard. This prophet announces the approaching judgment upon Judah on account of their idolatry and other sins. Baal, with his black-robed priests (chemarin), and Moloch are to be cut off, men and beasts, fowls {361} and fishes to be consumed (chapter i). In the second chapter he predicts the overthrow of the Philistines, the Moabites, Ammonites and Ethiopians, as well as the desolation of the great Assyrian capital, Nineveh. The book closes with promises of a restoration yet future.
JEREMIAH, B.C. 628-585, was called to the prophetic office some years before the death of Zephaniah. His prophecies are delivered in various places. He commences in his native place, Anathoth, but he was soon compelled to flee from here on account of his persecutions; wherefore he took up his residence in Jerusalem. During the reign of Josiah and Jehoahaz he continued his ministry uninterrupted, but when Jehojachim ascended the throne, Jeremiah was incarcerated and sentenced to death, although the sentence was never carried out. In prison the prophet committed his message to writing and commissioned one Baruch to read it in the temple on a fast-day. The reckless monarch, after having heard a few pages, had the roll cut to pieces and burned. During the reign of the next king, Jehojachin, the prophet again utters a voice of warning, but without effect. Zedekiah became king. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem, but withdrew on hearing that the Egyptians were coming to rescue. On this occasion the prophet delivered the prediction that the Chaldeans should come again and take the city and burn it with fire. Having delivered this message he left Jerusalem, as did, according to the Book of Mormon, at the same time another righteous man with his family, Lehi. But Jeremiah was apprehended and thrown into prison, where he remained until the city was taken by Nebuchadnezzar.
The incarceration of the prophet of God was the sin that filled the cup of iniquity of the Jews at this time, and it brought speedy judgment.
The Babylonian king gave the prophet the choice of following the captives to Babylon or to remain with the remnant. He chose the latter; and from this time all his endeavors are to turn the people to God, promising them that if they would do so, God would yet build them up in their desolate country. But they did not listen to his advice. They left the country and emigrated to Egypt, bringing the prophet with them (chapter xliii). Here he once more lifts up his voice, trying to induce the people to turn to the Lord. After this we hear no more of him. Tradition says he was put to death in Egypt by his own people.
Among the predictions of this remarkable prophet, we note the following: The fate of Zedekiah (xxxiv, 2, 3); the {362} precise duration of the Babylonian captivity, viz., seventy years (xxv, 11, 12); the downfall of Babylon and the return of the Jews (xxix, 10-14). There are also many predictions concerning Messiah, whom he calls "Jehovah our righteousness." The final salvation of Israel is set forth in many passages: iii, 15-18; xxxi, 31-34; 1, 4, 5.
As the predictions of Jeremiah are not chronologically arranged, and no clue is left as to their true chronological order, it is sometimes very difficult to decide which predictions have already been fulfilled and which refer to events yet future. Only through the Spirit of revelation can this be determined.
HABAKKUK, B.C. 612-598, is thought to have lived in Judea shortly before the captivity. If this supposition is correct, he was contemporary with Jeremiah. The prophet commences his book with a lamentation over the sins of Judah, foretelling the judgment that was to be poured out over the people through the invasion of the Chaldeans. Then the destruction of the Chaldeans is shown unto him in a vision (chapter ii), and the book closes with a song, composed probably for the use of the people in public worship, and designed to comfort them under the coming afflictions.
DANIEL, B.C. 606-534, was born shortly before the Babylonian captivity and carried to Babylon in his eighteenth year. Here, through his faithfulness to his God, he soon rose to an eminent position, and retained his power during both the Babylonian and the Persian dynasties. He prophesied during the whole of the captivity, his last two prophecies being delivered two years after the return of the captives. He did not return to Palestine, but died in Babylon, at least ninety years old.
The first six chapters are a historic record, setting forth the events which led to the recognition of Daniel as a prophet of God, also the conversion of Nebuchadnezzar, the fall of Belshazzar and the promotion of Daniel to the office of a president over one hundred and twenty princes "who should be over the whole kingdom." This historic record is interwoven with predictions relating to the various kingdoms of the world. Thus in the second chapter we see before us, as in a beautiful panorama, a succession of kingdoms until the kingdom of God is being established, "never to be destroyed," "but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."
This prediction is distinct and clear, yet the remark made repeatedly before is applicable here: Revelation is necessary {363} in order to understand the details of its fulfilment. That God in the last days will establish an everlasting kingdom, is foretold plainly enough. But "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom," so that the prediction given does not exclude the necessity of continuous revelation. Through revelation Daniel was enabled to predict the establishment of this kingdom; through revelation only can we perceive the establishment thereof and recognize its existence.
The second part of the book is prophetic and comprises in its wonderful views events from the time of Daniel to the final resurrection of the dead. It is an epitomized history of the world, written in advance of the events.
In chapter vii, the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman empires are represented by the four beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard and a fourth beast "dreadful and terrible, and strong, exceedingly." This, the Roman beast (or kingdom) has ten horns, among which a "little horn" came up, having "eyes like a man and a mouth speaking great things." The prophet follows the proceedings of this beast and particularly the little horn until "the ancient of days" sits in judgment. Note that the whole of this vision has reference to the four empires in their religious connection with each other, as the dream of Nebuchadnezzar (chapter ii) represents them in their political connection. The "little horn" is therefore to be understood to represent the papal power, which afterward is said to have a time of twelve hundred and sixty years allotted to its blasphemous rule, after which time comes the triumph of the "Saints of the Most High."
In the eighth chapter the prophet has a vision concerning the Medo-Persian and the Grecian empires, the second and the third "beasts" of the previous vision. The Medo-Persian empire is represented by a ram with two horns, and the Grecian by a goat having a "notable horn," Alexander the Great, between its eyes. The conquests of Alexander are described, and also the divisions of his kingdom into four parts. Then rises "a little horn" as in the previous vision, a false, crafty tyrant, probably Antiochus Epiphanes, whose character is outlined, and whose oppressions of the people of God causes Daniel to faint and feel sick for many days. That this little horn represents Antiochus Epiphanes is a view entertained by the most ancient writers, but this does not exclude the probability that the papal power is also referred to as the complete fulfilment of this part of the prophecy. What Antiochus was to the Jews during the time of the Maccabees, the papal power has been to the Church of Christ in all ages.
{364} The ninth chapter contains a prayer offered by the prophet in behalf of himself and his people. He particularly supplicates God to again restore the sanctuary in Jerusalem. As an answer to this prayer, Gabriel appears and informs him of the precise time for the coming of Messiah, "to finish the transgression, and to make an end to sin, and to make a reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy:" In seven weeks, or in forty-nine years, reckoning from the decree of Artaxerxes, 457 B.C., the walls of Jerusalem were to be rebuilt, though in times of great trouble. In sixty-two weeks, or four hundred and thirty-four years, Christ was to appear, and in the midst of one week, that is after three years and a half, to be slain.
In the tenth chapter we are allowed to cast a glance behind the veil, and contemplate the wonderful fact that heavenly messengers are employed to convey intelligence to holy men, and that they, while so doing, have to overcome opposing powers, much as mortal men have in the performance of their duties. A divine messenger has been sent to instruct Daniel concerning some records in "the Scripture of Truth," a heavenly record, but this messenger is met and opposed by "the prince of the kingdom of Persia," whereupon a struggle that lasts for twenty days follows. The victory would apparently have been dubious had not Michael himself come to the assistance of the messenger.
In the eleventh chapter, the things noted in "the Scripture of Truth" are detailed. These things commence with the history of Persia. Four kings are foretold: Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius and Xerxes (v. 2). Then follows a prediction of Alexander the Great, his history and his successors in "the South" (Egypt) and the North (Syria) down to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (v. 3-29). Then follows the conquest of Syria by the Romans "Chittim," (v. 30), with the rise of the papal power (v. 31-89). The character of this power and many of its corrupt doctrines are here predicted with minuteness. Then come the invasions of the Saracens (the king of the South) and of the Turks (the king of the North). The countries to be conquered by the Turks are enumerated (v. 41-43), as are also those that were to escape. The chapter closes with a prediction concerning the end of the Turkish empire, yet to be fulfilled: "He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."
The first verse of the twelfth chapter predicts the full deliverance {365} of the Jewish nation through the interposition of "the great prince," Michael, an event to be looked for after the fall of "the king of the North," or the Turkish empire, and the next verses refer to the resurrection of mankind. The book closes with some chronological statements, unintelligible even to the prophet, himself (v. 8), but the promise is given that at the end of time many shall receive knowledge concerning these predictions (v. 4), a promise which evidently implies renewed revelations. For how could these things in the last days be known without such revelation, any more than Daniel could know them without revelation?
One thing is noticeable all through this prophetic record. Each new vision requires a new revelation from God. Daniel is constantly seeking knowledge from God concerning the right understanding of the visions given, and it is only through this means that he receives his knowledge. Continuous revelation was necessary to this the most remarkable prophet of the ancient world. So it is to us, if we want to understand the plans and purposes of the Almighty. Where there is no revelation spiritual darkness prevails, notwithstanding the plainest writings of God. A Belshazzar and the whole collegium of learned priests may see on the wall the "Mene, mene, thekel, upharsin," but a Daniel, a man in constant communication with God, is required to interpret it according to its right meaning.
EZEKIEL, B.C. 595-574, was carried captive to Babylon at the first invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem. He was contemporary with Jeremiah and Daniel, but lived some two hundred miles north of Babylon on the banks of the river Chebar. Tradition has it that he was put to death by a fellow-exile whom he had rebuked for idolatry.
The predictions of this prophet were delivered, some before and some after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Before this event he calls upon the people to repent and warns them against seeking aid of the Egyptians. He assures them that the fall of their beloved city was now unavoidable. When the Chaldean king commenced his siege of the city, God revealed this to the prophet in his exile: "Son of man," God says to him, "write thee the name of the day, even of this day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day" (xxiv, 2). This was in the ninth year of his captivity. Three years later he received the intelligence that the city had fallen (xxxiii, 21). During this period all the predictions of the prophet are directed against {366} foreign nations. After he had heard of the fall of Jerusalem, his principal object in view is to comfort the people with promises of restoration and future blessings.
The closing chapters (xl-xlviii) of the book of Ezekiel undoubtedly refer to events yet future. The descriptions of the glorious building there given will no doubt once be recognized in a structure hereafter to be reared by the people of God. But as yet, like all unfulfilled predictions, much of it is obscure and cannot be understood until the light of revelation removes all obscurity therefrom.
OBADIAH, B.C. 588-583, is supposed to have prophesied during the period between the fall of Jerusalem and the conquest of Edom, five years later. On this supposition, he was a contemporary of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
His predictions are directed against the Edomites. And he especially points out that there was a great difference between the judgments executed upon Judah and upon Edom. For Judah should again be raised from her present fall and finally possess not only Judea, but also the land of the Philistines and that of the Edomites, while Edom should be "as though they had not been" (v. 16), a prediction that has been remarkably fulfilled to our own day. And while Edom is thus utterly swallowed up, "saviors shall come upon Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's" (v. 21).
Three nations were foremost in afflicting the ancient people of God, viz.: the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, and the Edomites. Three prophets were commissioned by the Lord to announce the judgment upon these three nations: "Nahum foretells the destruction of the Assyrians, Habakkuk of the Chaldeans, and Obadiah of the Edomites."
As had been foretold by the prophets, and particularly by Isaiah, the exiled Jews were permitted to return home during the reign of Cyrus. As soon as they reached the Holy Land, we find them uniting their efforts to re-establish the religious rites of their fathers, aided by the noble leaders, Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra and Nehemiah. They erect an altar of burnt offering and rebuild the destroyed temple. Then the city wall is built, and various officers appointed as circumstances required. For further particulars the reader is referred to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
It may be well to state here—although the remark may, to {367} some extent, deviate from the subject under consideration—that the restoration of the Jewish nation at this time was very far from being that complete restoration to more than former privileges, liberty and glory, of which all the prophets had spoken in such glorious terms. The promise was that the whole remnant should be delivered, even if they were as numerous as the sand on the sea shore. But from Babylon only comparatively few ever returned. The company of Zernbbabel consisted of fifty thousand persons, and Ezra led six thousand more home. The great bulk of people that had been born in the foreign land never returned. (See Book of Esther).
Again, the promise was that a kingdom should be established, with the Holy City as the capital, an everlasting kingdom governed by God himself through Messiah. This promise has never yet been fulfilled. In fact, the Jews have never since their overthrow by Nebuchadnezzar been an independent nation, governed by rulers of their own, except during the very short rule of the Maccabees. After their return they continued to be tributary to the Persian king for about one hundred years, as a province of Syria. When Alexander had conquered Persia (Syria and Palestine with it), they fell into his hands. When the Grecian empire was divided, Palestine fell into the hands of Ptolemy Lagus as a part of the Egyptian monarchy, and it remained so for about one hundred years, when it was transferred to the kings of Syria, in which situation it greatly suffered during the frequent wars between Egypt and Syria. Antiochus Epiphanes, one of the Syrian kings, plundered the city and the temple and enslaved the people. For about three years and a half they were reduced to worse than Egyptian thraldom. Their sacred manuscripts were burnt, and the people were compelled to sacrifice to idols. The temple itself was dedicated to Jupiter, a statue of which was erected on the altar of God. Compare Daniel's prediction of "the little horn" (chapter viii, 9-12). Through the noble enthusiasm and patriotism of Mattathias and his sons, a struggle against the oppressor now took place which secured to the Jews a few years of dearly bought liberty and independence, but they were soon conquered by the Romans. Pompey marched his army into Judea, conquered Jerusalem and made the country tributary to Rome. Herod the Great deposed the last of the Maccabean family from his office, and Palestine has never since been an independent state. Ever since the Babylonian captivity the great bulk of the Jewish nation has been scattered abroad, without home, without temple, {368} without an altar, and strangers have been masters in the land of promise. It is therefore clear that all the prophecies that relate to the glorious restoration of the Jews must be understood of a great restoration yet future, a very important fact for the right understanding of those prophecies.
But to return to our subject. It has been already stated that the first care of the returned exiles was to re-establish their religion. To do this, they were under the necessity of having new revelations. True, they had the writings of Moses and of the prophets, and they had inspired interpreters, like Ezra and Nehemiah. True, their aim was not to construct a new economy, but simply to re-establish the old one. And yet even this they could not do acceptably to God without the aid of revelation. Hence God raised up three prophets—Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the last three of the old covenant. What an overwhelming proof of the necessity of continuous revelation!
HAGGAI, B.C. 520-518, is thought to have been born in Babylon, and to have emigrated with Zerubbabel.
His book contains four prophetic messages. In the first the people are reproved for neglecting to build the temple, while they were adorning their own houses, and a command is given to begin the construction immediately (chapter i, 1-11), to which command the people, led by Zerubbabel and Joshua, willingly responded (i, 12-15). But in a month the zeal of the people seems to have cooled off and the second message is delivered, declaring that the Spirit of God was still with the people. "A little while," God says, "and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land" (which according to Paul, Hebrews xii, 22-28, was fulfilled when the old dispensation was superseded by the gospel dispensation), "and the desire of all nations (Messiah) shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts," (chapter ii, 1-9), which "glory" is thought to refer to the presence of Christ in this second temple instead of the Shekinah that had illuminated the first temple. In the third message, delivered two months afterwards, the people are being rebuked for polluting themselves while working in the holy building and offering sacrifices. God reminds them that He had blessed them abundantly, from the time they had laid the corner-stone of the temple (chapter ii, 10-19). The fourth message is delivered the same day. It contains a general prediction {369} of the overthrow of the kingdoms of the world and the promise of a special blessing to Zerubbabel at that time. It is clear enough that the right interpretation of this promise can be comprehended by no man, until divine revelation shall make it known.
ZECHARIAH was, like Haggai, born in Babylonia and went to Palestine with Zerubbabel. The general object of his ministry is identical with that of Haggai, and through the encouragement and wise counsels of these prophets the people prospered, and the temple was completed in six years. But besides this general object, Zachariah describes through direct predictions and symbolic acts, the history of the Jews until the end of time. Daniel deals with the history of the world; Zechariah with the history of the covenant people. Among the predictions of this prophet we will here notice some of the last. According to the ninth chapter, the surrounding heathen nations are to be destroyed. Messiah shall come as a king (v. 9) and establish His reign upon the earth. "His dominion shall be from sea even to sea and from the rivers to the ends of the earth" (verse 10). Scenes of destruction are to intervene, however, but the Lord will deliver His people, both Judah and Ephraim (chapter x, 1-12). "I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; and they shall be as though I had not cast them off; for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them. And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man," a glorious prediction of the restorative work, commenced in our own day by God, through His servant Joseph, the prophet. We are further told that Jerusalem shall be besieged by many nations and the result thereof (chapter xii, 1-14); Christ shall finally appear and all the world will become "Holiness to the Lord" (chapter xiv).
Thus prophecy, so far from leading us to expect that revelation finally will cease, being superfluous, expressly states that Christ Himself in person will appear and communicate His will to men. "Why?" it may be asked; and the answer is clear: "Because revelation is essential to true religion."
MALACHI, B.C. 420-397, was the successor of Haggai and the last prophet of the old covenant. The temple had now been finished and the service of the altar established. But a spirit of worldliness and insincerity is getting hold of both the priesthood and the people, and this prophet is especially commissioned to warn them against their sins.
But his warnings are not heeded. The people prepare themselves for calamities. The Spirit of prophecy is withdrawn {370} for a period of four hundred years. The temple and the people are given into the hands of Antiochus Epiphanes. The old dispensation is virtually closed.
The conclusions arrived at now are clear and need only to be briefly stated. We have seen that no book of the Old Testament, although all are written and preserved for the instruction of the human race in all ages, contains anything that is of such a nature as to exclude further revelation. Not one single passage, nor all the passages combined, are so written as to exclude the necessity of the revelations contained in the New Testament, for instance. On the contrary, one revelation leads to another, God always giving "line upon line, precept upon precept," imparting knowledge as men are willing and able to receive it. For it is through revelation that God educates His servants and His people; and as in any branch of study we are led on from the fundamental principles and find that each new truth suggests others, so here, each new truth revealed leads us to others, until—were such a case possible—we have been permitted to exhaust the entire fulness of divine knowledge.
We have also seen that the servants of God in the old covenant declare the continuation of revelation. They do not consider the prophetic gift or the gift of receiving revelations as peculiar to their own dispensation. They point to "the last days" as a time in which the Spirit of the Lord is to be poured out more abundantly than in any former period. And His presence is to be manifested through "dreams and visions." The withdrawal of these they designate as a calamity. They speak of the time in which such heavenly gifts are withdrawn, as "night" and "darkness" while consequently, the presence of them indicate day and light. Now, are day and light necessary for the physical welfare of man? If so, revelations are also necessary for his spiritual advancement.
We have further seen that the establishment of new economies requires new revelations. Moses was familiar with the revelations given to the patriarchs before him. But when he was called upon to usher in the dispensation of the law, he could not do this without new revelations. Nor could Zerubbabel re-establish this dispensation after the return from Babylon without the aid of revelation. Through the revelations given to the Prophet Haggai the people "prospered" and were able to complete their work as commanded by the Lord (Ezra vi, 14). {371} Without this, they would not have been able to prosper.
Sometimes we see that revelations are given to faithful servants of God as a special favor to them. In such cases, what is seen or heard must not be recorded—as was the case with some visions of Paul in the New Testament—or, if recorded, is sealed up in mystical expressions, unintelligible to the common reader, until the Spirit of revelation gives the true interpretation thereof. This was the case with some of Daniel's visions, and with at least one of the visions of John (Rev. x, 4, 5).
Are revelations, then, given in order to establish new economies, to preserve the children of God from falling into darkness, to instruct them about things known to God alone, in one word to lead men unto salvation? Surely, there never can be a time when revelation is not necessary.
But it will be said, no one (except the Jews perhaps) contend that the Old Testament alone contains all that is necessary to know. The New Testament is a supplement to the Old Testament, and the two together contain the fulness of God's revelations. The prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New, and to the volume thus completed nothing must be added.
Is there anything in the New Testament to verify this statement so universally accepted as true among the "Christian" Protestantic world? Or does the New Testament confirm the conclusions we have arrived at in the perusal of the Old?
The New Testament contains five historic books, viz.: the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles; fourteen letters written by Paul; three by John, and two by Peter, one letter by James, and one by Jude, to which collection comes one prophetic book by John.
The four Gospels are brief, biographical sketches, records of a few of the works and teachings of our Lord.
It may be supposed that those disciples of Christ that were able to write, like Matthew and John, would keep journals while they followed their master, witnessing his works and listening to his teachings. These journals would, after the {372} crucifixion and ascension, naturally be read in private and in public. They would be copied and distributed in the various branches of the church and form texts for discourses, and thus be augmented with such incidents or sayings which were still retained in the memories of those who had been eye witnesses. In this way several versions of the doings and sayings of our Lord began to circulate, some, no doubt, contradicting others, until the necessity became universally felt to have some authentic record, showing exactly what was reliable of the many circulating reports, and what was not reliable. And the result is the four gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
At what precise time these gospels were completed in their present form is a question not yet settled between the various critics. That they, in their present form, were issued by the apostles, whose names they bear, seems irreconcilable with some facts. There are, for instance, words and phrases found, which could hardly have had any significance until some time after the time of the apostles. The word "kephas" (John i, 43) does not occur in classical Hebrew, but is used by later Talmudistic writers signifying something hard, a rock. "Petra" (Matt. xvi, 18) meaning a "rock," has a strong Latin color, while the Hebrew for "rock" is "zur." And the expression "to take up the cross," or "to bear the cross," is all the more remarkable, as in the Hebrew there was at that time no word equivalent to "cross," which is of Latin origin. Even later Jewish writers found it difficult to adequately express the idea of a cross, and hence used the word zelem, which, however, signifies an image, and the translations of the New Testament, both into Hebrew and Arabic, have found no better way out of the difficulty than to adopt the Chaldaic zeliba, gallows. Of this a modern form, zelab, is made to represent the idea "cross." From these and many other circumstances, we seem justified in the conclusion that the four gospels have been subjected to foreign influences, which have modified their form in various ways. But that they are based upon and contain the "memoirs" of our Lord, as published by the apostles, by mouth and pen, need not be doubted. The testimony of antiquity is conclusive on this point.
According to general tradition in the early church, the annotations of Matthew were written in the vernacular tongue of Palestine, Syro-Chaldaic, a tradition very probable indeed. {373} But as Greek at this time was the literary language, the original was soon translated into this tongue, under the supervision of Matthew himself, about thirty years after the crucifixion. It may be safely assumed that our "Gospel According to St. Matthew" is in the main identical with this original document of the Apostle.
The aim of this gospel is dearly to prove to the Jews that Jesus is the promised Messiah. It frequently refers to the prophets, refutes the various Jewish sects, and tries to prepare the Jewish nation for the acceptance of the Gentiles into the Kingdom of God.
While Matthew was penning his gospel for the Jews, Mark was preparing his, chiefly for the converts among the Gentiles. This Mark was not an apostle and had not been an eye-witness to the life and deeds of our Lord. But he was a native of Jerusalem and an intimate friend of the apostles. He accompanied Paul on some of his journeys and attended Peter for a considerable period, and during this time he no doubt wrote the gospel that bears his name, according to the dictates of Peter. Some have called this the "Gospel According to St. Peter," and Peter himself, in his second epistle, refers, perhaps, to this gospel when he says: "We make known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The gospel according to Luke was written in Rome by Luke, the physician, one of Paul's most faithful companions and friends. The author states that many had undertaken to collect the facts preached concerning Christ and believed among the Christians, according to the traditions handed down from eye-witnesses, and consequently, in order to secure a collection that would be reliable, he himself had diligently searched out everything that at the time of the writing was available. These data, the result of diligent research, Luke endeavors to put before the readers in chronological order, while the two previous evangelists pay but little attention to chronology. The gospel was written under the supervision of Paul.
The latest of the gospels is that of John. It is said to have been written at Ephesus, where John resided, presiding over {374} the branches originated by Paul. John, having before him copies of the three previous gospels, naturally omits many data there recorded, introducing others which he had preserved from oblivion. The chief aim of John is to set forth the divine nature of our Lord. The previous evangelists dwell mostly on the works of our Savior in Galilee. John omits most of that, recording his works in Judea.
Let it be remembered that this book is the last written of all the books of the Bible, about ninety-seven years after Christ, and that its aim is to correct the errors of doctrine, then becoming common among the churches, concerning the true character of Christ.
We may now ask: When these books were written, were they intended to contain all that would ever be necessary for men to know concerning God's plans and purposes, thus making all further revelation superfluous? What do the gospels teach concerning this question?
The first pages of the gospel confirm the lesson we have drawn from the Old Testament, that revelation is necessary for the establishment of a new dispensation. For the gospel dispensation is ushered in and established through revelation. Zacharias is visited by an angel (Luke i, 11-20). Gabriel appears to Mary (Luke i, 26-38). John the Baptist is commissioned by God to preach and baptize (John i, 6, 33). That Jesus was Messiah is manifest to John through revelation. The Spirit descends and a voice from heaven is heard (John i, 32, 34; Matt. iii, 16, 17). And this point is particularly noteworthy. All the ancient prophets had predicted the coming of the Messiah. Some of them had given details about where He would be born, His parentage, and the precise time of His coming, and yet it was necessary, when He came, to give new revelations, pointing Him out to the most devout servant of God then living. Previous revelations are here clearly seen not to render new revelations useless. And as the gospels thus begin with revelations, so they close with declarations that revelation should continue. For in His farewell address to His disciples, Christ says: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come" (John xvi, 12, 13). Christ here expressly states that {375} His ministry did not complete God's revelations. There were many other things to learn than those which he had communicated, and among these were also "things to come," all of which the Spirit should communicate to the Twelve. Revelation, then, was not to be done away with at the departure of our Lord. The last verse of the fourth gospel, the last verse ever written in our New Testament states, moreover, that the things recorded in the gospels are only a small fragment of all that could be written concerning the works of Christ. These works and the lessons to be conveyed were no doubt necessary, and yet we have no record of them. The gospels, therefore, openly admit that they are not intended to be a complete record of all that is necessary for man to know. They claim to be written for the purpose of directing men's hearts to Jesus (John xx, 31), and point out His promise to continue the revelation of truth through the Spirit. This is the important testimony of the gospels. All the works and the teachings of Christ were not enough for the guidance of the first Christians. They needed and were promised further revelation. To us has come a record not of all of Christ's teachings, but only of a very few, merely a fragment. If all the teachings of Christ given during His ministry upon the earth were not sufficient for the guidance of the apostles, how much less can the gospels, which contain only a small part of these teachings, be sufficient for other men? The thought is as irrational as it is without foundation in the Word of God.
The only question now remains: Do the Acts of the Apostles and their Epistles supply us with all the teachings that the Spirit of Truth, according to our Savior's promise, was to reveal to the Apostles, and which were necessary for their guidance? If not, continuous revelation will be just as necessary after the New Testament dispensation as it was after the Mosaic economy.
The book called the Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, and may be considered as a continuation of his Gospel. In this book we can trace the growth of Christian churches during the greater part of the first century after Christ. It covers the period from the time of the crucifixion to the second year of the first imprisonment of Paul in Rome, A. D. 63, and there it breaks off even without recording the issue of the trial. The book may be divided in two parts. The first twelve chapters describe the growth of the Church of Christ {376} among the Jews in Palestine, chiefly through the labors of Peter. The last sixteen chapters treat of the spread of the Gospel among other nations, chiefly through the labors of Paul. Of the works of the rest of the Apostles we have no account.
Tradition has it, that Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia; Philip in Phrygia; Thomas in India, and so on. But of their work for the promulgating the gospel in the different parts of the world we have no record. What they taught, what difficulties they encountered, how they preached, suffered and endured may be conjectured. But it has not reached us in any historic record.
Nor is the Acts of the Apostles a complete record of the works of the two servants of God, whose ardent labors are noticed. It is as fragmentary as are the gospels. Many important transactions, referred to elsewhere, are omitted. There is no account whatever of the branch in Jerusalem after the imprisonment and deliverance of Peter. Nothing is told of the introduction of the Gospel in Rome, the capital of the world at that time. Nor does it say anything of Paul's many voyages, which he incidentally mentions (II Cor. xi, 25).
Considering all this, it seems as if the Spirit of Truth had been anxious to guard against the impression that this book was intended to conclude God's revelations to mankind.
Let us consider the facts. Christ had promised to send the Spirit of Truth to His chosen Twelve. What this Spirit was to reveal was, of course, as essential and necessary to salvation as anything that our Savior had revealed Himself. But of all this that the Spirit, according to the promise, has revealed to the Twelve, only a small part has been recorded. How can this small part be sufficient to us, since it was not sufficient to the first Christians?
But, besides this, the book of the Acts shows plainly the necessity of continuous revelation; for wherever the gospel is being accepted, the gift of receiving revelation is being imparted through faith. Peter, in his first sermon, declares that the time has now come when the Spirit shall be poured out upon all flesh. Prophecy, visions, dreams were to attend the believers (Acts ii, 17, 18); and, accordingly, whenever the gospel is preached and believed, these manifestations follow. The heavens are opened to Stephen, and he is permitted to see the Son of God on the right hand of the Father (Acts vi, 55, 56); an angel of the Lord appears and directs Philip (Acts viii, 26); Christ appears to Saul (Acts ix, 3-6); through the vision of an angel Cornelius is led to send for Peter, and {377} he receives supernatural gifts (Acts x, 148); an angel delivers Peter from prison (Acts xii, 7, 8); the Holy Ghost reveals to the brethren in Antioch that they should send Paul and Barnabas on a mission (Acts xiii, 1-4); through the Spirit the apostles and elders are able to settle the dispute about the doctrine of circumcision (Acts xv, 1-31); twelve men in Ephesus receive the Holy Ghost through the administration of Paul, and prophesy and speak in tongues (Acts xix, 1-7). Wherever the gospel message is delivered and believed, in Palestine, in Greece, in Asia Minor, the results are the same. The Holy Ghost is given, and His presence is manifested through these gifts.
The Acts of the Apostles has taught us this important lesson—that the gift of receiving revelations was not confined to the Twelve nor was the gift to cease with them. The gift itself was inseparable from the gospel. Where there is no gospel there are no revelations, but where the true gospel of Jesus Christ is, there is revelation also. The promise of receiving the Holy Ghost, the promised Spirit of truth that was to lead into all truth and to reveal things to come, is a universal promise: "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts ii, 39).
The epistles of the apostles confirm most emphatically the necessity of constant revelations from God. The apostolic churches could not do without such revelations. Hence the necessity of the churches communicating with the apostles and the apostles writing their epistles, embodying the will of God.
For instance, an error arises, as was the case in Colossae. Paul was at the time in Rome, but the church in Colossae sent a special messenger to Paul, viz.: Epaphras, who explained the situation to the apostle and caused the letter to the Colossians to be written as a refutation of that peculiar error. The Scriptures were not sufficient for the guidance of the Colossians. The new emergency required a new communication from God, a new revelation, and God gave it through Paul, his servant.
So with all the epistles. Each has a particular object. None is a treatise on theology, putting forth all that is necessary to know for all ages and all men. There is not one written for that purpose.
The first epistles of Paul, I and II Thessalonians, 52 and {378} 53 A. D., express the joy and satisfaction of the apostle on account of the manner in which the people of Thessalonica had received the gospel. He cautions them against the sins prevalent in that great city, and comforts those who mourned over the loss of dear relatives. The "dead in the Lord" will be resurrected at the coming of the Lord, and this event is more fully explained, in accordance with the prophecy of Daniel concerning the "little horn" (Dan. viii).
The next epistle, that to the Galatians, A. D. 53 or 57, is a warning to the churches in that district not to mix up the rites of the Mosaic law with the ordinances of the gospel, as the two were so different from each other as Ishmael and Isaac, Sinai and Zion. And to give this admonition force, the writer proves that his knowledge of Christian truth was derived not from human teaching, but from God through immediate revelation, wherefore the apostles of the Lord had recognized him as their equal (chap. i, 2).
The epistles to the Corinthians were written A. D. 57 in reply to a letter received by Paul from the branch in Corinth, requesting his advice on certain points (ch. vii, 1); also to correct some errors of which he had heard by report (i, 11; v, 1; xi, 18). The state of the branch was, however, such that the Apostle deemed it necessary to send Timothy there also, thus imparting both by letter and by verbal preaching communications from God. Mark how special emergencies require special revelations!
The epistle to the Romans (A. D. 58) is the most systematic of all the writings of Paul, and one that by Protestants is considered the basis of gospel theology. The scope of this epistle is to reconcile the Jews and the Gentiles in the church of Christ, by placing all on one level in the sight of God. "All have sinned; all must be saved by the same means." This is the whole epistle in one sentence. Now, it is instructive to notice how the apostle in this important letter to the Romans illustrates the question under consideration. In the very first chapter he says he is constantly praying that God may give him an opportunity of visiting Rome, not indeed as a tourist and sightseer, but "that I might impart unto you some spiritual gift" (ch. i, 11). What "spiritual gifts" are, we learn in I Cor. xii, viz.: "Word of wisdom," or "knowledge," "faith," "healing," "miracles," "prophecy," etc. So that it was not enough, according to Paul, for the Christians in Rome to have all the sacred Scriptures, including this letter, but they needed something more. They needed "spiritual gifts" continued among them. It has been reserved for later {379} "Christians" to discover that Paul was wrong, and that "spiritual gifts" were of no account as long as the Scriptures were to be had at a cheap price.
To have the Spirit of God is, further, put forth as the necessary condition of a "child" of God. "If Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (chap. viii). Such is the importance given to the possession of the Spirit of God. But we have already seen that the very office of the Spirit is to "lead into all truth, and to reveal things to come." He who has the Spirit has, therefore, the Spirit of revelation, and the apostle contends that man without the Spirit of revelation is a stranger and an enemy to God (chap. viii, 5-9). The apostle further states that at the time when the fulness of the Gentiles has been gathered in, direct communication from God will still continue. "For there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (chap. xi, 26). How could this be possible if all communication with God had ceased with the close of the New Testament? But they have not ceased, "for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (chap. xi, 29).
This may suffice to show that the great Apostle of the Gentiles never meant his letter to the Romans nor any other letter to close the channels of revelation.
Let us remind ourselves of one more fact. The writers of the New Testament themselves state that they had not written all that was necessary for instruction. In writing to the Corinthians about the partaking of the Lord's supper Paul gives some general directions, but concludes by saying: "The rest will I set in order when I come" (I Cor. xi, 34). Now, what instructions or arrangements are here left out? We do not know. But we see that the written word was not meant to convey all that was necessary to know. The same expression we find in the second letter of John. "Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face" (II John, 12). See also (III John, 13). Who can then say that we in the books of the Bible have all that written which God ever intended to convey to mankind, and that revelation has ceased? The idea is in direct contrast to the word of the apostles.
It is instructive to notice how theologians have been compelled {380} to turn their own reasons upside down, and to stretch the various passages of Scripture on their learned racks in order to make them fit for all occasions. Luther's explanation of our Lord's prayer is a curious instance. "Daily bread" means, according to that noted reformer, not only what you eat and drink, but "bread" means also a house and a wife, obedient children, good neighbors and "other such things." Whether in "daily bread" was included the beer-keg that Luther received among his wedding presents, the reformer does not state, but in the "other such things" is room for a considerable quantity of "bread." Of course, that kind of exegesis fills everything into the Bible. By it anything can be got of anything or of nothing, but God never put it there. Man did it, and, by so doing, proved himself to be on the wrong track, to say the least.
In order to gain a sound understanding of the word of God, the various books must be read as Mr. Locke says the Epistles ought to be read. He requires you to read through one epistle at a sitting, and observe its drift and aim. "If," says he, "the first reading gave some light, the second gave me more; and so I persisted on reading constantly the whole epistle over at once, till I came to have a general view of the writer's purpose, the chief branches of his discourse, the arguments he used, and the disposition of the whole. This, I confess, is not to be obtained by one or two hasty readings; it must be repeated again and again, with a close attention to the tenor of the discourse, and a perfect neglect of the divisions into chapters and verses." If this plan be adopted, and the books of the Bible be read with a humble, prayerful heart, a heart in unison with the authors that wrote, the true meaning of the word will be grasped.
And the clearer this true meaning becomes, the more it will appear that nothing short of continued communication with God can satisfy the heart. For it is the very purpose of the written word of God to lead men to seek this communication with God, to guide, in other words, the straying child to its loving father.
Without entering into a more minute examination of the remaining epistles, we will proceed to consider some of the prophecies of the Gospel dispensation.
Prominent among these prophecies are those which predict the establishment of a new dispensation in the last days. {381} Our Savior calls it "the regeneration," and says that in that dispensation "the Son of man shall sit on the throne of His glory," and the Twelve "shall sit upon twelve thrones" (Matt. xix, 28).
Peter says that Christ is to be in heaven until this new dispensation, "the times of the restitution of all things" comes (Acts iii, 21).
Jude quotes a prophecy delivered by Enoch about this dispensation: "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his Saints to execute judgment upon all." (Jude 14, 15).
Paul (II Thess. ii.) is very clear and minute concerning the events that had to transpire between his own time and the dispensation of the last days. (1) A "falling away"—a general apostacy was to take place first, and (2) "that man of sin, the son of perdition, be revealed." It is further pointed out that the power of apostacy was already, at the time of the writing of Paul, secretly at work, only there was something that hindered this power from appearing openly. But as soon as this obstacle (the Roman imperial power) had been removed, the "man of sin," i.e., the embodiment of the spirit of apostacy, would boldly appear, and, this "man of sin" would hold his sway over the world until destroyed by the "brightness of the coming" of the Lord (v. 8). And this apostate power is further described as one opposing and exalting himself above every other authority, or "god," both on earth and in heaven. He is "lawless" and "sitteth in the temple," that is, he is a "Christian" not an infidel power; his coming is the work of Satan, and is accompanied by "powers, signs and lying wonders," deceiving all that would not believe the truth. Among the doctrines that should be advanced by this apostate power is noted particularly as a departure from the faith, "doctrines of devils," also a prohibition of marriage, which was a revival of heathenism (see I Timothy, iv, 1-5), all of which was fulfilled to the letter in the evolution from Christianism to Romanism. Nothing can be clearer, from these prophecies of Paul than this: Shortly after his own time, a period of apostacy would follow, during which all kinds of lies were to be promulgated in the name of God. But this period of apostacy would again be followed by a new dispensation of truth and light, the coming of the Son of God in glory.
John was the last of the apostles. He lived to see the spirit of apostacy still more developed than did Paul. In speaking of it he says that "many anti-Christs" had already come (I John ii, 18, 19; iv, 3). To him it was given to see, in {382} his apocalyptic visions, the calamities that crushed the Roman empire, thus making way for the "man of sin," or the "little horn" of Daniel or the anti-Christ, namely the great church of the world with her pontifical "image" in Rome. He was permitted to see the subjugation and flight to the wilderness of the Church of Christ and the subsequent darkness that followed. But he also, like the former seers and prophets of the Lord, was permitted to behold in the future the first rays of the new dispensation, the millennial kingdom, to be established, never to be overthrown.
Let us pause for one moment and reflect. If the word of God is sure, this fact is surely established, that the reign of anti-Christ shall be followed by a new, glorious dispensation, the millennial reign of the Son of God. There is scarcely an event in the Scriptures more frequently predicted than this. All the previous dispensations of God are only preparations for this the last and most glorious of all, at the commencement of which the hosts of heaven join the Saints below in shouting, "Hosannah! Hosannah! Hosannah! The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. xi, 15).
But it has before been proved that God never established a new dispensation without renewing revelations. During the Adamic dispensation, which continued while man was yet without sin, God revealed himself. So also during the patriarchal dispensation. God taught man how to offer sacrifices and to conduct worship. The Mosaic dispensation was established through revelation continued through centuries until four hundred years before Christ. The New Testament dispensation or Gospel dispensation was wonderfully rich in revelations, until the Priesthood was taken away "unto God" (Rev. vii, 5); and now, can we believe that revelation then and there ceased? Shall the last dispensation, the most glorious of all, the millennial reign of Christ, be established without revelation, only through the wisdom of man, which, by the way, is foolishness to God? No! Such a view is madness. It may be sound, worldly theology. But it is not the word of God. All the prophecies that have been fulfilled so far, have in that fulfillment been accompanied by divine revelation.
Those prophecies that remain to be fulfilled will as surely be accompanied by revelations. When Christ first came, His coming was heralded by angels, and by the Spirit of God operating on men; His ministry was followed by revelations {383} on the mount, in Gethsemane, and the Spirit was poured out upon His followers. And yet, at His first coming, He appeared in humility, despised by men in general. What will not His second coming, judging from this, bring with it? Surely revelations cannot cease as long as God has promised to send His Son in glory to visit this earth and its inhabitants. Preparations on the earth are necessary for such an event, preparations that no man can make without the aid of divine revelations.
During the ages past God has tried the human race in every respect. The patriarchal dispensation ended in a corruption which even the deluge could not check. The Mosaic dispensation ended in the rejection and the dispersion of the covenant people. The Gospel dispensation ended in the apostacy of the apostolic churches and the reign of anti-Christ. But God is prepared to gain the victory yet. He promised in the end of time to establish that kingdom which shall stand forever, never to be overthrown, and hence the necessity of continuous revelation.
