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The Articles of Faith
A Series of Lectures on the
Principle Doctrines of
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF
LATTER-DAY SAINTS
By
Dr. James E. Talmage
Written by appointment; and published by the Church.
The Deseret News,
Salt Lake City, Utah,
1899.
The Articles of Faith
Of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
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1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
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2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
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3. We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
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4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are:—(1) Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; (2) Repentance; (3) Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; (4) Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
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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.
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6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, viz: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.
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7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc.
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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.
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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.
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10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; That Zion will be built upon this [the American] continent; That Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, That the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
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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.
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12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
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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. [p.iii]
Preface.
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The lectures herewith presented have been prepared in accordance with the request and appointment of the First Presidency of the Church. The greater number of the addresses were delivered before the Theology Class of the Church University; and, after the close of the class sessions, the lectures were continued before other Church organizations engaged in the study of Theology. To meet the desire expressed by the Church authorities,—that the lectures be published for use in the various educational institutions of the Church,—the matter has been revised, and is now presented in this form.
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In anticipation of probable question or criticism regarding the disparity of length of the several lectures, it may be stated that each of the addresses occupied two or more class sessions, and that the present arrangement of the matter in separate lectures, is rather one of compilation than of original presentation.
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The author's thanks are due and are heartily rendered to the members of the Committee appointed by the First Presidency, whose pains-taking and efficient examination of the manuscript, prior to the delivery of the lectures, has inspired some approach to confidence in the prospective value of the book among members of the Church. The committee here referred to consisted of Elders Francis M. Lyman, Abraham H. Cannon, and Anthon H. Lund, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elder George Reynolds, one of the Presidents of the Presiding Quorum of Seventy; Elder John Nicholson, and Dr. Karl G. Maeser.
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The lectures are now published by the Church, and with them goes the hope of the author that they may prove of some service to the many students of the scriptures among our people, and to other earnest enquirers into the doctrines and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
JAMES E. TALMAGE.
Salt Lake City, Utah, April 3, 1899. [p.1]
Lectures on the
Articles of Faith
of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints.
Lecture I.
Introductory.
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1. Importance of Theological Study:—In the short period of time that measures the span of mortal existence, it is not possible for man to explore any considerable portion of the vast realm of knowledge; it becomes, therefore, the part of wisdom to select for study the branches that promise to prove of the greatest worth. All truth is of value—above price indeed in its place, yet with respect to their possible application, some truths are of incomparably greater worth than are others. A knowledge of the principles of trade is essential to the success of the merchant; an acquaintance with the laws of navigation is demanded, of the mariner; familiarity with the relation of soil and crops is indispensable to the farmer; an understanding of the profound principles of mathematics is necessary to the engineer and the astronomer; so too is a practical knowledge of God essential to the salvation of every human soul that has attained to powers of judgment and discretion. The value of theological knowledge, therefore, ought not to be under-rated; it [p.2] is doubtful if its importance can in any way be over-estimated.
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2. What is Theology?—The word "theology" is of Greek origin; it comes to us from Theos, meaning God, and logos —a treatise, or discourse, signifying by derivation, therefore, collated knowledge of Divinity, or the science that teaches us of God, implying also the relation existing between the Supreme Being and His creatures. The term is of very ancient usage, and may be traced to pagan sources. Plato and Aristotle speak of theology as the doctrine of Deity and divine things. Concisely defined, theology "is that revealed science which treats of the being and attributes of God, His relations to us, the dispensations of His providence, His will with respect to our actions, and His purposes with respect to our end."a
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3. It has been held by some as a truth, that theological knowledge is not properly a subject for analytical and otherwise scientific treatment on the part of man; that inasmuch as a true conception of Deity, with which theology has primarily to deal, must necessarily be based upon revelation from the source divine, we can but receive such knowledge as it is graciously given; and that to attempt critical investigation thereof by the fallible powers of human judgment, would be to apply as a measure of the doings of God, the utterly inadequate wisdom of man. Many truths are beyond the scope of unaided human reason, and theological facts have been declared to be above reason; this is true so far as the same remark might be applied to any other kind of truth; for all truth, being eternal, is superior to reason in the sense of being manifest to reason, and not a creation of reason; nevertheless truths are to be estimated and compared by the exercise of reason.
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[p.3] 4. The Extent of Theology:—Who can survey the boundaries of this science? It deals with Deity—the fountain of knowledge, the source of wisdom; with the proofs of the existence of a Supreme Being, and of other supernatural personalities; with the conditions under which, and the means by which, divine revelation is imparted; with the eternal principles governing the creation of worlds; with the laws of nature in all their varied manifestations. Primarily, theology is the science of God and religion; it seeks to present "the systematic exhibition of revealed truth, the science of Christian faith and life." But in a more general sense, theology has to do with other truths than those which are specifically called spiritual; its domain is co-extensive with that of truth.
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5. The industrial pursuits that benefit mankind, the arts that please and refine, the sciences that enlarge and exalt the mind, are but fragments of the great though yet uncompleted volume of truth that has come to earth from a source of eternal and infinite supply. The comprehensive study of theology, therefore, would embrace all known truths. God has constituted Himself as the great teacher;b by personal manifestations or through the ministrations of His appointed servants, He instructs His mortal children. To Adam He introduced the art of agriculture,c and even taught by example that of tailoring;d to Noah and Nephi He gave instructions in ship building;e Lehi and Nephi were taught of Him in the arts of navigation;f and for their guidance on the water, as in their journeyings on land, He prepared for them the Liahona,g a compass operated by a [p.4] force more effective than that of terrestrial magnetism; furthermore, Moses received divine instructions in architecture.h
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6. Theology and Religion, though closely related, are by no means identical. A person may be deeply versed in theological lore, and yet be lacking in religious, and even in moral traits. Theology may be compared to theory, while religion represents practice; if theology be precept, then religion is example. Each should be the complement of the other; theological knowledge should strengthen religious faith and practice. As accepted by the Latter-day Saints, theology comprehends the whole plan of the gospel. "Theology is ordered knowledge, representing in the region of the intellect what religion represents in the heart and life of man."i Knowledge may have to do with the intellect only, and however sublime its import, it may fail to affect the hardened heart.
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7. The "Articles of Faith:"—The beliefs and prescribed practices of most religious sects are usually set forth in formal creeds. The Latter-day Saints announce no creed as a complete code of their faith; for while they hold that the precepts of eternal life are unchangeable, they accept the principle of continuous revelation as a characteristic feature of their belief. However, when asked for a concise presentation of the principal religious views of his people, Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the Church in the present dispensation, announced as a declaration of belief, the "Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." These include the more essential and characteristic features of the gospel, as accepted by this Church; but they are not complete as an exposition of our belief, for by one of the Articles it is declared, "We believe all that God has revealed, [p.5] 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." From the time of their first promulgation, the Articles of Faith have been accepted by the people,j and on October 6, 1890, the Latter-day Saints in general conference assembled, re-adopted the Articles as part of their guide in faith and conduct. As these Articles of Faith present the leading tenets of the Church in systematic order, they suggest themselves as a convenient outline for our plan of study.
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8. The Standard Works of the Church form our written authority in doctrine; but they are by no means our only sources of information and instruction on the theology of the Church. We believe that God is as willing today as He ever has been to reveal His mind and will to man, and that He does so through chosen and appointed channels. We rely therefore on the teachings of the living oracles of God, as of equal validity with the doctrines of the written word, the men in chief authority being acknowledged and accepted by the Church as prophets and revelators, and as being in possession of the power of the holy Priesthood. The written works adopted by the vote of the Church as authoritative guides in faith and doctrine, are four,—the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. Other works have been and are being issued by officers and members of the Church, and many such books are unreservedly sanctioned by the people and their ecclesiastical authorities; but the four publications named are the only regularly constituted standard works of the Church. Of the doctrines treated in the authorized standards, the Articles of Faith may be regarded as a fair, though necessarily but an incomplete epitome. [p.6]
Joseph Smith, the Prophet.
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9. Joseph Smith, whose name is appended to the Articles of Faith, was the prophet through whom the Lord restored to earth in these the last days, the gospel, and this in accordance with declarations made in previous dispensations. The question of the divine authenticity of this man's mission is an all-important one to earnest investigators of Latter-day Saint doctrines. If his claims to a God-given appointment be false, forming, as they do, the foundation of the Church in the last dispensation, the superstructure cannot be stable; if, however, his purported ordination under the hands of heavenly personages be a fact, one need search no further for the cause of the phenomenal strength and growing power of the restored Church. The circumstances of the divine dealings with Joseph Smith, the marvelous development of the work instituted by this modern prophet, the fulfilment through his instrumentality of many of the grandest predictions of old, and his own prophetic utterances with their literal realization, will yet be widely acknowledged as proof conclusive of the validity of his ministry.k The exalted claims maintained for him and his life's work, the fame that has made his name known for good or for evil among most of the civilized nations of the earth, the vitality and growing strength of the religious and social systems which owe their origin as nineteenth-century establishments to the ministrations of this man, give to him an individual importance warranting at least a passing consideration.
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10. His Parentage, Youth, etc.:—Joseph Smith, the third son and fourth child in a family of ten, was born December 23rd, 1805, at Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont. He was the son of Joseph, and Lucy Mack Smith, a worthy couple, [p.7] who though in poverty lived happily amid their home scenes of industry and frugality. When the boy, Joseph, was ten years old, the family left Vermont, and settled in the State of New York, first at Palmyra, and later at Manchester, Ontario County. At the place last named, the future prophet spent most of his boyhood days. In common with his brothers and sisters, he had but little schooling; and for the simple rudiments of an education, which by earnest application he was able to gain, he was mostly indebted to his parents, who followed the rule of devoting a portion of their limited leisure to the teaching of the younger members of the household.
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11. In their religious inclinations, the family favored the Presbyterian faith, the mother, and three or four of the children having united themselves with that sect; but Joseph, while at one time favorably impressed by the Methodist creed, kept himself free from all sectarian membership, being greatly perplexed over the strife and dissensions manifesting themselves among the churches of the time. He had a right to expect that in the Church of Christ there would be unity and harmony; yet in place of such he saw among the wrangling sects only confusion. While Joseph was in his fifteenth year, the region of his home was visited by a storm of fierce religious excitement, which, beginning with the Methodists soon became general among all the sects; there were revivals and protracted meetings, and the manifestations of sectarian rivalry were many and varied. These conditions added much to the distress of the young searcher after truth.
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12. His Search for Truth and the Result:—Here is Joseph's own account of his course of action:—
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"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 [p.8] any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?
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"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?'l Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than did this 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, would never know, for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passage so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. 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. 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 of a beautiful clear day, early in the spring of 1820. 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.
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"After I had retired into 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 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. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of [p.9] 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 a 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 above my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. 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."m
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13. In answer to his prayer for guidance as to which of the sects was right, he was told to join none of them, for all were wrong, with their creeds which are an abomination in the sight of God, and their professors who are corrupt, in that they draw near with their lips while their hearts are far from the Lord, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men, having a form of godliness while denying the power thereof.
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14. Such knowledge as had been communicated in this unprecedented revelation was not to be held captive within the heart of the youth. He hesitated not to impart the glorious truths, first to the members of his family, who received his testimony with reverence, and then to the sectarian ministers, who had labored so diligently to convert him to their several creeds. To his surprise, these professed teachers of Christ treated his statements with the utmost contempt, declaring that the day of revelation from God had long since passed away; and that the manifestation, if indeed he had received any such at all, was surely from Satan. Nevertheless, the ministers exerted [p.10] themselves with a unity of purpose strangely at variance with their former hostility toward one another, to ridicule the young man, and to denounce his testimony. The neighborhood was aroused; persecution, bitter and vindictive, was waged against him and his family; he was actually fired upon by a would-be assassin; yet through it all he was preserved from bodily injury; and in spite of increasing opposition, he remained faithfully steadfast to his testimony of the heavenly visitation.n In this condition of trial, he continued without further manifestation for three years, constantly expecting, but never receiving the additional light and added instructions for which he yearned. He was keenly sensitive of his own frailty, and conscious of human weaknesses. He pleaded before the Lord, acknowledging his errors, and craving help.
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15. Angelic Visitations:—On the night of September 21st, 1823, while praying for forgiveness of sins, and for guidance as to his future course, he was blessed with another heavenly manifestation. There appeared in his room a brilliant light, in the midst of which stood a personage clothed in white, and with a countenance of radiant purity and loveliness. The celestial visitor announced himself as Moroni, a messenger sent from the presence of God; and then proceeded to instruct the youth as to some of the divine purposes, in which Joseph was to take a most important part. The angel said that through Joseph as the earthly instrument, the true Church would be again established upon the earth; that his name would be known among all nations and tongues, honored by the good, reviled by the wicked; that a record, engraven on plates of gold, giving a history of the nations that had formerly lived upon the western continent, and an account of the Savior's ministrations among the people on this land, was bidden in a [p.11] hill near by; that with the plates were two sacred stones, known as Urim and Thummim, by the use of which, men in olden times had become seers, and that through those instruments God would enable Joseph to translate the record engraven on the plates.
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16. The angelic messenger then repeated several prophecies which are recorded in the ancient scriptures; some of the quotations were given with variations from our Bible readings. Of the words of Malachi the following were quoted: "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, and it shall leave them neither root or branch."o And further:—"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 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."p Among other scriptures, Moroni cited the prophecies of Isaiah relating to the restoration of scattered Israel, and the promised reign of righteousness on earth,q saying that the predictions were about to be fulfilled; also the words of Peter to the Jews, concerning the prophet who Moses said would be raised up, explaining that the prophet referred to was Christ, and that the day was near at hand when all who rejected the words of the Savior would be cut off from among the people.r
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17. Having delivered his message, the angel departed, the light in the room seeming to condense about his person, and disappearing with him. But the heavenly visitant [p.12] returned a second and a third time during the night, each time repeating the instructions, with additional admonitions as to the requirements, and warnings regarding temptations that would assail the youthful seer. On the following day, Moroni appeared to Joseph again, reciting anew the instructions and cautions of the preceding night; and told him to acquaint his father with all he had heard and seen. This the boy did, and the father promptly testified that the communications were from God.
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18. Joseph soon repaired to the hill described to him in the vision. He recognized the spot indicated by the angel, and with some labor laid bare a stone box containing the plates and other things spoken of by Moroni. The heavenly messenger again stood beside him; forbade the removal of the contents at that time, saying that four years were to elapse before the plates would be committed to his care; and that it would be his duty to visit the spot at yearly intervals. On the occasion of each of these visits the angel instructed the young man more fully regarding the great work awaiting him.
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19. It is not the purpose of the present lecture to review in detail the life and ministry of Joseph Smith;s so much attention has been given to the opening scenes of his divinely-appointed mission, in view of the unusual importance associated with the ushering in of the modern or new dispensation of God s providence. The bringing forth of the plates from their resting-place of centuries, their translation by divine power, and the publication of the record as the Book of Mormon, will receive attention on a later occasion; for the present it is sufficient to say that the ancient record has been translated; that the Book of Mormon has been given to the world; and that the volume is accepted as a sacred guide by the Latter-day Saints.
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[p.13] 20. Later Developments; the Martyrdom:—In due time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized; the Priesthood was restored through the ordination of Joseph Smith by those who had held the keys of that authority in former dispensations. From an initial membership of but six persons, the Church grew to include thousands during the life-time of the Prophet Joseph; and the growth has continued with phenomenal rapidity and stability until the present time. One by one the powers and authorities possessed by the Church of old were restored through the man who was chosen and ordained to be the first elder of the latter-day dispensation. With the spread of the Church, persecution increased, and the effect of evil opposition reached a climax in the cruel martyrdom of the prophet, and his brother Hyrum, then patriarch of the Church, June 27, 1844. The incidents leading up to and culminating in the foul murder of these men at Carthage, Illinois, are matters of common history. Suffice it to say that prophet and patriarch gave the sacred seal of their life's blood to the testimony of the truth, which they had valiantly maintained in the face of intolerant persecution for nearly a quarter of a century.t
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21. Authenticity of Joseph Smith's Mission:—The evidence of divine authority in the work established by Joseph Smith, and of the justification of the claims made by and for the man, may be summarized as follows:
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I. Ancient prophecy has been fulfilled in the restoration of the gospel and the re-establishment of the Church upon the earth through his instrumentality.
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II. He received by direct ordination and appointment at the hands of those who held the power in former dispensations, the authority to minister in the various ordinances of the gospel.
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[p.14] III. His possession of the power of true prophecy, and of other spiritual gifts, is shown by the results of his ministry.
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IV. His doctrines are both true and scriptural.
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Each of these classes of evidence will receive attention and find ample demonstration in the course of our study of the Articles of Faith; and a detailed consideration will not be attempted at this stage of our investigation; a few illustrations, briefly stated, however, may not be out of place.
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22. I. The Fulfilment of Prophecy, wrought through the life work of Joseph Smith is abundantly shown. John the Revelator, from his prophetic vision of the latter-day dispensation, understood and predicted that the gospel would be again sent from the heavens, and be restored to the earth through the direct ministration of an angel:—"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."u A partial fulfilment of this prediction is claimed in the manifestation of the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith, as already described, whereby the restoration of the gospel was announced, the speedy realization of other ancient prophecies was promised; and a record, described in part as containing "the fulness of the everlasting gospel," was committed to his care for translation and publication among all nations, kindred, and tongues. The remainder of John's fateful utterance, regarding the authorized call for repentance and the execution of God's judgment preparatory to the awful scenes of the last days, is now in process of rapid and literal fulfilment.
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23. Malachi predicted the coming of Elijah specially commissioned with power to inaugurate the work of co-operation between the fathers and the children, and announced this mission as a necessary preliminary to the advent of "the [p.15] great and dreadful day of the Lord."v The angel Moroni confirmed the truth and significance of this prediction in an emphatic reiteration.w Joseph Smith and his associate in the ministry, Oliver Cowdery, solemnly testify that they were visited by Elijah the Prophet, in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, on the third day of April, 1836; on which occasion the heavenly messenger declared that the day spoken of by Malachi had fully come; "Therefore," continued he, "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."x The particular nature of the union of the fathers and the children upon which both Malachi and Moroni laid such stress, has been explained as consisting in the work of vicarious ordinances, including baptism for the dead who have passed from earth without a knowledge of the gospel. In teaching this doctrine, and in complying with its behests, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands today alone amongst all the sects professing Christianity.
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24. The ancient scriptures are teeming with prophecies concerning the restoration of Israel in the last days, and the gathering of the chosen people from among the nations, and from the lands into which they have been led or driven as a penalty for their waywardness and sin.y Such prominence and importance are attached to this work of gathering, in the predictions of olden times, that from the days of Israel's exodus, the last days have been characterized in sacred writ as a gathering dispensation. The return of the tribes after their long and wide dispersion is made a preliminary work to the establishment of the predicted reign [p.16] of righteousness with Christ on the throne of the world; and its accomplishment is given as a sure precursor of the millennium. Jerusalem is to be re-established as the City of the Great King on the eastern hemisphere; and Zion, or the New Jerusalem, is to be built on the western continent; the Ten Tribes are to be brought back from their hiding place in the north; and the curse is to be removed from Israel. From the early days of Joseph Smith's ministry, he taught the doctrine of the gathering, as imposing a present duty upon the Church; and this phase of the Latter-day Saint labor is one of its most characteristic features. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery declare that the authority for prosecuting this work was committed to the Church through them by Moses, who held the keys of authority as Israel's leader in former times. Their testimony is thus stated, in the description given of manifestations in the Kirtland Temple, April 3, 1836:—"Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north."z As to the earnestness with which this labor has been begun, and the fair progress already made therein, consider the hundreds of thousands belonging to the families of Israel already gathered in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, about the house of the Lord, now established; and hear the hymn of the chosen seed among the nations, chanted to the accompaniment of effective deeds, "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.a
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25. The bringing forth of the Book of Mormon is held [p.17] by the Latter-day Saints to be a direct fulfilment of prophecy.b In predicting the humiliation of Israel, to whom had been committed the power of the priesthood in early days, Isaiah gave voice to the word of the Lord in this wise:—"And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust."c The Book of Mormon is verily the voice of a people brought low, speaking from the dust, from which indeed the book was literally taken. The volume professes to be the history of but a small division of the house of Israel,—a part of the family of Joseph indeed; who were led by a miraculous hand to the western continent six centuries prior to the Christian era. Of the record of Joseph, and its coming forth as a parallel testimony to that of Judah, or the Bible in part, the Lord thus spake through the prophet Ezekiel:—"Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand."d The succeeding verses declare that the gathering and [p.18] restoration of Israel would immediately follow the united testimony of the records of Judah and Joseph. The two records are before the world, a unit in their testimony of the everlasting gospel, and the work of gathering is in effective progress.
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26. It is further evident from the scriptures, that the dispensation of the gospel in the latter days is to be one of restoration, and restitution, a "dispensation of the fulness of times" in very truth. Paul declares it to be the good pleasure of the Lord, "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; even in him:"e This prediction finds a parallel in an utterance of the prophet Nephi:—"Wherefore all things which have been revealed unto the children of men, shall at that day be revealed."f And in accord with this is the teaching of Peter: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."g Now comes Joseph Smith with the declaration that unto him has been given the authority to open up this, the dispensation of fulness, restitution, and restoration, and that through him the Church has been endowed with all the keys and powers of the priesthood, held and exercised in earlier periods: Unto the Church "is the power of this priesthood given, for the last days, and for the last time, in the which is the dispensation of the fulness of times, which power you hold in [p.19] connection with all those who have received a dispensation at any time from the beginning of creation."h The actual possession of these combined and unified powers is sufficiently proved by the comprehensive work of the Church in its present scope of operation.
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27. II. Joseph Smith's Authority was conferred upon him by direct ministrations of heavenly beings, each of whom had once exercised the same power upon the earth. We have already seen how the angel Moroni, formerly a mortal prophet among the Nephites, transmitted to Joseph the appointment to bring forth the record which he, Moroni, had buried in the earth over fourteen hundred years before. We learn further, that on the 15th of May, 1829, the lesser or Aaronic Priesthood was conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery by the hand of John the Baptist,i who came in his immortalized state with that particular order of priesthood which comprises the keys of the ministrations of angels, the doctrine of repentance and of baptism for remission of sins. This was the same John, who, with the voice of one crying in the wilderness had preached the self-same doctrine, and had administered the same ordinance in Judæa as the immediate forerunner of the Messiah. In delivering his message, John the Baptist stated that he was acting under the direction of Peter, James, and John, apostles of the Lord, in whose hands reposed the keys of the higher or Melchisedek Priesthood, which in time would also be given. This promise was fulfilled a month or so later, when the apostles named manifested themselves to Joseph and Oliver, ordaining them to the apostleship,j which comprises all the offices of the higher order of priesthood, and carries authority to minister in all the established ordinances of the gospel.
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[p.20] 28. Then, some time after the Church had been duly organized, authority for certain special functions was given, the appointing messenger being in each case the one whose right it was so to officiate by virtue of the commission which he had held in the days of his mortality. Thus, as has been seen, Moses conferred the authority to prosecute the work of gathering; and Elijah, who, not having tasted death, held a peculiar relation to both the living and the dead, delivered the authority of vicarious ministry for the departed. To these appointments by heavenly authority should be added that given by Elias, who appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and "committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham," saying as was said of the Father of the Faithful and his descendants in olden times, that in them and in their seed should all succeeding generations be blessed.
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29. It is evident, then, that the claims made by the Church with respect to its authority, are complete and consistent as to the source of the powers professed, and the channels through which such have been delivered again to earth. Scripture and revelation, both ancient and modern, support as an unalterable law, the principle that no one can delegate to another an authority which the giver does not possess.
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30. III. Joseph Smith was himself a true Prophet:—This statement, if fully substantiated, would be of itself sufficient proof of the validity of the claims of this modern prophet, and the test is not difficult of application. In the days of ancient Israel, an effective method of trying the claims of a professed prophet was prescribed:—"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."k Conversely, if [p.21] the words of the prophet are made good by fulfilment, there is at least proof presumptive of his genuineness. Of the many predictions uttered by Joseph Smith and already fulfilled or awaiting the set time of their realization, a few citations will suffice for our present purpose.
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31. One of the earliest prophecies declared by him, which, while not his independent utterance but that of the angel Moroni, was nevertheless given to the world by Joseph Smith, had special reference to the Book of Mormon, of which the angel said: "The knowledge that this record contains will go to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, under the whole heaven."l This declaration was made four years before the work of translation was begun, and fourteen years before the elders of the Church began their missionary labor in foreign lands. Since that time the Book of Mormon has been translated into twelve foreign languages, and is published in ten of these; and the work is still in progress.
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32. In August, 1842, while the Church was suffering persecution in Illinois, and when the western part of the continent was but little known, and only as the territory of an alien nation, Joseph Smith prophesied "that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction, and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains," and that while many then professing allegiance to the Church would apostatize, and others, faithful to their testimony, would meet the martyr's fate, some would live "to assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains."m The literal fulfilment of this prediction, uttered in 1842, and it may be added, foreshadowed by an earlier prophecy in 1831,n the one five, the other sixteen years before the migration of the Church [p.22] to the west, is attested by the common history of the settlement and development of this once inhospitable region. Even the skeptic, and the pronounced opponents of the Church, admit the miracle of the establishment of a mighty commonwealth in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains.
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33. A most remarkable prediction regarding national affairs was uttered by Joseph Smith, December 25th, 1832; it was soon thereafter promulgated among the members of the Church, and was preached by the elders, but did not appear in print until 1851.o The revelation reads in part as follows:—"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 days will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place; For, behold, the Southern States shall he divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain; * * * And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshalled and disciplined for war." Every student of United States history is acquainted with the facts establishing a complete fulfilment, even to the minutest detail, of this astounding prophecy. In 1861, more than twenty-eight years after the foregoing prediction was recorded, and ten years after its publication in England, the civil war broke out, beginning in South Carolina. The ghastly records of that fratricidal strife sadly support the prediction concerning "the death and misery of many souls." It is well known that slaves deserted the South and were marshalled in the armies of the North, and that the Confederate States solicited aid of Great [p.23] Britain. While no open alliance between the Southern States and England was effected, the British government gave indirect assistance and substantial encouragement to the South, and this in such a way as to produce serious international complications. Vessels were built and equipped at British ports in the interests of the Confederacy; and the results of this violation of the laws of neutrality cost Great Britain the sum of fifteen and a half millions of dollars, which sum was awarded the United States at the Geneva arbitration in settlement of the "Alabama claims." The Confederacy appointed commissioners to Great Britain and France; these appointees were forcibly taken by United States officers from the British steamer on which they had embarked. This act, which the United States government had to admit as overt, threatened for a time to precipitate a war between this nation and Great Britain.
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34. The revelation cited, as given through Joseph Smith, contained other predictions, some of which are yet awaiting fulfilment.p The evidence presented is sufficient to prove that Joseph Smith is prominent among men by reason of his instrumentality in fulfilling prophecies uttered by the Lord's representatives in former times, and that his own claim to the rank of prophet is abundantly vindicated. But the endowment of prophecy so richly bestowed upon this Elias of the last days, and so freely yet unerringly exercised by him, is but one of the many spiritual gifts by which he, in common with a host of others who have received the priesthood from him, was distinguished. The scriptures declare that certain signs shall attend the Church of Christ, among them the gifts of tongues, healing, immunity from threatening death, and the power to control evil spirits.q The exercise of these powers, resulting in what are ordinarily [p.24] termed miracles, is by no means an infallible proof of divine authority; for many true prophets have wrought no such wonders, and men have been known to work miracles at the instigation of evil spirits.r Nevertheless, the possession of the power implied by the working of miracles is an essential characteristic of the Church; and when such acts are wrought in the accomplishment of holy purposes, they serve as confirmatory evidence of divine authority. Therefore we may expect to find, as find we do, in the ministry of Joseph Smith and in that of the Church in general, the attested record of miracles, comprising manifestations of all the promised gifts of the Spirit. This subject will be further considered On another occasion.s
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35. IV. The Doctrines Taught by Joseph Smith and by the Church today are true and scriptural. To sustain this statement we must examine the principal teachings of the Church in separate order. The Articles of Faith furnish us a convenient summary of many of the doctrines pertaining to the latter-day work; and these we will proceed to study in the course of the lectures that are to follow.
Notes.
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1. The "Articles of Faith" date from March 1, 1841. They constitute a portion of a letter from the Prophet Joseph Smith to a Mr. Wentworth, of Chicago. The "Articles" were published in the History of Joseph Smith: (See Millennial Star, vol. XIX, p. 120; also Times and Seasons, vol III, p. 709.) As stated elsewhere, the Articles have been formally adopted by the Church as an authorized summary of its principal doctrines.
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2. Joseph Smith's Early Persecution.—The Prophet wrote as follows concerning the persecution of his boyhood days, which dated from the time of his first mention of his vision of the Father and the Son:—"It has often caused me serious reflection, both then and since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, 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 [p.25] 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 a 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; * * * * * 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 all manner of evil against me, falsely, for so saying, I was led to say in my heart, Why persecute for telling the truth? I had actually seen a vision, and who am I that I can withstand God?" Pearl of Great Price:—Extracts from the History of Joseph Smith: pp. 90-91, (1888 ed.)
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3. Tribute to Joseph Smith.—While few people outside the Church have had much to say in commendation of this modern prophet, it is interesting to note that there are some honorable exceptions to the rule. Josiah Quincy, a prominent American, made the acquaintance of Joseph Smith, a short time before the latter's martyrdom; and after the tragic event he wrote: "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. And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now, may be an obvious commonplace to their descendants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. The man who establishes a religion in this age of free debate, who was and is today accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High,—such a rare human being is not to he disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. * * * * The most vital questions Americans are asking each other today have to do with this man and what he has left us. * * * * Burning questions they are, which must give a prominent place in the history of the country to that sturdy self-asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith, claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity, such as few men have been called to meet, enjoyed a brief season of prosperity, such as few men have ever attained, and, finally, forty-three days after I saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death. When he surrendered his person to Governor Ford, in order to prevent the shedding of blood, the Prophet had a presentiment of what was before him. 'I am going like a lamb to the slaughter,' he is reported to have said, 'but I am as calm as a summer's morning. I have a conscience void of offense, and shall die innocent.'" Figures of the Past by Josiah Quincy, p. 376.
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4. The Seal of Martyrdom.—"The highest evidence of sincerity that a man can give his fellowmen,—the highest proof that he has spoken the truth in any given case—is that he perseveres in it unto death, and seals his testimony [p.26] with his blood. * * * So important did such a testimony become in the estimation of Paul, that he said 'Where a testament is there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.' (Heb. ix; 16-17.) In the light of this principle. and when the importance of the great testimony which he bore to the world is taken into account, it is not to be wondered at that Joseph Smith was called upon to affix the broad seal of martyrdom to his life's work. Something of incompleteness in his work would likely have been complained of had this been lacking; but now, not so; his character of prophet was rounded out to complete fulness by his falling a martyr under the, murderous fire of a mob at Carthage in the State of Illinois."—Elder B. H. Roberts, in A New Witness for God, pp. 477-478.
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5. Joseph Smith; Further References.—For biography, see "The Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet," by Pres. George Q. Cannon. See also "Divine Authority, or the question, Was Joseph Smith Sent of God?" a pamphlet by Apostle Orson Pratt; "Joseph Smith's Prophetic Calling;" Millennial Star, Vol. XIII: pp. 164, 187, 195, 227. Letters, by Elder Orson Spencer to Rev. Wm. Crowell; No. 1; "A New Witness for God," by Elder B. H. Roberts. [p.27]
Lecture II.
God and the Godhead.
Article 1:—We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
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1. The Existence of God:—Since faith in God constitutes the foundation of religious belief and practice, and inasmuch as a knowledge of the attributes and character of Deity is essential to an intelligent exercise of faith in Him, this subject claims first place in our study of the doctrines of the Church.
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2. The existence of God is scarcely a question of rational dispute; nor does it call for proof by the feeble demonstrations of man's logic, for the fact is admitted by the human family practically without question, and the consciousness of subjection to a supreme power is an inborn quality of mankind. The early scriptures are in no sense devoted to a primary demonstration of God's existence, nor to attacks on the sophistries of atheism; from which fact we may infer that the errors of doubt developed in some period later than the first. The universal assent of mankind to the existence of God is at least a strongly corroborative truth. There is a filial passion within human nature which flames toward heaven. Every nation, every tribe, every individual, yearns for some object of reverence. It is natural for man to worship; his soul is unsatisfied till it finds a deity. When men through transgression first fell into darkness concerning the true and living God, they established for themselves other deities, and so arose the abominations of idolatry. And yet, [p.28] terrible as these practices are, even the most revolting idolatries testify to the existence of a God by declaring man's hereditary passion for worship. Plutarch has, wisely remarked of ancient conditions: "If you search the world, you may find cities without walls, without letters, without kings, without money; but no one ever saw a city without a deity, without a temple, or without prayers." This general assent to a belief in the existence of Deity is testimony of a high order; and in this connection the words of Aristotle may be applied:—"What seems true to some wise men is somewhat probable; what seems true to most or all wise men is very probable; what most men, both wise and unwise, assent to, still more resembles truth; but what men generally consent in, has the highest probability, and approaches so near to demonstrated truth, that it may pass for ridiculous arrogance and self-conceitedness, or for intolerable obstinacy and perverseness, to decry it."a
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3. The multiplicity of evidence upon which mankind rest their conviction regarding the existence of a Supreme Being, may be classified for convenience of consideration, under the three following heads:
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I. The evidence of history and tradition.
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II. The evidence furnished by the exercise of human reason.
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III. The conclusive evidence of direct revelation from God Himself.
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4. I. History and Tradition:—History as written by man, and tradition as transmitted from generation to generation prior to the date of any written record now extant, give evidence of the actuality of Deity, and of close and personal dealings between God and man in the first epochs of human existence. One of the most ancient records known, the Bible, [p.29] names God as the Creator of all things,b and moreover, declares that He revealed Himself to our first earthly parents, and to really other holy personages in the early days of the world. Adam and Eve heard His voicec in the Garden, and even after their transgression they continued to call upon God, and to sacrifice to Him. It is plain, therefore, that they carried with them from the Garden a knowledge of God. After their expulsion they heard "the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden," though they saw Him not; and He gave unto them commandments, which they obeyed. Then came to Adam an angelic messenger, and the Holy Ghost inspired the man and bare record of the Father and the Son.d
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5. Cain and Abel learned of God from the teachings of their parents, as well as from personal ministrations. After the acceptance of Abel's offering, and the rejection of Cain's, followed by Cain's terrible crime of fratricide, the Lord talked with Cain, and Cain answered the Lord.e Cain must, therefore, have taken a personal knowledge of God from Eden into the land where he went to dwell.f Adam lived to be nine hundred and thirty years old and many children were born unto him. Them he instructed in the fear of God, and many of them received direct ministrations. Of Adam's descendants, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Lamech the father of Noah, each representing a distinct generation, were all living during Adam's lifetime. Noah was born but a hundred and twenty-six years after the time of Adam's death, and moreover lived nearly six hundred years with his father Lamech, by whom he was doubtless instructed in the traditions [p.30] concerning God's personal manifestations, which Lamech had learned from the lips of Adam. Through the medium of Noah and his family, a knowledge of God by direct tradition was carried beyond the flood; then Noah held direct communication with God,g and lived to instruct ten generations of his descendants. Then followed Abraham, who also enjoyed direct communion with the Creator,h and after him Isaac, and Jacob, or Israel, among whose descendants the Lord wrought such wonders through the instrumentality of Moses. Thus, had there been no written records, tradition would have preserved and transmitted knowledge of God.
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6. But even if the accounts of the earliest of man's personal communion with God had become dimmed with time, and therefore weakened in effect, they could but give place to other traditions founded on later manifestations of the Divine personality. Unto Moses the Lord made Himself known, not alone from behind the curtain of fire, and the screen of clouds,i but by direct face to face communication, whereby the chosen high-priest, beheld even "the similitude" of his God.j This account of direct communion between Moses and God, in part of which the people were permitted to share,k as far as their faith and purity permitted, has been preserved by Israel through all the generations of the past. And from Israel the traditions of God's existence have spread throughout the world; so that we find traces of this ancient knowledge even in the most fanciful and perverted mythologies of heathen nations.
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7. II. Human Reason, operating upon observations of the [p.31] things of nature, strongly declares the existence of God. The mind already imbued with the historical truths of the Divine existence and its close relationship with man, will find confirmatory evidence in nature on every side; and even to him who rejects the testimony of the past, and assumes to set up his own judgment as superior to the universal belief of ages, the multifarious evidences of design in nature appeal, Every observer must be impressed by the proofs of order and system among created things, and by the absence of superfluities in nature. He notes the regular succession of day and night providing alternate periods of work and rest for man, animals, and vegetables; the sequence of the seasons, each with its longer periods of labor and recuperation, the mutual dependence of animals and plants, the circulation of water from sea to cloud, from cloud to earth again, sustaining the fertility of the soil. As man proceeds to the closer examination of things, he finds that by study and scientific investigation these proofs are multiplied many fold. He may learn something of the laws by which earth and its associated worlds are governed in their orbits; by which satellites are held subordinate to planets, and planets to suns; he may behold the marvels of vegetable and animal anatomy, and the surpassing mechanism of his own body; and with such appeals to his reason increasing at every step, his wonder as to who made all this, gives place to inexpressible admiration for the Creator whose presence and power are thus so forcibly proclaimed; and the observer becomes a worshiper.
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8. Everywhere in nature is the evidence of cause and effect; on every side is the demonstration of means adapted to end. But such adaptations, says a thoughtful writer, "indicate contrivance for a given purpose, and contrivance is the evidence of intelligence, and intelligence is the attribute of mind, and the intelligent mind that built the [p.32] stupendous universe is God."l To admit the existence of a designer in the evidence of design, to say there must be a contriver in a world of intelligent contrivance, to believe in an adapter when man's life is directly dependent upon the most perfect adaptations conceivable, is but to accept self-evident truths. These axioms of nature ought to require no demonstration; the burden of proof as to the non-existence of a God ought to be placed upon him who questions the solemn truth. "Every house is builded by some man, but he that built all things is God." So spake the Apostle of old,m and plain as is the truth expressed in these simple words, there are among men a few, who profess to doubt the evidence of reason, and who deny the Author of their own being. Strange is it not, that here and there one, who finds in the contrivance exhibited by the ant in building her house, in the architecture of the honey-comb, and in the myriad instances of orderly instinct among the least of living things, a proof of intelligence from which man may learn and be wise, will yet question the operation of intelligence in the creation of worlds, and in the constitution of the universe?n
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9. Man's inborn consciousness tells him of his own existence; his ordinary powers of observation prove the existence of others of his kind, and of uncounted orders of organized beings; from this he concludes that something must have existed always, for had there been a time of no existence, a period of nothingness, existence could never have begun, for from nothing, nothing can be derived. The eternal existence of something then, is a fact beyond dispute; and the only question requiring answer is, what is that eternal something; that existence which is without [p.33] beginning and without end? The skeptic may answer, "Nature; matter has always existed, and the universe is but a manifestation of matter organized by forces operating upon it; however, Nature is not God." But matter is neither vital nor active, nor is force intelligent; yet vitality and ceaseless activity are characteristic of created things, and the effects of intelligence are universally present. True, nature is not God; and to mistake the one for the other is to call the edifice the architect, the fabric the designer, the marble the sculptor, and the thing the power that made it. The system of nature is the manifestation of that order which argues a directing intelligence; and that intelligence is of an eternal character, coeval with existence itself. Nature herself is a declaration of a superior Being, whose will and purpose she portrays in all her varied aspects. Beyond and above nature, stands nature's God.
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10. While existence is eternal, and therefore to being there never was a beginning, never will be an end, in a relative sense each stage of organization must have had a beginning, and to every phase of existence as manifested in each of the countless orders and classes of created things, there was a first, as there will be a last; though every ending or consummation in nature is but the beginning of another stage of advancement. Thus, man's ingenuity has invented theories to illustrate, if not to explain, a possible sequence of events by which the earth has been brought from a state of chaos to its present habitable condition; but by those hypotheses, this globe was once a heated ball, on which none of the innumerable forms of life which now tenant it could have existed. The theorist therefore must admit a beginning to earthly life, and such a beginning is explicable only on the assumption of some creative act, or a contribution from outside the earth. If he admit the introduction of life upon the earth from some other and older [p.34] sphere, he does but extend the limits of his enquiry as to the beginning of vital existence; for to explain the origin of a rose-bush in our own garden by saying that it was transplanted as an offshoot from a rose-tree growing elsewhere, is no answer to the question concerning the origin of roses. Science of necessity assumes a beginning to vital phenomena on this planet, and admits a finite duration of the earth in its current course of progressive change; and in this respect, the earth is a representative of the heavenly bodies in general. The eternity of existence then is no more potent as an indication of an eternal Ruler, than is the endless sequence of change, each stage of which has both beginning and end. The origination of created things, the beginning of an organized universe, is utterly inexplicable on any assumption of spontaneous change in matter, or of a fortuitous and accidental operation of its properties.
