{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_46974/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_46974","id":"gutenberg_46974","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46974","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Doctrines","Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines","Latter Day Saints"],"text":"Rays of Living Light on the One Way of Salvation\n\n\nBy\n\nChas. W. Penrose\n\nof the\n\nChurch of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints\n\n1904\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 1.\n\nThere are so many different religious systems in the world, each\nclaiming not only to be right but to be divine, that a rational\nmind, unwarped by sect or creed, is likely to become bewildered and\ndisgusted in its efforts to reach and embrace religious truth. The\nclaim frequently put forth that all the Christian sects are right is\na palpable absurdity. Truth is always consistent with itself. It is\nerror that causes confusion. Two opposing systems cannot both be\ncorrect. They may both be wrong, but it is impossible for both to be\nright. There may be some truth in every religion that has been\nfoisted upon the world. Indeed, without that no system could have\ncontinued existence. It is that portion of each religion which is\ntrue that keeps it alive and makes its errors plausible.\n\nTo say that God is the author of the conflicting religions which\ndistract mankind, is to charge him with inconsistency and folly.\nThat which comes from God must of necessity be true. This needs no\nargument; it is so self-evident that many thinking people, beholding\nthe contention and strife of ages over religious affairs, have\nformed the opinion that all religions are human, conceived in the\nminds of men and promulgated for selfish purposes. Yet, admitting\nthat there is a Supreme Being, the Creator of all things, who is the\nembodiment of truth, justice, mercy, wisdom and love, it seems\nunreasonable to think that he would leave his intelligent creatures\nwithout a guide on the road to the eternal future.\n\nAs there is but one Supreme God, there can be but one true religion.\nThat religion must be of divine origin. It must come from God to\nman. Religions invented by men would necessarily vary. Man cannot by\nhis own searching find out God, or the ways of God, but Deity can\nenlighten man and reveal himself and his will to mortals. The\ninfinite can condescend to the finite, while the finite of itself\ncannot grasp or comprehend the infinite. It is of utmost importance\nthat mankind should learn what God requires, in order that men and\nwomen may be fitted for his presence and be in harmony with him in\ntime and in eternity. The true religion, therefore, that which God\nreveals, that which he has revealed, and that which he may yet\nreveal, should be considered of greater value than anything else.\nNothing that is perishable can be compared with it. That which\nendures forever is immeasurably above that which only lasts for a\ntime. He that gains this \"pearl of great price\" is rich above all\ncomputation.\n\nOne of the great errors into which people have fallen in reference\nto religion is that God must accept any mode of worship, any sort of\nordinances, and any kind of church that men may establish, so long\nas they are sincere in their intentions and devout in their desires.\nGod must be worshipped not only in spirit but in truth. His word is\ntruth. His Spirit is the spirit of truth. God's religion, then, will\nbe the truth, and nothing but the truth, and he will accept of\nnothing short of this. The inventions of men, whatever may be their\nmotives, are not of God and therefore are vain. The precepts and\nopinions and vagaries of man-appointed preachers and teachers, not\nbeing authorized or inspired of God, cannot be relied upon and are\nnot acknowledged in heaven. Christendom as well as heathendom is in\na ferment with human conceptions and conflicting theories in\nrelation to God, his will, his purposes, and his requirements. The\nresult is spiritual Babylon, which is confusion. God is not with it,\nfor he is the author of peace, and order and harmony.\n\n\"Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life,\nand few there be that find it;\" so said the great Teacher whom\nprofessing Christians regard as the Savior of the world (Matthew\n7:14). He also declared: \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that\nentereth not by the door into the sheep-fold, but climbeth up some\nother way, the same is a thief and a robber\" (John 10:1). Also, \"But\nin vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments\nof men\" (Matthew 15:9). And further, \"Man shall not live by bread\nalone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God\"\n(Matthew 4:4).\n\nThe nations that are called heathen are, no doubt, as sincere in\ntheir idolatrous worship as are the Christian nations in their\nopposing creeds and devotional exercises. If mere sincerity and\ndevout motives are sufficient for God's acceptance, then heathendom\nis on a par with Christendom in the sight of heaven. But the\nobjector will no doubt reply, \"Heathen religions lack the one\nessential feature of acceptance with God, faith in Jesus Christ.\nHaving that, doctrinal differences do not matter; faith alone is\nsufficient for salvation.\" \"Christ is the way, the truth, and the\nlight, and whosoever believeth in him shall have eternal life.\" That\nis another of the astonishing errors of modern religious people and\nteachers. Seizing upon a few isolated texts from the New Testament,\nrelying upon the letter of the word alone, regardless of the spirit\nand meaning thereof, they altogether ignore numerous other texts in\nthe same volume, which make plain the intent and signification of\nthose which they select. Their eyes are blinded to the pure truth,\nthey stumble in the way, and the blind leading the blind, they are\nin danger of falling into the ditch together.\n\nJesus of Nazareth truly said, \"For God so loved the world, that he\ngave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should\nnot perish, but have everlasting life\" (John 3:16). But he also\nsaid, \"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me\"\n(John 10:27). \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on\nme, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than\nthese shall he do; because I go unto my Father\" (John 14:12). \"If a\nman love me, he will keep my words\" (Verse 23). \"He that hath my\ncommandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that\nloveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will\nmanifest myself to him.\" (Verse 21.) \"If ye keep my commandments, ye\nshall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's\ncommandments, and abide in his love.\" (John 15:10.) \"Not every one\nthat saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of\nheaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.\"\n(Matthew 7:21.) \"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the\nthings which I say?\" (Luke 6:46.) \"Whosoever therefore shall break\none of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be\ncalled the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do\nand teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of\nheaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall\nexceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in\nno case enter into the kingdom of heaven.\" (Matthew 5:19-20.) \"And\nevery one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not,\nshall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the\nsand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds\nblew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall\nof it.\" (Matthew 7:26, 27.) \"Every tree that bringeth not forth good\nfruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their\nfruits ye shall know them.\" (Matthew 7:19.) When the rich young man\nasked the Savior what he should do that he might have eternal life,\nhe was not told there was nothing for him to do but believe in\nChrist, but the answer was, \"If thou wilt enter into life, keep the\ncommandments.\" (Matthew 19:17.) After Christ's resurrection, when he\nsent his apostles into all the world to preach the gospel to every\ncreature, he added, \"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever\nI have commanded you.\" (Matthew 28:20.)\n\nThe apostles, thus authorized, obeyed these instructions, and not\nonly proclaimed belief in Jesus Christ as necessary to salvation;\nbut obedience to his teachings as equally essential. The history of\ntheir travels, as narrated in the book called the Acts of the\nApostles, demonstrates this to be true. Such of their epistles as\nhave been preserved and compiled in the New Testament also bear this\nwitness. These records show beyond reasonable dispute that the faith\nin Christ which is sufficient for salvation comprehends faith in his\nteachings and obedience to his commands.\n\nThe belief in Christ which is taught by modern Christian sects is\nthus condemned by the Apostle James: \"But wilt thou know, O vain\nman, that faith without works is dead? Ye see then how that by works\na man is justified, and not by faith only.\" \"For as the body without\nthe spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also\" (James\n2:20, 24, 26).\n\nThe Apostle Paul is generally cited as the great preacher of the\ndoctrine of justification by faith alone. But that he is\nmisunderstood on that subject is evident from his epistle to the\nRomans, in which, while he proclaims the doctrine of justification\nby faith, he also affirms emphatically the necessity of good works\nas the fruits of faith; as for instance: \"Who will render to every\nman according to his deeds; to them who by patient continuance in\nwell doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life:\nBut unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but\nobey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and\nanguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first,\nand also of the Gentile. But glory, honor and peace to every man\nthat worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile. For\nthere is no respect of persons with God\" (Romans 2:6-11).\n\nIt is to this very epistle that the advocates of salvation by faith\nalone chiefly refer when seeking support for their irrational\ntheory, and they quote: \"Therefore being justified by faith, we have\npeace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ\" (Romans 5:1). Also,\n\"Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay,\nbut by the law of faith\" (Chap. 3:27). But they neglect to add what\nfollows, \"Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith\nwithout the deeds of the law\" (verse 28). The tenor of the whole\nepistle is to the effect that the law of Moses is insufficient; that\n\"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified\nin his sight\" (verse 20). Thus justification and redemption come\nthrough the atonement made by Christ, and that faith in him which\nincludes belief in his teachings and obedience to his commands, is\nthe one way of salvation.\n\nAnother quotation common with the disciples of the faith alone\ndoctrine is this: \"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the\nLord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised\nhim from the dead, thou shalt be saved\" (Romans 10:9). But here\nagain they omit the following verse: \"For with the heart man\nbelieveth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made\nunto salvation\" (verse 10).\n\nThis is the key to the whole matter. The faith that saves is the\nfaith that leads to obedience, which is \"better than sacrifice\";\nthat obedience must be given to \"every word that proceedeth out of\nthe mouth of God\". Belief, prayer, devotional exercises, of\nthemselves, will not prepare man for the presence and society of his\nMaker. To dwell with him, man must be assimilated to his likeness.\nThis can be effected only by compliance with his commands. Man's\nfuture will be determined by his present course. In the glorious\nvision given to John the Beloved, we find this: \"And I saw the dead,\nsmall and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and\nanother book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead\nwere judged out of those things which were written in the books,\naccording to their works\" (Revelation 20:12).\n\nThis tract is but preliminary to others, in which the one\neverlasting way of life and plan of salvation will be plainly\npointed out, for the benefit of mankind and the glory of the supreme\nand eternal God, to whom be honor and praise forever. Amen.\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 2.\n\nThe first principle of revealed religion is faith in God. True\nreligion must begin with faith in the true God. Faith in false gods\nleads to false religions. Without faith there can be no religion in\nthe soul of man. \"Without faith it is impossible to please him: For\nhe that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a\nrewarder of them that diligently seek him\" (Hebrews 11:6). In a\ngeneral sense, faith is the assurance in the soul of the existence\nof unseen things, that is, unseen by the natural eye. The principle\nof faith, that is, the power to believe, is planted in man by the\ngift of God. It is developed by evidence. Faith in God is brought\ninto action by the word of God. Whether spoken by Deity himself, by\nangels sent from his presence, or by men divinely authorized and\nappointed to speak in his name under the influence of his Holy\nSpirit, the word of God is the same. When that word is written it is\nscripture.\n\nEvidences of the existence of a Supreme Being are seen in vast\nprofusion. They appeal to every rational mind. The order, beauty,\nand sublimity of the heavenly bodies, moving through space in silent\nmajesty, each in its own orbit, balancing and counterbalancing each\nother without an error in time or revolution, all preserving their\nown identity and performing their own mission, proceeding thus\nthrough everlasting ages, are perennial witnesses of the existence,\npower and glory of God. The earth itself, with its relations to\nother planets, its products, its seasons, its adaptation to the\nneeds of the creatures that inhabit its surface or its atmosphere,\njoins in the grand chorus of the music of the spheres, \"Forever\nsinging as they shine, the hand that made us is divine.\" Nature,\nhowever, while proclaiming the existence of Deity, does not disclose\nhis personality or reveal his will. A knowledge of God can only come\nfrom God. Faith leads to that knowledge.\n\nThe greatest religious teacher among men was Jesus, the Nazarene. In\nhis personality God was manifest in the flesh. He revealed Deity to\nhumanity. He showed that God was in reality the Father of the\nspirits of men. He proclaimed that he was in the beginning with God;\nthat he came forth from God, and that all mankind were his brethren,\nmade in the image of God and part of his eternal family. This\npresents God as actually and literally \"Our Father which art in\nheaven.\" It takes away the mystery with which false faiths have\nenveloped the Supreme Being, beclouding the minds of men, and making\nGod utterly incomprehensible. Jesus taught that his Father and our\nFather is a personal being, man being in his likeness, Jesus himself\nbeing in his express image. He taught also that he was sent into the\nworld to save mankind, and bring them back to the Father's presence;\nthat no man could come unto God but by him. The true Christian\nreligion, therefore, combines faith in Jesus Christ the Son, with\nfaith in God the eternal Father. Christ further taught the existence\nof a divine Spirit, proceeding from God, to enlighten the souls of\nmen; that is, the Holy Ghost, by which the mind and will of God may\nbe made known to man, and by which holy men chosen of God have been\ninspired in different ages to declare his word.\n\nThese three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, form the\neternal Godhead. They are not one person, as erroneously declared by\nmodern Christian churches, but are separate and distinct substances,\nthough one in mind and power and dominion. Jesus of Nazareth, as the\nSon of God, was a personality as distinct from the personality of\nthe eternal Father as is that of any earthly son from his father.\nThe Holy Spirit, though proceeding from both the Father and the Son,\nis not either of them, but has an identity of his own. It is true\nthat Jesus said, \"I and my Father are one\" (John 10:30). But he also\nsaid, \"My Father is greater than I\" (John 14:28).\n\nThat the unity of the Godhead is not oneness in person is made very\nclear in the account of the baptism of Jesus Christ; the Son on that\noccasion coming up out of the waters of Jordan, the Holy Spirit\ndescending upon him in the form of a dove, and the voice of the\nFather from heaven proclaiming, \"This is my beloved Son, in whom I\nam well pleased\" (Matthew 3:16-17). Jesus said, \"I came forth from\nthe Father, and am come into the world.\" Again, \"I leave the world\nand go to the Father\" (John 16:28). He also prayed the Father, and\nin the prayer recorded by John explained in unmistakable language\nwhat he meant when he declared, \"I and my Father are one.\" After\npraying for his apostles, he said: \"Neither pray I for these alone,\nbut for them also which shall believe on me through their words,\nthat 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\nthou hast sent me\" (John 17:20, 21). Concerning the Holy Spirit he\nsaid: \"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you\nthat I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come\nunto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you\" (Chap. 16:7).\nMany more of the sayings of the Savior might be adduced, but these\nare sufficient to show the distinct personality of each of the three\nthat form the Godhead, while they are in perfect unity of mind and\npurpose and action. If they are one substance, as taught in modern\nChristendom, then all who believe on them, in all ages, are to be\nmade also one substance, thus losing their identity and becoming one\nvast, incomprehensible and inconceivable finality.