In considering the question whether the Bible is sufficient for the guidance of men to salvation, it becomes a matter of great importance to ascertain whether the language employed by the sacred writers is sufficiently clear to be understood, in all main points at least. If the Spirit of God, in directing the composition of the books of the Bible, intended to make these books a code of divine laws whereby further revelation should be rendered superfluous, we may reasonably expect to find in the Bible clear language conveying the ideas in a manner to be easily understood by the earnest reader. We may expect to find no ambiguity, no indistinctness.
Human laws are written with the greatest possible care. Lawmakers aim at clearness, seeing that this is indispensable when laws are made for the guidance of the citizen. Yet with all possible care in framing laws, it has been found that no law ever was framed, however carefully worded, that could not be construed in more than one way. Hence the necessity of a supreme court to which all cases can be appealed, the meaning of any disputed paragraph of the lay authoritatively given. No human law would ever be a complete guidance for the citizens without such a supreme court.
{384} Now, the question is simply this: Is the Bible clear enough so that it undoubtedly can be understood in only one way? If it be, then there may not be any need for the "supreme court" of divine revelation to appeal to in order to ascertain its meaning, since this is in no instance doubtful. But if the Bible is not clear enough; if it is so worded that, in many instances, the same passage may be understood in more than one way, then further revelation is necessary in order to settle these points. If every passage of the Bible does not convey only one meaning and this unmistakably; if many passages can be, and have been, construed in various ways, and if divine revelation be abolished then we are exactly in this position: We have a code of laws and a collection of doctrines; but for the right understanding of those laws and doctrines we are entirely at the mercy of the sagacity or the stupidity of the (theological) lawyers with whom we happen to be connected. There is, then, no appeal, no authority, no certainty.
Let us honestly consider some of the facts in the case, without shrinking from the inevitable conclusion.
First, we are met by the sad fact that mankind has not yet been able to decide exactly how many and which of the ancient books really belong to the Bible. The Protestant churches now accept sixty-five books in all, viz., thirty-eight in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New. But Luther was not quite certain about the canonicity of all of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. The Revelation of John was always suspicious to him, because he did not understand it, and the Epistle of James, he thought, was more fit to be burned than to be read. As to the books of the Old Testament, a much later and better informed critic, Michaelis, has proposed to exclude the two books of Chronicles from the canon, while others have had their grave doubts concerning the Song of Songs. But the Catholic church, so far from being disposed to diminish the number of books, has added all those which by Protestants have been called apocryphal. The whole apocryphal collection was by the Council of Trent, 1545, declared to be holy Scripture, and the council did so with some antiquity in support of the decision, too. For the book of Baruch is quoted as canonical by Origen, Athanasius, Cyril, and Ephihanius. Tobith, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus and the Maccabees are quoted as canonical by the great Augustine. Whether, then, the Bible should consist of seventy-nine books (including the fourteen apocrypha) or of sixty-five, or only sixty-one, excluding the two Chronicles {385} and James and the Revelation, is yet a question awaiting its final decision. And it would seem but reasonable not to abolish the immediate revelations from God until this problem has been satisfactorily solved.
Secondly, accepting any of the above mentioned books as canonical, a great difficulty presents itself in determining the precise text. What the first authors wrote is in some cases impossible to determine. Let it be remembered that our present Bibles, with their divisions of charters and verses, are by no means exactly such as the first authors left them. Much is the work of uninspired men. The original manuscripts were copied in numerous editions, and it was always possible in copying to drop a letter, to misspell a word, to leave out a word, etc. Translations and paraphrases have been made. These were not always correct in every particular. In the case of the Old Testament the original authors did not write the vowels, but only the consonants. It was the work of later men to insert all the vowels, but whether these later men in all instances, or even in most, inserted the right vowels is another open question. At all events, if it were possible to prove that all the consonants of the Old Testament are identical with those written by the original authors, and therefore inspired, yet all the vowels, which are added many years afterwards by uninspired men, cannot be proved to be of divine origin or such as God originally intended them to be.
A few instances may be quoted to illustrate the nature of such easily recognized changes as the sacred text has suffered. In Jonah 1, 9, the prophet says: "I am a Hebrew," where the original reading probably was (as the Septuagint has it): "I am a servant of Jehovah." The difference is between Ivri, Hebrew, and Ivdi, the servant of Jehovah. In I Peter ii, 3, it will always be dubious whether the correct reading is: "If ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious," or "that the Lord is Christ." The fact is that both these words were sometimes written with the letters Chs, standing for both Christos and Chrestos, gracious. In Genesis i, 8, the words: "God saw that it was good" is wanting at the end of the second day's creation, but it is found in verse 10, in the middle of the third day's work, indicating a transposition. Sometimes verses have been added by later copyists. Such variations amount to many thousands in all, leaving the present text very far from satisfactory in its details.
Theologians, in admitting this, as they are compelled to do by the facts, generally smooth the disagreeable impression over with the assurance that none of all these variations in {386} the text affect the meaning in the least degree. "The most inaccurate text ever written," they say, "leaves the truths of Scripture substantially unchanged." But this is evidently said more for the sake of the effect than for the sake of truth. For the theologians themselves—particularly the Protestants—always insist on the very letter of the text. The little words "this is" were sufficient in the quibble between Luther and Calvin to cut the Protestantic party in two halves, each wishing to roast the other in hell. Yes, the theologians build doctrines not only on words but on forms of words, discriminating between the meaning of the same words when used in this form or the other. In a text where words are so important, it is ridiculous to say that many thousand variations are of no importance. And besides, since we know there are many thousand variations, how do we know that there are not many thousand more which have not yet been detected?
This question must be solved before we are prepared to admit that the Bible is a sufficient guide, and has done away with the necessity of further revelation.
But we will pass by the difficulties thus far pointed out. We will suppose that we have settled beyond doubt the number of books to be accepted as canonical. We will suppose that the original text has been preserved, and that the translations thereof in our vernacular tongues are correct. All this we suppose, for the sake of the argument, and yet we will find the greatest difficulty still exists—that of understanding the sacred volume correctly. Indeed, this difficulty is so great that probably not one single man now living can understand it all, and those that understand part of it right do so by the aid of the Spirit of God.
Some of the difficulties in understanding even the translations of the Bible may now be pointed out.
It is admitted that the words used in the Scriptures are sometimes to be used in a figurative sense and sometimes in a literal sense. What words are, in each case, to be understood strictly literally and what figuratively must be left to the judgment of the reader. And from this fact numerous errors have arisen.
People have sometimes allegorized where no allegory was intended, as Origen in reading that Abraham in his old age married Keturah. Now, he says, the word Keturah means "sweet odor;" and "sweet odor" refers to the fragrance of righteousness: Hence he concludes that Abraham in his old age became very pious or righteous, and that this fact is meant when Moses states that the patriarch married Keturah. {387} Equally absurd is the following a la Swedenborg: "Adam represents the intellect and Eve the feeling. That Adam and Eve begat sons and daughters means, therefore, that the union between intellect and feeling is what produces knowledge in man." These instances are extremely absurd and the errors of this kind of interpretation are easily perceived. But sometimes the errors are not so palpable, although equally absurd. As for instance, when it is contended that the "kingdom" of Christ means a religion and not a real kingdom, or that "the first resurrection" means a revival of the principles for which the martyrs were killed. In such cases the errors are great, and hundreds of Bible readers commit just such errors, in many instances without even knowing it.
Then, sometimes words that are really used figuratively are understood literally. You will see pictures, occasionally, where Lazarus is enjoying his heavenly bliss by sitting in the lap ("the bosom") of Father Abraham, the artist having misunderstood the figurative expression used by our Lord.
This kind of error is more easily committed in reading the prophetical portions of the Bible. The prophets borrow words denoting natural objects in order to represent what is spiritual and abstract. Their books are hieroglyphical, although they do not draw their hieroglyphic pictures, as did the Egyptian priests, but describe them in words. Hence the great difficulty in interpreting prophecy. It is not less difficult than to interpret many ancient Egyptian records. The prophets, for instance, talk of a "horn" and mean a "crown" or a "kingdom." "Beast" is a usurping tyrannical power. "Key" stands for lawful authority. "Virgins" are faithful worshippers, not defiled by idolatry.
Generally it must be borne in mind that every word should be understood as it was commonly understood at the time the Bible was written. Much minute inquiry, in fact more than most people are prepared to give, is needed in order to avoid errors arising from a violation of this rule.
Sometimes a knowledge of Hebrew and Greek is absolutely necessary for the right understanding of a passage. In I Kings ii, 8, 9, David is made to say concerning Simei: "Hold him not guiltless, * * but his hoary head bring down with blood to the grave." This is, of course, a contradiction. And, besides, David had sworn not to kill Simei. It seems therefore as if one of the last acts of David was to break his oath and his royal word. But a knowledge of Hebrew idioms clears this up; for the word "not" refers to both clauses: "Hold him not guiltless, * * but bring not his {388} hoary head down with blood." That is the meaning, and Solomon understood it so. "The end of the world" spoken of in Matt. xxiv, 3 a Greek scholar will discover to be not the end of the physical world (telos tou kosmou) but the termination of the then existing economy; for the words are synteleia tou aionos. The interpretation of the whole prophecy of our Lord hangs upon this one word. Matthew (xii, 40) makes Christ say: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly," whereas the fact is, that there is not, and probably never was, a whale in the Mediterranean. The Hebrew has "a great fish" (Jonah i, 17) which the translator of the Septuagint made into a whale, and the misleading quotation slipped into the New Testament from the Septuagint.
Sometimes people put a mystical sense into the most plain expressions. Christ says: "But one thing is needful" (Luke x, 42) and many an edifying sermon has been preached upon this one "needful thing," and much curiosity has been needlessly excited to know what that one needful thing is that in itself is necessary and sufficient to salvation. People have been so eager to make a mystery that they have forgotten the fact that Christ for the time does not refer to salvation at all, but is speaking of a much more trivial subject, yet not less interesting or noteworthy. Christ has called on His friends, Lazarus, Martha and Maria. The two ladies are both anxious to entertain Him to the best of their ability. But Martha seems to have had an idea that lots of things were necessary in order to make a comfortable meal. In order to be ready in a hurry Martha wanted her sister to help her, upon which the Savior politely remarks that "only one thing is needful." There was no cause for so much serving. He would not enter their house as a stranger for whom they would have to prepare so many extra dishes. He would come as their friend and be entertained as such. This would give both sisters time to sit down and listen to His instructions, which after all was the "good part" of the entertainment. Stripping this narrative of the mysteries of theologians and letting common sense be common sense, we have a beautiful incident at once pleasing and instructive.
Sometimes the reader will be misled by the numbers of the Bible, because he does not know how they originally were used. "Ten" sometimes stands for "several." In Gen. xxxi, 7, Jacob says that Laban had changed his wages "ten times," meaning of course "several times." Perhaps the division of the Roman Empire into "ten" as predicted by Daniel ought to be understood in the same way, since so far no one has {389} been able exactly to tell in what "ten" (the word taken literally) kingdoms that empire on its downfall was divided. If understood to mean "several" kingdoms, there is no difficulty. "Forty," in the same way, often means "many." "Seven" and "seventy" denote a large and complete number, although uncertain to the speaker.
Sometimes a knowledge of history is required for the right understanding of passages. (Acts ix, 31): "The churches had rest throughout all Judea and Galilee" has sometimes been understood to have been the consequence of the conversion of Paul, whereas the real cause of this temporary rest was that at this time Caligula attempted to raise a statue of himself in the "Holy of holies" in the temple. The consternation which this caused among the bloodthirsty Jews made them for a time forget the Christian churches.
Nor less important is a knowledge of ancient chonology, geography, of botany, of mineralogy, zoology, and archaeology in its various branches. But we cannot here multiply instances.
To understand the Bible, even the plainist translation, all these things are necessary as helps, and yet, without the Spirit of God to lead into all truth, not all of these helps are sufficient; so numerous and so vast are the difficulties to be encountered in ascertaining the true meaning of the Bible.
Nor need we be surprised at this. The various books are written in the remote antiquity. Language changes like all that is human. Words do not remain stationary in their significations. Every word has its own history, and antique literature always requires a knowledge of the history of the words. The authors of the Bible write each from his own standpoint. Some are lawyers, as Moses. Others are humble shepherds, as Anos. Some are learned men, as Paul and Luke. Others are uneducated fisherman, as Peter and John. Some are statesmen like Daniel. Others follow more lowly occupations of life, as Jeremiah. Some write poetry, others history, others letters and others visions. Some write in the deserts of Arabia, some by the banks of the rivers in Babylon, some in the palace in Jerusalem, some in prisons in Rome. Each has his own peculiarity of style, and to understand it all, you would have to be conversant with almost every branch of human learning. It is no figure of speech when Locke says that theology is the direction of all knowledge to its true end, or when Parley P. Pratt says: "It is the science of all other sciences and useful arts, being in fact, the very fountain from which they emanate. It includes philosophy, {390} astronomy, history, mathematics, geography, languages, the science of letters, and blends the knowledge of all matters of fact in every branch of art or research" (Key to Theology, p.2).
Seeing now that such requirements are made upon us in order to understand the Bible, and that lack of knowledge necessarily involve misunderstanding of many of the sacred passages, we ask every reasonable being, Can it be supposed that the Bible ever was intended to be a substitute for immediate divine revelation? If it were intended for this purpose it has signally failed in its purpose; and if the Bible alone be intended to be the guide to heaven, it is to be feared that a majority of people will be led to hell for the simple reason that they never had an opportunity of mastering the difficulties attending their attempts at understanding what the Bible doctrines really are.
If further proofs for the necessity of continuous revelation were needed, the deplorable state of the Christian world, where "each goes his own way," furnishes those proofs in abundance.
The object God had in view in giving to His people men through whom He could reveal His plans and purposes was to "perfect the Saints" and preserve "unity of faith" (Eph. iv, 11-14). As long as the church had apostles and prophets, there was no necessity for the churches breaking up into factions or sects. Differences could arise, and did arise, but when referred to the inspired men, God, through His Holy Spirit always settled the difficulties, preserving the unity.
Some instances, illustrating this, have been recorded for our information.
In the church at Jerusalem, as the members increased, a feeling of jealousy grew up between the different nationalities. The "Grecians" thought that their widows did not receive a fair portion of the alms daily distributed among the poor, the "Hebrews" keeping all for their widows. Among the Jews the "Grecians," that is to say, such Jews that were not born in Palestine, were held in contempt like everything that originated outside the confines of the Holy Land. It was thought that the Jewish converts to Christianity had retained this feeling, and so neglected their foreign brethren. Now, here was a secret power of evil at work, strong enough to break the first church up into factions. For evil grows, if {391} not conquered, and what at first appears like a cloud, the size of a man's hand, develops into a terrible storm with thunder and lightning. Small as the matter appeared to be, it was an attempt at destroying the unity of the Church of Christ. But the church was equal to this occasion. Its foundations were solid and its guardians awake. The whole matter was laid before the apostles, and these found the proper remedy. "Look ye out among you," they said to the church members, "seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business." The people, on hearing this wise counsel, made their choice, and the apostles set the chosen apart for this office. And it may be noted as a characteristic feature of God's way of managing elections, in contrast to the farcical proceedings of the iniquitous world, that the seven men elected on this occasion were all "Grecians," judging from their names. The majority, prompted by the love of God, gave to the minority—the complaining party—the whole control of the distribution. The church was saved from the spirit of destruction. Unity was preserved. But it took inspired men to solve the difficulty in this way, so contrary to all rules, recognized among men (see Acts, vi, 1-8).
The next instance is a difference concerning doctrine.
As soon as the Gospel principles spread and were embraced by the Gentiles, a struggle necessarily followed between the Jewish and the Gentile element. Both had much to give up and much to learn from each other, before a complete unity could be secured. In this struggle, various questions were brought up for discussion, and amongst others this:
Ought not a Gentile convert to first be circumcised and promise to keep the law, before he was baptized and incorporated in the church? Many Jewish converts held that this was necessary. For to them the entrance to the church ought to be through the Mosaic dispensation, to Gentiles as it had been to Jews. But the Gentiles considered this an unnecessary circuitous road to the church, holding that the acceptance of Christ and his ordinances was all that should be required. Here was a difficult question to decide, and the principle involved was one of vital importance to the whole Christian community. The danger of a split was great, but the church had inspired leaders, men who communed with God. To them the question was referred. And they decided it, not only according to the Scriptures but according to the revelation given for the occasion. "It seemed good," they say, "to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater {392} burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves ye shall do well." (Acts xv, 28, 29.) Here is a decision arrived at under the direct influence of the Holy Ghost, and one that brought unity into the churches and joy among the various Gentile branches.
Thus we see exemplified the object of continuous revelation, and the necessity of it. Without it unity cannot be preserved. "That ye may be one" as Christ is one with His Father, is, however, the very essence of Christianity, the mark on which it can be distinguished from the "world," which is all strife and contention. Destroy the unity, and Christianity is gone, or, since unity is impossible without continuous revelation, abandon such revelation, and Christianty is no more.
It is noticeable that the Christian churches, as long as the inspired men were among them and they listened to their words, kept clear of all schisms. So long, we say, but no longer. For soon men arose who thought themselves too wise to listen to the counsel of inspired men. And such imposed upon themselves upon the church with big words and subtle sophistry, thus drawing many away from the path of righteousness. This was the work of the spirit of anti-Christ, and the result was schisms, sects. But still the spirit of revelation lingered among the churches, uniting the honest everywhere in the love of God and of one another, until after a long struggle amid persecution from the outside and rebellion from the inside, the Spirit of revelation was withdrawn. "The child was taken up to the throne of God." (Rev. xii, 5). The light gave way to darkness.
Not that the Christian churches became annihilated, not that the doctrines preached by Christ or, what is the same, the Christian theology at once vanished. No! It was all there, but wrapped in darkness.
Suppose yourself on a ship trying to make for the harbor on a dark, stormy night. There are the lights along the shore, according to whose guiding rays alone you can steer your course. But suppose all these lights are suddenly extinguished. You can see no more where to go. All your calculations are in vain. Those rays of lights from the lighthouses were just as necessary for your safety as are your maps and your compass. Something analogous to this happened to the world, or, rather to the Christian churches. The guiding light of continuous revelation was extinguished and {393} the ship left in darkness. At what precise time this took place we do not presume to say. But it is certain that the time of revelation did not extend much beyond the age of the apostles. The church was still there for years, but the lighthouses were not shining.
What followed? The most pitiable confusion. The leaders of the church, no longer guided by inspiration, were unable to preserve love and unity. Factions became numerous and each faction leader claimed the supreme authority for himself. Contests for power ensued, accompanied by scandalous scenes. The church was abandoned, each faction constructing their own raft and each steering their own course, occasionally trying to sink other rafts as these by wind and current were driven out. This was the result of the withdrawal of divine revelation.
People were in total darkness. They split on the most trivial questions as well as over the more important ones. What are we to think when we read the "history of the church" and find that "Christians" are trying to find out whether Christ was a real man or only an apparition! Or whereto had truth gone, when, after long struggles about the doctrine of the Godhead, it was finally decided, as the standard of orthodoxy, that: "Incomprehensible is the Father, incomprehensible is the Son, and incomprehensible is the Holy Ghost; yet not three incomprehensibles, but one." (Symbol Athan.)? Christ says: "This is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." (John, xvii, 3); Paul prays that he may know Christ and the power of His resurrection. (Philippians, vi, 7-10); and John says that we by keeping God's commandments, know that we "know" Him. (I John ii, 3), but the Church, as soon as the Spirit of revelation withdrew, declared that she was in darkness. God, she said, is incomprehensible. The contrast is so conspicuous that only a blind man can help seeing it.
This spirit of darkness still enwraps the whole "Christian" world. The work of dissolution has been going on all the time, and is still going on. The "Christians" stand against each other like enemies on a battlefield. Nobody knows where to seek or to find truth. Has the Roman Catholic church the truth? or the Coptic? or the Armenian? or the Reformed church? or the church of England? or Luther's faction? or Methodists? or Baptists? or Presbyterians? or Irvingians or Adventists? or Universalists? or Quakers? Which has the truth? Which faction is the Church of Christ?
{394} Paul says that factions are the result of a "carnal" condition. "For whereas there is among you envyings and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" (I Cor. iii, 3.) The "Christian" world to-day, the Apostle then declares to be a "carnal" christendom. But to be carnally minded, we further learn (Rom. viii, 6, 7), is "death," and "enmity against God." The Christian world to-day is therefore in a state of "death" and "enmity against God." The word of God has pronounced His judgment, and all as a consequence of their having despised and rejected continuous revelation from God.
This suggests the remedy to be applied: Divine revelation.
God has promised, in the last days, "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions * * * * and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call" (Joel ii, 28-33). And this promise God will fulfill. Revelations are necessary for the deliverance of His people in these last days, and God is faithful.
Already the light of revelation has broken through the dark clouds of medieval errors. The prophets of God have again spoken, revealing God's way of salvation. Will the "Christian" world believe? Or will they, like the Jews formerly, reject the light of revelation, to their own damnation?
One objection, and only one, needs to be answered before we close this part of our investigation. It has been said that God prohibits people from adding anything to the Bible, since John the Revelator says: "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book" (Rev. xxii, 18). The prohibition is given for any "man" to add anything of his own to the book of Revelation, or to the word of God. And woe to the man who is preposterous enough to add his own productions to the sacred compositions of God! But neither this passage nor any other passage in the Bible states that God would never any more reveal anything. God does not prohibit himself from adding whatever He thinks necessary.
In fact, God has added to the volume of the New Testament since the book of Revelation was written. The Gospel of John, and, in all probability, the three epistles of John, were all written after the book of Revelation. The latest {395} date assigned to the Revelation is 96 A. D., while others (and more probably) give it the date of 67 or 68. The three epistles were written 68 and the gospel 97, so that there is no possibility for thinking that God did not intend to add anything to the existing records.
The Gospel of John is the last book of the New Testament. And in this very book we have the comforting promise of Christ recorded: "He (the Spirit) shall glorify Me: for he shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father has are Mine: therefore, said I, that he shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you" (John xvi, 14, 15). Here is a promise of continuous revelation.
Having seen, now, that continuous revelation is necessary for the guidance of men unto eternal salvation, and also that God through his ancient prophets has promised to manifest Himself preparatory to the foundation of the kingdom of the Son of God upon the earth, it becomes necessary to enquire into the evidences that present themselves of the truth of the claims of Joseph Smith, the Prophet. Did God speak through him, or, was he an enthusiast, an impostor? This question concerns every human being.
With a voice like that of the angel whom John saw in his visions on Patmos, Joseph proclaims in the name of the Lord:
"Hearken, O, ye people of My Church, saith the voice of Him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men, yea, verily I say, hearken ye people from afar, and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together. For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men" (Doc. and Cov. sec. i, 1, 2).
For centuries past the world had cherished the thought that the voice of the Lord should no more be heard, when suddenly, thunderlike, a messenger appeared, heralding from one end of heaven to mother the above quoted intelligence. God has spoken.
To the chosen seed these were, indeed, tidings of great joy, but the world at large, influenced, as the Jews formerly were, by priests and rabbis, denounced the messenger as a bold imposter. He offered the strongest proof a man ever can offer as a demonstration of the truth of his message; he gave his life, sealing his testimony with his blood. Yet a sceptical world refused to believe, refused, to a large extent, even to investigate.
{396} What was, then, the nature of his message? That the day of the Lord is at hand; that the inhabitants of the earth must repent of their sins and false doctrines, and turn unto God; that those who would obey should be made happy in the kingdom of the Son of God, but on all disobedient souls fearful judgments would speedily fall. To prepare for the coming of Christ was the message sent from God to man through His servant, the Prophet Joseph. That was the nature of the message.
It will be perceived that this is in full harmony with the sacred writ, and its very nature should be a sufficient proof of its divine origin. If it harmonizes with the Bible, how can it be false? How can those who believe the one reject the other? Is not that the very same contradiction as that of which the Jews were guilty who believed the sacred writings of the Old Testament at the same time they rejected Christ? Clearly, when the Bible is first proved to be true, everything that is in perfect harmony with the Bible must be true, too. In such relation to the Bible stands the divine message of which we are speaking.
This is a subject that must not be treated lightly. The highest interests are here at stake—interests dearer than life itself, which lasts but a moment. If God has spoken to this generation, woe, woe, woe unto those who wilfully shut their ears and harden their hearts against the word of God! The antediluvian world was drowned by a flood because the people did not heed the warning voice. The cities of the plain were wrapped in flames and buried in a sulphurous tomb because they rejected the message of God. Jerusalem fell because she did not know the time of her visitation. And how can the present world escape a similar fate under similar circumstances?
With these lessons of past ages before us, let every honest soul investigate the evidences of the truth of this message of the latter days. An honest investigation is the very least that can be demanded for a subject of this vast importance.
The attention of theological students who are familiar with the evidences of the truth of Christianity is particularly called to the line of thought here offered, as it is proposed to show that the message delivered by Joseph Smith is supported by the same evidence as the message delivered by former prophets or apostles. Christianity and "Mormonism" must stand or fall together. If the evidence here presented is sufficient for the one, it is sufficient for both. {397}
The books of the Old Testament abound with predictions foretelling the work of Christ on earth. It is distinctly predicted that a deliverer should come, "the seed of woman;" he should spring out of the people of Abraham; a new covenant would be made; the deliverer would be despised, put to death, and yet reign for ever and ever. Such wonderful predictions run like a string through the Old Testament, and are always pointed to as an evidence of the truth of Christianity. This is what is sometimes called retrospective evidence. Christ himself points to these predictions as such evidence. "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter His glory? Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke xxiv, 26, 27. Compare John v, 46, 47.)
But the same prophets foretell with equal clearness the grand work in which the Latter-day Saints are now engaged, as will appear on investigation of the following passages.
Isaiah has many remarkable predictions, some of which were fulfilled shortly after their delivery. Syria and Israel, for instance, were to be conquered by Assyria, before the infant son of the prophet could say "my father" (Isaiah viii, 4). The glory of Kedar was to fail in one year (xxi, 6), that of Moab in three years (xvi, 14), that of Ephraim in sixty-five years (vii, 8), that of Tyre in seventy years (xxiii, 15). Other predictions relate to more distant times. Thus that portion of his book which is contained in chapter xl to lxiv embraces the whole period from the Babylonian captivity to the end of the Christian dispensation.
In this portion of the book the prophet predicts the deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus (xliv, 28; xlv, 1-5, xlvii); the return to Judea (xliv, 28), the coming, suffering and glory of the Messiah, the downfall of idolatry, the rejection of Christ by the Jews, and their consequent rejection by God; also their final conversion and recovery (lii, 3; lxii; lxv).
Speaking of this last event, the final gathering of the Jews—an event which is about to be fulfilled in our own time—the prophet (chapter lv) says that there should be a people or a nation, previously unknown to the Jews, who should be willing to join the Jews in their worship of God Almighty. "Behold, thou shalt call a people which thou didst not know; and a people which did not know thee shall run to thee for the sake of Jehovah, thy God, and for the sake of the Holy One in Israel, for he hath glorified thee."
{398} Could language more clearly convey that at the time of the final restoration of the Jews there should exist another people, too, who would share with the Jews the glory in store for them? In the next chapter (lxvi, 6-8) this other people is more clearly described: "And the sons of the stranger who follow Jehovah in order to serve Him, and to love Jehovah's name * * * those I will bring to My holy mountain, and they shall rejoice in My house." These predictions are very clear, and it is a literal fulfillment thereof that the Saints are called out of all nations of the earth so that they may form that one nation here spoken of, and the latter part of Isaiah's predictions are as literally verified as that part which relates to former events.
Among the predictions of the prophet Micah we notice the invasion of Shalmaneser (i, 6-8), and Sennacherib (i, 9-16), the dispersion of Israel (v, 7-8) the destruction of Jerusalem (iii, 12). He also foretells the gathering of Israel and the exaltation of Christ over all nations. Speaking of the gathering of Israel, he says that a forerunner should first come, and this forerunner is described as a people with a leader at their head and Jehovah as their guide, alluding to Israel in the wilderness, where Moses was their prophet, Jehovah going before them. Thus saith Micah ii, 12, 13: "Certainly I will gather thee, Jacob, and bring together the rest of Israel. * * The forerunner (or rather the one who 'breaks' the way) goes before them; * * * the prince goes before them and Jehovah leads." In chapter iv. the prophet more fully describes what should happen before the gathering of Jacob: "At the end of the days the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established upon the top of the mountains, * * and the nations shall run thereto. * * * In the same days said Jehovah, shall I gather the remnant." Read chapter iv, 1-10 carefully. It predicts unmistakably that at the time of the final delivery of the Jews there should exist a people gathered among the mountains in order to serve the Lord, a people endowed with wisdom to exercise judgment in the affairs of the nations of the world, and yet be a peaceful, agricultural people, who had thrown away their swords for peaceful occupations. This prediction is as clear as any ever given concerning Christ and His work, and it is fulfilled in the gatherings of the Saints. If prophetic evidence is required, God has given it to us.
Let us turn to Jeremiah, who flourished a hundred years later.
{399} The chronological arrangement of the predictions of this prophet, as has been already remarked, is not very plain, but passages relating to the first salvation of Israel are easily recognized. Chapter iii, 15-18, are among these. Here the prophet in words that cannot be mistaken says that the house of Judah shall go to the house of Israel, and "they shall come together from the land of the north to the land which I have given your fathers."
That this prediction does not relate to the deliverance from Babylon is evident from the fact that the prophet says: "the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel." The house of Israel must then already be gathered, or else the house of Judah could not go with them. At the return from Babylon Judah took the lead, and the Israelites who returned had to come to Judah. Judah took the lead. Here is a deliverance and return predicted in which Israel takes the lead. Israel must consequently be gathered as well as Judah and previous to Judah. Compare this with the message delivered through Joseph the Prophet, and the evidence is both strong and conclusive.
No less clear is Daniel. In his second chapter, this great prophet predicts coming events with the clearness of history. Four kingdoms are described: The Babylonian, under the dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar; the Medo-Persian, the Grecian and the Roman. The last named is divided into ten, all of which in their composition carry the seed of their dissolution. Iron (political power) and clay (man-invented religion) mixed together, was their inheritance from Rome, and the cause of their weakness. But in the days of these ten kingdoms the kingdom of heaven is founded, a stone cut out without hands of man yet of miraculous origin; mighty as a mountain, and finally, superior to the finest metals, the most splendid earthly thrones.
That this prediction was not fulfilled at the time of Christ is clear from two facts: First, that Christ came before the dissolution of the Roman empire; and, secondly, that Christ did not found a kingdom at all when He was here. Only by the most lamentable perversion of Scripture can this passage be made to apply to the first coming of Christ. It must apply to His second coming or have no meaning at all. But to His second coming it applies. Then His kingdom will fill all the earth, but the stone must first roll, and, while so doing, grow until it becomes fit to perform the work assigned to it.
In chapter seven the prophet treats of the same subject. {400} The four kingdoms are represented by four beasts, and the ten kingdoms by ten horns; three of the horns or kingdoms are subdued by a little horn, the papal, anti-Christian power, which exercises its tyrannical reign, and overcomes the Saints for a period of one thousand two hundred and sixty years. Here, too, the time is fully defined, showing beyond the possibility of doubt that the restoration of the Kingdom of God belongs to this century, counting from the appearance of the little horn, the papal power.
Thus the ancient prophets have spoken of the time in which we live, and their predictions are irrefutable evidence of the truth of the message accepted by the Latter-day Saints.
Let us add one more testimony. John, the great prophet of the New Testament, while on Patmos, has a vision in which the Turkish conquest is shown (chapter ix). Four angels, bound in the great river Euphrates, are let loose to spread war and desolation upon the earth for a period of about four hundred years (Rev. ix, 15). Their great numbers are described, their armors, their national colors, their power to hurt an idolatrous "Christian" world, tormenting those who had abandoned the worship of God for the worship of Saints and images. After this (chapter x) a messenger appears with a little book, signifying that the Spirit of prophecy should again be manifested before "many people, and nations, and tongues and kings" (Rev. x, 1-11). How very clear is this prediction as to the great event of our time. In reading the vision we feel that John saw the youthful Prophet Joseph with the little book in his hand, and heard his mighty voice declaring that the fulness of times had come. "And the angel (or messenger) which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth (embracing both hemispheres) lifted up his hands to heaven and swore by him that liveth for ever and ever * * * * that there shall be time no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel * * * * the mystery of God should be finished" (x, 5-7). Is not this the very essence of the message delivered by Joseph the Prophet?
With such frequency and with such clearness the Spirit of prophecy in all past ages foretells the work in which the Latter-day Saints are now engaged. If Christ can point to predictions as an evidence of His divine mission; if Christians can point to prophecy as an evidence of the truth of Christianity, why are not these predictions, these prophecies, equally infallible evidence of the truth of the divine mission of Joseph Smith? How one can be accepted and the other rejected I fail to see. {401}
Our Lord refers more than once to prophecies delivered by Himself as evidence of His divine mission: "And now I have told you before it came to pass, that when it is come to pass ye might believe." (John xiv, 29.) This kind of evidence has been called prospective. When we read, for instance, the prophecy of our Lord announcing the destruction of Jerusalem, compare the prediction with the description of the fearful event given by Joseph, and see how literally everything was fulfilled, we can understand what strong evidence the prophecy is of the divine mission of the Lord. Jerusalem, Babylon, Nineveh are all witnesses of the truth of the word of God, and their testimony is unanimously accepted by everyone who is able to trace the finger of God. The conclusion is this, that when a man foretells an event which no human wisdom could foresee, the occurrence of such an event is a sure proof that God spoke through that man. So God Himself reasons: "Who hath declared this from ancient times? Have not I, the Lord?" (Isaiah, xlv, 20-22.)
If we apply this rule to the message delivered through Joseph Smith, we unavoidably reach the same conclusion. We are forced by the most plain logic to acknowledge his divine mission.
The following is offered for consideration: In the Book of Doctrine and Covenants many predictions are given concerning the Saints, some of which have already been fulfilled, while others are still awaiting fulfillment.
In 1830, when the Church was still in her earliest infancy, it was predicted: "Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish before the final salvation of Israel" (Doctrine and Covenants, sec xxxv, 24, 25). This remarkable prediction is often repeated, and finally, in the year 1838, at Far West, Missouri, it is again announced: "Therefore, will I not make solitary places to bud and to blossom, and to bring forth in abundance, said the Lord? Is there not room enough upon the mountains?" (Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxvii, 7, 8.)
From the very foundation of the Church the Spirit of God, through the prophet, thus announces in no uncertain way that Zion, the Saints, should move to "the hills," "the mountains," "the solitary places," and there be prosperous, "blossom" gloriously. It must be remembered that these predictions were delivered at a time when no human wisdom could foresee such an event. When the Church was founded in 1830, there was no possibility—speaking from a mere human {402} point of view—of foreseeing her removal to the hills, much less that she would be removed and prosper in the "hills." Nor is there in the whole history of mankind anything analogous to this exodus of the Church. The probability, speaking from a human point of view, when the Church was founded, was either that she would be favored by the world and remain where she was, or that she would be crushed on the spot by an immense hostility. Either of these two occurrences might have been considered probable at the time; but none of them was predicted. The Church should blossom in the hills. Has not this prediction, delivered half a century ago, been remarkably fulfilled? Who can travel through the valleys of the mountains to-day, among fragrant gardens and orchards, and notice the friendly, peaceful homes that everywhere smile upon the stranger, or observe the condition of the Saints, without seeing that the predictions have come literally true? Zion now blossoms in the mountains.
The fulfillment of these predictions has not been brought about by man, otherwise than in this way that ungodly men, without their own knowledge, were the instruments. The Saints were driven from place to place. They went not with a calculation to fulfill prophecy, but because they could not help themselves. In the same way the Jews and the Romans fulfilled the predictions of our Lord.
Anyone who will honestly consider these facts will see that the events prominent in the history of the Latter-day Saints indelibly mark Joseph Smith as a prophet of God.
Other predictions delivered by Joseph the Prophet concern the nations of the earth. In 1832 the following prediction was given: "For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and man shall fall upon the ground, and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea, heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion; and, surely, men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all men." (Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxvii, lxxxix, xci).
True, this prediction has not yet in all its details been fulfilled; still, the events of the last ten years fully indicate that the time is drawing near when the "testimony of thunders" shall roll over the earth. I refer to numerous calamities which the last years have witnessed. Earthquakes, floods, {403} storms, fires, conflagrations, wars, anarchy have filled the newspapers with horrible reading matter. We need only remember the earthquake in Charleston, the overflow of the Yellow River in China, the conflagration of several theatres, the riots in Chicago. So noted have these years been for calamities of every description that astrologers have pointed out that they were caused by certain planets which, during the past years, have had a peculiar position in relation to each other and to the earth. Be this as it may, the fact remains that we live in a time of visitation—a visitation already foretold by Joseph the Prophet. Here, again, we see his words verified, and he himself vindicated as a prophet of God.
Another prediction, the fulfillment of which is written in letters of blood on the pages of the history of the American nation, cannot be contradicted. In 1832 God declared through Joseph Smith: "Behold the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States shall call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves, and thus war shall be poured out upon all nations." (Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxxvii, 3). Concerning this war, it was foretold that it should terminate in "death and misery to many, many souls." Also the place where the first shot was to be fired was foretold: "Verily, thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina." (Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxxvii, 1; cxxx, 12, 13.)
These minute predictions were given at a time when people generally did not believe it possible for the United States to engage in a war with each other. Those acquainted with the sentiments that prevailed in America at that time, all agree in this. Nay, even when the report reached the Northern States that their Southern brethren had actually commenced the tragedy, it was hard for the Northern States to believe it. There was no possibility at the time of Joseph for human sagacity to foresee this war. Yet the despised prophet predicted it with a clearness not surpassed by Isaiah or Daniel.
Did it come true? Did the war break out in South Carolina? Was the slave question the casus belli? Did the Southern States apply to other nations for help? Every particular came true, and the world knows it, even if it fails to acknowledge that all had been predicted years before it happened.
{404} It would be a reasonable supposition that the literal fulfillment of a prediction like this should be proof enough of the divine mission of the prophet. Or, what is required of a true prophet? Is not that enough that his predictions are proved to be true? In the case of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, John, nothing more is required. When we see that their predictions have come true we grant that they were true prophets. Must we, then, reverse every rule of logic in the case of Joseph Smith? Must we say his predictions have been fulfilled; ergo he was a false prophet? The absurdity of this is too great to need refutation.
We know that an objection has been raised that the prediction of the war did not come true in every particular—that the war was confined to the United States, and was not poured out upon all nations.
To this objection we answer that, in one sense, it was poured out upon all nations. The population of the United States consists, as is well known, of people from almost every nation under the sun, and England, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, all were represented in the armies of that war. All contributed to the death list in that long and fearful combat. How much misery, how much sorrow, how many tears did that war cause far beyond the borders of the great republic, when aged mothers and fathers, and sisters and brothers in the old countries received the intelligence that a son or a brother was wounded or dead? If we will consider this in all its consequences we will soon find that the expression, "War shall be poured out upon all nations" is no idle figure of speech. It is a stern fact. Thousands beyond the rolling waves of the ocean drank the bitter cup filled with the curse of that war. Understood in this way, the prediction is literally fulfilled in all its details.
But it must also be remembered that we have not yet reached the last scene of the drama. It is a grave question with some clear-seeing politicians to-day whether the slave question has yet reached its final solution. If it has not, we may yet see the prediction in question fulfilled in every particular.
The prediction itself plainly states that some time would elapse between the fulfillment of its various parts. Verse 3, D&C 87, foretells that the war should be caused by the division of the United States into two great parties, and that the Southern States should call upon Great Britain; "and thus war should be poured out upon all nations." Then verse 4 {405} explains that this should be continued "after many days," thereby that the slaves (the negroes) should rise up, and also the remnant (the Indians), and new wars, new bloodshed take place. The prophecy thus clearly marks two divisions, the events of which are separated from each other by a period of many days, or years; for days in the prophetic language are always understood to mean years. Thus the prediction itself is plain. It foretells the so-called War of the Rebellion, its subsequent result as well as its causes. It further intimates that the question out of which it arose should be settled for many years, but that again the flames of war should be kindled and spread wider than before. The first part of this prediction has been fulfilled. The second belongs to the future.
Having thus removed the objection made to the prediction, it may not be out of place to show that this way of putting close together, in prophetical sentences, events which are in time far separated from each other, is common to prophetical writers. In this respect the Prophet Joseph resembles the ancient prophets, a fact which ought not to be the ground of objection.
Isaiah, speaking of the mission of Christ (chapter lxi, 1-3), says: "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me * * to proclaim the year of acceptance of Jehovah and the day of vengeance of our God." Christ, in reading and expounding this text in Nazareth, reads to the middle of the verse, closes the books and exclaims: "To-day this scripture is fulfilled in your ears." (Luke iv, 21.) Indeed, with the coming of Christ the year of acceptance of Jehovah had come. The first part of the verse was fulfilled, but the second portion—the day of vengeance—was not yet. Thousands of years lie between the first part of this verse and the second.
So the Prophet Joel, in his second chapter, verses 28-32, foretells in one sentence the wonders of the day of Pentecost (compares Acts ii, 16-21) and the great day of Jehovah, when no one can escape the judgments to come except those who take their refuge upon Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, events which are separated from each other by thousands of years.
