{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_52391/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_52391","id":"gutenberg_52391","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52391","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Church history","Latter Day Saint churches -- History","Latter Day Saints"],"text":"OUTLINES\n\n                    OF\n\n           ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY\n\n\n                    BY\n\n             ELDER B. H. ROBERTS\n\n\n                 AUTHOR OF\n\n     \"The Life of John Taylor\" \"The Gospel\"\n \"New Witness for God\" \"Missouri Persecutions\"\n        \"Rise and Fall of Nauvoo,\" etc.\n\n\n              THIRD EDITION\n\n\n          SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.\n                   1902.\n\n\n                DEDICATION\n\n            TO THE SEVENTIES:\n            THAT BODY OF MEN\n          UPON WHOM--UNDER THE\n     DIRECTION OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES--\n  DEVOLVES THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PREACHING\n    THE GOSPEL, AND DEFENDING THE TRUTH\n        IN ALL THE WORLD, THIS WORK\n           IS AFFECTIONATELY\n                 DEDICATED.\n\n\n\nA WORD WITH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.\n\nBefore you take up the study of OUTLINES OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, I\nbeg leave to call your attention to the structure of the work, and the\npurpose for which it was written. First, then, as to its structure.\n\nThe work is divided into four parts, each with a distinct idea\nrunning through it. Part I deals with THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH\nthrough the ministry of Messiah and his apostles; Part II with THE\nAPOSTASY, brought about through the severe persecution to which the\nearly saints were subjected, the rise of false teachers, changing\nthe ordinances of the gospel, intermingling pagan philosophy with\nChristian doctrine, and a transgression of the laws of God; Part III\ndeals with \"THE REFORMATION,\" treating it, however as a revolution\ninstead of a reformation since the so-called reformation by no means\nre-established primitive Christianity, either in its form or essence,\nbut it did overthrow the power of the Catholic Church in the greater\npart of Western Europe, gave larger liberty to the people, and thus\nprepared the way for the great work which followed it--the introduction\nof the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times; Part IV treats of THE\nRESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL, in the aforesaid dispensation, through the\nrevelations which God gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith.\n\nThe parts above enumerated are separated into sections, these\nsubdivisions being determined by the several subjects into which the\nmain idea of the respective parts naturally divides. The sections are\nagain separated into topics, the {iv} titles of which are printed in\nbold-face type, and the paragraphs are numbered. These divisions, it\nis believed, will better enable the student to discern the relation\nof the respective parts to the main subject, and at the same time\nafford a convenient division for the assignment of lessons to classes.\nOrdinarily it will be found that a section will be sufficient for a\nlesson for either a class or quorum; but in some instances two of the\nshorter sections may be taken for a lesson; but some of the longer\nsections should be divided into two or more.\n\nAt the end of each section will be found a collection of notes bearing\nupon the important points treated in the text of the work, at which\nplace reference will be found to the note at the end of the section.\nThe author cannot, in his opinion, too emphatically urge upon the\nstudent the importance of turning to the notes to which he is directed\nin the text and reading them. They will be found to throw additional\nlight upon the subject treated in the text, either by giving the\nstatement of a recognized authority, supplying pointed argument--with\nwhich it has been thought best not to burden the body of the work--or\ngiving illustrations to the statement made in the text. Another purpose\nfor placing these notes at the end of the sections has been to arouse\nan interest in the works of the authors quoted; that the students\nof this text book may be induced to delve deeper into the study of\nEcclesiastical History than a perusal of these pages will enable\nthem to do. And here let the author confess, while he believes he is\npresenting a very valuable collection of facts to those who will take\nup the study of his work--yet if the study of these pages shall result\nin merely awakening in the minds of the elders and the youth of Israel\nan interest in the subject, he will account the objects of his efforts\nsuccessfully attained.\n\nAt the end of each section also will be found Review Questions,\ncovering the main points treated in the text and in the notes. It\nis hoped that they will be found useful in conducting {v} class\nexercises, and to the private student who wishes to ascertain if he has\nmastered the subject matter of each section. Let him put to himself\nthe questions found in the review at the end of the section, when\ncompleting it, and if he can give a satisfactory answer to each one,\nthe author feels assured that the student has mastered the salient\npoints.\n\nThe purpose of the work is two-fold: First, it is to sustain the\nposition taken by the church of Christ in the last days. What that\nposition is may be readily discerned by the very first revelation\nthe Lord gave to Joseph Smith. In answering the young prophet's\nquestion--which of all the sects of religion was acknowledged of him\nas his church and kingdom--the Lord said they were all wrong; that all\ntheir creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors\nwere all corrupt; that they drew near to him with their lips, but\ntheir hearts were far from him; that they taught for doctrine the\ncommandments of men--having a form of godliness, but denying the power\nthereof.[1]\n\nIt has been to bring together the historical evidences of the truth of\nthis divine announcement that, in part, this work has been written;\nand therefore prominence has been given to those facts of history\nwhich support that announcement. But no fact has been suppressed that\nhas a tendency to support the opposite view. No such fact either of\nhistory or prophecy exists. The whole stream of evidence proves that\nthere has been a universal apostasy from the religion taught by Jesus\nChrist and his apostles; and the existing differences between the\npresent teachings of \"Christendom\" and the doctrines of the scriptures\nis a proof so palpable that it admits of no contradiction. As this\nposition of the church is one which the seventies and elders will have\nto maintain against all the world, it is of first importance that they\nbecome familiar with those facts of history and of prophecy that will\nenable them to maintain that position intelligently and successfully.\n\nThe second purpose of the work is to teach the principles of the\ngospel. This, the author is convinced, can best be done in connection\nwith their history. Relate the historical events which resulted in\nthe introduction and establishment of the gospel and the church of\nChrist; then in all the centuries from the second to the tenth show how\nthe doctrines of Messiah were departed from, how the ordinances were\nchanged and the laws of God transgressed; relate the principal events\nof the sixteenth century revolution--miscalled the \"Reformation\"--and\npoint out how that revolution, however salutary in bringing to pass an\nenlargement of popular liberty, failed to re-establish the gospel of\nthe Lord Jesus Christ, or re-organize the church as at first founded\nby Messiah; then relate the events connected with the restoration of\nthe gospel through the revelations given to the great prophet of the\nDispensation of the Fullness of Times, Joseph Smith--and in so doing\nyou are not only teaching the interesting facts of Ecclesiastical\nHistory to your students, but at the same time you are making them\nacquainted with the principles of the gospel. Under such a presentation\nthe students, without being conscious of it, perhaps, will examine\nthose principles under a variety of circumstances. They will see them\nstated in connection with the leading events of the Messiah's life;\nthey will see them corrupted by an apostate church; they will hear\nthem discussed by men during the attempt at Reformation; and after\nwitnessing the unavailing efforts of the \"Reformers\" to re-establish\nthe gospel and the church of Christ, they will see how the heavens\nwere opened and every principle, doctrine, ordinance, law, officer\nand institution known to the church of Christ, restored. Such a\npresentation of the principles of the gospel, we repeat, must lead to\na very comprehensive understanding of them, and such is one of the\npurposes of this work, and one which the author hopes will give it\na claim upon the attention of all those desiring information on the\nsubject of the gospel, as well as to the quorums of seventies and\nelders to whom we believe it will be of special service.