{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_36327/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_36327","id":"gutenberg_36327","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36327","summary":null,"tags":["Atonement -- Mormon Church","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines","Latter Day Saints"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by the Mormon Texts Project,\nhttp://bencrowder.net/books/mtp. Volunteers: Stephen\nBruington, Benjamin Bytheway, Hilton Campbell, Michael\nCleverly, Stephen Cranney, Ben Crowder, Tom DeForest,\nCameron Dixon, Eric Heaps, Jason Hills, Tod Robbins.\n\n\n\n\n\nAN EXAMINATION INTO AND AN ELUCIDATION OF THE\nGREAT PRINCIPLE OF THE\n\nMEDIATION AND ATONEMENT\nOF\nOUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.\n\n\nBY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR.\n\n\n\"Wherefore the fruit of thy loins shall write, and the fruit of the\nloins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the\nfruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit\nof the loins of Judah, shall grow together unto the confounding of\nfalse doctrines, and laying down of contentions.\"--Gen., 1, 31,\nInspired Translation.\n\n\"For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the\nnorth and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall\nwrite the words which I speak unto them: for out of the books which\nshall be written, I will judge the world, every man according to their\nworks, according that which is written. For behold, I shall speak unto\nthe Jews, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the\nNephites, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the\nother tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they\nshall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth,\nand they shall write it. And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall\nhave the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words\nof the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the\nlost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the\nwords of the Nephites and the Jews. And it shall come to pass that my\npeople which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto\nthe lands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in\none.\"--2 Nephi, xxix, 11-14.\n\n\nSALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.\n\nDESERET NEWS COMPANY, PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS,\n\n1882.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n  Introductory--Christ's Testimony with regard to His Sufferings--\n  Christ came to do the Will of His Father--The Testimony of the\n  Father at His Baptism and Transfiguration.\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n  The Testimony of Jesus the Spirit of Prophecy--The Declarations of\n  the Ancient Servants of God--Extracts from the Writings and\n  Testimonies of Moses, Job, David, Isaiah, Zechariah, Micah and\n  Hosea, to be found in the Old Testament, with remarks.\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n  Extracts from the New Testament, touching the Personal History of\n  the Lord Jesus Christ and the Doctrine of the Atonement--Remarks on\n  the \"Times of Refreshing\"--Results accruing to the Redeemer through\n  His Death on the Cross, etc.\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n  Extracts from the Pearl of Great Price and Inspired Translation of\n  Genesis--Record of Moses regarding Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and\n  Joseph, and of their Faith in the Coming of the Savior.\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n  The Book of Mormon and the Atonement--Extracts from the Books of\n  Ether, Nephi, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman and Mormon.\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n  Extracts from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants--Christ's Testimony\n  of Himself, of His Power and Calling, etc.--Testimony of Joseph\n  Smith and Sidney Rigdon--Record of John the Baptist--Extract from a\n  Sermon by President Brigham Young.\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n  Introduction to the Historical Portion of this Treatise--The\n  Dealings of God with Adam, Cain and Abel--The Institution of\n  Sacrifice--The Symbolism of this Rite--The Words of the Angel to\n  Adam--Lucifer--His Rebellion in Heaven--His Conflict with Michael\n  for the Body of Moses--He tempts Christ--He is cast into a Lake of\n  Fire and Brimstone.\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n  Seth--His Sacrifice Accepted--Rebellion in the Heavens--The\n  Gathering of the Patriarchs in the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman--\n  Sacrifices Offered There.\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n  Enoch, his Life and Translation--References to Him by Paul and\n  Jude--Copious Extracts from His Prophecy--The Prophet Joseph Smith\n  on Enoch and the Doctrine of Translation--The Office of Translated\n  Saints--Enoch's Future Work--Translation and Resurrection--Christ\n  the Creator--Summary of the Results of Enoch's Faith in the Saving\n  Blood of Christ.\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n  Noah--His Sacrifice--God's Covenant with Him--Melchizedek--His\n  Priesthood--Its Powers--Instances thereof Recorded in the Bible, in\n  the Book of Mormon and in Latter-days--All Power of the Priesthood\n  the Result of Faith in Christ, and Impossible without the\n  Atonement--The Power of the Priesthood the Power of God--The Glory\n  of God in the Immortality of Man--Christ the Word, the Creator.\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n  Abraham's Record Concerning the Creation--The Council in Heaven--The\n  Father's Plan, the Son's Acceptance, Satan's Rebellion--The Agency\n  of Man--Suggestions Regarding Satan's Plan to Save All Mankind.\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--Sacrifices Offered by Them--Abraham and\n  the Gospel Covenant--Extracts from the Book of Abraham and the\n  Writings of Paul.\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n  Sacrifices in the Days of Moses--The Institution of the Passover and\n  the Exodus--The Symbolism of the Paschal Lamb--The Covenant of the\n  Atonement between Christ and His Father--The Redeemed--Tokens of\n  Covenants--The Rainbow--The Name of Jesus the Only Name--The\n  Levites.\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n  History of Sacrifices and the Law of Moses among the Nephites--\n  References to the Books of Nephi, Jacob, Mosiah and Alma--The\n  Testimony of Jesus regarding the Law of Moses.\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n  The Offering of Sacrifice in the Times of the Restitution of all\n  Things--Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith thereon--The Sons of\n  Levi--Malachi's Prophecy--The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n  Brief Retrospect of the History of Sacrifice and its Symbolism--The\n  Passover and the Lord's Supper--Christ's Relation to Both these\n  Ordinances--The Last Supper.\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n  The Atonement and the Resurrection--Adam and Christ--Why a Law was\n  Given unto Adam--The Results of Disobedience to that Law--Testimony\n  of our First Parents--\"Adam fell that Man might be\"--The Fall a\n  Necessary Portion of the Plan of Salvation--God's Plan a Merciful\n  Plan--The Plan of Lucifer--Man's Free Agency--The Chain Complete.\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n  Christ as the Son of God--A Comparison between His Position, Glory,\n  etc., and those of other Sons of God--His Recognition by the\n  Father--Christ called the Very Eternal Father.\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n  Man as Man--His Excellency and His Limitations--Salvation and\n  Eternal Progression Impossible without the Atonement--In Christ\n  _only_ can All be made Alive.\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n  Christ to be Subject to Man--His Descent below all Things--Man's\n  Condition had there been no Atonement--The Sons of God--Man's\n  Inability to Save Himself--Christ's Glory before the World Was--\n  Necessity for an Infinite Atonement--The Father and Son have Life in\n  Themselves.\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n  The Relation of the Atonement to Little Children--Jesus Assumes the\n  Responsibility of Man's Transgression, and Bears the Weight of his\n  Sins and Sufferings--The Inferior Creatures and Sacrifice--The\n  Terrors and Agonies of Christ's Passion and Death--The Tribulations,\n  Earthquakes, etc., when He gave up the Ghost--Universal Nature\n  Trembles--The Prophecies of Zenos and Enoch--The Testimony of the\n  Centurion--Heirship, and the Descent of Blessings and Curses.\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\n  The Operations of the Priesthood in the Heavens and upon the Earth,\n  in Time and Eternity--The Heirs of the Celestial Kingdom--Those who\n  Die without Law--The Judges of the Earth--Priests and Kings--Christ\n  the King of Kings--Condition of Patriarch Joseph Smith, Apostle\n  David Patten and Others--Moses and Elias--The Visits of Angels and\n  their Testimonies--Peter, James and John--The Angel in the Book of\n  Revelation.\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\n  The Laws of God Unchangeable, Universal and Eternal--Examples and\n  Definitions--Evolutionists--Kingdoms and Light--Christ the Creator,\n  etc.--Deviations from General Laws--Every Kingdom has a Law Given.\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\n  The Results of the Atonement--The Debt Paid--Justice and Mercy--\n  Extracts from the Teachings of Alma and Others.\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\n  The Resurrection--The Universality of the Atonement--The Promises to\n  those who Overcome--The Gospel--Its First Principles--Faith,\n  Repentance, Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost--Its\n  Antiquity--It is Preached in Various Dispensations, from Adam until\n  the Present--The Final Triumph of the Saints.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MEDIATION AND ATONEMENT\nOF\nOUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n  Introductory--Christ's Testimony with regard to His Sufferings--\n  Christ came to do the Will of His Father--The Testimony of the\n  Father at His Baptism and Transfiguration.\n\n\nIn the last chapter of St. Luke's Gospel is to be found a deeply\ninteresting account of several events that took place on the day that\nthe Redeemer was resurrected. Amongst other incidents, he relates that\non that day two of the disciples took a melancholy journey from\nJerusalem to the neighboring village of Emmaus. Whilst they walked,\nthe sadness of their hearts found expression on their tongues, and\nthey mournfully rehearsed to each other the story of the crucifixion\nof their Master. By and by, they were joined by an apparent stranger,\nwho, though none other than the resurrected Savior, was not recognized\nby them. In answer to His inquiries, they repeated the sad history of\nthe days just passed, and expressed the disappointment that His death\nhad brought, for they trusted that it had been He who should have\nredeemed Israel. Then Jesus said unto them, \"O fools, and slow of\nheart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ\nto have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And\nbeginning at Moses, and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in\nall the scriptures the things concerning Himself.\"--Luke, xxiv, 25-27.\n\nWhen they reached Emmaus, with characteristic eastern hospitality,\nthey constrained the stranger to abide with them. He consented, and as\nthey sat at meat He took bread, and blessed it, brake and gave unto\nthem. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him, and He vanished\nout of their sight. \"And they rose up the same hour, and returned to\nJerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together and them that were\nwith them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to\nSimon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how He was\nknown of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus\nhimself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto\nyou.\"\n\nAfter the Savior had convinced the disciples then present of His\nidentity, and had partaken of some broiled fish and an honey comb, He\nsaid unto them, \"These are the words which I spake unto you, while I\nwas yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written\nin the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,\nconcerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might\nunderstand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and\nthus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third\nday: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in\nhis name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are\nwitnesses of these things.\"\n\nOne great and very striking statement is here made by the Lord\nHimself, to the effect that it behooved Christ to suffer, and the\nquestion at once presents itself before us, why did it behoove Him? Or\nwhy was it necessary that He should suffer? For it would seem from His\nlanguage, through His sufferings, death, atonement and resurrection,\n\"that repentance and remission of sins\" could be preached among all\nnations, and that consequently if He had not atoned for the sins of\nthe world, repentance and remission of sins could not have been\npreached to the nations.\n\nA very important principle is here enunciated, one in which the\ninterests of the whole human family throughout all the world are\ninvolved. That principle is the offering up of the Son of God, as a\nsacrifice, an atonement and a propitiation for our sins. Jesus said,\nHe came not to do His will, but the will of His Father, who sent Him.\nHe came, as we are told, to take away sin by the sacrifice of Himself;\nand not only did He come, but He came in accordance with certain\npreconceived ideas that had been entertained and testified of by\nProphets and men of God in all preceding ages, or from the days of\nAdam to the days of John the Baptist, the latter being His precursor\nor forerunner, who indeed, when he saw Him coming, made the\ndeclaration, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the\nworld. At His baptism the Spirit of God bore witness to this testimony\nand descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, or, rather, the form\nof a dove was the sign of the Holy Spirit; whilst a voice was heard\nfrom heaven proclaiming: \"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well\npleased.\"\n\nThis manifestation of God's acknowledgment of His beloved Son was\nspoken of by personal witnesses who bore record to the facts.\n\nMatthew testifies: \"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto\nJohn, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need\nto be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering\nsaid unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to\nfulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was\nbaptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens\nwere opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a\ndove, and lighting upon him: And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This\nis my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.\"--Matthew, iii, 13-17.\n\nWhilst Mark relates, \"And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus\ncame from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And\nstraightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and\nthe Spirit like a dove descending upon him. And there came a voice\nfrom heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well\npleased.\"--Mark, i, 9-11.\n\nAnd John, in his Gospel, states that John the Baptist bare record,\nsaying, \"I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it\nabode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize\nwith water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit\ndescending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with\nthe Holy Ghost. And I saw and bare record, that this is the Son of\nGod.\"--John, i, 32-34.\n\nWe have this great truth of the open recognition of Jesus, by His\nFather, as His beloved Son, again enunciated when the three Apostles,\nPeter, James and John, were on the Mount, and Jesus was transfigured\nbefore them. It is declared that \"a bright cloud overshadowed them:\nand behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved\nSon, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.\"--Matthew, xvii, 5.\n\nThe Son, thus openly acknowledged, came not to earth to do His own\nwill, but the will of His Father. The will of the Father appears to\nhave been that the Son should suffer, for He, Himself, prayed: \"O my\nFather, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless,\nnot as I will, but as thou wilt.\" (Matthew, xxvi, 39.) Or, as the New\nTranslation by the Prophet Joseph Smith has it, \"O my Father, if this\ncup may not pass away from me except I drink it, thy will be done.\"\nThe Father did not let it pass from Him; He therefore drank it, and\nfinally, on the cross He said, \"It is finished,\" and bowed His head\nand gave up the Ghost.\n\nIn regard to this Jesus Himself testifies. First to the Nephites:\n\"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the Prophets testified shall come\ninto the world; and behold, I am the light and life of the world; and\nI have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me,\nand have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world,\nin the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from\nthe beginning.\"--iii Nephi, xi, 10, 11.\n\nAnd again, in this dispensation, He bears witness: \"For behold, I,\nGod, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if\nthey would repent, but if they would not repent, they must suffer even\nas I, which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to\ntremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer\nboth body and spirit: and would that I might not drink the bitter cup\nand shrink, nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and\nfinished my preparations unto the children of men.\"--Doc. and Cov.,\nxix, 16-19, page 118.\n\nThe saying of our Savior, to which we have already alluded, \"Thus it\nis written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer,\" is a very important\none, and it would seem to be necessary, in the consideration of our\nsubject, for us to obtain, from the writings of the servants of God\nthat we have, an understanding what these statements were; how\nextensively they were corroborated by the sacred records; and what is\nsaid with regard to the necessity of Christ's sufferings thus referred\nto: and, furthermore, we may notice the reason why they should be thus\nnecessary.\n\nIn making this examination, we will first quote from the writings of\nthe Old and New Testaments, and, although we are informed by later\nrevelations that \"many parts which are plain and most precious\" have\nbeen taken away therefrom, yet there is a large amount of testimony\nleft in this valuable and sacred record, which plainly exhibits that\nthe principle of the atonement was fully understood by the Prophets in\nformer ages.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n  The Testimony of Jesus the Spirit of Prophecy--The Declarations of\n  the Ancient Servants of God--Extracts from the Writings and\n  Testimonies of Moses, Job, David, Isaiah, Zechariah, Micah and\n  Hosea, to be found in the Old Testament, with remarks.\n\n\nIn the chapter of Luke's Gospel, to which we have already referred,\nspeaking of Jesus, it is written, \"Beginning with Moses and all the\nprophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things\nconcerning himself.\"\n\nIf this be taken in the fullest sense, and we know of no reason why it\nshould not thus be received, there is a great principle developed,\nwhich is, that not only Moses, but all the Prophets, testified\nconcerning the coming Redeemer. As elsewhere stated, this must have\nbeen the case, for we are told that \"the testimony of Jesus is the\nspirit of prophecy;\" and this being admitted, how could they have the\nspirit of prophecy, or be Prophets without having the testimony of\nJesus? And we are told further that the Prophets sought \"what manner\nof time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it\ntestified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that\nshould follow.\"--1 Peter, i, 11.\n\nThese scriptures evidently show that the testimony of Jesus was the\nvery principle, essence and power of the spirit of prophecy whereby\nthey were inspired.\n\nWe find a great many statements corroborative of these facts in those\nportions of the writings and prophecies of the ancient servants of\nGod, that have been handed down to us in the Old Testament, and from\nthese testimonies we select a few to show how various and how detailed\nhave been the inspired utterances regarding the life and death of the\nMessiah.\n\n\"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of\nthee, of thy brethren, like unto me, [Moses,] unto him ye shall\nhearken. * * * And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that\nwhich they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among\ntheir brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth;\nand he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it\nshall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words\nwhich he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.\"--Deut.,\nxviii, 15, 17-19.\n\n\"For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the\nlatter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this\nbody, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself,\nand mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be\nconsumed within me.\"--Job, xix, 25-27.\n\n\"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The\nkings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel\ntogether, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, Let us\nbreak their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that\nsitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in\nderision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in\nhis sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of\nZion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art\nmy Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give\nthee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the\nearth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;\nthou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now\ntherefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve\nthe Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he\nbe angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a\nlittle. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.\"--Psalm ii,\n1-12.\n\nWhile the first portion of the above psalm refers to the Anointed of\nthe Lord, and matters that would take place at His first appearing,\nstill many of the things, therein mentioned, have not yet transpired.\nThe same may be said of the following passages from Zechariah, which\nspeak of His being pierced and of His rejection by the Jews as a thing\naccomplished, when at that time these events had not taken place. But\nit does prove that His people would reject and pierce Him, and that\nafterwards when He should come as their deliverer (like Joseph, whom\nhis brethren sold, appeared as their deliverer in Egypt), they should\nlook upon Him whom they had pierced.\n\n\"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of\nJerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall\nlook upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as\none mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as\none that is in bitterness for his first born.\"--Zech., xii, 10.\n\n\"And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thy hands? Then\nhe shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my\nfriends.\"--Zech., xiii, 6.\n\n\"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the\ngovernment shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called\nWonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The\nPrince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there\nshall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to\norder it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from\nhenceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform\nthis.\"--Isaiah, ix, 6, 7.\n\n\"Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin\nshall conceive, and beat a son, and shall call his name\nImmanuel.\"--Isaiah, vii, 14.\n\n\"The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make\nthine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy\nstrength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy\npeople shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of\nholiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.\nThe Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever\nafter the order of Melchizedek.\"--Psalm cx, 1-4.\n\n\"Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy\nGod, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy\nfellows.\"--Psalm xlv, 7.\n\n\"And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from\ntransgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.\"--Isaiah, lix, 20.\n\n\"Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul\ndelighteth; I have put my Spirit upon him: he shall bring forth\njudgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his\nvoice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break,\nand the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth\njudgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he\nhave set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.\nThus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens and stretched\nthem out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of\nit; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them\nthat walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and\nwill hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant\nof the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to\nbring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness\nout of the prison house. I am the Lord; that is my name: and my glory\nwill I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.\nBehold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I\ndeclare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.\"--Isaiah, xlii,\n1-9.\n\n\"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord\nrevealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a\nroot out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we\nshall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is\ndespised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with\ngrief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and\nwe esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our\nsorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and\nafflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised\nfor our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and\nwith his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we\nhave turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him\nthe iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he\nopened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as\na sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He\nwas taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his\ngeneration? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the\ntransgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with\nthe wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no\nviolence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord\nto bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul\nan offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,\nand the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see\nof the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge\nshall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their\niniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and\nhe shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out\nhis soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and\nhe bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the\ntransgressors.\"--Isaiah, liii, 1-12.\n\n\"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:\nbehold, thy king cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation;\nlowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an\nass.\"--Zech., ix, 9.\n\n\"And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not,\nforbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.\"\n--Zech., xi, 12.\n\n\"When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of\nEgypt.\"--Hosea, xi, 1.\n\nRegarding which prophecy Matthew writes, \"When he arose he took the\nyoung child [Jesus] and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:\nand was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled\nwhich was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have\nI called my Son.\"--Matthew, ii, 14, 15.\n\n\"Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and\nbitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children, refused to be\ncomforted for her children, because they were not.\"--Jeremiah, xxxi,\n15.\n\nThe same evangelist refers also to the fulfilment of this prophecy:\n\"Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was\nexceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were\nin Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and\nunder, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the\nwise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the\nprophet, saying, In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and\nweeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and\nwould not be comforted, because they are not.\"--Matthew, ii, 16-18.\n\n\"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the\nthousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that\nis to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old,\nfrom everlasting.\"--Micah, v, 2.\n\n\"Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also\nshall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither\nwilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.\"--Psalm xvi, 9, 10.\n\nThis expression of the Psalmist evidently refers to the resurrection\nof the Son of God. It is so quoted by Paul in his sermon at Antioch:\n\"And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was\nmade unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their\nchildren, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written\nin the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.\nAnd as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to\nreturn to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure\nmercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt\nnot suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had\nserved his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was\nlaid unto his fathers, and saw corruption. But he, whom God raised\nagain, saw no corruption.\"--Acts, xiii, 32-37.\n\n\"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed\nme to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up\nthe brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the\nopening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the\nacceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to\ncomfort all that' mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to\ngive unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the\ngarment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be\ncalled Trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might\nbe glorified.\"--Isaiah, lxi, 1-3.\n\nThis prophecy is referred to in the following incident in the life of\nJesus, narrated by Luke:\n\n\"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his\ncustom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood\nup for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the\nprophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place\nwhere it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he\nhath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to\nheal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and\nrecovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are\nbruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the\nbook, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes\nof all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he\nbegan to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your\nears.\"--Luke, iv, 16-21.\n\n\"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting\ndoors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory?\nThe Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your\nheads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the\nKing of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of\nhosts, he is the King of glory, Selah.\"--Psalm xxiv, 7-10.\n\nThe above is made much more plain in the inspired version, where it\nappears as follows:\n\n\"Lift up your heads, O ye generations of Jacob; and be ye lifted up;\nand the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, who is the\nKing of glory, shall establish you for ever. And he will roll away the\nheavens, and will come down to redeem his people, to make you an\neverlasting name, to establish you upon his everlasting rock. Lift up\nyour heads, O ye generations of Jacob; lift up your heads, ye\neverlasting generations, and the Lord of hosts, the King of kings,\neven the King of glory, shall come unto you; and shall redeem his\npeople, and shall establish them in righteousness. Selah.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n  Extracts from the New Testament, touching the Personal History of\n  the Lord Jesus Christ and the Doctrine of the Atonement--Remarks on\n  the \"Times of Refreshing\"--Results accruing to the Redeemer through\n  His Death on the Cross, etc.\n\n\nFrom the New Testament we will first introduce some texts with regard\nto the birth of the Savior, followed by testimonies of the Lord Jesus\nwith regard to Himself, and afterwards give extracts from the\nteachings and epistles of His disciples, etc.\n\n\"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother\nMary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found\nwith child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just\nman, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put\nher away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the\nangel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou\nson of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which\nis conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a\nson, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people\nfrom their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled\nwhich was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin\nshall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call\nhis name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.\"--Matthew,\ni, 18-23.\n\n\"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a\ncity of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose\nname was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was\nMary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art\nhighly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.\nAnd when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her\nmind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto\nher, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold,\nthou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call\nhis name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the\nHighest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father\nDavid. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his\nkingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How\nshall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and\nsaid unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of\nthe Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing\nwhich shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. And\nbehold thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old\nage; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren: for\nwith God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the\nhandmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the\nangel departed from her. And Mary arose in those days, and went into\nthe hill-country with haste, into a city of Juda, and entered into the\nhouse of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that\nwhen Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her\nwomb: and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out\nwith a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed\nis the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of\nmy Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy\nsalutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.\nAnd blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of\nthose things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul\ndoth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.\nFor he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for behold,\nfrom henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is\nmighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his\nmercy is on them that fear him, from generation to generation. He hath\nshewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the\nimagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their\nseats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with\ngood things, and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his\nservant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he spake to our\nfathers, to Abraham, and to his seed, forever.\"--Luke, i, 26-55.\n\n\"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from\nCesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing\nwas first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to\nbe taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from\nGalilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of\nDavid, which is called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and\nlineage of David), to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being\ngreat with child. And so it was, that while they were there, the days\nwere accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth\nher first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and laid him\nin a manger: because there was no room for them in the inn. And there\nwere in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch\nover their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon\nthem, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were\nsore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I\nbring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For\nunto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is\nChrist the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the\nbabe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly\nthere was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising\nGod, and saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good\nwill toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away\nfrom them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now\ngo even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass,\nwhich the Lord hath made known unto us.\"--Luke, ii, 1-15.\n\n\"When Jesus came into the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, he asked his\ndisciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? And\nthey said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias: and\nothers, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom\nsay ye that. I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the\nChrist, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto\nhim, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not\nrevealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. * * * Then\ncharged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was\nJesus the Christ.\"--Matt., xvi, 13-17, 20.\n\nOf this same conversation Mark records: \"And Jesus went out, and his\ndisciples, into the towns of Cesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked\nhis disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they\nanswered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, one of\nthe prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And\nPeter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he\ncharged them that they should tell no man of him. And he began to\nteach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be\nrejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be\nkilled, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying\nopenly.\"--Mark, viii, 27-32.\n\nWhilst Luke testifies, \"And it came to pass, as he was alone praying,\nhis disciples were with him; and he asked them, saying, Whom say the\npeople that I am? They answering, said, John the Baptist; but some\nsay, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen\nagain. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering,\nsaid, The Christ of God. And he straitly charged them, and commanded\nthem to tell no man that thing, saying, The Son of man must suffer\nmany things, and be rejected of the elders, and chief priests, and\nscribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.\"--Luke, ix, 18-22.\n\n\"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that\nwhosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting\nlife. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;\nbut that the world through him might be saved.\"--John, iii, 16, 17.\n\n\"And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are\nof this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that\nye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye\nshall die in your sins. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And\nJesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the\nbeginning. I have many things to say, and to judge of you: but he that\nsent me, is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have\nheard of him. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.\nThen said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then\nshall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my\nFather hath taught me I speak these things. And he that sent me is\nwith me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those\nthings that please him.\"--John, viii, 23-29.\n\n\"Then answered Jesus, and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto\nyou, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father\ndo; for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son\nlikewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things\nthat himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these,\nthat ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and\nquickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the\nFather judgeth no man; but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:\nthat all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He\nthat honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent\nhim. * * * But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works\nwhich the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do,\nbear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father\nhimself which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither\nheard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his\nword abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search\nthe scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: And they\nare they which testify of me.\"--John, v, 19-23, 36-39.\n\n\"Jesus heard that they had cast him out: and when he had found him, he\nsaid unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and\nsaid, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said\nunto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with\nthee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus\nsaid, For judgment I am come into this world; that they which see not\nmight see, and that they which see, might be made blind.\"--John, ix,\n35-39.\n\n\"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As\nthe Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my\nlife for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this\nfold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there\nshall be one fold, and one shepherd. * * * My sheep hear my voice, and\nI know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life;\nand they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my\nhand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and none is\nable to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are\none.\"--John, x, 14-16, 27-30.\n\n\"And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man\nshall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill him, and\nthe third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding\nsorry.\"--Matt., xvii, 22, 23.\n\nOf this same prophecy Mark relates: \"And they departed thence, and\npassed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.\nFor he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is\ndelivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after\nthat he is killed, he shall rise the third day. But they understood\nnot that saying, and were afraid to ask him.\"--Mark, ix, 30-32.\n\nAnd Luke states, \"And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God.\nBut while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he\nsaid unto his disciples, Let these sayings sink down into your ears:\nfor the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. But they\nunderstood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they\nperceived it not, and they feared to ask him of that saying.\"--Luke,\nix, 43-45.\n\n\"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake\nit, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my\nbody. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them,\nsaying; Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament,\nwhich is shed for many, for the remission of sins.\"--Matt., xxvi,\n26-28.\n\n\"And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and\ngave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the\ncup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all\ndrank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new\ntestament, which is shed for many.\" Mark, xiv, 22-24.\n\n\"And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them,\nsaying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance\nof me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new\ntestament in my blood, which is shed for you.\"--Luke, xxii, 19, 20.\n\n\"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his\nangels; and then he shall reward every man according to his\nworks.\"--Matt., xvi, 27.\n\n\"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones: for I say\nunto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my\nFather which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that\nwhich was lost.\"--Matt., xviii, 10, 11.\n\n\"Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain\nwhere Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him they worshipped\nhim: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All\npower is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and\nteach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of\nthe Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things\nwhatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even\nunto the end of the world. Amen.\"--Matt., xxviii, 16-20.\n\n\"Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon\nPeter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of\neternal life. And we believe, and are sure that thou art that Christ,\nthe Son of the living God.\"--John, vi, 67-69.\n\n\"Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of\nGod, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom\nGod hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was\nnot possible that he should be holden of it.\"--Acts, ii, 23, 24.\n\n\"This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.\nTherefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received\nof the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this,\nwhich ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens,\nbut he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right\nhand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house\nof Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye\nhave crucified, both Lord and Christ.--Acts, ii, 32-36.