Scrap Book of Mormon Literature, Volume 2 (of 2). Religious Tracts (part 1 of 4)

Opening

SCRAP BOOK OF MORMON LITERATURE

VOL. II

Religious Tracts

Published by

Ben. E. Rich

"_We have gathered posies, From other men's flowers; Nothing but the thread that Binds them is ours_."

{i}

GENERAL INDEX

STATEMENT FROM JOSIAH QUINCY, MAYOR OF BOSTON, 1845-1849, CONCERNING AN INTERVIEW HAD IN 1844 WITH JOSEPH SMITH, THE MORMON PROPHET: Some of the Sayings and Predictions Made by the Prophet Joseph Smith--A Letter to Mr. Wentworth from the Prophet in Answer to a Request from Him for a Statement of Belief, to Be Published in the Chicago "Democrat"--The Prophet's Assassination--Extracts from Governor Ford's History of Illinois Concerning the Martyrdom, with Comments.--Compiled by Ben. E. Rich, 3.

DEDICATION OF PALESTINE: The Prayer.--By Apostle Orson Hyde, 36.

THE RESURRECTION: Purpose of Man's Existence--Component Parts of Body Never Destroyed--Literal Resurrection--Testimony of Resurrection by Ezekiel, Job, Daniel, Luke, John, Matthew, Paul--Book of Mormon Prophet's Testimony of the Resurrection, Abinadi, Jacob, Amulek, Alma, Samuel, Words of Jesus, Moroni--Testimony of Joseph Smith--Extract from the Prophecy of Enoch.--By President Brigham Young, 40.

CELESTIAL FAMILY ORGANIZATION.--By Parley P. Pratt in His Publication, "The Prophet," published in New York City, 1845, 52.

SALVATION FOR THE LIVING AND THE DEAD: Liberality of the "Mormon" Faith--Characteristics of True Religion--Universal Salvation--But One God and One Faith--Sincerity Not Conclusive Evidence of Truth--Oneness of the Church of Christ--True Gospel Again Revealed from Heaven--Gospel Will Be Preached to Every Soul--But Few Will Be Lost--Salvation for the Dead--Different Degrees of Glory--Liberality of the Gospel--Everlasting Punishment--Work in the Spirit World--Cherish No Evil Feeling--A Discourse by Charles W. Penrose, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, August 19, 1900, 59.

MORMONISM JUDGED BY ITS EFFECTS: Testimony of Converts--Effects of Mormonism--Preaching the Gospel--Mormons a Happy People--Mormonism Causes Unity--Education--Natural Benefits Derived from Mormonism--By Charles W. Penrose, in "Millennial Star," 1886, 78.

{ii} THE "RE-ORGANIZED" CHURCH VS. SALVATION FOR THE DEAD: Claims of The "Re-organized" Church--Keys for Vicarious Work Restored--Baptism for Dead Commenced--Temples Built--Keys Bestowed Upon the Twelve Apostles--Church Rejected with Its Dead--Baptism for the Dead Discontinued by "Josephites"--Importance of the Work for the Dead--Dead Judged Out of Records--Prophet Preaches on Work for Dead--Early Prophets Preached Salvation for the Dead--Necessity of Temples--Sacred Ordinances Must Be Performed in the Temple--An Editorial from the "Times and Seasons" Written by the Prophet Joseph Smith on Salvation for the Dead--By Joseph F. Smith, Jr, 83.

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR FAULTS.--By Elder Orson F. Whitney, in "Millennial Star," 1882, 100.

AN INTERVIEW IN THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION ON THE "MORMON" FAITH: Book of Mormon--What the Book of Mormon Teaches--First Principles--Gifts of the Holy Ghost--Prophecy--Authority--Apostasy--Restoration--Organization-- Ecclesiastical Government--Necessity of Baptism--Mode of Baptism--Infant Baptism--Salvation for the Dead--Eternal and Everlasting Punishment--Graded Salvation and Damnation--Personality of the Godhead--Atonement and Fall--Bible Alone Not Sufficient--Marriage--Morality of the Mormons--Belief in a Personal Satan--Future Punishment--The Earth to Be Purified--By Elder Ben. E. Rich, 103.

TWO LETTERS TO A BAPTIST MINISTER: Rev. J. Whitcomb Brougher, Pastor First Baptist Church, Chattanooga, Tenn., Delivered Two Sermons from His Pulpit Upon "Mormonism." They were tirades of falsehoods and misrepresentations from beginning to end; they were filled with much bitterness and hatred, and during one of his sermons he came as near advocating mob violence as he dared. These wholesale attacks called out the following open letters to the minister, which appeared in the Chattanooga "News." (There were so many calls for copies of these letters, and to meet the demands they were published in pamphlet form.) Christ's Church Always Evily Spoken Against--Spaulding Manuscript Story--Restoration of the Gospel--Christ's Second Coming--The Existence of a God--God Has a Body, Parts and Passions--Belief in Many Gods--Is Mormonism a System of Lust--"Mormons" Live in Their Own Homes--Loyalty of the Mormons--Authority--Are We to a Unity--Baptism Is Essential--False Charges--Missionary Work--The Book of Mormon--Elder Ben. E. Rich, 122.

MORMONS AND MORMONISM: The Mormon People, Their Industry, Education and Morals--What Is Thought of These People by a Non-Mormon of Many Years Residence Among Them--By Their Fruits--Like the Pilgrim Fathers--Their Staff and Comfort--What They Accomplished in Thirty-two Years--Education--Morals--Cause of Persecution--The New Crusade--Disfranchisement of Mormons--Political Conditions--B. H. Roberts Case--Lecture by Charles Ellis, a Non-Mormon, 145.

{iii} PROPHETS AND APOSTLES NECESSARY: Tendency of Mankind to Accept Dead Prophets and Reject Living Ones--Prophecy Fulfilled--Revelation Necessary--Necessity of Officers in the Church--By the late President Geo. Q. Cannon, in the "Millennial Star," 1866, 168.

COMPREHENSIVE SALVATION, OR THE GOSPEL TO LIVING AND DEAD: First Principles--Authority--Miraculous Gifts--Organization--Apostasy--Restoration--The Gospel Preached to the Spirits of the Departed--Different Degrees of Glory--Turning the Hearts of the Fathers to the Children, and the Children to the Fathers--By John Nicholson, 174.

THE MEANS OF ESCAPE, OR, EXISTING EVILS AND THEIR CURE: Christ's Second Coming--Restoration--Visions of the Prophet--Priesthood Restored--Persecution--Growth of the Church--Missionary Work--The Gathering--By Elder John Nicholson, 195.

THE LATTER DAY PROPHET: Prophets Needed and Should Be Expected--Organism of the Church of Christ--Effects of Obedience to the Doctrines Introduced by Joseph Smith--The Book of Mormon Authentic--Modern Prophecy and Its Fulfilment--By Elder John Nicholson, 200.

THE GOSPEL OPENS COMMUNICATION WITH JEHOVAH: Necessity of Adversity--Angels Have Appeared in the Last Days--Heaven--Condition of the World--Paragraphs from a Sermon Delivered by President John Taylor, June 12, 1853, 221.

A WORD OF ADVICE: Elders' Authority--Their Attitude Toward Ministers--Rely Upon Spirit of God--Advice to Missionaries--By Elder Parley P. Pratt, in "Millennial Star," 1846, 226.

A Prophet of Latter Days.

A GLORIOUS THOUGHT: Should Prophets Be Expected in Our Day--God's Word Indicates that a Prophet Should Come--Prophets Sent to Announce All Important Events--Positive Promise of the Lord to Send a Messenger--Necessity of Prophets and Apostles in the Church--Church Founded Upon Prophets and Apostles--Power Given Apostles and Prophets--Object of Inspired Men in the Church--How Long They Should Remain--Is the Canon of Scripture Full--Without Modern Revelation Bible Prophecies Cannot Be Fulfilled--Treatment of Prophets in Past Ages--Jesus a Stumbling Stone--Many Prophets Rejected--Persecution to Follow All Inspired Teachers--Conclusions Drawn from Scriptures Quoted--Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 230.

{iv} WAS JOSEPH SMITH A PROPHET? Testimony of His Works--Judging by the Fruits--Joseph Smith's Claim--His Claim Compared with Scripture--Predictions that the Gospel Should Be Restored--Joseph Smith Treated the Same as Ancient Prophets--Account of Some of His Works--Bible Prophecies Fulfilled--Church Organization the Same as Formerly--Same Doctrines as in Former Days--The Holy Ghost Received--How to Obtain Proof--Outward Proofs--Testimony of Witnesses--Ancient Prophecies Being Fulfilled--The Gathering of Israel--Gathering Peculiar to Latter-Day Saints--Events in the History of the Saints--Words of the Psalmist Fulfilled--Isaiah's Prediction Fulfilled--A Prophecy of Malachi--Salvation for the Dead--Facts Proven--Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 235.

JOSEPH SMITH'S WORKS: Evidence of His Inspiration--Scriptural Tests--Prediction of the Angel--None Can Stop God's Work--"A Marvelous Work"--Testimony of Disinterested Men--Prophecy About War--Fulfilled Twenty-eight Years Afterwards--Predicted Men's Lives Would Be Spared--The Saints' Exodus Foretold--Gathering Predicted--Joseph Smith as an Expounder of Scripture--Church Organization--All His Works Proclaim Him a Prophet--Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 254.

THE BOOK OF MORMON: An Evidence of the Inspiration of Joseph Smith--Its Purport--Impossible to Write Without Divine Aid--Prophecies in the Book of Mormon--A Bible! A Bible!--Isaiah's Prophecy--Book Gives a Test of Its Truth--Attested by Direct Evidence--Testimony of Three Witnesses--Testimony of Witnesses Unchanged--Testimony of Eight Witnesses--Secular Proof of the Book of Mormon--Colonists from the Tower of Babel--Origin Before the Christian Era--Of Hebrew Origin--Indian Customs--Indian Practice Resembling the Passover--Tradition of a Sacred Book--Acquainted with the Old Testament Record--Tradition of Moses--Tradition of Eve--Tradition of the Flood--Led by Youngest Brother--Engraved on Plates of Metal--Egyptian Writings--Evidences of Advanced Civilization--Ruins Discovered--Indians All of One Origin--Ruins in Yucatan--Ancient Glass Jar--A Ruined City--Ancient Coins and Implements--Destruction at the Time of the Crucifixion--Ruins on the Ridge of a Mountain--Destroyed by the Action of Heat--Remains Found Under Lava Beds--Discovery of a Hidden City--Evidences of Great Eruptions--The Messiah Known to the Ancient Inhabitants of America--The Cross as an Emblem--Knowledge of the Godhead--Tradition of the Christ--Strong Proofs of the Truth of the Book of Mormon--Conclusion--Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 260.

MARKS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST: The Outward Signs by Which It May Be Known--Outward Signs by Which Christ's Gospel May Be Known--Character of His Church--Knowledge the Outcome of True Faith--How It May Be Obtained--An Illustration--Parable of the Sower--Where Is the True Gospel and Church of Christ?--By Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 291.

SIGNS OF CHRIST'S SECOND COMING: What the Bible Says Concerning His Advent--What the Saviour and the Ancient Prophets Say Concerning It--The Many Things to Take Place Before that Great Event--The Signs Already Appearing--By Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 304.

{v} SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH OBEDIENCE: Important Questions Concerning Salvation Answered by the Word of God--Bible Teachings Upon This Subject--Important Questions Concerning Salvation Answered by the Word of God--Salvation Free to All Who Will Obey--Faith Alone Will Not Save--True Faith Cannot Be Separated from Works of Obedience--Illustrations of Salvation by Grace--By Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 313.

THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST: Rules That Must Be Observed by All Who Enter Christ's Church--What Is Salvation--Our Own Sins--What Is the Gospel--The First Rule--Faith--Nature of Faith--Power of Faith--Necessity of Miraculous Gifts--Existence of Faith Shown by Works--Another Evidence of Faith--The Second Rule--Repentance--Meaning of Repentance--Necessity of Repentance--The Third Rule--Baptism--True Mode of Baptism--What Baptism Is For--Other Purposes of Baptism--The Baptism of Infants--Those Who Have Died Without Baptism--Baptism a Test of Obedience--The Fourth Rule--Laying On of Hands--Necessity of Laying On of Hands--Office of the Holy Spirit--Rules Herein Explained--By Elder Edwin F. Parry, Liverpool, England, 321.

AN ANGEL WITH THE GOSPEL: Rev. 14: 6, 7, Analyzed--Angel Moroni's Mission Not Completed--Angels--Judgments to Come Upon the World--By Elder Orson Pratt, in "Millennial Star," 1866, 333.

THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH ON DOCTRINE: Extracts from a Sermon Delivered at Nauvoo, June 27, 1839, Taken from the "Historical Record"--First Principles--Purpose of the Gifts of Tongues--Resurrection and Eternal Judgment--Election--Effects of the Holy Ghost Upon Gentiles--Effects of the Holy Ghost Upon the Seed of Abraham--The Other Comforter, 337.

THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS AND THE WORLD: The Godhead--Testimony of John, Peter, Stephen--The Personality of God--Testimony of Abraham, Moses, Thomas, Zechariah, Paul, Joseph Smith--Faith and Works--Testimony of Paul, John, James--Repentance--Testimony of Paul, Noah, Abraham, Jonah, John--Water Baptism--Testimony of Paul, John, Nicodemus, Peter, Paul--The Holy Ghost--Testimony of John the Baptist, John, Paul--Baptism for the Dead--Testimony of Peter, Paul--Divine Authority--Testimony of Paul, Peter--By Elder William A. Morton, 340.

A CONGRESSMAN'S OPINION OF THE PROPHET: From the "Historical Record"--The Prophet in Washington During the Year 1840, 404.

AN ANNOUNCEMENT CONCERNING THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.--By Heber J. Grant, Tokyo, Japan, 405.

{vi} CORNER STONES OF REORGANIZATION: A Few Facts Concerning Its Founders Compiled from Early Church History--History of William Marks--Revelation to James J. Strong Given January 7, 1849--Record of Zenos H. Gurley--Jason W. Briggs, Another Founder of the New Organization--Authority--By German E. Ellsworth, 408.

IS BELIEF ALONE SUFFICIENT: Knowledge of God Necessary to Be Saved--Must Obey the Gospel--Works Necessary--Love Manifest by Keeping the Commandments--Faith and Works Necessary--By J. H. Paul, 423.

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS: Its Religion, History, Condition and Destiny--Antagonism Due to Misrepresentation--The Fulness of the Everlasting Gospel--The Godhead--Men Judged by Their Works--The Atonement--The Gospel Ordinances--Faith, Repentance, Baptism--Baptism for the Dead--The Holy Ghost--Divine Authority--Officers--Spiritual Gifts--The Apostasy--The Book of Mormon--Revelation--Restoration of the Gospel--Other Doctrines--A Glance at History--Present Condition--Future Destiny--The Gospel Message--By James H. Anderson, 1902, 429.

A WORD ABOUT SUCCESSION: From Saturday "News"--Was Not Necessary to Ordain President Young to Office of President of Church--The Prophet Intended Hyrum to Be the Next President Had He Lived--All the Keys of Authority Bestowed Upon the Heads of the Twelve Apostles by Joseph Smith--Brigham Young Accepted by People as Second President of Church, 460.

THE GOSPEL PIONEER: Faith--Repentance--Baptism--Laying on of Hands for Imparting the Holy Ghost--Authority to Preach and Administer--By William Jefferies, 464.

GLAD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY: Faith in God and Jesus Christ--Repentance--Baptism--The Holy Ghost--Organization--We Believe in Continuous Revelation from God--Obey the Doctrine of Christ--By Apostle George Teasdale, 484.

SUGGESTIONS TO ELDERS: Care in Administering Sacrament--Baptismal Ceremony--Laying on of Hands and Blessing Sick--Words to Be Used in Baptizing--Words Used in Confirming a Person a Member of the Church--Administering to the Sick--Anointing with Oil--By Elder B. H. Roberts, in "Millennial Star," 1888, 488.

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST: All Truth Included in the Gospel of Jesus Christ--The Gospel Plan Comprehends More Than This Planet--Gospel Taught Prior to Christ's Advent--Faith--Repentance--Baptism by Immersion--Gift of the Holy Ghost--Only One Gospel Plan--Evidence of Apostasy--Gospel Plan a Perfect One--Exclusive Plan--Man Saved by Gaining Knowledge--Faith and Works Necessary--Importance of the Message of the Humble Elders--By Elder Orson F. Whitney, in "Millennial Star," 1882, 492.

{vii} THE MISUSE OF POWER.--By Apostle Orson F. Whitney, in Millennial Star, 1882, 510.

HAPPINESS FOR THE SORROWFUL.--By Apostle Orson Pratt, Millennial Star, 1886, 514.

THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW WAY: Doctrine the Savior Taught--First Principles--Faith and Works--Repentance--Baptism--Object of Baptism--Subjects Fit for Baptism--Mode of Baptism--Gift of the Holy Ghost--The Blood of Christ--Authority--Salvation for the Dead--By Elder Ephraim H. Nye, 516.

A MOTHER'S INFLUENCE: A Few Words About the Findings and the Birth of Joseph F. Smith, 535.

IS BAPTISM ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION? 540.

ALLEGED "OBJECTIONABLE FEATURES" IN THE RELIGION OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS: Discoveries Made in South America Corroborating Claims of the Book of Mormon--Apostles and Prophets--Signs Following the Believers--Ordinance of Baptism Changed--By Elder Charles W. Staynor, 542.

LATTER-DAY SAINTS FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS OF THE SAVIOUR: Address Delivered at the Salt Lake Tabernacle Sunday, December 25, 1910, by President Joseph F. Smith--Adam's Mission on Earth--Temporal Death--Coming of Christ--The Second Death--Christ Both God and Man--First Born in the Spirit, Only Begotten of the Father in the Flesh, Immortal Father, Mortal Mother, thus Were Joined Together in Him Forever, Both God and Man--Resurrection--Spirit and Body of Christ--Preaching to Spirits in Prison--Broadness of God's Plan of Salvation--All Will Be Resurrected--Free Agency of Man--Saviour in America--Elements of Spirituality--Book of Mormon--Doctrines of Christ--Saviour's Birthday, 554.

{viii}

DOCTRINAL INDEX

Adam's mission on earth, 554.

Adam taught to offer sacrifice, 556.

Administering to Sick, 490.

Adversity, Necessity of, 222.

Ancient Prophets predict Christ's Second Coming, 306.

Angel with the Gospel, 333.

Angels appear in last days, 223.

Anointing with Oil, 491.

Apostasy, 108, 176, 445.

Apostasy, Evidence of, 502.

Apostles and Prophets, 545.

Archaeological discoveries corroborating claims of Book of Mormon, 281.

Articles of Faith, How they came to be written, 20.

Atonement, The, 117, 314, 434.

Authority, 17, 107, 132, 143, 297, 395, 442, 480.

Baptism, 117, 293, 326, 373, 437, 474, 485, 520.

Baptism Changed, Mode of, 552.

Baptism essential to Salvation, 540.

Baptism for Dead commenced, 84.

Baptism for the Dead, 181, 439.

Baptism for the Dead done away with by "Josephites," 87.

Baptism, Infant, 113, 329.

Baptism, Mode of, 113, 326, 498, 525.

Baptism, Necessity of, 112, 133, 142.

Baptism, Purpose of, 327, 521.

Baptism, Subjects fit for, 522.

Baptismal ceremony, 489.

Belief alone not sufficient, 118, 423.

Believers, Signs follow the, 547.

Book of Mormon, 104, 140, 206, 239, 260, 446, 543, 562.

Book of Mormon's coming forth fulfills ancient prophecy, 210.

Book of Mormon, Discoveries in South America corroborate claims of, 544.

Book of Mormon gives test of its truth, 264.

Book of Mormon teaches, What the, 105, 209.

Book of Mormon, The coming forth of the, 207.

Book of Mormon published, 209.

Book of Mormon, What it is, 448.

Briggs, Jason W., Record of, 418.

But few will be lost, 67.

Christ's birthday, 567.

Christ, Blood of, 527.

Christ both God and man, 555-557.

Christ's Father immortal and mother mortal, 558.

Christ first born in spiritual creation, 558.

Christ only begotten in flesh of God, 558.

Christ's second coming, 126, 196, 304.

Christ spoken evil against in primitive days, 124.

Christ visits Western Hemisphere, 213.

Church founded upon Apostles and Prophets, 231.

Church, Growth of, 197, 453.

Church Organization, 259.

Church property seized, 456.

Church rejected with its dead, 87.

Comforter, The other, 338.

Corroborative Book of Mormon evidence by Non-Mormons, 268.

Creation, spiritual, 555.

Crusade against Mormons, 158.

Dead judged out of records, 90.

Dead Prophets accepted and living Prophets rejected, 168.

Death, Temporal, 555.

Death, The second, 557.

Dedication of Palestine, 36.

Degrees of Glory, 72, 185.

Disfranchisement, 160.

Disobedience, Penalty of, 315.

Doctrine of Christ, 486, 564.

Earth to be purified, 121.

Education among Mormons, 80, 152.

Effects of Holy Ghost upon Gentiles, 338.

Effects of Holy Ghost upon seed of Abraham, 338.

Effects of Mormonism, 78.

Efficacy of Christ's atoning blood, 316.

{ix} Election, 337.

Elements, Eternal, 12.

Elders' Attitude towards ministers, 226.

Elders' authority, 226.

Elders, Duties of, 10.

Elders rely upon Spirit of God, 227.

Elders, What, should preach, 15.

Eternal Life, How to gain, 11.

Eternal principles, 12.

Evangelist is a Patriarch, 339.

Evil feelings, Cherish no, 76.

Exodus of Saints to Rocky Mountains, 455.

Faith, 292, 321, 435, 464, 497.

Faith, How to get it, 299.

Faith in God and Jesus Christ necessary, 484.

Faith of Mormons their staff and comfort, 149.

Faith needed, 299.

Faith, Power of, 323.

Faith and Works necessary, 317, 359, 427, 508, 517.

Faith shown by works, 324.

Fall, Purpose of, 555.

Fall, The, 117, 555.

Family Organization, Celestial, 52.

Faults, Acknowledge your, 100.

First Principles, 106, 174, 242, 337.

First Principles necessary, 17.

Free Agency, 18, 562.

Fruits of the Gospel, 204.

Future destiny of the Work, 457.

Future existence, 165.

Gathering, The, 199, 248, 259.

Gifts of Holy Ghost, 106.

Gifts, Miraculous, 175.

Gifts, Necessity of Miraculous, 323.

Gifts, Spiritual, 444.

Gift of Tongues, Purpose of, 337.

God has a body, parts and passions, 127.

God, The Existence of a, 127.

God, Personality of, 347.

God's work everlasting, 18.

Godhead, Personality of the, 116, 236.

Godhead, The, 340, 432.

Gods, We believe in many, 128.

Gospel, All must obey the, 423.

Gospel of Jesus Christ includes all truth, 492.

Gospel, Liberality of the, 73.

Gospel Message, The, 457.

Gospel only accepted by a few, 14.

Gospel, Only one, 319, 501.

Gospel opens communication with Jehovah, 221.

Gospel plan a perfect one, 503.

Gospel plan comprehends more than this planet, 494.

Gospel preached to every soul, 66.

Gospel taught to Adam, 556.

Gospel taught to men on earth prior to Christ's advent, 495.

Gospel, The fulness of the everlasting, 431.

Governor Ford's statement, Comment on, 32.

Governor Ford's statement of the martyrdom, 29.

Government, Ecclesiastical, 110.

Graded Salvation and Damnation, 115, 185.

Gurley, Zenos H., Record of, 414.

Happiness for the sorrowful, 514.

Hardships and pioneer days, 149.

Heaven, 223.

History of Saints, 250.

Holy Ghost, 12, 242, 293, 381, 441, 478, 485.

Holy Ghost, Gift of, 489, 526.

Holy Spirit, Purpose of the, 295, 331.

How False and True teachers may be known, 294.

Importance of Message of Elders, 508.

Indian customs, rites, and traditions, 274.

Indians accept the Gospel, 217.

Indians all of one origin, 280.

Influence, A mother's, 535.

Intelligence, 12.

Jerusalem, Rebuilding of, 13.

Jesus Christ offers us Salvation, 291.

Jesus a stumbling stone, 234.

Johnson's Army, 456.

Josiah Quincy's statement, 3, 35.

Josiah Quincy's statement, Value of, 34.

Joseph Smith's claim, 236.

Joseph Smith on Doctrine, 337.

Joseph Smith's works proclaim him a Prophet, 260.

Judgments to come upon the world, 336.

Keys, All, bestowed upon the Twelve Apostles, 86, 461.

{x} Keys of work for Dead restored, 84, 190.

Knowledge, 11, 13.

Knowledge of God necessary to be saved, 423.

Knowledge of Gospel necessary to salvation, 300.

Knowledge, Man saved by gaining, 507.

Laying on of Hands, 330, 478.

Laying on of Hands in blessing sick, 489.

Laying on of Hands, Necessity of, 330.

Letters to a Baptist minister, 122.

Love of God, 16.

Love manifest by keeping commandments, 425.

Man, Origin of, 554.

Marks, William, History of, 408.

Marriage, 119.

Martin Harris shows ancient characters to learned man, 209.

Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum, 198.

Material benefits derived from Mormonism, 81.

Men judged according to their obedience, 315, 433.

Mercy, 17.

Miracles, 243.

Missionary work, 137, 166, 199.

Missionary work among the Indians, 217.

Missionaries, Advice to, 228.

Morality among the Mormons, 119, 153.

Mormons accomplished much in 32 years, 150.

Mormons happy people, 80.

Mormons hold different claims to all other sects, 302.

Mormons into the Desert, 148.

Mormons like pilgrim fathers, 148.

Mormons, Loyalty of, 131.

Mormons own their own homes, 129.

Mormonism causes unity, 80.

Mormonism, Fruits of, 147, 204, 236.

Mormonism judged by its effects, 78.

Mormonism not a system of lust, 128.

Mormonism, Origin of and growth of, 145.

Murderer, No forgiveness for, 18.

Nauvoo, 25.

Obedience brings blessings, 16.

Obedience to laws of the land, 19.

Officers in Church, 132, 168, 171, 201, 296, 443.

Officers in the Church, Necessity of, 202, 297.

Ordinances, Essential, must be performed in Temples, 94.

Organization, 109, 176, 241, 296, 485.

Organization of the Church, 23, 201.

Persecution, 14, 23, 150, 156, 198, 235, 454.

Persecution, Missouri, 24.

Plates, Description of Book of Mormon, 22.

Plates given to the Prophet, 209.

Plates shown to the Prophet, 208.

Political Conditions, 161.

Power, Misuse of, 510.

Prediction of the Angel, 255.

Priesthood, 18.

Priesthood restored, 109, 198.

Preaching in spirit world, 560.

Preaching the Gospel, 79, 109.

Prophecies, Bible, fulfilled, 240.

Prophecies in Book of Mormon, 261.

Prophecies cannot be fulfilled without modern revelation, 233.

Prophecies concerning last days, 307.

Prophecies of the Prophet, 257.

Prophecy, 107.

Prophecy of Book of Mormon fulfilled, 216.

Prophecy of Civil War, 5, 19, 219, 257.

Prophecy of John the Revelator, 305.

Prophecy of Malachi, 253.

Prophecy that Saints would remove to Rocky Mountains, 32, 258.

Prophet, A congressman's opinion of the, 404.

Prophet preaches on work for Dead, 91.

Prophet, The, intended Hyrum to lead Church at his death, 461.

Prophets always stoned, 146.

Prophets announce all important events, 230.

Prophets in past ages, 234.

{xi} Prophet's assassination, 29.

Prophets needed, 200, 231.

Prophet's premonition of his death, 28.

Prophet's sermon on Salvation for Dead, 95.

Prophets should come indicated by God's word, 230.

Prophet's statement on translation of Book of Mormon, 18.

Prophets to be expected, 230.

Prophet's views on government, 6.

Prophet's work, Comment on, 27.

Punishment, Everlasting, 75, 115.

Punishment, Future, 121.

Religion, Characteristics of true, 59.

Religion, Only one perfect, 291.

Religious liberty, 135.

Re-organized Church, Claims of, 83.

Re-organization, Corner stone of, 408.

Repentance, 324, 366, 436, 471, 484, 498, 518.

Repentance, Death bed, 15.

Repentance, Necessity of, 325.

Restoration of Gospel, 65, 108, 125, 176, 196, 237, 451.

Resurrection, The, 40, 558.

Revelation, 206, 450.

Revelation, Necessary, 15, 18, 170.

Revelations, Chap. 14; 6-7 verses analyzed.

Roberts, B. H., case, 162.

Sacrament, Care in administering, 488.

Salvation, 16, 321.

Salvation for Dead, 69, 83, 93, 114, 179, 253, 531.

Salvation and Education, 320.

Salvation, Exclusive, 178, 503.

Salvation for Living and Dead, 59.

Salvation, Plan of, 16.

Salvation, Universal, 60, 313, 561.

Satan, Personal, 120.

Saved by grace through obedience, 313.

Signs of Christ's coming to appear, 305, 318.

Sincerity not conclusive evidence of truth, 63.

Spaulding Manuscript story, 124.

Spirit and Body, 17.

Spirit world, Work in the, 75.

Spirits, 10, 12.

Succession, 460.

Suggestions to Elders, 488.

Temples built, 85, 191.

Temples, Necessity of, 94.

Ten Commandments, The, 293.

Testimonies of people healed, 244.

Testimony of converts, 78.

Testimony of Prophet by disinterested men, 256.

Testimony proving Book of Mormon to be divine, 264.

Traditions of Indians show that they had a knowledge of God and the Gospel, 286.

Truth, 12.

Unity in Church of Christ, 64.

Vicarious work, 189.

Virtuous, Seek to be, 16.

Vision, Prophet's first, 21, 207.

Visions, Other, of the prophet, 21, 197, 208, 238.

Witnesses of Book of Mormon, 213, 265, 448.

Words used in confirming persons members of Church, 490.

Work for the Dead, Importance of, 89.

Works, Necessary, 424.

World, Condition of people of the, 224.

Young, Brigham, accepted as President by vote of people, 462.

Young, Brigham, not ordained to office of President of Church, 460.

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A STATEMENT FROM JOSIAH QUINCY, MAYOR OF BOSTON, 1845-1849, CONCERNING AN INTERVIEW HAD IN 1844 WITH JOSEPH SMITH, THE MORMON PROPHET.

Some of the Sayings and Predictions Made by the Prophet Joseph Smith--A Letter to Mr. Wentworth From the Prophet in Answer to a Request From Him for a Statement of Belief, To Be Published in the Chicago Democrat--The Prophet's Assassination; Extracts From Gov. Ford's History of Illinois Concerning the Martyrdom, With Comments.

Compiled by Ben E. Rich.

Josiah Quincy, from whose "Figures of the Past" we quote, was born in Boston in 1802. He was the Mayor of Boston from 1845 to 1849. He was graduated from Harvard in 1821 and took his master's degree in 1824. He died in 1882, soon after he wrote "Figures of the Past." The work was taken from his diary and from letters written at the time of his visit to Nauvoo.

"If the foretelling of future events that could not possibly have been seen by human wisdom--events too, that from outward appearance were very unlikely to come to pass; if the prediction of such events and their subsequent fulfilment evidences a true prophet, then Joseph Smith must have been a true prophet."

In 1844 Josiah Quincy visited the Prophet Joseph Smith at Nauvoo. They conversed upon questions of government and the Prophet offered a solution of the slavery question {4} which Josiah Quincy, in 1882, declared the history of our country justified.

It is by no means impossible that some future textbook, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the 19th century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destiny of his countrymen? 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 living, may be an obvious commonplace to their descendants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. A man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was, and is to-day, accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High, such a human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. Fanatic, impostor, charlatan, he may have been; but those hard names furnish no solution to the problem he presents to us. Fanatics and impostors are living and dying every day, and their memory is buried with them; but the wonderful influence which this founder of religion exerted and still exerts, throws him into relief before us, not as a rogue to be criminated, but as a phenomenon to be explained. The vital questions Americans are asking each other to-day have to do with this man and with what he has left us. Is there any remedy heroic enough to meet the case, yet in accordance with our national doctrines of liberty and toleration, which can be applied to the doctrine now advanced by the sect which he created? The possibilities of the Mormon system are unfathomable. (Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past.)

In 1855, when men's minds had been moved to their depths on the question of slavery, Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that it should be met with in accordance "with the interests of the South and the settled conscience of the North. It is really not a great task, a great fight for this country to accomplish, to buy that property of the planter--the United States will be brought to give every inch of their public lands for a purpose like this."

We who can look back upon the terrible cost of the fratricidal war which put an end to slavery, now say that such a {5} solution of the difficulty would have been very worthy of a Christian Statesman. But if the retired scholar was in advance of his time when he advocated this disposition of the public property in 1855, what shall I think of the political and religious leader who had committed himself, in print, as well as in conversation to the same course in 1844? If the atmosphere of men's opinions was stirred by such a proposition when war clouds were discernible in the sky, was it not a statesmanlike word eleven years earlier when the heavens looked tranquil and beneficent? (Josiah Quincy, F. of P.)

The Prophet also saw that war would devastate this land and prophesied that "we shall soon have war and bloodshed;" that men shall hunt the lives of their own sons; brothers kill brothers; mothers shall be against daughters. He prophesied that this war should begin with the rebellion of South Carolina, and that it should cause the death of many souls; that the Southern States should be divided against the Northern States, and that the Southern States should call upon other nations, even Great Britain, to help them; that slaves should rise against their masters and that they should be "marshaled and disciplined for war." As late as 1882 Josiah Quincy marveled at the literal fulfilment of this prophecy. He remarked the fact that Ralph Waldo Emerson proposed the same solution of the slave question, in 1855, that the Prophet had proposed eleven years earlier, in 1844. This prophecy on war was made in 1832 by the Prophet and published to the world many years before his conversation with Josiah Quincy. (Comment.)

Give every man his constitutional freedom and the President full power to send an army to suppress mobs, and the States authority to repeal and impugn that relic of folly which makes it necessary for the Governor of the State to make the demand of the President for troops, in case of invasion or rebellion.

Joseph Smith.

Josiah Quincy, Commenting on this Statement Said:

It is needless to remark how later events showed the executive weakness that Mr. Smith pointed out--the weakness that cost thousands of valuable lives and millions of treasure.

Born in the lowest ranks of poverty, without book-learning, and with the homeliest of all human names, he had made {6} himself at the age of thirty-nine a power upon the earth. Of the multitudinous family of Smith, none had so won human hearts and shaped human lives as this Joseph. His influence, whether for good or evil, is potent to-day, and the end is not yet. If the reader does not know what to make of Joseph Smith, I cannot help him out of the difficulty; I myself stand helpless before the puzzle. (Josiah Quincy, F. of the P.)

I am a rough stone. The sound of the hammer and chisel were never heard on me until the Lord took me in hand. I desire the learning and wisdom of heaven alone.

(Joseph Smith.)

Some of His Views on Government.

The Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is a heavenly banner; it is like a great tree under whose branches men from all climes can be shielded from the burning rays of an inclement sun: and Mormon as well as Presbyterian, and every other denomination have equal rights to partake of the fruits of this great tree of our national Liberty.

Petition, also, ye goodly inhabitants of the slave States, your legislators to abolish slavery by the year 1850, or now, and save the abolitionist from reproach and ruin, infamy and shame. Pray Congress to pay every man a reasonable price for his slaves out of the surplus revenue arising from the sale of public lands.

Break off the shackles from the poor black man and hire him to labor like other human beings: "For an hour of virtuous Liberty on earth is worth a whole eternity of bondage."

For the accommodation of the people in every state and territory let Congress show their wisdom by granting a national bank, with branches in each state and territory, where the capital stock shall be held by the nation for the mother bank and by the states and territories for the branches, and {7} whose officers and directors shall be elected by the people. The net gains of the mother bank should be applied to the national revenue and that of the branches to the States' and Territories' revenues.

When the people petition for a National Bank, I would use my best endeavors to have their prayers answered, and establish one on national principles to save taxes, and make them the controllers of its ways and means.

Let the people of the whole Union, whenever they find a promise made by the candidate that is not practiced as an officer, hurl the miserable sycophant from his exaltation, as God did Nebuchadnezzar, to crop the grass of the field with a beast's heart among the cattle.

Let the penitentiaries be turned into Seminaries of learning, where intelligence, like the angels of heaven, would banish such fragments of barbarism.

More economy in the National and State Government would make less taxes among the people; and more honesty and familiarity in societies would make less hypocrisy and flattery in all branches of the community; and open, frank, candid decorum toward all men in this boasted land of liberty would beget esteem, confidence, union and love; and the neighbor from any state or any country, whatever color, clime, or tongue, could rejoice when he put his foot on the sacred soil of freedom and exclaim: "The very name of America is fraught with friendship." Thus create confidence! Restore freedom! Break down slavery! Banish imprisonment for debt, and be in love, fellowship and peace with all the world! Remember that honesty is not subject to law; the law is made for transgressors.

Were I the President of the United States, by the voice of a virtuous people, I would honor the old paths of the {8} venerated fathers who carried the ark of Government upon their shoulders with an eye single to the glory of the people; and when that people petitioned to abolish slavery in the slave states, I would use all honorable means to have their prayers granted, and give liberty to the captive by paying the Southern gentleman a reasonable equivalent for his property, that the whole nation might be free indeed.

Rigor and seclusion will never do as much to reform the propensities of man as reason and friendship.

When Egypt was under the superintendency of Joseph it prospered, because he was taught of God; when they oppressed the Israelites, destruction came upon them. When the children of Israel were chosen with Moses at their head, they were to be a peculiar people, among whom God should place His name; their motto was, "The Lord is our law-giver; the Lord is our Judge; the Lord is our King, and He shall reign over us." While in this state they might truly say, "Happy is that people, whose God is the Lord." Their Government was a theocracy; they had God to make their laws and men chosen by God to administer them; He was their God, and they were His people. Moses received the Word of the Lord from God himself; he was the mouth of God to Aaron, and Aaron taught the people, in both civil and ecclesiastical affairs; they were both one, there was no distinction; so it will be when the purposes of God are accomplished; "when the Lord shall be King over the whole earth, and Jerusalem His throne. The law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

This is the only thing that can bring about the "restitution of all things spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was;" the dispensation of the fullness of times, when God shall gather together all things in one. Other attempts to promote universal peace and happiness in the human family have proved abortive; every effort has failed; every plan and design has fallen to the ground; it needs the wisdom of God, the intelligence of God, the power of God to accomplish this. The world has had a fair trial for six thousand years; the Lord will try the seventh thousand, himself; "He whose right it is will possess the Kingdom and reign until He has put all things under {9} His feet; iniquity will hide its hoary head; Satan will be bound, and the works of darkness destroyed; righteousness will be put to the line, and judgment to the plummet, and 'He that fears the Lord will alone be exalted in that day.'"

We do not believe it is just to mingle religious influence with civil government, whereby one religious society is fostered and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, and the individual rights of its members as citizens, denied.

We believe that no government can exist in peace except such laws are framed and held inviolable as secured unto each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.

Meddle not with any man for his religion; for all government ought to permit every man to enjoy his religion unmolested. No man is authorized to take away life in consequence of difference of religion, which all laws should govern and protect.

It has been the design of Jehovah from the commencement of the world, and is His purpose now, to regulate the affairs of the world in His own time, and to stand at the head of the universe, and take the reins of government in His own hands. When that is done, judgment will be administered in righteousness; anarchy and confusion will be destroyed, and nations will learn war no more. It is for want of this great governing principle that all this confusion has existed.

We believe that every man should be honored in his station; rulers and magistrates, as such, being placed for the protection of the innocent, and the punishment of the guilty; and that to the laws, all men owe respect and deference, as without them peace and harmony would be supplanted by anarchy and terror; human laws being instituted for the express purpose of regulating our interests as individuals and nations, {10} between man and man, and divine laws given of heaven, prescribing rules on spiritual concerns, for faith and worship, both to be answered by man to his Maker.

We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments.

Miscellaneous Thought on Many Subjects.

Seek to know God in your closet; call upon Him in your field.

The sacrifice required of Abraham in the offering up of Isaac shows that if a man would attain to the keys of the Kingdom of an endless life, he must sacrifice all things. When God offers a blessing or knowledge to man, and he refuses to receive it, he will be damned.

Spirits are eternal. At the first organization in heaven we were all present, and saw the Savior chosen and appointed, and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it.

When you climb a ladder, you must begin at the bottom and ascend step by step until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the Gospel; you must begin with the first and go along until you have learned all the principles of exaltation.

It should be the duty of elders, when they enter into any house, to let their labors and warning voice be to the master of that house; and if he receives the Gospel, then he may extend his influence to his wife, also, that peradventure she may receive the Gospel; but if the man receive not the Gospel and give his consent that his wife may receive it, then let her {11} receive it; but if the man forbid his wife, or his children before they are of age, to receive the Gospel, then it shall be the duty of the elder to go his way and use no influence against him; and let the responsibility be upon his head.

There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God.

Knowledge saves a man, and in the world of spirits no man can be exalted but by knowledge. So long as a man will not give heed to the commands, he must abide without salvation.

Here, then, is eternal life--to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power.

When the Twelve, or any other witnesses, stand before the congregation of the earth, and they preach in the power and demonstration of the spirit of God, and the people are astonished and confounded at the doctrine and say: That man has preached a powerful discourse, a great sermon--then let that man or those men take care that they are humble and ascribe the praise and glory to God and The Lamb; for it is by the power of the Holy Priesthood and Holy Ghost that they have power thus to speak. "What art thou, O man, but dust? And from whom dost thou receive thy power and blessings but from God?"

If you wish to go where God is, you must be like God, or possess the principles which God possesses, for if we are not drawing toward God in principle, we are going from Him and drawing toward the devil. A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be {12} brought into captivity by some evil power. It needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God.

Every principle proceeding from God is eternal and any principle which is not eternal is of the devil. The sun has no beginning nor end; the rays which proceed from himself have no bounds, consequently are eternal. So it is with God. If the soul of man had a beginning it will surely have an end. In the translation "without form and void" it should read, empty and desolate. The word created should be, formed, or organized.

Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed, can be.

All truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.

All spirit is matter, but it is more fine and pure.

Ye were also in the beginning with the Father.

We have no claim in our eternal compact, in relation to eternal things, unless our actions and contracts and all things tend to this end.

The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receiveth a fullness of joy, and when separated, man cannot receive a fullness of joy.

The first Comforter, or Holy Ghost, has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is powerful in expanding the mind, {13} enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge.

Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed. It will take some time to build the walls of the city and the temple, etc.; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His appearance. There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heaven above and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc.

He that receiveth light and continueth in God, receiveth more light, and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

Study and learn and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues and people, for it is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.

"We have turned the barren, bleak prairies and swamps into beautiful towns, farms and cities, by our industry; and the men who seek our destruction and cry thief, treason, riot, are those who themselves violate the laws, steal and plunder from their neighbors, and seek to destroy the innocent, heralding forth lies to screen themselves from the just punishment of their crimes by bringing destruction upon innocent people."

If a people, a community, or a society, can accumulate wealth, increase a worldly fortune, improve in science and arts, rise to eminence in the eyes of the public, surmount difficulties so much as to bid defiance to poverty and wretchedness, it must be a new creation, a race of beings superhuman. But in all {14} our poverty and want, we have yet to learn for the first time, that we are not industrious and temperate, and wherein we have not always been the last to retaliate or resent an injury, and the first to overlook and forgive.

"We have been driven time after time, and that without cause; and smitten again and again, and that without provocation; until we have proved the world with kindness, and the world has proved us, that we have no designs against any man or set of men; that we injure no man; that we are peaceable with all men, minding our own business, and our business only. We have suffered our rights and our liberties to be taken from us; we have not avenged ourselves for those wrongs; we have appealed to magistrates, to sheriffs, to judges, to the Government and to the President of the United States--all in vain; yet we have yielded peacefully to all these things. We have not complained at the Great God; we murmured not, but peacefully left all, and retired into the back country, in the broad and wild prairies, in the barren and desolate plains, and there commenced anew; making the desolate places to bud and blossom as the rose."

Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof until long after the events transpired.

"Time and experience will teach us more and more how easily falsehood gains credence with mankind in general, rather than the truth; but especially in taking into consideration the plan of salvation. The plain simple truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ never has been discerned nor acknowledged as the truth, except by a few--among whom were 'not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;' whilst the majority have contented themselves with their own private opinions, or have adopted those of others, according to their address, their philosophy, their formula, their policy, or their fitness may have attracted their attention or pleased their taste. But, sir, of all the criterions whereby we may judge of the vanity of these things, one will always be found true, namely, that we will always find such characters glorifying in their own wisdom and their own works; whilst the humble saint gives all the glory to God the Father, and to His Son Jesus Christ, {15} whose yoke is easy, and whose burden is light, and who told His Disciples that unless they became as little children, they could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

"We consider that when a man scandalizes his neighbor, it follows, of course, that he designs to cover his own iniquity; we consider him who puts his foot upon the neck of his benefactor an object of pity rather than revenge, for in so doing he not only shows the contraction of his own mind, but the wickedness of his heart also."

"The infidel will grasp at every straw for help until death stares him in the face, and then his infidelity takes its flight, for the realities of the eternal world are resting upon him in mighty power; and when every earthly support and prop fails him, he then sensibly feels the eternal truths of the immortality of the soul. We should heed warning and not wait for the death-bed to repent. As we see the infant taken away by death, so may the youth and middle-aged, as well as the infant, be called into eternity. Let this, then, prove as a warning to all, not to procrastinate repentance, or wait until upon the death-bed, for it is the will of God that man should repent and serve Him in health and in the strength and power of his mind, in order to secure His blessings, and not wait until he is called to die."

The time has come that elders should go forth, and each must stand for himself in all meekness, in sobriety, and preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified; not to contend with others on account of their faith, or systems of religion, but pursue a steady course.

Salvation comes not without a revelation; it is in vain for anyone to minister without it. No man is a minister of Jesus Christ without being a prophet. No man can be a minister of Jesus Christ except he has the testimony of Jesus; and this is the Spirit of Prophecy.

It is for us to be righteous, that we may be wise and {16} understand, for none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand, and they that turn man to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever.

There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predicted; and when we obtain a blessing from God, it is by obedience to the law upon which it is predicted.

Love is one of the chief characteristics of Deity, and ought to be manifested by those who aspire to be the sons of God. A man filled with the love of God is not content with blessing his family alone, but ranges through the whole world anxious to bless the whole human race.

Salvation means a man's being placed beyond the power of all his enemies.

Be virtuous and pure; be men of integrity and truth; keep the Commandments of God and then you will be able to understand the difference between right and wrong--between the things of God and the things of man; and your path will be like that of the just, which shineth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.

The great Jehovah contemplated the whole of the events connected with the earth, pertaining to the plan of salvation, before it rolled into existence, or before the morning stars sang for joy; the past, the present, the future were, and are, with Him one eternal "now."

There are three independent principles: The Spirit of God; the Spirit of Man, and the Spirit of the Devil. All men have power to resist the devil.

In tracing the thing to the foundation, and looking at it {17} philosophically, we shall find a very material difference between the body and the spirit; the body is supposed to be organized matter, and the spirit, by many, is thought to be immaterial, without substance. With this latter statement we should beg leave to differ, and state that the spirit is a substance; that it is material, but that it is more pure, elastic, and refined matter than the body; that it existed before the body, and will exist separate from the body, when the body will be mouldering in the dust; and will in the Resurrection be again united with it.

Ever keep in exercise the principle of mercy, and be ready to forgive our brother on the first intimations of repentance, and asking forgiveness; and should we even forgive our brother, or even our enemy, before they repent or ask forgiveness, our Heavenly Father would be equally as merciful unto us.

If God has established His authority, and His divine will is made known through that authority to the Church, and any member refuses to receive it, he cuts himself off from the Church; from the benefits of the Holy Priesthood, and from the fellowship and favor of God, and becomes a castaway.

To be a Latter-day Saint requires sacrifice of worldly aims and pleasures; requires fidelity, strength of character, love of truth, integrity to principle and zealous desire to see the triumphant march of truth.

All men who become heirs of God and joint heirs of Jesus Christ will have to receive the fullness of the ordinances of His Kingdom; and those who will not receive all the ordinances will come short of the fullness of that glory, if they do not lose the whole.

There is no other way beneath the heaven that God hath ordained for man to come to Him, except through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins; {18} then follows the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Any other course is in vain.

Where there is no change of priesthood, there is no change of ordinances, says Paul. If God has not changed the priesthood and the ordinances, howl, ye sectarians! If He has, when and where has He revealed it? Have ye turned revelators? Why then deny revelation?