\n\nThe omnipresence of God has bewildered many minds which are unable,\nbecause of modern false teachings, to understand how God the eternal\nFather can be a person after whose form and image man is created,\nand yet be present throughout his vast creations. But the\nexplanation is simple in the light of truth. It is by his Holy\nSpirit, which permeates all things, and is the life and light of all\nthings, that Deity is everywhere present. Our Father has his\ndwelling place in the eternal heavens. Christ is at his right hand,\nand the Holy Spirit proceeds from them throughout the immensity of\nspace. By that agency God sees and knows and governs all things. By\nit mankind may be brought into union and communion with God. It\nguides into all truth. It recalls the past, manifests the present,\nand reveals the future. It is the testimony of Jesus and the spirit\nof prophecy. It is the light of Christ, and \"lighteth every man that\ncometh into the world.\" It is the \"inspiration of God which giveth\nthe spirit of man understanding.\" To that degree it shines on every\nsoul, but as the gift of the Holy Ghost it is a far greater and\nhigher light. Then it is the abiding witness that bears record of\nthe Father and the Son; that \"searcheth all things, yea the deep\nthings of God.\"\n\nFaith in God, the Father, and in Jesus Christ, the Son, and in the\nHoly Ghost is but the beginning of true religion. It is exhibited in\nworks of obedience which will be explained in other tracts of this\nseries. Faith is also a principle of power. All human exertion\nsprings from its exercise. This is exemplified in all the acts of\nlife. In a higher sense it is a spiritual force. It was by faith, in\nthis degree, that the wonderful works of the prophets and apostles\nand other holy men of old, were accomplished, as recorded in the Old\nand New Testaments, and in the sacred books of the seers and sages\nwho were not of the Hebrew race. For, faith is the same principle in\nall ages and among all nations. It was by this faith that the sick\nwere healed, the blind received their sight, the lame were made to\nwalk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, the sting of the serpent\nand the virulence of poison were made harmless, divine dreams and\nheavenly visions were beheld, and the glories of eternity were\nunfolded to the saints and servants of God in the early Christian\nchurch. It was by faith that lepers were cleansed, water was turned\ninto wine, multitudes were fed with a few loaves and fishes, the\nwinds and the waves were stilled, and the dead were raised to life,\nwhen the Divine Master walked on the earth in the flesh. These\nmarvels are called \"miracles.\" They are deemed supernatural, but\nthey were the natural results of the exercise of the spiritual force\ncalled faith. It was by the same power that the heavens were closed\nthat there was no rain for three years and six months; that the\nbarrel of meal and the cruse of oil failed not, and that the ravens\nbrought food in the days of Elijah the prophet. By the same faith\nthe children of Israel were led out of Egypt by Moses, the Red Sea\nwas divided, manna was brought from heaven and water from the rock,\nand people bitten by serpents were healed in the wilderness. It was\nalso by that same faith that the early patriarchs prevailed, and\nsome of them walked and talked with God. And indeed, it was by faith\nthat the worlds were brought into material existence, order coming\nout of chaos, light springing forth from darkness, and life, in its\nvarious forms, being developed through the word of the eternal God,\nin whom this principle of faith is manifest in its full and complete\nperfection.\n\nThis is the faith spoken of in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. Also in\nthe epistle of Jude, in which he urged upon the church when writing\nupon the \"common salvation,\" that they should \"earnestly contend for\nthe faith once delivered to the saints.\" In modern Christendom it is\ntaught that this faith, with all the gifts, signs and glorious\nmanifestations which it produces, are \"done away and no longer\nneeded.\" But this is another of the many grievous errors of\nspiritual Babylon. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. A\nprinciple of truth never changes. Cause and effect do not vary by\nthe lapse of time. The faith exercised in the first century of the\nChristian era or of human existence on earth, must inevitably bring\nforth similar results in the latter days. The absence of the effect\nproves the absence of the cause.\n\nThe true religion contains the true faith. It is the one thing\nneedful. It is the one way of salvation. To know the only living and\ntrue God and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent, is to gain eternal\nlife (John 17:3). Living faith is the starting point in the path to\nthat knowledge. While it has existed in a small degree, and has been\nexercised occasionally and in a limited manner during the centuries\nthat have passed since the apostolic age, the faith \"once delivered\nto the saints\" has faded almost out of active life, even among\nprofessing Christians, whose minds have been blinded by the\ntraditions of men and the dogmas and theories of human invention.\nWhile good men and women have served God, and sought after him to\nthe best of their ability, through the long night of darkness which\nhas intervened from the days of divine revelation down to the\npresent century, they have not been able to find that \"closer walk\nwith God\" and exercise that mighty faith enjoyed in ancient times\nand which is essential to the true religion. Thank God that faith\nhas been restored to earth, and through it divine communication is\nonce more opened up, man may commune again with his Maker, and all\nthe blessings obtained at any time thereby may now be received by\nthe obedient sons and daughters of God. Concerning this\nall-important matter other tracts of this series will be presented\nto the public, that truth may prevail and that divine light may\nshine upon the world.\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 3.\n\nIN PREVIOUS tracts of this series it has been shown that there can\nbe but one true religion, because there is but one supreme God, that\nit must be revealed from him instead of being made by man, and that\nthe first principle of that religion is faith, which can be made\nmanifest only by works. Let us now see what those works are which\nare essential to salvation. The first fruit of faith in God and in\nJesus Christ is repentance of sin. Sin against God is the\ntransgression of his law. Conviction of sin comes through faith in\nGod and his law. Conviction leads to humility and repentance and\nobedience. Sorrow for sin is not of itself true repentance, which\ncomprehends not only regret for the past, but reformation for the\nfuture. It includes determination to forsake and refrain from sin.\nAs the Apostle Paul expressed it, \"For godly sorrow worketh\nrepentance to salvation not to be repented of\" (II Corinthians\n7:10). When the sinner is sorry because he has been found out, that\nis not true repentance. Grief is an element of repentance, because\nwhen a believer perceives that he has broken a law of God, he feels\nremorse. But unless he resolves to turn away from that transgression,\nand not repeat it, he does not reach full repentance.\n\n\"Cease to do evil, learn to do well,\" has been the word of God and\nhis inspired servants through all the ages. It is a step forward in\npractical religion. It is absolutely necessary to salvation. Without\nit belief in Christ is vain. He said himself, \"Except ye repent, ye\nshall all likewise perish\" (Luke 13:3). \"God commandeth all men\neverywhere to repent\" (Acts 17:30). Jesus instructed that\n\"repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name\namong all nations\" (Luke 24:47). The idea that people may sin\nagainst God and against humanity, and by mere belief in the merits\nof the Savior, be absolved from all the consequences of their guilt,\nis one of the greatest of the many absurdities which have been\ngrafted by the hand of man upon the tree of religion.\n\nChrist gave himself a sacrifice to save mankind from their sins, not\nin their sins. His work is to redeem humanity by lifting it up to\nDeity. His gospel teaches purification from sin and exaltation into\nthe righteousness of God. The atonement wrought out on Calvary is as\nmuch misunderstood by modern divines who preach it as were the\nteachings of Moses and the prophets by the sectaries who rejected\nthe Nazarene. That atonement was for a dual purpose. First, to\nredeem mankind from the consequences of the original sin committed\nin the Garden of Eden, and second, to open the way to salvation from\nthe actual sins committed by the posterity of Adam.\n\nAs to the first, redemption will come to all the race without effort\non their part. Death came into the world in the beginning because\nthe divine law was broken. It passed upon all the descendants of the\ntransgressor. Christ gave himself a sacrifice for that sin. As by\none came death, so by one will come life. \"As in Adam all die, even\nso in Christ shall all be made alive\" (I Corinthians 15:22). As the\nsons and daughters of Adam were not personally engaged in or\nresponsible for the transgression which brought death, so they are\nnot required to do anything in the work which shall restore them to\nlife. The resurrection will be as broad as the death. The raising up\nwill be coextensive with the effects of the fall. But when through\nChrist the resurrection is accomplished, the dead, small and great,\nwho are thus brought up and redeemed from the grave, will be judged\naccording to their works (Revelation 20).\n\nAs to the second, the actual sins of each individual, salvation will\ncome through faith in Christ and obedience to his gospel. Each\nintelligent person is accountable for his own acts. He must do what\nis required in order that he may be saved from his sins. The power\nis inherent in man to do right or to do wrong. In this he is a free\nagent. He can resist evil and do good, or resist good and do evil,\nas he elects. No matter how great may be the force of circumstances\nand environments, and the pressure of hereditary influences, the\nvolition of the creature remains. The doctrine of rewards and\npunishments is predicated upon individual freedom of the will and\npersonal responsibility for its exercise. Christ has done for\nmankind that and that alone which they were not able to do for\nthemselves. That which they can perform is required of every one.\nThey can believe, they can repent, and they can receive and obey the\ncommandments of Christ given as conditions to salvation. Unless they\ndo this, although they will be raised from the dead and appear\nbefore the Eternal Judge, they cannot be exalted to dwell in his\npresence.\n\nThus it will be seen that while Christ died, unconditionally, for\nthe original sin by which death came into the world, he died as a\npropitiation for the actual sins of the world, conditionally. And it\nwas to proclaim these conditions and offer them to every creature\nthat he sent his apostles forth as ministers of salvation. There is\nno other way to eternal life. The plan of salvation is not changed\nto suit the notions and opinions of man. It does not vary in\ndifferent ages, nor among different nations. It is the \"everlasting\ngospel.\" The law of Moses was a temporary and imperfect law of\ncarnal commandments, given because the gospel had been rejected by\nthe Israelites. It answered its purpose and passed away when the one\neternal gospel plan was restored by Jesus Christ, through whom alone\nmankind can be saved, and that salvation cannot be obtained except\nby faith in him which comprehends obedience to his requirements.\n\nIt has been shown that faith is the first principle of the gospel,\nand repentance--the forsaking of sin, is the second, and it is now\nnecessary to present the third principle, which is remission of\nsins. The popular idea of modern Christendom is that repentance of\nitself brings remission of sins. That is another serious mistake.\nPayment of debts is not brought about by simply ceasing to get\ncredit; determination to sin no more does not wipe out sins already\ncommitted. God is a being of order and of law. He has instituted the\nmeans whereby each sinner may receive a cleansing from the past. His\nlaws are as uniform in the spiritual world as in the natural world;\nobedience to those laws is as necessary in one sphere as in the\nother. Remission of sins comes to the repentant believer through\nbaptism, when it is properly performed under divine authority.\n\nBaptism for the remission of sins was preached and practiced by\nJohn, the forerunner of Jesus. \"John did baptize in the wilderness,\nand preach the baptism of repentance for the remission for sins\"\n(Mark 1:4). Jesus Christ honored that baptism in person and by his\nteachings. He also sent his apostles to preach it to every creature\n(Matthew 28:19-20; also Mark 16:15-16). Previous to preaching that\nbaptism, he instructed his apostles to \"tarry at Jerusalem until\nthey were endowed with power from on high\" (Luke 24:47, 49). That\npower was bestowed upon them on the day of Pentecost, when they were\nassembled in one place with one accord, and the Holy Ghost was\nmanifested to them in visible form. To the people who gathered to\nhear the apostles, forming a great multitude, Peter preached the\nfirst gospel sermon after the resurrection of Christ, as is recorded\nin the 2nd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. After testifying of\nthe mission and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, in response to\ntheir inquiry, \"Men and brethren, what shall we do?\" \"Then Peter\nsaid unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name\nof Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the\ngift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your\nchildren, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our\nGod shall call\" (Acts 2:37, 38 and 39). Three thousand people on\nthat day received the gospel of Jesus Christ, and were baptized for\nthe remission of their sins.\n\nThe remission of sins is given in baptism to those who believe and\nrepent, but comes through the atonement wrought out by Jesus Christ.\n\"Without shedding of blood is no remission\" (Hebrews 9:22). The\nblood of Christ answers for the blood of the sinner who complies\nwith the conditions required in Christ's gospel. The benefits of\nthat atonement are offered to all whom the gospel is preached, but\nare obtained only by those who render obedience to it. The scripture\nis often quoted which says, \"The blood of Jesus Christ his Son\ncleanseth us from all sin.\" But this is only part of the text, and\nis therefore misleading. Here is the scripture as it stands: \"This\nthen 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\ndo not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the\nlight, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus\nChrist his Son cleanseth us from all sin\" (I John 1:5-7).\n\nBaptism was instituted for the remission of sins by divine command.\nIt is therefore essential. It is a sign of cleansing, purification,\ndeath to sin, burial from the world and resurrection to a new life\nin Christ Jesus. For, baptism means immersion. The sprinkling or\npouring of water on the body is not baptism. The ordinance of\nbaptism preached by John, the forerunner, by Christ himself, and by\nthe apostles whom he sent as his messengers, was both a burial and a\nbirth. When Jesus was baptized by John it was in the river Jordan:\n\"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized\nof him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of\nthee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him,\nSuffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all\nrighteousness. 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 3:13-17).\nJesus said to Nicodemus, \"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a\nman be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the\nkingdom of God\" (John 3:5). Jesus himself set the example, and was\nborn of water and of the Spirit, and though he knew no sin, had to\nbe baptized in order to \"fulfill all righteousness.\" When Philip\nbaptized the great man of Ethiopia, \"They went down both into the\nwater . . . and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of\nthe water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip\" (Acts\n8:35-39). John baptized \"in Aenon, near to Salim, because there was\nmuch water there\" (John 3:23). Paul likened baptism to a burial and\na resurrection (See Romans 6:4, 5; Colossians 2:12). Peter cited\nthe flood as a figure of baptism (I Peter 3:20-21).\n\nThe order of the gospel as taught by Christ and his apostles is\nfirst faith, second repentance, and third baptism by immersion for\nthe remission of sins, with the promise of the Holy Ghost to all who\ncomplied therewith. Infant baptism is a palpable heresy. Sin is the\ntransgression of the law. Infants cannot commit sins. Baptism must\nfollow faith and repentance. Infants cannot exercise faith, and they\nhave nothing to repent of even if they were capable of repentance.\nGod never authorized any one to baptize an infant. Jesus blessed\nlittle children and said, \"of such is the kingdom of heaven.\"\nBaptism to be acceptable to God must be performed by one having\nactual divine authority. It must be administered in the name of the\nFather, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. No man has the right\nto assume that authority. It must come from God or the baptism will\nbe void and of no effect. When properly administered it brings\nremission of sins, and the baptized believer becomes a new creature,\nstands clean before God, and is prepared to receive the gift of the\nHoly Ghost. Further explanations on this all-important subject will\nbe given in succeeding chapters. Let the reader ponder, investigate,\nand enter upon the path of eternal life and salvation.\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 4.\n\nThe gift of the Holy Ghost is the greatest boon conferred by God\nupon man in the flesh. It is \"the anointing from above which\nteacheth all things.\" It is the \"abiding witness\" of the Father and\nthe Son. It is the spirit of revelation. It guides into all truth,\nbrings things past to remembrance, makes manifest present light, and\nshows things to come. Without it no man can know God and Jesus\nChrist whom he has sent, nor can he say truly and without doubt that\nJesus is the Lord. Its reception is the fourth step or principle in\nthe gospel of Christ. The preceding principles, namely, faith,\nrepentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, have been\nexplained briefly in the foregoing tracts of this series. After the\nbaptism or birth of water comes the baptism or birth of the Spirit.