\n\n\"And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did\nalso your rulers. But those things which God before had shewed by the\nmouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so\nfulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may\nbe blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the\npresence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was\npreached unto you; whom the heavens must receive, until the times of\nrestitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all\nhis holy prophets, since the world began. For Moses truly said unto\nthe fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, of\nyour brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things,\nwhatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that\nevery soul which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from\namong the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel, and those\nthat follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of\nthese days.\"--Acts, iii, 17-24.\n\nDoes it not seem from this that these men, having committed the\ninfamous act of crucifying Jesus, or consenting to His death, although\nthey may have done it ignorantly, could not at that time, even by\nrepentance and conversion, be placed in a state of salvation, but that\nthey would have to wait until Jesus Christ should come again before\ntheir sins could be blotted out; when Jesus Christ should be sent, who\nbefore was preached unto them and whom they had crucified? Is not this\nthe same condition that the antediluvians were in, when once the long\nsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, when they were cast into\nprison and remained there until the time when Jesus went and preached\nto those spirits in prison? In their day they rejected the offers of\nmercy through the atonement of Jesus Christ, as the Jews did in their\ntime; but afterwards they had the same Gospel preached to them by\nJesus, and those Jews who had participated in those deeds, or who had\nconsented thereto, to whom the Apostle then spake, even if they then\nrepented, would have to wait for forgiveness and salvation until Jesus\nshould come again. Furthermore, the Jews who will live in the times of\nthe restitution in the last days, after the testimony of the Gospel\nshall have gone to the Gentiles through this same atonement, and the\nintroduction of the Gospel, will again have it preached to them on the\nearth, and will, through Him, the Elias, or restorer, be gathered\nagain to their own land.\n\n\"Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by\nthe name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God\nraised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you\nwhole. This is the stone, which was set at naught of you builders,\nwhich is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in\nany other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men,\nwhereby we must be saved.\"--Acts, iv, 10-12.\n\n\"But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly\ninto heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right\nhand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son\nof man standing on the right hand of God.\"--Acts, vii, 55, 56.\n\n\"The place of the Scripture which he read was this, He was led as a\nsheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so\nopened he not his mouth: in his humiliation his judgment was taken\naway: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from\nthe earth.\"--Acts, viii, 32, 33.\n\n\"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over the\nwhich the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of\nGod, which he hath purchased with his own blood.\"--Acts, xx, 28.\n\n\"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the\nLamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! \"--John, i, 29.\n\n\"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being\njustified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in\nChrist Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through\nfaith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of\nsins that are past, through the forbearance of God.\"--Rom., iii,\n23-25.\n\n\"But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him\nthat raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our\noffences, and was raised again for our justification.\"--Rom., iv, 24,\n25.\n\n\"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet\nsinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by\nhis blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we\nwere enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much\nmore, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only\nso, but we also joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we\nhave now received the atonement. Wherefore as by one man sin entered\ninto the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men,\nfor that all have sinned.\"--Rom., v, 8-12.\n\n\"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how\nthat Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. And that he\nwas buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the\nscriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after\nthat, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the\ngreater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.\nAfter that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last\nof all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I\nam the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an\napostle, because I persecuted the church of God.\"--1 Cor., xv, 3-9.\n\n\"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us\naccepted in the Beloved: in whom we have redemption through his blood,\nthe forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his\ngrace.\"--Ephesians, i, 6, 7.\n\n\"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be\npartakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light: who hath\ndelivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into\nthe kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his\nblood, even the forgiveness of sins: who is the image of the invisible\nGod, the first-born of every creature. * * * And he is the head of the\nbody, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;\nthat in all things he might have the pre-eminence. For it pleased the\nFather that in him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace\nthrough the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto\nhimself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in\nheaven.\"--Col., i, 12-15, 18-20.\n\nFrom the above passage we learn that our redemption is obtained\nthrough the blood of Jesus; that He is in the image of God; again,\nthat He is \"the firstborn of every creature;\" also that He is \"the\nfirst-born from the dead;\" and furthermore, that He stands preeminent\nas the representative of God in the interests of humanity pertaining\nto this world, or the world which is to come, and that He is the head\nof the Church, the Grand Medium through which all blessings flow to\nthe human family.\n\n\"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,\nafter the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not\nafter Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead\nbodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all\nprincipality and power.\"--Col., ii, 8-10.\n\n\"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man\nChrist Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in\ndue time.\"--1 Tim., ii, 5, 6.\n\n\"For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son,\nthis day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father,\nand he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the\nfirst-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God\nworship him.\"--Heb., i, 5, 6.\n\n\"Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he\nput all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under\nhim. But now we see not yet all things put under him: but we see\nJesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering\nof death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God\nshould taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all\nthings, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory,\nto make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.\"\n--Heb., ii, 8-10.\n\nHere we have something said of the results accruing to the Redeemer\nHimself, through His sufferings and death. He stands next to the\nFather, \"and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and\npowers being made subject unto him.\" (1 Peter, iii, 22.) Or as He\nelsewhere says of Himself, \"All power is given unto me, in heaven and\nin earth.\" And again, it is written that He \"forever sat down on the\nright hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made\nhis footstool;\" and \"that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,\nof things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;\nand that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the\nglory of God the Father.\" (Philippians, ii, 10, 11.)\n\n\"For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,\nseparate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth\nnot daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his\nown sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he\noffered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have\ninfirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh\nthe Son, who is consecrated forevermore.\"--Heb., vii, 26-28.\n\nThere is something peculiar pertaining to the expression here used,\n\"forevermore,\" which manifestly exhibits an eternal principle.  We\nfind the same expression (as elsewhere alluded to) in the Pearl of\nGreat Price. To Adam it was said, \"Thou shalt do all that thou doest,\nin the name of the Son. And thou shalt repent, and call upon God, in\nthe name of the Son forevermore.\" The same principle continued both on\nthe Asiatic and on this continent; and was recognized by all men of\nGod holding the Melchisedec Priesthood, and will be recognized\nthroughout all time until the final consummation of all things, when\nevery knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is the\nChrist, to the glory of God, the Father.\n\n\"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he\nentered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal\nredemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the\nashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the\npurifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who\nthrough the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge\nyour conscience from dead works to serve the living God? * * * And\nalmost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without\nshedding of blood is no remission.\"--Heb., ix, 12-14, 22.\n\n\"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body\nof Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily\nministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can\nnever take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice\nfor sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God: from henceforth\nexpecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering\nhe hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.\"--Heb., x, 10-14.\n\nOr, as the thirteenth and fourteenth verses are rendered in the\ninspired translation: \"But this man, after he had offered one\nsacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from\nhenceforth to reign until his enemies be made his footstool.\"\n\n\"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through\nsanctification of the spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the\nblood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. * * *\nForasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things\nas silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition\nfrom your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb\nwithout blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before\nthe foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for\nyou.\"--1 Peter, i, 2, 18-20.\n\n\"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,\nthat he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but\nquickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the\nspirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the\nlong-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a\npreparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. The\nlike figure whereunto, even baptism, doth also now save us, (not the\nputting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good\nconscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: who is\ngone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels, and\nauthorities, and powers, being made subject unto him.\"--1 Peter, iii,\n18-22.\n\n\"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto\nyou, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say\nthat we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do\nnot the truth;' but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we\nhave fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his\nSon cleanseth us from all sin.\"--1 John, i, 5-7.\n\n\"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ\nthe righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for\nours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.\"--1 John, ii, 1,\n2.\n\nOr as it is written in the inspired translation, \"But if any man sin\n_and repent_, we have an advocate,\" etc.\n\n\"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful Witness, and the\nfirst-begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth.\nUnto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own\nblood.\"--Rev., i, 5.\n\n\"These things, saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the\nbeginning of the creation of God.\"--Rev., iii, 14.\n\n\"And when he had taken the book, the four beasts, and four and twenty\nelders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and\ngolden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. And they\nsung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open\nthe seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by\nthy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;\nand hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on\nthe earth.\"--Rev., v, 8-10.\n\nThus it would seem that the redeemed of the Lord from all nations and\npeoples are indebted to the Lord Jesus Christ, through His atonement,\nfor the position that they will occupy in the state of exaltation here\nreferred to; and if they are exalted to be kings and priests unto God,\nit is through the ordinances which He has appointed for the\naccomplishment of this object, as the wise will understand. As regards\nthe Book mentioned in the above passage, an explanation thereof will\nbe found in the Key to the Revelation of John.--Doc. and Cov., Sec.\nlxxvii, page 277. (Latest edition.)\n\n\"And it was given unto him [the Dragon] to make war with the Saints,\nand to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and\ntongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship\nhim, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain\nfrom the foundation of the world.\"--Rev., xiii, 7, 8.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n  Extracts from the Pearl of Great Price and Inspired Translation of\n  Genesis--Record of Moses regarding Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and\n  Joseph, and of their faith in the Coming of the Savior.\n\n\nWe shall now introduce some extracts from the Pearl of Great Price and\nthe Inspired Translation of the Book of Genesis, which replace some of\nthose parts, \"plain and most precious,\" which are said to have been\ntaken from the version of the Holy Scriptures known as King James' or\nthe authorized version. These extracts are taken from the revelations\nand writings of the Prophet Joseph Smith.\n\n\"And God spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty,\nand Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of\nyears; and is not this Endless? And, behold, thou art my son;\nwherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands,\nbut not all; for my works are without end, and also my words; for they\nnever cease; wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he\nbehold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and\nafterwards remain in the 'flesh on the earth. And I have a work for\nthee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only\nBegotten; and my Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is\nfull of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things\nare present with me, for I know them all.\"--Pearl of Great Price.\n\n\"And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record\nof the Father and the Son, saying, I am the Only Begotten of the\nFather from the beginning, henceforth and for ever, that as thou hast\nfallen thou mayest be redeemed; and all mankind, even as many as\nwill.\"--Ibid.\n\n\"But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent.\nAnd he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying, I am God:\nI made the world, and men before they were in the flesh. And he also\nsaid unto him, If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice,\nand believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized,\neven in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of\ngrace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be\ngiven under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of\nmen, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in\nhis name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you. And our\nfather Adam spake unto the Lord, and said, Why is it that men must\nrepent and be baptized in water? And the Lord said unto Adam, Behold,\nI have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden. Hence\ncame the saying abroad among the people, That the Son of God hath\natoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be\nanswered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the\nfoundation of the world.\"--Ibid.\n\n\"Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must\nrepent, or they can in no wise inherit the kingdom of God, for no\nunclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the\nlanguage of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name; and the name of his\nOnly Begotten, is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge\nwho shall come in the meridian of time. Therefore I give unto you a\ncommandment, to teach these things freely unto your children, saying,\nThat by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth\ndeath, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and\nblood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a\nliving soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven,\nof water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood\nof mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and\nenjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the\nworld to come, even immortal glory: For by the water ye keep the\ncommandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are\nsanctified; therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of\nheaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the\ntruth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh\nalive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power,\naccording to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment. And now,\nbehold, I say unto you, This is the plan of salvation unto all men,\nthrough the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the\nmeridian of time.\"--Ibid.\n\n\"And he gave unto me [Enoch] a commandment that I should baptize in\nthe name of the Father, and of the Son, who is full of grace and\ntruth, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the' Father and the\nSon.\"--Ibid.\n\n\"And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even\nin the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying, The Righteous is lifted\nup, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and\nthrough faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is\nwith me!\"--Ibid.\n\n\"And great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my\npeople will I preserve; and righteousness will I send down out of\nheaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear\ntestimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea,\nand also the resurrection of all men.\"--Ibid.\n\n\"And it came to pass that Noah continued his preaching unto the\npeople, saying, Hearken, and give heed unto my words; believe and\nrepent of your sins, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the\nSon of God, even as our fathers did, and ye shall receive the Holy\nGhost, that ye may have all things made manifest; and if ye do not\nthis, the floods will come in upon you.\"--Ibid.\n\n\"And if thou shalt die, yet thou shalt possess it [the land of\nCanaan], for the day cometh, that the Son of Man shall live; but how\ncan he live, if he be not dead? He must first be quickened. And it\ncame to pass that Abram looked forth and saw the days of the Son of\nMan, and was glad, and his soul found rest, and he believed in the\nLord; and the Lord counted it unto him for righteousness.\"--Inspired\nTranslation, Gen., xv, 11, 12.\n\n\"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between\nhis feet, until Shiloh come: and unto him shall the gathering of the\npeople be.\"--Gen., xlix, 10.\n\n\"The Lord hath visited me [Joseph], and I have obtained a promise of\nthe Lord, that out of the fruit of my loins the Lord will raise up a\nrighteous branch out of my loins; and unto thee, whom my father Jacob\nhath named Israel, a prophet; (not the Messiah who is called Shiloh;)\nand this prophet shall deliver my people out of Egypt in the days of\nthy bondage. And it shall come to pass that they shall be scattered\nagain; and a branch shall be broken off, and shall be carried into a\nfar country; nevertheless, they shall be remembered in the covenants\nof the Lord, when the Messiah cometh; for he shall be made manifest\nunto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, and shall bring\nthem out of darkness into light; out of hidden darkness, and out of\ncaptivity unto freedom.\"--Inspired Translation, Gen., 1, 24, 25.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n  The Book of Mormon and the Atonement--Extracts from the Books of\n  Ether, Nephi, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman and Mormon.\n\n\nWe next quote from the Book of Mormon, making our selections in\nchronological order; first from the Book of Ether, and afterwards from\nthe records of the Nephites.\n\n\"And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself\nunto him [the brother of Jared], and said, Because thou knowest these\nthings, ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back\ninto my presence; therefore I show myself unto you. Behold, I am he\nwho was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people.\nBehold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall\nall mankind have light, and that eternally, even they who shall\nbelieve on my name; and they shall become my sons and my\ndaughters.\"--Ether, iii, 13, 14.\n\n\"And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell\ntherein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of\nthe Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the\nseed of Joseph, who were of the house of Israel. And then also cometh\nthe Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they,\nfor they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they\nwho were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the\nearth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the\nfulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father\nAbraham.\"--Ether, xiii, 10, 11.\n\n\"Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left\nJerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews; even\na Messiah; or, in other words, a Savior of the world. And he also\nspake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of\nthese things, concerning this Messiah, of whom he had spoken, or this\nRedeemer of the world. Wherefore all mankind were in a lost and in a\nfallen state, and ever would be, save they should rely on this\nRedeemer. And he spake also concerning a prophet who should come\nbefore the Messiah to prepare the way of the Lord; yea, even he should\ngo forth and cry in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,\nand make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye\nknow not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I am not\nworthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing. And\nmy father said he should baptize in Bethabary, beyond Jordan; and he\nalso said he should baptize with water: even that he should baptize\nthe Messiah with water. And after he had baptized the Messiah with\nwater, he should behold and bear record, that he had baptized the Lamb\nof God, who should take away the sins of the world.\"--1 Nephi, x,\n4-10.\n\n\"And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying, Look!\nAnd I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the\npeople; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world;\nand I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up\nupon the cross, and slain for the sins of the world.\"--1 Nephi, xi,\n32, 33.\n\n\"He doeth not anything, save it be for the benefit of the world; for\nhe loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life, that he\nmay draw all men unto him. Wherefore he commandeth none that they\nshall not partake of his salvation.\"--2 Nephi, xxvi, 24.\n\n\"Yea, I know that ye know, that in the body he shall show himself unto\nthose at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it\nshould be among them; for it behoveth the great Creator that he\nsuffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for\nall men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death hath\npassed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator,\nthere must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must\nneeds come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason\nof transgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off\nfrom the presence of the Lord.\"--2 Nephi, ix, 5, 6.\n\n\"Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed because of the righteousness\nof thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld, that in the fulness of time he\ncometh to bring salvation unto men. And thou hast beheld in thy youth\nhis glory; wherefore thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall\nminister in the flesh; for the Spirit is the same, yesterday, to-day,\nand forever. And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and\nsalvation is free. And men are instructed sufficiently, that they know\ngood from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law, no\nflesh is justified; or, by the law, men are cut off. Yea, by the\ntemporal law, they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they\nperish from that which is good, and become miserable for ever.\nWherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he\nis full of grace and truth. Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice\nfor sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a\nbroken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of\nthe law be answered. Wherefore, how great the importance to make these\nthings known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know\nthat there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it\nbe through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who\nlayeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by\nthe power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of\nthe dead, being the first that should rise. Wherefore he is the first\nfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the\nchildren of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved. And\nbecause of the intercession for all, all men come unto God; wherefore,\nthey stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to\nthe truth and holiness which is in him. Wherefore, the ends of the law\nwhich the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment\nwhich is affixed, which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to\nthat of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the\natonement; for it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all\nthings. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness\ncould not be brought to pass; neither wickedness; neither holiness nor\nmisery; neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a\ncompound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body, it must needs\nremain as dead, having no life, neither death, nor corruption nor\nincorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.\nWherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught;\nwherefore, there would have been no purpose in the end of its\ncreation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God,\nand his eternal purposes; and also, the power, and the mercy, and the\njustice of God. And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say\nthere is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say\nthere is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness, there be\nno happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness, there be\nno punishment nor misery. And if these things are not, there is no\nGod. And if there is no God, we are not, neither the earth; for there\ncould have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted\nupon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away. And now, my sons,\nI speak unto you these things, for your profit and learning; for there\nis a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the\nearth, and all things that in them is; both things to act, and things\nto be acted upon. And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end\nof man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the\nfield and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are\ncreated, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the\nforbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life: the one being sweet\nand the other bitter; wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he\nshould act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself, save\nit should be that he was enticed by the one or the other. And I, Lehi,\naccording to the things which I have read, must needs suppose, that an\nangel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from\nheaven: wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was\nevil before God. And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become\nmiserable for ever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.\nWherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the\ndevil, who is the father of all lies; wherefore he said, Partake of\nthe forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God,\nknowing good and evil. And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the\nforbidden fruit, they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till\nthe earth. And they have brought forth children; yea, even the family\nof all the earth. And the days of the children of men were prolonged,\naccording to the will of God, that they might repent while in the\nflesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their\ntime was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God\ngave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men\nmust repent; for he shewed unto all men that they were lost, because\nof the transgression of their parents.--2 Nephi, ii, 3-21.\n\n\"And now, my brethren, I have spoken plain, that ye cannot err; and as\nthe Lord God liveth that brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt,\nand gave unto Moses power that he should heal the nations, after they\nhad been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would cast their\neyes unto the serpent which he did raise up before them, and also gave\nhim power that he should smite the rock, and the water should come\nforth; yea, behold I say unto you, that as these things are true, and\nas the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven,\nsave it be this Jesus Christ of whom I have spoken, whereby man can be\nsaved. Wherefore, for this cause hath the Lord God promised unto me\nthat these things which I write, shall be kept and preserved, and\nhanded down unto my seed, from generation to generation, that the\npromise may be fulfilled unto Joseph, that his seed should never\nperish as long as the earth should stand. Wherefore, these things\nshall go from generation to generation as long as the earth shall\nstand; and they shall go according to the will and pleasure of God;\nand the nations who shall possess them shall be judged of them\naccording to the words which are written; for we labor diligently to\nwrite, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in\nChrist, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace\nthat we are saved, after all we can do. And notwithstanding we believe\nin Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with\nsteadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled; for, for\nthis end was the law given; wherefore, the law hath become dead unto\nus, and we are made alive in Christ, because of our faith; yet we keep\nthe law because of the commandments; and we talk of Christ, we rejoice\nin Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write\naccording to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source\nthey may look for a remission of their sins. Wherefore, we speak\nconcerning the law, that our children may know the deadness of the\nlaw; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward\nunto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was\ngiven. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not\nharden their hearts against him, when the law ought to be done\naway.\"--2 Nephi, xxv, 20-27.\n\nThe reference, in the above quotation, to the serpent which Moses\nraised up before the children of Israel in the wilderness, directly\nconfirms the statement of our Savior:\n\n\"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must\nthe Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should\nnot perish, but have eternal life.\"--John, iii, 14, 15.\n\nWe now return to our extracts from the Book of Mormon. King Benjamin\nteaches:\n\n\"For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power,\nthe Lord Omnipotent, who reigneth, who was and is from all eternity to\nall eternity, shall come down from heaven, among the children of men,\nand shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst\nmen, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the\ndead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and\nthe deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases; and he shall cast\nout devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the\nchildren of men. And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of\nbody, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer,\nexcept it be unto death: for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so\ngreat shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of\nhis people. And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the\nFather of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things, from the\nbeginning; and his mother shall be called Mary. And lo, he cometh unto\nhis own, that salvation might come unto the children of men, even\nthrough faith on his name; and even after all this, they shall\nconsider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge\nhim, and shall crucify him. And he shall rise the third day from the\ndead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all\nthese things are done, that a righteous judgment might come upon the\nchildren of men. For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins\nof those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died,\nnot knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly\nsinned. But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God;\nfor salvation cometh to none such, except it be through repentance and\nfaith on the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord God hath sent his holy\nprophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to\nevery kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should\nbelieve that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of\ntheir sins, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, even as though he\nhad already come among them. Yet the Lord God saw that his people were\na stiffnecked people, and he appointed unto them a law, even the law\nof Moses. And many signs, and wonders, and types, and shadows shewed\nhe unto them, concerning his coming; and also holy prophets spake unto\nthem concerning his coming; and yet they hardened their hearts, and\nunderstood not that the law of Moses availeth nothing, except it were\nthrough the atonement of his blood. And even if it were possible that\nlittle children could sin, they could not be saved: but I say unto you\nthey are blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature they fall, even\nso the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins. And moreover, I say\nunto you, that there shall be no other name given, nor any other way\nnor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in\nand through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. For behold he\njudgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that\ndieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls,\nexcept they humble themselves and become as little children, and\nbelieve that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the\natoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent; for the natural man is\nan enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, for\never and ever; but if he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit,\nand putteth off the natural man, and becometh a saint, through the\natonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive,\nmeek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things\nwhich the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth\nsubmit to his father. And moreover, I say unto you, that the time\nshall come, when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout\nevery nation, kindred, tongue, and people. And behold, when that time\ncometh, none shall be found blameless before God, except it be little\nchildren only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God\nOmnipotent.\"--Mosiah, iii, 5-21.\n\n\"And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of\nspeaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the angel of\nthe Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and\nbehold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come\nupon them; and they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state,\neven less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with\none voice, saying, O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of\nChrist, that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts\nmay be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who\ncreated heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among\nthe children of men. And it came to pass that after they had spoken\nthese words, the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were\nfilled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having\npeace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in\nJesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king\nBenjamin had spoken unto them. And king Benjamin again opened his\nmouth, and began to speak unto them, saying, My friends and my\nbrethren, my kindred and my people, I would again call your attention,\nthat ye may hear and understand the remainder of my words which I\nshall speak unto you; for behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of\nGod at this time has awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and\nyour worthless and fallen state; I say unto you, if ye have come to a\nknowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his\nwisdom, and his patience, and his long suffering towards the children\nof men, and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the\nfoundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that\nshould put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping\nhis commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his\nlife; I mean the life of the mortal body; I say that this is the man\nwho receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from\nthe foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the\nfall of Adam, or who are, or whoever shall be, even unto the end of\nthe world; and this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there\nis none other salvation, save this which hath been spoken of; neither\nare there any conditions whereby man can be saved, except the\nconditions which I have told you.\"--Mosiah, iv, 1-8.\n\n\"And now Abinadi said unto them, I would that ye should understand\nthat God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall\nredeem his people; and because he dwelleth in flesh, he shall be\ncalled the Son of God: and having subjected the flesh to the will of\nthe Father, being the Father and the Son; the Father, because he was\nconceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh, thus\nbecoming the Father and Son: And they are one God, yea, the very\neternal Father of heaven and of earth; and thus the flesh becoming\nsubject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God,\nsuffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but\nsuffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and\ndisowned by his people. And after all this, after working many mighty\nmiracles among the children of men, he shall be led, yea, even as\nIsaiah said, As a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened not\nhis mouth; yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the\nflesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being\nswallowed up in the will of the Father; and thus God breaketh the\nbands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son\npower to make intercession for the children of men: having ascended\ninto heaven; having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion\ntowards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having\nbroken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their\ntransgressions: having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of\njustice.\"--Mosiah, xv, 1-9.\n\n\"And now it came to pass that after Abinadi had spoken these words, he\nstretched forth his hand and said, The time shall come when all shall\nsee the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue and\npeople shall see eye to eye, and shall confess before God that his\njudgments are just; and then shall the wicked be cast out, and they\nshall have cause to howl, and weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth;\nand this because they would not hearken unto the voice of the Lord;\ntherefore the Lord redeemeth them not, for they are carnal and\ndevilish, and the devil has power over them; yea, even that old\nserpent that did beguile our first parents, which was the cause of\ntheir fall: which was the cause of all mankind becoming carnal,\nsensual, devilish, knowing evil from good; subjecting themselves to\nthe devil. Thus all mankind were lost; and behold, they would have\nbeen endlessly lost, were it not that God redeemed his people from\ntheir lost and fallen state. But remember, that he that persists in\nhis own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion\nagainst God, remaineth in his fallen state, and the devil hath all\npower over him. Therefore he is as though there was no redemption\nmade; being an enemy to God; and also is the devil an enemy of God.\nAnd now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to\ncome, as though they had already come, there could have been no\nredemption. And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken\nthe bands of death, that the grave should have no victory, and that\ndeath should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection. But\nthere is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the\nsting of death is swallowed up in Christ: he is the light and the life\nof the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be\ndarkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no\nmore death. Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this\ncorruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand\nbefore the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works,\nwhether they be good or whether they be evil. If they be good, to the\nresurrection of endless life and happiness, and if they be evil, to\nthe resurrection of endless damnation; being delivered up to the\ndevil, who hath subjected them, which is damnation; having gone\naccording to their own carnal wills and desires; having never called\nupon the Lord while the arms of mercy were extended towards them; for\nthe arms of mercy were extended towards them; and they would not; they\nbeing warned of their iniquities, and yet they would not depart from\nthem; and they were commanded to repent, and yet they would not\nrepent. And now had ye not ought to tremble and repent of your sins,\nand remember only in and through Christ ye can be saved? Therefore, if\nye teach the law of Moses, also teach that it is a shadow of those\nthings which are to come; teach them that redemption cometh through\nChrist the Lord, who is the very eternal Father. Amen.\"--Mosiah, xvi,\n1-15.\n\n\"But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto\nthis people, saying, Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and\nwalk in his paths, which are straight: for behold, the kingdom of\nheaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the\nearth. And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem, which is\nthe land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen\nvessel, who shall be overshadowed, and conceive by the power of the\nHoly Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God; and he\nshall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions, and temptations of\nevery kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith, He\nwill take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people; and he\nwill take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which\nbind his people: and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his\nbowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may\nknow according to the flesh how to succor his people according to\ntheir infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless,\nthe Son of God suffereth according to the flesh, that he might take\nupon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their\ntransgressions, according to the power of his deliverance; and now\nbehold, this is the testimony which is in me.\"--Alma, vii, 9-13.\n\n\"Now Zeezrom said unto the people, See that ye remember these things;\nfor he said there is but one God; yet he saith that the Son of God\nshall come, but he shall not save his people, as though he had\nauthority to command God. Now Amulek saith again unto him, Behold,\nthou hast lied, for thou sayest that I spake as though I had authority\nto command God, because I said he shall not save his people in their\nsins. And I say unto you again, that he cannot save them in their\nsins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean\nthing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be\nsaved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot\nbe saved in your sins. Now Zeezrom saith again unto him, Is the son of\nGod the very eternal Father? And Amulek said unto him, Yea, he is the\nvery eternal Father of heaven and of earth, and all things which in\nthem is; he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last; and\nhe shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take\nupon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and\nthese are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to\nnone else; therefore, the wicked remain as though there had been no\nredemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for\nbehold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand\nbefore God, and be judged according to their works. Now, there is a\ndeath which is called a temporal death: and the death of Christ shall\nloose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from\nthis temporal death; the spirit and the body shall be re-united again\nin its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its\nproper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought\nto stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright\nrecollection of all our guilt. Now this restoration shall come to all,\nboth old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the\nwicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair\nof their heads be lost; but all things shall be restored to its\nperfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and\nbe arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and\nthe Holy Spirit, which is one eternal God, to be judged according to\ntheir works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.