How consoling to the mourners, when they are called to part with a husband, wife, or father, mother, child or dear relative, to know that although the earthly tabernacle is laid down and dissolved, they shall rise again to dwell in everlasting burnings in immortal glory, not to sorrow, suffer or die any more; but they shall be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

By the power of God I translated the Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics, the knowledge of which was lost to the world; in which wonderful event I stood alone, an unlearned youth, to combat with the worldly wisdom and multiplied ignorance of eighteen centuries, with a new revelation, which--if they would receive the everlasting gospel--would open the ears of more than eight hundred millions of people and make "plain the old paths," where if a man walk in all the ordinances of God, blameless, he should inherit eternal life.

If the ministers of religion had a proper understanding of the doctrines of eternal judgment, they would not be found attending the man who had forfeited his life, and injured the laws of the country by shedding innocent blood, for such characters cannot be forgiven until they have paid the last farthing; the prayers of all the ministers in the world cannot close the gates of hell against a murderer--unconditional election to eternal life was not taught by the apostles.

No unhallowed hand can stop the work of God from {19} progressing. Persecution may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame; but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly and independently, until it has penetrated every continent and visited every clime, swept over the country and sounded in every ear till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

We cannot be perfect without the fathers. We must have revelations from them, and we can see that the doctrine of revelation as far transcends the doctrine of no revelation as knowledge is above ignorance; for one truth revealed from heaven is worth all the sectarian notions in existence.

We believe that religion is instituted of God, and that men are answerable to Him, and Him only, for the exercise of it unless their religious opinions brought them to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others; but we do not believe that human law has the right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, nor dictate forms for public or private devotion; that the civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the freedom of a soul.

We have ever held ourselves amenable to the law; and for myself I am ever ready to conform to and support the laws and Constitution, even at the expense of my life. I have never in the least offered any resistance to the law or lawful process, which is a well-known fact to the public.

Posterity will yet do us the justice, when our persecutors are equally low in the dust with ourselves, to hand down to succeeding generations the virtuous acts and forbearance of a people who sacrificed their reputations for their religion and their earthly fortunes and happiness to preserve peace.

"Men profess to prophesy. I will prophesy that the signs {20} of the coming of the Son of Man are already commenced. We shall soon have war and bloodshed."

"As for perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of men have been my common lot all the days of my life; and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless I was ordained before the foundation of the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it."

At the request of Mr. John Wentworth, editor and proprietor of the Chicago Democrat, the Prophet wrote the following statement. Mr. Wentworth requested a statement of the faith of the Saints for the use of a Mr. Bostow, who was writing a history of New Hampshire.

I was born in the town of Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, on the 23rd day of December, A. D. 1805. When ten years old my parents removed to Palmyra, New York, where we resided about four years, and from thence we removed to the town of Manchester. My father was a farmer and taught me the art of husbandry. When about fourteen years of age, I began to reflect upon the importance of being prepared for a future state, and upon inquiring the plan of salvation, I found that there was a great clash in religious sentiment; if I went to one society they referred me to one plan, and another to another; each one pointing to his own particular creed as the summum bonum of perfection; considering that all could not be right, and that God could not be the author of so much confusion, I determined to investigate the subject more fully, believing that if God had a Church it would not be split up into factions, and that if He taught one society to worship one way, and administer in one set of ordinances, He would not teach another, principles which were diametrically opposed.

Believing the word of God, I had confidence in the declaration of James--"If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." I retired to a secret place in a grove, and began to call upon the Lord; while fervently engaged in supplication, my mind was taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was enwrapped in a heavenly {21} vision, and saw two glorious personages, who exactly resembled each other in features and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noon day. They told me that all religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them were acknowledged of God as His Church and Kingdom: and I was expressly commanded "to go not after them," at the same time receiving a promise that the fulness of the Gospel should at some future time be made known unto me.

On the evening of the 21st of September, A. D. 1823, while I was praying unto God, and endeavoring to exercise faith in the precious promises of Scripture, of a sudden a light like that of day, only of a far purer and more glorious appearance and brightness, burst into the room, indeed the first sight was as though the house was filled with consuming fire; the appearance produced a shock that affected the whole body; in a moment a personage stood before me surrounded with a glory yet greater than that with which I was already surrounded. This messenger proclaimed himself to be an angel of God, sent to bring the joyful tidings that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled, that the preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the Gospel in all its fulness to be preached in power, unto all nations that a people might be prepared for the Millennial reign. I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about some of His purposes in this glorious dispensation.

I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country and shown who they were, and from whence they came; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws, governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people, was made known unto me; I was also told where were deposited some plates on which were engraven an abridgment of the records of the ancient Prophets that had existed on this continent. The angel appeared to me three times the same night and unfolded the same things. After having received many visits from the angels of God unfolding the majesty and glory of the events that should transpire in the last days, on the morning of the 22nd of September, A. D. 1827, the angel of the Lord delivered the records into my hands.

These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of gold, each plate was six inches wide and eight {22} inches long, and not quite so thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings, in Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume as the leaves of a book, with three rings running through the whole. The volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The characters on the unsealed part were small, and beautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its construction, and much skill in the art of engraving. With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called "Urim and Thummim," which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast plate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God.

In this important and interesting book the history of ancient America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from the Tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian Era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient times had been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites, and came directly from the Tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle toward the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This book also tells us that our Savior made His appearance upon this continent after His resurrection; that He planted the Gospel here in all its fulness, and richness, and power, and blessing; that they had Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, and Evangelists; the same order, the same Priesthood, the same ordinances, gifts, powers, and blessings, as were enjoyed on the eastern continent, that the people were cut off in consequence of their transgressions, that the last of their Prophets who existed among them was commanded to write an abridgment of their prophecies, history, etc., and to hide it up in the earth, and that it should come forth and be united with the Bible for the accomplishment of the purposes of God in the last days. For a more particular account I would refer to the Book of Mormon, which can be purchased at Nauvoo, or from any of our Traveling Elders.

As soon as the news of this discovery was made known, {23} false reports, misrepresentation and slander flew, as on the wings of the wind, in every direction; the house was frequently beset by mobs and evil designing persons. Several times I was shot at, and very narrowly escaped, and every device was made use of to get the plates away from me; but the power and blessing of God attended me, and several began to believe my testimony.

On the 6th of April, 1830, the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" was first organized in the town of Fayette, Seneca County, State of New York. Some few were called and ordained by the Spirit of revelation and prophecy, and began to preach as the Spirit gave them utterance, and though weak, yet were they strengthened by the power of God, and many were brought to repentance, were immersed in the water, and were filled with the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. They saw visions and prophesied, devils were cast out, and the sick healed by the laying on of hands. From that time the work rolled forth with astonishing rapidity, and Churches were soon formed in the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri; in the last named State a considerable settlement was formed in Jackson County: numbers joined the Church and we were increasing rapidly; we made large purchases of land, our farms teemed with plenty, and peace and happiness were enjoyed in our domestic circle, and throughout our neighborhood; but we could not associate with our neighbors who were, many of them, of the basest of men, and had fled from the face of civilized society, to the frontier country to escape the hand of justice, in their midnight revels, their Sabbath breaking, horse racing and gambling; they commenced at first to ridicule, then to persecute, and finally an organized mob assembled and burned our houses, tarred and feathered and whipped many of our brethren, and finally drove them from their habitations; who, houseless and homeless, contrary to law, justice, and humanity, had to wander on the bleak prairies till the children left the tracks of their blood on the prairie; this took place in the month of November, and they had no other covering but the canopy of heaven, in this inclement season of the year; this proceeding was winked at by the government, and although we had warranty deeds for our land, and had violated no law, we could obtain no redress.

There were many sick, who were thus inhumanly driven from their houses, and had to endure all this abuse and to seek homes where they could be found. The result was, that a great many of them being deprived of the comforts of life, {24} and the necessary attendances, died, many children were left orphans; wives, widows; and husbands, widowers; our farms were taken possession of by the mob, many thousands of cattle, sheep, horses and hogs were taken, and our household goods, store goods, and printing press and type were broken, taken, or otherwise destroyed.

Many of our brethren removed to Clay, where they continued until 1836, three years; there was no violence offered, but there were threatenings of violence. But in the summer of 1836 these threatenings began to assume a more serious form; from threats, public meetings were called, resolutions were passed, vengeance and destruction were threatened, and affairs again assumed a fearful attitude, Jackson County was a sufficient precedent, and as the authorities in that county did not interfere, they boasted that they would not in this: which on application to the authorities we found to be too true, and after much violence, privation, and loss of property we were again driven from our homes.

We next settled in Caldwell and Davies Counties, where we made large and extensive settlements, thinking to free ourselves from the power of oppression, by settling in new counties, with very few inhabitants in them; but here we were not allowed to live in peace, but in 1838 we were again attacked by mobs, an exterminating order was issued by Governor Boggs, and under the sanction of law, an organized banditti ranged through the country, robbed us of our cattle, sheep, horses, hogs, etc., many of our people were murdered in cold blood, the chastity of our women was violated, and we were forced to sign away our property at the point of the sword; and after enduring every indignity that could be heaped upon us by an inhuman, ungodly band of marauders, from twelve to fifteen thousand souls, men, women and children were driven from their own firesides, and from lands that they had warranty deeds of, houseless, friendless, and homeless (in the depths of winter) to wander as exiles on the earth, or to seek an asylum in a more genial clime, and among a less barbarous people. Many sickened and died in consequence of the cold and hardships they had to endure; many wives were left widows, and children orphans, and destitute. It would take more time than is allotted me here to describe the injustice, the wrongs, the murders, the bloodshed, the theft, misery and woe that has been caused by the barbarous, inhuman, and lawless proceedings of the State of Missouri.

In the situation before alluded to, we arrived in the State of Illinois in 1839, where we found a hospitable people and {25} a friendly home; a people who were willing to be governed by the principles of law and humanity. We have commenced to build a city called "Nauvoo," in Hancock County. We number from six to eight thousand here, besides vast numbers in the county around, and in almost every county of the State. We have a City Charter granted us, and charter for a Legion, the troops of which now number 1,500. We have also a charter for a University, for an Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, have our own laws and administrators, and possess all the privileges that other free and enlightened citizens enjoy.

Persecution has not stopped the progress of truth, but has only added fuel to the flame, it has spread with increasing rapidity; proud of the cause which they have espoused, and conscious of their innocence, and of the truth of their system, amidst calumny and reproach, have the Elders of this Church gone forth, and planted the Gospel in almost every State in the Union; it has penetrated our cities, it has spread over our villages, and has caused thousands of our intelligent, noble, and patriotic citizens to obey its divine mandates, and be governed by its sacred truths. It has also spread into England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales; in the year of 1840, where a few of our missionaries were sent, over five thousand joined the Standard of Truth; there are numbers now joining in every land.

Our missionaries are going forth to different nations, and in Germany, Palestine, New Holland, the East Indies, and other places, the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing, persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

3. We believe that, through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

{26} 4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: First, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

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.

6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive church--namely: Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists, etc.

7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc.

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.

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.

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.

11. We claim the privilege of worshipping 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.

12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.

13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul. "We believe all things, we hope all things," we have endured many things, we 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.

Comment.

{27} What a stupendous work has been accomplished through his instrumentality! And what an immeasurable benefit has it been to that part of the human family which has laid hold of the blessings offered! His active service in the work, though limited to but fifteen years, when he gave his life a sacrifice for Truth, has made his name known throughout the entire civilized world; and as the angel told him, it is known for good and evil. Those whose prejudices, fed on popular denunciations and accusations which have their origin in untruthful breasts of wicked and depraved men, have kept them under the clouds of ignorance and misunderstanding regarding him and his mission, hold his name in disrepute; while those who have heeded not the libelous and slanderous cries of his enemies, but have probed to the root of the truth in the matter, and consequently understood him as he was and his mission as it actually is, hold his name in honor, whether they have obeyed the Gospel or not; but those who revere his memory most, hold it sacred before men, and thank God for his noble life and his faithful work, are those who have heard and obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it was restored to the earth through Him, and during their whole lives have lived righteously before the Lord, true and steadfast to every covenant they have made with Him.

In reviewing the results of his labors effected by the aid of God's power manifested in him, as we see them today in the perfected Church of Christ, its influence upon the world, the achievements of those who have embraced the truth, and the favorable condition of the saints generally, certainly of the literal fulfilment of the prediction of the prophet of old that in the last day God would establish a marvelous work and a wonder, forces itself clearly upon our minds. And in view of all that has been accomplished through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the far-reaching effects of his labors, even his bitterest enemies and those who most vigorously combat the system God established through him, are forced to a realization of the truth of Josiah Quincy's contention that of all Americans in the nineteenth century, none among them have exerted so great an influence upon "the destinies of their countrymen" as has "Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet!" and to-day more than ever before, should the world appreciate the value of Mr. Quincy's declaration concerning him, that "such a human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets." His life was devoted to {28} the cause of humanity, according as God directed him; and although the world will not acknowledge it, nevertheless there are nearly half a million earnest, sincere and honest-hearted men and women who know he was a prophet of the most high God, and that which he declared to the world under the spirit of the Almighty is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with its gifts, its blessings, and its powers restored for the salvation and exaltation of man. Thank God for the noble life and the faithful labors of his humble and obedient servant, Joseph Smith! (Elders Journal, Vol. 4, pages 146-7.)

"Those who have not been enclosed within the walls of prison without cause or provocation, can have but little idea how sweet the voice of a friend is! One token of friendship from any source whatever, awakens and calls into action every sympathetic feeling; it brings up in an instant everything that is past; it seizes the present with the avidity of lightening; it grasps after the future with the fierceness of a tiger; it moves the mind backward and forward, from one thing to another, until finally all enmity, malice, hatred, and past differences, misunderstandings and mismanagements, are slain victorious at the feet of hope."

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 innocent blood, the Prophet had a premonition of what was before him. (Josiah Quincy in Figures of the Past.)

Premonitions of Death.

When at the hotel at Carthage, a prisoner in the hands of mob officials, he asked if he looked like a desperate character. They replied that his outward appearance seemed to indicate exactly the opposite, but they could not tell what was in his heart. "Very true, gentlemen, you cannot see what is in my heart, and you are therefore unable to judge my intentions, {29} but I see what is in your hearts, and I will tell you what I see. I can see that you thirst for blood and nothing but my blood will satisfy you. It is not for crime of any description that I and my brethren are continually persecuted and harassed by our enemies, but there are other motives, and some of them I have expressed so far as relates to myself. I prophesy in the name of the Lord that you shall witness scenes of blood and sorrow to your entire satisfaction. Many of you who are now present shall have an opportunity to face the cannon's mouth from sources you think not of."

"If they take my life, I shall die an innocent man, and my blood shall cry from the ground for vengeance, and it shall yet be said of him, 'He was murdered in cold blood.'"

"I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am calm as a summer morning. I have a conscience void of offence toward God and toward all men."

His Assassination.

A statement from Thomas Ford, Governor of Illinois in 1844:

I desire to make a brief but true statement of the recent disgraceful affair at Carthage, in regard to the Smiths, so far as circumstances have come to my knowledge. The Smiths, Joseph and Hyrum, have been assassinated in jail, by whom is not known. I pledged myself for their safety, and upon the assurance of that pledge they surrendered as prisoners. . . . The compliance of the Mormons with every requisition made upon them, failed of their purpose. The pledge of security to the Smiths was not given upon my individual responsibility. Before I gave it, I obtained a pledge of honor by a unanimous vote from the officers and men under my command, to sustain me in performing it. If the assassination of the Smiths was committed by any portion of them, they have added treachery to murder, and have done all they could to disgrace the State, and sully the public honor.

On the morning of the day the deed was committed, we had proposed to march the army under my command into {30} Nauvoo. I, however, discovered, on the evening before, that nothing but utter destruction of the city would satisfy a portion of the troops; and that if we marched into the city, pretext would not be wanting for commencing hostilities. The Mormons had done everything required, or that ought to have been required of them. For these reasons, I decided, in a council of officers, to disband the army, except three companies, two of which were retained as guards for the jail. With the other company I marched into Nauvoo, to address the inhabitants there. . . . I performed this duty, and then set out to return to Carthage. When I had marched about three miles, a messenger informed me of the occurrences at Carthage.

(Signed) Thomas Ford, Governor and Commander-in-Chief.

Governor Ford, in his History of Illinois, admits that he pledged Joseph Smith, and fourteen others for whose arrests warrants had been issued, the protection of the State if they would leave Nauvoo and go to Carthage for trial upon the charge of treason. Acting upon this pledge, they left Nauvoo, a city of 16,000 Saints who had armed themselves against mob violence, and went to Carthage. Here they were met by Governor Ford and the State militia. At the dictation of a Justice of Peace, who vastly exceeded his legal authority, they were taken from the hotel and placed in Carthage jail. Again the Governor pledged them protection. He planned to go to Nauvoo with the entire force under his command, but found that the men under him were anxious to go to Nauvoo to exterminate the Saints and he determined to discharge the militia, except three companies. In the morning of the day of the assassination he started for Nauvoo with two of these companies, leaving the third (the Carthage Grays) to guard the jail. Of this company the Governor said:

"I knew that this company were the enemies of the Smiths, yet I had confidence in their loyalty and integrity, because their captain was universally spoken of as a most respectable citizen and honorable man." Yet the Governor knew that in his presence and upon the arrival of the Prophet these same men had rebelled against their captain.

Before reaching Nauvoo, rumors of the intended assassination came to him in such numbers that he determined to send one of the companies with him back to Carthage, but they did not reach the city as an organized body. At Carthage, {31} preparations were being made on every hand for the assassination. The captain of the Carthage Grays left his company for fear of his life and, quoting again from Governor Ford's History of Illinois: "Communication was established between the conspirators and the company who were stationed some distance from the jail, and it was arranged that the eight men on guard should have their guns charged with blank cartridges, and fire at the assailants when they attempted to enter the jail." In the afternoon, and while Governor Ford was addressing the Saints in Nauvoo upon law and order, a mob of bloodthirsty men, with faces blackened and consciences stilled, charged the jail and assassinated the Prophet Joseph Smith and Patriarch Hyrum Smith, his brother. They were in an upper room of the jail accompanied by Apostles John Taylor and Willard Richards. Each fell wounded with four balls and Apostle Taylor was also four times wounded. The Prophet fell from the window and a ruffian placed his body against the well curbing, where four men at a distance of a few paces fired upon his prostrate body.

The Christian world has hitherto regarded the growth of Mormonism with a kind of an air of indifference, but, unfortunately, they may yet awaken to feel its power. It is not at all improbable that within the course of a century some great orator may arise, some man gifted like the Apostle Paul, who will make the name of the martyr prophet ring even as does the name of Christ, and it is not impossible that Sharon, Palmira, Manchester, Kirtland, Far West, Adam-on-Diahmon, Ramus, Nauvoo, and the Carthage Jail may become holy and venerable names, places of classic interest, in another age, like Jerusalem, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives and Mount Calvary to the Christian, and Mecca and Medina to the Turk. And in that event the author of this history feels degraded by the reflection that the humble Governor of an obscure State, who would otherwise be forgotten in a few years, stands a fair chance, like Pilate and Herod, by their official connection with the true religion, of being dragged down to posterity with an immortal name, hitched on to the memory of a miserable impostor. There may be those whose ambitions would lead them to desire an immortal name in history, even in those humbling terms. I am not of that number. (Governor Ford's History of Illinois.)

{32} Yes, Governor Ford, you are of that number, your name does go down through the generations of time, righteously coupled with that of Pontius Pilate, caused by your official connection with the death of a true Prophet of God. Your treachery, in plighting to him the protection of the State of Illinois, and then leaving him in the hands of confederate murderers, preserves your name in history, only to be hated and despised by those who abhor the existence of treachery. Joseph Smith relied upon your solemn pledge as the Governor of a great State, that he should be protected. He was basely betrayed, together with his beloved brother Hyrum, and went to a martyr's grave. His name is held throughout every civilized nation upon the earth as a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, while you became an object of charity, and now occupy a pauper's grave, having been buried as a public charge. It is not often that a man occupying the exalted position of Governor, lives to see himself despised, and fed by the hand of charity; but God gave you this fate, and during the last moments of your miserable life you must have had a strong testimony that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. "Mormonism is now so firmly established that it claims the respectful attention of the world. It has survived not only the violence which murdered its Prophets, burned the houses of Saints, laid waste the fields and destroyed their temples, but also an exodus which, for the distance covered and the dangers encountered, has not a parallel in ancient or modern history."

Nearly every nation under the whole heaven has given to the new faith some of her sons and daughters. What the Christian church is to the world to-day in point of numbers of followers and kindliness of feeling, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be to future generations. Its destiny is to roll until it shall fill the whole earth: It had its beginning when God spoke to Joseph Smith out of the heavens and He will finish what He has begun.

Another Prophecy.

August 6, 1842.

"I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction, and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains, and many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors, or lose their lives in consequence of exposure or disease, and some of you will live to go and assist in {33} making settlements and building cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains."

How literally this prophecy has been fulfilled! To-day the church numbers hundreds of thousands of prosperous, happy people in the midst of several Rocky Mountain States. Millions of dollars have been spent in establishing and maintaining schools: millions in the erection of churches, Tabernacles and Temples. Through the most wonderful system of irrigation in the world, the desert has been made to produce in abundance; the waste places have become fruitful, and the wilderness made to "blossom as the rose." To-day the colonizer is asking the secret of the system that has made it possible to establish thousands of peaceful towns and cities in those mountain valleys, and he will not understand that the voice of revelation established this western empire and that the Spirit of God preserves its unity.

Brigham Young, Successor to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

"To accuse us of being unfriendly to the government is to accuse us of hostility to our religion, for no item of inspiration is held more sacred with us than the Constitution under which she acts."

John Taylor, Second Successor to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

"It was through and by the power of God, that the fathers of this country framed the Declaration of Independence, and also that great palladium of human rights, the Constitution of the United States. There is nothing of a bigoted, narrow-contracted feeling about that instrument; it is broad and comprehensive."

Wilford Woodruff, Third Successor to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

"The Lord inspired the men who framed the Constitution of our country, and has guarded the nation from its foundation."

{34}

Lorenzo Snow, Fourth Successor to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

"The spirits dwelling within our bodies are immortal and will always exist. Our individuality and our identity will always continue; we will be ourselves and will continue advancing in wisdom, intelligence and power worlds without end."

Joseph F. Smith, Fifth Successor to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

It was part of the design of the Almighty when He influenced the fathers to leave the old world and come to this continent; He had a hand in the establishment of this government; He inspired the framers of the Constitution and the fathers of this nation to contend for their liberty.

When we remember that Mr. Quincy had the rare opportunity of being personally and intimately acquainted with the great men of America, of his period; that he was acquainted with Lafayette, and that John Quincy Adams, the Second President of the U. S., was his personal friend when he was a young man; his statement that Joseph Smith was one of two men from whom there "emanated a certain peculiar moral stress and compulsion" which he had not felt in other men, has peculiar significance.

In his chapter on Joseph Smith, in Figures of the Past, Mr. Quincy comments as follows upon the resemblance between Joseph Smith and Elisha R. Potter of Rhode Island, whom he met in Washington in 1826. "The likeness was not such as would be recognized in a picture, but rather one that would be felt in a grave emergency. Of all men I have met, these two seemed best endowed with that kingly faculty which directs, as by intrinsic right, the feeble or confused souls who are looking for guidance. This it is just to say with emphasis; for the reader will find so much that is puerile and even shocking in my report of the prophet's conversation that he might {35} never suspect the impression of rugged power that was given by the man. * * * The prophet's hold upon you seemed to come from the balance and harmony of temperament which reposes upon a large physical basis."

In the chapter on "Washington in 1826," Mr. Quincy writes the following: Mr. Potter seemed to carry about with him a certain homespun certificate of authority, which made it natural for lesser men to accept his conclusions. Oddly enough, I have met only one other individual who impressed me as possessing the same sort of personal power, and he was one whose place in history is certain when the lives of greater and better men are covered by oblivion; for the muse of history postpones the claims of statesmen and poets to those of the founders of religions, who, for good or evil, are more potent factors in the destiny of mankind. Hereafter I may give an account of my visit to Joseph Smith, in his holy city of Nauvoo. It is now sufficient to mention that when I made the acquaintance of the Mormon prophet, I was haunted with a provoking sense of having known him before; or, at least, of having known some one whom he greatly resembled. And then followed a painful groping and peering "into the dark backward and abysm of time," in search of a figure that was provokingly undiscoverable. At last the Washington of 1826 came before me, and the form of Elisha R. Potter thrust itself through the gorges of memory. Yes, that was the man I was seeking; yet the resemblance, after all, could scarcely be called physical, and I am loath to borrow the word "impressional" from the vocabulary of spirit mediums. Both were of commanding appearance, men whom it seemed natural to obey. Wide as were the differences between the lives and characters of these Americans, there emanated from each of them a certain peculiar moral stress and compulsion which I have never felt in the presence of others of their countrymen. The position of Mr. Potter in his native State has now faded to a dim tradition. It was of the authoritative kind which belongs to men who bear from nature the best credentials.

{36}

DEDICATION OF PALESTINE.

At a general conference of the church held at Nauvoo, April 6th, 1840, Apostles Orson Hyde and Hyrum E. Page were called to go on a mission to Jerusalem for the purpose of dedicating that land for the gathering of the House of Judah. They started upon this important mission but Elder Page failed to continue the journey beyond the border of the United States. Apostle Hyde therefore set out alone and accomplished the labor assigned at said conference. In a letter dated at Alexandria, November 22nd, 1841, addressed to Parley P. Pratt, Brother Hyde, said:

"A few minutes now offer for me to write, and I improve them in writing to you. I have only time to say that I have seen Jerusalem precisely according to the vision which I had. I saw no one with me in the vision; and although Elder Page was appointed to accompany me there, yet I found myself there alone. The Lord knows that I have had a hard time, and suffered much, but I have great reason to thank Him that I enjoy good health at present, and have a good prospect before me of soon going to a civilized country, where I shall see no more turbans or camels. The heat is most oppressive, and has been all through Syria. I have no time to tell you how many days I have been at sea without food, or how many snails I have eaten; but if I had had plenty of them, I should have done very well. All this is contained in a former letter to you written from Java. * * *

"On Saturday morning, October 24th, a good while before day, I arose from sleep and went out of the city, as soon as the gates were opened, crossed the brook Cedron, and went upon the Mount of Olives, and there in solemn silence, with pen, ink and paper, just as I saw in the vision, offered up the following prayer to Him who lives forever and ever:

"O Thou! who art from everlasting to everlasting, eternally and unchangeably the same, even the God who rules in the heavens above, and controls the destinies of men on the earth, wilt thou not condescend through thine infinite goodness and royal favor, to listen to the prayer of thy servant which he this day offers up unto thee in the name of the Holy child Jesus, upon this land where the Son of Righteousness sat in blood, and thine Anointed One expired.

"Be pleased, O Lord, to forgive all the follies, weaknesses, vanities and sins of thy servant, and strengthen him to resist all future temptations. Give him prudence and discernment that he may avoid the evil, and a heart to choose the good; give him fortitude to bear up under trying and adverse circumstances, and grace to endure all things {37} for thy name's sake, until the end shall come, when all the Saints shall rest in peace.

"Now, O Lord! Thy servant has been obedient to the heavenly vision, which thou gavest him in his native land; and under the shadow of thine outstretched arm, he has safely arrived in this place to dedicate and consecrate this land unto Thee, for the gathering together of Judah's scattered remnants, according to the predictions of the holy prophets--for the building up of Jerusalem again after it has been trodden down by the Gentiles so long, and for rearing a temple in honor of thy name. Everlasting thanks be ascribed unto thee, O, Father! Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast preserved thy servant from the dangers of the seas, and from the plague and pestilence which have caused the land to mourn. The violence of many has also been restrained, and thy providential care by night and by day has been exercised over thine unworthy servant. Accept, therefore, O Lord, the tribute of a grateful heart for all past favors, and be pleased to continue thy kindness and mercy towards a needy worm of the dust.

"O thou, who didst covenant with Abraham, thy friend, and who didst renew that covenant with Isaac, and confirm the same with Jacob, with an oath that thou wouldst not only give this land for an everlasting inheritance, but that thou wouldst also remember their seed forever. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have long since closed their eyes in death, and made the grave their mansion. Their children are scattered and dispersed abroad among the nations of the Gentiles like sheep that have no shepherd, and are still looking forward for the fulfillment of those promises which thou didst make concerning them; and even this land, which once poured forth nature's richest bounty, and flowed, as it were, with milk and honey, has, to a certain extent, been smitten with barrenness and sterility since it drank from murderous hands the blood of Him who never sinned. Grant, therefore, O Lord, in the name of thy well beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to remove the barrenness and sterility of this land, and let springs of living water break forth to water its thirstly soil. Let the vine and the olive produce in their strength, and the fig tree bloom and flourish. Let the land become abundantly fruitful, when possessed by its rightful heirs; let it again flow with plenty to feed the returning prodigals who come home with a spirit of grace and supplication; upon it let the clouds distill virtue and richness, and let the fields smile with plenty. Let the flocks and the herds greatly increase and multiply upon the mountains and hills; and let thy great kindness conquer and subdue the unbelief of thy people. Do thou take from them their stony heart, and give them a heart of flesh; and may the Son of thy favor dispel the cold mists of darkness which have beclouded their atmosphere. Incline them to gather in upon this land according to thy word. Let them come like clouds and like doves to their windows. Let the large ships of nations bring them from the distant isles; and let kings become their nursing fathers, and queens with motherly fondness wipe the tear of sorrow from their eyes.

"Thou, O Lord, did once move upon the heart of Cyrus to show favor unto Jerusalem and her children. Do thou now also be pleased to inspire the hearts of kings and the powers of the earth to look with a friendly eye towards this place. And with a desire to see thy righteous purposes executed in relation thereto. Let them know that it is thy good pleasure to restore the kingdom unto Israel--raise up Jerusalem as its capital, and constitute her people a distinct nation {38} and government, with David thy servant, even a descendant from the loins of ancient David, to be their king. Let that nation, or that people who shall take an active part in behalf of Abraham's children and in the raising up of Jerusalem, find favor in thy sight. Let not their enemies prevail against them, neither let pestilence or famine overcome them, but let the glory of Israel overshadow them, and the power of the highest protect them; while that nation or kingdom that will not serve thee in this glorious work must perish according to thy word--'Yea those nations shall be utterly wasted.'

"Though thy servant is now far from his home, and from the land bedewed with his earliest tears, yet he remembers, O Lord, his friends who are there, and family, whom for thy sake he has left. Though poverty and privation be our earthly lot, yet ah! do Thou richly endow us with an inheritance where moth and rust do not corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal. The hands that have fed, clothed or shown favor unto the family of thy servant in his absence, or that shall hereafter do so, let them not lose their reward, but let a special blessing rest upon them, and in thy kingdom let them have an inheritance when thou shalt come to be glorified in this society. Do thou also look with favor upon all those through whose liberality I have been enabled to come to this land; and in the day when thou shalt reward all people according to their works, let these also not be passed by or forgotten, but in time let them be in readiness to enjoy the glory of those mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare. Particularly do thou bless the stranger in Philadelphia, whom I never saw, but who sent me gold, with a request that I should pray for him in Jerusalem. Now, O Lord, let blessings come upon him from an unexpected quarter, and let his basket be filled, and his store-house abound with plenty, and let not the good things of the earth be his only portion, but let him be found among those to whom it may be said, Thou hast been faithful over a few things, and I will make thee ruler over many."

"O my Father in heaven! I now ask thee in the name of Jesus to remember Zion, with all her stakes, and with all her assemblies. She has been grievously afflicted and smitten; she has mourned; she has wept; her enemies have triumphed and have said--'Ah, where is thy God?' Her priests and prophets have groaned in chains and fetters within the gloomy walls of prison, while many were slain, and now sleep in the arms of death. How long, O Lord, shall iniquity triumph, and sin go unpunished? Do thou arise in the majesty of thy strength, and make bare thine arm in behalf of thy people. Redress their wrongs, and turn their sorrow into joy. Pour the spirit of light and knowledge, grace and wisdom, into the hearts of her prophets, and clothe her priests with salvation. Let light and knowledge march forth through the empire of darkness, and may the honest in heart flow to their standard, and join in the march to go forth to meet the Bridegroom.

Let a peculiar blessing rest upon the Presidency of thy Church, for at them are the arrows of the enemies directed. Be thou to them a sun and a shield, their strong tower and hiding place; and in the time of distress or danger be thou near to deliver. Also the quorum of the Twelve, do thou be pleased to stand by, for thou knowest the obstacles which we have to encounter, the temptations to which we are exposed and privations which we must suffer. Give us, therefore, strength according to our day, and help us to bear a faithful {39} testimony of Jesus and His Gospel, and to finish with fidelity and honor the work which thou hast given us to do, and then give us a place in thy glorious kingdom. And let this blessing rest upon every faithful officer and member in thy Church. And all the glory and honor will we ascribe to God and the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen.

* * * * *

On the top of Mount Olives I erected a pile of stones as a witness according to the ancient custom. On what was anciently called Mount Zion, where the Temple stood, I erected another, and used the rod according to the prediction upon my head. I have found many Jews who listened with intense interest. The idea of the Jews being restored to Palestine is gaining ground in Europe almost every day. Jerusalem is strongly fortified with many cannons upon its walls. The wall is ten feet thick on the sides that would be most exposed, and four or five feet where the descent from the wall is almost perpendicular. The number of inhabitants within the walls is about twenty thousand. About seven thousand of this number are Jews, the balance being mostly Turks and Armenians. Many of the Jews who are old go to this place to die, and many are coming from Europe into this Eastern world. The great wheel is unquestionably in motion, and the word of the Almighty has declared that it shall roll. * * *

Speaking editorially of Elder Hyde's mission and the dedicatory prayer offered, Brother Parley P. Pratt said:

"Through his persevering exertions, and the prayer offered up on the Mount of Olives, the land is now consecrated and dedicated to the Lord for the restoration of Israel. It would seem by the war which is raging in that country that the ground is being disencumbered of the Catholics and other barbarian tribes, and is being vacated for the Jews, while seven thousand now dwell in Jerusalem, and great numbers of others in other parts of that land.

"But O! when we read the prayer offered up on the holy mount--the same place where Jesus often prayed, yea the mount from which He ascended, and upon which He will again set His feet--when we reflect that God's covenant people (Israel) were prayed for there--that Zion and all her sufferings were rendered there--that the chains and fetters which we have worn, the dungeons where we have been confined for the testimony of Jesus, were mentioned there before the Lord--and that prayer recorded both in heaven and on earth to stand as an imperishable memorial to all generations, and to be answered speedily upon the wicked--when we reflect upon all these things, our feelings are too intense for utterance; they cannot be written; but when the nations behold it fulfilled, and Zion and Jerusalem become the joy of the whole earth, then will this prayer and the mission connected with it come to honorable remembrance. Which may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob speedily grant, in the name of Jesus Christ."

{40}

THE RESURRECTION.

A Discourse by Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, At the General Conference, October 8th, 1875.

I wish to present to the Latter-day Saints the doctrine of the resurrection in its true light. To satisfy the philosophy of my own mind in regard to this doctrine, I shall be under the necessity of commencing with the works of God as we find them in the beginning, or rather the beginning of the history we have of the earth. We admit the history that Moses gives of the creation or organization of this earth, as stated in his writings, to be correct. The philosophy of my mind, with all the experience I have gained by observation and knowledge of facts, tells me that there is nothing made, formed or fashioned without a Being to make, form or fashion the same. Then my own reasoning teaches me that myself as a mechanic, with all others upon this earth, and those also who dwell in the heavens, when we commence any work of mechanism, have an object in the same. God had an object in view when He framed this earth and placed vegetation and all creatures upon it, and man was brought here for the high object of an increase of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, glory and honor--each and every person, creature or thing in its own order and time, that all may harmonize together and receive this glory and honor. The particles that compose the earth were brought together for a certain purpose by its great Author. This purpose was, and still is, to bring this earth and all things upon it into a higher state of glory and intelligence. In the beginning there were laws given by which all nature was to be governed or controlled. It is true that man transgresses these laws, and would change them if he had the power to do so. But there are laws which he cannot disturb, and which operate regardless of man's actions. Among these is the law which pertains to the resurrection of the body of man and also to the resurrection of the earth; {41} for this earth has to undergo a great change, or, in other words, has to be resurrected.

Abel, the martyr, was the first man of whose death we have any account. He brought his offering to the Lord and was accepted. This proves that he was a righteous man, and by his righteousness he so far sanctified the particles of this earth that comprised the component parts of his body that they became entitled to a glorious resurrection, which he undoubtedly obtained when Jesus arose. If Abel had been eaten by dogs or lions, the component parts of his body never could have gone to compose the component parts of any other bodies. Why? Because the laws which govern the elements would not permit this to be done.

The question may be asked, Do not the particles that compose man's body, when returned to mother earth, go to make or compose other bodies? No, they do not. Some philosophers have asserted that the human body changes every seven or ten years. This is not correct, for it never changes; that is, the substances of which it is composed do not pass off and other particles of matter come and take their place. Neither can the particles which have comprised the bodies of men become parts of the bodies of other men, or of beasts, fowls, fish, insects or vegetables. They are governed by a divine law, and though they may pass from the knowledge of the scientific world, that divine law still holds and governs and controls them. Man's body may be buried in the ocean, it may be eaten by wild beasts, or it may be burned to ashes, and they be scattered to the four winds, yet the particles of which it is composed will not be incorporated into any form of vegetable or animal life, to become a component part of their structure. Are they gross, tangible, and, in their organized capacity, subject to decay and change? Yes, and if buried in the earth, they undergo decomposition and return to mother earth; but it is no matter how minute the particles are, they are watched over and will be preserved until the resurrection, and at the sound of the trumpet of God every particle of our physical structures necessary to make our tabernacles perfect will be assembled, to be rejoined with the spirit, every man in his order. Not one particle will be lost.

I have a few questions to ask the philosophical world, those especially who are well skilled in chemistry: Is this earth, the air and the water, composed of life, or do they, or any portion of them, consist of inanimate matter, or of that that has no life in itself? Another question: If the earth, air and water are composed of life, is there any intelligence in this life? {42} The philosopher may take his own time to answer these questions, and when he has satisfied himself he may ask himself again: Are those particles of matter life; if so, are they in possession of intelligence according to the grade of their organization? As far as we are concerned, we suggest the idea that there is an eternity of life, an eternity of organization, and an eternity of intelligence from the highest to the lowest grade, every creature in its order, from the Gods to the animalculae. Bear in mind, you who are believers in the resurrection or in the works of God, that man has sought out many inventions and has striven hard to learn the mysteries of God and godliness by his worldly wisdom, yet there are many things which science, with all its tests, cannot find out. Matter may be divided into an infinitude of atoms, until they pass beyond the power of the microscope to discover them, and the most skilful chemist who dwells upon the earth knows not whither they go. My position is, and which I declare to the Latter-day Saints, it is beyond the power of man, without revelation from God, with all his science to know whether these particles that compose our bodies go into other creatures to form the component parts of their bodies, or whether they merely pass into the already organized body to resuscitate it and contribute to its sustenance. I declare to the Latter-day Saints, and to all living upon the earth who have intelligence to understand, that the particles that comprise the component parts of our bodies will never enter into other bodies to form the elements of their bodies; but these very identical particles that now compose our bodies will be resurrected and come together by the power of the trump of God and will be re-united to form the body--excepting the blood, which will not be necessary to our existence in an immortal state--and then be prepared to receive the spirit, preparatory to their exaltation. Query: Would not the particles that compose the body of our Savior, according to their intelligence, oppose the idea of becoming a part of any other body but His? Again: Would not the Saints, who are faithful in magnifying the Priesthood of the Son of God, object to the particles which now compose their bodies, and which they have sanctified through obedience to that Priesthood, entering into and forming parts of other bodies than their own--bodies which their spirits had not possessed and of which they knew nothing in this life?

Although some may think that the substances of which our bodies are composed are borrowed for our use during this mortal existence, it is not so, neither will they be thrown off {43} at death, never to be restored; and though in the resurrection the bodies of the righteous will be raised immortal and free from all corruption, they will be none the less tangible or perceptible to the touch of those who are permitted to handle them. The question may be asked: Will the bodies of those who do not observe the laws of God, and which are not sanctified by obedience to them, come forth in the resurrection? Undoubtedly they will; but not at the same time nor to the same glory that they do who observe the laws of God.

The earth, also, abideth the law and filleth the measure of its creation, and though it shall die, it shall be resurrected in glory, a sanctified creation, suitable for the residence of celestial beings. The elements will be burned and purified, and be renewed; but not one atom of earth's organism will be lost; for that which is governed by law shall be preserved by law. And for everything which our God has created He has prescribed laws. There is nothing so minutes as to escape His notice, there is no creation so immense as to transcend the bounds of His power; all are alike subject to the operation of His decrees. He called matter from chaos and created the earth, and the heavens are studded with planets, the glorious workmanship of His hands. He has hung those mighty orbs in space, and their courses are fixed. And by the exercise of His power the original elements which have formed the bodies of men will be brought forth in the resurrection--bone to bone, sinew to sinew, flesh to flesh, not one hair shall be lost--and all this in obedience to law, that the substances which have formed the tabernacles of men, or of beasts, or of fowls, or of fish, shall not be intermingled or lost; but shall be all restored to their own places, though they may have been swallowed up in the depths of the sea, or have been scattered to the four winds of heaven.

To illustrate these facts connected with the resurrection of the body, we will quote from the revelations which the Lord has given to His children:

The Testimony of Ezekiel.

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.

Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord,

{44} Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live;

And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts.

Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

And shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.--Ezekiel xxxvii: 1-14.

The Testimony of Job.

For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.--Job xix: 25-27.

The Testimony of Daniel.

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.--Daniel xii: 2.

The Testimony of Luke.

Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.--Luke xx: 37.

And as they thus spake, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

And when He had thus spoken, He shewed them His hands and His feet.

{45} And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them.--Luke xxiv: 36-43.

The Testimony of John.

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe.

And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.--John xx: 24-27.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice,

And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.--John v: 25, 28, 29.

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

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.--Revelations xx: 6, 13.

The Testimony of Matthew.

And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.--Matthew xxvii: 52, 53.

The Testimony of Paul.

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.--Philippians iii: 20, 21.

But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.--Romans viii: 11.

{46} 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.--Romans vi: 4, 5.

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body.

All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption:

It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power:

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.--1 Corinthians xv: 16-22; 35-39; 42-44.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.--1 Thessalonians iv: 14-16.

The Testimony of Abinadi.

And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death, that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.

But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ:

He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of Him according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.--Book of Mosiah, xvi: 7-10.

{47}

The Testimony of Jacob.

For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord;

Wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement; save it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man, must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

O the wisdom of God! His mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.

And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh; save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.--2 Nephi, ix: 6-8; 11-13.

The Testimony of Amulek.

For behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.

Now there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death;

The spirit and the body shall be re-united again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of our guilt.

Now this restoration shall come to all, both old and young; both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but all things shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body.--Book of Alma, xi: 41-44.

The Testimony of Alma.

But this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery, until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall {48} come forth, and be re-united, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works;

Yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which have been spoken by the mouths of the prophets.

The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost, but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.--Book of Alma, xl: 21-23.

The Testimony of Samuel.

For behold, He [Jesus] surely must die, that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth Him, and becometh expedient that He dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord;

Yea, behold this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death.--Book of Helaman, xiv: 15, 16.

The Words of Jesus.

And it came to pass that He [Jesus] said unto Nephi, bring forth the record which ye have kept.

And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before His, He cast His eyes upon them and said,

Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify His name in me, that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And He said unto them, were it not so?

And His disciples answered Him and said, Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to Thy words, and they were all fulfilled.

And Jesus said unto them, How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many, and did minister unto them?

And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written.

And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as He commanded.--3 Nephi, xxiii: 7-13.

The Testimony of Moroni.

And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awoke by the power of God, when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before His bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.--Book of Mormon, ix: 13.

Words of Jesus in Book of Doctrine and Covenants.

Now, verily I say unto you, that through the redemption which is made for you is brought to pass the resurrection from the dead. And the spirit and the body is the soul of man.

{49} And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul; And the redemption of the soul is through Him who quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it.

Therefore it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory;

For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;

That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified.

And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law.

Wherefore it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it:

For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again a spiritual body.

They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.

And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour, and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled;

And the saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened, and be caught up to meet Him.

And they who have slept in their graves shall come forth; for their graves shall be opened, and they also shall be caught up to meet Him in the midst of the pillar of heaven:

They are Christ's, the first fruits: they who shall descend with Him first, and they who are on the earth and in their graves, who are first caught up to meet Him: and all this by the voice of the sounding of the trump of the angel of God.--Doctrine and Covenants, lxxxviii: 14-20; 25-28; 95-98.

For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth, yea, even the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one.

And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth,

For all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea;

And not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand.

But, behold, verily I say unto you, before the earth shall pass away, Michael, mine archangel, shall sound his trump, and then shall all the dead awake, for their graves shall be opened, and they shall come forth; yea, even all.--Doctrine and Covenants, xxix: 13; 23-26.

For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter His voice out of heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble, and the trump of God shall sound both long and loud, and shall say to the {50} sleeping nations, Ye saints arise and live; ye sinners stay and sleep until I shall call again.--Doctrine and Covenants, xliii: 18.

But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud;

Wherefore if ye have slept in peace, blessed are you, for as you now behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye come unto me and your souls shall live, and your redemption shall be perfected, and the saints shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth.--Doctrine and Covenants, xlv: 45, 46.

Yea, and blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth when the Lord shall come, and old things shall pass away, and all things become new, they shall rise from the dead and shall not die after, and shall receive an inheritance before the Lord, in the holy city.

And he that liveth when the Lord shall come, and has kept the faith, blessed is he; nevertheless it is appointed to him to die at the age of man;

Wherefore children shall grow up until they become old, old men shall die; but they shall not sleep in the dust, but they shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye;

Wherefore for this cause preached the apostles unto the world the resurrection of the dead.--Doctrine and Covenants, lxiii: 49-52.

Extract From A Revelation to the Prophet Joseph.

And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying, 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.--Pearl of Great Price, p. 10.

Extract From The Prophecy of Enoch.

And righteousness will I send down out of heaven: and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; His resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men.--Pearl of Great Price, p. 21.

The Testimony of Joseph Smith.

As concerning the resurrection, I will merely say that all men will come forth from the grave as they lie down, whether old or young; there will not be "added one cubit to their stature," neither taken from it; all will be raised by the power of God, having spirit in their bodies and not blood.--March 20, 1842; History of Joseph Smith.

There are two kinds of beings in heaven, viz: angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones.

For instance, Jesus said, "Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have."

2. The spirits of just men made perfect--they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory.

When a messenger comes, saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand, and request him to shake hands with you.

{51} If he be an angel, he will do so, and you will feel his hand.

If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect, he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear.

Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message.

If it be the Devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands, he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him.

These are three grand keys whereby you may know whether any administration is from God.--Thursday, February 9, 1843; History of Joseph Smith. Doctrine and Covenants, cxxxix.

Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection;

And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicted;

And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicted.

The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also: but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.

A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.--Sunday, April 2, 1843; History of Joseph Smith. Doctrine and Covenants, cxxx: 18-23.

To a remark of Elder O. Pratt's, that a man's body changes every seven years, President Joseph Smith replied: There is no fundamental principle belonging to a human system that ever goes into another in this world or in the world to come: I care not what the theories of men are. We have the testimony that God will raise us up, and He has the power to do it. If any one supposes that any part of our bodies, that is, the fundamental parts thereof, ever goes into another body, he is mistaken.--Friday, April 7, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.

Speaking of the eternal duration of matter, I said--There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes.

We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified, we shall see that it is all matter.--Wednesday, May 17, 1843; History of Joseph Smith, Doctrine and Covenants, cxxxi: 7, 8.

As the Father hath power in Himself, so hath the Son power in Himself, to lay down His life and take it again, so He has a body of His own. The Son doeth what He hath seen the Father do; then the Father hath some day laid down His life and taken it again; so He has a body of His own, each one will be in His own body; and yet the sectarian world believe the body of the Son is stuffed into the Father's.

Gods have an ascendancy over the angels, who are ministering servants. In the resurrection, some are raised to be angels; others are raised to become Gods.--Sunday, June 11, 1843; History of Joseph Smith.

{52}

CELESTIAL FAMILY ORGANIZATION.

By Parley P. Pratt in His Publication, "The Prophet," Published in New York City, 1845.

Man is an eternal being, both in regard to his material organization and his mind and affections. The resurrection from the dead restores him to life with all his bodily and mental powers and faculties, and (if quickened by the celestial glory) consequently associates him with his family, friends and kindred, as one of the necessary links of the chain which connects the great and royal family of heaven and earth in one eternal bond of kindred affection and association. The order of God's government, both in time and in eternity, is patriarchal; that is, it is a fatherly government. Each father who is raised from the dead and made a partaker of the celestial glory in its fullness, will hold lawful jurisdiction over his own children and over all the families which spring of them to all generations, forever and ever.