\n\nThis gift from God is conferred by the laying on of the hands of men\ncalled of God and endowed with authority to perform this sacred\nordinance. No man of himself and in his own name, however learned,\nexperienced, or wise, can bestow this great gift upon others. He\nmight lay his hands upon them, but they would not receive that\nSpirit. It proceeds from God alone. He will honor that which is\nperformed according to his directions by his authorized servants.\nThe reception of the Holy Ghost as an endowment or gift from God is\nessential to salvation. The natural light of inspiration given at\nbirth to all humanity is not equal to it. That is the common\nheritage of humanity, but the gift of the Holy Ghost is a far higher\nand greater bequest from Deity, and is given only to those who obey\nthe gospel, and in the way that God himself has appointed.\n\nThat the gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred by the laying on of\nhands, and that this is the gospel method, is clearly established by\nthe New Testament. In the 8th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles an\naccount is given of the ministry of Philip, in which the following\noccurs: \"But when they believed Philip preaching the things\nconcerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they\nwere baptized, both men and women.\" \"Now when the apostles which\nwere at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word of God,\nthey sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down,\nprayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet\nhe was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name\nof the Lord Jesus). Then laid they their hands on them, and they\nreceived the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on\nof the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them\nmoney, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay\nhands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, thy\nmoney perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of\nGod may be purchased with money\" (Verses 12-20). In the 19th chapter\nof the Acts of the Apostles it is related that Paul found some\ndisciples in Ephesus who had not been properly baptized. He gave\nthem necessary instructions, and we read: \"When they heard this,\nthey were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had\nlaid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they\nspake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about\ntwelve.\" The ordinance of the laying on of hands is enumerated among\nthe \"first principles of the oracles of God,\" and one of the\nfoundation \"doctrines of Christ,\" in Hebrews 5:12, and 6:2. Paul\nexhorted Timothy, \"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou\nstir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my\nhands\" (II Timothy 1:6).\n\nThese quotations are sufficient to show the order of the gospel as\ntaught by the apostles of Jesus Christ, who received their\ninstructions and authority from him, and who all preached the same\ndoctrines and administered the same ordinances, wherever they went.\nThe departures therefrom that are witnessed in modern times are the\nwork of uninspired ministers, unauthorized of God, and should be\nrejected by the honest seeker after religious truth.\n\nThe Holy Ghost is the same in all ages and among all people. Its\neffects are also the same. In the days of the early Christian Church\nthe fruits of that Spirit were enjoyed by the members. They are thus\ndescribed by the Apostle Paul: \"But the fruit of the Spirit is love,\njoy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,\ntemperance: against such there is no law\" (Galatians 5:22, 23). \"But\nthe manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit\nwithal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to\nanother the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith\nby the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same\nSpirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophesy; to\nanother discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues;\nto another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that\none and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he\nwill\" (I Corinthians 12:7-11). Paul exhorted the saints to \"Follow\nafter charity and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may\nprophesy,\" and after explaining his reasons for this instruction he\nconcluded, \"Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not\nto speak with tongues\" (I Corinthians 14:39).\n\nThe absence of these gifts and manifestations of the Spirit in the\nvarious religious sects at the present day is attempted to be\naccounted for by the airy excuse, \"They are all done away, and are\nno longer needed.\" Yet they were part and parcel of the gospel of\nJesus Christ, and incorporated in the Church--the body of Christ--as\nsome of its members. \"Every tree is known by its fruits.\" If the\nSpirit that animated the Church of Christ in the apostolic age\ninspired the churches of the 20th century, would not the same fruits\nbe brought forth by it, and enjoyed today? Has the Spirit of God\nchanged? Or have not men changed the ordinances and institutions of\nheaven, and built up churches and promulgated doctrines of their\nown? But the advocates and apologists of sectarian theology will\nquote. \"Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they\nshall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether\nthere be knowledge, it shall vanish away\" (I Corinthians 13:8). Why\ndo they not continue the quotation and give the succeeding verses\nwhich form an integral part of the scriptural argument? Is it\nbecause that would sweep away the crutches of their lame and halting\npretense and cast their false theory prone in the dust? This is what\nfollows. \"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when\nthat which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be\ndone away.\" Will it be claimed that this promised perfection has\ncome? Do latter-day sectaries know more, understand better, and see\nclearer in divine things than did the Apostle Paul? Has anything\n\"perfect\" come upon modern Christendom except \"perfect\" confusion?\nThat Paul had reference to a condition yet in the future in making\nhis prediction is evident from his further remark: \"For now we see\nthrough a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part;\nbut then shall I know even as also I am known\" (Verse 12).\n\nThe gifts of the Spirit enumerated above are the evidences of its\npossession by the disciples of Jesus Christ. They are the signs of\ntrue faith. They accompany the reception of the gospel and obedience\nto its requirements. When the resurrected Christ gave the eleven\napostles their great commission, he said unto them, \"Go ye into all\nthe world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that\nbelieveth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not\nshall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe. In\nmy name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new\ntongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly\nthing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and\nthey shall recover\" (Mark 16:15-18). These gifts were not merely for\nthose Apostles, but were to \"follow them that believe.\" Christ gave\nthem as the sign of true belief in him and his sayings. They belong\nto his Church. They are not to be done away until that which is\nperfect is come, and the sons and daughters of God behold their\nRedeemer face to face, and see as they are seen and know as they are\nknown. Whatever necessity existed for their possession and exercise\nin the first century of the Christian era, exists in the 20th\ncentury, not only for the blessing and comfort of the disciples of\nthe Savior, but for the promulgation of his gospel among nations\nthat yet sit in darkness and are numbered among heathens and\nidolaters.\n\nOne of the potent proofs of the possession of the Holy Ghost in the\nearly Christian Church was the unity it established. No matter what\nwere the conflicting faiths and opposing creeds entertained by the\npeople of that day previous to receiving the spirit of the\neverlasting gospel, after baptism and the laying on of hands for the\ngift of the Holy Ghost, they all became one in Christ Jesus. As Paul\nwrote to the Ephesians: \"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as\nye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one\nbaptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through\nall, and in you all\" (Ephesians 4:4-6). \"For as many of you as have\nbeen baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew\nnor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor\nfemale: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus\" (Galatians 3:27-28).\n\"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye\nare called in one body; and be ye thankful\" (Colossians 3:15). \"For\nas the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of\nthat one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by\none Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or\nGentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to\ndrink into one Spirit\" (I Corinthians 12:12, 13). In his prayer to\nthe Father that all who believed in him might be one, Jesus spoke of\nthis unity as proof to the world that God had sent him (John 17:21).\nThe great purpose of the gift of the Holy Ghost was to guide into\nall truth, and bring its possessors to \"the unity of the faith and\nthe knowledge of the Son of God.\" Strife, contention, division, are\nnot the fruits of the Holy Spirit, but come from beneath. \"For where\nenvying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work\"\n(James 3:16).\n\nThe presence and inspiration of the Holy Ghost, with its gifts,\nmanifestations and divine light are the signs of spiritual life and\ndivine acceptance. Without the Holy Ghost there is no true, living\nChurch of Christ on earth. It can be obtained in no other way than\nthat which God has appointed. Following the birth of water, the\nbirth of the Holy Spirit makes man a new creature, and initiates him\ninto the Church or kingdom of God. Its various gifts are within his\nreach according to his faith and diligence in seeking after them.\nThey are as obtainable in this age as at any former period. By the\nHoly Ghost mankind may come to the knowledge of God. In its light\nthe sayings and writings of inspired men may be clearly understood.\nThe Bible is no longer a sealed book. The heavens are not closed\nagainst mortals. Darkness flees before it and mysteries vanish. It\nbrings peace and comfort to the soul. It awakens and thrills the\nspiritual sense. It unfolds the things of eternity and the glories\nof immortality. It links earth and heaven. It fills the soul with\njoy unspeakable, and he who gains and keeps it has boundless wealth\nand everlasting life.\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 5.\n\nThe ordinances of the gospel referred to in previous chapters of\nthis series, cannot be effectually administered without divine\nauthority. That authority does not and cannot originate in man. It\nmay be assumed, it is true, and presumptuous men may claim to be\ncalled of God without communication from him. But their performances\nwill be without avail and will not be recognized in heaven, either\nin time or in eternity. When there is no revelation from God there\ncan be no divine authority on earth. Baptism, even if solemnized\naccording to the form and pattern followed by the Savior and his\nappointed servants, will be of no avail and will not bring remission\nof sins, unless the officiating minister has received authority from\nDeity to act in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the\nHoly Ghost. Men may lay their hands on the baptized believer in the\nform of confirmation, but if they have not been divinely appointed\nto do so, the Holy Ghost will not flow to the convert, and the\nperformance will be void in the sight of heaven. Those who have the\ntemerity to act in that manner will be counted guilty of taking the\nname of the Lord in vain. No council, convocation, conference,\nsynod, or presbytery, composed of any number of learned, devout and\nvenerable persons, without divine communication can confer the\nsmallest amount of divine authority. Their power is only human,\ntheir decisions, their commissions and their creeds are equally\nvalueless in the plan of salvation.\n\nWhenever the Almighty desired to communicate with man on earth, he\nselected his own representatives and endowed them with authority to\nspeak and act in his name. What they uttered by the power of the\nHoly Ghost, and what they administered as he directed, was\nrecognized by him as if performed and spoken by Deity in person.\nWhen he gave them authority to call and ordain others to the same\nduties, their administrations were also accepted by the Lord, and\nwere fully efficacious. This divine authority was called the holy\npriesthood. It was bestowed in the earliest ages. It existed among\nthe patriarchs, was exercised in the Mosaic dispensation, was held\nby many of the prophets, and was established in the Christian Church\nby the Savior himself. There are two orders, or branches, of that\npriesthood.\n\nThe higher, which includes the lower, came to be known as the\nMelchizedek Priesthood. This was because Melchizedek the King of\nSalem, who lived in the time of Abraham and from whom \"the father of\nthe faithful\" received his blessing, obtained great power in that\npriesthood. It is referred to in the epistle to the Hebrews, 7th\nchapter. Much controversy has arisen over the meaning of the third\nverse, which says: \"Without father, without mother, without descent,\nhaving neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like\nunto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.\" The difficulty\nhas arisen through the application of these remarks to the\nindividual instead of the priesthood which he held. The higher or\nMelchizedek Priesthood was not limited, as the Levitical Order\nsubsequently was, to a special lineage. It did not depend upon\nparentage or descent, and it was an eternal priesthood, and those\nwho possessed it worthily retained it through life, being kings and\npriests unto God forever.\n\nThe lesser priesthood was held notably by Aaron and his sons, in the\nline of the first born, and has therefore been called by his name.\nIt had authority to administer in the lesser ordinances and in\ntemporal affairs, but not in the higher and more spiritual concerns\nof the kingdom of God. But no man could take this honor unto\nhimself. He must be called of God as was Aaron, or he could not hold\nthat priesthood (Hebrews 5:4). Aaron was called by revelation\nthrough Moses the prophet, and ordained under his hands.\n\nThis being so, as a matter of course, no man can take unto himself\nthe higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood. Unless called of God by\nrevelation and properly ordained, he could not obtain that\nauthority. Even Jesus of Nazareth, though he was the Son of God, did\nnot assume that priesthood. He was \"called of God, a high priest\nafter the order of Melchizedek.\" It is written further: \"So also\nChrist glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that\nsaid unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee\" (Hebrews\n5:5, 10).\n\nIt has been erroneously taught among the Christian sects of the\npresent age that this priesthood, in both of its branches or orders,\nwas done away in Christ. That it has not been on earth for several\ncenturies may be true, and therefore the authority to administer in\nthe name of the Lord has not been enjoyed among men. But the\nauthority held by Jesus Christ as \"a priest forever after the order\nof Melchizedek\" was conferred by him upon his apostles, to whom he\ngave the keys of that power and authority, so that what they sealed\non earth should be sealed in heaven, and what they loosed on earth\nshould be loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18). He said to them: \"As my\nFather hath sent me, even so send I you\" (John 20:21). Again he\nsaid: \"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained\nyou, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit\nshould remain\" (John 15:16). The apostles thus authorized had power\nto call others to this priesthood and ministry, when directed by the\nHoly Ghost, as Moses called and ordained his brother, Aaron.\n\nThe law of carnal commandments in which the lesser or Levitical\nPriesthood administered was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, but the\npriesthood or authority to administer in the name of the Lord was\nnot then abolished, the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood was\nrestored. That was the change in the priesthood referred to in\nHebrews 7:12: \"For the priesthood being changed, there is made of\nnecessity a change also of the law.\" From this it is evident that\nthe priesthood was not abolished, but the law of the gospel being\nintroduced by Christ in place of the Mosaic code, the higher\npriesthood was also introduced, for the gospel is a higher law than\nthat of Moses. The sacrifice of animals in which the lesser\npriesthood administered was no longer required, after the great\nsacrifice of the Son of God of which they were typical, so that\nfunction of the lesser or Aaronic Priesthood was discontinued. But\nthe administration of the ordinances of the gospel was necessary,\nand could not be rightfully performed without divine authority.\nTherefore, the priesthood of God held by Jesus Christ, and by his\napostles and by others called of God through them, was a part of and\nessential to the Christian dispensation.\n\nThe term \"called of God\" appears to be as much misunderstood as is\nthe subject of the priesthood of God. Men assume to act in the name\nof Jesus Christ, either because they feel or imagine they have a\ncall in their hearts to this ministry, or because they have been\ncalled by some person or conclave having no more divine\ncommunication and authority than they had themselves. In contrast to\ntheir assumption let us view the case of Saul of Tarsus, afterwards\ncalled Paul the Apostle. In the narration of his case as given in\nActs 22 he says that on his way to Damascus the Lord Jesus Christ\nappeared to him in glory, and he was stricken blind thereby. He\nreceived his sight by miracle and was informed: \"The God of our\nfathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldst know his will, and see\nthat Just One, and shouldst hear the voice of his mouth. For thou\nshalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.