The objection to the prediction of Joseph Smith is therefore no objection at all, unless the ancient prophets must be rejected on the same ground. On the contrary, an honest investigation leads to the discovery that the very language of prophecy as delivered by the Prophet of this dispensation is in harmony with ancient prophecies, that they flow from one and the same source—the Spirit of God.
With "direct evidence," theologians mean such evidence as is supplied by the miracles of the Lord and his servants.
It is true that miracles are often appealed to as evidence of the divine mission of Christ. Nicodemus says: "No man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him" (John iii, 2). Christ Himself supports this view. "I have greater witness than that of John; for the work which the Father has given me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me" (John v, 36). "Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works' sake" (John xiv, 11). Also: "But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins (He says to the sick of palsy), I say unto thee, 'Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way unto thine house'" (Mark ii, 10, 11). Here, clearly, miracles are furnished as evidence of Christ's divine mission.
But it must be remembered that the performance of miracles is not always a proof of divine authority. The Egyptian magicians worked several miracles, it seems, in the sight of Pharaoh, thereby turning his heart away from God. The disciples of the Pharisees at the time of Christ also performed miracles. They charged Christ with the crime of being connected with the powers of darkness, and that He by such aid cast out demons; to which charge Christ with holy indignation, replies: "If I cast out demons with the aid of Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast out demons?" So that miracles were by no means something which Christ claimed as his exclusive prerogative. It has also been clearly foretold that anti-Christ should claim miraculous powers and thereby deceive many. "His coming is after the workings of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders" (II Thess. ii, 9). "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast" (Rev. xiii, 13, 14). From these passages it is clear that caution is needed in accepting this kind of evidence. Miracles may be evidence of the presence of God or the presence of anti-Christ.
Nor is the performance of miracles always necessary to prove divine authority. A man may be sent from God in order to fulfill a very important mission without having to {407} prove this by miracles. Thus John the Baptist had a very important mission. He came to "prepare the way" for the appearance of Christ, yet it is not known that he proved his mission by miracles.
It is true that Christ and His Apostles after Him worked many striking miracles, even the raising of the dead, but these miracles were, after all, not so frequent as has sometimes been imagined. Those men of God did not touch everything with supernatural power, healing every sick person they saw, raising every dead one, changing the common day occurrences of life into scenes matching the stories of the "Arabian Nights." Not at all. Their miracles were comparatively scarce; they were exceptional occurrences. Thus when Paul was incarcerated in Rome, the cold prison walls forming but a poor shelter for his body during the winter, and his resources probably being exhausted, he asked Timothy kindly to bring with him the cloak which Paul had forgotten at Troas, at the house of one of the brethren, called Carpus. (II Tim., iv, 13). The passage is as prosaic as it could possibly be, and has nothing supernatural about it. Still more, in the same chapter we hear Paul diligently plead with Timothy to come to Rome to him, for he was now alone. All except Luke had forsaken him, and among other misfortunes was this—that he had had to leave Trophimus sick at Miletum. "Erastus abode at Corinth, but Trophimus have I left at Miletum, sick" (II Tim. iv, 20). Sick? Why did not the great Apostle cure him instead of leaving him sick? If the Apostles had been such miracle-makers as modern fancy has represented them to be, an occurrence of this nature would have been impossible. But this is not the only one recorded. Timothy, one of Paul's converts and fellow laborers, is always spoken of in terms of high praise, and he is a noble instance of eminent gifts and grace in one young in years. This favorite of the apostle was sick, however, and in his letter Paul therefor exhorts him to be careful about his health: "Drink no longer water but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities" (I Tim. v, 23). Let those who have overestimated the frequency of miracles at the time of the first Christian churches, consider this passage well, and they will be likely to see their mistake. Here was a prominent man of the church, himself possessing great spiritual gifts, constantly suffering from "infirmities." Here is the great "Apostle of the Gentiles," whose power always was great, advising that prominent man to use a little medicine. {408} Why did he not promise him a miracle? Why? That we do not know, but this we do know, that miracles were never by God strewn round, "plenty as black berries."
Anyone who will study the miracles of our Lord and his apostles, will find that they were always performed for the glory of God, and conveyed a lesson necessary and appropriate. Although individuals were thereby benefited, yet this was not the only or ultimate aim. Christ, for instance, heals with a touch a man whom the law had pronounced unclean, and whom no Jew would touch. He shows by His miracles that he is the Lord over disease, over demons, over physical nature, over brute creatures, in order that we may have confidence in Him in all things. We see him forgiving sins, answering prayers, direct (Mat. ix, 20-22), intercessory (23-26), united (27-31), and even unuttered (32-33). The same characteristics may be observed in the miracles of the apostles. They were never performed for selfish purposes, nor for the gratification of curiosity, never for the sake of show. The epistles explain that miraculous gifts, including prophecy, were given to confirm the truth of the Gospel, promote its rapid dissemination, and edify the churches.
Such miracles, then, are from God, and may be relied upon as evidence of the truth of those revelations which they are intended to prove.
Two questions now become appropriate in our investigation: Did miraculous manifestations follow the message of Joseph the Prophet, and, if so, were these miraculous manifestations of such a nature as to warrant the conclusion that he had his power from God? Let us see.
In the year 1830 the Lord declared through His prophet: "And it shall come to pass that there shall be a great work in the land, even among the Gentiles * * * for I am God and mine arm is not shortened; and I will show miracles, signs and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name; and who shall ask it in my name in faith they shall cast out devils (demons); they I shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk. The time speedily cometh when great things are to be shown forth unto the children of men" (Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xxxv 7-10.) Here we have an unmistakably clear promise that miracles should attend the message of our Prophet; and this promise is repeated at other times. But was this promise also kept? Were those "great things" shown unto the children of men? Or was the promise a false one?
{409} How could it be false? This was one of the very first promises given. When we remember how rapidly the Church spread in those early days, no other conclusion is possible than this: that the promise given was also kept to the very letter. Men are not so foolish as to follow a man who promises "great things" and never keeps his promises. This the ministers of the world have learnt, wherefore they wisely abstain from promising any "great things" before the millennium, possibly. It is always convenient to have a future to draw on during present poverty. But here is a man who, contrary to most ministers of the world, declares in the name of the Lord that the time had now come for the manifestations of "great things." Thousands heard this and believed, in itself a sure proof that "great things" really were shown. The sick were healed, the blind received their sight, the deaf heard, the dumb spake and the lame walked.
At the time of Joseph it was generally accepted, even among the enemies, as a fact that the Prophet performed many great miracles. We remember a romance from that time wherein Joseph is represented as raising a dead lady. Of course, the author of this romance explains it as humbug, the apparent death being caused by a dose of morphine or something else. Other authors ascribe the works of the Prophet to magnetism. Joseph Smith, they say, knew the mysteries of magnetism and understood how to turn them to good account. These efforts on the part of the enemies to explain or account for the miracles of the prophet are a proof as sure as any one can desire that he showed those "great things" which he promised to show in the name of the Lord. Had there been nothing, the enemies would have nothing to account for. "He did it through magnetism" is the modern expression for: "He did it through Beelzebub." Had Joseph been an impostor, how easily that could have been exposed. Here he promises that the sick should be healed by faith. Yet no attempt has been made to prove that the promise was never kept, only that he kept it through magnetism! The enemies well knew that such works followed the testimony of Joseph the Prophet, works for which they could not account in the usual way.
As an instance of how commonly the enemies believed in Joseph's power, the following well-known incident may be referred to. A man once came to the Prophet and asked him to show a miracle. It was not the Prophet's way to make "show" of such works; wherefore he positively refused. But the man grew impertinent and abusive, and talked lightly of {410} the work of God. Finally the prophet said in a voice which penetrated the soul of the miracle-seeking visitor: "You want a miracle. Tell me what you want. Do you want to be struck blind, deaf or dumb? In the name of the Lord God I tell you, you shall have it." Upon this the man left the presence of the prophet in a hurry. Now, why did not this man stay and have a fair trial? Joseph promised him a miracle. Why did he not wait and get it? Simply for the reason that he dared not. In common with all who knew Joseph, he was too well aware of the power of God through the Prophet. The enemies themselves are thus testifying to the fact that miracles attended this Prophet.
Orson Pratt in his work has recorded a number of cases of wonderful healing.
Nor are we referred exclusively to dead witnesses. There are still living men and women in Utah and elsewhere who were personally acquainted with the Prophet, and they are willing to testify, to the last of the great works they have seen with their eyes and heard with their ears, performed by the Prophet. Moreover, great works still continue. To deny, therefore, that miraculous manifestations followed the message of Joseph the Prophet is to deny facts.
These miracles, on the closest investigation, will all be found to partake of the nature of genuine Scriptural miracles. Their aim is the glory of God, as they are always ascribed to Him alone, not to the power of man. Nor are they performed in order to glorify any one man, or set of men. They are performed as a confirmation of faith, not to produce faith.
These points are important and instructive. While the miracles of the Catholic Church appear to be either silly nonsense or worked in support of some notoriously false doctrine, in order to gain proselytes, or otherwise exhibit their spurious origin, the miraculous manifestations following the Church of Christ exhibit no such marks. Their origin is divine, and they bear the divine in arks in themselves. Like God's works in nature, these miracles must be closely studied in order to be known in all their beauty. The indifferent pass them by without notice. There is nothing to "show" in them. But this is one proof of their divine origin. Man always works in a "showy" way when left to himself; God's ways are "in the deep."
I have pointed out that true miracles are referred to as evidence of a divine mission. We have proof that such miracles attended the message of Joseph the Prophet. The conclusion {411} is therefore given. He was a man sent from God, and his message was divine.
When applied to Christianity no one doubts the correctness of the conclusion, if he believes in miracles at all; but if the promises are granted and the conclusion accepted in the case of Christianity, what a fearful corruption of mind there must be in a man who can deny both premises and conclusion when the rule is applied to test the claims of Joseph the Prophet. Surely, in order to be consistent, we must either accept or reject both. A third we do not see.
The evidence thus far considered is external and direct, appealing to our senses. Another class of evidence remains which has been called internal. Applied to Christianity this kind of evidence is thus explained: If Christianity is not of divine origin, it must be a cunningly devised fable. Which is the most probable supposition? Internal evidence tries to answer that question.
The same process of reasoning by which this question is answered when applied to Christianity can also be applied to the message brought by Joseph the Prophet. If this message is not from God it must be from man; it must be forged in order to deceive and must be termed the greatest fraud of the century. It is either a divine truth or a diabolical lie. Tertium non est. Which is the more likely supposition?
In order to decide this question we must consider the moral precepts given by the messenger, his own character, and the character of those who receive it and profess to follow its precepts. For it is very clear that any message which in itself is "good" and which also produces good results in the hearts and lives of men, is not likely to be from the evil one. What is good is from God. Was Joseph the Prophet a good man? Did he inculcate holy principles unto his fellow-men? Does the gospel he preached tend to make men holy? If so, his message must be from God.
That the moral character of a man who professes to be a divine messenger is very important as an evidence of the truth of his message is admitted on all hands. The following is the opinion of an eminent writer: "The character of Christ is a wonderful proof of the divinity of the Bible. The Hindoo cannot think of his Brahmin saint other than possessing the abstemiousness and austerity which he admires in his living models. The Socrates of Plato is composed of elements practically {412} Greek, being a compound of the virtues deemed necessary to adorn the sage. A model of the Jewish teacher might easily be drawn from the writings of the Rabbis, and he would prove to be the very deflection of these Scribes and Pharisees who are reproved in the Gospel. But in the life of our Redeemer a character is represented which departs in every way from the national type of the writers, from the character of all ancient nations, and is at variance with all the features which custom, education, religion and patriotism seem to have consecrated as most beautiful. Four different authors have recorded different facts, but they exhibit the same conception, a conception differing from all they had ever witnessed or heard, and necessarily copied from the same original. Moreover, this glorious character, while borrowing nothing from the Greek, Indian or Jew, having nothing in common with established laws of perfection, is yet to every believer a type of excellence. He is followed by the Greek, though a founder of none of his sects, revered by the Brahmin, though preached by one of the fisherman caste, and worshiped by the red man of Canada, though belonging to the hated paleface."
This very striking picture of our Savior is true in all its details. In the Gospels we see Him described as holy (John vii, xlvi, li, 8, 46, 10, 32; Matt. xxvi, lix, 27, 23, 24; Luke xxiii, 13-45); full of benevolence and compassion (John iv, Luke ix, 55; x, 30-37); kindness and affection (Matt. xiv, 27-31; Luke xix, 5; xli, 22-61; John xi; xix, 25-27); having meekness and humility (Matt. ix, 28, xviii, 22); moral courage, firmness and resignation (Matt. xxvi, 39-46; Mark x, 32; Luke iv, 23; John xi, 7; xviii, 4); abhorring hypocrisy and popularity (Matt. vi, 1-18; x, 16-39; xxii, 18; Mark xii, 38, 40; Luke xi, 44; John xvi, 1-16); being moderate and free from enthusiastic austerity (Matt. viii, 19; xxiii, 23; Luke v, 29, 35; John ii, 1; Mark xii, 17.)
Looking at all these characteristics of our Savior, so eminently "good," and hearing Him solemnly declare that He has a message from God to man, we feel bound to admit that He is no deceiver. His words are true. He is the Son of God. Thus His character becomes an evidence.
Now, concerning the subject under consideration, must we not also admit that Joseph the Prophet was a man sent from God, when we find that his character is in perfect harmony with those qualities that are peculiar to a servant of God?
Those who want to investigate this are referred to works {413} extant, which treat on the "Life of Joseph Smith," and I think any unprejudiced reader will feel impressed with the fact that Joseph was a good man—a "man of God."
How he urges holiness as the condition of happiness! In his benevolence he seemed boundless, embracing every race of humanity, white, red and black! His kindness and affection are touching. Of meekness and humility he exhibits the most striking examples which shall ever be worthy of imitation. The moral courage and firmness which prompted him to face a hostile world and to die "calm as a summer morning," must be admired. His straightforwardness, for which hypocrisy ever stood rebuked, is well-known to his friends and acquaintances. His whole career and the doctrines he taught are indisputable proofs that, although he was inspired by a noble enthusiasm, yet he was far from being what is called an enthusiast.
Here, then, we find all the marks of a true disciple of Christ, proving, if anything at all, that Joseph the Prophet, was a man of God. His message must be therefore from God, too. We know that his antagonists have done all in their power to prove the bad character of the prophet. But we also know what credit must be attached to slanderers inspired by bigotry and hatred.
Were we to draw our information from such sources concerning Christ himself, we would have to reject even Him, the spotless Lamb of God. For the enemies did not fail to stain the character of Christ. "He casteth out devils through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils" (Luke xi, 15.) "Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan (an infidel?) and hast a devil?" (John viii, 48.) A special charge against Jesus was that He was a drunkard (Matt. xi, 19), and generally he was accused of being on intimate terms with "sinners" (Luke xv, 2), by which term the Jews understood outcasts, reprobates, the company of which was contaminating in its influences. Finally, as is well known, our Savior was tried and condemned to death by the ecclesiastical authorities for blasphemy and by the civil court for treason. Must all this be believed? Certainly not. We know that those charges were dictated by hatred. Neither must we believe what hatred has dictated against Joseph the Prophet.
After all, the most diligent slanderers have not been able to bring anything against the Prophet worse than was brought as a charge against the first Christians. When a great calamity befell the Roman empire, or a part thereof, the Christians were the originators. Pests and famines, it was thought, came {414} on account of the Christians, or even that the Christians made them through secret exorcisms in their private meetings. During the reign of Nero, Rome was consumed by a conflagration that lasted for seven days. Five-sevenths of the city were laid in ashes, including temples, palaces and other monumental buildings. Although the embittered people had reason to believe that the emperor himself had caused the fire, yet as soon as the report was started that the Christians had done it, this was willingly believed and a persecution broke out in which most of the apostles of our Lord were cruelly put to death. That the Christians practiced bloody sins in their meetings, that they killed and ate the children and that they plotted against the state were common charges. But we know that these and similar accusations had no foundation in reality.
A very strong proof (as anyone acquainted with human nature will admit) that Joseph the Prophet was a man whose life corresponded with his teachings is the fact that those who knew him best from private intercourse with him were his most earnest admirers. His wife, his brothers, his parents, are all found among the first who joined the Church. How could this be if Joseph the Prophet had not in his daily life been a living witness to the fact that he really communicated with God? This is well worth consideration. A man who professes to have a divine message-must live accordingly or else stand rebuked as a liar before those who know him.
Not less remarkable is the fact that even apostates testify to the truth of the claims of Joseph. Thus David Whitmer, although his position towards the Church in later years was not exactly a friendly one, yet on being asked if he believed that Joseph was a true prophet, he invariably answered: "Do I still believe that Joseph Smith was a divinely inspired prophet? I know he was; it is not a matter of belief," and this testimony the old man has given to the world on his very death-bed.
Considering all this, we must conclude that the life of the prophet and the doctrines which he taught were in such harmony with each other as to impress his surroundings and friends with the fact that he was a man of God. If so, his message must be divine, for no evil power could operate through a righteous person.
This kind of evidence, however, is more to be felt, as it were, than described. Its force on the mind will depend on the moral character of the investigator. Pure minds, practical in holiness, will feel its force stronger than other less pure {415} minds. All will depend on those "relationships of spirits" of which even poets have dreamed. The Nathanael, the "Israelite, indeed, in whom is no guile," could feel in the mere presence of Christ, through the Spirit, that emanated from Him, that here was more than man, and he had to exclaim, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." So will men whose hearts are pure, in following Joseph the Prophet through his short but exceedingly eventful career, certainly feel in their hearts that here is a messenger of God and perhaps sing with the poet:
"We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet,
To guide us in these latter days."
When Christianity was introduced into the world it was brought in contact with many different religious and philosophical systems. The Romans were proud of their military glory, the Greeks of their superior wisdom. Among the Jews a pharisaic spirit prevailed, and the whole nation was divided in factions. They mutually hated each other and all agreed in hating their Roman oppressors and the gentile world at large. A mere human teacher, it has been justly said, would under such circumstances have become either a partisan or have flattered each sect by exposing the faults of the rest, or he would have endeavored to gain the favor of the nation by condemning their conquerors. Instances of this kind of Bessermachen are not unheard of in our time among the "Christian" world, when all stress is often laid on one principle at the sacrifice of the rest. But Christ did not follow this course. He stood up as an independent Teacher, rebuking all error, condemning all the sects, and yet taught principles contrary to the inclinations of the human heart. Hence, Christianity has several peculiarities of its own. In opposition to an empty ritualism it teaches personal holiness as the condition of eternal happiness. All men are alike brought before the bar of God. Even those who have been apostles and worked miracles will fall condemned if they be workers of iniquity. It bids men return good for evil, not to "get even" with everybody; it instructs men to love their enemies, to be humble and forgiving, qualities which philosophers considered weaknesses instead of virtues; it places every race and every station as on a level before God, except for the free mercy of God, whose choice has fallen upon one individual {416} or one section in preference to another. Such doctrines were acceptable to none, and yet they are again and again repeated and enforced.
In the teachings of Christianity, moreover, sin is always spoken of as transgression against God, a contrast to the idea prevalent among the Greek philosophers, who taught, according to Cicero, that "the Deity is never displeased, nor does He inflict injury on man" (De Off. iii, 28). God is traced everywhere—in nature, in history, in revelation; and as for men's acts, they are traced to their very source in the human heart, and there, if evil, condemned. Christianity does not content itself with condemning sin, when already committed, like every human law; but it condemns the thought, the feeling, if not pure, thus striking at the very root of sin.
Well may we, when we rightly understand these facts, with the theologians exclaim: "It must be felt that the morality of the Gospel is not of man. Bad men could not have taught such truths, and good men would not have deceived the people."
But when we apply this great truth to the subject under consideration we reach the same conclusion. The message delivered by Joseph the Prophet, like Christianity in its primitive purity, has peculiarities of its own, all of which prove it to be from God.
First of all, let us consider the importance which this message attaches to faith. While theologians of the world either give the pre-eminence to works, like the Catholics, or like Protestants, give to faith a secondary place in their system, here comes a young man and declares, "Faith is the first principle of revealed religion, and the foundation of all righteousness." He gives to faith its right place as the very beginning of the new life, the foundation of the structure. Where had he learnt this? There is not a theological school within the sphere of our knowledge which has discovered this great truth. Men had for centuries been exhorted to repent first and then try to believe, as if it were possible to produce repentance without faith. Or, men were instructed to do good, as if works could be meritorious without faith. Not only is faith placed in its right place, but the definition of it is given strictly in harmony with ancient revelations. Faith is declared to be the only principle from which obedience and success can flow. In relation to God faith is, indeed, a confession of our weakness and utter inability for everything that is good; and yet, as to success in all things pertaining to our {417} exaltation and glorification, it is omnipotent. (See Doc. and Cov. Lectures on Faith). Now, from whence had the youthful Prophet this discovery taught in the Bible, but not understood by the world? Who had pointed out this great philosophical truth to him? Who but God.
Nor is this all. In the message delivered through Joseph the Prophet, faith has been established on the only sure foundation ever given: The Word of God—REVELATION. This was done at a time when almost everybody thought revelation a thing of the past. No theologian in the whole wide world had discovered the great secret that faith must be based on a communication from God, given not only to people who belong to antiquity, but to the individual who is required to believe. Let everybody honestly investigate the real cause of the weakness of faith as it exists among men. How is it that, notwithstanding all preaching, faith is almost extinct on earth? It is this, that people are required to believe only that which God said anciently. This is the real cause. We are so constructed that we cannot by any force of will take the same lively interest in what happened thousands of years ago as what happened to-day; nor can we realize in the same way what happens to others as that which immediately concerns ourselves. Hence, naturally, all the preaching about what God revealed formerly has only a weak impression comparatively, and it does not make the effect that it should. The faith it produces is something as powerless as faith possibly can be. In order to produce this, preachers are under the necessity of resorting to all sorts of sentimental anecdotes, death scenes, war scenes, dreams, etc., or even to drums and tambourines. Revivalists know the effects of these artificial methods and prefer them to the simple tale of Him who died on Golgotha—a proof of the poverty, spiritually, of the prevalent systems. Now, how is this changed by the simple announcement: "God has spoken!" This at once stirs the whole world and the whole hell and something definitive comes out of that. It produces either faith or condemnation. Where faith is the result it is a strong faith. What gave the former-day Saints the power to endure all for their religion? What gave the Prophet and his fellow martyrs power to endure all hardship and death at the hands of enemies? This assurance: God has spoken. God has revealed His will. Such faith this assurance will always produce. How had Joseph the Prophet come to discover this fundamental truth? No Catholic, no Lutheran, no Episcopalian, {418} no Presbyterian, no Methodist, no Baptist was in the position of teaching Joseph this truth; none but God.
Let us further consider the great truth revealed in these last days concerning God. While all the world, as far as the influence of Christianity is felt, knows how to repeat the words of the prayer which our Lord taught His disciples: "Our Father, which art in heaven," yet who has understood this one word "Father" in its full meaning? We call upon every honest, believing soul in the whole world to inquire into his own mind and see whether this beautiful prayer before the days of Joseph the Prophet had any more significance than being a beautiful figure of speech? Or was there one single theologian who had understood that God really is what He teaches us to call Him, Father? If there be, we are not aware of it. But here comes a young man, educated in no school, formed according to no existent religious system, and opens up to us an infinite view of eternities past and eternities to come by declaring that God is in reality our Father, that we are His children, and that we are here for certain purposes, which accomplished will bring us back to an eternal home, in a circle of real brothers and sisters. Say, O ye inhabitants of the world, can this glorious truth emanate from anybody but God?
Another peculiarity which marks this message is the importance it attaches to obedience to God. "By the prayer of your faith ye shall receive My law," (Doc. and Cov., sec. xli, 3); "None shall be exempt from the justice and the laws of God" (Ibid, cvii, 84); "Verily, I say unto you, that in time ye shall have no king or ruler, for I will be your King and watch over you; wherefore hear My voice and follow Me, and ye shall be a free people, and ye shall have no laws but My laws when I come, for I am your law giver." (Ibid, xxxviii 21, 22). Had Joseph the Prophet received his instructions from men he would have appointed a pope, a bishop, a presbytery, a synod, or something similar as the highest authority of the Church, but he did not. For God alone obedience is demanded; a proof that he was a messenger of God.
This will be better appreciated when it is considered that, although obedience is required, yet the liberty of man is fully preserved. Obedience is required, but not from fear, not from servitude, but from free choice. In looking over the history of the world we find that it has always been the great trouble of mankind to find the proper middle way in this respect. Nations have had their liberty, but it has not been {419} possible to regulate this so as to give no room for abuses. Liberty has been perverted into lawlessness; the people have been the victims of unprincipled agitators who, under the cover of patriotism, seduced and robbed the masses, until the people, tired of this "liberty," after many sufferings, rose and laid the power down into the hands of a few, or even of one, preferring the chance of having one or a few public robbers to many thousands. But as anciently Scylla avoided, Charybdis was near, so here. What was once done as a safeguard against spoliation and lawlessness became in course of time a curse. It developed into despotism. The people suffered for centuries perhaps, but finally the oppression becoming too great, the burdens too heavy, the people rose and crushed the tyrants under its weight. Freedom was again established, and the progress in the circle again commenced. For these two extremes, equally dangerous, despotism and licentiousness have always been the trouble with mankind. Now, here comes a young man, Joseph the Prophet, who had studied no politics, no history, and teaches us a system by which both these extremes, both these dangers are to be avoided, how to obey without becoming serfs, and at the same time to enjoy personal liberty, without placing us in danger of licentiousness. If God had not taught the prophet this "Doctrine of common consent," who had? Who was his teacher?
Another peculiarity, not less marked, is found in what might be called the rites observed in this last dispensation. Almost the entire world had lost the right form of baptism, for instance, and all had forgotten the true signification and use of that rite. A man who had only human wisdom for guidance would under such circumstances probably have either disregarded the act altogether as a mere outward form or would have attached very little importance to it. Both these tendencies are found abundantly among Christian professors. But here comes a young man and teaches us not only the right form of baptism (although this was the most unpopular one), but also its true signification and its use both for living and dead.
Looking at baptism, the doctrine of gathering, the temple services, all the rites revealed through Joseph the Prophet, as an acceptable worship, we must ask: "Is it possible that all this is from men? Is it likely that a deceiver would have taught doctrines so unpopular, so little calculated to gain public favor?" We think not. When a man wants to deceive he must follow popular roads, flatter the vanity of the masses, {420} yield to their prejudices and establish himself on the very ground of their ignorance. Advanced truth, truth trampled under the feet of men, always comes from God.
People who know the religious observances here spoken of only from representations given by a hostile press, where everything is ridiculed, cannot, of course, appreciate the force of the proof they convey. But every one who is familiar with these to the Latter-day Saint's peculiar rites, and who understands that their sole object is to teach the people "Holiness to the Lord"—any one who shall consider that similar means were adopted under the grand Mosaic dispensation in order to impress the people then living with this same lesson, "Holiness to the Lord," and any one who perceives how wonderfully well these rites, in every detail, are calculated to impress this very idea, that without holiness no one can see the Lord, he will feel in the contemplation of all this that here surely is the wisdom of God revealed to man. No analysis, however, can do full justice to this subject. It must be felt and realized in the experience of man in order to be appreciated.
In conclusion, like Scripture itself, the message of Joseph the Prophet begins its work with a recognition of our fall, our total ruin; it then brings the soul into harmony with God and with itself; it enlightens and educates the conscience, quickens and purifies the feeling, subjects instinct to reason, reason to love, and all to God. It provides us with ample means for reaching happiness never dreamt of, worlds without end. Hence, the conclusion necessarily follows that the man who taught us this must himself have been a scholar of God.
When investigating the claims of a religious system it becomes necessary also to consider the effects which such a system produces in the lives and characters of those who embrace it, as well as its general influence. If a tree is known by its fruits, so are also doctrines. Those that produce good fruits cannot be evil.
It is, therefore, customary to refer to the effect of the gospel in the first part of our era as an evidence of the truth of its claims. These effects are well-known and worthy of consideration. Paul points out that some of the Corinthians had been "fornicators, adulterers, thieves, drunkards," previous to their embracing the gospel; but now they were "washed, sanctified, and justified" (I Cor. vi, 11). Peter speaks of some of the converts as having once been "walking in lasciviousness, {421} lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries" (I Peter iv, 3). But these sinners who lived in a dissolute age and under the worst of governments, became converted, became eminent in virtue above their fellowmen.
This eminence is acknowledged by all unprejudiced writers of the age. Clement of Rome (A. D. 100) says: "Who did ever live among you that did not admire your sober and moderate piety and declare the greatness of your hospitality? You are humble and not proud, content with the daily bread which God supplies, hearing diligently His word, and are enlarged in charity." Justin Martyr (A. D. 165), formerly a Platonic philosopher, says: "We who formerly delighted in adultery, now observe the strictest chastity; we who used the charms of magic have devoted ourselves to the true God, and we who valued money and gain above all things now cast what we have in common, and distribute to every man according to his necessities." It has been supposed that the United Order of which we read, and which was founded in Jerusalem at the commencement of the Church, very soon collapsed. But, judging from this expression of Justin, it appears that that order still existed more than one hundred years after Christ. Minucius Felix, to a heathen opponent, says: "You punish wickedness when it is committed. We think it sinful to indulge in a sinful thought. It is with your party that the prisons are crowded, but not a single Christian is there, except it be as a confessor or apostate."
The influence of the gospel was gradually felt among the heathen nations who heard it. In Greece, men like Lycurgus and Solon had encouraged impurities. At Rome they were openly practiced and approved; and nearly all ancient nations are said to have commended self-murder. Human sacrifices and the exposure of children were allowed. But wherever the gospel was preached and believed all such practices were condemned and finally destroyed. That this was not the work of civilization, but of the gospel, may be gathered from the fact that it was nations far above the humble Christians in refinement and education, who committed the greatest outrages. Suppression of sin never keeps pace with the progress of civilization, but with the triumph of the gospel.
Another effect of the gospel was the many charitable institutions that always followed in its track. The relief of distress and the care of the poor are peculiar to Christianity. The gospel, if rightly understood, would have already abolished the horrors of war, prevented slavery, put down feudal {422} oppression, made all men brethren. For such are its doctrines, that when once understood and practiced, they will naturally exterminate all miseries of the human family.
These effects are truly wonderful, and may justly be appealed to as evidences of the truth of the gospel.
But are such effects less strong evidence of the divine origin of the message of Joseph the Prophet, when it can be proved that they invariably follow the acceptance of this message? We think not. Here are facts open to the inspection of everybody. We need not refer to a bygone antiquity to ascertain the effects of this message upon the people who have accepted it. The Latter-day Saints live to-day and their works may be scanned by all. Every honest investigator will find that the fruits produced to-day, as seen among the Latter-day Saints, are precisely the same as those which were seen among the early Christians, and to which we have above briefly referred.
We do not say that everyone who professes to be a Latter-day Saint is an evidence of the divinity of the gospel. Nor was every individual who professed Christianity an evidence of its truth. On the contrary, many, even in the apostolic age, showed by their deeds that they were nothing but professors; and it is clearly not the profession that is the main feature. A man may profess to be what he is not.
Nor do we contend that the Latter-day Saints, considered as a religious community, are the best people on the earth. This is not for us to decide; nor is that our present question. The Saints may be the best people, taken as a whole, or they may not; yet in their present stage of development they have reached a high standard of excellence that is most desirable. This, however, does not affect our present argument.
What we do contend, and what we urgently invite everybody to ascertain for themselves, is this: that the message delivered through Joseph the Prophet, when accepted and honestly carried out in practice, has a tendency to change men for the better and produce fruits of faith, hope and charity, thus proving its divine origin by its fruits; for no deceptive fraud could produce these fruits. This is what we contend. Facts speak for themselves.
We live in an age when social questions threaten to blast society to its very foundations. Where in the whole world have these questions found their only possible solution to the satisfaction of all parties concerned? Not among the various religious bodies of the world; not among the capitalists, nor among the anarchists, communists, socialists, or nihilists, but {423} among the Saints. Over the thresholds of their peaceful homes these troublesome questions—ghosts at the appearance of which the world trembles—cannot enter. In the valleys of the mountains they are unknown, and must remain so as long as the Gospel is being carried out in practice.
Again, who has solved the question of the true relation between the sexes, at once assigning to marriage its divinity of origin and eternal importance, thereby checking the waves of sin which inundate the world, and securing happiness to all? We answer: The Latter-day Saints. One of the first fruits seen as the result of their doctrines is absolute purity.
Further, who fills the prisons as criminals? Not the Latter-day Saints, but outsiders, those who habitually speak of the degradation of the "Mormons;" those Christian associates give the stuff that contributes to the filling up of the prisons—a fact which of itself ought to be enough to convince the whole world of the divine origin of the message delivered through Joseph the Prophet. It is clear that doctrines which are strong enough to keep humanity from committing crimes—to which every human heart is more or less inclined—must be from God.
It may be asked, who fills the saloons and gambling hells? Who swears and lies and slanders? Who is proud and vain, lazy and filthy? No one who has accepted the Gospel in reality—no Latter-day Saint. The Saints are, as such, temperate, industrious, humble, clean, loving, forbearing, long-suffering, rejoicing, fearing God; in short, bearing the fruits of righteousness. Such virtues the Gospel enjoins and such fruits always accompany its real acceptance.
Could we speak of all the cases where men who were in every respect worldly, walking in sin, accepted the Gospel and became changed in every respect, this evidence would, indeed, amount to demonstration. Thousands are our witnesses to these facts—men who were fallen, on their way down to ruin and hell—families who have been happy by the restoration of their fallen ones to virtue, to society and to God.
Finally, has the world exhibited any nobler examples of self-sacrificing faith, of firmness and endurance under suffering and persecution than have many of those despised followers of the martyred Prophet?
True, persecution has been raging against the Saints; but, like the palm tree, which is said to grow all the higher the more weight there is placed thereon, they have stood firm; in persecution they have been patiently enduring, knowing {424} that, after all, God is the Supreme Ruler, and with this knowledge they have faced all adversity calmly and risen through their faith and hope far above the plots of those who know not God.
Such, then, are the effects of the message under consideration. Well may we ask: Is it possible that such noble fruits of faith, hope and charity could be produced from anything that men could invent? An honest inquirer must answer in the negative, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal. v, 22, 23), and it is evident, therefore, that where these are found the Spirit of God is manifested.
Here, then, we again arrive at the same conclusion: Joseph the Prophet was sent from God. If he was not, his whole career would be an enigma, and his work the most profound of mysteries. Then we would have the problem of a man working a system of peculiar doctrines for the salvation of mankind, a religion producing the fruits of the Spirit in accordance with the Gospel of Christ; and all this through whom? Through mere human wisdom? Or, shall we say through the devil? Can any rational man for a moment think that the devil, even if he felt so inclined, could frame a moral system the effects of which upon men would be purity and holiness? The idea is so absurd that it is hardly worthy even of suggestion, and yet the Rev. Mr. Lamb has suggested that the faith of the "Mormons" is possibly due to "demoniacal" influence—a theological possibility which the reverend gentleman may have from studying the theology of the Pharisees, who were perplexed at the manifestations of the power of God in Christ.
No honest man, however good an opinion he may have of the devil, can honestly believe the adversary of God capable of making men holy and virtuous. Nor is it possible for mere human wisdom to do it without the aid of God. Our only alternative is to acknowledge the hand of God, and humbly bow in obedience to the message delivered through Joseph the Prophet.
Stronger than any of the evidences thus far considered is another kind of evidence which may be called spiritual, being the testimony of the Holy Spirit in the soul. This testimony has been promised to every one who is willing to "do the will of God."
{425} When the Holy Spirit enlightens and operates upon the heart and mind of man, he is made to perceive intuitively, as it were, the perfect truth of the message of which we speak. Having received this testimony, a man is no longer dependent upon demonstrations for his belief. His eyes are opened; he can see for himself.
What a miserable existence we should have on this earth if everything had first to be "proved" to us before we would accept it as truth. We see that the sun shines; we hear the harmony of music; we feel or we are conscious of our existence. Such facts we do not require anybody to prove to us. So is it when our spiritual nature has been quickened and called into activity by the operations of the Holy Spirit. We "see the kingdom of heaven;" we feel and are conscious of its blessings through our spiritual senses. This is the testimony of the Spirit in our soul, and the strongest evidence that can be produced.
When we are told through the Gospel that "Ye have strayed from Mine (God's) ordinances," and "broken His everlasting covenant," and that "every man walketh in his own way," we feel this to be true. When the word of revelation declares that men stand incriminated before the bar of God, not only for the acts of transgression, but also for a deep and inveterate habit of ungodliness in the innermost recesses of the soul, we feel this to be so. If man, when honestly searching himself, found that, after all, he is good enough, and his desire is to serve God, to keep His commandments; that his highest anxiety is to promote not his own interests but the kingdom of God, then he might feel that the message which depicts man as a sinner, outwardly and inwardly, is not from God. But through the aid of the Spirit he feels the truth of the Gospel when it condemns sin, and is (with the Prophet) led to acknowledge the "corruption of human nature," as such. (Pearl of Great Price, p. 92.)
This is not all. Through the same Spirit he is led to feel that the provisions made through the Gospel are more than sufficient to restore himself and the human family at large, and even inanimate creation, to all its original beauty and glory. Is man guilty? Here is the pardon provided. Is he corrupt? Here is provision made for his edification. Is he surrounded by temptation? Here is divine strength imparted unto him. Is he surrounded by problems, many of which he cannot solve? Is he dying and fears a coming eternity? Has he lost his dearest upon earth, and feels as if life itself were lost? Oh, here are remedies for all wants. Here is a Gospel {426} that opens the eternities to the eye once dim by tears, perhaps, and for the views the soul here perceives, all earthly troubles vanish like a light cloud, and the following words of Paul become clear: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy, to be compared to the glory which Shall be revealed to us." (Rom. viii, 18). Thus it is observed that the message given is precisely what we in our fallen condition wanted, and, let us say, what we might expect from a merciful Father.
To this comes also that the experience of the believer in the message harmonizes exactly with the promises or threatenings accompanying it. Joseph the Prophet frequently told what would be the experience of those who would be faithful and of those who would not be faithful to their covenants made with God. Each promise of blessing to the faithful, each warning to the unfaithful, is a prediction, the fulfilment of which adds to the strength of the testimony. This experience grows with our growth, and multiplies with every step of our progress in the knowledge and love of truth.
It must be added, however, that this spiritual and experimental evidence is of value only to the believer, who already enjoys the testimony. But to him it is sufficient were it even alone. He cannot sometimes understand that it is possible for anyone to doubt what he himself already "feels," "sees," and "perceives" to be true. He has the witness within himself and needs no other; for he knows that Joseph the Prophet was a man sent from God, just with the same degree of certainty and in the same way that he knows Jesus is the Christ.
The several evidences now considered are indeed important enough to establish the claims of Joseph Smith, and all taken together are overwhelming. We have seen the Prophet stand forth, a man whose desire was to be just, true, and righteous, and we have heard him proclaim his message: "Thus saith the Lord." We have seen that the ancient prophecies predict that such a messenger should come just about the time of Joseph; we have proved that Joseph showed his authority from God by miracles and prophecies; that his message bears peculiar internal marks of divine origin, produces fruits of righteousness in the believers, and is accompanied by that testimony of the Spirit which God alone can give. To deny the divinity of the message, or the divine authority of the messenger, in view of this overwhelming {427} evidence, seems to be nothing short of total blindness, or something much worse.
We do not claim that by each one of these evidences, nor by all together, all objections are answered, all difficulties are removed. To prove religious truth above a possibility of objection is beyond the possibilities of this earth. In religious matters, as in others, our views must necessarily be limited and dimmed by mists.
Nor is it necessary, or even desirable, that all difficulties should be removed. Were there no difficulties any longer, were everything clear even to a mere worldly mind, religion would no longer be religion, for there could be no room for the exercise of faith. Faith is, indeed, after all the very moving power of practical religion. It is therefore clear that difficulties must exist so that faith may be exercised.
It is so with Christianity at large and the Bible itself. Difficulties exist great enough to strengthen, by exercise, the faith of the believer, and to become stumbling blocks to those who do not want to believe. We are finite. Could we expect that God, when talking about matters of infinite interest, should always have that to say which we can understand in every particular, thus leaving no difficulties? Certainly not. Concerning the Bible, an eminent theologian of our own time has said: "We can dispense with nothing, not even the difficulties. Every element (the apparent discrepancies among the rest) is essential to the force of the whole."
But this important truth applies just as much to the message delivered through Joseph the Prophet. We can dispense with nothing in it, not even the apparent difficulties which follow it. Suppose that Joseph had given a code of laws or system of theology in which everything was plainly demonstrated like a handbook in geometry, having every idea defined, every step proved. Who would have believed such a work to have emanated from the Spirit of God? Would it not have carried with it a suspicion on its very surface? For God never before worked in that way. In nature everything is apparently huddled together without system. To man it has been given to arrange God's works in nature into classes, genera, and species, thereby encountering many difficulties but also learning what otherwise could not be learned. The same arrangement we find in the Bible. Principles, maxims, doctrines are given without regard to system, sometimes in plain words, sometimes in narrative or parables. To man it has been given to search diligently and arrange the facts presented into a system. Now, when we find that the message {428} of Joseph the Prophet partakes of the same characteristics as God's works in nature and in revelations recorded in the Bible, this fact is certainly more in favor of the message than otherwise. The very difficulties are evidence of its divine origin.