\n\nBefore the work went to press the manuscript was submitted to a\ncommittee of brethren appointed by the First Presidency. Elders John\nNicholson, George Reynolds and James E. Talmage constituted that\ncommittee. The author is very much indebted to them for their patient\nconsideration of his manuscript, and for the very valuable suggestions\nand corrections made by them. They reported favorably to the First\nPresidency on the work, and it is now presented to the students of\nEcclesiastical History--in which the church of Christ should abound--in\nthe hope that it will be of service to them in their researches in this\nmost interesting department of knowledge.\n\nThis, the fifth edition, is uniform with the previous edition, in every\nrespect.\n\n_The Publishers_\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. Pearl of Price, page 85.\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\nDEDICATION INTRODUCTION\n\nPART I.\n\nESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH\n\nPART II.\n\nTHE APOSTASY\n\nPART III.\n\nTHE REFORMATION\n\nPART IV.\n\nTHE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL\n\nINDEX\n\n\n\nPART I.\n\nTHE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH.\n\n{11}\n\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\n1. Birth of Messiah.--Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior\nof the world, was born, most probably, in the year of Rome 753; at a\nperiod of the year corresponding to our month of April (see notes 1, 2,\nend of section). The place of his birth was Bethlehem [Beth-le-hem],[1]\na small town about four miles south of Jerusalem. The birth-place of\nMessiah was foretold by Micah [Mi-kah], the prophet, more than seven\nhundred years before the event, in the following prophecy:\n\n    But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah [Ef-ra-tah], though thou be little\n    among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth\n    unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been\n    from of old, from everlasting.[2]\n\n2. Parentage of Christ.--Messiah was born of the virgin Mary, a\ndescendant of David, and the espoused wife of Joseph, a carpenter in\nthe little village of Nazareth [Naz-a-reth], who, notwithstanding his\nhumble station in life, was also a descendant of the royal house of\nDavid. An angel appeared unto Mary previous to her conception, and thus\naddressed her:\n\n Hail thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed\n art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his\n saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.\n And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor\n with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring\n forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and\n shalt be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give\n unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall {12} reign over\n the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.\n Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a\n man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall\n come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:\n therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be\n called the Son of God. * * * And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the\n Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.[3]\n\n3. These two, the mother of Jesus and her betrothed husband,\nhad left their home in Nazareth to enroll their names as members of\nthe house of David, in a census which had been ordered by the Emperor\nAugustus, and while at Bethlehem Mary was delivered of her son. The\nenrollment ordered by the emperor had called so many strangers into the\nlittle town of Bethlehem that on the arrival of Joseph and Mary there\nwas no room at the inn for them, and they had to take up quarters in\nthe stable adjacent. There, among the hay and straw spread for the food\nand rest of the cattle, Christ was born. (Note 2, end of section.)\n\n4. The Angelic Announcement.--The birth of Christ was announced\nto a few shepherds watching their flock by night--about a mile distant\nfrom the village of Bethlehem--by an angel, surrounded about by the\nglory of God, who said:\n\n    Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,\n    which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the\n    city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall\n    be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling\n    clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a\n    multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to\n    God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.[4]\n\n{13} A visit to the village confirmed the strange proclamation of the\nangel--they found the mother and child.\n\n5. The Inquiry of the Magi.--Not alone by voice of angels was\nthe birth of Messiah announced, but \"wise men from the east\" who had\nseen his star in the firmament came to Jerusalem about the time of his\nbirth, inquiring--\"Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we\nhave seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.\" [5]\n\n6. Nor were signs of Messiah's birth seen alone on the eastern\nhemisphere; to the people of the western hemisphere signs were also\ngiven; \"a new star did appear,\" according to the words of the Nephite\nprophets, at Zarahemla; the Nephites saw it and to them, as well as to\nthe wise men of the east, a star announced the birth of him who was to\nbe King of the Jews[6] and the Savior of the world. Another sign was\ngiven to the Nephites, which had also been predicted by their prophets;\nthe night before[7] Jesus was born remained beautifully light on the\nwestern hemisphere. This event is thus recorded in the Book of Mormon:\n\n    And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were\n    fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold at the\n    going down of the sun, there was no darkness; and the people began\n    to be astonished, because there was no darkness when the time of\n    night came. * * * There was no darkness in all that night, but it\n    was light as though it was midday. And it came to pass that the sun\n    did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and\n    they [the Nephites] knew that it was the day that the Lord should\n    be born, because of the sign which had been given.[8]\n\n7. The Alarm of King Herod.--The inquiry made by the \"wise men\"\nfrom the east concerning the one who was \"born King of the Jews,\"\nalarmed the jealousy of Herod, and learning from the chief priests and\nscribes that Bethlehem was the place {14} where the deliverer of Israel\nwas to be born, he sent the wise men there, strictly charging them to\nsearch diligently, and when they had found the child to bring him word\nthat he too might worship him. On the way to Bethlehem the star they\nhad seen in the east went before them until it stood over where the\nchild was. They found the babe with Mary his mother and they worshipped\nhim, giving him presents of gold and frankincense and myrrh. They were\ncommanded of God in a dream, however, not to return to Herod, so they\ndeparted into their own country another way.\n\n8. Joseph, too, after the departure of the wise men, was warned\nin a dream to flee out of the land, for Herod would seek the young\nchild to destroy him. He was commanded to go into Egypt and remain\nthere until the Lord should call him to return. In obedience to these\ndivine commandments, Joseph took the mother and child and fled in the\nnight into Egypt.