\"--Alma, xi,\n35-44.\n\n\"Now I say unto you, that ye must repent, and be born again: for the\nSpirit saith, If ye are not born again, ye cannot inherit the kingdom\nof heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may\nbe washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God,\nwho taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to\ncleanse from all unrighteousness.\"--Alma, vii, 14.\n\n\"And the angel said unto me, Look! And I looked, and beheld three\ngenerations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white,\neven like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said unto me, These are\nmade white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in\nhim.\"--1 Nephi, xii, 11.\n\n\"Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were\nsanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of\nthe Lamb.\"--Alma, xiii, 11.\n\n\"And this I know, because the Lord hath said, He dwelleth not in\nunholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell; yea,\nand he has also said, That the righteous shall sit down in his\nkingdom, to go no more out: but their garments should be made white,\nthrough the blood of the Lamb.\"--Alma, xxxiv, 36.\n\n\"O then, ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord: cry mightily unto the\nFather in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless,\npure, fair and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb,\nat that great and last day.\"--Mormon, ix, 6.\n\n\"Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and\nbehold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall\nbelieve on his name.\"--Helaman, xiv, 2.\n\n\"For behold, he must surely die, that salvation may come; yea, it\nbehoveth him, and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass\nthe resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the\npresence of the Lord; yea, behold this death bringeth to pass the\nresurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death--that\nspiritual death; for all mankind by the fall of Adam, being cut off\nfrom the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to\nthings temporal and things spiritual. But behold, the resurrection of\nChrist redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them\nback into the presence of the Lord.\"--Helaman, xiv, 15-17.\n\n\"Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my\nside, and also that ye may feel the print of the nails in my hands,\nand in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the\nGod of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the\nworld.\"--3 Nephi, xi, 14.\n\n\"Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And\nbecause of the fall of man, came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the\nSon; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man. And\nbecause of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are\nbrought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all\nmen are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the\nresurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless\nsleep, from which sleep all men shall be awoke by the power of God\nwhen the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and\ngreat, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed\nfrom this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death; and\nthen cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them, and then cometh\nthe time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is\nrighteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy\nstill; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.\"--Mormon, ix,\n12-14.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n  Extracts from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants--Christ's Testimony\n  of Himself, of His Power and Calling, etc.--Testimony of Joseph\n  Smith and Sidney Rigdon--Record of John the Baptist--Extract from a\n  Sermon by President Brigham Young.\n\n\nWe now turn to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants:\n\n\"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the same that came\nunto my own, and my own received me not. I am the light which shineth\nin darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.\"--Sec. vi, 21, p.\n91.\n\n\"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who created the\nheavens and the earth; a light which cannot be hid in darkness.\"--Sec.\nxiv, 9, p. 109.\n\n\"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; for,\nbehold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore,\nhe suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come\nunto him. And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring\nall men unto him, on conditions of repentance.\" Sec. xviii, 10-12, p.\n114.\n\n\"I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; yea, even I am He, the\nbeginning and the end, the Redeemer of the world. I, having\naccomplished and finished the will of him whose I am, even the Father,\nconcerning me--having done this that I might subdue all things unto\nmyself.\"--Sec. xix, 1, 2, p. 117.\n\n\"I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of the Father, and I do his\nwill.\"--Sec. xix, 24, p. 119.\n\n\"For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard with a\nmighty blessing, and they shall believe on his words, which are given\nhim through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was\ncrucified by sinful men for the sins of the world, yea, for the\nremission of sins unto the contrite heart.\"--Sec. xxi, 9, p. 131.\n\n\"Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the great I AM,\nwhose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins.\"--Sec. xxix, 1, p. 142.\n\n\"Be faithful unto the end, and lo, I am with you. These words are not\nof man, nor of men, but of me, even Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, by\nthe will of the Father. Amen.\"--Sec. xxxi, 13, p. 151.\n\n\"My son Orson, hearken and hear and behold what I, the Lord God, shall\nsay unto you, even Jesus Christ your Redeemer; the light and the life\nof the world; a light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness\ncomprehendeth it not; who so loved the world that he gave his own\nlife, that as many as would believe might become the sons of God:\nwherefore you are my son.\"--Sec. xxxiv, 1-3, pp. 153-4.\n\n\"Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the\nbeginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same\nto-day as yesterday, and forever. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God,\nwho was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will\nbelieve on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in\nme as I am in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be\none.\"--Sec. xxxv, 1, 2, p. 155.\n\n\"Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the great I AM,\nAlpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon\nthe wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven,\nbefore the world was made: the same which knoweth all things, for all\nthings are present before mine eyes: I am the same which spake, and\nthe world was made, and all things came by me: I am the same which\nhave taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom; and verily. I say,\neven as many as have believed in my name, for I am Christ, and in mine\nown name, by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt, have I\npleaded before the Father for them; but behold, the residue of the\nwicked have I kept in chains of darkness until the judgment of the\ngreat day; which shall come at the end of the earth.\"--Sec. xxxviii,\n1--5, pp. 159, 160.\n\n\"Hearken and listen to the voice of him who is from all eternity to\nall eternity, the great I AM, even Jesus Christ, the light and the\nlife of the world; a light which shineth in darkness and the darkness\ncomprehendeth it not: the same which came in the meridian of time unto\nmy own, and my own received me not.\"--Sec. xxxix, 1-3, p. 164.\n\nListen to him who is the Advocate with the Father, who is pleading\nyour cause before him, saying, Father, behold the sufferings and death\nof him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the\nblood of thy Son which was shed--the blood of him whom thou gavest\nthat thyself might be glorified; wherefore, Father, spare these my\nbrethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have\neverlasting life.\"--Sec. xlv, 3-5, p. 183.\n\n\"To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is\nthe Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world;\nto others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might\nhave eternal life if they continue faithful.\"--Sec. xlvi, 13, 14, p.\n192.\n\n\"Hear O ye heavens, and give ear O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants\nthereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior: Great\nis his wisdom, and marvellous are his ways, and the extent of his\ndoings none can find out; his purposes fail not, neither are there any\nwho can stay his hand; from eternity to eternity he is the same, and\nhis years never fail.\"--Sec. lxxvi, 1-4, p. 265.\n\n\"By the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our\nunderstandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the\nthings of God--even those things which were from the beginning before\nthe world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only\nBegotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the\nbeginning, of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear is the\nfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and\nwith whom we conversed in heavenly vision.\"--Sec. lxxvi, 12-14, p.\n266.\n\n\"And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes\nof our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord\nshone round about; and we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right\nhand of the Father, and received of his fulness; and saw the holy\nangels and they who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God,\nand the Lamb, who worship him for ever and ever. And now, after the\nmany testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony\nlast of all, which we give of him, that he lives; for we saw him, even\non the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that\nhe is the Only Begotten of the Father--that by him and through him,\nand of him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants\nthereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.\"--Sec. lxxvi, 19-24,\np. 266, 267.\n\n\"That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the\nworld, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world,\nand to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; that through him all might\nbe saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him, who\nglorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except\nthose sons of perdition, who deny the Son after the Father has\nrevealed him.\"--Sec. lxxvi, 41-43, p. 268-9.\n\n\"These are they whose names are written in heaven, where God and\nChrist are the judge of all. These are they who are just men made\nperfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought\nout this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own\nblood.\"--Sec. lxxvi, 68, 69, p. 271.\n\n\"Verily, thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that every soul\nwho forsaketh their sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name,\nand obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face\nand know that I am, and that I am the true light that lighteth every\nman that cometh into the world; and that I am in the Father, and the\nFather in me, and the Father and I are one: the Father because he gave\nme of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world and made\nflesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men. I was in the\nworld and received of my Father, and the works of him were plainly\nmanifest; and John saw and bore record of the fulness of my glory, and\nthe fulness of John's record is hereafter to be revealed. * * * And I,\nJohn, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but\nreceived grace for grace: and he received not of the fulness at first,\nbut continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; and\nthus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the\nfulness at the first. And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens\nwere opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a\ndove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying,\nThis is my beloved Son. And I, John, bear record that he received a\nfulness of the glory of the Father; and he received all power, both in\nheaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he\ndwelt in him.\"--Sec. xciii, 1-6, 12-17, pp. 328-9.\n\n\"But, behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from\nthe foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten.\"--Sec. xxix,\n46, p. 147.\n\n\"Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning, and God having\nredeemed man from the fall, men became again in their infant state,\ninnocent before God.\" Sec. xciii, 38, p. 331.\n\n\"And then shall the Lord set his foot upon this mount, and it shall\ncleave in twain, and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro, and\nthe heavens also shall shake, and the Lord shall utter his voice, and\nall the ends of the earth shall hear it; and the nations of the earth\nshall mourn, and they that have laughed shall see their folly, and\ncalamity shall cover the mocker, and the scorner shall be consumed,\nand they that have watched for iniquity shall be hewn down and cast\ninto the fire. And then shall the Jews look upon me and say, What are\nthese wounds in thine hands and in thy feet? Then shall they know that\nI am the Lord; for I will say unto them, These wounds are the wounds\nwith which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was\nlifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God. And\nthen shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they\nlament because they persecuted their King. And then shall the heathen\nnations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the\nfirst resurrection; and it shall be tolerable for them; and Satan\nshall be bound that he shall have no place in the hearts of the\nchildren of men.\"--Sec. xlv, 48-55, p. 187-8.\n\nFrom a discourse by President Brigham Young, August 8, 1852:\n\n\"Christ is the Author of this Gospel, of this earth, of men and women,\nof all the posterity of Adam and Eve, and of every living creature\nthat lives upon the face of the earth, that flies in the heavens, that\nswims in the waters, or dwells in the field. Christ is the Author of\nsalvation to all this creation, to all things pertaining to this\nterrestrial globe we occupy.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n  Introduction to the Historical Portion of this Treatise--The\n  Dealings of God with Adam, Cain and Abel--The Institution of\n  Sacrifice--The Symbolism of this Rite--The Words of the Angel to\n  Adam--Lucifer--His Rebellion in Heaven--His Conflict with Michael\n  for the Body of Moses--He tempts Christ--He is cast into a Lake of\n  Fire and Brimstone.\n\n\nHaving thus gathered in one numerous testimonies from the writings of\nthe ancient inspired servants of God who dwelt on either hemisphere,\nand joined therewith extracts from the revelations of the present\ndispensation, with regard to the fore-ordination, mission, lifework\nand death of the Only Begotten Son, we shall now proceed to trace,\nfrom the sacred volumes, the revelation of our Savior, and the\nprophecy of his advent from the earliest ages of recorded history,\nuntil He fulfilled in Himself all, even all that, as offering,\nsacrifice, sacrament, vision or prophetic word, had foreshadowed His\nappearing, or typified the mystery of His all-atoning blood.\n\nWe shall commence this portion of our subject by showing that\nsacrifices have been offered from the very earliest times, and that\nwhen performed under divine instruction, they prefigured and typified\nthe sacrifice of the Son of God, and that it was with this view these\nsacrifices were offered up.\n\nIt is recorded in the fourth chapter of the Book of Genesis that,\n\n\"Adam knew Eve, his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said,\nI have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother\nAbel: and Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the\nground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of\nthe fruit of 'the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also\nbrought of the firstings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the\nLord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering: but unto Cain, and to\nhis offering, he had not respect.\"--Genesis, iv, 1-5.\n\nAs these sayings found in King James' translation of the Bible are\nvery limited, and somewhat obscure, we will here refer, as a starting\npoint on this subject, to the account given of these events in the\nPearl of Great Price, which is a selection from the revelations,\ntranslations and narrations of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, Seer and\nRevelator of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For in\nthat translation it is stated that Adam, previous to these acts of\nAbel and Cain, offered up a sacrifice by the direct command of God. It\nis there written that the Lord gave unto Adam and Eve \"commandments,\nthat they should worship the Lord their God; and should offer the\nfirstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was\nobedient unto the commandments of the Lord. And after many days, an\nangel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying, Why dost thou offer\nsacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him, I know not, save the\nLord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying, This thing is a\nsimilitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which\nis full of grace and truth; wherefore thou shalt do all that thou\ndoest in the name of the Son. And thou shalt repent, and call upon\nGod, in the name of the Son, for evermore.\" We are further informed\nthat \"Adam and Eve blessed the name of God; and they made all things\nknown unto their sons and their daughters.\"\n\nFrom the above it would seem that Adam, until instructed by the angel,\ndid not know the reasons for the offering up of sacrifices, nor the\nobject that the Lord had in view in requiring this offering at his\nhands; for, being asked by the angel why he performed this rite, he\nsaid, \"I know not, save the Lord commanded me;\" and the object of the\nvisit of this holy being to Adam evidently was to show him why he was\ncalled to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, as, on Adam expressing his\nignorance of the intent of this offering, the angel stated very\nexplicitly that this thing was \"a similitude of the sacrifice of the\nOnly Begotten of the Father.\" We have here given a reason why Adam\noffered up this sacrifice. We may hereafter explain why it was\nnecessary that the sacrifice of the Son of God should be made.\n\nThese sacrifices, which were similitudes of the sacrifice of the Only\nBegotten, were continued from that time until, as is stated in the\nScriptures, Jesus came to offer \"his own body once for all.\"--Heb., x,\n10.\n\nWe will now return to the sacrifices offered by Cain and Abel, and\ngive the statement in relation thereto contained in the Pearl of Great\nPrice. It is as follows:\n\n\"And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying,\nMake an offering unto the Lord. And in process of time it came to\npass, that Cain brought of the fruits of the ground an offering unto\nthe Lord. And Abel, he also brought, of the firstlings of his flock,\nand of the fat thereof; and the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his\noffering; but unto Cain, and to his offering, He had not respect. Now\nSatan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth and his\ncountenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? Why\nis thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted,\nand if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth\nto have thee, and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I\nwill deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his\ndesire; and thou shalt rule over him, for from this time forth thou\nshalt be the father of his lies. Thou shalt be called Perdition, for\nthou wast also before the world, and it shall be said in time to come,\nthat these abominations were had from Cain, for he rejected the\ngreater counsel, which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I\nwill put upon thee, except thou repent. And Cain was wroth, and\nlistened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel his\nbrother, who walked in holiness before the Lord.\"\n\nFrom the above it would appear that Satan, or Lucifer, was \"also\nbefore the world,\" and that the term \"also\" refers to another\npersonage, and that personage was the Messiah, the Christ, the Well\nBeloved Son, who, we are told, was the Lamb slain from before the\nfoundation of the world; and it is obvious that Lucifer, who is\nelsewhere called the Son of the Morning, had an important role to play\nupon the earth as well as the Messiah, and that he occupied a very\nprominent position before the world was, and still occupies that\nposition in opposition to his Heavenly Father, to the Son of God, and\nto the interests of humanity; which opposition will continue, we are\ninformed, until he shall not only be bound, but cast into the\nbottomless pit; as stated by the Apostle John in the Book of\nRevelations:\n\n\"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the\nbottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the\ndragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him\na thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him\nup, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no\nmore, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he\nmust be loosed a little season.\"--Rev., xx, 1-3.\n\nAnd a little further on we read that after the thousand years have\npassed, \"Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,\" and shall go out to\ndeceive the nations and gather them to battle against the Saints, when\nfire from heaven will devour them.\n\n\"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and\nbrimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be\ntormented day and night for ever and ever.\"--Rev., xx, 10.\n\nThe operations of Satan in opposition to the designs and purposes of\nGod are frequently noticed in Holy Writ. Reference has already been\nmade to his control over Cain and the results thereof, and\nunfortunately for them, Cain was not the only one in that early age of\nthe world's history over whom Satan gained the mastery. For he went\nabroad amongst the inhabitants of the earth, saying, \"I am also a son\nof God; * * * and they loved Satan more than God. And men began, from\nthat time forth, to be carnal, sensual, and devilish.\" And so they\ncontinued increasing in wickedness, until \"all flesh had corrupted its\nway upon the earth,\" and the waters of the flood had to accomplish the\nwork which the preaching of Noah could not effect.\n\nIn later years we hear of Satan contending with the archangel,\nMichael, for the body of Moses. Jude writes: \"Yet Michael, the\narchangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body\nof Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said,\nThe Lord rebuke thee.\"\n\nThis is again exhibited in the part he took in tempting the Savior,\nafter His baptism and recognition by His Heavenly Father. Of this\nevent it is written:\n\n\"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted\nof the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he\nwas afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said,\nIf thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.\nBut he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread\nalone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then\nthe devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a\npinnacle of the temple. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God,\ncast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge\nconcerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at\nany time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It\nis written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the\ndevil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him\nall the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto\nhim, All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and\nworship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it\nis written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt\nthou serve. Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and\nministered unto him.\"--Matt., iv, 1-11.\n\nOr to give the words of the inspired translation: \"Then Jesus was led\nup of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be with God. And when he had\nfasted forty days and forty nights, and had communed with God, he was\nafterwards an hungered, and was left to be tempted of the devil. And\nwhen the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God,\ncommand that these stones be made bread. But Jesus answered and said,\nIt is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word\nthat proceedeth out of the mouth of God.\"\n\n\"Then Jesus was taken up into the holy city, and the Spirit setteth\nhim on the pinnacle of the temple. Then the devil came unto him and\nsaid, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written,\nHe shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands\nthey shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a\nstone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt\nthe Lord thy God.\"\n\n\"And again, Jesus was in the Spirit, and it taketh him up into an\nexceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world\nand the glory of them. And the devil came unto him again, and said,\nAll these things will I give unto thee, if thou wilt fall down and\nworship me. Then said Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan; for it is\nwritten, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou\nserve. Then the devil leaveth him.\"\n\nAgain, John in the Revelations, when referring to the latter days,\nexclaims, \"Wo to the inhabitants of the earth, and of the sea! for the\ndevil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth he\nhath but a short time.\" [Rev., xii, 12.] And by and by the same writer\ntells us, in a passage already quoted, that Satan's time is finished,\nand he is bound and cast into the bottomless pit.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n  Seth--His Sacrifice Accepted--Rebellion in the Heavens--The\n  Gathering of the Patriarchs in the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman--\n  Sacrifices Offered There.\n\n\nThe next eminent personage that appears is Seth. Concerning him, it is\nsaid in the Old Testament:\n\n\"And Adam knew his wife again, and she bare a son, and called his name\nSeth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of\nAbel, whom Cain slew.\"--Gen., iv, 25.\n\nThere is a principle developed here pertaining to the economy of God\nwith the human family. Abel held a representative position, as also\ndid Cain, and that position, it would seem, associated Abel with what\nmay be denominated the chosen seed. Cain slew Abel; but (that, the\npurposes relating to the perpetuation of that seed might stand, and\nthe plan of God not be frustrated by the adversary, He gave to Adam\nSeth, who inherited the priesthood and promises of his martyred\nbrother; in this substantiating a principle that Paul refers to, when\nhe writes, \"That the purpose of God, according to election, might\nstand, not of works, but of him that calleth.\" [Rom., ix, 11.] Yet,\nalthough Seth was one of the leading characters spoken of in the\nScripture, and one to whom and through whom the promises were made,\nand who actually stood in the place of or represented his brother,\nAbel, yet there is nothing said in the ordinary translation pertaining\nto his offering sacrifices; we therefore again refer to the Pearl of\nGreat Price. It is there stated that \"Adam glorified the name of God,\nfor he said, God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom\nCain slew. And God revealed himself unto Seth, and he rebelled not,\nbut offered an acceptable sacrifice like unto his brother Abel.\"\n\nSeth, we are here told, rebelled not, but offered an acceptable\nsacrifice, thus carrying out the same idea of the atonement of the\nOnly Begotten. In this connection we must remember that there had been\na rebellion in heaven, and many of the angels, they \"which kept not\ntheir first estate,\" [Jude, 6,] were cast out. Lucifer was the leader\nof these rebellious ones who were then cast down to the earth. He had\nrebelled against God, his Father, and it would seem, from revelations\nthat we shall hereafter draw attention to, that his rebellion had its\norigin in his rejection of the counsel given to him by his Father\npertaining to the salvation and exaltation of mankind. When man was\nplaced upon the earth, Lucifer, or Satan, still manifested the same\nanimus and spirit; and through his influence he operated upon Cain,\nfor Cain listened to his wiles, and being controlled by him, he also\nrebelled against his father and his God. Thus the rebellion in the\nheavens was transmitted to a rebellion on the earth, and all who\nbecame subject to this influence placed themselves in a state of\nenmity and antagonism to God, and one of the first results exhibited\nwas covetousness and murder, even the murder by Cain of his brother\nAbel. Thus we find the first man slain (Abel) was one holding the holy\nPriesthood, and the same vindictive spirit manifested against the\nservants of God of all later ages, gave the martyr Stephen good reason\nto ask his persecutors,\n\n\"Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have\nslain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom\nye have been now the betrayers and murderers.\"--Acts, vii, 52.\n\nAlthough there is nothing said in the Book of Genesis in relation to\nsacrifices offered up by Enos, who was the son of Seth, nor by his\ndescendants, Canaan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch and Methuselah, all of\nwhom held the High Priesthood, and were consequently prophets of the\nLord, yet it is quite reasonable to suppose that they, being of the\npromised seed through whom the Messiah was to come, did offer up\nsacrifices as commemorative of that great promised event. Further, in\nrelation to this subject, we are informed in the Book of Doctrine and\nCovenants [Section 107, par. 53-57, p. 389,] that \"three years\nprevious to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan,\nMahalaleel, Jared-Enoch and Methuselah [the persons mentioned above,]\nwho were all High Priests, with the residue of his posterity who were\nrighteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon\nthem his last blessing. And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose\nup and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the Prince, the\nArchangel. And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto\nhim, I have set thee to be at the head--a multitude of nations shall\ncome of thee, and thou art a prince over them for ever. And Adam stood\nup in the midst of the congregation, and notwithstanding he was bowed\ndown with age, being full of the Holy Ghost, predicted whatsoever\nshould befall his posterity unto the latest generation. These things\nwere all written in the Book of Enoch, and are to be testified of in\ndue time.\"\n\nAlthough, in the above, there is nothing directly said about the\noffering of sacrifices, yet, as this was a usual ceremony, and it\nbelonged to the Priesthood and to the promised seed to offer\nsacrifices, it would be reasonable to suppose that Adam did then and\nthere officiate in that rite; indeed, it was stated by the Prophet\nJoseph Smith, in our hearing, while standing on an elevated piece of\nground or plateau near Adam-ondi-Ahman[A] (Davis Co., Missouri,),\nwhere there were a number of rocks piled together, that the valley\nbefore us was the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman; or in other words, the\nvalley where God talked with Adam, and where he gathered his righteous\nposterity, as recorded in the above revelation, and that this pile of\nstones was an altar built by him when he offered up sacrifices, as we\nunderstand, on that occasion. If Adam then offered up sacrifices in\nthe presence of these prominent men, he being the President of these\nHigh Priests, he would officiate for them as well as for himself;\nwhile it is quite reasonable to believe that they assisted in the\nofferings made upon that altar. Regarding this the Saints sing:\n\n[Footnote A: \"Revelation to Joseph, the Seer, given near Wight's\nFerry, at a place called Spring Hill, Davis County, Missouri, May\n19th, 1838, wherein Spring Hill is named by the Lord, Adam-ondi-Ahman,\nBecause, said he, it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his\npeople, or the Ancient of days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the\nProphet.\"--Doc. and Cov. Sec. 116, p. 415.]\n\n    This earth was once a garden place,\n      With all her glories common,\n    And men did live a holy race,\n    And worship Jesus face to face,\n      In Adam-ondi-Ahman.\n\n    We read that Enoch walk'd with God,\n      Above the power of mammon,\n    While Zion spread herself abroad,\n    And Saints and angels sung aloud,\n      In Adam-ondi-Ahman.\n\n    Her land was good and greatly blest,\n      Beyond old Israel's Canaan;\n    Her fame was known from east to west,\n    Her peace was great, and pure the rest\n      Of Adam-ondi-Ahman.\n\n    Hosannah to such days to come--\n      The Savior's second coming,\n    When all the earth in glorious bloom,\n    Affords the Saints a holy home,\n      Like Adam-ondi-Ahman.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n  Enoch, his Life and Translation--References to Him by Paul and\n  Jude--Copious Extracts from His Prophecy--The Prophet Joseph Smith\n  on Enoch and the Doctrine of Translation--The Office of Translated\n  Saints--Enoch's Future Work--Translation and Resurrection--Christ\n  the Creator--Summary of the Results of Enoch's Faith in the Saving\n  Blood of Christ.\n\n\nWe next come to Enoch, who presents a very important figure among the\nantediluvians, and of whom there are some very marvelous things\nrelated. The Bible record of him is as follows:\n\n\"And Jared lived an hundred, sixty and two years, and he begat\nEnoch. * * * And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat\nMethuselah: and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three\nhundred years, and begat sons and daughters; and all the days of Enoch\nwere three hundred, sixty and five years; and Enoch walked with God,\nand he was not; for God took him.\"--Gen., v, 18, 21-24.\n\nThis is certainly a very meagre history of so great a personage, and\nto supply the deficiency we must have recourse to other testimonies:\none important fact, however, is here stated, that \"he walked with\nGod;\" another is, that \"God took him.\" There was evidently a book\nwritten by this Patriarch, which is called the Book of Enoch, for Jude\nsays:\n\n\"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying,\nBehold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute\njudgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of\nall their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all\ntheir hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against\nhim.\"--Jude, i, 14, 15.\n\nFrom the above it would seem that not only had Enoch written a book,\nbut that Jude had access to it; or if not had had a communication or\nrevelation from Enoch, as referred to by Joseph Smith, hereafter, for\nwe discover that he had a knowledge of the Son of God, the Messiah. It\nis true, the Only Begotten, as He is spoken of elsewhere, is not here\nmentioned, but only the Lord is referred to; yet the circumstances\nconnected therewith are indicative of it being that personage; for\nPaul expresses the same sentiment in regard to the second coming of\nthe Messiah, and says:\n\n\"And to you, who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall\nbe revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking\nvengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of\nour Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting\ndestruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his\npower; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be\nadmired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was\nbelieved) in that day.\"--2 Thes., i, 7-10.\n\nMoreover, Jesus Himself makes the following remarks concerning the\nsame subject:\n\n\"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels\nwith him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before\nhim shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from\nanother, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.\"--Matt.,\nxxv, 31, 32.\n\nThus showing that it was the same personage that was referred to by\nEnoch.\n\nPaul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, writes:\n\n\"By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death; and was\nnot found, because God had translated him; for before his translation\nhe had this testimony, that he pleased God.\"--Heb., xi, 5.\n\nThese declarations are very strongly corroborated by the following\nextracts from a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, relating\nto the prophecy of Enoch, and published in the Pearl of Great Price:\n\n\"And from that time forth Enoch began to prophesy, saying unto the\npeople, That, as I was journeying, and stood in the place Mahujah, and\ncried unto the Lord, there came a voice out of heaven, saying, Turn\nye, and get ye upon the Mount Simeon. And it came to pass that I\nturned and went up on the mount; and as I stood upon the mount, I\nbeheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory, and I saw\nthe Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as\na man talketh one with another, face to face; and he said unto me,\nLook, and I will show unto thee the world for the space of many\ngenerations. * * * And the Lord said unto me, Go forth to this people\nand say unto them, Repent, lest I come out and smite them with a\ncurse, and they die. And he gave unto me a commandment that I should\nbaptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, who is full of\ngrace and truth, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the\nFather and the Son. And it came to pass that Enoch continued to call\nupon all the people, save it were the people of Cainan, to repent; and\nso great was the faith of Enoch, that he led the people of God, and\ntheir enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of\nthe Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even\naccording to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of\ntheir course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the\nwilderness; and all nations feared greatly. * * * And there went forth\na curse upon all the people who fought against God; and from that time\nforth there were wars and bloodshed among them; but the Lord came and\ndwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness. And the fear\nof the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord,\nwhich was upon his people. * * * And it came to pass that Enoch talked\nwith the Lord; and he said unto the Lord, Surely, Zion shall dwell in\nsafety for ever. But the Lord said unto Enoch, Zion have I blessed,\nbut the residue of the people have I cursed. And it came to pass that\nthe Lord showed unto Enoch all the inhabitants of the earth; and he\nbeheld, and lo, Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven!\nAnd the Lord said unto Enoch, Behold mine abode for ever.\"\n\nThe Prophet Joseph Smith, when speaking of Enoch and his people and\nthe doctrine of translation, said;\n\n\"If Cain had fulfilled the law of righteousness as did Enoch, he would\nhave walked with God all the days of his life, and never failed of a\nblessing. Gen., v, 22: 'And Enoch walked with God after he begat\nMethuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters; and all\nthe days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years; and Enoch\nwalked with God and he was not, for God took him.' Now this Enoch God\nreserved unto Himself, that he should not die at that time, and\nappointed unto him a ministry unto terrestrial bodies, of whom there\nhas been but little revealed. He is reserved also unto the Presidency\nof a dispensation, and more shall be said of him and terrestrial\nbodies in another treatise. He is a ministering angel, to minister to\nthose who shall be heirs of salvation, and appeared unto Jude as Abel\ndid unto Paul: therefore Jude spoke of him, 14th and 15th verses: 'And\nEnoch, the seventh from Adam, revealed these sayings: Behold, the Lord\ncometh with ten thousand of his Saints.'\n\n\"Paul was also acquainted with this character, and received\ninstructions from him: Heb., xi, 5: 'By faith Enoch was translated,\nthat he should not see death, and was not found, because God had\ntranslated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that\nhe pleased God; but without faith it is impossible to please him, for\nhe that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a\nrevealer to those who diligently seek him.'\n\n\"Now the doctrine of translation is a power which belongs to this\nPriesthood. There are many things which belong to the powers of the\nPriesthood and the keys thereof, that have been kept hid from before\nthe foundation of the world; they are hid from the wise and prudent,\nto be revealed in the last times.\n\n\"Many may have supposed that the doctrine of translation was a\ndoctrine whereby men were taken immediately into the presence of God,\nand into an eternal fulness, but this is a mistaken idea. Their place\nof habitation is that of the terrestrial order, and a place prepared\nfor such characters He held in reserve to be ministering angels unto\nmany planets, and who as yet have not entered into so great a fulness\nas those who are resurrected from the dead. See Heb., xi, part of 35th\nverse, 'Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they\nmight obtain a better resurrection.'\n\n\"Now it is evident that there was a better resurrection, or else God\nwould not have revealed it unto Paul. Wherein then can it be said a\nbetter resurrection? This distinction is made between the doctrine of\nthe actual resurrection and translation: translation obtains\ndeliverance from the tortures and sufferings of the body, but their\nexistence will prolong as to the labors and toils of the ministry,\nbefore they can enter into so great a rest and glory.\n\n\"On the other hand, those who were tortured, not accepting\ndeliverance, received an _immediate_ rest from their labors. See\nRevelations, xiv, 13: 'And I heard a voice from heaven, saying,\nBlessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for from henceforth they do\nrest from their labors and their works do follow them.'\n\n\"They rest from their labors for a long time, and yet their work is\nheld in reserve for them, that they are permitted to do the same works\nafter they receive a resurrection for their bodies.\"--History of\nJoseph Smith, Deseret News, Vol. IV, No. 30.\n\n\"He [President Joseph Smith] explained the difference between an angel\nand a ministering spirit; the one a resurrected or translated body,\nwith its spirit, ministering to embodied spirits; the other a\ndisembodied spirit, visiting or ministering to disembodied spirits.\nJesus Christ became a ministering spirit (while his body was lying in\nthe sepulchre) to the spirits in prison, to fulfil an important part\nof his mission, without which he could not have perfected his work,\nnor entered into his rest. After his resurrection he appeared as an\nangel to his disciples, &c. Translated bodies cannot enter into rest\nuntil they have undergone a change equivalent to death. Translated\nbodies are designed for future missions.\n\n\"The angel that appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos was a\ntranslated or resurrected body. Jesus Christ went in body, after his\nresurrection, to minister to translated and resurrected bodies. There\nhas been a chain of authority and power from Adam down to the present\ntime.\"--History of Joseph Smith, Deseret News, Vol. V, No. 11.\n\nIt would appear that the translated residents of Enoch's city are\nunder the direction of Jesus, who is the Creator of worlds; and that\nHe, holding the keys of the government of other worlds, could, in His\nadministrations to them, select the translated people of Enoch's Zion,\nif He thought proper, to perform a mission to these various planets,\nand as death had not passed upon them, they could be prepared by Him\nand made use of through the medium of the Holy Priesthood to act as\nambassadors, teachers, or messengers to those worlds over which Jesus\nholds the authority. We read in the Times and Seasons:\n\n\"Truly Jesus Christ created the worlds, and is Lord of Lords, and, as\nthe Psalmist said, 'judges among the Gods.' Then Moses might have said\nwith propriety, he is the 'living God,' and Christ, speaking of the\nflesh, could say, I am the Son of Man; and Peter, enlightened by the\nHoly Ghost, Thou art the Son of the living God, meaning our Father in\nHeaven, and who, with Jesus Christ His first begotten Son, and the\nHoly Ghost, are one in power, one in dominion, and one in glory,\nconstituting the First Presidency of this system and this eternity.\nBut they are as much three distinct persons as the sun, moon and earth\nare three different bodies.\n\n\"And again, the 'twelve kingdoms,' which are under the above-mentioned\nPresidency of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, are governed by the same\nrules, and destined to the same honor. [Book Doc. and Cov., page 135,\npar. 13.[A]] For, 'Behold, I will liken these kingdoms unto a man\nhaving a field, and he sent forth his servants into the field, to dig\nin the field; and he said unto the first, Go ye and labor in the\nfield, and in the first hour I will come unto you, and ye shall behold\nthe joy of my countenance: and he said unto the second, Go ye also\ninto the field, and in the second hour I will visit you with the joy\nof my countenance; and also unto the third, saying, I will visit you;\nand unto the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.'\"\n\n[Footnote A: Page 310, New Edition.]\n\nIt is further stated in this section: \"Therefore, unto this parable\nwill I liken all these kingdoms, and the inhabitants thereof; every\nkingdom in its hour, and in its time, and in its season; even\naccording to the decree which God hath made.\"--Verse 61.\n\nThat is, each kingdom, or planet, and the inhabitants thereof, were\nblessed with the visits and presence of their Creator, in their\nseveral times and seasons.\n\nIt is recorded that to Jesus has been given all power in heaven and in\nearth, and from the foregoing quotations He evidently had power which\nHe used to commission the citizens of the Zion of Enoch to go to other\nworlds on missions. In. an extract from the teachings of the Prophet\nJoseph (elsewhere inserted) it is written:\n\n\"Elijah was the last prophet that held the keys of this Priesthood,\nand who will, before the last dispensation, restore the authority and\ndeliver the keys of this Priesthood, in order that all the ordinances\nmay be attended to in righteousness. It is true that the Savior had\nauthority and power to bestow this blessing; but the sons of Levi were\ntoo prejudiced.\"\n\nHere Jesus paid deference to the Priesthood, who held keys relating to\nthe ministration of its powers and blessings, but it is not\nunreasonable to suppose, when other worlds are concerned, over whom\nalso He holds the keys of salvation, that these considerations would\nnot necessarily interpose, and that He would send or commission\nmembers of the translated Priesthood of Enoch's Zion amongst\nterrestrial worlds whithersoever it pleased Him, in the interests of\nthe peoples thus situated.