There is also this peculiarity: that the more we learn of the ways of God, the wider our horizon becomes. That is, we see and understand more; at the same time, we perceive that there is more to comprehend beyond. Ever more; or as Pascal puts it: "The last step of reason is to know that there is an infinitude of things which surpasses it." When a man has learned to acknowledge this, there are no longer any real difficulties to him in connection with the message sent from God. They are all more or less solved. Some are cleared by diligent research and study; others are perceived by faith to melt into unity and harmony when they can be traced back to their first sources and studied in the light which flows from the throne of God.
Our investigation is finished. We have seen that the same evidences which are thought sufficient to establish the truth of the claims of the Gospel as preached in early ages, apply with equal force to the message delivered through Joseph the Prophet. Thousands upon thousands are willing to bear their testimony that they know this to be so. What can we do better than accept it? If true—and how can it be otherwise—what an awful thing to reject it! No less interests than life and salvation are at stake. When God speaks, our greatest wisdom is clearly to hear and obey.
"Let the mountains shout for joy and all ye valleys cry aloud, and all seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your eternal king. And ye rivers and brooks and rills flow down with gladness. Let the woods, and all the trees of the field praise the Lord, and ye solid rocks weep for joy. And let the sun, moon and morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy. And let the eternal creation declare His name for ever and ever." (Doc. and Cov., Sec. cxxviii, 23).
BY ELDER JAMES H. MARTIN, IN THE CONTRIBUTOR, 1890.
It is very difficult for young men born in Utah, and still more so for those who have immigrated from other countries, to understand how Utah, with its fair valleys, which now bloom as a garden, could ever have been so barren and desolate as they have heard the old pioneers describe it. Now, look where they may, they see beautiful homes, lovely fields and orchards; majestic shade trees and waving meadows. "Is it possible," say they, "this beautiful scene could ever have been the dreary waste we have heard our fathers describe?" It is even so, and the writer, in whose memory those scenes are still fresh, will endeavor to illustrate by a few reminiscences.
It was on the 22nd of July, 1850, that on my way to the California gold fields I first entered the valley of Great Salt Lake, but it seems as if 'twere yesterday. As our little company of a half dozen wagons, emerged from the mouth of Parley's Canyon, a vast expanse of gray desert met the eye, livened only by a growth of stunted sunflowers upon the slopes of "benches" at the foot of the mountains. Gray, gray, everywhere; nothing but the bluish gray of sage-brush and greasewood covered the whole face of the land. Not an acre of meadow or green grass to be seen anywhere; the only green visible, being a thin line of willows along the Jordan, or the small streams flowing into the valley from the mountains. We saw squaws among the sunflowers with baskets and paddle in hand, beating the sunflower seeds into their baskets; the seed ground between two flat stones into a coarse meal, forming material for their only kind of bread. The Indians cultivated no land, but subsisted upon game, fish, sunflower seeds and roots; and when grasshoppers and crickets were plentiful, they gathered them by the bushel and baked them for future use in pits, which they dug in the ground and heated by fires made in them. Sometimes the poor natives had not even this to eat, and to preserve life, {430} had to subsist upon the inner bark of cedar and juniper, and seed bearing grasses. Although the scene upon entering the valley of the Great Salt Lake was desolate in the extreme, away in the distance was a sight that gladdened the eye and caused tears of joy to flow from more than one of our party. For months had we toiled slowly onward, living upon bacon and flour—flour and bacon—month after month. "And now," we thought as we saw the distant houses, "now we may get something good to eat—some milk, butter, green vegetables!" What luxuries! who can appreciate such things until long deprivation has made them precious?
We drove through the scattered town of small one-story adobe or log dwellings, but saw nowhere a sign displayed to indicate store, grocery or other place of business. I afterward found there were a few small second hand stores in town; one on Emigration street, as Fourth South was then called; one east of President Young's block; and one or two in other places, but none on Main street, which at that time was lined on both sides by a simple pole fence. No shade trees or orchards were to be seen; if any fruit trees had been planted they were too small to be casually noticed. Some tall native cotton woods stood along the south branch of City Creek, which ran southerly through the lot formerly owned by General Wells. The other branch of the creek ran westward, through the Temple Block, and thence found its way to the Jordan.
The Old Fort on the present Sixth Ward, or Pioneer Square, was still inhabited by families who had not yet been able to build upon their own lots. Everybody was busy—no loafers standing about—every man engaged in the mighty work of building a new state in the midst of the desert. And every man was a farmer. Food is the most important requisite of life; people may and do live without clothing or comforts, but food they must have or soon they die. So every man's great desire seemed to secure food for himself and family—a desire sharpened by the sufferings of the infant colony during the two previous years of partial famine.
One thing struck a stranger as very odd—the sight of money disdained and refused in making trade. For instance, I buy some butter or vegetables, and offer money for it—"Can't you let me have some sugar, sir, or some dried apples, instead of money?" I answered that we have a little of such articles left—hardly enough to last us to California, and again offer the cash. "Oh, do let us have a little dried fruit; it is so long since I had any!" And so we found there {431} are things more desirable than money. This was a common experience during the summer of 1850—money refused, and better pay—food—demanded. It may be different in Utah today.
Other things—strange things—were noticed by our party. Not an oath was heard from any of the Mormon settlers; and if a Gentile uttered one, he did so carefully, as we understood a man was liable to a fine for swearing. Not a drunken man could be seen—for there were no drinking hells allowed until Gentile Christianity forced them upon the people. And there were no houses of ill fame until the same corrupt but overpowering force introduced and sustained them. "Why," said they, "you must be like other people—you must have all these things." They judged Mormons by themselves.
No one thought to fasten a door at night—there were no thieves; and a woman might pass through the streets alone at any hour of the night with perfect safety. Is it so today? If not, is it "Mormonism" or its opposite that has wrought such a woeful change? There is no doubt as to the answer.
A few settlers lived in Davis county, and some where Ogden now stands; also at Provo and its surroundings in Utah county. The country about Bountiful—now so rich and productive—then lay an open waste, covered only by a short, stunted growth of sage and greasewood, and to all human appearances seemed utterly worthless. As the writer rode over it in those days he would not have taken a mile square of it as a gift. What was it good for? It would produce nothing—not even grass—without water, and there was no water for it. "Yes," says the reader, "but there is water for it now; why not then?" I will tell you. When the Latter-day Saints settled Utah they blessed the land by authority of the Holy Priesthood, that it should be fertile; and they blessed the waters, that they should increase. The Almighty heard, approved and verified their words. That is the reason in a nutshell; that explains the great change that has taken place since Utah Was first settled; a change well known to all the old pioneers. I hear President Kimball, one day, when, in the spirit of prophecy, say: "As the need for water increases among the people, so shall the waters increase from this time forth. Write it down if you like, for it is true." I heard his words and recorded them, and now testify to their truth, as shown by almost forty years' experience since the words were spoken. The waters in Utah have increased. Small rivulets, dry in summer, have become steady streams, and much larger, and large streams have grown larger. Springs {432} have broken out where they never existed before, as the writer knows by personal observation.
In the spring of 1851 I went to where Payson now stands, selected a farm and proposed to settle. At that time—March 10th—not a house had been erected, but some were being built of logs, by seven families lately arrived. Making known to them my intention, I was answered: "Oh, yes, you may have all the land you want, but not water. We claim all the water, and there is not enough for us." And so I went down to Iron county. Water at Payson was scarce; the whole stream would have run in a ditch two feet wide or less. How many people live in and around Payson now? Hundreds, if not thousands, and all have water. So it has been all through Utah. I remember on one occasion while traveling in southern Utah, in company with Apostles George A. Smith and Amasa Lyman, we stopped for lunch one day at a small spring which oozed from a bank, ran a few yards and disappeared in the sand—the only water for miles around. And this is how we got water to drink: One sat beside the spring with spoon and tin cup, dipping a spoonful at a time until the cup was full. Years afterwards, I passed that place again, and found to my astonishment, five families living there, all supplied from the same spring, with water enough for gardens and fruit trees. Many similar examples might be noted, had we space.
For years after Utah was settled the country was considered the very worst. President Young used to say it was a good country for the Saints to live in, "for," said he, "no one else would or could inhabit it." For years it required constant persuasion from the Presidency and Twelve to keep people from wandering away to more favored lands, and nothing but the wonderful faith of the people retained them. In spite of all, many did go away, each year, feeling as if their hardships were more than they could bear. But the great majority remained, sustained by faith without parallel in the history of any people.
More than a thousand miles from the Missouri river; surrounded on all sides by powerful, unconquered tribes of bloodthirsty savages; poor, plundered of their all by ruthless Christian foes in Missouri and Illinois; hated and despised by all the world; what but suffering and death could they expect in their isolated desert home? Their clothing would soon wear out, their ammunition needed for self-defense would soon be expended, and all this would require a year's journey to replace. But they could at least raise bread. "No," says
{433} Col. Bridger and other long residents there, "you can't raise anything here. Frost every month in the year." He said he would give one thousand dollars for the first bushel of corn they could raise, and felt secure in his offer.
But the Saints did conquer the desert, by the blessing of Him who rules all things; and their achievements in founding a prosperous commonwealth as they did, in the face of almost insurmountable difficulties, will yet be pointed to as some of the most remarkable upon record. The silly babble indulged in by some of the enemies of the Mormons—that Utah was desirable in the beginning—fertile, abounding in water and verdant meadows—can only bring a smile to the pioneer who remembers things as they were then.
Today Utah is a garden; but it has become so by the blessing of the Almighty upon the untiring, Herculean toils of the Latter-day Saints, who had faith in God and trusted their leaders. Their faith, so steadfast and sublime, is called by the world fanaticism; but the Saints know in whom they trust, and have no fears as to the future of Zion. The fires of persecution and the blows of their enemies have the same effect upon them as the flame of the forge, the anvil and the blacksmith's sledge, upon the heated steel, solidifying and shaping and tempering it more perfectly. And if some cannot endure the ordeal, but fly off like the sparks under the hammer, it is only an evidence that the remainder, purified from dross, is more coherent and stronger than ever.
"Ever keep in exercise the principle of mercy, and be ready to forgive your brother on the first intimation of repentance."
—Joseph Smith, The Prophet.
ITS PRIESTHOOD, ORGANIZATION, DOCTRINES, ORDINANCES AND HISTORY.
BY ELDER JOHN JAQUES.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there are two Priesthoods—the Melchisedek, and the Aaronic, the latter including the Levitical.
The Melchisedek is the higher Priesthood, comprising apostles, patriarchs, high priests, seventies, and elders, and holds the right of presidency, with the authority to administer in all or any of the offices, ordinances, and affairs of the Church. "The power and authority of the higher or Melchisedek Priesthood is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church, to have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them, to commune with the general assembly and church of the First-born, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant."
An apostle has the right to administer in the various offices of the Church, especially in spiritual things. So also, according to their respective callings, have a patriarch, a high priest, a seventy, and an elder. But the special office of a patriarch is to give patriarchal blessings, and the particular calling of a seventy is to travel and preach the Gospel and to be an especial witness in all the world, building up the Church and regulating {435} the affairs of the same in all nations, under the direction of the higher authorities of the Church.
All officers superior to elders are frequently termed elders. The duties of an elder are thus defined: "An apostle is an elder, and it is his calling to baptize; and to ordain other elders, priests, teachers, and deacons; and to administer bread and wine, the emblems of the flesh and blood of Christ; and to confirm those who are baptized into the Church, by the laying on of hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, according to the scriptures; and to teach, expound, exhort, baptize, and watch over the Church; and to confirm the Church, by the laying on of the hands, and the giving of the Holy Ghost; and to take the lead of all meetings. The elders are to conduct the meetings as they are led by the Holy Ghost, according to the commandments and revelations of God."
The Aaronic, with the Levitical, Priesthood is a subordinate priesthood. It is called the lesser Priesthood because it is an appendage to the Melchisedek or higher Priesthood, and acts under its direction and supervision.
The Aaronic Priesthood comprises bishops, priests, teachers, and deacons, and has power to administer in certain ordinances and in the temporal affairs of the Church. "The power and authority of the lesser or Aaronic Priesthood is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the Gospel—the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;" also to sit as a common judge in Israel.
The bishopric is the presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood, and holds the keys or authority of the same. "The office of a bishop is in administering all temporal things." First-born sons, literal descendants of Aaron, have a legal right to the bishopric. No other man has a legal right to the presidency of this Priesthood, and a first-born descendant of Aaron must be designated by the First Presidency of the Melchisedek Priesthood, "and found worthy, and anointed, and ordained under the hands of this presidency," before he is legally authorized to officiate in the Priesthood. "But as a high priest of the Melchisedek Priesthood has authority to officiate in all the lesser offices, he may officiate in the office of bishop when no literal descendant of Aaron can be found, provided he is called and set apart and ordained unto this power under the hands of the First Presidency of the Melchisedek Priesthood."
A bishop who is a first-born descendant of Aaron can sit as a common judge in the Church without counselors, except when a president of the High Priesthood is tried. But a {436} bishop from the High Priesthood must not sit as a judge without his two counselors. In both cases the jurisdiction of bishops is original, but not exclusive.
Over all the other bishops in the Church there is a presiding bishop, with two counselors. William B. Preston is the present presiding bishop, and Robert T. Burton and John R. Winder are his counselors.
The duties of a priest are "to preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and administer the sacrament, and visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret, and attend to all family duties; and he may ordain other priests, teachers, and deacons; and he is to take the lead of meetings when there is no elder present; but when there is an elder present he is only to preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and visit the house of each member, exhorting them to pray vocally and in secret, and attend to all family duties. In all these duties the priest is to assist the elder, if occasion requires."
The duties of a teacher are "to watch over the Church always, and be with and strengthen them, and see that there is no iniquity in the Church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking; and see that the Church meet together often, and also see that all the members do their duty; and he is to take the lead of meetings in the absence of the elder or priest."
The duties of a deacon are to assist the teacher in his duties in the Church, if occasion requires. But deacons have more especially to do with temporalities and are expected to see that the meeting houses are in comfortable condition for the use of the officers and members of the Church in their various meetings. It is also the duty of the deacons, under the direction of the bishops, to look after the welfare of the poor, and endeavor to supply their necessities.
Teachers and deacons are "appointed to watch over the Church, to be standing ministers unto the Church." "But neither teachers nor deacons have authority to baptize, administer the sacrament, or lay on hands. They are, however, to warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite all to come unto Christ."
No man can hold any office in the Priesthood, in either kind, unless by authoritative call and ordination, or by special appointment of God.
As a general rule, though with some limitations, an officer in the Priesthood has power to ordain men to the same office {437} that he holds, when the candidates are properly called and vouched for.
The First Presidency of the Church, also known as the First Presidency of the High Priesthood, consists of a president and two counselors. Wilford Woodruff is the present president, and George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith are his two counselors. It is the duty of the First Presidency to preside over the affairs of the Church, and they can officiate in any or all of its offices. "Of the Melchisedek Priesthood, three presiding high priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the Church, form a quorum of the presidency of the Church." "The duty of the President of the office of the High Priesthood is to preside over the whole Church, and to be like unto Moses." "Yea, to be a seer, a revelator, a translator, and a prophet, having all the gifts of God which he bestows upon the head of the Church."
The Twelve Apostles are a traveling presiding high council, next in order of authority to the First Presidency. On the death of the President of the Church, the presiding authority falls on the next council in precedence, which is the council of the Twelve Apostles, and continues with that council until another First Presidency is installed. The presidency of the council of the Twelve Apostles is decided by seniority or ordination. The duties of the Twelve Apostles are to preach the Gospel and build up the Church and regulate the affairs of the same in all nations, under the direction of the First Presidency. It is the privilege and duty of the council of the Twelve Apostles, when sent out, to open the Gospel door to the various nations of the earth, and, when they need assistance, it is their duty to call preferentially on the Seventies to fill the calls for preaching and administering the Gospel.
The Seventies are organized into various councils of seventy, commonly termed quorums. Each council of seventy has seven presidents, chosen out of the seventy, one of the seven presiding over the others and over the whole seventy. The seven presidents of the first council of seventies also preside over all the councils of seventies. There are now one hundred and three councils of seventies, seventy members in each council when it is full.
In each Stake of Zion the High Priesthood assemble in council at stated times, perhaps once a month, for counsel and {438} instruction in their duties, with a president and two counselors presiding over them.
Elders are organized in councils of ninety-six, each council with a president and two counselors.
Priests are organized in councils of forty-eight, each with a president and two counselors. This president must be a bishop.
Teachers are organized in councils of twenty-four, each with a president and two counselors.
Deacons are organized in councils of twelve, each with a president and two counselors.
At the gathering places of the Latter-day Saints, the branches of the Church are organized into Stakes of Zion. In Utah these stakes are generally, but not necessarily, coextensive with counties. Each stake has a president, with his two counselors, and has also a high council, consisting of twelve high priests. The president of a stake, with his two counselors, presides over the high council of that stake. The jurisdiction of the high council of a stake is appellate in most cases, but original in some. The decisions of a high council are usually, but not invariably, final. On an appeal from the decision of a high council, a hearing and decision can be had from a general assembly of the various councils of the Priesthood, which is the end of controversy in the Church, but such appeals are very rarely taken.
The jurisdiction of all councils in the Church is ecclesiastical, extending to fellowship and standing only, the extreme judgment in all cases being excommunication.
Each stake is divided into an irregular number of wards, over each of which a bishop, with his two counselors, presides.
Each ward has its own meeting house, as a rule.
Each stake has also its own meeting house generally, for the holding of conferences and other meetings. In Utah and adjacent Territories and States there are thirty-two stakes, comprising about four hundred and twenty-five bishops' wards. Salt Lake City is divided into twenty-two wards, the usual size of each of which is a square of nine ten-acre blocks, though most of the wards in the outskirts are considerably larger.
Each stake as a rule holds a quarter-yearly conference, usually continuing two days.
The church holds two general conferences yearly. They are held almost invariably in April and October, commencing on the sixth day of each of those months, and generally lasting three or four days. Occasionally special general conferences are held.
The Latter-day Saints believe in the Bible as an inspired record of the dealings of God with men in the eastern hemisphere, and consequently believe in the creation or organization of the heavens and the earth by the word of God.
They believe that God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and that they were cast out therefrom for transgression, thereby bringing suffering and death into the world, including banishment from the presence of God.
That Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and that by his death he made atonement for the sins of Adam and of the whole world, so that men, by individual acceptance of the terms, can have their own sins forgiven or remitted and be reconciled to God.
That in order to obtain this forgiveness or remission and reconciliation, men must have faith in God and in Jesus Christ, repent of and forsake their sins, be baptized for the remission of them, have hands laid upon them by authorized ministers for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and live a pure life, keeping the commandments of God and walking in holiness before him.
That members of the Church should partake of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, at stated times, and assemble frequently to worship God and to be instructed in regard to their duties and privileges.
That it is the duty of the members of the Church to pay first a tenth part of their property, and afterward a tenth of their increase or income for the advancement of the work of God.
That revelations from God and miraculous manifestations of his power were not confined to the apostolic and earlier ages, nor to the eastern hemisphere, but may be enjoyed in this age or in any dispensation or country.
That the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are revelations from God, the former being an inspired record of his dealings with the ancient inhabitants of this continent and the latter consisting of revelations from him in this dispensation.
That he gave revelations to Joseph Smith and inspired him to translate the Book of Mormon and to organize the Church of Christ anew upon the earth in our day.
{440} That this is the dispensation of the fulness of times, in which all things will be gathered together in one, both which are in heaven and which are on the earth.
That the Gospel must be preached in all the world for a witness, and then the end shall come.
That those who believe in the Gospel and receive the testimony of the servants of God should gather themselves together as one people upon this continent, to build up communities, cities, and temples to the name of the Lord, and to establish Zion, that they may escape the judgments which God is about to send upon the wicked, and be prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ to take upon him his power and reign on the earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.
That men and women should not indulge in the lusts of the flesh, and thereby corrupt, debase and destroy themselves and others.
That marriage, whether monogamic or polygamic, is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, when such marriage is contracted and carried out in accordance with the law of God.
That the ten commandments are as binding now as when delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai, and that the two supreme commandments, into which Jesus Christ resolved the ten, are, with the ten, as binding now as when he was upon the earth in the flesh; which two commandments are as follows: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
That every man is free to accept or reject the Gospel, but that he cannot receive remission of sins, nor be reconciled to God, nor enjoy eternal life in his presence, on any other terms than obedience to the Gospel.
That men will be rewarded or punished according to their works, whether good or evil.
That the dead, who did not obey the Gospel in this life, can hear and accept of it in the spirit world, their mortal relatives or friends attending to the ordinances of the Gospel in their behalf.
That all mankind will be resurrected from the dead and will come forth to judgment and receive either reward or punishment, which will be various in degree, according to capacity, merit, and demerit.
That the earth glorified will be the dwelling place of resurrected, glorified and immortal beings, who will have {441} previously passed their mortal probation thereon, and that they will dwell upon it forever in the light and knowledge and glory of God.
There are certain ordinances connected with the Gospel, most of which are essential to complete salvation, and all are desirable to be observed under proper circumstances.
The first ordinance is the baptism of water for the remission of sins. "Baptism is to be administered in the following manner unto all those who repent: The person who is called of God, and has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with the person who has presented him or herself for baptism, and shall say, calling him or her by name, 'Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.' Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come forth again out of the water."
Baptism is analogous to the door of the Church. No person can become a member without baptism, and no person is eligible for baptism without repentance of sins committed. Consequently the candidate must have arrived at the years of accountability, and be capable of repentance. "All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the Church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his Church."
Children are eligible for baptism on attaining the age of eight years, previous to which age they are not considered accountable before God for their transgressions.
No person who has been excommunicated from the Church can be re-admitted without repentance and baptism as at the first.
Baptism for the dead is administered in a similar manner to baptism for the living, a living person acting as proxy for the dead person on whose account the baptism is administered.
After baptism the candidates are confirmed members of the Church by the laying on of hands, that they may receive the Holy Ghost.
The duty of "every member of the Church of Christ having {442} children, is to bring them unto the elders, before the Church, who are to lay their hands upon them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them in his name."
The laying on of hands is an ordinance also in the giving of patriarchal or other blessings to members of the Church, in ordination to office in the Priesthood, in setting persons apart to particular duties or callings or missions, and in administering to the sick in connection with anointing with consecrated oil and the prayer of faith.
In regard to the ordinance or sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the members of the Church are required to meet together often to partake of the bread and wine (or water, when pure home-made grape wine cannot be had) in remembrance of the Lord Jesus. An elder, a bishop or a priest can administer it. Usually the officer officiating breaks the bread into small pieces, kneels with the members of the Church assembled, and calls upon God, the Father, in solemn prayer, saying, "O God, the eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."
After the members have partaken of the bread, the person officiating takes the cup and engages in prayer, saying, "O God, the eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine [or water] to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."
There is also the ordinance of marriage.
No person has authority to preach the Gospel, or administer in any ordinance thereof, unless he holds the Priesthood, and then to administer only in such ordinances as the particular office to which he has been ordained empowers him and often only by special calling and appointment.
In the spring of 1820, God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ appeared in vision to Joseph Smith, at Manchester, {443} Ontario County, New York, while he was praying for wisdom. During several years following he enjoyed the ministration of angels, and received from them much instruction in the things of God.
On the 22d of September, 1827, an angel of the Lord delivered into his hands the metal plates which contained the ancient record known as the Book of Mormon, engraved in reformed Egyptian characters, and hid in the earth by divine direction about fourteen hundred years ago. In 1829 the plates were shown by an angel to three witnesses. Afterward eight witnesses saw them, and handled some of them. The testimony of these eleven witnesses is published with the Book of Mormon. With the plates was found a Urim and Thummim, consisting of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breastplate, by means of which Joseph Smith translated the record into English by the gift and power of God.
On the 15th of May, 1829, John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, laid his hands upon them, and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood, in the following words: "Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness."
The same year the ancient apostles, Peter, James and John appeared to them and ordained them to the apostleship of the Melchisedek Priesthood.
On the 6th of April, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, with six members, at Fayette, Seneca County, New York, by Joseph Smith, then twenty-four years old, who was instructed and empowered to that purpose by revelation from God. The Book of Mormon was printed at Palmyra, New York, and published the same year.
The Church rapidly increased in numbers and many located at Kirtland, Ohio.
In 1831, a settlement was made at Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, and in a few years in several other counties in that State.
On February 14, 1835, the first council of the Twelve Apostles was chosen. On the 28th of the same month the first council of Seventies was selected.
After being mobocratically driven from county to county, {444} the Latter-day Saints were finally expelled from Missouri in 1838.
Many of them soon after found a refuge at Commerce, (afterward named Nauvoo) and vicinity, in Illinois, which speedily became a comparatively large and prosperous city. But persecution of the Latter-day Saints was shortly recommenced, and on the 27th of June, 1844, when under the express pledge of Thos. Ford, Governor of the State, for their safe keeping, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were shot and killed, and John Taylor was severely wounded, at Carthage, by a mob with faces blackened. At the time of his death Joseph Smith was President of the Church, and Hyrum Smith was Patriarch.
On the death of Joseph Smith, the council of the Twelve Apostles, with Brigham Young as their president, became the presiding council in the Church.
In consequence of continued mobocratic outrages and threats, the Church determined to leave Nauvoo and go west to some far distant place where they hoped to be permitted to live in peace. Brigham Young and one thousand families left Nauvoo in February and the early spring of 1846, arriving at Council Bluffs, Iowa, in July of that year, where the Mormon Battalion of five hundred men was called for by the Federal Government, and raised to aid in the war against Mexico.
In September following, the Latter-day Saints remaining in Nauvoo, including the aged, infirm, poor, and sick, were attacked by an armed mob, despoiled of most of their property, driven across the river, and otherwise outrageously and inhumanly abused.
In the spring of 1847, Brigham Young and a company of pioneers (one hundred and forty-three men, three women and two children) started across the great plains and the Rocky Mountains. They arrived in Salt Lake Valley July 24th, of the same year, and immediately founded Great Salt Lake City, now Salt Lake City, subsequently making other settlements and building cities all over the Territory of Utah and extending into the Territories and States adjoining.
The pioneers were followed by seven hundred wagons in the fall of the same year, and by many emigrants of Latter-day Saints every year since.
On the 27th of December, 1847, a First Presidency was accepted, consisting of Brigham Young, president, with Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, counselors.
In 1857, in consequence of false and malicious reports, President Buchanan sent an army to Utah to operate inimically {445} to the inhabitants. But the army was unable to enter Salt Lake Valley that year.
In the spring of 1858, the people of Salt Lake City and the country adjacent left their homes, with the view of burning them, and traveled southward. But amicable arrangements were soon made, most of the people returned to their homes, and the army found itself with nothing to do, until the secession of the Southern States, when its commander and other officers took the side of the south, and the rank and file were sent to fight on the side of the north. The army came to Utah to despoil and destroy, but God overruled things and caused it to greatly aid the people, materially and financially, to build up and develop the Territory, and they have prospered ever since, although some federal officials and other unprincipled characters have many times endeavored to oppress them and accomplish their overthrow.
On the 29th of August, 1877, Brigham Young died, and the direction of the Church fell upon the council of the Twelve Apostles, with John Taylor presiding.
On the 10th of October, 1880, a First Presidency of the Church was accepted, consisting of John Taylor, president, and George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, his counselors.
On the death of President Taylor, which occurred July 25, 1887, the Twelve Apostles, with Wilford Woodruff as president, became the presiding council in the Church. On April 7, 1889, another First Presidency was accepted, with Wilford Woodruff as president and George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith as his counselors.
On the 14th of March, 1882, incited by most abominable lies and slanders, Congress passed the unconstitutional and infamous Edmunds bill, destroying the liberties of the people of the Territory and putting all registration and election and many appointive matters in the hands of an oligarchal commission or returning board, consisting of five irresponsible appointees of the President, at a cost to the country of much more annually than the appropriation for the Territorial legislature biennially.
On the 19th of April of the same year, the House of Representatives refused to permit the legally elected delegate from Utah to take his seat, and declared the same vacant.
On the 5th of August following, in consequence of representations made by the three federal judges of the Territory, Congress passed a law authorizing the Governor to appoint men to fill vacancies resulting from the failure of the August election, which fell through because of the passage of the {446} Edmunds bill. The actual vacancies under this law were very few, yet Governor Murray, with his characteristic unscrupulousness, resolved to wrest the law so as to make a fell swoop of nearly all the offices in the Territory, and thus wrench them out of the hands of the people and their lawfully elected officers and representatives, and give them into the hands of his own partisans, the bitter enemies of the people. Consequently, he arbitrarily interpreted the new law to vacate nearly all the offices of the twenty-four counties in the Territory, said offices numbering between two and three hundred, besides some other local and some Territorial offices, and proceeded, by and with the advice and consent of nobody, probably, but his own prejudiced and wicked self, to make appointments to fill these offices, thus despotically assuming to exercise a far greater stretch of power than is exercised by the President of the United States, and correspondingly despoiling the people of their constitutional, organic, lawful, and vested right to official representation.
This same Governor Murray, in direct violation and open defiance of the law, had previously refused to count eighteen thousand lawful votes for the people's candidate for delegate to Congress, in order that he might illegally give the certificate of election to one of his own partisans, who received less than fourteen hundred votes, and thus corruptly and ruthlessly deprive the eighteen thousand citizens of their right of suffrage. Congress refused to sanction this outrageous tampering with the ballot box, this wholesale spoliation, and rejected the bogus certificate. Yet the unprincipled Governor, who attempted this iniquitous tampering and spoliation and gave the certificate to the man who was not elected, but refused to give one to the man who was elected by an overwhelming majority, was sustained in his partiality, presumption and wickedness by no less than three several presidents of these United States, and consequently the longsuffering people of the Territory had to endure the incubus of his unwelcome and pernicious presence and the aggravated infliction of his usurpative and demoralizing gubernatorial rule.
In the second full week in September of the same year, the five federal commissioners had a registration of voters throughout the Territory, expurging from the old lists the names of all those who did not appear and be re-registered, and of others who did appear. Many Latter-day Saints, men and women of excellent character, peaceable, industrious, order-loving, and law-abiding citizens, some of them three or four score years {447} old, and who had been accustomed to vote unchallenged from their youth up, were not allowed to be re-registered, though eligible under the law, and not liable to any legal punishment in any court in the country, because no crime of any kind could be lawfully charged against them. On the other hand, adulterers and libertines, well known and acknowledged to be such, married men who confessed to living with other women, and notorious public prostitutes were freely registered.
The same week a number of rabid anti-Mormons conspired to overthrow the right of women to be registered and to vote. Such an obnoxious character had Governor Murray obtained among the people, that he was almost universally believed to be one of the chief of the conspirators and instigators in this ungallant, unmanly, and ineffably mean spirited attempt to abolish woman suffrage in Utah. But the judges in all the district courts in the Territory decided that the woman suffrage law was valid.
In March, 1886, Governor Murray, for his unreasonable and obstructive conduct, was virtually removed from office by President Cleveland, or, in other words, was invited to resign. During his whole gubernatorial term he had persistently shown his prejudice against and enmity towards the Latter-day Saints, and had sought to deprive them of their liberties, rob them of their rights, and create a conflict between them and the federal government, which last the people had sufficient good sense to prevent, notwithstanding the many aggravating provocations. He was succeeded by Caleb W. West, not much of an improvement on his predecessor.
Governor West commenced by offering amnesty to all the prisoners in the penitentiary, under the infamous Edmunds law, who would "promise to obey the law as interpreted by the courts," an insulting and degrading offer that was respectfully declined, as they could not bind themselves to accept all the partisan and persecutive vagaries of the courts.
Governor West was succeeded in 1889 by A. L. Thomas, who soon announced himself as decidedly in favor of still further restricting government of the people, by the people, for the people, by recommending that more local officers should be appointed "by some federal agency," instead of continuing to be elected by the people.
The last eight, and especially the last six, years have been chiefly notorious for the outrageous and desperate attempts of the anti-Mormon party, through congressional legislation and the courts, to crush and destroy the church, and persecute, {448} distress, and despoil the members thereof. The details are too profuse to be related here, and therefore must be referred to but briefly and mostly in a general way.
It seems to have been a settled leading idea of most, yet not quite all, of the federal officers appointed and sent to Utah, that the almost sole purpose of their appointment was to destroy the church as a religious body, and especially the political power of the members, and to despoil them in every possible way, preferably under some sort of color of law. A strange thing in a free country, in this much vaunted land of liberty and equal rights par excellence.
In regard to federal officials, or to officials appointed by "some federal agency," the usual course is to select and appoint those who are prejudiced and who cherish animosity against the Latter-day Saints, and who antagonize them on all possible occasions. If by any fortunate accident a fair-minded man is appointed, he is either so badgered and worried by the anti-Mormon element as to cause him to resign in disgust, or every effort is made to effect his early removal from office, so that the courts and all offices under federal or anti-Mormon influence become mere partisan machinery for oppressing and despoiling the Latter-day Saints.
The Utah Commission, that costly superfluity, which probably causes the country an expenditure of $50,000 per annum to enable the commission to supersede local self-government so far as it can, makes its annual report to the federal government in which one thing is surely manifest—the attempt to increase its own powers and to secure further legislation restrictive of the privileges, powers, rights, and liberties of the people. Under such circumstances the commission is entitled to no more respect than the law demands. There really never has been any more use for such a commission than for the fifth wheel to a wagon; not so much, for an extra wheel would come in useful if one of the four was broken, but the Utah Commission has been from the beginning absolutely of no necessity nor utility whatever. It has been an extravagant and criminal waste of the people's money, an excrescence on the body politic, a libel on popular government, a disgrace to American liberty. Some of the unrighteous decisions of the commission have been virtually reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States, though even that august tribunal can not be said to be forward in doing even and exact justice towards the Latter-day Saints. Indeed in all the courts under federal jurisdiction, or under anti-Mormon influence, the justice that is done to the Latter-day Saints is such as can {449} hardly be avoided under the law, and even the law is frequently so one-sidedly construed and technically twisted and distorted as to become a mere mockery of justice, which, on the contrary, should be the foundation, spirit, substance, object, and end of all law.
Utah and Idaho are disgraced with religious test oaths, through federal and anti-Mormon agency. Arizona had such a law, but to her credit be it said that she repealed it, though some Mormon-eaters want another enacted. Nevada made a law disfranchising the Latter-day Saints, but the Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional. In Idaho a Latter-day Saint is debarred, because of his religion, from voting or holding office, and the new state constitution prohibits him from sitting on juries. In Utah the federally appointed judges have decided that an alien Latter-day Saint cannot be naturalized, solely on account of his religion. The appointment of the chief justice who concurred in that decision, was afterwards confirmed by the United States Senate, the Senate thus sanctioning persecution for religious and conscience' sake. The attempt is also made to prohibit even native-born Latter-day Saints from taking up land, and threats are freely made that disability to hold real estate will follow. Then perhaps the right to live will be denied, as in the case of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The law known as the Poland bill gave federal and local agency equal power in arranging the jury list, but that show of justice is now gone, and all jurors are chosen by federal agency, resulting in jury lists and juries from which Latter-day Saints are excluded, so that they are tried, not by juries of their peers, but by juries of prejudiced, political and religious partisans and open and avowed enemies. What confidence can any man have in getting justice from a court where judge and juries and prosecuting and executive officers are well known to be unscrupulous partisans and bitter enemies of the accused?
Among the judicial infamies perpetrated against the Latter-day Saints was the diabolical Dickson-Zane doctrine of segregation, by which a man charged with a misdemeanor could be kept in prison all his life. This doctrine, as well as its near akin doctrine that the same misdemeanor could be divided into two or more offenses, with two or more different sentences of punishment, was overthrown by the Supreme Court of the United States.
In the administration of recent federal law, the courts in 1887 took possession of the Latter-day Saints' Perpetual Emigrating {450} Fund, a charitable institution for the assistance of worthy emigrants, and seized real and personal estate belonging, or supposed to belong, to the Church, and estimated to be worth about a million dollars. Some of its own property was then rented to the Church, the federal agency requiring and receiving the rent. Now, if the federal government sets the demoralizing example of robbing the people of their property, what else can be expected than that the people will follow the example of the government and freely rob one another, until this will become a nation of sixty or a hundred million people, mostly thieves? If the Latter-day Saints are to be robbed, then why not the Catholics, Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, or any other religious society? If any religious society, why not any civil society, until theft becomes common business throughout the land? For, do it under cover of law, or call it confiscation, or by any other name, it will smell as bad, it will still be theft in every essential element.
Much more might be said of the endless persecutive enormities perpetrated through federal agency toward the Latter-day Saints. But the subject grows with the handling, and time and space would fail for an adequate portrayal of the facts, the disfranchisement of all women, and of those men who had more than one wife; the numerous day and night raids of peaceable towns and settlements; the vexatious arrests; the frivolous and spiteful charges preferred; the outrageous bonds required in cases of misdemeanor, running from $1,000 to $10,000, and even to nearly $50,000; the multitude of convictions, numbering between one and two thousand, some without any and many with very slight evidence; the high penalties inflicted in most cases, with regrets at the inability of the court to inflict still higher; the dragging of delicate women into court and compelling them to testify against their husbands, and sending them to prison for refusal; deputy marshals with impunity shooting at and even killing men only charged with misdemeanor; straining the law so that a man could safely live in the same house with a whore, but not with his reputed wife, nor could hardly look over the fence at her house or her garden, or sit on the fence while she passed by; refusing to prosecute lewd and lascivious anti-Mormons, but imprisoning Latter-day Saints who informed on them; the voluntary exile for years of many who had no confidence in the justice of the courts; the enormous expense, amounting to millions of dollars, incurred, in one way or another, in these persecutive proceedings, all wrung {451} from a sober, industrious, God-fearing, but abused, slandered, and persecuted community, and wholly, solely and entirely on account of their religion.
For a time the plea was put forth by their persecutors that plurality of wives was the only cause of the enmity against the Latter-day Saints. Now that plea is being withdrawn, and it is shamelessly declared that nothing short of the destruction of the church and the abandonment of their religion by the persecuted, will satisfy the ungodly and tyrannical demands of their oppressors.
It is shocking to have such a tale to tell in this everywhere and all the time boasted land of liberty, in this last quarter and almost last decade of the nineteenth century. But the worst thing is yet to be said, and that is, that the tale is true, every word of it. It is a sad, a discouraging commentary on the much be-lauded civilization of this latest age, which has been the hope, but which promises to be the disappointment, of all the ages. When justice fails, and fails so grievously, the heavens mourn. For all this has not been happening in Dahomey, or Timbuctoo, or Persia, or Turkey, or Russia, or in any country in the old and effete eastern hemisphere, but, let it be reiterated, in these United States of America, in this new and progressive world, in this free and happy land, at this late date in the world's history. Sackcloth and ashes ought to be in brisk demand, for a long time to come, in this highly favored nation. That is the fitting garb, and should be the only wear, in memory of strangled Liberty.
During the last twenty-eight years, about four thousand missionaries, and previously, since the organization of the church, probably about one thousand five hundred more, have been sent to the various nations to preach the Gospel, besides hundreds of native Elders, traveling and preaching more locally in the several missions thus established. Missionary Elders went to Canada as early as 1833; England in 1837; Wales, Scotland, Isle of Man, Ireland, Australia and East Indies in 1840; Palestine in 184l, Elder Orson Hyde passing through the Netherlands, Bavaria, Austria, Turkey and Egypt, on his way; Society Islands in 1844; the Channel Islands and France in 1849; Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland and the Sandwich Islands in 1850; Norway, Iceland, Germany and Chili in 1851; Malta, the Cape of Good Hope, Burmah and the Crimea in 1852; Gibraltar, Prussia, China, Ceylon and the West Indies in 1853; Siam and Turkey in 1854; Brazil in 1855; the Netherlands in 1861; Austria in 1864; Mexico in 1877; the Samoan Islands in 1888.
{452} Previous to the settling of the Church in Salt Lake Valley, about five thousand Latter-day Saints had emigrated from Europe to America, mostly to Nauvoo. Since that time the emigration of Latter-day Saints from Europe has amounted to nearly eighty thousand souls, making an average of nearly two thousand annually, most of them coming to Utah.
The Book of Mormon was published in England in 1841; in Danish in 1851; in Welsh, French, German and Italian in 1852; in Hawaiian in 1855; in Swedish in 1878. Several years ago it was translated into Hindostanee and into Dutch. In 1875 portions of it were published in Spanish, and the whole of it in 1886. Last year it was published in the Maori language.
The Book of Doctrine and Covenants of the Church, in addition to numerous editions in English, in America and England, was published in Welsh in 1851, Danish in 1852, German in 1876 and Swedish in 1888. Many regular periodicals, advocating the doctrines of the Church, have been published in America, England, Wales, Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and India. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of other books and tracts have been published by the Elders in various languages in the different quarters of the globe.
The following temples to the Lord have been built by the Latter-day Saints:
Kirtland, Ohio, 80 by 60 feet; corner stones laid July 23, 1833; dedicated March 27, 1836.
Nauvoo, Illinois, 128 by 88 feet; corner stones laid April 6, 1841; dedicated October 5 and November 30, 1845, and February 8 and April 30 and May 1, 1846; burned by an incendiary November 19, 1848.