\n\n9. Herod's wrath knew no bounds when he found that the wise men\nhad not obeyed him; and in order that he might not be baffled in his\ndetermination to destroy the one he feared would supplant himself or\nhis posterity in the throne of Israel, he sent out an edict commanding\nthat all the children in Bethlehem two years old and under should be\nslain. Then was fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah:\n\n    In Rama [Ra-ma] was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping\n    and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not\n    be comforted because they were not.[9] (See note 3, end of section.)\n\n10. Death of Herod.--(note 4 end of section). After Herod's death,\nJoseph was again visited, in a dream, by an angel, who commanded him to\nreturn with the child and his mother into the land of Israel; for they\nwho had sought the young child's life were dead. Then was fulfilled\nthat which was {15}spoken by the prophet of the Lord, (Hosea), \"Out of\nEgypt have I called my son.\" Joseph obeyed the commandment, but as he\napproached Judea and learned that Archelaus [Ar-ke-la-us] the son of\nHerod reigned in his father's stead, he was fearful and instead of\nremaining in Judea, he went into Galilee [Gal-i-lee] and dwelt in the\nlittle town of Nazareth--his former home--\"that it might be fulfilled\nwhich was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene\" [10]\n[Naz-a-reen].\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. The Year of Messiah's Birth.--\"The Birth of Christ was\nfirst made an era, from which to reckon dates,\" says the learned\ntranslator of Dr. Mosheim's _Institutes_,--Murdock--\"by Dionysius\nExiguus, [Di-o-nish-i-us Exs-ig-u-us] about A. D. 532. He supposed\nChrist to have been born on the 25th of December, in the year of Rome\n753, and this computation has been followed in practice to this day;\nnotwithstanding the learned are well agreed that it must be incorrect.\"\nIt will be seen, however, from what follows, from the same author, that\nall is uncertainty with the learned in respect to this subject:\n\n\"To ascertain the true time of Christ's birth, there are two principal\ndata afforded by the Evangelists: I. It is clear, from Matt. ii: 1,\netc., that Christ was born before the death of Herod the Great, who\ndied about Easter, in the year of Rome 749 or 750. Now, if Christ was\nborn in the December next before Herod's death, it must have been in\nthe year of Rome 748 or 749; and, of course, four, if not five years\nanterior to the Dionysian or Vulgar era: II. It is probable, from\nLuke iii: 1, 2, 23, that Jesus was 'about' thirty years of age in the\nfifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Now, the reign of\nTiberius may be considered as commencing at the time he became sole\nemperor, in August of the year of Rome 767; or (as there is some reason\nto suppose that Augustus made him partner in the government two years\nbefore he died), we may begin his reign in the year of Rome 765. The\nfifteenth year of Tiberius will therefore be either the year of Rome\n781 or 779. From which deduct 30, and we have the year of Rome 751 or\n749 for the year of Christ's birth; the former two and the latter four\nyears earlier than the Dionysian computation. Comparing these results\nwith those obtained from the death of Herod, it is generally supposed\nthe true time of Christ's birth was the year of Rome 749, or four years\nbefore the Vulgar era. {16} _But the conclusion is not certain, because\nthere is uncertainty in the data_. (1.) It is not certain that we ought\nto reckon Tiberius' reign as beginning two years before the death\nof Augustus. (2.) Luke says '_about_ thirty years of age.' This is\nindefinite and may be understood of twenty-nine, thirty, or thirty-one\nyears. (3.) It is not certain in which of the two years mentioned Herod\ndied; nor how long before that event the Savior was born. Respecting\nthe month and day of Christ's birth, we are left almost wholly to\nconjecture.\"\n\nIt will be demanded on what authority I have gone counter to the\nconclusions of the learned on this subject by keeping to the Dionysian\ndate,--so far, at least, as the year is concerned. My answer is that\nin the revelation on Church government in the Doctrine and Covenants\n(sec. xx), the following in respect to the rise of the Church is given:\n\"The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, _being one\nthousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord\nand Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh_, it being regularly organized\nand established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and\ncommandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the\nmonth, which is called April.\"\n\nI believe that this--better than any other authority, fixes the time\nof the birth, or the \"coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ\nin the flesh;\" and that, as to the year at least, agrees with the\nDionysian computation. It must be remembered that this revelation in\nsection twenty of the Doctrine and Covenants was given before the\nChurch was organized--at sundry times between the first and the sixth\nof April--and that the prophet was instructed to organize the Church\non the sixth day of April, 1830, hence it was not mere chance that\ndetermined the day on which that organization took place, (History\nJoseph Smith, \"Millennial Star Supplement\" to vol. xiv, p. 22) a fact\nthat is significant in view of the above considerations and those which\nfollow in note 2.--Roberts.\n\n2. The Day of Messiah's Birth.--Strictly speaking, if this Church\nwas organized \"one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since\nthe coming of our Lord and Savior in the flesh,\" then the sixth of\nApril must have been the anniversary of the Savior's birthday. If the\norganization of the Church had been before or subsequent to that date,\nif only by one or any number of days, the great event would have been\nmore or less than one thousand eight hundred and thirty years by just\nso many days. [This argument also holds good as to the year of Christ's\nbirth.] Options formed by the study of chronological events may or may\nnot be accurate. But we would scarcely think the Lord would make any\nmistake about dates. Least of all he who was born on that day, and on\nthat day thirty-three years later was crucified.--Joseph F. Smith.\n\nLet us inquire if the day observed by the Christian world as the {17}\nday of His [Christ's] birth--the 25th of December--is or is not the\nreal Christmas day. A great many authors have found out from their\nresearches, that it is not. I think that there is scarcely an author\nat the present day that believes that the twenty-fifth of December was\nthe day that Christ was born on * * * It is generally believed and\nconceded by the learned who have investigated the matter, that Christ\nwas born in April. * * * It is stated that according to the best of\ntheir [the learned] judgment from the researches they have made, Christ\nwas crucified on the sixth of April. That is the day on which this\nChurch was organized. But when these learned men go back from the day\nof his crucifixion to the day of his birth, they are at a loss, having\nno certain evidence or testimony by which they can determine it.--Orson\nPratt.\n\nIn support of Elder Pratt's contention relative to the uncertainty of\nChristian scholars as to the day on which Jesus was born, I quote the\nstatement of Rev. Charles F. Deem, author of \"The Light of the Nation,\"\nand president of the American Institute of Christian Philosophy. \"It is\nannoying to see learned men use the same apparatus of calculation and\nreach the most diverse results.\" In a foot note at page 32, in \"Light\nof the Nation,\" he refers to fifteen different authors all of whom\nare writers of note, who give different years for the birth of Christ\nvarying from B. C. 1 to B. C. 7\n\n3. Humble Nativity of Messiah.--In the rude limestone grotto\nattached to the inn as a stable, among the hay and straw spread for\nthe food and rest of the cattle, weary with their day's journey, far\nfrom home, in the midst of strangers, in circumstances so devoid of\nall earthly comfort or splendor that it is impossible to imagine a\nhumbler nativity, Christ was born. Distant but a few miles, on the\nplateau of the abrupt and singular hill now called _Jebel Fureidis_\nor \"Little Paradise Mountain,\" towered the palace--fortress of the\ngreat Herod. The magnificent houses of his friends and courtiers\ncrowded around its base. The humble wayfarers, as they passed near\nit, might have heard the hired and voluptuous minstrelsy with which\nits feasts were celebrated, or the shouting of the rough mercenaries\nwhose arms enforced obedience to its despotic lord. But the true King\nof the Jews--the rightful Lord of the universe--was not to be found in\npalace or fortress. They who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.