\n\nWe now resume our extracts from the prophecy of Enoch;\n\n\"And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony\nof the Father and of the Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and\nthey were caught up by the power of heaven into Zion. * * *\n\n\"And it came to pass that Enoch looked; and from Noah, he beheld all\nthe families of the earth; and he cried unto the Lord, saying, When\nshall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous\nbe shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified, and have eternal\nlife? And the Lord said, It shall be in the meridian of time, in the\ndays of wickedness and vengeance. And behold, Enoch saw the day of the\ncoming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced,\nsaying, The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the\nfoundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the\nFather, and behold, Zion is with me! * * *\n\n\"Enoch continued his cry unto the Lord, saying, I ask thee, O Lord, in\nthe name of thine Only Begotten, even Jesus Christ, that thou wilt\nhave mercy upon Noah and his seed, that the earth might never more be\ncovered by the floods? And the Lord could not withhold; and he\ncovenanted with Enoch, and sware unto him with an oath, that he would\nstay the floods; that he would call upon the children of Noah; and he\nsent forth an unalterable decree, that a remnant of his seed should\nalways be found among all nations, while the earth should stand; and\nthe Lord said, Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come;\nfor he saith, I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven,\nwhich is broad as eternity; and whoso cometh in at the gate and\nclimbeth up by me, shall never fall. * * *\n\n\"And the Lord said unto Enoch, Look; and he looked and beheld the Son\nof Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men; and he heard a\nloud voice; and the heavens were veiled; and all the creations of God\nmourned; and the earth groaned; and the rocks were rent; and the\nSaints arose, and were crowned at the right hand of the Son of Man,\nwith crowns of glory; and as many of the spirits as were in prison\ncame forth, and stood on the right hand of God; and the remainder were\nreserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day. *\n* *\n\n\"And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son\nof Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for\nthe space of a thousand years. * * *\n\n\"And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world;\nand he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and\nreceived a fulness of joy; and all the days of Zion, in the days of\nEnoch, were three hundred and sixty-five years; and Enoch and all his\npeople walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came\nto pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom;\nand from thence went forth the saying, Zion is fled.\"\n\nFrom the foregoing extracts we learn amongst other truths, all based\nupon Enoch's faith in the atoning blood of the Lamb slain from before\nthe foundation of the world, the following:\n\nThat Enoch was clothed with glory and saw the Lord, who talked with\nHim as one man talks with another, even face to face.\n\nThat the Lord commanded Enoch to preach repentance; and to baptize in\nthe name of the Father, and the Son, which is full of grace and truth,\nand the Holy Spirit, which bears record of the Father and the Son.\n\nThat so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God,\noverthrew their enemies, and at his word the earth trembled, whilst\nthe mountains, rivers and seas obeyed his command.\n\nThat through this faith Enoch saw the days of the coming of the Son of\nMan in the flesh, and by it he obtained a covenant from the Lord that\nafter Noah's day He would never again cover the earth by a flood, and\nobtained an unalterable decree that a remnant of his seed should\nalways be found among all nations while the earth should stand.\n\nThat the Lord showed Enoch the world and its future history for the\nspace of many generations, even unto the end of the world.\n\nThat so great was the faith and righteousness of Enoch and his people,\nthat the Lord came down and dwelt with them, and in process of time\nEnoch's City, Zion, was taken up into heaven, and many, through the\ntestimony of the Father and the Son, were afterwards caught up by the\npowers of Heaven into Zion.\n\nAnd, further, that while Enoch, through the favor of the Almighty, not\nonly had a mission to preach the Gospel and to gather the people, but\nthat he was also empowered to have the people that he had thus\ngathered, and taught and instructed in the laws of life, and the city\nin which they dwelt, translated and taken into the bosom of the\nFather, there to be preserved until the latter times, while the\nthreatened calamities should overtake the world. But he also further\nobtained a promise that the future peopling of the earth should come\nthrough his seed; thus making him one of the great agencies to\nadminister salvation in the heavens and upon the earth.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n  Noah--His Sacrifice--God's Covenant with Him--Melchizedek--His\n  Priesthood--Its Powers--Instances thereof Recorded in the Bible, in\n  the Book of Mormon and in Latter-days--All Power of the Priesthood\n  the Result of Faith in Christ and Impossible without the\n  Atonement--The Power of the Priesthood the Power of God--The Glory\n  of God in the Immortality of Man--Christ the Word, the Creator.\n\n\nAfter the waters of the flood had subsided, we are told, Noah and his\nfamily came forth out of the ark:\n\n\"And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean\nbeast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the\naltar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his\nheart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for\nthe imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I\nagain smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the\nearth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer\nand winter, and day and night, shall not cease.\"--Gen., viii, 20-22.\n\nThe details of this act are given us somewhat differently in the\ninspired translation: it is there written:\n\n\"And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean\nbeast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the\naltar; and gave thanks unto the Lord, and rejoiced in his heart. And\nthe Lord spake unto Noah, and he blessed him. And Noah smelt a sweet\nsavour, and he said in his heart, I will call on the name of the Lord,\nthat he will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for\nthe imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; and that he\nwill not smite any more every thing living, as he hath done, while the\nearth remaineth; and that seed time and harvest, and cold and heat,\nand summer and winter, and day and night may not cease with man.\"\n\nThus, we discover that the first act after the destruction of the\nworld by a flood was a recognition of the great expiatory principle of\nthe atonement, which was to be made by the Only Begotten Son of God,\nas revealed by the angel to Adam. And as God recognized Adam's and\nAbel's offerings, so He also recognized that of Noah: and as a result,\nthe Patriarch obtained great promises, in which the people of all\nages, then to come, would be interested. For \"God spake unto Noah, and\nto his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I will establish my\ncovenant with you, which I made unto your father Enoch, concerning\nyour seed after you. And it shall come to pass, that every living\ncreature that is with you, of the fowl, and of the cattle, and of the\nbeast of the earth that is with you, which shall go out of the ark,\nshall not altogether perish: neither shall all flesh be cut off any\nmore by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood\nto destroy the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you, which\nI made unto Enoch, concerning the remnants of your posterity. And God\nmade a covenant with Noah, and said, This shall be the token of the\ncovenant I make between me and you, and for every living creature with\nyou, for perpetual generations, I will set my bow in the cloud; and it\nshall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it\nshall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow\nshall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember my covenant, which I\nhave made between me and you, for every living creature of all flesh.\nAnd the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And\nthe bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may\nremember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch;\nthat, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come\non the earth, the city of Enoch, which I have caught up unto myself.\nAnd this is mine everlasting covenant, that when thy posterity shall\nembrace the truth, and look upward, then shall Zion look downward, and\nall the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble\nwith joy; and the general assembly of the Church of the First-born\nshall come down out of heaven and possess the earth, and shall have\nplace until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which\nI made with thy father Enoch. And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I\nwill establish my covenant unto thee, which I have made between me and\nthee, for every living creature of all flesh that shall be upon the\nearth.\"--Inspired Translation, Gen., ix, 15-24.\n\nWe will now turn to Melchizedek, of whom it is written in King James'\ntranslation:\n\n\"And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine: and he\nwas the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said,\nBlessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:\nand blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies\ninto thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.\"--Gen., xiv, 18-20.\n\nThis passage is given with greater completeness in the inspired\ntranslation, where it appears as follows: \"And Melchizedek, King of\nSalem, brought forth bread and wine; and he brake bread and blessed\nit; and he blessed the wine, he being the priest of the Most High God;\nand he gave to Abram, and he blessed him, and said, Blessed Abram,\nthou art a man of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and of earth;\nand blessed is the name of the Most High God, which hath delivered\nthine enemies into thine hand. And Abram gave him tithes of all he had\ntaken.\"\n\nIn this action of Melchizedek, in administering the bread and wine, by\nvirtue of his priestly office, is there not a representation of the\nbody and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as also indicated\nby the Messiah Himself when He partook of the passover with His\ndisciples? For Melchizedek was a great High Priest, of the same order\nand like Priesthood as was held by the Son of God. So great, indeed,\nthat \"before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the\norder of the Son of God; but out of respect or reverence to the name\nof the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his\nname, they, the church, in ancient days, called that Priesthood after\nMelchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood.\"--Doc. and Cov., Sec. 107,\nPar. 3, 4, p. 383.\n\nPaul, also, in reasoning on this subject in his epistle to the\nHebrews, chapter vii, writes:\n\n\"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who\nmet Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed\nhim; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by\ninterpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of\nSalem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother,\nwithout descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life;\nbut made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now\nconsider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham\ngave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons of\nLevi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to\ntake tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their\nbrethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: but he whose\ndescent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and\nblessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the\nless is blessed of the better.\"\n\nTo make the matter still plainer we transcribe the third verse from\nthe inspired translation:\n\n\"For this Melchizedek was ordained a priest after the order of the Son\nof God, which order was without father, without mother, without\ndescent, having neither beginning of, days nor end of life. And all\nthose who are ordained unto this priesthood are made like unto the Son\nof God, abiding a priest continually.\"\n\nIn Genesis, inspired translation, chapter xiv, it is also stated\nregarding Melchizedek:\n\n\"Thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an high priest\nafter the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch, it being\nafter the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor\nthe will of man; neither by father, nor mother; neither by beginning\nof days, nor end of years; but of God. And it was delivered unto men\nby the calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as\nmany as believed on his name. For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto\nhis seed with an oath by himself, that every one being ordained after\nthis order and calling should have power, by faith, to break\nmountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of\ntheir course, to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the\nearth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all\nthings according to his will, according to his command, subdue\nprincipalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God,\nwhich was from before the foundation of the world. And men having this\nfaith, coming up unto this order of God, were translated and taken up\ninto heaven. And now, Melchizedek was a priest of this order;\ntherefore he obtained peace in Salem, and was called the Prince of\npeace, and his people wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and\nsought for the city of Enoch which God had before taken; separating it\nfrom the earth, having reserved it unto the latter-days, or the end of\nthe world, and hath said, and sworn with an oath, that the heavens and\nthe earth should come together; and the sons of God should be tried so\nas by fire. And this Melchizedek, having thus established\nrighteousness, was called the king of heaven by his people, or, in\nother words, the King of peace.\"\n\nFrom the above it would seem that this people possessed the power of\nTranslation, and that they \"obtained heaven, and sought for the city\nof Enoch which God had before taken,\" or which was before translated.\n\nThe principle of power also over the varied creations of God, above\nspoken of, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood after the order of the\nSon of God, has, by faith, been manifested to the world in the lives\nand actions of numbers of the servants of the Most High. The power of\nEnoch, wherein he caused the earth to tremble, whilst mountains fled\nat his command, and rivers were turned out of their course, has\nalready been referred to. By this power, exercised in mighty faith,\nMelchizedek stopped the mouths of lions and quenched the violence of\nfire;[A] by it the waters of the Red Sea were divided by Moses, and\nthe children of Israel passed through dry shod;[B] by it Elijah[C] and\nElisha[D] smote the waters of the Jordan and crossed on dry land; by\nit Daniel escaped the ferocity of the lions,[E] and the three Hebrew\nchildren were delivered from the fiery furnace.[F]\n\n[Footnote A: Inspired Trans. Gen., xiv, 26.]\n\n[Footnote B: Exodus, xiv, 21.]\n\n[Footnote C: 2 Kings, ii, 7, 8.]\n\n[Footnote D: 2 Kings, ii, 14.]\n\n[Footnote E: Daniel, vi, 16-23.]\n\n[Footnote F: Daniel, iii, 19-27.]\n\nBy this same power in the Messianic dispensation the Apostles were\ndelivered from bonds and imprisonment; by it Paul shook off the viper\nthat had fastened upon his hand;[A] by it Philip[B] was caught away by\nthe Spirit of the Lord after he had baptized the Ethiopian eunuch; by\nit John was preserved when he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil,\nthat it did not hurt him; by it the dead were raised, the lepers\ncleansed, the sick healed, devils cast out, and other mighty works\nperformed by Jesus and His disciples; and by it Christ broke the bands\nof death and became the resurrection and the life, the first fruits of\nthem that slept, the conqueror of death, the Savior of the world and\nRedeemer of mankind.\n\n[Footnote A: Acts, xxviii, 3-6.]\n\n[Footnote B: Acts, viii, 39.]\n\nAgain, on this continent, one of the Nephite Prophets, Jacob, the son\nof Lehi, records: \"We truly can command in the name of Jesus, and the\nvery trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.\"\n(Jacob, iv, 6.) By faith the brother of Jared, who held this power,\nsaid unto the mountain Zerin, Remove; and it was removed;[A] by it\nAlma and Amulek caused the walls of the prison in Ammonihah to tumble\nto the ground;[B] by it Nephi and Lehi wrought the surpassing change\nupon the Lamanites that they were baptized with fire and the Holy\nGhost;[C] by it Amnion and his brethren wrought so great a miracle in\nthe conversion of the Lamanites;[D] and by it also the disciples of\nJesus who tarried amongst the Nephites showed forth the power spoken\nof in the following passage:\n\n[Footnote A: Ether, xii, 30]\n\n[Footnote B: Alma, xiv, 26-29.]\n\n[Footnote C: Helaman, v, 43-49.]\n\n[Footnote D: Alma, xvii-xxvii.]\n\n\"Therefore they did exercise power and authority over the disciples of\nJesus who did tarry with them, and they did cast them into prison: but\nby the power of the word of God, which was in them, the prisons were\nrent in twain, and they went forth doing mighty miracles among them.\nNevertheless, and notwithstanding all these miracles, the people did\nharden their hearts, and did seek to kill them, even as the Jews at\nJerusalem sought to kill Jesus, according to his word; and they did\ncast them into furnaces of fire, and they came forth receiving no\nharm; and they also cast them into dens of wild beasts, and they did\nplay with the wild beasts even as a child with a lamb; and they did\ncome forth from among them, receiving no harm.\"--4 Nephi, i, 30-33.\n\nThis same power has also been abundantly manifested in these latter\ndays in the midst of the Saints of God, in deliverances from evil, in\nescapes from enemies, in the quelling of mobs, in the stilling of the\nangry waves of the sea, in the healing of the sick, in the casting out\nof unclean spirits, and in many other miraculous manifestations of the\npower and goodness of God, and of the authority with which He has\ninvested His servants who are endowed and clothed upon with the\nPriesthood, which is endless and after the order of the Son of God.\n\nThus, through the atonement of Jesus, and the salvation and redemption\nbrought about by that atonement these wonderful manifestations and\ndeliverances have been accomplished by faith in God; and the\nPriesthood being after the order of the Son of God, and proceeding\nfrom Him, through the atonement, those who held this Priesthood\npossessed, according to their faith, the above mentioned powers; and\nwithout that atonement this power never could have existed, for men\nwithout that sacrifice could not have been brought into that\nrelationship to God, by which they would have the right, the power and\nauthority to act in His name, or to be His representatives to fallen\nhumanity.\n\nIn fact, the power manifested by the Priesthood is simply the power of\nGod, for He is the head of the Priesthood, with Jesus as our President\nand great High Priest; and it is upon this principle that all the\nworks of God have been accomplished, whether on the earth or in the\nheavens; and any manifestation of power through the Priesthood on the\nearth is simply a delegated power from the Priesthood in the heavens,\nand the more the Priesthood on the earth becomes assimilated with and\nsubject to the Priesthood in the heavens the more of this power shall\nwe possess. Hence Paul, in speaking on this subject, says:\n\n\"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word\nof God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do\nappear.\"--Heb., xi, 3.\n\nThe work of God and the glory of God is to bring to pass the\nimmortality and eternal life of man; as it is written: \"For this is my\nwork and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life\nof man.\" (Pearl of Great Price.) The creation of man and the\nmultiplication of man was one thing, the immortality and eternal life\nof man and his exaltation is another thing; and in the organization of\nthe world, and in the calculations of the Almighty pertaining to this\nimmortality and eternal life, it would seem that it was decreed that\nthe Only Begotten Son was provided for the purpose of accomplishing\nthis object; and hence Christ was the Lamb slain, according to the\neternal purposes of God, before the foundation of the world.\n\nIn relation to the creation of the worlds, as above referred to by\nPaul, John, in the commencement of his Gospel, somewhat after the\nmanner of a preface or introduction, writes: \"In the beginning was the\nWord, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in\nthe beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him\nwas not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was\nthe light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness\ncomprehended it not.\" (John, i, 1-5.) Or to give the passage, in the\nwording of the inspired translation: \"In the beginning was the Gospel\npreached through the Son. And the Gospel was the word, and the word\nwas with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God.\nThe same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him;\nand without him was not anything made which was made. In him was the\nGospel, and the Gospel was the life, and the life was the light of\nmen; and the light shineth in the world, and the world perceiveth it\nnot.\" From the testimony of John, as given in the Book of Doctrine and\nCovenants, we also extract the following:\n\n\"And he bore record, saying, I saw his glory that he was in the\nbeginning before the world was; therefore in the beginning the Word\nwas, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation, the light\nand the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the\nworld, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of\nmen and the light of men. The worlds were made by him: men were made\nby him: all things were made by him, and through him, and of him. And\nI, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only\nBegotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of\ntruth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.\"--Sec.\nxciii, 7-11, p. 329.\n\nPaul, likewise, in his Epistles, more than once directs attention to\nthis great truth. In writing to the Colossians he says:\n\n\"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are\nin earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or\ndominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by\nhim, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things\nconsist.\"--Col., i, 16, 17.\n\nAnd to the Hebrews he writes, that God \"hath in these last days spoken\nunto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom\nalso he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and\nthe express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word\nof his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the\nright hand of the Majesty on high.\"--Heb., i, 2, 3.\n\nGod revealed these things unto Moses; but his words in relation\nthereto are among the precious things that have been taken from the\nScriptures by the iniquity of man; amongst those restored to us by\nmodern revelation are the following words of God to that Patriarch\nwith regard to the creation:\n\n\"And by the word of my power have I created them, which is mine Only\nBegotten Son, who is full of grace and truth. And worlds without\nnumber have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose;\nand by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. And the\nfirst man of all men have I called Adam, which is many. But only an\naccount of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you.\nFor behold, there are many worlds which have passed away by the word\nof my power. And there are many also which now stand, and numberless\nare they unto man, but all things are numbered unto me, for they are\nmine and I know them.\"--Pearl of Great Price.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n  Abraham's Record Concerning the Creation--The Council in Heaven--The\n  Father's Plan, the Son's Acceptance, Satan's Rebellion--The Agency\n  of Man--Suggestions Regarding Satan's Plan to Save All Mankind.\n\n\nThe Lord also revealed to Abraham many great and glorious principles\nand truths relating to the creation. We extract the following from the\nfragment of the writings of that Patriarch, which has been graciously\nrestored to us by the Lord in these days:\n\n\"And the Gods prepared the earth to bring forth the living creature\nafter his kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth\nafter their kind; and it was so, as they had said. And the Gods\norganized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their kind, the\ncattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth\nafter their kind; and the Gods saw they would obey. And the Gods took\ncounsel among themselves and said, Let us go down and form man in our\nimage, after our likeness; and we will give them dominion over the\nfish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle,\nand over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth\nupon the earth. So the Gods went down to organize man in their own\nimage, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female, to\nform they them; and the Gods said, We will bless them. And the Gods\nsaid, We will cause them to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish\nthe earth, and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the\nsea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that\nmoveth upon the earth. And the Gods said, Behold, we will give them\nevery herb bearing seed that shall come upon the face of all the\nearth, and every tree which shall have fruit upon it, yea, the fruit\nof the tree yielding seed to them we will give it; it shall be for\ntheir meat; and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the\nair, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, behold, we will\ngive them life, and also we will give to them every green herb for\nmeat, and all these things shall be thus organized. And the Gods said,\nWe will do every thing that we have said, and organize them; and\nbehold, they shall be very obedient. And it came to pass that it was\nfrom evening until morning they called night; and it came to pass that\nit was from morning until evening that they called day; and they\nnumbered the sixth time.\n\n\"And thus we will finish the heavens and the earth, and all the hosts\nof them. And the Gods said among themselves, On the seventh time we\nwill end our work which we have counseled; and we will rest on the\nseventh time from all our work which we have counseled. And the Gods\nconcluded upon the seventh time, because that on the seventh time they\nwould rest from all their works which they (the Gods) counseled among\nthemselves to form, and sanctified it. And thus were their decisions\nat the time that they counseled among themselves to form the heavens\nand the earth.\n\n\"And the Gods came down and formed these the generations of the\nheavens and of the earth, when they were formed in the day that the\nGods formed the earth and the heavens, according to all that which\nthey had said concerning every plant of the field before it was in the\nearth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for the Gods had\nnot caused it to rain upon the earth when they counseled to do them,\nand had not formed a man to till the ground; but there went up a mist\nfrom the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Gods\nformed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit (that is,\nthe man's spirit,) and put it into him, and breathed into his nostrils\nthe breath of life, and man became a living soul.\"\n\nAlthough this matter of the Council or Conference is not so fully\nexhibited in the Old Testament Scriptures as in this revelation to\nAbraham, yet it is definitely stated in the Book of Genesis that God\nsaid, \"Let _us_ make man in _our_ image, after _our_ likeness;\" and\nagain, after Adam had taken of the forbidden fruit the Lord said,\n\"Behold, the man has become as one of us;\" and the inference is direct\nthat in all that related to the work of the creation of the world,\nthere was a consultation; and though God spake as it is recorded in\nthe Bible, yet it is evident He counseled with others. The Scriptures\ntell us there are \"Gods many and Lords many. But to us there is but\none God, the Father.\" (1 Cor., viii, 5.) And for this reason, though\nthere were others engaged in the creation of the worlds, it is given\nto us in the Bible in the shape that it is; for the fulness of these\ntruths is only revealed to highly favored persons for certain reasons\nknown to God; as we are told in the Scriptures: \"The secret of the\nLord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his\ncovenant.\"--Psalms, xxv, 14.\n\nIt is consistent to believe that at this Council in the heavens the\nplan that should be adopted in relation to the sons of God who were\nthen spirits, and had not yet obtained tabernacles, was duly\nconsidered. For, in view of the creation of the world and the placing\nof men upon it, whereby it would be possible for them to obtain\ntabernacles, and in those tabernacles obey laws of life, and with them\nagain be exalted among the Gods, we are told, that at that time, \"the\nmorning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.\"\nThe question then arose, how, and upon what principle, should the\nsalvation, exaltation and eternal glory of God's sons be brought\nabout? It is evident that at that Council certain plans had been\nproposed and discussed, and that after a full discussion of those\nprinciples, and the declaration of the Father's will pertaining to His\ndesign, Lucifer came before the Father, with a plan of his own,\nsaying, \"Behold I, send me, I will be thy Son, and I will redeem all\nmankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it;\nwherefore, give me thine honor.\" But Jesus, on hearing this statement\nmade by Lucifer, said, \"Father, thy will be done, and the glory be\nthine forever.\" From these remarks made by the well beloved Son, we\nshould naturally infer that in the discussion of this subject the\nFather had made known His will and developed His plan and design\npertaining to these matters, and all that His well beloved Son wanted\nto do was to carry out the will of His Father, as it would appear had\nbeen before expressed. He also wished the glory to be given to His\nFather, who, as God the Father, and the originator and designer of the\nplan, had a right to all the honor and glory. But Lucifer wanted to\nintroduce a plan contrary to the will of his Father, and then wanted\nHis honor, and said: \"I will save every soul of man, wherefore give me\nthine honor.\" He wanted to go contrary to the will of his Father, and\npresumptuously sought to deprive man of his free agency, thus making\nhim a serf, and placing him in a position in which it was impossible\nfor him to obtain that exaltation which God designed should be man's,\nthrough obedience to the law which He had suggested; and again,\nLucifer wanted the honor and power of his Father, to enable him to\ncarry out principles which were contrary to the Father's wish.\n\nAnd further, in regard to agency; if man had not had his agency, or if\nhe had been deprived of his agency, he could not have been tempted of\nthe devil, or of any other power; for if the will of God prevailed,\nand was carried out without man's action or agency, it would have been\nimpossible for him to have done anything wrong, for he would have been\ndeprived of the power of doing that wrong. This was the position that\nSatan desired to place, not only the spirits in the heavens, but also\nmankind upon the earth. And Satan said, \"Surely I will save every one\nof them, wherefore, give me thine honor.\" But God's plan was different\nfrom this, and, as stated above, had been decided upon in the Councils\nof heaven; and the Father had made a decree as to how these things\nshould be done; and that both the inhabitants of heaven and the\ninhabitants of earth should have their free agency. It was against\nthis that Lucifer rebelled; and he could not have rebelled against a\nplan or commandment that had not been given; for rebellion signifies a\nviolation of law, command, or authority; and he was cast out of heaven\nbecause of this rebellion. This rebellion could not have existed\nwithout a free agency; for without a free agency they would all have\nbeen compelled to do the will of the Father. But having the free\nagency, they used it; and Lucifer and a third part of the angels were\ncast out because they rebelled and used this agency in opposition to\ntheir heavenly Father. And not only because they rebelled, but\nbecause, as stated, \"they sought to destroy the agency of man;\" and\ntheir agency would have been used in opposition to the interests,\nhappiness and eternal exaltation of mankind, which were proposed to be\naccomplished through the atonement and redemption provided by Jesus\nChrist. In accordance with this we find the following statements in\nthe revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith:\n\n\"Behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me,\nsaying, Give me thine honor, which is my power: and also a third part\nof the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency;\nand they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels.\nAnd, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the beginning,\nwhich place is hell: and it must needs be that the devil should tempt\nthe children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves, for\nif they never should have bitter, they could not know the\nsweet.\"--Doc. and Cov., xxix, 36-39, p. 146.\n\nAnd again; \"And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of\nGod who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against\nthe Only Begotten Son, whom the Father loved, and who was in the bosom\nof the Father--was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son,\nand was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him--he was\nLucifer, a son of the morning. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is\nfallen! even a son of the morning. And while we were yet in the\nSpirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the vision, for we\nbeheld Satan, that old serpent--even the devil--who rebelled against\nGod, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ.\" Doc.\nand Cov., lxxvi, 25-28, p. 267.\n\nThe Father accepted the offer of His well beloved Son, and proceeded\nto carry out the decision of the Council, and, as we are informed in\nthe Bible (inspired translation), God said to His Only Begotten, \"Let\nus make man in our image, after our likeness, and it was so.\"\n\nThere are other questions mixed up with this rebellion besides those\nabove referred to, and those questions are directly connected with the\natonement. In the event of man having his free will and being subject\nto the power of temptation, the weakness of the flesh, the allurements\nof the world, and the powers of darkness, it was known that he must\nnecessarily fall, and being fallen, it would be impossible for him to\nredeem himself, and that, according to an eternal law of justice, it\nwould require an infinite, expiatory atonement to redeem man, to save\nhim from the effects and ruin of the Fall, and to place him in a\ncondition where he could again be reinstated in the favor of God,\naccording to the eternal laws of justice and mercy; and find his way\nback to the presence of the Father. Satan (it is possible) being\nopposed to the will of his Father, wished to avoid the\nresponsibilities of this position, and rather than assume the\nconsequences of the acceptance of the plan of the Father, he would\ndeprive man of his free agency, and render it impossible for him to\nobtain that exaltation which God designed. It would further seem\nprobable that he refused to take the position of redeemer, and assume\nall the consequences associated therewith, but he did propose, as\nstated before, to take another plan and deprive man of his agency, and\nhe probably intended to make men atone for their own acts by an act of\ncoercion, and the shedding of their own blood as an atonement for\ntheir sins; therefore, he says, \"I will redeem all mankind, that one\nsoul shall not be lost; and surely I will do it; wherefore, give me\nthine honor.\" His plan, however, was rejected as contrary to the\ncounsel of God, his Father. The well beloved Son then addressed the\nFather, and instead of proposing to carry out any plan of his own,\nknowing what His Father's will was, said, \"Thy will be done;\" 'I will\ncarry out thy plans and thy designs, and, as man will fall, I will\noffer myself as an atonement according to thy will, O God. Neither do\nI wish the honor, but thine be the glory;'\" and a covenant was entered\ninto between Him and His Father, in which He agreed to atone for the\nsins of the world; and He thus, as stated, became the Lamb slain from\nbefore the foundation of the world. In this connection it is related\nby Abraham:\n\n\"And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said\nunto those who were with him, We will go down, for there is space\nthere, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth\nwhereon these may dwell; and we will prove them herewith, to see if\nthey will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command\nthem; and they who keep their first estate, shall be added upon; and\nthey who keep not their first estate, shall not have glory in the same\nkingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep\ntheir second estate, shall have glory added upon their heads for ever\nand ever.\"\n\nAnd hence, as Jesus Himself said, \"Thus it is written and thus it\nbehooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day;\nand that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his\nname among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.\"\n\nWe will now give in full the quotation from the Pearl of Great Price\nwith regard to the above matter, and also add a short recapitulation.\n\n\"And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying, That Satan, whom thou\nhast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which\nwas from the beginning, and he came before me, saying, Behold I, send\nme, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul\nshall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine\nhonor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen\nfrom the beginning, said unto me, Father, thy will be done, and the\nglory be thine for ever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled\nagainst me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord\nGod, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own\npower, by the power of mine Only Begotten I caused that he should be\ncast down, and he became Satan, yea, even the Devil, the father of all\nlies, to deceive, and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his\nwill, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.\"\n\nFrom the above we gather: First, that the proposition of Lucifer was\nan act of rebellion \"against me\"--God.\n\nSecond, that God had already decreed that man should have his free\nagency, and this agency had been given to him by the Lord, as it is\nsaid, \"which I, the Lord God, had given him.\"\n\nThird, that Lucifer coveted and asked for a power which was the\nprerogative of the Almighty and alone belonged to God; and which He\ncalled \"mine own power.\"\n\nFourth, that for this rebellion Lucifer was cast out and became Satan.\n\nFifth, that the power by which he was cast out, was by a certain power\nor Priesthood which had been conferred by God on His Only Begotten;\nfor he said, \"By the power of mine Only Begotten I caused that he\nshould be cast down.\"\n\nSixth, that being cast down and becoming Satan, \"even the devil, the\nfather of lies,\" his office was to deceive and to blind men; as it is\nstated, \"to deceive, and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his\nwill even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--Sacrifices Offered by Them--Abraham and\n  the Gospel Covenant--Extracts from the Book of Abraham and the\n  Writings of Paul.\n\n\nWe will now return to Abraham, who is denominated the Father of the\nFaithful, and who, as we have before seen, was a contemporary of\nMelchizedek. The testimony in the Bible is direct and explicit that\nAbraham fulfilled the law requiring the offering of sacrifices, and\nfurthermore was in possession of the principles of the Gospel and\nunderstood the saving value of the atonement.\n\nIn the historical narrative of the Book of Genesis, we have numerous\ntestimonies that Abraham offered up sacrifices, in connection with his\nworship of the Almighty. For instance, it is written:\n\n\"And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the\nplain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord\nappeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land;\nand there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.\nAnd he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and\npitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and\nthere he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of\nthe Lord.\"--Gen., xii, 6-8.\n\nIn the next chapter we are told that Abraham \"went on his journeys\nfrom the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been\nat the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai; unto the place of the\naltar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on\nthe name of the Lord.\"--Gen., xiii, 3, 4.\n\nAnd afterwards he removed his \"tent, and came and dwelt in the plain\nof Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the\nLord.\"--Gen., xiii, 18.\n\nThe Book of Abraham gives some further details on these matters. The\nPatriarch therein states:\n\n\"Now I, Abraham, built an altar in the land of Jershon, and made an\noffering unto the Lord, and prayed that the famine might be turned\naway from my father's house, that they might not perish; and then we\npassed from Jershon through the land, unto the place of Sechem. It was\nsituated in the plains of Moreh, and we had already come into the\nborders of the land of the Canaanites, and I offered sacrifice there\nin the plains of Moreh, and called on the Lord devoutly, because we\nhad already come into the land of this idolatrous nation. And the Lord\nappeared unto me in answer to my prayers, and said unto me, Unto thy\nseed will I give this land. And I, Abraham, arose from the place of\nthe altar which I had built unto the Lord, and removed from thence\nunto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched my tent there,\nBethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there I built another\naltar unto the Lord, and called again upon the name of the\nLord.\"--Pearl of Great Price.\n\nAlthough full details are not given of the mode of sacrifice in those\nancient times, nor of all the creatures that were acceptable unto the\nLord, in the performance of this rite, yet the narrative of the\ncontemplated sacrifice of Isaac by his father is indicative of the\nprinciple being well understood. We are told that the young man said:\n\"My Father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the\nfire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? And\nAbraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a\nburnt-offering.\"--Gen., xxii, 7, 8.\n\nIt is evident from other scriptures that Abraham offered up these\nsacrifices in token of the great expiatory sacrifice of the Son of\nGod. Indeed the Redeemer himself told the Jews, \"Your father Abraham\nrejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.\"--John, viii, 56.\n\nIn confirmation of this statement we read in the inspired translation\nof the Book of Genesis that the Lord said to Abraham, in relation to\nhis possession of the land of Canaan, \"Though thou wast dead, yet am I\nnot able to give it thee? And if thou shalt die, yet thou shalt\npossess it, for the day cometh that the Son of Man shall live; but how\ncan he live if he be not dead? He must first be quickened. And it came\nto pass, that Abram looked forth and saw the days of the Son of Man,\nand was glad, and his soul found rest, and he believed in the Lord;\nand the Lord counted it unto him for righteousness.\"\n\nAgain, Paul, in writing to the Galatians, states: \"And the scripture,\nforeseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached\nbefore the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be\nblessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful\nAbraham.\"--Gal., iii, 8, 9.\n\nThis promise is corroborated by the statements of Peter to the Jews:\n\n\"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God\nmade with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all\nthe kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having\nraised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every\none of you from his iniquities.\"--Acts, iii, 25, 26.\n\nThe record of this covenant is to be found in the Book of Genesis, as\nfollows:\n\n\"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and\nfrom thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will\nshow thee; and I will make of thee a great nation; and I will bless\nthee, and make thy name great; and I will bless them that bless thee,\nand curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the\nearth be blessed.\"--Gen., xii, 1-3.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: See also Genesis, xviii, 18; xxii, 18.]\n\nIt will be noticed in the above quotation from the Book of Genesis,\nthat no reference is made to the preaching of the Gospel to Abraham in\nconnection with these great promises as spoken of by Paul. This\ndeficiency is supplied by the Book of Abraham, wherein the covenant\nbetween God and His faithful servant is given at greater length in\nthat covenant we find the following:\n\n\"My name is Jehovah, and I will make of thee a great nation and I will\nbless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations,\nand thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their\nhands they shall bear this ministry and priesthood unto all nations,\nand I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this\nGospel shall he called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy\nseed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; and I will\nbless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in\nthee (that is, in thy priesthood) and in thy seed, (that is, thy\npriesthood,) for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall\ncontinue in thee, and in thy seed after thee, (that is to say, the\nliteral seed, or the seed of the body,) shall all the families of the\nearth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the\nblessings of salvation, even of life eternal.\"\n\nOf the personal history of Isaac we have but a very meagre account in\nthe Bible; however, sufficient is said to inform us that he, like his\nfather, offered up sacrifices, that his offering was acceptable to\nGod, and that He renewed with him the covenant previously made with\nAbraham. Of Isaac it is written: \"And he went up from thence to\nBeer-sheba. And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I\nam the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and\nwill bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.\nAnd he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the\nLord.\"--Gen., xxvi, 23-25.\n\nJacob followed in the footsteps of his father. He worshipped the true\nand living God, and had the blessings of his fathers confirmed on him.\nRegarding sacrifices we are informed that, after his sudden departure\nfrom Laban and their later somewhat stormy interview, \"Jacob offered\nsacrifice upon the mount\" (Gen., xxxi, 52); and again, shortly after,\nby command of the Lord, he journeyed to Bethel, \"and he built there an\naltar and called the place El-beth-el,\" or the House of God.--Gen.,\nxxxv, 7.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n  Sacrifices in the Days of Moses--The Institution of the Passover and\n  the Exodus--The Symbolism of the Paschal Lamb--The Covenant of the\n  Atonement between Christ and His Father--The Redeemed--Tokens of\n  Covenants--The Rainbow--The Name of Jesus the Only Name--The\n  Levites.\n\n\nIn regard to the offering of sacrifices, it is very evident that in\nthe days of Moses the children of Israel were quite familiar with this\nrite, as also were the Egyptians. For one great request which Moses\nand Aaron made of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, was, \"Let us go, we pray\nthee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord\nour God;\" and as a reason why they should thus go into the wilderness\nit was urged by them, when the Egyptian monarch said, \"Go ye,\nsacrifice to your God in the land,\" that \"it is not meet so to do; for\nwe shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our\nGod: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before\ntheir eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey\ninto the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall\ncommand us.\"--Ex., viii, 26, 27.