We talk, in this ignorant age, of children becoming of age, as it is called; and we consider when they are of age they are free from the authority of their father. But no such rule is known in the celestial law and organization, either here or hereafter. By that law a son is subject to his father forever and ever, worlds without end. Again, we have a rule now established in the earth by which a woman becomes the wife of a man, and is bound by law to him till death shall separate. But in the celestial order it is not so, for the plainest of all reasons, viz., the celestial order, is an order of eternal life; it knows no death and consequently makes no provision for any. Therefore all its covenants and contracts are eternal in their duration, and calculated to bind the several members of a family in one eternal union. In order to illustrate this subject and make it perfectly plain to the most simple capacity we must leave death entirely out of the consideration, and look at men and families just as we would look at them if there was no death. This we can do with the greatest propriety because the time was when there was no death, and the time will be again in which there will be no death.

{53} Our venerable father Adam took our mother Eve for a wife when the human family and the world in which they lived was as free from death as God and His throne. We would now inquire what kind of contract was made between them, and also how long was it to endure? Was it after the power and union of an endless life? or was it made to serve a momentary purpose, till death shall separate? The answer is obvious. This marriage contract must have been eternal, or else it must have admitted the sinful as well as cruel idea of a divorce and final separation during their lives; for let it be borne in mind they had no death in view and no idea of ever being subject to death, even for a moment, at the time the contract was made.

Again, Paul opens a mystery, viz., that we shall not all sleep in the dust; but those who live at a certain time will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and will be caught up to meet the Lord and so ever be with Him. Now as some of these will doubtless be husbands and wives, we would inquire when their marriage contract will be fulfilled and come to an end? They agreed to be each others till death should separate (that is, if they were married by the usual ceremonies which now exist). And behold, death cannot separate them; for the change from mortal to immortal will be instantaneous.

Again, "Christ came to deliver those who through fear of death were all their life time subject to bondage." Therefore, after the resurrection men live, and live forever, as though death had never been. In view of this, God declares himself to be the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who have once died; and yet he claims not to be the God of the dead, but of the living.

Again, Paul speaks of another great mystery, viz., "that every man should love his wife even as Christ loves the Church." Now we would inquire whether the love and consequent union of Christ and His Church is to come to an end by death, and a final separation take place in the world to come? or whether, on the other hand, the union is more perfect and complete in the other life than it is in this? All agree that the love and union of Christ and the Church is eternal, and that it not only continues in the other world, but it is made perfect there. This being the case, it leads us to the irresistible conclusion that the love and union of a man and his wife should extend into, and even be more perfect in eternity, or else Paul was very wrong in telling every man to love his wife even as Christ loves the Church. Having {54} established the fact or principle of eternal union between a man and his wife, we will now proceed to establish the eternal relationship and authority on one hand and obedience on the other, that will exist between parents and children.

To illustrate this principle we have a beautiful and plain precedent. Jesus Christ and His Father continue to be one in their affection and union since He rose from the dead; and He still yields obedience to the commands of His Father, and has also revealed that He will continue to do so, when He has put down death, and all rule and authority and power. "Then shall the Son also be subjected to the Father." We hear nothing in all this subject about Jesus Christ ever being of age so as to be free from all further obligation to obey His Father; but on the contrary it is clearly revealed that He will always be subjected to Him. Now this same Jesus prayed to His Father, as testified by the Apostle John, that His disciples and those who believed on their words might be one even as Christ and His Father are one; not only one with God and Christ, but also one with each other in the same manner and in the same sense that they are one. Now suppose, in fulfillment of this prayer, a man and his children were His disciples; and finally in the eternal world, they became one with each other in precisely the same sense that Christ and His Father are one, would not these children be subject to their father in the same manner as Christ is subject to His Father? Certainly they would.

We have also a most beautiful practical illustration of the principles of continued authority on the part of the father and obedience on the part of the children in this life, in the family of Jacob. His sons were, many of them, advanced in years so far as to become heads of families at the time of going to Egypt for corn. And yet they all set an example of obedience to their father, insomuch that they would not take Benjamin with them without his consent, even if they starved to death. It appears, too, that Abraham had the entire control of his son Isaac's matrimonial affairs, although Isaac was forty years of age at the time of his marriage with Rebecca.

Having now established the fact that the celestial order is designed not only to give eternal life, but also to establish an eternal order of family government, founded upon the most pure and holy principles of union and affection, we will take a review of the celestial family of man as it will exist in the restoration of all things spoken of by the Holy Prophets.

First: His most gracious and venerable majesty, King Adam, with his royal consort, Queen Eve, will appear at the {55} head of the whole great family of the redeemed, and will be crowned in their midst as a king and priest forever after the Son of God. They will then be arrayed in garments white as snow and will take their seats on the throne, in the midst of the paradise of God on the earth, to reign forever and ever. While thousands of thousands stand before him, and ten thousand times ten thousand minister unto him. And if you will receive it, this is the order of the Ancient of days--the kingdom prepared and organized to meet Jesus when He comes.

This venerable patriarch and sovereign will hold lawful jurisdiction over Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the prophets, apostles, Saints of all ages and dispensations, who will all reverence and obey him as their venerable father and lawful sovereign. They will then be organized, each over his own department of the government, according to their birthright and office, in their families, generations and nations. Each one will obey and be obeyed according to the connection which he sustains as a member of the great celestial family. Thus the gradation will descend in regular degrees from the throne of the Ancient of days with his innumerable subjects, down to the least and last Saint of the last days who may be counted worthy of a throne and sceptre, although his kingdom may, perhaps, only consist of a wife and single child. Such the order and organization of the celestial family, and such the natures of the thrones, principalities and powers, which are the rewards of diligence. This kingdom, organized and established upon the earth in its beauty and order, will be ready for the Son of man. He will then come in the clouds of heaven and receive it to himself. Adam and all the patriarchs, kings and prophets will still be subject unto Christ, because He was in the eternal world, the first born of every creature, and the beginning of the creation of God. Hence in the patriarchal order, He rules by right of birth.

"If I tell you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?" I might enlarge on the subject by connecting the family of Adam with other branches of Christ's kingdom, and of the celestial family in other planets and worlds, many of which are older and much larger than our earth, but peopled by branches of the celestial family, who are of the same kindred and race that we are, viz., the sons and daughters of God. I might also tell you of the continued exertions of creative power by which millions of new worlds will yet be formed and peopled by King Adam and his descendants, in the name, and by the authority of Jesus Christ, and by virtue of the Holy Priesthood which is after the power {56} of the endless life, without beginning of days or end of years, and thus go on enlarging and multiplying, conquering and to conquer, till Abraham's seed becomes numerous as the sand; and till the Saint of the last days possess a kingdom and dominion of his own posterity, vastly more numerous than King Adam will possess in the great restoration of all things pertaining to this little earth. But you are not able to receive heavenly things as yet, and therefore forbear, and let the things of the earth suffice at least for the present, and till the Saints should be counted worthy of endowment and of an entrance into the sanctuary of our God. For there shall the greater things be made manifest to those who are not overcome and are counted worthy.

I now wish to say a few words on the subject of matrimony and also on the subject of raising and educating children.

Who that has had one glimpse of the order of the celestial family and of the eternal connections and relationships which should be formed here in order to be enjoyed there; who that has felt one thrill of the energy and power of eternal life and love which flows from the divine spirit of revelation, can ever be contented with the corrupt pleasures of a moment which arise from the unlawful connections and desires? Or what Saint who has any degree of faith in the power of the resurrection and of eternal life, can be contented to throw themselves away by matrimonial connection with sectarians or other worldlings who are so blind that they can never secure an eternal union by the authority of the Holy Priesthood which has power to bind that which shall be bound in heaven? By such a union, or by corrupt, unlawful and unvirtuous connections and indulgences they not only lose their own celestial crown and throne, but also plunge their children into ruin and darkness, which will probably cause them to neglect so great salvation for the sake of the love and the praise of the world and the traditions of men.

O my friends--my brethren and sisters, and especially the younger class of our community! I beseech you in the fear and love of God and entreat you in view of eternal glory and exaltation in this kingdom, to deny yourselves all the corrupt and abominable practices and desires of the world and the flesh, and seek to be pure and virtuous in all your ways and thoughts, and not only so, but make no matrimonial connections or engagements till you have asked counsel of the Spirit of God in humble prayer before Him; till you know and understand the principles of eternal life and union sufficiently to act wisely and prudently, and in that way that {57} will eventually secure yourself and companion and your children in the great family circle of the celestial organization.

I would now say to parents that their own salvation, as well as that of their children, depends to a certain extent on the bringing up of their children, and educating them in the truth, that their traditions and early impressions may be correct. No parent who continues to neglect this after they themselves have come to the knowledge of the truth, can be saved in the celestial kingdom. I would earnestly recommend that all sectarian books, tracts, pictures, paintings, etc., which are not according to the truth, be removed from the family circle of the Saints, and that their children be not suffered to read them, at least till the truth has taken hold of their minds sufficiently that they may be able to contrast the one with the other; and to perceive the difference. Sectarian sermons and their manner of worship and their Sunday schools, are also a great damage to children, being well calculated to rivet upon their young and tender minds the most vague, mysterious and erroneous notions and principles which may prevent their ever being open to the conviction of the truth. And even if they should embrace the truth afterwards, and they find their perceptive faculties so blunted and beclouded by early impressions and traditions, that it will continue to retard their progress in the comprehension of the truth, insomuch that many of its plainest and simplest principles will either remain entirely unperceived by them or else be seen through a glass darkly, as it were, and thus lose much of their force and beauty. * * *

In regard to matrimony, I suppose some will tell me that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage. That is true, for the best of all reasons--because they do it here; and thus bind on earth that which shall be bound in heaven, and that too by God's own authority; and this being the world of preparation and that the world of enjoyment. Therefore there is no need of doing it in that world. Those who do not understand and attend to the ordinances and authority of God in this world, neither by themselves nor by proxy, are not counted worthy to enjoy the celestial glory in the world to come; therefore, they must remain as they are, and never enjoy that sweet union and exaltation which is prepared for the Saints of the Most High. Thus are all judged according to the deeds done in the body; and that which they sow they shall also reap. If they choose in this world to follow the wicked lusts and pleasures of the moment by unlawful connections; or if they choose to be {58} united after the manner of this world by being joined with a companion who is not worthy of an eternal covenant and of the "seal of the living God," why then, the consequence is, that they enjoy the things of this world and the pleasures and passions thereof; but death closes the scene and eternity finds them poor wanderers and outcasts from the commonwealth of the celestial family and strangers to the covenant of promise. Their former covenants come to an end with their life, and in that world they can neither marry nor be given in marriage; consequently they must remain unassociated in family capacity, and, therefore, have no kingdom over which to reign, nor any possible means of increasing their own glory. There will be weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth indeed; for who can endure eternal disappointment? Who can endure to be forever banished and separated from father, mother, wife, children, and every kindred affection, and from every family tie? For none of our relationships will be recognized by the authorities in this world, unless secured to us here in an everlasting covenant which cannot be broken, and sealed by the constituted authorities of the living God. Well did the Lord promise by the mouth of the Prophet Malachi that He would send Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and that he should turn, seal, or bind the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth should be smitten with a curse. And if you will receive it, Elijah the prophet has been sent in these last days to man on the earth, and has conferred the keys of the sealing power that others might go forth in His Spirit, power and Priesthood, and seal both on earth and in heaven. But they have done unto some of them whatever they listed, and even so many others perhaps suffer under their cruel hand. But the keys are on the earth and shall not be taken from it till the sealing is accomplished. Therefore, O ye Saints of the Most High! build the Temple and sanctuary of our God, and gather together thereunto. For there, saith the Lord, will I reveal unto you the fullness of mine ordinances pertaining to the Holy Priesthood and preparation, by which the living and the dead may be redeemed and associated in the exalted principles of eternal life and joy. Amen.

{59}

SALVATION FOR THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.

Liberality of the "Mormon" Faith. A Discourse by Charles W. Penrose. Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, August 19, 1900.

Reported by Arthur Winter.

I am thankful for the opportunity of meeting with the Latter-day Saints in this Tabernacle, and I trust that our assembling together will not be in vain, but be profitable to all of us. I have been called upon to address the congregation. I desire to do so under the influence of that Spirit which guides into all truth, and which makes plain the things of God to the minds of men. I trust that this Spirit will not only rest upon me, to enlighten my mind and to give me words which will be of benefit to those who hear, but that it may also rest upon the congregation, that we may be able to see "eye to eye."

Characteristics of True Religion.

One mark of true religion is a regard for the welfare of other people. True religion does not make people selfish. It creates in their hearts a feeling of chanty and a desire to bless; not to injure in any way, not to wish the downfall or hurt of a fellow creature, but rather to desire his uplifting, and benefit, and comfort, and joy. Our Heavenly Father created the earth upon which we live for the comfort and happiness of His creatures. The plan of salvation, which was prepared before the foundations of the world, was designed for the improvement, the benefit and the ultimate salvation of all His sons and daughters. When we have a desire in our hearts to bless and benefit mankind, we have the right side. When we feel a spirit of revenge, of retaliation, and a desire to do harm, that is not of God, but is from beneath. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are told, "came into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." That was the purpose of the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, and of the atonement that He wrought out for mankind by His death on the cross. The {60} spirit of Christ is the spirit of salvation, the spirit of blessing, the spirit to do good, to improve the condition of the human race, and to prepare us all for the presence of our Eternal Father and to enjoy the glory of His kingdom.

Universal Salvation.

One of the great differences between the faith of the Latter-day Saints and that of most of the denominations called "Christian" is that the Latter-day Saints teach that salvation is for all people, of all ages, of all races, of all colors, who can be saved. The doctrine that the Lord has revealed through His servant the Prophet Joseph Smith is that salvation is to come unto all, and that none will be lost who can possibly be redeemed; that the plan of salvation is as broad as the fall of man. Our first parents broke a divine law, and through their disobedience death came into the world. As by disobedience of one man sin, and death as the wages of sin, came into the world, so by the atonement and obedience of one, life and salvation will ultimately come to all the family of Adam. "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." This doctrine was enunciated by the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians. The full meaning of that is not explained in the old scriptures, neither is it understood generally in the Christian world, but it was revealed in great plainness to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. I will not read to you the vision which was given to them, explaining this doctrine of salvation, but will perhaps read a few verses of it, so that the full extent of the plan of salvation may be comprehended to some little degree by the congregation.

Let me say, first, that the book from which I am about to read contains some of the revelations of God to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this age of the world, and we regard these as Scripture. We believe in the Bible. We believe that "holy men of old wrote and spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost." We also believe that the same Spirit in this age of the world will make plain the things of God exactly in the same way as they were revealed in former times. In other words, we believe that the Spirit is the same in all ages, and that God and Christ are "the same yesterday, today and forever." If God could reveal His word through Prophets in ancient times, certainly He can reveal His word, through Prophets in modern times. If not, why not? What reason is there that God should not make {61} manifest His truth in the nineteenth century as well as in the first century, or in times before the beginning of the Christian era? Has the Eternal Father ceased to have power to make Himself manifest? Has He bound Himself with an oath and promise that He would not speak again, after He revealed Himself through the Prophets and Apostles in the first age of the Christian era and before that time? If so, where is His word and promise recorded? I know of nothing of the kind in the book that is supposed to contain the Holy Scriptures. The Bible contains some few things revealed by the Lord through His servants in former days, and by reading it carefully I find that it contains an abundance of promises that in the last times, in the times of "the restitution of all things spoken of by the holy Prophets since the world began," in the "dispensation of the fullness of times" in which God is to gather together in one all things that are in Christ, there is to be more light, more revelation, more manifestation of the power of God, greater miracles and greater outpouring of the Spirit and the knowledge of God, until the time shall come when a man shall not have to say to his neighbor, "Know ye the Lord, for all shall know Him, from the least unto the greatest," and "the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the great deep;" so the prophets of old predicted. This being so there is nothing unscriptural or unreasonable in the idea that God should reveal His word in this age of the world as He revealed it in former times, and as it was customary with Him when He had any special work to perform among the children of men, or any special truth to reveal, to raise up a prophet or prophets through whom His word was communicated, that in the last days He should act in the same way, seeing that He is an unchangeable Being.

We testify that in the nineteenth century our Heavenly Father has been pleased to open the heavens once more, and to send His Son Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, with a message of life and light, similar to that which He proclaimed when He tabernacled in mortality. We testify that angels have come down from the courts of glory, bringing light and truth for the enlightenment and salvation of all the human family, and a message to be carried to "every nation, kindred, tongue and people."

We recognize the fact that throughout Christendom there are various religious societies, composed in the main of good people, and having among them very talented men, some of whom minister in the name of the Lord without authority, {62} while others explain the Gospel according to their understanding of it--which is very limited; and that there are people of all sects and denominations who desire to serve the Lord and walk in His ways, but who cling to the notions and ideas which have been handed down to them by tradition. We do not wish to interfere with any of them in their religious rights and privileges. We recognize the right of every man to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and think that people ought not to be molested in that worship, and that they should be perfectly free to carry out their religious convictions, so long as they do not infringe upon the rights and liberties of others. That is the line we draw, and when men step beyond that, then the secular law ought to step in and protect people in the exercise of their rights, and from the designs and wicked acts of those who seek to infringe upon them.

But One God and One Faith.

But while we recognize this, we do not lose sight of this one great fact, which all people should consider; that as there is but one God for us to worship, there can be but one true religion. A variety of Gods might introduce a variety of creeds; but "there is one God even the Father, of whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things." Therefore, the religion of God and Christ must be one. Truth is not divided against itself. Truth and error will clash, but truth and truth will always harmonize. Anything that God reveals must be true, for He is truth; and everything that comes by the way of Jesus Christ, His beloved Son, must be true, for He is the way, the truth and the life. No error will be introduced into the world under the direction of the Father, or of the Son. And the Holy Ghost is "the Spirit of truth." It guides into all truth. It takes of the things of the Father and of the Son and reveals them unto men. It will not substantiate or reveal any error; but it will manifest truth and make it plain. Therefore, all that is error in the world, whether it be among Christians or pagans, is not of God, and is not recognized of Him. It will not lead to God; it will not benefit mankind; but it will do injury. It is the truth that exalts, that ennobles, and that will save mankind. Falsehood and error will not. Anything that is contrary to truth cannot be of God, but may be of that Evil One, who was "a liar from the beginning."

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Sincerity Not Conclusive Evidence of Truth.

That there is an abundance of error in the "Christian" world as well as some truth, must be patent to everybody who has investigated the conditions of mankind in the present day, because these multifarious sects and denominations are discordant. They do not unite--except on special occasions when they meet together to denounce the "Mormons"; they can unite on that question sometimes. The spirit of division, strife and contention exists among people called Christians as well as among people called Pagans. That fact alone makes it evident that there is a great deal of error existing in what is called Christendom. That is because these various systems which have been established are the inventions of men. They may have been good men who started these different sects--I will not judge that matter; that is with the Eternal Judge--but these sects were the offspring of men. These men may have read the Scriptures, and have entertained certain ideas founded upon their reading; and they may have established these different systems in accordance with their sincere ideas of what was right. But sincerity of itself is not a conclusive evidence of truth. The heathen is just as sincere in his idol worship as the "Christian" is in his various modes of bowing down to Deity; and certainly the Latter-day Saints have manifested their sincerity before the whole world as well as before the heavens. The Elders of this Church who go out into the world to proclaim the Gospel as they understand it, manifest their sincerity. Yet our "Christian" friends will not recognize them as Christians, nor believe that they are right. They go out without purse or scrip, without fee or reward. They are not paid for their work. They make sacrifice of home and its comforts, and leave their loved ones behind, and go to face a frowning world, to meet persecution and obloquy, and sometimes imprisonment, stripes and death. What for? To proclaim that which they know in their hearts is true. They are sincere enough, but that does not prove that they are right. Our "Christian" friends will acknowledge that. On the other hand, the sincerity that may be exhibited in the various "Christian" sects by the people who compose the members, and by the preachers who teach them, is not of itself an evidence that they are right or that they have the truth. But the fact that they are divided and conflicting is proof enough that there is a great deal of error among them.

Now, that which comes from God is truth. If Jesus {64} Christ has a church on the earth under His direction and inspiration, containing men whom He has appointed, who hold His authority, who are sent by His word, and who have the divine authority to administer in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that church will have the truth. It will not have error intermingled with it, because it will be directed by Christ, being His Church. Men may build up a church and call it the Church of Christ, but that does not make it so; it is the church of the men who organized it. If John Wesley--a good man, as I believe with all my heart, a mighty man, who did a great and good work in the earth--organized a religious society and called it the Church of Christ, that does not make it so, and it is nothing more than the church of John Wesley. If other good men assemble together and agree on points of doctrine and organize a religious society that society is theirs. It is not God's unless He ordered it, revealed it, and accepted it.

Oneness of the Church of Christ.

I think that these simple ideas will be received by this congregation and by any reasonable person. If Jesus Christ had a church on the earth in the first century, it was the Church that He established. There is evidence that He did establish a church. By reading the New Testament it is plain that He organized it Himself; therefore it was His Church. He placed in it apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, (so we read in the epistle to the Ephesians, 4th chapter,) "for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God." These men were sent out to preach the Gospel without purse or scrip. They were commanded to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." And the principles which they taught were the principles of Jesus Christ. The plan of salvation that they introduced was divine. It was not their own. When Paul preached to the Gentiles and Peter preached to the Jews, they preached the same Gospel, the same doctrine, by the same Spirit. The people who received their word and repented of their sins, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, were all baptized by one spirit into one body. There was but one body, no matter how many members there were in it; there was but one church, no matter how many branches there might be to it. The Church was one, the Gospel was one, the God they worshipped was {65} one, the Savior was one. There was "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all;" and the path that they walked in was the one way marked out by the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, "Wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

These men whom the Lord placed in His Church had the word of the Lord. God revealed Himself unto them. Jesus Christ manifested Himself unto them. This is one of the characteristics of the Church. It was in communication with its Divine Author. The spirit that came down from heaven was in these men; not only in them, but in the body of the Church. The whole body was quickened by it, led by it, and inspired by it. Therefore the truth was in the Church. But there came a great change after the Apostles were slain. Darkness came in like a flood and overspread the earth, as the prophet of old foresaw when he said that "darkness would cover the earth and gross darkness the people." Because of that darkness which has overspread the earth has come the condition that exists in the Christian world today.

True Gospel Again Revealed From Heaven.

Now, in this age of the world, I repeat, our Heavenly Father has been pleased to reveal Himself again. Hear it! oh, ye people! As sure as the sun shines in the heavens, as sure as we are in this Tabernacle this afternoon, the Mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and is "calling the earth from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof." His word to all people is that the Gospel in its purity has been restored; His Church has been set up again on the earth, under His personal direction; Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers once more are endowed with the Spirit that comes from on high, and all people who receive their testimony and are obedient to the Gospel are baptized by one spirit into one body, whether they be Jew or Gentile, bond or free, and they are all made to partake of one Spirit. This Gospel and the proclamation thereof is to all the world, to every creature. This is the commandment of God to His servants in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And all people will hear the sound thereof, no matter how much it may be opposed. The Elders of this Church, going out as the servants of God did of old, are endowed with the same authority, the same power, and the same right to {66} administer in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And the word of Christ is to them as it was to the early Apostles: "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth Him that sent me. And he that rejecteth you rejecteth Him that sent me." The word of the Lord to all people everywhere is to turn from their wickedness, from their corruptions, from their false creeds, from their bowing down to anything that is not God, from the notions and ideas of men that have been preached in the world for the doctrines of Christ, and come unto God their Eternal Father in humility, in contrition, repenting of their sins, confessing them, and forsaking them.

Gospel Will Be Preached To Every Soul.

This is a corrupt age. The world is full of evil. That perhaps may be considered an extravagant term, for there is without doubt a great deal of good in the world as well as evil; but I mean to say that evil abounds everywhere. Take your "Christian" cities--those that have the most churches and chapels dedicated to "Christian" service--and sin, corruption, vice, and evils that are unmentionable, abound in them. The word of God to all people is to repent, and turn from iniquity, and come unto the Lord, that they may be saved. This Gospel will be preached to every nation, tongue and people. The barriers that are now in the way of the progress of the servants of God will be broken down. War, plague, pestilence, famine, earthquake, the devouring fire, the cyclone and the whirlwind will be agencies in the hands of an offended Deity to open up the way for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nations that today sit in darkness will hear it, and the "Christian" nations will hear it; for the word of the Lord is to the priest as well as to the people, to the king as well as to the peasant, to those in high places as well as to those who grovel in filth and dirt on the earth or beneath its surface. To all people everywhere this Gospel is to go. Those nations where it is now impossible to proclaim the Gospel freely will be so overturned in the providences of our Father in this fast age, that all nations will be opened and the Elders of this Church will carry the message to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Now in regard to people who will not receive the Gospel when it is presented to them. When they reject it, they reject the Lord. But are they to be everlastingly lost and destroyed? If so, only a few people among the great family of the Eternal {67} Father would obtain the blessings of salvation. What I will read to you from this book relates to the final condition of the human race. As I said, I will not attempt to read the whole of it; it would take too long. I will read only a few verses. But I recommend all people to read it fully. I consider it the most glorious manifestation of light and truth concerning the future of mankind that has ever been put in print. There is nothing in the Bible equal to this manifestation from God, of His plans and purposes regarding His children who dwell on the earth. The first part of this revelation contains the statement that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit on the 16th day of February, 1832, were surrounded by His power and light, and they beheld the Father seated upon His throne, and Jesus Christ, His Son, at His right hand, and the angels that surround the throne and worship before their face. The Lord manifested in this vision the conditions of the human family in the world to come, who will be partakers of the various degrees of glory--the celestial glory, the terrestrial glory, and the telestial glory. The part I wish to read is this:

"And this is the Gospel, the glad tidings which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us:

"That He came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;

"That through Him all might be saved whom the Father had put into His power and made by Him,

"Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of His hands, except those sons of perdition, who deny the Son after the Father has revealed Him;

"Wherefore He saves all except them: they shall go away into everlasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is eternal punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment.

"And the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows." (Doctrine and Covenants, section 76, vs. 40-45.)

But Few Will Be Lost.

My friends, the great truth is declared in this revelation that Jesus Christ will ultimately save ALL mankind, except a few who are called the sons of perdition, "who deny the Son after the Father has revealed Him." This is a very different idea of the plan of salvation to that which is entertained by most if not all our "Christian" friends, who say that we are very illiberal. They have an idea that the Latter-day Saints are very exclusive and illiberal in their religion. I wish to {68} say here that there is no creed in Christendom which is so liberal as that which is believed in by the Latter-day Saints. We do not hold that all who differ with us in regard to the principles of salvation will be irretrievably lost. We do not consign our "Christian" friends, as they do us, to an everlasting hell, to frizzle and fry in brimstone and fire while eternity comes and goes; not at all. We do not believe that our Eternal Father will condemn any person who acts according to his sincere belief and who endeavors, as far as he can, to understand and practice what is true. The understanding and the practice of truth is that which exalts; and the time will come--according to our faith--when everybody who dwells on the earth, and those who have dwelt here and have gone away, will hear the sound of this one Gospel; for, as I said, there can be but one Gospel, one way of salvation, and all those who do not get into that one way are in the broad way.

There are millions and millions of heathens who never heard the name of Jesus Christ. What is to become of them all? There are millions of Jews who reject Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. Are they all to be lost eternally? They will be, according to the doctrines of some of our very liberal "Christian" friends. According to their doctrines, no one will be saved who does not believe in Jesus Christ. And they have warrant for that in the Scripture; for "there is none other name given under heaven whereby men can be saved, than the name of Christ Jesus." That being true, all who do not hear the name of Jesus Christ and believe in Him will be condemned. If, therefore, only while men dwell in the flesh they may hear the name of Christ and have the privilege of obeying His Gospel, then the vast majority of the human race, the sons and daughters of the Eternal God, will be doomed to everlasting punishment, according to the modern creeds. But according to what the Lord has shown to this Church by revelation, this Gospel will be preached to every creature. If people do not hear it while they dwell in the flesh, they will hear it after they leave the body. That is contrary to the doctrine of modern Christendom, I am aware. It comes right in contact with one of the tenets of faith of all "Christian" sects. They do not believe in the doctrine of preaching to men after they are dead. They do not believe that there is salvation for mankind after they leave this body. To use expressions common with them, "As the tree falls, so it lies;" "as death meets us, so judgment finds us;" "There's {69} no repentance in the grave, or pardon offered to the dead." That is modern "Christianity."

Salvation For the Dead.

But that is not the Christianity of Christ. I would direct the attention of my friends to the book of the Prophet Isaiah. I will not take time to turn to it this afternoon. Read the 61st chapter, 1st verse, and you will find there this prophecy concerning the coming of the Redeemer: (See also 42nd chapter, 7th verse.)

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

Jesus Christ accepted that as a prediction concerning Himself, as you will read in the Gospel according to St. Luke, (iv, 18) by getting up in the synagogue on the Sabbath day and reading that Scripture to the Jews, testifying that it referred to Himself. Jesus, while He dwelt in the flesh, preached good tidings to the meek. He healed the sick; He comforted those that mourned; He bound up the brokenhearted. But how about proclaiming liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound? The Apostle Paul says that when Jesus was raised up on high "He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." How did He lead captivity captive? Why, Peter explained it, but the eyes of the "Christian" world have been closed to it for hundreds of years. In the 3rd chapter of the 1st Epistle of Peter, 18-20 vs., we read:

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went."

Now, mark it. He was put to death in the flesh; He was quickened by the Spirit; and He went--where? Our "Christian" friends say He went up to heaven. That is a mistake, because Jesus after His resurrection, when He appeared to Mary in the garden, said, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." (John xx, 17.) Where did He go, Peter? Let us hear what he says:

"By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison."

Yes; Isaiah said He should "preach deliverance to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were {70} bound." He went and preached unto the spirits in prison. Who were they, Peter? He tells us:

"Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing."

Now, if we will take that just as it stands, and leave out the interpretations given by uninspired men and the nonsense preachers weave around it to mystify, we can understand it right enough. Jesus Christ was put to death in the flesh; He was quickened by the Spirit; His body lay in the sepulchre, while He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who had been there since the days of the flood. What did He preach to them? We can find that out by reading the sixth verse of the next chapter of this epistle:

"For, for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."

Here is an account of what was preached to them and the object of the preaching. He preached the Gospel to them, the same Gospel that He preached in the flesh. He preached it to them that they might be judged as men in the flesh are, because they had the same Gospel preached to them. They could not be judged like men in the flesh unless they had the same Gospel preached to them as men in the flesh had. The heathen who never heard the Gospel cannot be judged like those who have heard it; but if they hear it in the spirit, then they can be judged in the same way as other men are judged in the flesh; and they may live according to God in the spirit, because they can repent and receive that Gospel.

This is clear and plain to those who desire to understand it. But when men do not want the truth; when men live by publishing falsehoods; when men preach for hire and divine for money, and their craft is in danger, they do not want to see it, nor do they want their congregations to perceive it. We can thus understand what I read to you just now from this modern revelation. Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, and He will eventually save all, except a few who are called the sons of perdition, who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him, who sin against the Holy Ghost, and against light and truth, and who are irredeemable. But all things that can be saved will be; for our God is a great economist. Everything in His universe is put to a good use, and nothing is lost. Not a particle of matter is annihilated. You may burn a {71} substance and destroy its present form, but the particles thereof remain, the original elements abide; they are indestructible, and God has a use for them somewhere in His universe. Our Heavenly Father will save everything that can be saved, and He will put it somewhere where it can be of use. All His sons and daughters, at some time or other in the eternity to come, will hear the Gospel, and will bow the knee; for as we are told in the New Testament, "As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God." And also: "Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Philip, ii: 2.) And then when they do bow the knee and receive Christ as their Redeemer, He will redeem and save them; He will take them out of the prison house, and He will lead captivity captive, again and again, until every son and daughter of Adam's race who can be saved will be brought out of hell and death, darkness and despair, suffering and punishment, and placed somewhere where they can enjoy existence and glorify their God and be of benefit to one another.

That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed to the Latter-day Saints. That is the Gospel in which we delight. Salvation! Oh, the joyful sound! We do not wish to condemn; we do not wish to injure; we do not wish to curse; we do not wish to revile our enemies. We are glad in the thought that even those who revile us, and persecute us, and say all manner of evil against us falsely for Christ's sake, will some day or other understand the truth as it is; and we hope, as instruments in the hands of God, that we will peradventure be chosen to help them out of darkness, out of despair and punishment, when they have paid their dues, because the authority that God has revealed continues and abides. It seals on earth and it is sealed in heaven. It does not depart with the body. The men whom God has called in this generation to labor for His cause, when they die and lay their bodies down, like their Great Master will go into the spirit world where there are myriads of people who need enlightenment--"Christians," pagans, heathens, all races, all tribes, all tongues. The work of the servants of God is to them in the spirit as well as to men in the flesh. They are to preach the Gospel to every creature, and the sound thereof will go to the uttermost bounds of the spiritual world as well as to the natural world; and every immortal spirit, son or daughter of the great Eternal Father, will have an opportunity to bow the knee and accept the truth.

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Different Degrees of Glory.

But they will not all be saved in the same degree of glory. That would be unjust. God is just as well as merciful. His mercy balances with His justice, and His justice with His mercy. One will not rob the other. There are eternal principles from which even He cannot swerve and still be God. God must govern Himself by the eternal principles of right. This He teaches to His children, and so far as we conform to that, so far will be our power, our glory, our joy and our exaltation in worlds to come. The Gospel is preached to men and women in the flesh; and if they repent, and are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, by one having divine authority, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, as a gift of God to enlighten their minds and guide them into all truth, and they abide in it and are really baptized into Christ, then when Christ appears in His glory they will be with Him, and be numbered as His jewels. They will be "Christ's at His coming." They will have part in the first resurrection. They will be clothed with glory, immortality and eternal life. They will dwell in the presence of the Father and of the Son forever. They will be crowned with the power of His might. Those who belong to them, if also faithful, will share this glory with them--the husband with the wife, the parents with the children. The beginning of their glory will be the foundation of their family government, under their Eternal Father, for ever and ever; and their increase in numbers, in power, in might, in dominion, in intelligence, in everlasting progress, in all that is good and beautiful and happifying, will have no end. This is in the celestial glory--the glory that is typified by the sun. Then there are others who receive not the Gospel of Christ in the flesh, but afterwards receive it in the spirit; they will receive a terrestrial glory, typified by the moon. There will be millions of the heathen nations, who knew not God on the earth, but who will receive the truth in the other world, and they will inherit a glory of the kind that I have here briefly alluded to. Then there is a vast number, which cannot be counted by mortal man, who will be thrust down to punishment. Justice will claim its own. Some will be beaten by a few stripes, and some by many stripes. Some will be forgiven in the next world for sins that they did not repent of in this world, and others may have to pay "the uttermost farthing." Eternal justice will deal out to every soul that which should be his; for all shall be judged {73} according to their works. But through the power of the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, when they are willing to accept it and to conform to the principles of eternal life, they will be brought out of their punishment and sorrow, and they will be placed in a degree of glory suited to their capacity and condition. That glory is called the glory of the stars; and as one star differs from another star in glory, so also will be their several conditions.

Eternal justice and eternal mercy will each operate in every individual case, and a just and righteous judge will deal out that which belongs to all. He will not judge as men do, by the sight of the eye and the hearing of the ear; but He will judge according to justice and righteousness and according to the motives and intents of the hearts of the children of men. Men strive to do right sometimes and fail. God will judge them accordingly. There are people born with certain tendencies and proclivities; there are others who have environments around them which almost impel them to do that which is evil. God will comprehend all this, and judge accordingly. He will deal out to every man as his works shall be, and according to the desires of his heart and his efforts to do good or to do evil. He who wilfully does evil will reap evil. There is an eternal law of compensation, which God cannot turn aside and be God. Every tree will bring forth its own fruit. Every seed will bear of its kind. "He that sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life eternal."

Liberality of the Gospel.

This, I think, is a very liberal Gospel. But we do not claim credit for it, my friends. This was not invented by the boy Prophet Joseph Smith, who was proclaimed an ignoramus, a fool, an idiot, a knave. No, he did not invent this beautiful doctrine that I have been briefly proclaiming this afternoon. It was revealed from on high. It came by the voice of God from the eternal heavens. It is too good for a man to originate. It is Godlike; it is Christlike; it is broad, beautiful, and grand. It reaches the whole of the human race, from Adam, our father, down to the last person born on this globe. The heathen, the "Christian," the Jew, the pagan, the Mohamedan, the infidel, the skeptic, the agnostic, all people, all races, all tongues, all tribes--all shall hear the Gospel. Every ear shall tingle with the sound thereof. Some may say, how can an ear tingle in the spirit? My friends, perhaps you do not know much about these things that are {74} called spiritual. The spirit of man is an entity, a personality, a substance. It is not a mere myth, a breath. True, it is a more refined substance than that which composes our body, so much so that we cannot comprehend it in our present condition. But when the spirit goes out of the body it is an individual, in the same shape and form as the body, because the body is conformed to the spirit. Sometimes the spirit is temporarily conformed to the body in deformed persons; but these are exceptional cases. The spirit of man is a son of God, made in His image and likeness. Jesus was the express likeness of the Father, and we are His brothers and sisters. He is the oldest, "the beginning of the creation of God," "the first born of every creature" in the spirit, and "the only begotten" in the flesh. When the spirit leaves the body, there is an individual, capable of progress, capable of hearing, capable of receiving or rejecting, an individual with agency, with power to do good and power to do evil. And these spirits will be gathered together in classes. Each spirit, when it leaves the body, will gravitate to its proper place, just as naturally as things gravitate on this globe towards the center thereof. It will be so in the spiritual world; for earthly things are after the pattern of heavenly things. Thus each individual will have an opportunity, at some time, of hearing and receiving the truth. And, thank God, we have the assurance that the time will come when the great mass of the human family will cheerfully bow the knee to the Great Eternal Father and accept Jesus Christ, the Elder Brother, as their Redeemer. They will receive the Gospel in the spirit, if they did not in the flesh; and then they will be judged according to their works. The Father will find a place for them all, somewhere in His great universe, where they can be happy, where they can fill the measure of their creation, where they can progress forever, learn more and more, become better, brighter and more glorious, and unite with Him in His great and glorious purposes concerning His children.

This is the Gospel of Christ as we understand it. Now contrast that, my dear friends, for a moment, with the religion that is commonly taught in the Christian world by people who say that we are illiberal. What do they tell us? "If you do not believe in Jesus Christ while you dwell in the flesh, when you die you will go to hell." What is hell? "It is a place of burning torment, where you will welter in misery so great that no tongue can tell it, forever and forever, and there will be no end to it." And some of them will tell you that God, before the foundations of the earth, in the very {75} beginning, chose a few out of the rubbish of nature to be saved and exalted to His divine glory, and the rest were doomed to everlasting condemnation and ceaseless misery in flames and torment with the devil and his angels. Which is the more liberal doctrine of the two?

"Everlasting Punishment."

But what about this "everlasting punishment?" Does not the Bible teach everlasting punishment? Yes. If I had time I would read something from Section 19 of this Book of Doctrine and Covenants in regard to that; but I will briefly allude to it. The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that "eternal punishment is God's punishment," because God is eternal. The meaning of that is this: An eternal Being, having eternal laws, has also eternal penalties; and those who will not obey the laws must suffer the penalties. The penalty will abide forever, because it is eternal; but a man will not suffer it forever. Each individual will receive of that punishment that which eternal justice will mark out as his due. To illustrate it in a simple way: Here we have a penitentiary. Some men go in there for six months and when their time expires they come out; but the penitentiary still abides. It is there for all transgressors. Men go in there for a year, or two years, as the case may be, and when they have served their term they come out; but the penitentiary still remains. So with the judgments of our Eternal Father. He is endless, eternal; His laws are eternal. His punishment is eternal. But He is just, and He will give to all who disobey His laws just that meed of eternal punishment which they ought to have, and no more. They will be judged "according to their works." If they are worthy of but few stripes, they will not have many; if they are worthy of many, they will not get off with a few. If they ought to pay "the uttermost farthing" without being forgiven, they will have to pay it. If there are circumstances in their case which warrant forgiveness after a certain amount of punishment, the Lord will forgive them and deliver them.

Work in the Spirit World.

The organization of His Church is for the proclamation of the Gospel, not only in the flesh, but also in the spirit. The Church on earth is united with the Church behind the veil. The Prophet Joseph Smith, who was martyred for the word of God and testimony of Jesus and who sealed his testimony with his blood, and his brother Hyrum, opened the door {76} of salvation to the spirit world for the last dispensation, as Christ opened it for the time that He went there. Our Apostles, Elders and brethren who have followed, who have laid down their lives for the truth, who have been worn out in the service of God and in laboring for the salvation of mankind, are also laboring there among the hosts that sit in darkness. We who still remain in the flesh expect, when our earthly work is done, to follow on; and the priesthood which the Almighty has given us wherewith to labor for the uplifting and salvation of mankind in the flesh, will be our authority and power when we pass behind the veil and mingle with the spirits of the departed. The Gospel will be preached to every creature, whether in the body or out of the body, "the quick and the dead." Christ preached the Gospel to those that were dead as well as to the quick, and we expect to follow in His footsteps, according to His promise, "He that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father."

My friends, I have only just touched on the outer rim of this great theme of salvation. Our Heavenly Father prepared the plan of salvation before this earth rolled into being, before the cornerstones thereof were laid, "when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy," and when Jesus, our Elder Brother, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," was prepared for the sacrifice to come in the meridian of time. And Lucifer, who was cast down with his hosts, and who leads men astray, will not gain the victory. He will not triumph over the Redeemer. Christ will "destroy death, and him that hath the power of death, which is the devil;" and, as I have read to you, He will redeem all that the Father hath placed in His power--all His brothers and sisters. They in the spirit will be brought out of darkness and punishment, and they will all reach some condition in the places prepared of God. In the many mansions that there are in the Father's kingdom they will all find a place, after they have paid the penalty, where they can bow the knee to the Lord and be happy; for though "Adam fell that men might be, men are that they may have joy." God has created us to give us happiness and pleasure.

Cherish No Evil Feeling.

My brethren and sisters, let us take care that having received the Gospel, we are led by the spirit thereof and are kind to one another, and that we cherish the spirit of {77} kindness to the world, even to those who may persecute us, and deride us, and say all manner of evil against us falsely. Do not cherish the spirit of retaliation and revenge in your hearts. "Vengeance is mine: I will repay, saith the Lord." It is not for us to take vengeance. Let us entertain the kindest feelings we can. Where it is appropriate, let us say as Jesus did, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." Oh! I wish that I could say that with regard to some of those who speak evil of us--that they know not what they do; I would cherish in my heart a feeling of sympathy and pity for them; but I know to the contrary. Many of them know what they are doing; and when they speak falsely against us they do it wilfully, with a knowledge that they are telling that which is untrue. But even then we leave them in the hands of our Eternal Father; for He will deal out a righteous judgment to all. We can afford to pity them; for they will reap the consequences of their wicked acts, as sure as the sun rises and sets, and as sure as justice will have its own. Let us be kind to one another. Let us help one another on the road of life, and be a comfort and a blessing to those with whom we associate, instead of a curse. Put away all our evil feelings, our jealousies, our faultfinding, our irritability, our disposition to say and do things that are bad, and let the Spirit that comes from Christ our Redeemer flow down into our souls and quicken and enlighten us. I know that that Spirit is in the Church. I know it is a reality. I know this Church is the Church of Christ, that He has established it, that He is with it, and that His revelations and His Spirit are in it. I know it by experience. I know what I am talking about, just as sure as I know that I am standing here. I know this work will prosper and go on. Barriers may be raised in its way; its enemies may come against it like a flood, and weapons may be formed to attack it; but "no weapon that is formed against it shall prosper, and the tongue that rises in judgment against it God will condemn." The truth will be triumphant; the Gospel will be preached to every creature; the honest will be gathered out; the kingdom of our God will be built up; Christ our Redeemer will come; the earth will be redeemed from sorrow, from sin, and from the power of Satan, and Jesus will "reign in Mount Zion and Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously," and a rich reward shall come to all those who are faithful in Him.

May God help us to perform our part in this great and glorious work, and may we obtain the crown in the kingdom of our Father, for Christ's sake. Amen.

{78}

MORMONISM JUDGED BY ITS EFFECTS.

By Elder C. W. Penrose, In Millennial Star, 1866.

As every tree is known by its fruits, so every principle may be known by its influences, and every system by its effects. "Mormonism" has been introduced into the world upwards of thirty-six years; and although no fair opportunity has been granted, for the development of its influences, yet by its inherent vitality, it has forced itself into notice and power; and its effects have been sufficiently manifested, to enable us to judge the nature of the cause that produced them.

First, let us examine the effects produced upon the minds of those who embrace "Mormonism." One of the promises held out by its advocates, is that those who obey its precepts shall "come to a knowledge of the truth." Now this is a blessing which professing Christians of modern times are sadly deficient of. They believe, they hope, they desire, but do not come to any definite knowledge in relation to God and their position before him. But those who have embraced "Mormonism," in every place where you meet them, whether in Britain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Scandinavia, Africa, India, America, or the islands of the sea, all testify that they know they have embraced the truth, that their sins are remitted, and that they are accepted of God, and brought into communion with Him. Doubt has fled from them, and faith has grown into knowledge.

Another effect of "Mormonism" is, that it abolishes the fear of death. All its faithful adherents will testify that the terror of death has entirely departed from them. The great mass of mankind are haunted with a dread of entering upon that "undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveler returns." Even to the most pious members of the various "Christian" sects, there is something awful and terrible in death. This fear brings the whole world into bondage; but "Mormonism" bringing knowledge to the mind, liberates it from doubt and fear, and establishes the soul in "the liberty of the Gospel."

"Mormonism" creates or induces faith in the human soul. This faith is exhibited practically. When the "Mormons" are sick, they send for the Elders of the Church, who anoint {79} them with oil, and lay their hands upon them, believing in the promise of God that "the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise them up." In thousands of instances their faith has been effectual; disease has fled before it; the eyes of the blind have been opened, the tongue of the dumb has been unloosed, the ears of the deaf have been unstopped, the lame man has "leaped like the hare," and the spirit of life, invoked by the power of faith, has forced the "King of Terrors" to relax his grasp and retire from his intended victim. Scores of thousands of the "Mormons" have braved the perils of the treacherous sea, and encountered the dangers of the wild prairies, and the mountain heights, in obedience to the commandment of God, because of their faith in His promises to them. Few of them would have left the homes of their forefathers, but for this faith. Numbers of them had a natural and intense dread of the briny deep, until "Mormonism" animated them with faith to go anywhere, or do anything that God commanded them, relying upon His guidance and protection. By the faith with which "Mormonism" has inspired them, the Elders of Israel have gone forth, "without purse or scrip," to the four quarters of the globe, preaching the Gospel of Life and Salvation, looking to God for their daily support, and for wisdom to acquire a knowledge of languages, and customs, and nations, and men; exhibiting in their labors, a faith unparalleled in the history of the world. If believing the promises of God were "accounted for righteousness" in Abraham, so it will be in the Saints of this dispensation, who have proved by their faith and their works, that they are in very deed "the children of Abraham."

"Mormonism" also produces peace of mind in all who are faithful to its principles. That inestimable boon for which millions seek in vain, is found in "Mormonism." It is one of its pre-eminent effects. The soul, freed from its load of long-accumulated guilt, lifted up from the depths of fear and doubt, into a perfect consciousness of its freedom, lit up by the lamp of the spirit of truth, strengthened by a full knowledge of its acceptance with God, feels a soft, gentle calm gathering around it like a heavenly halo, centering to its inmost depths, and establishing therein "the peace of God which passeth all understanding."

The result of these several effects of "Mormonism," united upon the mind, is the grand desideratum of humanity, viz., happiness. The pursuit of happiness is the great motive power of all exertion. The "Mormons" we make bold to say, are the happiest people to be found upon the face of the earth. {80} Living without the fear of death, believing that there is no phase of existence more important than the present, they work to enjoy life today, having no dread of tomorrow. Understanding through the teachings of "Mormonism" that all things in the universe which are calculated to impart joy, are ordained of God for His creatures, they seek lawfully to obtain them, and to use them without abusing them. They can rejoice in the midst of the most trying circumstances. While misrepresented, ridiculed, persecuted, abused, and deprived of their just rights, they richly enjoy the happiness which their enemies ineffectually strive to obtain. The absence of sadness and grief from their countenances is so noticeable, that the pious, long faced, "Miserable sinners" of the various sects declare, with uplifted eyes that "the Mormons have no religion in them." Happiness fills their hearts, gladness smiles upon their faces, and joy sparkles in their eyes.

"Mormonism" has the power of uniting its adherents in a manner very different and far superior to any other system in the world. The unity of the "Mormons" is noticed and acknowledged by their bitterest enemies, while, at the same time, the disunion among all other religious bodies, and political organizations, is admitted and deplored. There is a spirit in "Mormonism," which leads its followers into unity of sentiment, belief and action. No matter how varied their opinions before; no matter how diverse their sentiments, when they embrace "Mormonism," they are "all baptized by one spirit into one body;" they have "one Lord, one faith, and one baptism," and "one hope of their calling." They are inspired with a desire to gather from all the countries of the earth to one place, and to act in concert together, to accomplish one object, viz., to build up the universal kingdom of the one God. This power of unity is so great, that all the efforts made by its opponents to dissolve or weaken it, are perfectly futile, and in fact only serve to defeat their intended object, rendering its unity more compact, and consequently its strength more potent and enduring.