\nThe cattle stables of the lowly caravan-serai were a more fitting\nbirthplace for him who came to reveal that the soul of the greatest\nmonarch was no dearer or greater in God's sight than the soul of his\nmeanest slave; for him who had not where to lay his head; for him who,\nfrom his cross of shame, was to rule the world!--Canon Farrar.\n\n4. Character of Herod.--Now some there are who stand amazed\nat the diversity of Herod's nature and purposes; for when we have\nrespect {18} to his magnificence, and the benefits which he bestowed\non all mankind, there is no possibility for even those who had the\nleast respect for him, to deny, or not openly confess, that he had a\nnature vastly beneficent; but when anyone looks upon the punishment he\ninflicted and the injuries he did, not only to his subjects, but to\nhis nearest relatives, and takes notice of his severe and unrelenting\ndisposition there, he will be forced to allow that he was brutish, and\na stranger to all humanity. * * * If anyone was not very obsequious to\nhim in his language, and would not confess himself to be his slave, or\nbut seemed to think of any innovation in his government, he was not\nable to contain himself, but prosecuted his very kindred and friends\nand punished them as if they were enemies; and this wickedness he\nundertook out of a desire that he might be himself alone honored. * * *\nA man he was of great barbarity towards all men equally, and a slave to\nhis passion; but above the consideration of what was right.--Josephus.\n\n5. Last Illness of Herod.--But now Herod's distemper greatly\nincreased upon him after a severe manner, and this by God's judgment\nupon him for his sins; for a fire glowed in him slowly, which did\nnot so much appear to the touch outwardly, as it augmented his pains\ninwardly; for it brought upon him a vehement appetite to eating, which\nhe could not avoid to supply with one sort of food or other. His\nentrails were exulcerated, and the chief violence of his pain lay on\nhis colon; an aqueous and transparent liquor also had settled itself\nupon his feet; * * * and when he sat upright, he had a difficulty of\nbreathing which was very loathsome, on account of the stench of his\nbreath, and the quickness of his returns. He had also convulsions in\nall parts of his body, which increased his strength to an unsufferable\ndegree. It was said by those who pretended to divine, and who were\nendowed with wisdom to foretell such things, that God inflicted this\npunishment on the king on account of his great impurity; yet was he\nstill in hopes of recovering, though his afflictions seemed greater\nthan anyone could bear.--Josephus.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. In what year of Rome was Messiah born?\n\n2. State the reasons for placing the date of Messiah's birth in the\nyear of Rome 753. (See notes 1 and 2.)\n\n3. Give the name of Messiah's birthplace.\n\n4. For what is Ephratah noted? (Note.)\n\n5. Who was the mother of Jesus?\n\n6. Relate what you can of Mary, and the announcement that she should be\nthe mother of the Son of God.\n\n7. Relate the circumstances under which Christ was born.\n\n{19} 8. Give an account of the visitation of the angels to the\nshepherds.\n\n9. What is Canon Farrar's translation of the title of the angelic song?\n\n10. Give an account of the magi's visit to Jerusalem in search of the\nChrist.\n\n11. What signs were given of Messiah's birth to the people on the\nWestern Hemisphere?\n\n12. By what divine providence was Messiah's life preserved in infancy?\n\n13. What was the character of Herod the Great? (Note 4.)\n\n14. Describe Herod's last illness and death. (Note 5.)\n\n15. Where did Joseph settle on his return from Egypt?\n\n16. What prophecies were fulfilled by Messiah being taken into Egypt\nand Nazareth?\n\n{20}\n\n\n\nSECTION II.[11]\n\n1. State of the Religious World at Messiah's Birth.--At the time\nof the birth of the Son of God, the enfeebled world was tottering\non its foundations. The national religions which had satisfied the\nparents, no longer proved sufficient for the children. The new\ngenerations could not repose contented within the ancient forms. The\ngods of every nation, when transported to Rome--then the dominant\npolitical power in the world--there lost their oracles, as the nations\nthemselves had there lost their liberty. Brought face to face in the\ncapital they had destroyed each other, and their divinity had vanished.\nA great void was thus occasioned in the religion of the world.\n\n2. A kind of deism, destitute alike of spirit and of life,\nfloated for a time above the abyss in which the vigorous superstitions\nof antiquity had been engulfed. But like all negative creeds it had\nno power to reconstruct. All nations were plunged in the grossest\nsuperstition. Most of them, indeed all except the Jews, supposed that\neach country and province was subjected to a set of very powerful\nbeings whom they called gods, and whom the people, in order to live\nhappily, must propitiate with various rites and ceremonies. These\ndeities were supposed to differ materially from each other in sex,\npower, nature and offices. Some nations went beyond others in impiety\nof worship, but all stood chargeable with absurdity, if not gross\nstupidity in matters of religion. (See note 1, end of section.)\n\n{21} 3. Thus every nation had a class of deities peculiar to\nitself, among which one was supposed to be pre-eminent over the rest,\nand was their king, though subject himself to the laws of fate, or to\nan eternal destiny. The oriental nations had not the same gods as the\nGauls, the Germans, and the other northern nations; and the Grecian\ndeities were essentially different from those of the Egyptians, who\nworshipped brute animals, plants, and various productions of nature\nand art. Each nation, likewise, had its own method of worshiping its\ngods; differing widely from the rites of other nations. But, from their\nignorance or from other causes the Greeks and Romans maintained that\ntheir gods were universally worshipped; and they therefore gave the\nnames of their own gods to the foreign deities which has caused great\nconfusion and errors in the history of ancient religions even in the\nworks of the learned.\n\n4. Heathen Toleration--Its Cause.--The variety of gods and\nreligions in the pagan nations produced no wars or feuds among them.\nEach nation without concern allowed its neighbors to enjoy their own\nviews of religion, and to worship their own gods in their own way. Nor\nneed this tolerance greatly surprise us. For they who regard the world\nas divided like a great country into numerous provinces each subject to\na distinct order of deities, cannot despise the gods of other nations\nnor think of compelling all others to pay worship to their national\ngods. The Romans in particular, though they would not allow the public\nreligions to be changed or multiplied, yet gave the citizens full\nliberty to observe foreign religions in private, and to hold meetings\nand feasts and to erect temples and groves to these foreign deities, in\nwhose worship there was nothing inconsistent with the public safety and\nexisting laws. (See note 2, end of section.)\n\n5. Character of Heathen Gods.--The greater part of the gods of\nall nations were ancient heroes, famous for their achievements and\ntheir worthy deeds; such as kings, generals {22} and the founders of\ncities; and likewise females who were highly distinguished for their\ndeeds and discoveries, whom a grateful posterity had deified. To these\nsome added the more splendid and useful objects in the natural world,\namong which the sun, moon, and stars being pre-eminent, received\nworship from nearly all, and some were not ashamed to pay divine honors\nto mountains, rivers, trees, the earth, the ocean, the winds, and even\nto diseases, to virtues and vices, and to almost every conceivable\nobject, or, at least, to the deities supposed to preside over these\nobjects.