\n\nIt is further stated, that after a time, when all other judgments had\nfailed to bring about the desired effect with Pharaoh, that \"Moses\nsaid, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst\nof Egypt: and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from\nthe first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the\nfirst-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the\nfirst-born of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all\nthe land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like\nit any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog\nmove his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the\nLord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.\"--Ex.,\nxi, 4-7.\n\nThe next chapter gives the history of the fulfilment of this\nthreatened judgment and the results that flowed therefrom. It is\nrecorded:\n\n\"And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,\nThis month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the\nfirst month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of\nIsrael, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them\nevery man a lamb according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for\nan house: and if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and\nhis neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of\nthe souls: every man according to his eating shall make your count for\nthe lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first\nyear: ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats: and ye\nshall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the\nwhole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the\nevening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two\nside-posts, and on the upper door-post of the houses, wherein they\nshall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with\nfire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat\nit.\"--Ex., xii, 1-8.\n\n\"And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded your shoes on your\nfeet, and your staff in your hand: and ye shall eat it in haste; it is\nthe Lord's passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this\nnight, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both\nman and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute\njudgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token\nupon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass\nover you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I\nsmite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a\nmemorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your\ngenerations: ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.\"--\nEx., xii, 11-14.\n\n\"Then Moses called for all the Elders of Israel, and said unto them,\nDraw out, and take you a lamb, according to your families, and kill\nthe passover. And ye 'shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the\nblood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two\nside-posts with the blood that is in the basin: and none of you shall\ngo out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will\npass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon\nthe lintel, and on the two side-posts, the Lord will pass over the\ndoor, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to\nsmite you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee\nand to thy sons for ever.\"--Ex., xii, 21-24.\n\n\"And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had\ncommanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass, that at\nmidnight the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from\nthe first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the first-born\nof the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the first-born of\ncattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants,\nand all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt: for there\nwas not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses\nand Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my\npeople, both ye and the children of Israel: and go, serve the Lord, as\nye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said,\nand be gone: and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the\npeople, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they\nsaid, We be all dead men.\"--Ex., xii, 28-33.\n\nIt is further said: \"And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time\nto come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By\nstrength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of\nbondage; and it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go,\nthat the Lord slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the\nfirst-born of man, and the first-born of beasts; therefore I sacrifice\nto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the\nfirst-born of my children I redeem.\"--Ex., xiii, 14, 15.\n\nFrom the above quotations, amongst other important matters, it\nappears, that when the destroying angel passed by the houses of the\nchildren of Israel he found the blood of a lamb sprinkled on the door\npost; which was a type of the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God. The\nangel who was the executor of justice could not touch those who were\nprotected by that sacred symbol; because that prefigured the sacrifice\nof the Son of God, which was provided at the beginning of creation for\nthe redemption of the human family, and which was strictly in\naccordance with provisions then made by the Almighty for that\npurpose--\"the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world\"--and\naccepted in full as an atonement for the transgressions of mankind,\naccording to the requirements of eternal justice and agreed to by the\nSavior and His Father. A proposition is made to meet the requirements\nof justice, which proposal is accepted by the contracting parties, all\nthese contracting parties being satisfied with the arrangement thus\nmade. Hence it is said by one of the prophets: \"Then he is gracious\nunto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have\nfound a ransom.\"--Job, xxxiii, 24.\n\nAnd further: \"Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and\ncome with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their\nhead: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning\nshall flee away.\"--Isaiah, li, 11.\n\nWho are the redeemed, except those who have accepted the terms of the\nransom thus provided? The ransom being provided and accepted, the\nrequirements of justice are met, for those contracts are provided and\nsanctioned by the highest contracting parties that can be found in the\nheavens, and the strongest, most indubitable and infinite assurances\nare given for the fulfilment of that contract, and until the contract\nis fulfilled the sacrifices are offered as a token and remembrance of\nthe engagements and covenants entered into God gave a token to Noah,\nof a rainbow, which should be a sign between Him and mankind that He\nwould nevermore destroy the earth by water; He accepted these\nsacrifices as a token of the covenant that the Messiah should come to\ntake away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and thus fulfil the\ncovenant, pertaining to this matter, made before the world was.\n\nAnd again there was another token, which was given to Adam by an\nangel. This holy messenger said to our great father, \"Thou shalt do\nall that thou doest in the name of the Son. And thou shalt repent, and\ncall upon God, in the name of the Son for evermore.\" (Pearl of Great\nPrice.) For, as expressed in the New Testament, \"there is none other\nname under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.\" (Acts\niv, 12.) Or, to quote from the Book of Mormon, \"There shall be no\nother name given, nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can\ncome unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ,\nthe Lord Omnipotent.\" And furthermore, that name, or token, will\ncontinue to be given until the Scripture is fulfilled which saith:\n\"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name\nwhich is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee shall\nbow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the\nearth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,\nto the glory of God the Father.\"--Phil., ii, 9-11.\n\nAgain, the Lord, through the sprinkling of the blood of a lamb on the\ndoor-posts of the Israelites, having saved the lives of all the\nfirst-born of Israel, made a claim upon them for their services in His\ncause. It is written:\n\n\"And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of\nIsrael instead of all the first-born that openeth the matrix among the\nchildren of Israel; therefore the Levites shall be mine; because all\nthe first-born are mine; for on the day that I smote all the\nfirst-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the first-born\nin Israel, both man and beast; mine they shall be: I am the\nLord.\"--Num., iii, 12, 13.\n\nBut the first-born of the Egyptians, for whom no lamb as a token of\nthe propitiation was offered, were destroyed. It was through the\npropitiation and atonement alone that the Israelites were saved, and,\nunder the circumstances they must have perished with the Egyptians,\nwho were doomed, had it not been for the contemplated atonement and\npropitiation of Christ, of which this was a figure.\n\nHence the Lord claimed those that He saved as righteously belonging to\nHim, and claiming them as His He demanded their services; but\nafterwards, as shown in the above quotation, He accepted the tribe of\nLevi in lieu of the first-born of Israel; and as there were more of\nthe first-born than there were of the Levites, the balance had to be\nredeemed with money, which was given to Aaron, as the great High\nPriest and representative of the Aaronic Priesthood, he being also a\nLevite. (See Numbers, iii, 50, 51.)\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n  History of Sacrifices and the Law of Moses among the Nephites--\n  References to the Books of Nephi, Jacob, Mosiah and Alma--The\n  Testimony of Jesus regarding the Law of Moses.\n\n\nFrom the Bible we turn to the Book of Mormon, with a view to discover\nto what extent the law of sacrifice, as a type of the offering up of\nthe promised Messiah, was observed among that branch of the house of\nIsrael which God planted on this continent. In perusing the pages of\nthis sacred record, we shall find several important facts and ideas,\nin connection with this subject, presented very prominently by the\nancient Nephite historians: among them--\n\nFirst, that the law of Moses, with all its rites, ordinances, and\nsacrifices, was strictly observed by the faithful Nephites from the\ntime of their arrival on the promised land, until it was fulfilled in\nChrist, and by his command ceased to be observed.\n\nSecond, that when the Nephites brought any of the Lamanites to the\nknowledge and worship of the true God, they taught them to observe\nthis law.\n\nThird, that those who apostatized from the Nephites, as a general\nthing, ceased to observe this law.\n\nFourth, that the true import of the law of Moses, and of its\nceremonies and sacrifices, as typical of the atonement yet to be made\nby our Lord and Savior, was thoroughly taught by the Priesthood among\nthat people, and very generally understood by them.\n\nFifth, that associated with the observance of this law, there were\ncontinued admonitions given that salvation was in Christ and not in\nthe law, which was but the shadow and type of that of which he was the\nprototype and reality.\n\nSixth, that temples were erected of the same pattern as that of\nSolomon at Jerusalem, evidently for the reason that they were to be\nused for the same purposes.\n\nSeventh, that the Gospel was preached in connection with the law, and\nchurches were established and organized according to the Gospel\nrequirements, and that the higher Priesthood, although not fully\norganized in all its parts, ministered to the Nephites as well as the\nlesser.\n\nEighth, it appears indubitable from the two records, the Bible and the\nBook of Mormon, that the intent and true meaning of the law of Moses,\nof its sacrifices, etc., were far better understood and comprehended\nby the Nephites than by the Jews. But in this connection, it must not\nbe forgotten, that a great many most plain and precious things, as the\nBook of Mormon states, have been taken from the Bible, through the\nignorance of uninspired translators or the design and cunning of\nwicked men.\n\nAs might naturally be expected, we find that Lehi, like his\nforefathers of the Mosaic age, offered sacrifices to the Lord during\nhis journeyings in the wilderness. These sacrifices were occasions of\nthanksgiving and praise to God. As examples, we note the occasion of\nthe safe return of Lehi's sons from Jerusalem with the records, when,\nwe are told by Nephi, their parents \"did rejoice exceedingly, and did\noffer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord; and they gave\nthanks unto the God of Israel. And after they had given thanks unto\nthe God of Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were\nengraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the\nbeginning.\"--1 Nephi, v, 9, 10.\n\nAnother occasion was when Nephi and his brethren again returned from\nthe Holy City, bringing with them Ishmael and his family. Of this\nNephi writes: \"After I and my brethren, and all the house of Ishmael,\nhad come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto\nthe Lord their God; and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings\nunto him.\"--1 Nephi, vii, 22.\n\nAfter the arrival of the colony on the promised land and the death of\nLehi, his sons and their families divided into two communities, or\nnationalities; the one righteous and Godfearing, the other rebellious\nand debased. Owing to the contentious and quarrelsome disposition of\nthe latter, who recognized Laman, Lehi's eldest son, as their head,\nthe portion who sought to serve the Lord, for the sake of peace and\nsecurity moved some distance to the northward. Nephi was their leader,\nand of them he records:\n\n\"And all those who were with me, did take upon them to call themselves\nthe people of Nephi. And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the\nstatutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things, according to\nthe law of Moses. And the Lord was with us: and we did prosper\nexceedingly.\"--2 Nephi, v, 9--11.\n\nOne of the first things that the Nephites did on their arrival at\ntheir new home was to build a temple. They could not keep the\njudgments, the commandments, and the statutes of the Lord in all\nthings, according to the law of Moses, unless they did so; and\nnecessarily it was fashioned after the one at Jerusalem, for it was to\nbe used for the same purposes; in it the same ordinances were to be\nperformed, the same sacrifices were to be offered. Nephi writes:\n\n\"And I, Nephi, did build a temple: and I did construct it after the\nmanner of the temple of Solomon, save it were not built of so many\nprecious things; for they were not to be found upon the land;\nwherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon's temple. But the\nmanner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and\nthe workmanship thereof was exceeding fine.\"--2 Nephi, v, 16.\n\nThus the fulfilling of the Divine commandments was provided for; a\nplace was erected where the law of Moses could be carried out, and the\nsacrifices be offered which formed so important a part of that code.\n\nThe Nephites were not left by their Priesthood in ignorance of the\nintent and symbolism of these ceremonies. They were not unmeaning,\nburdensome, spiritless performances to them. Nephi and his successors\nwere particularly careful in explaining that these ordinances, like\nall other rites of the Church of God, had their value in their\nassociation with or being directly typical of the great, infinite\nsacrifice of atonement to be offered up by the Lamb of God in His own\nperson. Nephi informs us:\n\n\"Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the\ncoining of Christ: for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given;\nand all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the\nworld, unto man, are the typifying of him.\"--2 Nephi, xi, 4.\n\nAnd a little later he writes:\n\n\"And notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses,\nand look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall\nbe fulfilled; for, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law\nhath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ, because of\nour faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments; and we\ntalk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy\nof Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children\nmay know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.\nWherefore, we speak concerning the law, that our children may know the\ndeadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may\nlook forward to the life which is in Christ, and know for what end the\nlaw was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they\nneed not harden their hearts against him, when the law ought to be\ndone away.\"--2 Nephi, xxv, 24-27.\n\nWhich agrees with the statement of Paul: \"Wherefore the law was our\nschoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by\nfaith.\"\n\nSo firm a foundation having been laid for the faith of the Nephite\npeople, we find that in every period of their history they retained\ntheir reverence for the law of Moses, though disputations sometimes\narose, by reason of iniquity, with regard to its symbolism or its\nsaving quality. The apostates, who separated themselves from the\nChurch, occasionally fell into the grievous error ef exalting the law\nabove the Gospel, and, whilst maintaining its divine origin, they\nignored its typical value and denied that it was a preparatory system\nleading to a higher, holier and more perfect law; they refused to\nrecognize it as a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. The first of\nthese apostacies occurred in the days of Jacob, the brother of Nephi.\nWith regard to the people in general, he writes:\n\n\"Behold, they believed in Christ and worshipped the Father in his\nname, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent\nwe keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this\ncause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was\naccounted unto Abraham in the wilderness, to be obedient unto the\ncommandments of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a\nsimilitude of God and his only begotten Son.\"--Jacob, iv, 5.\n\nBut while the majority of the Nephites fully recognized these saving\ntruths, there arose a man named Sherem, who disputed and denied that\nthe law pointed the souls of men to Christ, as the great Propitiator\nfor sin and the Redeemer of the world.\n\nThis Sherem declared unto the people that there should be no Christ,\nand his flatteries and sophistries led away many people. Of him and\nhis doings Jacob writes:\n\n\"And it came to pass that he came unto me; and on this wise did he\nspeak unto me, saying: Brother Jacob, I have sought much opportunity\nthat I might speak unto you: for I have heard and also know, that thou\ngoest about much, preaching that which you call the gospel, or the\ndoctrine of Christ; and ye have led away much of this people, that\nthey pervert the right way of God, and keep not the law of Moses,\nwhich is the right way: and convert the law of Moses into the worship\nof a being, which ye say shall come many hundred years hence. And now\nbehold, I, Sherem, declare unto you, that this is blasphemy; for no\nman knoweth of such things; for he cannot tell of things to come. And\nafter this manner did Sherem contend against me. But behold, the Lord\nGod poured in his Spirit into my soul, insomuch that I did confound\nhim in all his words. And I said unto him, Deniest thou the Christ who\nshould come? And he said, If there should be a Christ, I would not\ndeny him; but I know that there is no Christ, neither has been, nor\never will be. And I said unto him, Believest thou the scriptures? And\nhe said, Yea. And I said unto him, Then ye do not understand them; for\nthey truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you, that none of the\nprophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken\nconcerning this Christ. And this is not all: it has been made manifest\nunto me, for I have heard and seen and it also has been made manifest\nunto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know, if there\nshould be no atonement made, all mankind must be lost.\"--Jacob, vii,\n6-12.\n\nSomewhat similar was the argument that took place between the martyr\nAbinadi and the apostate priests of the iniquitous Noah, king of the\nland of Lehi-Nephi. They officiated in the Temple, observed the\noutward forms of the Mosaic law, but revelled in licentiousness,\ncovetousness, gluttony and all manner of iniquity. To them was Abinadi\nsent to warn them and their king of the results of their mutual wrong\ndoing. In the account of this mission of Abinadi we read that he said:\n\n\"Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have\nnot been wise. Therefore, What teach ye this people? And they said, We\nteach the law of Moses. And again he said unto them, If ye teach the\nlaw of Moses why do ye not keep it? Why do ye set your hearts upon\nriches? Why do ye commit whoredoms and spend your strength with\nharlots, yea, and cause this people to commit sin, that the Lord has\ncause to send me to prophesy against this people, yea, even a great\nevil against this people? Know ye not that I speak the truth? Yea, ye\nknow that I speak the truth; and you ought to tremble before God. And\nit shall come to pass that ye shall be smitten for your iniquities:\nfor ye have said that ye teach the law of Moses. And what know ye\nconcerning the law of Moses? Does salvation come by the law of Moses?\nWhat say ye? And they answered and said, that salvation did come by\nthe law of Moses. But now Abinadi said unto them, I know if ye keep\nthe commandments of God ye shall be saved; yea, if ye keep the\ncommandments which the Lord delivered unto Moses in the mount of\nSinai.\"--Mos., xii, 27-33.\n\nHe then rehearsed to them the commandments; after which he again\ninquired:\n\n\"Have ye taught this people that they should observe to do all these\nthings? for to keep these commandments? I say unto you nay; for if ye\nhad, the Lord would not have caused me to come forth and to prophesy\nevil concerning this people. And now ye have said that salvation\ncometh by the law of Moses. I say unto you that it is expedient that\nye should keep the law of Moses as yet; but I say unto you, that the\ntime shall come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of\nMoses. And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by\nthe law alone; and were it not for the atonement which God himself\nshall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must\nunavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses. And now I say\nunto you, that it was expedient that there should be a law given to\nthe children of Israel, yea, even a very strict law; for they were a\nstiff-necked people; quick to do iniquity, and slow to remember the\nLord their God; therefore there was a law given them, yea, a law of\nperformances and of ordinances, a law which they were to observe\nstrictly, from day to day, to keep them in remembrance of God, and\ntheir duty towards him. But behold, I say unto you, that all these\nthings were types of things to come. And now, did they understand the\nlaw? I say unto you, Nay, they did not all understand the law; and\nthis because of the hardness of their hearts; for they understood not\nthat there could not any man be saved, except it were through the\nredemption of God. For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them\nconcerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his\npeople, yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since\nthe world began? Have they not spoken more or less concerning these\nthings?\"--Mos., xiii, 25-33.\n\nAt this time the righteous Nephites in the land of Zarahemla were\nkeeping the law of Moses strictly, so far as its outward ordinances\nwere concerned, and understandingly with regard to its symbolism and\nsimilitudes. When the obedient Nephites were led out of the land of\nNephi by Mosiah, they found in the land, afterwards called Zarahemla,\na people who proved to be a branch of the house of Israel, but who,\nowing to the fact that they had no records nor scriptures, had\ncorrupted their language, failed to observe the law of Moses, and had\nso far fallen that they actually denied the existence of God. Mosiah\nand the Nephites amalgamated with this people, taught them their\nlanguage, instructed them in the worship of God and built a temple in\nthat land, which indeed they made their permanent home. Mosiah had a\nson called Benjamin, who ruled in righteousness all the days of his\nlong life. Shortly before his death he instructed his son Mosiah to\ngather the people to the temple, that he might give them a charge and\nnominate his successor. It is written:\n\n\"After Mosiah had done as his father had commanded him, and had made a\nproclamation throughout all the land, that the people gathered\nthemselves together throughout all the land, that they might go up to\nthe temple to hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto\nthem. And there were a great number, even so many that they did not\nnumber them; for they had multiplied exceedingly, and waxed great in\nthe land. And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that\nthey might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings, according to the law\nof Moses.\"--Mos., ii, 1-3.\n\nHere we observe that the law in relation to sacrifices and burnt\nofferings was still faithfully observed, although nearly five hundred\nyears had passed since Lehi left Jerusalem; for the colony which he\nled started on their eventful journey six hundred years before the\nbirth of Christ, whilst this gathering took place one hundred and\ntwenty-five years before that same most important appearing.\n\nDuring the days that the Judges ruled the Nephites the righteous\nportion of that people continued to observe the requirements of this\nlaw. We will simply give two quotations from the Book of Alma on this\npoint, though the references are numerous. The first is:\n\n\"Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was expedient that\nthey should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all\nfulfilled. But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward\nto the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type\nof his coming, and believing that they must keep those outward\nperformances, until the time that he should be revealed unto them. Now\nthey did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the\nlaw of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus\nthey did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying\nupon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to\ncome.\"--Alma, xxv, 15, 16.\n\nWith this the words of Paul, when speaking on this subject, precisely\nagree: \"But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up\nunto the faith, which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law\nwas our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be\njustified by faith.\"--Gal., iii, 23, 24.\n\nThe second quotation is:\n\n\"Therefore it is expedient that there should be a great and last\nsacrifice; and then shall there be, or it is expedient that there\nshould be, a stop to the shedding of blood; then shall the law of\nMoses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled; every jot and\ntittle, and none shall have passed away. And behold, this is the whole\nmeaning of the law; every whit pointing to that great and last\nsacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God:\nyea, infinite and eternal.\"--Alma, xxxiv, 13, 14.\n\nBut some of those who apostatized from the Nephites and organized\nchurches of their own ceased to keep this law. Such a sect were the\nZoramites, of whom it is written:\n\n\"Now the Zoramites were dissenters from the Nephites; therefore they\nhad the word of God preached unto them. But they had fallen into great\nerrors, for they would not observe to keep the commandments of God,\nand his statutes, according to the law of Moses; neither would they\nobserve the performances of the church, to continue in prayer and\nsupplication to God daily, that they might not enter into temptation;\nyea, in fine, they did pervert the ways of the Lord in very many\ninstances.\"--Alma, xxxi, 8-11.\n\nShortly after the appearance of the signs that betokened the birth of\nthe Savior at Bethlehem, there arose a few among the Nephites who\nendeavored \"to prove by the Scriptures that it was no more expedient\nto observe the law of Moses. Now in this thing they did err, having\nnot understood the Scriptures. But it came to pass that they soon\nbecame converted, and were convinced of the error which they were in,\nfor it was made known unto them that the law was not yet\nfulfilled.\"--3 Nephi, i, 24, 25.\n\nAfter His resurrection, Jesus, in His ministrations in the midst of\nthe Nephites, perceiving that they wondered regarding the fulfilment\nof the law of Moses, said unto the listening multitude, \"Behold, I say\nunto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses. Behold,\nI am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people\nIsrael; therefore the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to\nfulfil the law; therefore it hath an end. Behold, I do not destroy the\nprophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say\nunto you, shall all be fulfilled. And because I said unto you that old\nthings hath passed away, I do not destroy that which hath been spoken\nconcerning things which are to come. For behold, the covenant which I\nhave made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the law which was\ngiven unto Moses hath an end in me.\"--3 Nephi, xv, 4-8.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\n  The Offering of Sacrifice in the Times of the Restitution of all\n  Things--Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith thereon--The Sons of\n  Levi--Malachi's Prophecy--The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.\n\n\nIt would appear that, when everything shall have been accomplished\npertaining or relating to the sacrifice and atonement of the Son of\nGod, in the time of the restitution of all things the sons of Levi\nwill offer up an acceptable offering unto the Lord; what this offering\nwill be does not distinctly appear. There are many things associated\nwith the final salvation of man, and the working out and\naccomplishment of the purposes of God in relation to the human family,\nwhich lie yet in the future: the peculiar position which the children\nwill occupy, also the position of the heathen who have died without\nlaw, and of those who have been translated, and who it would appear\nhave a specified labor to perform associated with their mission to the\nterrestrial worlds; the letting loose of Satan after the thousand\nyears, and many other things which it is not permitted for us at the\npresent time to comprehend in full. These will all be revealed in the\ndue time of the Lord. The Prophet Joseph makes the following statement\nwith regard to the offerings above referred to:\n\n\"Thus we behold the keys of this Priesthood consisted in obtaining the\nvoice of Jehovah, that He talked with him [Noah] in a familiar and\nfriendly manner, that He continued to him the keys, the covenants, the\npower and the glory with which He blessed Adam at the beginning; and\nthe offering of sacrifice, which also shall be continued at the last\ntime; for all the ordinances and duties that ever have been required\nby the Priesthood, under the directions and commandments of the\nAlmighty, in any of the dispensations, shall all be had in the last\ndispensation; therefore all things had under the authority of the\nPriesthood at any former period, shall be had again, bringing to pass\nthe restoration spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets; then\nshall the sons of Levi offer an acceptable sacrifice to tho Lord. See\nMalachi, iii, 3: 'And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of\nsilver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold\nand silver, that they may offer unto the Lord.' It will be necessary\nhere to make a few observations on the doctrine set forth in the above\nquotation, as it is generally supposed that sacrifice was entirely\ndone away when the Great Sacrifice was offered up, and that there will\nbe no necessity for the ordinance of sacrifice in future; but those\nwho assert this are certainly not acquainted with the duties,\nprivileges, and authority of the Priesthood, or with the Prophets. The\noffering of sacrifice has ever been connected with and forms a part of\nthe duties of the Priesthood. It began with the Priesthood, and will\nbe continued until after the coming of Christ, from generation to\ngeneration. We frequently have mention made of the offering of\nsacrifice by the servants of the Most High in ancient days, prior to\nthe law of Moses; which ordinances will be continued when the\nPriesthood is restored with all its authority, power and blessings.\nElijah was the last Prophet that held the keys of this Priesthood, and\nwho will, before the last dispensation, restore the authority and\ndeliver the keys of this Priesthood, in order that all the ordinances\nmay be attended to in righteousness. It is true that the Savior had\nauthority and power to bestow this blessing, but the sons of Levi were\ntoo prejudiced. 'And I will send Elijah the Prophet before the great\nand terrible day of the Lord,' etc., etc. Why send Elijah? Because he\nholds the keys of the authority to administer in all the ordinances of\nthe Priesthood, and without the authority is given, the ordinances\ncould not be administered in righteousness. It is a very prevalent\nopinion that the sacrifices which were offered were entirely consumed.\nThis was not the case; if you read Leviticus, second chapter, second\nand third verses, you will observe that the priest took a part as a\nmemorial and offered it up before the Lord, while the remainder was\nkept for the maintenance of the priests, so that the offerings and\nsacrifices are not all consumed upon the altar, but the blood is\nsprinkled, and the fat and certain other portions are consumed. These\nsacrifices, as well as every ordinance belonging to the Priesthood,\nwill, when the Temple of the Lord shall be built, and the sons of Levi\nbe purified, be fully restored and attended to in all their powers,\nramifications and blessings. This ever did and will exist when the\npowers of the Melchizedek Priesthood are sufficiently manifest, else\nhow can the restitution of all things spoken of by all the holy\nProphets be brought to pass? It is not to be understood that the law\nof Moses will be established again with all its rites and variety of\nceremonies. This has never been spoken of by the Prophets, but those\nthings which existed prior to Moses' day, namely, sacrifice, will be\ncontinued. It may be asked by some, What necessity for sacrifice,\nsince the Great Sacrifice was offered? In answer to which, if\nrepentance, baptism and faith existed prior to the days of Christ,\nwhat necessity for them since that time? The Priesthood has descended\nin a regular line from father to son, through their succeeding\ngenerations. See Book of Doctrine and Covenants.\"--History of Joseph\nSmith, Deseret News, Vol. IV., No. 30.\n\nThe remarks of President Joseph Smith are very plain and explicit, and\nare a strong confirmation of the passage he himself refers to,\npertaining to the times of the restitution of all things; which will\nembrace all systems, doctrines, ordinances, dispensations, and\nPriesthoods connected with the Church and Kingdom of God. That there\nwill be a full manifestation of all these things, relating to the\nvarious times and dispensations, is assured; yet, as Joseph Smith has\nvery properly said, the details of those rituals and observances\ncannot now be fully defined. But as ancient Israel preserved in the\nArk of the Covenant memorials of God's power, goodness and mercy,\nmanifested during the exodus from Egypt, in the two tables of stone\nand the pot of manna; and of the recognition of the Aaronic Priesthood\nin Aaron's rod that budded; and as the sword of Laban, the sacred\nplates already revealed, as well as numerous others yet to be made\nmanifest, and a Urim and Thummim were preserved on this continent; so\nwill there be an exhibition an evidence, a memorial, and an actual\nmanifestation of matters pertaining to laws, ordinances, ceremonies\nand dispensations, from the commencement of the world to the present\ntime, preserved and manifested in the dispensation that the Lord in\nHis loving kindness has now inaugurated. This will be in accordance\nwith the eternal plans and purposes of God, and with the rights,\nceremonies and ordinances belonging to the Priesthoods of God in the\ndifferent ages, pertaining to the organization of this world, the\nproposed mediation and atonement of the Son of God, the manifestations\nand developments of the Melchizedek Priesthood, as the Prophet Joseph\nhas referred to, as well relating to sacrifices in early days as in\nother matters, the introduction of the Aaronic Priesthood, together\nwith the Ark and the Tabernacle, which we are told were made after the\npatterns shown unto Moses in the mount--patterns which existed in the\nheavens; the eternal existence, authority and power of both\nPriesthoods as connected with God and administering in time and\neternity; the attempts of Satan to overthrow the dynasty, power and\nauthority of Jehovah and his complete failure and discomfiture;\nexhibiting in a panorama all the leading, prominent details of the\ncreation, atonement, redemption, salvation and exaltation of the world\nand man, the organization of a new heaven and a new earth, and all the\npurposes of God, His plans and ordinances, manifested through the\nPriesthood from the first inception of the organization of the world\nto the final consummation, purification and exaltation of the world\nand its inhabitants, according to the foreknowledge and determinate\ncounsel of the Almighty.\n\nFor as these memorials of the atonement were used by the ancient\nPatriarchs and Prophets to manifest to God their faith in the plan of\nredemption and in the coming Redeemer; so will these great types be\nagain introduced as exhibiting the sacrifice of the great antitype,\nJesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, and as a perpetual\nrecognition of the eternal salvation and exaltation wrought out by Him\nfor the human family by the sacrifice of Himself. (See also 3 Nephi,\nxv, 4-8, previously quoted.)\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n  Brief Retrospect of the History of Sacrifice and its Symbolism--The\n  Passover and the Lord's Supper--Christ's Relation to both these\n  Ordinances--The Last Supper.\n\n\nAs before stated, these sacrifices which were offered up from the days\nof Adam until the time of our Savior's advent, were typical of the\ngreat expiatory sacrifice which He was to make by the sacrifice of\nHimself. They were so many types, shadows and forms of which He was\nthe great prototype--the substance, the reality prefigured and\nforeshadowed by the other sacrifices which had been offered up from\nthe beginning.\n\nWhen the law was given by Moses, all the forms pertaining to the\nsacrificial ceremonies were revealed in detail, and the instructions\nin relation thereto were not simply of a general nature, but they\nentered into minute particulars in relation to all things connected\nwith those who officiated, the form and pattern of the sacred utensils\nand of the vestments of the Priesthood, the creatures to be\nsacrificed, the order of the proceedings, and indeed of all matters\nassociated with the observance of these rites. Almost the whole of the\nbook of Leviticus, and considerable of the book of Numbers, is\noccupied with these instructions and kindred matters. This Mosaic law,\nwith all its duties, observances, ceremonies and sacrifices, continued\nin force until Christ's death.\n\nThe time having come when the great atonement should be made by the\noffering up of Himself, Christ told Peter and John to go and prepare a\nplace where He might, according to His custom, eat the Passover with\nHis disciples. Eat what with His disciples? The Passover. Was it the\nPassover, or the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper? The Lord, in Egypt,\npassed by, or passed over the houses of the Israelites whose door\nposts had been sprinkled with the blood of the lamb sacrificed for\nthat purpose; and the Israelites were commanded to observe this\nPassover in all their generations. Jesus, in compliance with this\ncommand, directed that a place be made ready where He might eat the\nPassover with His Apostles; for He, the great prototype, was going to\noffer up Himself as a lamb without spot or blemish; not only for the\nIsraelites, but for all nations, for every people, and kindred, and\ntongue under the face of the whole heavens: \"For God so loved the\nworld, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in\nhim should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his\nSon into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through\nhim might be saved.\"\n\nBut previous to the offering up of Himself, as the great expiatory\nsacrifice, having fulfilled the law and made it honorable, and having\nintroduced the Gospel, He met with His disciples, as already noticed,\nto eat the Passover. He then told them, \"With desire I have desired to\neat this passover with you before I suffer.\" To eat what with you? The\nPassover. To eat what with you? The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.\nThus He eat both, for the two ceremonies centered in Him, He was the\nembodiment of both, He was the Being provided before the foundation of\nthe earth, and prophesied of by men of God throughout all the\npreceding ages; and also on account of whom the sacrifices were\noffered up by all the servants of the Lord, from the fall of Adam to\nthat time; and all the various atonements heretofore offered pointed\nto Him, for whom they were all made and in whom they all centered. On\nthe other hand, He it was who introduced the more perfect law, and\noffering Himself once for all, an infinite atonement, He, through this\nsacrifice, accomplished that which was designed by the Almighty before\nthe world was, and of which the blood of bullocks, of goats and of\nlambs was merely the shadow.\n\nIn view of what was almost immediately to take place, He instituted\nthe sacrament of the Lord's Supper in commemoration of this great\ncrowning act of redemption. When at the table, \"He took bread, and\ngave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body\nwhich is given for you: this do in remembrance of me;\" afterwards, \"He\ntook the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye\nall of it; for this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for\nmany for the remission of sins.\"\n\nIn reality, this act of the atonement was the fulfilment of the\nsacrifices, of the prophesying, of the Passover, and of all the\nleading, prominent acts of the Patriarchs and Prophets relating\nthereto; and having performed this, the past and the future both\ncentered in Him. Did these worthies offer sacrifices? They prefigured\nHis appearing and atonement. Did they prophecy? It was of Him, for the\ntestimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Did they keep the\nPassover? He Himself was the great expiatory offering. Were the people\ncalled upon afterwards to commemorate this event? They did it in\nremembrance of Him, as a great memorial among all of His disciples in\nall nations, throughout all time; of the sacrifice of His broken body\nand spilt blood; the antitype of the sacrificial lamb slain at the\ntime of the Passover; of Him; as being the Mediator, the Messiah, the\nChrist, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End: the Son of the\nliving God.\n\nAs from the commencement of the world to the time when the Passover\nwas instituted, sacrifices had been offered as a memorial or type of\nthe sacrifice of the Son of God; so from the time of the Passover\nuntil that time when He came to offer up Himself, these sacrifices and\ntypes and shadows had been carefully observed by Prophets and\nPatriarchs; according to the command given to Moses and other\nfollowers of the Lord. So also did He Himself fulfil this requirement,\nand kept the Passover as did others; and now we, after the great\nsacrifice has been offered, partake of the' Sacrament of the Lord's\nSupper in remembrance thereof. Thus this act was the great connecting\nlink between the past and the future; thus He fulfilled the law, met\nthe demands of justice, and obeyed the requirements of His Heavenly\nFather, although laboring under the weight of the sins of the world,\nand the terrible expiation which He had to make, when, sweating great\ndrops of blood, He cried: \"Father, if it be possible let this cup pass\nfrom me; nevertheless not my will but thine be done;\" and when\nexpiring in agony upon the cross He cried, \"It is finished,\" and gave\nup the ghost.\n\nDuring this ever memorable supper, the Savior said unto His disciples,\n\"But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the\nvine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's\nkingdom.\" He was the Lamb proposed to be slain from before the\nfoundation of the world; He was the Lamb spoken of by the Prophets in\nthe different ages, and for which sacrifices were made; in Him was now\nfulfilled everything that prefigured His approach, and that was\nprophesied of Him pertaining to the atonement. He also was to burst\nthe barriers of the tomb, become the first fruits of those that slept,\nand introduce the resurrection, and indeed to be the Resurrection and\nthe Life. He was also to ascend to the heavens, resurrect His Saints,\nand after resurrecting them, drink of the fruit of the vine with them\nin His Father's kingdom. Every knee should yet bow to Him, and every\ntongue confess that He was the Christ to the glory of God the Father.\nEvery nation, kindred, and tongue should bow to His sceptre, and the\nearth through Him be filled with the knowledge of God, as the waters\ncover the sea, the earth be redeemed and become celestial, a new\nheaven and a new earth be instituted, wherein dwelleth righteousness,\nand the redemption and resurrection of the living and the dead,\naccording to the eternal plan of Jehovah, should be brought about\nthrough His mediation and atonement.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n  The Atonement and the Resurrection--Adam and Christ--Why a Law was\n  given unto Adam--The Results of Disobedience to that Law--Testimony\n  of our First Parents--\"Adam fell that Man might be\"--The Fall a\n  Necessary Part of the Plan of Salvation--God's Plan a Merciful\n  Plan--The Plan of Lucifer--Man's Free Agency--The Chain Complete.\n\n\nIn the economy of God and the plan proposed by the Almighty, it was\nprovided that man was to be placed under a law apparently simple in\nitself, yet the test of that law was fraught with the gravest\nconsequences. The observance of that law would secure eternal life,\nand the penalty for the violation of that law was death. For, we are\ntold, in Adam all die, and hence the declaration, \"It is appointed for\nman once to die.\" There is another principle associated with this,\nwhich is, that the atonement provided a means and plan whereby death\ncould be overcome, and the resurrection of the body from death be\nbrought about, for it is written, \"As in Adam all die, even so in\nChrist shall all be made alive.\" But without this atonement the\nresurrection of the body could not be brought about; hence Jesus, when\non earth, proclaimed, \"I am the Resurrection and the Life,\" and He\nHimself \"was the first fruits of them that slept.\"\n\nMen could not have been tested without a law. The penalty for the\nviolation of that law was death. If the law had not been broken, man\nwould have lived; but would man thus living have been capable of\nperpetuating his species, and of thus fulfilling the designs of God in\npreparing tabernacles for the spirits which had been created in the\nspirit world? And further, could they have had the need of a mediator,\nwho was to act as a propitiation for the violation of this law, which\nit would appear from the circumstances was destined to be broken; or\ncould the eternal increase and perpetuity of man have been continued,\nand his high exaltation to the Godhead been accomplished, without the\npropitiatory atonement and sacrifice of the Son of God?\n\nJesus said, \"Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to\nsuffer.