St. George, Washington County, Utah, 142 by 96 feet; corner stones laid March 10, 1873; dedicated January 1, 1877.
Logan, Cache County, 171 by 95 feet, with an annex to the north 88 by 36 feet; corner stones laid September 17, 1877; dedicated May 17, 1884.
Manti, Sanpete County, 172 by 95 feet, with an annex to the north 85 by 40 feet; corner stones laid April 14, 1879; dedicated May 21, 1888.
The temple at Salt Lake City, 186 by 99 feet, is unfinished; corner stones laid April 6, 1853.
The site for a temple was dedicated at Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, August 3, 1831.
The corner stones of a temple, 110 by 80 feet, were laid at Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri, July 4, 1838.
PARAGRAPHS TAKEN FROM THE WRITINGS OF APOSTLE ORSON PRATT, IN THE SEER, 1853.
Let that man who intends to become a husband, seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and learn to govern himself, according to the law of God; for he that cannot govern himself cannot govern others. Let him dedicate his property, his talents, his time, and even his life to the service of God, holding all things at His disposal, to do with the same, according as He shall direct through the counsel that He has ordained. In selecting a companion, let him look not wholly at the beauty of the countenance, or the splendor of the apparel, or the great fortune, or the artful smiles, or the affected modesty of females; for all these, without the genuine virtues, are like the dew-drops which glitter for a moment in the sun and dazzle the eye, but soon vanish away. But let him look for a kind, amiable disposition; for unaffected modesty; for industrious habits; for sterling virtue; for honesty, integrity, and truthfulness; for cleanliness in person, in apparel, in cooking, and in every kind of domestic labor; for cheerfulness, patience, and stability of character; and above all, for genuine religion to control and govern her every thought and deed.
You should remember that harsh expressions against your wife, used in the hearing of others, will more deeply wound her feelings than if she alone heard them. Reproofs that are timely and otherwise good, may lose their good effect by being administered in the wrong spirit; indeed, they will most probably increase the evils which they are intended to remedy. Do not find fault with every trifling error that you may see, for this will discourage your family, and they will begin to think that it is impossible to please you; and, after a while, they will become indifferent as to whether they please you or not. How unhappy and extremely wretched is that family where {454} nothing pleases—where scolding has become almost as natural as breathing.
Let each mother commence with her children when young, not only to teach and instruct them, but to chasten and bring them into the most perfect subjection; for then is the time that they are the most easily conquered, and their tender minds are the most susceptible of influences and government. Many mothers from carelessness, neglect their children, and only attempt to govern them at long intervals, when they most generally find their efforts of no lasting benefit; for the children having been accustomed to having their own way, do not easily yield; and if peradventure they do yield, it is only for the time being, until the mother relaxes again into carelessness when they return again to their accustomed habits; and thus by habit they become more and more confirmed in disobedience, waxing worse and worse, until the mother becomes discouraged and relinquishes all discipline, and complains that she cannot make her children mind. The fault is not so much in the children, as in the carelessness and neglect of the mother when the children were young. It is she that must answer, in a degree, for the evil habits and disobedience of the children. She is more directly responsible than the father; for it cannot be expected that the father can always find time, apart from the laborious duties required of him, to correct and manage his little children who are at home with their mother. * * * Some mothers, though not careless, and though they feel the greatest anxiety for the welfare of their children, yet, through a mistaken notion of love for them, forbear to punish them when they need punishment; or if they undertake to conquer them, their tenderness and pity are so great that they prevail over the judgment, and the children are left unconquered, and become more determined to resist all future efforts of their mothers, until, at length, they conclude that their children have a more stubborn disposition than others, and that it is impossible to subject them to obedience. In this case, as in that of neglect, the fault is the mother's. The stubbornness of the children, for the most part, is the effect of the mother's indulgence, arising from her mistaken idea of love. By that which she calls love, she ruins her children. Children between one and two years of age are capable of being made to understand many things; then is the time to begin with them. How often we see children of that age manifest much anger. Frequently by crying through anger, they that are otherwise healthy, injure themselves. It is far better in such instances, for a mother to correct her child in a gentle manner, though {455} with decision and firmness, until she conquers it, and causes it to cease crying, than to suffer that habit to increase. When the child by gentle punishment has learned this one lesson from its mother, it is much more easily conquered and brought into subjection in other things, until finally, by a little perseverance on the part of the mother, it learns to be obedient to her voice in all things; and obedience becomes confirmed into a permanent habit. Such a child trained by a negligent or over-indulgent mother, might have become confirmed in habits of stubbornness and disobedience. It is not so much in the original constitution of children as in their training, that causes such wide differences in their disposition. It cannot be denied that there is a difference in the constitution of children even from their birth; but this difference is mostly owing to the proper or improper conduct of parents, as before stated; therefore, even for this difference, parents are more or less responsible. If parents, through their own evil conduct, entail hereditary dispositions upon their children, which are calculated to ruin them, unless properly curtailed and overcome, they should realize, that for that evil they must render an account. If parents have been guilty in entailing upon their offspring unhappy dispositions, let them repent, by using all diligence to save them from the evil consequences which will naturally result by giving way to those dispositions. The greater the derangement, the greater must be the remedy; and the more skillful and thorough should be its application, until that which is sown in evil is overcome and completely subdued. In this way parents may save themselves and their children, but otherwise there is condemnation. Therefore we repeat again, let mothers begin to discipline their children when young.
Do not correct children in anger. An angry parent is not as well prepared to judge of the amount of punishment which should be inflicted upon a child, as one that is more cool and exercised with reflection, reason and judgment. Let your children see that you punish them, not to gratify an angry disposition, but to reform them for their good, and it will have a salutary influence. They will not look upon you as a tyrant, swayed to and fro by turbulent and furious passions; but they will regard you as one that seeks their welfare, and that you only chasten them because you love them, and wish them to do well. Be deliberate and calm in your counsels and reproofs, but at the same time, use earnestness and decision. Let your children know that your words must be respected and obeyed.
Never deceive your children by threatenings or promises. Be careful not to threaten them with a punishment which you {456} have no intention of inflicting, for this will cause them to lose confidence in your word; besides, it will cause them to contract the habit of lying. When they perceive that their parents do not fulfill their threatenings or promises, they will consider that there is no harm in forfeiting their word. Think not that your precepts concerning truthfulness will have much weight upon the minds of your children, when they are contradicted by your examples. Be careful to fulfill your word in all things in righteousness and your children will not only learn to be truthful from your example, but they will fear to disobey your word, knowing that you never fail to punish or reward according to your threatenings and promises. Let your laws, penalties and rewards be founded upon the principles of justice and mercy, and adapted to the capacities of your children; for this is the way that our heavenly Father governs His children, giving to some a Celestial, to others a Terrestrial, and to others still a Telestial law, with penalties and promises annexed according to the conditions, circumstances and capacities of the individuals to be governed. Seek for wisdom, and pattern after the heavenly order of government.
Do not be so stern and rigid in your family government as to render yourself an object of fear and dread. There are parents who only render themselves conspicuous in the attribute of justice, while mercy and love are scarcely known in their families. Justice should be tempered with mercy, and love should be the great moving principle, interweaving itself in all your family administrations. When justice alone sits upon the throne, your children approach you with dread, or peradventure hide themselves from your presence and long for your absence that they may be relieved from their fear. At the sound of your approaching footsteps they flee as from an enemy, and tremble at your voice, and shrink from the gaze of your countenance, as though they expected some terrible punishment to be inflicted upon them. Be familiar with your children that they may delight themselves in your society, and look upon you as a kind and tender parent whom they delight to obey. Obedience inspired by love, and obedience inspired by fear, are entirely different in their nature. The former will be permanent and enduring, while the latter only waits to have the object of fear removed, and it vanishes like a dream. Govern children as parents, and not as tyrants; for they will be parents in their turn and will be very likely to adopt that form of government in which they have been educated. If you have been tyrants, they may be influenced to {457} pattern after your example. If you are fretful and continually scolding, they will be very apt to be scolds too. If you are loving, kind and merciful, these benign influences will be very certain to infuse themselves in to their order of family government; and thus good and evil influences frequently extend themselves down for many generations and ages. How great, then, are responsibilities of parents to their children! And how fearful the consequences of bad examples! Let love, therefore, predominate and control you, and your children will be sure to discover it, and will love you in return.
Let each mother teach her children to honor and love their father, and to respect his teachings and counsels. How frequently it is the case when fathers undertake to correct their children, mothers will interfere in the presence of the children. This has a very evil tendency in many respects. First, it destroys the oneness of feeling which should exist between husband and wife; secondly, it weakens the confidence of the children in the father, and emboldens them to disobedience; thirdly, it creates strife and discord; and lastly, it is rebelling against the order of family government established by divine wisdom. If the mother supposes the father too severe, let her not mention this in the presence of the children, but she can express her feelings to him while alone by themselves, and thus the children will not see any division between them. For husbands and wives to be disagreed, and to contend, and quarrel, is a great evil; and to do these things in the presence of their children is a still greater evil. Therefore, if husband and wife will quarrel and destroy their own happiness, let them have pity upon their children, and not destroy them by their pernicious examples.
(R. M. BRYCE THOMAS, LONDON, ENG.)
Previous to my visiting Salt Lake City, Utah, in the months of July and August, 1896, I knew nothing of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints beyond the fact that it was commonly known as the Mormon Church.
During my stay of nearly a month in Salt Lake City I heard from those quite unconnected with their Church that the so-called Mormons, but whom I shall hereafter designate as "the Latter-day Saints," were the most peace-loving and quiet of people, honest, thrifty, well behaved and good citizens, and exceedingly kind to their poor, who were so well looked after that public begging was not known among them.
I found that this people possessed a beautiful Temple and a very fine Tabernacle, with grounds prettily laid out and well cared for; their houses, too, were neat and picturesque, with nice gardens attached to them, while they could boast of a Tabernacle Choir of about 600 men and women, the best that I have ever heard. Everything to do with this people appeared to be most excellently managed and looked after, while their missionaries were preaching the Gospel in most parts of the world, having gone out altogether at their own cost, and at a very great sacrifice of self in all cases. The Church organization of the Saints, too, appeared to be complete and effective, and it became evident to me that they were a very interesting and extraordinary people, and I therefore decided to secure some of their books, especially the Book of Mormon, in order to learn more of their character and doctrines.
This I did, and after I had read some of their publications a light seemed to dawn upon me, and I commenced to wonder if we were living in the times of the great apostasy which had been predicted in so many parts of the inspired scriptures. {459} I quote a few references to these predictions in the note below,[A] but these are by no means all. My mind expanded still more when I had carefully read through the Book of Mormon, a book which I found to be replete with divine truths and elevating principles, and which bore the very strongest testimony to the truths contained in the Bible, both in the Old and in the New Testament; a book, too, which made plain and easy of understanding so many parts of the Bible that appear at present to be vague, or regarding which the numerous sects of Christendom have set themselves against each other in argument and dispute. In that book (Book of Mormon) it was clearly stated that the great apostate church would be upon the earth when the book itself would come to light. In Revelation St. John spoke of the apostate church of the latter days as "Babylon,"[B] and as "Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth,"[C] and he added that this apostate church was to rule peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues,[D] which would make it almost if not quite universal.
[Footnote A: Isaiah 24: 1-5; Matthew 24: 4-31; Acts 20: 29, 30; II Thess. 2: 3, 8, 9, 10; I Timothy 4: 1-3; II Timothy 3: 1-5; II Timothy 4: 3, 4; Revelation, chapters 1, 2, and 3; Revelation 17: 2-5.]
[Footnote B: Rev. 14: 8.]
[Footnote C: Rev. 17: 5.]
[Footnote D: Rev. 17: 15.]
Now the question which concerned me was whether the Church of England, of which I was a member, was a portion of that church to which the Bible predictions in respect to the great apostasy referred, or whether the church of Rome or some other Christian church, was the only one alluded to. That it was a Christian church to which the texts in the Bible referred is not, I think, likely to be denied by any one; and indeed we know that even in as early days as those in which John the Revelator himself lived, he discovered the commencement of apostasy in the seven truest churches of Christians among those then existing.[E] The other branches of the then Christian church would appear to have gone altogether wrong, for these seven were, it seems, the only ones worth divine mention, and they too were becoming so corrupt even in those early days that God threatened them with complete rejection.
[Footnote E: Rev. chaps. 2, 3.]
In order to enable me to arrive at a just and proper conclusion, it was necessary for me to turn to the Bible as my guide, and to ascertain therefrom what constituted the primitive Church of Christ, and what were the exact doctrines and ordinances as laid down by Him and as taught and practiced by His Apostles. Having ascertained these facts, I had then {460} to compare them with the constitution of the Church of England and with the doctrines and ordinances as taught and practiced by her. It appeared to me to be quite evident that if the primitive church as planted by Jesus Christ and built up by His Apostles and servants, with all its organization and powers, had not been maintained in its completeness and perfection, or if any of Christ's doctrines had been altered, or His ordinances changed in any one respect without due authority, this could only have come about through false teachers arising in the church, as St. Paul had predicted would be the case after his days.[A] I felt that I should then be compelled to admit that the Church of England had fallen into error, and that therefore the texts in the scriptures regarding the latter day apostasy could not but refer to her as well as to the other churches of Christendom which were teaching and practicing a gospel not in accordance with that found in the Bible. And further that the following inspired prophecy of Isaiah pointed to her equally as much as to the other churches: "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant,"[B] (or in other words apostatized). One of the Latter-day Saints has very appropriately written the following words in this connection: "It is contrary to scripture and to reason to suppose that Christ would set up two or more discordant religious systems to distract mankind, and cause strife and contention. God cannot create confusion. His mind is one, the minds of men are various, so that when we see various opposing religions in Christendom, it is conclusive evidence that men have been engaged in their invention, and that they have established but very imperfect imitations of the true church of Christ."[C]
[Footnote A: II Tim. 4: 3, 4.]
[Footnote B: Isaiah 24: 5.]
[Footnote C: See Mormon Doctrine, 6th leaf.]
The true church must always conform to the pattern of the primitive church of Jesus Christ and His Apostles in every respect, unless there is clear and undisputable authority in the scriptures for a divergence in any particular, and I have not been able to find any such authority in any portion of the New Testament. So that if the Church of England (for that is the only church with which I am concerned at present) is dissimilar in her organization or in her doctrines and ordinances from the primitive church, she can be but a very imperfect imitation of that church at best.
Well, on turning to the Bible I found that the church which {461} Jesus Christ planted on earth consisted of "First apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."[A] Elders, too, were ordained in all churches.[B] Then again evangelists and pastors are mentioned.[C] We further read why all these inspired apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers were absolutely necessary in the church, namely, "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."[D] St. Paul in writing to the Corinthians very clearly described the church of Christ, and he showed that not one of its members could be dispensed with without thoroughly disorganizing the body. He was then specially speaking of the various gifts of the Holy Spirit of God, which were considered so essential to the maintenance of the true church of Christ, and it will be seen that He practically forbade any one of the members of the church (Christ's body) to say of those miraculous gifts "We have no need of thee."[E]
[Footnote A: I Cor. 12: 28.]
[Footnote B: Acts 14: 23.]
[Footnote C: Eph. 4: 11.]
[Footnote D: Eph. 4: 12.]
[Footnote E: I Cor. 12: 21-28.]
Now I vainly look for a church of this pattern in the Church of England or in any of the other churches in Christendom, except in that of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I can find no apostles, no prophets, no workers of miracles, no discerners of spirits, no gifts and no interpretations of tongues; but I find popes, cardinals and archbishops. By what authority then was the organization of Christ's church altered, and her most important members lopped off? For I have already made mention of the reasons given by St. Paul why inspired apostles, prophets, and the wonderful gifts of the Holy Spirit, were absolutely necessary in the church of Jesus Christ as founded by Him. And I fail to discover any good reason why the church should now be able to get on without them any more than it found itself able to get on without them in former times. On the contrary, I am clearly of opinion that they must be just as essential now as in days of old, and that to their absence must be attributed all the discord, ill-feeling, and confusion that reign supreme in and between the very numerous sects in Christendom, all of which profess themselves to be members of the true church of Jesus Christ. All these different sects or churches, if I may so call them, are admittedly without the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit spoken of by St. Paul, for they do not teach nor do they appear {462} to allow that gifts of prophecy and miracles are actually necessary in these days. Indeed, they apparently consider that these gifts are not needed at all; the very thing which St. Paul forbids them to do when he says that, in respect to the Spirit's wonderful gifts, no member of Christ's church must say, "We have no need of thee."[A] So that prophets and workers of miracles have altogether ceased to be, although I can find no authority whatever in the Bible for their ceasing to exist. Inasmuch as they were necessary "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,"[B] how can saints now be perfected or the work of the ministry be efficiently and satisfactorily performed, or the body of Christ (the true church) be edified in these days? The Bible shows us that it was always through prophets that God revealed His will, commands, and instructions to His church under all the changing and trying circumstances through which she has had to pass since the world commenced. And it seems to me to be altogether opposed to scripture and to reason to conclude that in these admittedly evil days it is unnecessary for Him to intimate His will and commands, and to instruct His people in exactly the same way, in order that His church may continue to be guided through the great difficulties and trials that must beset her. For the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles I prefer to go direct to the Bible and be guided thereby, than to go to any of the churches of Christendom which teach doctrines not in accordance therewith. For instance, Jesus Himself said that miraculous signs should follow believers,[C] but the churches do not teach this doctrine. Then again St. Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, recorded that apostles and prophets were necessary in the church, not only for his days, but "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."[D] How different this appears to be from the teachings of the various churches and sects in Christendom! In this passage of scripture which I have just quoted, St. Paul not only tells us how long apostles and prophets would be necessary in the church of Jesus Christ, but also how the church would be affected if prophecy ceased. {463} As inspired by God, he distinctly asserts that apostles and prophets would be required till we attain to perfect men, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. I think it will be admitted that we have not reached this perfection as yet. Again, St. Paul showed that if we had no apostles and prophets, the church would be tossed to and fro, and carried about with every kind of doctrine, etc. What do we see in the churches of Christendom but this very result, when we contemplate the numerous discordant and opposing religious denominations and sects, all teaching divers doctrines and ordinances? Thus it seems evident to me that a church, devoid of inspired prophets and the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, all of which played so very important a part, in the opinion of the apostles of Christ, in the primitive church, cannot possibly be anything but in error. This view is strengthened by the words of St. Peter, who tells us that the Spirit would continue to manifest His marvelous powers in the true church while the world lasted, if the people would submit themselves to the ordinances of the gospel, and obey God's commandments. He was preaching on the day of Pentecost, just after the Holy Ghost had fallen upon the assembled disciples, and had sat upon each of them in the form of cloven tongues like as of fire,[A] and he called upon all his hearers to repent, and to be baptized for the remission of their sins, and he promised them the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then he went on to say that this promise was not for those people only, but unto them and their children, and also to all who were afar off, even as many as the Lord our God should call.[B]
[Footnote A: Cor. 12: 21.]
[Footnote B: Eph. 4: 12.]
[Footnote C: Mark 16: 17, 18.]
[Footnote D: Eph. 4: 13, 14.]
[Footnote A: Acts 2: 3.]
[Footnote B: Acts 2: 38, 39.]
Now in view of all this that I have culled from the scriptures, I cannot understand how any one has authority to say that in these days we have no need for inspired Prophets, and for those wonderful gifts of the Spirit, without which, we are told by the New Testament writers, we cannot reach to the perfected man, and to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
It appears therefore quite evident to me that if I in all humility and sincerity accept the teachings of God, as made clear in the Bible, it becomes impossible for me to admit, or to flatter myself as a member of the Church of England, that any church of professing Christians on the earth, which denies the urgent need of inspired prophets and apostles, and the glorious and miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, can be the {464} church which Jesus Christ founded and His Apostles built up in the first days of Christianity. In fact it seems to me that where there is not sufficient faith to obtain new revelation and the ministry of angels, all of which are promised under the true Gospel, there cannot possibly be the true church of Christ. The scripture also, which is given for our instruction, tells us "Where there is no vision the people perish."[A]
[Footnote A: Prov. 29: 18.]
It is also logical to suppose that a church which denies the need of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit cannot well have that Spirit guiding it, for the whole history of the primitive church shows us that wherever the Holy Spirit was poured down upon any one and especially on the apostles and prophets and the other ministers of Christ, He manifested Himself in prophesyings, healings, tongues and other ways. God no doubt speaks to all His children throughout the world in some measure by His Spirit, the still small voice of conscience, but the Holy Spirit in His full and wonderful manifestations, that spirit of knowledge, and wisdom, and of revelation, is only to be found where there is the true church of Christ. Again, Jesus Himself tells us that "When that spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come."[B] This is the gift of prophecy. Do we see anything of this kind in the Church of England, or in the church of Rome, or in any of the numerous denominations of Christians anywhere—church and denominations which by their dissensions and different teachings go far to distract mankind and confound the earnest seekers after truth? It is when this spirit of prophecy, of healings, and of tongues is wanting that people are led by the teachings of men, darkness overspreads the world, errors begin to multiply, heresies to spring up, and nothing but a form of godliness remains while its powers are denied.
[Footnote B: John 16: 13.]
Again, where the Holy Spirit manifests Himself there must of necessity be unity and peace, for He is a Spirit of Unity, and Jesus Himself prayed that all His children might be one, even as He and His Father in Heaven were one.[C]
[Footnote C: John 17: 11, 20 to 23.]
Peter Young, an English writer, records the following comment on this prayer: "Our Lord seems to have a vision, if we may venture so to speak, of His church as one body, penetrated with the Divine Spirit, radiant with the brightness of His presence, its members living together in faith and love, the {465} kingdom of heaven upon earth, exhibiting such a spectacle of love and holiness, that the world might be led to acknowledge that they were the special objects of the Father's love." We can thus see what it is that Jesus earnestly desired and prayed for. There were no divisions and dissensions, but all were to be of one faith and doctrines as taught by Him, and one in all love and holiness of life; and a perusal of a part of the 16th chapter of St. John's Gospel will show that, just previous to His uttering this desire of His heart, Christ had promised His disciples to send them the Comforter to guide them into all truth, for, said He, "He shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you."[A] Now does it seem possible to suppose that this Spirit of Unity, this Comforter, whom Jesus Christ was to send in order to show His followers how to grow like Him, and to to guide them into all truth, can be guiding the numerous contending discordant churches of Christendom, who exhibit toward each other bitterness and hatred, which not so many years ago culminated even in the shedding of human blood! The Church of England, with which I am at present concerned, is split up into Ritualistic, High, Broad, and Low Church, all at variance more or less in their ceremonies and ordinances, and in their very teachings. Surely it would rather seem as if the church were moved upon by a spirit of discord, confusion, and evil passions than a spirit of unity, peace, and love; for if this glorious Spirit whom Jesus sent down after His ascension into heaven, were really permeating the church, we could not but clearly discern His presence in His wonderful manifestations as of old, and in the unity of faith, that the word of God leads us to expect would always prevail till the end of time, when we all should reach perfection, even to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,[B] and so long, too, as there remained any on earth whom the Lord our God should call.[C] Why then has the Spirit now ceased to manifest His presence? Well, it appears to me that the reason may be found in the fact that both teachers and people have drifted into error, and have set up ordinances and doctrines which do not resemble those of Christ's primitive church, or have rejected some of those formerly practiced and taught by that church. What! some ask, do you mean to say that the Church of England is practicing and teaching erroneous doctrines and ordinances? If so we should like to know wherein the errors lie. Yes, I reply, such seems to be the case, and I shall now proceed to point out the errors.
[Footnote A: John 16: 7-14.]
[Footnote B: Eph. 4: 13.]
[Footnote C: Acts 2: 39.]
{466} In the primitive church existed the ordinance of anointing the sick with oil and praying over them with mighty faith. Is this practiced now in the Church of England, and if not, why not? If the faith of the early Christians (and very strong faith, such as honors God, was required) existed in these days, would not the church continue to use this same wonderful power for good as of old? It is however cried down now, and this ordinance is altogether rejected and considered too ridiculous for these enlightened days, though perhaps good enough for those poor creatures who lived in the benighted past. Where also is the ordinance of laying on hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost with all His gracious gifts? This was evidently a most important and necessary ordinance in the teachings of the Apostles of the primitive church, and invariably followed that of baptism. And the New Testament is replete with instances of the wonderful way in which the Holy Spirit used to manifest Himself among those converts, who had obeyed the teachings of the Apostles, and had humbly and faithfully submitted themselves to both these ordinances. He still manifests Himself in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as very many can testify; but such manifestations are not taught or looked for in the Church of England, even in the ordinance of confirmation, and therefore they could not occur for want of faith if for no other reason.
Next I will take the ordinance of baptism. Is there any similarity between that practiced in the early church of the days of the Apostles and that practiced in the Church of England at the present day? None that I can see. In the first place, the form of baptism is not the same. Baptism by immersion is that to which the Lord Jesus submitted Himself in order to fulfill all righteousness,[A] and to become obedient in all things, and thus it behooves us to become obedient also. He was baptized by immersion as an example to us, and this is the baptism taught and practiced by His Apostles and servants.[B] It was not until the third century, after very many and gross errors had crept into the church, as I shall presently try to show, that the form of baptism was altered, the first case being that of a man named Novatian, who, being very ill, was baptized in bed by infusion or pouring of water.[C] Schaff says that even down to the close of the thirteenth century baptism {467} by immersion was the rule, and sprinkling or pouring the exception.[D] There are many other respectable authorities who show clearly that baptism in the early church was by immersing the whole body in water, and I name some in the note below.[E] Baptism is a word derived from the Greek "bapto," meaning to immerse, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is the meaning intended wherever the word is used in the New Testament. Calvin says, "The word baptize signifies to immerse, and the rite of immersion was observed by the ancient church," while John Wesley says, "Buried with him—alluding to the ancient manner of baptizing by immersion." Jeremy Taylor writes, "The custom of the ancient churches was not sprinkling, but immersion, in pursuance of the sense of the word in the commandment, and the example of our blessed Savior." We are taught that baptism is meant to symbolize a death, a burial, and a resurrection,[F] and also a birth.[G] Immersion does this, but sprinkling does not, therefore baptism by sprinkling is erroneous. Then again, the Bible teaches us that baptism had for its object the remission of sins, and that that ordinance invariably followed upon faith and repentance. But the Church of England does not appear to baptize for the remission of sins at all, the ordinance being considered as only an outward sign of an inward grace, something which appears to me to be altogether different from the idea of baptism as taught and practiced in the primitive church of Christ.[H] That church laid down that when a person had faith (and we are told that faith comes by hearing), and had fully and truly repented of his sins, he was to undergo the ordinance of baptism for the remission of those sins,[I] and that then he would receive the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands by authorized men.[J] The Church of England, which claims to be led in her doctrines by the very same Spirit that guided the primitive church in the days of the Apostles, teaches quite another law of baptism, and even demands the baptism of innocent little infants in arms, who can exercise no faith or repentance, and who have no individual sins to repent of. Is not this a transgression of the law in this respect? The primitive church and the Church of England cannot both be right, and therefore the same Spirit cannot have permeated {468} both, for, unless we admit this, we must admit that the same Spirit dictates two distinctly opposite laws of baptism unto salvation.
[Footnote A: Matt. 3: 15.]
[Footnote B: Romans 6: 3, 4, 5.]
[Footnote C: Eusebius Eccl. Hist., Book vi: Ch. 43. See also Cyprian's Epistles, Letter 76.]
[Footnote D: Schaff, an eminent Swiss theologian.]
[Footnote E: Mosheim's Eccl. Hist., vol. I, page 120. Bossuet, a celebrated French Bishop. Bishop Jeremy Taylor. Robinson, the great Biblical scholar and philologist. Calvin. John Wesley.]
[Footnote F: Romans 6: 3, 4, 5.]
[Footnote G: John 3: 5.]
[Footnote H: Mosheim's Church History, 3rd Ed., vol. I, pp. 87 and 137.]
[Footnote I: Mark 1: 4. Luke 3: 3. Acts 12: 16.]
[Footnote J: Acts 2: 38.]
This leads me to the question of infant baptism. Dr. Neander, a great German scholar, tells us that Christ did not ordain infant baptism, and that not till so late a period as Irenaeus does any trace of infant baptism appear. This was in the third century. Curcellaeus writes that baptism of infants in the first two centuries after Christ was altogether unknown. Bishop Jeremy Taylor says, "Christ blessed infants and so dismissed them, but baptized them not, therefore infants are not to be baptized." Martin Luther says, "It cannot be proved by the sacred scriptures that infant baptism was instituted by Christ, or begun by the first Christians after the Apostles." Tertullian, one of the Latin Fathers, wrote, "Let them therefore come when they are grown up, when they can understand, when they are taught whither they are to come. Let them become Christians when they can know Christ. Why should this innocent age hasten to the remission of sins? * * * * If persons understood the importance of baptism they will rather fear the consequent obligation than the delay."
The Church of England, of which I was a member, baptizes infants in arms, who, as I have already said, cannot have faith, nor can they repent, and indeed they have no sins to repent of. I have been told that there is the taint within them of the original sin of Adam, but it seems to me that an infant is perfect in Jesus Christ. No one but Adam committed the original sin for which, in God's righteous justice, the sentence was death, and this death passed upon all Adam's descendants. But God, whose very attributes are justice and mercy, made a way for Adam's posterity to escape from the consequences of a sin that not one of them was guilty of. So, in order that His justice should not be cruel, our good Father in Heaven sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to the earth to atone for all sins, not only for our own individual sins, but for the sins of our common father Adam. Thus the world was relieved of the curse passed upon Adam; for "as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."[A] The salvation is just as universal as the punishment; and we have nothing to do ourselves to obtain this salvation from the consequences of Adam's transgression, for which we were in no way responsible. Christ's atonement fully met God's righteous justice, and justice having been satisfied, {469} mercy was able to step in between it and ourselves and to claim her own. For our own individual sins we are of course responsible. We shall reap as we sow, and we shall be judged according to our works, whether they be good or bad, but we shall not be judged for Adam's sin. This is, I think, evident from the scriptures quoted in the foot note.[B]
[Footnote A: Read carefully Rom. 5: 12-19.]
[Footnote B: II Cor. 5: 10. Rom. 2: 6. Gal. 6: 7. Eph. 6: 8. Col. 3: 24, 25. Rev. 22: 12. Matt. 16: 27.]
Children, then, up to the age at which they can clearly distinguish between right and wrong, and can receive the commandments and laws of God, are without sin, for sin is the transgression of the law, known to be God's law. Thus little children have no sins to be repented of and to be remitted, and therefore do not need baptism. Baptism is an ordinance by which we witness to God, that we have repented of our past misdeeds and have taken upon ourselves the name of Christ; that we intend, by being buried with Him in the waters of baptism, and by rising again from that watery grave, to die unto sin, and to rise again to a new life of holiness and good works, in thankful remembrance of Christ's great love in saving us from the dreadful consequences of our own wicked acts. Baptism cannot therefore be necessary until we raise our wills against God and disobey what we clearly know to be His righteous commandments. To say that an infant requires baptism appears to be not only unscriptural but equivalent to denying the tender mercies of Christ. Little children are perfect in Him, and thus He was able to say, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God."[C]
[Footnote C: Matt. 19: 14. Mark 10: 14. Luke 18: 16.]
Thus I have tried to show how, in my opinion, the Church of England has turned aside from the early church teachings, and has transgressed this law of baptism, which the Bible instructs us has for its object the remission of sins;[D] has changed the ordinance by substituting sprinkling for immersion, and has broken the everlasting covenant by practically denying the all-sufficiency of Christ's atonement, in holding that an innocent infant cannot belong to Christ's fold unless it is baptized into it; forgetting that it is only after we have arrived at years of discretion and understanding that we wander away from Christ's fold, and that we are required to pass through the waters of baptism in order to get our sins washed away, and to re-enter that fold. The prophecy of Isaiah, which I have already quoted,[E] thus seems to be applicable to the Church of {470} England in respect to this subject of baptism, if in respect to no other ordinance.
[Footnote D: Mark 1: 4. Luke 3: 3. Acts 2: 38. Acts 22: 16.]
[Footnote E: Isaiah 24: 5.]
The next ordinance that I would draw attention to is that of baptism for the dead. This has been altogether done away in the Church of England, though it was extensively practiced in the primitive Church. St. Paul in writing to the Corinthians says: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" [A] This baptism for the dead is one of the most glorious subjects belonging to the everlasting Gospel, because, in order to prove good our title to the kingdom of heaven, we who have sinned are told that we must have the three great witnesses to adoption: namely, the Spirit, the Water, and the Blood.[B] We know by scripture that the Gospel is preached to the dead,[C] and the reason is that the dead are to be judged as men in the flesh, and live according to God in the spirit.[D] Hence the necessity of baptism for those of them who had not during this life been baptized by immersion for the remission of their sins. The dead rely upon us who are living for the performance on their behalf of this ordinance. This is the work that children must do for their progenitors, and on learning this, the hearts of the children are turned to their fathers, and the fathers in the spirit world, learning that they are dependent upon the action of their posterity for the performance of this ordinance of salvation, turn their hearts to their children, or in other words look to them for the necessary performance. This was the work predicted in the scripture by the Prophet Malachi, "Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."[E]
[Footnote A: I Cor. 15: 29.]
[Footnote B: John 5: 8.]
[Footnote C: I Peter 3: 19, 20, 21.]
[Footnote D: I Peter 4: 6.]
[Footnote E: Mal. 4: 5, 6.]
This baptism for the dead was an old doctrine taught in the primitive church, and it is evident that St. Paul spoke of a baptism which a living person receives in place of a dead one.[F] This vicarious baptism for the dead was practiced among the early Christians for some two or three centuries after Christ, and Epiphanius, a writer of the fourth century, speaks of this ordinance when referring to the Marcionites, a sect of Christians to whom he was opposed.[G] The view that St. Paul spoke of a baptism that a living man receives {471} in place of a dead one, is upheld by many respectable authorities, among them Erasmus, Scaliger, Grotius, Calixtus, Meyer, and De Wette.[A] Then again if we look at the proceeding of the Council of Carthage held A. D. 379, it will be seen that baptism for the dead was being practiced among some at least of the Christians as late as that year, for the council's sixth canon forbids any longer the administration of baptism and holy communion for the dead.[B]
[Footnote F: Biblical Literature (Kitto).]
[Footnote G: Heresies 23: 7.]
[Footnote A: Roberts' Outlines of Eccle. Hist. Note 3 to sec. 10 of part 4.]
[Footnote B: Roberts' Gospel (1893) p. 290.]
The beauty of this doctrine is that it very clearly indicates that there cannot be a never-ending punishment for those who die unconverted, as taught in the churches of Christendom. On the contrary, after they have been judged according to their works in the body, and have undergone such punishment as the perfectly righteous God adjudges, there will be a salvation for all, except the sons of perdition; and eventually Jesus Christ will present to His Father His completed work of redemption. Else what are the meanings of such texts as the following? "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of God: and they that hear shall live."[C] "I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house."[D] Isaiah also, after he had described the judgments that would attend the coming in glory of Jesus Christ, and the punishments that should overtake the ungodly, wrote as follows: "And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited."[E]
[Footnote C: John 5: 25.]
[Footnote D: Isaiah 42: 6, 7.]
[Footnote E: Isaiah 24: 21, 22.]
Thus the Gospel has to be preached to the spirit world, and those who then hear it in its purity for the first time, as it was preached in the first days of the church of Christ, will look anxiously to their living descendants to perform for them the outward ordinances of baptism, or the birth of water, without which one of the three earthly witnesses to {472} adoption into God's kingdom (water) will be wanting in their case. For one of the requisite ordinances of the Gospel will not have been complied with by them while on earth, namely, baptism by immersion for the remission of their sins.
That this doctrine of baptism for the dead, which of itself is clear evidence of the loving, merciful, and long suffering character of our Heavenly Father, was forbidden at the Council of Carthage, is scarcely to be wondered at when we study the history of the church and the character of her ministers in the fourth century. For it was a time when the priesthood was steeped in iniquity, and the church dreadfully tainted with Arianism and Pelagianism, while the corrupt doctrines of the Nestorians and Eutychians infected both the priests and the people of the Christian world. Indeed, when we look into the early history of the mother church of Rome from the third century, we can see how, even in those early times, the church had become practically a motley mass of heathens. From A.D. 66 to A.D. 312 the primitive church was repeatedly under general persecutions, which almost destroyed it, and during this time many who had professed Christianity apostatized. At the same time gross errors began to creep into the church, particularly the teachings of the gnostics, who formed abominable tenets by mixing heathen philosophy with the Gospel of Christ. In the fourth century, however, with the accession of Constantine to the imperial throne of Rome in A.D. 323, all persecutions ceased, and peace was assured to the church, and even more than peace, for Constantine favored the Christian cause, and did what he could to suppress the pagan religion. The ministers of the Christian church were honored in every way, and wealth and position conferred upon them, so that it is not a matter of wonder that thousands of converts immediately afterwards joined the church and Christianity soon became the national religion. All this, however, instead of being fortunate for the church was disastrous to the purity of Christ's religion. In the fourth century lordly bishops, archdeacons, canonical singers, etc., were introduced; candles were lighted by day; incense burnt; abstinence from marriage was esteemed a high degree of sanctity; prayers were made to departed saints; pretended relics were held in high estimation; images of Christ and of saints were set up; the clergy commenced to officiate in canonical robes which they held to be sacred; prayers were made for the mitigation of torments to the damned; pilgrimages were started to certain shrines; and a monkish retirement from fellowship with mankind {473} was considered a devotion. By the end of the sixth century the doctrines of the church were deeply infected with Pelagianism (the Pelagians denied the necessity of Christ's righteousness for our justification or of His Spirit's influence to regenerate the heart), and discipline had become corrupt, remiss, and partial, while the principal concern of the leading clergy was who should be the greatest. Then followed the notion of purgatory, and the worship of the Virgin Mary and of the martyrs, while Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome, added new canons of mass, his canticles and antiphons and many new ordinances concerning litanies, processions, lent oblations for the dead, pontifical robes, consecrations, and relics. About the year A. D. 606 or 608, Phocas, a monster of cruelty and treachery, who had murdered his worthy master Mauritius and family, became emperor of the East, and Boniface III, the bishop of Rome, by fulsome flatteries, obtained his imperial appointment to be the universal bishop of the Christian church,[A] and thus became the so-called vicar of Christ on earth.
[Footnote A: The above has been taken from a short view of the Geography and History of Nations by the Rev. John Brown.]
In the face of this condition of the church, it is not a matter for astonishment that the pure and unadulterated Gospel became lost to the world, and that the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, which the primitive church so freely enjoyed, were no longer to be seen.
Later on, in A. D. 1517, Zuinglius in Switzerland, and Luther in Germany, shocked with the blasphemous manner in which papal pardons of, and indulgences in, sin were exposed for sale, openly declared their detestation of them. The result was the rebellion against the Romish church, commonly known as the Reformation, which brought in its train persecutions, massacres, wars, blasphemies, scandals, and the prohibition of certain books. That the reformers in separating themselves from the Church of Rome did immense good, there can be no question; and this good has been going on ever since in the way of preparing men's hearts to accept the simple truths of the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. But they could not have brought out of that church what I believe it could not possibly have possessed at the time, having lost it through the infidelity which has been so clearly described by Wesley, and also in the second homily of the Church of England;—namely, divine authority to administer in the holy ordinances, and to {474} confer the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. For, as I have before said, the Holy Ghost had for some centuries ceased to manifest His presence as in the first days Christ's church, while the Bible very distinctly shows us that where God's Spirit has been given to His church and people, He has invariably manifested Himself in many miraculous ways. Thus it seems to me that these reformers, good men as they were, had not the authority to introduce into the world a gospel that had been practically lost, the only gospel on earth at the time being one in a very mutilated and changed form indeed. The true Gospel, with its organization and all its mighty powers of prophecy, healing, and other miracles, could not be brought again to the earth except by the hand of an angel of God. That this was to be the case we read in the writing of John the Revelator,[A] where it is distinctly shown that the Gospel once delivered to the saints was to be taken away from the earth. Otherwise there would apparently have been no object in the Gospel being sent again from heaven in the last days, when the hour of His judgment would come, with the object that it might be preached, not to a few people only, but to them that dwell on the earth; to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. No one is excepted, for in God's plan of life and salvation for mankind all on the earth are to hear and receive or reject this pure Gospel. Direct communication from heaven to earth had ceased for many centuries, resulting in the numerous schisms, the various doctrines, and the many unhappy dissensions and quarrels which have broken up the church and led so greatly to the increase of that atheism and materialism which are now everywhere apparent in the world. The result of the falling away, of which the churches of Christendom have been guilty so long, is appalling, and God's judgments in wars, pestilence, and famines, have been continued, in order to warn and to bring men to repentance and to draw them back to the true faith.
[Footnote A: Rev. 14: 6.]
The remarks of John Wesley will give some idea of the dreadful condition into which the churches of Christendom had fallen. He said that the reason why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be seen was because the love of many had waxed cold, and Christians had turned heathens again, and had only a dead form left.[B]
[Footnote B: Wesley's Works, vol. 7, sermon 89, pp. 26, 27.]