\n\n6. The worship of these deities consisted in numerous ceremonies\nwith sacrifices, offerings, and prayers. The ceremonies, for the most\npart, were absurd and ridiculous; and what was worse yet, debasing,\nobscene and cruel. The whole pagan system had not the least efficacy\nto excite and cherish virtuous emotions in the soul. For in the first\nplace, the gods and goddesses to whom the public homage was paid,\ninstead of being patterns of virtue, were patterns rather of enormous\nvices and crimes. They were considered as superior to mortals in power\nand as exempt from death, but in all things else as on a level with\nman. In the next place, the ministers of this religion, neither by\nprecept nor by example, exhorted the people to lead honest and virtuous\nlives, but gave them to understand that all the homage required of\nthem by the gods was comprised in the observance of the traditional\nrites and ceremonies. And lastly, the doctrines inculcated respecting\nthe rewards of the righteous and the punishments of the wicked in the\nfuture world were some of them dubious and uncertain, and others more\nadapted to promote vice than virtue. Hence the wiser pagans themselves,\nabout the time of the Savior's birth, contemned and ridiculed the whole\nsystem.\n\n7. Mysteries of Paganism.--It is contended by those who would\ndignify paganism, that back of its common worship, among the orientals\nand Greeks at least, certain recondite {23} and concealed rites called\nmysteries--containing in them the essence of true religion--existed:\nand that back of its idolatry stood and was recognized the true God,\nof which the images worshiped were but the material representatives.\nTo these mysteries, however, very few were admitted. Candidates for\ninitiation had first to give satisfactory proof of their good faith and\npatience, by various most troublesome ceremonies. When initiated they\ncould not divulge anything they had seen without exposing their lives\nto imminent danger. Hence the interior of these hidden rites is at this\nday but little known, and therefore but an imperfect judgment may be\nformed as to their virtue. But what glimpses are obtained of the rites\nof these mysteries do not prepossess one in their favor; for in many of\nthem many things were done which are repugnant to modesty and decency,\nand in all of them that are known the discerning may see that the\ndeities there worshipped were more distinguished for their vices than\nfor their virtues. (See note 3, end of section.)\n\n8. Paul's Arraignment of the Pagan World.--Paul, the great\napostle of the Gentiles, brings a terrible indictment against the pagan\nworld of his day, and also against the more ancient pagans, and avers\nthat there was no excuse for their idolatry or wickedness:\n\n    For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all\n    ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in\n    unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest\n    in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things\n    of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being\n    understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and\n    Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they\n    knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;\n    but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was\n    darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,\n    and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image like\n    to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts and {24}\n    creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness\n    through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies\n    between themselves; who changed the truth of God into a lie and\n    worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator. * * * For\n    this cause God gave them up unto vile affections; * * * and even\n    as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave\n    them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not\n    convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,\n    wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder,\n    debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God,\n    despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient\n    to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without\n    natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment\n    of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not\n    only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.[12] (See\n    note 4, end of section.)\n\n9. Political State of the World at Messiah's Birth.--At the birth\nof Jesus Christ the greater part of the civilized world on the eastern\nhemisphere was subject to the Romans. Their remoter provinces they\neither ruled by means of temporary governors and presidents sent from\nRome, or suffered them to live under their own kings and laws, subject\nto the control of the Roman emperors.\n\n10. The senate and people of Rome, though they had not lost all\nthe appearance of liberty, were really under the authority of one\nman, Augustus; who was clothed with the titles of emperor, sovereign\npontiff, censor, tribune of the people, pro-consul; in a word, with\nevery office which conferred general power and pre-eminence in the\ncommonwealth.\n\n11. The Roman government, if we regard only its form and laws,\nwas sufficiently mild and equitable. But the injustice and avarice of\nthe nobles and provincial governors, the Roman lust of conquest and\ndominion, and the rapacity of the publicans who farmed the revenues\nof the state, brought many and {25} grievous evils upon the people.\nThe magistrates and publicans fleeced them of their property on the\none hand, while, on the other, the Roman lust of dominion required\narmies to be raised in the provinces--a thing which was very oppressive\nto them, and the occasion of almost perpetual insurrection. This,\nhowever, is true more especially of the days which preceded the reign\nof Augustus [Au-gus-tus]. The principal conquests of the Romans were\nachieved under the republic. It was left for Augustus to adopt that\npolicy which aimed merely to preserve those dominions which had been\nacquired by the policy of the senate, the active emulation of the\nconsuls and the martial enthusiasm of the people. Under his reign the\nRoman people themselves seem to have relinquished the ambitious design\nof subduing the whole earth. (See note 5, end of section.)\n\n12. This widely extended dominion of one people, or rather, of\none man, was attended with several advantages: (1), it brought into\nunion a multitude of nations differing in customs and languages;\n(2,) it gave freer access to the remotest nations; (3,) it gradually\ncivilized the barbarous nations, by introducing among them the Roman\nlaws and customs; (4), it spread literature, the arts and philosophy\nin countries where they were not before cultivated, and guaranteed the\nprotection of its laws to the people even in the remotest provinces.\n(See note 6, end of section.)\n\n13. Moreover, at the birth of Messiah, the Roman empire was freer\nfrom commotion that it had been for many years. Though it cannot be\nsaid that the whole world was in profound peace, yet there can be no\ndoubt that the period when the Savior was born, if compared with the\npreceding times, was peculiarly peaceful--a condition quite essential\nto the introduction of the gospel and the extensive preaching of it.\nNor is it too much to say that the Lord raised up the great Roman\nempire that under its beneficent yet powerful sway, the glad tidings of\ngreat joy, the gospel of Jesus Christ, might be widely preached among\nmen.\n\n{26} 14. Of the state of those nations which lay beyond the\nboundaries of the Roman empire we may not learn so much as of Rome. It\nis sufficient to know, however, that the Oriental nations were pressed\ndown by a stern despotism, which their effeminacy of mind and body, and\neven their religion, led them to bear with patience; while the northern\nnations enjoyed much greater liberty, which was protected by the rigor\nof their climate and the consequent energy of their constitutions,\naided by their mode of life.\n\n15. Political and Religious State of the Jews.