\nAnd now why tarriest thou, arise and be baptized, and wash away thy\nsins, calling on the name of the Lord.\" Paul subsequently received\nanother divine communication, informing him that the Lord would send\nhim unto the Gentiles (Verses 12-21). After all this he was not\nauthorized to act as a minister of the gospel, because he had not\nyet been properly called and ordained.\n\nIt was ten years after this, according to the chronology of the New\nTestament, that Paul was ordained to the priesthood or authority to\nact in the name of the Lord. It is stated that certain prophets and\nteachers were in the Church at Antioch, and \"As they ministered to\nthe Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and\nSaul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had\nfasted and prayed, and laid their hands upon them, they sent them\naway\" (Acts 13:2, 3; see also Acts 9:15-18). Paul in his epistles\ninvariably declared that he was not called by the will of man and he\ntaught that no man of himself could rightfully assume the authority\nto administer in the name of the Lord. To the Galatians he wrote:\n\"Paul, an apostle (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ,\nand God the Father, who raised him from the dead)\" (Galatians 1:1).\nWriting to Titus, Paul said: \"For this cause left I thee in Crete,\nthat thou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting, and\nordained elders in every city as I had appointed thee\" (Titus 1:5).\nWriting to Timothy, Paul says: \"Neglect not the gift that is in\nthee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the\nhands of the presbytery\" (I Timothy 4:14). It was thus that the\nseven deacons were ordained, as recorded in Acts 6:6.\n\nThat there was a divinely appointed ministry in the Church\nestablished by our Savior must be evident to every mind open to the\ntruth, on reading the New Testament; also that it was essential to\nthe Church, and that without it there can be no true Church of\nChrist on earth. Explaining this subject and stating the order of\nthe Christian ministry given by Christ, Paul says: \"And he gave some\napostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors\nand teachers\" (Ephesians 4:11). These inspired men were, as we have\nseen, called of God, not of men, and were appointed and ordained to\ntheir respective callings by divine authority. It is claimed that\nthese were necessary only in the first days of the Church of Christ\non earth, and that they are no longer needed. But the succeeding\nverses of the scripture we have quoted show most positively to the\ncontrary. They were given, Paul says, \"For the perfecting of the\nSaints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body\nof Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the\nknowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of\nthe stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more\nchildren, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of\ndoctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby\nthey lie in wait to deceive\" (Verses 12-14). Without these divinely\nordained and inspired men, holding this holy priesthood, the work of\nthe ministry cannot be performed acceptably to God, neither can the\nChurch be perfected. They are absolutely necessary until all shall\ncome to the unity of the faith and a knowledge of the Son of God.\nThe absence of that divine authority, and of the gift of the Holy\nGhost, has caused the division and dissension that now exist among\nprofessing Christians, who are \"tossed to and fro and carried about\nwith every wind of doctrine,\" led hither and thither by unauthorized\nand uninspired men, and by the \"cunning craftiness\" whereby\nhirelings who preach for money, \"lie in wait to deceive\" and \"make\nmerchandise of the souls of men.\"\n\nAll the ministrations, ordinances, baptisms, confirmations,\nperformances and ceremonies that have been instituted by men and\nconducted under merely human authority, whether devoutly, sincerely\nand piously, or with wilful intent to impose upon the ignorance and\ncredulity of mankind, are void in the sight of heaven, are not\nrecognized of God, and have no virtue or effect as aids to\nsalvation. God's house is a house of order, and he will accept only\nthat which he has authorized and ordained. However startling this\nmay appear, it is the eternal truth, which will stand the test of\nboth reason and revelation. Truth is mighty and will prevail. The\nremedy for these tremendous evils will be pointed out in succeeding\nchapters.\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 6.\n\nThat there has been a great departure from the doctrines, ordinances\nand discipline of the Church as it existed in the days of Christ and\nhis apostles, must be evident to every unbiased enquirer into\nreligious truth. This has been demonstrated to some extent in that\nalready presented to the reader. But the full measure of the\napostasy that has taken place would take volumes to represent in\ndetail. The proofs are ample that it has been universal.\n\nWhen Jesus Christ commenced his ministry on earth he found the\npeople who claimed to be the special subjects of divine blessing and\napprobation, with all their priests and ministers and learned\ndivines, entirely out of the way of life and salvation. None were\nacceptable unto God. He denounced the most pious, respectable,\ndevout and educated among them as hypocrites and \"whited\nsepulchres.\" Their foreign missionary enterprises he declared\nobnoxious to the Almighty, and informed them that when they\ncompassed sea and land to make one proselyte they made him \"two-fold\nmore the child of hell\" (Matthew 23:15). He pronounced them blind\nguides who made clean the outside, but within were full of extortion\nand excess. The Spirit of the Lord had departed from those who\nhonored his name with their lips, but who had departed from his\nways, and who, in place of the word of God, \"taught for doctrine the\ncommandments of men.\" They were without authority from God, although\nthey claimed to have it by descent and ordination through a long\nline of predecessors and prophets. It should not be deemed\nimpossible that a similar universal apostasy could take place after\nthe establishment of the Church of Christ by him and his apostles.\nBut whether so considered or not, the facts are too patent to be\ndenied when they confront the honest and enlightened mind.\n\nIt has been shown that the gospel as taught and administered by\nChrist and his apostles required first, faith in God and Jesus\nChrist; second, repentance, which included reform of conduct; third,\nbaptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, the\nreception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands of\ndivinely authorized men; and that obedience to these brought the\ngifts of the Spirit, including love, joy, peace, patience, brotherly\nkindness, charity, healings, tongues, interpretations, discerning of\nspirits, miracles, prophecy, revelation, and the unity in one body\nof all who were baptized into the Church, no matter what had been\ntheir previous beliefs. Also that the ordinances of the gospel were\nadministered by men inspired of God, who were in communion with him,\nand who were ordained to act for and in behalf of Deity, so that\nwhat they performed by that authority on earth was acknowledged and\nsealed in heaven. And that in the Church of Christ there were\napostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders, and\nother officers, who were constituent parts of the body of Christ.\nThis may be further seen by a careful reading of I Corinthians 12,\nfrom which it clearly appears that God placed these in the Church,\nthat they were all essential to its existence, and that one of them\ncould not say to any of the others, \"I have no need of thee.\"\n\nLook at the condition of so-called Christendom today! There are no\ninspired apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers,\nadministering by divine authority and in the power and demonstration\nof the Holy Ghost. In their place there are contending priests and\nteachers guided by the wisdom of men, the learning of the schools\nand the traditions of the fathers, not even claiming that there is\nany direct communication between them and God, but persuading\nmankind that revelation has ceased and the voice of prophecy is\nhushed forever. Not one of the clashing, jarring and discordant\nsects of the day proclaims the gospel as it was preached by Peter on\nthe day of Pentecost, and as taught by all the duly authorized\nservants of God in the primitive Christian Church. The gifts and\nsigns which Christ promised to true believers, and which were\nenjoyed by the members of his Church according to their needs and\ntheir faith, are not only absent from the churches of these\ndegenerate times, but are pronounced needless and \"done away.\" There\nis no \"unity of the faith,\" no actual \"knowledge of the Son of God,\"\nno manifestations of his divine acceptance nor of the power and\nglory of the Holy Ghost.\n\nWhat is the reason of this transformation? Has God changed? Is\nChrist divided? Is the Holy Ghost dead? Or, have not men changed the\norder, ordinances, discipline, doctrines, and spirit of the Church\nof Christ? Is not the prediction of Isaiah the prophet concerning\nthese times literally fulfilled? \"The earth also is defiled under\nthe inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws,\nchanged the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.\" He said it\nshould be \"as with the people, so with the priest; as with the\nservant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress;\nas with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with\nthe borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury\nto him\" (Isaiah 24:2-5).\n\nThe deplorable condition of affairs in modern Christendom was\nforeseen and predicted by the apostles of Jesus Christ, whose\nforebodings have come down to us in the New Testament. Paul, writing\nto Timothy, spoke in this wise: \"This know also, that in the last\ndays perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own\nselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to\nparents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,\ntrucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of\nthose that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of\npleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of Godliness, but\ndenying the power thereof: from such turn away\" (II Timothy 3:1-5).\nAlso: \"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times\nsome shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,\nand doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their\nconscience seared with a hot iron\" (I Timothy 4:1, 2). Paul further\nsaid: \"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus\nChrist, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and\nhis kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;\nreprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For\nthe time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but\nafter their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having\nitching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth,\nand shall be turned unto fables\" (II Timothy 4:1-4). Paul also said\nthey should be \"ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge\nof the truth.\" Writing to the Thessalonians he said: \"Now we beseech\nyou, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our\ngathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or\nbe troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from\nus, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by\nany means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling\naway first\" (II Thessalonians 2:1-3).\n\nThe Apostle Peter also foresaw this great apostasy, and spoke of it\nin this wise: \"But there were false prophets also among the people,\neven as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall\nbring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them,\nand bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow\ntheir pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be\nevil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned\nwords make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time\nlingereth not and their damnation slumbereth not\" (II Peter 2:1-3).\n\nThe \"falling away\" commenced in the time of the apostles, and hence\ntheir numerous warnings and exhortations to the saints, rebuking\nschisms and divisions, and counseling unity, showing that the Spirit\nof the Lord promoted union and led people to the knowledge of the\ntruth, while dissension and strife came from the Evil One, and led\nto darkness and death. That the great apostasy commenced at a very\nearly period is shown by the words of Paul, \"for the mystery of\niniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let until\nhe be taken out of the way\" (II Thessalonians 2:7). By the time the\napostles were taken out of the way, most of them slain by the hands\nof wicked men, the apostasy had assumed such proportions that only\nseven of the Churches were deemed worthy of a divine communication\nthrough the Apostle John, who had been banished to the Island of\nPatmos. And in that revelation most of them were denounced by the\nLord because they had \"left their first love,\" and were commanded to\nrepent or he would remove them out of their place. Some of them were\n\"neither cold or hot,\" others had given way to seducing spirits and\nhad committed abominations and imbibed false doctrines (See\nRevelation 1, 2, and 3). In that same vision John the beloved saw\nthe Church in the form of a woman, clothed with the sun, the moon\nunder her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head, taken away\ninto the wilderness, to remain for a lengthened period, and in her\nplace he saw \"a woman sitting upon a scarlet colored beast, full of\nnames of blasphemy,\" and though decked with gold and precious\nstones, she held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, and\nthe name upon her head was Mystery. He saw further that all nations\nwere made to drink out of that golden cup, by which they were made\ndrunken (See Revelation 12:1-6; 17:1-5; 18:2-3).\n\nIt is clear from these predictions in the New Testament, and others\nthat might be cited, that the departure from the purity, simplicity,\nand unity of the gospel of Christ was to be universal; and that\nthese prophecies were fulfilled we have the testimony of the Church\nof England. In her Homily on the Perils of Idolatry she declares:\n\"Clergy and laity, learned and unlearned, men, women and children,\nof all ages, sects and degrees, of whole Christendom, a most\nhorrible and dreadful thing to think, have been at once buried in\nthe most abominable idolatry, and that for eight hundred years or\nmore.\" That being true, how is it possible to believe that the\nChurch of Christ had any existence on earth after that long\ncontinued darkness and apostasy? How could there be any remnant left\nof the divine authority held by the apostles and priesthood of the\noriginal Christian Church? If the Romish Church, from which the\nChurch of England seceded, had no divine authority, then the Church\nof England could have none, for all she had she obtained from that\nChurch. If the Romish Church possessed that authority, still the\nChurch of England could have none, for Rome excommunicated her with\nall her priests and ministers. The Church of England being without\ndivine authority, all the various contending sects that have sprung\nfrom her are of necessity in a similar condition, for none of them\neven claim to have received any revelation from God restoring that\nauthority and re-establishing the Church of Christ.\n\nFrom the Pope of Rome down to the latest minister presuming to act\nin the name of the Lord, there is not and cannot be one who holds\nthe holy apostleship or any portion of that sacred priesthood which\nGod placed in the Church, and which Paul declared essential to its\nexistence. Good men, learned men, devout men, there have been by\nmillions; noble, pious, and blessed women also, with them, have done\nthe best they could according to their light and opportunities; but\ndarkness \"has covered the earth and gross darkness the people,\" and\napostasy from primitive Christianity, as foretold by its founders,\nhas been awful and universal!\n\nBut, thank God, the restoration was also predicted, and it will be a\npleasing task in further chapters to set this forth, as revealed and\nbrought about by revelation from God the eternal Father, through\nJesus Christ his Son and the holy angels sent from their presence,\nto usher in the last and greatest of all dispensations.\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 7.\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\nto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a\nloud voice, Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his\njudgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and\nthe sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another\nangel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city,\nbecause she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her\nfornication\" (Revelation 14:6-8). In these inspired words John the\nbeloved apostle predicted the restoration of the gospel to the\nearth, and the subsequent destruction of that power which had filled\nthe earth with the darkness of spiritual inebriety and wickedness.\nThat these events were not revelations of the past, but prophecies\nof the future manifested to the Apostle John is made certain by what\nhe says in Chapter iv, verse 1: \"After this I looked, and, behold, a\ndoor was opened into heaven: and the first voice which I heard was\nas it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, Come up hither,\nand I will show thee things which must be hereafter.\" The angels\nspoken of in the 14th chapter, quoted above, were among the things\nwhich John was told \"must be hereafter.\" It should be observed that\nwhen the angel should fly to the earth bearing the everlasting\ngospel, it was to be at a time when every nation, and kindred, and\ntongue, and people would be without that gospel in its fulness. That\nthis has been the condition of the world for a long time has already\nbeen demonstrated to the reader.