Read also what the Church of England herself admits in her homily against perils of idolatry:
{475} "Laity and clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages, sects, and degrees, have been drowned in abominable idolatry most detested by God, and damnable to man, for eight hundred years or more."[A] Such being the case, how can anyone suppose for a moment that divine authority could possibly have been conferred on the priesthood by the laying on of hands of men who, in this homily, are included among idolaters. On the contrary, it would be more probable that this fallen condition of the church would have closed the heaven to all direct communication with the earth. And this seems to have occurred, for, for centuries past, prophecy has ceased, God no longer calls men directly by His voice as He did Moses, Samuel, and Paul; angels do not now deliver heavenly messages to men, and miracles and signs are no longer made manifest through the power of God as of old. And what is the result? It is, so it seems to me, that, for lack of the spirit of revelation and prophecy, which alone could declare God's will to His church, and which could predict with certainty coming events, and so warn the church of impending dangers and guide her into all truth, the ministers of the churches of Christendom have been thrown back upon their own ingenuity to teach men the fear of the Lord by human precepts. Thus is fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy regarding the latter days of the earth, "Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men," etc.[B] It is evidently altogether due to the precepts of men that there are so many and different doctrines taught, and that so much uncertainty and doubt, coupled with dissensions, disputes, and ill will, are rampant in the churches of Christendom, instead of unity, love, brotherly kindness, sympathy, and peace. The Church of England, too, is divided against herself, and has split up into High, Broad, and Low church, all more or less in discord, and each teaching doctrines with which the rest have no sympathy; some teachers urging the necessity of confession, and of prayer for the dead, while others view all such doctrines as "popish," and as emanating from the evil one; some believe in the doctrine of transubstantiation, while others altogether reject it; and some again consider it necessary to introduce into their worship much pomp and ceremony, with genuflections and incense, while others will permit of only {476} the simplest forms of worship possible, viewing with distaste the gorgeous displays and robes used by the ritualistic members of the church.
[Footnote A: Church of England homily against perils of idolatry.]
[Footnote B: Isaiah 29: 13.]
In the midst of all this confusion one could only ask, Which is right and which is wrong? or are they all wrong together? I looked for the fruits of the spirit in the different parts of the church, but found the laws transgressed and the ordinances changed, and I could see only dissension in place of unity, and disputes instead of peace. Thus it became impossible for me to continue to give my adherence and support to any branch of the church in which I had been brought up. It was difficult to break away from all old associations and from a church in which I had long reposed the fullest faith and confidence, but it was impossible for me to continue one of the members, as soon as it had become quite patent to my mind that she was advocating and teaching a perverted gospel; and when I clearly saw that she was in error in denying the necessity of Apostles and Prophets, and the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, as essential portions and adjuncts of the church of Christ on earth in these days.
While pondering over these matters the meaning of the following prophetic words of Jeremiah became clear to me, words, be it remembered, which the Gentiles were to say in the latter days of the earth, at the time when God had commenced to take in hand His work of gathering together the dispersed children of Israel: "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit."[A] This prophecy is being fulfilled, for thousands of converts have already said these words in their hearts, if not actually with the lips, and I among them, and thousands yet will say them before the end comes. In this connection another scripture has greatly impressed itself upon my mind, namely, the words addressed by St. Paul to the Galatians, when warning them against some who had perverted the Gospel of Christ even in those early days of the church. He said, "But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."[B]
[Footnote A: Jer. 16: 19.]
[Footnote B: Gal. 1: 8, 9.]
Thus I lost all confidence in the Church of England, and as I fully realized that I had a soul to be saved, regarding which I was naturally anxious, and as I was at the same {477} time well assured in my mind that there could not possibly be more than one true plan of life and salvation, and that one the pure Gospel as had been taught by Jesus Christ and His Apostles, I turned about to find a church that taught that Gospel, as laid down in its simplicity in the good old book. A church organized as was the primitive church, with Apostles, Prophets, etc., which the inspired writers of old taught as being absolutely necessary, and a church which enjoyed the promised gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit. Such a church I found among the Latter-day Saints, one similar in all ways to the primitive church, with her divine authority, and the marvelous manifestations of the Holy Spirit as promised by Messiah to all true believers, manifestations to which thousands of good, earnest Christian men and women can bear the most direct and truthful testimony.
On studying the history of this church, I was greatly struck with the wonderful faith displayed by the Latter-day Saints, during the dreadful persecutions through which they have had to pass, and the trials, and hopes, and sufferings which they have had to endure; with the beautiful spirit which manifested itself in the martyrs, and with the marvelous manner in which God sustained the Saints in their ejection from the circle of all civilization, and throughout their march of fifteen hundred miles through the wilderness into the wilds of the Rocky Mountains, to a place of which they had absolutely no previous knowledge, but to which He led them in safety. The truth, for which this people suffered, and even accepted martyrdom, now floats over the world, and converts are multiplying rapidly. No one who will read the whole history of the Latter-day Saints with a truly honest and unprejudiced heart, and look upon the blessings of prosperity which they at present enjoy, can for a moment doubt that they are members of a church which is under the direct guidance of God through new revelation. The only religion as taught in the Bible [but which churches that profess to believe in that Bible seem to deny] is the faith of visions, miracles, angels, revelations, and prophets. The ancient saints believed such a religion, as all their teachings very clearly show us, and looked for and expected to enjoy immediate intercourse with God and angels. The Latter-day Saints believe in such a religion too, and are greatly blessed with such intercourse so long as they are faithful and live up to their glorious privileges, and endure as seeing Him who is invisible. Thus they are in direct enjoyment of that pure Gospel which was to be brought down again to earth by the hands of an angel as seen by St. John in his vision in the {478} Isle of Patmos.[A] This vision had reference to the bringing again to earth of the Gospel long after the days of our Lord, for St. John saw it many years after Christ had died, risen from the grave, and ascended into heaven, that is to say long after Jesus had Himself brought the Gospel to the earth; and this restoration of the true Gospel to every nation and kindred and tongue and people would not have been necessary if the Gospel in its perfection had not been lost. St. John also clearly tells us that this restoration was to be in the last days of this world, for he writes that the angel, in bringing down this Gospel, would point out that the hour of God's judgment had come, and he adds that another angel would immediately follow saying, "Babylon is fallen."[B] Thus he refers clearly to the last days of this probationary time on earth, and there are many things which indicate to believers that we are living in these latter days, when the hour of God's judgment has come, and when we may expect soon to see Christ making His promised appearance in glory. We ought not therefore to be astonished to find that God, in His mercy and goodness towards the children of men, has at last sent that very Gospel to the earth as He had revealed His purpose to St. John the Revelator.
[Footnote A: Rev. 14: 6.]
[Footnote B: Rev. 14: 7, 8.]
This Gospel would naturally have to be committed to some chosen human being, for it is always through some selected one of His creatures that God has sent to the people of the earth His warnings, reproofs, instructions, threatenings for evil, and promises for righteousness, and why should He not have chosen young Joseph Smith to receive the restored Gospel as well as any other individual? He at least is the only one who claims to have received it as it was to come from the hands of an angel, and I am quite sure that any one who will read with a fair and unprejudiced mind the teachings of Joseph Smith cannot but conclude that he must have been inspired. Especially will this appear when they consider the fact that all the great and marvelous work which he performed before his martyrdom was accomplished while he was still a young man, and that he, like the Apostles of old, had never enjoyed the privileges of education or experience. I think, too, that those who will, with honest hearts, ponder over the present dark condition of the world, where anarchism, materialism, and atheism are spreading themselves as a pall over the earth, and hiding the light as a cloud hides the sun, will admit that it is quite time that the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ should again be restored to the earth, especially when they compare {479} the true doctrines and ordinances of that Gospel with the varied and contradictory doctrines and ordinances of the numerous churches and sects of Christendom, so patent in the present day. The history and the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ought to forcibly impress any and all earnest inquiring souls, who study them without bias, and I would strongly recommend to the attention of such persons a book called "A New Witness for God," by Elder B. H. Roberts.[A] There are other publications of the Latter-day Saints, too, which explain their teachings much more fully and lucidly than I have been able to do in this short exposition of my reasons for leaving the Church of England and joining their church. I shall be glad to lend these books to or to procure new ones for, those of my relatives or friends who may desire, in their anxiety for their souls welfare, to investigate the doctrines further. I can only say that there is that now within me which enables me to add that I know that the establishment of this church is of divine origin, and that it will extend its borders and stand forever.
[Footnote A: "A new Witness for God," by Elder B. H. Roberts.]
Before concluding, I would wish to add a few lines pointing out the manner in which the pure Gospel has been brought again to the earth, and to refer to a few texts in scripture which appear to me to bear directly on the establishment of this great work that has been accomplished On the earth in these latter days. I do not purpose lengthening out my remarks by giving a history of the youth of Joseph Smith and the revelations enjoyed by him, inasmuch as there are several books and pamphlets which deal fully with these matters. I will content myself with saying that an angel of God, Moroni by name, appeared to Joseph Smith and showed him a place up in a hill called "Cumorah," in which he would discover certain plates of gold with inscriptions upon them. Joseph Smith went to the hill and found these plates, but did not remove them, as the angel Moroni again appeared and told him that it was not yet time to do so; but on the 22nd of September, 1827, the angel again met Joseph Smith at the hill of Cumorah, and delivered into his hands all the plates, and a curious instrument called the Urim and Thummim,[A] which was also found in the stone box together with the plates. Joseph Smith subsequently {480} translated through this instrument such portions of the plates as were not sealed, and this translation is now known as the Book of Mormon. This book contains the history of a colony of Israelites of the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim), who left Jerusalem 600 years B.C., and came to America, and who afterwards multiplied very rapidly, and grew into two great nations called the Nephites and the Lamanites. The latter, after many years of warfare, eventually exterminated the former, owing to the fact that the Nephites had departed from the commandments of God, but the Lamanites had themselves become, even before they had destroyed the Nephites, a dark and benighted people under a curse from God on account of their gross iniquities and infidelity.[B] This destruction of the Nephites took place about 400 years after Christ, so that the Book of Mormon gives the history of the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim) for just 1,000 years, written from time to time by their prophets and seers. It also contains the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all its simplicity and purity, and makes plain some portions of the Bible which, owing to the originals having been lost, and to the numerous translations made from time to time, are now interpreted in different ways by the different denominations in Christendom. Thus it is that the Gospel, as it was in the days of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, and before its doctrines had been tampered with by man, has again been brought to the inhabitants of the earth, as shown in the vision of John the Revelator.[C] The scriptures, too, speak of a sealed book [D] which would be delivered to one "that is not learned," and of a nation which should speak out of the ground with a voice as of one that had a familiar spirit.[E] We who have read the Old and New Testaments seem to be quite familiar with the teachings contained in the Book of Mormon, and the voice speaks to us as one that hath a familiar spirit. Daniel clearly pointed to the setting up of God's Kingdom in the last days, when he made known and interpreted the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar regarding the image which the king had seen in his sleep. For he explained that a stone, cut out of the mountain without hands, would destroy the iron and clay feet of the said image,[F] and he further interpreted this stone as being a kingdom, which God would set up on the earth in the days of the ten kings, which kingdom should never be destroyed, but which should break and consume all the {481} other kingdoms, and would itself stand forever.[G] This kingdom God has now set up upon the earth, for these are the days of the kings referred to, and it will and must grow, and do what God said it would do, for Daniel was inspired when he interpreted the dream, and so he was able to add, "The dream is certain and the interpretation thereof sure."[H]
[Footnote A: This instrument consists of two transparent stones, clear as crystal, set in the two rims of a bow, and was always used in ancient times by persons called seers, and through it, they received revelations of things past and to come. See also Glossary of Antiquities, etc., at pp. 386 and 387 of Helps to the Study of the Bible.—Oxford press.]
[Footnote B: These Lamanites are the American Indians, and belong to the tribe of Ephraim, and are therefore Israelites.]
[Footnote C: Rev. 14: 6.]
[Footnote D: Isaiah 29:11.]
[Footnote E: Isaiah 29: 4.]
[Footnote F: Daniel 2: 34, 35, 45.]
[Footnote G: Daniel certainly speaks of the latter days, for the ten kings he alludes to represent the ten toes of the image which were to come after the falling to pieces of the fourth kingdom, or Roman Empire. Christ was on the earth during the time of the kings mentioned by Daniel as representing the ten toes of the image, so this kingdom, which God was to set up, and which was to grow and stand for ever, was a kingdom subsequent to the days of Christ upon earth—Read carefully Daniel 2: 31 to 45.]
[Footnote H: Daniel 2: end of verse 45.]
God moves, we are told, in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform, and so when He brings to pass His strange act,[C] all are solemnly warned not to make a mock of His wonderful work "lest your bands be made strong,"[D] (band means affliction and troubles, a metaphor taken from the fetters or bands put upon prisoners). We should always remember that God's course is usually very different from that which the wisdom of the world would mark out for Him, and that He, by His acts, destroys the wisdom of the wise, and brings to nothing the understanding of the prudent.[E] So we should be very careful indeed before we reject that which we do not understand, or which does not exactly fit in with our views of what things ought to be. The voice of the ancient prophets and seers of the tribe of Ephraim (the Lamanites or American Indians) has now at last spoken out of the dust,[F] in the discovery of their writings on the plates of gold, which had been buried in the hill Cumorah, and they testify to Christ and His pure Gospel plan of life and salvation. They also inform us that Christ visited the Nephites after His resurrection in Jerusalem and His ascension into heaven, and thus were fulfilled His words to the Jews that He had other sheep which were not of that fold with which He then was, and that they also were to hear His voice.[G] Some of the prophets of the Bible speak of Ephraim also, and I think that their words have been fulfilled in the discovery of the Book of Mormon as written on the plates of gold. For instance the prophet Hosea, speaking under divine inspiration, says, "I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing."[H] Here is a clear statement that God's laws were given in writing to the {482} tribe of Ephraim, and that they would be considered a strange thing. There is also a prophecy of Ezekiel, referring clearly to the latter days, when the time of the gathering together of Israel was to arrive, and when they were soon to become one nation again under one king. He speaks therein of the stick of Judah (the Bible) and the stick of Ephraim (Book of Mormon), being joined together and made one stick.[A] It should be understood that ancient writings used to be rolled on sticks, and that they are consequently frequently termed sticks in the Bible. It was when this Book of Mormon (so called because the last of the ancient prophets of the Nephites named Mormon compiled it, 400 years after Christ, from the writings of the former prophets and leaders of the people), was to be discovered engraved on plates, and was to be translated; that it and the Bible were to become one in their testimony. And it seems evident to me that some passages in the Bible, not very easy to understand, are now made plain by the Book of Mormon. Thus truth has sprung out of the earth, and righteousness has looked down from heaven.[B]
[Footnote C: Isaiah 28: 21.]
[Footnote D: Isaiah 28: 22.]
[Footnote E: I Cor. 1: 19.]
[Footnote F: Isaiah 29: 4.]
[Footnote G: John 10: 16.]
[Footnote H: Hosea 8: 12.]
[Footnote A: Ezek. 37: 15 to 28.]
[Footnote B: Psalm 85: 11.]
If more evidence is necessary to show that the Book of Mormon is of divine origin, one has only to read its account of the destruction and burial of old cities, and to compare these with the great discoveries made on the continent of America by travelers and antiquarians, that have excited the curiosity and wonder of the world.[C] These discoveries, I need scarcely add, were made long after the Book of Mormon had been translated and published to the world, and relate to the destroyed cities spoken of therein. There can, I consider, be no doubt whatever that the Book of Mormon is equally as much of divine origin as is the Bible, and I believe that all unprejudiced minds, after a careful study of it, will readily arrive at the same conclusion. Does any one suppose for a moment that an individual, not divinely inspired, could possibly sit down and write the Old and New Testaments exactly as they are, in full harmony with each other and dealing so minutely, as they do, with all matters necessary for the salvation, justification, and sanctification of mankind? Neither is it possible for an uninspired person, however good, earnest, and God-fearing such person may be, to write such a book as the Book of Mormon. I bear this testimony that that book came from God (just as I know that the Bible did), and that, in this last dispensation of time, He has committed to the Prophet Joseph Smith the pure Gospel, {483} as it once had been delivered to the saints in the primitive church, and that Christ's kingdom, the same kingdom as that of which Daniel wrote,[A] has been set up upon the earth for the last time.
[Footnote C: Spencer's Letters, Letter 7: p. 81.]
[Footnote A: Daniel 2: 44.]
I think I have now sufficiently explained my reasons for leaving the Church of England and joining what I know to be the only true church of Christ on earth. I willingly admit that in the Church of England, and also in the other churches and sects of Christendom, there are thousands of good, earnest souls seeking after God, and living up to what they believe to be the truth, and God is always faithful to remember all such, and to lift them up. Indeed Christ will, I believe, eventually redeem mankind (except the few sons of perdition who commit the unpardonable sin), but I would add that there is but one plan of life and salvation that will exalt us into the highest or celestial kingdom of the Father, and that plan includes true faith and repentance, followed (as taught by Christ and His Apostles) by baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and by the laying on of hands of those in authority from God, for the reception of the Holy Ghost. I need scarcely add that we have after this to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling," as St. Paul wisely warns us,[B] and also to "purify ourselves even as God is pure,"[C] and further to remember Christ's own words, "But he that endureth to the end shall be saved."[D]
[Footnote B: Philippians 2: 12.]
[Footnote C: I John 3: 3.]
[Footnote D: Matt. 10: 22.]
The Bible teaches us that there are different degrees of glory hereafter, and also different resurrections (see notes below)[E] and we should therefore all strive to be among those who will take part in the first resurrection, and be exalted into the highest or the celestial glory, which is much greater than the terrestrial one, as much so as the terrestrial glory is greater than the telestial. God's plan is plain, and is recorded in the Bible, so that all can run and read, therefore there cannot possibly be any excuse for those who have the opportunity placed before them of enquiring into and studying the Gospel for themselves, if they fail so to do.
[Footnote E: John 14: 2. I Cor. 15: 22, 23; I Cor. 15: 40 to 44; II Cor. 12: 2; I Thess. 4: 16, 17; Rev. 20: 5, 6.]
I have written this article, if I may so term these explanatory remarks, for the information of my family, and of those who may in any way be interested in me, because I have been asked many questions on the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and some have doubtless wondered {484} what there was in that church which could have influenced me to desert the Church of England and throw in my lot with the Saints. To all such I would reply in all humility, that the teachings of the Latter-day Saints, and their ordinances, are in all respects thoroughly scriptural, and strictly in accordance with those of the primitive church established by Jesus Christ Himself, while the Church of England does not appear to me to be correct or scriptural in many of her teachings and ordinances. I have taken the Bible, and the Bible alone, as my guide, and I most assuredly would not have become a Latter-day Saint had I not found the doctrines and practices of this people to accord with those of the New Testament, or had I found the church to be wanting in any of these principles which the Bible tells us are absolutely necessary to make up the true Church of Jesus Christ on earth. What some of these essentials are I have already endeavored to show, to the best of my ability, in these pages, and I am convinced that without them there can be no true Church of Christ anywhere, otherwise I altogether fail to see the use of our taking the word of God, as the Bible admittedly is, as a guide to the truth. If we admit that God's word is inspired, then it is not within the authority of any mortal man to alter any part of it, or to spiritualize or explain away any of the many plain commandments that are in the book. There is but one Gospel for our salvation, with its ordinances, its commandments, and its marvelous and powerful gifts, very clearly laid down in the Bible, and no church, which does not practice and teach the same plan of life and salvation, can possibly be right. Indeed, we know that in the very early days of the Christian church, when false teachers had commenced to pervert the true Gospel, and to teach a gospel which contained some errors, St. Paul denounced them in his letter to the Galatian Christians in the strongest terms of condemnation, saying: "But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."[A] This ought to be to us a very great warning, coming as it does from the pen of an inspired writer and apostle, and we would do well, believe me, to take it to heart and consider it.
[Footnote A: Galatians 1: 8.]
In conclusion I would advise those who may read these pages to think well over their contents, and to ask God to show them how far there is His truth in the doctrines and ordinances of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, doctrines {485} and ordinances which I have tried to show are in strict accordance with the Gospel of Jesus Christ Himself. The Apostle James tells us that God will always give wisdom to all that ask Him for it in true and in faithful prayer, for he writes as follows: "If any of you lack wisdom, let Him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him; but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like the wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord."[A] This scripture shows us that we should pray in the fullest confidence that God is only waiting to be gracious to us, and that He does not make a promise that He cannot or will not perform, but His ears will ever be open to true and faithful prayer; and we know that He is always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and to give us more than we are at any time deserving of.
[Footnote A: James 1: 5, 6, 7.]
"I will give unto you one of the keys of the mysteries of the Kingdom. It is an eternal principle that has existed with God from all eternity: That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly that that man is in the high road to apostasy; and if he does not repent will apostatize as God lives."
—Joseph Smith.
LETTER WRITTEN TO THE EMPEROR TRAJAN BY PLINY THE YOUNGER WHILE HE WAS GOVERNOR OF BITHYNIA. It IS THE FIRST CONNECTED ACCOUNT OF CHRIST'S FOLLOWERS THAT HAS COME TO US FROM A PAGAN SOURCE.
(From December, 1907, Scrap Book.)
Pliny the Younger was a typically cultivated Roman of the first and second centuries, Anno Domini. Overeducated, self-conscious, and very firmly convinced of his own importance, he was none the less an amiable and well-meaning man. Whenever he wrote a letter, he wrote it with the intention of publishing it at some future time; so that the collection which we now have of his epistles is an amusing example of literary pose. Nevertheless, the letters are full of interesting sidelights upon the times in which Pliny lived. As a boy, he witnessed from a distance the destruction of Pompeii, in which his uncle perished. He beheld the awful excesses of some of the Roman emperors. He observed much of human life, and he tells many an interesting tale, ranging from ghost-stories to narratives of historical value.
The Emperor Trajan gave Pliny an official appointment as governor of the province of Bithynia. In that office Pliny first heard of the new sect called Christians. He was told that the Christians in reality formed a political organization, masking treason to the emperor under the guise of religion. This was, in fact, the prevalent belief in official circles; and the meetings of the Christians were viewed very much as a Russian bureaucrat views any private gathering of men and women for an unknown purpose. Having made an investigation, however, Pliny discovered nothing to justify this feeling; and he wrote a letter to the emperor asking how the Christians should be treated. This letter, which is given here, is interesting because it is the first connected account of the Christians which we now possess from a pagan source.
It is my habit, your majesty, to refer to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better direct my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never been present at any trials of Christians; therefore I do not know in what way and to what extent it is customary to question or punish them. And I have felt no little hesitation as to whether some allowance should be made for age or whether the weak and delicate should be treated exactly like the more robust, whether pardon should follow retraction, or whether {487} the renunciation of Christianity should be of no avail to him who has once professed it; and whether the name of Christian itself, without any violation of the law, should be punished or whether violation of the law is considered as inhering in the name. Meanwhile, in the case of those who have been accused to me as Christians, I have pursued the following plan. I have asked them personally whether they were Christians. If they confessed it, I asked them a second and a third time, with the threat of punishment. If they still persisted, I ordered them to suffer the penalty, since I am very sure that whatever it was that they were confessing, stubbornness and unyielding obstinacy ought to be punished. There were some afflicted by this madness who, because they were Roman citizens, I remanded to Rome.
Presently, under this treatment, as is generally the case, the charge began to spread and they were led into more overt acts. Anonymous accusations containing many names were sent me. As for those who denied that they either were or had been Christians, when at my instigation they called upon the names of the gods and offered wine and frankincense to your statue (which, anticipating this emergency, I had caused to be set up with the images of the deities), and in addition to that had abjured Christ—none of which things, they say, those who are really Christians can be made to do—I thought that they ought to be let off.
Some, whose names had been given to me by informers, said that they were Christians and then denied it; that they had once been, but had ceased to be. Certain of them said that they had ceased to be Christians three years before, others more than that, a few even as long as twenty years ago. All these, too, worshiped both your statue and the images of the gods, and abjured Christ.
They declared moreover that this was the sum of their fault or error; that they had been accustomed to meet on a stated day before dawn, and to sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by a solemn sacrament—not to any crime, but that they should commit no theft, nor adultery, that they should not bear false witness or refuse to give up a trust when it was demanded. When this ceremony was over they said that it had been their custom to depart and to assemble again for the breaking of bread, a common and harmless practice among them.
They further said they had ceased to do even this after my edict, by which, following your commands, I had forbidden all formal assemblies. Wherefore I considered it the {488} more necessary to try to get at the truth by torture from two women who were called deaconesses. I found nothing further than a perverse, widespread superstition.
Having postponed action, I hastened to seek counsel from you, for it seemed to me that the matter was worthy of consideration, especially on account of the number of persons involved. For many of all ages, of all ranks, and of both sexes even, are under suspicion and will hereafter be under suspicion. The contagion of this superstition has spread, not only in cities but to villages even and farms, though I think that it can be checked and prevented. At any rate, it is pretty evident that the temples of the gods, which were deserted up to a short time ago, have begun to be thronged, the customary sacrifices, long interrupted, to be renewed, and also the pasturing of victims for these sacrifices which had been almost discontinued. From all of which it is my opinion that this body of men can be made to see the error of their ways, if only a chance is given them.
"The Lord has sent angels to men at different times since the creation of the world, but always with a message, or with something to perform that could not be performed without."
—Wilford Woodruff.
"Earthly riches are only little things, in comparison to the great principles of eternal lives and exaltation in the Kingdom of God; these are the riches of eternity."
—John Taylor.
PRESIDENCY PERMANENCY.
"If any man thinks he has influence among this people to lead away a party, let him try it, and he will find out that there is power with the Apostles which will carry them off victorious through all the world and build up and defend the church and the Kingdom of God."
There is in existence, with headquarters at Lamoni, Iowa, an organization known as "The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." Joseph Smith, the eldest son of the Prophet Joseph Smith, is the president of this organization (1909). One of the main reasons for its existence lies in the belief of its adherents; that "young Joseph" should have succeeded to the presidency of the church. They claim:
I.—That it is his right by appointment of his father.
II.—That it is his by lineage; that is, that the office of president of the church should descend from father to son.
III.—That he was properly ordained by those holding the authority.
In this little tract we can but briefly state the facts in the premises, that the reader may draw a reasonable and intelligent conclusion. We do not hope to silence those who have schooled themselves "even though vanquished, to argue still," but for the general information of the honest in heart.
It is claimed that according to the revelations, the prophet Joseph was to choose his successor. First let us examine the ground upon which this claim is made. A number of revelations concerning the perpetuation of the prophetic office were received in the early history of the church. The first one was to Oliver Cowdery, September, 1830 (Doc.& Cov., D&C 28:2-7; Reorganized edition, sec. 27:2.) The second came in December, 1830 (Doc. & Cov., sec. 35:17-19, Reorganized Edition, {490} sec. 34:4.) The third in February, 1831 (Doc. & Cov., sec. 43:1-4; Reorganized Edition, sec. 43:1-2.) The conditions which brought forth the above revelations were as follows:
While the prophet was in Fayette, N.Y., with the Whitmer family, he discovered "that Satan had been lying in wait to deceive and seeking whom he might devour." Brother Hiram Page had in his possession a certain stone, by which he claimed to have obtained certain "revelations" concerning the upbuilding of Zion, the order of the Church, etc., all of which were entirely at variance with the plan of our Father in Heaven. Many believed in these spurious revelations, especially the Whitmer family and Oliver Cowdery. Under these circumstances the Prophet received the following revelation to Oliver Cowdery:
"And if thou art led at any time by the Comforter to speak or teach, or at all times by the way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest do it. But thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom; and thou shalt not command him who is at thy head and at the head of the church, for I have given him the keys of the mysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead."
Again in December, 1830, Sidney Rigdon came to visit the Prophet at Fayette, N.Y., to inquire of the Lord concerning his duties, and possibly for instruction and encouragement from the Prophet. Shortly after his arrival the following revelation was received:
"And I have sent forth the fullness of my Gospel by the hand of my servant Joseph; and in weakness have I blessed him, and I have given unto him the keys of the mystery of those things which have been sealed, even things which were from the foundation of the world and the things which shall come forth from this time unto the time of my coming, IF HE ABIDE IN ME, AND IF NOT, ANOTHER WILL I PLANT IN HIS STEAD. Wherefore, watch over him that his faith fail not, and it shall be given by the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, that knoweth all things."
Also, in February, 1831, a woman by the name of Hubble made great pretensions of receiving revelations. She professed to be a prophetess of the Lord and claimed that she should become a teacher in the church. She deceived some who were not able to detect her in her hypocrisy. That the saints might not be deceived, the Lord gave the following revelation:
"O harken, ye elders of my church, and give an ear to the word which I shall speak unto you; for behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye have received a commandment for a {491} law, unto my church, through him whom I have appointed unto you, to receive commandments and revelations from my hand. And this ye shall know assuredly that there is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations until he be taken, if he abide in me. But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him, FOR IF IT BE TAKEN FROM HIM, he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead; and this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments; and this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you may know they are not of me."
From a careful reading of these revelations and in the light of the circumstances arising, we draw self-evident conclusions as follows:
lst.—Some of the saints were being deceived by spurious revelations.
2nd.—It was necessary that the saints know that the Prophetic office and the keys of the priesthood could be held and perpetuated only through him who had received that power.
3rd.—That in case of transgression or unfaithfulness he would retain the power to appoint his successor.
Thus the wisdom of the Lord in providing against the weakness of men.
All of these revelations were given before the quorums of the priesthood were organized and before the Prophet had proven himself faithful or in the days of his "preparation and qualification." During all the trying scenes of life the Prophet did not transgress, but proved his worthiness before God; therefore, there was no necessity for him to confer upon his successor the Keys and Authority of his office on account of any transgression during this early period before the various quorums of the Priesthood were organized as we have them today. Our Reorganization friends admit this to be the fact. We read in the Saints Herald of August 18, 1888 (this being the official organ of the Reorganized Church), the following:
"Joseph Smith was taken away, dying a martyr, of which death he was conscious, and made preparations before it occurred. HE WAS NOT ACCUSED BY THE LORD OF TRANSGRESSIONS, AND THE GIFT THAT HAD BEEN CONFERRED UPON HIM TAKEN FROM HIM; NOR WAS THERE A COMMAND GIVEN HIM TO APPOINT ANOTHER IN HIS STEAD, BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN {492} UNWORTHY, AND THE LORD PROPOSED TO DEPOSE HIM FROM HIS OFFICE. IT WAS ONLY IN THE EVENT OF THE GIFT BEING TAKEN FROM HIM, THAT HE WAS TO SO APPOINT ANOTHER. THIS EVENT DID NOT OCCUR." (Volume 35, No. 33.)
Subsequently, when the Prophet had proved his faithfulness, the Lord revealed to him, March 8, 1833, the following revelation declaring that the keys of the kingdom would never be taken from him:
"Thus saith the Lord, verily, verily, I say unto you my son, thy sins are forgiven thee, according to thy petition, for thy prayers and the prayers of thy brethren have come up into my ears; Therefore thou art blessed from henceforth that bear the keys of the kingdom given unto you; which kingdom is coming forth for the last time. Verily, I say unto you, the keys of this kingdom shall never be taken from you, while thou art in the world, neither in the world to come; Nevertheless, through you shall the oracles be given to another; yea, even unto the church." (Doc. & Cov., sec. 90:1-4; Reorganized edition, D&C 87:1-2.)
In the year 1835 the twelve apostles were chosen according to the revelation of June, 1829, and received a commission equal in power and authority to that of the First Presidency. Following is the language of the revelation:
"And they (the Twelve) form a quorum, equal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned." (Doc. & Cov. sec. 107:24; Reorganized edition, sec. 104:11.)
Thus it is seen that these early revelations which were local in their application, given for special needs, were superseded by later ones. In the former we learn "that none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him, for if it be taken from him he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead." In the latter we are told that Joseph has proved his faithfulness and that "Verily, I say unto you, the keys of this kingdom shall never be taken from you while thou art in the world, neither in the world to come, Nevertheless through you shall the oracles be given to another, yea even to the church." In accordance with these later revelations there was soon after given THROUGH THE PROPHET to {493} the church the order of the Priesthood, with all its offices and their authority and power. One of these quorums (the quorum of the twelve apostles) was authorized to "ordain and set in order all the other officers in the church," which of course includes the First Presidency. (Doc.& Cov., sec. 107:58; Reorganized Edition, sec. 104:30.)
These superseding revelations are so plain on this matter that one has but to have an ordinary knowledge of English to understand them. It is not to be wondered at that the church unitedly so interpreted them at the Prophet's death.
And so, under the Twelve, was the temple work prosecuted to completion, and preparations made for the journey west.
The second claim of the "Reorganization" is that the office of president of the church belongs to "young Joseph" by right of the law of lineage, that it is his by birthright.
To begin with, we will say that there are ONLY TWO offices in the church which descend by lineage from father to son—the office of Patriarch and the office of Bishop. It is evident that the Lord recognizes the family unit and makes provision for it in the priesthood, but to attempt to stretch the law to include all the offices of the Priesthood and thus create royal families is unjust and carries us back to the feudal state of the Dark Ages. Here in America, where so great an advance has been made in this line, one cannot but stand amazed at seeing men hunt about in crevices and nooks for some reason which will make the Lord an upholder of special privileges to the exclusion of equality in his work. Of the office of patriarch or evangelist, concerning which the misinterpretation arises (Reorganized Edition, sec. 125:3), we read the following:
"It is the duty of the Twelve, in all large branches of the church, to ordain evangelical ministers (i.e., Patriarchs), as they shall be designated unto them by revelation. The order of this Priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made. This order was instituted in the days of Adam and came down by lineage in the following manner:—" (Doc. & Cov., sec. 107:39-41; Reorganized edition, sec. 104:17-18.)
These passages refer solely to the patriarchal or evangelical office, but our Reorganization friends would have you believe {494} that they apply to the Presidency of the Church or the Melchisedek Priesthood. That a proper comparison may be made we quote from The Saints Herald, vol. 39, p. 337, the above passage with the words they insert in parentheses to bolster up their claims:
"The order (including offices) of this Priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made. This order (not the Priesthood, but the offices therein) was instituted in the days of Adam, and came by lineage in the following manner:—From Adam to Seth" (Abel having been slain).
It can readily be observed that the Reorganization is not only guilty of misapplication of this passage, but also of perverting scripture by inserting words in a revelation of God to gain their stranded point. The revelation plainly states that the Patriarchal order of the priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, etc., and NOT THE OFFICES IN THE PRIESTHOOD, as asserted and assumed by the "Reorganization," and has nothing to do with the office of the President of the Church, which presidency according to Doctrine and Covenants, is chosen in the following manner: "Of the Melchisedek Priesthood, three Presiding High Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayers of the Church, form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church." Secs. 107-122, Reorganized Edition, 104-111. The fact that the office of the Patriarch and the office of Bishop are the only ones named in the revelations which go by lineage from father to son, is reason enough to any fair minded person that the other offices (including President of the Church) do NOT so descend. If not, why does the Lord make this specification and name the two exceptions?
Again, they contend that the Prophet Joseph received by blessing from his father the birthright, and that "his blessing (the Prophet's) shall also be put upon the head of his posterity after him." (True Succession, p. 44.)
Therefore, they reason that "young Joseph" should be President of the Church. Let us see—the fact of the matter is: Hyrum Smith, the oldest living brother of the Prophet, obtained the birthright from his father. Joseph acknowledged that his brother Hyrum should receive the birthright, for "it was the right of patriarchal priesthood, even the evangelical priesthood, that was conferred upon the first born, and not the presidency of the church." Furthermore, in proof that {495} Hyrum Smith received the birthright, we quote the following revelation:
"And again, verily I say unto you, Let my servant William be appointed, ordained, and anointed, as a counselor unto my servant Joseph, in the room of my servant Hyrum, that my servant Hyrum may take the office of Priesthood and Patriarch, which was appointed unto him by his father, by blessing and also BY RIGHT." (Doc. & Cov., sec. 124: 91; Reorganized edition, sec. 107:29.)
Furthermore, in Hyrum Smith's patriarchal blessing given by his father, we read: "I now ask my Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ to bless thee with the same blessings with which Jacob blessed his son Joseph," etc. In I Chronicles, chapter 5, we are told that Joseph (son of Jacob) received the birthright.
However, the fact that Hyrum Smith received the birthright from his father would in no wise make him president of the church; for the patriarchal priesthood and the presidency of the church are two different things, and further, the descendants of Joseph Smith and those of Hyrum Smith "stand before God, as do all other men, assured of honor or dishonor, exaltation or degradation, according to their individual works."
It is further claimed that the president of this organization was called to be president of the church by revelation in 1841, which reads as follows:
"And now I say unto you as pertaining to my boarding house which I have commanded you to build for the boarding of strangers, let it be built unto my name, and let my name be named upon it, and let my servant Joseph, and his house have place therein, from generation to generation; For this anointing have I put upon his head, that his blessing shall also be put upon the head of his posterity after him, And as I said unto Abraham concerning the kindreds of the earth, even so I say unto my servant Joseph, in thee and in thy seed shall the kindred of the earth be blessed." (Doc. & Cov., sec.125:56-59; Reorganized edition, sec. 107:18.)
It seems almost unnecessary for comment or explanation as to the meaning of this passage. The Lord gives commandment to build a house in which the Prophet and his family are to have a home, and his posterity after him from generation to generation. It was this anointing that the Lord put upon the Prophet's head, that he and his posterity should enjoy the blessing of a home in this house, known as the "Nauvoo House." An inheritance in this house is the subject of this passage, and not one word to indicate that the posterity of the {496} Prophet should have the right to the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
As a conclusion in respect to the law of lineage, we quote the following words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, which should silence all controversy on this subject:
"The Melchisedek Priesthood holds the right from Eternal God, and NOT BY DESCENT FROM FATHER AND MOTHER, and that Priesthood is eternal as God himself, having neither beginning of days or end of life." (Mil. Star, vol. 22, p. 55.)
Thinking, perhaps the Reorganization officials may question the authority of our quotation from the Millennial Star in 1860, we will verify the same by quoting the following passage from the inspired translation of "The Holy Scriptures" published by the Reorganized Church:
"For this Melchisedek was ordained a Priest after the order of the Son of God, which Order was without FATHER, without MOTHER, without DESCENT, having neither beginning of days or end of life. And ALL THOSE who are ordained unto this Priesthood are like unto the Son of God, abiding a Priest continually." (Heb. 7:3.)
There is only ONE way men receive the priesthood of God, and that is by the laying on of hands by one who had already the authority, therefore, "ALL THOSE who are ORDAINED UNTO this priesthood are made like unto the Son of God, abiding a priest continually." It thus becomes evident that even had the son of the Prophet been promised in the revelations that he should become President of the Church, he could not become such until he was ordained by one possessing the authority to ordain him.
Should we admit that he had the promise from his father of being president, would men who had joined one church after another and become divested of all authority, have priesthood enough to so ordain him? (See Corner-Stone tract.)
This leads us to the third claim, i.e., that "young Joseph" was ordained by proper authority.
Those who ordained him to the priesthood and set him apart to be president of the Reorganized Church were William Marks, Zenas H. Gurley, W. W. Blair, and Samuel Powers. {497} The two latter never did belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. William Marks, at the time of the martyrdom of the Prophet, followed Sidney Rigdon, evidently forgetting the claim which he later advocated, that "young Joseph" should succeed his father. Later he left the church and joined James J. Strang's Organization, acknowledging Strang as the prophet of the Lord and the one who should succeed Joseph. (Reorganized History, vol. 3, p. 723.) He so far departed from the true path as to be ordained and anointed to one position after another under Strang's hands, thus vitiating any priesthood he formerly received had he not been excommunicated. (See Corner Stones.) BECOMING DISSATISFIED he left Strang and joined Charles B. Thompson's Church. (Reorganized History, vol. 3, p. 724,) STILL LATER he left Thompson and joined John E. Page's Church. (Reorganized History, vol. 3, p. 724.) On June 11th, 1859, he entered the New Organization, subsequently the "Reorganization," on his original baptism. NOW WHERE WAS HIS AUTHORITY TO ORDAIN YOUNG JOSEPH?
On the verge of the great exodus from Nauvoo, Zenas H. Gurley fell away from the church. He was a Seventy at the time, but not a member of any general presiding quorum. One cannot but be struck with the coincident fact that just at this time the saints faced their greatest ordeal. Everything looked black. Only stout hearts survive. The question persists in recurring to the mind, did Zenas H. Gurley forsake the church in its need because of disbelief in it, or because he paled before the hardships and suffering ahead? At any rate, he left the church and joined J. J. Strang's Organization, in which he remained for a number of years. He became a leading factor in bringing about "The New Organization," and in 1860 assisted in ordaining young Joseph to the priesthood, and also in setting him apart. How about his authority? If the whole church went wrong and he was one of these few pillars, sent of God, to steady the ark, why did he grope about in uncertainty and join a man-made church? In an earlier case we know of, the Lord was very particular that his chosen vessel should "join none of them."
Reader, have you ever stopped to consider this fact, that a man who holds the priesthood of God cannot debase that priesthood by joining a church which is not of God and still retain that priesthood?
The only answer there is to this query makes plain the fact that these men had no authority to ordain any one to any {498} office in the priesthood, and as proof that "young Joseph" was not ordained by his father we quote his own words:
"No, sir, I did NOT state that I was ordained by my father; I did not make the statement. I was NOT ordained by my father as his successor,—according to my understanding of the word 'ordained' I was not." (Plaintiff's Abstract, in temple lot suit, page 79, paragraph 162.)