--The condition\nof the Jewish people among whom the Savior was born was scarcely any\nbetter than that of other nations. Herod, called the Great, then\ngoverned, or rather, oppressed the Jewish nation, though only a\ntributary king under the Romans. He drew upon himself universal hatred\nby his cruelties, jealousies and wars; and he exhausted the wealth of\nthe unhappy nation by his mad luxury, his excessive magnificence, and\nhis immoderate largesses. Under his administration Roman luxury and\nlicentiousness spread over Palestine. In religion he was professedly a\nJew, but he copied the manners of those who despise all religion.\n\n16. The Romans did not wholly prohibit the Jews from retaining\ntheir national laws, and the religion established by Moses.\n\nThey had their high priests, council or senate (Sanhedrim)[13], and\ninflicted lesser punishments. They could apprehend men and bring them\nbefore the council; and if a guard of soldiers was needful, could be\nassisted by them upon asking the governor for them; they could bind\nmen and keep them in custody; the council could summon witnesses,\ntake examinations, and when they had any capital offenders, carry\nthem before the governor. This governor usually paid a regard to what\nthey offered, and if they brought evidence of the fact, pronounced\n{27} sentence according to their laws. He was the proper judge in all\ncapital causes.[14]\n\n17. The measure of liberty and comfort allowed to the Jews by\nthe Romans was well nigh wholly dissipated, first by the cruelty\nand avarice of the governors, and by the frauds and rapacity of the\npublicans; and second, by the profligacy and crimes of those who\npretended to be patriots and guardians of the nation. Their principal\nmen, their high priests, were abandoned wretches, who had purchased\ntheir places by bribes or by deeds of iniquity, and who maintained\ntheir ill-acquired authority by every species of dishonest acts. The\nother priests and all who held any considerable office, were not much\nbetter. The multitude, excited by such examples, ran headlong into\nevery sort of iniquity, and by their unceasing robberies and seditions\nthey excited against themselves both the justice of God and the\nvengeance of man.\n\n18. Religious Divisions.--Two religions may be said to have\nflourished in Palestine at the times of which we write; viz., the\nJewish and the Samaritan; between the followers of which there was\na deadly hatred. The nature of the former is set forth in the Old\nTestament. But in the age of the Savior it had been corrupted by\nthe traditions of the people, who were divided into sects filled\nwith bitterness against each other. Chief among these sects were the\nPharisees [Fa-ri-sees,] and Sadducees [Sad-du-seez.]\n\n19. Pharisees and Sadducees.--While these two sects agreed as\nto a number of fundamental principles of the Jewish religion, they\ndiffered on questions of the highest importance, and such as related\nto the salvation of the soul. First, they disagreed respecting the\nlaw which God had given them. The Pharisees superadded to the written\nlaw an oral or unwritten law, handed down by tradition, which the\nSadducees rejected, adhering alone to the written law. They differed,\ntoo, as to {28} the import of the law. The Pharisees held to a double\nsense of the scripture, the one literal, the other figurative; while\nthe Sadducees held only to the literal sense of the Bible. To these\ncontests concerning the laws were added others on subjects of the\nhighest moment; particularly in respect to the rewards and punishments\nannounced in the sacred writings. The Pharisees supposed them to affect\nboth body and spirit--in whose pre-existence and eternal existence\nthey believed--and that punishments and rewards extended beyond the\npresent life. The Sadducees believed in no future retributions. They\nwere sceptical of the miraculous; and denied the existence of spiritual\nbeings, the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body.\nThey were deists, in fact; viewing the Supreme Being as a quiescent\nProvidence calmly surveying and ruling the regular working of natural\nlaws. They gave themselves up to ease, luxury, self-indulgence, and\nwere not indisposed to view with indifferent liberality the laxity of\nheathen morals and the profanity of idol worship. They included in\ntheir numbers the leading men of the nation, were the aristocracy in\nfact, while the Pharisees, on the other hand, were the common people;\nproud of their unblemished descent from Abraham, exclusive, formal,\nself-righteous, strict observers of external rites and ceremonies, even\nbeyond the requirements of the law.\n\n20. Such were the chief sects among the Jews. There were others\nbut they were of minor importance. Both Sadducees and Pharisees looked\nfor a deliverer; not, however, such a one as God had promised; but a\npowerful warrior and a vindicator of their national liberties, a king,\na ruler. All placed the sum of religion in an observance of the Mosaic\nritual, and in certain duties toward their countrymen. All excluded the\nrest of mankind from the hope of salvation, and, of course whenever\nthey dared, treated them with hatred and inhumanity. To these fruitful\nsources of vice, must be added the various absurd and superstitious\nopinions concerning the Divine Nature, {29} genii, magic, etc., which\nthey had imbibed from surrounding nations.\n\n21. Samaritans.--The Samaritans [Sa-mar-i-tans] were colonists\nsent by the king of Assyria [As-syr-rya], Shalmaneser [Shal-ma-ne-zer,]\nto people the land after he had carried captive the Israelites, in\nthe latter part of the eighth century, B. C. They were a mixed people\nfrom various eastern nations, conquered by this same king--and they\nbrought with them their various forms of national idolatry. A plague\nbreaking out among them, however, led them to petition for a priest of\nthe god of the country, to teach them the old form of worship. He was\nstationed at Bethel [Beth-el,] and the Samaritans endeavored to combine\na formal reverence of God with the practice of their own idolatrous\nrites. After the captivity of Judah, they sought an alliance with\nthe returned Jews (536 B. C.,) with whom they intermarried. On Ezra\nenforcing the Mosaic law against mixed marriages--three-quarters of a\ncentury later--Manasses [Ma-nas-ses,] a Jewish priest, who had married\nthe daughter of Sanballat [San-bal-lat,] chief of the Samaritans,\nheaded a secession at Shechem [Shek-em.] The Samaritans taught the\nMosaic ritual and erected a rival temple to that at Jerusalem, on Mount\nGerizim [Ger-i-zim]. This mixed community before the time of the Savior\nbegan to claim descent from the patriarchs and a share in the promises.\nTheir religion was less pure than that of the Jews, as they adulterated\nthe doctrines of the Old Testament with the profane rites of the pagan\nreligion.\n\n22. Such was the state of the world--such the condition of\nthe Jews at the time of Messiah's birth; and surely that condition\njustified the pity and also the stern reproofs--nay, the severe rebukes\nadministered, as we shall see, by the Son of God in the course of his\nministry.\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. State of the World at Messiah's Birth.--The world had grown\n{30} old, and the dotage of its paganism was marked by hideous\nexcesses. Atheism in belief was followed, as among all nations it has\nalways been, by degradation of morals, iniquity seemed to have run its\ncourse to the very farthest goal. Philosophy had abrogated its boasted\nfunctions except for the favored few. Crime was universal, and there\nwas no known remedy for the horror and ruin which it was causing in a\nthousand hearts. Remorse itself seemed to be exhausted, so that men\nwere past feeling. There was a callosity of heart, a petrifying of the\nmoral sense, which even those who suffered from it felt to be abnormal\nand portentous. Even the heathen world felt that \"the fullness of the\ntime\" had come.--Canon Farrar.\n\n2. Policy of Rome in Respect to Religion.--The policy of the\nemperors and the senate, so far as it concerned religion, was happily\nseconded by the reflections of the enlightened, and by the habits\nof the superstitious part of their subjects. The various modes of\nworship, which prevailed in the Roman world, were all considered by\nthe people as equally true; by the philosopher as equally false; and\nby the magistrate as equally useful. And this toleration produced not\nonly mutual indulgence, but even religious concord. * * * Avarice and\ntaste very frequently despoiled the vanquished nations of the elegant\nstatues of their gods and the rich ornaments of their temples; but in\nthe exercise of the religion which they derived from their ancestors,\nthey uniformly experienced the indulgence, and even protection of\nthe Roman conquerors. The province of Gaul seems, and indeed only\nseems, an exception to this universal toleration. Under the specious\npretext of abolishing human sacrifices, the emperors Tiberius and\nClaudius suppressed the dangerous power of the Druids; but the priests\nthemselves, their gods and their altars, subsisted in peaceful\nobscurity till the final fall of paganism. * * * Rome gradually became\nthe common temple of her subjects; and the freedom of the city was\nbestowed on all the gods of mankind.