"Mormonism" is the pioneer of intelligence. Mark the path of its travel, whether by its own free will, marching forth to fight its way among the nations, or driven out from the haunts of men, staining its track with its own blood; wherever it has paused for a season, or made a permanent location, newspapers, schools, organizations for improvement, etc., start into life and flourish. It is a friend to all true art and real science, and wars against nothing but that which debases and destroys.

{81} "Mormonism" has taken many thousands of poor, honest people, who were miserably dragging out their almost worthless existence, in poverty and servitude, and placed them in a position to become independent, free and comfortable, with an object in life to stimulate them to virtuous and intelligent action. It has transplanted them from the over-crowded, badly-governed, and vice-reeking countries of the Old World, into the virgin soil, the pure atmosphere, and the free institutions of the New World, and that in a new part, where there is room to move, and where the corruptions of modern civilization find no element on which to flourish. It has given them an inheritance upon the earth, a spot they can call their own, and bequeath to their children, and it has given them a voice in all affairs which concern their well being and progress. It will continue the good work of emancipation, and bring joy and gladness to the honest among the down trodden millions.

"Mormonism" has solved the great problem of the social evil, and has shown the world how a community can exist and thrive, in the nineteenth century, without a "loathsome ulcer" of female prostitution. It has given a practical answer to the difficult question of "adequate female employment," and shown how every woman can have opportunity to "fill the measure of her creation," and become an honorable wife and happy mother, instead of pining in single misery, toiling for a scanty meal, or wasting a short and shameful life, in pandering to the filthy lusts of the worst men.

"Mormonism" has planted itself in a spot given up by all the world to the solitude of barbarism, and has developed the sudden wealth of a vast region supposed to be barren and worthless. Its effects may be seen in the fruitful fields, the lovely orchards, the tasteful dwellings, the handsome stores, the stately public building, tabernacles and school houses, the pleasant shade trees, the sweet scented flowers, and the life bearing water courses, and also may be heard in the hum of industry, the stir of trade, and melody of the song of praise, and the harmony of musical instruments, in more than a hundred towns and cities, where nineteen years ago not a single human habitation could be seen, save the rude wick-e-up of the wandering Indian, nor a sound of human life could be heard except the horrid yell of the red man, shrieking through the affrighted air, and awakening the startled echoes in the stillness of the mountains. Its effects may be seen in the order, peace, unity, sobriety, virtue, intelligence, faith, fortitude, wealth, and happiness of its followers, the most {82} law-abiding, God-fearing, truth-loving and practical people upon the face of the earth.

Are not the fruits borne by the tree of "Mormonism," in the short space of thirty-six years from the planting of the seed, good, sound and abundant? And is not every tree known by its fruits?

"Mormonism" is a stem planted by the hand of the Lord; watered by "the blood of Saints and of Prophets;" it flourishes gloriously. Its roots are striking deeper every day, and its thriftly branches shoot forth vigorously. The blasts of hell cannot wither it; the fire of the world's wrath cannot touch it; but while "every tree that the Father has not planted shall be rooted up," this "plant of renown," which is the "kingdom of heaven," growing up on the face of the earth, shall stretch out its mighty boughs, and yield forth its precious fruit, till the whole earth reposes under its shelter, and the heavenly ones shall "lodge in the branches thereof."

"We have been driven time after time, and that without cause; and smitten again and again, and that without provocation; until we have proved the world with kindness, and the world has proved us, that we have no designs against any man or set of men; that we injure no man; that we are peaceable with all men, minding our own business, and our business only."

--Joseph Smith, September, 1, 1838.

{83}

The "Reorganized" Church vs. Salvation For the Dead.

By Joseph F. Smith, Jr.

"And Saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau and the Kingdom shall be the Lords." Obadiah, 21st verse.

The so-called "Reorganized" church, which is so bitter in its antagonism towards the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has claimed from its beginning to be teaching and practicing the doctrines of the Gospel as they were revealed from God through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Its officers declare that they are walking in the footsteps of the martyred Seer; hewing closely to the line, and observing in all things the commandments which were given from God through his instrumentality, without variation, change, or loss of power from all that pertains to the salvation of the human family in this dispensation of the fullness of times.

Their foundation is built upon the absurd and misty claim that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was established April 6, 1830, through the labors of Joseph Smith the Prophet and the will of God, was "rejected with its dead for transgression of its members," and that the "Reorganized" church is a "new organization" [1] which God raised up to succeed the original--but as they would have us believe, "rejected"--Church.

It is not my purpose to discuss the foolish question of the "rejection of the Church," but to examine the Reorganite position in regard to salvation for the dead; and to show their lack of harmony with the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pertaining to the dead, as those teachings have been revealed through the latter-day Prophet.

It stands to reason that if the Lord rejected His Church with its dead because of transgression, or any other cause {84} whatever, that He would not raise up a substitute church to carry on His work on earth and still keep the dead--who could in no wise be held responsible for the rejection--in suspension, and deny to them the privilege of receiving the ordinances of the Gospel by proxy according to the revealed plan of God as it was ordained from before the foundations of the world were laid, as a means of salvation to those who die without a knowledge of the Gospel. To any reasonable mind this truth would need no argument. Yet the "Reorganized" church declares that the Lord did this very thing; and in the light of the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph as well as those in the ancient Scriptures, which bear on this subject of salvation for the dead, their declaration is fatal to their organization; it stamps it as fraudulent and their officers as impostors. A church without salvation for the dead, according to the revealed will of God to the Prophet Joseph Smith, cannot be the Church of Christ.

When the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith on the night of September 21, 1823, he imparted to the youthful Seer many truths of the greatest importance pertaining to the restoration of the Gospel and the establishment of the Church which, the angel said, was about to take place. These instructions were of such weight that they were repeated twice more that night and again the following day, in order that this young man, upon whose shoulders the burden of the latter day work should rest, might be sufficiently impressed with the greatness and importance of his mission. Among the instructions given by the angel at this time, the doctrine of salvation for the dead had an important part. This heavenly messenger said that the prophecy of Malachi the Prophet was about to be fulfilled, and he quoted the fourth chapter of Malachi, but with this variation:

"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 that great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to their 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." (History of the Church, Vol. I, page 12.)

At that time the full meaning and glory and significance of this instruction were not understood by the Prophet, although it made a deep impression on his mind. On the 3d day of April, 1836, it was fulfilled, for Elijah the Prophet {85} appeared in the Kirtland Temple to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and conferred upon them this Priesthood and the keys of the salvation for the dead stating that--

"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 their fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors." (Doc. and Cov. 110: 13-16. History of "Reorganized" Church, Vol. 2, page 47.)

Following the bestowal of this Priesthood with its keys, the spirit of salvation for the dead was poured out in abundance upon the heads of the Prophet and his people whose hearts began to turn toward their dead fathers. After the Church settled in Nauvoo, baptism for the dead was instituted, the Lord, at first, permitting the ordinance to be performed in the Mississippi river, but later revealing to the Saints that the proper place for this and other rites for the salvation of the dead, must be performed in a Temple built purposely for such ordinances, and that only in times of their extreme poverty could these ordinances be performed elsewhere by His people. Such a temple the Saints were commanded to build, and on the 21st of November, 1841, baptisms for the dead, which had been discontinued in the river at Nauvoo by command of God, October 3, 1841, were resumed in the font of the Lord's House, which had been dedicated for that purpose. [2] These ordinances continued to be performed until the Temple was completed and the Saints were driven from Nauvoo. The spirit of Elijah's work, which had rested so mightily upon the Prophet Joseph, continued with Brigham Young and the "Mormon" people during their travels in the wilderness, and when they arrived in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, the first commandment to them from the Lord, was to build a Temple to His name, where the ordinances of salvation for the living and for the dead could be performed. This work was done as speedily as possible and from that day to the present the spirit of Temple building and of Temple work for the salvation of mankind has continued with the Church.

This action on the part of the Church under the leadership of the successors of Joseph Smith is in harmony with the Scriptures and the teachings and commandments given to the {86} Prophet. He declared that baptism for the dead--the opening of the prison house to them that sit in darkness, and the proclamation of liberty to the captives--was the most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting Gospel, and so greatly was he wrought upon by this work that the subject occupied his mind almost constantly before his death. Moreover, a short time before his martyrdom, the Prophet bestowed upon the Twelve Apostles--who constitute the second quorum in the Church--all the keys and all the ordinances and Priesthood necessary for them to hold in order to carry on this great and glorious work of universal salvation.

That the Twelve did receive these keys and powers, we learn from the following quotations from the Times and Seasons. Orson Hyde, one of that quorum, said:

"Before I went east on the 4th of April (1844) last, we were in council with Brother Joseph almost every day for weeks, said Brother Joseph in one of those councils, there is something going to happen; I don't know what it is, but the Lord bids me to hasten and give you your endowment before the Temple is finished. He conducted us through every ordinance of the Holy Priesthood, and when he had gone through with all the ordinances he rejoiced very much, and said, now if they kill me you have got all the keys, and all the ordinances and you can confer them upon others, and the hosts of Satan will not be able to tear down the Kingdom as fast as you will be able to build it up; and now, said he, on your shoulders will the responsibility of leading this people rest." (Times and Seasons, Vol. 5, page 651.)

This testimony is corroborated by the testimony of Elder Wilford Woodruff, which is found in the same volume, page 698, wherein he says:

"And when they (the Twelve) received their endowment, and actually the keys of the Kingdom of God, and oracles of God, keys of revelation, and the pattern of heavenly things; and thus addressing the Twelve (Joseph) exclaimed, 'Upon your shoulders the Kingdom rests, and you must round up your shoulders and bear it, for I have had to do it until now.'"

Sister Bathsheba W. Smith, wife of George A. Smith, one of the Twelve to whom these keys were given, was present in the council meetings above referred to, and in an affidavit, dated November 19, 1903, says:

"In the year 1844, a short time before the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, it was my privilege to attend a regular prayer circle meeting in the upper room over the Prophet's store. There were present at this meeting most of the Twelve Apostles, their wives and a number of other prominent brethren and their wives. On that occasion the Prophet arose and spoke at great length, and during his remarks I heard him say that he had conferred on the heads of {87} the Twelve Apostles all the keys and powers pertaining to the Priesthood, and that upon the heads of the Twelve Apostles the burden of the Kingdom rested, and that they would have to carry it."

Having shown the consistency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with regard to the doctrine of salvation for the dead; and having shown that the keys of this work, and all other keys pertaining to the salvation of mankind have continued with the Church, we will now consider the attitude of the "Reorganization" in relation to this grand and eternal principle of the redemption of the dead.

At first the founders of the "Reorganized" church appeared to favor it and declared that when the "Reorganization" was established that this principle would be practiced, for as the "rejection of the church produced an effect on the dead," said they, "as well as on the living, so will the reorganization." [3] But when the "reorganization" took place the change that was promised in regard to the dead was not fulfilled, and since that time to the present day--over forty-five years--baptism for the dead, Temple building and Temple work, have never been, by that organization, practiced or entertained. In fact they have turned about face and have rejected peremptorily the doctrine of baptism for the dead and now declare that it is not binding on them.

In a resolution adopted by that church, April 9, 1886, the following startling declaration was made:

"That as to the alleged 'Temple building and ceremonial endowments therein,' that we know of no Temple building, except as edifices wherein to worship God, and no endowment except the endowment of the Holy Spirit of the kind experienced by the early saints on Pentecost day.

"'Baptism for the dead' referred to belongs to those local questions of which the body has said by resolution:

"'That the commandments of a local character, given to the first organization of the church are binding on the Reorganization only so far as they are either reiterated or referred to as binding by commandment to this church.' And that principle has neither been reiterated nor referred to as a commandment." [4]

In February, 1904, the president of that "organization" declared that baptism for the dead was a permissive rite, [5] and that it was taken from the Church, "and if subsequently it was to be engaged in," said he, "and enjoyed by the same people, it must be restored again by revelation and command, and could not be assumed as being held over by suffrance. We do not {88} know of any revelation or command authoritatively promulgated renewing the privilege."

His statement is a flat acknowledgment that he does not hold the keys of this work and that they can only be received by revelation. That he does not hold the keys is true. That he did not receive them from his father he admits, [6] and William Marks, William W. Blair and Zenas H. Gurley, who "ordained" him to his office of president of the "Reorganized" church, never held them. They could only be obtained from the Prophet Joseph Smith, and from him, as has been shown, the Twelve received them in 1844. "Young Joseph" might truthfully have gone further and declared that if the privilege was taken away, before it could again be practiced with authority and power that the keys of the Priesthood which were held by Elijah would again have to be restored. His statement is an unqualified admission that the work of Elijah was performed in vain. He challenges that prophet's statement, that the time had fully come. He acknowledges that, in spite of all the efforts of the "Reorganization" in the attempt to save souls, the whole earth is in danger of being "smitten with a curse" and "utterly wasted" at the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, which is "near, even at the doors." If this statement of the president of the "Reorganized" church is true, then the members of his church stand in jeopardy every hour; darkness covers the face of the earth; there is no salvation for the children of men; the word of the Lord has failed, and destruction awaits the earth and her inhabitants.

In declaring that baptism for the dead was a "permissive rite" he shows a willful lack of understanding pertaining to the great eternal plan of salvation which was revealed through his Prophet father. In declaring that baptism was a local commandment to the Saints at Nauvoo, not binding on the members of the "Reorganization" the members of his church acknowledge that the hand of Jehovah is not guiding them; that they are floundering in the mire of unbelief and ignorance. They make light of one of the "most glorious subjects belonging to the everlasting Gospel."

Yes, the authorities of the "Reorganized" church have declared by conference resolution that baptism for the dead is {89} not binding on them because it was a local commandment, and "has never been reiterated nor referred to as a commandment!"

Judged by the Reorganite standards of faith and doctrine will this statement bear the light of investigation? Baptism a local commandment, not binding on the Saints! "To the law and the testimony," said Isaiah, "if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

In section 128 of the Doctrine and Covenants (sec. CX Reorganite edition), verse 17, in a revelation [7] to the Prophet Joseph Smith, we read the following:

"I will give you a quotation from one of the Prophets, who had his eye fixed on the restoration of the priesthood, the glories to be revealed in the last days, and in an especial manner this most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel, viz.: the baptism for the dead; for Malachi says, last chapter, verses 5, 6, '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.'"

Not only is the Priesthood which was revealed by Elijah the Prophet, pertaining to the "most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting Gospel," but it is of the most importance, for the Prophet Joseph says:

"The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us, is to seek after our dead. The apostle says they without us cannot be made perfect. Now I will speak of them: I say to you, Paul, you cannot be perfect without us; It is necessary that those who have gone before, and those who come after us should have salvation in common with us, and thus hath God made it obligatory to man. Hence God said he would send Elijah." (Times and Seasons, 6: 616.)

Moreover, at the conference of the Church held October 3, 1841, he presented,

"Baptism for the dead as the only way that men can appear as saviors on Mount Zion. The proclamation of the first principles of the Gospel was a means of salvation to men individually, and it was the truth, not men, that saved them; but men by actively engaging in rites of salvation substitutionally, become instrumental in bringing multitudes of their kin into the kingdom of God. * * * There is {90} a way to release the spirit of the dead; that is by the power and authority of the Priesthood--by binding and loosing on earth.

"This doctrine appears glorious inasmuch as it exhibits the greatness of divine compassion, and benevolence in the extent of the plan of human salvation. This glorious truth is well calculated to enlarge the understanding, and to sustain the soul under troubles, difficulties, and distresses. * * *

"This doctrine, he said, presents in a clear light the wisdom and mercy of God, in preparing an ordinance for the salvation of the dead, being baptized by proxy, their names recorded in heaven, and they judged according to the deeds done in the body. This doctrine was the burden of the Scriptures. Those Saints who neglect it, in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation." (Times and Seasons, Vol. 2, pages 577-578, also History of "Reorganized" Church, Vol. 2, pages 545-546.)

Now, whom shall we believe? The "Reorganized" church that has rejected baptism for the dead, declaring it to be a local commandment not binding on them, or the Prophet Joseph Smith who declares that it is the burden of the Scriptures, and that if we neglect it it is at the peril of our own salvation?

The significance of this principle is even more emphatically expressed in section 128 of the Doctrine and Covenants (CX Reorganite edition). Let me quote:

Verse 5. "You may think this order of things to be very particular, but let me tell you, that they are only to answer the will of God, by conforming to the ordinance and preparation that the Lord ordained and prepared before the foundation of the world, for the salvation of the dead, who should die without a knowledge of the Gospel."

Verse 8. "For out of the books shall your dead be judged, according to their own works, whether they themselves have attended to the ordinances in their own propria persona or by means of their own agents, according to the ordinance which God has prepared for their salvation from before the foundation of the world, according to the records which they have kept concerning their dead."

Verse 15. "And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles, in relation to the dead and the living, that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation, for their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers, 'that they without us cannot be made perfect, neither can we without our dead be made perfect.'"

Verse 18. "It is sufficient to know * * * that the earth will be smitten with a curse, unless there is a welding link of some kind or other, between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other, and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the Gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fullness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed, from the days of Adam even to the present time; and not {91} only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this the dispensation of the fullness of times."

From the original manuscript history of the Prophet Joseph Smith, now in the Historian's office, Salt Lake City, I obtain the following under date of January 20, 1844:

"Preached at the southwest corner of the Temple to several thousand people, although the weather was somewhat unpleasant. My subject was the sealing of the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers."

Of this discourse a synopsis was reported by Elder Wilford Woodruff, from which the Prophet Joseph records the following in that history:

"The Bible says, 'I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.'

"Now, the word turn here should be translated bind, or seal. But what is the object of this important mission? or how is it to be fulfilled? The keys are to be delivered, the spirit of Elijah is to come, the Gospel to be established, the Saints of God to be gathered, Zion built up, and the Saints to come up as saviors on Mount Zion.

"But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations, and sealing powers upon their head, in behalf of all their progenitors, who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah. And I would to God that this Temple was now done, that we might go into it, and go to work and improve our time, and make use of the seals while they are on earth.

"The Saints have not too much time to save and redeem their dead, and gather together their living relatives, that they may be saved also, before the earth will be smitten, and the consummation decreed falls upon the world.

"I would advise all the Saints to go to with their might and gather together all their living relatives to this place, that they may be sealed and saved, that they may be prepared against the day that the destroying angel goes forth; and if the whole Church should go to with all their might to save their dead, seal their posterity, and gather their living friends, and spend none of their time in behalf of the world, they would hardly get through before night would come when no man can work."

On the 12th of May, 1844, the Prophet Joseph said:

"It is not only necessary that you should be baptized for your dead, but you will have to go through all the ordinances for them, same as you have gone through to save yourselves. There will be 144,000 {92} saviors on Mount Zion, and with them an innumerable host that no man can count."

We learn from the foregoing quotations the following important facts pertaining to the salvation of the dead:

1. Salvation in behalf of the dead is the binding or sealing of the hearts of the fathers and the children, the welding link. (Doc. and Cov., 128: 18, Reorganite edition CX: 18.)

2. It is the most glorious subject belonging to the everlasting Gospel. (Doc. and Cov., 128: 17, Reorganite edition CX: 17.)

3. It is the greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us--to seek after our dead. (Times and Seasons, Vol. 6, page 616.)

4. It is obligatory to man. (Times and Seasons, Vol. 6, page 616.)

5. Without it the whole earth and its inhabitants would be smitten with a curse. (Malachi 4: 6. Doc. and Cov. 128: 18, Reorganite edition, CX: 18.)

6. It is an eternal doctrine prepared before the foundation of the world. (Doc. and Cov. 128: 5, 8, 18, Reorganite edition CX: 5, 8, 18.)

7. It is the burden of the Scriptures. (Times and Seasons, Vol. 2, page 578, Reorganite church history, Vol. 2, page 546.)

8. If we neglect it it is at the peril of our own salvation. (Times and Seasons, Vol. 2, page 578, Reorganite church history, Vol. 2, page 546.)

9. Through it we become saviors on Mount Zion, and may save multitudes of our kin. (Times and Seasons, Vol. 2, page 577, Reorganite church history, Vol. 2, page 545.)

10. We without our dead and our dead without us cannot be saved with a perfect salvation. (Doc. and Cov. 128: 18, Reorganite edition CX: 18.)

11. We cannot lightly pass this doctrine over as pertaining to our salvation. (Doc and Cov. 128: 15, Reorganite edition CX: 15.)

12. The time granted to the Saints to redeem their dead and gather and seal their living relatives before the earth shall be smitten with a curse, is none too long." (History of Joseph Smith, January 20, 1844.)

Now, my Reorganite friends, in the face of this how dare you presume to circumscribe, limit and profane this doctrine of salvation for the dead? Why do you call this eternal and most glorious principle a "permissive rite," a "local commandment?" and declare before God that it is not binding on you? God has declared it to be ordained before the foundations of the world were laid for the salvation of the dead who die without a knowledge of the Gospel--an eternal principle, the burden of the Scriptures, obligatory to man. Are you in harmony with the word of God? Were your leaders inspired to declare in the face of Jehovah's commands that this eternal principle was a "local commandment" not given to them as a commandment? Binding only on the Saints at Nauvoo? Do you not fear and tremble for your own salvation in neglecting {93} the salvation of your dead? If the Jews who lived in the days of Christ will have to answer for "all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias," because they neglected the salvation of their dead as well as their own salvation, pray tell, what will your punishment be? (See Times and Seasons, Vol. 3, pages 760-761.) Remember that you without your dead cannot be made perfect.

Confronted by this evidence, for you to declare that your leaders are inspired and that yours is the Church of Christ, is most preposterous!

That the salvation of the dead is a Bible doctrine practiced by the ancient Saints, we learn from the writings of Peter (I Peter 3: 18-20) and Paul (I Cor. 15: 29), and the Revelator John (Rev. 22: 12). Isaiah prophesied of it (Is. 42: 6, 7 and 61: 1, 2), and our Redeemer taught it to the Jews (John 5: 28, 29), not as a local commandment, but as an eternal Truth and a principle of the greatest importance to the whole human family. And for that reason "Christ also hath suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit, by which also he went and preached (not in vain) unto the spirits in prison."

The keys of the Priesthood belong to the presiding officer of the Church and must be held in order that the ordinances of a perfect salvation may be administered to the Saints and in behalf of the dead. The keys of the Priesthood could only be received from the one who held them, the Prophet Joseph Smith, who received them from the heavens. Any man claiming to be the President of the High Priesthood without these keys is an imposter. We have been given a key by which the impostor may be detected, for we have the word of the Lord that,

"The great and grand secret of the whole matter, and the summum bonum of the whole subject that is lying before us, consists in obtaining the power of the Holy Priesthood. For him to whom these keys are given there is no difficulty in obtaining a knowledge of facts in relation to the salvation of the children of men, both as well for the dead as for the living." (Doc. and Cov. 128: 11, Reorganite edition CX: 11.)

This declaration from the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith is most explicit. We may ask: Has the president of the 'Reorganized' church obtained this Priesthood? No, he has not! Then there is no wonder that he cannot obtain "knowledge of the facts in relation to the salvation of the children of men, both as well for the dead as for the living." {94} If he had obtained the keys would it be possible for him to lead his people for more than forty-five years without a knowledge of this power which the Lord through the Prophet declares is not difficult for him who holds the keys and the powers of the Holy Priesthood, and which is the "sealing and binding power, and in one sense of the word the keys of the kingdom which consists in the keys of knowledge?" If he held these keys would it be possible that this grand and glorious principle would have been neglected for so long a time when his father the Prophet declared that in this day there was "not too much time to save and redeem" the dead and gather the living relatives that they also may be saved, before the consummation decreed falls upon the world? Would it be possible, if he held these keys, for him to declare that this doctrine was a local commandment, a permissive rite, not binding on the Saints? Verily No!

The Lord declared in 1842, that He was about to restore to earth many things pertaining to the Priesthood (Doc. and Cov. 127: 5, Reorganite edition CIX: 5), and that only in Temples could the fullness of the Priesthood be restored (Doc. and Cov. 124: 28, Reorganite edition CVII: 10). Did the word of the Lord fail? Did the Lord make a mistake? If the contention of the "Reorganized" church is true, He did. But Latter-day Saints know better. On our part we will accept the word of the Lord.

Since the "Reorganized" church does not build Temples, and knows of "no temple building except as edifices wherein to worship God and no endowment except the endowment of the Holy Spirit of the kind experienced by the early Saints on Pentecost day," it is to be expected that their president should be ignorant of the "fullness of the Priesthood" and therefore experience great "difficulty in obtaining knowledge." If the elders of that church had read in the CVII section of their Doctrine and Covenants (L. D. S. edition 124: 39-42) they would have discovered that the doctrine of "ceremonial endowments" is there taught most plainly:

"Therefore, verily I say unto you, that your anointings, and your washings, and your baptisms for the dead, and your solemn assemblies, and your memorials for your sacrifices, by the sons of Levi, and for your oracles in your most holy places, wherein you receive conversations, and your statutes and judgments, for the beginning of the revelations and foundation of Zion, and for the glory, honor and endowment of all her municipals, are ordained by the ordinances of my holy house, which my people are always commanded to build unto my holy name.

"And verily I say unto you, let this house (Nauvoo Temple) be {95} built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein, unto my people; for I deign to reveal unto my Church, things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world; things that pertain to the dispensation of the fullness of times; and I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to this house and the Priesthood thereof."

Now, if all the foregoing passages are true--and they must be if Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, which he was--then these things pertaining to the Priesthood were revealed to him; and salvation for the dead is just as binding on us and just as important as salvation for the living. One depends upon the other, and they are binding on all the children of men. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannot teach one without the other, for they are inseparable. A house divided against itself cannot stand.

Repent, therefore, and receive the Gospel, save yourselves with your dead by becoming saviors on Mount Zion, before the consummation decreed falls upon the earth; and by hearkening to these things, you will not be "smitten with a curse", nor "utterly wasted" when the dreadful day of the Lord does come.

"Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoner shall go free!" (Doc and Cov. 128: 22, Reorganite Doc. and Cov. 110: 22.)

An Editorial From the Times and Seasons Written by the Prophet Joseph Smith.

The great designs of God in relation to the salvation of the human family are very little understood by the professedly wise and intelligent generation in which we live; various and conflicting are the opinions of men concerning the plan of salvation; the requisitions of the Almighty; the necessary preparations for heaven; the state and condition of departed spirits; and the happiness, or misery that is consequent upon the practice of righteousness and iniquity according to their several notions of virtue, and vice. The Mussulman condemns the heathen, the Jew and the Christian, and the whole world of mankind that rejects his Koran as infidels, and consigns the whole of them to perdition. The Jew believes that the whole world that rejects his faith, and are not circumcised are Gentile dogs, and will be damned. The heathen are equally as tenacious about their {96} principles, and the Christian consigns all to perdition who cannot bow to his creed and submit to his ipse dixit. But while one portion of the human race are judging and condemning the other without mercy, the great Parent of the universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care, and paternal regard. He views them as His offspring; and without any of those contracted feelings that influence the children of men, causes "His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends His rain on the just and the unjust." He holds the reins of judgment in His hands; He is a wise lawgiver, and will judge all men not according to the narrow contracted notions of men, but "according to the deeds done in the body whether they be good or evil;" or whether those deeds were done in England, America, Spain, Turkey, India: He will judge them "not according to what they have not, but according to what they have;" those who have lived without law will be judged without law, and those who have a law will be judged by that law; we need not doubt the wisdom and intelligence of the great Jehovah. He will award judgment or mercy to all nations according to their several deserts, their means of obtaining intelligence, the laws by which they are governed; the facilities afforded them of obtaining correct information; and His inscrutable designs in relation to the human family; and when the designs of God shall be made manifest, and the curtain of futurity be withdrawn, we shall all of us eventually have to confess, that the Judge of all the earth has done right.

The situation of the Christian nations after death is a subject that has called forth all the wisdom and talent of the philosopher and the divine; and it is an opinion which is generally received, that the destiny of man is irretrievably fixed at his death; and that he is made either eternally happy, or eternally miserable,--that if a man dies without a knowledge of God, he must be eternally damned, without any mitigation of his punishment, alleviation of his pain or the most latent hope of a deliverance while endless ages shall roll along. However orthodox this principle may be, we shall find that it is at variance with the testimony of holy writ; for our Savior says that all manner of sin, and blasphemy shall be forgiven men wherewith they shall blaspheme; but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to come; evidently showing that there are sins which may be forgiven in the world to come; although the sin of blasphemy cannot be forgiven.

Peter also in speaking concerning our Savior says that "He went and preached unto spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah." I Pet. iii: 19, 20. Here then, we have an account of our Savior preaching to the spirits in prison; to spirits that had been imprisoned from the days of Noah; and what did He preach to them? that they were to stay there? Certainly not; let His own declaration testify: 'He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." Luke iv: 18. Isaiah has it: "To bring out the prisoner from the prison, and them that sit in darkness from the prison house." Is. xlii: 7. It is very evident from this that He not only went to preach to them, but to deliver, or bring them out of the prison house. Isaiah in testifying concerning the calamities that will overtake the inhabitants of the earth says: "The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgressions thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall and not {97} rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the hosts of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in prison, and after many days shall they be visited." Thus we find that God will deal with all the human family equally; and that as the antediluvians had their day of visitation, so will those characters referred to by Isaiah, have their time of visitation and deliverance, after having been many days in prison.

The great Jehovah contemplated the whole of the events connected with the earth, pertaining to the plan of salvation, before it rolled into existence, or ever the "morning stars sung together for joy," the past, the present and the future, were, and are with Him one eternal now; He knew of the fall of Adam, the iniquities of the antediluvians, of the depth of iniquity that would be connected with the human family; their weakness and strength, their power and glory, apostasies, their crimes, their righteousness and iniquity; He comprehended the fall of man and their redemption; He knew the plan of salvation and pointed it out; He was acquainted with the situation of all nations and with their destiny; He ordered all things according to the counsel of His own will, He knows the situation of both the living and the dead, and has made ample provision for their redemption according to their several circumstances and the laws of the Kingdom of God, whether in this world, or in the world to come. The idea that some men form of the justice and mercy of God, is too foolish for an intelligent man to think of; for instance it is common for many of our orthodox preachers to suppose that if a man is not what they call converted, if he dies in that state, he must remain eternally in hell without any hope:--

"Infinite years in torment must he spend And never, never, never, have an end."

And yet this eternal misery is made frequently to rest upon the merest casualty,--the breaking of a shoe-string, the tearing of a coat of those officiating, or the peculiar location in which a person lives may be the means indirectly of his damnation, or the cause of his not being saved. I will suppose a case which is not extraordinary: Two men who have been equally wicked, who have neglected religion, are both of them taken sick at the same time; one of them has the good fortune to be visited by a praying man, and he gets converted a few minutes before he dies; the other sends for three different praying men, a tailor, a shoemaker and a tinman. The tinman has a handle to solder on to a can; the tailor a button-hole to work on some coat that is needed in a hurry; and the shoemaker has a patch to put on somebody's boot; they none of them can go in time, the man dies and goes to hell; one of these is exalted to Abraham's bosom; he sits down in the presence of God, and enjoys eternal, uninterrupted happiness, while the other who was equally as good as he, sinks to eternal damnation, irretrievable misery and hopeless despair; because a man had a boot to mend, the button-hole of a coat to work, or a handle to solder on to a saucepan. The plans of Jehovah are not so unjust; the statements of holy writ so visionary; nor the plan of salvation for the human family so incompatible with common sense; at such proceedings God would frown with indignation, angels would hide their heads in shame; and every virtuous, intelligent man would recoil. If human laws award to each man his deserts, and punish all {98} delinquents according to their several crimes; surely the Lord will not be more cruel than man, for He is a wise Legislator and His laws are equitable, His enactments more just and His decisions more perfect than those of man; and as man judges his fellow man by law, and punishes him according to the penalty of that law, so does the God of heaven judge "according to the deeds done in the body." To say that the heathen would be damned because they did not believe the gospel would be preposterous; and to say that the Jews would all be damned that do not believe in Jesus, would be equally absurd; for "how can they believe on him of whom they have not heard; and how can they hear without a preacher; and how can he preach except he be sent;" consequently neither Jew nor heathen can be culpable for rejecting the conflicting opinions of sectarianism, nor for rejecting any testimony but that which is sent of God, for as the preacher cannot preach except he be sent, so the hearer cannot believe without he hears a sent preacher; and cannot be condemned for what he has not heard; and being without law will have to be judged without law.

When speaking about the blessings pertaining to the gospel, and the consequences connected with disobedience to its requirements, we are frequently asked the question, What has become of our fathers? Will they all be damned for not obeying the gospel, when they never heard it? Certainly not. But they will possess the same privilege that we here enjoy, through the medium of the everlasting Priesthood, which not only administers on earth but in heaven, and the wise dispensations of the great Jehovah; hence those characters referred to by Isaiah will be visited by this Priesthood, and come out of their prison, upon the same principle as those who were disobedient in the days of Noah, were visited by our Savior (who possessed the everlasting Melchisedek Priesthood) and had the gospel preached to them by Him in prison; and in order that they might fulfill all the requisitions of God, their living friends were baptized for their dead friends, and thus fulfilled the requirement of God which says: "Except a man be born again of water, and of the spirit he can in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven;" they were baptized of course, not for themselves, but for their dead. Crysostum says that the Marchionites practiced baptism for the dead, "after a catachumen was dead they hid a living man under the bed of the deceased; then coming to the dead man they asked him whether he would receive baptism, and he making no answer, the other answered for him, and said that he would be baptized in his stead; and so they baptized the living for the dead."

The church of course at that time was degenerate, and that particular form might be incorrect, but the thing is sufficiently plain in the Scriptures, hence Paul, in speaking of the doctrine, says, "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" I Cor. 15: 29.

Hence it was that so great a responsibility rested upon the generation in which our Savior lived; for, said He, "That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation." Matt, xxiii: 35, 36.

Hence as they possessed greater privileges than any other generation, not only pertaining to themselves but to their dead, their sin was greater, as they not only neglected their own salvation but that {99} of their progenitors, and hence their blood was required at their hands. And now as the great purposes of God are hastening to their accomplishment and the things spoken of in the prophets are fulfilling, as the Kingdom of God is established on the earth, and the ancient order of things restored, the Lord has manifested to us this duty and privilege, and we are commanded to be baptized for our dead, thus fulfilling the words of Obadiah when speaking of the glory of the latter day. "And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the remnant of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." A view of these things reconciles the Scriptures of truth, justifies the ways of God to man, places the human family upon an equal footing, and harmonizes with every principle of righteousness, justice and truth. We will conclude with the words of Peter: "For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles. * * * For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."--Times and Seasons, Vol. 3, pages 759-761.

"That moment that men seek to build up themselves, in preference to the kingdom of God, and seek to hoard up riches, while the widow and the fatherless, the sick and afflicted around they are in poverty and want, it proves that their hearts are weaned from their God."

--Brigham Young.

"We glory in our tribulation, because we know that God is with us, that He is our friend, and that He will save our souls. We do not care for them that can kill the body; they cannot harm our souls."

--Joseph Smith, December 16, 1818.

Footnotes:

1. In a number of articles by Zenas H. Gurley, one of the founders of the "Reorganized" church, in the Saints Herald, Vol. I, the "Reorganization" is referred to as "a new organization of the Church." This agrees with the statement of the president of that church, in the Saints Herald, Feb. 17, 1904. Said he: "The Church, using the word to mean the Church rejected, has not been again received."

2. The font was dedicated November 8, 1841, by President Brigham Young in the presence of and under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Millennial Star 18: 744-745.

3. History of "Reorganized" church, Vol. 3, page 245.

4. Conference resolutions pamphlet of "Reorganized" church, page 82.

5. Editorial in "Saints Herald," Feb. 17, 1904.

6. In his testimony before the Circuit Court, at Kansas City, in the "Temple Lot" suit, he said: "No, sir, I did not state that I was ordained by my father; I did not make the statement. I was not ordained by my father as his successor; according to my understanding of the word ordain, I was not." Plaintiff's Abstract, page 79, paragraph 126.

7. In a communication from the president of the "Reorganized" church, which is now in the hands of the writer, the statement is made that there is nothing in sections 127 and 128 (CIX and CX "Reorganite" edition) of the Doctrine and Covenants, "to indicate that they are revelations. These articles refer only to the baptism for the dead." The Prophet Joseph, however, in these articles on baptism for the dead declares that they are revelations. See sec. 127, verses 4, 6, 8 and 10; also 128, verse 2.

{100}

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR FAULTS.

By Elder Orson F. Whitney in Millennial Star, 1882.

"He that humbleth himself shall be exaulted."--Jesus.

If there is one thing more than another in the character of a great man which challenges respect and admiration, and proves most conclusively his worthiness to the title, it is the readiness with which he acknowledges a fault, confesses an error, and manifests sincere repentance for wrong-doing. We would not be understood as affirming that none are great but those who evince this disposition, for that would be to the exclusion of many whose virtues well merit consideration and esteem; but we do feel confident in asserting that among the great they are the greatest, among the noble the noblest, and among the admired, most deserving of admiration.

Many people consider it an evidence of weakness to acknowledge a mistake or to own that they are ever in the wrong, and flatter themselves with the idea that they display true courage and heroic firmness by refusing to repent of an evil act, by declining to concede a personal imperfection, or persisting in a mistaken belief or practice after having been convinced of the error of their course. A more egregious blunder could scarcely be committed. The facts are exactly to the contrary. It is weakness which induces anyone, after having been persuaded of an error, to still cling to that error. It is not courage, it is cowardice, not firmness, but stubbornness, which prevents a person from acknowledging a fault, or repenting of an evil deed. The man of genuine courage is he who dares confess his follies and imperfections; the soul of strength and firmness, which everybody must honor and admire, is the one which forsakes and resists the allurements of evil, and stands up for the right in the face of every opposing power or influence.

Various opinions are entertained as to what constitutes greatness of character. With the ignorant masses it would be aristocratic rank, high official station, or the possession of unlimited wealth; with the more enlightened classes, military prowess or great intellectual achievements; but to the true Christian there is but one idea worthy to be accepted as a {101} criterion of guidance in the carving out and formation of a perfect character. The noblest Being that ever walked the earth, could claim no worldly rank or aristocratic title; the mightest character the world has ever seen came neither to dazzle by intellectual brilliance nor to devastate with fire and sword; the wealthiest and greatest of all the sons of God had not bread to eat nor where to lay his aching head. He was one who preached purity of mind and lowliness of heart, and practiced what he preached with all consistency. He taught his followers that moral worth was superior to mental endowment; that humility, not haughtiness, was characteristic of nobility on high; that all who would be masters hereafter, must expect to be servants in this probation; that it was far more heroic to save than to slaughter mankind, and that the chief lesson of life was to learn to sacrifice earthly things in order to lay up treasures in heaven. He taught that repentance of sins must necessarily precede redemption therefrom, since it was impossible for sin to inherit His holy kingdom. He exhorted to beware of self-righteousness, and declared that the publican, who with bended head and humility of heart cried out, "God be merciful unto me a sinner," was more to be justified than the proud and boastful Pharisee, who, instead of confessing his sins and humbly suing for forgiveness, stood erect in self-righteous conceit, thanking the Lord that he had no sins, and congratulating himself that he was pure and holy in the eyes of that being whose voice calls all men to repentance, and declares that all who say they are without sin deceive themselves and the truth is not in them.

Two classes of Pharisees abound in modern society; those who actually imagine they are without fault, and those who, though conscious of defects, stubbornly refuse to acknowledge them. The former, enveloped in pious vanity and lulled into fancied security by the delusive hope that their souls are already "saved," sit down in the very midst of the fight, take off their armor and lay aside their weapons, as complacently as if the battle was already won; while the others, like the inmates of a beleaguered city, conscious of weakness and certain of eventual defeat, but wilfully preferring death and dishonor to the merciful alternative of an honorable surrender, entrench themselves behind the weak walls of arrogance and pride, and await the onslaught of the all-conquering foe. Poor dupes of priestcraft and iniquity! The blind worshipper of self, however rapt in the ecstasies of sanctified egotism, will find too late that the warfare against sin ends only with life itself, and that "hopes of salvation," without truth for a {102} basis and reason for a guide, are as ineffectual as faith without works or zeal without judgment. As for those who knowingly wed themselves to error, loving darkness rather than light, and choosing the paths of sin to the ways of righteousness, the day of their disaster is near. The battering rams of eternal truth will soon be leveled at their crumbling walls, the refuge of lies will be swept away, and the acts of folly and wickedness they were once ashamed to confess, proclaimed in a voice of thunder from the house tops. It is a great mistake to suppose anything is to be lost by acknowledging sin, and covenanting to forsake it forever. On the contrary, everything is to be gained. God has declared that he cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. How then can a man please God if he will not repent of his sins? How can he repent if he will not acknowledge that he has sins? And how can he claim that he has no sins without branding himself as a liar and consequently as a sinner in the sight of heaven?

It is the act of a hero to acknowledge an error. It is the act of a coward to deny or resent a righteous accusation. Herod was a coward when he imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist for reprimanding him for committing the crime of adultery. David was never more a hero than when, on being accused of a similar misdeed, he humbly acknowledged his transgression. The contrast is sublime. Herod, the petty tetrarch, with the instincts of a guilty coward, resenting the imputation and wreaking vengeance upon his accuser; David, the illustrious monarch, with a thousand fold his power and prestige, bending from his throne before one of the meanest of his subjects, and humbly confessing the crime of which he was accused. David before Goliath was not so brave a man as David before Nathan the Prophet. Deprive him of one dark stain upon his life, and the royal son of Jesse stands out as one of the grandest characters in the history of the world. A king, wealthy and powerful, a warrior, mighty and renowned, a poet whose genius was the literary splendor of his age; but as a king he was never greater, as a warrior never mightier, as a poet never grander or more sublimely pathetic, than when he bowed his head and wept, exclaiming, "I have sinned against the Lord."

{103}

AN INTERVIEW IN THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION ON THE "MORMON" FAITH,

With Ben. E. Rich, of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

(From the Atlanta Constitution, March 26, 1899.)

The Mormon conference held in Atlanta during the past week was fairly well attended, and the elders were assigned to their new fields of labor, and have left the city in pairs. It is the policy of the Mormon church to send their elders out two by two, traveling without purse or scrip; they receive no remuneration, so far as earthly reward is concerned, for the labor performed in the missionary field. They are called from the farm, from the store and other avocations of life to go to the various parts of the earth and proclaim the gospel as they understand it; remaining from two to three years, or until they are honorably released to return to their homes.

Elder Ben. E. Rich is President of the Southern States Mission, and has charge of the elders traveling in the states of Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. He was present at the conference just closed, and gave The Constitution the following interview concerning the doctrines of the Mormon faith. We present the same to our readers, as Mormonism from a Mormon standpoint:

Reporter--"Mr. Rich, I understand you are an Elder in the Mormon Church. Why is it called by that name?"

Elder Ben. E. Rich--"I am an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. That is its proper title, as recognized by all its members. The word 'Mormon' is taken from {104} the Book of Mormon. It is the name of a prophet of God who lived on the American continent several hundred years ago, and who compiled and abridged the writings of other prophets who preceded him, and left his record, which was buried in a hill and was obtained by the Prophet Joseph Smith in this century and translated by him, through the gift and power of God."

"Oh, that I suppose is the Mormon Bible?"

"No, sir; the 'Mormon' Bible is the same as that which is received throughout Christendom, commonly known as the King James translation. We use no other Bible. The Book of Mormon is a record of the history and revelations of God to the people who formerly inhabited the Western Hemisphere, while the Bible records the history and revelations given upon the Eastern continent. They both run together and harmonize, being inspired with the same spirit, but they are separate and distinct, and the Book of Mormon is not called the Bible by the Latter Day Saints."

"Well, is not the Book of Mormon an addition to the Bible, and is it not in violation of the last chapter in the Bible, which says, 'If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book?'" (Rev. xxii: 18.)

"It is an addition to the Bible in one sense of the term, but not in the sense of the prohibition which you have cited. Man is forbidden to add to the words of the book which John the Beloved wrote by divine command, and is called the Apocalypse, or Book of Revelation. Compilers place that book last in the canon of scripture, but scholars state that the epistles of John were written later than the Revelation. Be that as it may, John himself must proclaim further revelation after writing the book, for he was told while in the vision, 'Thou must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.' (Rev. x: 11.) There is no contradiction in this, because God, through His servants, or in any way He pleases, may reveal His will, give commandments and manifest light and truth. It is preposterous to think that God sealed up His own lips when He merely forbade man to add to what He reveals. That is a standing commandment, as it was embodied in the Mosaic law. 'Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it.' (Deut. iv: 2.) The common rendering of the words in the Book of Revelation when applied to the law given thousands of years before, would make all the prophets and apostles and Jesus Christ Himself transgressors of the commandment. It {105} simply means that when God reveals anything, man shall not add to or take from that which He communicates."

"But, seeing that we have the word of God, the Bible, and Christian churches teaching what is in the Bible, what need is there of another church and another revelation?"

"The very fact that there are so many conflicting churches, all professing to establish their opposing creeds upon the Bible, is evidence of itself that something more is needed, to set mankind right on the doctrine of Christ and make the word of God plain to the common understanding. No two churches or religious organizations understand the Scriptures alike. Even preachers of the same denomination disagree as to the meaning of certain passages, and Christendom, so-called, is therefore a very Babel of confusion. 'God is not the author of confusion.'" (I. Cor. xiv: 33.)

"But, do you mean to say that the Book of Mormon will set these matters right and clear up all that is obscure in the Bible?"

"No, we do not make any such claim as that. The Book of Mormon merely discloses what was taught on this land centuries ago by divine commandment and revelation, as the Bible relates what was taught ages ago in Palestine, except that the Book of Mormon is very much plainer and couched in much simpler language. But it is valuable as casting light on the Jewish scriptures and in being the record of God's dealings with a large portion of the human family, who could not be reached by the prophets and apostles who ministered on the Eastern Hemisphere. It gives an account of a visit made by Jesus Christ after His resurrection, to the people on this land, and the establishment among them of His church, organized on the same pattern as the church in Palestine, with the same doctrines, ordinances, gifts and blessings. All this being made much more definite than it is in the Jewish scriptures, the Book of Mormon is therefore a great aid to the understanding of Christian truth. But we do not depend upon any book for the gospel which we preach or the order of the church to which we belong."

"Do you not, then, take your doctrines, authority and church discipline from either the Book of Mormon, or the Bible or both?"

"No, sir. Everything in our church organization, its principles, ordinances, authority and administrations, has been revealed directly from Heaven in the nineteenth century. We refer to the Bible and the Book of Mormon to show that our church and all pertaining to it are exactly similar to what {106} Christ set up and organized when He was on earth in both hemispheres and that He is 'the same yesterday, today and forever.'"

"How is your church organized, and wherein does it differ from other Christian churches?"

"It is actually and really the Church of Jesus Christ, because it is organized under Christ's direct supervision and commandment, He having revealed Himself to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and having continued to communicate the will of the Father by revelation down to the present time. The church is composed of persons who, having come to the years of accountability, have been led to believe in God the Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit, have repented of their sins and have been baptized or buried in water by immersion for the remission of sins, and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands of persons divinely authorized to administer in the name of Jesus Christ. They are entitled through faith and obedience to these ordinances to the enjoyment of all the gifts, manifestations, revelations, signs, healings and other blessings which belonged to the primitive Christian church, the members of which were called Saints. Those disciples of the Savior were called 'Christians' in derision by their enemies, just as the Latter Day Saints are nicknamed 'Mormons' in these times."

"But, do they really have these gifts, and were they not all done away with after the days of the apostles?"

"They do enjoy all those gifts and manifestations according to their faith and fidelity, the Lord, through His spirit dividing to every one severally as He wills." (See I Cor. xii.)

"If those gifts were done away after the days of the apostles it was because living faith had departed and a dead form had taken its place. In support of the 'done away' idea the words of Paul in I Corinthians xiii: 8, are quoted: 'Charity never faileth, but whether there be prophecies they shall fail, whether there be tongues they shall cease, whether there be knowledge it shall vanish away,' but they neglect to add verses 9 and 10, which are part of the Apostle's statement. He says: 'For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come then that which is in part shall be done away.' So then it is not until that which is perfect is come that these gifts are to be done away. To emphasize this the Apostle adds (xiii: 12): 'Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.' He follows this up by saying: 'Follow after charity and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that we may prophesy.' And again he says: {107} 'Wherefore brethren covet to prophesy and forbid not to speak with tongues' (xiv: 1-39). That which is perfect is not yet come, unless it be perfect confusion, and instead of advancing toward the perfection of which the Apostle spoke, modern Christianity has lost the gifts which he exhorted them to desire and strive for. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints seeks after the gifts and enjoys them, and in that respect differs from orthodoxy, so-called Christianity."