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11. Human reason, so liable to err in dealing with subjects of lesser import even, may not of itself lead its possessor to a full knowledge of God; yet its exercise will aid him in his search, strengthening and confirming Iris inherited instinct toward his Maker.o "The fool hath said in his heart there is no God."p In the scriptures, the word foolq is used to designate a wicked man, one who has forfeited his wisdom by a long course of wrong doing, bringing darkness over his mind in place of light, and ignorance instead of knowledge. By such a course, the mind becomes depraved and incapable of appreciating the finer arguments in nature. A wilful sinner grows deaf to the voice of reason in holy things, and loses the privilege of communing with his Creator, thus forfeiting the strongest means of attaining a knowledge of God.
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[p.35] 12. III. Revelation gives to man his fullest knowledge of God. We are not left wholly to the exercise of fallible reasoning powers, nor to the testimony of others for a knowledge of our Heavenly Father; we may know Him for ourselves. Instances of God manifesting Himself to His prophets in olden as in later times are so numerous as to render impossible any detailed consideration here; moreover, we will have opportunity of examining many examples in connection with our study of the ninth of the Articles of Faith; for the present, therefore, brief mention must suffice. We have already noted as the foundation of many traditions relating to the existence and personality of God, His revelations of Himself to Adam and other ante-diluvian patriarchs; then to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. An example but briefly mentioned in the Jewish scriptures is that of Enoch, the father of Methuselah; of him we read that he walked with God.r From the "Writings of Moses" we learn that the Lord manifested Himself with special favor to this chosen seer,s revealing unto him the course of events until the time of Christ's appointed ministry in the flesh, the plan of salvation through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten, and the scenes that were to follow until the final judgment.
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13. Of Moses we read that he received a manifestation from God, who spoke to him from the midst of the burning bush in Mount Horeb, saying "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God."t Unto Moses and assembled Israel God appeared in a cloud, with the terrifying accompaniment of thunders and lightnings, on Sinai; "And the Lord said unto Moses, thus shalt [p.36] thou say unto the children of Israel, ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven."u Of a later manifestation we are told:—"Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness."v
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14. On through the time of Joshua and the judges to the kings and the prophets, the Lord declared His presence and His power. Isaiah saw the Lord enthroned in the midst of a glorious company, and cried out, "Woe is me, for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."w
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15. At a subsequent period, when Christ emerged from the waters of baptism, the voice of the Father was heard declaring "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."x And on the occasion of our Lord's transfiguration, the same voice repeated this solemn and glorious acknowledgment.y While Stephen was suffering martyrdom at the hands of his cruel and bigoted countrymen, the heavens were opened, and he "saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God."z
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16. The Book of Mormon is replete with instances of communication between God and His people, mostly through vision and by the ministration of angels, but also through direct manifestation of the Divine presence. Thus, we read of a colony of people leaving the Tower of Babel and journeying to the western hemisphere, under the leadership [p.37] of one who is known in the record as the brother of Jared. In preparing for the voyage across the great deep, the leader prayed that the Lord would touch with His finger, and thereby make luminous, certain stones, that the voyagers might have light in the ships. In answer to this petition, the Lord stretched forth His hand and touched the stones, revealing His finger, which the man was surprised to see resembled the finger of a human being. Then the Lord, pleased with the man's faith, made Himself visible to the brother of Jared, and demonstrated to him that man was formed literally after the image of the Creator.a To the Nephites who inhabited the western continent, Christ revealed Himself after His resurrection and ascension. To these sheep of the western fold, He testified of His commission received from the Father; showed the wounds in His hands, feet, and side, and ministered unto the believing multitudes in many ways.b
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17. In the present dispensation, God has revealed, and does still reveal Himself to His people. We have seen how by faith and sincerity of purpose Joseph Smith, while yet a youth, won for himself a manifestation of God's presence, being privileged to behold both the Father and Christ the Son.c His testimony of the existence of God is not dependent upon tradition or logical deduction; he declares to the world that he knows both God and Christ live, for he has beheld their persons, and has heard their voices. In addition to the manifestation cited, Joseph Smith and his fellow servant, Sidney Rigdon, state that on the 16th of February, 1832, they saw the Son of God, and conversed with Him in heavenly vision. In describing this manifestation they say: "And while we meditated upon these things, the [p.38] Lord touched the eyes of our understandings, and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about; and we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of His fulness; and saw the holy angels, and they who are sanctified before His throne, worshiping God and the Lamb, who worship Him forever and ever. And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of Him, this is the testimony last of all which we give of Him, that He lives, for we saw Him."d
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18. Again, on the 3rd of April, 1836, in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, the Lord manifested Himself to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who say of the occasion:—"We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit before us, and under His feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber. His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of His head was white like the pure snow, His countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and His voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying,—I am the first and the last; I am He who liveth; I am He who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father."e
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19. These are a few of the testimonies establishing the fact of direct revelation from God unto men in ancient and modern times. The privilege of communing with our Maker is restricted to none; true faith, sincerity of purpose, and purity of soul, will win for any one who seeks the boon, the blessing of God's favor, and the light of His presence.
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20. The Godhead: The Trinity:—Three personages composing the great presiding council of the universe have revealed themselves to man; (1) God the Eternal Father, (2) His Son, Jesus Christ; and (3) the Holy Ghost. That these three are separate individuals, physically distinct from [p.39] each other, is very plainly proved by the accepted records of the divine dealings with man. On the occasion of the Savior's baptism before cited, John recognized the sign of the Holy Ghost; he saw before him in a tabernacle of flesh the Christ, upon whom he had performed the holy ordinance; and he heard the voice of the Father.f The three personages of the Godhead were present, manifesting themselves each in a different way, and each distinct from the others. The Savior promised His disciples that the Comforter,g which is the Holy Ghost, should be sent unto them by His Father; here again are the three members Of the Godhead distinctly referred to. Stephen, at the time of his martyrdom, was blessed with the power of heavenly vision, and he saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God.h Joseph Smith, while calling upon the Lord in fervent prayer for wisdom to guide him in his religious professions, saw the Father and the Son, standing in the midst of light which shamed the brightness of the sun, one of these declared of the other, "This is my beloved Son, hear Him."i Each of the members of the Trinity is called God,j together they constitute the Godhead.
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21. Unity of the Godhead:—The Godhead is a type of unity in the attributes, powers, and purposes of its members. Jesus, while on earthk and in manifesting Himself to His Nephite servants,l has repeatedly testified of the unity existing between Himself and the Father, and between them both and the Holy Ghost. By some this has been construed to mean that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are [p.40] one in substance and in person, that the names in reality represent the same individual under different aspects. A single reference to prove the error of this view may suffice:—Immediately before his betrayal, Christ prayed for His disciples, the Twelve, and other converts, that they should be preserved in unity,m "that they all may be one" as the Father and the Son are one. It is absurd to think that Christ desired His followers to lose their individuality and become one person, even if a change so directly opposed to the laws of nature were possible. Christ desired that all should be united in heart, and spirit, and purpose; for such is the unity between His Father and Himself, and between themselves and the Holy Ghost.
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22. This unity is a type of completeness; the mind of any one member of the Trinity is the mind of the others; seeing as each of them does with the eye of purity and perfection, they see and understand alike; under similar conditions and circumstances each would act in the same way, guided by the same principles of unerring justice and equity. The oneness of the Godhead, to which the scriptures so abundantly testify, implies no mystical union of substance, or unnatural and therefore impossible blending of personality; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are as distinct in their persons and individualities, as are any three personages in the flesh. Yet their unity of purpose and operation is such as to make their edicts one, and their will the will of God. To see one is to see all; therefore said Christ when importuned by Philip to show them the Father, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of [p.41] myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me."n
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23. Personality of Each Member of the Godhead:—From the evidence already presented, it is clear that the Father is a personal Being, possessing a definite form, with bodily parts, and spiritual passions. Jesus Christ, who was with the Fathero in spirit before coming to dwell in the flesh, and through whom the worlds were made,p lived among men as a man, with all the physical characteristics of a human being; after His resurrection He appeared in the same form;q in that form He ascended into heaven;r and in that form He has manifested Himself to the Nephites, and to modern prophets. Now we are assured that Christ was in the express image of His Father,s after which image man also has been created.t Therefore we know that both the Father and the Son are in form and stature perfect men; each of them possesses a tangible body, infinitely pure and perfect, and attended by transcendent glory, yet a body of flesh and bone.u
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24. The Holy Ghost, called also Spirit, and Spirit of the Lord,v Spirit of God,w Comforter,x and Spirit of Truth,y is not tabernacled in a body of flesh and bone, but is a personage of spirit;z yet we know that the Spirit has manifested [p.42] Himself in the form of a man.a It is by the ministrations of the Spirit that the Father and the Son operate in their dealings with mankind;b through Him knowledge is communicated,c and by Him the great works of creation are carried on.d The Holy Ghost is the witness of the Father and the Son,e declaring to man their attributes, bearing record of the other personages of the Godhead.f
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25. Some of the Divine Attributes:—God is Omnipresent: There is no part of creation, however remote, into which He cannot penetrate; by the power of the Holy Ghost, the Godhead is in direct communication with all things at all times. It has been said, therefore, that God is everywhere present at the same time; but is unreasonable to suppose that the actual person of any one member of the Godhead can be in more than one place at one time. The senses of God are of infinite power, His mind of unlimited capacity; His eye can penetrate all space, His ear can comprehend every sound; His powers of transferring Himself from place to place are not limited; plainly, however, His person cannot be in more than one place at any one time. Admitting the personality of God, we are compelled to accept the fact of His materiality; indeed an "immaterial being," under which meaningless name some have sought to designate the condition of God, cannot exist, for the very expression is a contradiction in terms. If God possesses a form, that form is of necessity of definite proportions and therefore of limited extension in space. It is therefore impossible for Him to occupy at one time more than one space of such limits; and it is not surprising therefore to learn from the scriptures [p.43] that He moves from place to place. Thus we read in connection with the account of the Tower of Babel "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower."g Again, God appeared to Abraham, and having declared Himself to be "the Almighty God," He talked with the patriarch, and established a covenant with him; then we read "And He left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham."h
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26. God is Omniscient:—There is nothing in the physical or spiritual universe which He has not created; every property of matter He has ordained, every law He has framed. He possesses, therefore, a perfect knowledge of all His works. His power cannot be comprehended by man; God's wisdom is infinite. Being Himself eternal and perfect, His knowledge cannot be otherwise than infinite. To comprehend Himself, an infinite Being, He must possess an infinite mind. Through the agency of angels and ministering servants, He is in continuous communication with all parts of creation, and may personally visit as He may will.
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27. God is Omnipotent:—He is properly called the Almighty. Man can discern proofs of the Divine omnipotence on every side, in the forces that control the elements of earth; that guide the orbs of heaven in their prescribed courses; all are working together for the common good. There can be no limits to the powers of God; whatever His wisdom indicates as fit to be done He can and will do. The means through which He operates may not be of infinite capacity in themselves; but they are directed by an infinite power. A rational conception of His omnipotence is power to do all that He may will to do.
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28. God is kind, benevolent, and loving, tender, considerate, and long-suffering, bearing patiently with the frailties of His wayward children. He is just, yet merciful in [p.44] judgment,i showing favor to all alike, and yet combining with these gentler qualities a firmness, almost amounting to fierceness, in avenging wrongs.j He is jealousk of His own power and the reverence paid to Him by His children; that is to say, He is zealous for the principles of truth and purity, which are nowhere exemplified in a higher degree than in His personal attributes. This Being is the Author of our existence, Him we are permitted to approach as Father. Our faith will increase in Him as we learn of Him.
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29. Idolatry and Atheism:—From the abundant evidence of the existence of Deity, the idea of which is so generally held by the human family, there would seem to be little ground on which man could rationally assert and maintain a disbelief in God; and in view of the many proofs of the benignant nature of the Divine attributes and disposition, there ought to be little tendency to turn aside after false and unworthy objects of worship. Yet the history of the race shows that theism, which is the doctrine of a belief in and an acceptance of, God as the rightful Ruler, is opposed by many varieties of its opposite,—atheism;l and that man is prone to belie his boast as a creature of reason, and to render his worship at idolatrous shrines. Atheism is probably a development of later times, whilst idolatry asserted itself as one of the early sins of the race. Even at the time of Israel's exodus from Egypt, God deemed it proper to command by statute, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me;"m yet even while He wrote those words on the stony tablets, His people were bowing before the golden calf which they had fashioned after the pattern of the Egyptian idol.
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[p.45] 30. It has been stated that man possesses an instinct for worship, that he craves and will find some object of adoration. When man fell into the darkness of continued transgression, and forgot the Author of his being, and the God of his fathers, he sought for other deities. Some among men came to regard the sun as the type of the supreme, and before that luminary they prostrated themselves in supplication. Others selected for adoration earthly phenomena; they marvelled over the mystery of fire, and, recognizing the beneficent effects of that phenomenon, they worshiped the flame. Some saw, or thought they saw, in water the emblem of the pure and the good, and they rendered their devotions by running streams. Others, awed into reverence by the grandeur of towering mountains, repaired to these natural temples, and worshiped the altar instead of Him in whose honor and by whose power it had been raised. Another class, more strongly imbued with a reverence for the emblematic, sought to create for themselves artificial objects of adoration. They made images and worshiped them; they hewed uncouth figures from tree trunks, and chiseled strange forms in stone, and to these they bowed.n
"Nations, ignorant of God,
Contrive a wooden one."
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31. Idolatrous practices in some of their phases came to be associated with rites of horrible cruelties, as in the custom of sacrificing children to Moloch, and, among the Hindoos, to the Ganges; as also in the wholesale slaughtering of human beings under Druidical tyranny. The gods that human-kind have set up for themselves are heartless, pitiless, cruel.o
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32. Atheism, as before stated, is the denial of the existence of God; in a milder form it may consist in the mere [p.46] ignoring of Deity. But the professed atheist, in common with his believing fellow-mortals, is subject to man's universal passion for worship; though he refuse to acknowledge the true and the living God, he consciously or unconsciously deifies some law, some principle, some passion of the human soul, or perchance some material creation; and to this he turns, to seek in contemplation of the unworthy object, a semblance of the comfort which the believer finds in rich abundance before the throne of his Father and God. I doubt the existence of a thorough atheist,—one who with the sincerity of a settled conviction denies in his heart the existence of an intelligent Supreme Power. The idea of God is an essential characteristic of the human soul. The philosopher recognizes the necessity of such an element in his theories of being. He may shrink from the open acknowledgment of a personal Deity, yet he assumes the existence of a "governing power," of a "great unknown," of the "unknowable," the "illimitable," the "unconscious." Oh, man of learning though not of wisdom; why reject the privileges extended to you by the omnipotent, omniscient Being to whom you owe your life, yet whose name you will not acknowledge? No mortal can approach Him while contemplating His perfections and might with aught but awe and speechless reverence; regarding Him only as Creator and God, we are abashed in thought of Him; but He has given us the right to approach Him as His children, to call upon Him by the endearing name of Father! And even the atheist feels, in the more solemn moments of his life, a yearning of the soul toward a spiritual Parent, as naturally as his human affections turn toward the father who gave him mortal life. The atheism of to-day is but a species of idolatry after all.
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33. Sectarian View of the Godhead:—The consistent, simple, and authentic doctrine respecting the character and [p.47] attributes of God, such as was taught by Christ and the apostles, gave way as revelation ceased, and as the darkness incident to the absence of authority fell upon the world, after the apostles and their priesthood had been driven from the earth; and in its place there appeared numerous theories and dogmas of men, many of which are utterly incomprehensible in their mysticism and inconsistency. In the year 325 A.D., the Council of Nice was convened by the emperor Constantine, who sought through this body to secure a declaration of Christian belief which would be received as authoritative, and be the means of arresting the increasing dissension incident to the general disagreement regarding the nature of the Godhead, and other theological subjects. The Council condemned some of the theories then current; among them that of Arius, which asserted a separate individuality for each member of the Trinity; and promulgated a new code of belief known as the Nicene Creed. A statement of this doctrine, supposedly as announced by Athanasius, is as follows:—"We worship one God in trinity, and trinity in unity; neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is all one; the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated; but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty, and yet there are [p.48] not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God." It would be difficult to conceive of a greater number of inconsistencies and contradictions, expressed in as few words.
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34. The Church of England teaches the present orthodox view of God as follows:—"There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness." The immateriality of God as asserted in these declarations of sectarian faith is entirely at variance with the scriptures, and absolutely contradicted by the revelations of God's person and attributes, as shown by the citations already made.
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35. I submit that to deny the materiality of God's person is to deny God; for a thing without parts has no whole, and an immaterial body cannot exist.p The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims against the incomprehensible God, devoid of "body, parts, and passions," as a thing impossible of existence, and asserts its belief in and allegiance to the true and living God of scripture and revelation.
Notes.
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1. Natural to Believe in a God:—"The great and primary truth 'that there is a God' has obtained among men almost universally, and in all ages; so that the holy scriptures, which speak of God in every page, and which advert to the sentiments of mankind for the period of about four thousand years, always assume this truth as admitted. In the early ages of the world, indeed, there is no positive evidence that speculative theism had any advocates; and if, at a subsequent period, the 'fool said in his heart, There is no God,' the sentiment appears more prominent in his affections than in his judgment; and, withal, had so feeble an influence over the minds of men, that the sacred writers never deemed it necessary to combat the error, either by formal arguments, or by an appeal to miraculous operations. Polytheism, not atheism, was the prevailing sin; and therefore the aim of inspired men was not so much to prove the existence of one God, as the non-existence of others,—to maintain His authority, to enforce His laws, to the exclusion of all rival pretenders." * * *
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[p.49] "So clear, full, and overpowering is the evidence of God's existence, that it has commanded general belief in all ages and countries,—the only exceptions being a few savage tribes of a most degraded type, among whom the idea of God has faded and disappeared with every vestige of civilization; and a few eccentric would-be philosophers who affect to doubt everything which others believe, and question the truth of their own intuitions, so that the general assent to the being of a God might be added as a testimony of no small weight in this argument."—Cassell's Bible Dictionary; article "God."
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2. Importance of Belief in God:—"The existence of a Supreme Being is, without doubt, the sublimest conception that can enter the human mind, and, even as a scientific question, can have no equal, for it assumes to furnish the cause of causes, the great ultimate fact in philosophy, the last and sublimest generalization of scientific truth. Yet this is the lowest demand it presents for our study; for it lies at the very foundation of morality, virtue, and religion; it supports the social fabric, and gives cohesion to all its parts; it involves the momentous question of man's immortality and responsibility to supreme authority, and is inseparably connected with his brightest hopes and highest enjoyments. It is, indeed, not only a fundamental truth, but the grand central truth of all other truths. All other truths in science, ethics, and religion, radiate from this. It is the source from which they all flow, the center to which they all converge, and the one sublime proposition to which they all bear witness. It has, therefore, no parallel in its solemn grandeur and momentous issues."—The same.
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3. Belief in God, Natural and Necessary.—Dr. Joseph Le Conte, Professor of Geology and Natural History in the University of California, and a scientist of world-wide renown, has spoken as follows:—"Theism, or a belief in God or in gods, or in a supernatural agency of some kind, controlling the phenomena around us, is the fundamental basis and condition of all religion, and is therefore universal, necessary and intuitive. I will not, therefore, attempt to bring forward any proof of that which lies back of all proof, and is already more certain than anything can be made by any process of reasoning. The ground of this belief lies in the very nature of man; it is the very foundation and groundwork of reason. It is this and this only which gives significance to Nature; without it, neither religion nor science, nor indeed human life, would be possible. For, observe what is the characteristic of man in his relation to external Nature. To the brute, the phenomena of Nature are nothing but sensuous phenomena; but man, just in proportion as he uses his human faculties, instinctively ascends from the phenomena to their cause. This is inevitable by a law of our nature, but the process of ascent is different for the cultured and uncultured races. The uncultured man, when a phenomenon occurs, the cause of which is not immediately perceived, passes by one step from the sensuous phenomenon to the first cause; while the cultured, and especially the scientific man, passes from the sensuous phenomena through a chain of secondary causes to the first cause. The region of second causes, and this only, is the domain of science. Science may, in fact, be defined, as the study of the modes of operation of the first cause. It is evident, therefore, that the recognition of second causes cannot preclude the idea of the existence of God. * * * Thus, Theism is necessary, intuitive, and therefore universal. We cannot get rid of it if we would. Push it out, as many do, at the front door, and it comes in again, perhaps unrecognized, at the back door. Turn it out in its nobler forms as revealed in Scripture, and it comes in again in its ignoble forms, it may be as magnetism, electricity, or gravity, or some other [p.50] supposed efficient agent controlling Nature. In some form, noble or ignoble, it will become a guest in the human heart. I therefore repeat, Theism neither requires nor admits of proof. But in these latter times, there is a strong tendency for Theism to take the form of Pantheism, and thereby religious belief is robbed of all its power over the human heart. It becomes necessary, therefore, for me to attempt to show, not the existence indeed, but the personality of Deity. * * * Among a certain class of cultivated minds, and especially among scientific men, there is a growing sentiment, sometimes openly expressed, sometimes only vaguely felt, that what we call God is only a universal, all-pervading principle animating Nature,—a general principle of evolution—an unconscious, impersonal life-force under which the whole cosmos slowly develops. Now, this form of Theism may possibly satisfy the demands of a purely speculative philosophy, but cannot satisfy the cravings of the human heart.
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* * The argument for the personality of Deity is derived from the evidences of intelligent contrivance and design in Nature, or the adjustment of parts for a definite, and an intelligent purpose. It is usually called 'the argument from design.' The force of this argument is felt at once intuitively by all minds, and its effect is irresistible and overwhelming to every plain, honest mind, unplagued by metaphysical subtleties."—Prof. Joseph Le Conte: in "Religion and Science," pp. 12-14.
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4. God in Nature:—Sir Isaac Newton, one of the most critical of scientific workers, in writing to his friend Dr. Bentley in 1692, said in reference to the natural universe: "To make such a system, with all its motions, required a Cause which understood and compared together the quantities of matter in the several bodies of the sun and planets, and the gravitating powers resulting from them, the several distances of the primary planets from the sun, and of the secondary ones from Saturn, Jupiter, and the earth; and the velocities with which these planets could revolve about those quantities of matter in the central bodies; and to compare and adjust all these things together in so great a variety of bodies argues the Cause to be not blind and fortuitous, but very well skilled in mechanics and geometry."
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5. Natural Indications of God's Existence:—"It may not be, it is not likely, that God can be found with microscope and scalpel, with test-tube or flask, with goniometer or telescope; but with such tools, the student earnestly working, cannot fail to recognize a power beyond his vision, yet a power of which the pulses and the motions are unmistakable. The extent of our solar system once seemed to man more limited than it does at present; and the discovery of the most distant of the planetary family was due to a recognition of an attractive force inexplicable except on the supposition of the existence of another planet. The astronomer, tracing known bodies along their orbital paths, could feel the pull, could see the wire that drew them from a narrower course; he saw not Neptune as he piled calculations sheet on sheet; but the existence of that orb was clearly indicated, and by heeding such indications he sought for it, and it was found. Theory alone could never have revealed it, though theory was incomplete, unsatisfactory without it; but the practical search, instigated by theory, led to the great demonstration. And what is all science but theory compared to the practical influence of prayerful reliance on the assistance of an omnipotent, omniscient power? Disregard not the indications of your science work,—the trembling of the needle that reveals the magnetic influence; the instinct within that speaks of a life and a Life-Giver, far beyond [p.51] human power of explanation or comprehension. As you sit beneath the canopied vault, pondering in the silence of night over the perturbations, the yearnings which the soul cannot ignore, turn in the direction indicated by those impulses, and with the penetrating, space-annihilating, time-annulling glass of prayer and faith, seek the source of that pervading force."—Jas. E. Talmage in Baccalaureate Sermon, June, 1895.
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6. Theism; Atheism, etc:—According to current usage, Theism signifies a belief in God,—the acceptance of one living and eternal Being who has revealed Himself to man. Deism implies a professed belief in God, but denies to Deity the power to reveal Himself, and asserts a disbelief in Christianity; the term is used in different senses, prominent among which are:—(1) belief in God as an intelligent and eternal Being, with a denial of all providential care: (2) belief in God, with denial of a future state of the soul: (3) as advocated by Kant, denial of a personal God, while asserting belief in an infinite force, inseparably associated with matter, and operating as the first great cause. Pantheism regards matter and mind as one, embracing everything finite and infinite, and calls this universal existence God. In its philosophical aspect, pantheism "has three generic forms with variations: (1) one-substance pantheism which ascribes to the universal being the attributes of both mind and matter, thought and extension, as in Spinoza's system; (2) materialistic pantheism which ascribes to it only the attributes of matter, as in the system of Strauss: (3) idealistic pantheism which ascribes to it only the existence of mind as in Hegel's system." In its doctrinal aspect, pantheism comprises "the worship of nature and humanity founded on the doctrine that the entire phenomenal universe, including man and nature, is the ever-changing manifestation of God." Polytheism is the doctrine of a plurality of gods, who are usually regarded as personifications of forces or phenomena of nature. Monotheism is the doctrine that there is but one God. Atheism signifies disbelief in God, or the denial of God's existence; dogmatic atheism denies, while negative atheism ignores, the existence of a God. Infidelity is sometimes used as synonymous with atheism, though specifically the term signifies a milder form of unbelief, manifesting itself in scepticism on matters religious, a disbelief in the religion of the Bible, and of course a rejection of the doctrines of Christianity. Agnosticism holds that God is unknown and unknowable; that His existence can neither be proved nor disproved; it neither affirms nor denies the existence of a personal God; it is the doctrine of "We do not know."—See Standard Dictionary.
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7. Idolatrous Practices in General:—The soul of man, once abandoned to depravity, is strongly prone to depart from God and his institutions. "Hence," says Burder, "have arisen the altars and demons of heathen antiquity, their extravagant fictions, and abominable orgies. Hence we find among the Babylonians and Arabians, the adoration of the heavenly bodies, the, earliest forms of idolatry; among the Canaanites and Syrians, the worship of Baal, Tammuz, Magog, and Astarte; among the Phoenicians, the immolation of children to Moloch; among the Egyptians, divine honors bestowed on animals, birds, insects, leeks, and onions; among the Persians, religious reverence offered to fire; and among the polished Greeks, the recognition in their system of faith of thirty thousand gods. Hence, moreover, we find at the present time among most Pagan tribes, the deadliest superstitions, the most cruel and bloody rites, and the most shocking licentiousness and vice, practiced under the name of religion."—History of all Religions, p, 12.
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8. Examples of Atrocious Idolatry.—The worship of Moloch is generally [p.52] cited as an example of the cruelest and most abhorrent idolatry known to man. Moloch, called also Molech, Maleham, Milcom, Baalmelech, etc., was an Ammonite idol: it is mentioned in scripture in connection with its cruel rites (Lev. xviii, 21; xx, 2-5; see also I Kings xi, 5, 7, 33; II Kings xxiii, 10, 13; Amos v, 26; Zephaniah i, 5; Jeremiah xxxii, 35). Keil and Delitzsch describe the idol as being "represented by a brazen statue which was hollow, and capable of being heated, and formed with a bull's head, and with arms stretched out to receive the children to be sacrificed." While the worship of this idol did not invariably include human sacrifice, it is certain that such hideous rites were characteristic of this abominable shrine. The authors last quoted say "From the time of Ahaz, children were slain at Jerusalem in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and then sacrificed by being laid in the heated arms and burned. (II Kings xxiii, 10; xvi, 3; xvii, 17; xxi, 6; Jer. xxxii, 35; Ezek. xvi, 20, 21; xx, 31; compare Psalms cvi, 37, 38.) Many authorities state that the sacrifice of children to this hideous monster long ante-dated the time of Ahaz. "The offering of living victims was probably the climax of enormity in connection with this system, and it is said that Topher, where it was to he witnessed, was so named from the heating of drums to drown the shrieks and groans of those who were burned to death. The same place was called the Valley of Hinnom, and the horrible associations connected with it led to both Tophet and Gehenna ('valley of Hinnom') being adopted as names and symbols of future torment." For foregoing facts, and others, see "The Pentateuch" by Keil and Delitzseh; and Cassell's Bible Dictionary.
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Scarcely less horrible were the practices of voluntary suicide under the car of the idol Juggernaut, and the drowning of children in the sacred Ganges as found among the Hindoos. According to Burder, ("History of all Religions,") the ponderous and hideous image Juggernaut, was, on festival days, usually placed on a movable tower resting on wheels; and, thus mounted, was drawn through the streets by enthusiastic worshipers. As the car moved along, some of the most zealous of the devotees threw themselves under the wheels and were crushed to death; and such acts were "hailed with the acclamations of the multitude as the most acceptable sacrifices." The same author thus describes the rite of child-sacrifice to the sacred river, as formerly practiced in India:—"People in some parts of India, particularly the inhabitants of Orissa, and of the eastern parts of Bengal, frequently offer their children to the goddess, Gunga. The following reason is assigned for this practice: When a woman has been long married, and has no children, it is common for the man, or his wife, or both of them, to make a vow to the goddess Gunga, that if she will bestow the blessing of children upon them, they will devote the firstborn to her. If, after this vow, they have children, the eldest is nourished till a proper age, which may be three, four, or more years, according to circumstances, when, on a particular day, appointed for bathing in any part of the river, they take the child with them and offer it to the goddess: the child is encouraged to go farther and farther into the water, till it is carried away by the stream, or is pushed off by its inhuman parents."—History of all Religious, p. 745-746.
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The practices of Druidism among the ancient Britons furnish another example of degradation in religion through the absence of authoritative guidance and the light of revelation. The Druids professed a veneration for the oak, and performed most of their distinctive ceremonies in sacred groves. Human sacrifices were offered as a feature of their system. Of their temples, some, e.g. Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, and others in Kent, still remain. [p.53] These circular enclosures, which were open to the sky, were called doom-rings: near the center of each was an altar (dolmen) on which victims were sacrificed. The horrible ceremonies included on special occasions the burning alive of large numbers of human beings, enclosed in immense cages of wicker-work.
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9. Immaterialists are Atheists:—"There are two classes of atheists in the world. One class denies the existence of God in the most positive language; the other denies his existence in duration or space. One says 'There is no God;' the other says 'God is not here or there, any more than he exists now and then.' The infidel says 'God does not exist anywhere.' The immaterialist says 'He exists nowhere.' The infidel says 'There is no such substance as God.' The immaterialist says 'There is such a substance as God, but it is without parts.' The atheist says 'There is no such substance as spirit.' The immaterialist says 'A spirit, though he lives and acts, occupies no room, and fills no space in the same way and in the same manner as matter, not even so much as does the minutest grain of sand.' The atheist does not seek to hide his infidelity; but the immaterialist. whose declared belief amounts to the same thing as the atheist's, endeavors to hide his infidelity under the shallow covering of a few words. * * * * * The immaterialist is a religious atheist; he only differs from the other class of atheists by clothing an indivisible unextended nothing with the powers of a God. One class believes in no God: the other believes that Nothing is god and worships it as such."—Orson Pratt, in pamphlet "Absurdities of Immaterialism," p. 11.
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10. Atheism, a Fatal Belief:—"During the Reign or Terror, the French were declared to be a nation of atheists, by the National Assembly; but a brief experience convinced them that a nation of atheists could not long exist. Robespierre then 'proclaimed in the convention, that belief in the existence of God was necessary to those principles of virtue and morality upon which the republic was founded; and on the 7th of May, the national representatives, who had so lately prostrated themselves before the Goddess of Reason, voted by acclamation that the French people acknowledged the existence of the Supreme Being, and the immortality of the soul.'"—Students' France, xxvii, 6; quoted by Rev. Charles E. Little, in Historical Lights, p. 280-281. [p.54]
Lecture III.
Transgression and the Fall.
Article 2:—We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
Transgression and Its Results.
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1. Man's Free Agency:—The Church holds and teaches as a strictly scriptural doctrine, that man has inherited among the inalienable rights conferred upon him by his divine Fattier, absolute freedom to choose the good or the evil in life as he may elect. This right cannot be guarded with more jealous care than is bestowed upon it by God Himself; for in all His dealings with man, He has left the mortal creature free to choose and to act, with no semblance of compulsion or restraint, beyond the influences of paternal counsel and loving direction.a True, He has given commandments, and has established statutes, with promises of blessings for compliance and dire penalties for infraction; but in the choice of these, God's children are untrammeled. In this respect, man is no less free than are the angels and the Gods, except as he has lettered himself with the bonds of sin, and forfeited his power of will anti force of soul. The individual has as full a measure of liberty to violate the laws of health, the requirements of nature, and the commandments of God in matters both temporal and spiritual, as he has to obey all such; in the one case he brings upon himself the sure penalties that belong to the broken law; as in the other he inherits the specific blessings and the added freedom that attend a law-abiding life. Obedience to law is the habit of the free man; 'tis the transgressor [p.55] who fears the law, for he brings upon himself deprivation and restraint, not because of the law, which would have protected him in his freedom, but because of his rejection of law.
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2. The predominant attribute of justice, recognized as part of the Divine nature, forbids the thought that man should receive promises of reward for righteousness, and threats of punishment for evil deeds, if he possessed no power of independent action. It is no more a part of God's plan to compel men to work righteousness, than it is His purpose to permit evil powers to force His children into sin. In the days of Eden, the first man had placed before him commandment and law,b with an explanation of the penalty which would follow a violation of that law. No law could have been given him in righteousness, had he not been free to act for himself. "Nevertheless thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee, but remember that I forbid it,"c said the Lord God to Adam. Concerning His dealings with the first patriarch of the race, God has declared in this day, "Behold I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself."d
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3. When the brothers Cain and Abel brought their sacrifices before the Lord, the elder one became angry because his offering was rejected; then the Lord reasoned with Cain, and endeavored to teach him that he must expect results of his actions to follow in kind, good or evil as he might elect:—"If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door."e
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4. A knowledge of good and evil is essential to the advancement which God has made possible for His children [p.56] to achieve; this knowledge can be best gained by actual experience, with the contrasts of good and its opposite before the eyes; therefore has man been placed upon the earth subject to the influence of good and wicked powers, with a knowledge of the conditions surrounding him, and the heaven-born right to choose for himself. The words of the prophet, Lehi, are particularly explicit: "Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself, save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other. * * * Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."f
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5. Alma, another Nephite prophet, in speaking of those who had died, said they had gone "that they might reap their rewards, according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one; For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy."g
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6. Samuel, the converted Lamanite, upon whom the spirit of the prophets had fallen, admonished his wayward fellows in this wise: "And now remember, remember my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge, and he hath [p.57] made you free; He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death."h
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7. When the plans for creating and peopling the earth were under discussion in heaven, Satan sought to destroy the free agency of man, by obtaining power to force the human family to do his will, promising the Father that by such means he would redeem all mankind, and that not one of them should be lost.i This proposition was rejected, while the original purpose of the Father,—to use persuasive influences of wholesome precept and sacrificing example with the inhabitants of the earth, then to leave them free to choose for themselves, was agreed upon, and the Only Begotten Son was chosen as the chief instrument in carrying that purpose into effect.
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8. Man's Responsibility for his individual acts is as complete as is his agency to elect for himself. The natural result of good deeds is happiness; the consequence of evil is misery; these follow in every man's life by inviolable laws. There is a plan of judgmentj divinely fore-ordained, by which every man will be called to answer for his deeds; and not for deeds alone but for his words also, and even for the thoughts of his heart. "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."k These are the words of the Savior Himself. "And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord."l John the Revelator was permitted to learn in vision something of the scenes [p.58] connected with the last judgment; he says: "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: and they were judged every man according to their works."m
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9. The judgment of God is not always made to follow immediately the acts of men; good deeds may not be at once rewarded, evil is rarely peremptorily punished; and this is according to Divine wisdom; were it appointed otherwise, the test of individual nature, and the trial of human faith, for which purposes this mortal probation was primarily ordained, would be greatly lessened; for the certainty of immediate pleasure or pain would almost universally determine human acts to secure the one and to avoid the other. Judgment, therefore, is postponed, that every one may fully prove his nature, the good man increasing in righteousness, and the evil doer possessing opportunity of repentance and reparation before the great and terrible day. On rare occasions, speedy judgment of a temporal nature has been executed, the physical results of worldly blessing for good,n and calamity for evil deedso following swiftly upon the acts. Whether such retribution entirely satisfies the claims of justice, or a further visitation of judgment is to take place beyond this world, matters not. Such acts are exceptional in the Divine administration.
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10. It is the prerogative of Jesus Christp to judge the [p.59] children of men, and He will do it as His own purposes, which are likewise the purposes of His Father, may be best served. John the Apostle declares: "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son; that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father."q And Peter, while expounding the gospel to the devout Gentile, Cornelius, declared concerning Jesus Christ, that "it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead."r Of the dread fate of the wicked reserved for the judgment day, many prophets have borne records and the presiding Judge of that awful tribunal has given in His own words descriptionst so vivid and accurate, as to leave no shadow of doubt that every living soul will be called to acknowledge the record, and to accept the results of his acts. The Lord's words and those of His prophets are unequivocal, that He is no respecter of persons,u and that any species of favor foreign to justice is unknown to Him. This judgment none but the unrepentant wicked need fear; to the righteous it is a time of triumph.v
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11. Sin:—What is the nature of sin? To this question the Apostle John replies, "Sin is the transgression of the law."w In the original language of the Bible records, many words occur for which our single term sin is used, all however conveying the common idea of opposition to the Divine will.x As God is the embodiment of purity and perfection, such opposition is a rebellion against the principles of [p.60] advancement, and an acceptance of the practices that lead to degradation. Sin is any condition, whether consisting in omission of things required, or in commission of acts forbidden, which tends to prevent or hinder the development of the human soul. As a righteous course leads to eternal life, so sin tends towards the darkness of the second death. Sin was introduced to the world by the arch-fiend Satan;y yet it is by Divine permission that mankind is brought in contact with sin, the contrast between evil and good thus being learned.
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12. According to the technical definition of sin, it consists in the violation of law, and in this strict sense sin may be committed inadvertently or in ignorance. It is plain, however, from the scriptural doctrine of human responsibility, and the unerring justice of God, that in his transgressions as in, his righteous deeds, man will be judged according to his ability to comprehend law. To him who has never been made acquainted with a higher law, the requirements of that law do not apply in their fulness. For sins committed without knowledge,—that is, for laws violated in ignorance, a propitiation has been provided in the atonement wrought through the sacrifice of the Savior; and sinners of this class do not stand condemned.
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13. Nephi, prophesying to the ancient inhabitants of the western continent, taught them this doctrine:—"Where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment, there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation, the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him; For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell and the [p.61] devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel."z And then, in contrast with the lot of those who are thus pardonable, the prophet adds:—"But wo unto him that has the law given; yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!"a This is in strict agreement with the teachings of Paul to the Romans, "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law."b And the word of modern scripture is to the same effect, for we are told through recent revelation to the Church, that among those who are to receive the blessings of redemption are "they who died without law."c These will include the heathen nations, whose redemption is promised, with the added declaration that "they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection."d
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14. Punishment for Sin:—As rewards for righteous deeds are proportionate to deserving acts, so the punishment prescribed for sin is made adequate to the offense.e Punishment is inflicted upon the sinner, for disciplinary and reformatory purposes, and in support of justice. There is nothing of vindictiveness or of desire to cause suffering in the Divine nature; on the contrary, our Father is cognizant of every pang, and permits such to afflict for beneficent purposes only. God's mercy is declared in the retributive pains which He allows, as in the blessings of peace which issue from His hand. It is scarcely profitable to speculate [p.62] as to the exact nature of the spiritual suffering imposed as punishment for sin. Comparison with physical painf such as the tortures of fire, in a sulphurous lake, serve to show that the human mind is incapable of comprehending the depth of these dread penalties. The sufferings entailed by the awful fate of condemnation are more to be feared than are any possible inflictions of purely physical torture; the mind, the spirit, the whole soul is doomed to suffer, and the extent of the torment no man knoweth.
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15. Consider the word of the Lord regarding those whose sin is the unpardonable one, whose transgression has carried them beyond the present horizon of possible redemption; those who have sunk so low in their wickedness as to have lost the power and even the desire to attempt reformation.g "Sons of Perdition" is the terrible designation by which they are known. These are they who, having learned the power of God, afterward renounce it; those who sin wilfully, in the light of knowledge; those who open their hearts to the Holy Spirit, and then put the Lord to a mockery and a shame by denying it; and those who commit murder, wherein they shed innocent blood;h these are they of whom the Savior has declared that it would be better for them had they never been born.i These are to share the punishment of the devil and his angels—punishment so terrible that the knowledge is withheld from all except those who are consigned to this dread doom; though a momentary glance at the awful picture is permitted to some.j These sinners are the only ones over whom the [p.63] second death hath power, "Yea, verily the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord."k
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16. The Duration of Punishment:—As to the duration of such punishment, we may take assurance that it will be graded according to the sin; and that the popular interpretation of scriptural passages to the effect that every sentence for misdeeds is interminable, is entirely false.l Great as is the effect of this life upon the hereafter, and terrible as is the responsibility of opportunities lost for repentance, God holds the power to pardon beyond the grave. And yet the scriptures speak of eternal and endless punishment. Any punishment ordained of God is eternal, for He is eternal.m His is a system of endless punishment, for it will always exist as a place or condition prepared for disobedient spirits; yet the infliction of the penalty will have an end in every case of willing repentance and attempted reparation. And repentance is not impossible in the spirit world.n Yet, as seen, there are some sins so terrible that their accompanying punishments are not made known to man;o these extreme penalties are reserved for the "Sons of Perdition."