\n\nIn predicting events that would occur previous to his coming and\n\"the end of the world,\" Christ declared, \"And this gospel of the\nkingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all\nnations, and then shall the end come\" (Matthew 24:14). From this we\nlearn that the gospel as preached by Christ and delivered by him to\nthe apostles, is to be preached in all the world as a witness of his\nsecond advent and a sign of the approaching end (See verse 3).\n\nThe foregoing predictions correspond with the prophecy of Isaiah:\n\"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with\ntheir mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their\nheart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept\nof men; therefore I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this\npeople, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their\nwise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men\nshall be hid\" (Isaiah 29:13, 14). All the prophets whose writings\nhave been collected in the sacred volume called the Bible, have\nproclaimed the glory of the latter days and the final triumph of\ntruth over error, and the power of God over the deceptions of that\nEvil One.\n\nThus not only the restoration of the gospel after the great apostasy\nthat was to take place was foretold by holy men of God, but the\nmanner of its revelation was also explained. It was to be by the\ncoming of an angel from heaven. To whom might it be expected that\nthis angel should appear? To the learned divines and contending\nsectaries of modern Christendom? Do they not all declare that\nrevelation ceased when John received his vision, recorded in the\nBook of Revelation? Do they not teach that though angels once\nministered to men the day of their coming has long since passed?\nHave they any faith to call on God for a divine communication? And\nwill the Almighty reveal anything except to those who call upon him\nin faith? God's ways are not as man's ways. Therefore, as Paul\nexpressed it, \"not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,\nnot many noble are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of\nthe world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the weak things\nof the world to confound the things which are mighty; . . . that no\nflesh should glory in his presence\" (I Corinthians 1:26-29). And as\nquoted above, the Lord determined that in bringing forth his\nlatter-day work, \"a marvelous work and a wonder,\" \"the wisdom of the\nwise should perish and the understanding of the prudent should be\nhid.\"\n\nIt was in the year 1823 that the angel spoken of by John the\nRevelator came with the everlasting gospel to a young man scarcely\neighteen years of age, of obscure though respectable parentage, and\nwithout the learning of the schools. His name, too, was common, and\nhis occupation that of a farmer's boy. Joseph Smith, whom the Lord\nraised up to receive his word, establish his Church, and prepare the\nway for the Redeemer's second coming, was led to enquire of the Lord\nthrough reading the scriptures, for the purpose of finding out which\nof all the disputing religions was right. Coming to the Epistle of\nJames, 1st chapter and 5th verse, he read: \"If any of you lack\nwisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and\nupbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith,\nnothing wavering.\" Relying on his word, he went into the woods to\npray, and in the simplicity of his heart called on God for the\nwisdom which he felt he greatly needed. He was then not fifteen\nyears of age, but his faith was strong and wavered not. His prayers\nwere heard, and in a heavenly vision in open daylight, the Father\nand the Son revealed themselves to his astonished gaze. The Father,\npointing to the Son, proclaimed, \"This is my beloved Son, hear him.\"\nOur Savior spoke to the boy, and in answer to his question as to\nwhich of all the religious sects was right, he was told that they\nhad all gone out of the way, and was commanded to go after none of\nthem, but was promised that in due time the true gospel of Christ\nshould be revealed to him.\n\nWhen the angel appeared to him three years later, it was in his\nchamber, just as he had retired for the night. Coming in glory, the\nangel showed to Joseph the place where an ancient record was hidden\nin the side of a hill, containing the history of the former\ninhabitants of the American continent, including an account of a\nvisit made to them by Jesus Christ after his resurrection from the\ndead when he declared to them the same gospel that he had preached\nin Palestine and also established his Church among them after the\nsame pattern as that organized on the eastern hemisphere. He was\ninformed that this record should be subsequently placed in his hands\nto translate by the gift and power of God to be given to him through\nmeans which the Lord had prepared for that purpose. This\nmanifestation was thrice repeated that night that Joseph might be\nfully assured of its reality. Under the inspiration of Almighty God,\nthe young man was able to obtain possession of this precious record,\ninscribed in small and curious characters upon metallic plates. The\ngospel is there set forth in plain and simple language, and no one\nwho reads the book, which is called the Book of Mormon, with a\nprayerful and unprejudiced heart, will fail to be impressed with its\ndivine origin.\n\nAfter being thus favored of the Lord, Joseph Smith received a\nvisitation from John the Baptist, who held authority in ancient\ntimes to preach and administer baptism by immersion for the\nremission of sins. He came as a ministering angel, and ordained\nJoseph Smith and his companion, Oliver Cowdery, to that priesthood\nand authority. Thus endowed, these young men baptized each other,\nand at a later date were ministered to by the Apostles Peter and\nJames and John, who ordained them to the apostleship, with authority\nto lay hands on baptized believers and confer the gift of the Holy\nGhost, also to build and organize the Church of Christ according to\nthe original pattern.\n\nOn the sixth day of April, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ was\norganized in the State of New York, with six members, Latter-day\nSaints who had been baptized for the remission of sins and had been\nconfirmed by the laying on of hands. The Holy Ghost was manifested\nunto them, and as the Church grew in numbers the gifts of the Spirit\nwere imparted, and the organization was eventually made complete\nwith apostles, prophets, seventies, elders, priests, teachers,\ndeacons, also bishops and other officers that were in the primitive\nChristian Church; indeed, all the grades of the Melchizedek and\nAaronic Priesthood, with their keys, powers and endowments, and all\nthe ordinances, ministrations and divine manifestations necessary to\nthe true Church of Christ. Men thus divinely authorized, were sent\nout into the world to preach the gospel like the apostles of old,\nwithout purse or scrip, without salary and without pay of any kind,\ndepending upon the Lord and friends whom he might raise up to\nminister to their temporal wants. Wherever they went and people\nreceived their testimony and were baptized for the remission of\nsins, the Holy Ghost was poured out upon them through the laying on\nof hands, and they invariably obtained a testimony from God that\nthey were accepted of him, and that he had in very deed\nre-established his Church on earth. There are now many thousands of\nliving witnesses to the truth of these things. They are natives of\nvarious countries, speaking different languages, reared in divers\nreligions; they are now brought to the unity of the faith; they have\ncome to a knowledge of the truth; doubt has fled and darkness has\nbeen dispersed; the light of heaven shines in their souls. They are\nin the straight and narrow way. They are members of the body of\nChrist, and his Spirit, which searcheth all things, yea the deep\nthings of God, is the abiding witness from on high and shows them\nthings past, present and to come.\n\nThis is the latter-day work spoken of by the holy prophets. It is\nthe dispensation of the fulness of times, in the which God will\n\"gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in\nheaven and which are on earth, even in him\" (Ephesians 1:10). It is\nthe last and greatest of all dispensations. In it will be\naccomplished the \"restitution of all things, which God hath spoken\nby the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began\" (Acts\n3:21). It is to prepare the way for the second advent of our Lord\nJesus Christ, who will come \"in the clouds of heaven with power and\ngreat glory,\" and \"in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that\nknow not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,\n. . . when he shall come to be glorified in his saints\" (II\nThessalonians 1:8, 10). In this dispensation, after all people have\nbeen warned and the gospel has been preached for a witness to all\nnations, and the elect are gathered together from the four winds,\nnamely, the east, west, north and south, the great tribulations and\njudgments will be poured out, the end of the world, that is, the end\nof the rule of Satan and of the wicked will come, the kingdoms of\nthis world will become the kingdom of our God and his Christ, and he\nwill reign over them forever.\n\n\"The times of ignorance God hath winked at, but he now commands all\nmen everywhere to repent.\" Therefore, O, ye inhabitants of the\nearth, hearken to the voice of the Lord, which is unto all people,\nChristian and Pagan, preachers and hearers, Papists, Protestants,\ninfidels, secularists and agnostics, rich and poor, kings,\npresidents, rulers, peasants and men and women of all races,\nreligions and degrees, saying, Repent of your sins, of your false\ncreeds, of your dead forms, and of all your unbelief and iniquities,\nand come unto me and be baptized by my servants, on whom I have\nplaced my authority, and receive the laying on of their hands, and\nyou shall have the remission of your sins and the gift of the Holy\nGhost, and shall know that I am God, and that I have set my hand to\naccomplish my great work in the earth, and if you abide in me you\nshall inherit the earth when it is cleansed and glorified, and shall\nbe crowned with eternal life!\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 8.\n\n\"Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look\ndown from heaven.\" So prophesied the Psalm 1st (Ps. 85:11). This may\nbe viewed as a figurative expression, but it has been literally\nfulfilled in the 19th century. In the midst of the disputations over\nthe meaning of many parts of the Bible, which have caused so many\nheart-burnings and bitter feelings among preachers and professors of\nreligion, out of the earth has come forth a sacred record containing\ndivine truth in such plainness and simplicity as to settle in the\nminds of believers those controversies which have agitated the world\nof theology. When the American continent was discovered by Columbus\nand others, who were led to cross the great waters in search of\nunknown lands, a dark-skinned race, composed of many different\ntribes but evidently of a common origin, was found in possession of\nthe western continent. Varying in their characteristics from the\nwhite, the black, the yellow, and all the European, Asiatic and\nEthiopian branches of the human family, their origin became a cause\nof wonder and scientific investigation. The general conclusion\narrived at was that at some remote period their ancestors had\nmigrated from some portion of the eastern hemisphere, but when, or\nhow, or why this emigration had taken place was a profound mystery.\n\nBut in the year 1829 a book was published in the State of New York,\nclaiming to have been translated from metallic plates found in a\nhill-side in that State by a young man who, was directed to their\nplace of deposit by an angel of God, and who was inspired in the\nwork of translation to decipher the hieroglyphics inscribed on those\nplates, being aided in the work by an instrument, discovered with\nthem, called the Urim and Thummim. The plates had the appearance of\ngold, were not quite so thick as common tin, were about six by seven\ninches in size, were engraved on both sides, and were fastened\ntogether in the shape of a book by three rings at the back. Acting\nunder instruction of the heavenly messenger, the young man, Joseph\nSmith, proceeded as quietly as possible to perform the arduous task\nrequired of him. As he was but a poor scholar, he obtained the\nassistance of a scribe to write, as he dictated word by word. The\nnews of the discovery, however, became noised around, and ridicule\nfrom both preachers and people was followed by attempts at violence,\nso that the plates had to be concealed, and, with their translator,\nremoved from place to place.\n\nA farmer, named Martin Harris, who had become interested in the\nwork, received from Joseph Smith a copy of some of the hieroglyphics\nwith their translation. These he carried to New York and submitted\nthem to some learned linguists, among them Prof. Anthon, who, after\nexamining them, pronounced them true characters and the\ntranslations, so far as he could determine, to be correct. He wrote\na certificate to this effect, and gave it to Martin Harris. But\nquestioning him as to how the young man had obtained the record\ncontaining these characters, he was informed that it was revealed to\nhim by an angel of God. He then requested Martin Harris to let him\nlook at the certificate he had given him. On receiving it he tore it\nup, declaring that there was no such thing as angels from heaven\nnow-a-days, but said if the book was brought to him he would\nendeavor to translate it. A portion of the record being sealed,\nMartin Harris informed him of that fact, when he exclaimed, \"I\ncannot read a sealed book.\" As will be seen subsequently, he was,\nthough unwittingly, fulfilling a scriptural prophecy.\n\nThat portion of the record which was not sealed was finally\ntranslated into the English language by Joseph Smith and formed a\nvolume of about 600 pages, which was published as the Book of\nMormon. This title was given to it because a prophet named Mormon,\nby command of God, about four hundred years after Christ, compiled\nand abridged the records of prophets who ministered on the American\ncontinent, back to to about 600 years before Christ, when a colony\nof Israelites were led from Palestine across the waters and became a\nnumerous people, the ancestors of the present race of American\nIndians. The account of their travels, their establishment on the\nwestern hemisphere, the revelations of God to them, their division\nthrough wickedness into separate tribes, the manner in which the hue\nof their complexion was changed, their wars, their works, their\nbuildings, their customs, their language, the words of their\nprophets, are all given in great plainness in the Book of Mormon. An\naccount is also given of the visit of our Lord Jesus Christ to this\npeople after his resurrection, fulfilling his own prediction\nrecorded in John 10:16: \"And other sheep I have, which are not of\nthis fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and\nthere shall be one fold and one shepherd.\" That these \"other sheep\"\nwere not the Gentiles, as popularly supposed, is clear from Christ's\nstatement, \"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of\nIsrael\" (Matthew 15:24). He established his Church among them,\nordaining twelve apostles, and giving them the same gospel,\nauthority, gifts, powers, ordinances and blessings as he gave to his\n\"sheep\" on the eastern hemisphere. Thus the fulness of the gospel is\ncontained in the Book of Mormon, which stands as a witness of the\ntruth of the Bible; the two records supporting each other, and both\nunited bearing testimony to an unbelieving world that Jesus of\nNazareth is the Christ, the Son of the eternal God and the Savior of\nthe world.\n\nThis record also contains an account of a colony directed of the\nLord to the western continent at the time of the scattering of the\npeople from the land of Shinar and the confusion of tongues, at the\nstoppage of the building of the Tower of Babel. The ruins of their\ncities and temples and fortifications, discovered by travelers and\narchaeologists since the publication of the Book of Mormon, are\nsilent but potent witnesses of the truth of the record. Each\nsucceeding year brings forth further evidences of this character,\nthat form a cloud of witnesses to the divine mission of the Prophet,\nSeer, and Translator, Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon has since\nbeen published in many languages and submitted to the scrutiny of\nthe religious and scientific world, and no one as yet has been able\nto point out wherein it disagrees with the Jewish Scriptures or with\nthe facts developed by antiquarian research and scientific\ninvestigation. Yet it was brought forth in this age by an unlearned\nyouth, not acquainted with the world, reared in rural simplicity,\nwithout access to the literature of the time, and without even the\nordinary acquirements of the schoolboy of the present.\n\nAccording to the Book of Mormon, the people who journeyed from\nJerusalem to the American continent, taking with them the genealogy\nof their fathers and writings of the law and the prophets, were of\nthe tribe of Joseph through Ephraim and Manasseh, and were led out\nof Palestine when Zedekiah was king of Judah. In keeping the record,\nwhich was subsequently abridged by the prophet Mormon, they used the\nlearning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians. Their\nhieroglyphs and symbols, however, were changed and modified, so that\nthe characters upon the plates revealed to Joseph Smith, where they\nhad lain hidden for about 1,400 years, was a \"reformed Egyptian.\"\nHow this uneducated youth was able to bring forth a work of such\nmagnitude and importance, unless by inspiration of Almighty God, and\nby the means explained remains a mystery to unbelievers. For a long\ntime it was pretended by enemies of the work that one Solomon\nSpaulding wrote a Manuscript Story which in some unexplained manner\nfell into the hands of Joseph Smith, who worked it over into the\nBook of Mormon. But that foolish tale has signally failed of its\npurpose, for in recent years the Spaulding manuscript has come to\nlight, and is now deposited in the Library of Oberlin College, Ohio,\nand proves to be as unlike the Book of Mormon as Jack the Giant\nKiller is dissimilar to the Bible.