"Is there any other difference between your church and others?"

"Yes, there is this essential difference--for one thing, the authority to preach and administer the ordinances of the gospel held by the early apostles and others has been restored and is now held by the apostles and elders and other ministers in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and that church has in it apostles, and prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, bishops, elders, deacons, and all the officers which we read about in the New Testament. (See I Corinthians xii: 28; Ephesians iv: 11-12; I Timothy iii: 1-8; Titus i: 5.)

"But did not Jesus give authority to all His ministers when He said, 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature?'"

"If you will read the chapter from which you quote, you will see that this authority given by the Savior was only to the eleven apostles--one of the twelve having betrayed Him--whom he had called and ordained for the work of the ministry and whom he afterwards endowed with power from on high. They had authority when so directed by the Holy Ghost to ordain others to assist them in the work of the ministry, but, as commanded in Hebrews v: 5, 'No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron.' It is only by revelation and commandment of God that men are authorized to minister in His name. Modern ministers repudiate the doctrine of immediate revelation, and declare that there has been no divine communication by revelation since John received his vision on the island, Patmos. They, therefore, cut themselves off from divine authority and proclaim themselves man-made ministers, teaching by their own learning and destitute of that divine inspiration which is essential to an authorized minister of Christ. In this you will see a wide difference between the organization and authority of the 'Mormon' church and the churches of discordant Christendom."

"You say that the authority of the apostleship and {108} ministry has been restored. That implies that it had been lost or taken away?"

"Certainly. The early apostles predicted an apostacy and departure from the true faith and the introduction of heresies by false teachers, and their prophecies were literally fulfilled. (See Acts xx: 29-30; Galatians i: 6-9; II. Thessalonians ii: 1-12; I. Timothy iv: 1-3; II. Timothy iii: 1-7; II. Peter ii: 1-3; Revelation xii: 1-6; Revelation xiv: 8.) After the apostles were slain and other men holding authority departed from the earth, darkness came in upon the churches, persecution had its influence in driving many persons into the beggarly elements of the world, paganism began to be mingled with the remnant of true Christianity, the Roman state, which had fought the church, became amalgamated with what was left of it, and priestly power foreign to the spirit of Christ was exalted, clothed with purple and fine linen, the ordinances were changed, the pure spirit of the gospel departed, human authority took the place of the divine, the apostacy became general and finally universal. Papal power held sway everywhere until the Reformation, when schisms and new theories divided Christendom, and sects have multiplied from that time until the present, none of the leaders of these movements claiming to have received revelations from God, but all giving their own interpretations to the dead letter of former divine communications, and thus while there have been hosts of good people and many learned and pious preachers, the authority of the apostleship and priesthood of the primitive Christian church has not been had among men, and so 'confusion worse confounded' has come upon the world, and heathen and professing Christian are alike, without divine authority."

"In what way do you claim this authority has been restored?"

"In the first place, the angel whom John saw in the vision, as recorded in Revelation xiv: 6-7, came to Joseph Smith and revealed 'the everlasting gospel to be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.' The first principles of the Gospel are, faith in God, and in Jesus Christ His Son, repentance of all sin, baptism by immersion in water for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. Baptism and the laying on of hands, to be effectual, must be administered by divine authority. This having been withdrawn from the earth centuries ago, it could only be restored by divine communication. Therefore, in the next place, John the Baptist, who was beheaded after acting as the {109} forerunner of Christ, was sent from heaven as the forerunner of Christ's second advent, and ordained Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (May 15, 1829), to the authority and priesthood which He held when on earth. They were thus commissioned to baptize each other. They could also preach repentance and baptize all who received their word, but they could not confirm them by the laying on of hands. Subsequently, however, they were visited by the apostles Peter, James and John, who were pillars of the early Christian church, holding the keys of the kingdom, and they ordained Joseph and Oliver to the Holy apostleship--the higher or Melchisedek priesthood, with power to confer the Holy Ghost upon baptized believers, and to usher in the last dispensation, 'the dispensation of the fullness of time,' spoken of in Ephesians i: 10.

"Under this authority the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was organized in the state of New York, April 6, 1830, six members conforming to the laws of the state in signing papers for its incorporation. The gospel was preached, repentant believers were baptized, the Holy Ghost was poured out upon them, the sick were healed, the heavens were opened, visions and dreams and divine manifestations, with the gift of tongues, interpretations, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, discerning of spirits and numerous revelations, were the consequence, and the union thus promoted became a marvel to unbelievers. As the work progressed elders were ordained under the same authority who went out without purse and scrip, as did the servants of God of old, meeting with the same kind of success and the same sort of persecution. Thus the church was built up, and under divine direction was set in order on the same pattern as the church which Christ and His apostles organized in person."

"Will you explain the order of that organization as it now exists in your church?"

"Yes, sir. The apostleship is the highest office in the church. It holds the keys of the priesthood after the order of Melchisedek and includes all the lesser offices in the church. Three apostles stand at the head and are called the first presidency, that is to say one man is the president of the whole church, having the power and the right to receive revelations from God for its guidance and to regulate its affairs in all the world. He has two counselors, and this trinity is the highest presiding authority in the church on earth. Next are the twelve apostles, or special witnesses of Jesus Christ, {110} holding authority to open the door of the gospel to all nations, and under the direction of the first presidency, to regulate its affairs in all nations. They have the same authority, power and spirit as the apostles of old and act in a similar capacity in the latter days. Next to them are the seventies, seventy elders ordained and appointed for the purpose are organized into a quorum or council, seven of their number being their presidents. There are a large number of these quorums of seventy in the church, each quorum having seven presidents of its own, but all being under the supervision of the first seven presidents of the seventies. They form an appendage to the apostleship and act under the direction of the twelve apostles, as missionaries in all the world. They are expected to be minute men and to go when called and preach the gospel, without salary or any earthly reward. The high priests are a body of church officers to minister in the organized branches of the church, as presiding officers or standing ministers among the saints, the elders who are not of the seventies are also standing ministers, appendages to the high priesthood and are organized into quorums, each numbering ninety-six and presided over by three of their number, a president and two counselors. All these orders which I have named are included in the higher or Melchisedek priesthood.

"Next in order come the priests after the order of Aaron, having authority to baptize, administer the Lord's supper, preach, teach, expound, exhort and invite all to come unto Christ; also to visit the members of the church and instruct them in church duties. Forty-eight of these priests form a quorum, presided over by three of their number. As appendages to their office, there are the teachers and the deacons. Twenty-four of the teachers form a quorum, presided over by three of the number. They are to watch over the church, see that there is no iniquity in it and assist the priests in their duties, but they cannot administer ordinances. Twelve deacons form a quorum, presided over by three of their number. Their duty is to attend to the smaller temporalities of the branches of the church where they reside. The offices of priest, teacher and deacon are in the lesser or Aaronic priesthood, the chief officer of which is the bishop. A bishop should be a lineal descendant of Aaron, but in the absence of such a descendant a high priest in the Melchisedek order may be set apart and appointed to act in that capacity.

"The church in Zion, that is, the place where saints are gathered, is organized in this way. Each settlement of the saints form a bishop's ward, over which a bishop and two {111} counselors, who are also high priests set apart for that position, are appointed to take charge. They take care of the temporal affairs of the church in their ward, look after the poor, give advice to all that seek for it, and as high priest preside over public meetings and have the oversight of church affairs in their locality generally. They also form a spiritual court to hear charges against accused members and decide upon them after hearing evidence on both sides. In cases of dispute between church members which cannot be settled by the parties or with the aid of the visiting teachers, the bishopric try the case and render a decision which must be according to justice and equity. If either of the parties is dissatisfied an appeal can be taken to the high council of the stake of which the ward forms a part. Usually all the wards in a county are organized into what is called a stake of Zion. This is presided over by a high priest with two counselors appointed and set apart for the purpose. The high council which is also organized in each stake of Zion is composed of twelve high priests set apart to that office and with the stake presidency, forming a court of appeal, to which cases from the bishops' courts may be taken and where justice may be secured. They are also original tribunals for decisions in doctrines and discipline. The decisions of the high council are final, unless on revision by the first presidency error is discovered when the case may be remanded for a new trial. The benefits of these church tribunals are had without cost to any of the parties, all these church officers serving without remuneration.

"All the stakes of Zion are under the direction of the presidency of the church and are visited by them or by the apostles, and quarterly conferences are held in each of them for general instruction and for making such changes as many be necessary to their proper management. The officers named are also presented before the people in conference assembled for their votes, every member, male and female, having a voice in church affairs, and they vote upon the acceptance or rejection of those officers. At the general conferences, held semiannually, the first presidency, apostles and all leading officials of the church are also presented for the approval or disapproval of the body of the church.

"Outside of Zion each mission has a president who takes charge of all its affairs, and each branch of the mission has a branch president, amenable to a conference president, and he to the president of the mission, who also directs the labors of the traveling elders, missionaries sent to labor in the field. Thus the whole church is so organized that each officer has his {112} defined place and sphere of authority and the whole system inspired by one spirit moves like a well regulated living body, the president or head of the whole church, who is a prophet, a seer and a revelator, directing it under divine authority and inspiration."

"What is the attitude of your church in regard to other Christian denominations?"

"It recognizes truth wherever it is found. It regards all human effort for the development and promulgation of truth as good and blessed of Deity. It recognizes the benefits which have come to mankind through the labors of good men and women everywhere, no matter what sect they belong to or what language they speak. But it has no affiliation with error. Truth and error will not combine. There can be but one Church of Jesus Christ, no matter how many branches it may have nor how many members. It is unreasonable and also unscriptural to say that the one living and true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, would establish a number of discordant contending religions. The good intentions, sincerity of motives and pious acts of men and women are no proof of themselves that they are divinely authorized. They are to be admired and respected for what they are, but this should not deceive any one as to what they are not. Heathendom as well as Christendom furnishes striking illustrations of purity of conduct and sincerity, but in neither instance does this prove correctness of principle or divinity in organization. Christ when on earth established but one church. All others were outside of its pale. It is the same today. There is only one true Church of Christ, and it is that which He Himself has established and which He recognizes and directs. All others are the institutions of men, to be valued for what they are worth, but not to be viewed as divinely established. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has no quarrel with any of them; it does not attempt to deprive them of any light they may have, but only endeavors to correct their errors and bring them into greater light, that they may receive greater blessings, with full and complete salvation in the kingdom of God."

"Is it necessary for preachers and members of other churches to be baptized anew in order to enter your church and be saved?"

"The voice of God is to all people, without exception, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and shall know that you have received {113} the truth and that God and Jesus Christ His Son have manifested themselves in this age of the world, and can be approached as of old, and that the blessings and gifts enjoyed in former days may be had in their fulness in these days. This is the only way of salvation and in this church is the only divine authority to administer the ordinances of salvation. They who receive this gospel and endure unto the end will be saved; they who wilfully reject it will be condemned."

"Is it necessary that baptism should be administered by total immersion? Will not sprinkling or pouring water upon the candidate be sufficient?"

"Baptism means immersion. It is a burial in water and afterwards the coming forth into a new life. It is symbolical of death and the resurrection. Paul said: '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' (Roman vi: 4-5). The believer becomes dead to sin by repentance; he is buried from the old life by baptism. Coming from the womb of water into the air, he is born of water. Through remission of sins given in baptism, but proceeding from the atonement, he is born of the water and is thus prepared as a new creature in Christ Jesus to receive the Holy Ghost and thus be born of the spirit. Jesus said when on earth, 'Except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' (John iii: 5.) He set the example. He was baptized by John, His forerunner, in the river Jordan. When 'He came up straightway out of the water the heavens were opened and the spirit of God descended like a dove and lighted upon Him.' Thus He was born of the water and of the spirit and left us an example that we should follow in His steps. All other forms of baptism are inventions of men, and are not recognized of God; nor is this form, accepted of heaven unless administered by one who has the divine right to do so, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The Lord accepts only such ordinances as are performed by His authority and according to His commandment."

"Would you baptize infants by immersion?"

"We would not baptize infants at all. That would be a mockery in the sight of God. Faith and repentance must precede baptism. Infants cannot believe and they have nothing to repent of. Jesus did not baptize little children, but laid His hands on them and blessed them, saying, 'Of such is the {114} kingdom of heaven' (Matthew xix: 13-15). We give names to infants and bless them after this pattern, but do not baptize children until they come to years of accountability, are able to understand right from wrong, to believe in Christ and repent of their sins. We baptize no children less than eight years of age."

"If the world has been without divine authority, and the ordinances you speak of are necessary for salvation, do you mean to say that all the millions of good people who have died since the days of the early apostles and elders are lost?"

"No, we do not believe any such monstrous thing. I might ask you what has become of all the millions of good people in heathen lands, and other places where the name of Jesus Christ was never preached. We are told in Scripture that there is 'no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved' (Acts iv: 12). But I will answer you directly. God has revealed that the gospel of Jesus Christ will be preached to every creature. Those who do not hear it in this life, will hear it in the life to come. The idea that God's mercies extend only to the narrow sphere of this mortal life, is unworthy of Him whose 'tender mercies are over all His works,' and whose justice and mercy endure forever. When Jesus was put to death in the flesh, he was quickened by the spirit, and as the Scriptures tell us, 'He went and preached to the spirits in prison, which sometimes were disobedient when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the Ark was preparing' (I Peter iii: 18-20). This shows that spirits after they leave the body can be preached to and instructed. The purpose of this is shown by Peter in the fourth chapter, sixth verse. He says: '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.' Thus all mankind will have the opportunity of hearing the one true and everlasting gospel, either in the body or out of the body. It is the intelligent immortal entity in the body which receives or rejects light and truth and is the responsible being. It is no less a thinking, sentient, responsible person when out of the body than when clothed with mortality. The spirit can believe or disbelieve, repent or remain unregenerate, bow to the divine command or persist in rebellion. But the earthly ordinances belong to this material world, and therefore cannot be performed in spirit spheres. Yet Jesus declared, 'except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' Baptism, the laying on of hands and similar ceremonies must therefore be {115} attended to by some one on earth for and in behalf of the dead. This is what the Apostle Paul referred to when teaching the Corinthians the doctrine of the resurrection. He asked: 'Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead' (I. Cor. xv: 29). It is clear from this that the Corinthian saints understood baptism for the dead better than the resurrection of the dead. We do not, however, depend on that Scripture or any other ancient writing for this doctrine. It has been revealed from heaven in these latter days, and everything pertaining to that sacred ordinance has been made known; and the temples which have been erected by the saints in Zion, at immense cost, have been reared with a special view to the solemnization of ordinances in behalf of the dead."

"But what will become of people who reject what you call the one only plan of salvation? Will they be doomed to eternal woe? Do you believe in everlasting punishment?"

"Everlasting punishment is God's punishment. That is to say, as God is eternal and His law is eternal, there is punishment eternally ready for the transgressor. But the justice and mercy of God are also eternal. Therefore as every man is to be judged according to his works (Rev. xx: 12), those who are worthy of many stripes will receive their measure of that eternal punishment, and those who are worthy only of a few stripes will receive but their portion. Some will be forgiven in this world through repentance and obedience, others in the next world, and some will have to pay the uttermost farthing. (Luke xii: 47-48; Matt, v: 26; I. Tim. v: 24; Matt, xii: 32; I. John v: 16.) They who sin against the Holy Ghost by denying it after having received it, who wilfully sin against light and truth and become fully possessed of the evil one so that they cannot repent, are 'sons of perdition' for whom there is no redemption. They are doomed with the devil and his angels forever. All the rest will be brought forth in the due time of the Lord in the ages to come and placed in some degree of happiness and glory."

"Do you believe then that there will be different degrees of glory in heaven?"

"I certainly do. Will not justice so determine? Is not every man to be judged according to his works? Would it be right for the good, the true, the just and the pure to reap no fruit from their tree of righteousness? Is not every soul better for the doing of that which is right, and the worse for the doing of that which is wrong, and will God be less fair {116} and equitable than man? Have you not read what Paul says: 'There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. For one star differeth from another star in glory; so also is the resurrection of the dead?' (I. Cor. xv: 41-42.) The glory of the sun, which is the celestial glory, is for those who receive the gospel, are baptized into Christ, remain faithful to the end, overcome all things, and therefore inherit all things, come forth in the first resurrection and are made kings and priests unto God and His Christ forever (Rev. xx: 4-6). They become like the Father and the Son, dwell in their presence and partake of their glory."

"What do you mean by that? How can man be like God? Is He not a spirit without form, immaterial and incomprehensible?"

"That is a dogma of spurious Christianity, mingled with vain philosophy. Jesus Christ was the express image of the Father. Man also is made in the image of the Father and the Son. Jesus Christ, after His resurrection, when he ascended to the Father, was in the same form and shape and appearance as when in mortality. Those who are in Christ are to be like him in every respect. (Heb. i: 3; I. John iii: 1-2; Phil, iii: 21.) God is a spirit; so also is man. (Job xxxii: 8.) But the Father is a person, just as the Son is, one being like the other in all respects. Jesus is a spirit, dwelling in a spiritual body; the Father is the same, but the Holy Spirit which proceeds from the Father and the Son permeates space and by it God is omnipresent. Our Father, the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Elder Brother, made us all after His own image and likeness (Gen. i: 27). It is strange that professing Christians who regard Jesus Christ as God and admit His personality, form and tangible shape, are horror-stricken when the Latter Day Saints declare that God the Father is a similar being, that statement being borne out by the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, though one in purpose, design and act, are separate and distinct personalities. The Son came from the Father, prayed to the Father, obeyed the Father, went back to the Father and sat at His right hand, and sent the Holy Spirit after He left the earth to be a Comforter to His disciples. Jesus prayed that all who believed on Him should become one, as He and the Father are one (John xvii: 20-21). This shows that the unity of the Godhead is not identity of person, as many believe, and it is clear to those who understand, that Our Heavenly Father is an individual, just as Christ is, and we shall all be when brought into their {117} presence. We worship the Father, in the name of the Son, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, and expect to fully comprehend them all in the future and perfect state. This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent' (John xvii: 3)."

"You have spoken of the atonement of Christ for the sins of mankind, and yet you insist upon baptism for the remission of sins. How do you reconcile these two doctrines?"

"There is nothing in them at variance with each other. The atonement of Christ was for two purposes. First, for original sin, that is, the sin committed by our first parents in the garden of Eden; and second, for actual sins, that is, those committed by mankind individually. Atonement for the first is unconditional, for the second it is conditional. The posterity of Adam had nothing to do with the atonement for that sin. Its consequence was death, not only to Adam, but to all his descendants. The atonement will bring life to every creature of Adam's race. 'For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.' (I. Cor. xv: 22.) 'The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit (verse 45). Jesus said, 'Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth. They that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation' (John v: 28-29). This shows that although every one who died through Adam's fall will be raised from the dead through Christ's atonement, 'some will be raised to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt' (Daniel xii: 2). This is because the atonement for actual sins committed by mankind was made conditionally, that is, conditioned on their reception of Jesus Christ as their Savior, manifested by obedience to His Gospel. The righteous and the wicked will all be raised from the dead, but they will then all be judged according to their works. 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned' (Mark xvi: 16). Remission of sin comes through the atonement. 'Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin' Heb. ix: 22). But this remission is given in baptism preceded by repentance and faith. The first condition is faith in Christ, the second is repentance, the third is baptism. That baptism is for the remission of sins. (See Mark i: 4; Acts ii: 37-38; I. Pet. iii: 21.) That is why baptism is essential and why Jesus told Nicodemus: 'Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God' (John iii: 5). The baptized, {118} repentant believer receives remission of sins, is a new creature and ready for the reception of the Holy Ghost or birth of the spirit. This, as I have explained to you, is conferred by the laying on of hands by men having divine authority. Thus you see remission of sins is through the atonement, but is given in baptism. And thus there is no discrepancy between the two doctrines."

"But how do you understand this scripture, and others to the same purport, 'God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life?' (John iii: 16.) Does not that show that belief in Christ is alone sufficient for salvation?"

"No, it does not, for verse 5 of the same chapter from which you quote makes birth of water and of the spirit essential. The key to this whole question is in the meaning of belief in Christ. Jesus said: 'He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also' (John xiv: 12). He also said: 'Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.' Also he said: 'Every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand' (Matthew vii: 21-27). 'Faith without works is dead, and it is only by works that faith is made manifest' (James ii: 17-26). Belief in Christ comprehends belief in His doctrine, manifested by obedience to His gospel. Any other kind of faith is spurious, dead and of no effect. Peter proclaimed Christ's gospel, being full of the Holy Ghost, and he taught the people first to believe in Christ, and when they showed faith and asked what they should do, he answered: 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost' (Acts ii: 37-38). If Peter had been a modern minister, he would have said in answer to the question, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'--as may be heard from almost every pulpit nowadays, 'Poor sinners, you can do nothing; Christ has done it all. Only believe and you shall be saved and heaven is yours forever.' But Peter taught Christ's gospel, which is a gospel of good works, proceeding from living faith. When Christ sent him and the other apostles to proclaim that gospel he said: 'Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you' (Matt, xxviii: 19-20).

{119} "Paul is supposed to be the author of the doctrine of salvation by faith alone without works. But by reading his epistle to the Romans, which is quoted chiefly in that direction, it will be seen that it was the works of the law of Moses that Paul showed were insufficient, and that the first essential to salvation was faith in Christ, but not a dead faith; it was one that led to obedience, as Christ taught: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God' (Matthew iv: 4). And that Paul believed in the efficacy of good works, Romans ii: 3-10, of which I shall quote but two verses: 'Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth 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.' There is nothing, in my opinion, so conducive to sin as the absurd and anti-Christian doctrine that mere belief in the atonement of Christ will absolve people of the grossest sins and crimes and fit them for the presence of Him who is pure and holy. It is a soul-destroying heresy, the invention of men and contrary to ancient as well as modern revelation."

"It is generally supposed that the Mormons have lax ideas of morality and peculiar marriage customs. What is the truth of these charges?''

"There are no people in the world who have stricter ideas and rules concerning morality than the Latter Day Saints have. Sexual relations outside of marriage are considered a deadly sin. Violations of chastity are viewed as next to murder in enormity. Chastity is enjoined upon both male and female. A young man should be as pure as a young woman. One has no more license than the other as to morals under Mormon teachings. We believe that the union of the sexes in marriage is essential to perfection. 'Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord' (I. Cor. xi: 11). The celestial kingdom where God and Christ dwell is a state of perfection. Those who enter into that glory will be perfect. Therefore we believe in celestial marriage, which is eternal marriage--the marriage that was solemnized between Adam and Eve by the Almighty in the Garden of Eden. They were immortal beings. Death had not entered into the world. There was no sin, therefore there was no death. The immortal pair were made one flesh. No man could put them asunder. That was an eternal union. If they were separated by death, which was the wages of sin, they were reunited through the atonement of the Savior, and thus restored to their former condition. So, in the {120} resurrection they will not be married or given in marriage, for they were united in celestial marriage before they became mortal. The Lord has revealed in this age of the world that order of celestial or eternal marriage, so that what is sealed by it on earth is sealed in heaven, and remains in and after the resurrection. The husband will be restored to the wife and the wife to the husband, and together as one they will enter, if worthy, into the fulness of the glory of the Lord. If a man thus married should temporarily lose his wife by death, and should marry another by the same law, they would both be his in the world to come. Previous to the enactment of laws forbidding polygamy and punishing it as a crime, the church taught the doctrine of plural marriage, and to a small extent comparatively it was practiced under the most sacred covenants and obligations of chastity and purity. But since those laws, after much litigation and much suffering on the part of many persons, were declared constitutional by the supreme court of the United States the practice of marrying more than one wife, in violation of our laws, has ceased; the President of our church issued a Manifesto to this effect. No matter what may be preached or published to the contrary, what I say to you is the truth, which you can depend upon. Polygamous or plural marriages are forbidden by the constitution of the state of Utah and a penalty of $500 fine and five years imprisonment is imposed upon those who violate this provision. One of our doctrines is that we must obey the constitutional laws of the land. We, therefore, submit and leave the result with the Lord. But what God hath joined together, no man can put asunder. Therefore, marriages solemnized by His authority and commandment will continue, if the parties are faithful, in this world and in the world to come. But the parties are under solemn obligations to preserve themselves for each other only, and sexual crimes and immoralities are viewed by the Latter Day Saints with the utmost abhorrence."

"What about heaven and hell? Do you believe when people die they go either to heaven or to hell, or do you deny hell and disbelieve in a devil?"

"We believe in a personal Satan, as we believe in a personal Deity. The being who deceived Eve and tempted Jesus is a fallen spirit, the embodiment of the principle of evil as God is the embodiment of all that is good. A principle in the abstract is of no force or effect. There must be some being through which it is manifest. We do not believe in the mythological evil one with horns and hoofs, nor in a literal bottomless pit of fire and brimstone. But we believe that there {121} are many evil spirits who, under that being called the devil and Satan, tempt human beings and lead them astray if possible, and who are enemies to Christ and to the truth. They will eventually be banished from this earth when Christ's work of salvation is made complete. Hell is a place and condition of torment, in which the suspense and remorse and anguish of soul of the wicked, waiting for judgment and not knowing what their fate will be, is as 'the worm that dieth not and the fire that is not quenched.' This they will endure as long as justice demands, and until they repent and turn to God and are perfectly willing to obey Him. When they are released, in future ages, their destiny will be as they have fixed it themselves by their own acts and according to the eternal principles of justice and mercy extended by the all-wise Judge, the eternal Father. We believe in heaven as a place and a condition. This earth, when it is redeemed and restored to its paradisaic state, will be a heaven. Sin, darkness, sorrow, pain and death will be banished from it. The righteous in their glorified, resurrected state will dwell upon it in everlasting peace and joy. After it has been purified with fire and made a new earth, righteousness will dwell in it. The thorn and the brier having departed, the fig tree and the myrtle tree will bloom and bear fruit in the place thereof. The enmity between man and brute will be no more. There will be nothing to hurt or destroy. The flowers of Eden will blossom, the tree of life will bear its glorious fruits, the river of life will flow forth from the throne of God; the globe itself will be as a sea of glass mingled with fire. Christ will dwell upon it as King; the Father will visit it and grace it with His presence. Everything that is upon it, above it, around it and beneath it will be sanctified, beautiful and glorified, and praise to God and the Lamb will ascend from every part and from every creature, Satan and his hosts will be vanquished, and Adam and his posterity will be redeemed from the curse and everything that hath breath will glorify the great Creator; every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father, and He will be all in all."

{122}

TWO LETTERS TO A BAPTIST MINISTER.

Rev. J. Whitcomb Brougher, pastor First Baptist Church, Chattanooga, Tenn., delivered two sermons from his pulpit upon "Mormonism". They were tirades of falsehoods and misrepresentations from beginning to end; they were filled with much bitterness and hatred, and during one of his sermons he came as near advocating mob violence as he dared. These wholesale attacks called out the following open letters to the minister, which appeared in the Chattanooga News. (There have been many calls for copies of these letters, and to meet these demands they are now published in pamphlet form.)

Chattanooga, Tenn., Dec. 25, 1899.

Rev. J. Whitcomb Brougher, Chattanooga, Tenn.

My Dear Sir:--Upon my return from Chicago Friday evening my attention was called to an article in the Chattanooga News of Dec. 18, 1899, purporting to be a partial report of a sermon delivered by you, in your church, the First Baptist, on the the subject of "Mormonism and Polygamy." I take it from what parties who were present have told me that the report is substantially correct. I am an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in charge of the "Mormon" Missionary work in the south, headquarters in this city, and as a representative of the people whom you have without foundation so unjustly charged with being all that is unholy, I feel it a duty, so far as possible in a short letter, to disprove your unwarranted attack. With a desire to be fair I hope, as a matter of justice, that you will deign to read and consider what follows as a reply to the very unkind things you have said about an honest, God-fearing people. There are two sides to every question, and the good book, which you claim to take for your "rule of faith and practice," says he that judgeth a matter before he heareth it is not wise.

It is apparent, from the newspaper report, that you are either woefully ignorant of what the world is pleased to nickname Mormonism, or else you are filled with prejudice and {123} prompted by sinister motives. Certainly no intelligent, fair-minded person would make the statements attributed to you on that Sunday evening, in this enlightened age, if only a casual investigation of the subject in hand had been made. We admit that, like the Saints 1800 years ago, we are everywhere spoken evil against, and your sermon has the appearance of being conceived in the gall of bitterness, and contains all the earmarks of certain tracts that have been written and widely distributed by our enemies. The News stated you handled the subject without gloves, and I trust that if occasionally, in the course of this letter, I exhibit the bare knuckles, you will not be offended. I assure you that my only desire in writing this is to set you right, if you are after truth, on the question of salvation; and to correct the general impression "can any good come out of Nazareth" created against my people by the many falsehoods circulated about them.

Your first misstatement is that "Mormonism is based on a tissue of lies." Did you have the Bible in view when you said this, or where did you obtain the information? Had you, before delivering your sermon, ever conversed with a "Mormon?" Have you ever read any of our works, treating on the founding and the fundamental principles of the religion you are seeking to belittle and trample in the mire? You failed to quote any authority for this extraordinary assertion, and surely you would not go to the writings of a Methodist minister, or the writing of some enemy of Mormonism, as authority on our belief. If you wished to learn of the Catholic faith would it be fair to obtain your information from a Presbyterian clergyman? In all fairness should not the rule you apply to others apply to us? You have simply quoted from our enemies. By using that rule of reasoning we can even do away with the resurrection of the Master, for did not the Roman soldiers say that Christ was not resurrected, but that while they slept the friends of the Redeemer came and stole the body away? Only the friends of Christ said He was risen, and you build your faith on what our Savior and His friends said. In handling this question why did you not take the Bible, "the rule of your faith and practice," and expose "Mormonism" principle by principle? Perhaps you have profited by the experience of others before you and are too wise to undertake such a large contract? Our faith would be popular today if it had only a form of godliness, and we defy you or any other man to prove from the Bible, or the great book of reason, that "Mormonism is based on a tissue of lies."

You say that Joseph Smith was an idle, vicious disreputable {124} young man, etc. Again, we ask from what source did you receive your information? Again the answer comes back, from our enemies. Joseph Smith was an honest, sober, industrious young man, and we furnish just as many reputable witnesses to this effect as you can furnish that he was the embodiment of all that was bad. Why, the enemies of our Savior said He was a winebibber, a blasphemer, etc. Did that prove Him such? In the case of Christ you would answer no, but in the case of Joseph Smith we presume you would say yes. According to a brass tablet, found in the year 1280 among a quantity of records of the Kingdom of Naples, in the city of Aquilla, Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to be nailed to the cross for six reasons, as follows:

"1. Jesus is a disturber of the peace.

"2. Jesus has taught the people sedition.

"3. Jesus is an enemy of the laws.

"4. Jesus calls Himself the Son of God.

"5. Jesus calls Himself the King of Israel.

"6. Jesus disturbed the worship of the temple by leading a mob of people with palms in their hands."

This sounds very much like the usual charges made against Joseph Smith and the Mormon Elders, at the present time, does it not? Joseph Smith sealed his testimony with his blood. He was dragged before the courts of the land, by his enemies, some forty-eight times, and the courts always pronounced him not guilty. Go to the court records and see. His enemies admitted they could not reach him through the law, and declared that powder and ball should.

Evidently you have heard of the Book of Mormon, for you mention it. Get one and read it, and then you will be better able to tell what the Latter-day Saints claim for that sacred book. You claim the Book of Mormon found its origin in the old Solomon Spaulding MSS. Your reference to this long since exploded theory as accounting for this book gives one who is the least bit informed a key to the ancientness of the falsehoods from which you preached your sermon. After you have read the Book of Mormon go to Oberlin college, Oberlin, O., and there examine the old Spaulding MSS., and compare the two; then, if you are wise, you will never rehash that old dried up argument again. The Book of Mormon does not conflict in points of doctrine with the Bible, and it gives a history of the people who once inhabited this continent, accounting for the origin of the American Indians.

{125} You again display your ignorance of the subject in hand when you say that we place Joseph Smith above Jesus Christ. A greater falsehood never was told, but we are pleased to inform you that we believe Joseph Smith to be a Prophet of God, and that he was the instrument in the hand of God in restoring again the Gospel to earth. Is this a crime? If we believed more in Joseph Smith than in Jesus, would we not have named the church after him, as some of our enemies have named theirs after their founders, instead of calling it the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? You know on one occasion the Saints were asking Paul about the second coming of our Savior, and Paul, in second Thes. 2: 3-4, said that He (Jesus) was not to come until or except there should be a falling away first, showing that there was to be an apostasy from the Gospel. Space will not permit me to quote the many other passages in the Bible proving that there was to be an apostasy, and that in the latter days a restoration was to take place, as per the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, interpreted by Daniel, and according to Revelations, 14th chapter, 6th verse, the restoration was to be made by an angel. Now, if that restoration has not been made, it is yet to be made, and believers in the Bible at least should be looking for that angel which was to fly through the midst of heaven. No doubt you believe that we are living in the latter days, and we ask, is there anything unreasonable, especially if we consider Holy Writ, in our claiming that the angel seen by John has flown, appeared to Joseph Smith, and thus fulfilled the prophecy that the Gospel was to be restored? We can give you an abundance of Scripture to prove our point, and if you would read our literature you would have a much more intelligent conception of "Mormonism and Polygamy." To truth seekers, those who are willing to lay aside hatred, prejudice, and investigate, we say we are prepared to give reason and Scripture to prove every doctrine we advocate. Robert Ingersoll says, in his "Best Argument Against Christianity," that there is more proof for the miracles of Joseph Smith than there is for those performed by Christ.

Another proposition laid down by you is "Its doctrines are likewise

PERNICIOUS AND BLASPHEMOUS."

Then you quote from the Journal of Discourses and dilate upon our belief in the materiality of God, etc. We are very sorry to know that you deny the existence of a God that is to some extent comprehensible, and you again make yourself ridiculous in the eyes of those who know something of both {126} sides of the question. You put it down as blasphemy to believe it possible that we, the children (remember children) of God, can become like unto our Father. Did you ever analyze "Our Father which art in heaven?" Your "rule of faith and practice" says man was created in the image of God. It further says that Jesus, our elder brother, was in the image of God, so much so that He said "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father." Why did He say this? Because Jesus was in the "express image" of the Father, and in seeing one, we would virtually see the other. Jesus had flesh and bones, a body like ours, and the Bible informs us that He ascended into heaven after His resurrection, having the same body that He had at the time of His crucifixion. Jesus was so much like other men that He was called the carpenter's son, and for daring to say He was the Son of God His enemies hanged Him on the cross. Now, as Jesus was like we are, and is like we are, having a body of flesh and bones, and is in the express image of the Father, must not God have a body of flesh and bones? How will you twist the Scripture to make Him out otherwise? What do you think of Jesus becoming so corrupt as to eat fish after His resurrection? Are you prepared to say He did not? Do you remember that the angel said (Acts 1: 11), "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven?" Jesus went away into heaven with a body of flesh and bones. Do you think He will return, as promised, with a body of flesh and bones, or do you think He will be just a shadow? Now, is it blasphemy, according to Scripture, to believe God to be a tangible being, with body, parts and passions? Are we criminals, and to be ostracized from society, for believing in the Bible? We refer to a living, practical belief. In your researches of the Bible perhaps you have relied too much on "Commentaries" (private interpretations of the Scripture), and if you will call at our office we will be pleased to point out to you many essential truths which apparently have escaped your notice, and which space will not permit giving in this short communication.

You will remember that the "wise men" took issue with Jesus, and that He chose the illiterate fisherman to be His chief Apostle. Is it not possible that the "wise men" of today might learn wisdom pertaining to salvation from the humble "Mormon" Elder? Pardon the digression. I said that you denied {127}

THE EXISTENCE OF A GOD,

and if the above is not sufficient I will now prove it to you. You are in a worse condition than the infidel, because the infidel says "I don't know," while a definition of your God implies a pure and simple "nothing," an "immaterial" being. You charge us with believing in a material God--"gross materiality" you call it, a God with body parts and passions, etc., which from what you have read above, you will see we are pleased to acknowledge. From your charge we can take it in no other way, and arrive at no other conclusion than that you believe in a God without body, parts and passions, and as the definition goes, nowhere present yet everywhere present, etc. The definition of your God

REMINDS ME OF A STORY.

At a circus one clown asked a brother clown if he had ever seen "nothing." The answer was in the negative. Well, says the first, I will show it to you; shut your eyes. The second shut his eyes and the first said: "What do you see?" The answer came "nothing." "Just as I expected," said the first; "you have seen it, open your eyes." Now, Brother Brougher, shut your eyes and what do you see? "Nothing," of course; well, that's him. The mysterious Santa Claus is "not in it" with such a being. Let me ask now seriously, can you conceive of anything "immaterial?" Pray how are we to know a being without a body, parts or passions? John says it is life eternal to know God, but it is a puzzler to figure out how we can know a being that is everywhere present and yet nowhere present. Are you not mistaken? Of course the things of God are understood by the Spirit of God, but it surely would take a very strong pair of spiritual spectacles to see a being that is nowhere present, without parts or body to see. Perhaps you will turn away from this in disgust, and impatiently say that I don't understand the beauty of your God, but how can I understand the beauty if it has none? Can you figure anything but zero out of it? Come, be honest (if you can't be decent), and forsake your idol.

There are many passages in the Bible to prove that

GOD HAS A BODY, PARTS AND PASSIONS,

flesh and bones, just as have His children. For instance, Adam heard the voice of the Lord, Gen. 3: 9-10. He must have a voice. God talked with Noah, Gen. 8: 13-21, and remembered, Noah, 8-1. So He must have a mouth, tongue and a memory. {128} Abraham ate and talked with the Lord, Gen. 18. Jacob saw God face to face. Moses talked to Him as one speaks with a friend, Ex. 33-11. Moses saw His back parts, Ex. 23; the heavens are the works of Thine hands, Heb. 1: 10; and John says in Revelation, first chapter, that God has a head, and that He has hair like wool. From these passages we learn that God has a face, back parts, head, hair, hands, etc., and it ought to be conclusive evidence of God being a reasonable being. Then the Bible is full of passages telling us of the love, mercy, hatred, etc., of our Father in heaven, which are all passions, are they not? We have only referred to a few quotations on this point, but before closing the subject I cannot refrain from quoting Deut. 4: 28, which says "that the time should come when the children of Israel should so far degrade themselves as to worship gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear, nor eat nor smell." Can you get any inference from this Scripture other than that God is possessed of all these faculties? Are you certain you are not an Israelite, come to fulfill the above prophecy? Can you show one passage of Scripture to prove that God has neither body, parts, nor passions? No, you cannot.

You make the terrible charge that

WE BELIEVE IN MANY GODS.

We solemnly plead guilty to believing in many Gods. If this is a crime it is time for a new translation of the Holy Scriptures. Does not the good book say "and God said, let us make man in our own image?" What are you going to do with the words "us" and "our" in this Scripture? Does this not prove a plurality of Gods? Ex. 15-11 says "who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods?" Deut. 10-17: "Lord, your God is God of gods and Lord of lords." Paul also refers to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, 1 Tim. 6-15, also see 2 Chron. 2-5, Psalms 86-8, Dan. 2-47, Dan. 4-8, Dan. 11-36. If you desire any more Scripture on this subject we will be pleased to give you chapter and verse. Notwithstanding we believe that there are many Gods, we worship only one God, the Father of Jesus Christ. Our enemies do not put it in this light, do they? The Devil is anxious to have you believe a lie and be damned.

You next prate about "Mormonism" being

"A SYSTEM OF LUST"

and that "social purity" is almost an unknown quantity in {129} Utah, and sing the old familiar song about polygamy. Don't you think you could do better by looking closer to home? If the truth were known you would probably find more polygamy (on the European plan) than ever was known among the Mormons (on the Patriarchal plan). In fact, you say adultery and fornication are destroying the nation. We agree with you that these evils exist to an alarming extent, but most emphatically deny that there is any more cause, at least, to make the Mormons a special object of purity work than there is to purify other communities. If Mormonism is indeed a monster, as you claim, and if social purity, as you assert, is almost unknown among us, then what a horrible condition the Mormon people must be in. But stay; the Master says "By their fruits ye shall know them." Mormonism goes into the entire civilized world, and in this age, as in the days of Christ, it is the poor, and you will claim the ignorant, who embrace it. Very well, Mormonism takes them to a place where you claim social purity is almost unknown; what a horrible condition these poor, ignorant, deluded creatures must be in in a few years.

Now, listen, Brother Brougher: 90 per cent, of the Mormon people

LIVE IN THEIR OWN HOMES

and upon their own farms. Utah stands equal to Massachusetts in education--the rate of illiteracy is about 3 per cent. She stands head and shoulders above 90 per cent, of the states in the union when it comes to educational facilities, and until the advent of what you call civilization came to Christianize us poor heathens, there were no brothels or saloons in Utah. And yet, social purity, you say, is almost unknown among us. I leave the public to judge the tree by its fruits, and in passing your wholesale libel upon men, women and children, will drop you by saying "from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." To your heart let me say "thou shalt not lie," and "thou shalt not bear false witness," while to your mouth let me prescribe soap and water. I do not care to

DISCUSS POLYGAMY

with you, because there is a law in Tennessee against teaching it, and punishing those who do teach it; we should obey the law, and right here let me inform you that the twelfth article of our faith reads: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law." This part of our religion is taught and as carefully kept as any other part of our religion. However, {130} Roberts will be cast out of the House of Representatives, and you ministers who are to receive congratulations for accomplishing this mighty victory over B. H. Roberts should keep your sleeves rolled up until you succeed in also banishing the polygamous Bible from the national headquarters. The Bible teaches polygamy, and, looking through your eyeglasses, is therefore antagonistic to the "purity of the American home," and a law breaker, in the state of Tennessee. I enter this complaint against the Divine record, and will now proceed to convict the prisoner at the bar. In accusing the Bible of being antagonistic to purity in the American home, by charging that it teaches polygamy, I ask that, in addition to the evidence which I shall produce, all the evidence introduced against Roberts be accepted and made a part of the case. Now, if I can establish that the Bible is a teacher of polygamy, I contend I have made my case, and ask that the law be enforced and the offending parts of the Bible cast out.

Abraham was a polygamist and the friend of God. God knew he was a polygamist when He made him His friend. Jacob had four wives, and their polygamous sons, we are informed, are to be honored by having their names inscribed over the pearly gates of the beautiful city. Suppose you were to fool Saint Peter and get into heaven, how would you feel clasped to the bosom of the polygamous Abraham? Do you suppose that you can sufficiently humble yourself to go in at one of those polygamous gates and mingle with the polygamous sons of Jacob? Moses had more than one wife, and yet he was a Prophet of God. Just think of a polygamist leading the chosen people of the Lord. All the Judges of Israel and all her chosen kings which were appointed by God, including Saul, David and Solomon, were polygamists, and the descendants of these polygamists were highly honored of the Lord. The Prophet Samuel, and even Jesus, our Saviour, came through polygamous lineage. The Bible also says that polygamous relations shall exist in the last days when men would become decimated, that their scarcity would cause seven women to take hold of one man and desire to be called by his name to take away their reproach, Isa. 4-1. Are we not informed that David did not sin except in the case of Uriah, the Hittite? Did not the Lord say through Nathan the prophet that He, the Lord, had given David Saul's wives? If all these parties could find favor with God, although they were polygamists and God knew it, would it be unscriptural to believe that polygamists might find favor with our Heavenly Father in these days? The Bible does not say that we shall have no more than one wife, {131} and can we get anything else out of these instances than that the Bible sanctions polygamy? Of course you will say that Paul says a Bishop is to be the husband of one wife, but we ask does he say a Bishop cannot have more than one wife? Now, from these passages of Scripture, I ask that the prisoner, the Bible, be convicted and be punished under the laws of Tennessee.

We are charged with being

"DISLOYAL AND UN-AMERICAN."

To substantiate this statement would you bring forth the record of the famous Utah batteries in the Philippines? Or would you point to the Mormon battalion in the war with Mexico, or to the raising of the Stars and Stripes on Ensign Peak, when the Mormon Pioneers entered Salt Lake valley? Kindly furnish proof. Your rule of faith and practice says "by their fruits ye shall know them," and we are perfectly willing to be judged by that rule, in loyalty as in all other things.

To create a greater impression upon your hearers, I am also informed that you said we would be willing to pay the railroad fare of any of the fair mothers and daughters of this land to Utah, if they could but be induced to identify themselves with the "monstrous and destroying system." Did you believe that when you said it? We again ask for proof. Remember that the burden of proof falls on the accuser. This is only another of the falsehoods circulated about the Latter-day Saints, and you cannot point to a single instance. We do not coax, or persuade, or inveigle people into our church. We lay before them the principles of the Gospel, and if they want to accept them, all well and good, we rejoice over it; but if they do not choose to accept it, we do not send them to the bottom of a bottomless pit, there to fall into a lake of fire and brimstone and burn, and sizzle and fry forever and forever. Your hell is as big a monstrosity as your God. Incomprehensible, unfathomable, beyond the bounds of time and space, reason and everything else.

I must not forget the preface of your remarks to the effect that there were some things about the "Mormon" church that

MUST BE GIVEN UP

before it could be looked upon as a Christian church. What constitutes a Christian? Is it not one who lives up to the Gospel of Christ? We are very anxious to be set right; if we are wrong, we would like you to take your "rule of faith and {132} practice" and point out to us wherein we differ with the Bible. I have made somewhat of a study of the teachings of our Savior and would be pleased to have you answer the following questions, keeping in view the injunction of Isaiah, "to the law and to the testimony, and if they speak not according to these words it is because there is no light in them;" also the word of Paul to the Galatian Saints to the effect that if any man preach any other Gospel than that which he preached, let him be accursed. First, where does the Bible give you authority to call your church "The First Baptist?" In Ephesians 5: 23-24 it is recorded as wives take husbands' names, so the church takes the Savior's name (Jesus Christ); how do you harmonize that passage with the name of your church? Can you find any other name given God's people than "Saints" of the Most High?

WHO CALLED YOU TO PREACH?

Paul says, Heb. 5-4, "and no man taketh this honor unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron." Remember Paul says "no man," and you know Aaron was called by revelation through a Prophet of God. Were you called by a Prophet of God? If you say the Bible gives you authority to preach, then "any man" can get a Bible and thereby have authority to preach, baptize and minister in the ordinances of the Gospel.

On the same principle, and with as much propriety, I could purchase a law book and set myself up to be a justice of the peace, or Governor of Tennessee. Is this not so? "Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the Saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord." (Eph. 2: 1.8-21.) No one will dispute that the foundation of Apostles and Prophets is revelation. Christ said to Peter: "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Is your church founded on revelation--living, modern, and not dead? "And He gave some, Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, etc. (Eph. 4.) Have you Prophets and Apostles in your church? These officers were {133} to remain in the church until "we all" come into a unity of the faith.

ARE WE TO A UNITY?

Surely you and I are not in a unity of the faith, and what about the hundreds of other denominations claiming to be the true followers of Christ? Do we need perfecting and edifying? If so, we must need Prophets, and Apostles, and all the other officers mentioned by Paul, to perfect us, and to keep us from being driven and tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Can you find any Scripture changing this order of things? You cannot.

Do you believe that signs shall follow the believers, as recorded in Mark, 16th chapter? We have no record of this promise to the believers being repealed, and Paul says (I Cor., 13th chapter), that spiritual gifts were to remain in the church until that which is perfect is come. Has perfection come? Peter says (Acts 2: 38) that baptism is for the remission of sins. Do you believe it?

You teach that

BAPTISM IS NOT ESSENTIAL

to salvation, and that it is only an outward sign of an inward grace. Jesus says, Mark 16: 16: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not (and consequently is not baptized) shall be damned."

Peter commanded the people on the day of Pentecost to be baptized. Peter was the chief Apostle and had the power to bind on earth and it should be bound in heaven. Does this not make baptism a command of God? If it is a command of God is it not essential to salvation? If this is not essential, why not do away with that part of the commission which commands His disciples to go and preach? Are you sure the teachings of your church are in strict accord with the Divine record?

James says, 5: 14-16: "Is any sick among you, let him call for the Elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anoint 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." Do you call for the Elders? You took for

YOUR SUBJECT LAST NIGHT

"If Christ should come to Chattanooga, where would He go?" Now, Brother Brougher, stand up. If He should come, where would He go? He commanded that His Gospel should be {134} made free and His ministers should travel without purse or scrip. If He were hunting for His friends, would He call upon those who declare that His promises have fallen to the ground unfulfilled, and that the blessings do not follow the believers? He has placed Apostles and Prophets in the church, with a decree that they should remain until we all come to a unity of the faith. Would He call those His friends who declare "they are no longer needed and are not to remain until we all come to a unity of the faith?" He told the generation to whom He came (1800 years ago) that their great sin consisted in worshiping dead Prophets, while they persecuted those who believed in living oracles. Would He call on those who engage in the same business today? He never resorted to abuse for an argument. If He came would He love those who do? He was not a character assassin. Would He love those who are? But stay, we do not know where He would go, or whom He would call upon, because when He was here before, He said: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance," and He might say that His mission was not entirely finished, and we cannot tell where He would go, but you might possibly see him.