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17. The false doctrine that the punishment to be visited upon the erring souls is endless, that every sentence for sin is of interminable duration, must be regarded as one of the most pernicious results of unenlightened sectarianism. It is but a dogma of unauthorized and erring churches, at once unscriptural, unreasonable, and revolting to one who loves mercy and honors justice. True, the scriptures speak of everlasting burnings, eternal damnation, and the vengeance [p.64] of eternal fire,p as characteristics of the judgment provided for the wicked; yet in no instance is there justification for the inference that the individual sinner will have to suffer the wrath of offended justice forever and ever. The punishment in any case is sufficiently severe without the added and supreme horror of unending continuation. Justice must have her due; but when "the uttermost farthing" is paid, the prison doors shall open and the captive be free. But the prison remains, and the law prescribing punishment for offences will not be repealed.
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18. So general were the ill-effects of the commonly-accepted doctrine, unscriptural and untrue though it was, regarding the endless torment awaiting every sinner, that even before the Church had been formally organized in the present dispensation, God gave a revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, touching this matter, in which we read:—"And surely every man must repent or suffer; for I, God, am endless: wherefore I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea to those who are found on my left hand; nevertheless it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment. Again it is written eternal damnation.* * * for behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand, is endless punishment, for Endless is my name; wherefore, eternal punishment is God's punishment. Endless punishment is God's punishment.q"
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19. Satan:—We have had occasion to refer frequently to the author of evil among men. This is Satan,r the adversary or opponent of the Lord, the chief of all evil spirits, called [p.65] also the Devil,s Beelzebub,t or the Prince of Devils, Perditionu and Belial.v The figurative appellations Dragon, and Serpent, are applied to Satan, when reference is made to the Fall.w We learn from the revealed wordx that Satan was once an angel of light; he was then known as Lucifer, a Son of the Morning, but his uncontrolled ambition prompted him to aspire to the glory and power of the Father, to secure which, he made the unjust proposition to redeem the human family by compulsion; failing in this purpose, he headed an open rebellion against the Father and the Son, drawing a third of the hosts of heaven into his impious league.y These rebellious spirits were expelled from heaven, and have since followed the impulses of their wicked natures by seeking to lead human souls to their own condition of darkness. They are the devil and his angels. The right of free agency, maintained and vindicated by the terrible strife in heaven, prevents the possibility of compulsion being employed in this fiendish work of degradation; but the powers of these malignant spirits to tempt and persuade are used to their utmost limits. Satan tempted Eve to transgress the law of God;z it was he who imparted the secret of murder to the fratricide, Cain.a
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20. Satan exerts a mastery over the spirits that have been corrupted by his practices; he is the foremost of the angels who were thrust down, and the instigator of the ruin of those who fall in this life; he seeks to molest and hinder mankind in good efforts, by tempting to sin; it may be by [p.66] imposing sickness,b or possibly death. Yet in all these malignant doings, he can go no farther than the transgressions of the victim may enable him, or the wisdom of God may permit him to go, and he may at any time be checked by the superior power. Indeed, even the operations of his utmost malice may be turned to the accomplishment of Divine purposes. The scriptures prove to us that the days of Satan's power are already numbered;c his doom has been pronounced, and in the Lord's own time he will be completely overcome. He is to be bound during the millennial reign,d and after that thousand years of blessed peace, he will be loosed for a little season; then his defeat will be made complete, and his power over the children of God will be entirely destroyed.
The Fall.
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21. Our First Parents in Eden:e—The crowning scene of the great drama of creation was the forming of man in the image of his spiritual Father, God.f For the reception of the first man, the Creator had specially prepared a choice region of earth, and had embellished it with natural beauties calculated to gladden the heart of its royal possessor. "The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden,g and there He put the man whom he had formed."h Soon after man's advent upon the earth the Lord created for him a companion or help-meet, declaring that it was not good that man should be alone.i Thus, male and female, Adam and his wife Eve, were placed in the Garden, [p.67] and were given dominion "over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."j With this great power were associated certain special commands; the first of which in point of importance was that they "be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it;" then that they refrain from eating or even touching the fruit of a Certain tree, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which grew in the midst of the Garden, though of all other fruits they were permitted to freely partake. The words of God concerning this command and its penalty are:—"And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying, of every tree in the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; thou shalt not eat of it; nevertheless thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee, but remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."k
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22. The Temptation to disobey this command soon came. Satan presented himself before Eve in the Garden, and, speaking by the mouth of the serpent, questioned her about the commands Which God had given respecting the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve answered that they were forbidden even to touch the fruit of that tree, under penalty of death. Satan then sought to beguile the woman, contradicting the Lord's statement, and declaring that death would not follow a violation of the Divine injunction; but that, on the other hand, by doing that which the Lord had forbidden, she and her husband would become like unto the gods, knowing good and evil for themselves. The woman was captivated by these representations; and, being eager to possess the advantages pictured by Satan, she disobeyed the command of the Lord, and partook of the fruit [p.68] forbidden. She feared not evil, for she knew it not. Then, telling Adam what she had done, she urged him to do likewise,
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23. Adam found himself in a position that compelled him to disobey one of the requirements of God. He and his wife had been commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. Adam was still immortal; Eve had come under the penalty of mortality; and in such dissimilar conditions, the two could not remain together, and therefore could not fulfill the Divine requirement. On the other hand, Adam would be disobeying another command by yielding to his wife's request. He deliberately and wisely decided to stand by the first and greater commandment; and, therefore, with a full comprehension of the nature of his act, he also partook of the fruit that grew on the Tree of Knowledge. The fact that Adam acted understandingly in this matter is affirmed by the scriptures. Paul, in writing to Timothy, explained that "Adam was not deceived; but the woman, being deceived, was in the transgression."l The prophet, Lehi, in expounding the scriptures to his sons, declared "Adam fell that man might be, and men are that they might have joy."m
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24. The Tree of Life:—There was another tree of special virtues in Eden; its fruit insured life to all who ate of it. While Adam and Eve lived in innocent immortality, this tree had not been forbidden them; the celestial fruit indeed was fitting food for their sinless state. Now, that they had transgressed, however; now that the Divine decree had issued, fixing death as their lot, it was not proper that the fruit of the Tree of Life should be longer within their reach. They were, therefore, expelled from the Garden, and cherubim with a flaming sword guarded the way, that man might not [p.69] return in an unforgiven state. By the act of transgression, our first parents acquired a knowledge, which in their condition of pristine innocence they had not possessed,—the experimental knowledge of good and evil. The result of the Fall could have been of none but ill effect had the fallen ones been immediately restored to a condition of immortality, without repentance, without atonement. In the despair that followed their realization of the great change that had come upon them, and in the light of the knowledge gained at such cost as to the virtues of the fruit that grew on the Tree of Life, it would have been but natural for them to seek the seeming advantages of an immediate escape, by partaking of the celestial food. It was in mercy that they were deprived of the means of so doing.
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25. The words of the Creator are unmistakable as to the necessity of banishing Ills first earthly children from Eden: —"And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, test he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."n
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26. Alma, the Nephite prophet, comprehended the result that would have followed had Adam and his wife eaten of the Tree of Life; he thus explained the matter:—"Now we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and evil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed Cherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit; And thus we see, that there was a [p.70] time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God. For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and partook of the tree of life, he would have lived forever, according to the word of God, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the word of God would have been void, and the great plan of salvation would have been frustrated."o
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27. The Immediate Result of the Fall was the substitution of mortality, with all its attendant frailties, for the vigor of the primeval deathless state. Adam felt directly the effects of transgression, in finding a barren and dreary earth, with a sterile soil, instead of the beauty and fruitfulness of Eden. In place of pleasing and useful plants, thorns and thistles sprang up; and he had to labor arduously under the conditions of physical fatigue and suffering, to cultivate the soil that he might obtain necessary food. Upon Eve fell the penalty of bodily infirmity; the pains and sorrows, which since have been regarded as the natural lot of womankind, came upon her, and she was made subject to her husband. Having now lost their sense of former innocence, they became ashamed of their nakedness, and the Lord made for them garments of skins. And upon both the man and the woman was visited the penalty of spiritual death; for in that very day they were banished from Eden, and cast out from the presence of the Lord. The serpent, having served the purposes of Satan, was made subject of Divine displeasure, being doomed to crawl forever in the dust, and to suffer from the enmity which it was decreed should be placed in the hearts of Eve's children.p
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28. Atonement was Provided for:—God left not His now mortal children without hope. He gave other commandments to Adam, requiring him to offer sacrifices in the name [p.71] of the Only Begotten Son, and promising redemption unto him and all his descendants who would comply with the conditions prescribed. The opportunity of winning the victor's reward by overcoming evil was explained to our parents, and they rejoiced. Adam said, "Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God." Eve was glad, declaring, "Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient."q
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29. The Fall came not by Chance:—It would be unreasonable to suppose that the transgression of Eve and Adam came as a surprise to the Creator. By His infinite fore-knowledge, God knew what would be the result of Satan's temptation to Eve, and what Adam would do under the conditions. And further, it is evident that the Fall was fore-ordained, as a means whereby man could be brought face to face with both good and evil; that of his own agency he might elect the one or the other, and thus be prepared by the experiences of a mortal probation for the exaltation provided in the glorious plan of his creation:—"For this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man;"r thus spake the Lord unto Moses. It was the purpose of God to place within the reach of the spirits begotten by Him in the heavens, the means of individual effort, and the opportunity of winning, not merely salvation, or exemption from spiritual death, but exaltation, with the powers of eternal progression and increase. Hence, it was necessary that the spiritual offspring of God should leave the mansions of their primeval childhood, and enter the school of mortal experience, meeting, [p.72] contending with, and overcoming evil, according to their several degrees of faith and strength. Adam and Eve could never have been the parents of a mortal posterity, had they not themselves become mortal; mortality, as before stated, was an essential element in the Divine plan respecting the earth and its appointed inhabitants; and as a means of introducing mortality, the Lord placed before the progenitors of the race, a law, knowing full well that transgression would follow.
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30. Eve was fulfilling the foreordained purposes of God by the part she took in the great drama of the Fall; yet she did not partake of the forbidden fruit with that object in view, but with the intent to violate the Divine command, being deceived by the sophistries of the serpent-fiend. Satan also, for that matter, furthered the purposes of the Creator, in tempting Eve; yet his design was to thwart the Lord's plan. We are definitely told that "he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world."s Yet, his diabolical effort, far from being the initiatory step toward destruction, contributed to the plan of man's eternal exaltation. Adam's part in the great event was essentially different from that of his wife; he was not deceived; on the contrary he deliberately decided to do as Eve desired, that he might carry out the purposes of his Maker with respect to the race of men, whose first patriarch he was ordained to be.
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31. Even the transgressions of man may be turned to the accomplishment of high purposes. As will be shown, the sacrifice of Christ was ordained from before the foundation of the world,t yet Judas who betrayed, and the bloodthirsty Jews who crucified the Son of God, are none the less guilty of the awful crime.
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[p.73] 32. It has become a common practice with mankind, to heap reproaches upon the progenitors of the family, and to picture the supposedly blessed state, in which we would be living but for the Fall; whereas our first parents are entitled to Our deepest gratitude for their legacy to posterity,—the means of winning glory, exaltation, and eternal lives, on the battlefield of mortality. But for the opportunity thus given, the spirits of God's offspring would have remained forever in a state of innocent childhood; sinless through no effort of their own; negatively saved, not from sin, but from the power of sinning; incapable of winning the honors of victory because prevented from taking part in the battle. As it is, they are heirs to the birthright of Adam's descendants,—mortality, with its immeasurable opportunities, and its God-given freedom of action. From Father Adam we have inherited all the ills to which flesh is heir; but such are necessarily incident to the knowledge of good and evil, by the proper use of which knowledge man may become even as the Gods.u
Notes.
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1. Man's Agency is God-given.—The following is an extract from a discourse delivered by President Brigham Young July 5, 1855. (See Journal of Discourses of that date, and Millennial Star, vol. xx, p. 43). "What is the foundation of the rights of man? The Lord Almighty has organized man for the express purpose of becoming an independent being like unto Himself, and has given him his individual agency. Man is made in the likeness of his Creator, the great arche-type of the human species, who bestowed upon him the principles of eternity, planting immortality within him, and leaving him at liberty to act in the way that seemeth good unto him;—to choose or refuse for himself, to be a Latter-day Saint or a Wesleyan Methodist, to belong to the Church of England, the oldest daughter of the Mother Church, to the old Mother herself, to her sister the Greek Church, or to be an infidel and belong to no church. When the kingdom of God is fully set up and established on the face of the earth, and takes the pre-eminence over all other nations and kingdoms, it will protect the people in the enjoyment of all their rights, no matter what they believe, what they profess, or what they worship."
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[p.74] 2. The Nature of Sin:—The English word "sin" represents a very great variety of terms occurring in the original languages, the literal translations of which bear to one another a very great similarity. Thus, in the Old Testament, the following terms among others occur:—setim (referred to in Psalms ci, 3), signifying "to deviate from the way;" shegagah (Lev. iv, 2; Num. xv. 27), "to err in the way;" avon, "the crooked, or perverted;" avel, "to turn aside." In the New Testament we find, hemartia, "the missing of a mark;" parabasis, "the transgressing of a line: "parakoe, "disobedience to a voice;" paraptoma, "falling from uprightness;" agnoema, "unjustifiable ignorance;" hettema, "giving only partial measure;" anomia, "non-observance of law;" plemmeleia, "a discord." The above illustrations are taken mainly from Müller and French. In all these expressions, the predominant idea is that of departure from the way of God, of separation from His companionship by opposition to the Divine requirements. Sin was introduced into the world from without; it was not a natural product of earth. The seed of disobedience was planted in the mind of Eve by the arch-fiend: that seed took root; and much fruit, of the nature that we, with unguarded words, call calamity, is the result. From these thorns and thistles of mortality, a Savior has been prepared to deliver us.
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3. Eden:—In the Hebrew tongue, from which our word "Eden" is taken, this term signifies something particularly delightful,—a place of pleasantness; the place is also called "the garden of the Lord." One particular spot in the land of Eden was prepared by the Lord as a garden; this was situated eastward in Eden. From the garden, the parents of the race were expelled after the Fall, though it is reasonable to suppose that they still dwelt in the land or region of Eden. We read that at a later date, Cain, the first murderer, "went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden" (Gen. iv, 16). Though there is no uniform belief among Christian scholars as to the geographical location of Eden, the majority claim that it was in Persia: however, the most radical among the advocates of this view fail to prove any marked resemblance between the region at present, and the place described in the Bible. The Latter-day Saints have more exact knowledge on the matter, a revelation having been given through Joseph Smith, at Spring Hill, Mo., May 19, 1838, in which that place is named by the Lord "Adam-ondi-Ahman, because, said he, 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. cxvi). From another revelation we learn (Doc. and Cov. cvii, 52-53) that three years before his death, Adam called together in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman those of his sons who had been made High Priests, together with the rest of his righteous posterity, and there bestowed upon them his patriarchal blessings, the event being marked by special manifestations from the Lord (See also Doc. and Cov. cxvii, 8). The Lord has pointed out in this day the exact location of the altar upon which Adam offered sacrifices after his expulsion from the Garden; (See Contributor, Vol. vii, page 314). There is no authentic record of the human race having inhabited the Eastern Hemisphere until after the flood. The Western Continent called now the New World, comprises indeed the oldest inhabited regions of earth. The west, not the east, is the "cradle of nations."
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4. The Serpent, as stated, having aided the purposes of Satan, received from the Lord a special curse (See Genesis iii, 13, 15, and the Pearl of Great Price, p. 16). The creature was doomed to a life of degradation. Even from the standpoint of anatomy, the serpent is a degraded type. Though a vertebrate,—a [p.75] member of the highest sub-kingdom of animals, it is devoid even of external limbs, and its means of locomotion are of no higher order than are those of the worm and the caterpillar. In the scriptures, the serpent is made the symbol of craft, subtlety, cunning, and danger.
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5. The Fall Essential:—President John Taylor, after discussing the succession of events leading up to the Fall, says:—"Thus it would appear that if any of the links of this great chain had been broken, it would have interfered with the comprehensive plan of the Almighty pertaining to the salvation and eternal exaltation of those spirits who were His sons, and for whom principally the world was made; that they, through submission to the requirements of the eternal principle and law governing those matters, might possess bodies, and those bodies united with the spirits might become living souls, and being the sons of God, and made in the image of God, they, through the atonement might be exalted, by obedience to the law of the Gospel, to the Godhead."—Mediation and Atonement, p. 135. [p.76]
Lecture IV.
The Atonement, and Salvation.
Article 3:—We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
The Atonement.
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1. The Atonement of Christ is taught as a leading doctrine by all sects professing Christianity. The expression is so common a one, and the essential point of its signification is so generally admitted, that definitions may appear. to be superfluous; nevertheless, there is a peculiar importance attached to the use of the word, atonement, in a theological sense. The doctrine of the atonement comprises proof of the divinity of Christ's earthly ministry; and the vicarious nature of His death, as a fore-ordained and voluntary sacrifice, intended for and efficacious as a propitiation for the sins of mankind, thus becoming the means whereby salvation may be obtained.
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2. The New Testament, which is properly regarded as the scripture of Christ's mission among men, is imbued throughout with the doctrine of salvation through the work of atonement wrought by the Savior; and yet the word, atonement, occurs but once in the whole record; and in that single instance, according to the opinion of most biblical authorities, it is confessedly misused. The instance referred to is found in the words of Paul addressed to the saints at Rome:—"But we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."a The marginal rendering gives, instead of atonement, reconciliation, and of this word a related form is used in the [p.77] preceding verse. A consistent translation, giving a full agreement between the English and the Greek, would make the verse quoted, and that immediately preceding it, read in this way:—"For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation."b The term, atonement, occurs repeatedly in the Old Testament, and with marked frequency in three of the books of the Pentateuch, viz.: Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; and the sense in which it is employed is invariably that of a sacrifice of propitiation, usually associated with the death of an acceptable victim, whereby reconciliation was to be effected between God and His creatures.
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3. The structure of the word in its present form is suggestive of this, the true meaning; it is literally at-one-ment, "denoting reconciliation, or the bringing into agreement of those who have been estranged."c And such is the significance of the saving sacrifice of the Redeemer, whereby He expiated the transgression of the Fall, through which came death into the world, and provided ready and efficient means for man's return to a state of immortality through reconciliation with God.
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4. Nature of the Atonement:—The atonement wrought by Jesus Christ is a necessary sequence of the transgression of Adam; and, as the infinite foreknowledge of God made clear to Him the one even before Adam was placed on earth, so the Father's boundless mercy prepared a Savior for mankind before the world was framed. Through the Fall, Adam and Eve have entailed the conditions of mortality upon their descendants; therefore all beings born of earthly [p.78] parents are subject to bodily death. The sentence of banishment from the presence of God was in the nature of a spiritual death; and that penalty, which was visited upon our first parents in the day of their transgression, has likewise followed as the common heritage of humanity. As this penalty came into the world through an individual act, it would be manifestly unjust to cause all to eternally suffer therefrom, without a chance of deliverance. Therefore was the promised sacrifice of Jesus Christ ordained as a propitiation for broken law, whereby Justice could be fully satisfied, and Mercy be left free to exercise her beneficent influence over the souls of mankind.d All the details of the glorious plan, by which the salvation of the human family is assured, may not lie within the understanding of man; but surely, man has learned from his futile attempts to fathom the primary cause of the phenomena of nature, that his powers of comprehension are limited; and he will admit, that to deny the effect because of his inability to elucidate the cause, would be to forfeit his claims as an observing and reasoning being.
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5. Simple as is the plan of redemption in its general features, it is confessedly a mystery to the finite mind in detail. President John Taylor has written in this wise:—"In some mysterious, incomprehensible way, Jesus assumed the responsibility which naturally would have devolved upon Adam; but which could only be accomplished through the mediation of Himself; and by taking upon Himself their sorrows, assuming their responsibilities, and bearing their transgressions or sins. In a manner to us incomprehensible and inexplicable, He bore the weight of the sins of the whole world, not only of Adam, but of his posterity; and in doing that, opened the kingdom of heaven, not only to all believers and all who obeyed the law of God, but to more [p.79] than one half of the human family who die before they come to years of maturity, as well as to the heathen, who, having died without law, will through His mediation be resurrected without law, and be judged without law, and thus participate, according to their capacity, works, and worth, in the blessings of His atonement."e
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6. But, however incomplete may be our comprehension of the scheme of redemption through Christ's vicarious sacrifice in all its parts, we cannot reject it without becoming infidel; for it stands as the fundamental doctrine of all scripture, the very essence of the spirit of prophecy and revelation, the most prominent of all the declarations of God unto man.
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7. The Atonement a Vicarious Sacrifice:—It is to many a matter of surpassing wonder, that the voluntary sacrifice of a single being could be made to operate as a means of ransom for the rest of mankind. In this, as in other things, the scriptures are explicable only by the spirit of scriptural interpretation. The sacred writings of ancient times, the words of modern prophets, the traditions of mankind, the rites of sacrifice, and even the sacrileges of heathen idolatries, involve the idea of vicarious atonement. God has never refused to accept an offering made by one who is authorized on behalf of those who are in any way incapable of doing the required service themselves. The scape-goat,f and the altar victimg of ancient Israel, if offered with repentance and contrition, were accepted by the Lord in mitigation of the sins of the people. It is interesting to note, that while the ceremonies of sacrifice formed so large and so essential a part of the Mosaic requirements; these rites long ante-dated the establishment of Israel as a [p.80] distinct people; for, as already shown, altar sacrifice was rendered by Adam.h The symbolism of the sacrificing of animals as a prototype of the great sacrifice to follow on Calvary, was thus instituted with the beginning of human history.
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8. The many kinds of sacrifice prescribed by the Mosaic law are clearly classified under the headings, bloody, and bloodless. Offerings of the first order only, involving the infliction of death, were acceptable in propitiation or atonement for sin, and the victim had to be clean, healthy, and without spot or blemish. And so for the great sacrifice, the effects of which were to be infinite, only an innocent subject could be accepted. It was Christ's right, as the only sinless Being on earth, and as the Only Begotten of the Father, and above all as the One ordained to this mission in the heavens, to be the Redeemer of mankind; and though the exercise of this right involved a sacrifice, the extent of which man cannot comprehend, yet Christ made that sacrifice willingly and voluntarily. To the last He had the means of terminating the tortures of tits persecutors, by a simple exercise of His powers as one of the Godhead.i In some way, though that way may be inexplicable to us, Christ took upon Himself the sins of mankind. The means may be to our finite minds a mystery, yet the results are our salvation.
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9. Something of the Savior's agony as He groaned under this lead of guilt, which to Him, as a type of purity, must have been in itself repulsive, He has told us through the prophet's words in this day: "For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, [p.81] even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit; and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink:—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."j Further instances of the validity of vicarious service are found in the ordinances of baptism for the deadk as taught in apostolic and modern times, and in the institution of other temple ceremoniesl in the present dispensation.
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10. Christ's Sacrifice was Voluntary and Love-inspired:—We have noted in passing that Christ gave His life willingly and voluntarily for the redemption of mankind. He offered Himself, in the great Council of the Gods, as the subject of the atoning sacrifice made necessary by the fore-seen transgression of the first man; and the free agency shown and exercised in this, the early stage of His saving mission, was retained to the very last of the agonizing fulfilment of the accepted plan. Though He lived on earth a man in every particular that concerns us in our regard for Him as an example of Godliness in humanity, yet it is to be remembered, that though born of a mortal mother, he was begotten by an immortal Sire; and so had combined within His being the capacity to die, and the power to set death at defiance. He gave His life; it was not taken from him. Note the significance of His own declaration:—"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."m On another occasion Jesus testified of Himself in this way:—"For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and [p.82] hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man."n And then amid the tragic scenes of the betrayal, when one who had been a professed follower and friend gave Him with a traitorous kiss to His persecutors; when Peter, with a rashness prompted by righteous zeal, drew and used the sword in His defence, the Master said :—"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"o And on to the bitter end, marked by the expiring though triumphant cry "It is finished," the incarnated God held in subjection within Himself the power to thwart His murderers, had He so willed.
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11. The motive inspiring and sustaining Him through all the scenes of His mission, from the time of His primeval ordination, to the moment of victorious consummation on the cross, was two-fold; first, the desire to do His Father's will, in accomplishing the salvation of man; second, His love for humanity, of whose welfare and destiny He had assumed charge. Far from cherishing the least feeling of vindictiveness against those, who, in defiance of the laws of God and man, put Him to ignominious death, He entertained for them compassion to the last. Hear Him in the hour of supreme agony, praying aloud, "Father, forgive them, for they know hot what they do."p Not less is the Father's love, as shown by His accepting the Son's offer, and permitting Him whom He delighted to call His Beloved, to suffer as only a God could suffer:—"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. For God sent not his Son into the world to [p.83] condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved."q And further, we hear the teaching of the apostle, whom the Savior loved so well, "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him."r
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12. The Atonement Fore-ordained and Fore-told:—As already shown, the plan of the Father to open a way for the redemption of mankind, then to leave all men free to exercise their own agency, was adopted by the Council in heaven to the rejection of Lucifer's plan of compulsion. Even at that remote period, Christ was thus ordained as a Mediator for all mankind; in fact, "a covenant was entered into between Him and His Father, in which He agreed to atone for the sins of the world, and He thus, as stated, became a 'Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.'"s The prophets of old, many of whom lived centuries before the time of Christ's coming in the flesh, testified of Him and of the great work He had been ordained to perform. These men of God had been permitted to behold in prophetic vision many of the scenes incident to the Savior's earthly mission; and they solemnly bore record of the manifestations. Indeed, the testimony of Christ is the spirit of prophecy, and without it no person can rightly claim the distinction of being a prophet of God. Adam's despair, on being driven from Eden, was changed to joy, when, through revelation, he learned of the plan of redemption to be wrought by the Son of God in the flesh.t Righteous Enoch taught the same truths, which had been declared to him [p.84] from the heavens.u This testimony was borne by Moses,v Job,w David,x Zechariah,y Isaiah,z and Micah.a The same declaration was made by John the Baptist,b the prophet of the Highest, designated by the Savior as more than a prophet; he it was who baptized the Christ, and who witnessed the Father's words associated with the visible sign of the Holy Ghost, concerning the mission of the Son.
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13. Should there be any doubt as to the application of such prophecies, we have the conclusive testimony of Christ that they refer to Himself. On that memorable day, immediately following His resurrection, while walking incognito with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus, He taught them the scriptures that had been written concerning the Son of God; "Beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."c A few hours after this event, the Lord appeared to the Eleven at Jerusalem. He operated upon their minds "that they might understand the scriptures; and said unto them, 'Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer,"d in this way testifying that He was fulfilling a previously ordained plan. Peter, one of the Savior's most intimate earthly associates, refers to Him as "a Lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world."e In his epistle to the Romans, Paul characterizes Christ as the one "Whom [p.85] God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past."f These are but a few of the biblical evidences of Christ's appointment and fore-ordination; both Old and New Testamentg writings abound in proofs of the Messiah's great work.
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14. Book of Mormon prophets are characterized by their full testimonies concerning the Messiah. Because of his purity of faith, the brother of Jared was permitted to behold the Savior of mankind, twenty-two centuries prior to the meridian of time, and to be shown that man was created after the image of the Lord, at the same time being taught of the Father's purpose that the Son take upon Himself flesh and dwell on earth.h Note the personal declaration of the fore-ordained Redeemer to this prophet:—"Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have light, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters."i
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15. Nephi records the prophecy of his father Lehi concerning the future appearing of the Son in the flesh, His baptism, death and resurrection; this prophetic utterance specifies the exact date of the Savior's birth, viz., six hundred years after the time of Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem. The mission of John the Baptist is described, and even the place of baptism is designated.j Shortly after the time of Lehi's vision, Nephi was shown by the Spirit the same things, as also many others, some of which he has written, but the greater part [p.86] of which he was forbidden to write, as another, the Apostle John, had been ordained to set them forth in a book which should form part of the Bible. But, from his partial account of his vision, we learn that he saw in Nazareth, Mary the Virgin, first alone, and shortly afterward with a child in her arms; the demonstrator of the vision informed him that the infant was the Lamb of God, the Son of the Eternal Father. Then Nephi beheld the Son ministering among the children of men, proclaiming the word, healing the sick, and working many other wondrous miracles; he saw John, the prophet of the wilderness, going before Him; he beheld the Savior baptized of John, and the Holy Ghost descending upon him with the visible sign of the dove. Then he saw and prophesied that twelve chosen apostles would follow the Savior in His ministry; that the Son would be taken and judged of men, and finally be slain. Piercing the future, even beyond the time of the crucifixion, Nephi beheld the strife of the world against the apostles of the Lamb, and the final triumph of God's cause.k
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16. Jacob, the brother of Nephi, prophesied to his brethren that Christ would appear in the flesh among the Jews, and that He would be scourged and crucified of them.l King Benjamin lifted his voice in support of the same testimony, and preached unto his people the righteous condescension of God.m So also declared Abinadi,n Alma,o Amulek,p and Samuel the Lamanite prophet.q The literal fulfilment of these prophecies furnishes unquestionable proof of their truth. The wondrous signs indicative of Christ's birthr and [p.87] death were all realized,s and after His death and ascension, the Savior manifested Himself among the Nephites, as the Father announced Him to the multitude.t
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17. The ancient scriptures, then, are plain in declaring that Christ came upon the earth to do a work previously allotted. He lived, suffered and died, in accordance with a plan which was framed in righteousness for the redemption of the children of Adam, even before the world was. Equally important and explicit is the word of modern revelation, through which the Son has declared Himself as Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, man's Advocate with the Father, the universal Redeemer.u Let us consider a single citation from the many revelations concerning Christ given in the present dispensation:—"Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday and forever. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one."v
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18. The Extent of the Atonement is infinite, applying alike to all descendants of Adam. Even the unbeliever, and the heathen, and the child who dies before reaching the years of discretion, are redeemed by the Savior's self-sacrifice from all the consequences of the Fall.w It is conclusively proved by the scripture that the resurrection of the body is one of the victories achieved by Christ [p.88] through His atoning sacrifice. He Himself proclaimed the eternal truth, "I am the resurrection and the life;"x and Lie among men came first forth from the grave,—"the first fruits of them that slept."y Now, the scriptures leave no room for doubt concerning the fact that the resurrection will be universal. The Savior announced to his apostles the beginning of this work of deliverance from the tomb; hear His words, "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that done evil unto the resurrection of damnation;"z or, as the latter part of the declaration has been rendered through inspiration in the present day, "They who have done good, in the resurrection of the just: and they who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust."a
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19. Paul refers to the doctrine of a universal resurrection as being so well proved that even his accusers had to admit the truth, "that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust."b On another occasion he said "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."c Furthermore, John the Revelator testifies of his vision concerning futurity, "And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God. * * * And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them."d Thus it is plain that the effect of the atonement as far as it applies to the victory over temporal or bodily death, involves the entire race. It is [p.89] equally clear that the release from Adam's legacy of spiritual death, or banishment from the presence of God, will be similarly universal; so that if any man lose salvation, such loss will be due to himself, and in no way dependent upon the Fall. The doctrine that the gift of redemption through Christ is free to all men, was specifically taught by the apostles of old. Thus Paul says:—"Therefore, as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to the justification of life."e And further:—there is "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all."f John spoke of the Redeemer's sacrifice saying:—"And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."g
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20. The same great truths were taught among the Nephites. Benjamin, the righteous king, preached of "the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were ever since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world."h In revelation of the present day we read of Christ's having come into the world, to suffer and to die, "That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him."i
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21. But beside this universal application of the atonement, whereby all men are redeemed from the effects of Adam's transgression, both with respect to the death of the body and the taint of inherited sin, there is a special application of the same great sacrifice, as a means of propitiation for individual sins, through the faith and good [p.90] works of the sinner. This two-fold effect of the atonement is implied in the article of our faith now under consideration. The first effect is to secure to all mankind alike, exemption from the otherwise terrible effects of the Fall, thus providing a plan of General Salvation. The second effect is to open a way for Individual Salvation whereby mankind may secure forgiveness of personal sins. As these sins are the result of individual acts, it is just that forgiveness for them should be conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed requirements,—"obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel."
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22. The General Effect of the Atonement, so far as it applies to all who have arrived at years of accountability and judgment, has been made sufficiently clear perhaps from the scriptures already quoted. Its application to children may properly receive our further attention. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches as a doctrine founded on reason, justice, and scripture, that all children are innocent in the sight of God, and that, until they reach an age of personal responsibility, no baptism or other ordinance is requisite or proper in their behalf; that in short, they are saved through the atonement of Christ. To a degree, children are born heirs to the good or evil natures of their parents; the effects of heredity in determining character are readily recognized. Good and evil tendencies, blessings and curses, are transmitted from generation to generation. Through this divinely appointed order, the justice of which is plain in the revealed light of knowledge concerning the pre-existent state of the spirits of mankind, the children of Adam are natural heirs to the calamities of mortality; but through Christ's atonement they are all redeemed from the curses of this fallen state; the debt, which comes to them as a legacy, is paid for them, and thus are they left free. Children who die free of sin are entirely [p.91] innocent in the eyes of God, even though they be the offspring of transgressors. We read in the Book of Mormon: "Little children cannot repent; wherefore it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy. * * * For behold that all little children are alive in Christ; and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all that have no law."j
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23. The prophet Mormon writing to his son Moroni expressed in the following manner his conviction of children's innocence:—"Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance: the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore little children axe whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore, the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them. * * * Behold I say unto you, That this thing shall ye teach, repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children. And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins. But little children are alive in Christ even from the foundation of the world."k
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24. And in a revelation through the prophet Joseph Smith in this dispensation, the Lord has said:—"But behold I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; wherefore they cannot sin, for power is not given unto [p.92] Satan to tempt little children until they begin to be come accountable before me."l President John Taylor, after citing instances of Christ's affection for little children, and proofs of the innocent condition in which they are regarded in heaven says:—"Without Adam's transgression, those children could not have existed; through the atonement they are placed in a state of salvation without any act of their own. These would embrace, according to the opinion of statisticians, more than one half of the human family, who can attribute their salvation only to the mediation and atonement of the Savior."m
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25. The Special or Individual Effect of the Atonement makes it possible for any and every soul to obtain absolution from the dread effect of personal sins, through the mediation of Christ; but such saving intercession is to be invoked only through individual effort as manifested through faith; repentance and continued works of righteousness. The laws under which individual salvation is obtainable have been prescribed by Christ, whose right it is to say how the blessings of His own sacrifice shall be administered. All men are in need of the Savior's mediation, for all are transgressors. So taught the apostles of old:—"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."n And again: —"If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."o Now, that the blessing of redemption from individual sins, while free for all to attain, is nevertheless conditioned on individual effort, is as plainly declared as is the truth of unconditional redemption from the effects of the Fall. There is a judgment ordained for all, and all will be judged "according to their works." The free agency of man enables him to choose or reject, to [p.93] follow the path of life, or the road that leads to destruction; it is but just that he be held to answer for the exercise of his freedom, and that he meet the results of his acts.
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26. Hence the justice of the scriptural doctrine that salvation comes to the individual only through obedience. "He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him"p said Paul of the Christ. And further:—God "will render to every man according to his deeds: To them 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."q To these may be added the words of the risen Lord, "He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; and he that believeth not, shall be damned."r
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27. Consider further the prophecy of King Benjamin proclaimed to the Nephite multitude:—Christ's blood "atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died, not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God; for salvation cometh to none such, except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ."s But why multiply scriptural citations when the whole tenor of sacred writ supports the doctrine? Without Christ no man can be saved, and the salvation provided at the cost of Christ's sufferings and bodily death is offered upon certain clearly [p.94] defined conditions only; and these are summarized under "obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel."
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28. Salvation and Exaltation:—Some degree of salvation will come to all who have not forfeited their right to it; exaltation is given to those only, who by active labors have won a claim to God's merciful liberality by which it is bestowed. Of the saved, not all will be exalted to the higher glories; rewards will not be bestowed in violation of justice; punishments will not be meted out to the ignoring of mercy's claims. No one can be admitted to any order of glory; in short, no soul can be saved, until justice has be satisfied for violated law. Our belief in the universal application of the atonement implies no supposition that all mankind will be saved with like endowments of glory and power. In the kingdom of God there are numerous degrees of exaltation, provided for those who are worthy of them; in the house of our Father there are many mansions, into which only those who are prepared are admitted. The old sectarian idea, that in the hereafter there will be but two places for the souls of mankind,—heaven and hell, with the same glory in all parts of the one, and the same terrors throughout the other, is entirely untenable in the light of divine revelation. Through the direct word of the Lord we learn of varied degrees of glory.
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29. Degrees of Glory:—The revelations of God have defined the following principal kingdoms or degrees of glory, as prepared through Christ for the children of men:
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I. The Celestial Glory:t—There are some Who have striven to obey all the Divine commandments, who have accepted the testimony of Christ, and received the Holy Spirit; these are they who have overcome evil by godly works, and who are therefore entitled to the highest glory; these belong to the Church of the First Born, unto whom the Father has [p.95] given all things; they are made Kings and Priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchisedek; they possess celestial bodies, "whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical;" they indeed are admitted to the celestial company, being crowned with the celestial glory, which makes them Gods.
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II. The Terrestrial Glory:u—We read of those who receive glory of a secondary order only, differing from the highest as "the moon differs from the sun in the firmament;" these are they, who, though honorable, were still in darkness, blinded by the craftiness of men, and unable to receive and obey. the higher laws of God, they proved "not valiant in the testimony of Jesus," and therefore are not entitled to the fulness of glory.
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III. The Telestial Glory:—We learn of a still lower kind of glory, differing from the higher orders as the stars differ from the brighter orbs of the firmament; this is given to those who received not the testimony of Christ, but who still did not deny the Holy Spirit; who have led lives exempting them from the heaviest punishment, yet whose redemption will be delayed till the last resurrection. In the celestial world there are innumerable degrees of glory, comparable to the varying lustre of the stars.v Yet all who receive of any one of these orders of glory are at last saved, and upon them Satan will finally have no claim. Even the telestial glory, as we are told by those who have been permitted to gaze upon it, "surpasses all understanding; and no man knows it except him to whom God Has revealed it."w Then there are those who have lost all claim upon the immediate mercy of God; whose deeds have numbered them with Perdition and his angels.x [p.96]
Notes.
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1. The Atonement Proved by Evidence:—"It is often asked: 'How is it that through the sacrifice of one who is innocent salvation may be purchased for those under the dominion of death.' We observe in passing that what should most concern man is not so much how it is that such is the case, but is it a fact? * * * * To that question the blood sprinkled upon a thousand Jewish altars, and the smoke that darkened the heavens for ages from burnt offerings answer yes. * * * * Even the mythology of heathen nations retains the idea of an atonement that either has been, or is to be made for mankind. Fantastic, distorted, confused, buried under the rubbish of savage superstition it may be, but it nevertheless exists. So easily traced, so distinct is this feature of heathen mythology, that some writers have endeavored to prove that the gospel plan of redemption was derived from heathen mythology. Whereas the fact is that the gospel was understood and extensively preached in the earliest ages; men retained in their tradition a knowledge of those principles or parts of them, and however much they have been distorted, traces of them may still be found in nearly all the mythologies of the world. The prophets of the Jewish scriptures answer the question in the affirmative. The writers of the New Testament make Christ's atonement the principal theme of their discourses and epistles. The Book of Mormon, speaking as the voice of an entire continent of people whose prophets and righteous men sought and found God, testify to the same great fact. The revelations of God as given through the Prophet Joseph Smith are replete with passages confirming this doctrine."—Roberts' Outlives of Ecclesiastical History, Section viii, 6.
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2. Redemption from the Fall Universal and Unconditional:—"We believe that through the sufferings, death, and atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind without one exception, are to be completely and fully redeemed, both body and spirit from the endless banishment and curse to which they were consigned by Adam's transgression; and that this universal salvation and redemption of the whole human family from the endless penalty of the original sin, is effected without any conditions, whatever, on their part; that is, they are not required to believe or repent, or be baptized, or do anything else, in order to be redeemed from that penalty; for whether they believe or disbelieve; whether they repent or remain impenitent, whether they are baptized or unbaptized, whether they keep the commandments or break them, whether they are righteous or unrighteous, it will make no difference in relation to their redemption, both soul and body, from the penalty of Adam's transgression. The most righteous man that ever lived on the earth, and the most wicked wretch of the whole human family, were both placed under the same curse without any transgression or agency of their own, and they both alike will be redeemed from that curse, without any agency or conditions on their part."—Apostle Orson Pratt in "Remarkable Visions."
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3. Christ the Author of our Salvation:—President John Taylor speaks of the death of Christ as an expiatory sacrifice, and adds:—"The Savior thus becomes master of the situation,—the debt is paid, the redemption made, the covenant fulfilled, justice satisfied, the will of God done, and all power is now given into the hands of the Son of God,—the power of the resurrection, the [p.97] power of the redemption, the power of salvation, the power to enact laws for the carrying out and accomplishment of this design. * * * The plan, the arrangement, the agreement, the covenant was made, entered into and accepted, before the foundation of the world; it was prefigured by sacrifices, and was carried out and consummated on the cross. Hence, being the Mediator between God and man, He becomes by right the Dictator and Director on earth and in heaven for the living and for the dead, for the past, the present, and the future, pertaining to man as associated with this earth or the heavens, in time or eternity, the Captain of our salvation, the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, the Lord and Giver of life."—Mediation and Atonement, p. 171. [p.98]
Lecture V.