\n\nThe colonization of America by the seed of Joseph, who was sold into\nEgypt, fulfills the blessings pronounced on the head of Joseph and\nhis sons by the patriarch Jacob (See Genesis 48, also xlix, 22-26,\nalso the blessing pronounced by the prophet Moses, Deuteronomy\n33:13-17). The historical portion of the Book of Mormon shows that\nthe American continent, possessed by a \"multitude of nations,\" the\nseed of Ephraim and Manasseh, is the \"blessed land\" bestowed on\nJoseph in addition to his portion in Canaan. There are to be found\nthe \"everlasting hills\" and the \"ancient mountains,\" \"the precious\nthings of heaven, and the precious things of the earth,\" and all of\nthe characteristics of the country unto which the branches of the\n\"fruitful bough\" were to \"run over the wall,\" as Jacob predicted.\nThat the word of the Lord was to be given to the seed of Ephraim,\nmay be seen from Hosea 8:11, 12: \"Because Ephraim hath made many\naltars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin. I have written to\nhim the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange\nthing.\" The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is foreshadowed by\nIsaiah the prophet, Chapter 29:4-19. It is the voice of a fallen\npeople whispering \"out of the dust.\" It has come at a time when the\nworld is \"drunken, but not with wine,\" staggering under the\ninfluence of false doctrine, and without prophets and seers. It is\nthe \"marvelous work and a wonder,\" which the Lord was to bring to\npass for the confounding of those who had turned things upside down,\nand who worshipped him with their mouths while their hearts were far\nfrom him.\n\nThe words of the book, Isaiah said, were to be presented to the\nlearned, saying, \"Read this, I pray thee,\" and he was to say, \"I\ncannot, for it is sealed.\" The book itself was to be \"delivered to\nhim that is not learned;\" and that it was to be read is clear from\nverse 18: \"And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the\nbook, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out\nof darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and\nthe poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.\" The\ncoming forth of the Book of Mormon as the \"stick of Joseph,\" is also\npredicted in Ezekiel 37:15-22. The interview of Martin Harris with\nProf. Anthon, related above, fulfilled one portion of Isaiah's\nprophecy, the other portions have come to pass in the translation of\nthe book by the unlearned youth and its reception by the meek and\npoor among men, and by the restoration of sight to the blind and\nhearing to the deaf, who have seen and heard the words of the book\nand bear testimony to its divine origin. The \"Stick of Judah\"--the\nBible--is now joined with the \"Stick of Joseph\"--the Book of\nMormon--and, as Ezekiel foretold, they have become one in the hand\nof the Lord, as a witness for him and his Son Jesus Christ in the\nlatter days.\n\nAs a preface to the Book of Mormon the testimony of three witnesses,\nnamely, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris, is\npublished, declaring \"with words of soberness\" that an angel of God\ncame down from heaven and brought and laid before their eyes the\nplates from which the book was translated; that the voice of God\nfrom heaven declared that it had been translated by the gift and\npower of God, and commanded them to bear record of it. Also the\ntestimony of eight witnesses is given, who saw the plates naturally,\nhandled them, inspected the engravings thereon, and turned over the\nleaves that had been translated. In addition to these witnesses,\nchosen of the Lord to bear record of these facts, thousands of\npeople, of various nationalities, have received divine testimony\nthat the book is true, and that Joseph Smith, who translated it by\nthe gift of God, was a true prophet, called of God to usher in the\ndispensation of the fulness of times, proclaims anew the everlasting\ngospel, the one plan of salvation, re-establish the Church of Christ\non earth, and prepare the way for the coming of him whose right it\nis to reign, and for the final redemption of the earth from sin and\nSatan, from darkness and death. And every person who will read the\nBook of Mormon with an unprejudiced mind and will ask God in faith,\nin the name of Jesus Christ, concerning it, shall surely receive a\nwitness of its truth and be guided in the way of eternal salvation.\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 9.\n\nIn proclaiming the great truths that the silence of centuries has\nbeen broken; that the voice of God has again been heard from heaven;\nthat Jesus Christ his Son has manifested himself in these latter\ndays; that angels from the courts of glory have ministered to man on\nearth in the present age; that a sacred record has been brought\nforth from the ground, disclosing the history of a hemisphere and\nbearing the same truths as those recorded in the Bible; that a\nprophet, seer and revelator has been raised up to bring in the last\ndispensation; that apostles and other inspired servants of God now\nminister among men; that the Church of Christ, with all its former\norganization, ordinances, gifts and spiritual power, has been\nreorganized on earth; and that communications may be had with Deity\nby men and women of faith now, as at any period in the world's\nhistory, the servants of God are met with the assertion that the day\nof revelation has long since passed, and that they must of necessity\nbe either impostors or deluded, because there is to be no more\nscripture, prophecy, miracles, angelic ministrations, visions or\nactual communications from heaven to earth. This popular error is\nfostered and propagated by the ministers of various so-called\nChristian denominations, and is accepted by the masses of the people\nas a settled and foregone conclusion.\n\nOn what grounds is such an irrational position assumed? Is not the\nAlmighty declared in scripture to be unchangeable? Has not his work\non earth always been conducted by men divinely chosen, appointed and\ninspired? Is there not as much need of divine revelation to settle\nreligious feuds and doctrinal differences in the 20th century as at\nany previous period? Would not the word of the Lord be of much more\nvalue to mankind than the varied opinions of uninspired men, no\nmatter how great may be their human learning? Ought not the\ninhabitants of the earth to be not only willing, but eager, to\nreceive a message from the eternal worlds?\n\n\"Ah!\" exclaims the objector, \"but there were to be no more prophets\nafter Christ. He finished the divine plan and completed the\nrevelation of God to the earth. He warned his disciples against\nfalse prophets and false Christs, and said if it were possible they\nwould deceive the very elect.\" Does not the very fact that Christ\nsaid there would be false prophets, convey the idea that there would\nbe true prophets also? If there were to be no more true prophets, it\nwould have been easy for the Savior to plainly say so, and thus\nthere would be no place left for deceivers. But he declared\nemphatically: \"Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets and wise\nmen, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and\nsome of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them\nfrom city to city\" (Matthew 23:34). Were not prophets established in\nthe Church of Christ as members of his body? Read I Corinthians\n2:28: \"And God hath set some in the Church; first apostles,\nsecondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then\ngifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.\" Did\nnot Christ promise his disciples that after he went away the\nComforter should come? And was not one of the offices of that Spirit\nto show them \"things to come?\" (John 16:13). Was not the gift of\nprophecy bestowed upon members of the Church of Christ as one of the\nmanifestations of the Holy Spirit? (I Corinthians 12:10). And can\nanybody possess the true testimony of Jesus without that Spirit? The\nangel that appeared to John the Apostle said: \"The testimony of\nJesus is the spirit of prophecy\" (Revelation 19:10). Paul prayed for\nthe Ephesians. \"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of\nglory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the\nknowledge of him\" (Ephesians 1:17). If revelation and prophecy\nceased with Christ, what about the New Testament, all written after\nhis death and resurrection, by men now believed to be inspired? Did\nnot the Apostle John behold a glorious vision and receive a grand\nrevelation, when banished to the Island of Patmos?\n\nHere again the objection will be raised. \"But that revelation was\nthe last communication from heaven, and its closing chapter forbids\nany further revelation.\" That is also a popular error promulgated by\nmen professing to be ministers of Christ, and finding themselves\ndestitute of divine power and inspiration. Here is the passage they\nquote: \"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the\nprophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God\nshall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book\"\n(Revelation 22:18). It is astonishing how plain and simple language\ncan be wrested from its evident meaning to suit the purposes of\nsophistry. There is not a word in that text which conveys the\nremotest intimation that revelation and prophecy were to cease, or\nthat God would no more speak to man. It is a prohibition against the\naddition by man of anything to that which God reveals. The next\nverse forbids the taking away of anything from the \"book of this\nprophecy.\" That is, the Book of Revelation. These commands have\nreference to that one book, and that only. The compilers of the New\nTestament have placed it last in the collection of scriptural books,\nand the strained, unnatural and absurd application which has been\nmade of the words we have quoted have been attached to the whole\nvolume of the Bible. It is all wrong and ridiculous. The idea that\nthe Almighty placed a seal upon his own mouth when he simply forbade\nmen to add to what he said, is certainly most remarkable for sane\npeople to entertain. If that singular notion were correct, then both\nthe angel who gave the revelation, and John who received it,\nviolated the heavenly injunction, for we read that the angel gave to\nJohn a mission in figurative manner, which he thus explained: \"Thou\nmust prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues,\nand kings\" (Revelation 10:11). It is well known that the epistles of\nSt. John were written after he received the revelation on Patmos.\n\nWhile the true Church of Christ remained on earth the Spirit of\nrevelation and prophecy also remained. When that spirit departed\nthere was but a dead form left. Only by the restoration of divine\ncommunication with man could the Church of Christ be re-established\non earth. Only by raising up a prophet to commence the latter-day\ndispensation could our heavenly Father maintain his invariable\nmethod from the beginning of the world. And instead of men,\nprofessing to be his servants, opposing and fighting against divine\nrevelation, they ought to hail with gladness the re-opening of the\nheavens and shout for joy that the rays of the Millennial morning\nhave burst upon the world.\n\nIt is passing strange that persons familiar with the prophetic\nwritings of the Bible could hold the opinion that there would be no\nrevelation in the latter days. The Bible teems with prophecies of\nthe latter-day glory, when the mightiest miracles ever wrought by\ndivine power should be displayed; when God should set up an \"ensign\nfor the nations,\" \"assemble the outcasts of Israel,\" gather together\n\"the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth,\" and not\nonly repeat the wonders of the Mosaic journey from Egypt to Canaan,\nbut display his power to such an extent that it will no more be\nsaid, \"The Lord liveth which brought up the children of Israel out\nof the land of Egypt; but, the Lord liveth which brought up and\nwhich led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country\nand from all countries whither I had driven them\" (See Isaiah\n11:6-16; Jeremiah 23:3-8; Zechariah 10:6-11). Not only is the Lord\nto gather Israel and Judah, \"with a mighty hand and a stretched out\narm,\" but he is to bring \"his elect together from the four quarters\nof the earth.\" They are to go up into the tops of the mountains,\nwhere the house of the Lord is to be reared, from which his law is\nto go forth, and where his people shall learn of his ways and walk\nin his paths. When he has rebuked the nations, and cleansed the\nearth from its iniquity, so that the meek shall inherit it, he is to\npour out his Spirit upon all flesh, with the result not only that\nhis sons and his daughters shall prophesy and see visions, but \"they\nshall all be taught of God, until \"the earth shall be full of the\nknowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Joel 2:28-32;\nIsaiah 11:9; Micah 4:1-7; Isaiah 35; Isaiah 54:13).\n\nThat there was to be a new and final dispensation after the great\napostasy from primitive Christianity foretold by the apostles, is\nevident from the statement of Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians.\nHe says: \"Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,\naccording to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself,\nthat in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather\ntogether in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and\nwhich are on earth, even in him\" (Ephesians 1:9, 10). How could\nthis, the greatest of all dispensations, be ushered in without a\nprophet and without revelation from God? Did the Almighty ever\ncommence a dispensation since the world began without a prophet to\ndeclare his word and without revealing his will? The Apostle Peter\ncalls this great dispensation \"the times of restitution of all\nthings, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets\nsince the world began,\" in which Jesus Christ is to come in glory\n(Acts 3:21). If all things are to be restored in that great\ngathering dispensation, then prophets must be restored, revelation,\nangelic visitations, gifts, signs, miracles, and all the\nmanifestations of former times must also be restored. For, the\nconsummation of all things is to be accomplished, and the earth be\nprepared for the presence of its rightful ruler, its Redeemer and\nKing.\n\nBe it known to all people that the Lord, in his infinite mercy, has\nonce more opened the heavens and revealed himself to man. The last\ndispensation has been commenced. The voice of Christ has again been\nheard. Angels have come down from heaven to earth. Prophets,\napostles and other inspired men declare the word and will of the\nLord. A sacred record of the ancient people of a vast continent has\nbeen brought out of the ground, and, united with the Jewish Bible,\nbears witness that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and\nthat by faith mankind in all ages may learn of him and have\ncommunion with him. The gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached in\nall the world as a witness to all nations, baptism is administered\nby divine authority for the remission of sins, the Holy Ghost is\nconferred as of old, by the laying on of hands of men clothed with\nthe Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, the unity of the faith is enjoyed,\nthe sick are healed, prophecies are uttered, the gifts of tongues\nand of interpretation are attainable, and by visions and dreams and\nthe witness of the Comforter, God is testifying to those who receive\nhis word, that he has commenced the great latter-day work spoken of\nby his holy prophets.\n\nThe man chosen of God to commence the work of the last dispensation\nwas Joseph Smith, who was slain at Carthage, Illinois, for the word\nof God and the testimony of Jesus. No prophet who ever lived on\nearth, except the Son of God himself, accomplished a greater work,\nbrought forth more truth or received greater revelations from on\nhigh than he. Having finished the grand mission required of him by\nthe Lord, he sealed his testimony with his blood, and stands with\nthe martyrs who will be crowned in the presence of God and of the\nLamb as kings and priests unto them forever. The truth of this\ntestimony has been sealed upon the hearts of many thousands of\npeople, who rejoice in the certain knowledge that they are accepted\nof God. And this knowledge may be obtained by every soul who shall\nbelieve in Christ, repent of sin, be baptized for the remission of\nsins, and receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy\nGhost. Therefore, O reader! Come unto the light, obey the gospel and\nbe saved! This is the only way of eternal life and everlasting\nhappiness in the Father's presence.\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 10.\n\n\"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter\ninto the kingdom of God\" (John 3:5). This sweeping declaration was\nmade by Jesus Christ to Nicodemus, when that prominent Israelite\nvisited the Savior at night. The Apostle Peter said concerning Jesus\nChrist: \"Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none\nother name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved\"\n(Acts 4:12). The words of Peter were spoken when he was \"filled with\nthe Holy Ghost.\" The words of Jesus came from him as the Son of God.\nThey vitally affect the whole human family. They being true, not a\nsoul can enter into the kingdom of God unless he or she is a true\nbeliever in Jesus Christ, and has been born of the water and of the\nSpirit. Even Christ himself had to comply with this law in order to\n\"fulfill all righteousness.\" He was born of the water in his burial\nby baptism in Jordan, and his coming forth from the womb of waters;\nhe was then born of the Spirit by the baptism of the Holy Ghost.\nHere is the example for all mankind, who are required to \"follow in\nhis steps.\" This is the \"straight and narrow way.\"\n\nThe question which naturally arises in the thoughtful mind on\nhearing these declarations is, \"How could people believe in Jesus\nChrist when his name was not preached to them?\" And coupled with\nthat comes the query: \"What has become of the many millions of\nearth's inhabitants who died without the opportunity of being born\nof water and of the Spirit?