Now, Brother Brougher, just a word. Did you ever listen to an argument against "Mormons" from the standpoint of Scripture and reason? No, you never have and you never will. Did it ever occur to you that it was a most cowardly ambition which induces you to attack a party in a place and at a time when retaliation would have been anything but decent? If so, will you grant us the privilege of defending ourselves from the pulpit and before that congregation which were so disgraced by your tirade on Sunday evening?

Now, in conclusion, let me say that we are not here to stir up strife, but we propose to defend ourselves whenever attacked; so I close, wishing you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

BEN. E. RICH.

Chattanooga, Tenn., Dec. 25, 1899.

Rev. (?) J. Whitcomb Brougher, Chattanooga, Tenn.

My Dear Sir:--Your second installment of abuse, falsehood and misrepresentation, called "Is Mormonism Anti-Christian," I see, by the News of Jan. 1, was duly delivered, as per previous announcement. As some well-meaning people might take your performance in earnest, I hope you will take it in {135} good part if I make a brief reply before the incident is closed. I am glad that this is a country of free speech, free thought, and religious liberty, even though narrow-minded religious bigots cannot comprehend this basic principle of our heaven-born government, and sometimes abuse it. American history tells us that during the revolutionary days of America's struggle for independence the British once had Gen. Marion and his little band of struggling patriots surrounded; that the British, in order to tantalize the starving patriots, fired wheat from their cannon into the American camp, and as I have authentic evidence of having descended from one of those hungry defenders of the flag, and also that I have proof, beyond truthful contradiction, that my progenitor was once a member of George Washington's body guard, I trust you will have no serious objections to my calling myself an American by birth, and entitled to a small portion of the freedom of speech and thought guaranteed to Americans by our constitution. Should there be any objections upon the possible ground that your progenitors possibly have been on the other side of that fight, I pray you to let family feuds, for this occasion at least, be buried. No people on earth love liberty and true Americanism more than my people, and no people realize to a greater extent that the favorite weapons brought against truth are, generally, ridicule and billingsgate; and in a vain attempt to successfully answer my former letter you liberally employed this unsavory method with the hope of laughing the case out of court. We have not been accustomed to throwing mud in order to bolster up our cause, but in this case, if I should stoop to a little ridicule, avoiding slush, I hope you and the public will pardon me. I understand from parties who witnessed your performance last Sunday night, that the recital of your little piece would have done much credit to a Punch and Judy show; but, shorn of its stagey effects and set in cold type, without even a moving picture accompaniment, I hope that I may be forgiven if I do not fully appreciate the force of your masterful (?) logic. I have no doubt that the thinking people of this city can, without any assistance, distinguish between inflated sophistic bombast, and logic; but a little airing and brushing always takes away the mold, removes the rubbish and gives things a more healthful appearance. Now, as the physician said to his patient, "just hold still, and I will not insert the knife deeper than is absolutely necessary."

You claim to be a true representative of the meek and lowly Master, who said He "came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." You are loud in condemning "us" as {136} sinners; yet you said, in your letter to the News, announcing your attack upon me and my faith, that you were not here to convert the Latter-day Saints, that the work was not worth the candle. How very Christ-like! What a humble follower of the Lamb, and how faithfully you endeavor to follow the example of the Master, who said there was more joy in heaven over one sinner who repenteth than over ninety and nine that needed no repentance; but pardon me--I had forgotten that we are now living in modern times, and are told by such eminent divines as yourself that the Bible does not mean what it says.

In the same letter, mentioned above, you also declare you are not here for the purpose of proselyting, which means, of course, that you do not intend to waste your time by calling anyone to repentance. In view of this, may I ask, is your mission here simply to love Jesus for $1,800 per year, and not for a blessed cent less? Great man! Paul told Timothy that the time would come when they would heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and I suppose it becomes necessary, in order that these words might be fulfilled, for some one to be engaged in tickling ears, even though it becomes rather expensive. Of course I understand that the march of progression changes things, and perhaps this doctrine of Christ, that "the physician is not for the whole but for the sick," has evolved as completely as the Golden Rule, for we now have it, at least to a very large extent, "Do others or they will do you, and do it first." The theory is just the same as it used to be, but it is only, as you say, "symbolic or a figure of speech," the practical part having been done away with--"we have no need of thee."

Through force of habit (we presume), in your brief note to the News you again charged us with creeping into houses and leading captive silly women, laden with sins, etc. Knowing it impossible to furnish proof, you hide behind the miserable subterfuge that you have only time to sound the key of warning. Our challenge still holds good that you cannot point to a single instance.

You think it a shame and a disgrace that Chattanooga is the headquarters for our missionary work in the south, and no doubt if the solid element of this community, as you assert, thought likewise, you would favor and advocate burning us at the stake. However, as you are a newcomer here, I feel that you are excusable, in a measure, for this rash and un-American statement. We know, as well as you, like our Master and the Former Day Saints, we are not popular, and we can also take consolation that in the world's history {137} non-conformists to popular opinion have always been placed in the selfsame category. For a good many years, over twenty, we have had our headquarters here, and it is strange that, before your advent, the good people of this city did not discover that we were a disgrace and a detriment to this city. During the time we have been located here we have been associated, in a business way, with not a few representative men of Chattanooga, and believe we enjoy their confidence as being honest, paying our bills, etc., and have heard no complaints of any of them missing their wives or daughters, or of any charge being lodged against any of our representatives of conduct unbecoming true ladies or gentlemen. Our expenditures in this city amount to something like $25,000 per year, and I may be excused for mentioning this item, in that you mentioned money on Sunday night in various ways. I wish briefly to explain this, knowing full well your ambition to misjudge and misrepresent us in this, as in other matters. We have laboring in this mission about 500 Elders, sometimes more and sometimes a little less, and in coming here they are called from the plow, the smithy, the work-bench, the machine shop, the counting room, the mine, and the various avocations of life. Some of them leave lucrative position, worth to them, in some instances, one or two thousand dollars per year, or more, while others again are the sons of poor widows and men of humble circumstances financially, but all willing to battle for the Gospel. Now, these men leave their homes, all that is dear to a human, and come among strangers, unto them, a strange land, to preach an unpopular doctrine; to be hated and despised, sometimes brutally treated, because of their convictions, traveling without purse or scrip, and depending upon God to raise up friends to give them a place to sleep and something to eat. These men give their time to the church free of charge, and pay their own expenses, such as clothing, railroad fare, literature, etc., necessary to carry on their work.

When an Elder arrives in this city he is assigned to his field of labor, and remains in the field usually from two to three years; when, in the course of his labors, it is necessary for him to have books, tracts, clothing, and other supplies, he sends here for us to send him these needed articles, while the money to pay for the same, if the Elder is unable to bear the expense himself, is forwarded here by relatives and friends, or in some cases by brothers and sisters in the church at his home. This explains how we dispose of money in this city.

Some of our Elders have been shot to death by mobs, some {138} have been cruelly beaten, while others have died in the harness of natural causes.

Could you do as these men do for your religion?

Could you stand to be held up to the derision of the world, leave a comfortable home and work without a salary, derided by such men as yourself, and your mother charged with being worse than a harlot; all for the love of the Master's cause?

Some of our Elders now in the field were with the rough riders in the late war with Spain, others were with the Utah batteries in the Philippines, and some of them returned home about the time the call to arms was sounded, in just enough time to discard their Prince Albert coats and don the uniform of Uncle Sam.

Is this disloyalty? Could you do as much for your religion and your country?

We try to mind our own business, and if the good people of this city or any other place do not care to come out and hear me or any other Mormon Elder preach, that is their business. All I ask is fair play and nothing more. Giving the people an opportunity to hear the Gospel is a large part of the mission of a servant of God, and when it has been preached in all the world for a witness, then shall the end come, then will it be said, as it was said once before by our Master, "how oft would I have gathered you, but ye would not." I remember, too, that Jesus said: "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat; while straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

Christ also said that people would kill His disciples and think they were doing God's service, and that all who would follow Him must needs suffer persecution. Are you persecuted? Is it right to look for the true Church of Christ in popularity? When a church becomes popular and persecution ceases, one of the promises of our Savior ceases to be fulfilled, for persecution is one of the marks by which we are to know the true church, says the Bible. Don't you think it is time to begin to look for the cause of the trouble? What do you really sacrifice for the cause of the Master?

You misunderstand me when you try to make believe that I claim my arguments are new. They are old, very old, and are the same as those used by Paul and Peter. I hope you will not misrepresent me on that point again. They may not be Christian, in the accepted use of the term today, but, {139} according to Scripture, they were accepted as Christian over 1,800 years ago.

I did not think I hit so hard when I asked for a chance to give my side of the story before your congregation; I have always been taught to hear both sides before passing judgment, and perhaps it might not be amiss to say here that it is somewhat of a custom among my people to loan, as you would put it, preachers of other denominations their churches, congregations, and a choir to sing for them. There would be no objection even to the Rev. Dr. Talmage, so lovingly quoted by you, preaching in our great Tabernacle at Salt Lake City, if he desired to do so, and be furnished with a congregation numbering thousands and a choir of 500 voices to sing for him. I thought your superior (?) Christianity would make you as fair and generous as the despised Mormons, but I see I overestimated you. Our large Tabernacle at Salt Lake City seats from ten to twelve thousand, our organ is second largest in the world, and our choir, as I stated above, consists of 500 voices.

We think our singers are of the best, as they were given the second prize at the world's fair (the first prize being carried off by the famous Welsh singers). No minister of good character has ever been denied a hearing in that building, and among the many who have occupied our famous pulpit I mention the following prominent churchmen, representing various denominations:

Bishop Kingsley, of Ohio. Rev. A. N. Fisher, of Nevada. Dr. Tiffany, of Iowa. Dr. Allen, of Wyoming. Rev. Hiram McKee, of Missouri. Dr. J. H. Vincent, of New York. Gen. Booth, of the Salvation Army, London. Mr. D. L. Moody. Dr. Reiner, of New York.

Perhaps these eminent divines would have been refused a hearing had the Mormon people been as narrow and contracted as some of their enemies.

When you advise your congregation not to go to hear us, is it not good proof that you are afraid to have your people find out the truth about us and learn the true nature of our faith?

As expected, you made no effort to expose the principles we teach from reason and the Scripture; you claim it would take a lifetime to expose the errors of Mormonism. Well, {140} now, Brother, don't you think you are a little bit inconsistent? Did you not speak before you thought? Just think what would be accomplished if you could only prove Mormonism to be false. We are informed by our enemies, and they preach it to the people, that the very existence of our government and free institutions is threatened by this Mormon octopus, and often has it been pointed out, by preachers and politicians, that we already control four or five states, almost a sufficient number of senators to give us a balance of power in the United States senate. Then the Rev. T. C. Iliff, and other of our enemies, who are proselyting in Utah, say if it were not for our leaders we would be good people; and that it is our priestcraft that makes us bad; fully admitting that they think we have a soul to save. Don't you think you could afford to try and call us to repentance? Is it not worth the candle? Inasmuch as Dr. Iliff was in this city a few months back, lecturing on Mormonism, soliciting donations, is it not possible that some of Chattanooga's good people gave of their means to be used in converting us "heathens," and no doubt we were considered "worth the candle?" Would it not be well worth a man's life to prove Mormonism false, if it would save the nation from going to pieces and be the means of saving some 300,000 or 400,000 or more souls for Jesus? Ministers all over the country are crying that thousands are being won over to the Mormon faith every year, and would it not be worth the candle to check this mighty stream of human souls, which, as you say, "are going to certain destruction?"

As to Joseph Smith, you rehashed the same old stuff, which I have already answered, but I should have thought you would have remembered to tell the people, in your eagerness to be fair, what such men as Josiah Quincy, George Bancroft, the historian, and other prominent and well known men say. In another column we have taken pains to give a few sayings in our favor from men of undoubted veracity, but as they are not clippings from your style of authors perhaps they will not suit you.

However, they will go to show that there are two sides to this question, as well as every other question.

On the Book of Mormon you manufacture another Spaulding story with a hope of covering your defeat on this point, but we want to say to you here that the manuscript of Oberlin college is the very manuscript of which it was falsely said years ago furnished the inspiration for the Book of Mormon, and as President Fairchild said in his affidavit and account {141} of the manuscript published in the New York World, the opponents of Mormonism will have to look elsewhere for an explanation of the Book of Mormon.

You admitted to two of our young men who called on you a few days ago, that you had never read anything about us except from our enemies. Solomon says he that judgeth a matter before he heareth it is not wise. How Solomon-like you are.

You felt very badly because I did not break the law, so you could prosecute me for teaching polygamy, didn't you? You remind me of a booby, who, in playing with his big brother, cried out, "Ma, he won't let me hit him." Solomon and David both sinned, we admit, but you took special pains not to tell the audience "when" they transgressed. But then this was necessary in order to keep your "clay brick" logic from going to pieces. Does the fact that God has a body, parts and passions, debar Him from being an intelligent being, omnipresent, etc.? The glory of God is intelligence, and He, being a real live God, and not a nonentity, would His materiality prohibit Him from controlling the intelligences for the just governing of His children and the universe? Let us look at your syllogism. "A brick is made of clay, a man is made of clay, therefore a man is a brick." Now let us construct one from the Bible, taking care to have our premises correct. "All sons are in the image of their fathers, Jesus was a Son, therefore He was in the 'express' image of His Father." Now, Brother Brougher, what was the image of His Father? Jesus had a body of flesh and bones--can you explain or ridicule it away? If the words "God is a spirit" mean that He has neither body, parts or passions, then are we to dispense with our body, parts and passions in order to worship Him in "spirit" and in truth? When you find some quotation in the Bible that suits your idea, you seem to be willing to take the words literally. If the symbolical or figurative parts of the Bible are so plain, why is there such a wide difference of opinion, among the learned even, as to its teachings? I remember that Peter declared that "no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation." I do not mention this by way of belittling your great knowledge of interpretation and for calling me a fool for taking the book literally, but speak of it that the public might know how ignorant and how very little Peter really knew about how to read the Bible.

You say Mark 16: 16 is spurious, to justify yourself in not believing baptism to be essential to salvation, don't you? {142} "Only believe and you shall be saved;" you may just as well say to the farmer, "only believe in planting and your crop will grow." But let us see where your declaration "that this part of the Bible is spurious" leads us. There are other passages of Scripture which say baptism is essential to salvation. Are they also spurious? John 3: 5 reports Jesus saying to Nicodemus, "except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Matthew says, 3: 13-15, that it was necessary for our Savior to be baptized in order to fulfill all righteousness. Jesus also says, Matt. 28, in giving the Apostles their commissions to go to teach all nations, baptizing them that believe; and Paul also enumerates in Heb. 6 that baptism is a doctrine of Christ. We are told that it was necessary for Paul to be baptized, likewise the jailor, the people at Ephesus, the people at Samaria, the eunuch, and even a man as just as was Cornelius could not escape, and according to St. Luke, "some rejected the counsel of God against themselves, not being baptized." According to the practice generally in vogue, is it not about time for a revision of the Bible, that the offending parts may be cast out? Ought you not to use your potent influence to accomplish this end, as I contended in my former letter? You charge me falsely with misquoting Mark 16: 16, because I placed within the quotation an interpolation in brackets, and if this is misquoting I surely had no intention of doing so. Any school boy would have known that the words in brackets were mine. You say the passage does not mean what my interpolation indicated, but you failed to point out what it did mean. Look at it again, even if it is spurious and of no consequence. The words "belief" and "baptism" are placed on even terms by our Savior, and there is no other conclusion but that the believer must be baptized (unless it is one of your figures of speech). This being true, the unbeliever very naturally would not be baptized and be damned, as Christ says, in consequence of unbelief and nonconformity to this ordinance. Really, brother, over whose "shop" should the sign "All kinds of turning and twisting done here" be placed? I am perfectly willing to leave that to an intelligent public. You entertained your congregation last Sunday evening by relating to them a pretty fable about a jackass, who was in the woods braying. It was nicely related and caused much laughter and mirth; and no one could become offended by a jackass story; therefore, kindly allow me the same privilege, Brother Brougher, as I also have a jackass story.

"Once upon a time" there was a jackass who imagined he {143} was preaching the same Gospel that was taught many hundreds of years ago; he stood before a large, fashionable congregation of people and started to bray. He opened his mouth and said: "Oh, money, oh, money, thy praises I'll sing; thou art my Savior, my God and my King; 'tis for thee that I preach, 'tis for thee that I pray, and make a collection twice each Sabbath day. Money's my creed, and I won't pray without it, the heavens are closed against those who doubt it This is the essence of popular religion, come regular to church and be plucked like a pigeon. I'll have carriages, horses, servants and all, I'm not going to foot it like Peter and Paul; neither, like John, feed on locusts and honey, so out with your purse and down with your money. I gather my knowledge from wisdom's great tree, and the whole of my trinity is D. D. and C.; dimes, dollars and cents are all that I crave, from the first step on earth to the brink of the grave. In the cold earth I may soon be laid low, to sleep with the just, that have gone long ago; I shall slumber in peace till the great resurrection, and be first on my legs to make a collection." Then he blessed the contribution boxes and the show closed.

Now, dear brother, don't you think that my jackass story equals yours, and contains a better moral? I am sure it is just as funny; so now we are even, on jackass stories, anyhow.

We see how careful the nations of the earth are in throwing their protecting arms around the principle of authority; how careful they are that all representatives acknowledged by them are endowed with proper authority from their respective governments. In this nation of ours no man has the right to initiate a foreigner into the government unless he be endowed with authority, beyond the question of a doubt; the government would undoubtedly punish any man who might read of a commission given to others, and then take the authority unto himself to initiate foreigners into the government of the United States.

We see the same careful protection thrown around the principle of authority throughout the different states of the union; throughout the different counties of the state, and throughout all the different cities of the various counties. All will admit that without this strict attention to authority, there would be no law, no order and no protection. Out of all known governments the great government of God, according to our opinion, is the only one that treats the principle of authority in a careless and reckless manner. Anciently a prophet of God, through the principle of revelation, called Aaron to the ministry; at a later period, an Apostle of Jesus {144} Christ said that no man was to take this honor unto himself save he be called of God, as was Aaron. Yet men of our day will read where men were commissioned by Jesus Christ eighteen hundred years ago, with authority to initiate foreigners into the great government of God, and by virtue of that authority, given to others, they take the honor unto themselves; while declaring that the great God has sealed up the system of revelation; and through the heavens, as you say, being as brass above our heads, no man can be called, as was Aaron. In the face of all this, any man purchasing a Bible, which contains that commission once given to others, imagines he is called of God to preach the Gospel; and the result is we are living in a babel of confusion; God says "He is not the author of confusion."

Of course I realize these words of mine will have no weight upon you, but they may be read by some fair-minded, thinking man, who may stop, ponder and investigate.

By innuendo you advocated mob violence in your sermon last Sunday night. Do you think it was becoming to a man who professes to be a representative of the meek and lowly One whose mission was peace on earth and good will to man? In carefully looking over the history of this Mission for a number of years back and noting the number of mobbings to which our Elders have been subjected, and the number is not small, we find by careful comparison that 90 per cent of the mobbings have been led in person or inspired by so-called Christian ministers.

Do you think you were serving God on the Sabbath when you so nearly sanctioned brute force against a people who have never harmed you or any of the good people of Chattanooga? Do you really believe that such a course will make you popular with the liberty-loving and law-abiding population of your new home? Think over the matter carefully and perhaps you will admit you over-reached yourself a little.

You took for your text, "Answer a fool according to his folly." In closing allow me to respectfully present you with the words of our Master, "He who calleth his brother a fool is in danger of hell fire."

Respectfully,

Ben E. Rich.

{145}

MORMONS AND MORMONISM.

The Mormon People, Their Industry, Education and Morals--What is Thought of These People by a Non-Mormon of Many Years' Residence Among Them.

Lecture by Charles Ellis, a Non-Mormon.

No cause has so often led to strife as bigotry of religious devotees. In no name has hate so largely gathered harvest of death as in that of God. No prophet ever proclaimed a new word of the Infinite who was not met with abuse. Many of the noblest men who have stood God-tongued on earth have received not only vilification, but martyrdom. Not one of them has escaped the cry of "infidel, atheist, impostor." Even Jesus was crucified as a malefactor. His simple religion of love for God and to man was lost in a cobra-filled jungle of theology. For more than 1800 years Christianity has not been the religion of Christ. The Christianity that boasts of having civilized the world is a mass of dogmatic bran that makes poor bread of life--intellectually a bran-mash for hidebound bigots who send all but a "predestined and foreordained" baker's dozen to eternal torment because they will not take the medicine. It has been itself partially civilized by the natural development of the human mind, but is still much like that "white sepulchre," fair to see, but full of lying dogmas, hypocrisy and sham.

Into this cloaca of pretence, the Mormons say God sent Joseph Smith to destroy its rot with the quicklime of a new revelation from heaven of priesthood, prophecy and providence. The Lord God Omnipotent, so the story runs, came to this youth and informed him that the Gospel of Jesus had been lost to the world through the wickedness of men; that the religions of the present were a sham, that the churches were all wrong, and that the true Gospel would be restored for the salvation of mankind through him.

It is not surprising that Mormonism met with obloquy from its birth. It would have been marvelous had not that obloquy become violence when the "new dispensation" showed a {146} degree of success that roused the fears of the evangelical churches, out of which converts to the new sect were taken. The Mormon missionaries of those early years believed the "fullness of time" had come, and that "the Lord" was speedily to appear, sweep false Christianity from the earth and establish His own kingdom. They believed it their duty to cry aloud, to warn the nations. The boldness of the proclamation that all churches were without recognition in the sight of God, and the only true Gospel was this "new dispensation," was enough to arouse an opposition that has never wholly ceased and is now raging more fiercely than ever. The rapid growth of the new old faith embittered the sects and carried them to the shedding of innocent blood, for many of the early Mormons suffered martyrdom for their faith. Yet the blood of martyrs is still the seed of the church.

It is immaterial here whether Mormonism was born of God or of man. I am not discussing its origin. No matter what its source, it was sure to meet opposition. Had it come with such pomp that the world could have beheld angelic heralds, it would have been denounced as vile. It has been so with the founders of all religions. The prophets are always stoned, The Buddha was accused of consorting with courtesans. Jesus' enemies said harlots were His chosen companions. Mahomet was the called slave of an ambitious mistress. Garrison and Phillips were denounced as infidels and atheists. Joseph Smith was branded a fraud and lecher.

But as time rolls away from the days when an agitator lived, hatred of him is forgotten and he is remembered in the results of his agitation. The Buddha preceded Jesus many centuries and has a following today of 400,000,000. Jesus is buried beneath a mountain of dogma, but 300,000,000 are seeking eternal life in His name. Mahomet came 700 years later and his people number 170,000,000. Only sixty-nine years ago came Joseph Smith, and his following is already half a million. Give Mormonism 1,200 years, as Mohammedanism has had, or 1,900 years, as Christianity has had, and what was said of its founder will be forgotten, but his following may then compare satisfactorily with what the older faiths accomplished.

Had Joseph Smith never declared himself a polygamist he would have been killed. The sects were too fanatical in the wild west to permit so active a rival to exist. Had the Mormons remained east of the Missouri, Brigham Young would have been killed and the church would have been destroyed {147} by wholesale massacre. It was only their isolation among the mountains that saved Mormonism and the Mormons from annihilation. Even that would not have saved them had they not increased so rapidly by conversions and immigration that before their enemies realized their growth they had become too strong to be removed. They have survived the hate that carried off their leader at Nauvoo. They have proved themselves sublime stayers. They have nobly earned the right to the home they have made in "the great American desert," and they are entitled to full liberty of conscience to practice their religion, as well as to the same protection the nation gives to all other churches.

If people must follow some leader in the name of God it makes little difference what his name, when or whence he came, as far as the national government is concerned. As long as his followers are honest, industrious, virtuous and progressive they will advance from existing to better conditions, whether they follow Moses, Jesus, Mahomet, Calvin or Joseph, and our government, guaranteeing rights of conscience to all, cannot dictate what their religion shall be. No matter what Joseph Smith may have been, the people of the United States should not allow themselves to be governed, by what was said against him, in their judgment of the Mormon and Mormonism, as they are now.

By Their Fruits.

If history is reliable many of the popes were steeped in crime, yet we do not condemn the Catholic church of today by that history. Protestantism has done many cruel things in red-handed fanatical rage, but we do not now hold it responsible for crimes of its past. The daily press frequently tells of crimes committed by ministers of the Gospel, but we do not condemn the class for the misdeeds of some of its members. Neither should we condemn the Mormons and Mormonism of today for what their enemies said of them forty, fifty or sixty years ago. Put Joseph Smith down, then, as one of the men who have started new systems of religion, and judge him now by the results of his system, as we judge all others.

Many of the Jews are grand people, notwithstanding some of their leaders ages ago were bad. There are many excellent men and women in the churches, notwithstanding the fact that Christianity has drenched the earth in blood. Mohammedanism has done a great work among its people, {148} notwithstanding all Christendom looks upon its founder as an impostor. Tried thus, what can be said of the Mormons and Mormonism?

Into the Desert.

It would be manifestly unfair to judge either Mormons or Mormonism by that stormy career which preceded the hegira to Utah. Mormonism had no opportunity to show its merits in a country where its enemies gave it little time to act save in self-defense. It was aggressive in its denunciation of existing churches as ungodly frauds and they attacked it with violence, kept it acting on the defensive, forced it from place to place, and finally drove it out of the United States. Having at last found a spot a thousand miles from a "Christian" and subject only to the possible encroachments of Indian tribes, less barbarous than eastern Christians had been towards them, the Mormons and Mormonism were, for the first time in their history, in a condition to show what the people and their religion were.

When Brigham Young and his band of searchers for the new Holy Land entered the valley of the Great Salt Lake there was no white man there to give them a welcome, and therefore no alleged Christian present to disturb their hope. They had traveled far and fared hard. As they emerged from a rugged canyon the magnificent valley before them was the most inviting spot they had seen, and the leader chose it at once as their future home. Along the mountain streams, that ran gurgling through the valley to lose themselves in the saltest sea upon the earth, there was pasturage for the cattle, but for the men, exiles from so-called Christian civilization, there was nothing save an opportunity to gird their loins, forget their hunger and compel the stubborn glebe to yield them food.

Like the Pilgrim Fathers.

When the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth Bay they met such a welcome of dreary desolation as the Mormons received in the Salt Lake Valley. As the Pilgrims crossed the Atlantic to find a land where they could practice their religion, so had the Mormons crossed the plains of the continent. But they must live. In all this wide mountain land no furrow had been turned. It was mid-summer and the wanderers had little to carry them through the approaching winter. They must close with the opportunity and stake all on the hazard. They put in crops and the seed baked in the hot earth or the frost {149} came before anything could mature. They made huts to shelter themselves against the winter, built a wall to guard against Indian attacks (or was it the Christians they had fled from at Nauvoo) and pulled through until spring came, and then they went out upon the foothills and dug the roots of the sago lily for food. They planted and watered and saw their seed spring and saw crickets come down upon the green spots, like Missouri and Illinois Christians, and devour their hope. They fought crickets, made irrigating ditches, cleared off sage, increased their fields, smothered grasshoppers, praised the Lord and grew until, in five years, the valley had become a hive of busy human bees, not a drone among them all, and hundreds of baby bees crawling about the open doors of humble homes in which patient, plodding, hopeful, prayerful women were the grandest heroes of all. But the people crowded in so rapidly that for a dozen years or more all were harassed by hard want. Luxuries there were none. It was one long, ceaseless struggle to live. Women who came then as little girls have pictured to me the cheerless years of their young lives here when all were poor.

Their Staff and Comforts.

What sustained those people in that long ordeal? Faith, the strongest power in all the world. Their religion was an enthusiasm. To them "God" was a living presence. He had "called" them. He had led them forth from persecution. He would remain their friend and they must succeed. Without that faith they would never have come--having it they could not fail. But to my mind a very important adjunct was the pluck that has made the white race superior to obstacles and the master spirits of the world. When we consider what the Mormons underwent to achieve success here their constancy and heroism deserve sublimest commendation, and they who will not concede this because the Mormons will not send them to congress or subscribe their creeds are not true Americans--have never known the meaning and the glory of our "religious freedom."

We honor the Pilgrims for their heroism in crossing the ocean and founding a home in the forest of the new world. Why? Not because of their religion. They were bigots and sometimes murderers. They tortured, killed, or banished men and women who would not accept their theology. We may despise their religion, but we must honor their courage and be thankful for their success. Without them we never {150} would have had our government, the light of the world and the hope of mankind. But their base of supplies in Europe was nearer to them, more accessible, than were the stores from which the early Mormons could draw. The Pilgrims had means; the Mormons had none. When driven from Nauvoo many of them were so destitute that agents were sent through the east soliciting aid to save the people from starvation, and one of these agents was Lorenzo Snow, now President of the Mormon Church. Hundreds of the famished refugees died, in 1846, along the malaria-poisoned bottoms of the Missouri river.

From robbery, murder and exile in Missouri and Illinois to success and independence in Utah, the history of the Mormons is a record of privation, hardship and endurance unequalled since the days of the Moors in Spain, the Huguenots in France, and the Protestants in Holland, when murder sought to exterminate all heresy in the name of the Catholic church for the glory of God. It was the same spirit in the Protestant heart that sought the destruction of Mormonism. But no religion can be wholly bad or lacking in points of great merit that could produce the magnificent results that have sprung from the Mormon occupation of Utah.

In Thirty-Two Years.

Briefly, now, let us see what the Mormons did in Utah through the years when they were nearly the entire population and while the industries and the progress were almost wholly their own.

In 1880, thirty-two years after the arrival of the Mormons in Utah, they had 9,452 farms, the average size being twenty-seven acres. The population of the territory was then 143,963, of which 115,000 were Mormons, 99 per cent of whom were living in homes of their own. To bring this land into productive farms there had to be done an inconceivable amount of work that was not directly productive. The land was covered with sagebrush and other wild shrubs and grasses that made it as hard to clear as swamp land in the east. In addition to clearing the land it had to be lined with ditches to carry water to the growing crops. On those 9,452 farms there were several thousand miles of ditching. All of this work was dead capital. It was the "plant" of the farmers and was put in solely by the toil of a people who never knew when it was "sundown." But it was done and the farms were yielding great crops of small grain, corn, potatoes--all the {151} vegetables of garden and field, and the fruits--apples, pears, plums, apricots, peaches, grapes, berries--everything that the climate would sustain. Live stock had risen from zero to millions in the shade of the mountain. There were herds of sheep, cattle and horses, and the great American lard producer was not wanting. Home manufactories were prosperous at several points. Stores were in evidence everywhere. "Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution" was the center of a magnificent trade at Salt Lake, extending throughout the territory. Temples had been built or were under construction at four points in the territory. Meeting houses had been erected in every direction. Academies were being started in Salt Lake, Logan and Provo. The people were united and persistent in their determination to succeed, and under the guiding will of Brigham Young this most remarkable effort of colonization had been quietly carried forward in spite of the continual harassment of the people by government officials, goaded by the anti-Mormon ministers of the east. In thirty-two years the exiled Mormons had become too strong to be despoiled again, and all that time this alleged destroyer of the American home, polygamy, was being practiced, and thousands of the most intelligent, honest, virtuous and industrious men and women of the state today were the offspring of such marriage relations. Why do not the Mormon haters of today attempt to destroy the force of this fact? Because they know that they would fail.

Education.

A common charge against the Mormons for years, and revived now, was that they were ignorant, illiterate and had no use for schools save to teach their theological dogmas. But in 1870, only twenty-three years after the first Mormon immigration, the percentage of school attendance in Utah was higher than in Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. In 1881 the school population of Utah, from 6 to 18 years of age, was 43,353 and the average daily attendance was 44 per cent. There were then 395 schools in Utah. In 1888 the commissioner of schools, a government official, reports 344 school districts and 460 public schools in Utah. The school population was 54,943, of which 47,371 were Mormons. The number of scholars enrolled was 32,988, of which 30,721 were Mormons. The value of district school property was $542,755, and the amount paid for teachers in the public schools for the year ending June 30, 1888, was $293,085. Yet the {152} anti-Mormon still screeches his old cry that those were Mormon schools.

Let us see. The school commissioner referred to was not only a United States official, but he was also a non-Mormon. Yet he reported that the 460 public schools of Utah were "non-sectarian." Then he enumerated eighty-nine denominational schools, of which only four were Mormon. The text books used in the schools, a list of which was given, set at rest the charge that Mormons were opposed to education; and the average of education of those who were trained in them is proof that they were not theological schools. According to the United States census for 1880 the percentage of persons in Utah of 10 years and upward who could not read was five. In Rhode Island at the same time it was seven, and in the United States at large thirteen. The average illiteracy in Mormon Utah, thirty-two years after its settlement by people absolutely without means and obliged to toil early and late to find a mere subsistence, was less than in twenty states and territories in the union.

The growth of schools in Utah is full of evidence that the Mormons were the friends of education. Remember that for years there was no money in Utah, yet the people built houses in which they lived, as well as hundreds of meeting houses. The first meeting houses were "boweries"--posts set in the ground, a flat roof of poles shingled with bushes cut in foliage. I have seen several of these old places of worship. But as soon as practicable every ecclesiastical "ward" had its "dobe" meeting house, which was also school house. But "Utah's best crop" would soon overflow any ordinary Mormon meeting house and more school room would become necessary. On Sunday the bishops of a ward would say:

"My brothers and sisters, we need more school room in this ward. What will you do to provide it?"

"I will give a team ten days."

"I will give a thousand 'dobes.'"

"I will give two weeks' work."

"I will give twenty bushels of wheat."

Thus it would go, and the school room would come as a labor of love and without the passing of a dollar. Today there are no people in the nation so eager to learn as are many of the young Mormons whom I have met in my travels about Utah. The State University, the public schools, all schools are full. The Mormon Church has its special schools, as other sects have in Utah, and their theology has its place in the studies, but the Mormons have no desire to introduce {153} Mormon theology into the public schools and are opposed to the introduction of any other theology, as of course they should be.

Morals.

In 1876 there were thirteen counties in Utah without saloon, brewery, gambling house, brothel, lawyer, doctor, beggar, parson or politician, and the population was exclusively Mormon.

In the winter of 1881-2 there were fifty-one prisoners in the Utah penitentiary. Only five were Mormons, and yet the Mormon population of the territory exceeded that of the anti-Mormon 500 per cent. From 1877 to 1882 the jail of Salt Lake county received only three Mormons. In 1881 there were 1,020 arrests in Salt Lake City, of which 103 were Mormon men and boys and six Mormon women; 657 non-Mormon men and 194 non-Mormon women. In 1882 the number of arrests in the same city was 1,561, of which 188 were Mormons and 1,373 non-Mormons. In that year there were sixty-six barrooms in the city, and sixty of them were kept by non-Mormons. There were fifteen billiard and bowling rooms and seven gambling houses, all kept by non-Mormons.

The above, as well as the following statistics, are taken from "The Palantic," published by A. M. Musser from the Utah penitentiary records for the year ending June 30, 1884. Mr. Musser showed that, with the population of Utah 83 per cent Mormon and the non-Mormon population only 17 per cent, there were thirteen Mormon and seventy-eight non-Mormon prisoners--a difference of 600 per cent in favor of the Mormons. Add to this the difference in percentage of population, and we have over 1,000 to one in favor of Mormon morality as compared with that of the non-Mormon population of that period.

It should be understood that the above statement is not intended to characterize the whole non-Mormon population. All through the Utah years there have been non-Mormons here who were the most exemplary people. They came in to stay, to engage in business, to make homes. They have never engaged in the local disputes. They have never been anti-Mormons. Because they would not join the raid against the people they were for years sneered at as "jack-Mormons." The criminal element referred to in these statistics as "non-Mormons," it is safe to say, should have been put down as "anti-Mormons."

When the first edition of this pamphlet was issued the {154} anti-Mormon paper of the city and several anti-Mormon parsons of Utah and Canada undertook to answer these statistics by claiming that the Mormons referred to were all "Latter-day Saints," while none of the "non-Mormons" were "Christians." For answer I will say that the record shows that of the seventy-eight "non-Mormons" in the Utah penitentiary and referred to above, forty-five were members of Christian churches. To show that this class of Utah non-Mormons were not worse than Christians generally, I refer to statistics furnished the Deseret News recently by Ephraim Ainsworth.

In 1889 Ohio had 942 convicts in penitentiary--826 of them belonged to Christian churches. In 1893 Canada had 11,810 convicts--Catholics, 4,395; Church of England, 3,621; Methodists, 1,624; Presbyterians, 1,495; other sects, 698; Atheists, none. In 1896 the Kansas penitentiary had 343 Methodists, 41 Presbyterians, 61 Campbellites, other sects 12. In 1896 the Michigan state reformatory had as inmates 226 Methodists, 84 Baptists, 31 Episcopalians, 28 Congregationalists, 18 United Brethren, 229 Catholics, 65 Presbyterians. From the Tennessee state prison, no date given, is reported 873 convicts--870 Christians and three who would not state their religion. Thirty years ago a Unitarian minister named Hatch made a careful investigation of criminal statistics of the United States and Territories and published the statement that 7 per cent of male convicts in the penitentiaries of the country were ministers. Utah has had her full share of them in the last thirty years, though she has kindly permitted them to run away, making no attempt to capture them, save in the case of a parson who killed his victim, cut her body up and attempted to burn it. A reward was offered for him, but he is probably sending heretics to hell yet for Christ's sake. It is said "there are none righteous, no, not one;" that is, we all "live in glass houses" perhaps.

If the faces of children are an index to the morals and self-control of parents, many Mormons have only to point to their offspring to prove their own general purity. Indeed, it would be difficult to find finer types of manhood and womanhood that are to be seen among the Mormons, and this applies as well to polygamous as to monogamous offspring.

Right here, at the risk of being misunderstood, I want to say a word about Mormon polygamy. It was not established for the gratification of "lust," as has been so often averred, but was, I think, a conscientious effort to improve humanity by stirpiculture. It was the only considerable effort ever so {155} made among civilized people. I think it would have been better to have given it a scientific instead of a theological basis. In the country at large monogamous marriage has long been degenerating. With its degradation society must sink to conditions that must eventually, if not arrested, destroy our civilization. Religion may insure humanity against fabled fire after death, but it cannot breed out defects of will and taints of blood. Nobility of person, life, character is born, not made by creeds. Humanity can never be Godlike or fit for "the kingdom" until it is bred up from its sometimes lower than "beastly" level. Mormon polygamy was the beginning of such an effort. It has been killed by ignorant prejudice. But soon or late the world will see the infinite need of wisdom and science in the production and development of children, and then it will be understood that the marriage system must be reconstructed. Mormon polygamy was not the "beastly" thing a nation of adulterers called it. It grew out of the belief that life is eternal, that there can be no marrying in the future life; that women not married here can never marry, but must be the servants of those who were married on earth for all time here and hereafter. It grew out of the belief that woman gains her "exaltation" in the kingdom with her husband, and he in part through the excellence of his family. It was the Mormon women who wanted polygamy. But no woman would enter that relation through "lust." She could only enter it by conquering her passions, and in doing that she prepared herself to become a divine mother. It is only when women can learn to do this and compel men to respect their rights in gestation, as all other female mammals do their mates, that mankind can be saved from--itself. I am not advocating Mormon polygamy, but the physical improvement of humanity as the natural and also the scientific basis of mental and moral improvement. Sometime this great truth will receive the recognition denied it now.

I come back now and say that, taking polygamy and all into careful consideration, the morals of the Mormon people have always been as good as the best in the nation, and through the thirty-two years when the population of Utah was almost wholly Mormon and "this people" had not come under the influence of those who wanted saloons, brothels and dance halls opened to tempt young Mormons, their morals were infinitely superior to anything to be found in the rag-tag-and-bobtail element that for years existed on the {156} western frontier and found in Utah the only oasis of the mountains.

Had the Mormons been Methodists the praises sung over their success in Utah would have been heard around the world. But if they had been Methodists they would not have been driven out of the United States. Had they been bogus Christians they would have been too busy sending other people to hell to have ever thought of colonizing on a barren desert 1,000 miles from heretics. The sublime industry and heroic achievements of the Mormons among the mountains of the west have been studiously ignored and viciously misrepresented, not because of any real or suspected immorality or menace to "the American home," but simply and solely because they were heretics to other sects. Anti-Mormonism never did and does not now care for polygamy--it hates the Mormon Church. A mean, whiskey-guzzling government official in Utah once said to me: "Damn 'em, all 'e rights 'e Morm's hez is t' pay taxes! 'Fthey don' like that I'm gitout!" That was for years the anti-Mormon spirit in Salt Lake City. The struggle was to get control and tax the Mormons out. That, too, was done largely. That is, many of the poorer Mormons were forced to leave their homes in the city on account of increased taxation levied by anti-Mormon officials. That old spirit is now revived by this new crusade, not because of polygamy but because the Mormons were compelled to take the power to levy taxes out of the hands of their enemies.

A popular impression has been craftily created by the anti-Mormons of Utah that its priesthood and polygamy are the cause of all hostility to Mormonism. The shallowness of the pretense is easily seen when you consider that the most vicious of anti-Mormons accept the Bible as the infallible word and will of God. Yet the Bible teaches priesthood and polygamy. Hence priesthood and polygamy cannot be the secret of anti-Mormonism. The Protestants have been trying for a century to get God into our national constitution and to make Jesus Christ the ruler of the nation. Catholics and Protestants outnumber Mormons a thousand to one. As long as they believe in theocracy they cannot quarrel with the Mormons for holding the same belief. But if they were afraid the Mormons might get into the kingdom ahead of them they would become jealous, and jealousy is the womb of hate. The evangelical churches fought Mormonism from its appearance, not because of polygamy and priesthood, for there was neither {157} priesthood nor polygamy in it then, but because it was a more enticing faith than their own. Mormonism was running smoothly and growing rapidly without original sin, total depravity and eternal torment as its steady theological diet. Therefore, it was infidelity. Therefore, it must be destroyed. Advocates of the undying worm, the lake of fire and the endless roast drove the Mormons out of the United States. When they made the Utah desert a prosperous land, adventurers crowded in to make speculation and riot among them, but found them united against invaders. That was put down against them. Yet a people driven into exile five times would be idiotic not to unite for their own protection, and, as soon as possible, prepare themselves to refuse to be driven again. When their old enemies learned what advancement the Mormons had made in Utah they came to send them to perdition again, but it was too late. Then they raised the outcry against polygamy. That brought in the aid of congress, the destruction of the incorporated church and the confiscation of church property, but did not crush Mormonism. A thousand polygamists went to the penitentiary, and still Mormonism would not collapse. The Mormons did not hanker after salvation from a hot spell in another life. They were too busy. They had hell enough here. There was no brimstone in their conception of the hereafter. A few might falter, but the mass stood by their faith, submitted as best they could to the insolence of their enemies, waiting upon the Lord to rescue them. Then came the scheme to disfranchise them. Disfranchisement was the culmination of forty years of effort to conquer the Mormons. If this calamity should fall the people would be at the mercy of unscrupulous legislators who would practice the sentiment of him who said all the rights the Mormons had were to "pay taxes" or "git out." Before this danger the leader yielded and declared that to save the people from ruin he would take no more plural wives (he was then about 90) himself and would advise his people to do likewise. That was in September, 1800. Two weeks later the church, in conference, accepted the advice of its president that polygamous marriages should cease.

Then it was seen that the Mormons would not abandon their homes--that their persecutors should not grow rich upon property the fleeing Saints must sacrifice. They had conquered by yielding, and there was no other scheme to be sprung upon them. Those who hoped to crush Mormonism were forced to accept the situation. The old political status {158} disappeared and Mormons and Gentiles came together as democrats or republicans, each party seeking to gain control of available public offices. Men who had for years studied how they might throw increased difficulties upon the Mormons were tumbling over each other in their eagerness to reach the Mormon leaders, to profess their profound esteem and to make known their willingness to aid the Latter Day Saints by accepting office at their hands. The new love was touching, but it was sincere? We shall see. The Mormons were rejoiced to find at last an atmosphere of at least seeming peace about them, and gladly gave their old enemies the offices they desired. The offices secured, the men who were going to "boom Utah" proceeded to a recklessness of "improvement" that increased public debt and taxes to an alarming degree. The Mormons disliked to protest; they could not "grin," so they bore it with long, sober faces. Then statehood was secured and the Mormons began to elect their own more cautious men. The new lovers, chiefly office seekers, scented defeat. The old snarl appeared. Startled politicians appealed to willing ministers who needed funds sadly--and the old outcry against the Mormons and polygamy was revived in 1898.

The New Crusade.

What basis is there for this renewed fight against the Mormons? When Wilford Woodruff declared that he would advise the people to cease plural marriages, and when his advice was accepted by vote of the church, there were men living in Utah who were already in polygamy. Most of them were old men, but there were young and middle-aged men who had more than one wife. All through the government fight against polygamy these men had lived with their wives as far as they could in secrecy. Would they be likely to abandon their wives when peace had been received?

To the Mormons, marriage is one of the most sacred of their ordinances. It is solemnized by a priest in the name of God. It is "sealed" in heaven also and is to continue forever. The true Mormon cannot ignore the claims of his plural wife without being false to his vows and his God. No manifesto of Wilford Woodruff, no vote of conference, could annul a plural marriage or engage that any Mormon should cease to care for his plural wives. This fact was as well known by every non-Mormon in Utah in 1890 as it is today. It was understood by every gentile politician, by every {159} representative of the government, by every minister in Utah, that polygamists had been all along secretly living with their polygamous wives. All knew that this would continue, yet all agreed that no further notice should be taken of the matter and polygamy should be left to die its natural death. That understanding reached, no further effort was made to arrest "cohabs." Polygamists lived openly with their wives and, as was expected, children were here and there born--in one instance, at least, we have heard of "twins." So matters stood from the close of 1890 for seven years. In 1897 we had a semi-centennial celebration of the arrival of the pioneer Mormons. In that "jubilee" Mormons and non-Mormons all joined heartily, including the ministers who have since become rabid anti-Mormons; including also the editor of the anti-Mormon paper who was so harmonious then that he delivered an address when the Brigham Young statue was unveiled, who was so inspired by the holy ghost or some other spirit (he is more familiar with other spirits) as to declare in his paper that the Mormons had founded the "new civilization." Yet at that very moment he and all non-Mormons in Utah knew that those who were in polygamy when "the manifesto" was issued, in 1890, had been living openly with their wives for seven years and that children were being born in some of the families. No objection was made, I repeat, until the Mormons, to stay the increase of public debt, began to fill important public offices with prudent men of their faith. There is no evidence that the church had anything to do with this. It was the work of men who owned property, and were anxious to protect it. That this is true is seen in subsequent political action. A majority of the Mormons are democrats. The democrats were rapidly getting control of the state. In the municipal election of Salt Lake last November the republicans elected their ticket over a known democratic majority of voters. Why? Because the republicans ran their canvass on the line of the anti-Mormon elections of a decade ago--the gentile democrat voted the republican ticket. That is, while the Mormons have kept the compact made when the people divided on national party lines, in 1891, the others have largely broken it and we have now the democratic and republican parties with the republican party working as an anti-Mormon party largely. The excitement in Washington over the fact that the republican Utah postmasters at Provo and Logan have been all along in the same boat with democratic Roberts is amusing because of the frantic efforts of men to show that they did not know that those men were {160} old polygamists and had been living with their wives since the "manifesto" of 1890. Of course they knew it. No man could have lived in Utah since 1890 without knowing it. From 1890 until statehood came United States district attorney and marshal for Utah knew it, and yet so generally was it understood that the old condition was to be left to die of old age that those officers made almost no effort to disturb "cohabs." The postmasters in Provo and Logan were chosen because they were influential republicans, and their wives did not count--then. The anxiety over them now is that this excitement will defeat the hope of the republicans to carry Utah in 1900, and when this whole matter is analyzed it is found that the anti-Mormon agitators of Utah, with one exception, are republicans, and the exception is a democrat who, having most earnestly defended the Mormons ten years, was not recognized by them when they were distributing political offices. The Catholics in Utah are democrats and they have taken no part in this crusade. But the evangelical ministers and sects are republicans. The ministers have worked hard for 25 years to "save" the Mormons and yet have never "saved" one who was in good standing in his own church. When polygamy was given up, eastern interests in Utah missions fell, funds went low and the wolf was howling in the back yard. The politicians who had lived for years on salaries as government officers or later in state or city offices were in the same "fix"--they had to raise hell or starve--they did the first and, if I am not much mistaken, will do the second also or--"git out."

Amnesty.