Faith and Repentance.
Article 4:—We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: (1) Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; (2) Repentance; * * *.
Faith.
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1. Nature of Faith.—The predominating sense in which the term faith is used throughout the scriptures, is that of full confidence and trust in the being, purposes and words of God. Such trust, if it be implicit, will remove all doubt concerning things accomplished or promised of God, even though such things be not apparent to or explicable by the ordinary senses of mortality; hence arises the definition of faith given by Paul: "Now faith is the substance [i.e. confidence, or assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence [i.e. the demonstration or proof] of things not seen."a It is plain that such a feeling of trust may exist in different persons in varying degrees; indeed, faith may manifest itself, from the incipient feeble state which is little more than mere belief, scarcely free from hesitation and fear, to the strength of abiding confidence which sets doubt and sophistry at defiance.
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2. Belief, Faith, and Knowledge, while intimately related and oft-times regarded as one, are in reality not identical. The terms faith and belief are sometimes used as synonyms, nevertheless each of them has a specific and definite meaning in our language, although in early English there was virtually no distinction between them, and therefore the words are used interchangably in the ancient scriptures. Be. lief may consist in a merely intellectual assent, whilst faith [p.99] implies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action. Dictionary authority justifies us in drawing a distinction between the two, according to present usage in English; and this authority defines belief as a simple assent to the truth or actuality of anything, excluding however the moral element of responsibility through such assent, which is embraced by faith. Belief is in a sense passive,—a mental agreement or acceptance only; faith is active and positive,—such a reliance and confidence as will lead to works. Faith in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living belief.
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3. Certainly there is a great difference in degree, even if no essential distinction in kind be admitted between the two. As will be presently demonstrated, faith in the Godhead is requisite to salvation; it is indeed a saving power, leading its possessor in the paths of godliness; surely a mere belief in the existence and attributes of Deity is no such power. Mark the words of the Apostle James.b In his general epistle to the Saints, he chided his brethren for certain empty professions: said he in effect:—You take pride and satisfaction in declaring your belief in God; you boast of being distinguished from the idolaters and the heathen because you accept one God; you do well to so profess, and so believe; but, remember, others do likewise; even the devils believe; and so firmly that they tremble at thought of the fate which that belief makes plain to them.—What, do devils believe in Christ? Aye, their belief amounts to certain knowledge, as to who He is, and as to what constitutes His part, past, present, and to come, in the Divine plan of human existence and salvation. Call to mind the case of the man possessed by evil spirits, in the land of the [p.100] Gadarenes; a man so grievously tormented as to be a terror to all who came near him; he could be neither tamed nor bound; people were afraid to approach him; yet when he saw Christ, he ran to Him and worshiped, and the wicked spirit within him begged for mercy at the hands of that Righteous One, calling Him "Jesus, Son of the Most High God."c Again, an unclean spirit in the synagogue at Jerusalem implored Christ not to use His power, crying in fear and agony, "I know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of God."d And then, we are told that Christ was once followed by a multitude made up of people from Idumæa and Jerusalem, from Tyre and Sidon; among them were many who were possessed of evil spirits, and these, when they saw Him, fell down in the attitude of worship, exclaiming: "Thou art the Son of God."e Was there ever mortal believer who confessed more unreservedly a knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ than did these same followers of Satan? The evil one knows God and Christ; remembers, perchance, somewhat concerning the position which he once occupied as a Son of the Morning; yet with all such knowledge he is Satan still. Neither belief nor its superior,—actual knowledge,—is efficient to save; for neither of these is faith. Belief may be a product of the mind, faith is of the heart; belief is founded on reason; faith largely on intuition.
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4. We frequently hear it said that faith is imperfect knowledge; that the first disappears as the second takes it's place; that now we walk by faith but some day we will walk by the sure light of knowledge. In a sense this is true; yet it must be remembered that knowledge may be as dead and unproductive in good works as is faithless belief. Those Confessions of the devils, that Christ was the Son of God, [p.101] were founded on knowledge; yet the great truth which they knew did not change their evil natures. How different was their acknowledgment of the Savior from that of Peter, who, to the Master's question "Whom say ye that I am?" replied in practically the words used by the unclean spirits before cited, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."f Peter's faith had already shown its vital power; it had caused him to forsake much that had been dear, to follow his Lord through persecution and suffering, and to put away worldliness with all its fascinations, for the sacrificing godliness which his faith made so desirable. His knowledge of God as the Father, and of the Son as the Redeemer, was perhaps no greater than that of the unclean spirits; but while to them that knowledge was but an added cause of condemnation, to him it was a means of salvation.
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5. The mere possession of knowledge gives no assurance of benefit therefrom. An illustration may perhaps be here indulged. During an epidemic of cholera in a large city, a scientific man proved to his own satisfaction, by chemical and microscopical tests, that the water supply was infected, and that through it contagion was being spread. He proclaimed the great truth throughout the city, and warned all against the use of unboiled water. Many of the people, although incapable of comprehending his methods of investigation, far less of repeating such for themselves, had faith in his warning words, followed his instructions, and escaped the death to which their careless and unbelieving fellows succumbed. Their faith was a saving one. To the man himself, the truth by which so many lives had been spared was a matter of knowledge. He had actually seen, under the microscope, the death-dealing germs in the water; he had tested their virulence; he knew of what he spoke. Nevertheless, in a moment of forgetfulness he drank of the [p.102] unpurified water, and soon thereafter died a victim to the plague. His knowledge did not save him, complete though it was; yet others whose reliance was only that of faith in the truth which he declared, escaped the threatening destruction. Truly he had knowledge; but, was he wise? Knowledge is to wisdom what belief is to faith; one an abstract principle, the other a living application. Not possession merely, but the proper use of knowledge constitutes wisdom. Of belief compared with faith it may be said, as it has been taught of knowledge and wisdom:—
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"Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one,
Have oft-times no connection. * * *
Knowledge, a rude unprofitable mass,
The mere material with which wisdom builds,
Till smoothed and squared and fitted to its place,
Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich."
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6. The Foundation of Faith:—In a theological sense, we understand by faith as already outlined, a living, inspiring confidence in God, and an acceptance of His will as our law, and of His words as our guide, in life. Faith in God is possible only as we come to know, or at least to believe, that He exists, and moreover, that He is a Being of worthy character and attributes. The grounds upon which man founds his belief or knowledge respecting the existence of God, have been examined in a previous lecture;g some of the Divine attributes, as made known through God's dealings with mankind have been likewise specified. A restatement of the principal facts relating to the character of the Supreme Being, may be in place here, inasmuch as some knowledge concerning the attributes of Deity is essential to the exercise of faith in Him. Let us adopt the summary of facts as set forth by the prophet, Joseph Smith; he presents, on the testimony of scripture the following statements respecting the character of God.
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[p.103] "(1.) That He was God before the world was created, and the same God that He was after it was created.
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"(2.) That He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in goodness, and that He was so from everlasting, and will be to everlasting.
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"(3.) That He changes not, neither is there variableness with Him; but that He is the same from everlasting to everlasting, being the same yesterday, today, and for ever; and that His course is one eternal round, without variation.
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"(4.) That He is a God of truth and cannot lie.
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"(5.) That He is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness is accepted of Him.
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"(6.). That He is love."h
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7. A knowledge of these comprehensive features of the Divine nature will enable one to exercise rational and intelligent faith in God. And upon such knowledge of God's existence, the worthiness of His character, and the perfection of His attributes, is man's faith in Him established. Faith then cannot be exercised in the absence of all knowledge; yet even the benighted heathen show some of the fruits of faith; but they have at least the conviction that arises from man's natural intuition regarding a supreme power, which has been described as a common heritage of humanity. In every human soul, even in that of the savage, there is some basis for faith, however limited and imperfect the darkness of heredity or of wilful sin may have made it. Every child of God is born with the capacity for faith inherent within his own nature; and all yearn in some degree for the strength and aid which only faith can give. We shall yet learn:—
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[p.104] "That in all ages
Every human heart is human;
That in even savage bosoms
There are longings, yearnings, strivings,
For the good they comprehend not.
That the feeble hands and helpless,
Groping blindly in the darkness,
Trust God's right hand in that darkness,
And are lifted up and strengthened."
The heathen's faith may be imperfect and weak, for his ability to recognize the evidence upon which belief in God depends may be small. While the first promptings of faith toward God may be the result of natural intuition,—a faint echo of the songs of praise which were so common during the state of primeval childhood,—the later development will be largely the result of unprejudiced and prayerful investigation and search for truth.
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8. From trustworthy evidence, rightly interpreted? true faith will spring; from false evidence, only distorted and misplaced faith can arise.i Our conclusions concerning any question under test will be governed largely by the number and credibility of the witnesses, if it so be that we cannot investigate the alleged facts for ourselves; and in either case, by the amount and quality of the evidence obtainable. Now, however improbable a declaration may appear to us, if the, truth of it be affirmed by witnesses in whom we have confidence, we are led to admit the statement, at least provisionally as true. If many credible witnesses testify, and moreover, if collateral evidence suggest itself through facts in our possession, we may consider the statement as proved; although we would be unable to affirm the truth of it on the strength of our personal knowledge, until we had seen and heard for ourselves, until in fact each of us had become a competent witness through personal observation. To illustrate: of the citizens of this country but a comparative [p.105] few perhaps have visited the seat of government; the masses know nothing by actual observation of the Capitol, the executive mansion, and other buildings of national interest and importance; very few have personally met the President who resides there. How does any one of the multitudes who have not seen for themselves, know of the city of Washington, of the Capitol and of the President? Solely through the testimony of others. He may have among his acquaintances one or many who have been in the capital of our country and whose statements he accepts as true; assuredly he has heard Or read of those who do know for themselves. Then he hears of laws being framed there, and of edicts issuing from the nation's headquarters; his studies in school, his use of maps and books, and many other incidents add to the evidence which soon becomes decisive. His inferences multiply, and develop into a positive conviction. He acquires a faith in the existence of a center of national government, and a regard for the laws which emanate therefrom.
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9. Let us take another illustration: Astronomers tell us that the earth is of a kind with certain of the stars; that it is one of a family of planets which revolve about the sun in concentric orbits; and that some of those planets are many times the size of our globe. We may not be skilled in astronomers' methods of observation and calculation, and are therefore unable to test the truth of these Statements for ourselves; but we find such a mass of evidence resulting from the united testimony of those in whose skill as scientific workers we have confidence, that the conclusions are accepted by us as fully proved.
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10. So too concerning the existence, authority and attributes of God, the testimonies of many holy men in ancient and modern times,—prophets whose credibility is established by the fulfilment of their predictions,—have come to us in [p.106] united declaration of the solemn truths, and nature furnishes corroborative testimony on every side. To reject without disproving such evidence is to ignore the most approved methods of investigation and research known to man. The development of faith from evidence is illustrated in the scenes of a certain memorable Pentecost celebration, on which occasion thousands of Jews, imbued with a preconceived prejudice that Jesus was an impostor, heard the apostles' testimonies, and witnessed the attendant signs; three thousand of them were convinced of the truth, and became followers of the Son of God, their prejudice giving place to belief, and their belief developing into faith with its accompanying works.j The foundation of faith in God then is a sincere belief in or knowledge of Him, as sustained by evidence and testimony, tested and proved by earnest, prayerful search.
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11. Faith a Principle of Power:—In its widest sense, faith,—the assurance of things for which we hope, and the evidence of things not discernible through our senses,—is the motive principle that impels men to resolve and to act. Without its exercise, we would make no exertion the results of which are future: without faith that he may gather in the autumn, man would not plant in the spring; neither would he essay to build, did he not have confidence that he would finish the structure and enjoy its use; had the student no faith in the possibility of successfully following his studies, he would not enter upon his courses. Faith thus becomes to us the foundation of hope, from which spring all our aspirations, ambitions and confidences for the future. Remove man's faith in the possibility of any desired success, and you rob him of the incentive to strive. He would not stretch forth his hand to seize did he not believe in the possibility of securing that for which he reaches. This [p.107] principle becomes therefore the impelling force by which men struggle for excellence, oftentimes enduring vicissitudes and suffering that they may achieve their purposes. Faith is the secret of ambition, the soul of heroism, the motive power of all effort.
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12. The exercise of faith is pleasing unto God, and thereby His interposition may be secured. It was through faith that the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt followed their dauntless leader into the bed of the sea; and through the protecting agencies of God, which that faith drew forth, they were saved, while the Egyptians met destruction in attempting to follow.k With full confidence in the instructions and promises of God, Joshua and his intrepid followers laid siege to Jericho; and the walls of that city of sin fell before the faith of the besiegers without the use of battering rams, or other engines of war.l By the same power Joshua gained the assistance of the luminaries of heaven, in his work of victory over the Amorites.m Paul citesn us also to the instances of Gideon,o Barak,p Samson,q Jephthah,r David,s Samuel,t and the prophets, "who through faith, subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong." It was by faith that Alma and Amulek were delivered from captivity, while the prison walls which had previously held them were rent and [p.108] demolished.u By faith, Nephi and Lehiv the sons of Helaman were protected from their Lamanite foes, even by fire, though they were not burned; and a still greater work was wrought in the hearts of their persecutors, for they became enlightened, and accepted the testimony of truth. Through the operation of faith even the waves of the sea may be subdued,w trees are subject to the voice of Him who commands by faith;x mountains may be removed by the accomplishment of righteous purposes,y the sick may be healed,z evil spirits may be cast out,a and the dead may be raised to life.b All things are wrought through faith.c
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13. But, it may be argued that faith of itself is not a source of power; that its effect is due to an external interposition of Divine aid, which faith merely secured; and the skeptic may add that an omniscient God, if truly loving and kind, would act independently and give without waiting to be invoked through faith or prayer. A sufficient answer is found in the abundant proof furnished by the scriptures, that the Almighty operates in accordance with law; and that arbitrary and capricious action is foreign to His nature. However the laws of heaven may have been formulated, the application of their beneficent provisions to humanity is dependent on the faith and obedience of the mortal subjects. Consider the defeat of Israel by the men of Ai; a law of righteousness had been violated, and things that were accursed had been introduced into the camp of God's people; [p.109] this transgression stopped the current of Divine help, and until the people had sanctified themselves, the power was not renewed unto them.d Christ was influenced, and to some extent controlled in His miracles among men by the faith or lack of faith of the people. The common benediction,"Thy faith hath made thee whole," with which He announced the healing interposition, is evidence of the fact Then we learn that in His own country He could do no mighty work, being restrained by the unbelief of the people.e
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14. A Condition of Living Faith:—A condition essential to the exercise of a living, growing, sustaining faith in Deity, is the consciousness on man's part that he is at least endeavoring to live in accordance with the laws of God as be has learned them. A knowledge that he is wilfully and wantonly sinning against the truth, will deprive him of sincerity in prayer and faith, and surely estrange him from his Father. He must feel that the trend of his life's course is acceptable to God, that with due allowance for mortal weakness and human frailty, he is in some measure approved of the Lord, or he can never approach the throne of grace with confidence. The consciousness of earnest effort toward godly walk and conduct is a power of itself, strengthening its possessor in sacrifice and under persecution, and sustaining him in all good works. It was this knowledge of assured communion with God that enabled the saints of olden time to endure as they did, though their sufferings were appalling. Of them we read that some "were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and [p.110] goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."f As in former days so in the present, the saints have been sustained through all their sufferings by the sure knowledge of Divine approval; and the faith of righteous men has ever grown through a consciousness of their good endeavors.
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15. Faith Essential to Salvation:—Inasmuch as salvation is attainable only through the mediation and atonement of Christ, and since this is made applicable to individual sin only in the cases of those who obey the laws of righteousness, faith in Jesus Christ is indispensable to salvation. But no one can believe in Jesus Christ, and at the same time doubt the existence and authority of either the Father or the Holy Ghost; therefore faith in the entire Godhead is essential to salvation. Paul declares that 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."g The scriptures abound in assurances of salvation to those who exercise faith in God, and obey the requirements which that faith makes plain. Christ's words on the matter are conclusive, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned,"h and again, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."i And similar doctrines did His apostles teach after His death all the days of their ministry.j A natural result of implicit [p.111] faith in the Godhead, will be a growing confidence in the scriptures as containing the word of God, and in the words and works of His authorized servants, who speak as the living oracles of heaven.
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16. Faith a Gift of God:—Though within the reach of all who diligently strive to gain it, faith is nevertheless a Divine gift, and can be obtained only from God.k As is fitting for so priceless a pearl, it is given to those only who show by their sincerity that they are worthy of it, and who give promise of abiding by its dictates. Although faith is called the first principle of the gospel of Christ, though it be in fact the foundation of all religion, yet, even faith is preceded by sincerity of disposition, and humility of soul. whereby the word of God may make an impression upon the heart.l No compulsion is used in bringing men to a knowledge of God; yet, as fast as we open our hearts to the influences of righteousness, the faith that leads to life eternal will be given us of our Father.
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17. Faith and Works:—Faith in a passive sense, that is, as mere belief, is inefficient as a means of salvation. This truth was clearly set forth both by Christ and the apostles, and the vigor with which it was declared may be an indication of the early development of a most pernicious doctrine,—that of justification by belief alone. The Savior taught that works were essential to the validity of profession and the efficacy of faith. Mark his words:—"Not every one that sayeth unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."m "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 [p.112] will manifest myself to him."n The instructions of the Apostle James are particularly explicit: "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."o And to this may be added the words of John:—"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, and the truth is not in him. But whose keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him."p
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18. To these teachings may be added many inspired utterances, from Nephite scripturesq and from modern revelation,r all affirming the necessity of works, and denying the saving efficacy of mere belief. Yet in spite of the plain word of God, sectarian dogmas have been promulgated to the effect that by faith alone man may achieve salvation, and that a mere profession of belief Will open the doors of heaven to the sinner.s The scriptures cited and man's inherent sense of justice furnish a sufficient refutation of these pernicious doctrines. [p.113]
Repentance.
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19. Nature of Repentance:—The term repentance is used in the scriptures with several different meanings, but, as representing the duty required of all who would obtain forgiveness for transgression, it indicates a godly sorrow for sin, producing a reformation of life, and embodies, (1) a conviction of guilt; (2) a desire to escape the hurtful effects of sin; and (3) an earnest determination to forsake sin and to accomplish good. Repentance is a result of contrition of soul, which springs from a deep sense of humility, and this in turn is dependent upon the exercise of an abiding faith in God. Repentance therefore properly ranks as the second principle of the gospel, closely associated with and immediately following faith. As soon as one has come to recognize the existence and authority of God, he feels a respect for Divine laws, and a conviction of his own unworthiness. His wish to please the Father, whom he has so long neglected, Will impel him to forsake sin; and this impulse will acquire added strength from the sinner's natural and commendable desire to escape, if possible, the dire results of his own waywardness. With the zeal inspired by fresh conviction, he will crave an opportunity of showing by good works the sincerity of his newly developed faith; and he will regard the remission of his sins as the most desirable of blessings. Then he will learn that this gift of mercy is granted on certain specific conditions only.t The first step toward the blessed state of forgiveness consists in the sinner confessing his sins; the second, in his forgiving others who have sinned against him; and the third in his showing his acceptance of Christ's atoning sacrifice by obeying the Divine requirements.
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20. (1.) Confession of Sins is essential, for without it [p.114] repentance is incomplete. The Apostle John tells us, "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."u We read also, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."v And unto the Saints in this dispensation the Lord has said, "Verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, forgive sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness, who have not sinned unto death."w And that this act of confession is included in repentance is shown by the Lord's words: "By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins: Behold he will confess them and forsake them."x
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21. (2.) The Sinner Must be Willing to Forgive Others, if he hopes to obtain forgiveness. Surely his repentance is but superficial if his heart be not softened to the degree of tolerance for the weaknesses of his fellows. In teaching tits hearers how to pray, the Savior instructed them to supplicate the Father: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."y He led them not to hope for forgiveness if in their hearts they forgave not one another: "For," said He, "if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; but, if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."z And forgiveness between man and man, to be acceptable before the Lord, must be unbounded. In answering Peter's question, "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" the [p.115] Master said, "I say not unto thee, until seven times; but until seventy times seven;" clearly intending to teach that man must ever be ready to forgive. On another occasion He taught the disciples, saying, "If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him."a
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22. Illustrating further the Divine purpose to mete unto men the measure they mete unto their fellows,b the Savior put forth to tits disciples a parable of a king, to whom one of his subjects owed an enormous sum of money, ten thousand talents; but when the debtor humbled himself and pleaded for mercy, the compassionate heart of the king was moved and he forgave his servant the debt. But the same servant, going out from the presence of the king, met a fellow-servant who was indebted to him in a paltry sum; forgetting the mercy so recently shown unto himself, he seized his fellow-servant and cast him into prison till he would pay the debt. Then the king, hearing of this, sent for the wicked servant, and, denouncing him for his lack of gratitude and consideration, handed him over to the tormentors.c The Lord will not listen to petitions nor accept an offering from one who has bitterness in his heart toward others; "First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."d In His revealed word to the Saints in this day, the Lord has placed particular stress upon this necessary condition: "Wherefore I say unto you that ye ought to forgive one another, for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses, standeth condemned before the Lord, for there [p.116] remaineth in him the greater sin;"e and to remove all doubt as to the proper subjects for human forgiveness, it is added:—"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men."
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23. (3.) Confidence in Christ's Atoning Sacrifice constitutes the third essential condition in obtaining remission of sins. The name of Christ is the only name under heaven whereby men may be saved;f and we are taught to offer our petitions to the Father in the name of His Son. Adam received this instruction from the mouth of an angel,g and the Savior personally instructed the Nephites to the same effect.h But no person can truthfully profess faith in Christ, and refuse to obey His commandments; therefore obedience is essential to remission of sin; and the repentant sinner will eagerly seek to learn what is further required of him.
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24. Repentance, to be worthy of its name, must comprise something more than a mere self-acknowledgment of error; it does not consist in lamentations and wordy confessions, but in the heart-felt recognition of guilt, which carries with it a horror for sin, and a resolute determination to make amends for the past and to do better in the future. If such a conviction be genuine, it is marked by that godly sorrow, which, as Paul has said, "worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death."i Apostle Orson Pratt has wisely said:—"It would be of no use for a sinner to confess his sins to God, unless he were determined to forsake them; it would be of no benefit to him to feel sorry that he had done wrong, unless he intended to do wrong no more; it would be folly for him [p.117] to confess before God that he had injured his fellow-man, unless he were determined to do all in his power to make restitution. Repentance, then, is not only a confession of sins, with a sorrowful, contrite heart, but a fixed, settled purpose to refrain from every evil way."
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25. Repentance Essential to Salvation:—This evidence of sincerity, this beginning of a better life, is required of every Candidate for salvation. In the obtaining of Divine mercy, repentance is as indispensable as faith, it must be as extensive as sin. Where can we find an absolutely sinless mortal? Sagely did the Preacher of old declare "There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not."j Who, therefore, has no need of forgiveness? who is exempt from the requirements of repentance? God has promised forgiveness unto those who truly repent before Him, it is unto such that the advantages of individual salvation, through the atonement of Christ, are extended. Isaiah thus admonishes to repentance, with assuring promises of forgiveness: "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."k
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26. The burden of inspired teachers in every age has been the call to repentance. To this effect was heard the voice of John crying in the wilderness, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."l And the Savior followed with "Repent ye and believe the gospel,"m for "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."n So too proclaim the [p.118] apostles of old, that God "commandeth all men everywhere to repent,"o And in the present dispensation has come the word, "We know that all men must repent, and believe on the name of Jesus Christ * * * or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God."p
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27. Repentance, a Gift from God:—Repentance is a means of pardon, and is therefore one of God's great gifts to man. It is not to be had for the careless asking; it may not be found upon the highway, it is not of earth, but a treasure of heaven, and is given with care, yet with boundless liberality unto those who have brought forth works that warrant its bestowal.q That is to say, all who prepare themselves for repentance will, by the humbling and softening influence of the Holy Spirit, be led to the actual possession of this great gift. When Peter was charged by his fellow-worshipers with a breach of law in that he had associated with Gentiles, he told his hearers of the Divine manifestations he had so recently received; they believed and declared "Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."r Paul also, in writing to the Romans, teaches that repentance comes through the goodness of God.s
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28. Repentance not always Possible:—The gift of repentance is extended to men as they humble themselves before the Lord, it is the testimony of the Spirit in their hearts; if they hearken not unto the monitor it will again leave them, for the Spirit of God strives not ever with man.t Repentance becomes more difficult as the sin is more wilful; it is by humility and contrition of the heart that sinners [p.119] may increase their faith in God, and so obtain from Him the priceless gift of repentance. As the time of repentance is procrastinated, the ability to repent grows weaker; neglect of opportunity in holy things brings a forfeit of the chance. In giving commandment to Joseph Smith, in the early days of the present Church, the Lord said, "For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven, and he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received, for my Spirit shall not always strive with man saith the Lord of Hosts."u
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29. Repentance Here and Hereafter:—The Nephite prophet, Alma, described the period of earthly existence as a probationary state, granted unto man for repentance;v yet we learn from the scriptures that repentance may be obtained, under certain conditions, beyond the vail of mortality. Between the times of His death and resurrection, Christ "preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah;"w these the Son visited, and unto them He preached the gospel, "that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it."x
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30. Yet no soul is justified in postponing his efforts to repent because of this assurance of God's long-suffering and mercy. We know not on what terms repentance will be obtainable in the hereafter, but it is unreasonable to suppose that the soul who has wilfully rejected the opportunity of repentance in this life will find it easy to repent there. [p.120] To procrastinatey the day of repentance is to deliberately place ourselves in the power of the adversary. As Amulek taught and admonished the multitude of old: "For behold this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God, * * * therefore I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance unto the end. * * * Ye cannot say when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance, even until death, behold ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his."z
Notes.
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1. Example of False Faith:—"When Europeans first began their explorations in the New World, the Indians whom they met were much amazed at the power and explosive properties of gun-powder, and asked many questions respecting the manner in which it was produced. The Europeans, taking advantage of the ignorance of the savages, and seeing an opportunity to increase their wealth by the deception, told the Indians that it was the seed of a plant which grew in the lands they had come from, and doubtless it would thrive in their land also. The Indians, of course, believed this statement, and purchased the supposed seed, giving in exchange for it large quantities of gold. In implicit faith they carefully planted the supposed seed, and anxiously watched for its sprouting and the appearance of the plant; but it never came. They had faith in the statements made to them by the Europeans, but as these statements were false, and therefore the evidence on which the Indians based their belief untrue, their faith was vain."—Orson Pratt.
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2. The Sectarian Dogma of Justification by Faith alone has exercised an influence for evil since the early days of Christianity. The idea upon which this pernicious doctrine was founded, was at first associated with that of an absolute predestination, by which man was fore-doomed to destruction, or to an utterly undeserved salvation. Thus, Luther taught as follows:—"The excellent, infallible, and sole preparation for grace is the eternal election and predestination of God." "Since the fall of man, free-will is but an idle word." "A man [p.121] who imagines to arrive at grace by doing all that he is able to do, adds sin to sin, and is doubly guilty." "That man is not justified who performs many works; but he who without works has much faith in Christ" (For these and other doctrines of the so-called "Reformation," see D'Aubigne's History of the Reformation, vol. i, pp. 82, 83, 119, 122.) In Miller's Church History (vol. iv, p. 514) we read. "The point which the reformer [Luther] had most at heart in all his labors, contests, and dangers, was the justification by faith alone." Melancthon voices the doctrine of Luther in these words: "Man's justification before God proceeds from faith alone. This faith enters man's heart by the grace of God alone;" and further, "As all things which happen, happen necessarily, according to the divine predestination, there is no such thing as liberty in our wills." (D'Aubigne, vol. iii, p. 340). It is true that Luther strongly denounced, and vehemently disclaimed responsibility for, the excesses to which this teaching gave rise, yet he was not less vigorous in proclaiming the doctrine. Note his words:—"I, Doctor Martin Luther, unworthy herald of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, confess this article, that faith alone without works justifies before God; and I declare that it shall stand and remain forever in despite of the emperor of the Romans, the emperor of the Turks, the emperor of the Persians,—in spite of the pope and all the cardinals, with the bishops, priests, monks, and nuns,—in spite of kings, princes, and nobles, and in spite of all the world and of the devils themselves; and that if they endeavor to fight against this truth they will draw the fires of hell upon their heads. This is the true and holy gospel, and the declaration of me, Doctor Luther, according to the teachings of the Holy Ghost." (D'Aubigne, vol. i, p. 70).
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Fletcher (End of Religious Controversy, p. 90) illustrates the vicious extreme to which this evil doctrine led, by accusing one of its adherents with having said, "Even adultery and murder do not hurt the pleasant children, but rather work for their good. God sees no sin in believers, whatever sin they may commit. * * * * It is a most pernicious error of the schoolmen to distinguish sins according to the fact, and not according to the person. Though I blame those who say, let us sin that grace may abound, yet adultery, incest, and murder, shall upon the whole, make me holier on earth, and merrier in heaven."
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A summary of the mediaeval controversy regarding the means of grace, including the doctrines of Luther and others, is presented in Roberts' Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, part iii, section ii; to which the student is referred. The quotations given above are incorporated therein.
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3. Forgiveness not always Immediate:—"On account of the magnitude of sins committed, repentance is not always followed by forgiveness and restoration. For instance, when Peter was preaching to the Jews, who had slain Jesus and taken His blood on themselves and their children, he did not say, repent and be baptized for the remission of sins; but, 'Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and [when] He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive until the times of the restitution of all things.' (Acts iii, 19-21.) That is, repent now, and believe in Jesus Christ, that you may be forgiven when He whom you have slain shall come again in the days of the restitution of all things; and prescribe to you the terms on which you may be saved."—Compendium, p. 28. [p.122]
Lecture VI.
Baptism.
Article 4:—We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are:— * * * (3) Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; * * *.
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1. Nature of Baptism:—Among the Latter-day Saints, water baptism ranks as the third principle, and the first essential ordinance, of the gospel. Baptism is the gateway leading into the fold of Christ, the portal to the Church, the established rite of naturalization in the kingdom of heaven. The candidate for admission into the Church and kingdom, having obtained and professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and having sincerely repented of his sins, is properly required to give evidence of this spiritual sanctification by some outward ordinance, prescribed by authority as the sign or symbol of the new profession. The initiatory ordinance is baptism by water, to be followed by the higher baptism of the Holy Spirit; and, as a result of this act of obedience, remission of sins is granted.
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2. How simple are the means thus ordained for admission into the fold; they are within the reach of the poorest and weakest, as also of the rich and powerful! What symbol more expressive of a cleansing from sin could be given, than that of baptism in water? Baptism is made a sign of the covenant entered into between the repentant sinner and his Maker, that thereafter he will seek to observe the Divine commands. Concerning this fact, the Prophet Alma thus admonished and instructed the people of Gideon:—"Yea, I say unto you, come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your [p.123] God that ye are willing to repent of your sins, and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day, by going into the waters of baptism."a
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3. The humbled sinner, convicted of his transgression, through the bestowal of God's good gifts of faith and repentance, will hail most joyfully any means of cleansing himself from pollution, now so repulsive in his eyes; all such will cry out as did the stricken Jewish multitude at Pentecost, "What shall we do?" Unto such comes the answering voice of the Spirit, through the medium of scripture, or by the mouths of the Lord's appointed servants, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins."b Springing forth as a result of contrition of soul, baptism has been very appropriately called the first fruits of repentance.d
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4. The Establishment of Baptism dates from the time of the earliest history of the race. When the Lord manifested Himself to Adam after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, He promised the patriarch of the race, "If thou wilt turn unto me and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in His name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you. * * * And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried [p.124] down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water. And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man."b Enoch preached the doctrine of repentance and baptism, and did baptize the people, and as many as accepted these teachings and submitted to the requirements of the gospel, became sanctified and holy in the sight of God.
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5. The Special Purpose of Baptism is to afford admission to the Church of Christ with remission of sins. What need of more words to prove the worth of this divinely appointed ordinance? What gift could be offered the human race greater than a ready means of obtaining forgiveness for transgression? Justice forbids the granting of universal and unconditional pardon for sins committed, except through obedience to ordained law; but means simple and effective are provided, whereby the penitent sinner may enter into a covenant with God, sealing that covenant with the sign that commands recognition in heaven, that he will submit himself to the laws of God; thus he places himself within the reach of Mercy, under whose protecting influence he may win eternal life.
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6. Biblical Proofs, that baptism is designed as a means of securing to man a remission of his sins, are abundant. John the Baptist was the special preacher of this doctrine in the days immediately preceding the Savior's ministry in the flesh; and the voice of this priest of the desert stirred Jerusalem and reverberated through all Judæa, proclaiming remission of sins as the fruits of acceptable baptism.c
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7. Saul of Tarsus, a zealous persecutor of the followers of Christ, while journeying to Damascus, intent on a further exercise of his ill-directed zeal, received a special [p.125] manifestation of the power of God, and was converted with signs and wonders. He heard and answered the voice of Christ, and thus became a special witness of his Lord. Yet even this unusual demonstration of Divine favor was insufficient. Blinded through the glory that had been manifested unto him, humbled and earnest, awakening to the terrible fact that he had been persecuting his Redeemer, he exclaimed in anguish of soul, "What shall I do, Lord?" He was directed to go to Damascus, there to learn more of God's will concerning him. Gladly did he receive the Lord's messenger, devout Ananias, who ministered unto him so that he regained his sight, and then taught him baptism as a means of obtaining forgiveness.d
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8. And Saul, known now as Paul, thereafter a preacher of righteousness, and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, taught to others the same great saving principle, that by baptism in water comes regeneration from sin.e In forceful language, and attended with special evidences of Divine power, Peter declared the same doctrine to the penitent multitude. Overcome with grief at the recital of what they had done to the Son of God, they cried out "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Promptly came the answer, with apostolic authority, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."f
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9. Book of Mormon prophets gave the same testimony to the western fold of Christ. To this effect were the words of Nephi, the son of Lehi, addressed to his brethren:—"For the gate by which ye should enter, is repentance, and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire, and by the Holy Ghost."g So did Alma teach [p.126] the people of Gideon, as already quoted.h Nephi, the grandson of Helaman, immediately preceding Christ's advent upon earth, went forth amongst his people, baptizing unto repentance, from which followed "a great remission of sins."i Nephi ordained assistants in the ministry, "that all such as should come unto them, should be baptized with water, and this as a witness and a testimony before God, and unto the people, that they had repented and received a remission of their sins."j Mormon adds his own testimony, as commissioned of Christ, exhorting the people to forsake their sins and be baptized for remission thereof.k
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10. Modern Revelation, concerning baptism and its object, shows that the same importance is ascribed by the Lord to to the ordinance today as in earlier times. That there may be no question as to the application of this doctrine to the Church in the present dispensation, the principle has been re-stated, the law has been re-enacted for our guidance. The elders of the Church are commissioned to preach the remission of Sins as obtainable through the means of authorized baptism.l
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11. Fit Candidates for Baptism:—The prime objects of baptism being admission to the Church, with remission of sins, and this coming only through the exercise of faith in God and true repentance before Him, it naturally follows that baptism can in justice be required of those only who are capable of exercising faith and working repentance.m In a revelation on Church government given through Joseph the Prophet, April, 1830, the Lord specifically states the [p.127] conditions under which persons may be received into the Church through baptism: these are His words:—"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.n
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12. Such conditions exclude all who have not arrived at the age of discretion and responsibility; and by special commandment the Lord has forbidden the Church to receive any who have not attained to such age.o By revelation, the Lord has designated eight years as the age at which children may be properly baptized into the Church, and parents are required to prepare their children for the ordinances of the Church, by teaching them the doctrines of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Failure in this requirement will be accounted by the Lord as a sin resting upon the heads of the parents.p
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13. Infant Baptism:—The Latter-day Saints are opposed to the practice of infant baptism, which indeed they believe to be sacrilege in the eyes of God. No one having faith in the word of God can look upon the child as impure; such an innocent being needs no initiation into the fold, for it has never strayed therefrom; it needs no remission of sins, for it is sinless; and should it die before it has become contaminated by the sins of earth, it will be received again, without baptism, into the presence of its God. Yet there are many professedly Christian teachers who declare that as all [p.128] children are born into a wicked world, they are themselves wicked, and must be cleansed in the waters of baptism to be made acceptable to God. How heinous is such a doctrine!—the child to whom the Savior pointed as an example of emulation of those even who had received the holy apostleship,q the Lord's selected type of the kingdom of heaven, the favored spirits whose angels stand forever in the presence of the Father, faithfully reporting all that may be done unto their sacred chargesr—such souls are to be rejected and cast into torment because their earthly guardians failed to have them baptized! To teach such a doctrine is sin.
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14. The History of Infant Baptism is instructive, as throwing light upon the origin of this erratic practice. It is certain that the baptism of infants, or pedobaptism (Greek paidos, child, and baptismos, baptism) as it is styled in theological lore, was not taught by the Savior, nor by His apostles. Some point to the incident of Christ blessing little children, and rebuking those who would forbid the little ones coming unto Him,s as an evidence in favor of infant baptism; but, as Bishop Jeremy Taylor has tersely replied:—"From the action of Christ's blessing infants, to infer they are to be baptized, proves nothing so much as that there is a want of better argument; for the conclusion would with more probability be derived thus: Christ blessed infants, and so dismissed them, but baptized them not; therefore infants are not to be baptized."
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15. There is no authentic record of infant baptism having been practiced during the first two centuries after Christ, and the custom probably did not become general till the fifth century; from the last-named time until the Reformation, however, it was accepted by most of the [p.129] professed Christian churches. But even during that dark age, many theological disputants raised their voices against this unholy rite.t In the early part of the sixteenth century, a sect rose into prominence in Germany, under the name of Anabaptists (Greek ann, again, and baptizo, baptize) distinguished for its opposition to the practice of infant baptism, and deriving its name from the requirement made of all its members who had been baptized in infancy that they be baptized again. This denomination, commonly called the Baptists, has become greatly divided by internal disputes; but in general, the Baptists have maintained a unity of belief in opposing the baptism of irresponsible children.
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16. Some pedobaptists have attempted to prove an analogy between baptism and circumcision; but for such position there is no scriptural warrant. Circumcision was made the mark of a covenant between God and His chosen servant Abraham,u a symbol regarded by the posterity of Abraham as indicative of their freedom from the idolatry of the times, and of God's acceptance of them; and nowhere is circumcision made a means for remission of sins. That rite was applicable to males only; baptism is administered to both sexes. Circumcision was to be performed on the eighth day after birth, even though such should fall on the Sabbath.w In the third century a council of bishops was held under the presidency of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, at which it was gravely determined, that to postpone baptism until the eighth day after birth was dangerous, and consequently not to be allowed.
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17. Infant Baptism is Forbidden in the Book of Mormon, from which fact we know that discussion upon this subject must have arisen among the Nephites. Mormon, having [p.130] received special revelation from the Lord concerning the matter, wrote an epistle thereon to his son Moroni, in which he denounces the practice of infant baptism, and declares that any one who supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity, denying the mercies of Christ, and setting at naught His atonement and the power of His redemption.x
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18. Baptism Essential to Salvation:—Most of the proofs concerning the object of baptism apply with equal force to the proposition that baptism is necessary for salvation; for, inasmuch as remission of sins constitutes a special purpose of baptism, and as no soul can be saved in the kingdom of heaven with unforgiven sins, it is plain that baptism is essential to salvation. Salvation is promised to man on condition of his obedience to the commands of God; and, as the scriptures conclusively prove, baptism is one of the most important of such requirements. Baptism, being commanded of God, must be essential to the purpose for which it is instituted, for our Father deals not with unnecessary forms. Baptism is required of all who have attained to years of accountability; none are exempt.
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19. Even Christ, standing as a man without sin in the midst of a sinful world, was baptized, "to fulfill all righteousness,"y such being the purpose, as declared by the Savior Himself to the hesitating priest, who, zealous as he was for his great mission, yet demurred when asked to baptize One whom he considered sinless. Centuries before the great event, Nephi, prophesying among the people in the western world, fore-told the baptism of the Savior, and beautifully explained how righteousness would be thereby fulfilled:z—"And now if the Lamb of God, he being holy [p.131] should have need to be baptized by water to fulfill all righteousness, O, then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized?"