\" Could it have behooved Christ to suffer if man had not\nsinned, and was it not part of the eternal plan of God that man should\nviolate that law, that an atonement might be provided and had, and by\nthis means man be purified and perfected, through the struggles and\ntrials incident to his coming in contact with the powers of darkness,\nand, through the mediation and atonement of Jesus Christ, and his own\nobedience to the requirements of the law associated therewith, be\nraised to a higher state of existence than it would have been possible\nfor him to have obtained without the transgression of that law?\n\nThese points are made exceedingly plain in the Pearl of Great Price.\nIt is there stated:\n\n\"And Adam called upon the name of the Lord, and Eve also, his wife;\nand they heard the voice of the Lord from the way towards the garden\nof Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut\nout from his presence. And he gave unto them commandments, that they\nshould worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of\ntheir flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient\nunto the commandments of the Lord. And after many days an angel of the\nLord appeared unto Adam, saying, Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto\nthe Lord? And Adam said unto him, I know not, save the Lord commanded\nme. And then the angel spake, saying, This thing is a similitude of\nthe sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of\ngrace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the\nname of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name\nof the Son for evermore. And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon\nAdam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying, I am the\nOnly Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and for\never, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed; and all\nmankind, even as many as will. And in that day Adam blessed God and\nwas filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the\nearth, saying, Blessed be the name of God, for because of my\ntransgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy,\nand again in the flesh I shall see God. And Eve, his wife, heard all\nthese things and was glad, saying, Were it not for our transgression\nwe never should have had seed, and never should have known good and\nevil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God\ngiveth unto all the obedient. And Adam and Eve blessed the name of\nGod; and they made all things known unto their sons and their\ndaughters.\"\n\nThus we find: Firstly. That Adam and Eve both considered that they had\ngained, instead of suffered loss, through their disobedience to that\nlaw; for they made the statement, that if it had not been for their\ntransgression they never would \"have known good and evil.\" And again,\nthey would have been incapable of increase; and without that increase\nthe designs of God in relation to the formation of the earth and man\ncould not have been accomplished; for one great object of the creation\nof the world was the propagation of the human species, that bodies\nmight be prepared for those spirits who already existed, and who, when\nthey saw the earth formed, shouted for joy.\n\nSecondly. By pursuing the course they did, through the atonement, they\nwould see God as they had done before; and furthermore, they would be\ncapable of exaltation, which was made possible only through their\nfall, and the atonement of Jesus Christ; and also, they might have the\ncomforting influence of the Spirit of God, and His guidance and\ndirection here, as well as eternal lives and exaltations in the world\nto come.\n\nPaul, in his Epistle to the Romans, also writes very directly upon\nthese truths; he says:\n\n\"Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that\nhad not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is\nthe figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is\nthe free gift. For if, through the offence of one many be dead, much\nmore the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man,\nJesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that\nsinned, so is the gift; for the judgment was by one to condemnation,\nbut the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by\none man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive\nabundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in\nlife by one Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment\ncame upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one\nthe free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by\none man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of\none shall many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered, that the\noffence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more\nabound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign\nthrough righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.\"\n--Romans, v., 14-21.\n\nWhilst in the Book of Mormon Lehi teaches:\n\n\"And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed, he would not have\nfallen; but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all\nthings which were created, must have remained in the same state which\nthey were, after they were created; and they must have remained for\never, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore,\nthey would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for\nthey knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. But behold,\nall things have been done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things.\nAdam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.\nAnd the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the\nchildren of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from\nthe fall, they have become free for ever, knowing good from evil; to\nact for themselves, and not to be acted upon, save it be by the\npunishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the\ncommandments which God hath given. Wherefore, men are free according\nto the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto\nman. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the\ngreat mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and death,\naccording to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that\nall men might be miserable, like unto himself.\"--2 Nephi, ii, 22-27.\n\nIn the same book it is written:\n\n\"Yea, I know that ye know, that in the body he shall show himself unto\nthose at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it\nshould be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he\nsuffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for\nall men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death hath\npassed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator,\nthere must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must\nneeds come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason\nof transgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off\nfrom the presence of the Lord. Wherefore it must needs be an infinite\natonement. Save it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption\ncould not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which\ncame upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if\nso, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother\nearth, to rise no more. O the wisdom of God! his mercy and grace! For\nbehold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become\nsubject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal\nGod, and became the devil, to rise no more.\"--2 Nephi, ix, 5-8.\n\nThere is a principle developed in the above quotation to the effect\nthat death was \"passed upon all men to fulfill the _merciful plan_ of\nthe great Creator;\" and furthermore, that the resurrection came \"by\nreason of the fall.\" For if man had not sinned, there would have been\nno death, and if Jesus had not atoned for the sin, there would have\nbeen no resurrection. Hence these things are spoken of as being\naccording to the merciful plan of God. This corruption could not have\nput on incorruption, and this mortality could not have put on\nimmortality, for, as we have elsewhere shown, man by reason of any\nthing that he himself could do or accomplish, could only exalt himself\nto the dignity and capability of man and therefore it needed the\natonement of a God, before man, through the adoption, could be exalted\nto the Godhead.\n\nAgain, if the body could not have been resurrected, it would have had\nto \"crumble to its mother earth,\" and remain in that condition without\nthe capability of ascending to the Godhead: and furthermore, not only\nwould our bodies have lost their entity, their life and power, but the\nspirit also would have been placed in a state of subjection \"to that\nangel who fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became\nthe devil,\" without a capability or even hope of life, salvation and\nexaltation, and would have been deprived of all free agency and power,\nand subject to the influences, dominion and eternal destruction of\nLucifer, the enemy of man and of God. Hence, on this ground, and\nbecause of the terrible effects which would have resulted to humanity\nfrom the proposed plan to deprive man of his free agency, and in\nseeking to do away with the atonement, Lucifer was cast out of heaven,\nas were also those associated with him in the same diabolical plans\nand purposes.\n\nThe testimony of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants is in full accord\nwith the revelations in the ancient scriptures. In it we are\ninstructed that God \"created man, male and female, after his own image\nand in his own likeness created he them, and pave unto them\ncommandments that they should love and serve him, the only living and\ntrue God, and that he should be the only being whom they should\nworship. But by the transgression of these holy laws, man became\nsensual and devilish, and became fallen man. Wherefore the Almighty\nGod gave his Only Begotten Son, as it is written in those scriptures\nwhich have been given of him. He suffered temptations, but gave no\nheed unto them; he was crucified, died, and rose again the third day;\nand ascended into heaven, to sit down on the right hand of the Father,\nto reign with almighty power according to the will of the\nFather.\"--Doc. and Cov., sec. xx, 18-24, p. 123.\n\nAgain, we read from the same source:\n\n\"Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and\nI gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto\nhim, for my commandments are spiritual, they are not natural nor\ntemporal, neither carnal nor sensual.\"--Doc. and Cov., sec. xxix, 35,\np. 146.\n\n\"Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he\npartook the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein\nhe became subject to the will of the 'devil, because he yielded unto\ntemptation. Wherefore, I the Lord God caused that he should be cast out\nfrom the garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his\ntransgression, wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first\ndeath, even that same death, which is the last death, which is\nspiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say,\nDepart, ye cursed. But, behold, I say unto you, that I the Lord God\ngave unto Adam and to his seed that they should not die as to the\ntemporal death, until I the Lord God should send forth angels to\ndeclare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name\nof mine Only Begotten Son. And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto\nman the days of his probation; that by his natural death he might be\nraised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would\nbelieve.\"--Doc. and Cov., xxix, 40-43, p. 147.\n\nIn accordance with this we find it written in the Pearl of Great\nPrice, that the Lord did send an angel to Adam (as elsewhere quoted),\nwho taught unto him the Gospel.\n\nThus it would appear that if any of the links of this great chain had\nbeen broken, it would have interfered with the comprehensive plan of\nthe Almighty pertaining to the salvation and eternal exaltation of\nthose spirits who were His sons, and for whom principally the world\nwas made; that they through submission to the requirements of the\neternal principle and law governing these matters might possess\nbodies, and these bodies united with the spirits might become living\nsouls, and being the sons of God, and made in the image of God, they,\nthrough the atonement might be exalted, by obedience to the law of the\nGospel; to the Godhead.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n  Christ as the Son of God--A Comparison between His Position Glory,\n  etc., and Those of other Sons of God--His Recognition by the\n  Father--Christ called the Very Eternal Father.\n\n\nIt may here be asked, What difference is there between the Son of God,\nas the Son of God, the Redeemer, and those who believe in Him and\npartake of the blessings of the Gospel?\n\nOne thing, as we read, is that the Father gave Him power to have life\nin Himself: \"For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given\nto the Son to have life in himself;\" and further, He had power, when\nall mankind had lost their life, to restore life to them again; and\nhence He is the Resurrection and the Life, which power no other man\npossesses.\n\nAnother distinction is, that having this life in Himself, He had\npower, as He said, to lay down His life and to take it up again, which\npower was also given Him by the Father. This is also a power which no\nother being associated with this earth possesses.\n\nAgain, He is the brightness of His Father's glory and the express\nimage of His person. Also, He doeth what He seeth the Father do, while\nwe only do that which we are permitted and empowered to do by Him.\n\nHe is the Elect, the Chosen, and one of the Presidency in the heavens,\nand in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, which could\nnot be said of us in any of these particulars.\n\nAnother thing is, that all power is given to Him in heaven and upon\nearth, which no earthly being could say.\n\nIt is also stated that Lucifer was before Adam; so was Jesus. And\nAdam, as well as all other believers, was commanded to do all that he\ndid in the name of the Son, and to call upon God in His name for ever\nmore; which honor was not applicable to any earthly being.\n\nHe, in the nearness of His relationship to the Father, seems to occupy\na position that no other person occupies. He is spoken of as His well\nbeloved Son, as the Only Begotten of the Father--does not this mean\nthe only begotten after the flesh? If He was the first born and\nobedient to the laws of His Father, did He not inherit the position by\nright to be the representative of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the\nworld? And was it not His peculiar right and privilege as the\nfirstborn, the legitimate heir of God, the Eternal Father, to step\nforth, accomplish and carry out the designs of His Heavenly Father\npertaining to the redemption, salvation and exaltation of man? And\nbeing Himself without sin (which no other mortal was), He took the\nposition of Savior and Redeemer, which by right belonged to Him as the\nfirst born. And does it not seem that in having a body specially\nprepared, and being the offspring of God, both in body and spirit, He\nstood preeminently in the position of the Son of God, or in the place\nof God, and was God, and was thus the fit and only personage capable\nof making an infinite atonement? Hence we read:\n\n\"Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and\noffering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt\nofferings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said\nI, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do\nthy will, O God. Above, when he said, Sacrifice and offering and\nburnt-offerings and offering for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst\npleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I\ncome to do thy will, O God He taketh away the first, that he may\nestablish the second.\"--Heb., x, 5-9.\n\nWe are told, in the Pearl of Great Price, that when Satan proposed a\nplan of his own, promising to redeem every soul of man, but wherein\nthe free agency of man would be destroyed, and said, \"Wherefore give\nme thine honor,\" the Only Begotten said, \"Father, thy will be done,\nand the glory be thine for ever\" \"I am prepared to carry out thy\nplan.\" The Apostle above quoted states, \"A body hast thou prepared me.\n* * Then said I, Lo, I come to do thy will, O Lord.\" Hence from the\nabove we learn that though others might be the sons of God through\nHim, yet it needed His body, His fulfilment of the law, the sacrifice\nor offering up of that body in the atonement, before any of these\nothers, who were also sons of God by birth in the spirit world, could\nattain to the position of sons of God as He was; and that only through\nHis mediation and atonement. So that in Him, and of Him, and through\nHim, through the principle of adoption, could we alone obtain that\nposition which is spoken of by John: \"Beloved, now are we the sons of\nGod; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that\nwhen he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he\nis.\" Thus His atonement made it possible for us to obtain an\nexaltation, which we could not have possessed without it.\n\n\"His name shall be called Immanuel,\" which being interpreted is, God\nwith us. Hence He is not only called the Son of God, the First\nBegotten of the Father, the Well Beloved, the Head, and Ruler, and\nDictator of all things, Jehovah, the I Am, the Alpha and Omega, but He\nis also called the Very Eternal Father. Does not this mean that in Him\nwere the attributes and power of the Very Eternal Father? For the\nangel to Adam said that all things should be done in His name. A voice\nwas heard from the heavens, when Jesus was baptized by John the\nBaptist, saying, \"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,\"\nand when the Father and the Son appeared together to the Prophet\nJoseph Smith they were exactly alike in form, in appearance, in glory;\nand the Father said, pointing to His Son, \"This is my beloved Son;\nhear Him.\" There the Father had His apparent tabernacle, and the Son\nhad His apparent tabernacle; but the Son was the agency through which\nthe Father would communicate to man; as it is elsewhere said,\n\"Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son.\nAnd thou shalt repent, and shalt call upon God, in the name of the\nSon, for evermore.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n  Man as Man--His Excellency and His Limitations--Salvation and\n  Eternal Progression Impossible without the Atonement--In Christ\n  _only_ can All be made Alive.\n\n\nMan, as man, can only make use of the powers which are possessed by\nman. Made, indeed, as represented in the Scriptures, in the image of\nGod, as monarch of the universe he stands erect on the earth in the\nlikeness of his Great Creator; beautifully constructed in all his\nparts, with a body possessing all the functions necessary for the\nwants of humanity; standing, not only by right, but by adaptability,\nbeauty, symmetry and glory, at the head of all creation; possessing\nalso mental powers and the capacity of reflecting upon the past, with\ncapabilities to reason upon cause and effect, and by the inductive\npowers of his mind, through the inspiration of the Almighty, to\ncomprehend the magnificent laws of nature as exhibited in the works of\ncreation; with the capacity also of using the elements and forces of\nnature, and of adapting them to his own special benefit; and by his\npowers penetrating into the deep, ascending into the heavens, rushing\nwith mighty velocity across the earth, making use of the separate or\ncombined forces of nature with which he is surrounded and subjugating\nthem to his will; as, likewise, by his intelligence, he has dominion\nover the fishes of the sea, over the fowls of the air, and over the\ncattle. He can girdle the earth with the electric fluid and convey his\nthoughts to any land or zone; by the same subtle influence he can talk\nwith his fellows, and be heard when hundreds of miles apart. He can\napply the forces of earth, air, fire and water to make them\nsubservient to his will, and stands proudly erect as the head of all\ncreation and the representative of God upon the earth.  But while he\noccupies this exalted position, and is in the image of God, yet he\npossesses simply, as a man, only the powers which belong to man; and\nis subject to weakness, infirmity, disease and death. And when he\ndies, without some superior aid pertaining to the future, that noble\nstructure lies silent and helpless, its organs, that heretofore were\nactive, lively and energetic, are now dormant, inactive and powerless.\nAnd what of the mind, that before went back into eternity and reached\nforward into eternity? And what of its powers? Or what of that spirit,\nwhich, with its Godlike energies, its prescience and power, could\ngrasp infinity? What of it, and where is it? The Scriptures say that\nthe body returns to the dust and the spirit returns to God who gave\nit. But what of its powers as made known to us, what of the hereafter?\nThe philosophy of the world tells us that the spirit dies with the\nbody, and like it is dissipated in surrounding nature, but as an\nentirety no longer exists; and all the power the being ever had was to\npropagate its own species and to impart the powers of the body and the\nmind to its posterity. Such philosophers can comprehend nothing\npertaining to the future--no glory, no exaltation, no eternal\nprogression, only as developed by a succession of manhood. If, then,\nthere is a spirit in man which reaches into futurity, that would grasp\neternal progress, eternal enjoyments, and eternal exaltations; then\nthose glories, those exaltations, those capabilities and those powers\nmust be the gift of some superior being, power, or authority to that\nwhich exists in man; for the foregoing is a brief exhibition of the\npowers and capabilities of humanity. It is of this gift that we now\nspeak. It is of a principle that emanates from God, that originates\nwith a superior intelligence, whose plans, and powers, and\ncapabilities are exalted above those of mortal man, as the heavens are\nabove the earth, or as the majestic works of the Great Creator\nthroughout the infinitude of space are superior to the puny efforts of\nthe children of mortality. It is for the exaltation of man to this\nstate of superior intelligence and Godhead that the mediation and\natonement of Jesus Christ is instituted; and that noble being, man,\nmade in the image of God, is rendered capable not only of being a son\nof man, but also a son of God, through adoption, and is rendered\ncapable of becoming a God, possessing the power, the majesty, the\nexaltation and the position of a God, As it is written, \"Beloved, now\nare we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:\nbut we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we\nshall see him as he is.\"\n\nAs a man through the powers of his body he could attain to the dignity\nand completeness of manhood, but could go no further; as a man he is\nborn, as a man he lives, and as a man he dies; but through the essence\nand power of the Godhead, which is in him, which descended to him as\nthe gift of God from his heavenly Father, he is capable of rising from\nthe contracted limits of manhood to the dignity of a God, and thus\nthrough the atonement of Jesus Christ and the adoption he is capable\nof eternal exaltation, eternal lives and eternal progression. But this\ntransition from his manhood to the Godhead can alone be made through a\npower which is superior to man--an infinite power, an eternal power,\neven the power of the Godhead: for as in Adam all die, so in Christ\n_only_ can all be made alive. Through Him mankind are brought into\ncommunion and communication with God; through His atonement they are\nenabled, as He was, to vanquish death; through that atonement and the\npower of the Priesthood associated therewith, they become heirs of God\nand joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and inheritors of thrones, powers,\nprincipalities and dominions in the eternal worlds. And instead of\nbeing subject to death, when that last enemy shall be destroyed, and\ndeath be swallowed up in victory, through that atonement they can\nbecome the fathers and mothers of lives, and be capable of perpetual\nand eternal progression.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n  Christ to be Subject to Man--His Descent Below all Things--Man's\n  Condition had there been no Atonement--The Sons of God--Man's\n  Inability to Save Himself--Christ's Glory before the World Was--\n  Necessity for an Infinite Atonement--The Father and Son have Life in\n  Themselves.\n\n\nAgain we will return to the quotation from the Book of Mormon.[A]\nSatan, as we have remarked before, wanted to deprive man of his\nagency, for if man had his agency, it would seem that necessarily the\nLord would be subject to him; as is stated, \"For it behooveth the\nGreat Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in\nthe flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto\nhim.\"\n\n[Footnote A: 2 Nephi, ix, 5-7.]\n\nThe Lord being thus subjected to man, He would be placed in the lowest\nposition to which it was possible for Him to descend; because of the\nweakness, the corruption and the fallibility of human nature. But if\nman had his free agency, this necessarily would be the result, and\nhence, as it is said, Jesus descended below all things that He might\nbe raised above all things; and hence also, while Satan's calculation\nwas to deprive man of his free agency, and to prevent himself or the\nOnly Begotten from being subject to this humiliation and infamy, the\nLord's plan was to give man his free agency, provide a redeemer, and\nsuffer that redeemer to endure all the results incidental to such a\nposition, and thus, by offering himself as a substitute and conquering\ndeath, hell and the grave, he would ultimately subjugate all things\nunto himself; and at the same time make it possible for man to obtain\nan exaltation that he never could have had without his agency. It is\nsaid, as already stated, \"For behold, if the flesh should rise no\nmore, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from\nbefore the presence of the eternal God, and became the devil, to rise\nno more;\" and hence the plan of Satan it appears would have frustrated\nthe designs of the Almighty, and have deprived man of that exaltation\nand glory which his Heavenly Father contemplated. It is further\nwritten:\n\n\"And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils,\nangels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to\nremain with the father of lies; in misery, like unto himself; yea, to\nthat being who beguiled our first parents; who transformeth himself\nnigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto\nsecret combinations of murder, and all manner of secret works of\ndarkness. O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for\nour escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster,\ndeath and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death\nof the spirit. And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the\nHoly One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the\ntemporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave. And\nthis death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall\ndeliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death\nand hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its\ncaptive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and\nthe bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other;\nand it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.\nO how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise\nof God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave\ndeliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is\nrestored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible and\nimmortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like\nunto us in the flesh save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect;\nwherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt; and\nour uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a\nperfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being\nclothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness. And it\nshall come to pass, that when all men shall have passed from this\nfirst death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they\nmust appear before the judgment seat of the Holy One of Israel; and\nthen cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to\nthe holy judgment of God. And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the\nLord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot\npass away, that they who are righteous, shall be righteous still,\nand they who are filthy, shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who\nare filthy, are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away\ninto everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a\nlake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up for ever and\never, and has no end. O the greatness and the justice of our God!\nFor he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his\nmouth, and his law must be fulfilled.\"--2 Nephi, ix, 9-17.\n\nIn the economy of God pertaining to the salvation of the human family,\nwe are told in the Scriptures that it was necessary that Christ should\ndescend below all things, that He might be raised above all things; as\nstated above, He had to \"become subject to man in the flesh.\" It was\nfurther necessary that He should descend below all things, in order\nthat He might raise others above all things; for if He could not raise\nHimself and be exalted through those principles brought about by the\natonement, He could not raise others; He could not do for others what\nHe could not do for Himself, and hence it was necessary for Him to\ndescend below all things that He might be raised above all things; and\nit was necessary that those whom He proposed to save should also\ndescend below all things, that by and through the same power that He\nobtained His exaltation, they also, through His atonement, expiation\nand intercession, might be raised to the same power with Him; and, as\nHe was the Son of God, that they might also be the adopted sons of\nGod; hence John says:\n\n\"Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what\nwe shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like\nhim; for we shall see him as he is.\"--1 John, iii, 2.\n\nAnd by this power we shall overcome and sit down on His throne, as\nJesus overcame and sat down upon the throne of His Father.\n\nWe are told in the foregoing quotation from the Book of Mormon that\nthe atonement must needs be infinite. Why did it need an infinite\natonement? For the simple reason that a stream can never rise higher\nthan its fountain; and man having assumed a fleshly body and become of\nthe earth earthy, and through the violation of a law having cut\nhimself off from his association with his Father, and become subject\nto death; in this condition, as the mortal life of man was short, and\nin and of himself he could have no hope of benefitting himself, or\nredeeming himself from his fallen condition, or of bringing himself\nback to the presence of his Father, some superior agency was needed to\nelevate him above his low and degraded position. This superior agency\nwas the Son of God, who had not, as man had, violated a law of His\nFather, but was yet one with His Father, possessing His glory, His\npower, His authority, His dominion. As He, Himself, prayed:\n\n\"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the\nglory which I had with thee before the world was.\"--John, xvii, 5.\n\nA man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was\ncapable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a God to raise him to\nthe dignity of a God. For this cause it is written, \"Now are we the\nsons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know\nthat when he shall appear we shall be like him.\" And how and why like\nHim? Because, through the instrumentality of the atonement and the\nadoption, it is made possible for us to become of the family of God,\nand joint heirs with Jesus Christ; and that as He, the potential\ninstrument, through the oneness that existed between Him and His\nFather, by reason of obedience to divine law, overcame death, hell and\nthe grave, and sat down upon His Father's throne, so shall we be able\nto sit down with Him, even upon His throne. Thus, as it is taught in\nthe Book of Mormon, it must needs be that there be an infinite\natonement; and hence of Him, and by Him, and through Him are all\nthings; and through Him do we obtain every blessing, power, right,\nimmunity, salvation and exaltation. He is our God, our Redeemer, our\nSavior, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be eternal and\neverlasting praises worlds without end.\n\nAgain, Jesus testifies of Himself:\n\n\"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when\nthe dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear\nshall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given\nto the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to\nexecute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at\nthis: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves\nshall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good,\nunto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the\nresurrection of damnation.\"--John, v, 25-29.\n\nIt would seem from the above that the Son hath life inherent in\nHimself, even as the Father hath life in Himself, He having received\nthis power from the Father. Also, that He had power in Himself, as\nelsewhere stated, to lay down this body, and also to take it up again;\nand in this respect He differed from others. While man dies and lays\ndown his body, he has not power under any circumstance to raise it\nagain, only through the power of Jesus and His intercession and\natonement; for the Redeemer has proclaimed Himself to be the\nResurrection and the Life; and it is by this resurrective power which\nHe possesses, as the gift of God through obedience to the will of the\nFather, that the dead shall hear the voice of God and shall live.\nHence He not only becomes the first fruits of those that slept, having\nconquered death Himself and triumphed over it, but He also becomes the\nmeans of the resurrection of all men from the dead. Hence He says:\n\n\"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I\nmight take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of\nmyself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it\nagain. This commandment have I received of my Father.\"--John, x, 17,\n18.\n\nThus, when He says He has power to lay down His life and power to take\nit up again, He speaks of a power never before exhibited among men\nupon this earth; and which power, indeed, does not belong to man in\nand of himself.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n  The Relation of the Atonement to Little Children--Jesus Assumes the\n  Responsibility of Man's Transgression, and Bears the Weight of his\n  Sins and Sufferings--The Inferior Creatures and Sacrifice--The\n  Terrors and Agonies of Christ's Passion and Death--The Tribulations,\n  Earthquakes, etc., when He gave up the Ghost--Universal Nature\n  Trembles--The Prophecies of Zenos and Enoch--The Testimony of the\n  Centurion--Heirship, and the Descent of Blessings and Curses.\n\n\nThe Redeemer Himself, when tabernacling in the flesh, said to His\ndisciples on the Eastern Continent, \"Suffer little children to come\nunto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.\nVerily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God\nas a little child shall in no wise enter therein.\"--Luke, xviii, 16,\n17. And after His crucifixion and resurrection He repeated this same\nadmonition to His Nephite disciples: \"And again I say unto you, Ye\nmust repent, and be baptized in my name and become as a little child,\nor ye can in no wise inherit the kingdom of God.\"--3 Nephi, xi, 38.\n\nWithout Adam's transgression those children could not have existed;\nthrough the atonement they are placed in a state of salvation without\nany act of their own. These would embrace, according to the opinion of\nstatisticians, more than one-half of the human family, who can\nattribute their salvation only to the mediation and atonement of the\nSavior. Thus, as stated elsewhere, in some mysterious,\nincomprehensible way, Jesus assumed the responsibility which naturally\nwould have devolved upon Adam; but which could only be accomplished\nthrough the mediation of Himself, and by taking upon Himself their\nsorrows, assuming their responsibilities, and bearing their\ntransgressions or sins. In a manner to us incomprehensible and\ninexplicable, he bore the weight of the sins of the whole world; not\nonly of Adam, but of his posterity; and in doing that, opened the\nkingdom of heaven, not only to all believers and all who obeyed the\nlaw of God, but to more than one-half of the human family who die\nbefore they come to years of maturity, as well as to the heathen, who,\nhaving died without law, will, through His mediation, be resurrected\nwithout law, and be judged without law, and thus participate,\naccording to their capacity, works and worth, in the blessings of His\natonement.\n\nAgain, there is another phase of this subject that must not be\nforgotten. From the commencement of the offering of sacrifices the\ninferior creature had to suffer for the superior. Although it had\ntaken no part in the act of disobedience, yet was its blood shed and\nits life sacrificed, thus prefiguring the atonement of the Son of God,\nwhich should eventually take place. The creature indeed was made\nsubject to vanity not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath\nsubjected the same in hope. Millions of such offerings were made, and\nhecatombs of these expiatory sacrifices were offered in view of the\ngreat event that would be consummated when Jesus should offer up\nHimself. With man this was simply the obedience to a command and a\ngiven law, and with him might be considered simply a pecuniary\nsacrifice: with the animals it was a sacrifice of life. But what is\nthe reason for all this suffering and bloodshed, and sacrifice? We are\ntold that \"without shedding of blood is no remission\" of sins. This is\nbeyond our comprehension. Jesus had to take away sin by the sacrifice\nof Himself, the just for the unjust, but, previous to this grand\nsacrifice, these animals had to have their blood shed as types, until\nthe great antitype should offer up Himself once for all. And as He in\nHis own person bore the sins of all, and atoned for them by the\nsacrifice of Himself, so there came upon Him the weight and agony of\nages and generations, the indescribable agony consequent upon this\ngreat sacrificial atonement wherein He bore the sins of the world, and\nsuffered in His own person the consequences of an eternal law of God\nbroken by man. Hence His profound grief, His indescribable anguish,\nHis overpowering torture, all experienced in the submission to the\neternal fiat of Jehovah and the requirements of an inexorable law.\n\nThe suffering of the Son of God was not simply the suffering of\npersonal death; for in assuming the position that He did in making an\natonement for the sins of the world He bore the weight, the\nresponsibility, and the burden of the sins of all men, which, to us,\nis incomprehensible. As stated, \"the Lord, your Redeemer, suffered\ndeath in the flesh; wherefore he suffereth the pains of all men;\" and\nIsaiah says: \"Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our\nsorrows,\" also, \"The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,\"\nand again, \"He hath poured out his soul unto death, and he was\nnumbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sins of many;\" or, as\nit is written in the Second Book of Nephi: \"For behold, he suffereth\nthe pains of all men; yea, the pains of every living creature, both\nmen, women and children, who belong to the family of Adam;\" whilst in\nMosiah it is declared: \"He shall suffer temptations, and pain of body,\nhunger, thirst and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it\nbe unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great\nshall be his anguish for the wickedness and abominations of his\npeople.\"\n\nGroaning beneath this concentrated load, this intense,\nincomprehensible pressure, this terrible exaction of Divine justice,\nfrom which feeble humanity shrank, and through the agony thus\nexperienced sweating great drops of blood, He was led to exclaim,\n\"Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.\" He had\nwrestled with the superincumbent load in the wilderness, He had\nstruggled against the powers of darkness that had been let loose upon\nhim there; placed below all things, His mind surcharged with agony and\npain, lonely and apparently helpless and forsaken, in his agony the\nblood oozed from His pores. Thus rejected by His own, attacked by the\npowers of darkness, and seemingly forsaken by His God, on the cross He\nbowed beneath the accumulated load, and cried out in anguish, \"My God,\nmy God, why hast thou forsaken me!\" When death approached to relieve\nHim from His horrible position, a ray of hope appeared through the\nabyss of darkness with which He had been surrounded, and in a spasm of\nrelief, seeing the bright future beyond, He said, \"It is finished!\nFather, into thy hands I commend my spirit.\" As a God, He descended\nbelow all things, and made Himself subject to man in man's fallen\ncondition; as a man, He grappled with all the circumstances incident\nto His sufferings in the world. Anointed, indeed, with the \"oil of\ngladness\" above His fellows, He struggled with and overcame the powers\nof men and devils, of earth and hell combined; and aided by this\nsuperior power of the Godhead, He vanquished death, hell and the\ngrave, and arose triumphant as the Son of God, the very eternal\nFather, the Messiah, the Prince of peace, the Redeemer, the Savior of\nthe world; having finished and completed the work pertaining to the\natonement, which His Father had given Him to do as the Son of God and\nthe Son of man. As the Son of Man, He endured all that it was possible\nfor flesh and blood to endure; as the Son of God He triumphed over\nall, and forever ascended to the right hand of God, to further carry\nout the designs of Jehovah pertaining to the world and to the human\nfamily.\n\nAnd again, not only did His agony affect the mind and body of Jesus,\ncausing Him to sweat great drops of blood, but by reason of some\nprinciple, to us unfathomable, His suffering affected universal\nnature.\n\n    \"World upon world, eternal things,\n    Hang on thy anguish, King of kings.\"\n\nWhen he gave up the ghost, the solid rocks were riven, the foundations\nof the earth trembled, earthquakes shook the continents and rent the\nisles of the deep darkness overspread the sky, the mighty waters\noverflowed their accustomed bounds, huge mountains sank and valleys\nrose, the handiwork of feeble men was overthrown, their cities were\nengulphed or consumed by the vivid shafts of lightning, and all\nmaterial things were convulsed with the throes of seeming dissolution.\nThus was brought to pass that which was spoken by the prophet Zenos:\n\"The rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the\nearth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon\nby the Spirit of God to exclaim, The God of nature suffers.\" [1 Nephi,\nxix, 12.] And it is recorded, that so confessed the Centurion, and\nthey that were with him watching the body of Jesus. For when they\nwitnessed the earthquake, and the other things that were done, they\nfeared greatly, saying, \"Truly this was the Son of God.\" So also was\nfulfilled that which is written in the prophecy of Enoch:\n\n\"And the Lord said unto Enoch, Look; and he looked and beheld the Son\nof Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men; and he heard a\nloud voice; and the heavens were veiled; and all the creations of God\nmourned; and the earth groaned; and the rocks were rent; and the\nSaints arose, and were crowned at the right hand of the Son of Man,\nwith crowns of glory; and as many of the spirits as were in prison\ncame forth, and stood on the right hand of God; and the remainder were\nreserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great\nday.\"--Pearl of Great Price.\n\nThus, such was the torturing pressure of this intense, this\nindescribable agony, that it burst forth abroad beyond the confines of\nHis body, convulsed all nature and spread throughout all space.\n\nThe statement previously quoted, \"The Lord hath laid on him the\niniquity of us all,\" could only be in reference to the transgression\nof our first parent, who, acting as the progenitor and head of the\nhuman family, assumed a responsibility not only for himself, but for\nall of his seed; for the whole of the human family not having then\nbeen born, could not be responsible, personally, for acts that\ntranspired before they had an existence on the earth. But as children\ninherit blessings from their fathers, so it would also seem that they\nmust inherit curses, or share in their calamities. The Lord, in\nspeaking to the children of Israel, said He would visit \"the iniquity\nof the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation\nof them that hate\" him; and furthermore \"a bastard shall not enter\ninto the congregation of the Lord, even to his tenth generation.\" This\nostracism or punishment could be for no personal act of their own, for\nthey had no part in the sin of their parents; any more than Adam's\nprogeny had in the original sin or transgression. But it seems to be a\nprinciple admitted, that if they share the blessings accruing to their\nfather for righteous acts, they must also share the condemnation for\nacts that are unrighteous. Hence comes in the atonement of the\nMessiah, which amply covers all of these acts, and more than that, for\nas Paul says: \"But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For\nif through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of\nGod, and the gift by grace, winch is by one man, Jesus Christ; hath\nabounded unto many.\" Hence we say, as above, the atonement covered\nmore, apparently, than the transgression; for Adam, without the\ntransgression, would have had no increase. That transgression opened\nthe way for the increase, as stated by Eve, \"Were it not for our\ntransgression, we never should have had seed, and never should have\nknown good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal\nlife which God giveth unto all the obedient.\" That being the case, all\nchildren born among any people, not having arrived at the years of\naccountability, are saved through the atonement of Jesus Christ, as\nstated by Moroni:\n\n\"Little children cannot repent; wherefore it is awful wickedness to\ndeny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him\nbecause of his mercy. And he that saith, that little children need\nbaptism, denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the\natonement of him and the power of his redemption. Wo unto such, for\nthey are in danger of death, hell, and endless torment. I speak it\nboldly, God hath commanded me. Listen unto them and give heed, or they\nstand against you at the judgment seat of Christ. For behold, that all\nlittle children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are\nwithout the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all they that\nhave no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under\nno condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth\nnothing. But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ,\nand the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead\nworks.\"--Moroni, viii, 19-23.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\n  The Operations of the Priesthood in the Heavens and upon the Earth,\n  in Time and Eternity--The Heirs of the Celestial Kingdom--Those who\n  Die without Law--The Judges of the Earth--Priests and Kings--Christ\n  the King of Kings--Condition of Patriarch Joseph Smith, Apostle\n  David Patten and Others--Moses and Elias--The Visits of Angels and\n  their Testimonies--Peter, James and John--The Angel in the Book of\n  Revelation.\n\n\nThere is something peculiarly interesting in the contemplation of\nevents associated with the future destiny of mankind. Among other\nthings it will be seen that there is a very close connection or\naffinity between the operations of the Priesthood in the heavens and\nthe Priesthood upon earth. In examining this subject we find it\nwritten:\n\n\"The Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their\nsins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since\nthe world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have\nknown the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they\nthat have no part in the first resurrection.\"--Mosiah, xv, 26.