To make clear the subsequent action of the chief factor in the new crusade it is necessary to call attention to what is known as "the amnesty." By act of congress polygamous Mormons were disfranchised. When peace was declared these men wanted their disability removed. A well-meaning but not sagacious Mormon took it upon himself to secure that result. He went for advice to the man who had tried for years to obtain the disfranchisement of all Mormons. That person seems to have expected such a visit. He advised a petition to the President of the United States for amnesty. The unsuspecting Mormon swallowed the hook and asked his adviser to write such a petition. It was, perhaps, already written. The adviser, swearing he would never consent, consented and the petition was produced. It was carried at once to President Woodruff, lying sick at home. The sick man, unable to even {161} read the petition, signed it. With his name attached it was taken to the Apostles and all signed. The petition went to Washington, and, after much unavoidable delay, was granted. But the course of the writer of the petition, in the new crusade, his continual use of his petition against the Mormons, might possibly be taken as evidence that he was shrewdly forging a weapon that he might use against his quondam friends if his love for them should grow cold, or if his ambition were not satisfied. That is, it was well known here that when statehood should come to Utah The-man-who-wrote-the-petition would be a candidate in the first state legislature for the office of United States senator. It was necessary, therefore, to have a republican legislature. To that end the writer of the petition exerted himself to defeat the democratic party in the election of 1895. The democrats were frothing over a suspicion that prominent Mormon church officials were secretly aiding the republicans. Democrats were crying bad faith on the part of the church. The-man-who-wrote-the-petition defended the church officers and charged the democrats with intent "to give Utah a black eye;" with a desire "to keep immigrants from coming here;" with "the awakening of unworthy suspicions against us all;" with trying "to alarm the country;" with committing "an outrage." A few days before election, in 1895, The-man-who-wrote-the-petition, the man who, for more than a year, has found nothing too scurrilous to publish against the Mormons, the man who expected to be elected to the senate in January, 1896, said:

"There is not a man, woman or child in Utah who for one moment thinks there is any agreement or thought of restoring polygamy, or that it could be possible even if such a thought was in the mind of a few bigots."--Salt Lake Tribune, October 19, 1895.

"There is going to be no revival of polygamy; there is going to be no return to church rule." (The same, Oct. 22, 1895.)

The legislature was republican, but The-man-who-wrote-the-petition was "not in it." In the race for senatorship he was shut out in first heat. That straw of ingratitude broke the candidate's editorial back and he seems to have waited for an opportunity to use his petition. The Deseret News says he was paid for it at the time it was written, or, perhaps, concocted, but the action of the legislature was a deadly frost and the bloom of his young love for the Mormon church was killed.

{162}

The Secret Opened.

In 1897, the Mormons, aided and abetted by many of the most influential non-Mormons, made a non-partisan effort to secure much needed municipal reforms. The movement was largely successful, but was hotly denounced by the office seekers of the republican and democratic parties as a "trick" of the church to restore political control over its people. In Salt Lake City the feeling was bitter and an attempt was made to resurrect the anti-Mormon "liberal" party. Failing in that, the excited politicians appealed to the clergy. A Presbyterian paper in Salt Lake began the publication of sundry articles running back into early Mormon literature, culling the crudities, slips and discrepancies to be found therein and using them to condemn the Mormons and Mormonism of today--a course that would be paralleled by attacking the Presbyterians of the present with the fanaticism, folly and worse of "no papacy" days. This publication was scattered over the country and started up the smouldering non-Mormon fire. The smoke encouraged the clergy in Utah to believe that there actually might be something in their sensational talk about polygamy. Then they got together in the summer of 1898 and adopted a series of resolutions declaring that plural marriages are still being contracted, that the Mormons control the state, injure the public schools, and that old Mormon Utah is on deck again. A few weeks later came the state democratic convention to nominate candidates and B. H. Roberts was nominated for congress. He was one of the men who were in polygamy when plural marriage was stopped. From the day of Roberts' nomination the writer of that petition found his opportunity and from then until now has not ceased to vilify the Mormons. He insisted that the election of Roberts would create a storm and then created it himself--a very common trick of false prophets. He revelled in his petition. That is, he sprung the trap he himself had set. I think he was trying to force the Mormon church to declare for the election of the republican ticket, for there was to be another election of a senator in 1899.

In addition to his use of the petition he reprinted the testimony of President Woodruff before a Master of Chancery and tried to prove that the manifesto of 1890 prohibited cohabitation among those then in polygamy. He knew that the president of the church could not annul a marriage. He knew that the hearing was held preliminary to a decree restoring what {163} remained of the escheated church property. He knew that property was worth millions of dollars and the church needed it. There was not an attorney engaged in that hearing who did not want the church to get back its property. There was not a non-Mormon in Utah then mean enough to wish that the church might not get it. But there must be a record to the effect that polygamy had been given up. So President Woodruff consented to say that he included "cohabs" in his manifesto. At that time the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune was friendly, as I have shown, and although it now seeks to brand President Woodruff as a liar it said then that the manifesto "went only to the point of plural marriages," and added "we believe that the rule laid down has been as sacredly kept by this people as it would have been done by any other people; that the Mormons and Gentiles have a right to say that the change amounts to a transfiguration." The measureless infamy of the disappointed office seeker now seeking to pile odium upon the honored dead will be a fitting monument to his malodorous memory in Utah for years to come; and if our good old friend did stretch the truth to save that property it was a lie like that of Hugo's nun, the recording angel dropped a tear upon the slate and rubbed it out.

All this insanity of excitement through the country over alleged polygamous marriages has been created by a few men who are now laughing over their success in fooling the people. They have hunted these mountain states over--have imported special aid from New York--have declared that plural marriages are being contracted, and yet have not been able to find one case. Defeated in that they have arrested several men for "unlawful cohabitation" and advertised that as proof of polygamous marriages.

Avowing, with maledictions upon it, that polygamy is the "twin-relic of barbarism" and must die, they yet will not let it die, but drag it from its senile sleep, enhorse and caparison it like a waxen image of some old Catholic saint and lead it in triumphal procession through the land to excite the clamor of women gone hysterical through brooding in nightly loneliness over the clandestine amours of their monogamous husbands with other women more charming than themselves!

If polygamy were permitted to die a natural death the evangelical churches would lose their last foothold against the rising tide of Mormonism. It is not polygamy that disturbs them, but the steady growth of the Mormon church. Right or wrong, there is a current running to the Mormon church with {164} increasing volume and velocity. The Mormon church and faith have been a boon to hundreds of thousands as poor as were those who heard Jesus gladly. It is today nearer to being a successful effort to inaugurate the Brotherhood of Man than anything ever tried.

In Conclusion,

I want to say that what is here presented does not err from truth and was not written with either knowledge or consent of any member of the Mormon church. It stands upon my personal knowledge. I am not a member of any church, and view all sects philosophically. I cannot perceive that any religion has been of divine origin, in the theological sense of the terms. To my mind they are all human, very human, in their origin. But, conceding to all the rights of intellectual liberty I claim for myself, I question not the right of the people to any religion that satisfies them. In so far as creeds and dogmas impose upon credulity, I claim the right to protest. Thus I have long protested against Calvanism in all its varieties as a wholly unjustifiable cruelty forced upon humanity through its ignorance and fear. I gladly admit that theology, like everything else, is subject to the progressive influence of the ages, and realize that the God of Calvin is not as mean as he was 400 years ago--has been much improved in the last 100 years under our free government and public education. I cheerfully concede that all theologians mean to be honest in the dogmas they create, and I believe that all churches sincerely endeavor to hold their people to defined standards of moral life. But I lay this against them--that they would have men and women practice moral living, not for itself, but to secure a definite reward after we have ceased to live here, a reward called "salvation" from threatened ills and horrors that exist only in the excited imagination of ignorance and superstition. It is childish--it is the mother bribing her boy with bread and jam, or frightening him with threats of "the bad man."

You see, then, that I am one of that class of persons called by all the professors of all the thousand and one varieties of so-called Christianity "an infidel." It is the easiest thing in the world to call people by opprobrious names, as the history of these unpopular Mormons makes manifest. In fact, no new thought appears that is not infidelity to some older one--no new issue that is not maligned by the satisfied believer in some old one. The term "infidel," as applied to persons who think for themselves, do their own business with the Infinite, and {165} decline proffered rewards based on fear of God, is one of merit rather than reproach. Jesus was the great infidel of his time--crucified for truth derided by the prevailing orthodoxy of his day.

There are two kinds of infidelity in the world. One comes by growing up out of existing beliefs, the other by falling below them. The only harmful infidelity exists in the churches, and consists of professing one code of morals and living another. For instance, all Christians call Sunday the Lord's day and pretend to keep it holy, a sacred day devoted to the worship of God. Yet half of them, in this country, keep it as a day of frolic and dissipation. That does not harm the day, does not injure God, but it makes hypocrites of professing Christians. They are infidels who have fallen below their religion. For instance, again, take the seven million names of American people who petitioned congress to expel the Utah congressman. It is safe to say a large percentage of the signers were children who did not know what they were doing, but whose names were taken by Christian adults with intent to deceive.

A long study of religions convinces me that all mean to do good, yet fail, in great part, because they work for a wrong purpose. That is, they work, not for this life, but for one to be sometime somewhere "above the stars," in a locality that has never been more than a myth; and the object of working for that unreality is to escape another mythical locality below the earth, in the earth, or somewhere else equally uncertain. This would do in a world peopled with ignorant savages, but will not do for intelligent men and women. This fact is recognized by the churches. They spend their money chiefly to carry their religion to the "heathen," realizing that it is useless at home. The religions of the world need reconstructing. They have much to learn and unlearn. I know of no church working so zealously for what it believes to be the good of humanity as Mormonism. I know its leaders, its system, its work. Its directors, as a whole, are sincere, conscientious, clean, honest men. If they err, it is not from evil intent. To them the presence of God is a living faith. It may be an error, but the faith is there, and the work is the result.

Mormonism is peculiar in this: it does not regard this life as a preparation for an eternity of idle psalm-singing in a future existence Lord-knows-where, but a school of moral training for an eternal life right here after "the resurrection." To this end it aims to make its people intelligent, capable, honest, moral, successful now, as the proper means of reaching the greatest {166} happiness then. This may be a practical basis for a possible end. Its enemies say it is based on fraud. Well, it is said they cannot demonstrate that Christianity was not based on fraud--cannot demonstrate that Jesus ever existed. But Christianity is here, and, whether He lived or not, it will remain. If it should transpire that Joseph Smith was not the founder of Mormonism, that the engraved "plates" had no existence, Mormonism is here, the faith is here, and it too will remain. We can only dismiss all questions of "fraud" and choose--the best. The best is that which is most beneficent in practical helpfulness. Tried thus, Mormonism possesses merit that cannot be ignored by any who would concede equal rights--fair field and no favors--to all. I see in it what to me are weaknesses, but in what system do they not exist? They are the weaknesses of its youth and are being outgrown--would be outgrown faster but for the malevolent opposition that drives it back upon itself. But let no enemy of Mormonism flatter himself that it can be killed by vituperation. It is the most remarkable movement in the religious world since the days of Mahomet--the most wonderful religious movement in forty generations. The thunder and lightning of its enemies cannot strike it down. It must fall, if fall it must, as other religions have fallen--by its own decay after it has lived its natural life. Keeping Roberts out of congress will not arrest its course, and it is highly probable that the time will come when the American people who want no church interference with our national government may be glad to have the aid of the now maligned Mormons.

Consider that there are today 1,700 young Mormons tramping over this continent in city, town and hamlet--young men who are so circumspect in all their deportment that not even the most bitter enemies of their faith have the hardihood to raise their voices against them--young men who are steadily making the fundamental principles of their faith known to the people. There has been nothing like it in the world for hundreds of years, nothing in so-called Christian countries since the steady persistence of the Protestants on the continent and in Great Britain, and it is going to produce great results. The Mormons might be called the non-Conformists of this country and in spite of all efforts to the contrary they are going to wield an influence upon its future. One of the Utah men in Washington fighting the Mormons was honest enough to tell the truth when he said in a public meeting: "It is not polygamy but Mormonism we want to check." But it won't check or {167} warp and is growing, and I write with a growing interest in its success. In 1718 there came 900 non-Conformists from Ulster county, Ireland, to Boston. They were Scotch-Irish Protestants seeking religious freedom. They introduced the Irish potato in New England. Some of them gave to older Yankees a few potatoes with instructions for planting them. They grew, blossomed, and bore fruit, but the Yankees cooked the seed balls and said they found them anything but good. Next spring when spading up their gardens they found the potato crop. Mormonism presented to Christian sects a new theological potato, so to speak. They tried it, ate the wrong end of the growth and denounced it. But there will come a new spring in which old sectarian gardens will be plowed up and then the real fruits of Mormonism will be discovered--and will be found to be both palatable and healthful.

"Where there is no change of priesthood, there is no change of ordinances, says Paul. If God has not changed the ordinances and the priesthood, howl ye sectarians! If He has, when and where has He revealed it? Have ye turned revelators? Then why deny revelation?"

--Joseph Smith, The Prophet.

"All who live according to the best principles in their possession, or that they can understand, will receive peace, glory, comfort, joy, and a crown that will be far beyond what they are anticipating. They will not be lost."

--Brigham Young.

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Prophets and Apostles Necessary.

By the Late President, George Q. Cannon, in Millennial Star, 1866.

The assertions made by the Latter-day Saints that God has raised up a Prophet and Apostles in these days, who have the authority to teach and instruct men in the principles of His kingdom, and that their teachings and counsels are entitled to consideration and obedience, are statements that are looked upon by many to be little less than blasphemous. Many cannot conceive how individuals, who are apparently so sane and possessed of good judgment on other subjects, should be so visionary, and so wholly absorbed in the strange belief of there being men who hold this power on the earth in these days. They, nevertheless, believe that men clothed with this power have existed upon the earth at various times, who were inspired to speak and write; and they are quite willing to receive the writings, said to be theirs, upon very slight testimony, and rest all their hopes of future and eternal blessedness upon their veracity. They have an idea that it is perfectly reasonable to believe in the words of the Apostles and Prophets who lived thousands of years ago, and they think that, were they alive now, they could place all reliance and confidence in their words as the word of God. Peter, James and John, with their brethren, are looked up to as having been something superior to mortal, and many, forgetting that they were but human, think that it would only be necessary, did they live now, for them to declare this message and state that they were empowered to teach it, and men without the slightest demur would instantly embrace its doctrines. This professed admiration of dead Prophets and Seers, however, is not confined to this generation alone; it was a characteristic of other generations. The Jews, when Jesus was in their midst, would build and adorn the tombs of the Prophets {169} whom their fathers had slain, and say that if they had lived in the days of their fathers they would not have persecuted or killed them, while at the same time they were thirsting for the blood of the Son of God, and they did not rest until He had shared the same fate with the Prophets whom they so ostentatiously honored. But what is there visible at the present time from which we can infer that were any of the ancient Prophets or Apostles in the midst of this generation, they would be any better treated, or their teachings given more heed to, than they were in the generation in which they lived? The present ideas of professing Christians--that the canon of Scripture is full--and that there is no further need of direct revelation--would not admit of their recognizing a Prophet or an Apostle, should they be so fortunate as to have one sent into their midst. They are, in this respect, in a similar situation to the Jews at the time of the advent of the Messiah. They were in possession of the writings of the Prophets, and held them as the present sects of Christendom hold the Bible. Their writings were their oracles, and they indulged in the idea, as the modern sects do about the Bible, that they contained all that was necessary to lead them to salvation, until Shiloh should come, without the aid of any Prophets or Apostles to act as living oracles in their midst. They doubtless imagined that they were warranted in this belief by their sacred Scriptures, in the same manner that many at the present day imagine that the present Scriptures, composed of the writings of the ancient Prophets and Apostles, warrant them in rejecting all further revelation. This misapprehension of the Jews was followed by terrible results; they ceased to have a national existence, and they were scattered and dispersed abroad.

If the Scriptures the Jews had and the Scriptures we at present have are examined, it will be found that there is a greater amount of evidence in our possession in favor of the idea of living oracles, or Prophets and Apostles, being raised up and inspired in these days, than there was among the Jews in the days of the Apostles to support them in believing that they would make their appearance at that time. In fact the Scriptures cannot be fulfilled until these things take place. Prophecy upon prophecy has been uttered and recorded, pointing clearly and definitely to the last days--to the time when God should again set His hand the second time to recover the remnants of His people; when He would send for many fishers and they would fish them, and for {170} many hunters and they would hunt them; when His Kingdom would again be built up, and their judges be restored as at the first, and their counsellors as at the beginning; when many nations would be seized with the desire to go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that they might be taught in His ways and be able to walk in His paths. To fulfill these prophecies--which were, no doubt, given with the expectation of their being as literally accomplished as the prophecies in relation to the Messiah which the Jews misapprehended--men holding power and authority equal with the men of old who were called to perform similar works, have to be raised up; and if they are raised up and inspired, they must have equal power to teach, counsel and direct the children of men, and their teachings, counselings, and directions will be as obligatory upon mankind as the teachings, counselings and directions of the ancients. Since the creation of man and the first revelation of God's will unto him, we have no account of the Lord ever having a people upon the earth, or a system which He recognized as being His, without also having men of this description--men with whom He could communicate, and through whom His mind and will could be made known to the people. They were the living oracles, possessing living Priesthood, through which they could obtain light and intelligence from the Almighty, to expound with authority to the children of men; and their words, whether delivered orally or written, were equally binding upon the people with the words of any preceding servant of God. That this was the case all sacred history bears abundant evidence.

The necessity of inspired men, in order that the prophecies may be fulfilled, must be apparent. Man has always been the instrument which the Lord has used to accomplish His purposes. But apart from the prophecies which set forth in unmistakable language, that the days of revelation and intercourse between the Deity and man will again be restored, there is an abundance of evidence to prove that there cannot be a Church of Christ on the earth without having Prophets and Apostles as its officers. They were not to be confined to the early days of Christianity alone, but were to be continued "until all should come to the unity of the faith, unto the knowledge of the Son of God;" they were to be as necessary "for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ," as evangelists, pastors and teachers are. To assert that {171} Prophets and Apostles are no longer needed would be to assert that evangelists, pastors and teachers are likewise unnecessary. The great head of the Church, in its organization, had a definite object in placing these officers in His Church and that object could not be accomplished except by their perpetuity. When these officers ceased to be recognized then the Church ceased to be the Church of Christ. It would be considered a very great departure from the spirit of the Gospel to assert that pastors and other ministers--such for instance as teachers and evangelists--were no longer needed; and yet the evidence necessary to support their recognition as officers of the Church proves that not only they are necessary, but that Prophets and Apostles also are required. The proofs brought forward to substantiate the idea that Prophets and Apostles are no longer needed will apply with much force to the other officers in the Church; and if the necessity for one or two of the callings in the Church has ceased to be, it can easily be proved that there is no further necessity for the remainder. The belief that these callings are no longer needed has been inculcated in Christendom by both precept and example. A false Christianity has flourished for centuries, and men have been taught to rely upon it as the religion of Jesus, and not seeing these callings filled in it, it has required but little persuasion to cause them to fall into the erroneous belief that they were only designed for the days when Christianity was first preached. If one, more inquiring and penetrating than his fellows, should ascertain by a perusal of the Scriptures, that there was nothing to discountenance the idea of the perpetuity of such callings, and should make inquiries to know why they did not at present exist, his doubts would be removed by pointing him to Christianity as it exists around him, flourishing and yet destitute of these offices; and its existence without them must be received as evidence that the Lord had altered the organization of His Church and deemed these offices unnecessary. Men instead of making their belief conform to the Bible have endeavored to distort it and make it correspond with their ideas and systems; when the plainly written word would not admit of that they have endeavored to hide their errors and the incorrectness of their position, by stating that the Scriptures have a spiritual meaning--and they do not literally mean what their language denotes, but they require to be spiritualized to be understood. Miserable subterfuge! What a cunning device of the adversary of souls and his agents, to {172} entrap and deceive mankind! Impress upon the people that these are no longer necessary, and they will cease to look for them; persuade them to believe that the word of God has a different meaning from the one apparent on its face, and they will see nothing condemnatory of sin and the commission of gross wrong; Satan's victory and triumph will then be easy.

The correctness of the position we have assumed in stating that Prophets and Apostles are as necessary in the Church of Christ now as they ever were, is not at all affected by the truth or falsity of the doctrines we believe in and teach. Because the Latter-day Saints believe in these things does not detract one iota from their truth. These officers would be indispensably necessary, wherever a Church of Christ existed, if we as a people, were extinct. If men believe the Bible they must believe as Latter-day Saints, and if there is a Church of Christ upon the earth there must of necessity be Prophets and Apostles, and if there are Prophets and Apostles, they have the right to teach and instruct mankind in the principles of the Lord's Kingdom, and their teachings and counsels are entitled to consideration and obedience. A great many find considerable fault with the Latter-day Saints because they rely so much upon the words of their Prophets and Apostles. They think it decidedly anti-republican; and some, to give vent to superabundance of their spleen, occasionally call Brigham Young and his brethren hard names, because they, being men, make themselves equal with the Apostles. These individuals, with their present feelings, had they lived in any other generation when Prophets and Apostles were upon the earth, would have taken a precisely similar course to oppose them. It is not the individuals they are warring against--though many of them, no doubt, think that it is--but it is the principle. How much more republican would we be, if we paid no attention to their teachings, than we are at present? Can not we exercise our rights and privileges as republicans, to as full an extent by doing right as by doing wrong--by being obedient to the will of the Almighty as by being disobedient? The Latter-day Saints cannot fail to hearken to and have confidence in the words of their leaders, so long as they believe as they do about the necessity of Prophets and Apostles, and the authority they hold; and while they retain this belief, the only thing that will destroy this confidence is to prove that they do not hold this authority, and are not Apostles and Prophets. So long {173} as we know that men have this authority it makes but little difference to us what their names may be. And the moment the Latter-day Saints became convinced that Joseph and Brigham Young were Apostles of Jesus Christ, they were as willing to believe their testimony and to hearken to their counsel and teachings, as they would have been to have believed and hearkened to those of the ancient Apostles.

"If we could see our heavenly Father, we should see a being similar to our earthly parent, with this difference: our Father in heaven is exalted and glorified. He has received His thrones, His principalities and powers, and He sits as a governor, as a monarch, and overrules kingdoms, thrones and dominions that have been bequeathed to Him, and such as we anticipate receiving. While He was in the flesh, as we are, He was as we are."

--Brigham Young.

"Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof until long after the events transpire."

--Joseph Smith, August 25, 1842.

{174}

COMPREHENSIVE SALVATION, OR THE GOSPEL TO THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.

By John Nicholson.

An Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

First Principles--Authority--Miraculous Gifts--Organization--Apostasy--Restoration--The Gospel Preached to the Spirits of the Departed--Different Degrees of Glory--Turning the Hearts of the Fathers to the Children, and the Children to their Fathers.

Honest professing Christians, of every creed, must freely admit that the position of the Latter-day Saints in regard to what are called the first principles of the doctrine of Christ is invulnerable. They must acknowledge that faith in God, the Eternal Father, in His Son Jesus Christ and the divinity of His mission, and in the Holy Ghost, is unquestionably Scriptural. They must accede also that repentance of sins, as preparatory to their remission, occupies the same Biblical position. Neither can they consistently question the object of baptism, being for the remission of sins--"Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." Nor can the mode (immersion) be questioned by them. Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, likens baptism, administered in the proper form, to the burial and resurrection of Christ; a very beautiful figure--immersion in the liquid element. No other method bears the remotest resemblance to being buried and resurrected. Nor do {175} unprejudiced investigators for religious truth deny that the baptism of true Christianity, as taught and administered by John the Baptist, Christ and His disciples, was intended, not for infants, but only for those persons who had reached the years of accountability. This must be obvious, because before people were baptized for the remission of sins it was necessary, as a preparation, that they should believe and repent, a process impossible to little children. The latter being, according to the Savior, of the Kingdom of Heaven, have no sins to remit, for no unclean thing can enter the heavenly kingdom. Sinfulness is uncleanness.

It is easy for the Saints to show that the ordinance administered in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of the "Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost," is strictly a Bible practice. Read, for instance, the 8th chapter of the Acts, and numerous other passages, "Then laid they their hands upon them and they received the Holy Ghost." [1]

The necessity of authority to enable man to represent Jesus on the earth in the ministry of the Gospel, is also admitted freely by the unprejudiced. The absence of such authority among the lifeless sects is conspicuous. Paul lays down an unqualified rule upon this point: "No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." Aaron was called of God by revelation from Him, through the Prophet Moses. The sects of to-day repudiate revelation and its necessity, and how therefore can they be in possession of an authority that can only be given by that means? It is impossible. [2]

Honest-hearted people who profess a belief in the Bible cannot and do not deny that a true Church of Christ must necessarily enjoy the fruits of the Spirit. These are the gifts enumerated by Paul in the 12th chapter of Corinthians. How can a belief in such things be repudiated when they existed in the primitive Church, which was the genuine Church of Christ, established by Himself? If the true Church is extant now, its peculiarities and blessings must be the same. [3]

It surely will be admitted that the Church will not only be the same in doctrine, ordinances, spirit, gifts and authority, {176} but also in organization and officers. Hence, as in primitive times, it will incorporate apostles, prophets, and other inspired men, who were given to the Church to edify its members until they "all come to a unity of the faith." It may be well to ask how a Church could be the Church of Christ denuded of some of its most conspicuous doctrines, ordinances, spirit, gifts, officers and organization. [4]

In fact so wide is the gulf that separates the true Church--that described in the Scriptures--from the repudiative, revelationless, spiritless, disjointed churches of the day that it is difficult to discover even a remote resemblance. But these things are very plain and clear. They must be obvious to fair, candid truth-lovers. And as that is the only class whom the glorious light of revealed Gospel truth will be likely to impress with its beauty, it is to such that we, in the present writing, appeal.

How clear is the wide discrepancy between the primitive Church, the true Church, and the sects of "Christendom" in every feature. How often we have listened to exclamations of astonishment from the lips of persons when this remarkable difference was first explained to them by the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have wondered that so potent a fact did not strike them before. This amazement has been increased when their attention has been called to the predictions of the inspired apostles and prophets regarding the apostasy from the ancient faith of the Saints. In fact Paul positively declares, in the 2nd chapter of 2nd Thessalonians that "That day (meaning the second coming of Christ) shall not come except there come a falling away first." But it is not our purpose to elaborate upon this subject, preferring that our readers should peruse the Scriptures relating to it, guided by the passages to which their attention is directed by note. [5]

The seeker after religious truth turns to the glorious promise of a restoration of the ancient order of the Church of Christ, as to a ray of sunshine penetrating the surrounding gloom. Jesus Christ, teaching his disciples upon the signs of his coming, predicted, as among the indications of the approach of the great event, the preaching of "This Gospel of the Kingdom" for a witness. John the Revelator, while gazing down the flowing stream of time, saw not only the restoration of the Gospel, but the manner of its being committed to man, {177} (by a holy angel). The angel who showed him these things was not an imaginative being, depicted according to the fancy of an artist. He was one of the prophets who had kept the faith and gone into the presence of God, at whose command he visited the Revelator. But let the reader search the Scriptures upon these points, for we speak according to the "law and the testimony." The foregoing truths have been frequently and ably set forth in various writings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and are constantly laid before the public in plainness by the elders in their preaching of the word of God. This being the case it is not our present purpose to enter upon an elaboration of them. Our position, thus far, being established upon a sound scriptural basis, we will undertake to answer some objections which leap into the minds of some inquirers in opposition to the claims of the Latter-day Saints to being in possession of the pure Gospel restored.

From what we have already shown it cannot be truthfully denied that the Scriptures faithfully describe the doctrines, principles, ordinances, powers, gifts, organization and authority enjoyed by the Church established by Christ and his ancient apostles.

All Bible believers must admit that that Church was a true one, having been set up under the personal supervision and by direction of the Divine Master himself.

The fact also stares all people broadly in the face that between that true and ancient Church and the sects of so-called Christendom, now existing, there is an irreconcilable difference in almost every respect.

The only logical conclusion that can be reached in reasoning upon such a condition is, that the primitive Church being the true one, having divine sanction and approval, all churches differing from it must necessarily be spurious. However unpalatable so evident a situation may be to professing Christians, it should be accepted by them with becoming grace and composure that they may be prepared for the revelation to come. God is consistent and truthful in all his ways, and what he says he will do, whether by his own voice or by the utterances of his inspired servants, he will fulfil. Our readers, if they be consistent Bible believers, are constrained to accept of the fact presented in the sacred record, that the Lord did purpose, subsequent to a great apostasy, to reveal from heaven the true order of the Gospel. This belief being established in their minds, probably the chief difference in their position and ours is that while they merely admit the {178} existence of such a precious prophetic promise we advance a step further, taking the ground that it has been fulfilled. The message we declare is that God raised up the Prophet Joseph Smith, to whom and to others he sent angels who conferred upon them the authority of the Holy Priesthood, enabling them to legally officiate in the ordinances of the Gospel. We announce that God has set up, in this age, by revelation, the true Church of Christ, to prepare the way for his second coming, which is near at hand. [6]

A prominent objection urged against the Latter-day Saints is that they are exclusive in their views. They are charged with being contracted in their opinions. This arises from their claim to being the only people having the true plan of salvation. If our readers will calmly weigh the matter, they will be free to admit that as in all other respects they resemble the ancient Church of Christ, so they do in this. The disciples of the Lord held that they were right and, as a logical sequence, all others were wrong, because all systems differing from one that is correct must necessarily be spurious. The ancient Saints were correct in this position, for as they presented the light to the world, the existing sects had no longer an excuse for remaining in darkness. If the Latter-day Saints are in possession of the same saving principles, their position in regard to the sects of this day is the same.

The Redeemer himself was exceedingly exclusive, as witness the decisive quality of his language to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." This was a definite rule, laid down by the highest authority, to which not the slightest intimation of an exception was made. All must receive the genuine baptism of water and of the Spirit, the former administered by immersion, and the latter by the laying on of hands, or remain forever outside the pale of God's heavenly Kingdom. This is unqualified exclusiveness, based upon the laws which have been revealed from heaven, and which are eternal in their nature and effects.

But the objector, unwilling to release an apparently feasible opposing point, may say he can see where this exclusiveness might be justifiable in its application to the generations of men living when the genuine plan of salvation was upon the earth. Those living contemporaneously with the Gospel plan might respond to the invitation to come and bask in its saving sunshine. {179} The justice, however, of placing a bar to the entrance into God's kingdom in the way of people who are not living on this earth when the oracles and Gospel of the Redeemer are upon it, is questioned. It is argued that surely a just God could not and would not exclude from the benefits of saving truth the myriads of honest souls who have lived out their "brief hour" in this sphere according to the best light they possessed, and passed along to the next. Those who raise this point "Do err, not understanding the Scriptures."

The great Gospel plan is both comprehensive and grand. It is worthy of the Great Being who instituted it for the redemption of His children. But how ignorant, because of sectarian gloom and apostasy, are the people concerning the magnitude of the Gospel scheme, and the far-reaching nature of its saving power and principles. By the magic touch of truth, aided by the scriptures, we hope to shed a ray of light upon this subject. We propose to show that the Gospel is not only applicable in the process of saving the living, but includes within its broad folds, salvation for the dead. The reader need not be startled at this proposition. It is strongly supported by the Bible, which, if he profess to be a Christian, he should surely be ready to accept as competent authority.

The preaching of the Gospel of life and salvation is not confined to this life. "Glad tidings of great joy" are also conveyed to the spirits of the dead, in the sphere in which they dwell pending the resurrection of their bodies. In addition to His mission on earth the Redeemer performed another in the spirit world. Before He consummated His mortal ministry by suffering an ignominious death, he spoke of his prospective labors in the sphere beyond, when he said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they who hear shall live." (John v, 25.)

Some will, in a contumacious spirit, contend that he spoke in a figurative sense, of the "dead in trespasses and sins." This is an untenable position, for why should he speak of a purpose to do in the future that which he was at the same moment engaged in, being then in the act of addressing the unrepentant Jews? But the 28th verse of the same chapter is sufficient to explode the flimsy subterfuge. It shows that he had reference to those whose bodies were at that time sleeping in the comb, "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice." This was spoken too, in connection with an assertion that {180} those who were obedient should come forth at the "resurrection of the just."

Let not the reader suppose that the subject of salvation for the dead is merely treated upon by a few passages of scripture. In Peter's 1st epistle iii chapter, 18th and 19th verses, there is a definite statement to the effect that after Christ was "put to death in the flesh," he was "quickened by the spirit, by which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison." The object of this preaching to the departed spirits of men is plainly defined in the 6th verse of the following chapter, being "That they be judged according to men in the flesh but live according to God in the spirit." The object was the same as that of the declaration of the words of life to the living; to bring the ungodly to repentance and newness of life.

Even the Protestant religion does not entirely ignore the visit of the Redeemer of the world to the shades of the departed, although the recognition of the important fact is given in an undefined and ambiguous way. This is because of a lack of understanding, in the absence of the spirit of revelation, of the Scriptures. The great truths of the Bible can only be comprehended by the investigator being in possession of a portion of the spirit that inspired the speakers and writers of the divine record. However, the 3rd and 4th Articles of Religion state that "Christ died for us and was buried, so also is it to be believed that he went down into hell." Also that "he rose again from death, took again his body of flesh and bones, wherewith he ascended into heaven." It will be seen that the sphere which Peter informs us is for the confinement of the spirits of departed humanity, is denominated in the "Articles of Faith," as "hell," but both point to a visit by Christ to a place or condition differing essentially from heaven or earth.

This position is borne out by the Savior's own declaration to Mary, when he forbade her to touch him, for the reason that he had not yet ascended to His Father. This shows he had not yet been to heaven. He had been engaged in the work entrusted to Him by the Father, among the intelligences that had once existed on the earth. This accounts for the remark of Jesus, while hanging upon the cross, to the thief who suffered a similar fate at the same time: "To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Some unadvisedly suppose the thief went direct to heaven. On the contrary it is evident he went to a place where departed spirits abide until the resurrection. Christ, as we have shown by the remarks of Peter, went to {181} such a place, in the spirit, during the time intervening between His crucifixion and resurrection. The word paradise, therefore stands for such a place, for on the same day on which the promise was made to the thief, the latter's spirit was to be in the Redeemer's presence. There he could be taught of the Lord of heaven and earth and, if so disposed, "Live according to God in the spirit."

The reader may endeavor to find other objections to our proposition that the saving message and power of the Gospel reaches the dead who die in ignorance of it. He may take issue with us upon the saying of the Savior, heretofore quoted, "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." This, being a rule devoid of exception, it may be a question as to how those who have died without a knowledge of the Gospel can possibly gain an entrance into the heavenly kingdom, in view of the impracticability of a spirit's being baptized by immersion, or "born of water." We at once admit that a spirit cannot personally comply with this ordinance, excepting in one way. A departed intelligence can have that ordinance performed by substitute, and his acceptance of that performance will constitute, according to the statutes of the Gospel, compliance with the law, and entitle him to the privileges of the kingdom of God.

We trust the reader will not suddenly, in his feelings, object to the vicarious administration of the ordinance of baptism in water. Baptism for the dead is Scriptural, and is a saving provision of the Almighty God, showing the magnitude of His mercy. Let us turn our attention to the 15th chapter of Corinthians. Paul offers strong reasoning in support of the resurrection of the body. One of the most potent of his points was that if the heretics who declaimed against that sublime doctrine were right, the ordinance of the being baptized for the dead would be a useless performance. Paul was, of course, right, for the chief object of such an ordinance must be to entitle the dead, among other blessings, to a part in the resurrection. This agrees with the announcement of Jesus, to the effect that the dead would soon hear his voice, and they who did good would have part in the resurrection of the just. Here are the words of Paul: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" Thus even the dead are not exempt from the exceptionless rule laid down by Christ, that the birth of water and of the spirit is an imperative condition of entrance into the kingdom of God. The only difference between the living and the dead is that the {182} former are required to receive it in person and the latter by proxy.

How easy for the reader to say, I do not believe one person can do anything in connection with salvation that will affect another. But were such an objection valid, the whole fabric of Christianity would be swept away. That saving plan is built upon this very principle. "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. xv, 22). The atonement is a vicarious work. Who shall say that Christ has not done a saving work for us? He died that we might live!

The principle of one being representing another runs throughout the whole of the dispensations of God to men. We have already stated that the atonement was vicarious, and this is the foundation of Christianity. The whole mission of the Savior was a work based on the law of substitution in another respect. He came as the representative of the Father. He represented neither himself nor his own doctrine. "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his (the Father's) will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself", (John vii, 16, 17). How often He announced, in the meekness of his spirit, "I came not to do my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me." He was the substitute, deputy or representative of that Great Being who, after his baptism in water, at the hands of John, to "fulfill all righteousness," proclaimed him his Son.

So is the law of substitution exhibited in the sending forth of the ancient disciples. They were the representatives of Jesus Christ, to perform His work, not their own. Neither had they power to do any work save it was in His name, so that through them as His deputies or substitutes, did He accomplish His purposes. So emphatically did they represent Him that those who rejected them committed the rebellious crime, in that act, of rejecting Him, and consequently of rejecting the Father also. Thus it will be seen that substitution runs through the whole superstructure of genuine Christianity, and cannot be consistently cast aside or even treated slightingly.

The first object of baptism is that the repentant believer receiving it may obtain a remission of sins. If this be the result sought and gained by obedience to this law in the case of a living person, so must it be in the cases of the dead who receive this ordinance by the law of substitution. Paul says we are buried with Christ "by baptism into his death; that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the {183} Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life", (Rom. vi, 4). Thus, in connection with the baptism for the remission of sins, the disciple engages to refrain from evil-doing in future, by adopting a "newness of life." So also do the spirits of the departed, whom Peter informs us had the Gospel preached unto them, that they, might reform, by "living according to God."

The reader may be seized with a momentary feeling of astonishment at the innovatory character of this doctrine upon existing so-called Christian systems of religion. The latter, so far as Protestantism is concerned, teach that the condition of human intelligences cannot be affected, so far as a reformatory process is concerned, after death. Jesus Christ, speaking of the "sin against the Holy Ghost," said, that "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men," excepting this one. Of this unpardonable offence He said: "It shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come" (Matt, xii, 31, 32). This announcement of the Redeemer implies the application of a forgiveness or remission of sins in the world to come. Else what would be the use of stating it as a fact that this special sin could not be forgiven in the world to come. Why thus particularize it in reference to the future life, unless it were an exception to the rule? The only sensible inference to be drawn from the statement is that other sins are forgiven in the future life. The plain meaning of the passage is that all other sins shall be forgiven either here or hereafter. The mode of obtaining that forgiveness or remission of evils committed is the same in the case of the dead as the living, being through the application of the law of baptism, received by proxy by the former and in person by the latter.

Were it suited to our purpose, we might show that every law of the Gospel, being eternal, compliance alone with the conditions of the same brings the promised blessing. The application of the statutes of heaven is universal, whether to the living or the dead. If the latter are required to have the law of baptism attended to in their behalf to entitle them to a remission of sins, so must the birth of the spirit be undergone to ensure for them an entrance into the kingdom of God. For, "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit", he cannot enjoy that blessed privilege. If the vicarious principle in the Gospel plan require the birth of the water for departed spirits, so also must the laying on of hands be received in the same manner--by substitute. Thus we might go on to exhibit to the admiring contemplation of the lovers of truth {184} the exceeding greatness of the scheme of redemption, consistent, yet simple in every part. Showing also the mercy and justice of the Most High, who has provided for the eternal peace of all his children who will obey his laws.

Let us contemplate for a moment those contracted systems which confine the application of the saving power of the Gospel to this life, as compared with the infinitely broad plan of which Christ is the head. Every professing Christian pretends to believe that "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," except that of Christ. Myriads of human intelligences come upon this earth and pass away without ever hearing of the name of the Savior. Are these immortal beings to be kept in outer darkness throughout eternity? While revolving ages roll around, shall no ray of salvation ever illumine the gloom of their prison house? And this because they did not bow in submission to a name with the sound of which their ears had never been saluted? Where would be the justice of such a state of facts? Yet salvation can only be made attainable through the name of our blessed Savior. Let us rather consider the magnanimity and justice of our Heavenly Father, by admitting that the gates and "everlasting doors" are lifted up, and the message of the King of Glory carried to the captives, that they may be set free.

How otherwise would we suppose that the Redeemer could be the ultimate victor, conquering "death, hell and the grave," triumphing over the unavailing efforts of the Devil to drag humanity down to eternal darkness. The number of human intelligences receiving the message of Christ in this life is insignificant compared with the teeming hosts who either never heed or never hear His name. Yet it is only through his name that redemption can be procured. Therefore were the Gospel trumpet not sounded, nor salvation offered in the spheres beyond, it would not be Christ but the arch-adversary who would, in the great day of the Lord, sound the note of victory. Salvation for the dead as well as the living is not only Scriptural, but it appeals to our reason, as the only scheme consistent in magnitude and mercy with the character and attributes of the King of Heaven.

We have shown, in the foregoing pages, that the preaching of the Gospel to, and the vicarious performance and administration of its eternal ordinances for the dead, are in strict harmony with the doctrines of the holy Scriptures. The application of the saving principles of the Divine system to the {185} dead has been clearly explained as a necessity, to make the work of human redemption complete, rendering our Great Captain, Christ, the triumphant victor, and Satan the prostrate, vanquished foe. The mighty host of the redeemed, as compared with those who will be destroyed as "vessels of wrath," will be as the vastness of the oceans to the insignificant stream. Those doomed to everlasting ostracism from each and all of the mansions and kingdoms of the Father, prepared as places of glory and rest for His children, will be comparatively few, as all manner of sin shall be forgiven unto men, either in time or eternity, except the one crime which is unto eternal death--the sin against the Holy Ghost. A just and merciful God has not created man that he might forever endure eternal misery, but rather that he might dwell in realms of everlasting joy.

It is generally taught that after death there are but two separate and distinct divisions--heaven and hell--into the first of which the righteous are admitted, and into the second the wicked are thrust. In either one it is believed, by most professing Christians, that there are no degrees of bliss or exaltation on the one hand, or exquisiteness of torture on the other. But how such unreasonable views can be entertained, in the face of the plain declaration of Scripture, is not easily accounted for.

In explanation of the grand fact that there were many dwelling places in the sphere beyond, Jesus said to his disciples, "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you", (John xiv, 2). In the following verse Jesus assigns as a reason for this preparation that it was for the purpose of having them dwell in His presence, "That where I am there ye may be also." There can be no other inference drawn from this statement than that there will be others who will dwell in the mansions of the Father, the kingdoms of our God, who will not enjoy the exalted privilege of being in the immediate presence of the Redeemer.

How beautiful is the explanation of the Apostle Paul upon the doctrine of degrees. Speaking of the condition of those who have died and shall be again quickened into life by the power of the resurrection, he says: "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth {186} from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead" (1 Cor. xv, 40-42). Here are three distinct degrees, mansions or kingdoms that are spoken of, and how appropriately are they compared to the shining orbs that illumine the heavenly expanse. The analogous figure used to convey to the mind a glimmering of the innumerable differences that will exist in the third grade of the final abodes of human intelligences, immediately impresses the mind with the minuteness of detail in the provisions of the divine scheme, in the wonderful adaptability to the capacities and conditions of an infinite variety of individualities. Not only is there a condition of future existence that will be as the stars compared with the greater lights that revolve in space, but in that plane of existence there shall be differences as peculiar and apparently as numerous as those which characterize the shining worlds.

In speaking of the merciful providence of the Most High in preparing ultimate abodes suited to the capacities of His children, surely Paul was a good authority. Not only was he able to speak advisedly by the manifestations of the Spirit of Truth, that was in him by virtue of his holy apostleship, but he had, while still a dweller in mortality, been made an actual partaker of the glories of the other world. He had received a foretaste of the exquisiteness of heavenly bliss, having been, by the goodness of God, made a visitant to one, at least, of the future degrees. Speaking of his personal experience, he said: "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven" (2 Cor. xii, 2). Taking this statement, as all professing Christians should, as worthy of credence, the only logical conclusion to be arrived at is that there are at least three heavens, the mention of a third rendering the existence of two others imperative. For our part we will accept the statement of an authority like Paul in preference to that of a wholesale combination of uninspired expounders and commentators, who stand upon different ground from that taken by him.

Those who sleep in Christ shall be raised from the dead at His coming with power and great glory, in the latter days. They shall reign with him on the earth a thousand years. During that blissful period the vicarious work for the dead shall proceed, until the work of redemption shall be complete, and all, at the end of that time of rest, the thousand years--"one clay with the Lord,"--the dead, both small and great, shall be raised. Then shall come the judgment. The {187} sons of God, the intelligences whom He created for His glory, shall be assigned to the mansions and kingdoms for which they have fitted themselves, by their course in this life and while in the spirit. And all shall acknowledge that God is just, and merciful, and full of loving kindness, and shall give glory to Him who sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.

There is an unbroken harmony between the teachings and announcements of Jesus and all the ancient prophets and apostles with those of Joseph Smith, who was raised up to usher in the great last dispensation. This beautiful blending should strike the investigator as remarkable. He should inquire whether a system so complete could possibly be the product of mere human ingenuity. It certainly is a most striking and unusual phenomenon. This unanimity of doctrine, principle and sentiment is all the more astounding in view of the otherwise heterogeneous, discrepant and conflicting religious maelstrom presented by so-called Christendom. This blending of the teachings of the ancients with those of the modern prophet is at least refreshingly new in this age of frenzied religious perplexity.

Let us consider the statements of Joseph Smith in regard to the future conditions of the human family, side by side with the utterances of the Savior and the Apostle Paul. At Hiram, Portage County, Ohio, U. S. A., the modern prophet and Sidney Rigdon were permitted to behold a glorious vision, by which their minds were opened to a comprehension of this great subject. A portion of what they saw they were commanded to write and is published in section 76 of the latest edition of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. Concerning those who place themselves beyond the pale of redemption, by committing the sin against the Holy Ghost, it is written: "Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves, through the power of the devil, to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power--They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born, for they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity; concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come."

Speaking of those who shall come forth in "the resurrection of the just," it is stated: "They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized {188} after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given, that by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power," etc.

"These are they whose bodies are celestial, 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.

"And again we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the Church of the First Born, who have received the fullness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament. Behold these are they who died without law, and also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the Gospel unto them, 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. These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of His glory but not of His fullness. These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fullness of the Father; wherefore their bodies are terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun, etc.

"And again we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from the glory of the moon in the firmament. * * * These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil, until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb shall have finished his work."

Whether the reader receive our testimony to the fact that Joseph Smith was a prophet or not, he at least cannot truthfully deny that between his teachings and those of the Bible there is a connecting chain binding them together in a harmonious whole. Not only is this beautiful blending manifested in the statements made in the foregoing pages, but in all the great principles enunciated by the latter-day prophet. The more the candid truth-seeker investigates the subject, the more will this unanimity become apparent, as a result of his unprejudiced researches.

All the holy prophets, from the beginning of the world, have taken up the theme of the glorious coming of the Son of Man in the latter days, to reign on the earth. In connection with this stupendous event they have depicted, in graphic and prophetic measure, the terrible scenes that are to precede it. The wicked who will not listen to the mandates of heaven are to be swept from the earth by judgments, as with the overwhelming rush of a flood. Famine, plague, pestilence, war, commotions, uprisings and destructions, in all the most appalling forms, will visit those who delight in revelling in the {189} filth of iniquity that now rises as an offence in the sight of the hosts of heaven. The period of those tribulations, which have already begun to appear, has been characterized as the "Great and dreadful day of the Lord." This fearful time, "when the wicked shall slay the wicked," is a necessity as a preparatory process before the coming of the King of Kings. A millennium--a reign of righteousness and peace--would be an impossibility with myriads of human beings on the earth that are sunk in the slough of corruption, delighting in deeds of violence and strife. They repent not, and to introduce purity and peace, those whose lives are in contravention of, instead of in harmony with those conditions, must be blotted out of existence. Therefore it is decreed in the heavens that those who remain at His coming will be those only who will bow to His sceptre, deporting themselves in accordance with righteousness and truth.

Were it not for the realization of a glorious promise the earth, because of the corruption of those living upon it, would be smitten with an irretrievable curse. The nature of that promise is set forth in the 5th and 6th verses of the last chapter of Malachi: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will 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."

What a beautiful and singular harmony is presented between the nature of this great promise and the principles set forth in the present writing--the Gospel to the dead as well as the living. In the dispensation of the meridian of time, introduced by the Redeemer in person, the heavenly message of glad tidings was, as herein exhibited, not only to men dwelling in the flesh, but also to those living in the spirit. The Latter-day Saints claim that the latter-day dispensation was opened by the raising up of the Prophet Joseph Smith. That great and good man, and his brother Hyrum, Patriarch of the Church, met a fate similar to that of the Savior. They were slain by a furious mob of religious bigots, for no other reason than asserting that God had again spoken from heaven as of old. Like the ancient prophets they clung to their integrity with their latest breath, and sealed their testimony with their blood. But, like their great Master, their mission was not confined to the sphere of the living. As in His case, it extended also to that of the spirits of the departed. Hence, when the prophet had accomplished the work by revelation from God, of setting up the true Church of Christ, with {190} apostles and prophets, high priests, seventies, elders, priests, teachers, deacons, and every other officer, and all the necessary councils, courts and other organizations, as in former days, he was called hence to open up a new and later dispensation in the life beyond. The work he had been the honored instrument in inaugurating here could be perpetuated, under divine guidance, by those remaining behind who held similar priesthood and authority to that which had been conferred upon him, and which belongs to him in eternity. That same commission that enabled him to perform a work here, is of effect in the realms beyond the grave. Thus an unbroken chain is formed, welding the visible Church of the First Born on this side with the same eternal system behind the veil. By this means there is established a common bond of union between the children--the obedient in this generation--and the fathers who have passed to the other sphere.