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20. The words of the Savior, spoken while He ministered in the flesh, declare baptism to be essential to salvation. One of the rulers of the Jews, Nicodemus, came to Christ by night and made a profession of confidence in the instructions of the Savior, whom he designated as "a teacher come from God." Seeing his faith, Jesus taught unto him one of the chief laws of heaven, saying, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." A question by Nicodemus called forth from the Savior the additional declaration, "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.a It is practically indisputable, that the watery birth here referred to as essential to entrance into the kingdom, is baptism. We learn further concerning Christ's attitude toward baptism, that He required the ordinance of those who professed to become His disciples.b When appearing to the Eleven in His resurrected state, giving them His farewell blessing and final commission, He commanded them, "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;"c and, concerning the results of baptism He taught them, that "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned."d
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21. Plain as seems the spirit of these instructions and promises, there are nevertheless many, who, while professing to teach the doctrine of the Redeemer, evade the meaning of His precepts, and declare that because He said "he [p.132] that believeth not shall be damned," instead of "he that is not baptized shall be damned," baptism is after all not an essential, but a mere convenience or simple propriety, in the plan of salvation. It is a mockery of faith to profess belief in Christ while refusing to abide by His commandments. To believe the word of God and do it not, is to increase our culpability; such a course but adds hypocrisy to other sin. Surely the full penalty provided for wilful unbelief will fall to the lot of the professed believer who refuses to yield obedience to the very principles in which he boasts of having faith. And what can be said of the sincerity of one who refuses to obey the Divine commands, except there be specific penalties provided for disobedience? Can such a one's repentance be sincere, when he now is submissive only through fear of punishment? However, in stating this principle for the government of the Saints in the present dispensation, the Lord's words are more particular and specific, "And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not, and is not baptized, shall be damned."e
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22. The same doctrine concerning the necessity of baptism was preached by the disciples of Christ, particularly those who were immediately associated with Him in the ministry. John the Baptist testifies that he had been appointed to baptize with water,f and, concerning those who accepted John's teachings, the Savior declared that they, even though they were publicans, justified God, while the Pharisees and lawyers who refused to be baptized, "rejected the counsels of God against themselves,"g thereby, most assuredly forfeiting their claim to salvation. As already pointed out, Peter, the chief of the apostles, had but one answer to give to the [p.133] eager multitude seeking to know the essentials of salvation, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you."h
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23. Christ's humble compliance with the will of His Father, by submitting to baptism even though He stood sinless, surely declares to the world in language more forceful than words, that none are exempt from this condition, that baptism indeed is a requisite for salvation. So, no evidence of Divine favor, no bestowal of heavenly gifts, excuses man from obedience to this and other requirements of the gospel. Many illustrations of this fact have been given in connection with the purpose of baptism. Saul of Tarsus, though permitted to hear the voice of His Redeemer, could only enter the Church of Christ through the portals of baptism by water and by the Holy Ghost.i Afterward he preached baptism, declaring that by that ordinance may "we put on Christ," becoming the children of God. Cornelius, the centurion, was acknowledged of God through prayers and alms, and an angel came to him, and instructed him to send for Peter, who would tell him what to do. The apostle, having been specially prepared by the Lord for this mission, entered the house of the penitent Gentile, though to do such, was to violate the customs of the Jews; and taught him and his family of Christ Jesus. Even while Peter was speaking, the Holy Ghost fell upon his hearers, so that they testified by the gift of tongues, and greatly magnified God.j Yet the bestowal of such great gifts in no degree exempted them from compliance with the law of baptism; and Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
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24. Christ's ministers on the western continent were not less energetic in promulgating the doctrine of baptism. [p.134] Lehik and his son Nephi,l each testified of the baptism of the Savior, and of the absolute necessity of baptism by water and by the Holy Ghost on the part of all seekers after salvation. Nephi beautifully compares repentance and baptism by water and the Spirit to the gate leading into the fold of Christ.m Alma the first preached baptism as indispensable to salvation, calling upon the people to witness unto the Lord by their observance of this principle, that they covenanted to keep His commandments. The second Alma, son of the former, proclaimed baptism as a means of salvation, and consecrated ministers to baptize.n
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25. During the last century preceding the birth of Christ, the work of God among the Lamanites was begun, by the preaching of faith, repentance, and baptism; Ammon declared this doctrine to King Lamoni and his people.o Helaman preached baptism;p and in the time of his ministry, less than half a century before Christ's advent on earth, we read that tens of thousands united themselves with the Church by baptism. So also preached Helaman's sons,q and his grandson, Nephi.r These baptisms were performed in the name of the Messiah who was to come; but when He came to His western flock, He directed that they should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy, Ghost; and bestowed upon twelve chosen servants the authority to officiate in the ordinance,s promising the riches of heaven, unto all who would comply with His law, and unto such only.
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[p.135] 26. Evidence is abundant that the Savior regarded the baptized state as an essential condition of membership in His Church; thus, when instituting the sacrament among the Nephites, He instructed His disciples to administer it unto those only who had been properly baptized.t Further, we are informed that those who were baptized as Jesus had directed, were called the Church of Christ.u True to the Savior's promise, the Holy Ghost came to those who were baptized by His ordained authority, thus adding to water-baptism the higher baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost;v and many of them received wonderful manifestations of the Divine approval, seeing and hearing unspeakable things, not lawful to be written. The faith of the people showed itself in good works,w in prayers and fastingx in acknowledgment of which Christ reappeared, this time manifesting Himself to the disciples whom He had called to the ministry; and unto them He reiterated the former promises regarding all who were baptized of Him; and to this He added, that, provided they endured to the end, they should be held guiltless in the day of judgment.y On that occasion, He repeated the commandment through obedience to which salvation is promised:—"Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day."z
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27. Nearly four centuries later, we hear the same proclamation from the lips of Mormon.a And Moroni, his son, the solitary representative of a once mighty people, while [p.136] mourning the destruction of his kindred, leaves what at the time he supposed would be his farewell testimony to the truth of this doctrine;b then, being spared contrary to his expectations, he reverts again to the sacred theme, realizing the incalculable worth of the doctrine unto any and all who would read his pages; and in what might be regarded as his last words, he testifies to baptism by water and the Spirit as the means of salvation.c
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28. And this great principle, proclaimed of old, remains unaltered today; it is truth and changes not. The elders of the Church today have been commissioned in almost the same words as were used in authorizing the apostles of old:—"Go ye into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature, acting in the authority which I have given you, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned."d And again, hear the word of the Lord through Joseph the Prophet unto the elders of the Church:—"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." But, "verily, verily I say unto you, they who believe not on your words, and are not baptized in water, in my name, for the remission of their sins, that they may receive the Holy Ghost, shall be damned, and shall not come into my Father's kingdom where my Father and I am."e In obedience to these commands, the elders of this Church have continued to proclaim the gospel among the nations, preaching faith, repentance, and baptism by water and the Holy Ghost, as essential to salvation.
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[p.137] 29. We have examined the doctrines concerning baptism current among the Jews, the Nephites, and the Church of Jesus Christ in this age, and have found the principles taught to be ever the same. Indeed, we have gone farther back, even to the earliest history of the human race, and have learned that baptism was announced as a saving principle by which Adam was promised forgiveness and salvation. No one has reason to hope for salvation except by complying with the law of God, of which baptism is an essential part.
Notes.
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1. Preparation for Baptism:—The doctrine that baptism, to be acceptable, must be preceded by efficient preparation, was generally taught and understood in the days of Christ, as also in the so-called apostolic period, and the time immediately following. But this belief gradually fell away, and baptism came to be regarded as an outward form, the application of which depended little, if at all, on the candidates' appreciation, or conception of its purpose; and, as stated in the text, the Lord deemed it wise to re-announce the doctrine in the present dispensation. Concerning the former belief a few evidences are here given:
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"In the first ages of Christianity, men and women were baptized on a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."—Oanon Farrar.
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"But as Christ enjoins them (Mark xvi, 15-16) to teach before baptizing, and desires that none but believers shall be admitted to baptism, it would appear that baptism is not properly administered unless when it is preceded by faith." * * * In the apostolic age "no one is found to have been admitted to baptism without a previous profession of faith and repentance."—Calvin.
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"You are not first baptized, and then begin to receive the faith, and have a desire; but when you are to be baptized, you make known your will to the Teacher, and make a full confession of your faith with your own mouth."—Arnobius—a rhetorician who wrote in the latter half of the third century.
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"In the primitive church, instruction preceded baptism, agreeable to the order of Jesus Christ—'Go, teach all nations, baptizing them,' etc."—Saurin, (a French protestant; 1677—1730.)
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"In the first two centuries, no one was baptized, except being instructed in the faith and acquainted with the doctrine of Christ, he was able to profess himself a believer; because of those words, 'He that believeth and is baptized.'" —Salmarius, (a French author, 1588—1653.)
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2. Historical Notes On Infant Baptism:—"The baptism of infants, in the first two centuries after Christ, was altogether Unknown. * * * The custom of baptizing infants did not begin before the third age after Christ was [p.138] born. In the former ages no trace of it appears: and it was introduced without the command of Christ."—Curcellaeus.
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"It is certain that Christ did not ordain infant baptism. * * * We cannot prove that the apostles ordained infant baptism. From those places where baptism of a whole family is mentioned (as in Acts xvi, 33; I Cor. i, 16) we can draw no such conclusion, because the inquiry is still to be made, whether there were any children in the families of such an age that they were not capable of any intelligent reception of Christianity; for this is the only point on which the case turns. * * * As baptism was closely united with a conscious entrance on Christian communion, faith and baptism were always connected with one another: and thus it is in the highest degree probable, that baptism was performed only in instances where both could meet together, and that the practice of infant baptism was unknown at this (the apostolic) period. * * * That not till so late a period as (at least certainly not earlier than) Irenæus, a trace of infant baptism appears; and that it first became recognized as an apostolic tradition in the course of the third century, is evidence rather against than for the admission of its apostolic origin."—Johann Neander, (a German theologian who flourished in the first half of the present century.)
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"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."—Turtullian, (one of the Latin "Christian Fathers," he lived from 150 to 220 A.D.) Turtullian's almost violent opposition to the practice of pedobaptism is cited by Neander as "a proof that it was then not usually considered an apostolic ordinance; for in that case he would hardly have ventured to speak so strongly against it."
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Martin Luther, writing in the early part of the sixteenth century, declared: "It cannot be proven by the sacred scriptures that infant baptism was instituted by Christ, or begun by the first Christians after the apostles."
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"By tekna the Apostle understands, not infants, but posterity; in which signification the word occurs in many places of the New Testament; (see among others John viii, 39); whence it appears that the argument which is very commonly taken from this passage for the baptism of infants, is of no force, and good for nothing."—Limborch, (a native of Holland, and a theologian of repute; he lived 1633—1712.) [p.139]
Lecture VII.
Baptism.—Continued.
Article 4:—We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: * * * * (3) Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; * * * *.
Mode of Baptism.
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1. Method of Administering Baptism Important:—In considering the object and the necessity of baptism, much has been said and implied concerning the importance which the Lord attaches to this initiatory rite; it is natural, that the mode of administering the ordinance should also be specifically prescribed. Many Christian sects have some established rite of initiation, in which water figures as a necessary element; though with some the ceremony consists in nothing more than the placing of the priest's moistened finger on the forehead of the candidate; or in the pouring or sprinkling of water on the face; while others consider immersion of the whole body as requisite. The Latter-day Saints hold that the scriptures are devoid of ambiguity regarding the acceptable mode of baptism; and they boldly declare their belief that immersion of the whole body by a duly authorized servant or representative of the Savior, is the only true form. Their reasons for this belief may be summed up as follows: (1) The derivation and former usage of the word baptism, and its cognates, betoken immersion. (2) The symbolism of the rite is preserved in no other form. (3) Scriptural authority, the revealed word of God through the mouths of ancient and modern prophets, prescribes immersion as the true form of baptism.
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2. (1) The Word "Baptism," as is generally admitted by philologists, is derived from the Greek bapto, baptizo, [p.140] meaning literally to dip, or to immerse. As is true in the case of every living language, words may undergo great changes of meaning; and some writers declare that the term in question may be as applicable to pouring or sprinkling with water as to actual immersion. It becomes interesting, therefore, to enquire as to the current meaning of the term at or near the time of Christ; for, as the Savior evidently deemed it unnecessary in the course of His instructions concerning baptism, to modify or in any way to enlarge upon the meaning of the term, the word "baptize" evidently conveyed a very definite meaning to those who received His teachings. From the use made of the original term by the Latin and Greek authors,a it is plain that they understood an actual immersion in water as the only true signification. The modern Greeks understand baptism to mean a burial in water, and therefore, as they adopt the profession of Christianity, they practice immersion as the only proper form in baptism.b Concerning this kind of argument, it should be remembered that philological evidence is not of the most decisive order. Let us pass then to the consideration of other and stronger reasons.
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3. (2.) The Symbolism of the Baptismal Rite is preserved in no form other than immersion. The Savior compared baptism to a birth, and declared such to be essential to the life that leads to the kingdom of God.c Surely none can say that a birth is represented by a simple sprinkling of water on the face or head. Not the least of the distinctions which have contributed to Christ's pre-eminence as a teacher of teachers, consists in His precise and forceful use of language; His comparisons are always telling, His [p.141] metaphors ever expressive, His parables convincing; and so inappropriate a comparison as is implied in such a false representation of birth, would be entirely foreign to the Great Teacher's methods.
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4. Baptism has also been very expressively compared to a burial, followed by a resurrection; and in this symbol of the bodily death and resurrection of His Son, has God promised to grant remission of sins. In writing to the Romans, Paul says:—"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 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."b And again, the same apostle, writes: "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."c Among all the varied forms of baptism practiced by man, immersion alone typifies a birth, marking the beginning of a new career; or the sleep of the grave, with subsequent victory over death.
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5. (3.) Scriptural Authority warrants none other form than immersion. Christ Himself was baptized by immersion. We read that after the ceremony, He "went up straightway out of the water."d That the baptism of the Savior was acceptable before His Father is abundantly proved by the manifestations immediately following the ordinance—in the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the declaration, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." John, surnamed because of his Divine commission, the Baptist, [p.142] baptized in the river Jordan;e and shortly afterward we hear of him baptizing in Ænon, near to Salim, "because there was much water there;"f yet had he been baptizing by sprinkling, a small quantity of water would have sufficed for a multitude.
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6. We read of baptism following the somewhat speedy conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, treasurer to the queen, Candace. To him Philip preached the doctrine of Christ, as they rode together in the Ethiopian's chariot; the eunuch, believing the words of his inspired instructor, desired baptism, and Philip consenting, "he commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing."g Surely the record in this case is explicit, that immersion was the mode practised by Philip.
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7. History, other than Scriptural, proves that for more than two centuries after Christ, immersion was the only mode of baptism generally practiced by professed Christians; and not indeed till near the close of the thirteenth century did other forms become general.h Distortions of ordinances instituted by authority may be expected, if the outward form of such ordinances be attempted after the authority to minister in them has been taken away; yet such distortions are of gradual growth; deformities resulting from constitutional ailments do not develop in a day; we may with reason, therefore, look for the closest imitation of the true form of baptism, as indeed of any other ordinance instituted by Christ, in the period immediately following His personal [p.143] ministry, and that of His apostles. Then, as the darkness of unbelief deepened, the authority given of Christ having been taken from the earth with His martyred servants, many innovations appeared, dignitaries of the various churches becoming a law unto themselves and to their adherents. Early in the third century, the Bishop of Carthage decided that persons of weak health might be acceptably baptized by sprinkling; and with the license thus given, the true form of baptism gradually fell into disfavor, and unauthorized practices devised by man took its place.
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8. Baptism Among the Nephites was performed by immersion only. The wide extent to which baptism was preached and practised among the people from Lehi to Moroni has been already shown. When the Savior appeared to His people on this hemisphere, He gave them very explicit instructions as to the method of procedure in administering the ordinance. These are his words:—"Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them: behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. and now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying, Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Amen And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water."i
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9. Modern Baptism, as prescribed by revelation, is after the same pattern. The first baptisms in the present dispensation were those of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who baptized each other according to the directions of the heavenly messenger from whom they had received authority to administer in this holy ordinance, and who was none other than John the Baptist of a former dispensation, the [p.144] forerunner of the Messiah, Joseph Smith thus describes the event:—"Accordingly we went and were baptized; I baptized him [Oliver Cowdery] first, and afterwards he baptized me. * * * Immediately on our coming up out of the water after we had been baptized, we experienced great and glorious blessings."
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10. In a revelation concerning Church government, dated April, 1830, the Lord prescribed the exact form of baptism, as He desires the ordinance administered in the present dispensation. He said: "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—Haviny 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."j
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11. The Lord would not have prescribed the words of this ceremony did He not desire them used, and therefore elders and priests of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have no personal authority to change the form given of God, by additions, omissions, or alterations of any kind.
Baptism and "Re-Baptism."
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12. A Repetition of the Baptismal Ordinance on the same individual is allowable under certain specific conditions. Thus, if one, having entered the Church by baptism, withdraws from it, or is excommunicated therefrom, and afterwards repents and desires to regain his standing in the Church, he can do so only through baptism. However, [p.145] such is a repetition of the initiatory ordinance as previously administered. There is no ordinance of "re-baptism" in the Church distinct in nature, form or purpose, from other 'baptism; and, therefore, in administering baptism to a subject who has been formerly baptized, the form of the ceremony is exactly the same as in first baptisms. The expressions, "I re-baptize you," in place of "I baptize you, and the additions "for the renewal of your covenants," or "for the remission of your sins," though such have been used by officiating elders and priests of the Church, are not authorized. The dictates of reason unite with the voice of the presiding authorities of the Church, in discountenancing any erratic departures from the course prescribed by the Lord; changes in ceremonies given by authority, can be effected only by authority, and we must look for direction in these matters to those who hold the keys of power on earth.
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13. A "re-baptism," that is, a repetition of the simple ordinance as at first performed, may be allowed under particular circumstances, which seemingly warrant this extraordinary step. Thus, in the early days of the Church in Utah, its members having come hither through much tribulation, long and toilsome journeyings, accompanied in many instances by prolonged suspension of Church gatherings and other formal religious observances, it was wisely suggested by President Young that the members of the Church should renew the witness of their allegiance to the cause of God, by each one seeking baptism. Then, as other companies of immigrants continued to arrive, the same conditions of long travel and rough experience applying in their cases, and further, as many of them hailed from foreign branches of the Church still incompletely organized, through which circumstances the actual standing of the members could not be readily proved, the same rite [p.146] of a second baptism was allowed to them. However, it was never intended that such a practice should become general; far less that it should be established as a rule of action in the Church. The Latter-day Saints do not profess to be Ana-baptists.
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14. "Re-baptisms" Recorded in Scripture are very few; and in every instance, the existence of special circumstances justifying the action, are readily seen. Thus, we read of Paul baptizing certain professed disciples at Ephesus, though they had already been baptized after the manner of John's baptism.k But in this case, the apostle was evidently, and with good reason, suspicious that the baptism of which these spoke had been performed by unauthorized hands, or at least without the proper preliminary education of the candidates; for when he tested the efficacy of their baptism by asking "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" they answered him, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." Then asked he in surprise, "Unto what then were ye baptized?" and they replied, "Unto John's baptism.". But Paul knew, as we know, that John preached the baptism of repentance by water, but always declared that such was but a preliminary to the greater baptism by fire, which Christ should bring. Therefore, in view of such unsatisfactory evidence concerning the validity of their baptism, Paul had baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus administered unto these twelve devout Ephesians, after which he laid his hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
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15. The baptism instituted by Christ among the Nephites,l was very largely a "rebaptism;" for as we have already seen, the doctrine of baptism had been taught and practiced among the people from the time of Lehi; and [p.147] surely, Nephi, the first to whom the Savior gave authority to baptize after His departure, had been previously baptized, for he and his co-laborers in the ministry had been most zealous in declaring the necessity of baptism.m Yet in this case also, there had probably arisen much impropriety in the manner, and perhaps in the spirit, of administering the ordinance; for the Savior in giving minute directions concerning the form of baptism, reproved them for the spirit of contention and disputation that had previously existed among them regarding the ordinance.n Therefore, the baptism of these people was made valid by an authoritative administration, after the manner prescribed of God.
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16. Incidentally, our attention is arrested by the fact that in these cases of re-baptism among the Nephites, the same ritual was used as in first baptism, and this by explicit instructions of the Lord, coupled with an impressive warning against disputation. Why should the priests in this day seek to alter the form to suit the case of a candidate who has formerly been baptized?
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17. Repeated Baptisms of the same Person are not sanctioned in the Church. It is easy to fall into the error of believing that baptism offers a ready means of gaining forgiveness of sins however oft repeated. Such a belief tends rather to excuse than to prevent sin, inasmuch as the hurtful effects seem to be so easily averted. Neither the written law of God, nor the instructions of His living Priesthood, designate baptism as a means of securing forgiveness by those who are already within the fold of Christ. Unto such, forgiveness of all sin, if not unto death, has been promised on confession, and repentance with full purpose of heart; of them a repetition of the baptismal rite has not [p.148] been required; and, were subjects of this class repeatedly baptized, unto them remission of sins would in no wise come, except they repent most sincerely. The frailties of mortality, and our proneness to sin, lead us continually into error; but if we covenant with the Lord at the waters of baptism, and thereafter seek to observe His law, He is merciful to pardon our little transgressions, through repentance sincere and true; and without such repentance, baptism, however oft repeated, would avail us nothing.
Baptism for the Dead.
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18. Baptism Required of All:—The universal applicability of the law of baptism has been already dwelt upon. Compliance with the ordinance has been shown to be essential to salvation, and this condition applies to all mankind. Nowhere in scripture is a distinction made in this regard between the living and the dead. The dead are those who have lived in mortality upon earth; the living are mortals who yet will pass through the ordained change which we call death. All are children of the same Father, all to be judged and rewarded or punished by the same unerring justice, with the same interpositions of benignant mercy. Christ's atoning sacrifice was offered, not alone for the few who lived upon the earth while He was in the flesh, nor for those who were to be born in mortality after His death, but for all inhabitants of earth then past, present, and future. He was ordained of the Father to be a judge of both quick and dead;p He is Lord alike of living and dead,q as men speak of dead and living, though all are to be placed in the same position before Him; there will be but a single class, for all live unto Him.r
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19. The Gospel yet Unknown to Many:—Of the [p.149] multitudes of human beings who have existed on the earth, but few have heard, and fewer have obeyed, the law of the gospel. In the course of the world's history, there have. been long periods of spiritual darkness, when the gospel was not preached upon the earth; when there was no authorized representative of the Lord. officiating in the saving ordinances of the kingdom. Such a condition has never existed except as the result of the unbelief and waywardness of the people. When mankind have persistently trodden the pearls of truth into the mire, and have sought to slay and rend the bearers of the jewels, in justice not more than in mercy, these treasures of heaven have been taken away, until a more appreciative posterity could be raised up. It may very properly be asked, What provisions are made in the economy of God for the eventual salvation of those who have thus neglected the requirements of the Word, and for those who have never heard the gospel tidings?
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20. According to sectarian dogmas which have prevailed among many so-called Christian sects during the Obscurity of the spiritual night, and which are yet zealously promulgated, never-ending punishment or interminable bliss, unchanging in kind or degree, will be the lot of every soul; the award being made according to the condition of the spirit at the time of bodily death; a life of sin being thus entirely nullified by a death-bed repentance; and an honorable career, if unmarked by ceremonies of the established sects, being followed by the tortures of hell without the hope of relief. Such a belief must rank with the dread heresy which proclaims the condemnation of innocent babes who have not been sprinkled by man's assumed authority.
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21. It is blasphemous to thus attribute caprice and vindictiveness to the Divine nature. In the justice of God, no soul will be condemned under any law which has not been made known unto him. It is true, eternal punishment has [p.150] been decreed as the lot of the wicked; but the true meaning of this terrible expression has been given by the Lord Himself:s eternal punishment is God's punishment; endless punishment is God's punishment, for "Endless" and "Eternal" are among His names, and the words are descriptive of His attributes. No soul will be kept in prison or continued in torment beyond the time requisite to work the needed reformation and to vindicate justice, for which ends alone punishment is imposed. And no one will be permitted to enter any kingdom of glory to which he is not entitled through obedience to law.
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22. The Gospel to be Preached to the Dead:—It is plain, then, that the gospel must be proclaimed in the spirit world; and that such work is provided for, the scriptures abundantly prove. Peter, describing the mission of his Redeemer, thus declares this truth:—"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."t The inauguration of this work among the dead was effected by Christ in the interval between His death and resurrection. While His body lay in the tomb, His spirit was ministering to the spirits of the departed:—"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."u
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23. Other scriptures sustain the position, that while in a disembodied state, Christ did not go to the place usually termed Heaven,—the abode of His Father; but was laboring among the dead, who greatly needed His ministry. One of [p.151] the malefactors who suffered crucifixion by His side, through humility, won from the dying Savior the promise, "Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise."v Yet, three days afterward, the Lord, then a resurrected Being, declared to the sorrowing Magdalene, "I have not yet ascended to my Father."w
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24. If it was deemed proper and just that the gospel be carried to the spirits who were disobedient in the days of Noah, is it not reasonable to conclude that like opportunities will be placed within the reach of others who have rejected the word at different times? For the same spirit of neglect and disobedience which characterized the time of Noah, has ever existed.x And further, if, in the plan of God, provisions be made for the redemption of the wilfully disobedient, of those who actually spurn the truth, can we believe that the still greater multitudes of spirits who have never heard the gospel, are to be left in punishment eternally? No; God has decreed that even the heathen nations, and those that knew no law, shall be redeemed.y The good gifts of the Father are not confined to this sphere of action, but will be distributed in justice throughout eternity. Upon all who reject the word of God in this life will fall the penalties provided for such act; but after the debt has been paid, the prison doors will be opened, and the spirits once confined in suffering, now chastened and clean, will come forth to partake of the glory provided for their class.
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25. Christ's Work among the Dead was Foretold:—Centuries before Christ came in the flesh, the prophets rejoiced in the knowledge that through Him would salvation be carried to the dead, as well as to the living. Speaking of the punishment to be brought upon the proud and haughty of [p.152] the earth, Isaiah declares: "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."z The same great prophet thus testifies concerning the work of the coming Redeemer; He is "to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house."a And David, singing to the music of inspiration concerning the redemption from the grave, exclaims: "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."b
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26. Work of the Living for the Dead:—The redemption of the dead will be effected in strict accordance with the law of God, which is written in justice, and framed in mercy. It is alike impossible for any spirit, in the flesh or disembodied, to obtain even the promise of eternal glory, except on condition of obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. And, as baptism is essential to the salvation of the living, it is likewise indispensable to the redemption of the dead. This was known by the Saints of old, and hence the doctrine of baptism for the dead was taught among them. In an epistle addressed to the Saints at Corinth, Paul expounded the principles of the resurrection, whereby the bodies of the dead are to be brought forth from the graves. "Christ the first fruits, and afterward they that are Christ's," and as proof that this doctrine of the resurrection was included in the gospel as they had [p.153] received and professed it, the apostle asks: "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?"c These words are unambiguous, and the fact that they are presented without explanation or comment, argues that the principle of baptism for the dead was understood among the people to whom the letter was addressed.
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27. The necessity of vicarious work is here shown,—the living laboring in behalf of the dead; the children doing for their progenitors what is beyond the power of the latter to do for themselves. Many and various are the interpretations rendered by erring human wisdom, on this plain statement of Paul's; yet the simple and earnest seeker after truth finds little difficulty in comprehending the meaning. In words which form the closing sentences of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi predicted the great work to be carried on in behalf of the dead during the latter days: "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."d It is a current belief among many Bible students, that this prophecy had reference to the birth and ministry of John the Baptist,e upon whom indeed rested and remained the spirit and power of Elias, as the angel had fortold;f but we have no record of Elijah ministering unto John; and moreover the results of the latter's ministry warrant no conclusion that in him did the prophecy find its full realization.
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28. We must therefore look to a later date in the world's history for a fulfilment of Malachi's prediction. On the [p.154] 21st of September, 1823, Joseph Smithg received a visitation of a heavenly being who announced himself as Moroni, sent from the presence of God. In the course of his instructions to the chosen youth, this heavenly personage quoted the prophecy of Malachi, already referred to, but in language slightly different from, and certainly more expressive than, that appearing in the ordinary translation of the scriptures; the angel's version is as follows: "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. Behold I will reveal unto you the Priesthood by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 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."h
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29. In a glorious manifestation to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, given in the Kirtland Temple, April 3, 1836, there appeared unto them Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death; he declared unto them: "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."i
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[p.155] 30. The Fathers and the Children Mutually Dependent:—One of the great principles underlying the doctrine of salvation for the dead is that of the mutual dependence of the fathers and the children. As the Prophet Joseph taught the Saints,j but for the establishment of a welding link between the departed fathers and the living children, the earth would be smitten with a curse. The plan of God provides that neither the children nor the fathers can alone be made perfect; and the necessary union is effected through baptism and associated ordinances for the dead. The manner in which the hearts of the children and those of the fathers, are turned toward one another is made plain through these scriptures. As the children learn that without the aid of their progenitors they cannot attain perfection, assuredly will their hearts be opened, their faith will be kindled, and good works will be attempted, for the redemption of their dead; and the departed, learning from the ministers of the gospel laboring among them, that they must depend upon their children as vicarious saviors, will seek to sustain their still mortal representatives with faith and prayer for the perfecting of those labors of love.
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31. And love, which is a power in itself, is thus intensified. Aside from the emotions which are stirred within the soul by the presence of the Divine, there are few feelings stronger and purer than the love for kindred. Heaven would not be all we wish were family love unknown there.k Affection there will differ from its earthly type, in being deeper, stronger, purer. And thus in the mercy of God, His erring, mortal children, who have taken upon themselves the name of Christ on earth, may become in a limited sphere, each a savior in the house of his fathers, and that too by vicarious labor and sacrifice, rendered in humility, [p.156] and, as represented in the baptismal ordinance, typical of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Redeemer.
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32. The Labor for the Dead is Two-Fold:—That performed on earth would be incomplete, but for its supplement and counterpart beyond the vail. Missionary labor is in progress there, whereby the tidings of the gospel are carried to the departed spirits, who thus learn of the work done in their behalf on earth. What glorious possibilities concerning the purposes of God, are thus presented to our view! How the mercy of God is magnified by these evidences of His love! How often do we behold friends and loved ones, whom we count among earth's fairest and best, stricken down by the shafts of death, seemingly in spite of the power of faith and the ministrations of the Priesthood of God! Yet who of us can tell but that the spirits so called away are needed in the labor of redemption beyond, preaching perhaps the gospel to the spirits of their forefathers, while others of the same family are officiating in a similar behalf on earth?
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33. As far as the Divine will has been revealed, it requires that the outward ordinances, such as baptism in water, the laying on of hands for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, and the higher endowments that follow, be attended to on earth, a proper representative in the flesh acting as proxy for the dead. The results of such labors are to be left with God. It is not to be supposed that by these ordinances the departed are in any way compelled to accept the obligation, nor that they are in the least hindered in the exercise of their free agency. They will accept or reject, according to their condition of humility or hostility in respect to things divine; but the work so done for them on earth will be of avail when wholesome argument and reason have shown them their true position. [p.157]
Temples.
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34. Temples or other sacred places are required for the performance of these holy ordinances. Whenever an organization of the priesthood has existed on earth, the Lord has required the preparation of places suited to His use, where the rites of His Church may be performed. It is but proper that such a structure should be the result of the people's best efforts, inasmuch as it is made by them an offering unto the Lord. In every age of the world, the chosen people have been a temple-building people. Shortly after Israel's deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, the Lord called upon the people to construct a sanctuary to His name, the plan of which He minutely explained. Though this was but a tent, it was elaborately furnished and appointed; the choicest possessions of the people being used in its construction.l And the Lord accepted this offering of His wandering people, by manifesting His glory therein, and there revealing Himself.m When the people had settled in the promised land, the Tabernacle of the congregation was given a more permanent resting place,n yet it still was honored for its sacred purpose, until superseded by the Temple of Solomon as the sanctuary of the Lord.
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35. This temple, one of the most gorgeous structures ever erected by man for sacred service, was dedicated with imposing ceremonies; but its splendor was of short duration; for, within less than forty years from the time of its completion, its glory declined, and finally it fell a prey to the flames. A partial restoration of the temple was made after the Jews returned from their captivity; and through the friendly influence of Cyrus and Darius, the temple of Zerubbabel [p.158] was dedicated.o That the Lord accepted this effort of His people to maintain a sanctuary to His name, is fully shown by the spirit that actuated its officers, among whom were Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi. This temple remained standing for nearly five centuries, when, but a few years before the birth of the Savior, a restoration of the edifice was begun by wicked Herod the Great, and the term "Temple of Herod" passed into history.p The vail of this temple was rent at the time of the crucifixion, and in the year 70 A.D. the destruction of the building was accomplished by Titus.
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36. Modern Temples:—From that time until the present dispensation, no other temples have been reared on the eastern continent. It is true, imposing edifices have been erected for the purposes of worship; but a colossal structure does not necessarily constitute a temple. A temple is more than a church-building, a meeting-house, a tabernacle, or a synagogue; it is a place specially prepared by dedication unto the Lord, and marked by His acceptance, for the performing of the ordinances pertaining to the Holy Priesthood. The Latter-day Saints, true to the characteristics of the chosen of God,r have been from the first a temple-building people. Only a few months after the organization of the Church in the present dispensation, the Lord made reference to a temple which was to be built.s In July, 1831, the Lord designated a spot in Independence, Mo., as the site of a future temple;t but the work of construction thereon has not yet been consummated, as is likewise the case with the temple site at Far West, on which the corner-stone was laid July 4, 1838.
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[p.159] 37. There have been already erected and dedicated in the present dispensation, six temples, in each of which sacred ordinances have been administered—these comprise the temples at Kirtland, Ohio; Nauvoo, Ill.; St. George, Logan, Manti, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The temples at Kirtland and Nauvoo have been abandoned, as the Saints were driven westward before the fury of wicked mobs; and the Nauvoo temple has been demolished. The Utah temples are still preserved to the service of God; and the magnitude and grandeur of the work accomplished within their sacred precincts, tell of the gracious acceptance by the Lord, to whose name they have been reared, and the continuance of Divine favor toward them and the people. In these holy places, the work of redeeming the dead and endowing the living is in uninterrupted progress.
Notes.
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1. Usage of the Term "Baptize" in Ancient Times:—The following instances show the ordinary meaning attached to the Greek term from which our word "baptize" is derived. In all, the idea of immersion is plainly intended: —(For these and other examples, see Millennial Star, Vol. XXI, p. 687-8.)
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Polybius, a writer of history, who flourished during the second century before Christ, uses the following expressions:—In describing a naval conflict between the Carthaginian and Roman fleets off the shores of Sicily he says, "If any were hard pressed by the enemy they withdrew safely back, on account of their fast sailing into the open sea: and then turning round and falling on those of their pursuers who were in advance, they gave them frequent blows and 'baptized' many of their vessels."—Book I, ch. 51.
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The same writer thus refers to the passage of the Roman soldiers through the river Trebia, "When the passage of the river Trebia came on, which had risen above its usual current, on account of the rain which had fallen, the infantry with difficulty, crossed over, being 'baptized' up to the chest."—Book III, ch. 72.
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Describing a catastrophe which befel the Roman ships at Syracuse, Polybius states: "Some were upset, but the greater number, their prow being thrown down from a height, were 'baptized' and became full of sea."
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Strabo who lived during the time of Christ, used the term "baptized" in the same sense. He thus describes an instrument used in fishing:—"And if it fall into the sea it is not lost: for it is compacted of oak and pine wood: so that even [p.160] if the oak is 'baptized' by its weight, the remaining part floats and is easily recovered."
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Strabo refers to the buoyancy of certain saline waters thus:—"These have the taste of salt water, but a different nature, for even persons who cannot swim are not liable to be 'baptized' in them, but float like logs on the surface."
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Referring to a salt spring in Tatta, the same writer says, "So easily does the water form a crust round everything 'baptized' into it that if persons let down a circlet of rushes they will draw up wreaths of salt."
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Speaking of a species of pitch from. the lake Sirbonis, Strabo says:—"It will float on the surface owing to the nature of the water, which, as we said is such as to render swimming unnecessary, and such that one who walks upon it is not 'baptized.'"
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Dio Cassius, speaking of the effects of a severe storm near Rome says, "The vessels which were in the Tiber, which were lying at anchor near the city, and to the river's mouth, were 'baptized.'"
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The same author thus alludes to the fate of some of Curie's soldiers while fleeting before the forces of Juba:—"Not a few of these fugitives perished, some being knocked down in their attempts to get on board the vessels, and others, even when in the boats, being 'baptized' through their weight."
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Alluding to the fate of the Byzantians who endeavored to escape the siege by taking to the sea, he says, "Some of those, from the extreme violence of the wind, were 'baptized.'"
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2. Baptism Among the Greeks:—"The native Greeks must understand their own language better than foreigners, and they have always understood the word baptism to signify dipping; and therefore from their first embracing of Christianity to this day they have always baptized, and do yet baptize, by immersion."—Robinson.
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3. Early Form of Christian Baptism:—History furnishes ample proof that in the first century after the death of Christ, baptism was administered solely by immersion. Tertullian thus refers to the immersion ceremony common in his day, "There is no difference whether one is washed in a sea or in a pool, in a river or in a fountain, in a lake or in a channel: nor is there any difference between those whom John dipped in Jordan, and those whom Peter dipped in the Tiber. * * * We are immersed in the water."
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The following are but a few of the instances on record. (See Millennial Star, Vol. XXI, p. 769-770.):
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Justin Martyr describes the ceremony as practiced by himself· First describing the preparatory examination of the candidate, he proceeds, "After that they are led, by us to where there is water, and are born again in that kind of new birth by which we ourselves were born again. For upon the name God, the Father and Lord of all, and of Jesus Christ, our Savior, and of the Holy Spirit, the immersion in water is performed, because the Christ hath also said, 'Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.'"
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Bishop Bennet says concerning the practices of the early Christians:—"They led them into the water and laid them down in the water as a man is laid in a grave; and then they said those words 'I baptize (or wash) thee in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;' then they raised them up again, and clean garments were put on them; from whence came the phrases of being baptized unto Christ's death, of being buried with Him by baptism into death, of our [p.161] being risen with Christ, and of our putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, of putting off the old man, and putting on the new."
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"That the apostles immersed whom they baptized there is no doubt. * * * And that the ancient church followed their example is very clearly evinced by innumerable testimonies of the fathers."—Vossius.
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"Burying as it were the person baptized in the water, and raising him out again, without question was anciently the more usual method."—Archbishop Seeker.
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"'Immersion' was the usual method in which baptism was administered in the early Church. * * * Immersion was undoubtedly a common mode of administering baptism, and was not discontinued when infant baptism prevailed. * * * Sprinkling gradually took the place of immersion without any formal renunciation of the latter."—Canon Farrar.
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4. The Fathers and the Children:—"The revelation in our day of the doctrine of baptism for the dead may be said to have constituted a new epoch in the history of our race. At the time the Prophet Joseph received that revelation, the belief was general in Christendom that at death the destiny of the soul was fixed irrevocably and for all eternity. If not rewarded with endless happiness, then endless torment was its doom, beyond all possibility of redemption or change. The horrible and monstrous doctrine, so much at variance with every element of Divine justice, was generally believed, that the heathen nations who had died without a knowledge of the true God, and the redemption wrought out by His Son, Jesus Christ, would all be eternally consigned to hell. The belief upon this point is illustrated by the reply of a certain Bishop to the inquiry of the king of the Franks, when the king was about to submit to baptism at the hands of the bishop. The king was a heathen, but had concluded to accept the form of religion then called Christianity. The thought occurred to him that if baptism were necessary for his salvation, what had become of his dear ancestors who had died heathens? This thought framed itself into an inquiry which he addressed to the bishop. The prelate, less politic than many of his sect, bluntly told him they had gone to hell. "Then by Thor, I will go there with them," said the king, and thereupon refused to accept baptism or become a Christian."—Geo. Q. Cannon's Life of Joseph Smith, p. 510. [p.162]
Lecture VIII.
The Holy Ghost.
Article 4:—We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: * * * (4) Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
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1. The Holy Ghost Promised:—John the Baptist, proclaiming in the wilderness repentance and baptism by water, foretold a second higher baptism, which he characterized as being of fire and the Holy Ghost; this was to follow his administration,a and was to be given by that Mightier One whose shoes the Baptist considered himself unworthy to bear. That the holder of this superior authority was none other than the Christ is proved by John's solemn record: —"Behold the Lamb of God * * * This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me * * * And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water; the same said unto me: Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."b
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2. In declaring to Nicodemusc the necessity of baptism, the Savior did not stop with a reference to the watery birth alone, that being incomplete without the quickening influence of the Spirit; born of water and of the Spirit is the necessary condition of him who is to gain admittance to the kingdom. Many of the scriptural passages quoted in proof of the purpose and necessity of baptism, show baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost to be closely associated with the prescribed ordinance of immersion in water.
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[p.163] 3. Christ's instructions to His apostles comprise repeated promises concerning the coming of the "Comforter," and the "Spirit of Truth,"d by which expressive terms the Holy Ghost is designated. In His last interview with the apostles, at the termination of which He ascended into heaven, the Lord repeated these assurances of a spiritual baptism, which was then soon to take place.e The fulfilment of this great prediction was realized at the succeeding Pentecost, when the apostles, having assembled together, were endowed with mighty power from heaven,f being filled with the Holy Ghost so that they spake with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Among other manifestations of this heavenly gift, may be mentioned the appearance of flames of fire like unto tongues, which rested upon each of them. The promise so miraculously fulfilled upon themselves was repeated by the apostles to those who sought their instruction. Peter, addressing the Jews on that same day, declared, on the condition of their acceptable repentance and baptism, "ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."g
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4. Book of Mormon evidence is not less conclusive regarding the Holy Spirit's visitation unto those who obey the requirements of water baptism. Nephi, Lehi's son, bore solemn record of this truth,h as made known to him by the voice of God. And the words of the resurrected Savior to the Nephites come in plainness indisputable, and with authority not to be questioned, proclaiming the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost unto all those who obey the preliminary requirements.i
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[p.164] 5. Unto the Saints in the dispensation of the fulness of times, the same great promise has been made. "I say unto you again," spake the Lord in addressing certain elders of the Church, "that every soul that believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins shall receive the Holy Ghost."j
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6. Personality and Powers of the Holy Ghost:—The Holy Ghost is associated with the Father and the Son in the Godhead. In the light of revelation, we are instructed as to the distinct personality of the Holy Ghost. He is a Being endowed with the attributes and powers of Deity, and not a mere thing, force, or essence. The term Holy Ghost and its common Synonyms, Spirit of God,k Spirit of the Lord, or simply, Spirit,l Comforter,m and Spirit of Truth,n occur in the scriptures with plainly different meanings, referring in some cases to the person of God, the Holy Ghost, and in other instances to the power or authority of this great Being. The context of such passages will show which of these significations applies.