\n\nBut on the other hand it is promised that those who would have\nreceived the Gospel if they had had the opportunity shall yet have\nthat privilege. The Prophet Joseph Smith records in his history: \"Thus\ncame the voice of the Lord unto me, saying, All those who have died\nwithout a knowledge of this Gospel, who would have received it if they\nhad been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom\nof God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it,\nwho would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of\nthat kingdom, for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their\nworks, according to the desire of their hearts.\"--Deseret News, Vol.\nII, No. 22.\n\nWith this agree the words of the Apostle Paul, that those who have\ndied without law shall be judged without law; whilst the Lord further\nreveals to the Prophet Joseph that \"that which is governed by law is\nalso preserved by law, and perfected and sanctified by the same. That\nwhich breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a\nlaw unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth\nin sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor\njudgment. Therefore they must remain filthy still.\"\n\nWith this teaching is associated a grand principle connected with the\neverlasting Priesthood, which administers in time and in eternity.\nWhen we reflect upon the statement of creatures being judged without\nlaw, the question arises as to who are to be their judges. We may here\nstate that Christ is called the judge of the quick and the dead, the\njudge of all the earth. We further read that the Twelve Apostles who\nministered in Jerusalem \"shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the\ntwelve tribes of Israel.\" (Matt., xix, 28.) Also the following:\n\n\"And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in\na firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine apostles, the\nTwelve who were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my\nright hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of fire, being clothed\nwith robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory\neven as I am, to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have\nloved me and kept my commandments, and none else.\"--Doc. and Cov.,\nSec. xxix, 12, p. 143.\n\nAnd Nephi writes in the Book of Mormon:\n\n\"And the angel spake unto me, saying, Behold the twelve disciples of\nthe Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed. And he said unto\nme, Thou rememberest the twelve apostles of the Lamb? Behold, they are\nthey who shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the\ntwelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are of\nthe house of Israel. And these twelve ministers, whom thou beholdest,\nshall judge thy seed. And, behold they are righteous for ever; for\nbecause of their faith in the Lamb of God, their garments are made\nwhite in his blood.\"--1 Nephi, xii, 8-10.\n\nThis exhibits a principle of adjudication or judgment in the hands,\nfirstly, of the Great High Priest and King, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son\nof God; secondly, in the hands of the Twelve Apostles on the continent\nof Asia, bestowed by Jesus Himself; thirdly, in the Twelve Disciples\non this continent, to their peoples, who it appears are under the\npresidency of the Twelve Apostles who ministered at Jerusalem; which\npresidency is also exhibited by Peter, James and John, the\nacknowledged presidency of the Twelve Apostles; they, holding this\nPriesthood first on the earth, and then in the heavens, being the\nlegitimate custodians of the keys of the Priesthood, came and bestowed\nit upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. It is also further stated\nthat the Saints shall judge the world. Thus Christ is at the head, His\nApostles and disciples seem to take the next prominent part; then\ncomes the action of the Saints, or other branches of the Priesthood,\nwho it is stated shall judge the world. This combined Priesthood, it\nwould appear, will hold the destiny of the human family in their hands\nand adjudicate in all matters pertaining to their affairs; and it\nwould seem to be quite reasonable, if the Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem\nare to be the judges of the Twelve Tribes, and the Twelve Disciples on\nthis continent are to be the judges of the descendants of Nephi, then\nthat the brother of Jared and Jared should be the judges of the\nJaredites, their descendants; and, further, that the First Presidency\nand Twelve who have officiated in our age, should operate in regard to\nmankind in this dispensation, and also in regard to all matters\nconnected with them, whether they relate to the past, present, or\nfuture, as the aforementioned have done in regard to their several\npeoples; and that the Patriarchs, the Presidents, the Twelve, the High\nPriests, the Seventies, the Elders, the Bishops, Priests, Teachers and\nDeacons should hold their several places behind the veil, and\nofficiate according to their calling and standing in that Priesthood.\nIn fact, the Priesthood is called an everlasting Priesthood; it\nministers in time and in eternity. Moses speaks of the Levitical\nPriesthood as an everlasting Priesthood. (Ex., xl, 15.) Paul refers to\nthe Melchizedek Priesthood as being \"without father, without mother,\nwithout descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.\"\n(Heb., vii, 3.) Whilst the Prophet Joseph Smith states that this\n\"Priesthood continueth in the Church of God in all generations, and is\nwithout beginning of days or end of years.\" (Doc. and Cov., Sec.\nlxxxiv, 17, p. 290.)\n\nThis being the case, it necessarily follows that those holding the\nPriesthood on the earth continue in the exercise of that Priesthood in\nthe heavens, their operations being changed from this to another state\nof existence; and when the dead, small and great, shall be judged,\nwhile God stands at the head, and Jesus is the great High Priest of\nour profession, all those who have ever lived who are worthy will\nstand in their proper positions, according to their callings,\nPriesthood, ordinations or quorums. It is written that they without us\ncan not be made perfect, and that we without them can not be made\nperfect. We have commenced to build temples, and to administer in them\naccording to the decrees, purposes and foreknowledge of God. When we\nhave got through with our personal affairs connected with our\nindividual families and interests, so far as we can legitimately trace\nthem, then it becomes a question as to the position of those that are\nbehind the veil of whom we have no personal knowledge. Does it not\nseem consistent that to the ancient as well as the modern Patriarchs,\nProphets, Presidents, Apostles, Seventies, High Priests, Elders,\nBishops and others would be committed the manipulation and judgment of\nthose who are behind the veil; and with whom we, at present, have\nnothing to do? And if temples are to be built here and ordinances\nperformed in them in the interest of those who have died without law,\nand in the adjudication of all these matters, that the Priesthood\nbehind the veil, to whom is committed the judgment of these things,\nshould communicate with the Priesthood upon the earth, that they may\nbe administered for by proxy in the temples erected by us, and those\nwho shall follow after us; that all things may be done according to\nequity, law, and justice, and that none but those worthy to receive\nthose great blessings and high exaltations can participate in the\nsame; being thus sanctioned by the Priesthood in heaven and the\nPriesthood upon the earth? Hence, while they are saviors, preach to\nthe spirits in prison and judge the dead, we build temples and\nadminister for them upon the earth, and thus become, as it is written,\n\"saviors upon Mount Zion;\" operating and cooperating with the\nPriesthood behind the veil, in the interest, happiness, salvation and\nexaltation of the human family. Thus shall we also become legitimately\nand by right, through the atonement and adoption, Kings and\nPriests--Priests to administer in the holy ordinances pertaining to\nthe endowments and exaltations; and Kings, under Christ, who is King\nof Kings and Lord of Lords, to rule and govern, according to the\neternal laws of justice and equity, those who are thus redeemed and\nexalted.\n\nIn corroboration of these ideas is the statement, in the Book of\nDoctrine and Covenants, that Father Joseph Smith, who was the first\nPatriarch to the Church in this dispensation, is now at the right hand\nof Abraham, who was also a presiding Patriarch. The passage reads:\n\n\"That I may receive him unto myself, even as I did * * * my aged\nservant, Joseph Smith, sen., who sitteth with Abraham at his right\nhand, and blessed and holy is he, for he is mine.\"--Doc. and Cov.,\ncxxiv, 19, p. 431.\n\nIt is also stated of David Patten, one of the Twelve Apostles, who was\nslain by the mobbers in Missouri, that \"David Patten I have taken unto\nmyself; behold, his Priesthood no man taketh from him; but, verily I\nsay unto you, another may be appointed unto the same calling.\"--Doc.\nand Cov., cxxiv, 130, p. 445.\n\nThe same is said of Seymour Brunson, one of the High Council, and of\nEdward Partridge, the first Bishop of the Church, both of whom were\ndead:\n\n\"Seymour Brunson I have taken unto myself, no man taketh his\nPriesthood, but another may be appointed unto the same Priesthood in\nhis stead.\"--Doc. and Cov., Sec. cxxiv, 132, p. 445. \"That when he\nshall finish his work, that I may receive him unto myself, even as I\ndid my servant David Patten, who is with me at this time, and also my\nservant Edward Partridge.\"--Doc. and Cov., Sec. cxxiv, 19, p. 431.\n\nWe read that Moses and Elias came to administer to Jesus, on the Mount,\nwhile Peter, James and John were with him. Who were this Moses and\nthis Elias? Moses was a great Prophet, appointed by the Lord to\ndeliver Israel from Egyptian bondage, and lead them to the promised\nland; and he held the keys of the gathering dispensation, which keys\nhe afterwards conferred upon Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple. Who\nwas Elias? Elijah; which name in the old Scriptures is made synonymous\nwith Elias; and who held, according to the testimony of Joseph Smith\nas elsewhere stated, the keys of the Priesthood. These men, who held\nthose keys and officiated upon the earth, having left the earth, now\ncome, associated with Jesus, to administer to Peter, James and John,\nand confer upon them the Priesthood which they hold; and these three\nancient Apostles conferred the Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver\nCowdery in this dispensation. This principle is very clearly\nillustrated in the following quotation from the Book of Doctrine and\nCovenants, Sec. cxxviii, 20, 21, p., 457:\n\n\"And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah! Moroni, an\nangel from heaven, declaring the fulfilment of the prophets--the book\nto be revealed. A voice of the Lord in the wilderness of Fayette,\nSeneca County, declaring the three witnesses to bear record of the\nbook. The voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting\nthe devil when he appeared as an angel of light. The voice of Peter,\nJames and John in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county,\nand Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna river, declaring\nthemselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the\ndispensation of the fulness of times.\n\n\"And again, the voice of God in the chamber of old Father Whitmer, in\nFayette, Seneca County, and at sundry times and in divers places\nthrough all the travels and tribulations of this Church of Jesus\nChrist of Latter-day Saints. And the voice of Michael, the archangel;\nthe voice of Gabriel, and of Raphael, and of divers angels, from\nMichael or Adam, down to the present time, all declaring their\ndispensation, their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty\nand glory, and the power of their Priesthood; giving line upon line,\nprecept upon precept; here a little and there a little--giving us\nconsolation by holding forth that which is to come, confirming our\nhope.\"\n\nHence their Priesthood was everlasting, it administered in time and in\neternity. In consonance with the same idea is a remark made by a\nmighty angel, to be found in the Revelation received by St. John on\nthe Isle of Patmos. After this angel had communicated to John many\ngreat and important events yet to transpire, the Apostle was so\noverawed by his presence that he fell at his feet to worship him;\nwhereas the angel said, \"See that thou do it not; I am thy fellow\nservant, and of thy brethren that have kept the testimony of Jesus:\nworship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.\"\n(Rev., xix, 10.) In other words, he had held the holy Priesthood on\nthe earth and had officiated therein; he had been subjected to all the\nobloquy, contumely and reproach which the Prophets of God generally\nsuffered. But now the scene was changed; he was officiating in another\nsphere, and was revealing unto the Apostle John, who had a peculiar\nmission on the earth, some of the great and important truths or events\nthat should be developed in the accomplishment of the purposes of God.\nAll of these men, having held the everlasting Priesthood on earth,\nstill retain the power and authority conferred upon them, and stand\nforth as prominent examples of the perpetuity of the everlasting\nPriesthood, administering on the earth or in the heavens, as the\npurposes of God and the fulfilment of their duties render necessary,\nor the circumstances require.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\n  The Laws of God Unchangeable, Universal and Eternal--Examples and\n  Definitions--Evolutionists--Kingdoms and Light--Christ the Creator,\n  etc.--Deviations from General Laws--Every Kingdom has a Law Given.\n\n\nThere is an inexorable law of God that requires from His professed\nfollowers the principles of virtue, honor, truth, integrity,\nrighteousness, justice, judgment and mercy, as exhibited in the\nfollowing Scriptures:\n\n\"Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and\ntruth shall go before thy face.\"--Psalm lxxxix, 14.\n\n\"Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy\nGod, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy\nfellows.\"--Psalm xlv, 7.\n\n\"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy\nhill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and\nspeaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his\ntongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach\nagainst his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he\nhonoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt,\nand changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor\ntaketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall\nnever be moved.\"--Psalm xv, 1-5.\n\n\"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his\nholy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not\nlifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall\nreceive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of\nhis salvation.\"--Psalm xxiv, 3-5.\n\n\"Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall\ndwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and\nspeaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that\nshaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from\nhearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil. He shall\ndwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks:\nbread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.\"--Isaiah, xxxiii,\n14-16.\n\nThere are eternal, unchangeable laws associated with God, and with all\nHis plans, His works and ways, the requirements of which must be met;\nnor can they be evaded or changed, except on certain principles\nprovided for and contained in the laws themselves. When man had\ntransgressed, an atonement had to be made commensurate with the act,\nand fully adequate to meet the inexorable demands of justice; so that,\nas stated, justice might be satisfied, which, if it had not been, the\nlaw pertaining to this matter could not have been carried out, and\nmust necessarily have been violated.\n\nAll the works of God connected with the world which we inhabit, and\nwith all other worlds, are strictly governed by law. So accurate are\nthe movements of the heavenly bodies that even with our limited\nknowledge we can compute, after the departure of most of these bodies,\nthe time of their return to a minute. The sun rises and sets with\ngreat regularity, and we can tell to a moment, by calculating the\nrevolution of the earth, at what time it will make its appearance in\nthe morning and disappear in the evening; the same rule applies to the\nmoon, the whole of the solar system, and to all bodies that can be\nreached by our instruments. There is perfect regularity, exactitude\nand order associated with all worlds; a departure from which would\nproduce incalculable evil and irretrievable destruction and ruin. With\nregard to the matter of which the earth is composed, it is also\ngoverned by strict, unchangeable laws; matter possessing the same\nproperties under the same conditions, in all parts of the world. The\nvarious grasses, herbs, plants, shrubs, flowers, minerals, metals,\nwaters, fluids or gases, when under the same conditions, are subject\nto or governed by unchangeable laws; and by those laws chemists or\nscientists are enabled to apply tests to demonstrate the properties of\nthe various elements in nature, which they find are always immutable,\nand the same degree of accuracy applies to the laws and various\nformations of crystallization, under the same circumstances. The\nanimal and vegetable creations are governed by certain laws, and are\ncomposed of certain elements peculiar to themselves. This applies to\nman, to the beasts, fowls, fish and creeping things, to the insects\nand to all animated nature; each one possessing its own distinctive\nfeatures, each requiring a specific sustenance, each having an\norganism and faculties governed by prescribed laws to perpetuate its\nown kind. So accurate is the formation of the various living creatures\nthat an intelligent student of nature can tell by any particular bone\nof the skeleton of an animal to what class or order it belongs.\n\nThese principles do not change, as represented by evolutionists of the\nDarwinian school, but the primitive organisms of all living beings\nexist in the same form as when they first received their impress from\ntheir Maker. There are, indeed, some very slight exceptions, as for\ninstance, the ass may mix with the mare and produce the mule; but\nthere it ends, the violation of the laws of procreation receives a\ncheck, and its operations can go no further. Similar compounds may\npossibly be made by experimentalists in the vegetable and mineral\nkingdoms, but the original elements remain the same. Yet this is not\nthe normal, but an abnormal condition with them, as with animals,\nbirds, etc.; and if we take man, he is said to have been made in the\nimage of God, for the simple reason that he is a son of God; and being\nHis son, he is, of course, His offspring, an emanation from God, in\nwhose likeness, we are told, he is made. He did not originate from a\nchaotic mass of matter, moving or inert, but came forth possessing, in\nan embryotic state, all the faculties and powers of a God. And when he\nshall be perfected, and have progressed to maturity, he will be like\nhis Father--a God; being indeed His offspring. As the horse, the ox,\nthe sheep, and every living creature, including man, propagates its\nown species and perpetuates its own kind, so does God perpetuate His.\n\nThere are different organisms possessing different qualities, from\nwhich the same results are uniformly obtained. The body of a sheep\nproduces wool, that of a goat produces hair, the flesh of certain\nkinds of fish produces scales, the flesh of birds produces feathers,\nand by the coverings of the various kinds of animals, birds and\nfishes, may their originals be known. It is true that some of these\ncoverings may be slightly changed by a removal of the creature from\nthe arctic to the torrid zone, or vice versa; wool may assume a nearer\napproach to hair in length and texture, or hair may become more\nwoolly, but these modifications are slight, and this covering of the\nanimal is predisposed to return to its original qualities when the\ncreature is replaced in his natural habitat. Paul, in speaking on the\nresurrection, refers to the different qualities of flesh as follows:\n\n\"But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed\nhis own body. All flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one kind\nof flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and\nanother of birds.\"--1 Cor., xv, 38, 39.\n\nThese different qualities seem to be inherent in the several species,\nas much so as the properties of silver, gold, copper, iron and other\nminerals are inherent in the matter in which they are contained,\nwhilst herbs, according to their kind, possess their specific\nproperties, or as the leading properties of earth, air, and water, are\ndistinct from one another; and hence, on physiological grounds, this\nprinciple being admitted, and it cannot be controverted, it would be\nimpossible to take the tissues of the lower, or, indeed, of any order\nof fishes, and make of them an ox, a bird, or a man; as impossible as\nit would be to take iron and make it into gold, silver, or copper, or\nto produce other changes in the laws which govern any kind of matter.\nAnd when the resurrection and exaltation of man shall be consummated,\nalthough more pure, refined and glorious, yet will he still be in the\nsame image, and have the same likeness, without variation or change in\nany of his parts or faculties, except the substitution of spirit for\nblood.\n\nThis principle of exactitude in all the works of God represents the\nprinciples that dwell in God Himself. He is called in Scripture the I\nAM, in other words, I AM THAT I AM, because of those inherent\nprinciples, which are also eternal and unchangeable; for where those\nprinciples exist, He exists; and when speaking of the worlds by which\nwe are surrounded, it is said, \"Behold, all these are kingdoms, and\nany man who hath seen any, or the least of these, hath seen God moving\nin his majesty and power.\"--Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxxviii, 47, p. 310.\n\nAnd again it is written:\n\n\"He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all\nthings are round about him: and he is above all things, and in all\nthings, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and\nall things are by him, and of him, even God, for ever and ever. And\nagain, verily I say unto you, he hath given a law unto all things, by\nwhich they move in their times and their seasons.\"--Ibid., 41, 42, p.\n309.\n\nAnd again, in the same revelation, we read:\n\n\"As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power\nthereof by which it was made. As also he is in the moon, and is the\nlight of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made. As also\nthe light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made.\nAnd the earth also, and the power thereof; even the earth upon which\nyou stand. And the light which now shineth, which giveth you light, is\nthrough him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light, that\nquickeneth your understandings; which light proceedeth forth from the\npresence of God to fill the immensity of space. The light which is in\nall things; which giveth life to all things: which is the law by which\nall things are governed: even the power of God who sitteth upon his\nthrone, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all\nthings.\"--Ibid., 7-13, p. 306.\n\nThe world was made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that\nwas made, and, therefore, having made all things He has given to all\nthings a law; and hence those laws which we have briefly alluded to,\nare the productions of His comprehensive, intelligent, and infinite\nmind: He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the\nFountain of all life, of all light, of all truth, of all intelligence,\nof all existence. He is also the sustainer of all life and all light\nin all created beings; in Him all animal life of every form has its\nbeing.\n\nThere are some apparent deviations from general laws. But these\napparent deviations are merely appendages to the great general law, in\norder that creation may be perfect in all its parts. For instance,\nthere is a general law of what is termed gravitation which causes\nbodies to fall to the earth from a given height, with the same\nvelocity according to their specific gravity. But there are other\nlocal laws which disturb the normal conditions, so far as they extend,\nof what may be termed the general law. As, for example, the magnet, in\nits limited sphere, is more powerful than the general law of gravity,\nit attracting certain matter to itself in opposition to the general\nlaw, while the magnet itself is subject to the general law. There is\nalso another principle, called capillary attraction, which causes\nwater and other fluids to ascend in the earth, in tubes, etc. Take\naway these local agencies and everything resumes its normal condition.\nA bird, through the use of its wings, possesses the power of\nlocomotion through the air; let that bird, however, lose its mechanism\nand power by being maimed or killed, and it is governed by the same\nlaw of gravitation and drops to the earth. Balloons will ascend and\ncarry a specified weight with them to great altitudes, but this is\nowing to a modification of one part of the law of gravitation; which\ncauses denser bodies to cling with greater tenacity to the earth, and\nthe gas that enters the balloons is more rarified than the atmosphere\nimmediately contiguous to the earth; which dense atmosphere forces the\nlighter gases to their proper place, causing them to bound upwards;\nthis being done and the equilibrium obtained, if the gas is permitted\nto escape, the materials of which the balloon is composed, together\nwith its occupants, are precipitated, according to the general laws of\ngravitation, to the earth.\n\nGod is unchangeable, so are also his laws, in all their forms, and in\nall their applications, and being Himself the essence of law, the\ngiver of law, the sustainer of law, all of those laws are eternal in\nall their operations, in all bodies and matter, and throughout all\nspace. It would be impossible for Him to violate law, because in so\ndoing He would strike at His own dignity, power, principles, glory,\nexaltation and existence.\n\nThe book of Doctrine and Covenants states:\n\n\"And again, verily I say unto you, that which is governed by law is\nalso preserved by law, and perfected and sanctified by the same. That\nwhich breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a\nlaw unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth\nin sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor\njudgment. Therefore they must remain filthy still. All kingdoms have a\nlaw given: and there are many kingdoms; for there is no space in the\nwhich there is no kingdom; and there is no kingdom in which there is\nno space, either a greater or a lesser kingdom. And unto every kingdom\nis given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and\nconditions. All beings who abide not in those conditions are not\njustified; for intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom\nreceiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light\ncleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy, and claimeth her\nown; justice continueth its course, and claimeth its own; judgment\ngoeth before the face of him who sitteth upon the throne, and\ngoverneth and executeth all things.\"--Sec. lxxxviii, 34-40, p.p. 308,\n309.\n\nHence, the law of atonement had to be met as well as all other laws,\nfor God could not be God without fulfilling it.\n\nJesus said, \"If it be possible, let this cup pass.\" But it was not\npossible; for to have done so would have been a violation of the law,\nand he had to take it. The atonement must be made, a God must be\nsacrificed. No power can resist a law of God. It is omnipresent,\nomnipotent, exists everywhere, in all things, through all things and\nround about all things. We read:\n\n\"O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For\nhe delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death,\nand hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless\ntorment. O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all\nthings, and there is not any thing, save he knows it. And he cometh\ninto the world that he may save all men, if they will hearken unto his\nvoice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men; yea, the pains\nof every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to\nthe family of Adam. And he suffereth this, that the resurrection might\npass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and\njudgment day. And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be\nbaptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel,\nor they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. And if they will not\nrepent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and\nendure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One\nof Israel, has spoken it; Wherefore he has given a law; and where\nthere is no law given, there is no punishment; and where there is no\npunishment, there is no condemnation; and where there is no\ncondemnation, the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon\nthem, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of\nhim; for the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all\nthose who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from\nthat awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of\nfire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to\nthat God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel. But wo\nunto him that has the law given; yea, that has all the commandments of\nGod like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the\ndays of his probation, for awful is his state.\"--2 Nephi, ix, 19-27.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\n  The Results of the Atonement--The Debt Paid--Justice and Mercy--\n  Extracts from the Teachings of Alma and Others.\n\n\nFrom the facts in the case and the testimony presented in the\nScriptures it becomes evident that through the great atonement, the\nexpiatory sacrifice of the Son of God, it is made possible that man\ncan be redeemed, restored, resurrected and exalted to the elevated\nposition designed for him in the creation as a Son of God: that\neternal justice and law required the penalty to be paid by man\nhimself, or by the atonement of the Son of God: that Jesus offered\nHimself as the great expiatory sacrifice; that this offering being in\naccordance with the demands or requirements of the law, was accepted\nby the great Lawgiver; that it was prefigured by sacrifices, and\nultimately fulfilled by Himself according to the eternal covenant. \"He\nwas wounded (as prophesied of) for our transgressions, he was bruised\nfor our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and\nwith his stripes we are healed.\"\n\nThe Savior thus becomes master of the situation--the debt is paid, the\nredemption made, the covenant fulfilled, justice satisfied, the will\nof God done, and all power is now given into the hands of the Son of\nGod--the power of the resurrection, the power of the redemption, the\npower of salvation, the power to enact laws for the carrying out and\naccomplishment of this design. Hence life and immortality are brought\nto light, the Gospel is introduced, and He becomes the author of\neternal life and exaltation. He is the Redeemer, the Resurrector, the\nSavior of man and the world; and He has appointed the law of the\nGospel as the medium which must be complied with in this world or the\nnext, as He complied with His Father's law; hence \"he that believeth\nshall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.\"\n\nThe plan, the arrangement, the agreement, the covenant was made,\nentered into and accepted before the foundation of the world; it was\nprefigured by sacrifices, and was carried out and consummated on the\ncross.\n\nHence being the mediator between God and man, He becomes by right the\ndictator and director on earth and in heaven for the living and for\nthe dead, for the past, the present and the future, pertaining to man\nas associated with this earth or the heavens, in time or eternity, the\nCaptain of our salvation, the Apostle and High-Priest of our\nprofession, the Lord and Giver of life.\n\nIs justice dishonored? No; it is satisfied, the debt is paid. Is\nrighteousness departed from? No; this is a righteous act. All\nrequirements are met. Is judgment violated? No; its demands are\nfulfilled. Is mercy triumphant? No; she simply claims her own.\nJustice, judgment, mercy and truth all harmonize as the attributes of\nDeity. \"Justice and truth have met together, righteousness and peace\nhave kissed each other.\" Justice and judgment triumph as well as mercy\nand peace; all the attributes of Deity harmonize in this great, grand,\nmomentous, just, equitable, merciful and meritorious act.\n\nThe Book of Mormon is very explicit on these principles. We read\ntherein:\n\n\"And behold, I say unto you, this is not all: For O how beautiful upon\nthe mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is\nthe founder of peace: yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people:\nyea, him who has granted salvation unto his people: For were it not\nfor the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was\nprepared from the foundation of the world; I say unto you, were it not\nfor this, all mankind must have perished. But behold, the bands of\ndeath shall be broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath power over the\ndead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead. And\nthere cometh a resurrection, even a first resurrection; yea even a\nresurrection of those that have been, and who are, and who shall be,\neven until the resurrection of Christ: for so shall he be called. And\nnow, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all those that have\nbelieved in their words, or all those that have kept the commandments\nof God, shall come forth in the first resurrection; therefore, they\nare the first resurrection. They are raised to dwell with God who has\nredeemed them: thus they have eternal life through Christ, who has\nbroken the bands of death. And these are those who have part in the\nfirst resurrection; and these are they that have died before Christ\ncame, in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto them. And\nthus the Lord bringeth about the restoration of these; and they have a\npart in the first resurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed\nby the Lord. And little children also have eternal life. But behold,\nand fear, and tremble before God; for ye ought to tremble: for the\nLord redeemeth none such that rebel against him, and die in their\nsins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since\nthe world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have\nknown the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they\nthat have no part in the first resurrection. Therefore had ye not\nought to tremble? For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath\nredeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he\ncannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its\nclaim.\"--Mosiah, xv, 18-27.\n\nThe next is a portion of a sermon of the Prophet Amulek, the companion\nof Alma, to the Zoramites:\n\n\"My brother has called upon the words of Zenos, that redemption cometh\nthrough the Son of God, and also upon the words of Zenoch; and also he\nhas appealed unto Moses, to prove that these things are true. And now\nbehold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true.\nBehold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among\nthe children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his\npeople, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the\nLord God hath spoken it; for it is expedient that an atonement should\nbe made; for according to the great plan of the eternal God, there\nmust be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably\nperish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and\nmust perish, except it be through the atonement which it is expedient\nshould be made; for it is expedient that there should be a great and\nlast sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither\nof any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it\nmust be an infinite and eternal sacrifice. Now there is not any man\nthat can sacrifice his own blood, which will atone for the sins of\nanother. Now if a man murdereth, behold will our law, which is just,\ntake the life of his brother? I say unto you nay. But the law\nrequireth the life of him who hath murdered; therefore there can be\nnothing which is short of an infinite atonement, which will suffice\nfor the sins of the world; therefore it is expedient that there should\nbe a great and last sacrifice; and then shall there be, or it is\nexpedient there should be a stop to the shedding of blood; then shall\nthe law of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled; every\njot and tittle; and none shall have passed away. And behold, this is\nthe whole meaning of the law: every whit pointing to that great and\nlast sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of\nGod: yea, infinite and eternal; and thus he shall bring salvation to\nall those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this\nlast sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth\njustice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith\nunto repentance. And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice,\nand encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no\nfaith unto repentance, is exposed to the whole law of the demands of\njustice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance, is\nbrought about the great and eternal plan of redemption. Therefore may\nGod grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your\nfaith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that\nhe would have mercy upon you.\"--Alma, xxxiv, 7-17.\n\nAnd again, to quote from the commandments of Alma to his son\nCorianton:\n\n\"And now, my son, I perceive there is somewhat more which doth worry\nyour mind, which ye cannot understand, which is concerning the justice\nof God, in the punishment of the sinner; for ye do try to suppose that\nit is injustice that the sinner should be consigned to a state of\nmisery. Now, behold, my son, I will explain this thing unto thee: for\nbehold, after the Lord God sent our first parents forth from the\nGarden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence they were taken; yea,\nhe drew out the man, and he placed at the east end of the Garden of\nEden, Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep\nthe tree of life. Now we see that the man had become as God, knowing\ngood and evil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of\nthe tree of life, and eat and live for ever, the Lord God placed\nCherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the\nfruit; and thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to\nrepent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God. For\nbehold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and partook of the\ntree of life, he would have lived for ever, according to the word of\nGod, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the word of God\nwould have been void, and the great plan of salvation would have been\nfrustrated. But behold, it was appointed unto man to die; therefore as\nthey were cut off from the tree of life they should be cut off from\nthe face of the earth, and man become lost for ever; yea, they became\nfallen man. And now we see by this, that our parents were cut off,\nboth temporally and spiritually, from the presence of the Lord; and\nthus we see they became subjects to follow after their own will. Now\nbehold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this\ntemporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness;\ntherefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon\nall mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal; that is, they\nwere cut off from the presence of the Lord; it was expedient that\nmankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death; therefore, as\nthey had become carnal, sensual, and devilish by nature, this\nprobationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a\npreparatory state. And now remember, my son, if it were not for the\nplan of redemption, (laying it aside,) as soon as they were dead,\ntheir souls were miserable, being cut off from the presence of the\nLord. And now there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state\nwhich man had brought upon himself, because of his own disobedience;\ntherefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be\nbrought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this\nprobationary state; yea, this preparatory state; for except it were\nfor these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should\ndestroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be\ndestroyed; if so, God would cease to be God. And thus we see that all\nmankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the\njustice of God, which consigned them for ever to be cut off from his\npresence. And now the plan of mercy could not be brought about, except\nan atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the\nsins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the\ndemands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a\nmerciful God also. Now repentance could not come unto men, except\nthere were a punishment, which also was eternal as the life of the\nsoul should be, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was\nas eternal also as the life of the soul. Now, how could a man repent,\nexcept he should sin? How could he sin, if there was no law? How could\nthere be a law, save there was a punishment? Now there was a\npunishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of\nconscience unto man. Now if there was no law given if a man murdered\nhe should die, would he be afraid he would die if he should murder?\nAnd also, if there was no law given against sin, men would not be\nafraid to sin. And if there was no law given if men sinned, what could\njustice do, or mercy either; for they would have no claim upon the\ncreature? But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a\nrepentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise,\njustice claimeth the creature, and executeth the law, and the law\ninflicteth the punishment: if not so, the works of justice would be\ndestroyed, and God would cease to be God. But God ceaseth not to be\nGod, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the\natonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the\ndead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the\npresence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be\njudged according to their works; according to the law and justice; for\nbehold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth\nall which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.\nWhat! do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, nay;\nnot one whit. If so, God would cease to be God. And thus God bringeth\nabout his great and eternal purposes, which were prepared from the\nfoundation of the world. And thus cometh about the salvation and the\nredemption of men, and also their destruction and misery.\"--Alma,\nxlii, 1-26.\n\nIn the first place, according to justice men could not have been\nredeemed from temporal death, except through the atonement of Jesus\nChrist; and in the second place, they could not be redeemed from\nspiritual death, only through obedience to His law.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\n  The Resurrection--The Universality of the Atonement--The Promises to\n  those who Overcome--The Gospel--Its First Principles--Faith,\n  Repentance, Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost--Its Antiquity--\n  It is Preached in Various Dispensations, from Adam until the\n  Present--The Final Triumph of the Saints.\n\n\nThe great pre-requisites having been fulfilled, it now becomes our\nduty to enquire what next had to be done to consummate the great\nobject obtainable through the fulfilment of this law, or what was\naccomplished by the atonement.\n\nFirst, the Resurrection. The penalty of the broken law in Adam's day\nwas death; and death is passed upon all. The word of the Lord was, \"In\nthe day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.\" The atonement\nmade by Jesus Christ brought about the resurrection from the dead, and\nrestored life. And hence Jesus said: \"I am the Resurrection and the\nLife; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he\nlive;\" and Jesus Himself became the first fruits of those who slept.\n\nThe next question that arises is, how far does this principle extend\nand to whom is it applicable? It extends to all the human family; to\nall men of every nation: as it is written:\n\n\"For, if by one man's offence death reigneth by one; much more they\nwhich receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness,\nshall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence\nof one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the\nrighteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto\njustification of life.\"--Romans, v, 17, 18.\n\nThis will not all take place at once. \"But every man in his own order:\nChrist, the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his\ncoming.\"--1 Cor., xv, 23. \"But the rest of the dead lived not again\nuntil the thousand years were finished.\"--Rev., xx, 5.\n\nHence what was lost in Adam was restored in Jesus Christ, so far as\nall men are concerned in all ages, with some very slight exceptions\narising from an abuse of privileges. Transgression of the law brought\ndeath upon all the posterity of Adam, the restoration through the\natonement restored all the human family to life. \"For since by man\ncame death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in\nAdam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.\" So that\nwhatever was lost by Adam, was restored by Jesus Christ.\n\nThe penalty of the transgression of the law was the death of the body.\nThe atonement made by Jesus Christ resulted in the resurrection of the\nhuman body. Its scope embraced all peoples, nations and tongues.\n\n    \"For all my Lord was crucified,\n    For all, for all my Savior died.\"\n\nThis is one part of the restoration. This is the restoration of the\nbody. The next question for us to examine is, How, and in what manner\nare men benefitted by the atonement and by the resurrection? In this,\nthat the atonement having restored man to his former position before\nthe Lord, it has placed him in a position and made it possible for him\nto obtain that exaltation and glory which it would have been\nimpossible for him to have received without it; even to become a son\nof God by adoption; and being a son then an heir of God, and a joint\nheir with Jesus Christ; and that, as Christ overcame, He has made it\npossible, and has placed it within the power of believers in Him, also\nto overcome; and as He is authorized to inherit His Father's glory\nwhich He had with Him before the world was, with His resurrected body,\nso through the adoption, may we overcome and sit down with Him upon\nHis throne, as He has overcome and has sat down upon His Father's\nthrone. And as he has said, \"I and the Father are one,\" so are the\nobedient saints one with Him, as He is one with the Father, even as He\nprayed:\n\n\"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,\nthat they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou\nhast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them;\nthat they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me,\nthat they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that\nthou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.\"--John,\nxvii, 21-23.\n\nBeing the sons of God through the atonement and adoption, and through\nfaith in Jesus Christ, they rise to the dignity and glory of the\nGodhead, even to be Gods; as it is promised:\n\n\"Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the temple of my God,\nand he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my\nGod, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which\ncometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my\nnew name.\"--Rev., iii, 12.\n\nAgain, \"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my\nthrone, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his\nthrone.\"--Rev., iii, 21.\n\nYet again, \"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be\nhis God, and he shall be my son.\"--Rev., xxi, 7.