\" The heathen nations, worshipping false\ngods, knew nothing of Jesus as the Savior of mankind. Even the\nchosen people, Israel, who were under the Mosaic law, did not walk\nin that way of salvation. Since the days when the apostles and other\nauthorized servants of Christ administered the ordinances of the\ngospel, and during the times when \"darkness covered the earth and\ngross darkness the people,\" down to the present age when it is\nclaimed by the Latter-day Saints that the Church of Christ, the holy\napostleship, and the fulness of the gospel have been restored,\nmyriads of good people have passed away without receiving that new\nbirth in the manner that Christ declared to be essential. Have they\nall perished? Is it possible that they are doomed to destruction?\nWill the eternal Father reject all these his children because they\ndid not obey a law which was not made known to them?\n\nJustice, mercy, reason, and common sense revolt at such an idea. As\nPaul has it. \"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not\nbelieved? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not\nheard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall\nthey preach, except they be sent?\" (Romans 10:14). Yet the word of\nGod must stand. It endureth forever, and he is no respecter of\npersons. And he is to \"judge the secrets of all men by Jesus Christ\naccording to my gospel.\" It is for that reason that the gospel was\nto be preached to \"every creature.\" According to the notion\nprevalent in modern Christendom, there will be many millions of\npeople shut out of the kingdom of heaven, because they did not\nbelieve in a Savior about whom they knew nothing. And it is taught\nthat there is no possible chance of salvation for those who died\nwithout faith in Christ. Sectarians sing, \"There's no repentance in\nthe grave, nor pardon offered to the dead.\" The preachers of the\nsects limit the mercy of God to this probation. They teach that at\ndeath the soul goes either to heaven or to hell, and its state and\ncondition is fixed forever. If this awful doctrine were true, Satan\nwould gain the victory over Christ, claiming as his a vast and\noverwhelming proportion of the human family, leaving to our great\nRedeemer but a small and trifling troop out of the immense and\ncountless hosts of the armies of humanity.\n\nThe solution of this, to many, puzzling problem is simple in the\nlight of the true gospel of Christ restored in the latter days. \"The\nmercy of God endureth forever.\" It is not confined to the narrow\nboundaries of this little earth, nor tied up within the limits of\ntime. The spirits of men and women are his sons and daughters,\nwhether in the body or out of the body. \"His tender mercies are over\nALL HIS WORKS.\" No one can be justly or mercifully judged by the\ngospel without hearing that gospel, and having the opportunity to\nreceive or reject it. Why, then, should not the gospel of Jesus\nChrist be made known to those who never heard it in the flesh, after\nthey have left the body and dwell in another sphere? Do not all the\nsects of Christendom, almost without exception, believe that the\nspirit of man is immortal, and is therefore living and sentient when\nthe body is dead? And if that is true, are not the spirits of men\nand women able to receive instruction and information when out of\nthe body? Is it not the spirit of man that receives and stores up\nintelligence conveyed through the bodily senses? Why should the\nchange called death, which is the separation of the body and the\nspirit, cut off all means of divine communication to the living,\nimmortal, intelligent being that has simply \"shuffled off this\nmortal coil?\" There is no good reason why the spirit thus advanced\none stage in its experience should not be capable of still further\nprogress and of receiving light, knowledge, wisdom and religious\nteaching, especially if information essential to its eternal welfare\nwas withheld while it dwelt in the body. Revelation as well as\nreason bears testimony that the word of God can be preached to the\ndeparted as well in the sphere to which they have gone as on any\npart of this earthly globe.\n\n\"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the\nunjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the\nflesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and\npreached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were\ndisobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days\nof Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight\nsouls were saved by water\" (I Peter 3:18-20). Here is a declaration\nwhich, like a ray from the sun of righteousness, puts to flight the\nfogs and mists of modern eschatology and opens up to view a vast\nfield of understanding, wherein the justice, wisdom and mercy of God\nare displayed in glorious review. The spirits of those rebellious\npeople who were destroyed by the flood, after suffering about 2,000\nyears in their prison house, were visited by the Son of God while\nhis body was lying in the sepulchre. This was in fulfillment of the\nprophecies of Isaiah concerning him, for instance: \"The Spirit of\nthe Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach\ngood tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the\nbroken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening\nof the prison to them that are bound\" (Isaiah 61:1). And further:\n\"To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison,\nand them that sit in darkness out of the prison house\" (Isaiah 2:7).\nAnd again: \"That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth. To them\nthat are in darkness, Shew yourselves\" (Isaiah 59:9).\n\nThe common notion is that when Christ on the cross \"bowed his head\nand gave up the ghost,\" he went direct to heaven, as it is supposed\nall good people do, but on the third day after this, when Christ\nappeared to Mary, he said to her: \"Touch me not, for I am not yet\nascended to my Father\" (John 20: 17). The time spent by the Savior\nbetween his death and his resurrection, instead of being in heaven\nwas among the \"spirits in prison,\" the \"captives\" whom he went to\ndeliver. Thus Jesus could preach without his body, and the spirits\nwhom he visited could hear also without their bodies. But what was\nthe nature of his preaching to those who were held in captivity? Let\nPeter answer this question. \"For, for this cause was the gospel\npreached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged\naccording to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the\nspirit\" (I Peter 4:6). Thus it appears that the same gospel which\nwas preached to men in the body was also preached to men out of the\nbody, so that all might be judged by the same gospel, which is to be\npreached to \"every creature.\" That the message of deliverance to the\ncaptives and the opening of the prison to them that were bound was\nsuccessful is evident from the scriptural statement concerning\nChrist: \"He led captivity captive\" (Ephesians 4:8).\n\nJesus promised his disciples that the works which he did, they\nshould do also. The mission and priesthood which his Father gave to\nhim he gave also to them. It is therefore clear that the work of\nredemption commenced on earth will be carried on in the sphere\nbeyond the veil. And that it will be performed in the latter times,\nmay be learned without doubt from the prophecy of Isaiah concerning\nthe end of the world, in which he foretells as one of the events of\nthat period: \"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord\nshall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the\nkings of the earth upon the earth; and they shall be gathered\ntogether, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up\nin the prison, and after many days shall they be visited\" (Isaiah\n24:21-22).\n\nThe spirit of man when out of the body, being an intelligent entity,\na thinking, progressive and responsible being, capable of hearing,\nand believing or rejecting truth, must be also capable of repenting\nof evil and learning to do well. Thus the mercy of God can reach\nsuch a being independent of the mortal structure in which it was\npermitted to dwell on earth. The idea that the eternal future of man\nis fixed at death comes from a mistaken notion concerning \"the\njudgment day.\" Both Christ and his apostles taught that the time of\njudgment was set by the Father to take place \"when the Son of man\nshall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him\" (Matthew\n25:31-46). Paul declared that Christ would come to judge the quick\nand the dead \"at his appearing and his kingdom\" (II Timothy 4:1). It\nwas at that day that Paul expected to obtain \"a crown of\nrighteousness\" (Verse 8). And the time of the judgment is fixed in\nthe book of Revelation to be after the resurrection from the dead,\nwhen the small and the great shall stand before God, and the books\nshall be opened, and the dead shall be judged out of the things\nwritten in the books, according to their works.\n\nThe popular notion that final judgment takes place at the death of\neach individual, and that he is then and there exalted to heaven or\nthrust down to hell, is utterly wrong and unscriptural. Yet it has\nprevailed in Christendom for many centuries, and it remained for the\nprophet of the 19th century, Joseph Smith, by divine inspiration to\nbring forth the glorious light in the midst of dense spiritual\ndarkness, and show forth them that are dead who could not hear it\nwhile living in the by which every soul of Adam's race, either in\nthe body or out of the body, may learn the way of the Lord, the\neverlasting gospel, the only plan of salvation. It is to be preached\nto all them that are dead who could not hear it while living in the\nflesh, and they can repent and turn unto God and be taught the\nthings of his kingdom. The doctrine of purgatory, which is part of\nthe Roman Catholic creed, is a perversion of this doctrine of\nChrist, but the idea of the former came from a misunderstanding of\nthe latter. There is an intermediate state in which the spirits of\nthe departed remain between death and the resurrection of the body,\nand, as will be pointed out in a succeeding chapter, there are works\nwhich may be performed by the living in behalf of the dead, but only\nsuch as are impossible of performance in the spirit world.\n\nThe Apostle Paul declared that Jesus Christ \"gave himself a ransom\nfor ALL, to be testified in due time\" (I Timothy 2:6). The time has\nnow come. The testimony of this great truth is proclaimed by\nprophets and apostles raised up in these latter days, and by the\nvoice of angels from heaven, and by the witness of the Holy Ghost,\nwhich bears record of the Father and the Son. Let all people rejoice\nand praise the Lord for this new revelation of his loving kindness\nand tender mercies extended over all his works, and let his light\nshine to the uttermost parts of the earth and penetrate to the\ndarkest abode of the regions behind the veil, that truth may triumph\neverywhere and God be glorified in the obedience and salvation of\nhis children.\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 11.\n\n\"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the\ndead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?\" (I\nCorinthians 15:29). This was an argument used by the Apostle Paul\nwith the Corinthians, who doubted the doctrine of the resurrection\nof the body. It is evident that they were familiar with baptism for\nthe dead. For, the apostle was reasoning with them from what they\nknew. The influence of Greek philosophy affected the minds of the\nSaints at Corinth, and the apostle found it necessary to write to\nthem his splendid treatise, to convince them that as Christ was\nactually raised from the dead, so all mankind should be brought\nforth from their graves, as the Savior himself declared. And\nappealing to their good sense, he asked the question why they were\nbaptized for the dead, if, as some among them maintained, there was\nto be no resurrection of the dead.\n\nThis doctrine, that the living could be baptized in behalf of the\ndead, has not been understood in the so-called Christian world for\nmany hundreds of years. It was known to the early fathers, but\nbecame obsolete when the authority held by the apostles and their\nassociates was taken from the earth and spiritual darkness settled\nupon the world. Yet, if that was part of the doctrine of Christ in\nthe Apostolic age, it is part of it now. But who among all the sects\nof the age teaches it? Who has authority to administer it? Who knows\nanything of the manner in which the ordinance should be solemnized?\nIt is because of the profound ignorance of modern teachers of\nreligion on this important subject that they endeavor, whenever the\ntext given above is quoted, either to cover it with a cloud of\nmeaningless explanation, or to treat it as unworthy of attention, or\nto set it aside as something \"done away.\"\n\nIn the revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ anew in the present\nage, baptism for the dead was made known to the Prophet Joseph Smith\nas a necessary part of the doctrine of Christ. Its purpose, the form\nof the ordinance, who should administer it, who should receive it,\nhow it would affect both the living and dead and everything to\nrender it acceptable to God and efficacious to the departed, was\nmade known to the prophet of the nineteenth century.\n\nIt has already been demonstrated that the gospel preached by our\nSavior and his apostles to the living was also preached to the dead,\nthat is, to the spirits of those who had once dwelt in the body on\nearth. Also that such persons are capable of receiving the truth, of\nfaith, of repentance, of obedience and reform. It has been further\nshown that baptism for the remission of sins and the reception of\nthe Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, both ordinances to be\nadministered by actual divine authority, are essential to salvation.\nBut it will be evident to the thoughtful reader that while the\ninternal or spiritual requirements of the gospel can be complied\nwith by disembodied persons, the outward and material ceremonies are\nof the body, and can only be performed on the earth. Water is an\nearthly element or composition of material elements, and pertains to\nthis mundane sphere. It is for this reason that the living must be\nbaptized for the dead. If those who died unbaptized are to obtain\nsalvation the necessary ordinances will have to be attended to by\nproxy.\n\nIf any professing Christian objects to the idea of salvation by\nproxy, the all-important fact that the entire plan of salvation\nhinges on that principle should be sufficient to sweep away the\nobjection entirely and forever. \"The wages of sin is death.\" \"All\nhave sinned and come short of the glory of God.\" Jesus of Nazareth\ndied instead of sinners. The just was offered for the unjust. The\ninnocent Christ was a substitute for guilty men. The whole doctrine\nof the atonement rests upon the principle of salvation by proxy.\nJesus is called the Captain of our salvation. He is the head of the\nhost of the army of saviors. It was predicted by Obadiah the prophet\nthat, \"Saviors shall come up on Mount Zion\" in the last days, and\n\"the kingdom shall be the Lord's\" (Verse 21). And the inspired\nwriter of the epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of those worthies who\nthrough faith performed great wonders and prevailed and obtained a\nwitness from God in olden times, declared: \"These all having\nobtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God\nhaving provided some better thing for us, that they without us\nshould not be made perfect\" (Heb. 11:39, 40). Thus the work of human\nredemption is to be carried on until all the people of the earth\nshall be judged according to the gospel, every soul having had an\nopportunity of receiving or rejecting it, either in the body or in\nthe spirit state, and of obeying the ordinances thereof, either in\nperson or vicariously, the living acting for the dead.\n\nAt the first glance, this doctrine may strike the modern Christian\nmind as new and dangerous, but the more it is investigated in all\nits bearings, the clearer its truth is made apparent, and the more\nglorious it becomes. The thought that those who receive and obey the\ngospel of Christ in its fulness while in the flesh, can aid in the\nwork of redemption for their ancestors who are in the spirit world,\nis most delightful to the reverent soul.\n\nIt shows the value of those genealogies which Israel, the covenant\npeople of God, were moved upon in olden times to preserve. It\nstimulates the faithful in Christ to good works that they may become\n\"saviors on Mount Zion.\" It explains how the nations composed of\nmillions upon millions of souls that never heard the gospel or the\nname of Christ Jesus, may ultimately be redeemed and made heirs of\nsalvation. It points out the way by which Christ shall eventually\nobtain the victory over Satan and prove himself \"a ransom for all,\"\npresenting his perfect work to the Father, not one soul having been\nlost but the sons of perdition, who sinned unto death and could not\nbe forgiven in this world or in the world to come.\n\nThe ordinances for the dead, as revealed from heaven to the Prophet\nJoseph Smith, must be attended to in the way provided by the Lord or\nthey will not be accepted of him. They must be administered in\nsacred places, built according to a heavenly pattern, and\nadministered by those who have authority to loose on earth and it\nshall be loosed in heaven, to seal on earth and it shall be sealed\nin heaven. Persons who have themselves complied with the\nrequirements of the gospel may be baptized and administered to in\nother necessary ordinances for and in behalf of their departed\nkindred and ancestors, as far back as their line of progenitors can\nbe ascertained. This work must be attended to in Zion. This\nnecessitates the gathering of the Saints, \"the elect of God,\" from\nall parts of the earth. They are commanded of the Lord to come out\nof Babylon, that they \"be not partakers of her sins, and that they\nreceive not of her plagues\" (Revelation 18:4). In compliance with\nthis requirement they are gathering from all nations, to the\n\"mountain of the house of the Lord, in the tops of the mountains,\nwhere they can learn of his ways and walk in his paths,\" and build\nup Zion, where they can officiate as saviors and prepare for the\ncoming of the Great King (See Micah 4: 1-4; Isaiah 2:2-5; Psalms\n102:16).