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7. The Holy Ghost undoubtedly possesses personal powers and affections; these attributes exist in Him in perfection. Thus, He teaches and guides,o testifies of the Father and the Son,p reproves for sin,q speaks, commands, and commissions,r makes intercession for sinners,s is grieved,t [p.165] searches and investigates,u entices,v and knows all things.w These are not mere figurative expressions, but plain statements of the attributes and characteristics of this great Personage. That the Holy Ghost is capable of manifesting Himself in the true form and figure of God, after which image man is shaped, is indicated by the wonderful interview between the Spirit and Nephi, in which He revealed Himself to the prophet, questioned him concerning his desires and belief, instructed him in the things of God, speaking face to face with the man. "I spake unto him," says Nephi, "as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man, yet nevertheless I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh to another."x However, the Holy Ghost does not possess a tangible body of flesh and bones, as do both the Father and the Son, but is a personage of spirit.y
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8. Much of the confusion existing in our human conceptions concerning the nature of the Holy Ghost, arises from the common failure to segregate our ideas of His person and powers. Plainly, such expressions as being filled with the Holy Ghost,z and the Spirit falling upon men, have reference to the powers and influences which emanate from God and which are characteristic of Him; for the Holy Ghost may in this way operate simultaneously upon many persons, even though they be widely separated; whereas the actual person of the Holy Ghost cannot be in more than one place at a time. Yet we read, that through the power of the Spirit, the Father and the Son operate in their creative acts [p.166] and in their general dealings with the human family.a The Holy Ghost may be regarded as the minister of the Godhead, carrying into effect the decisions of the Supreme Council.
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9. In the execution of these great purposes, the Holy Ghost directs and controls the numerous forces of Nature, of which indeed a few, and these perhaps of the minor order, wonderful as even the least of them seems to man, have thus far been made known to the human mind. Gravitation, sound, heat, light, and the still more mysterious, seemingly supernatural power of electricity, are but the common servants of the Holy Spirit in His operations. No earnest thinker, no sincere investigator supposes that he has yet learned of all the forces existing in and operating upon matter; indeed the observed phenomena of nature, yet wholly inexplicable to him, far outnumber those for which he has devised even a partial explanation. There are powers and forces at the command of God, compared with which, electricity, the most occult of all the physical agencies controlled in any degree by man, is as the pack-horse to the locomotive, the foot messenger to the telegraph, the raft of logs to the ocean steamer. Man has scarcely glanced at the enginery of creation; and yet the few forces known to him have brought about miracles and wonders, which but for their actual realization would be beyond belief. These mighty agencies, and the mightier ones still to man unknown, and many perhaps, to the present condition of the human mind unknowable, do not constitute the Holy Ghost, but the mere means ordained to serve Divine purposes.
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10. Subtler, mightier, and more far-reaching still than any or all of the physical forces of nature, are the powers that operate upon conscious organisms, the means by which [p.167] the mind, the heart, the soul of man may be affected. In our ignorance of the true nature of electric energy, we speak of it as a fluid; and so by analogy the forces through which the mind is governed have been called spiritual fluids. The true nature of these higher powers is unknown to us, for the conditions of comparison and analogy, so necessary to our frail human reasoning, are wanting; still the effects are experienced by all. As the conducting medium in an electric current is capable of conveying but a limited current, the maximum strength depending upon the resistance offered by the conductor; and, as separate circuits of different degrees of conductivity may carry currents of widely varying intensity; so human souls are of varied capacity with respect to the diviner powers. But, as the medium is purified, as the obstructions are removed, so the resistance to the energy decreases, and the forces manifest themselves with greater perfection. By analogous processes of purification, may our spirits be made more susceptible to the power of life, which is an emanation from the Spirit of God. Therefore are we taught to pray by word and action for a constantly increasing portion of the Spirit, that is, the power of the Spirit, which is a measure of the favor of God unto us.
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11. The Office of the Holy Ghost in His ministrations among men is very fully described in scripture. He is a Teacher sent from the Father;b and unto those who are entitled to His tuition He will reveal all things necessary for the soul's advancement. Through the influences of the Holy Spirit, the powers of the human mind may be quickened and increased, so that things past may be brought to remembrance. He will serve as a guide in things divine unto all who will obey Him,c enlightening every man,d in [p.168] proportion to his humility and obedience;e unfolding the mysteries of God,f as the knowledge thus revealed may tend to spiritual growth; conveying knowledge from God to man;g sanctifying those who have been cleansed through obedience to the requirements of the gospel;h manifesting all things;i and bearing witness unto men concerning the existence and infallibility of the Father and the Son.j
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12. And not alone does the Holy Ghost bring to mind the past, and explain the things of the present, but His power is manifested likewise in prophecy concerning the future;—"He shall show you things to come," declared the Savior to the apostles in promising the advent of the Comforter. Adam, the first prophet of earth, under the influence of the Holy Ghost "predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation."k
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13. The power of the Holy Ghost then is the spirit of prophecy and revelation; His office is that of enlightenment of the mind, quickening of the intellect, and sanctification of the soul.
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14. To Whom is the Holy Ghost given? Not to all indiscriminately. The Redeemer declared to the apostles of old, "I will pray to the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him."l Clearly, then, a certain condition of the candidate is requisite before the Holy Ghost can be bestowed, that is to say, before the person can receive a right to the company [p.169] and ministrations of the Spirit. God grants the Holy Ghost unto the obedient; and the bestowal of this gift follows faith, repentance, and baptism by water.
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15. The apostles of old promised the ministration of the Holy Ghost unto those only who had received baptism by water for the remission of sins;m John the Baptist gave assurances of the visitation of the Holy Ghost to those only, who were baptized unto repentance.n The instance of Paul's rebaptizing the twelve disciples at Ephesus before he conferred upon them the Holy Ghost, on account of a probable lack of propriety or of authority in their first baptism,o has already been dwelt upon. We read of a remarkable manifestation of power among the people of Samaria,p to whom, Philip went and preached the Lord Jesus; the people with one accord accepted his testimony and sought baptism. Then came unto them Peter and John, through whose ministrations the Holy Ghost came upon the new converts, whereas upon none of them had the Spirit previously fallen, though all had been baptized.
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16. The Holy Ghost dwells not in tabernacles unfit and unworthy. Paul makes the sublime declaration that the body of man when filled with the power of the Holy Ghost becomes a temple of this Spirit; and the apostle points out the terrible responsibility of defiling a structure sanctified by so holy a presence.q Faith in God leads to repentance of sin, this is followed by baptism in water for the remission of sins, and this in turn by the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, through whose power come sanctification and the specific gifts of God.
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17. An Exception to the Prescribed Order is shown in the [p.170] case of the devout Gentile, Cornelius, unto whom, together with his family, came the Holy Ghost, with such power that they spake with new tongues to the glorification of God, and this before their baptism.r But sufficient reason for this departure from the usual order is seen in the prejudice that existed among the Jews toward other nations, which, but for the Lord's direct instructions to Peter, would have hindered, if indeed it did not prevent, the apostle from ministering unto the Gentiles; as it was, his act was loudly condemned by his own people; but he answered their criticisms with a recital of the lesson given him of God, and the undeniable evidence of the Divine will as shown in the reception of the Holy Ghost by Cornelius and his family before baptism.
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18. And in another sense the Holy Ghost has frequently operated for good through persons that are unbaptized; indeed, some measure of this power is given to all mankind; for, as seen already, the Holy Spirit is the power of intelligence, of wise direction, of development, of life. Manifestation of the power of God, as made plain through the operations of the Spirit, are seen in the triumphs of ennobling art, the discoveries of true science, and the events of history; with all of which the carnal mind may believe that God takes no direct concern. Not a truth has ever been made the property of human kind, except through the power of that great Spirit who exists to do the bidding of the Father and the Son. And yet the actual companionship of the Holy Ghost, the divinely-bestowed right to His ministrations, the sanctifying baptism with fire, are given as a permanent possession only to the faithful, repentant, baptized candidate for salvation; and with all such this gift will abide, unless forfeited through transgression.
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19. The Bestowal of the Holy Ghost is effected through [p.171] the ordinance of an oral blessing, pronounced upon the candidate by the proper authority of the Priesthood, accompanied by the imposition of hands by him or those officiating. That this was the mode followed by the apostles of old is evident from the Jewish scriptures; that it was practised by the early Christian Fathers is proved by history; that it was the acknowledged method among the Nephites is plainly shown by the Book of Mormon records; and for the same practice in the present dispensation authority has come direct from heaven.
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20. Among the instances recorded in the New Testament, we may mention the following: Peter and John conferred the Holy Ghost upon Philip's converts at Samaria, as already noted, and the ordinance was performed by prayer and the laying on of hands.s Paul operated in the same manner on the Ephesians whom he had caused to be baptized; and "when he had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied."t Paul also refers to this ordinance in his admonition to Timothy not to neglect the gift so bestowed.u The same apostle, in enumerating the cardinal principles and ordinances of the Church of Christ, includes the laying on of hands as following baptism.v
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21. Alma so invoked the power of the Holy Ghost in behalf of his co-laborers:w—"He clapped his hands upon all them who were with him. And behold, as he clapped his hands upon them they were filled with the Holy Spirit." The Savior gave authority to the twelve chosen Nephites,x [p.172] by touching them one by one; they were thus commissioned to bestow the Holy Ghost.
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22. In this dispensation, it has been made a duty of the Priesthood "to confirm those who are baptized into the Church by the laying on of hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost."y The Lord has promised that the Holy Ghost shall follow these authoritative acts of His servants.z The ceremony of laying on of hands for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost is associated with that of confirmation in the Church. The officiating eider acting in the name and by the authority of Jesus Christ, says, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost;" and "I confirm you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Even these words are not prescribed, but their meaning should be expressed in the ceremony; and to such may be added other words of blessing and invocation as the Spirit of the Lord may dictate to the officiating elder. This act completes the outward form of the baptism so indispensable to salvation—the birth of water and of the Spirit.
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23. The authority to so bestow the Holy Ghost belongs to the higher or Melchisedek Priesthood,a whereas water-baptism may be administered by a priest, officiating in the ordinances of the lesser or Aaronic order of priesthood.b This order of authority, as made known through revelation, explains that while Philip had authority to administer the ordinance of baptism to the converted Samaritans, others who held the higher priesthood had to be sent to confer upon them the Holy Ghost.c
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24. Gifts of the Spirit:—As already pointed out, the special office of the Holy Ghost is to enlighten and ennoble [p.173] the mind, to purify and sanctify the soul, to incite to good works, and to reveal the things of God. But, beside these general blessings, there are certain specific endowments promised in connection with the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Said the Savior, "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."d
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25. These gifts of the Spirit are distributed in the wisdom of God for the exaltation of His children. Paul thus discourses concerning them: "Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. * * * Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. * * * * 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 gift of healing by the same Spirit. To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kind 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."e No man is without some gift from the Spirit; one person may possess several.
Notes:
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1. Effect of the Holy Ghost on the Individual:—"An intelligent being, in the image of God, possesses every organ, attribute, sense, sympathy, affection, of will, wisdom, love, power and gift, which is possessed by God Himself. But these are possessed by man in his rudimental state in a subordinate sense of the word. Or, in other words, these attributes are in embryo, and are to be [p.174] gradually developed. They resemble a bud, a germ, which gradually develops into bloom, and then, by progress, produces the mature fruit after its own kind. The gift of the Holy Spirit adapts itself to all these organs or attributes. It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands, and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adapts them by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates, and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings, and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation, and social feeling. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, invigorates, and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being."—Parley P. Pratt: Key to Theology, pp. 96-97, (4th ed.)
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2. The Laying on of Hands:—From the scriptures cited, it is plain that the usual ceremony of bestowing the gift of the Holy Ghost, consisted in part in the imposition of hands by those in authority. (Acts viii, 17; ix, 17; xix, 2-6: Alma xxxi, 36; III Nephi, xviii, 36-37: Doc. and Cov., xx, 41.) The same outward sign has marked other authoritative acts: for example, ordination to the priesthood; and administration to the sick. It is probable that Paul had reference to Timothy's ordination when he exhorts 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, "Stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." (II Tim. i, 6.) The first ordination to the priesthood in latter times was done by the imposition of hands by John the Baptist (Doc. and Cov. xiii.) That Christ in healing the sick sometimes laid His hands upon the afflicted ones is certain (Mark vi, 5); and He left with His apostles a promise that healing should follow the authoritative laying on of hands (Mark xvi, 15, 18.) The same promise has been repeated in this day (Doc and Cov. xlii, 43-44.) Yet, notwithstanding the importance given to this sign of authority, the laying on of hands is but exceptional among the practices of the many sects professing Christianity today. [p.175]
Lecture IX.
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
In connection with Article 4.
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1. The Sacrament:—In the course of our study of the principles and ordinances of the Gospel, as specified in the fourth of the Articles of Faith, the subject of the sacrament of the Lord's Suppera very properly claims attention, the observance of this ordinance being required of all who have become members of the Church of Christ through compliance with the requirements of faith, repentance, and baptism by water and by the Holy Ghost.
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2. Institution of the Sacrament among the Jews:—The sacrament of the Lord's Supper dates from the night of the Passover feastb immediately preceding the crucifixion of the Savior. On that solemn occasion, Christ and His apostles were assembled in Jerusalem, keeping the feast in an upper room, made ready by His express command.c As a Jew, Christ appears to have been ever loyal to the established usages of His people; and it must have been with most extraordinary feelings that He entered upon this commemorative feast, the last of its kind bearing the significance of the type of a future sacrifice, as well as a reminder of God's favor in the past. Knowing well the terrible experiences immediately awaiting Him, He communed with the Twelve at the paschal board in anguish of soul, prophesying concerning His betrayal, which was soon to be accomplished, by the agency of one who there ate with Him. Then He [p.176] took bread, and blessed it and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take, eat; this is my body;"d "this do in remembrance of me."e Afterward, taking the cup, He blessed its contents and administered it to them with the words, "Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."f It is interesting to note that the account of the sacrament and its purport as given by Paulg resembles so closely, as to be almost identical with, the descriptions recorded by the evangelists. The designation of the Sacrament as the Lord's Supper is used by no biblical writer other than Paul.
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3. Institution of the Sacrament Among the Nephites:—On the occasion of His visit to the Nephites, which occurred shortly after His resurrection, Christ established the sacrament among this division of His flock. He requested the disciples whom He had chosen to bring Him bread and wine; then, taking the bread He brake it, blessed it, and gave it to the disciples with the command that they should eat, and afterward distribute to the people. The authority to administer this ordinance He promised to leave with the people. "And this shall ye always observe to do," said He, "even as I have done. * * * And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shewn unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father, that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me, ye shall have my Spirit to be with you."h The wine was administered in the same order, first to the disciples, then by them to the people. This also was to be part of the standing ordinance among the people:—"And ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood which I have shed [p.177] for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me." Then followed a reiteration of the great promise, "And if ye do always remember me, ye shall have my Spirit to be with you."i
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4. Fit Partakers of the Sacrament.—The Divine instructions concerning the sacredness of this ordinance are very explicit; and the consequent need of scrupulous care being exercised lest it be engaged in unworthily, is apparent. In addressing the Corinthian saints, Paul utters solemn warnings against hasty or unworthy action in partaking of the sacrament, and declares that the penalties of sickness, and even death, are visited upon those who violate the sacred requirements.—"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep."j
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5. When instructing the Nephites, Jesus laid great stress upon the fitness of those who partook of the sacrament; and moreover He placed much responsibility upon the officers of the Church whose duty it was to administer it, that they should permit none whom they knew to be unworthy to take part in the ordinance:—"And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it; for whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily, eateth and drinketh [p.178] damnation to his soul; therefore, if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood, ye shall forbid him."k
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6. The direct word of the Lord unto the Saints in this dispensation instructs them to permit no one who has committed trespass to partake of the sacrament until reconciliation has been made; nevertheless the Saints are commanded to exercise abundant charity toward their erring fellows, not casting them out from the assemblies, yet carefully withholding the sacrament from them.l In our system of Church organization, the local ecclesiastical officers are charged with the responsibility of administering the sacrament, and the people are required to keep themselves worthy to partake of the sacred emblems.
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7. There is an entire absence of scriptural sanction for giving the sacrament to any who are not members in full fellowship in the Church of Christ. Christ administered the ordinance on the eastern continent to His apostles only; and we have record of their giving it to those only who had assumed the name of Christ. Amongst His western fold, Christ established the law that only the actual members of His Church should partake. In promising to ordain one among them with power to officiate in the sacrament, the Savior specified that the one so chosen should give it unto the people of His Church, unto all those who believed and were baptized in His name.m Only those indeed who had been so baptized were called the Church of Christ.n Continuing His instructions to the disciples concerning the sacrament, the Savior said: "This shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name."o
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[p.179] 8. And the same law is applicable today; it is members of the Churchp who are admonished to meet together often for the observance of the sacrament; and the Church comprises none who have not been baptized by the authority of the Holy Priesthood.q
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9. Purpose of the Sacrament:—From the scriptural references already made, it is plain that the sacrament is administered to commemorate the atonement of the Lord Jesus, as consummated in His agony and death; it is a testimony before God, that we are mindful of His Son's sacrifice made in our behalf; and that we still profess the name of Christ and are determined to strive to keep His commandments, in the hope that we may ever have His Spirit to be with us. Partaking of the sacrament worthily may be regarded therefore as a means of renewing our covenants before the Lord, of acknowledgment of mutual fellowship among the members, and of solemnly witnessing our claim and profession of membership in the Church of Christ. The sacrament has not been established as a specific means of securing remission of sins; nor for any other special blessing, aside from that of a fresh endowment of the Holy Spirit, which, however, comprises all needful blessings. Were the sacrament ordained for the remission of sins, it would not be forbidden to those who are in greatest need of special forgiveness; yet participation in the ordinance is restricted to those whose consciences are void of serious offense, those, therefore, who are acceptable before the Lord; those indeed who are in as little need of special forgiveness as mortals can be.
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10. The Sacramental Emblems:—In instituting the sacrament both among the Jews and the Nephites, Christ used [p.180] bread and wine as the emblems of His body and blood;r and in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, He has revealed His will that the Saints meet together often to partake of bread and wine in this commemorative ordinance.s But the Lord has also shown that other forms of food and drink may be used in place of bread and wine. Very soon after the Church was organized in the present dispensation, the Prophet Joseph was about to purchase some wine for sacramental purposes, when a special messenger from God appeared to him, and delivered the following instructions: "For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory; remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins. Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, that you shall not purchase wine, neither strong drink, of your enemies: Wherefore you shall partake of none except it is made new among you; yea in this my Father's kingdom which shall be built up upon the earth."t Upon this authority, the Latter-day Saints administer water in their sacramental service, in preference to wine, concerning the purity of which they are not assured. However, in the vineyard districts of the Church territory, wine has been generally used.
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11. Manner of Administering the Sacrament:—It is customary with the Latter-day Saints in all wards or regularly organized branches of the Church, to hold sacramental meetings every Sabbath. The authority of the priest of the Aaronic order of priesthood is requisite in consecrating the emblems; and, as a matter of course, any one holding [p.181] the higher order of priesthood has authority to officiate in this ordinance. The bread is first to be broken in small pieces, and placed in suitable receptacles on the sacramental table; and then, according to the Lord's direction, the elder or priest shall administer it, after this manner:—"He shall kneel with the Church and call upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying:—
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"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 hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."u
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12. After the bread has been distributed to the congregation, in which labor the teachers and deacons may take part, under the direction of the officiating priest, the wine or water is consecrated in this manner:—
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"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 always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."v
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13. The plainness of the Lord's instructions to the Saints regarding this ordinance, leaves no excuse for disputation concerning the ceremony, for assuredly no one who officiates in these holy rites can feel that he is authorized to change the forms by even the alteration of a word. If ever the Lord desires a change in this ordinance, He will doubtless [p.182] make it known through His established channels of the priesthood. The records of the Nephites clearly prove that the manner of administering the sacrament as practiced in their day,w was the same, even to the exact words of the ceremony, as revealed for the guidance of the Saints in the dispensation of the fulness of times.
Notes.
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1. The Term "Sacrament" is commonly used in both a general and a specific sense; according to its derivation, it signifies a sacred thing or holy ceremony, and with this meaning it is applied by different sects to several ceremonies of their churches. Thus, the Protestants speak of two sacraments,—baptism and the Lord's Supper; the Roman and Greek Catholics recognize seven sacraments,—the two named above, and also confirmation, matrimony, the bestowal of church orders, penance, and extreme unction. Some sections of the Greek church are said to exclude confirmation and extreme unction from among the seven sacraments. With even greater latitude, the term is applied to any miraculous or spiritual manifestation; it is so used by Bishop Jeremy Taylor when he says, "God sometime sent a light of fire, and pillar of a cloud * * * and the sacrament of a rainbow, to guide His people through their portion of sorrows." Specifically, however, the word sacrament denotes the Lord's Supper, and in this sense alone does the word occur in Latter-day Saint theology. Eucharist and Holy Communion are terms employed in certain churches as synonymous with the sacrament of the Lord's supper. From the custom of regarding the ceremony of communion, that is, the partaking of the sacrament, as an evidence of standing in any church, and from the rule which withholds this privilege from those who are judged to be unworthy of fellowship, comes the term excommunicate, as applied to deprivation of church fellowship, meaning literally to cast out from communion.
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2. The Lord's Supper:—As stated, this designation of the sacrament, occurs but once in the Bible. The "Lord's supper" is referred to by Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians. In all probability this name was used because the rite was first administered at the time of the evening meal. It must be remembered that the deipnon or evening supper among the Jews was the principal meal of the day, and really corresponded to our dinner.
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3. The Passover and the Sacrament:—The feast of the passover was the chief of the annual ceremonials of the Jews, and derived its name from the circumstances of its origin. In setting His hand to deliver Israel from the bondage of Egypt, the Lord wrought many miracles and wonders before Pharoah and his idolatrous house; and, as the last of the ten terrible plagues to which the Egyptians were subjected, the first born of every household was smitten with death during a single night. By previous command, the Israelites had marked [p.183] the posts and lintels of their doorways with the blood of a lamb slain for the occasion, the blood having been sprinkled by means of a bunch of hyssop. In his passage through the land, the Lord passed over the houses so marked (Exodus xii, 12, 13); while in all the Egyptian homes the stroke of death was felt. Hence arises the name Passover, from pasach—to pass by. The flesh of the paschal lamb was eaten amid the haste of departure. To commemorate their deliverance from bondage, the Lord required of the Israelites an annual celebration of this event, the occasion being known as the "Feast of the Passover," also as the "Feast of Unleavened Bread," the latter name arising from the Lord's command that during the specified time of the observance no leaven should be found in the houses of the people (Ex. xii, 15); and the occasion of the feast was to be taken advantage of for instructing the children concerning the merciful dealings of God with their forefathers (Ex. xii, 26, 27). But aside from its commemorative purpose, the passover became to the people a type of the sacrifice on Calvary. Paul says, "Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us" (I Cor. v, 7). As being typical of the future atoning death of Christ, the passover lost part of its significance by the crucifixion, and was superceded by the sacrament. There is perhaps no closer relation between the two ordinances than this. Surely the sacrament was not designed to fully supplant the passover, for the latter was established as a perpetually recurring feast:—"And the day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever." (Ex. xii, 14.)
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4. Errors Concerning the Sacrament, and its signification, and the manner of administering it, grew rapidly in the professed Christian churches during the early centuries of the Christian era. As soon as the power of the priesthood had departed, much disputation arose in matters of ordinance, and the observance of the sacrament became distorted. Theological teachers strove to foster the idea that there was much mystery attending this naturally simple and most impressive ordinance; that all who were not in full communion with the Church should be excluded, not only from participation in the ordinance, which was justifiable, but from the privilege of witnessing the service, lest they profane the mystic rite by their unhallowed presence. Then arose the heresy of transubstantiation,—which held that the sacramental emblems by the ceremony of consecration lost their natural character of simple bread and wine, and became in reality flesh and blood,—actually parts of the crucified body of Christ. Argument against such dogmas is useless. Then followed the veneration of the emblems by the people, the bread and wine—regarded as part of Christ's tabernacle, being elevated in the mass for the adoration of the people, and later, the custom of suppressing half of the sacrament was introduced. By the innovation last mentioned, only the bread was administered, the dogmatic assertion being that both the body and the blood were represented in some mystical way in one of the "elements." Certain it is, that Christ required his disciples to both eat and drink in remembrance of Him. [p.184]
Lecture X.
Authority in the Ministry.
Article 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.
Men Called of God.
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1. Scriptural Examples:—It is not less agreeable to the dictates of human reason, than it is comformable to the plan of perfect organization which characterizes the Church of Christ, that all who minister in the ordinances of the Gospel should be called and commissioned for their sacred duties by the authority of heaven. The scriptures sustain this view most thoroughly; they present to us an array of men whose Divine callings are specially attested, and whose mighty works declare a power greater than that of man. On the other hand, not an instance is set down in holy writ of anyone taking to himself the authority to officiate in sacred ordinances, and being acknowledged of the Lord in such administration.
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2. Consider the case of Noah, who "found grace in the eyes of the Lord"a in the midst of a wicked world. Unto him the Lord spake, announcing His displeasure with the wicked inhabitants of earth, and the Divine intention concerning the, deluge; and instructed him in the manner of building and stocking the ark. That Noah declared the word of God unto his perverse contemporaries is shown in Peter's declaration of Christ's mission in the spirit world,—that the Savior preached to those who had been disobedient during the period of God's long suffering in the days of [p.185] Noah, and who had in consequence endured the privations of the prison house in the interval.b Surely none can question the Divine source of Noah's authority, nor the justice of the retributive punishment following the wilful rejection of his teachings, for his words were the words of God.
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3. So also with Abraham, the father of the faithful; the Lord called himc and made covenant with him for all the generations of his posterity. Isaacd was similarly distinguished; likewise Jacob,e to whom as he rested upon his pillow of stones in the desert, the Lord appeared. Unto Mosesf came the voice of God amidst the fierceness of fire, calling and commissioning the man to go into Egypt, and deliver therefrom the people whose cries had come up with such effect before the throne of heaven. In this great work Aarong was called to assist his brother; and later, Aaron and his sonsh were chosen by Divine direction from the midst of the children of Israel to minister in the priest's office. When Mosesi saw that his days were numbered, he solicited the Lord to appoint a successor in his holy station; and by special command, Joshua, the son of Nun, was so selected.
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4. Samuel, who became so great a prophet in Israel, commissioned to consecrate, command, and rebuke kings, to direct armies, and to serve as the oracle of God unto the people, was chosen while yet a boy, and called by the voice of the Lord.j And such was the power that followed this call, that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that [p.186] Samuel was established a prophet of the Lord.k Time fails to permit the mention of many other men of might, who received their power from God, whose histories portray the honor with which the Lord regarded his chosen ministers. Think of the heavenly vision by which Isaiah was called and directed in the duties of his prophetic office;l of Jeremiah, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah;m of the priest Ezekiel, who first received the Divine message in the land of the Chaldeans,n and subsequently on other occasions; of Hosea,o and all the rest of the prophets to Zechariahp and Malachi.q
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5. The apostles of the Lord were called by His own voice in the days of His ministry; and surely the Savior's authority is beyond question, vindicated as it is by the mighty works of the atonement, wrought through pain and the anguish of death, and by the authoritative declaration of the Father at the time of Christ's baptism. Peter, and Andrew his brother, while casting their nets into the sea, were called with the instruction,—"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men;"r and soon after, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were similarly called. So with all of the chosen Twelve who ministered with the Master; and unto the Eleven who had remained faithful, He appeared after His resurrection, giving them special commissions for the work of the kingdom.s Christ specifically declares that He had chosen His apostles, and that He had ordained them in their exalted stations.t
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[p.187] 6. In the period immediately following that of Christ's earthly mission, the ministers of the Gospel were all designated and set apart by unquestionable authority. Even Saul of Tarsus, afterward Paul the apostle, who was converted with marvelous signs and wondrous manifestations,u had to be formally commissioned for the labor which the Lord desired him to perform; and we are told that the Holy Ghost spake to the prophets and teachers of the Church at Antioch, while they fasted before the Lord, saying, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."v
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7. The Ordination of Man to the Ministry, as sanctioned by scriptural precedent, and established by direct revelation of God's will, is to be effected through the gift of prophecy, and by the imposition of hands by those who are in authority. By prophecy is meant the right to receive, and the power to interpret, manifestations of the Divine will. That the laying on of hands is usual as a part of the ceremony is seen in several of the instances already cited; nevertheless the scriptures record numerous ordinations to the offices of the priesthood, with no specific statement concerning the imposition of hands, or indeed any other details of the ceremony. Such instances do not warrant the conclusion that the laying on of hands was not actually performed; and indeed, in the light of modern revelation it is clear that the imposition of hands was a usual accompaniment of ordination, as it was also a part of the ceremony of confirming blessings,w and of bestowing the Holy Ghost.x
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8. Thus, the priesthood descended from Adam to Noah, [p.188] under the hands of the fathers;y Enos was ordained by the hand of Adam; and the same was true of Mabalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah. Lamech was ordained under the hand of Seth; Noah received his authority from the hand of Methuselah. And so may the priesthood be traced, bestowed as the spirit of prophecy directed, by the hand of one upon another, till the time of Moses. Melchisedek, who bestowed this authority upon Abraham, received his own through the direct lineage of his fathers, from Noah. Esaias, a contemporary of Abraham, received his ordination under the hand of God. Through the hand of Esaias, the authority passed to Gad, thence by the same means to Jeremy, Elihu, Caleb, and Jethro, the priest of Midian, under whose hand Moses was ordained.z Joshua the son of Nun was set apart as directed of God, through the imposition of hands by Moses.a
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9. In the days of the apostles, circumstances rendered it expedient to appoint special officers in the Church, to care for the poor and attend to the distribution of supplies; these were selected with care, and were set apart through prayer and laying on of hands.b Timothy was so ordained, as witness the admonitions given him by Paul:—"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery,"c and again, "Stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands."d The Lord has bound Himself by solemn covenant to acknowledge the acts of His authorized servants. Unto whomsoever the elders give promise after baptism the Holy Ghost will come.e [p.189] Whatever the priesthood shall bind or loose on earth, is to be similarly bound and loosed in heaven;f the sick upon whom the elders lay their hands, are to recover;g and many other wonders are to follow them that believe. And so jealous is the Lord of the power to officiate in His name, that at the judgment, all who have aided or persecuted His servants, are to be rewarded or punished as if they had done those things unto Christ Himself.h
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10. Unauthorized Ministrations in priestly functions are not alone invalid, they are indeed grievously sinful. In His dealings with mankind, God has ever recognized and honored the priesthood established by His direction; and has never countenanced any unauthorized assumption of authority. A terrible lesson is taught in the case of Korah and his associates, in their rebellion against the authority of the priesthood,—in that they falsely professed the right to minister in the priest's office. The Lord promptly visited them for their sins, causing the ground to cleave asunder, and to swallow them up with all their belongings.i
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11. And think of the affliction that fell on Miriam, the sister of Moses, a prophetess among the people.j She, with Aaron, railed against Moses, and they said, "Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath He not spoken also by us? and the Lord heard it."k He came at once in a cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle; denouncing their presumption, and vindicating the authority of His chosen oracle, Moses. When the cloud passed from the tabernacle, Miriam was seen to be leprous, white as snow; and, according to the law, she was shut out of the camp of [p.190] Israel. However, through the earnest entreaties of Moses, the Lord healed the woman, and she was subsequently permitted to return to the company.
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12. Consider the fate of Uzza, the Israelite who met sudden death through the anger of God, because he put forth his hand to steady the ark of the covenant lest it fall.l This he did in spite of the law that none but the priests might touch the sacred accompaniments of the ark; we read that not even the appointed bearers of the vessel were allowed to touch its holy parts, on pain of death.m
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13. Think also of Saul the King of Israel, who had been called from the farm to be made a monarch favored of God. When the Philistines were marshalled against Israel in Michmash, Saul waited for Samuel,n under whose hand he had received his kingly anointing,o and to whom he had looked in the days of his humility for guidance; he asked that the prophet come and offer sacrifices to the Lord in behalf of the people. But, growing impatient at Samuel's delay, Saul prepared the burnt offering himself, forgetting that though he occupied the throne, wore the crown, and bore the sceptre, these insignia of kingly power gave him no right to officiate even as a door-keeper in the house of God; and for this and other instances of his unrighteous presumption, he was rejected of God and another was chosen in his place.
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14. A striking instance of Divine jealousy concerning holy functions is shown in the dreadful experience of Uzziah, king of Judah. He was placed upon the throne when but sixteen years old; and, as long as he sought the Lord, he was greatly prospered, so that his name became a terror unto his enemies. But he allowed pride to grow in [p.191] his heart, and indulged the delusion that in his kingship he was supreme. He entered the temple and essayed to burn incense on the altar; shocked at his blasphemous action, Azariah, the chief priest of the temple, and fourscore priests with him, forbade the king, saying:—"It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests, the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense; go out of the sanctuary, for thou hast trespassed." At this rebuke and condemnation from his subjects, though they were priests of the living God, the king became angry; but immediately the dread scourge of leprosy fell upon him; the signs of the horrible disease appeared in his forehead; and, being now physically an unclean creature, his presence tended the more to defile the holy place. So Azariah and his associate priests thrust the king out from the temple, and he, a smitten thing, fled from the house of God never again to enter its sacred precincts. Concerning the rest of his punishment we read, "And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord."p
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15. A forcible illustration of the futility of false ceremonies, or of the mere form of sacred ordinances when the authority is absent, is shown in the New Testament record of the seven sons of Sceva. These in common with others had seen, and had marveled at, the miraculous power exhibited by Paul, whom the Lord so blessed in his apostleship that by touching handkerchiefs or aprons sent by him the sick were healed, and even evil spirits were cast out. Sceva's sons, who are reckoned by the sacred chronicler among the exorcists, and the vagabond Jews, sought also to expel an evil spirit: "We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth" said they; but the evil spirit derided them for their [p.192] lack of authority saying, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?" Then the afflicted person, in whom the evil spirit dwelt, leaped upon them and overcame them, so that when they escaped from the house they were naked and wounded.q
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16. Teachers True and False:—None but those who are duly authorized to teach can be regarded as true expounders of the word. The remarks of Paul concerning the high priests are alike applicable to every office of the priesthood: "No man taketh this honor to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron."r And Aaron, as we have already seen, was called through Moses, unto whom the Lord revealed His will in the matter. This authority to act in the name of the Lord is given to those only who are chosen of God; it is not to be had for the mere asking; it is not to be bought with gold. We read of Simon, the sorcerer, who coveted the power possessed by the apostles; he offered these ministers of Christ money, saying, "Give me also this power that on whomsoever I lay my hands he may receive the Holy Ghost." But Peter answered him with righteous indignation, "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money; thou has neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God."s
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17. It was known to the apostles of old that men would seek to arrogate unto themselves the right to officiate in things divine, thus becoming servants of Satan. In addressing a conference of the elders at Ephesus, Paul prophesied of these ill events, and warned the shepherds of the flock to look well to their charge.t In an epistle to Timothy, the apostle reiterates this prophecy; encouraging [p.193] to diligence in preaching the word, he declares, "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."u Peter's declarations on the same subject are no less plain. Addressing himself to the Saints of his time, he refers to the false prophets of old, and adds:—"There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies; even denying the Lord that bought them * * * And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of."v
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18. Divine Authority in the Present Dispensation:—The Latter-day Saints claim to possess authority to administer in the name of God; and that this right has been conferred in this day under the hands of those who held the same power in former dispensations. That the authority of the holy priesthood was to be taken from the earth as the apostles of old were slain, and that it would of necessity have to be restored from heaven before the Church could be reestablished, may be shown by scripture. On the 15th day of May, 1829, while Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were engaged in earnest prayer for instruction concerning baptism for the remission of sins, mention of which they had found in the plates from which they were then engaged in translating the Book of Mormon, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light. He announced himself as John, called of old the Baptist, and said he acted under the direction of Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of the higher priesthood. The messenger laid his hands upon the two young men and ordained them to authority, saying, "Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I [p.194] 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."w
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19. A short time after this event, Peter, James, and John appeared to Joseph and Oliver, and ordained the two to the higher or Melchisedek priesthood, bestowing upon them the keys of the apostleship, which these heavenly messengers had held and exercised in the former gospel dispensation. This order of priesthood holds authority over all the offices in the Church, and includes power to administer in spiritual things;x consequently all the authorities and powers necessary to the establishment of the Church were by this visitation restored to earth.
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20. No one is authorized to officiate in any of the ordinances of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unless he has been ordained to that calling by those holding the power; thus, no man receives the priesthood except under the hand of one who holds that priesthood himself; that one must have obtained it from others previously commissioned; and so every holder of the priesthood today can trace his authority to the hands of Joseph the Prophet, who, as already stated, received his ordination under the hands of heavenly messengers clothed with power divine. That men, who are called of God to the authority of the ministry on earth, may have been selected for such appointment even before they took mortal bodies, is evident from the scriptures. This matter may properly claim attention in the present connection; and its consideration leads us to the subjects which follow. [p.195]
Fore-Ordination and Pre-Existence.
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21. Fore-ordination:—In a wonderful interview with Abraham, the Lord revealed many things ordinarily withheld from mortal eyes. Said the patriarch:—"Now the Lord had shewn unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said, These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me, Abraham, thou art one of them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born."y This is one of the many scriptural proofs that the spirits of mankind existed prior to their earthly probation:—a condition in which these intelligences lived and exercised their free agency before they assumed bodily tabernacles. Surely then the natures, dispositions, and tendencies of men are known to the Father of their spirits, even before these beings are born in mortality; and He needs not to wait till they develop and prove their capacities on earth before they are appointed to special labors in the fulfilment of Divine purposes.
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22. Evidence is abundant that Christ was chosen and ordained to be the Redeemer of the world, even from the beginning. We read of His formost position amongst the sons of God in offering Himself as a sacrifice to carry into effect the will of the Father.z He it was, "Who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world."a
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23. Paul taught the doctrine of Divine selection and pre-appointment thus:—"For whom he did fore-know, he [p.196] also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. * * * Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called."b And again:—"God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew."c
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24. Alma, the Nephite prophet, spoke of the priests who had been ordained after the order of the Son, and added:—"And this is the manner after which they were ordained: being called and prepared from the foundation of the world, according to the fore-knowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceeding great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such."d
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25. Fore-ordination does not Imply Compulsion:—The doctrine of absolute predestination, resulting in a nullification of man's free agency, has been advocated with various modifications by Christian sects. Nevertheless, such teachings are wholly unjustified by both the letter and the spirit of sacred writ. God's fore-knowledge concerning the natures and capacities of His children enables Him to see the end of their earthly career even from the first:—"Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world."e Many people have been led to regard this fore-knowledge of God as a sure predestination, whereby souls are assigned to glory or condemnation, even before their birth in the flesh, and independently of any merits or demerits of their own. This heretical doctrine seeks to rob Deity of every trait of mercy, of justice, and of pure love; it makes the Father appear capricious and selfish, directing [p.197] and creating all things for His own glory alone, caring not for the consequent suffering of the victims of His injustice. How dreadful, how inconsistent is such an idea of God! It leads to the absurd conclusion that the mere knowledge of coming events must act as a determinative influence in bringing about those occurrences. God's knowledge of spiritual and of human nature enables Him to conclude with certainty as to the actions of any of His children under given conditions; yet such knowledge has surely no determining influence upon the creature.
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26. Doubtless He knows of some spirits, that they await only the opportunity of choice between good and evil to choose the latter, and to accomplish their own destruction; these are they as spoken of by Jude, "who were before of old ordained to this condemnation;"f To avert the fate of such, their free agency would have to be taken away; they can be saved by force alone; and compulsion is forbidden by the laws of heaven, for salvation and for condemnation alike. There are others whose integrity and faithfulness have been demonstrated in their pristine state: the Father knows how unreservedly they may be trusted, and many of them are called even in their mortal youth to special and exalted labors as chosen servants of the Most High.