The Lord never left his church in uncertainty, but the power bestowed upon Joseph Smith was bestowed upon the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which quorum constituted the second quorum in the church. THEY were sustained in their calling as the first Presidency of the Church after the martyrdom by the vote and common consent of the people, August 8th, 1844, and again in October, 1844, and it was their duty to set in order the first presidency and all other officers of the church in accordance with the revelations of the Lord.
But let us turn to another side of the question: The Reorganization claims that there was an apostasy and a rejection of the church soon after the Prophet's death. If such was the case, then is there some reason for a Reorganization; if not, there is no excuse for it and a church carrying that name brands itself false.
In contrast with their fundamental view of the Reorganization; that is, the apostasy or rejection of the church at Joseph Smith's death, let us consider the sayings of some of the ancient prophets, and by the aid of their stronger vision learn the lesson before us.
Gloomy indeed must have been the immediate outlook to many of these ancient message-bearers of Jehovah. Rejected again and again they found little prospect of accomplishing more than but a meagre part of the mission of the priesthood. Full well they knew that if ever the world were cleansed from sin it would be through the efforts of God's servants, joined with the efforts of the people. They could look back to the days of Enoch and rejoice in the success of his ministry, for in Zion was the full mission of the priesthood achieved, but as for their labors, most of the seed fell upon stony ground. What was it, then, that gave to these unrewarded men, these outcasts, the tone of optimism we find in their writings? The answer becomes plain by a reading of them. Into their inspired vision was sent a glimpse of the future, and in the picture thus before them they saw a time, albeit afar off, when the Kingdom of Heaven, restored to the earth for the last {499} time, would gradually establish peace and righteousness among men. And so we read such passages as these:
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and shall consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever." (Dan. 2:44.)
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people. * * * And then followed another angel saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." (Rev. 14:6-8.)
"But in the last days it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills and people shall flow into it. And many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people and rebuke strong nations afar off, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Micah 4:1-3.)
In all these passages it is clearly evident that PERMANENCY was to be one characteristic of the latter-day kingdom, and that RESULTS were to follow it from the beginning without a break.
Finally the set time arrives, and the Father and the Son visit the earth. Men of old-time in an angelistic state come and deliver their messages. Peter, James, and John restore the priesthood. Elijah brings back the "key of the binding power," and under direct guidance from on High the KINGDOM becomes established once more.
What, we may now ask, is this latter-day kingdom like? Where are the evidences of its permanency? If that feature be so distinguishing a one that the ancient seers eagerly noted it and gave it so prominent a place in their descriptions, surely there will be some evidences of it, in the kingdom's make-up; in other words, in the light of these passages, we would expect that the Lord, in establishing His work for the last time, would place within it the power to overcome all obstacles and perpetuate itself. Let us examine the "Revelations."
In March, 1835, the Lord revelated to the Prophet the {500} authority of the different offices in the priesthood. Throughout, all men are counted equally worthy; NO SPECIAL son is named and no royal family indicated. We read, as quoted above:
"Of the Melchisedek Priesthood, three presiding High Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith and prayer of the church, form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church." (Doc. & Cov., sec. 107:22; Reorganized edition, sec. 104:11.)
Again:
"The Twelve traveling counselors are called to be the Twelve Apostles, or special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world; thus differing from other officers in the church in the duties of their calling. And they form a quorum, equal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned." (Doc. & Cov., sec. 107:23-24; Reorganized edition, sec. 104:11.)
Further:
"The seventy are called to preach the gospel and be especial witnesses unto the Gentiles in all the world, etc. And they form a quorum equal in authority to that of the Twelve special witnesses or apostles just named." (Doc. & Cov., sec. 107:25-26; Reorganized edition, sec. 104:11.)
Ah! the important provision has been made. Not in one man's hands alone does full authority reside. Three great quorums possess it; the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, and the First Quorum of Seventy. In the latter two it is but latent during the life of the Presidency, for there is order in God's house, but being latent makes it none the less real. The result is obvious. Evil may abound in man's heart. The emissaries of Satan may incite them to bloodshed and drivings. They may martyr the Prophet, but we have the Twelve left. They may destroy the Twelve, but the Seventies remain. Surely, a blind man can perceive a strength from within which sets destruction at defiance. But this is not all. Not only is the power and authority in safe keeping, but the Lord has designated a special quorum to build up the Church whenever any of its offices become vacant, through death or otherwise. The revelation of March, 1835, says:
"It is the duty of the Twelve, also, to ordain and set in order ALL THE OTHER OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH, etc." (Doc.& Cov., sec. 107:58; Reorganized edition, sec. 104:30-31.)
Twice blind is he who cannot see that so long as such a quorum is in existence the Church will continue to live.
Now, then, what have we before us? A tottering edifice {501} of a day! Surely, NO, but an organization the equal of which the world has never seen; one which required a visit from the Father and the Son and the assistance of Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James and John, Moses, Elias, Elijah, and others, to bring about. It was not Joseph Smith's church. He was but an instrument through which a great divine institution began to take root in the earth. And yet, in view of all this, we are told by the Reorganization that the Kingdom thus founded was so frail, so weak, that it collapsed at the death of one man. Without strength, without stability, it fell in its beginning to rise no more for sixteen years.
We do not so understand this great latter-day work. Nay, nothing could be further removed from our conception of it. To that man whose mind has been lit up by its spirit and who understands its mission in the world, such a view is impossible. If we examine ancient prophets, they contradict it. If we go to modern revelation, the answer is no less plain. If we consult common sense, it likewise says no. For divinely founded it was; and for the last time was it restored. Neither again to be taken away nor given to another people.
Not only has there been no rejection of the Church, but there has been no cause for one. From the beginning, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has always stood for that which is true and good. No people on earth can point to a better record. The bleak plains, the silent graves, the barren desert, the magnificent temples, the self-sacrificing elders, all bear testimony to its integrity and stability. What would the Lord reject them for? Has he ever had as loyal or as firm a people? Examine their history. Feel of the spirit they carry with them. Follow their tracts. Notice the solid ruins of their forsaken cities. Wherever they have planted their feet, there have they builded to remain. The spirit of permanency has surely rested upon them. The old Mormon homes in Nauvoo are among the most substantial in the place to-day. The temple there would have been a credit to the nation now had it remained unmolested. This same spirit they carried with them into the barren desert, and there on its thirsty soil, amid untold difficulties and hardships, reared yet more beautiful and substantial commonwealths. Magnificent temples towering in the now fruitful valleys proclaim the people busily engaged in preparing themselves for yet greater things to come. Truly,
"God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform."
{502} To unaided man everything looked black sixty years ago. Today the severe experiences of those years are seen to be but a necessary preparation for the greater work of building up the New Jerusalem. Hardly necessary is it to add that they are fully prepared for this work when the time comes to begin it, and no less evident is it that a people who have been for half a century building temporary homes, with the expectation of being called at any time to build up the center stake, will hardly have had the experience necessary to build the greatest and most permanent of all cities and the most glorious of all temples.
Evidences are abundant on all sides that not only has God set up his work for the last time, but also that this work is accomplishing its mission. More clear, as time goes by, becomes the truth of Brigham Young's words:
"If any man thinks he has influence among this people to lead away a party, let him try it, and he will find out that there is power with the Apostles which will carry them off victorious through all the world and build up and defend the Church and Kingdom of God."
Having obtained a glimpse of the glorious light which this Latter-Day Kingdom has shed upon the world, we are assured that He who founded it, He who has guided it until now, will work out its future path.
"We do not believe it is just to mingle religious influences with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered, and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members as citizens, denied."—Joseph Smith.
A FEW OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES BEARING ON THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, ARRANGED IN LOGICAL ORDER, AND DESIGNED TO GIVE TO MISSIONARIES—AND ALL OTHER STUDENTS OF THE GOSPEL—A WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF SUCH SCRIPTURAL QUOTATIONS AS MAY BE REQUIRED FROM THE FIRST.
BY ELDER NEPHI ANDERSON, EDITOR LIAHONA THE ELDERS' JOURNAL.
Central States Mission:
CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS,
302 South Pleasant Street, Independence, Missouri.
1910
NOTE—The elder, in the beginning of his studies and his presentation of the gospel, does not need a multitude of texts, which often lead to confusion, but a few strong, appropriate quotations under each topic, the references having as much as possible, a logical relationship to each other. It is earnestly suggested that the Scriptures in their fullness be carefully studied, for in no other way can the full meaning and true spirit of isolated texts be obtained. Missionaries, especially, should compile their own ready reference from their study of the Scriptures, for by so doing the texts and their arrangement become fixed in the mind. It is hoped that this outline will be a valuable help in this direction.
1. A Knowledge of God Is Essential, for
JOHN 17:3.—"This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."
2. Personality of the Godhead—In the Godhead there are three personages—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. These are separate individuals, proved by
{504} MATT. 3:16, 17.—The baptism of Jesus; the Father speaking from heaven; the sign of the Holy Ghost descending from above.
ACTS 7:55, 56.—Stephen sees Jesus standing on the right hand of God.
JOHN 16:28.—Jesus came from the Father, and went back to Him.
JOHN, CHAP. 17.—Jesus prays to His Father.
DOC. & COV. 130:22.—The Father and the Son have bodies of flesh and bone; the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit.
PEARL OF GREAT PRICE; WRITINGS OF JOSEPH SMITH.—The Father and the Son visit Joseph Smith.
3. The Unity of the Godhead—consists in a oneness of powers, attributes, purpose, etc.
JOHN 10:30-38.—Jesus and the Father are one.
JOHN 17:20-22.—Jesus prays that His disciples may be one, even as He and the Father are one.
4. The Father is Revealed through the Son; for
JOHN 14:6.—"No man cometh to the Father, but by me" (the Son).
MATT. 11:27.—No man knows the Father save he to whom the Son will reveal Him.
JOHN 5:37.—The Jews had not seen God the Father's shape, nor heard His voice; but
JOHN 1:18.—The Son hath declared Him. Therefore, we receive our knowledge of the Father, not directly, but through a study of the Son. "As the Father, so the Son."
5. Jesus Christ the Son
JOHN 1:2.—He was in the beginning with God.
JOHN 1:3; COL. 1:16; DOC. & COV., 38:1-4.—All things were created by Him.
P. of G. P. MOSES, 1:33.—God has created worlds without number by the Son.
P. of G. P. MOSES, 4:1-4; ABR. 3:22-28.—Jesus in the council and the rebellion in heaven.
I NEPHI 19:10.—He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
I COR. 10:4.—He is the Spiritual Rock that was with the children of Israel.
III NEPHI 15:5.—Jesus gave the law of Moses.
ETHER 3:4-16.—Jesus shows His spiritual body to the brother of Jared. Jesus is born into the world, and lives as a man, this earth life. In His personal form and appearance He is
HEB. 1:3.—"In the express image of His (the Father) person."
PHIL. 2:6.—He is in "the form of God."
COL. 1:15.—He is "the image of the invisible God."
After His resurrection, Jesus is still in human form; for
LUKE 24:39-43.—He said, "Behold, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me and see; for a spirit hath not {505} flesh and bones, as ye see me have." He also eats with His disciples.
JOHN 20:20-27.—He shows His body with its marks to His disciples.
B. of M. III NEPHI 11.—He visits the Nephites.
ACTS 1:11.—As He went to heaven, in like manner will He return.
JOHN 4:24.—"God is a spirit." As the Father is like the Son, the Father's spirit must also dwell in a glorified body of flesh and bones.
JOHN 5:19.—"The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise."
1. Angels are the Same Class of Beings as Men—differing only in the scale of progressive being. In heaven there are two kinds:
DOC. & COV. 129.—Spirits of just men made perfect, and angels who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones. Of the latter class we have examples in
LUKE 24:39-43.—The resurrected Jesus.
ACTS 10:30-32.—The angel who taught Cornelius.
ACTS 5:19.—Who released Peter from prison.
REV. 19:10.—Who visited John on the Island of Patmos.
2. Evil Spirits are those who
JUDE 6th verse.—"Kept not their first estate," but
Isaiah 14:12; 1 PETER 2:4.—Were with Lucifer, cast out of heaven.
ACTS 5:3.—These spirits tempt men to do evil.
MATT. 8:28-32.—They so desire bodies that they strive for the possession of man's—sometimes, even the bodies of swine.
1. Man is a Child of God—his spirit having been born of heavenly parents before it was clothed upon with flesh.
ACTS 17:28.—We are God's offspring.
HEB. 12:9.—God is the "Father of spirits."
HEB. 2:17.—We are brethren to Jesus—and He was a Son of God.
ROM. 8:29.—Jesus is the first-born of many brethren.
JOHN 20:17.—God is the Father of Jesus and of Mary. This relationship between the Father, Jesus and mankind presumes
2. The Preexistence of Man—for Jesus and mankind are children of the same Father; Jesus existed with the Father before this world was; (John 1:2) therefore, it is reasonable to suppose that we, "the many brethren" also lived with our common Father.
JER. 1:5,—The Lord and ordained Jeremiah before he was born.
{506} JOB 38:4-7.—Sons of God shouted for joy when the foundations of the earth were laid.
JOHN 9:l.—There is a possibility of a man's sinning before birth.
DOC. & COV. 93:23-29.—Man as in the beginning with God.
GEN. l:26.—Man was created spiritually first; for
GEN. 2:5.—There was not a man to till the ground.
P. of G. P. Moses 3:5.—All things, man included, were created spiritually before they were in the earth.
3. Man is in the Physical Image of God—for man is in the same form as Jesus, and Jesus is in the "express image" of the Father.
GEN. 1:26.—Adam was created in the image of God.
GEN. 5:3.—Adam begat a son, Seth, "after his image."
MOSIAH 7:27.—Man was created after the image of God.
4. God's Purpose in Giving Man this Earth-life, is
P. of G. P. Moses 1:39.—To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
II NEPHI 2:25.—"That he might have joy." To this end
DOC. & COV. 93:33, 34.—A combination of spirit and body was necessary; also
II TIM. 1:9; TITUS l:2.—Salvation and eternal life was planned and promised "before the world began." For this purpose—
5. Man May Become Perfect; for Jesus said
MATT. 5:48.—Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.
HEB. 12:23.—Just men may become perfect.
I JOHN 3:2.-The Saints shall be like Jesus.
6. Man's Spirit is Immortal; for it existed before coming to earth (see Preexistence under 2) and it will exist after the body is lain down.
LUKE 16: 19-31.—Jesus teaches this in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
I PETER 3:18-20.—Christ, while His body lay in the tomb, visited the spirits in prison. The spirit of the thief went with Him.
LUKE 24:37-39.—There are spirits: "A spirit has not flesh and bones," said Jesus.
DEUT. 34:5; JOSH. 1:1, 2.—Moses died and was buried; yet
MATT. 17:3, 4.—He appeared to Peter, James, and John. This must have been in the spirit; for
I COR. 15:20.—Jesus was the first person resurrected, He being, "the first fruits of them that slept."
7. The Resurrection of Man's Body is assured; for
LUKE 24:36-42.—Jesus received again His body of flesh and bones.
MATT. 27:52, 53.—Many Saints received their bodies at Christ's resurrection.
JOB 19:25-27.—Job said that he would yet in his flesh see God.
{507} I THESS. 4:13-16; REV. 20:4-6; DOC AND COV. 88:97, 98.—The righteous will come forth in the first resurrection.
REV. 20:5.—"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished."
II NEPHI 9:12-14; ALMA 11:42-45.—The resurrection is to be literal.
GEN. CHAP. 3; Rom. 5:12.—Our first parents brought sin and death into the world.
I TIM. 2:14.—Adam knowingly transgressed the lesser law that he might obey the greater law to "multiply and replenish the earth."
DOC. & COV. 29:41.—By the fall, man became spiritually dead—which is to be banished from the presence of God; he also became subject to the temporal death—a separation of the spirit from the body.
In order to attain to the perfection spoken about, man must be released from the effects of Adam's transgression.
REV. 13:8; P. of G. P. Moses 4:1-4.—This was provided for from the "foundation of the world" by Christ, the Savior, who has brought salvation to all men.
1. General Salvation ROM. 5:12.—What was lost to the race through the fall was restored through Christ.
I COR. 15:21, 22.—"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
I PETER 1:18-20.—We are redeemed through the blood of Christ.
II NEPHI 2:26, 27.—Men are redeemed from the fall. Although thus redeemed, unconditionally, from eternal spiritual and temporal death, man, exercising his free agency, commits personal sins; therefore, he needs also—
2. Personal Salvation ROM. 3:23; I JOHN 1:8-10.—All men are sinful. Christ atoned for personal sins also, but to obtain forgiveness for them, man must do something himself.
HEB. 5:9.—Christ is the Author of salvation unto all those that obey Him.
I JOHN 1:7.—The blood of Christ cleanses us from sin, if we walk in the light.
I TIM. 4:10.—God is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
MOSIAH 3:11, 12.—Those who knowingly sin must repent.
Faith is the first requirement to obtain forgiveness of personal sins.
{508} JOHN 3: 16; ACTS 16:31.—Belief in Christ is necessary to salvation.
HEB. 11:l.—Definition of faith.
ROM. 10:14, 15.—How faith comes.
ALMA 32:21-43.—How faith is developed.
JOHN 7:17.—How faith is perfected; they that do shall know.
DOC. AND COV. LECTURES ON FAITH—contain an exhaustive treatment of faith.
JAMES 2:14-26.—Faith without works is dead.
MATT. 7:21.—Not he that sayeth, Lord, Lord, shall enter heaven, but he that doeth the will of God.
I JOHN l:3-6.—We know that we know the Lord, if we keep His commandments; and to know Him is eternal life. (John 17:3.)
Some religionists claim that the saving works come only after salvation is obtained, but Jesus said, "He that doeth shall enter."
HEB. 5:9.—Obedience must come before salvation.
REV. 22:14.—They who do the Lord's commandments shall enter the holy city.
DOC. & COV. 76: 111; MATT. 16:27.—Man rewarded according to his works.
GAL. 2:16.—"Man is not justified by the works of the law." What law?
GAL. 6:12-15; ROM. 3:28-31.—The law of Moses, especially circumcision.
ISAIAH 55:7.—The Lord will forgive those who repent.
LUKE 13:3.—Necessity of repentance.
II COR. 7:8-10.—"Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation . . . . but the sorrow of the world worketh death."
The process of true repentance may be stated thus: (1) Consciousness of sin; (2) Sorrow for sin; (3) Ceasing to sin, illustrated in
JONAH 3:5-10.—Case of Nineveh.
ALMA 15:3-12.—The conversion of Zeezrom.
1. History of
P. of G. P. MOSES 6:63, 64.—The baptism of Adam.
I COR. 10:l, 2.—Israel was baptized in the cloud and in the
MARK 1:4, 5.—Baptism was well known among the Jews.
MOSIAH 18:5-17.—Alma baptizes in the waters of Mormon.
2. Necessity and Object of
MATT. 3:15.—In the case of Jesus, "to fulfill all righteousness."
{509} MARK 1:4; LUKE 3:3; ACTS 2:38.—For the remission of sins.
GAL. 3:27.—To "put on Christ."
JOHN 3:3, 5.—To permit a person to enter the kingdom of heaven.
ACTS 2:38; ACTS 19:1-6.—As a prerequisite to receiving the Holy Ghost.
ACTS 10:6, 48.—To obtain salvation: case of Cornelius.
ACTS 22:16.—To wash away sins: case of Paul.
3. Mode of
MATT. 3:16.—The baptism of Jesus: He came up out of the water.
MARK l:5.—John baptizes in the river Jordan.
ACTS 8:38.—Philip and the eunuch went down into the water.
ROM. 6:3-5; COL. 2:12.—We are buried with Christ in baptism. JOHN 3:5.—It is likened to a birth.
III NEPHI 11:22-27.—Christ instructs Nephites on baptism.
DOC. AND COV. 20:72-74.—Words to be used in baptizing.
4. Proper Subjects For; Infant Baptism
MATT. 28:19, 20.—Candidates must be capable of being taught.
ACTS 2:38; ACTS 8:36, 37.—It must be preceded by faith and repentance.
Infant baptism is contrary to the plan of salvation. Those who practice it theoretically annul the atonement of Christ; for
I JOHN 3:4.—"Sin is the transgression of the law."
JOHN 9:41.—Knowledge must come before sin.
ROM. 4:15.—Where there is no law, there is no condemnation.
LUKE 18:16.—"Of such (little children) is the kingdom of heaven."
I COR. 15:22; DOC. AND COV. 29:46.—"As in Adam all die," etc. All persons that are incapable of sinning are unconditionally redeemed in Christ.
MORONI CHAP. 8.—The sinfulness of baptizing little children.
DOC AND COV. 68:27.—Children should be baptized at eight years of age.
Infant baptism has no scriptural authority; it is never mentioned in the Bible. Some supposed cases are:
I COR. 1:16.—Paul baptizes the household of Stephanas; but
I COR. 16:15.—The household contained no infants.
ACTS 16:33.—Paul baptized the household of the jailer; but they were capable of being preached to and of believing.
There is no connection between baptism and circumcision. Baptism is for the remission of sins—circumcision is not; baptism is administered to both sexes—circumcision is not; faith and repentance must precede baptism—unbelievers may be circumcised.
1. The Nature of the Holy Ghost
DOC. AND COV. 130:22.—The Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit, and
I JOHN 5:7; DOC. & COV. 20:28.—Is a member of the Godhead.
"The Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God," both of which terms are sometimes used interchangeably with the Holy Ghost, "is the influence of Deity, the light of Christ, or of Truth which proceeds forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space and to quicken the understanding of men." (Doc. and Cov. 88:6-13.)—Prest. Jos. F. Smith. Care should therefore be taken to discriminate between the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of the Lord.
2. As Essential as Water Baptism
MATT. 3:11; ACTS 1:5; DOC. AND COV. 39:6.—The baptism of the Holy Ghost completes the baptism of water.
JOHN 3:5.—A man must be "born of the Spirit."
3. Preparations for His Reception
ACTS 2:38; II NEPHI 31:12.—Faith, repentance, and baptism of water are required.
ACTS 19:1-6.—The baptism of water must be authorized.
ACTS 10:44-48.—The Holy Ghost falls on Cornelius and his company before they were baptized. This, the only exception to the general rule, was to show to Peter that the gospel was for the Gentiles, as well as for the Jews.
4. Manner of Bestowing
ACTS 8:17.—The apostles bestow the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.
ACTS 19:6; II TIMOTHY 1:6.—Paul bestows the Holy Ghost by laying on of hands. Undoubtedly, Jesus did not depart from the general law governing the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, for
LUKE 24:50.—Prior to His final departure He "lifted up his hands and blessed" the twelve; also
JOHN 20:22.—He breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."
ACTS 2:2.—After the space of a few days, the Holy Ghost came. This interval is explained by the fact that it was necessary that Jesus should depart before the Holy Ghost could come. (John 16:7.)
DOC. AND COV. 33:11, 15.—Holy Ghost to be bestowed by laying on of hands.
5. Gifts and Operations of
JOHN 14:26.—He was to teach all things, and to bring to remembrance the teachings of Christ.
GAL. 5:22, 23.—The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, etc.
I COR. CHAP. 12.—The divers gifts of the Spirit are wisdom, knowledge, healing, etc. {511} DOC. AND COV. 20:35.—Revelations may be given by the Holy Ghost.
The saving ordinances of the gospel must be administered by men holding the Priesthood, which is the authority of God delegated to man.
JOHN 15:16.—"Ye (the disciples) have not chosen me (Christ), but I have chosen you and ordained you."
MATT. 10:40.—"He that receiveth you (the disciples), receiveth me."
MATT. 16:19.—Divine authority is given to Peter.
This authority is in the beginning given directly from the Lord to men, who bestow it by ordination on others. (John 15:16.)
NUM. 27:18-23.—Moses ordains Joshua.
ACTS 6:5, 6.—Seven men are called to assist the twelve.
ACTS 14:23.—Paul and Barnabas ordain elders.
HEB. 5:1-4; DOC. AND COV. 42:11.—No man takes the honor of the Priesthood upon himself.
ACTS 8:12-15.—There are degrees of authority: Philip had authority to baptize, but not to bestow the Holy Ghost.
ACTS, CHAPS. 9 AND 10.—Saul and Cornelius are sent to men having authority.
ACTS 19:13-16.—The seven sons of Sceva try to exercise authority which they did not hold, with dire results.
DOC. AND COV. 124:128.—Twelve apostles have authority to preach the gospel to all nations.
DOC. AND COV. 121:36-46.—Powers of the Priesthood to be exercised only on the principles of righteousness.
For the purpose of better bringing the gospel to all men, and to help to faithfulness those who have received it, an organization is effected called the Church. At the head of the Church are men who have divine authority, some of which are
I COR. 12:28; EPH. 2:20.—Apostles, prophets, and teachers.
DOC. AND COV. 107.—Orders and callings in Priesthood.
EPH. 4:11, 12.—These are for the perfecting of the Saints.
EPH. 4:13.—Until they come to a unity of the faith.
EPH. 4:14.—That they "be no more children . . . . carried about by every wind of doctrine."
HEB. 13:17.—These officers should be respected and obeyed.
ACTS 4:10-12.—Because Christ is the head of the Church, it should bear His name.
ACTS 9:13; ROM. 1:7.—The members of the Church are called Saints.
DOC. AND COV. 115:4.—The name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints given by revelation.
The Church, being led by apostles and prophets, receives the immediate mind and will of the Lord from time to time {512} as occasion requires. This has been true in all ages; Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses and the former-day apostles are examples.
PROV. 29:18.—"Where there is no vision, the people perish."
AMOS 3:7.—"The Lord will do nothing, but he revealeth his secrets unto his servants, the prophets."
I COR. 2:10-13.—Those who possess the Spirit of God receive revelation. (See also passages under "Holy Ghost, Gifts and Operations.")
EPH. 3:3.—Paul receives revelation.
PHIL. 3:15.—The Lord will reveal more if necessary.
MATT. 16:13-18.—"The gates of hell shall not prevail against it"—the rock of revelation.
DOC. AND COV. 42:61.—Elders of Church may receive revelation.
DOC. AND COV. 43:2-6; 107:91, 92.—President only receives revelations for the Church.
Opponents to modern revelation quote:
REV. 22:18, 19.—Which forbids man to take from or add to the words of the Book. The reply to this is that the passage does not say the Lord might not do this; besides, reference is made only to the Book of Revelations. John wrote his Gospel afterwards. A similar admonition is found in Deut. 4:2.
It is a self-evident fact that the Gospel as preached and practiced by Christ and His first disciples was corrupted, and at last, lost altogether during the Dark Ages. This is shown if we put the so-called Christian sects to the test which Christ gave. JOHN 13:35.—"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another," also
MATT. 7:15-20.—By their fruits ye shall know them.
II TIM. 3: 1-5.—The wickedness of the last days is described.
II PETER 2:1-3.—Many shall follow false teachers.
II THESS. 2: 1-4.—There shall be a falling away before Christ's second coming.
REV. 13:6-8.—The Saints are overcome.
II NEPHI 28 AND 29.—Give a description of the apostate world.
DOC. AND COV. 1:15, 16.—The present apostate condition described.
The falling away makes necessary a restoration; for the purposes of God in the final redemption of the race requires it.
MATT. 24:14.—"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world," before the end.
REV. 14:6.—An angel restores the gospel in the latter days.
DAN. 2:28-45.—Daniel saw the kingdom of God established in the last days. {513} The Aaronic Priesthood was restored by John the Baptist to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, May 15, 1829; shortly after this date, the Melchisedek Priesthood was restored by Peter, James and John.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized April 6, 1830, at Fayette, N.Y.
DOC. & COV. 65:2.—Daniel's vision fulfilled in the Latter-day Kingdom.
JOHN 17:20.—Jesus prays that His disciples may be one as He and the Father are one.
I COR. l:10.—The Saints are told to "speak the same thing," to be "perfectly joined together in the same mind."
EPH. 4:4-6.—"There is one body, one Spirit * * * one Lord, one faith, one baptism." (Read the whole chapter.)
DOC. & COV. 38:27.—"If ye are not one, ye are not mine."
MATT. 12:30.—Jesus said, "He that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad."
EPH. l:10.—In the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, all things in Christ shall be gathered together in one.
DEUT. 28:64.—Israel is to be scattered among all nations; but
JER. 31:10.—The Lord shall gather Israel again.
GEN. 49:22-26; DEUT. 33:13-16.—Joseph's inheritance extends beyond the land of Canaan—to America.
B. of M. ETHER 13:6-8.—Where He will gather and build up Zion.
DOC. & COV. 133:26-34.—The Ten Tribes shall come from the north and be blessed in Zion by Ephraim—the Latter-day Saints.
JER. 32:36-44; ZACH. 2:12.—The Jews shall return to Jerusalem.
ACTS 17:26, 27.—The Lord has fixed the bounds of the earth's inhabitants: He desires all people to feel after Him that they might find Him.
GEN. 11:7-9.—At the confusion of tongues, the people were scattered over the whole earth.
JOHN 10:16.—Jesus said He had other sheep not of the fold at Jerusalem which He must also visit.
EZEK. 37:15-19.—The stick, or book, of Judah (the Bible) and the stick of Joseph (the Book of Mormon) shall come together in the last days.
IS. 29:11-14.—The words of a sealed book should be delivered to one who is learned, who shall say, "I cannot read a sealed book." Fulfilled in Martin Harris' visit to Prof. Anthon. (See the Writings of Joseph Smith in P. of G. P.)
{514} MORONI 10:3-5.—How to obtain a testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon.
I TIM. 2:3, 4; II PETER 3:9.—The Lord desires all men to be saved.
ACTS 4:12.—Jesus Christ is the only name given whereby man can be saved.
JOHN 3:5-7.—A man must be born of the water and of the Spirit before he can enter the Kingdom of God.
This birth of the water (baptism) presupposes faith and repentance. As the vast majority of the race have never heard of Christ or His gospel in this life, it follows that they must hear of them in the spirit world.
This is true, for
I PETER 3:18-20.—Christ, after His death, went and preached to the spirits of those who had been destroyed in the Flood; and—
I PETER 4:6.—What He preached was the gospel. As these spirits, as well as all who are in the spirit world, cannot receive water baptism, it will have to be performed vicariously on the earth for those who repent. I COR. 15:29.—Paul refers to baptism for the dead.
DOC. & COV. 127:6-10; Sec. 128.—Joseph Smith explains the doctrine of baptism for the dead.
Note:—Farrar, in his "Early Days of Christianity," Chaps. VII and VIII, makes some interesting comments on these passages, upholding the view taken by the Latter-day Saints on the subject of salvation for the dead.
LUKE 23:42, 43.—The thief on the cross went with Jesus to Paradise—the spirit world.
JOHN 20:17.—The thief did not go to the Father, or to heaven, for Jesus declared to Mary three days later that He Himself had not been there.
LUKE 22:7-20.—It was instituted by the Lord.
ACTS 20:7.—And practiced by His disciples.
I COR. 11:23-34.—It should be partaken of worthily, and in remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ.
DOC. & COV. 27:2-4.—The Saints are commanded not to use wine or strong drinks in partaking of the sacrament.
DOC. & COV. 20:77-79.—Form of blessing on the bread and water.
GEN. 14:18-20.—Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek.
LEV. 27:30.—It was a law unto Israel.
MAL. 3:7-12.—Blessings promised the tithe payer.
LUKE 11:42.—Jesus commends tithe paying.
DOC. & COV. 119.—The law of tithing as given to the Latter-day Saints.
MARK 2:27, 28.—"The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath."
ACTS 20:7; I COR. 16:1, 2.—Former-day Saints met for worship on the first day of the week-the day on which Christ arose from the dead.
DOC. & COV. 59:9-13.—The Latter-day Saints' authority for observing the first day of the week—the Lord's day—as a Sabbath.
Some religionists base their salvation on the observance of the seventh day, or Jewish Sabbath. To be consistent such people ought also to observe the Sabbath of Years and the year of Jubilee, both being part of the Jewish law. (Lev. 25:1-22.) The penalty for breaking the Jewish Sabbath was death. If the penalty is abolished, how can the law remain?
MATT. 5:10.—"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake."
MATT. 24:9.—In the latter days, the followers of Christ shall be hated of all nations.
ACTS 28:22.—"This sect"—the Church of Christ—was everywhere spoken against.
II TIM. 3:12.—"All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
DOC. & COV. 101:35-38.—Glory for the faithful persecuted.
MARK 6:5.—Jesus "laid his hands on a few sick, and healed them."
MARK 6:13.—The disciples anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
JAMES 5:14, 15.—Anointing with oil and prayer shall save the sick.
MATT. 17:16-20; II TIM. 4:20.—The sick were not always healed.
DOC. & COV. 42:43, 44, 48.—How the sick are to be treated.
PROV. 4:18.—"The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."
MATT. 24:13; DOC. & COV. 53:7.—"He that endures to the end shall be saved."
HEB. 3; 4:9-11. The rest of God is for those who are "steadfast unto the end."
REV. 21:7.—"He that overcometh shall inherit all things."
ACTS l:11.—As Jesus went, so shall He come again.
MATT. 16:27.—"The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father." {516} I THESS. 4:15, 16.—"The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven."
ZACH. 14:4, 5.—Christ's second coming to Jerusalem.
DOC. & COV. 49:6, 7, 22-24.—Signs of Christ's coming.
REV. 20:5, 6.—The Saints shall reign on the earth with Christ a thousand years.
IS. 11:6, 9; 65:20; DOC. & COV. 45:58, 59.—Conditions during the thousand years.
DOC. & COV. 63:49-51.—The righteous shall be changed "in the twinkling of an eye."
DOC. & COV. 88:25-28.—"The earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom."
DOC. & COV. 29:22-25.—All things shall become new.
DOC. & COV. 130:9.—The earth to become like a Urim and Thummin.
REV. 21 and 22.—A description of the new earth.
DOC. & COV. 88:34-44.—All things are governed and sanctified by law.
I COR. 15:40-42.—There are different degrees of glory in the resurrection.
MATT. 16:27.—Jesus shall reward every man according to his works.
DOC. & COV. 76.—Description of the three degrees of glory.
ECCL. 3:14.—"Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever."
GEN. CHAPS. 2 & 3.—Before the Fall, Adam and Eve were immortal, therefore their marriage was eternal in its nature.
MATT. 16:19.—Peter received divine authority, so that whatsoever he bound on earth was bound in heaven.
MATT. 22:23-33.—As in baptism, marriage is performed on earth—not after the resurrection. The ordinance must be performed by one having authority, such as Peter; and the married must be believers, not such as the Sadducees who denied the resurrection and knew not the scriptures nor the power of God.
DOC. & COV. 132:19-24.—Marriage for eternity explained. {517}
BY PARLEY P. PRATT
Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.—2 John, verse 9.
The remission of sins is what every sinner desires when he truly believes in God and has repented of every transgression. Faith and repentence do not bring remission, but they must be had before it can be obtained, for they prepare the sinner for this ordinance. But baptism brings remission, or, in other words, it is through baptism that sins are remitted. To prove this, we may turn to the word of God.
John the Baptist was a servant of God, acting under divine revelation, and we read(Mark i. 4, and Luke iii. 3) that he preached "the baptism of repentence for the remission of sins," in the wilderness and all the country about Jordan. While he was preaching this doctrine, Jesus considering it necessary to fulfil all righteousness, came to him and was baptized, thus acknowledging that John was preaching a correct doctrine and baptizing for the right purpose. Now this has been a matter of sacred history for some eighteen hundred years and who is so blind to truth and lost to reason as to assert that baptism is for anything else than for the remission of sins? The passages quoted are a standing rebuke to all such persons.
Jesus called and ordained men to preach His gospel, but just before He left them He commanded them to tarry at Jerusalem till they were endowed with power from on high. They did so, and when they received this power, they convinced a large multitude that Jesus was the Christ, and when their hearers inquired of them what they should do, Peter replied: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts ii. 38). According to this, the inspired apostles taught that baptism was for the remission of sins, after Christ's ascension into heaven.
Paul saw a vision in which he was told to go to a certain place where it should be told him what to do. He went, and there fasted and prayed three days. Then the Lord sent Ananias to him, who said, "Arise, and be baptized and wash away thy sins" (Acts xxii. 16).
Why did not the Lord remit Paul's sins through his fasting and prayer? Because He had established baptism for that {527} purpose, and both small and great must comply if they desire the blessing.
"But," says one, "you astonish me; I was always taught that baptism was an outward sign of an inward grace." That may be, but a true servant of God never taught you so, neither did you learn it from the Bible. You must be baptized and have your sins washed away before you are even prepared for the reception of an "inward grace."
"But," continues the objector, "Peter tells us that baptism 'is not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience towards God.'"
Very good! Ananias did not tell Paul to be baptized and wash away the "filth of the flesh," but to "be baptized and wash away his sins." Peter and John, with the rest of God's servants, did not preach baptism for the "putting away of the filth of the flesh," but for the "remission of sins." When a man is baptized according to the Lord's will, he receives a remission of sins and his conscience is void of offense towards God.
Some object to baptism for the remission of sins because infants are "born in sin" and that would include infant baptism. True, the sin of Adam passed upon all mankind; but Christ took away the sin of the world by taking it upon Himself and atoning for the same upon the cross. Therefore, infants are without sin, and "of such are the kingdom of heaven" (Mark x. 14).
The sins which men should be baptized for are their own individual sins, and not the sin they were born in, for the Savior atoned for that.
Nor is it proper to say that baptism remits a man's sins, for that is the work of the Lord. The "laying on of hands" does not give the Holy Ghost, for it is the "gift of God." The blowing of rams' horns did not throw down the walls of Jericho, it was the power of Jehovah. "Simon saw that through the laying on of the Apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given" (Acts viii. 18). God works by means, through instruments, and it is through baptism that sins are remitted.
It is repeatedly stated in the scriptures that those only who do the will of God can obtain salvation. That it is the will of God for people to receive the remission of sin, none will deny. That remission of sins is obtained through baptism has been clearly proven. Therefore all who will be saved will have to be baptized for this purpose.
Again, the Bible says, "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking {528} vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power" (II Thess. i. 7-9). From this we learn that the Lord will take vengeance on those who obey not the gospel, and punish them with everlasting destruction.
Baptism for the remission of sins is a principle of the gospel, and those who fail to obey it will surely be partakers of the vengeance and punishment mentioned in the foregoing quotation.
The Prophet Elisha pointed out the way for the Syrian leper to be cleansed, namely, to be washed or dipped seven times in Jordan. But he went away in a rage, thinking that the waters of Syria were just as good as those of Jordan; but afterwards, being persuaded by his servants, he obeyed the requirement, and was cleansed. Now, if he had been dipped in any other river, it would have done him no good; or if he had been dipped less than seven times, it would have availed nothing. God had prescribed the means, and they must be complied with to the very letter, or the blessing would not follow. So it is with regard to baptism.
"When Israel were bitten by poisonous serpents, God commanded a brazen serpent to be raised, that whosoever should look upon it should be healed. All the poisoned ones who would not look, considering it non-essential, died in their poison. So likewise, all sinners who will not be baptized, considering it non-essential, will die in their sins, and be damned."[A]
[Footnote A: Apostle Orson Pratt, on "Water Baptism."]
Sufficient has been said to satisfy any reasonable mind on this subject. Every point of scripture touching the object of baptism has been examined, and found that each one proves it to be for the remission of sins. The arguments against this doctrine have also been examined and found utterly groundless.
Let every unbaptized person waste no time, but prepare himself for this ordinance, by repenting of every sin. Then he may seek a properly authorized person to baptize him for the remission of his sins, that they may be remitted, that he may be a fit subject for the Holy Spirit to rest upon, that he may be saved with the redeemed and sanctified of all generations in the Kingdom of God forever—
"While time, or thought, or being lasts,
Or immortality endures."
OR THE "NEW AND EVERLASTING GOSPEL."
QUESTION.—What is the Gospel?
ANSWER.—There is only one true system of doctrine that can properly be called the Gospel; and that one system is so definite in every point, and so exactly adapted to the situation of sinners, that every person may immediately embrace it wherever it is preached, and by so doing they become saints, or Christians.
The first principle of action required in the Gospel is belief in the name of Jesus Christ, the once crucified and now risen Redeemer.
The second is repentance; which signifies nothing more nor less than the putting away of sins, with humility and meekness before God—feeling sorry for our sins, and a determination to forsake them.
The third is baptism, by immersion in water, in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS.
The fourth is the laying on of hands, in the name of Jesus, for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. All who do these things in a proper manner, and under proper authority, are saints; and if they endure to the end they will be saved in the Kingdom of God.
Q.—Are there any conditions in this system which the sinner cannot immediately fulfil, as soon as he understands them?
A.—The sinner can believe that Jesus is the Christ on good testimony. He can turn from his sins, and put them away. He can also go forth, and be immersed in water, in the name of the Lord Jesus.
God will not believe for us; He will not repent for us; He will not be baptized for us; but these things are for us to do; and if we do them, then God has promised to forgive us our sins, and to baptize us with the Holy Ghost; then, certainly we should be the children of God, in the enjoyment of religion.
Q.—Is it of any use for men to pray to the Lord to convert them and give them religion, while they neglect to obey the Gospel?
A.—No. In vain they call Him Lord, Lord, and do not perform the things which He has commanded them. In vain they worship Him, teaching for doctrines the COMMANDMENTS OF MEN. The Lord is praying us to be converted, and we will not, while at the same time we are praying Him to convert us.