--Gibbon.\n\n3. Mysteries of the Pagan Religion.--It has been maintained that\nthe design of at least some of these mysteries was to inculcate the\ngrand principles of natural religion, such as the unity of God, the\nimmortality of the soul, the importance of virtue, etc., and to explain\nthe vulgar polytheism as symbolical of these great truths. But this\ncertainly needs better proof. It is more probable that the later pagan\nphilosophers, who lived after the light of Christianity had exposed the\nabominations of polytheism, were the principal authors of this moral\ninterpretation of the vulgar religion, which they falsely pretended\nwas taught in the mysteries, while in reality, those mysteries were\nprobably mere supplements to the vulgar mythology and worship, and of\nthe same general character and spirit.--Murdock.\n\n{31} 4. State of Religion in Rome.--A modern writer describing\nthe religious state of Rome at the time of Julius Caesar--it could\nnot have been much changed at the birth of Messiah, sixty years\nlater--says: \"Religion, once the foundation of the laws and rule of\npersonal conduct, had subsided into opinion. The educated in their\nhearts disbelieved it. Temples were still built with increasing\nsplendor; the established forms were scrupulously observed. Public men\nspoke conventionally of Providence, that they might throw on their\nopponents the odium of impiety; but of genuine belief that life had\nany serious meaning, there was none remaining beyond the circle of the\nsilent, patient, ignorant multitude. The whole spiritual atmosphere was\nsaturated with cant--cant moral, cant political, cant religious; an\naffectation of high principle which had ceased to touch the conduct,\nand flowed on in an increasing volume of insincere and unreal speech.\nThe truest thinkers were those who, like Lucretius, spoke frankly out\ntheir real convictions, declared Providence was a dream, and that\nman and the world he lived in were material phenomena, generated\nby natural forces out of cosmic atoms, and into atoms to be again\nresolved.\"--Froude.\n\n5. Policy of Augustus as to Conquests.--Inclined to peace by\nhis temper and situation, it was easy for him to discover that Rome,\nin her present exalted situation, had much less to hope than to fear\nfrom the chance of arms; and that, in the prosecution of remote wars,\nthe undertaking every day became more difficult, the event more\ndoubtful and the possession more precarious and less beneficial. The\nexperience of Augustus added weight to these salutary reflections,\nand eventually convinced him that by prudent vigor of his counsels,\nit would be easy to secure every concession which the safety or the\ndignity of Rome might require from the most formidable barbarians * *\n* On the death of the emperor, his testament was publicly read in the\nsenate. He bequeathed, as a valuable legacy to his successors, the\nadvice of confining the empire within those limits which nature seemed\nto have placed as its permanent bulwarks and foundations; on the west\nthe Atlantic ocean; the Rhine and Danube on the north; the Euphrates\non the east; and towards the south the sandy deserts of Arabia and\nAfrica.--Gibbon, \"Decline and Fall\", vol. i, chap. 1.\n\n6. Mission and Character of the Roman Empire.--As the soil must\nbe prepared before the wheat can be sown, so before the kingdom of\nheaven could throw up its shoots there was needed a kingdom of this\nworld, where the nations were neither torn to pieces by violence nor\nwere rushing after false ideals [as to governments] and spurious\nambitions. Such a kingdom was the empire of the Caesars--a kingdom\nwhere peaceful men could work, think and speak as they pleased, and\ntravel freely among provinces ruled for the most part by Gallios who\n{32} protected life and property, and forbade fanatics to tear each\nother to pieces for their religious opinions. \"It is not lawful for\nus to put a man to death,\" was the complaint of the Jewish priests to\nthe Roman governor. Had Europe and Asia been covered with independent\nnations, each with a local religion represented in its ruling powers,\nChristianity must have been stifled in its cradle. If St. Paul had\nescaped the Sanhedrim of Jerusalem, he would have been torn to pieces\nby the silversmiths at Ephesus. The appeal to Caesar's judgment\nseat was the shield of his mission, and alone made possible his\nsuccess.--Froude.\n\n7. The Sanhedrin of the Jews.--\"The council\" of the Jewish\nchurch and people was a theocratic oligarchy, which after the return\nfrom the captivity (536 B. C.,) ruled the new settlement, being in\nall causes and over all persons, ecclesiastical and civil, supreme.\nIt is supposed to be suggested by the old institution of seventy-two\nElders (six from each tribe,) appointed by Moses, at Jethro's [Jeth-ro]\nsuggestion, to relieve him in the administration of justice (Ex.\nxviii:14; Num. xi:16.) Having died out in the age succeeding Joshua, and\nbeing superceded under the monarchy, it was revived either by Ezra,\nor after the Macedonian ascendancy. It consisted of an equal number\nof priests, scribes and elders all of whom must be married, above\nthirty years of age, well instructed in the law, and of good report\namong the people. This constituted the Supreme Court of judicature\nand administrative council, taking cognizance of false doctrine and\nteaching, as well as breaches of the Mosaic Law, and regulating both\ncivil and religious observances peculiar to the Jewish nation. The\npower of life and death had been taken from it by the Roman government\nwhich otherwise covenanted to respect its decrees. The council usually\nmet in the hall Gazith, within the Temple precincts, though special\nmeetings were sometimes held in the house of the high priest, who was\ngenerally (though not necessarily) the president. There were also two\nvice-presidents, and two scribes--clerks--or \"heralds,\" one registering\nthe votes of acquittal (or nos), and the other those of convictions\n(or ayes), and a body of lictors or attendants. The assembly set in\nthe form of a semi-circle, the president occupying the center of the\narc, the prisoner that of the center of the chord, while the two\n\"heralds\" sat a little in advance of the president, on his right and\nhis left.--\"Oxford Teacher's Bible\"--Addenda.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. State the religious condition of the world at Messiah's birth.\n\n2. What was the cause of heathen religious toleration?\n\n3. What was the policy of Rome in respect to religion? (Note 2.)\n\n{33} 4. What was the nature of the heathen gods?\n\n5. Describe the character of heathen worship.\n\n6. What can you say of pagan mysteries? (Note 3.)\n\n7. Give the substance of Paul's arraignment of the pagan world.\n\n8. What was the political state of the world at Messiah's birth?\n\n9. Describe the general character of the Roman government.\n\n10. Enumerate the advantages the Roman government gave to the world.\n\n11. How did these advantages affect the work of the Christ?\n\n12. What was the state of the nations outside of the Roman empire?\n\n13. Who was the king of the Jews at Messiah's birth?\n\n14. What was the political state of the Jews at that time?\n\n15. What can you say of religion among the Jews at this period?\n\n16. What were the religious divisions in Palestine?\n\n17. State the doctrines of the Pharisees. The Sadducees.\n\n18. What was the character of the Deliverer expected by both Pharisees\nand Sadducees?\n\n19. Did Jesus Christ answer their expectations?\n\n20. Tell what you can of the Samaritans.\n\n21. Describe the Sanhedrim of the Jews. (Note 7.)\n\n{34}\n\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\n1. Childhood and Youth of Messiah.