Malachi, whom we have quoted, spoke the words of inspiration, and we claim they have received a literal fulfillment. If our reader profess to be a believer in the Bible he must, to be consistent, either accept as a truth that Elijah the prophet has come, or that he will come some time in the future. Seeing the finger of prophecy points to the coming of that departed prophet, for a special purpose, our claim that his visit is an accomplished fact is worthy of investigatory consideration. We declare that he actually appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in a temple that had been reared by the Latter-day Saints, and dedicated to the Lord for holy purposes, at Kirtland, State of Ohio, United States of America. This visitation occurred on the 3rd of April, 1836. They were visited by others of the ancient prophets successively on the same occasion, each conferring upon them the keys and authority pertaining to his special dispensation, that all the powers pertaining to each might be incorporated in the most stupendous of them all--that of the latter days to prepare for the coming of the Son of Man. We quote from the account of the event, given on page 405 of the latest edition of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants: "After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us and said--Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. {191} Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors."

From the hour that that glorious vision was opened to the view of those whose eyes were favored to behold it, the effects of the visit of the great Elijah took root, until the outspreading branches from the seed then sown have extended to the uttermost parts of the earth. A great work is in progress, but because "darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people," the world comprehend it not. This is because they are not repentant, neither are they born of water and of the spirit, without which process man cannot even see, to say nothing of entering, the kingdom of God. The elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are carrying the Gospel to the nations, travelling without purse and scrip, as in olden times. Great companies of those who believe their testimonies are departing for the gathering place of the Church, month by month and year by year. A leading influence that causes them to wend their way to the appointed land where the latter-day Zion is to be built up, is the turning of their hearts to the fathers who have passed before them without the privilege of embracing the plan of salvation on the earth. Baptism, confirmation and other ordinances can only be attended to in holy structures called temples, reared to the Most High for sacred purposes. The Saints flock together to aid in the rearing of such buildings, that they may enter them and officiate for the fathers who have gone before, that they may be "judged according to men in the flesh, live according to God in the spirit," and have part in the blessings and privileges of the Gospel of the Redeemer.

Thus are the words of Malachi fulfilled, in the turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers. The children are manifesting their solicitude for the salvation of the dead by their works. The Saints, in the fruitful valleys of the mountains of the north-western portion of America, are engaged in the building of temples to the God of Heaven, and they operate in full faith of co-operation on the part of the fathers for whom they are working. They have abundant evidence that the turning of their hearts to the fathers is met with a responsive reciprocal echo from the spirits of the departed, to whom the Gospel is being preached. One temple, devoted to the performance of vicarious and other ordinances, is completed and two others are in the course of construction. It is a portion of the faith of the Saints also that the great work of redemption of the dead will be prosecuted throughout {192} the Millennial reign, until, at the end of the thousand years of peace, Christ shall have put all things under his feet, being the great conqueror of "death, hell and the grave." When the great work of redemption is completed, He will present the Kingdom, in its perfection, to His Father, who shall tell His Only Begotten to retain it and reign over it for ever and ever.

We are aware of our inability to present even a remote portrayal of the greatness of the glorious plan arranged in heaven for the redemption of humanity. But however faint the result of our endeavor, it is perhaps sufficient to show that the saving plan bears upon it the stamp of Deity. It is a system that, because of its magnitude, magnanimity and beauty, appeals to the intellectual, moral and religious nature of man. And when the hosts of the redeemed shall sing the new song of praise to God and the Lamb, it will be the manifestation of a clear comprehension of so grand a scheme, taking within its broad folds not only living races of men but, stretching wide into eternity, embracing all things that were, that are, and that still lie in the bosom of the future.

Summary.

It may be well to consider what, in the foregoing pages, we have been successful in establishing. The points which have been the most conspicuously and clearly defined may be stated as follows:

Firstly.--That the true Church of Christ is, in the nature of its doctrines, principles, authority, gifts, power and organization, peculiar and distinct from all other systems.

Secondly.--That the sects claiming to be Christian widely differ in numerous essential vital particulars from the true Church as described in the Scriptures, this discrepancy being sufficient to invalidate their claim to being the Churches of Christ. It would be illogical and unscriptural to assume that anything that differs from that which is true can possibly be in itself correct.

Thirdly.--That apostasy from the original and pure order of the Gospel as established by Christ and His divinely commissioned servants, is clearly foretold in Holy Writ; and that the discrepant condition of professing Christian Churches is an existing proof of the genuine character of those predictions.

Fourthly.--That a latter day restoration of the true Gospel is prophetically promised in the Scriptures. The setting up, {193} by revelation, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after the ancient pattern, sustains the validity of the prophecies given to that effect.

Fifthly.--That the comprehensive and far-reaching nature of the Gospel renders it applicable to the whole human race; that, consistent with its intrinsically liberal character, it provides for the correct teaching, improvement and ultimate salvation of the dead as well as the living. This fact alone should cause a sentiment of adoration to ascend to God from the heart of every human being to whom it is communicated.

Sixthly.--That the sectarian dogma of one universal heaven and hell, making but two distinct ultimate abodes for the multifarious grades of human intelligences, is an unscriptural fallacy, inconsistent with the just decree that men shall be rewarded according to their works.

Seventhly.--That the Scriptures promise a visit, before the end of the rule of wickedness, from Elijah the Prophet, to restore the keys and powers pertaining to the turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers, etc. In verification of the claim put forth by the Saints that that prediction has been fulfilled, the feelings of the children are being strongly inclined to their progenitors.

Eighthly.--That the propositions advanced are not only sustained by appeals to reason, but are so markedly scriptural that we are surely not claiming too much in assuming that the professed believer in Holy Writ is left with but two alternatives to choose from. He must either discard the sacred record as unworthy of his retention, or accept of the doctrines and principles herein set forth and clearly established.

Appeal and Testimony.

We appeal to every unconverted soul to whose notice these words shall be brought, to stop and reflect upon the importance of the message we declare. The note of warning is not to one nation or people, but to this whole generation of men. The proclamation of the Gospel, that was to be delivered by a holy angel in the latter days, was to be to "every nation, kindred, tongue and people." It was to be universal. None were to be exempt; not even those who would be professed followers of the Savior, for all were to be, at the time of the beginning of the restitution of all things, out of the way of the True Shepherd.

Reader, we appeal to you to step forward and, with an unbiased mind, investigate, that you may be able to intelligently {194} decide whether or not the claim of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints be legitimate or otherwise. Be "fearless of the world's despising," for this was the independent position assumed by the former-day disciples of the Redeemer. Think of the great prize that awaits him who listens to the voice of the True Shepherd, rather than to the alluring popular praise of the multitude, and endures to the end.

We not only plead with you to consider the eternal welfare of your own soul, but, in the name of Jesus Christ, we testify to you that God the Eternal Father, has at last broken the speechless gloom of centuries. He has spoken from heaven and established his authority on the earth. If you have, by evil and false reports regarding the Saints, been surrounded by prejudice, break down the repulsive barrier. Draw the bolts and throw open the shutters of your mind, that the glorious sunlight of eternal truth may enlighten your soul with its illuminating beams. Remember the Saints of former days: how they were vilified, abused, maltreated and murdered for the truth's sake. Search diligently for the truth as it is in Christ, and when you have found it, treasure it as a gem of priceless value. It will lead you to seek for a duly commissioned servant of the Most High God, and inspire you to request him, after you have repented of your sins, to baptize you for the remission of the same, and to lay hands upon your head that you may receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; for thus did the ancients. Your thus becoming "like a little child," by obedience to the Lord's will, makes you a citizen of the kingdom of God, and by continued faithfulness, you can know, and not merely believe, that the doctrine, instead of being human, is divine.

Liverpool, England, January 12th, 1880.

Footnotes:

1. First Principles--John iii, 5; Luke vii, 29; Mark xvi, 15, 15; Matt. xxviii, 19; Acts ii, 38, 39; x, 48; Mark i, 4; Luke iii, 3; Acts xxii, 16; Matt. iii, 6; Acts viii, 12, 36, 38; Rom. vi, 4; John iii, 23.

2. Authority Needed--Heb. v, 4; Luke xxiv, 49; Acts xiii, 2-4; Rom. x, 14, 15.

3. Gifts--1 Cor. xii chap.; John xiv, 26; Acts xix, 6; Mark xvi, 17, 18.

4. Organization--Eph. iv. 11-13; 1 Cor. xii, 14-15; 17-29.

5. Apostasy--Isaiah xxiv, 5; 1 Tim. iv, 1-3; 2 Tim. iii, 1-5; iv, 3, 4; 2 Thess. ii, 1-3.

6. Restoration--Rev. iv, 1; xiv, 6, 7; xxii, 8, 9,; Matt. xxiv, 14.

{195}

THE MEANS OF ESCAPE, OR, EXISTING EVILS AND THEIR CURE.

By John Nicholson.

An Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

"Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."--Matt. xxiv. 32, 33.

We live in strange times. Human affairs are hastening to a crisis. International struggles are imminent, "nation rising against nation," for supremacy and existence. Civilized governments are threatened by an internal and destructive agency, in the form of communism. This secret combination assumes different names and forms, according to the fancy of its devotees and the various stages of its advancement. It is Communism in France, Socialism in Germany, Internationalism in Spain and Italy, Nihilism in Russia, and similar sentiments and principles are cloaked under a variety of titles in America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain. These societies are opposed in spirit to all the restraints of law; they are an increasing power, causing thrones to totter and soon, through their agency, governments will crumble and fall.

On February 9th, 1831, the great Prophet of the latter-days received a revelation from God, on this subject. He was told to instruct the elders of the Church who should go to the east, to "teach them that shall be converted to flee to the west, and this in consequence of that which is coming upon the earth, and of secret combinations." The prophecies in the Book of Mormon are plain on this subject, stating that "secret combinations to get power and gain," should be among the nations in the latter times, and would be a sign that the destruction of those governments in which they should exist would be near at hand.

The prevailing conflict between capital and labor is {196} irrepressible, strikes being of almost daily occurrence. The increase of labor-saving machinery is creating over-stocked markets. This and other causes create a decline in trade for which there is no cure. Consequently the condition of the poorer classes grows from bad to worse. They will continue in that situation until driven, by desperation, to deeds of violence, scenes of anarchy and bloodshed will ensue and Babylon shall fall. "The merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth her merchandise any more" (see Rev., chap, xviii).

Secularism and infidelity are sweeping over the nations like a mighty flood. Having broken through the restraining influence of religious feeling, the masses are plunging into a vortex of ruin, by indulgence in every species of iniquity. Crime is increasing with such rapidity that the cities of the world are fairly reeking with corruption. The earth is in "commotion" with the news of "famines, pestilence, wars and rumors of war." It has almost come to the point when "men's hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." (Luke xxi, 26.) The present phase of things is because the world has been for centuries and is now in apostasy from the true order of the Gospel. Isaiah (xxiv, 5), being enabled to behold, by prophetic power, the existing condition of affairs, said: "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."

Speaking of what should be previous to the second coming of Christ, Paul said (ii. Thess. ii. 3), "Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."

The reader may say: "I can clearly see the perplexing dilemma the world has reached, but it is easier to point out an evil than the means of escape from it." It is not our intention to leave the matter in a maze of doubt, for as surely as God, through His servants, predicted the "falling away," when men should have "a form of godliness but denying the power thereof;" so also, by the voice of revelation, did He proclaim that, in the latter times it would be restored. (Rev. xiv. 6.) "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, kindred, tongue and people." Also, in telling his disciples what should be the signs of his coming, Christ gave as one of them (Matt. xxiv. 14): "And {197} this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

We make the solemn declaration that the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, with all its gifts, authority, and blessings has been restored, through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, in this age. This restoration came not by the will or power of man, but by the power of the Living God.

We extract the following from an article under the head of "Church History," written in 1842, by Joseph, the Prophet:

"I was born in the town of Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, U. S. A., on the 23d of December, A. D. 1805. When ten years old my parents removed to Palmyra, New York, where we resided about four years, and from thence removed to the town of Manchester, U. S. A.

"My father was a farmer and taught me the art of husbandry. When about fourteen years of age, I began to reflect upon the importance of being prepared for a future state, and, upon inquiring the plan of salvation, I found that there was a great clash in religious sentiments. Believing the word of God, I had confidence in the declaration of James, 'If a man lack wisdom let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him,' I retired to a secret place in a grove and began to call upon the Lord. While fervently engaged in supplication, my mind was taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was enwrapped in a heavenly vision, and saw two glorious personages who exactly resembled each other in features and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light, which eclipsed the sun at noon-day. They told me that all religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of God as His Church and Kingdom. And I was expressly commanded to 'go not after them;' at the same time receiving a promise that the fullness of the Gospel should at some future time be made known unto me."

On the 21st of September, A. D. 1823, Joseph Smith was visited by an angel from the courts of glory, who instructed him further regarding the coming forth of the work of the Lord in the last days. This heavenly messenger informed him concerning certain plates that were hid in a hill, and on which was recorded the history of two races of people who had inhabited the American Continent, one descended from a small colony that was led out of Jerusalem about 600 years B. C.; and the other from a company that was led to the American Continent by the power of God, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people who built the Tower of Babel. Those records, together with the Urim and Thummim, by means of which sacred instruments he was enabled to translate them, were committed to him, producing what is known as the Book of Mormon. This record is in exact harmony with the doctrine and principles contained in the Scriptures of {198} the Old and New Testaments, and embodies many prophecies that have been fulfilled, many that are now being verified and others relating to events still in the future.

On the 15th of May, 1829, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by John the Baptist, an angelic messenger from God, by whom they were ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels and the gospel of repentance and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. Subsequently, by direct revelation from God, they were ordained to the Melchisedek Priesthood, which holds the keys of the laying on of the hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. They were also commissioned to ordain others to the same great authority and to organize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was done on the 6th day of April, 1830, in the town of Fayette, Seneca County, State of New York, United States of America. From that time the work spread in every direction, the word being confirmed by signs following the believers, as it was anciently, when holy men of old went forth administering among the people by the power and authority of the God of Israel.

In ancient times nearly the whole of the Prophets, and the Saviour Himself and His Apostles, were the objects of bitter persecution. The introduction of the same principles, in this age, has produced the same effect. From the time Joseph Smith received his first vision till now, the work which he was the honored instrument in establishing has met with the most intense opposition. The Saints were robbed, plundered, and many of them slain by ruthless mobs in the States of New York, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois, the Prophet himself and his brother, Hyrum Smith, having been martyred in cold blood, on the 27th of June, 1844, in the last named State. Finally the Saints, being driven from the haunts of civilization, sought out a home in the northwestern wilds of America, which, by the practical working out of the principles for the espousal of which they were derided, driven, and "everywhere spoken evil against," they are fast causing to "blossom as the rose," by the blessing of God.

The Saints, under the organization of the Church of Christ, as it existed anciently, with Apostles and Prophets, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers, Deacons, Helps, Governments, etc., are establishing a purer and better order of society than exists anywhere else on the earth. They are progressing, by the application of measures for the benefit of the whole people, to that unity that will prepare them {199} to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, whose coming we declare to be near at hand. Strikes and other evils that are distracting the social systems abroad are unknown among them. The Saints are nearing a union of sentiment and action that causes peace to abound among them and comparative plenty to prevail. Under the guiding spirit of inspiration from God, the people are being educated to a higher standard of morality in its broadest sense, including the business relations of life. By the gradual introduction of co-operative institutions, involving mutual interests, they are successfully progressing to the desirable point of unity in temporal as well as spiritual things. They are building up settlements, towns and cities, in which peace prevails and the hum of industry and song of rejoicing are heard. They are erecting Temples and Tabernacles for the administration of the sacred ordinances and the worship of the True and Living God. This noble work is being done by people of a great variety of nationalities, heretofore of different customs and habits, speaking different languages, but infused with one spirit, into which they have been baptized, which is the Spirit of Christ.

The Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not hirelings, who "divine for money." At the call of the Saviour, they cheerfully sacrifice the interests of business and the comforts and endearments of home, going forth, like the disciples of old, to every part of the world where they can find an opening. Their message is to call upon the people to believe in God, the Eternal Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ; to repent of their sins, be baptized in water, by immersion, for the remission of the same, receive the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost and obey the great command--"Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Rev. xviii. 4.)

Many thousands are heeding the warning and are gathering from the nations with the Church year by year, for this is the ark of safety provided for the righteous from the abominations and calamities of the last days.

Hear it, O ye inhabitants of the earth, for we bear witness, in the name of Jesus Christ, that God has again spoken from the heavens and revealed the everlasting Gospel, for the salvation of all who believe and obey. It is a law of the Scriptures that "in the mouths of two or three witnesses shall every word be established," and there are tens of thousands who can testify to the truth of these things.

Liverpool, England, November 15th, 1878.

{200}

The Latter-Day Prophet.

By John Nicholson.

An Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Prophets Needed and Should be Expected--Organism of the Church of Christ--Effects of Obedience to the Doctrines Introduced by Joseph Smith--The Book of Mormon Authentic--Modern Prophecy and its Fulfillment.

Was Joseph Smith an authorized prophet of God? This is a question of momentous importance. Like every matter involving the weal or woe of mankind, the answer should not be given in haste. The evidence should be carefully scanned and weighed before a decision is reached. He who jumps at conclusions regarding men and things, whether for or against, without a scrutinizing examination, is liable to err in judgment. Such a person is likely also to be guilty of injustice. In addition to the vital interests involved, that kindly liberality that should characterize the behavior of man to his fellow, requires that a plea in behalf of the divinity of the mission of Joseph Smith should be candidly and impartially considered.

The popular voice is against the validity of the claim of Joseph Smith to being a true prophet. Public sentiment on such a subject has no force. If it have any bearing upon it at all it must be favorable, because of precedents. If popular repudiation is evidence against the genuineness of Joseph Smith's claim, it would be equally sensible to recognize its potency as directed against the rejected Redeemer of the world, whose sufferings and death were effected by the tide of the popular will. The same may be as readily applied to nearly the whole of the holy prophets since the world began, against whom the waves of popular feeling, as a rule, surged like the waters of an angry sea.

{201} The prevailing idea regarding prophets is that, in the language of the generality of so-called Christian teachers, "they are not needed now. They were merely required to establish the Church of Christ in its incipiency." Of course some excuse must be advanced for the non-existence of divinely commissioned and inspired men in the various churches. It would not do to say such men are needed, because the question as to why they do not have them would immediately arise. However, we think it is not only an easy matter to show, scripturally, that such men are not only needed, but that the existence of the true Church of Christ without them is an absolute impossibility.

We direct the reader to the 4th chap, of Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. The 8th verse says: "When he (Christ) ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men." Now read from the 11th to the 14th verse, inclusive: "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come to a unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."

Take the assertions of the apostate so-called Christian Churches in regard to the non-essentiality of inspired apostles and prophets and place them in juxtaposition with the teachings of Paul, and what do we discover? We observe the widest discrepancy between them. Those inspired men were given to the Church "for the perfecting of the Saints." Consequently, before it can be established that they are no longer needed it must first be proved that the Saints or members of the Church have reached perfection. To claim that this is the case would be too glaringly absurd in the face of existing facts. Imperfection being the evident condition of the professors of what is termed Christian religion, the necessity of the agencies appointed of God to bring about a more perfect state must be admitted as reasonable and scriptural.

Another object of the existence in the Church of inspired apostles and prophets, etc., was "the work of the ministry." They being appointed of God, and not of men, for that purpose, to assume that because they do not exist in the churches is sufficient evidence that they are not required is equal to an {202} assumption that "the work of the ministry" is unnecessary. The untenable claim that men endowed with divine authority and prophetic gifts were only necessary in the rise of the primitive Church flies before the scriptural statement that they were to remain "till we all come to a unity of the faith." An unprejudiced, dispassionate Christian reasoner will at once freely admit that the present distracted, divided, embittered, controversial condition of Christendom presents anything else than a united state, which inspired men were commissioned, by heavenly teachings, to bring about. The desirableness of that unity is most clearly defined, in the reason that, "we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men." That is plainly the present condition of religious affairs, the people being wafted about by every whimsical, sensational breeze of doctrine. It is made a matter of lucrative trade by mercenary individuals, to play upon the wayward, flitting religious sentiments of the misguided masses. We say to the people, be not deceived by those who "make merchandise of the souls of men," by teaching the repudiation of inspired apostles and prophets. Those holy men can alone relieve the earnest worshipper from being engulfed in the turbulent sea of doubt and place his feet upon the steadfast rock of certainty.

There can be no question as to the present existence of prophets, through whom the will of God could be taught, being desirable. Then, the Almighty being just and unchangeable, why should it be considered unlikely that He should give good gifts to men now as well as anciently? If the people now are as deserving as the ancients were, why should the present generation be denied the enjoyment of equal privileges in relation to being divinely taught? Surely there can be no reason.

Among the innumerable unfounded false popular impressions regarding the Latter-day Saints is one to the effect that they do not believe in the teachings of the Old and New Testaments. Some of the more ignorant people go so far in misconception of their true character as to be imbued with the utterly preposterous idea that they do not even believe in the Savior at all. The very name of the organization--the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--a title we claim to have been given by revelation from God, should be enough to explode the latter fallacious view. And in regard to the belief of the Saints in the teachings and doctrines of the Bible, the organism of the ecclesiastical body should be evidence enough on that point. All the officers and councils named in the New Testament are included in it; hence there are apostles, high priests, {203} seventies, elders, bishops, priests, teachers and deacons, the duties and functions of those several offices of the genuine priesthood being clearly understood and defined. It is required that every officer should understand the character of his position and the relationship he sustains in it towards all other authorities, producing the most desirable unity and beautiful harmony.

This symmetrical perfection, this shapely figure, the result of the most exquisite niceness of organization and completely detailed definition of the functions of each portion of the body-religious is, in our view, a very decided evidence of the divinity of the mission of the great prophet of the nineteenth century. It accords with the frequently recurring scriptural figure by which the true Church of Christ is compared, in its perfection of parts and harmonious blending of divisions, to the human body. The preservation of this completeness is an absolute necessity. How can the human bodily structure be deemed perfect when it is decapitated, when denuded of its extremities, or when the trunk is lacerated or divided into pieces? No detached part can, in its separate capacity, be denominated a body, neither can the organism be called perfect when deprived of even the most inferior of its members. How then, on the same ground, can a church, as compared to a body, be called the Church of Christ if it repudiate or is devoid of apostles, prophets, high priests, seventies and other vital parts that, according to New Testament teachings, comprise necessarily the most important portions of that harmonious organization inaugurated among men by the Savior of the world and His ancient apostles?

How anxious the Apostle Paul was to impress upon the minds of the people the positiveness of the necessity for the preservation of the organization of the Church in its entirety. Hear what he says on the subject, 1 Cor. xii. 14-21: "For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you."

{204} To show that Paul had special reference, in his advocacy of the preservation of the body in the perfection of its parts, to the officers and gifts of the Church, it will profit the reader to peruse the 27th and 28th verses of the same chapter: "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."

After this pattern has the Church, revealed anew in this age, been set up through the instrumentality of the young man Joseph Smith who, like his Divine Master, was slain on account of the testimony he bore to a perverse generation; and our reader may well pause and ask himself the vital question, where else in all the world can I find a church similar to that of ancient times?

But we hasten to explain other and equally potent evidences that establish the divinity of Joseph Smith's mission and the validity of his claim to being a prophet. We will first consider the character of his teachings and administrations and their effects upon those who accept them. He announced that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand; that the Lord was about to commence His marvelous latter-day work, by preparing for the coming of the Savior. He and his associate apostles and prophets taught the same Gospel that Christ and the ancient apostles preached: Faith in God the Eternal Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, repentance of sins, baptism, by immersion, for the remission of sins, and the laying on of the hands of those holding divine authority for the bestowal of the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

The elders of the Church constantly preached these doctrines and they are explained so clearly in many pamphlets and more extensive published works, that it is not our purpose to enter upon an elaborate dissertation regarding them in this writing. In fact so plainly are these the doctrines taught by Christ and His apostles, in the same order as they are given in the preceding paragraph, that a labored explanation in support of them should be unnecessary to convince any consistent, intelligent, professing Christian that they are strictly biblical, and, without exception, absolutely essential.

What we wish more particularly to refer to now is the promise given to the obedient believers of the bestowal upon them of the Holy Ghost. No impostor could make such an offer without subjecting himself to the certainty of discovery. Here was a distinct assertion that a clearly defined effect would be produced by a plainly stated cause, the former being the {205} reception of the Holy Ghost, produced by obedience to the doctrines and ordinances before enumerated. Here was an offer exactly similar to that made to the people in ancient times. Christ and the ancient apostles promised that the obedient should know of the doctrine, and miraculous signs should follow the believer. They "laid their hands upon them and they received the Holy Ghost." How easy it is to test this matter.

The question now to be considered is this: Is the promised effect really produced upon those who obey the doctrines taught by Joseph Smith and incorporated in the faith and practice of the Church he was instrumental in establishing? If the affirmative of this question can be proved, then it follows that he was indeed a prophet of the Living God, specially raised up and appointed. What greater evidence could be given than the testimony of those who have tested the efficacy of the promise for themselves. As to the extent and existence of this proof we have but to refer the reader to the scores of thousands of members and officers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These will unhesitatingly testify that, as an effect of their obedience, they have received the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, by whose operations it has been manifested to their minds that God has begun a marvelous work in the earth, having commenced to set up the Kingdom whose existence is prophetically predicted in the second chapter of Daniel. An application to this source will also inform the inquirer that the gifts promised to believers exist in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Proceeding upon the legitimate assumption that the effect of obedience to the requirements of the doctrines of faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands, does produce the promised imparting of the Holy Ghost, what is the proper conclusion? It must be that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet, for the reason that the giving of the Holy Ghost necessarily shows divine recognition. No such effect could possibly result from the teachings and administrations of an impostor.

The reader may say that he is not willing to accept of the testimony of the Latter-day Saints, on the ground of the probability of their being interested witnesses. What reason would he have for supposing then, that he would have received the evidence of the Former-day Saints? They were open to the same objection, if it be one, and they had no more proof to advance that their claim was valid than is now offered in support of the same Gospel restored in its power in these days. One thing is very evident in this connection: there is but one {206} process by which the position of the Latter-day Saints can be consistently refuted. That is by the testing method, which is open to all. It consists of implicit compliance with the conditions stated to be requisite to insure a personal testimony or witness to the obedient. Until the opponents of the divine system take this course, consistency would appear to demand that they hold their peace, lest they be, ignorantly or otherwise, found fighting against God. However, as the Saints know, experimentally, that honest truth-seekers receive, through obedience, the witness of the Spirit, they know the work they are engaged in is secure from successful assault from that method.

The reader has probably been heretofore misled regarding the faith and doctrines professed by the Latter-day Saints, and may consequently be surprised at their being identical with the teachings of the Bible. He has perhaps been under the impression that the Old and New Testaments were discarded and what is known as the Book of Mormon adopted instead. Such an impression, which is only too general, is altogether erroneous. It is true, however, that, in addition to the Bible, the Saints accept the Book of Mormon as a divine revelation, it being in accordance with the genius of their faith, to adopt whatever the Almighty chooses to offer for the information and salvation of His children.

We are aware that, in consequence of the false teachings of uninspired men, who "teach for hire and divine for money," the people generally have a prejudice against receiving any revelations not contained in the Bible. They have been erroneously informed that the canon of Scripture is full, and God would no more speak to His children, but preserve the gloom of an unbroken silence towards them. What an unnatural and unreasonable doctrine this is! Yet, to delude the ignorant into an acceptance of this discouraging dogma, those who drag religion down to the degrading position of a mere mercantile basis, triumphantly quote the 18th and 10th verses of the last chapter of Revelation: "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book; and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

To offer this passage as evidence of the fullness of the scriptural canon is exceedingly absurd. It simply had reference to the enlargement or reduction of the book of John's prophecy, for at the time it was written the Bible had not been {207} compiled. Consequently it could have no reference to the Old and New Testaments, which are a compilation of various books. It is certainly right that man should not, with impunity, add to or take from what God has revealed, although the Almighty can certainly do so at any time, according to His good will and pleasure. However, should the Lord, in His mercy, reveal another book or prophecy, it would be distinct of itself and not necessarily an addition to one that He had already given, and might relate to another subject, as in the case of books in general, which are books of themselves and not mere additions to others.

There is a regrettable lack of information regarding the Book of Mormon in the world at large. It will be profitable to first consider the manner in which this record was, by the matchless power of God, brought to the light. This will necessarily have to be done briefly. If the reader desire more detailed particulars, he can obtain them by a perusal of more elaborate writings, which can be had through any of the authorized agents of the Church.

In the year 1820, when Joseph Smith was in the fifteenth year of his age, he resided, with his parents and other members of the family, in the town of Manchester, Ontario County, New York, United States of America. There was, in that vicinity, at that time, a religious revival, causing him to be seriously impressed with a desire to serve God. The conflict of jarring sects caused him perplexity as to which he would be justified in joining. Being struck with the reasonableness of the scriptural promise that God would give wisdom to those who asked Him for it in faith, he retired to a wood or grove, and prayed for the information of which he felt he stood so much in need.

In answer to his fervent and simple petition, a glorious vision opened to the gaze of the suppliant youth. A radiant pillar of fire appeared, descended and encircled him about. In the midst of this brilliant column were two glorious personages, the brightness of whose presence was beyond the power of human description, eclipsing that of the sun when he shines in noonday splendor. One of those heavenly beings spoke to Joseph, calling him by name and saying, pointing to the other, "This is my beloved Son, hear him."

Joseph, when sufficiently recovered from the sensations that possessed him, inquired which of all the sects he should join. The personage who addressed him commanded him to identify himself with none, as all had gone astray, and were an abomination in His sight. "They draw near to Me with their lips, {208} but their hearts are far from Me; they teach for doctrine the commandments of man, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof." He was also told many other things of great importance.

How forcibly the honest inquirer must be struck with the clearness with which the position of the sects was portrayed by these holy beings--the Father and the Son. Religious professors have a form of worship but deny revelation, and the power of godliness made manifest by the exercise of miraculous gifts; they also repeat printed prayers which, being manufactured by others, cannot proceed from the hearts of those who mechanically utter them.

Joseph obeyed the command he received, to abstain from joining any of the religious denominations. On the night of September 21st, 1823, after having retired to bed, he was engaged in fervent prayer to the Almighty for the forgiveness of his sins, and a manifestation that would satisfy his mind as to his standing before the Lord.

While thus employed a personage of great beauty, dressed in white raiment, presented himself before him. The room was lighted up by the glory of his presence, the brightness of the light being most intense in close proximity to the person of this heavenly being. The name of this visitant was Moroni. He told Joseph that God had a work for him to do that would cause his name to be spoken of for good or evil among all people. We will here quote from the personal history of the prophet: "He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fullness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants; also that there were two stones in silver bows--and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim--deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted seers in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book."

This holy messenger gave Joseph many precious instructions relative to the coming forth of the record, and the setting up and establishment of the work of God in the last days, quoting several passages from the prophecies of the Bible, notably the third chapter of Malachi; eleventh chapter of Isaiah; third chapter of Acts; second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth to the last verse. These predictions, he stated, were soon to be fulfilled. Joseph was also shown, by {209} the opening of the vision of his mind, by the power of the Almighty, the place where the plates were deposited. He was visited twice subsequently by the same personage, the same night, and on each occasion the instructions given on the first visit were repeated.

Passing over many intermediate circumstances which transspired up to the time of the plates with the Urim and Thummim being committed to the charge of the youthful prophet, it must suffice, in the present writing, to state that he received them from the Angel Moroni, on the 22nd day of September, 1827.

The prophet copied a number of the characters, which were very finely engraved on the plates, and, by means of the Urim and Thummin, translated some of them. These were taken by Martin Harris, to Professor Anthon, of New York, who stated that the translation was correct. On being shown the portion of the transcript that was not translated, he said the characters were Egyptian, Chaldiac, Assyriac and Arabic, and that they were genuine characters. The professor gave Mr. Harris a certificate to that effect, but on learning that the young man Joseph had the plates revealed to him by an angel, he demanded it back and tore it up, saying there was no such thing now as ministering of angels. He requested that the plates be brought to him and he would translate them. Mr. Harris replied that a portion of them was sealed and he was forbidden to bring them. Professor Anthon retorted, "I cannot read a sealed book." Mr. Harris also visited Dr. Mitchell, whose statement coincided with that of Professor Anthon, regarding the genuineness of the characters and translation.

In the midst of great difficulties and perplexities, out of all of which Joseph and the friends the Lord raised up to him were delivered by His matchless power, the work of translation was completed and the Book of Mormon was finally published, in the early part of the year 1830.

Limited space will not admit of a detailed account of the narrative portion of this remarkable record. This information can best be gained from the Book itself. It contains an account of the doings of the righteous and the wicked of the ancient inhabitants of America. It includes information relative to the dealings of God with the people, describing the works of many mighty prophets, seers and revelators. The sayings of these inspired men have slumbered in the dust for ages, but have spoken again from the ground in deep and piercing tones, in accordance with the recorded promise of our {210} heavenly Father regarding the accomplishment of His marvelous work in the latter days.

The Prophet Isaiah must have beheld the coming forth of this record as a testimony to all men of the care which the Almighty has exercised over the nations of men, in every part of the earth, in all ages. Hear his words as found in the 29th chap., 11th to 14th verse: "And the vision of all is become to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed. And the book is delivered to one that is not learned, saying, Read this I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."

So truly have the words of Isaiah received a verification, that some portions of the passage just quoted read like a record made subsequent to the transpiration of the events to which they allude.

In the interview between Mr. Harris and the learned Professor Anthon, the latter actually said, "I cannot read a sealed book." The youthful Joseph, diffident and unlearned, was enabled, by the gift and power of the Almighty, to read the historic narrative of the mighty races of the past, and give to the world a book, the authenticity of which is proved by evidences that cannot be successfully controverted. The unlearned youth received the power to accomplish this because the set time had come for the fulfillment of the promise of the Most High to begin a marvelous work in the earth; not by the esteemedly wise and learned, but by humble instruments, that no flesh might glory in His presence.

Many people appear to be contracted in their views regarding the dealings of the Almighty with His children. They conclude that the Bible must necessarily be the only record of signal manifestations of the power of Omnipotence in behalf of mankind. Such a view is biblically incorrect, for that good book speaks of the great works to be performed in the gathering of Israel in the latter days. It is reasonable to anticipate that when those occurrences take place, an account of them will be written and published, that it may be perused with {211} wonder and thanksgiving by future generations. The record thus made will be as clearly sacred history as the Bible itself.

The question as to the origin of the American Indians is a subject of deep interest to many advanced minds. Investigation for information bearing upon it has received a powerful impetus by discoveries of the ruins of vast cities and gigantic aqueducts, requiring the exercise of great architectural and engineering skill in their construction. These and other relics of past races, abounding in Central, the southern part of North, and in South America, give indisputable evidence of these regions having been inhabited, many centuries ago, by multitudinous enlightened populations that had attained a high state of civilization. The Book of Mormon, which gives an authentic history of those peoples, dissolves the mystery that heretofore enshrouded this department of research. It tells who those people were and from whence they sprang. It tells of a small colony, by commandment of God and led by His all-powerful hand, leaving Jerusalem, and after hazardous journeyings landing on the shores of America. It gives an account also of another party, consisting of Jews, going to the same continent subsequently, and amalgamating with the descendants of the first colonizers. A brief historical sketch is also given of a colony that left the Tower of Babel at the time of the confusion of languages.

The existence of the ruins indicating the former presence of great populations, well advanced in arts and manufactures, was unknown to Joseph Smith when he translated the Book of Mormon, yet the closest scrutiny and comparison that have yet been given have failed to show a single discrepancy betwixt the record he was the instrument in bringing forth and publishing and even the most recent discoveries, to which we have not space, however, to refer.

These ruins give unmistakable proof that remarkably advanced races have dwelt on the American Continent in the ages of the past. How reasonable it is to suppose that our Heavenly Father should have manifested Himself to them as He did on the Eastern Hemisphere. And if it be fair to infer that He did so exhibit His goodness and loving-tenderness, the subsequent inference that a record of these divine operations would be kept is equally so. How natural also to expect that He, as in the case of the Bible, would not suffer such a history to be lost, but rather that He would preserve it for the general benefit of erring humanity, that they might have additional testimony concerning a crucified and risen Redeemer. If the world would receive it, what a powerful combination the {212} two records--the Bible and Book of Mormon--would make. The one relates to the dealings of God with His people in the eastern part of the world, and the other in the west. They both harmonize, each testifying of the same everlasting plan of salvation, through the atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Hear the words of Ezekiel, 37th chap., 19th verse: "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."

It is well understood that the meaning of stick is a book or record, the Jewish custom being to have the law and history written upon a long scroll of parchment, rolled upon a stick. The Book of Mormon is the stick of Joseph. With the exception of the Book of Ether, relating to the Jaredites, who sprang from a colony that left the Tower of Babel at the time of the confusion of languages, the record gives the history of a branch of the house of Joseph, Lehi, the head of the little colony that emigrated from Jerusalem to America six hundred years before Christ, being a lineal descendant of Manasseh. According to revelations given in these days, the overwhelming majority of the people composing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are of the blood of scattered Ephraim, to whose hands the record or stick of Joseph is confided, as prophesied by Ezekiel.

We hold that Jesus Christ not only manifested Himself to His disciples at Jerusalem, establishing His fold--His Church--in that region, that His sheep might be protected and fed, but He did the same in other parts of the earth. Is He not the Shepherd of all those who are willing to serve Him? Did He not say to His ancient Jewish disciples, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature?" He required them to go to every part of the earth that was then known on the eastern hemisphere. This did not include the American Continent. Are we to infer from this that, because of the inability of these witnesses, from lack of geographical or other information, which God, in His wisdom, may have seen fit to withhold from them, the peoples of the great western continent should be left without a knowledge of a crucified and risen Redeemer? Surely this would be tantamount to an imputation of injustice against Omnipotence, as there is no other name under heaven whereby salvation can be obtained except that of Jesus. {213}

With the loving Redeemer the welfare of His sheep, or disciples, was His constant theme and anxiety. On one occasion He was conversing on this subject with His Jerusalem flock, when He uttered the following statement, as recorded in John 10th chap., 15th and 16th verses: "As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father; and I lay my life down for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."

The plain inference to be drawn from this clear statement is that there were other sheep or people who would become disciples of Christ that had not yet heard His voice, but should hear it. It is evident also that the Palestine disciples were unacquainted with the sheep to whom the Savior alluded. He here expressed His intention to establish, among those other sheep, His fold, or Church, similar to the one in Palestine, comprising apostles, prophets, seventies, elders, and all the other officers, gifts and powers, the fold of Christ being the same wherever found, there being but one fold and one shepherd.

The question now to be considered is, Who were the other sheep to whom Jesus referred? The Book of Mormon unfolds this mystery. From page 501 to 540 of the last edition of that record will be found an account of the visit of the Redeemer to the Nephites, shortly after His crucifixion and resurrection at Jerusalem. It is one of the most beautiful and pathetic narratives it has been our lot to peruse. His wonderful ministrations and exhibitions of power are described in simple but explicit language, and details of His selection of twelve special witnesses or disciples, and the organization of His fold, or Church, are given. This history, replete with divine instruction, explains the import of the remark of Jesus to His disciples at Jerusalem. He informed the Nephites of the statement He made to the Jews in reference to them, and said the reason He did not tell them more was because of the weakness of the faith of His flock in Palestine. He also informed the Nephites that He had received a commandment from the Father to visit the Ten Tribes of Israel.

"In the mouths of two or three witnesses shall every word be established," are the words of the sacred book. What shall we say then about the evidence of the witnesses whose testimony is appended to the Book of Mormon? Three men, besides the Prophet Joseph Smith, solemnly declare to all people that they beheld with their eyes the plates with engravings, containing the record, and the angel who manifested {214} them; also that they heard the voice of God from heaven declaring these things to be true and faithful and commanding them to bear record concerning them to all the world. None of these witnesses have ever denied their testimony. Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris have gone behind the veil, but David Whitmer, at this date, still lives. He severed his connection with the Church, but still bears a disinterested testimony to the truth of the solemn statement published in connection with the Book of Mormon. No longer since than September, 1878, Elders Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith visited Mr. Whitmer, who was residing in Richmond, Missouri, U. S. A., and at the interview he gave many interesting details in reference to the angelic ministration, the plates and other important matters. An account of the visit was published in numbers 49 and 50 of Vol. 40 of the Millennial Star. He has also been interrogated by many persons having no connection with the Church, his testimony being unvarying as to the Divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon.

Eight other witnesses testify to having beheld and handled the plates and seen the hieroglyphical engravings thereon. True, wicked, designing men have endeavored to destroy the validity of this testimony by fabricating absurd stories regarding the origin of the Book of Mormon. This is an old device of Satan and his emissaries to cover up the truth and destroy the work of God. Such machinations are similar to the attempt that was made by leading Jews to induce the Roman soldiers to state that the body of Christ had been carried away, so that a belief in His resurrection might be stifled. The testimony of the witnesses stands unimpeached, and is in force in all the world, being directed to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.

The social structures of the nations are being undermined and threatened by a strange revolutionary movement. Thrones and empires seem to be almost trembling in the balance. This is notably the case with the great Russian despotism. The spirit of murder and incendiarism seems to be in the air, filling the high ones of the earth with affright. Foul murder and destructive fire are born of the plottings of secret societies, organized for purposes of assassination, power and plunder. All civilized nations are more or less affected by this hideous affliction, which hangs over some of them like an incubus. It is a sign of the times. The prophet Moroni, by whose hands the plates of the Book of Mormon were hid up in the Hill Cumorah, wrote concerning this very condition. He knew that his words would come forth and be published to the Gentiles, {815} in the latter days, and he directed a prophetic statement to them, which will be found on page 588 of the last edition: "Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that those things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not these murderous combinations to get above you, which are built up to get power and gain, and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you. * * * Wherefore the Lord commandeth you when ye shall see these things come among you, that you shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you." The same prophet also says: "And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed.

What could be plainer than the fulfilment of these predictive words, establishing the prophetic character of the record. If the objector should interpose that he does not believe this prediction was made fourteen hundred years ago, that would not help his side of the question, as it would be a mere shifting of the prophetic mantle from the shoulders of Moroni to those of Joseph Smith. At the time the book was translated and published those secret murderous combinations were almost non-existent compared with their present extent, foothold and power. They now exist to a greater or less degree in all nations, and will continue to increase until they create what the Book of Mormon terms "a great division among the people," and every man's hand will be against his neighbor.

At Kirtland, Ohio, U. S. A., Feb. 9, 1831, a revelation was given through Joseph, the Seer, on this very subject, the following passage occurring: "And behold, it shall come to pass that my servants shall be sent forth to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south; and even now, let him that goeth to the east, teach them that shall be converted to flee to the west, and this in consequence of that which is coming on the earth, and of secret combinations." Let the inhabitants of the earth take warning, for as the Lord liveth and He has spoken by the mouths of His prophets, a dark and evil day is at the doors. God has decreed that the earth shall not much longer groan under the oppressive influence of misrule and misery.

It is stated in the Book of Mormon that the prophets among the ancient Nephites, being permitted to behold, by prophetic power, that their descendants would drift into great wickedness, and in consequence, be destroyed by the Almighty, as He had decreed that every people upon that land who would {216} not keep His laws should be swept away when they should be fully ripe in their abominations. They therefore, by faith and prayer, to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, obtained a promise that a remnant should remain, and that the record which had been kept should be preserved, and carried to them by the Gentiles in the latter days.

We prefer to give the exact words of the prophet Nephi, which will be found on page 122, latest edition:

"And now I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken (Book of Mormon) shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed. And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers, and then shall they rejoice, for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall become a white and delightsome people."

These words have received a literal fulfillment. In the first place, many have believed "the words which are written," the tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints who have accepted the Book of Mormon as an authentic record bearing ample witness to that fact. This prophecy was uttered over two thousand years ago, and yet the facts incorporated are as plain as if penned subsequent to their accomplishment. The skeptic may say he does not believe in the ancient character of the record, and therefore of the prophecy; but that it originated with Joseph Smith. That would not make the position of the unbeliever much more tenable, as it would be merely shifting the prophetic gift to other shoulders, for the Book of Mormon was published before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, and consequently before Joseph Smith could possibly have known, by ordinary natural means, that many would believe the words of the book.

But, to the other portion of the prediction. The book or history has been carried to the remnant, by the Gentiles. From shortly subsequent to the organization of the Church a good deal of missionary labor was performed by the elders among {217} the Lamanites, in the hope of bringing them to a knowledge of the Gospel. But all efforts to penetrate their darkened minds appeared futile. The message appeared to fall upon ears of stone. Evidently the time, in the providence of the Almighty, for that race, who had fallen so low in the scale of being, to accept of the knowledge that was had among their fathers, had not arrived.

Suddenly however, as the sun breaks over the eastern horizon, dispelling the gloom of night, a light broke forth among them. Without effort or influence from any human source they came forward in large numbers, declaring they had received heavenly visitations, indicating plainly to them that they must go to the elders of the Church, be baptized by them, by immersion, in water, for the remission of sins, forsake their evil and idle habits, and seek for the counsel of the servants of God. The applications for baptism and instruction were first made to Elder George H. Hill, of Ogden, and Elder W. H. Lee, of Grantsville, as many as three hundred waiting upon the former at one time. The movement appeared to be simultaneous in many places, east, west, north and south. It commenced in the summer of 1874, and has been steadily developing ever since.

For the benefit of these people, who are descendants of a branch of the house of Israel, three large farms have been secured by the Church of Christ, one in Malad Valley, Northern Utah, another in Tooele County, to the westward, and another in Thistle Valley, in the South. They are beginning to cultivate the soil, and take on the habits of civilization, thus commencing to fulfil the predictions of the Book of Mormon concerning them.

The report of a conference held in the town of Ephraim, San Pete County, Utah, U. S. A., by President John Taylor and other authorities, last winter (1879-80), is before us. It tells of a Relief Society in Thistle Valley, composed of white and Indian women in about equal numbers, and of their industry and philanthropy in donating means for the building of a Temple to the Most High. It was also represented, by Elder Spencer, who has the oversight of the Indians in Thistle Valley, that the Lamanitish brethren and sisters were as willing as the white members of the Church to aid in every good work.

These may be viewed as small matters, but they are cited from the midst of a multitude of evidences showing the educational, softening and modifying tendency of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as preached by the servants of God, and which {218} the ancient prophets declared would be received by these hitherto degraded people, the aborigines of America, and lift them to a more enlightened plane of life. It will be seen that the leaven has already commenced to actively work among them, verifying the genuine character of the prophecies concerning them. Whatever manifests the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, supports the claim of Joseph Smith to being a prophet of the Living God.

Before leaving this part of the subject, we will refer to a fact that must strike the reader as a strong evidence of the prophetic correctness of the Book of Mormon, and, consequently, of the genuineness of the claim that Joseph Smith was sent of God. The book states that the Savior gave it as a sign that when the Lamanites (American Indians) should begin to believe its contents, the work of the Father, to prepare the way for the gathering of the whole house of Israel should commence.

We will quote the 7th verse of the 21st chapter of 3rd Nephi, page 527 latest edition B. M.: "And when these things come to pass, that thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath already commenced unto the fulfilling of the covenant which he has made unto the people who are of the house of Israel."

Also the 28th verse: "Yea, and then shall the work commence, with the Father, among all nations, in preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered home to the land of their inheritance, and they shall go out from all nations."

As shown in the foregoing, the aborigines have already begun to believe, and to manifest the accuracy of the sign we have but to point to the political events in connection with the East that have occurred during the last five years. In that time there has transpired the Russo-Turkish war, the Berlin Treaty, incorporating political freedom for the Jews in Roumania; the Anglo-Turkish Convention, including the cession of the Island of Cyprus to Great Britain, and the establishment of a British protectorate over that portion of the Ottoman dominion which includes Palestine. These are all occurrences confined within the limited period which has expired since the Lamanites began to believe and receive the Gospel. It requires no straining of points to reconcile these events with the commencement of the preparatory work of the Father for the gathering of the remnants of His ancient people to their own land. The Jews themselves are beginning to recognize this fact. So also are many professing Christians, who, although {219} destitute of authority from Jesus Christ and devoid of the Gospel of faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost in its fullness, have some faith in the fulfillment of the prophecies relating to the gathering of Israel.

We think it proper to state, incidentally, that since the original translation into English, the Book of Mormon has been translated into and published in Welsh, Danish, French, German, Italian, the language of the Sandwich Islanders, and Swedish. It has also been translated into and a portion of it published in the Spanish language.

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