Q.—But must not the Lord perform some special work, on His part, more than He has done, in order to convert our souls and make us Christians?
A.—No. The Lord has died for us; He has risen again for us; He has sent His word to us, with servants to administer it; and now He requires us to obey it, and then He has promised to forgive our sins, and to grant us the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Q.—But what! Can every sinner come immediately forward and obey the Gospel when it is {530} preached, and thus become a child of God?
A.—Yes.
Q.—What! All the sinners in this town?
A.—Yes; and all the sinners in England, nay, in all the world. The very moment they obey the Gospel they are free from sin, and are made partakers of the Holy Ghost. If this is not the case, then the word of God is of none effect, and the Gospel never saved a man since the world began, nor ever will; for, if God has sent a message or Gospel into the world which is insufficient to save sinners, and is under the necessity of saving them some other way, independent of that Gospel, then surely He has sent it in vain. But, on the other hand, if He has sent a Gospel which would save one man by obeying its precepts, then surely it would be the power of God unto salvation to all who would believe and obey it.
Q.—If these things are so, what would a minister of the Gospel say if he were to be present at some of the religious excitements which are got up in modern times, and were to see persons bowed down at the penitent forms, trying to "get religion" in that?
A.—He would say, as Ananias said to Saul of Tarsus, "Why tarryest thou? Arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord."
Q.—But what would he say if they should refuse to comply with the requisition, and should continue praying?
A.—He would say, "Why do you call Lord, Lord, and do not perform the things he has said?" "In vain you worship him, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Q.—But would they not "get religion in that way?"
A.—No. They might pray as long and as loud as the four hundred prophets of Baal did, but with as little effect.
Q.—But did not the Apostle say to the jailer and his household, that they should be saved if they would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, without obeying the Gospel?
A.—No. He spake unto them the word of the Lord.
Q.—What word of the Lord did he speak unto them?
A.—The word of repentance and baptism for remission of sins; as is evident from the fact of their attending to baptism the same hour.
Q.—What would have been the situation of the jailer and his household if they had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and had not obeyed the Gospel?
A.—They would have been under much more condemnation than they were before.
Q.—But was not Saul of Tarsus, while on his way to Damascus, converted and made a Christian by a special work of God?
A.—No. He was only convinced or convicted that Jesus was the Christ; but his being a saint (or Christian) depended on his going to Damascus, and obeying the Gospel baptism.
Q.—What would have been his situation if he had continued to believe in Christ, and had not gone to Damascus and obeyed the Gospel?
A.—He would never have "got religion" to this day, but would have been worse than he was before.
-Q.-Did not the Apostle say to the people of old, that, if they would confess with their mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and would believe in their hearts that God had raised him from the dead, they should be saved?
A.—Yes. But he was writing to the Church of God, whose members had already obeyed the Gospel, and had been planted together {531} in the likeness of his death; being buried with him by baptism, and having risen again to newness of life, he was encouraging them to continue in the belief and confession of his name.
Q.—But did not the Apostle thank God that he had not baptized many of the Corinthians?
A.—Yes. But the reason was, lest they should say he had baptized in his own name.
Q.—But did he not say, that he was not sent to baptize, but to preach the Gospel?
A.—Yes. But others were sent to water those whom he planted. He, as a wise master-builder, laid the foundation by preaching the word, and others attended to the other part of the work, and thus builded thereon.
Q.—Did not Cornelius and his friends receive the Holy Ghost before they were baptized?
A.—Yes. But it was to convince the Jews that they (the Gentiles) had part in the Gospel as well as the Israelites.
Q.—Would Cornelius and his friends have been saved, after all they had received, if they had refused baptism?
A.—No. For Peter was sent to tell them words whereby they should be saved, and part of these words were, that they should be baptized; and, if they had refused to comply with this message, they would have been worse than those who had never known the way of truth.
Q.—Was not the thief on the cross saved without baptism?
A.—If he was, it was because he had no opportunity to obey; and, therefore, was not saved through a Gospel ministration, but was included in the same mercy as the heathens, who have never had the offer of the Gospel, and therefore, are under no condemnation for not obeying it.
Q.—Would the thief on the cross have been saved if he had lived to hear the Gospel, and had opportunity to obey it, and refused?
A.—No. The Gospel condemns all who do not obey it. It is a savior of life unto life, or of death unto death, to all who are privileged to hear it.
Q.—Is there, then, no other Gospel but faith in Jesus Christ, repentance towards God, and immersion in water FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS, with the laying on of hands in the name of Jesus for the baptism of the Holy Ghost?
A.—No. The people who are without this order of things are strangers to the GOSPEL, notwithstanding all the morality, sincerity, and piety they may possess.
Q.—What! Are all the professed ministers of the Gospel, who have not obeyed and taught that particular form of doctrine without the Gospel, the same as the heathen—and all their hearers, too?
A.—Yes. Unless we make this difference, that, having the Bible and some idea of Jesus Christ, they have been benefited in a moral point of view, although they have not understood the Gospel.
Q.—Are all the ministers and professors of religion, in this age of the world, under obligation to obey that Gospel, in order to be saved in the Kingdom of God?
A.—Yes. "Except a man be born of WATER and of the SPIRIT, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." How then can he be saved in it?
Q.—What has Christ said of those who would come into the sheep-fold by climbing up some other way besides the door?
A.—He has pronounced them thieves and robbers.
Q.—At Christ's second coming, what will become of all those ministers and professors, and others who do not obey the Gospel?
A.—"He will come in flaming {532} fire, taking vengeance on all those who know not God, AND OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST."
Q.—How comes it that the Christian world (so called) have been so long without the Gospel in its fulness?
A.—In fulfilment of the word of prophecy, spoken by the prophet Daniel and by the revelator John, "THEY HAVE MADE WAR WITH THE SAINTS, AND OVERCOME THEM;" and in fulfilment of Paul to Timothy, "They have HEAPED TO THEMSELVES TEACHERS, having ITCHING ears; and these have turned their ears from the TRUTH, and they are turned unto fables, and they will not endure SOUND DOCTRINE."
Q.-How came the Latter-day Saints to understand this Gospel, and to be instruments in restoring it among mankind?
A.—Not for any worth or wisdom that was in them more than others; but because the time had come for this Gospel of the Kingdom to be again restored to the inhabitants of the earth, and to be preached to all nations preparatory to the second coming of Messiah. Therefore the Lord sent forth an Holy Angel to commit the authority of this ministry again unto man, and this in fulfilment of the promises recorded by the ancient prophets and apostles.
Q.—Is it not uncharitable to consider the Christian world all wrong, except such as obey the fulness of the Gospel? and still more so to tell them of it?
A.—No. The man who tells his generation the truth, according to the "law and the testimony," is more charitable to them than ten thousand men who cry, Peace and safety, and prophesy smooth things, when sudden destruction is near at hand.
Q.—But, what will become of all the people who have lived and died since the Gospel was perverted and before it was restored again?
A.—They will be judged according to their works, and according to the light which they enjoyed in their day; and, no doubt many of them will rise up in judgment against this generation, and condemn it; for, had they enjoyed the privileges which we enjoy, they would, no doubt, have gladly embraced the truth in all its fulness. They desired to see the latter-day glory, but died without the sight.—P. P. Pratt.
"Attempts to promote universal peace have failed. The world has had a fair trial for six thousands years; the Lord will try the seventh thousand Himself."
—Joseph Smith, The Prophet.
BY ORSON PRATT.
We now appeal to the honesty, good sense and learning of all good moral men, to testify their convictions in regard to the insufficiency of their rules of faith. Is there a man among you who has candidly examined the present confused, divided, distracted state of all Christendom, who is not thoroughly convinced that something is radically wrong? Many of you, no doubt, have in your serious reflecting moments, looked upon the bewildered, blind, cold, formal, powerless systems with which you were surrounded with feelings of sorrow and disgust. You have wished to know the truth, but, alas, wherever you have turned your investigations, darkness and uncertainty have stared you in the face. The voices of several hundred jarring, contending, soul-sickening sects were constantly sounding in your ears; each one professing to be built upon the Bible, and yet each one differing from all the rest. Under this confused state of things you have, peradventure, involuntarily exclaimed: can the Bible be the word of God! Would God reveal a system of religion expressed in such indefinite terms that a thousand different religions should grow out of it? Has God revealed the great system of salvation in such vague, uncertain language on purpose to delight Himself with the quarrels and contentions of His creatures in relation to it? Would God think so much of fallen men, that He would give His only Begotten Son to die for them, and then reveal His doctrine to them in language altogether ambiguous and uncertain? Such questions, doubtless, have passed through the mind of many a religiously-inclined person. Millions have been sensible of the midnight darkness, but have not known the true cause; they have acknowledged that they could not understand a very great proportion of the Bible, yet they have believed it to be the word of God; they have wondered that the Bible should be their only rule of faith, and yet so few be able to understand it alike. Many seeing the contradiction, and vagueness, and the uncertainty {534} of all modern religions, professing to have emanated from the same God, have been so disgusted that they have renounced the Bible as a fable invented by priestcraft; others fearing to do this, have poured over the whole libraries of uninspired commentaries, seeking after the true meaning of that which they believe God has revealed; and at last, finding the learned commentators as widely disagreed as the sects themselves, they have concluded that the Bible is a great mystery and that God did not intend to have it understood when He revealed it. Others, still, have a little more perseverance, and believing that God would not send a revelation which He did not wish the people to understand, have with great diligence collected vast numbers of the most ancient Greek and Hebrew manuscripts of the sacred books, but here they find themselves utterly confounded; these ancient manuscripts, which they had hoped would reveal the truth, are perverted and corrupted in almost every text, so that they find "an incredible number of different readings" on every page and almost every sentence. From this heterogeneous mass of contradictory manuscripts they give an English translation, and call it the Bible; thus leaving millions to guess out the true meaning, and quarrel and contend with each other because they do not guess alike.
The true cause of all the divisions which distract modern Christendom is the want of inspired apostles and prophets: they, through wickedness and apostasy, lost the key of revelation some seventeen centuries ago, since which time they have been altogether unable to open the door of knowledge. Satan has taken the advantage of their dark and benighted condition, and robbed the world of a great number of sacred books, corrupting those few that remained to such a degree that he has got the whole of Christendom quarreling about their true meaning. This pleases him: he cares not how much they contend and fight about religion, as long as he knows that their religion is false; neither does he care how much they are united about religion, as long as he knows that it is not of the right kind. He can tolerate, and, indeed, help his reverend ministers to promulgate all kinds of religion, except that which has true revelators and prophets in it: no other kind of religion displeases him. But for a prophet or revelator to establish a religion on the earth, is more than he can quietly put up with; it strikes a death blow to all that he has been doing since the great apostasy. He is exceedingly frightened, lest some of the old lost books of the ancient prophets {535} and apostles should be again revealed. He is also raving mad, lest the books of the Old and New Testaments should be revealed again anew in their purity as at first—lest every point of Christ's doctrine should be again revealed in such plain, definite and positive language, that no two persons could possibly disagree upon it. This would be exceedingly dangerous to his kingdom; no wonder, then, that he should be full of wrath. But the sincere, honest, humble seeker after truth must have the privilege of finding it, and that, too, in the greatest of plainness, before the overthrow of all nations, that they, by embracing it, may escape the judgments of great Babylon. Yes! the day is come and the time is at hand when all nations are to hear the word of the Lord by the mouth of His chosen apostles and prophets to whom He hath restored the key of revelation for the last time, and for the dispensation of the fullness of times, that all things may be prepared and sealed unto the end of all things, against the day of rest for the meek of the earth.
"Nothing but a sterling desire to do the will of God will cause men to endure the contumely and reproach of their fellowmen and associate themselves with the people denominated Latter-day Saints or 'Mormons.'"
—John Taylor.
"The Lord never did and never will send an angel to anybody merely to gratify the desire of that individual to see an angel."
—Wilford Woodruff.
A REPLY TO A GEORGIA EDITOR'S URGENT APPEAL FOR A Restoration OF THE "OLD TIME" FAITH IN A PERSONAL AND KNOWN GOD.
BEN E. RICH.
To the Editor of the Atlanta News:
DEAR SIR:—In a recent edition of your publication we observed the following able editorial, which we copy verbatim:
"As I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD."—St. Paul at Athens.
It is a painful and confusing thing to the Christian investigator to be convinced, as he must be, by the fact that millions of conventionally good people in our land, as in all civilized countries, are kneeling "To the Unknown God."
One cannot say how many professed Christians really have a conscious knowledge of the God whom they reverence and whose Son they believe Jesus, the Christ, to be. But one may know without much inquiry that very few of our Christian churchmen have what we may be allowed to call "a working knowledge of God." In other words, they have no definite mental or spiritual conception of the Personality of God. They attribute to Him in a somewhat nebulous way certain characteristics in perfection, such as eternity, holiness, truth, love, mercy, patience, wisdom and power. But why and how these things constitute Personality and obtain manifestation in human affairs, is a riddle more profound that a Delphian oracle or a shadow interrogation point on the face of the Sphinx.
They have simply apprehended that "there must be a God," somewhat as the French cynic said, if none had ever been revealed Man would have invented one from necessity. They have been trained from infancy to think of an awful God and finally, by the religious impulse that always comes to a man strongly at some point in his sentient career, they have professed a binding faith in that God—but still He remains practically and consciously "The Unknown God."
It is one of the most strenuous tasks of modern preaching to secure the serious, studious attention of men and women to the plain {537} correspondence between the Scriptural revelations of God the Father with the known attributes and actions of Christ the Son.
Preachers themselves preach "The Unknown God" because they have not acquired the spiritual discernment to be satisfied that if Christ was "the express image of the Father," then, logically and indisputably "God was in Christ revealing Himself to the world." All through the labors of the apostles in the first age of the church runs the ceaseless insistence that men should not differentiate between the characters of God and Christ, but believe in Christ as an absolute manifestation of God in the flesh. If modern preachers would dwell upon that mighty truth with the same persistence the earth would soon be aflame with the knowledge and the love of God, and Christ would become the true Lord of millions who now do Him only lip service and of millions more who would suddenly see in Him "the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
It is scarcely to be wondered over that gold, society, pleasure, pride and gilded sin in myriad forms can so easily persuade and pervert so many in the modern Christian world, when we realize that they live in so great a fog of ignorance concerning the God whom they perfunctorily profess to believe in and acknowledge they ought to obey in all truth, righteousness and holy conversation.
We need in Atlanta—we need in Georgia—we need in America—the old time faith in a personal and known God, who is our Father in heaven, who has given us His Son for a Savior. A revival of the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus will level forever, in and out of the churches, countless thousands of altars "To the Unknown God."
Your appeal for the restoration of "the old time faith in a personal and known God" impels us to respond to your editorial by offering you the very faith for which you so earnestly contend. Your exposition of the personalities, character and attributes of God is true, and your evidence is conclusive and invulnerable. There is no argument to offer in rebuttal, and preachers of so-called Christendom will look in vain for one iota of proof to support the contrary. Their inconsistent, not to say ridiculous, doctrine that God is "incomprehensible without body, parts or passions," in the light of all sound reason and prophetic testimony, must stand alone a self-evident fact of the uninspired source from which it sprang. The "unknown God" whom modern Christians do ignorantly worship, in times past revealed His mind and will to His children upon the earth. And, not only did He manifest Himself in revelation, but in actual person did He converse face to face with certain of His chosen representatives. Between Heaven and earth the channel of communication was constantly open, excepting only, when, through disobedience and transgression men cut themselves off from this privilege of divine favor. God's people expected these manifestations of His kindness. To be led by an inspired man—a prophet of the Almighty—and to receive through him counsel and law, with the seal of {538} divine authority "Thus saith the Lord" attached thereto, was as natural to them as it was to live, because to them, their Father in Heaven was a living, active, comprehensive personal Being. This was a part of the "old time" Faith.
In the meridian of time, Jesus Christ the Son of God, established His Church among men; and when His labors were ended and He returned unto His Father, He left His disciples in possession of the Holy Ghost which was "to guide them into all truth," "bring things past to their remembrance," and to reveal unto them the things of the future; in fact, this messenger was, in the absence of Christ in person, the medium through which God made known His will unto His children upon the earth. No argument is needed to convince any one of the fact that the disciples did enjoy the operations of that Spirit, for the whole New Testament is, in and of itself, proof positive and conclusive, of the literal fulfillment of that promise. One of the "gifts" of the Holy Ghost is prophecy, and upon whomsoever the Lord desired, He conferred this gift, and hence prophets were found in His church. And especially did those at the head enjoy this manifestation because they were God's mouthpieces, and it belonged particularly to their office and calling. The enjoyment of the actual companionship of the Holy Ghost then, together with its perceptible workings, were also parts of that "old time" Faith.
Again: At the head of His Church, Jesus placed a quorum of Twelve Apostles, Peter, James and John standing chief among them. "Ye have not chosen me," said He, "but I have chosen you and ordained you." He called and ordained also, Seventies, Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons to fill certain positions in His Church, all of whom Paul says God himself placed therein in order that He, through them, might edify and perfect the Saints and also to protect them from being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine taught by man; and further, that He might accomplish the work of the ministry. These officers, according to the same author's authoritative testimony were to remain in the Church until the world should come to a unity of the Faith and to a perfect knowledge of God. To have in their midsts these divinely called and inspired men bearing authority direct from God, was another part of the "old time" Faith of the Saints. No word from God has ever been recorded that these offices and callings were unnecessary and useless creations in His Church organization, or that they were in time to be done away and destroyed. All Scripture proves the contrary most clearly {539} and most emphatically. Furthermore, such a contention simply reduces the solemn and deliberate acts of Jehovah to mere folly and idle child's play, and destroys the confidence and faith of man in Him as a Being possessed of that infinite intelligence and wisdom attributed to Him. God placed these officers in the Church, and no one but God can legally remove them. But they have been removed. Their offices have been destroyed. Yes, but unauthorized man and not God is responsible! The modern Christian doctrine advocating the uselessness and nonessentiality of the Apostles and Prophets and other inspired men of God as were formerly set in the Church of Christ, is a companion inconsistency with that of a bodiless, passionless God, and also owes its existence to modern unauthorized and uninspired man. Certainly it was not a part of the "old time" Faith.
Another thing: The men whom Jesus called into His ministry, were sent out "two by two" to preach the Gospel, "without purse or scrip." Taxed pews, contribution boxes, and salaried preachers were unknown among them. These things belong to the modern "profession" of the popular Christian ministry and had nothing whatever to do with the "old time" "calling" of God unto His work. To be sure, the Church had a system of revenue by which the poor were supported and the necessary expenses of maintaining the organization were met, but this was known as the "law of tithing," of which not one penny went to pay a preacher. This custom and practice is another invention of man, ingeniously applied in merchandising a man-made gospel by a self-called clergy, and that, too, in bold contradiction of Holy Writ, which unmistakably declares it to be entirely foreign to the "old time" Faith.
Furthermore: The Gospel, as Jesus and His disciples taught it, embraced four fundamental principles, namely: faith, repentance, baptism by immersion "for the remission of sins," and "the laying on of hands" for the "gift of the Holy Ghost." The faith here spoken of constituted more than a dormant or passive belief. It went further than mere mental assent, and embodied deeds of righteousness. He that had faith was stirred to repentance from his evil ways. That is, he ceased to commit forbidden practices, and instead performed such acts of righteousness as the Gospel required. One of these requirements was to be baptized in water for the remission of sin. The claim that this ordinance was not essential is disproved, not only by the teachings of the Savior and His disciples, but also by their practices. Jesus Himself {540} set the example, and afterwards commanded His disciples to preach in all the world the Gospel, "baptizing them (who believed) in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," and also declaring that those who would not believe and be baptized "should be dammed." This is not strange at all, when we fully realize that baptism is "the counsel of God," and that it was the preceding step requisite to the companionship of the Holy Ghost which was given "by the laying on of hands."
Paul declared to the Hebrew Saints that these four principles and ordinances were "the doctrine of Christ," and John writes that "whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son." To the consistent mind there should be not the least shadow of doubt as to the fact that the doctrines here laid down belonged to and were an essential part of the "old time" Faith.
But this is not all. There was a power, an active perceptible force of divine origin, which, through the faith of the Saints, manifested itself in speaking in and interpretation of tongues, prophecy, and healing of the sick. These manifestations were the "gifts of the Holy Ghost." Jesus called them "signs," and promised that they should "follow them that believe," the literal fulfillment of which is attested by one continuous stream of examples running all through the New Testament times. God placed them in the Church anciently; the Saints then enjoyed them; and nowhere has He ordered them to be withdrawn or announced that they should cease. However, they are not to be found in so-called Christian churches today, and what more, without one word of Scriptural support, the preachers of modern times maintain that they are superfluous and are no longer needed. Superfluous? Why? No longer needed? Why? Simply because they are not manifest among them, and that this kind of doctrine in a measure explains away the reason for their absence; besides, it conforms best to their man-conceived idea of a god without body, parts or passions. They get from their god exactly what he is capable of giving them—absolutely nothing. To be sure such a being could not speak. He has no mouth. He could not hear, for he has no ears. He could not hate or love, because he has no passions. Summed right down to the actual thing which the definition conveys, the only conclusion is that such a god is no god at all. And since this is the subject of their worship, it isn't unnatural or unreasonable that he or it, or {541} whatever name by which the nonentity might be designated, bestows no signs or gifts upon its worshipers because it is manifestly powerless to act. But one thing sure and certain, these very "gifts" and "signs" were a part of the "old time" Faith. They were the blessings of a Heavenly Father poured out upon those of His children who obeyed the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ. They came from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the same who conversed with our father Adam in the Garden of Eden; the same whose voice at sundry times was heard, and whose person—but not in His mortal consuming glory—on many occasions was seen by nearly all of the prophets spoken of in Holy Writ; the same whose express image, character and personality were duplicated in the person of His Only Begotten Son in the flesh—Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world!
This, kind sir, sets forth in brief, the component parts of the "old time" Faith of the ancients, only one principle of which was contended for in your able editorial copied above. This very faith, we are pleased to declare unto you, is now upon the earth. That same "personal and known God who is our Father in Heaven," in company with His Son Jesus Christ, together in person, visited this earth and conversed face to face with one whom they chose to represent them among men. They gave him authority to act in their names; revealed unto him every principle of the Gospel necessary to man's salvation, and instructed him how to re-establish their Church in the world; and as a startling and invincible testimony of the truth of these things, that Church stands today just as complete in structure, in doctrine and in practice as was the Church organized on the same principle—revelation—in Jerusalem nearly two thousand years ago. That Church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and that man, whom the courts of heaven honored by making him the instrument of restoration, was Joseph Smith, the latter day prophet of the true and the living God!
Atlanta, your honor, has not been totally lacking in information upon these matters, because both upon her streets and within several of her humble halls, modern Elders and Seventies, clothed with that same authority possessed by their brethren anciently, have defended the personality of our Father. And this also have they done throughout the whole civilized world. But like their companion missionaries of former times, they have been hated and despised, persecuted and mobbed; and in several instances have they, too, been {542} murdered in cold blood for the Truth, the name of your own fair state sharing this unholy record in common with others in this nation. Modern sanctimonious "High Priests," under the appellation of Christian ministers, like men of their own stripe in olden times, have been the ring leaders in creating this prejudice in the minds of the people, and they are responsible for the war of persecution that has raged and which does now rage relentlessly against the work of God; and should the Master Himself visit the earth today He, beyond all question, would rebuke these modern Scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites in the same language reported by Matthew in his twenty-third chapter.
The religious Jews, in the days of Jesus, ridiculed and hated the religion of God brought unto them, and the so-called religious Christian world of today stands exactly in the same position. It took a brave heart, an independent spirit and a firm reliance in Jehovah to embrace an unpopular truth then and become united with the despised Nazarene, and it requires the same characteristics today to become associated with the Church of God established in this day through the instrumentality of the latter day prophet who received his authority from that same Nazarene.
In conclusion: We offer you the "old time" Faith which has been restored to the earth, with all the principles, gifts, powers and authority of ancient times. It holds out to you the opportunity to be established upon a firm and complete understanding of that "personal and known God who is our Father in Heaven and who has given us His Son for a Savior." And what more, we ask you candidly, and earnestly, to aid us in this revival of the "old time" Faith, that throughout all the universe may be restored a perfect knowledge of God and of His Son Jesus Christ, that henceforth and forever may be lowered, both in and out of the churches, the countless thousands of altars erected to the "unknown God."
WRITTEN BY SISTER LUCY MACK SMITH, THE MOTHER OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH.
The following very interesting and earnest gospel letter written by Lucy Mack Smith, mother of the Prophet Joseph, to her brother, Solomon Mack and his wife, was presented to President Joseph F. Smith by Mrs. Candace Mack Barker, of Keene, N. H., a granddaughter of Solomon Mack, to whom the letter is addressed. Mrs. Barker stated that it was her desire to place the letter in the hands of those who would appreciate its contents and preserve it as she felt it properly deserved. Readers will agree that the lady made the very wisest selection in choosing President Smith as the holder of this important relic. It is with untold pleasure that we are privileged to present this beautiful sermon which was written so soon after the organization of the Church by one of the greatest and noblest mothers that ever lived, whose life of continued toil and tribulation was spent so constantly in the humble endeavor to help establish the everlasting Gospel revealed from God through her prophet son. Her brother Solomon became a faithful member of the Church, and remained so until the end of his mortal life:
Waterloo, January 6, 1831.
Dear Brother and Sister:
Although we are at a great distance from each other and have not had the pleasure of seeing each other for many years, yet I feel a great anxiety in your welfare, and especially for the welfare of your souls; and you yourselves must know that it is a thing of greatest importance to be prepared to meet our God in peace, for it is not long before He is to make His appearance on the earth with all the hosts of heaven to take vengeance on the wicked and they that know not God. By searching the prophecies contained in the Old Testament we find it there prophesied that God will set His hand the second time to recover His people the house of Israel. He has now commenced this work; He hath sent forth a revelation in these last days, and this revelation is called the Book of Mormon. It contains the fullness of the Gospel to the Gentiles, and is sent forth to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things God hath done for their fathers that they may know of the covenants of the Lord and that they are not cast off forever; and also of the convincing of both Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God and manifests Himself unto all nations. It also contains the history of a people which were led out of Jerusalem {544} six hundred years before the coming of Christ in the flesh. God seeing the wickedness of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, He sent out a prophet named Lehi and commanded him to declare unto the people that unless they repented of their sins that the city would be destroyed, but they would not hear him, but sought to take away his life, therefore the Lord commanded him to take his family, together with another man named Ishmael, and his family, and flee out of the city, and they were led by the hand of the Lord on to this continent and they became very numerous and were a people highly favored of the Lord; but there arose contentions among them and the more wicked part of them being led by one of the sons of Lehi named Laman, arose up in rebellion against their brethren, and would not keep the commandments of God, therefore He sent a curse upon them, and caused a dark skin to come over them, and from Laman our Indians have descended. The more righteous part of them were led by another of the sons of Lehi named Nephi, he being a prophet of the Lord. I cannot give you much of an insight into these things, but I write this that when you have an opportunity of receiving one of the books that you may not reject (it) for God has pronounced a curse upon all who have a chance to receive it and will not, for by it they will be judged at the last day.
There are many in these parts who profess to know God and to be His humble followers, but when this thing is offered them they say we have Bible enough and want no more; but such are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity and understand not the Bible which they love, for all the holy prophets spoke plainly of the gathering of the house of Israel and of the coming forth of this work, and God says He will give us line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; there are more nations than one, and if God would not reveal Himself alike unto all nations He would be partial. We need not suppose that we have all His words in our Bible, neither need we think that because He has spoken once He cannot speak again.
Perhaps you will inquire how this revelation came forth. It has been hid up in the earth fourteen hundred years, and was placed there by Moroni, one of the Nephites; it was engraven upon plates which have the appearance of gold. He being a prophet of the Lord, and seeing the wickedness of the people and knowing that they must be destroyed, and also knowing that if the plates fell into the hands of the Lamanites that they would destroy them, for they sought to destroy all sacred writings, therefore he hid them up in the earth, having obtained a promise of the Lord that they should come forth in His own due time unto the world; and I feel to thank my God that He hath spared my life to see this day.
Joseph, after repenting of his sins and humbling himself before God, was visited by an holy angel whose countenance was as lightning and whose garments were white above all whiteness, who gave unto him commandments which inspired him from on high; and who gave unto him, by the means of which was before prepared, that he should translate this book. And by reading this our eyes are opened that we can see the situation in which the world now stands; that the eyes of the whole world are blinded; that the churches have all become corrupted, yea every church upon the face of the earth; that the Gospel of Christ is nowhere preached. This is the situation which the world is now in, and you can judge for yourselves if we did not need something more than the wisdom of man to show us the right way.
{545} God, seeing our situation, had compassion upon us, and has sent us this revelation that the stumbling block might be removed, that whosoever would might enter. He now established His Church upon the earth as it was in the days of the Apostles. He has now made a new and everlasting covenant, and all that will hear His voice and enter, He says they shall be gathered together into a land of promise, and He Himself will come and reign on earth with them a thousand years. He is now sending forth His servants to prune His vineyard for the last time, and woe be unto them that will not hear them. There are many who think hard when we tell them that the churches have all become corrupted, but the Lord hath spoken it, and who can deny His words? They are all lifted up in the pride of their hearts and think more of adorning their fine sanctuaries than they do of the poor and needy. The priests are going about preaching for money, and teaching false doctrines and leading men down to destruction by crying peace, peace, when the Lord Himself hath not spoken it.
When our Savior was upon the earth He sent forth His disciples and commanded them to preach His Gospel, and these signs He said should follow them that believed; in My name they shall do many wonderful works; they shall cast out devils; they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Now where can we find these signs following them that call themselves preachers of the Gospel, and why do they not follow? It surely must be because they do not believe and do not teach the true doctrine of Christ, for God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and changeth not.
We read that at the day of Pentecost people being pricked in their hearts began to cry, saying, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" and Peter being filled with the Holy Ghost, stood up and said, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost." Now this promise was not to them alone for he goes on to say, this "promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call;" therefore the promise extends unto us if we will obey His commands. Peter did not tell them to go away and mourn over their sins weeks and months, and receive a remission of them and then come and be baptized, but he told them first to repent and be baptized, and the promise was that they should receive a remission of their sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost; and this is the Gospel of Christ, and His Church is established in this place and also in Ohio; there have been three hundred added to the Church in Ohio within a few weeks, and there are some added to this Church almost daily. The work is spreading very fast.
I must now close my letter by entreating you as one that feels for your souls to seek an interest in Christ, and when you have an opportunity to receive this work do not reject it, but read it and examine for yourselves. I will now bid you farewell, and I want some of you to come here or write immediately, for we expect to go away to the Ohio early in the spring. If you write this winter you may direct your letters to Waterloo, Seneca county. I want you to think seriously of these things, for they are the truths of the living God.
Please to accept this from your sister, LUCY SMITH.
To Solomon Mack, Gilsum. N. H.
BY ELDER GEORGE TEASDALE.
WHAT is "Mormonism?" and, What is the object of the "Mormon" Elders preaching in the Indian Territory? are questions that are doubtless asked many times. We propose, with your kind attention, to answer these questions, and we ask your prayerful consideration of the same. In the year 1820 there lived in Manchester, Ontario (now Wayne) County, in the State of New York, a young man named JOSEPH SMITH, who received a remarkable vision. There had been a religious revival in the neighborhood where he resided, which had caused him much reflection to know which of the sects to join, as the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians had all taken part in the revival, and when it was over the different ministers all claimed the converts, which made much confusion and bitter feeling. As Joseph was reading the Bible one day, a passage of Scripture, found in the first chapter and fifth verse of James' epistle, which reads, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him," had a powerful influence over him. To use his own words: "Never did any passage of Scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom I did." At last Joseph determined to ask of God. The principle of Faith was now operating upon his mind, and he determined to ask the Eternal Father which of all the sects was right.
It was the morning of a beautiful clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. He went alone to a retired spot, kneeled down, and began to offer up the desires of his heart. He had scarcely done so, when he was seized {547} upon by some invisible power that seemed to bind his tongue so that he could not speak, and which almost overcame him. He was about to give up, but exercising all his power calling upon God, in his heart, to deliver him, he saw a pillar of light exactly above his head, above the brightness of the sun. When the light rested upon him, he was delivered from the power of his unseen enemy, and he saw two glorious personages, whose brightness and glory it is impossible to describe, standing above him in the air; one of them spake unto him, calling him by name, and pointing to the other said, THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, HEAR HIM. Joseph asked this other personage which of all the sects was right and which he should join, and was answered that he should join none of them, for they were all wrong. This personage said, "They draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrine the commandments of man, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof;" and also gave him some other information. When Joseph came to himself again, he was lying on his back, looking up into heaven.
Some few days after he had this remarkable vision, he happened to be in company with one of the Methodist preachers, and he told him the vision he had seen. The preacher became very angry, told Joseph it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that such things had ceased with the Apostles. Joseph soon found that telling the vision excited a great deal of prejudice against him amongst professors of religion, and was the cause of much persecution. Thus commenced the persecutions of the Latter-day Saints, called "Mormons." The men who "taught for doctrine the commandments of man" commenced lying about and misrepresenting an obscure boy, because he had truthfully said he had seen a vision and he knew it. He also had learned that the testimony of the Apostle James was true. This we would also do well to give heed to, for we all lack wisdom and should be encouraged to ask of God, so that we may not be led astray by false teachers, but have the Spirit of Truth to guide and lead us into all truth.
About three years after receiving this remarkable vision he received a visitation from a messenger from heaven. This personage informed him his name was Moroni. He had on a robe of the most exquisite whiteness; his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. He told Joseph God had a work for him to do, and that his name should be had for good and evil amongst {548} all nations. Moroni, the angel, told him there was a book that had been hid up in the earth, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the inhabitants who formerly lived upon this continent, and the source from when they sprang; also, that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in this record, as delivered by Jesus Christ to the ancient inhabitants, the fathers of the American Indians, and the "other sheep" spoken of by the Savior, in the tenth chapter of John and the sixteenth verse, "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice." Moroni quoted several prophecies of the Old Testament Prophets, that were about to be fulfilled, he said, concerning the destruction of the wicked and the second coming of the Messiah, etc.; and also told him that many judgments were coming on the earth with great desolations by famine, sword and pestilence, in this generation. With the plates that were hid up there were two stones in silver bows (and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim), and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted Seers in ancient or former times, and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the record. Following the instructions of this messenger, who was one of the Prophets, and who had hid up this record, Joseph translated the plates by the power of God.
Three men were chosen special witnesses, to whom the angel showed the plates. Their names were Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris. They declare "that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, and we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon;" they also heard the voice of the Lord declare the record had been translated by the power of God. It is called the Book of Mormon. Mormon, who was the father of Moroni, made an abridgment of the ancient records, and it is that abridgment that we now have in the Book of Mormon. It is from this Prophet's name that the Gentile or unbelieving nations have called the people who believe in this book "Mormons," or anything to do with the people who thus believe, "Mormonism;" and they have very much belied them. But it does not matter what unbelievers say, or how much the people may be misrepresented by wicked men, the facts exist—Mormon made an abridgment of the history of his people on gold plates, and JOSEPH SMITH, the Prophet-martyr of the nineteenth century, translated them by the power of God, and it exists and bears its own truthful {549} evidence. No one has ever read the book with an honest, prayerful heart, but has been convinced of its divine origin. The prophecies or predictions of its own Prophets are being fulfilled to-day. These Prophets were amongst some of the most remarkable men that ever lived.
During the time Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon, a young man named Oliver Cowdery was writing for him. They came to the place where it is recorded that the Lord Jesus visited the people and established His Church upon this continent. Upon translating the mode and object of baptism as the Savior gave instructions, they greatly desired this blessing, but knew not how to obtain it. They went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, which was mentioned in the translation. While they were praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and laid his hands upon their heads as they knelt in prayer, and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood, saying, "Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys to the ministering of angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism, by immersion, for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness." He said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that they would receive this power or authority hereafter. This messenger, or angel, said his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist, in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, the ancient Apostles, who held the keys of the Melchisedec Priesthood or authority. Joseph states this same messenger "commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and afterwards that he should baptize me;" accordingly they carried out the instructions which were given unto them by baptizing each other in the order designated by the angel. On coming out of the water, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they stood up and prophesied concerning the rise of the Church of Christ in this generation, and many other things, being filled with the Holy Ghost and rejoicing in their salvation.
As the messenger had promised, in due time, the Melchisedec Priesthood and Apostleship was restored under the hands of Peter, James and John, and the "Gospel of the kingdom" {550} began to be preached, and as the members of the Church of Christ began to multiply it was Organized by divine revelation with Apostles, Prophets, and Teachers, followed by miracles, gifts of healing, helps and governments, until the Church of Christ was fully organized upon the earth. But it has had to pass through the most bitter persecution, and the blood of the martyrs has had to flow. Mobs, led on by ministers of religious societies, have committed acts of violence against the Saints of the Most High, that testify in unspeakable language "they are all wrong," for no member of the Church of Christ could have a persecuting spirit—"By their fruits shall ye know them."
The Prophet Joseph Smith, through false charges, had to endure over forty vexatious lawsuits, in all of which he was honorably acquitted; until at last the mob said, "If the law cannot reach him, powder and ball shall," and he and his brother Hyrum, the Patriarch of the Church, were murdered in cold blood; and this because they were true and faithful to the trust given them by the Eternal Father, and the wicked in their hatred to the principles of righteousness that he preached, being of the same spirit as that possessed by the men who crucified the Messiah, were led on to shed the blood of innocence, by which they exalted the martyrs to a throne and brought upon themselves the damnation of hell. For the shedding of innocent blood there is no forgiveness. (See I John, iii, 15.)
But although the world has been opposed to the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the earth, the Lord has sustained and protected His people and established their feet in the fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains, as foretold by the Prophets Isaiah and Micah: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah, ii, 2, 3; Micah, iv, 1, 2.) And they are steadily increasing, because they teach correct principles, they tell the truth and offer the TRUTH to the people, for, having authority, they have the power to preach the everlasting Gospel.
God, our Eternal Father, the Father of the spirits of all {551} flesh, requires us all to believe on His only begotten, Jesus Christ, the author of our eternal salvation, the only name given under heaven whereby we can be saved. We must have faith in God, believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Then seek unto Him by faith and prayer, asking Him in the name of Jesus Christ for such things as we treed. Then we are required to repent, "cease to do evil," and "learn to do well," being willing and obedient, putting away from us all our wickedness, worship Him that made the heavens and the earth, the sea and the fountains of waters. Then we are required to be baptized by immersion for the remission of sins (Acts, ii, 38), that we may be prepared to receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands of those who have the authority (see Acts, viii, 17, and xix, 6; Hebrews, vi, 2), then walk in newness of life; for none can assist in this latter-day work unless they are humble, full of love, having faith, hope and charity, being temperate in all things intrusted to their care.
Hear what Jesus Christ said to the disciples upon this continent:
"Behold verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine. And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me, and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men everywhere to repent and believe in me; and whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me, believeth in the Father also, and unto him will the Father bear record of me; for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost. And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one. And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in no wise receive these things. And again, I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God." (Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi, xi, 31-38.)
Now the reason why the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are here from Zion, is to tell you these glad tidings of great joy, that light has come into the world and the knowledge of God is restored to the earth. We bear testimony that the angel that John saw on the Isle of Patmos, flying "in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to {552} every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters," (Rev. xiv, 6, 7,) has come, and that the "gospel of the kingdom" is being preached, as foretold by the Messiah. (See Matt., xxiv, 14.) And we are calling upon all men to have FAITH IN GOD, repent of their sins and be baptized; then we promise those who humble themselves like little children, as the Savior has said, that they shall receive the Holy Ghost and know that these things are true. Christ said, "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall KNOW of the doctrine." (John, vii, 16, 17.)
We are the friends of the people and their servants for Christ's sake, and we entreat them, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God, obey the Gospel and be saved from death, hell and the grave, for there is but "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all." (See Ephesians, iv, 4-16.) This TRUE FAITH is restored to the earth, and we know it. In conclusion, we will give you the words of the Prophet Mormon for your consideration, and we pray God, our Eternal Father, that His Spirit and blessing may be upon every honest hearted person unto whom this shall come, or who shall read these words:
"And now behold, I would speak somewhat unto the remnant of this people who are spared, if it so be that God may give unto them my words, that they may know of the things of their fathers; yea, I speak unto you, ye remnant of the house of Israel; and these are the words which I speak. Know ye that ye are of the house of Israel. Know ye that ye must come unto repentance, or ye cannot be saved. Know ye that ye must lay down your weapons of war, and delight no more in the shedding of blood, and take them not again, save it be that God shall command you. Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up. And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment seat. And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day, hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises, with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end. Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you. For behold, this is written for the intent {553} that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that, ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this, ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvellous works which were wrought by the power of God among them; and ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen." (Book of Mormon, Mormon, vii chapter.)
Prayerfully consider these things, and when you are converted, and sincerely repent, we are your servants to baptize you for the remission of your sins, and lay hands upon you for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
"Baptism is a sign of God, to angels and to heaven, that we do the will of God; and there is no other way beneath the heavens whereby God hath ordained for man to come to Him to be saved and enter the Kingdom of God, except faith in Jesus Christ, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, and any other course is in vain; then you have the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost."
—Joseph Smith.