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27. Pre-existence of Spirits:—The facts already presented, concerning fore-ordination, furnish proof that the spirits of mankind passed through a stage of existence prior to the earthly probation. This pre-existent period is oft-times spoken of as the stage of "primeval childhood" or "first estate." That these spirits existed as organized intelligences, and exercised their free agency during that primeval stage, is clear from the declaration of the Lord to Abraham: —"And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon, and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory [p.198] in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads forever and ever."g
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28. No Christian doubts the pre-existence of the Savior, or questions His position as one of the Godhead before He came to earth as Mary's Son. The common interpretation given to the opening words of John's Gospel sustains the view of Christ's primeval God-ship:—"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." We read further, "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."h The sayings of the Redeemer Himself support this truth. When His disciples dissented concerning His doctrine of Himself, He said, "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?"i On another occasion He spoke in this wise:—"I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world and go to the Father."j And His disciples, pleased with this plain declaration confirming the belief which, perchance, they already entertained at heart, rejoined, "Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. * * * by this we believe that thou camest forth from God."k To the wicked Jews who boasted of their descent from Abraham, and sought to hide their sins under the protecting mantle of the great patriarch's name, the Savior declared:—"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."l In a solemn prayer to His Father, the Son implored, "And now, O Father glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."m Yet Christ was born a [p.199] child among mortals; and it is fair to infer, that if His earthly birth was the union of a pre-existent immortal spirit with a mortal body, such also is the birth of every member of the human family.
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29. But we are not left to mere inference on a basis of analogy only; the scriptures plainly teach that the spirits of mankind are known and numbered unto God before their earthly advent. In his farewell administration to Israel Moses sang, "Remember the days of old. * * * When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel."n From this we learn that the earth was allotted to the nations, according to the number of the children of Israel; it is evident therefore that the number was known prior to the existence of the Israelitish nation in the flesh; this is most easily explained on the assumption of a previous existence in which the spirits of the future nation were known.
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30. No chance is possible therefore in the number or extent of the temporal creations of God.o The population of the earth is fixed according to the number of spirits appointed to take tabernacles of flesh upon this sphere; when these have all come forth in the order and time decreed of God, then, and not till then, will the end come.
Note.
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Spiritual Creations:—The pre-existent condition is not characteristic of human sours alone; all things of earth have a spiritual being, of which the temporal structure forms but the counterpart. We read of the creation of "every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew." (Gen. ii, 5.) This is set forth with greater fulness in another revelation to Moses:—"These are the generations of the heaven and the earth [p.200] when they were created, in the day that I, the Lord God, made the heaven and the earth, and every plant of the earth before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. * * * And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men, and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air: but I, the Lord God, spake, and there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created, but spiritually were they created and made according to my word."—(Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, p. 11, (1888 ed.) [p.201]
Lecture XI.
The Church and Its Plan of Organization.
Article 6.—We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive Church, viz: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.
The Church in Former and Latter Days.
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1. The Primitive Church:—In the dispensation of the Savior's ministry, Christ established His Church upon the earth, appointing therein the officers necessary for the carrying out of the Father's purposes. As shown in the last lecture, every person so appointed was divinely commissioned with authority to officiate in the ordinances of his calling; and, after Christ's ascension, the same organization was continued, those who had received authority ordaining others to the various offices of the priesthood. In this way were given unto the Church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors,a high priests,b seventies,c elders,d bishops,e priests,f teachers,g and deacons.h
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2. Besides these specific offices in the priesthood, there were other callings of a more temporal nature, to which men were also set apart by authority: such for instance was the case of the seven men of honest report, who, in the days of the apostles were chosen and appointed to minister to the poor, thus leaving the Twelve freer to attend to the [p.202] particular duties of their office.i This special appointment illustrates the nature of the helps and governmentsj set in the Church, to assist in the work under the direction of the regular officers of the priesthood.
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3. The ministers so appointed, and the members among whom they labor, constitute the Church of Christ, which has been beautifully compared to a perfect body, the individuals typifying the separate members, each with its special function, all co-operating for the welfare of the whole.k Every office so established, every officer so commissioned, is necessary to the development of the Church and to the accomplishment of the work of God. An organization established of God comprises no superfluities; the eye, the ear, the hand, the foot, every organ of the body, is essential to the symmetry and perfection of the physical structure ; in the Church no officer can rightly say to another, "I have no need of thee."l
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4. The existence of these officers, and particularly their operation with accompaniments of Divine assistance and power, may be taken as a distinguishing characteristic of the Church in any age of the world,—a crucial test, whereby the validity or fallacy of any claim to Divine authority may be determined. The gospel of Christ is the everlasting gospel; its principles, laws, and ordinances, and the Church organization founded thereon, must be ever the same. In searching for the true Church, therefore, one must look for an organization comprising the offices established of old; the callings of apostles, prophets, evangelists, high priests, seventies, pastors, bishops, elders, priests, teachers, deacons; not men bearing these names merely, but ministers able to vindicate their claim to position as officers in the Lord's [p.203] service, through the evidences of power and authority accompanying their ministry.
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5. Apostasy from the Primitive Church:—The question may fairly arise in the mind of the earnest investigator, have these authorities and powers, together with their associated gifts of the Spirit, remained with men from the apostolic age to the present; in short, has there been a Church of Christ upon the earth during this long interval? In answer, let these facts be considered: Since the period immediately following the ministrations of the apostles of old, and until the present century, no organization has maintained a claim to direct revelation from God; in fact, the teachings of the professed ministers of the gospel for centuries have been to the effect that such gifts of God have ceased, that the days of miracles have gone, and that the present depends for its guiding code wholly upon the past. A self-suggesting interpretation of history indicates that there has been a great departure from the way of salvation as laid down by the Savior, a universal apostasy from the Church of Christ.m Scarcely had the Church been organized by the Savior, whose name it bears, before the powers of darkness arrayed themselves for conflict with the organized body. Even in the days of Christ, persecution was bitterly waged against the disciples; commencing with the Jews, and directed first against the Master Himself and His few immediate associates, this tide of opposition soon enveloped every known follower of the Savior; so that the very name Christian became an epithet of derision.
p.203
6. In the first quarter of the fourth century, however, a change in the attitude of paganism toward Christianity was marked by the conversion of Constantine the Great, under whose patronage the Christian profession grew in favor, and became in fact the religion of the state. But what a [p.204] profession, what a religion was it by this time! Its simplicity had departed; earnest devotion and self-sacrificing sincerity were no longer characteristic of the Church's ministers; these professed followers of the humble Prophet of Nazareth, these self-styled associates of the meek and lowly Jesus, these loudly-proclaimed lovers of the Man of Sorrow, lived amid conditions strangely inconsistent with the life of their great Exemplar. Church offices were sought after for the distinction of honor and wealth accompanying them; ministers of the gospel affected the state of worldly authority; bishops sought the pomp of princes, archbishops lived as kings, and popes like emperors. With these unauthorized and unscriptural innovations, came many changes in the ordinances of the so-called church; the rites of baptism were perverted; the sacrament was altered; public worship became an exhibition of art; men were canonized; martyrs were made subjects of adoration; blasphemy grew apace, in that men without authority essayed to exercise the prerogatives of God in calling others to what still bore the name of spiritual office. Ages of darkness came upon the earth; the power of Satan seemed almost supreme.
p.204
7. For a special consideration of the evidence of a general apostasy from the Church of Christ, the student must consult authorities on ecclesiastical history. While the fact of the apostasy is admitted by but few such writers, the historical events which they chronicle, suggest the awful truth. We may trace from the days of the apostles, down to near the close of the tenth century, a constantly changing form of Church organization, which, at the later time named, bore but little semblance to the Church established by the Savior. This falling away is admitted by some historians, and as we shall presently see, it was definitely foretold by authoritative prophecy.
p.205
8. John Wesley, founder of a powerful sect, declared [p.205] that the distinctive gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer with the church, having been taken away on account of the unworthiness of professing Christians, whom he characterized indeed as heathen, with only a dead form of worship.n In the Church of England homily regarding the "Perils of Idolatry," we read "that laity and clergy, learned and unlearned, men and women, and children of all ages, sects, and degrees, of whole Christendom, have been at once buried in the most abominable idolatry, and that for the space of eight hundred years or more." Dr. Milner, author of an exhaustive work on church history, admits a pitiable condition of the so-called Church in the tenth century, and finds in that sad state a fulfilment of scriptural predictions.
p.205
9. This Great Apostasy was Foretold:—The infinite foreknowledge of God made plain to Him even from the beginning this falling away from the truth; and, through inspiration, the prophets of old uttered solemn warnings of the approaching dangers. Surely Isaiah was gazing upon the era of spiritual darkness when he declared, "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."o And how deeply impressive is the declaration of Jeremiah, "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water."p
p.205
10. The prophecies of the apostles relative to the false teachers so soon to trouble the flock, already quoted,q declare the apostasy then rapidly approaching. Paul warned [p.206] the Saints of Thessaly that they be not deceived by those who cried that the second coming of Christ was then at hand, "For," said the apostle, "that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."r This falling away had begun even in the days of the apostles:—"Even now," says John, "are there many anti-Christs."s And Paul, in addressing the Galatians, declared, "There be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ."t
p.206
11. Not less conclusive are the prophecies contained in the Book of Mormon relating to this great falling away. Nephi, son of Lehi, predicted the oppression of the North American Indians at the hands of the Gentiles, and declared that at that time the people will be lifted up in self-pride, having departed from the ordinances of God's house; true, they will build to themselves many churches, but in these they will preach their own wisdom, with envyings, and strife, and malice, denying however the power and miracles of God.u
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12. Restoration of the Church:—From the facts already stated, it is evident that the Church was literally driven from the earth; in the first ten centuries immediately following · the ministry of Christ, the authority of the priesthood was lost from among men, and no worldly power could restore it. But the Lord in His mercy provided for the re-establishment of His Church in the last days, and for the last time; and [p.207] prophets of olden time fore-saw this era of renewed enlightenment, and sang in joyous tones of its coming.v It has been already shown that this restoration was effected by the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith, who, together with Oliver Cowdery, in 1829 received the Aaronic Priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist; and later the Melchisedek Priesthood under the hands of the former-day apostles, Peter, James and John. By the authority thus bestowed, the Church has been again organized, with all its former completeness, and mankind once more rejoices in the priceless privileges of the counsels of God. The Latter-day Saints declare their high claim to the true Church organization, similar in all essentials to the organization effected by Christ among the Jews; this people of the last days profess to have the Priesthood of the Almighty, the power to act in the name of God, which power commands respect both on earth and in heaven. Let us consider the organization of the priesthood as it exists to-day.
Plan of Government in the Restored Church.
p.207
13. Orders and Offices in the Priesthood:—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognizes two orders of priesthood, the lesser called the Aaronic, the greater known as the Melchisedek order. The Aaronic Priesthood is named after Aaron, who was given to Moses as his mouthpiece, to act under his direction in the carrying out of God's purposes respecting Israel.w For this reason, it is sometimes called the Lesser Priesthood; but though lesser, it is neither small nor insignificant. While Israel journeyed in the wilderness, Aaron and his sons were called by prophecy and set apart for the duties of the priest's office.x
p.208
[p.208] 14. At a subsequent period of Israel's history, the Lord chose the tribe of Levi to assist Aaron in the priestly functions, the special duties of the Levites being to keep the instruments and attend to the service of the tabernacle. The Levites, thus chosen of the Lord, were to take the place of the first-born throughout the tribes, whom the Lord had claimed for His service from the time of the last dread plague in Egypt, whereby the first-born in every Egyptian house was slain, while the eldest in every Israelitish house was hallowed and spared.y The commission thus given to the Levites is sometimes called the Levitical Priesthood;z it is to be regarded as an appendage to the priesthood of Aaron, not comprising the highest priestly powers. The Aaronic Priesthood, as restored to the earth in this dispensation, comprises the Levitical order.a This priesthood holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and the authority to attend to the outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel;b it comprises the offices of deacon, teacher, and priest; with the bishopric holding the keys of presidency.
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15. The greater or Melchizedek Priesthood is named after the king of Salem, a great High Priest of God;c before his day it was known as "the Holy Priesthood, after the order of the Son of God, but out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of His name, they, the Church, in ancient days, called that Priesthood after Melchisedek."d This priesthood holds the right of presidency in all the offices of the Church; its special functions lie in the administration of spiritual things; comprising as it does the keys of all spiritual [p.209] blessings of the Church, the right "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."e The special offices of the Melchisedek Priesthood are those of apostle, patriarch or evangelist, high priest, seventy, and elder. Revelation from God has defined the duties associated with each of these callings; and the same high authority has directed the establishment of presiding officers growing out of, or appointed from among those who are ordained to the several offices in these two priesthoods.f
p.209
16. Specific Duties in the Priesthood:—The office of Deacon is the first or lowest in the Aaronic Priesthood. The duties of this calling are generally of a temporal nature, pertaining to the care of the houses of worship and the comfort of the worshipers. In all things, however, the Deacon may be called to assist the Teacher in his labors.g Twelve deacons form a quorum;h such a body is to be presided over by a president and counselors, selected from among their number.
p.209
17. Teachers are local officers, whose function it is to mingle with the Saints, exhorting them to their duties, and strengthening the Church by their constant ministry; they are to see that there is no iniquity in the Church; that the members do not cherish ill-feelings toward one another; but that all observe the law of God respecting Church duties. [p.210] They may take the lead of meetings when no Priest or higher officer is present. Both Teachers and Deacons may preach the word of God when properly directed so to do; but they have not the power to independently officiate in any spiritual ordinances, such as baptizing, administering the sacrament, or laying on of hands.i Twenty-four Teachers constitute a quorum; from among such a body a president and counselors are to be chosen.
p.210
18. The Priests are appointed to preach, teach, expound the scripture, to baptize, to administer the sacrament, to visit the houses of the members, exhorting them to their duties. When properly directed, the Priest may ordain Deacons, Teachers, and other Priests; and he may be called upon to assist the Elder in his work. A quorum of Priests comprises forty-eight members; such an organization is to be presided over by a Bishop.
p.210
19. Elders are empowered to officiate in any or all duties connected with lower callings in the priesthood; and in addition, they may ordain other Elders; confirm as members of the Church candidates who have been properly baptized, and confer upon them the Holy Ghost. These officers have authority to bless children in the Church, and to take charge of all meetings, conducting the same as they are led by the Holy Ghost.j The Elder may officiate in the stead of the High Priest when the latter is not present. Ninety-six Elders form a quorum; three of these constitute the presidency of the quorum.k
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20. Seventies are traveling ministers, ordained to promulgate the Gospel among the nations of the earth, "unto the Gentiles first, and also unto the Jews." They are to act under the direction of the Apostles in this exalted labor.l A [p.211] full quorum comprises seventy members, including seven presidents.
p.211
21. High Priests are ordained with power to officiate, when properly directed, in all the ordinances and blessings of the Church. They may travel as do the Seventies, carrying the Gospel to the nations; but they are not specially charged with this duty; their specific calling being that of standing presidency. The High Priests of any stake of the Church may be organized into a quorum, and this without limit as to number; over such a quorum, three of the members may be chosen to preside, as president and counselors.m
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22. Patriarchs, or Evangelists, are charged with the special duty of blessing the Church; of course they have authority to officiate also in other ordinances. There is one "Patriarch to the Church," with general jurisdiction throughout the whole organization; he holds the keys of the patriarchal office, and unto him the promise is given "that whoever he blesses shall be blessed, and whoever he curses shall be cursed, that whatsoever he shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever he shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."n
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23. Concerning the patriarchial authority, the Lord has said: "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."o But, beside this office of general patriarchial power, there are a number of local Patriarchs appointed in the branches of the Church, all subject to counsel and direction at the hands of the "Patriarch to the Church;" yet possessing the same [p.212] privileges in their district as belong to him throughout the Church. It is made a duty of the Twelve Apostles to ordain evangelical ministers, or Patriarchs, in all large branches of the Church, the selection to be made through the power of revelation.p
p.212
24. Apostles are called to be special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world;q they are empowered to build up and organize the branches of the Church; and may officiate in any or all of the sacred ordinances. They are to travel among the Saints, regulating the affairs of the Church wherever they go, but particularly where there is no complete local organization. They are authorized to ordain Patriarchs, and other officers in the priesthood, as they may be directed by the Spirit of God.r
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25. Presidency and Quorum Organizations:—The revealed word of God has provided for the establishment of presiding officers "growing out of, or appointed from among those who are ordained to the several offices in these two orders of priesthoods."s In accordance with the prevailing principles of order so characteristic of all His work, the Lord has directed that the bearers of His priesthood shall be organized into quorums, the better to aid them in learning the duties of their stations. Some of these quorums are general in extent and authority; others are local in their jurisdiction. All quorums in authority and presiding officers are to be sustained in their several positions by the vote of the people over whom they are appointed to preside. Local officers are thus voted upon by the local organizations, general authorities by the Church in conference assembled. Conferences of the Church are held at semi-annual intervals, on which occasions, the names of all the general officers are submitted [p.213] for the vote of the people. In like manner the authorities of stakes and wards are sustained by vote at local conferences held for these and other purposes. The principle of common consent is thus observed in all the organizations of the Church.
p.213
26. The First Presidency constitutes the presiding quorum of the Church. By Divine direction, a president is appointed from among the members of the High Priesthood to preside over the entire Church. He is known as President of the High Priesthood of the Church, or Presiding High Priest over the High Priesthood of the Church.t He is called "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."u His station is compared by the Lord to that of Moses of old, who stood as the mouth-piece of God unto Israel. In his exalted labors among the Church, this Presiding High Priest is assisted by two others holding the same priesthood, and these three High Priests, when properly appointed and ordained, and upheld by the confidence, faith and prayers of the Church, "form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church."v
p.213
27. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:—Twelve men holding the Apostleship, properly organized, constitute the quorum of the Apostles. These the Lord has designated as the twelve traveling counselors;w they form the traveling presiding High Council, to officiate under the direction of the First Presidency in all parts of the world. They constitute a quorum, whose unanimous decisions are equally binding in power and authority with those of the First Presidency of the Church.x When the quorum of the First [p.214] Presidency is disorganized through the death or disability of the President, the directing authority in government reverts at once to the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, by whom the nomination to the Presidency is made. There may be, and at present are, Apostles in the Church who are not members of this quorum of Twelve; but such could claim no place in the sittings of the quorum.
p.214
28. The Presiding Quorum of Seventy:—The first quorum of Seventies form a body, whose unanimous decisions are equally binding with those of the Twelve Apostles. Many such quorums of Seventy may be required in the work of the Church; already there have been effected more than a hundred of such organizations; each quorum is presided over by seven presidents. The seven presidents of the First Quorum of Seventies, however, preside over all the other quorums and their presidents.y
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29. The Presiding Bishopric, as at present constituted, comprises the Presiding Bishop of the Church, and two Counselors. This quorum holds jurisdiction over the duties of other Bishops in the Church, and of all organizations pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood. The oldest living representative among the sons of Aaron is entitled to this office of presidency, provided he be in all respects worthy and qualified; he must be designated and ordained by the First Presidency of the Church.z If such a literal descendant of Aaron be found and ordained, he may act without counselors, except when he sits in judgment in a trial of one of the presidents of the High Priesthood, in which case he is to be assisted by twelve High Priests.a But in the absence of any lineal descendant of Aaron properly qualified, a High Priest of the Melchisedek Priesthood may be called and set apart by the First Presidency of the Church to the office of [p.215] Presiding Bishop; he is to be assisted by two other High Priests properly ordained as his counselors.b
p.215
30. Local Organizations of the Priesthood:—Where the Saints are permanently located, Stakes of Zion are organized, each Stake comprising a number of wards or branches. Over each Stake is placed a Stake Presidency, consisting of a president and two counselors, who are High Priests properly chosen and set apart to this office. The Stake Presidency is assisted in judical function by a Standing High Council, composed of twelve High Priests chosen and ordained to the office. This Council is presided over by the Stake Presidency, and forms the highest judicial tribunal of the Stake.
p.215
31. The presidents of stakes and bishops of wards are properly regarded as pastors to the fold; their duties are doubtless analogous to those of the pastors of former dispensations. The High Priests and the Elders in each Stake are organized into quorums as already described; the former without limitation as to number, the latter forming one or more quorums, each of ninety-six members, as their number may warrant. Patriarchs are also set apart to officiate in their holy office among the people of the Stake.
p.215
32. A Ward Bishopric is established in every fully organized Ward of the Church. This body consists usually of three High Priests set apart as a Bishop and Counselors. If, however, a literal descendant of Aaron be called to the bishopric, it is his privilege to act without counselors, as was stated in the case of the Presiding Bishop. The Bishop has jurisdiction over the quorums of the Lesser Priesthood in his Ward; and also over holders of the Higher Priesthood as members of his Ward; but he has no direct presidency over quorums of the Melchisedek order, as such, which may be embraced within his domain. As a presiding High Priest, he properly presides over his entire Ward. The ward [p.216] organization comprises quorums of Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, one or more of each as the numerical extent of the Ward may determine.
p.216
33. Helps in Government:—Beside these constituted authorities and offices in the priesthood, there are a number of secondary or special organizations established among the people for educational and benevolent purposes. Among these, the following are of such importance as to call for special mention.
p.216
(1.) Primary Associations:—These provide for the moral instruction and training of young children.
p.216
(2.) Mutual Improvement Associations:—These comprise separate organizations for the sexes, and are designed for the education and training of the youth, in subjects of general and theological interest. Instruction is provided in theology, literature and history, science and art, the laws of health, and numerous other branches of useful knowledge.
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(3.) Sunday Schools, comprise graded classes for the study of the scriptures, and for training in theology, in moral and religious duties, and in the discipline of the Church. Sunday schools, while primarily designed for the young are open to all.
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(4.) Church Schools:—These institutions provide for both secular and religious instruction, and range from the grade of the kindergarten to that of the college.
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(5.) Religion Classes:—In these is provided a course of graded instruction in theology and religion, which is offered as a supplement and complement to the purely secular teachings of the non-denominational schools.
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(6.) Relief Societies:—These are composed of women whose self-imposed duties relate to the care of the poor, and the relief of suffering among the afflicted.
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34. Most of these auxiliary organizations exist in each ward. Indeed, with the exception of Church Schools, which [p.217] usually rank as stake institutions, or even as of wider scope, all of the secondary organizations named are regarded as essential to the complete equipment of any ward. Officers are appointed to preside over the several organizations in each ward; and while such officers are subject in a general way to the local authorities in the priesthood, they look for specific instructions regarding the plan and method of their particular work, to the stake and general authorities of the special organizations. In accordance with the principle of common consent which characterizes the Church in general, the officers of the auxiliary institutions, while they are nominated by, or at least with the consent of the established authorities in the priesthood, are installed and retained in office by the vote of the members in the local or general organization within which they are appointed to labor.
Notes.
p.217
1. Degeneracy of Worship Incident to the Apostasy:—That, as the priesthood disappeared from the earth after the apostolic period, the forms of worship were perverted, while many pagan influences and practices crept in, may be reasonably inferred from the records of history. Mosheim, an authority of note in ecclesiastical history, has this to say regarding pagan innovations during the fourth century:—"The Christian bishops introduced, with but slight alterations, into the Christian worship, those rites and institutions by which, formerly, the Greeks and Romans and other nations had manifested their piety and reverence towards their imaginary deities; supposing that the people would more readily embrace Christianity, if they saw that the rites handed down to them from their fathers still existed unchanged among the Christians, and perceived that Christ and the martyrs were worshiped in the same manner as formerly their gods were. There was, of course, little difference in these times, between the public worship of the Christians, and that of the Greeks and Romans. In both alike, there were splendid robes, mitres, tiaras, wax tapers, crosiers, processions, illustrations, images, golden and silver vases, and numberless other things."
p.217
Of the form of professedly Christian worship in the fifth century, the same authority says:—"Public worship everywhere assumed a form more calculated for show and for the gratification of the eye. Various ornaments were added to the sacerdotal garments, in order to increase the veneration of the people for the clerical order. * * * In some places it was appointed that the praises of [p.218] God should be sung perpetually night and day, the singers succeeding each other without interruption: as if the Supreme Being took pleasure in clamor and noise, and in the flatteries of men. The magnificence of the temples knew no bounds. Splendid images were placed in them; * * * the image of the Virgin Mary holding her infant in her arms occupied the most conspicuous place."
p.218
2. Early Beginning of the Apostasy:—Orson Pratt, an apostle of the present age, has written as follows concerning the early falling away from the authorized practices of the Church: "The great apostasy of the Christian church commenced in the first century, while there were yet inspired apostles and prophets in their midst; hence Paul, just previous to his martyrdom, enumerates a great number who had 'made shipwreck of their faith.' and 'turned aside into vain jangling,' teaching 'that the resurrection was already past;' giving 'heed to fables and endless genealogies;' 'doubting about questions and strifes of words whereof come envyings, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness.' This apostasy had become so general that Paul declares to Timothy 'that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me:' and again he says, 'at my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me;' he further states that 'there are many unruly, and vain talkers, deceivers,' 'teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.' These apostates, no doubt, pretended to be very righteous, 'for,' says the apostle, 'they profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.'" [p.219]
Lecture XII.
Spiritual Gifts.
Article 7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc.
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1. Spiritual Gifts Characteristic of the Church:—It has been already affirmed that all men who would officiate with propriety in the ordinances of the Gospel, must be commissioned for their exalted duties by the power and authority of heaven. When so divinely invested, these servants of the Lord will not be lacking in proofs of the Master's favor; for it has ever been characteristic of the dealings of God with His people, to manifest His power by the bestowal of a variety of ennobling graces, which are properly called gifts of the Spirit. These are oft-times exhibited in a manner so diverse from the usual order of things as to be called miraculous and supernatural. In this way did the Lord make Himself known in the early times of scriptural history; and from the days of Adam until the present, prophets of God have generally been endowed with such power. Whenever the priesthood has operated through an organized Church on the earth, the members of the flock have been strengthened in their faith, and otherwise blessed in numerous related ways, by the possession of these graces within the Church. We may safely regard the existence of these spiritual powers as one of the essential characteristics of the true Church; where they are not, the priesthood of God does not operate.
p.219
2. Mormona solemnly declares that the days of miracles will not pass from the Church, as long as there shall be a [p.220] man upon the earth to be saved; "For," says he, "it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore if these things have ceased, wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain." And Moroni, standing on the threshold of the grave, bears an independent testimony that the gifts and graces of the Spirit will never be done away as long as the world shall stand, except it be through the unbelief of mankind.b
p.220
3. Hear the words of this prophet addressed to those "who deny the revelations of God and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the Gospel of Christ; yea he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them. For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing? And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in him there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles. But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are."c
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4. Nature of Spiritual Gifts:—The gifts here spoken of are essentially endowments of power and authority, through which the purposes of God are accomplished, sometimes with accompanying conditions that appear to be supernatural. By such the sick may be healed, malignant influences overcome, spirits of darkness subdued, the Saints, humble [p.221] and weak, may proclaim their testimonies and otherwise utter praises unto God in new and strange tongues, and others may interpret these words; the feeble human intellect may be invigorated by the heavenly touch of spiritual vision and blessed dreams, to see and comprehend things ordinarily withheld from mortal senses; direct communication with the fountain of all wisdom may be established, and the revelations of the Divine will may be obtained.
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5. These gifts have been promised of the Lord unto those who believe in His name;d they are to follow obedience to the requirements of the Gospel. Among believers, they are to serve for encouragement, and as incentives to higher communion with the Spirit.e They are not given as signs to gratify carnal curiosity; nor to satisfy a morbid craving for the wonderful. Men have been led to the light through manifestations of the miraculous; but events in the lives of these show that they are either such as would have found a knowledge of the truth in some other way, or they are but superficially affected, and as soon as the novelty of the new sensation has exhausted itself they wander again into the darkness from which they had for the time escaped. Miracles are not primarily intended, surely they are not needed, to prove the power of God; the simpler occurrences, the more ordinary works of creation do that. But unto the heart already softened and purified by the testimony of the truth, to the mind enlightened through the Spirit's power, and conscious of obedient service in the requirements of the gospel, the voice of miracles comes with cheering tidings of a loving Parent's continued favor, with fresh and more abundant evidences of the magnanimity of an all-merciful God.f
p.222
[p.222] 6. Yet even to the unbeliever, the testimony of miracles should appeal, at least to the extent Of argument favoring an investigation of the power through which these acts are wrought; in such cases miracles are as "a loud voice addressed to those who are hard of hearing." The purpose of spiritual gifts in the Church is explicitly set forth in a revelation from the Lord through Joseph Smith:—"Wherefore, beware lest ye be deceived; and that ye may not be deceived, seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given; For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do, that all may be benefited that seeketh or that asketh of me, that asketh and not for a sign that he may consume it upon his lusts."g
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7. Miracles are commonly regarded as supernatural occurrences, taking place in opposition to the laws of nature. Such a conception is plainly erroneous, for the laws of nature are inviolable. However, as human understanding of these laws is at best but imperfect, events strictly in accordance with natural law may appear contrary thereto. The entire constitution of nature is founded on system and order; the laws of nature, however, are graded as are the laws of man. The application of a higher law in any particular case does not destroy the efficacy or validity of an inferior one; the lower law is as fully applicable as before to the cases for which it was framed. For example, society has enacted a law, forbidding, on peril of heavy penalties, any man appropriating the property of another; yet oftentimes officers of the law forcibly seize the possessions of their fellow-men, against whom judgments may have been rendered; and such acts are done to satisfy, not to violate justice. Jehovah commanded "Thou shalt not kill," and [p.223] mankind has re-enacted the law, prescribing penalties for violation thereof. Yet sacred history testifies, that, in certain cases, the Lawgiver, Himself, has directly commanded His servants to vindicate justice by taking human life. The judge who passes the extreme sentence upon a convicted murderer, and the executioner who carries into effect that terrible mandate, act not in opposition of "Thou shalt not kill," but actually in support of this decree.
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8. With some of the principles upon which the powers of nature operate, we are in a degree acquainted; and in contemplating them, we are no longer surprised, though deeper reflection may show that even the commonest occurrence is wonderful and strange. But any event beyond the ordinary is pronounced miraculous, supernatural, if not indeed unnatural, and we are more or less awe-stricken by the same.h When the prophet Elisha caused the axe to float in the river,i he brought to his service, through the exercise of the authority of the priesthood, a power superior to that of gravity. Without doubt, the iron was heavier than the water; yet by the operation of this higher force it was supported, suspended, or otherwise sustained at the surface, as if it were held there by a human hand, or rendered sufficiently buoyant by attached floaters.
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9. Wine ordinarily consists of about four-fifths water, the rest being a variety of chemical compounds, the elements of which are abundantly present in the air and soil. The ordinary method,—what we term the natural method—of bringing these elements into proper combination is by planting the grape, then cultivating the vine till the fruit is ready to yield its juice in the press. But by the exercise of a power, not within purely human reach, the Savior, at the marriage in Cana,j called those elements together, and [p.224] brought about a chemical transformation within the water-pots of stone, resulting in the production of pure wine. So, too, when the multitudes were fed, under His priestly touch and authoritative blessing, the bread and fishes increased in substance, as if the seasons of years had been consumed in their growth according to what we consider the natural order. In healing the leprous, the palsied, and the infirm, the disordered bodily parts were brought again into their normal and healthful state; the impurities operating as poisons in the tissues were removed by means more rapid and effectual than those which depend upon the action of drugs and physic.
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10. No earnest observer, no reasoning mind, can doubt the existence of intelligences and organisms which the senses of man do not reveal. This world seems but the temporal embodiment of things spiritual. The Creator has told us that He formed all things spiritual before they were made temporal.k The flowers that flourish and die on earth are perhaps represented above by imperishable blossoms of transcendent beauty and entertaining fragrance. Man is shaped after the image of Deity; his mind, though darkened by custom and weakened by injurious habit, is still a fallen type of immortal thought and Divine reason; and though the space separating the human and the Divine in thought, desire, and action, be as wide as that between sea and sky, for as the stars are above the earth so are the ways of God above those of man, yet, we cannot doubt a strict analogy between the spiritual and the temporal. When the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened, the man saw the hosts of heavenly warriors covering the mountains about Dothan,—footmen, horsemen, and chariots, armed for fight against the Syrians.l When Israel encompassed Jericho,m may we [p.225] not believe that the Captain of the Lord's hostn and his heavenly train were there, and that before their angelic powers, sustained by the faith and obedience of the mortal army, the walls were leveled?
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11. Some of the latest and highest achievements of man in the utilization of natural forces approach the conditions of spiritual operations. To count the ticking of a watch a hundred miles away; to speak in but an ordinary tone and be heard across the country; to signal from one hemisphere and be understood on the other, though oceans roll and roar between; to bring the lightning into our homes and make it serve as fire and torch;—are not these miracles? The possibility of such things would not have been received with credence before their actual accomplishment. The President of the Republic, sitting in his chair of state at the nation's capital, talks with all parts, even with the ends of this great country; and if batteries and wire be in order, if operators and officials be true, he is rightly informed of every movement of importance anywhere in the land. The orbs of the universe are as truly connected by a system of inter-communication, surprisingly perfect in its action and adaptation. These and the other innumerable miracles of creation are accomplished in strict accordance with the laws of nature, which are the laws of God. But we must return to a further consideration of the specific manifestations of spiritual gifts within the Church.
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12. An Enumeration of the Gifts of the Spirit cannot be made complete by man, so numerous, so extensive are the blessings of the Father for His children. Yet the more common of these spiritual manifestations have been specified by inspired scriptural writers, and by the sure word of revelation. Paul writing to the Corinthian Saints,o Moroni [p.226] inditing his last appeal to the Lamanites,p and the voice of the Lord directed to the people of this Church in this dispensation,q each names many of the great gifts of the Spirit. From these scriptures, we learn that every man has received some gift from God; and in the great diversity of gifts all do not receive the same. "To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know the differences of administration. * * * And again it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the diversities of operations whether it be of God, that the manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal. And again, verily I say unto you, to some it is given by the Spirit of God, the word of wisdom; to another it is given the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to be wise, and to have knowledge. And again to some it is given to have faith to be healed; and to others it is given to have faith to heal. And again to some it is given the working of miracles, and to others it is given to prophesy, and to others the discerning of spirits. And again, it is given to some to speak with tongues; and to another it is given the interpretation of tongues; and all these gifts cometh from God for the benefit of the children of God."r
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13. The Gift of Tongues and Interpretation:—The gift of tongues constituted one of the first miraculous manifestations of the Holy Ghost with the apostles of old. It was included by the Savior among the special signs appointed to follow the believer; "In my name," said He, "they shall speak with new tongues."s The early fulfilment of this promise in the case of the apostles themselves, was realized on the succeeding Pentecost, when they, having assembled in one place, were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to [p.227] speak in strange tongues.t When the door of the Gospel was first opened to the Gentiles, the converts rejoiced in the Holy Ghost which had fallen upon them, and which gave them utterance in tongues.u This gift with others manifested itself among certain disciples at Ephesus,v on the occasion of their receiving the Holy Ghost. In the present dispensation, this gift, again promised to the Saints, finds frequent exercise. Its chief employment is in the function of praise, rather than that of instruction and preaching; and this is agreeable to Paul's teaching, "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men but unto God."w An unusual manifestation of the gift was witnessed on the occasion of the Pentecostal conversion of the Jews, already referred to, when the apostles speaking unto the multitude, were understood by all the diversified company, each listener hearing their teachings in his own tongue.x This special gift was here associated with higher endowments of power; the occasion was one of instruction, admonition, and prophecy. The gift of interpretation may be possessed by the one speaking in tongues, though more commonly the separate powers are exercised by different persons.
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14. The Gift of Healing was exercised extensively in the dispensation of the Savior and His apostles; indeed, healing constituted by far the greater part of the miracles wrought at that time. By authoritative ministrations, the eyes of the blind were opened; the dumb were made to speak; the deaf to hear; the lame leaped for joy; afflicted mortals, bowed with infirmity, were lifted erect and enjoyed the vigor of youth; the palsied were made well; lepers were [p.228] cleansed; impotence was banished; and fevers were assuaged. In this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, this power is possessed by the Church, and its manifestation is of frequent occurrence among the Saints. Thousands of blessed recipients can testify to the fulfilment of the Lord's promise, that if His servants lay hands on the sick, they shall recover.y
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15. The usual method of administering to the sick is by the imposition of hands of those who possess the requisite authority of the priesthood;—this being agreeable to the Savior's instructions in former days,z and according to Divine revelation in the present day.a This part of the ordinance is usually preceded by an anointing with oil previously consecrated. The Latter-day Saints profess to abide by the counsels of James of old,b "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."
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16. Though the authority to administer to the sick belongs to the elders of the Church in general, some possess this power in an unusual degree, having received it as a special endowment of the Spirit. Another gift, allied to this, is the power of exercising faith to be healed;c which is manifested in varying degrees. Not always are the administrations of the elders followed by immediate healings; the afflicted may be permitted to suffer in body, perhaps for the accomplishment of Divine purposes,d and in the time [p.229] appointed of the Lord, His children pass through bodily death. But let the counsels of God be observed in administering to the afflicted; then if they recover, they live unto the Lord; and the assuring promise is added that those who die under such conditions die unto the Lord.e
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17. Visions and Dreams have constituted a means of communication between God and His children in every dispensation of the priesthood. In general, visions are manifested to the waking senses, whilst dreams are given during sleep; In the vision, however, the senses may be so affected as to render the person practically unconscious, at least oblivious to ordinary occurrences, while he is able to discern the heavenly manifestation. In the earlier dispensations, the Lord very frequently communicated through dreams and visions, often-times revealing to His prophets the events of the future, even to the latest generations. From the multitude of instances recorded, let us select a few. Consider the case of Enoch,f unto whom the Lord spake face to face, showing him the course of the human family until and beyond the second coming of the Savior. The brother of Jared,g because of his righteousness was so blessed of God, as to be shown all the inhabitants of the earth, both those who had previously existed, and those who were to follow. Unto Moses the will of God was made known with the visual manifestation of fire.h Lehi received his instructions to leave Jerusalemi through dreams; and on many subsequent occasions the Lord communicated with this patriarch of the western world by visions and by dreams. The Old Testament prophets were generally so favored; e.g., Jacob the [p.230] father of all Israel,j Job, the patient sufferer,k Jeremiah,l Ezekiel,m Daniel,n Habakkuk,o Zechariah.p
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18. The dispensation of Christ and His apostles was marked by similar manifestations. The birth of John the Baptist was foretold to his father while he was officiating in priestly functions.q Joseph, betrothed to the Virgin, received through an angel's visitr tidings of the Christ yet to be born; and on subsequent occasions he received warnings and instructions in dreams concerning the welfare of the Holy Child.s The Magi, returning from their pilgrimage of worship, were warned in dreams of Herod's treacherous designs.t Saul of Tarsus was shown in a vision the messenger whom God was about to send to him to minister in the ordinances of the priesthood;u and other visions followed.v Peter was prepared for the ministry to the Gentiles through a vision;w and John was so favored of God in this respect that the book of Revelation is occupied by the record.
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19. Most of the visions and dreams recorded in scripture have been given to the chosen people, through the ministering priesthood; but there are exceptional instances of such manifestations unto some, who, at the time, had not entered the fold. Such, for example, was the case with Saul and Cornelius; but in these instances the Divine manifestations were immediately preliminary to conversion. Dreams with [p.231] special import were given to Pharaoh,x Nebuchadnezzary and others; but it required a higher power than their own to interpret them; and Joseph and Daniel were called to officiate. The dream given to the Midianite soldier, and its interpretation by his fellow,z betokening the victory of Gideon, were true manifestations; as also the dream of Pilate's wife,a in which she learned of the innocence of the accused Christ.
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20. The Gift of Prophecy distinguishes its possessor as a prophet,—literally one who speaks for another; specifically, one who speaks for God.b It is distinguished by Paul as one of the most desirable of spiritual endowments, and its pre-eminence over the gift of tongues he discusses at length.c To prophesy is to receive and declare the word of God, and the statement of His will to the people. The function of prediction, often regarded as the sole essential of prophecy, is but one among many characteristics of this divinely given power. The prophet may have as much concern with the past, as with the present, or the future; he may exercise his gift in teaching through the light of, and by the experience of preceding events, as in fore-telling occurrences. The prophets of God have ever been in special favor with Him, being privileged to learn of His will and designs; indeed the promise is made that the Lord will do nothing except He reveal His secret purposes unto His servants, the prophets.d These chosen oracles stand as mediators between God and mortals, pleading for or against the people.e
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21. No special ordination in the priesthood is essential to [p.232] man's receiving the gift of prophecy; bearers of the Melchizedek order, Adam, Noah, Moses, and a multitude of others were truly prophets, but not more truly so than were many who exercised the Aaronic functions only—as for example most of the Old Testament priests, subsequent to the time of Moses, and John the Baptist.f The ministrations of the prophetesses Miriamg and Deborahh show that this gift may be possessed by women also. In the time of Samuel, the prophets were organized into a special order, to aid their purposes of study and improvement.i
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22. In the present dispensation, this great gift is enjoyed in a fulness equal to that of any preceding time. The Lord's will concerning present duties is made known to His people through the mouths of prophets; and events of great import are fore-told.j The very fact of the present existence and growing condition of the Church is an undeniable testimony of the power and reliability of modern prophecy. The Latter-day Saints constitute a body of witnesses, numbering hundreds of thousands, to the effect of this, one of the great gifts of God.