\n\nHence, through His atonement, believers in Christ, and those who obey\nHis law, partake of His glory and exaltation, and are inheritors of\nthe Godhead; whilst those who do not obey His law although resurrected\ncannot inherit this exaltation; they are raised from the dead, but\ncannot inherit a celestial glory without being obedient to a celestial\nlaw, and thus we come again to a scripture quoted before. Jesus said,\n\"Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to\nrise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of\nsins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at\nJerusalem.\"\n\nHaving noticed the great blessings, privileges, powers and exaltations\nthat are placed within the reach of man, through the atonement of\nJesus Christ, it next becomes our duty to enquire what is required of\nman to place him in possession of them.\n\nThat the world might be benefitted through the redemption brought\nabout by Jesus Christ, He called and ordained twelve Apostles, and\ncommanded them to go forth into all the world, and preach the Gospel\nto every creature, saying, \"He that believeth and is baptized shall be\nsaved; but he that believeth not shall be damned,\" or condemned. Thus\nplacing it within the reach of every man to obtain the glory and\nexaltation referred to above, and leaving all men without excuse who\nwould not obey the law and be subject to the conditions imposed. The\npenalty of Adam's sin having been removed through the atonement, it\nnow became the privilege of all men, in all nations, to partake of the\nsalvation provided by the great Mediator.\n\nAnd this provision applies not only to the living, but also to the\ndead, so that all men who have existed in all ages, who do exist now,\nor who will exist while the earth shall stand, may be placed upon the\nsame footing, and that all men may have the privilege, living or dead,\nof accepting the conditions of the great plan of redemption provided\nby the Father, through the Son, before the world was; and that the\njustice and mercy of God may be applied to every being, living or\ndead, that ever has existed, that does now exist, or that ever will\nexist.\n\nThe conditions required of the human family to enable them to obtain\nthe high exaltation which the atonement makes it possible for them to\nreceive, are: First, Faith in God as our Father and the great Supreme\nRuler of the universe; in whose hands are the destinies of the human\nfamily; in whom we live and move and have our being. And in His Son\nJesus Christ, as the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the\nworld, as the great Mediator and great propitiatory sacrifice provided\nby the Father before the creation, and consummated by the offering of\nHimself upon the cross. For \"God so loved the world, that he gave his\nonly begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,\nbut have everlasting life.\" Or, to use the words of the Nephite King\nBenjamin:\n\n\"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things,\nboth in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all\npower, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not\ncomprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.\"\n\nOr as Paul writes; \"He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and\nthat he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.\"\n\nThe second principle of the Gospel of salvation, is repentance. It is\na sincere and godly sorrow for and a forsaking of sin, combined with\nfull purpose of heart to keep God's commandments. As is written by the\nProphet Isaiah: \"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous\nman his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have\nmercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.\" And to\nquote from the Book of Mormon:\n\n\"And again: Believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them,\nand humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that\nhe would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things, see\nthat ye do them.\"--Mosiah, iv, 10.\n\nThirdly, Baptism for the remission of sins, of our personal\ntransgressions, which, through this means, provided by divine mercy,\nare, by reason of the atonement, blotted out. To use the words of\nPaul: \"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that\nlike as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,\neven so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been\nplanted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the\nlikeness of his resurrection.\"\n\nNext, the reception of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands\nof those who have received the Holy Priesthood, and are duly\nauthorized, ordained, and empowered to impart this blessing: Thus\nPeter preached on the day of Pentecost:\n\n\"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ,\nfor the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy\nGhost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all\nthat are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall\ncall.\"--Acts, ii, 38, 39.\n\nThese are the introductory or first principles of the everlasting,\nunchangeable Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that is and\nhas been the same to all men, amongst all nations, in all ages,\nwhenever, or wherever it has been taught by the authority of heaven.\nHence we read: It was \"preached from the beginning, being declared by\nholy angels, sent from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and\nby the gift of the Holy Ghost. And thus all things were confirmed unto\nAdam, by an holy ordinance, and the Gospel preached, and a decree sent\nforth, that it should be in the world, until the end thereof.\"--Pearl\nof Great Price.\n\nAnd in that day \"the Lord God called upon men by the Holy Ghost\neverywhere, and commanded them that they should repent; and as many as\nbelieved in the Son, and repented of their sins, should be saved; and\nas many as believed not and repented not, should be damned; and the\nwords went forth out of the mouth of God in a firm decree; wherefore\nthey must be fulfilled.\"--Ibid.\n\nThis same Gospel was preached to Seth, and to all the antediluvian\nPatriarchs, and they ministered under its authority. By its power, as\nwe have already shown, Enoch and his people were translated. Of Noah\nit is written: \"And the Lord ordained Noah after his own order, and\ncommanded him that he should go forth and declare his gospel unto the\nchildren of men, even as it was given unto Enoch.\" And further, to\nquote from the testimony of Noah before the flood: \"And it came to\npass that Noah continued his preaching unto the people, saying,\nHearken, and give heed unto my words; believe and repent of your sins,\nand be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even as\nour fathers did, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, that ye may have\nall things made manifest; and if ye do not this, the floods will come\nin upon you.\"\n\nFrom this we learn that the principles of the Gospel in the first ages\nof the world were identical with those taught in our day.\n\nThe Gospel and the Holy Priesthood continued from Noah to Abraham.\n\"Abraham received the priesthood from Melchizedek, who received it\nthrough the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah.\" (Doc and Cov.,\nlxxxiv, 14, p. 289.) As Paul writes, \"And the Scripture, foreseeing\nthat God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the\nGospel unto Abraham, saying, \"In thee shall all nations be blessed;\"\nwhilst Jesus declared, \"Abraham saw my day and was glad.\" The\nknowledge and practice of the Gospel were perpetuated through Isaac,\nJacob, Joseph and other Patriarchs, until the age of Moses, who, it is\nsaid, esteemed \"the reproach of Christ greater riches than the\ntreasures in Egypt;\" and of the Israelites, of whom he was the great\nlawgiver, Paul writes:\n\n\"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant how that\nall our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;\nand were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did\nall eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual\ndrink: (For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and\nthat Rock was Christ.) But with many of them God was not pleased: for\nthey were overthrown in the wilderness.\"--1 Cor., x, 1-5.\n\nThe further history of the Gospel in its relation to the house of\nIsrael is briefly told in the following paragraphs from the Book of\nDoctrine and Covenants:\n\n\"Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the\nwilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they\nmight behold the face of God; but they hardened their hearts and could\nnot endure his presence, therefore the Lord in his wrath (for his\nanger was kindled against them) swore that they should not enter into\nhis rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his\nglory. Therefore he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy\nPriesthood also; and the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood\nholdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory\ngospel; which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and\nthe remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the\nLord in his wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the\nchildren of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with\nthe Holy Ghost from his mother's womb; for he was baptized while he\nwas yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the\ntime he was eight days old unto this power, to overthrow the kingdom\nof the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face\nof his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose\nhand is given all power.\"--Sec. lxxxiv, 23-28, p. 290, 291.\n\nIt was this same Gospel that the crucified Redeemer commanded His\ndisciples to preach, when \"he said unto them, Go ye into all the\nworld, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and\nis baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be\ndamned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name\nshall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they\nshall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall\nnot hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall\nrecover.\"--Mark, xvi, 15-18.\n\nAnd Mark testifies: \"They went forth, and preached every where, the\nLord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.\"\n\nHence we find on the day of Pentecost, Peter, the senior of the\nApostles, in answer to the cry of the believing multitude, \"Men and\nbrethren, what shall we do?\" replying in the words already quoted:\n\"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus\nChrist, for the remission of sins; and ye shall receive the gift of\nthe Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and your children, and to\nall that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.\"--\nActs, ii, 38, 39.\n\nAgain, it was this same everlasting, unalterable, unchangeable Gospel\nwhose restoration to the earth John, the Apostle, spoke of as follows:\n\n\"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the\neverlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to\nevery nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud\nvoice, Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is\ncome: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and\nthe fountains of waters.\"--Revelation, xiv, 6, 7.\n\nFrom the Bible, we turn to the Book of Mormon, and in its pages\ndiscover that the same Gospel which Jesus directed His disciples to go\ninto all the world and preach, was preached on this continent, from\nthe earliest ages. The Jaredites became acquainted with it through the\nrevelations given to the brother of Jared; in one of which Jesus said\nunto him:\n\n\"Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to\nredeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the\nSon. In me shall all mankind have light and that eternally, even they\nwho shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my\ndaughters.\"--Ether, iii, 14.\n\n\"And he ministered unto him, even as he ministered unto the\nNephites.\"--Ether, iii, 18.\n\nThe principles of this Gospel were very fully understood by the\nNephites before the advent of the Messiah. We quote from a sermon of\nthe younger Alma. He says:\n\n\"Now if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid\nfrom the foundation of the world, there could have been no\nresurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid,\nwhich shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has\nbeen spoken. And now behold, if it were possible that our first\nparents could have went forth and partaken of the tree of life, they\nwould have been for ever miserable, having no preparatory state; and\nthus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word\nof God would have been void, taking none effect. But behold, it was\nnot so; but it was appointed unto man that they must die; and after\ndeath they must come to judgment; even that same judgment of which we\nhave spoken, which is the end. And after God had appointed that these\nthings should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient\nthat man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed\nunto them; therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused\nmen to behold of his glory.\"--Alma, xii, 25-29.\n\nIt will be seen from this, in the first place, that, as we have before\nstated, God's plan in relation to man was that he should fall, and\nhaving fallen and obtained a knowledge of good and evil, (which\nknowledge he could not have obtained without placing himself in that\nposition,) then it became necessary that he should know concerning the\natonement and redemption which should be brought about through the\nmediation of Jesus Christ; and hence the angel communicated, as before\nrelated, this knowledge to Adam, and Alma's testimony on this\ncontinent is found to agree precisely with the testimony given in the\nPearl of Great Price, pertaining to the revelation of God's will\nthrough an angel to Adam. We again quote from the same discourse:\n\n\"And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore\nGod conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of\nredemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world;\nand this he made known unto them according to their faith and\nrepentance, and their holy works; wherefore he gave commandments unto\nmen, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to\nthings which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from\nevil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state\nto act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or\nto do good; therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having\nmade known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do\nevil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an\neverlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on\nsuch the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of\njustice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of\nGod. But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the\nplan of redemption which was laid,) saying, If ye will repent, and\nharden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine\nonly begotten Son; therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not\nhis heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine only begotten\nSon, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest.\nAnd whosoever will harden his heart, and will do iniquity, behold, I\nswear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.\"--Alma, xii,\n30-35.\n\nWhen Jesus Himself appeared to the Nephites, He preached the same\nidentical principles that He had previously taught to the Jews, adding\noccasionally further truths, because of the greater faith of the first\nnamed people; \"And he did expound all things, even from the beginning\neven until the time he should come in his glory.\" Amongst other things\nHe said: \"Whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth, and is\nbaptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there\nbe that testify of these things.\"--3 Nephi, xxiii, 5.\n\nAnd it is this same Gospel, attended by the same power and spirit,\nblessed by the same inspiration, and led by the same Priesthood, that\nis now being preached to all the world for a witness. Through its\nprinciples, and by its power the Kingdom of God will be established,\nrighteousness spread, evil overcome, and Satan be vanquished; by it\nZion and the New Jerusalem will be built up, Enoch and his city be\nreceived, the work of the Millennium be done, the renovation of the\nearth accomplished, and all God's glorious will be fulfilled, until\nthe vision becomes a reality which Daniel saw and wrote:\n\n\"Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and\ncame to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And\nthere was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all\npeople, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an\neverlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, that\nwhich shall not be destroyed. * * * And the kingdom and dominion, and\nthe greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to\nthe people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an\neverlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey\nhim.\"--Daniel, vii, 13, 14, 27.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\n  The Ideas of a General Atonement and Redemption, Entertained by\n  Ancient Heathen Nations, Derived Originally from the Teachings of\n  Earlier Servants of God.\n\n\nThe following are some natural deductions drawn from the theories\nentertained by men and recorded in history, which tend to establish\nrather than to overturn the principles which are so clearly\ndemonstrated in the foregoing pages, exhibiting and showing that the\natonement was a great plan of the Almighty for the salvation,\nredemption and exaltation of the human family; and that the pretenders\nin the various ages had drawn whatever of truth they possessed, from a\nknowledge of those principles taught by the Priesthood from the\nearliest periods of recorded time; instead of Christianity being\nindebted, as some late writers would allege, to the turbid systems of\nheathen mythology and to pagan ceremonials.\n\nWe believe in the foregoing pages it has been clearly demonstrated to\nall Latter-day Saints, that the prophecy and promise of the coming of\nthe Son of God was fully understood in every dispensation of God's\nprovidence from the earliest period of the world's history, down\nthrough the succeeding ages, everywhere and at all times when the\nChurch of God existed on the earth. Furthermore, that the doctrine of\nthe atonement, as understood by us, was understood in like manner by\nthe ancient servants of the Lord, and that it was the central\nprinciple of their faith, the foundation of their hope for eternal\nfelicity and salvation, and their only trust for the resurrection of\ntheir bodies and life everlasting in the presence of the Father. Again\nthat the ancient Patriarchs, Seers, Prophets, High Priests and others,\nwere almost as intimately acquainted with the earthly life and\nministry of the Savior, by and through the gift of prophecy and the\nspirit of revelation, as we are by the perusal of His history, given\nto us in the sacred Scriptures. These worthies of olden time knew\nwhere He would be born and the names that would be given to Him; that\nHis mother would be called Mary, and be a virgin of the tribe of Judah\nand house of David. Herod's massacre of the Innocents, and the flight\nof the holy family into Egypt, were not hidden from them. They spake\nof Christ's baptism by John in Jordan, and of the Divine approval that\nwould follow; they prophesied of His ministry, rejoiced in His\nwonderful works of power and deeds of charity and love; they\nunderstood that He should be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver;\nthey mourned at the vision of His sufferings and death, and rejoiced\nat his triumph and resurrection. Even the minor details of the\nsoldiers parting His raiment among them, His death between two\nmalefactors, and His burial in the rich man's tomb were revealed; and\nstill further, His descent into Hades, His preaching to the spirits in\nprison, His visits to the Nephites and His ultimate ascension to the\nFather, were all comprehended. They knew that He would triumph over\ndeath, hell and the grave, be crowned with glory at the right hand of\nthe Majesty on high, and that all power would be given to Him in\nheaven and on earth. These and many more details were understood,\nprophesied of, talked about and rejoiced in by the Priesthood and\nSaints from the days of Adam to the hour that they began to be\nfulfilled by His advent and incarnation.\n\nIt is needless for us to go backward to the days before the flood to\nlearn to what extent these truths were understood by the antediluvian\nraces; for all the accounts that we have of those peoples come down to\nus through the channel of the Holy Priesthood, and all the records,\nbooks, traditions, etc., of those early inhabitants of our globe were\nbrought to the children of the renovated earth through one family,\nthat of Noah; and that Patriarch, by right of universal fatherhood to\nthe new generations, ruled them as High Priest, Patriarch and King, as\none to whom the living God revealed His mind and will, through whom\nthe keys, rights and powers of the everlasting Priesthood were\ncontinued upon the earth, and with whom special covenants were made by\nthe Almighty and the bow set in the clouds as an everlasting token of\ntheir perpetuity and unchangeableness.\n\nIt will be perceived that in the first days after the flood there was\nbut one religion, and that was the worship of the true God under the\nministration and guidance of His duly authorized servants. Further,\nthat the belief of the first inhabitants of the postdiluvian age was\nnot only the true one, but it was accompanied by the power and\nauthority of the Holy Priesthood, which received revelations direct\nfrom the Almighty. Thus the young world, like the old, was opened with\na dispensation of God's mercy, and the posterity of Noah were not left\nto grope in the dark for light and truth, anymore than had been the\nimmediate descendants of our great original father. The effects of\nthus repeopling the earth under the direct and immediate guidance of\nJehovah, through His duly appointed servants, have been felt through\nall succeeding generations; for men, as they scattered over the earth,\ntook with them the seeds of Divine truth, and though, frequently, in\nafter ages, they disfigured it with false and base theories of their\nown, introduced all manner of corruptions into their forms of worship,\nestablished orders of uninspired and unauthorized priesthood, and\nreplaced the worship of the true God by idolatry, yet the fact of the\nexistence of God the universal Father was not entirely forgotten, nor\nwas the doctrine of the atonement ever utterly obliterated from the\nminds of men. So strong and so universal a hold had this principle in\nthe varied religions of antiquity, that its very strength has been\nused as an argument against the doctrine; and it has been vigorously\nasserted that the Gospel taught by the Savior was of pagan origin, and\nthat He was simply a reformer who took the most excellent wisdom of\npast ages and framed it into a code of morals and system of religious\nfaith to suit His own ideas and accomplish His own purposes, however\nnoble those purposes might have been.\n\nThe earliest departures from the straight and narrow path to the lives\nthat are eternal, appear to have been made in Chaldea and Egypt. In\nthe former land, Nimrod was one of the first leaders in apostacy and\nwickedness.[A] These evils so rapidly spread, that as early as the\ndays of Melchizedec and Abraham, the worship of false deities and\nidols seems to have become almost universal; and even those who did\nnot worship graven images, the starry hosts of heaven, or the forces\nof nature, had so far perverted the principles of the Gospel, that\nthey taught numerous soul destroying errors, totally inconsistent with\nthe plan devised by heaven. In Egypt the apostacy began, and an\nunauthorized priesthood was established as early as the days of the\ngrandson of Ham. The origin of this defection is explained in the Book\nof Abraham, as follows:\n\n[Footnote A: Josephus' Antiquities, Book I, Chap. 4.]\n\n\"Now the first government of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the\neldest son of Egyptus, the daughter of Ham, and it was after the\nmanner of the government of Ham, which was Patriarchal. Pharaoh being\na righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely\nand justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order\nestablished by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of\nthe first Patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of\nNoah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth, and\nwith the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the\nPriesthood.\n\n\"Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the\nright of Priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it\nfrom Noah, through Ham.\"\n\nAs the idolatries of Chaldea and Egypt gave marked tone and color to\nthe mythologies of the dominant races of antiquity on the eastern\nhemisphere, we shall not trace the growth and development of the\nreligions of Persia, Greece, Rome, etc., through their various\nbranches and ramifications. Such an effort would require a volume; but\nwe shall confine ourselves simply to a brief consideration of the\ndoctrine of the atonement, as understood by the ancient Gentile\nnations; referring only to such other theories and ideas as have\nnaturally a bearing on that doctrine.\n\nAs a starting point we believe we may state with assurance of its\ntruth that the expectation of the coming of a Son of God, a Messiah,\nin the flesh was universal with all the leading nations that\nflourished in the ages previous to the advent of the Redeemer. This is\ntrue of the people of Egypt, Babylon, Arabia, Persia, Hindostan,\nGreece and Rome; as also of the races that inhabited the American\ncontinent. And so strong in certain cases had this idea grown that by\ngradual stages it became changed into the belief that that expected\nSon of God had already come, and such a being was reverenced and\nworshiped under various names. In Greece and Rome this idea became so\nprevalent that nearly every very eminent man was thought to be a son\nof one of the gods; and evil designing men sometimes personated these\ndeities on purpose to seduce the virtuous of the other sex, whose\nchastity they could overcome in no other way than by falsely declaring\nthemselves to be the god for whom such women had particular reverence\nand esteem.[A] Whilst on the other hand young women who found\nthemselves mothers without husbands would cunningly declare that their\nchildren were the offspring of a god; or, to use the words of the\nhistorian Grote, when speaking of Greece, \"the furtive pregnancy of\nyoung women, often by a god, is one of the most frequently recurring\nincidents in the legendary narratives of the country.\" To such an\nextent did this excess run, that at a later period a decree was issued\nsubjecting to a very severe penalty any woman who should pretend that\nher child was of divine parentage. One writer states: \"Many are the\ncases noted in history of young maidens claiming a paternity for their\nmale offspring by a god. In Greece it became so common that the\nreigning king issued an edict, decreeing the death of all young women\nwho should offer such an insult to Deity as to lay to him the charge\nof begetting their children.\" Whilst on this point Mr. Draper writes:\n\"Immaculate conceptions and celestial descents were so currently\nreceived in those days, that whoever had greatly distinguished himself\nin the affairs of men was thought to be of supernatural lineage. Even\nin Rome, centuries later, no one could with safety have denied that\nthat city owed its founder, Romulus, to an accidental meeting of the\ngod Mars with the virgin Rhea Sylvia, as she went with her pitcher for\nwater to the spring. The Egyptian disciples of Plato would have looked\nwith anger on those who rejected the legend that Perictione, the\nmother of the great philosopher, a pure virgin, had suffered an\nimmaculate conception through the influences of Apollo, and that the\ngod had declared to Ariston, to whom she was betrothed, the parentage\nof the child. When Alexander issued his letters, orders and decrees,\nstyling himself 'King Alexander, the son of Jupiter Amnion,' they came\nto the inhabitants of Egypt and Syria with an authority that now can\nhardly be realized. The freethinking Greeks, however, put on such a\nsupernatural pedigree its proper value. Olympias [Alexander's mother],\nwho, of course, better than all others knew the facts of the case,\nused jestingly to say, that 'she wished Alexander would cease from\nincessantly embroiling her with Jupiter's wife.'\"--Draper's Conflict\nbetween Religion and Science.\n\n[Footnote A: See Josephus' Antiquities, Book xviii, Chapter iii.]\n\nReturning to Egypt where, as before stated, a priesthood, disowned of\nGod, had been set up, we are informed[A] that those who were initiated\ninto the inner mysteries of its mythology, were taught that God\ncreated all things at the first, by His first born, who was the author\nand giver of all knowledge in heaven and on earth, being at the same\ntime the wisdom and the word of God. The incarnation and earthly life\nof this important being constituted the grand mystery of their entire\nreligious system. So great was their faith in the advent of this Holy\nOne, that they had chambers prepared in their temples for His\nnativity.\n\n[Footnote A: See Osborn's \"Religions of the World.\"]\n\nThe priesthood of the Egyptians, though entirely without Divine\nauthority, taught many great truths which they had received from Noah,\nthrough Ham and Pharaoh, and it took generations before these Gospel\ntruths were so entirely overlaid and corrupted by falsehood and pagan\ninnovations, that they became undiscernable to all but the initiated.\nIt is an important fact, holding good of other ancient civilizations\nas well as that of Egypt, that the farther we trace back their\nreligious beliefs and mythologies, the purer does the creed become,\nthe nearer it approaches to heavenly truth, and the stronger and more\nevident are the traces of Gospel teachings. This fact alone is\nsufficient to prove that paganism had its origin in the revelations of\nheaven, from which, in its various diverse branches, it had turned and\nstrayed, and by gradual growth, had become the vile, inconsistent,\ndegrading and loathsome system which is abhorred by all pure minded,\nhonorable and intelligent people. Had the various forms of ancient\ndominant pagan worship been radically and entirely different, with\nonly those features in common that could reasonably be attributed to\naccident or the inter-communication of races, the inference would be\nstrong that they had different origins; but when, as is the case,\nthere is a strong family likeness, and that likeness grows stronger\nthe further it is traced back, and continually points to a common\nparentage, and that parentage is the truth as taught by the early\npatriarchs and inspired servants of heaven, our conclusions must\nnecessarily be that these correct and God-given teachings were the\nsource from whence the whole sprang, and the differences in\ndevelopment arose from the varied incidents in the history, and the\npeculiar surroundings of the various races that gave a local hue and\ntinge to their forms of belief. It is also noteworthy that the\nfundamental principles of the everlasting plan devised by infinite\nwisdom, and which were the most widely taught and accepted, are those\nwhich prevailed the most extensively in pagan creeds, and which\nlongest retained their hold in the faith of the different races.[A]\nAmongst these ideas or principles we will mention a few that were so\ngeneral that they might almost be called universal:\n\n[Footnote A: See writings of Hitzig, Hyde, Faber, Goodsir, Higgins,\nOsborn, Levy, etc.]\n\n1st. The belief in one great father God.\n\n2d, The expectation of the coming of His Son to dwell in the flesh and\nredeem mankind.\n\n3d. The belief in a resurrection, and in future rewards and\npunishments for acts done in this life.\n\n4th. The observance of the rite of sacrifice.\n\n5th. The doctrine of repentance, and in certain cases the ordinance of\nbaptism.\n\nWe ask, when it is proved that all these principles were taught by the\nduly appointed servants of God in the earliest ages, where else but\nfrom them could the ancient Gentile races have obtained their\nknowledge thereof?\n\nMen have been ever prone to apostacy; our fallen nature is at enmity\nwith a godly life; sometimes in one way, sometimes in another, Satan\nled men from the right path and under the influences of a false or\ndiabolic inspiration many errors were introduced; as well as through\nthe natural corrupt ambition of men who sought to obtain power over\ntheir fellows by promulgating new theories in the name of God and\nunder the auspices of religion. The \"ologies\" of to-day would have\nbeen impossible in the days of Pharaoh and Nimrod. The style of\napostacy was necessarily fashioned by the condition of men's minds,\ntheir advance in civilization, and their understanding of physical\nlaws. In the rudimentary condition of the nations who scattered at\nBabel, the easiest thing for them to do was to worship their dead\nancestors and the heavenly orbs. In due course naturally followed the\nframing of idols, which at first only represented the being or thing\nworshiped, but which were afterwards regarded as gods themselves, and\nas such reverenced. The idea of God's anger at men's sins, associated\nwith the law of sacrifice, led mankind to believe that the more\nprecious and beloved was the offering to him who offered it, the more\nacceptable would it be to heaven. As a result, men soon began to offer\nup their sons and their daughters to appease the wrath of their gods.\nAbraham informs us:\n\n\"Now, at this time it was the custom of the priest of Pharaoh, the\nking of Egypt, to offer up upon the altar which was built in the land\nof Chaldea, for the offering unto these strange gods, men, women and\nchildren. And it came to pass that the priest made an offering unto\nthe god of Pharaoh, and also unto the god of Shagreel, even after the\nmanner of the Egyptians. Now the god of Shagreel was the Sun. Even the\nthank-offering of a child did the priest of Pharaoh offer upon the\naltar which stood by the hill called Potiphar's Hill, at the head of\nthe plain of Olishem. Now, this priest had offered upon this altar\nthree virgins at one time, who were the daughters of Onitah, one of\nthe royal descent directly from the loins of Ham. These virgins were\noffered up because of their virtue; they would not bow down to worship\ngods of wood or of stone, therefore they were killed upon this altar,\nand it was done after the manner of the Egyptians.\"--Book of Abraham.\n\nThis practice of offering human sacrifices had become very general on\nthe eastern continent in Abraham's day.\n\nOne peculiar phase of false doctrine with regard to the atonement had\ngrown strong in the days of this Patriarch. It was \"that the blood of\nthe righteous Abel was shed for sins.\"[A] This was a very natural\nmental outgrowth among people who believed in the consequences of the\nfall of Adam and had been taught the necessity of a redeemer. It was a\nvery easy thing to fall into the error that as Adam had transgressed,\nso his immediate son atoned by his blood for his father's act. And in\nthe spread of this incorrect idea of Abel's atonement amongst the\nearly peoples, may be found the origin of the many diversified legends\nof a sacrificed redeemer. This theory was taught at a day so early in\nthe world's history, that it spread with the migrating races in every\ndirection, so that traces of it can be found from Hindostan to Spain,\nfrom the Baltic to Ethiopia. Of course, every people in their own\nlanguage had their peculiar name for this savior, and each race\nclaimed him as theirs, as Abel certainly belonged as much to one as\nthe other, having no posterity; and by degrees they wove many fanciful\nand mythical legends round his life and death, varying according to\nthe tastes, imaginative power and environment of the different races.\nThis, to a very great extent, explains that enigma to Christians, who\nbelieve that Gospel truths were first taught by Jesus when in the\nflesh, how the knowledge of the principle of the atonement and the\ntradition of a Savior was so wide spread throughout the world before\nHis actual coming.\n\n[Footnote A: Inspired translation of Genesis, xvii, 7.]\n\nThere is another way by which the knowledge of these truths was\ntaught. We refer to the extended preaching of such worthies as\nMelchizedec, Abraham, Jethro, Job, Jeremiah, Jonah and others; and\nabove all to that of the Apostles after the Redeemer's death.\nDispensation succeeded dispensation, as age succeeded age; time and\ntime again the people apostatized, but each time some little remnant\nof divine truth remained with them. Jesus Christ was preached by name\nsoon after the creation, as Cyrus was named by divine revelation about\ntwo hundred years before his birth. Thus, in some languages, we have\naccounts of great men of God or gods, as the case may be, whose acts\nare said to have been, in a greater or less degree, the counterpart of\nthose of the Messiah when He tabernacled in the flesh; and whose names\nbear a most remarkable likeness to that of the Son of God. Hence we\nhave Checsna or Chrishna of Hindostan, and Hesus of the Druids, both\nof which names bear a marked similarity to those of the Redeemer; the\nfirst to Christ, the second to Jesus. It appears altogether probable\nthat the histories of these men are simply the shadowy traditions of\nthe Savior, the faint recollection of the teachings of inspired men,\nwhich were localized to suit sectional vanity or pride of race; or\nthat some ancient teacher of their own peoples has been clothed with\nthe attributes and works of Christ, and during the lapse of ages the\nacts and deeds of the two lives have been intermingled in one, until\nat this day a rightful separation is impossible. This habit of mixing\nand mingling the great deeds of several distinct persons, and forming\ntherefrom one grand, if not altogether harmonious whole is one well\nunderstood by those who have studied the traditions of mankind; it is\nnot peculiar to any age or race, and even in our day we often find a\ncertain anecdote, whether real or imaginary, told of various\ncelebrities, some of whom may be yet living, while others are among\nthe recent dead. The effects of this habit, when continued through\nlong ages, amongst semi-civilized or barbarous nations, went far to\nfashion the history of their gods, and often to manufacture deities\nout of altogether imaginary personages.\n\nModern revelation has restored another most important key to unlock\nthe mystery of the almost universal knowledge of the Redeemer and of\nthe plan of the atonement. It is found in the statement that Jesus,\nafter his resurrection, visited at least the inhabitants of two\ndistinct portions of the earth, which could not have been reached\nthrough the ministry of His Jewish Apostles. These two peoples were\nthe Nephites on this land, and the Ten Tribes in their distant\nnorthern home. The knowledge that the Mexicans, and other aboriginal\nraces of America had, at the time of their discovery by the Spaniards,\nof the life of the Savior, was so exact, that the Catholics suggested\ntwo theories (both incorrect, however) to solve the mystery. One was\nthat the devil had invented an imitation gospel to delude the Indians;\nthe other, that the Apostle Thomas had visited America and taught its\npeople the plan of salvation.\n\nThe story of the life of the Mexican divinity, Quetzalcoatl, closely\nresembles that of the Savior; so closely, indeed, that we can come to\nno other conclusion than that Quetzalcoatl and Christ are the same\nbeing. But the history of the former has been handed down to us\nthrough an impure Lamanitish source, which has sadly disfigured and\nperverted the original incidents and teachings of the Savior's life\nand ministry. Regarding this god, Humboldt writes: \"How truly\nsurprising is it to find that the Mexicans, who seem to have been\nunacquainted with the doctrine of the migration of the soul and the\nMetempsychosis _should have believed in the incarnation of the only\nSon of the supreme God, Tomacateuctli_. For Mexican mythology,\nspeaking of no other Son of God, except Quetzalcoatl, who was born of\nChimelman, the virgin of Tula (without man), by His breath alone, by\nwhich may be signified his word or will, when it was announced to\nChimelman, by the celestial messenger, whom He dispatched to inform\nher that she should conceive a son, it must be presumed this was\nQuetzalcoatl, who was the only son. Other authors might be adduced to\nshow that the Mexicans believe that this Quetzalcoatl was both God and\nman; that He had previously to His incarnation existed from eternity,\nand that He had been the Creator both of the world and man; and that\nHe had descended to reform the world by endurance, and being king of\nTula, was crucified for the sins of mankind, etc., as is plainly\ndeclared in the tradition of Yucatan, and mysteriously represented in\nthe Mexican paintings.\"\n\nThe following brief extracts relating to Quetzalcoatl, are from Lord\nKingsborough's \"Antiquities of Mexico.\" Speaking of a certain plate,\nhe observes: \"Quetzalcoatl is there painted in the attitude of a\nperson crucified, with the impression of nails in his hands and feet,\nbut not actually upon the cross.\" Again: \"The seventy-third plate of\nthe Borgian MS. is the most remarkable of all, for Quetzalcoatl is not\nonly represented there as crucified upon a cross of Greek form, but\nhis burial and descent into hell are also depicted in a very curious\nmanner.\" In another place he observes: \"The Mexicans believe that\nQuetzalcoatl took human nature upon him, partaking of all the\ninfirmities of man, and was not exempt from sorrow, pain or death,\nwhich he suffered _voluntarily to atone for the sins of man_.\"\n\nRosales, in his history, when speaking of the people of the extreme\nsouthern portion of America, states: \"They had heard their fathers\nsay, a wonderful man had come to that country * * * who performed many\nmiracles, cured the sick with water, caused it to rain that their\ncrops of grain might grow, kindled fire at a breath, healing the sick\nand giving sight to the blind; and that he spoke with as much\npropriety and elegance in the language of their country as if he had\nalways resided in it, addressing them in words very sweet and new to\nthem, telling them that the Creator of the universe resided in the\nhighest place of heaven, and that many men and women, resplendent as\nthe sun, dwelt with him.\"\n\nThus we see that in the tradition's with regard to this especial God,\nwe have an almost complete life of the Savior, from the announcement\nof His birth to His virgin mother by an angel, to His resurrection\nfrom the grave. Had we space, other extracts could be given, showing\nthat there were many details, not above mentioned, ascribed to\nQuetzalcoatl, that relate to incidents in the life of Christ. The Book\nof Mormon alone explains the mystery. The account there given of\nChrist's ministrations amongst the forefathers of these peoples makes\nthe whole thing plain. We understand, through that record, how and by\nwhat means they obtained this great knowledge, and can also readily\nperceive how the unworthy descendants of those whom the Savior\nvisited, gradually added much childish rubbish to the original facts;\nmaking their story, like almost all other mythology, an unseemly\ncompound of heavenly truth and puerile fable. But, in view of these\nfacts, when all things are considered, it is almost a wonder that so\nmuch of the truth was retained to the days when America became known\nto Europeans.\n\nWe find, in the mythology of the Northmen, certain traditions that\nlead us to imagine that it is possible that the visit of the Savior to\nthe Ten Tribes was by some means communicated to them. But this is\nsimply a conjecture. However, it is asserted that they claimed that\nWoden, one of their principal deities, was a descendant of King David,\na very curious circumstance, that it is difficult to explain, only on\nthe supposition of Christ's visit, and that Woden, with them, occupied\nthe place that Quetzalcoatl did with the Mexicans.\n\nThere is yet another source from which the ancients obtained their\nideas of the life and mission of the Son of God. It is to be found in\nthe translation of Enoch and his city. The fact of Enoch's translation\nwas generally known by the people who lived immediately after the\nflood. It had occurred so short a time before, that it was almost a\nmatter of personal recollection with the sons of Noah. They must also\nhave been acquainted with the fact that others were caught up by the\npower of heaven into Zion, and it would appear strongly probable that\nMelchizedec and many of his people were also translated. Revelation\ndoes not state this in so many words, but the inference to be drawn\nfrom what is said, points clearly in that direction. The fact of these\ntranslations, the frequent visits of angels to men holding the\nPriesthood, and the manifestation of God's power over the elements of\nnature made manifest through His servants, laid a foundation for many\nof the fables of ancient mythology; some of which, if we were to\nchange the names and localities to those of Bible history, would not\nbe as far from the truth as many suppose. This era of\ninter-communication with the holy beings of the other world was easily\nmagnified and distorted into the Golden Age when gods dwelt with men,\nassociated with much of earth life, and were swayed by passions very\nmuch as were their mortal companions. And, as before remarked, the\nsimplicity of these traditions was greatly changed as the ages rolled\naround, until they were completely overlaid and hidden by abominable\nand monstrous fables, invented, taught and used by the priests and\ntheir associates for their own sinister and unholy purposes.\n\nFrom the whole of these statements, we gather that while men, who have\nwritten in relation to the various gods, or virgins who have, each in\nher turn, conceived and borne a god or a messiah, would argue that the\naccounts of the birth, ministry, death, resurrection, etc., of the\nSavior, were simply a backing up and resuscitating of some of the old\nlegends of heathen mythology which had been in existence in ages long\nantecedent to His advent, and that, therefore, the account of the life\nand works of the Redeemer was simply an act of priestcraft, to\nintroduce another messiah, and another establishment of religion in\nthe interests of the projectors, and that Christianity was simply a\ncopy of the old paganisms that had exhibited themselves in the forms\nabove referred to, whereas the reverse is clearly demonstrated in the\nforegoing chapters on the atonement. The fact is clearly proved,\ninstead of Christianity deriving its existence and facts from the\nideas and practices of heathen mythologists, and from the various\nfalse systems that had been introduced by apostacy, unrecognized\npretensions and fraud, that those very systems themselves were\nobtained from the true Priesthood, and founded on its teachings from\nthe earliest ages to the advent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;\nthat those holy principles were taught to Adam, and by him to his\nposterity; that Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and the various Prophets had all\nborne testimony of this grand and important event, wherein the\ninterest and happiness of the whole world were concerned, pertaining\nto time and to eternity. The Gospel is a system, great, grand and\ncomprehensive, commencing in eternity, extending through all time, and\nthen reaching into the eternities to come; and the ideas with regard\nto these disjointed materials, that are gathered together from the\nturbid waters of heathen mythology, are so much clap trap and\nnonsense, calculated only to deceive the unwary, superstitious and\nignorant, and are as far below those great and eternal principles of\nheavenly truth which permeate through all time, penetrate into the\nheavens, and are interwoven with all the interests, happiness and\nexaltation of man, as the earth is below the heavens above. The object\nof placing this statement before our brethren, is to prove and\ndemonstrate, what was stated in the commencement, that these truths\nshould \"grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines, and\nlaying down of contentions.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"pg-footer\">","title":"An Examination into and an Elucidation of the Great Principle of the Mediation and Atonement of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":70447}