\n\nThe gathering of Judah is also to be accomplished in this\ndispensation of the fulness of times. Their gathering place is\nJerusalem. They will return to the land of their forefathers chiefly\nin unbelief. A few of that race will begin to believe that Jesus of\nNazareth is the Christ, but the masses of that people will not\nreceive him in that light until he comes and \"His feet shall stand\nagain on the Mount of Olives.\" He will then appear as their\nDeliverer from the hosts that will assemble against them for a spoil\nand a prey. They will then look upon him whom their forefathers have\npierced, and beholding the scars of the wounds he received when \"He\ncame to his own and his own received him not,\" but hung him upon the\ncross, will come to the understanding that Jesus is indeed the Son\nof God as well as the Son of David, and is their Messiah, their\nRedeemer, and their King. They will then receive his gospel, the\nonly plan of salvation: \"a nation will be born in a day unto the\nLord\" and in the temple that will be reared to his name they will\nofficiate for their dead until all the links in the chain of their\nancestry, back to the time when the gospel was on the earth previous\nto the enunciation of the Mosaic code, the law of carnal\ncommandments, are made complete. All the promises made to Israel and\nJudah through their prophets will be fulfilled and Christ will\n\"reign in Mount Zion and Jerusalem\" and fill the earth with his\nglory! (Zechariah 14:8-23; Jeremiah 23:3-8; 32:37-44; Ezekiel\n34:13-16; 38:8-23; Ezekiel 39; Isaiah 24:23.)\n\nWhile the house of Judah is to rebuild Jerusalem, in expectation of\na Messiah, but in unbelief of the Savior and his atonement, the\ndescendants of the House of Israel which was scattered and dispersed\namong the nations, will gather as the elect of God to the latter-day\nZion upon the land of Joseph in the top of the mountains, where the\nhouse of God is \"exalted above the hills,\" and where the revelations\nof his will are made known and the ordinances of his house for the\nliving and the dead can be administered. The blood of Israel, though\nmixed with that of the Gentiles, is counted as the seed of Abraham\nto whom the promises of old were made, and not one of them will\nfail. Their gathering place is on \"the land shadowing with wings\"\nwhich Isaiah saw in vision \"beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,\" where\nthe Lord has \"lifted up an ensign on the mountains,\" and from which\nhis \"swift messengers\" are now going forth as \"ambassadors\" of the\ngreat King and are bringing Israel from afar to \"the place of the\nname of the Lord of Hosts, the Mount Zion\" (Isaiah 18). There, in\nthe temple built to his name according to the pattern he has\nrevealed, baptisms and all the ordinances necessary on earth in the\nwork of salvation for the living and the dead, are performed by\ndivine authority, and there the Spirit of God is poured out in rich\neffusion, bearing witness to the humble of heart and contrite of\nspirit that they and their labors of love are accepted of him and\nsealed and recorded in heaven.\n\nThere \"the wilderness and the solitary place have been made glad\"\nbecause of them. The parched ground and the thirsty land have\nbrought forth springs of water, the desert is made to \"blossom as\nthe rose.\" There the ransomed of the Lord have come to Zion with\nsongs of everlasting joy. \"The place of their defense is the\nmunition of rocks,\" and they are looking for the time, which is near\nat hand, when they shall behold \"the King in his beauty.\" (See\nIsaiah 25; also 32:13-20; 33:15-17; 39:22-23; 42:7-12; Psalm\n107:1-7, 33-43; Isaiah 41:18-20.)\n\nFrom the foregoing it will be seen that our heavenly Father is not\nbound by the small notions and narrow creeds of modern religious\nsects and teachers. \"His ways are not as man's ways, nor his\nthoughts as their thoughts.\" \"As high as the heavens are above the\nearth,\" so is his plan of salvation above the inventions of the\nworldly wise. The gospel is to be preached to every responsible and\naccountable creature. They who do not hear it while in the body will\nhear it in the spirit world, and even those who through folly and\ndarkness received it not will, after having been beaten with \"many\nstripes\" and having paid the \"uttermost farthing\" of the debt thus\nincurred, have mercy extended to them when justice has been\nsatisfied, and at length through the ministrations of the holy\npriesthood of God on earth and behind the veil, and the ordinances\nperformed in person or vicariously, all the sons and daughters of\nGod of the race of Adam will come forth from the grave; and finally\n\"every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the\nChrist to the glory of God the Father.\" Then Jesus, having finished\nhis work of redemption, will present it to the eternal Father, that\nhe may be all in all.\n\nThis glorious work for the salvation of the human family is now in\nprogress under the revelation and authority of the Most High, and no\nmatter how much it may be opposed by ignorance or malice, by Satan\nor foolish men, it will go on to complete and glorious victory. Evil\nwill be overcome, darkness dispersed, Satan and his hosts be bound,\nthe earth and its inhabitants be redeemed, Paradise will be\nrestored, Eden will bloom again, Christ will reign as King, the\nTabernacle of God will be with men, and all things above, beneath,\naround, will sing praises to the Most High, to whom be glory and\ndominion forever. Amen.\n\n\n\nRAY NO. 12.\n\n\"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns\nor figs of thistles?\" So said the Savior of mankind (Matthew 7:16).\nThe Latter-day Saints, or \"Mormons,\" as they are commonly called,\nhave been derided and persecuted, and all manner of evil has been\nspoken against them, even by people who call themselves Christians.\nThat in this, false witness has been borne against them, may be\ndefinitely proved if the criterion given by Christ is accepted.\nHaving obeyed the gospel as restored to earth by angelic visitations\nand administered by divine authority, large numbers of the Saints\nhave congregated in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains in obedience\nto the command, \"Gather my Saints together unto me, those that have\nmade a covenant with me by sacrifice\" (Psalm 1:5). And also: \"Come\nout of her (Babylon), my people, that ye be not partakers of her\nsins, and that ye receive not of her plagues\" (Revelation 18:4).\n\nIn the year 1847 a company of pioneers, led by the Prophet Brigham\nYoung, successor of the Martyr Joseph Smith, who was slain for the\ngospel's sake, marched from the Missouri River across prairies and\nmountains, and wastes and rivers, through the wilderness known as\nthe Great American Desert, to the place in the mountains where they\nhad been directed by Joseph Smith when living with them in Nauvoo.\nOn July 24th of that year they halted in the valley of the Great\nSalt Lake, beheld by Brigham Young in vision before they commenced\ntheir weary journey. Not a human habitation was to be seen. The\nsun-baked land brought forth sagebrush and weeds. Rain was almost\nunknown and the melting snows from the mountain tops came down but\nin narrow and scanty streams. But they plowed the parched ground and\nturned upon it the trickling waters; they sowed in faith and trusted\nin God for the harvest which alone could save them from starvation.\nThe little band was composed of but 148 persons who had left\ncivilization more than a thousand miles behind. Today over five\nhundred thousand people, gathered from all parts of the world, dwell\nin peace and harmony in flourishing cities and towns or upon\nfruitful farms and luxuriant ranches, reaping the results of thrift\nand industry and the blessings of God upon the land and upon their\nlabors. In the cities are fine residences, comfortable cottages,\nbusiness establishments, manufacturing enterprises, railroads,\ntelegraphs and telephones, broad streets lined with magnificent\ntrees and with clear streamlets on either side, lighted by\nelectricity and supplied with pure water from works owned by the\npeople. Grand school houses have been erected, spacious places of\nworship, noble public buildings and splendid temples costing from\none million to four million dollars each. All kinds of grains and\nfruits and flowers are produced in abundance: the rainfalls have\nwonderfully increased, springs have burst forth in dry spots, grass\ngrows on the hillsides, and in the meadows, cattle and sheep graze\non a thousand hills, and the face of nature smiles and shines with\nbeauty.\n\nThis marvelous transformation has been brought about by the\nblessings of Almighty God upon the faith and works of his Saints\ngathered from afar. Zion that brought good tidings--the everlasting\ngospel restored to earth--has gone up \"into the high mountain.\" The\nSpirit has been poured out from on high, and the wilderness has\nbecome a \"fruitful field.\" \"The people of the Lord dwell in\npeaceable habitations, in sure dwellings, in quiet resting places.\"\nThey are sowing \"beside all waters.\" \"The wilderness and the\nsolitary place is glad for them, the desert rejoices and blossoms\nabundantly.\" They are the \"ransomed of the Lord, and have come to\nZion with songs of everlasting joy.\" (See Isaiah 40:9; 32:15-20;\n35:1-10.)\n\nEvery Sabbath day the children assemble in Sunday Schools under a\nsystem which is not excelled in any part of the world. In the\nafternoon and evening the Saints assemble in their tabernacles and\nmeeting houses, and receive instruction by the voice of inspiration\nand the reading of holy writ. Societies are organized for the\ninstruction of juveniles, of young men and young women, of ladies of\nmature age and for all classes of the community. To serve God and\nkeep his commandments is held up as the first duty of his people. To\nlabor for the salvation of the living and the redemption of the dead\nis placed above all earthly considerations. The Church has now in\nthe mission fields eighteen hundred or more missionaries, traveling\n\"without purse or scrip,\" without pay of any kind, depending upon\nGod and friends whom he may raise up to them for their daily\nsustenance. The Church organization revealed from heaven is\nrecognized by all who investigate as the grandest and most complete\never known on earth. The industry, order, devotion, unity and\nbrotherly love displayed by the Latter-day Saints are the admiration\nand commendation of both friend and foe. The work they have\nperformed under divine direction is a marvel to all who have visited\nthe cities of the Saints or know of their achievements. What is the\ntree that has brought forth those excellent fruits? It is the Church\nof Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Let the tree be judged by its\nfruits.\n\nIt is true that the \"Mormons\" are a people who have been \"everywhere\nspoken against,\" but this was a characteristic of the Saints in the\noriginal Christian Church. Paul said: \"They that will live godly in\nChrist Jesus shall suffer persecution.\" Jesus exclaimed, \"Woe unto\nyou when all men shall speak well of you.\" He prophesied of his\ndisciples: \"Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.\" But\nthere are a number of brave men who, after visiting Utah, have not\nbeen afraid to speak their honest sentiments concerning that\ndespised people. Among them are the following, whose published\nremarks are but samples of others that might be adduced:\n\nBishop D. S. Tuttle of the Episcopal Church, who resided many years\nin Salt Lake City, had the following in the New York Sun: \"We of the\nEast are accustomed to look upon the Mormons as either a licentious,\narrogant, or rebellious mob, bent only on defying the United States\ngovernment and deriding the faith of the Christians. That is not so.\nI know them to be honest, faithful, prayerful workers, and earnest\nin their faith that heaven will bless the Church of Latter-day\nSaints. Another strong and admirable feature in the Mormon religion\nis the tenacious and efficient organization. They follow with the\ngreatest care all the forms of the old Church.\"\n\nHenry Edger says, in the New York Evolution: \"Driven by mob violence\nfrom one state to another, despoiled of their legitimate possessions\n--fruits of honest toil--this despised and grossly wronged people\nfound their way at last across the trackless desert and by an almost\nunexampled perseverance and industry created an oasis in the desert\nitself.\"\n\nElder Miles Grant, editor of the World's Crisis, says: \"After a\ncareful observation for some days we came to the settled conclusion\nthat there is less licentiousness in Salt Lake City than in any\nother one of the same size in the United States; and were we to\nbring up a family of children in these last days of wickedness, we\nshould have less fears of their moral corruption were they in that\ncity than in any other.\"\n\nGov. Safford, of Arizona, wrote as follows: \"They have no drones,\nand the work they have accomplished in so short a time is truly\nwonderful. All concede that we need an energetic, industrious,\neconomical and self-relying people to subdue and bring into use the\nvast unproductive lands of Arizona. These Mormons fill every one of\nthe above requirements.\"\n\nGen. Thomas L. Kane, of Pennsylvania, after four years' experience\nwith the Mormons, declared: \"I have not heard a single charge made\nagainst them as a community, against their habitual purity of life,\ntheir willing integrity, their toleration of religious difference of\nopinion, their regard for the laws, their devotion to the\nconstitutional government under which we live, that I do not from my\nown observation or upon the testimony of others know to be\nunfounded.\"\n\nChief Justice White, sent to Utah by the United States government,\ntestified: \"Industry, frugality, temperance, honesty are with them\nthe common practices of life. This land they have redeemed from\nsterility and occupied its once barren solitudes with cities,\nvillages, cultivated fields and farm houses, and made it the\nhabitation of a numerous people, where a beggar is never seen and\nalmshouses are neither needed nor known.\"\n\nThe late Hon. Bayard Taylor, United States minister to Germany,\nremarked: \"We must admit that Salt Lake City is one of the most\nquiet, orderly and moral places in the world. The Mormons as a\npeople are the most temperate of Americans. They are chaste,\nlaborious and generally cheerful, and what they have accomplished in\nso short a time under every circumstance of discouragement, will\nalways form one of the most remarkable chapters in our history.\"\n\nNotwithstanding the facts set forth in the foregoing, the Congress\nof the United States was moved upon for several years by anti-Mormon\npreachers of different sects, and by petitions from good, pious, but\ndeceived \"Christian\" people, also by adventurers who desired to\nprofit by inroads upon the Mormons, to enact stringent and\noppressive measures looking to the suppression of what they called\n\"Mormonism.\" It was thought by the enemies of the Saints that they\ncould be driven again from their possessions, as they had been\ndriven by mob violence from the states of Missouri and Illinois,\nwhere their property became a prey to their so-called Christian\npersecutors, and where many of their number were brutally murdered\nin cold blood, their Prophet and Patriarch, Joseph and Hyrum Smith,\nbeing among that number. For some time these efforts gave great\npromise of success. Much suffering was endured by the Saints, but\nthey possessed their souls in patience, having faith in the promises\nof God made to them through their prophets and apostles, and the\ntestimony of the Holy Spirit. The day of their deliverance from this\ninjustice, sorrow, and tribulation has come. Their true character\nhas been measurably recognized, and Utah has been admitted into the\nUnion as a free and sovereign state, on an equal footing with the\nother states in the federal compact.\n\nThere yet remains in the world great ignorance concerning the\nLatter-day Saints, their purposes and works, their doctrines and\nteachings, and the spirit and power of their faith. To these they\ninvite the investigation of every rational mind. They urge\ncomparison of their principles, their Church and the ordinances,\ngifts, and spirit thereof with those set forth in the New Testament,\nin contrast with the contending and discordant religions of modern\nChristendom. They know that they have received the truth, and that\nGod has revealed it in the present age. They have obtained a divine\nwitness, every one for himself. They are building up Zion in the\nWest. They are sending forth the gospel into all the world as a\nwitness to the nations before the end shall come.\n\nThis is a day of warning. It will be followed by a time of\njudgments. The Lord is about to shake terribly the kingdoms of this\nworld. War, pestilence, famine, earthquake, whirlwind, and the\ndevouring fire, with signs in the heavens and on the earth, will\nimmediately precede the great consummation which is close at hand.\nThese are the last days. All that has been foretold by the holy\nprophets concerning them is about to be literally fulfilled. The\neverlasting gospel has been restored to the earth as one of the\nsigns of the latter days. Israel is being gathered. The elect of God\nare assembling from the four quarters of the earth. The way is\nopening for the redemption of Judah. Soon all things will be in\ncommotion: \"men's hearts failing them for fear and looking for the\nthings that are coming on the earth.\" The places of refuge appointed\nare in Zion and in Jerusalem. The Lord, even Jesus the Messiah, will\ncome to his Holy Temple. He will be glorified in his Saints, but\nwill \"take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the\ngospel.\" He will break in pieces the nations as a potter's vessel.\nHe will sweep the earth as with a besom of destruction. He will\nestablish righteousness upon it and give dominion to his people.\n\"The meek shall inherit the earth and the wicked be cut off\nforever.\" Therefore, repent and turn unto him, all ye nations, and\nobey him, all ye people, for these words are true and faithful and\nare given by his Spirit! Salvation has come unto you; reject it not\nlest ye fall and perish. The time is at hand!\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note\n\nThis version uses Arabic numerals for scripture chapter numbers (e.g.\nMark 3) where the original uses Roman numerals (e.g. Mark III).","title":"Rays of Living Light on the One Way of Salvation","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":25954}