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23. Revelation is the means through which the will of God is declared directly and in fulness to man. Under circumstances best suiting the Divine purposes, through the dreams of sleep or in waking visions of the mind, by voices without visional appearance, or by actual manifestations of the Holy Presence before the eye, God makes known His designs, and charges His chosen vessels to bear the sacred messages so imparted. Under the influence of inspiration, or its more potent manifestation—revelation, man's mind is enlightened, and his energies quickened to the [p.233] accomplishment of wonders in the work of human progress; touched with a spark from the heavenly altar, the inspired instrument cherishes the holy fire within his soul, and imparts it to others as he may be led to do; he is the channel through which the will of God is conveyed. The words of him who speaks by revelation in its highest form, are not his own; they are the words of God Himself; the mortal mouth-piece is but the trusted conveyance of these heavenly messages. With the authoritative, "Thus saith the Lord," the revelator delivers the burden intrusted to his care.
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24. The Lord strictly observes the principles of order and propriety in giving revelation to His servants. Though it is the privilege of any person to live so as to merit this gift in the affairs of his special calling, only those appointed and ordained to the offices of presidency are to be revelators to the people at large. Concerning the President of the Church, who at the time of the revelation here referred to, was the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord has said to the elders of the Church:—"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. * * * 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."k
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25. The Testimony of Miracles:—The Savior's promise in a former dayl as in the present dispensationm is definite, to the effect that specified gifts of the Spirit are to follow the believer as signs of Divine favor. The possession and exercise of such gifts may be taken therefore as essential features of the Church of Christ.n Nevertheless we are not [p.234] justified in regarding the evidence of miracles as infallible testimony of authority from heaven; on the other hand, the scriptures furnish abundant proof that spiritual powers of the baser sort have wrought miracles, and will continue so to do, to the deceiving of many who lack discernment. If miracles be accepted as infallible evidence of godly power, the magicians of Egypt, through the wonders which they accomplished in opposition to the ordained plan for Israel's deliverance, have as good a claim to our respect as has Moses.o John the Revelator saw in vision a wicked power working miracles, and thereby deceiving many; doing great wonders, even bringing fire from heaven.p Again, he saw three unclean spirits, whom he knew to be "the spirits of devils working miracles."q
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26. Consider in connection with this, the prediction made by the Savior:—"There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."r The invalidity of miracles as a proof of righteousness is declared in an utterance of Christ Jesus regarding the events of the great judgment:—"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity."s The Jews, to whom these teachings were addressed, knew that wonders could be wrought by evil powers; for they charged Christ with working miracles by the authority of Beelzebub the prince of devils."t
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27. If the working of miracles were a distinctive [p.235] characteristic of the holy priesthood, we would look for the testimony of wondrous manifestations in connection with the work of every prophet and authorized minister of the Lord; yet we fail to find a record of miracles in the case of Zechariah, Malachi, and other prophets of old; while of John the Baptist, whom Christ declared to be more than a prophet,u it was plainly said that he did no miracle;v nevertheless, in rejecting John's doctrine, the unbelievers were ignoring the counsel of God against their own souls.w To be valid as a testimony of truth, miracles must be wrought in the name of Christ, and to His honor, in furtherance of the plan of salvation. As stated, they are not given to satisfy the curious and the lustful, nor as a means of gaining notoriety for him through whom they are accomplished. These gifts of the true Spirit are manifested in support of the message from heaven, and in corroboration of the words spoken by authority.
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28. Imitations of Spiritual Gifts:—The proofs already cited of miraculous achievements by powers other than of God, and the scriptural predictions concerning such deceptive manifestations in the last days, ought to be our warning against spurious imitations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Satan has shown himself to be an accomplished strategist, and a skilful imitator; the most deplorable of his victories are due to his simulation of good, whereby the undiscerning have been led captive. Let us not be deluded with the thought that any act, the immediate result of which appears to be benign, is necessarily productive of permanent good. It may serve the dark purposes of man's arch-enemy to play upon the human sense of goodness, even to the extent of healing the body, and apparently of thwarting death.
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[p.236] 29. The restoration of the priesthood to earth in this age of the world, was followed by a phenomenal growth of the Vagaries of spiritualism, whereby many have been led to put their trust in Satan's counterfeit of God's eternal power. The development of the healing gift in the Church to-day is imitated in a degree, comparable to that with which the magicians simulated the miracles of Moses, by the varied faith cures and their numerous modifications. For those to whom miraculous signs are all-sufficient, the imitation will answer as well as would the real; but the soul who regards the miracle in its true nature as but one element of the system of Christ, possessing value as a positive criterion only as it is associated with the numerous other characteristics of the Church, will not be deceived.
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30. Spiritual Gifts in the Church Today:—The Latter-day Saints claim to possess within the Church all the sign-gifts promised as the heritage of the believer. They point to the unimpeached testimonies of thousands who have been blessed with direct and personal manifestations of heavenly power; to the once blind, and dumb, halt, and weak in body, who have been freed from their infirmities through their faith and by the ministrations of the priesthood; to a multitude who have voiced their testimony in tongues with which they were naturally unfamiliar; or who have demonstrated their possession of the gift by a phenomenal mastery of foreign languages, when such was necessary to the discharge of their duties as preachers of the word of God; to many who have enjoyed communion with heavenly beings; to others who have prophesied in words that have found their speedy vindication in literal fulfilment; and to the Church itself, whose growth has been guided by the voice of its Divine Leader, made known through the gift of revelation.x [p.237]
Notes.
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1. A Seeming Miracle:—A few years ago, Herr Werner Siemens, a German scientist of note, visited the pyramid of Gizeh, and, accompanied by a couple of Arab guides, climbed to the top. He observed that the atmospheric conditions were very favorable to electric manifestations. Fastening a large brass button to an empty water-gourd in the hands of one of the Arabs, and then placing his knuckle within a short distance from the button, he drew therefrom a succession of brilliant sparks, accompanied of course by the crackling noises characteristic of electric discharges. The guides viewed this exhibition of supernatural powers with amazement and terror, which reached a climax when their master stretched his staff above his head, and the stick was surmounted by a beautiful St. Elmo's flame. This spectacle was more than the superstitious Bedouins could bear, they trembled before an enchanter who could play with lightning and fire as with a toy, and who carried miniature thunder in his coat pocket; so they fled down the steps with dangerous precipitation, and soon disappeared in the desert. So great was their fright that they forgot to claim their promised fees, which circumstance alone was no insignificant miracle.
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2. The Term "Prophet" appears in the English Bible as the translation of a number of Greek terms, the most usual of which is nabhi, signifying "to bubble forth like a fountain." Another of the original words is rheo, meaning "to flow," and by derivation "to speak forth," "to utter," "to declare." A prophet, then, is one from whom flow forth the words of a higher authority. Aaron is spoken of as a prophet or spokesman to Moses (Exo. vii, 1); but in the usual sense, the prophet is the representative of God. Closely allied with the calling of the prophet is that of the seer; indeed at a time prior to that of Samuel, the common designation of the oracle of God was seer: "for he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer," (I Sam. ix, 9). The seer was permitted to behold the visions of God, the prophet to declare the truths so learned; the two callings were usually united in the same person. Unto the prophet and seer the Lord usually communicated in visions and dreams; but an exception to this order was made in the case of Moses, who was so faithful and so great in all things good, that the Lord discarded the usual means and declared Himself to His servant face to face (Num. xii, 6-8).
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3. Prophets Organized:—The prophet's office existed among men in the earliest periods of history. Adam was a prophet (Doc. and Cov. cvii, 53-56); as also were Enoch (Jude xiv; Pearl of Great Price p. 28), Noah (Geo. vi, vii; Pearl of Great Price p. 47; II Peter ii, 5), Abraham (Gen. xx, 7), Moses (Deut. xxxiv, 10), and a multitude of others who ministered at intermediate and subsequent times. Samuel, who was established in the eyes of all Israel as a prophet of the Lord, (I Sam. iii, 19, 20), organized the prophets into a society for common instruction and edification. He established schools for the prophets, theological colleges, where men were trained in things pertaining to holy offices; the students were generally called "sons of the prophets" (I Kings xx, 35: II Kings ii, 3, 5, 7; iv, 1, 38; ix, 1). Such schools were established at Ramah (I Sam. xix, 19, 20), Bethel (II Kings ii, 3), Jericho (II Kings ii, 5), Gilgal (II Kings iv, 38;). The members seem to have lived together as a society (II Kings vi, 1-4). In the present dispensation, a similar organization was effected under the direction, of the prophet Joseph Smith; this also received the name of the School of the Prophets.
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[p.238] 4. The Decline of Spiritual Gifts in former days is admitted by many authorities on ecclesiastical history and Christian doctrine. As an instance of this kind of testimony to the departure of the spiritual graces from the apostate church, the following words of John Wesley may be applied:—"It does not appear that these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were common in the church for more than two or three centuries. We seldom hear of them after that fatal period when the emperor Constantine called himself a Christian, and from a vain imagination of promoting the Christian cause thereby, heaped riches and power and honor upon Christians in general. but in particular upon the Christian clergy. From this time they almost totally ceased; very few instances of the kind were found. The cause of this was not as has been supposed because there was no more occasion for them,—because all the world was become Christians. This is a miserable mistake; not a twentieth part of it was then nominally Christian. The real cause of it was the love of many, almost all Christians, so-called, was waxed cold. The Christians had no more of the Spirit of Christ than the other heathens. The Son of Man, when he came to examine His Church, could hardly find faith upon the earth. This was the real cause why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian Church—because the Christians were turned heathens again, and only had a dead form left."—Wesley's Works vii, 89; 26-27.
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5. Sectarian Views Concerning Continuance or Decline of Spiritual Gifts:—"Protestant writers insist that the age of miracles closed with the fourth or fifth century, and that after that the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost must not be looked for. Catholic writers, on the other hand, insist that the power to perform miracles has always continued in the Church; yet those spiritual manifestations which they describe after the fourth and fifth centuries savor of invention on the part of the priests, and childish incredulity on the part of the people; or else, what is claimed to be miraculous falls far short of the power and dignity of those spiritual manifestations which the primitive church was wont to witness. The virtues and prodigies, ascribed to the bones and other relics of the martyrs and saints, are puerile in comparison with the healings by the anointing with oil and the laying on of hands, speaking in tongues, interpretations, prophecies, revelations, casting out devils in the name of Jesus Christ; to say nothing of the gifts of faith, wisdom, knowledge, discernment of spirits, etc.—common in the Church in the days of the apostles (I Cor. xii, 8-10). Nor is there anything in the scriptures or in reason that would lead one to believe that they were to be discontinued. Still this plea is made by modern Christians—explaining the absence of these spiritual powers among them—that the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were only intended to accompany the proclamation of the gospel during the first few centuries, until the church was able to make its way without them, and they were to be done away: It is sufficient to remark upon this, that it is assumption pure and simple, and stands without warrant either of scripture or right reason: and proves that men had so far changed the religion of Jesus Christ that it became a form of godliness without the power thereof."—Elder B. H. Roberts, "Outlines of Ecclesiastical History," part ii, sec. v, 6-8.
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6. Miracles an Aid to Spiritual Growth:—Apostle Orson Pratt, commenting on the utterances of Paul concerning the passing away of certain spiritual gifts (I Cor. xiii), writes in part as follows:—"The church in its militant and imperfect state, compared with its triumphant, immortal and perfect state, is (in [p.239] the 11th verse) represented by the two very different states of childhood and manhood. "When," says St. Paul, "I was a child, I spake as a child, understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things." In the various stages of education from childhood to manhood, certain indispensable rules, and diagrams, and scientific instruments are employed for the use and benefit of the pupil, that he may acquire a correct knowledge of the sciences, and be perfected in his studies. When the principles have been once acquired, and the student has been perfected in every branch of education, he can dispense with many of his maps, charts, globes, books, diagrams, etc.; as being, like childish things, no longer necessary; they were useful before his · education was perfected, in imparting the desired knowledge, but having fulfilled their purposes, he no longer needs their assistance. * * * * So it is with the Church in relation to spiritual gifts. While in this state of existence it is represented as a child: prophecy, revelations, tongues, and .other spiritual gifts, are the instruments of education. The child, or church, can no more be perfected in its education without the aid of these gifts as instruments, than the chemist could in his researches if he were deprived of the necessary apparatus for experiments. As the chemist needs his laboratory for experiments, as long as there remains any undiscovered truths in relation to the elements and compounds of our globe, so does the Church need the great laboratory of spiritual knowledge—namely, revelation and prophecy,—as long as it knows only in part. * * * * As a human being, when a child, speaks as a child, understands as a child, and thinks as a child, so does the Church in this state of existence know only in part; but as the child, when it becomes a man, puts away childish things, so will the Church put away such childish things as 'prophecy in part,' 'knowledge in part,' and 'seeing in part,' when it grows up, through the aid of these things, to a perfect man in Christ Jesus; that which is in part will be done away or merged into the greater fulness of knowledge which there reigns."—"Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon," i, 15.
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But none of these gifts will be .done away as long as the occasion for their exercise continues. That this was the conviction of Apostle Orson Pratt, whose words are quoted above, is evident from the following utterances by the same authority:—"The affliction of devils, the confusion of tongues, deadly poisons and sickness, are all curses which have been introduced into the world by the wickedness of man. The blessings of the gospel are bestowed to counteract these curses. Therefore, as long as these curses exist, the promised signs [Mark xvi, 16-18; Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv, 65-72] are needed to counteract their evil consequences. If Jesus had not intended that the blessings should be as extensive and unlimited in point .of time as the curses, He would have intimated something to that effect in His word. But when He makes a universal promise of certain powers, to enable every believer in the gospel throughout the world to overcome certain curses, entailed upon man because of wickedness, it would be the rankest kind of infidelity not to believe the promised blessing necessary, as long as the curses abound among men."
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7. Modern Manifestations:—The official and incidental publications of the Church abound in instances of miraculous manifestations during the current dispensation. A number of authenticated accounts with many cases are to be found as follows:—Orson Pratt's "Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon," chapter v; B. H. Roberts' "A New Witness for God," chapter xviii. [p.240]
Lecture XIII.
The Bible.
Article 8.—We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly * * *
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1. Our Acceptance of the Bible:—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accepts the Bible as the first and foremost of her standard works, chief among the books which have been proclaimed as her written guides in faith and doctrine. In the respect and sanctity with which the Latter-day Saints regard the Bible, they are of like profession with Christian denominations in general; differing from them only in the additional acknowledgment of certain other scriptures as authentic and holy, which others are in harmony with the Bible, and serve to support and emphasize its facts and doctrines. There is, therefore, no specifically "Mormon" treatment of the Bible to be presented. The historical and other data, upon which is based the current Christian faith as to the genuineness of the biblical record, are accepted as unreservedly by the Latter-day Saints as by the members of any sect; and in literalness of interpretation this Church probably excels.
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2. Nevertheless, the Church announces a reservation in the case of erroneous translation, which may occur as a result of human incapacity; and even in this measure of caution we are not alone, for biblical scholars generally admit the presence of errors of the kind, many of them self-apparent. The Latter-day Saints believe the original records to be the word of God unto man, and, as far as these records have been translated correctly, the translations are regarded as equally authentic. The English Bible professes [p.241] to be a translation made through the wisdom of man; in its preparation the most scholarly men have been enlisted; yet not a version has been published in which even the unlearned cannot perceive errors. However, an impartial investigator has cause to wonder more at the paucity of errors than that errors are to be found at all.
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3. There will be, there can be, no absolutely reliable translation of these or other scriptures, unless it be effected through the gift of translation, as one of the endowments of the Holy Ghost. The translator must have the spirit of the prophet if he would render in another tongue the prophet's words; and human wisdom leads not to that possession. Let the Bible then be read reverently, and with prayerful care, the reader ever seeking the light of the Spirit that he may discern between truth and the mistakes of men.
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4. The Name "Bible:"—In present usage, the term, Bible, designates the collection of sacred writings otherwise known as the Jewish scriptures, containing an account of the dealings of God with the human family; which account is confined wholly, except in the record of ante-diluvian events, to the Eastern hemisphere. The word itself, though singular in form, is the English representative of a Greek plural, Biblia, signifying literally the books. The use of the word probably dates from the fourth century, at which time we find Chrysostoma employing the term to designate the scriptural books then accepted as canonical by the Greek Christians. It is to be noted, that the idea of a collection of books predominates in all early usages of the word Bible; the scriptures were, as they are, composed of the special writings of many authors, widely separated in time; and, from the striking harmony and unity prevailing [p.242] throughout these diverse productions, strong evidence of their authenticity may be adduced.
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5. The word Biblia was thus endowed with a special meaning in the Greek, signifying the books, that is to say the holy books as distinguishing the sacred scriptures from all other writings; and the term soon became current in the Latin, in which tongue it was used from the first in its special sense. Through Latin usage, perhaps during the thirteenth century, the word came to be regarded as a singular noun, signifying the book; this departure from the plural meaning, invariably associated with the term in the Greek original, led up to the popular error of regarding the Bible as having been a unified volume from the first. Hence we meet with the reputed derivation of the word from the Greek singular noun Biblos meaning the book, but this is declared by a preponderance of good authority to be founded on a traditional misconception. It may appear that the derivation of a word is of trifling importance; yet in this case, the original form and first use of the title now current as that of the sacred volume, must be of instructive interest, as throwing some light upon the compilation of the book in its present form.
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6. It is evident that the name Bible is not of itself a biblical term; its use as a designation of the Jewish scriptures is wholly external to those scriptures themselves. In its earliest application, which dates from post-apostolic times, it was made to embrace most if not all the books of the Old and the New Testament. Prior to the time of Christ, the books of the Old Testament were known by no single collective name, but were designated in groups as (1) the Pentateuch, or five books of the Law; (2) the Prophets; and (3) the Hagiographa, comprising all sacred records not included in the other divisions. But we may the better consider the parts of the Bible by taking the main divisions [p.243] separately. A very natural division of the biblical record is effected by the earthly work of the Savior; the written productions of pre-Christian times came to be known as the Old Covenant; those of the days of the Savior and the years immediately following, as the [New Covenant.b The term testament gradually grew in favor until the designations Old and New Testaments became common.
The Old Testament.
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7. Its Origin and Growth:—At the time of our Lord's ministry in the flesh, the Jews were in possession of certain scriptures which they regarded as canonical or authoritative. There can be little doubt as to the authenticity of those works, for they were frequently quoted by both Christ and the apostles, by whom they were designated as "the scriptures."c The Savior specifically refers to them under their accepted terms of classification as "the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms."d The books thus accepted by the people in the time of Christ are sometimes spoken of as the Jewish canon of scripture. The term canon, now generally current, suggests not books that are merely credible, authentic, or even inspired; but such books as are recognized as authoritative guides in profession and practice. The term is instructive in its derivation. Its Greek original, kanon, signified a straight measuring rod, and hence it came to mean an authoritative standard of comparison, a rule, or test, as applied to moral subjects as well as to material objects.
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8. As to the formation of the Jewish canon, or the Old Testament, we read that Moses wrote the first part of it, viz. the Law; and that he committed it to the care of the [p.244] priests, or Levites, with a command that they preserve it in the ark of the covenant,e to be a witness against Israel in their transgressions. Fore-seeing that a king would some day govern Israel, Moses commanded that the monarch should make a copy of the Law for his guidance.f Joshua, successor of Moses, as leader and law-giver of Israel, wrote further of the dealings of God with the people, and of the Divine precepts; and this writing he evidently appended to the Law as recorded by Moses.g Three centuries and a half after the time of Moses, When the theocracy had been replaced by a monarchy, Samuel, the approved prophet of the Lord, wrote of the change, "in a book, and laid it up before the Lord."h And thus we see the law of Moses was augmented by later authoritative records. From the writings of Isaiah, we learn that the people had access to the "Book of the Lord;" for the prophet admonished them to seek it out, and read it.i It is evident then, that in the time of Isaiah, the people had a written authority in doctrine and practice.
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9. Nearly four centuries later, (640-630 B.C.), while the righteous king Josiah occupied the throne of Judah, as a part of divided Israel, Hilkiah the high priest and father of the prophet Jeremiah, found in the temple "a book of the law of the Lord",j which was read before the kings.k Then, during the fifth century B.C., in the days of Ezra, the edict of Cyrus permitted the captive people of Judah, a remnant of once .united Israel, to return to Jerusalem,l there to rebuild the temple of the Lord, according to the [p.245] lawm of God, then in the hand of Ezra. From this we may infer that the written law was then known; and to Ezra is usually attributed the credit of compiling the books of the Old Testament as far as completed in his day, to which he added his own writings.n In this work of compilation he was probably assisted by Nehemiah and the members of the Great Synagogue,—a Jewish college of a hundred and twenty scholars.o The book of Nehemiah, which gives a continuation of the historical story as recorded by Ezra, is supposed to have been written by the prophet whose name it bears, in part at least during the life of Ezra. Then, a century later, Malachi, the last of the prophets of note who flourished before the opening of the dispensation of Christ, added his record, completing, and virtually closing the pre-Christian canon, with a prophetic promise of the Messiah, who was to establish a new and an everlasting covenant.p
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10. Thus, it is evident that the Old Testament grew with the successive writings of authorized and inspired scribes from Moses to Malachi, and that its compilation was a natural and gradual process, each addition being deposited, or, as the sacred record gives it, "laid up before the Lord," in connection with the previous writings. Undoubtedly there were known to the Jews many other books, not included in our present Old Testament; references to such are abundant in the scriptures themselves, which references prove that many of those extra-canonical records were regarded as of great authority. But concerning this, we will enquire further in connection with the Apocrypha. The recognized canonicity of the Old Testament books is [p.246] attested by the numerous references in the latter to the earlier books, and by the many quotations from the Old Testament occurring in the New. About two hundred and thirty quotations or direct references have been listed; and in addition to these, hundreds of less direct allusions occur.
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11. Language of the Old Testament:—It is highly probable, almost certain indeed, that nearly all the books of the Old Testament were originally written in Hebrew. Scholars profess to have found evidence that small portions of the books of Ezra, Daniel, and Jeremiah, were written in the Chaldee language; but the prevalence of Hebrew as the language of the original scriptures has given to the Old Testament the common appellation, Hebrew or Jewish canon. Of the Pentateuch, two versions have been recognized,—the Hebrew proper and the Samaritan,q the latter of which was preserved in the most ancient of Hebrew characters by the Samaritans, between whom and the Jews there was lasting enmity.
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12. The Septuagint:—Passing over the Peshito or early Syriac version of the Old Testament, as of minor significance, we recognize as the first important translation of the Hebrew canon, that known as the Septuagint.r This was a Greek version of the Old Testament, translated from the Hebrew at the instance of an Egyptian monarch, probably Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 286 B.C. The name Septuagint suggests the number seventy, and is said to have been given because the translation was made by a body of seventy-two elders (in round numbers seventy); or, as other traditions say, because the work was accomplished in seventy, or seventy-two days; or, according to yet other stories, because the version received the sanction of the Jewish ecclesiastical council, the Sanhedrin, which comprised [p.247] seventy-two members. Certain it is that the Septuagint, (sometimes indicated by the numerals LXX). was the current version among the Jews in the days of Christ's ministry, and was quoted by the Savior and the apostles in their references to the old canon. It is regarded as the most authentic of the ancient versions, and is accepted at the present time by the Greek Christians and other eastern churches. It is evident then, that from a time nearly three hundred years before Christ, the Old Testament has been current in both Hebrew and Greek; this duplication has been an effective means of protection against alterations.
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13. The Present Compilation recognizes thirty-nine books in the Old Testament; these were originally combined as twenty-two books, corresponding to the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The thirty-nine books as at present constituted may be conveniently classified as follows:
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(1) The Pentateuch or Books of the Law 5
(2)The Historical Books 12
(3)The Poetical Books 5
(4)The Books of the Prophets 17
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14. (1.) The Books of the Law. The first five books in the Bible are collectively designated as the Pentateuch, (pente—five, teuxos—volume); and were known among the early Jews as the Torah, or the law. Their authorship is traditionally ascribed to Moses,s and in consequence the "Five Books of Moses" is another commonly used designation. They give the history, brief though it be, of the human race, from the creation to the flood, from Noah to Israel; then a more particular account of the chosen people through their period of Egyptian bondage; thence during the journey of four decades in the wilderness, to the encampment on the farther side of Jordan.
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[p.248] 15. (2.) The Historical Books, twelve in number, comprise the following: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. They tell the story of the Israelites entering the land of promise, and their subsequent career through three distinct periods of their existence as a people:—(1) as a theocratic nation, with a tribal organization, all parts cemented by ties of religion and kinship; (2) as a monarchy, at first a united kingdom, later a nation divided against itself; (3) as a partly conquered people, their independence curtailed by the hand of their victors.
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16. (3.) The Poetical Books number five,—Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. They are frequently spoken of as the doctrinal or didactic works, and the Greek designation Hagiographa (hagios—holy, and graphe—a writing) is still applied.t These are of widely different ages, and their close association in the Bible is probably due to their common use as guides in devotion amongst the Jewish churches.
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17. (4.) The Books of the Prophets comprise the five larger works of Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, commonly known as the works of the Major Prophets; and the twelve shorter books of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, known to Bible scholars as the books of the Minor Prophets. These give the burden of the Lord's word to His people, encouragement, warning and reproof, as suited their condition, before, during, and after their captivity.u
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[p.249] 18. The Apocrypha comprise a number of books of doubtful authenticity, though such have been at times highly esteemed. Thus, they were added to the Septuagint, and for a time were accorded recognition among the Alexandrine Jews. However, they have never been generally admitted, being of uncertain origin. They are not quoted in the New Testament. The designation apocryphal (meaning hidden, or secret) was first applied to the books by Jerome, because, said he, "the church doth read [them] for example of life and instruction of manners, but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine." The Roman church professes to acknowledge them as scripture, action to this end having been taken by the council of Trent (1546); though the doubt of the authenticity of the works seems still to exist even among the Roman Catholic dignitaries. The sixth article in the Liturgy of the Church of England defines the orthodox views of the church as to the meaning and intent of Holy Scripture; and, after specifying the books of the Old Testament which are regarded as canonical, proceeds in this wise:—"And the other books (as Hierome [Jerome] saith) the church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following:—The Third Book of Esdras; The Fourth Book of Esdras; The Book of Tobias; The Book of Judith; The rest of the Book of Esther; The Book of Wisdom; Jesus, the Son of Sirach; Baruch the Prophet; The Song of the Three Children; The Story of Susanna; Of Bel and the Dragon; The Prayer of Manasses; The First Book of Maccabees; The Second Book of Maccabees."
The New Testament.
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19. Its Origin and Authenticity:—Since the latter part of the fourth century of our present era, there has arisen scarcely a single question of importance regarding the [p.250] authenticity of the books of the New Testament as at present constituted. From that time until the present, the New Testament has been accepted as an unquestioned canon of scriptures by all professed Christians.v In the fourth century, there were generally current several lists of the books of the New Testament as we now have them; of these may be mentioned the catalogues of Athanasius, Epiphanius, Jerome, Rufinus, and Augustine of Hippo, and the list announced by the third Council of Carthage. To these may be added four others, which differ from the foregoing in omitting the Revelation of John in three cases, and the same with the Epistle to the Hebrews in one.
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20. This superabundance of evidence relating to the constitution of the New Testament canon in the fourth century, is a result of the anti-Christian persecution of that period. At the beginning of the century in question, the oppressive measures of Diocletian, emperor of Rome, were directed not alone against the Christians as individuals and as a sect, but against their sacred writings, which the fanatical and cruel monarch sought to destroy. Some degree of leniency was extended to those persons who yielded up the holy books that had been committed to their care; and not a few embraced this opportunity of saving their lives. When the rigors of persecution were lessened, the churches sought to judge their members who had weakened in their allegiance to the faith, as shown by their surrender of the scriptures, and all such were anathematized as traitors. Inasmuch as many books, that had been thus given up under the pressure of threatening death, were not at that time generally accepted as holy, it became a question of first importance to decide just which books were of such admitted sanctity that their betrayal would make a man a traitor.w [p.251] Hence we find Eusebius designating the books of the Messianic and apostolic days as of two classes:—(1) Those of acknowledged canonicity, viz:—the gospels, the epistles of Paul, Acts, I John, I Peter, and probably the Apocalypse. (2) Those of disputed authenticity, viz:—the epistles of James, II Peter, II and III John, and Jude. To these classes he added a third class, including books that were admittedly spurious.x
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21. As stated, the list published by Athanasius, which dates from near the middle of the fourth century, gives the constitution of the New Testament as we now have it; and at that time, all doubts as to the correctness of the enumeration seem to have been put to rest; and we find the Testament of common acceptance by professing Christians in Rome, Egypt, Africa, Syria, Asia Minor, and Gaul. The testimony of Origen, who flourished in the third century, and that of Tertullian who lived during the second, were tested and pronounced conclusive by the later writers in favor of the canonicity of the gospels and the apostolic writings. Each book was tested on its own merits, and all were declared by common consent to be authoritative and binding on the churches.
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22. If there be need to go farther back, we may note the testimony of Irenæus, distinguished in ecclesiastical history as Bishop of Lyons; he lived in the latter half of the second century, and is known as a disciple of Polycarp, who was personally associated with the Revelator, John. His voluminous writings affirm the authenticity of most of the books of the New Testament, and define their authorship as at present admitted. To these testimonies may be added those of the Saints in Gaul, who wrote to their fellow-sufferers in Asia, quoting freely from gospels, epistles, and [p.252] the Apocalypse;y the declarations of Melito, Bishop of Sardis, who journeyed to the east to determine which were the canonical books, particularly of the Old Testament;z and the solemn attest of Justin Martyr, who embraced Christianity as a result of his earnest and learned investigations, and who suffered death for his convictions. In addition to individual testimony, we have that of ecclesiastical councils and official bodies, by whom the question of authenticity was tried and decided. In this connection, may be mentioned the Council of Laodicea, 363 A.D.; the Council of Hippo, 393 A.D.; the third and the sixth Councils of Carthage, 397 and 419 A.D.
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23. Since the date last named, no dispute as to the authenticity of the New Testament has claimed much attention; surely the present is too late a date, and the separating distance today is too vast, to warrant the reopening of the question. The New Testament must be accepted for what it claims to be; and though, perhaps, many precious parts have been suppressed or lost, while some corruptions of the sacred texts may have crept in, and errors have been inadvertently introduced through the incapacity of translators, the volume as a whole must be admitted as authentic and credible, and as an essential part of the holy scriptures.a
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24. Classification of the New Testament:—The New Testament comprises twenty-seven books, conveniently classified as:—
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(1.) Historical 5
(2.) Didactic 21
(3.) Prophetic 1
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25. (1.) The Historical Books include the four [p.253] Gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles. The authors of these works are spoken of as the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; to Luke is ascribed the authorship of the Acts.
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26. (2.) The Didactic Books comprise the epistles; and these we may arrange thus: (1.) The Epistles of Paul, comprising, (a) his doctrinal letters addressed to Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philipplans, Colossians, Thessalonians, Hebrews; (b) his pastoral communications to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. (2.) The General Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude.
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27. (3.) The Prophetic Works, consisting of the Revelation of John, commonly known as the Apocalypse.
The Bible As a Whole.
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28. Early Versions of the Bible:—Many versions of the Old Testament and of the combined Testaments have appeared at different times. The Hebrew text with the Samaritan duplication of the Pentateuch, and the Greek translation, or the Septuagint (LXX), have been already noted. Revisions and modified translations competed for favor with the Septuagint during the early ages of the Christian era, Theodotian, Aquila, and Symmachus, each issuing a new version. One of the first translations into Latin was the Italic version, probably prepared in the second century; this was later improved and amended, and then became known as the Vulgate; and this is still held to be the authentic version by the church of Rome. This version included both Old and New Testaments.
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29. Many Modern Versions in English, some fragmentary, others complete, have appeared since the beginning of the thirteenth century. About 1380 A.D., Wycliffe presented an English translation of the New Testament, made from the Vulgate; the Old Testament was afterward [p.254] added. About 1525 A.D., Tyndale's translation of the New Testament appeared; this was included in Coverdale's Bible, printed in 1535, which constituted the first version of the Complete Bible. Matthew's Bible dates from 1537; Taverner's Bible from 1539, and Cranmer's Great Bible from the same year. In 1560, the Geneva Bible appeared; in 1568 the Bishop's Bible, the first English version having chapter and verse divisions; and in 1611 the so-called Authorized English Version, or King James' translation, this being a new translation of Old and New Testaments from the Hebrew and Greek, made by forty-seven scholars at the command of King James I. This has superseded all earlier versions, and is the form now in current use among Protestants. But even this latest and supposedly best version was found to contain many and serious errors; and in 1885 a revised version was issued, which, however, has not yet been accorded general acceptance.
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30. Genuineness and Authenticity of the Bible:—However interesting and instructive these historical and literary data of the Jewish scriptures may be, the consideration of such is subordinate to that of the authenticity of the books; for as we, in common with the rest of the Christian world, have accepted them as the word of God, it is eminently proper that we should enquire into the genuineness of the records upon which our faith is so largely founded. All evidences furnished by the Bible itself, such as its language, historical details, and the coincidences of its contents, unite in supporting its claim to genuineness as the actual works of the authors to whom the separate parts are ascribed. In a multitude of instances, comparisons are easy between the biblical record and contemporary history not scriptural, particularly in regard to biography and genealogy, and, in all such cases, striking agreement has been found.b Further [p.255] argument exists in the individuality maintained by each writer, resulting in a marked diversity of style; while the wondrous unity pervading the whole declares the operation of some single guiding influence throughout the ages of the record's growth; and this can be nothing less than the power of inspiration which operated upon all alike who were accepted as instruments in the Divine Hand to prepare this book of books. Tradition, contemporary history, literary analysis, and above and beyond all these, the test of prayerful research and truth-seeking investigation, have ever combined to prove the authenticity of this wondrous volume, and to point the way, defined within its covers, leading men back to the Eternal Presence.
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31. Book of Mormon Testimony regarding the Bible:—As declared in the eighth of the Articles of Faith now under consideration, the Latter-day Saints accept the Book of Mormon as a volume of sacred scripture, which, like the Bible, embodies the word of God. In the next lecture, the Book of Mormon will receive our special attention; but it may be profitable to refer here to the collateral evidence furnished by that work regarding the authenticity of the Jewish scriptures, and of the general integrity of these latter in their present form. According to the Book of Mormon record, the Prophet Lehi, with his family and some others, left Jerusalem by the command of God, about 600 B.C., during the first year of King Zedekiah's reign. Before finally forsaking the land of their nativity, the travelers secured certain records, which were engraved on plates of brass. Among these writings were a history of the Jews and some of the scriptures then accepted as authentic.
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32. Lehi examined the brazen record,—"And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents; and also a [p.256] record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah; and also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah; and also many prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah."c This direct reference to the Pentateuch and to certain of the Jewish prophets is valuable external evidence concerning the authenticity of those parts of the biblical record.
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33. In a vision, Nephi, the son of Lehi, learned of the future of God's plan regarding the human family; and saw that a book of great worth, containing the word of God, and the covenants of the Lord with Israel, would go forth from the Jews to the Gentiles.d It is further stated that Lehi's company, who, as we shall see, were led across the waters to the western contingent, whereon they established themselves and afterward grew to be a numerous and powerful people, were accustomed to study the scriptures engraved on the plates of brass; and, moreover, their scribes embodied long quotations there-from in their own growing record.e So much for Book of Mormon recognition of the Old Testament, or at least of such parts of the Jewish canon as had been completed when Lehi's migrating colony left Jerusalem, during the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah.
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34. But further, concerning the New Testament scriptures, this voice from the western world is not silent. In prophetic vision, many of the Nephite teachers saw and fore-told the ministry of Christ in the meridian of time, and recorded predictions concerning the principal events of the Savior's life and death, with striking fidelity and detail. [p.257] This testimony is recorded of Nephi,f Benjamin,g who was both prophet and king, Abinadi,h Samuel the converted Lamanite,i and others. In addition to these and many other prophecies regarding the mission of Christ, all of which agree with the New Testament record of their fulfilment, we find in the Book of Mormon an account of the risen Lord's ministrations among the Nephite people, during which He established His Church with them, after the pattern recorded in the [New Testament; and, moreover, He gave them many instructions in words almost identical with those of His teachings among the Jews in the east.j
Notes.
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1. John Chrysostom, one of the Greek "Christian Fathers," flourished during the latter half of the fourth century; he was patriarch of Constantinople, but was deposed and exiled some time before his death which occurred in 407. His use of the term biblia to designate the scriptural canon is among the earliest applications of the sort yet found. He entreated his people to avail themselves of the riches of inspired works in this wise:—"Hear, I exhort, all yet in secular life, and purchase biblia, the medicine of the soul." Speaking of the Jewish Christians, he says, "They have the biblia, but we have the treasures of the biblia; they have the letters, we have the letters and the understanding."
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2. The Samaritan Copy of the Pentateuch:—In his valuable course of lectures on Bible subjects, Elder David McKenzie presents the following, with references to the writings of Horne:—"Nine hundred and seventy years before Christ, the nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms. Both retained the same book of the law. Rivalry prevented either of them from altering or adding to the law. After Israel was carried into Assyria, other nations occupied Samaria. These received the Pentateuch. The language being Hebrew or Phoenician. whereas the Jewish copy was changed into Chaldee, corruption or alteration was thus made impracticable, yet the texts remain almost identical."
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3. Versions of the Bible or of Parts Thereof:—The Septuagint:—"Various opinions have been put forth to explain its appellation of Septuagint; some say that Ptolemy Philadelphus requested of Eleazer the High Priest, a copy of the Hebrew scriptures, and six learned Jews from each tribe (together [p.258] seventy-two,) competent to translate it into Greek; these were shut up in the isle of Pharos, and in seventy-two days they completed their task; as they dictated it, Demetrius Phalereus, the king's chief librarian, transcribed it; but this is now considered a fable. Others say that these same interpreters, having been shut up in separate cells, wrote each one a translation; and so extraordinarily did they all coincide together in words as well as sentiment, that evidence was thus afforded of their inspiration by the Holy Spirit; this opinion has also been set aside as too extravagant. It is very possible that seventy-two writers were employed in the translation; but it is more probable that it acquired the name of Septuagint from having received the approbation of the Jewish Sanhedrin, which consisted of seventy-two persons. Some affirm it to have been executed at different times; and Horne says it is most probable that this version was made during the joint reigns of Ptolemy Lagus, and his son Philadelphus, about 285 or 286 B.C."
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The Valgate:—"There was a very ancient version of the Bible translated from the Septuagint into Latin, but by whom and when is unknown. It was in general use in the time of Jerome, and was called the Itala or Italic Version. About the close of the fourth century, Jerome began a new translation into Latin from the Hebrew text, which he gradually completed. It at last gained the approbation of Pope Gregory I, and has been used ever since the seventh century. The present Vulgate, declared authentic by the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century, is the ancient Italic version, revised and improved by the corrections of Jerome and others; and is the only one allowed by the Church of Rome."
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The "Authorized Version."—"Certain objections having been made to the Bishops' Bible at the Hampton Court conference in A.D. 1603, King James I directed a new translation to be made. Forty-seven persons, eminent for their piety and biblical learning, were chosen to this end; they were divided into six committees, two to sit at Oxford, two at Cambridge, and two at Westminster; and each committee had a certain portion of the scriptures assigned to it. They began their task in A D, 1607, and the whole was completed and in print in A.D. 1611. This is called the Authorized English Version and is the one now in use."—From Analysis of Scripture History, by Pinnock; pp. 3, 5; (6th ed.)
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4. The Prophetical Books of the Old Testament are arranged with little or no regard to their chronological order, the extent of the contained matter placing the larger works first. The chronological arrangement would probably be Jonah, Joel, Amos, Hoses, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah:—all of these prophesied previous to the captivity; then follow Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel, and Daniel, who wrote during the captivity; then Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, after the return of the Jews from captivity.
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5. Manuscript Copies of the New Testament:—Three manuscripts of New Testament writings now in existence are regarded as authentic. These are known as the Vatican (now in Rome,) the Alexandrian (now in London), and the Sinaitic, (now in the St. Petersburg library). The last named or Sinaitic is considered to be the oldest copy of the New Testament in existence. The manuscript was discovered in 1859 among the archives Of a monastery on Mount Sinai, hence its name. It was found by Tischendorf, and is now in the imperial library at St. Petersburg.
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6. Concerning the Genuineness of Parts of the New Testament:—In answer to objections that have been urged by critics in the matter of [p.259] genuineness or authenticity of certain books of the New Testament, the following array of testimony may be considered. The items are presented here as collated by Elder David McKenzie, and as used by him in his instructive lectures on the Bible.
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(I) The Four Gospels:—1. Matthew. Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, was a hearer of the Apostle John. With respect to St. Matthew's gospel, Eusebius quotes him as saying:—"Matthew composed the Oracles in the Hebrew tongue, and each one interpreted them as he could."—(Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. iii, 39.)
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2. Mark. Of Mark's writing, Paphas also says:—"Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately everything that he remembered, without, however, recording in order what was either said or done by Christ. For neither did he hear the Lord, nor follow Him, but afterward attended Peter, who adapted his instructions to the needs of his hearers, but had no design of giving a connected account of the Lord's oracles (or discourses.)"—(Bishop Lightfoot's translations, in "Contemporary Review," August, 1875.)
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3. Luke. Internal evidence shows that Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles were composed by the same author. St. Paul speaks of Luke as a physician; and Dr. Hobart, in 1882, published at London, a treatise on "The Medical Language of St. Luke," and points out the frequent use of medical terms in Luke's writings, permeating the entire extent of the third Gospel, and the Acts of the Apostles. Even M. Renan makes a similar admission. He says:—"One point
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