--Returning from Egypt in\nobedience to the commandment of God, Joseph, the husband of Mary, with\nthe infant Savior, went into Galilee, and lived at Nazareth--the most\ndespised village of the most despised province in all Palestine. (Note\n1, end of section.) Of his childhood but little information can be\nobtained from any authentic source. All that may be learned from the\nbiographies in the Gospels is that after the settlement in Nazareth,\nthe child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the\ngrace of God was upon him.\n\n2. Luke tells us that when twelve years of age, Jesus accompanied\nhis mother and Joseph to Jerusalem, to attend the feast of the\nPassover. (See note 2, end of section.) When they started on the\nreturn to Nazareth, Jesus remained behind at Jerusalem without their\nknowledge. They supposed him to be in the company, but when after a\nwhole day's journey he did not appear, they made inquiry for him among\ntheir kindred, and not finding him, returned to Jerusalem in search of\nhim. After three days' anxious inquiry they found him in the temple,\nsitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking\nquestions. Answering his mother's gentle reproof for remaining behind,\nhe said:\n\n    How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my\n    Father's business?\n\nThus early in life, just emerging from childhood, it seems that the\nSon of God had the inspiration of his mission resting upon him. Yet in\nloving obedience he went with them down into Nazareth, \"and was subject\nunto them.\" With the {35} return to Nazareth the authentic history of\nthe childhood and youth of the Son of God ends; further than we learn\nfrom the remark of Luke that \"Jesus increased in wisdom and stature,\nand in favor with God and man.\" But what the details of his life and\ndevelopment were for the next eighteen years, we do not know. (See note\n3, end of section.)\n\n3. In the New Testament apocrypha there are wonderful and\nmiraculous stories of his carrying spilt water in his robe; of his\npulling a short board to its requisite length; of moulding sparrows\nout of clay and then clapping his hands at which they are made alive\nand fly away; how he vexes and shames and silences those who wish to\nteach him; how he rebukes Joseph or turns his playmates into kids; how\nhe strikes dead with a curse the boys who offend or run against him,\nuntil at last there is a storm of popular indignation, and his mother\nfears to have him leave the house[15]--and a hundred other things\nequally absurd which mar rather than embellish the childhood and youth\nof Jesus, which the silence of his reliable biographers dignifies and\nexalts.\n\n4. John the Baptist.--In the fifteenth year of the reign of\nTiberius Caesar, there came preaching throughout the wilderness of\nJudea [Ju-de-a] a strange character, called John the Baptist. He was\nthe son of Elizabeth, who was a descendant of Aaron, and a cousin to\nMary, the mother to Jesus. His father was a priest of the temple, named\nZacharias. Zacharias and Elizabeth were both well stricken in years,\nwhen there appeared unto the former, in the temple, as he was burning\nincense upon the altar, the angel Gabriel [Ga-bri-el], who announced\nto him that his wife should bear him a son, and that he must call his\nname John. The angel also said that John should be great in the eyes of\nthe Lord; that he should be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his\nmother's womb. He was {36} to have power also to turn unto their God\nmany of the children of Israel, and to go before the Lord in the spirit\nand power of Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,\nand the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people\nprepared for the Lord.[16]\n\n5. In due time all that the angel promised came to pass. The\nchild was born, and when eight days old he was circumcised and named\nJohn. On that occasion his father who had been dumb from the time of\nthe visitation of the angel prophesied that the child should be called\nthe prophet of the Highest; that he should go before the face of the\nLord to prepare his ways; give knowledge of salvation unto his people\nby the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of God; and\ngive light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.[17]\n\n6. That the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the\ndeserts till the day of his showing unto Israel;[18] that he had his\nraiment of camel's hair; a leathern girdle about his loins; that his\nfood was locusts and wild honey[19] is all we know of him until the\nword of the Lord came to him in the wilderness[20] commanding him to\ncry repentance, and proclaim the coming of the kingdom of heaven.\n\n7. The Voice from the Wilderness.--The burden of John's message\nconsisted of three great declarations: Repent, for the kingdom of\nheaven is at hand; prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths\nstraight; there cometh one after me mightier than I am, whose shoe\nlatchet I am unworthy to loose, he will baptize you with fire and with\nthe Holy Ghost.\n\n8. When the multitude flocked to hear the teaching of John the\nPharisees and Sadducees came also--with guile in their hearts and\ndeceit on their lips, he rebuked them, called them a generation of\nvipers and told them to bring forth fruits meet for repentance, and not\nto pride themselves on being the children of Abraham, for God was able\nof the very stones about {37} them to raise up children unto Abraham.\nHe warned them that the ax was laid at the root of every tree, and that\ntree which brought not forth good fruit was to be destroyed.\n\n9. That was a strange voice to the people of that generation,\naccustomed as they were to hear only the accents of flattery or\nsubserviency. Without a tremor of hesitation he rebuked the tax\ngatherers for their extortion; the soldiers for their violence; the\nSadducees and Pharisees for their pride and formalism; and warned the\nwhole people that their cherished privileges were worse than valueless\nif without repentance they regarded them as a protection against the\nwrath to come.\n\n10. So unusual a teacher as John the Baptist could not fail\nto attract attention in Judea where all men were anticipating the\ncoming of a deliverer. Hence, as the Jews listened to his teachings\nso inspired with the power of God, they wondered if he were not the\nMessiah. This he denied. They asked him then if he were not Elias. This\ntoo he denied (see note 5, end of section); and claimed only to be the\nvoice of one crying in the wilderness: \"Make straight the way of the\nLord.\" [21]\n\n11. The Baptism of Jesus.--When John came into the region about\nBethabara [Beth-ab-a-rah], on the Jordan,[22] among others who came to\nbe baptized was Jesus. When John saw him he hesitated, and knowing by\nthe inspiration within him what he was soon to know by a more splendid\nmanifestation of God's power, _viz._, that this was the Son of God,\nhe said: \"I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?\"\n\"Suffer it to be so now,\" replied Jesus, \"for thus it becometh us to\nfulfill all righteousness.\" [23]\n\n12. Then John baptized him, and as Jesus came up out of the water\nthe heavens were opened unto him (that is, unto John; see note 6, end\nof section), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and\nlighting upon him; and he heard a voice from heaven saying: \"This is\nmy beloved Son, in whom I {38} am well pleased.\" [24] This splendid\nspiritual manifestation was a sign to John that this was the Son of\nGod, the One who was to baptize with fire and the Holy Ghost, the\nMessiah, who was to take away the sins of the world. For he who had\nsent him to baptize with water, had said to him: \"Upon whom thou shalt\nsee the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which\nbaptizeth with the Holy Ghost.\" [25]\n\n13. The Martyrdom of John.--Having borne witness that Jesus was\nthe Son of God, John seems to have completed the mission given to him\nat that time, and soon after fell a victim to the malice of a wicked\nwoman and a weak prince. Herod Antipas [Anti-pas], the son of Herod the\nGreat, who was made Tetrarch of Galilee on the death of his father,\nmarried the daughter of Aretas [Ar'-e-ta], king of Arabia. But forming\nalso an unholy attachment for Herodias [He-ro'-di-as], his brother\nPhilip's wife, he soon became involved in a course of guilt with her.\nFor this he was reproved by John, who told him it was not lawful for\nhim to have her. Herod at the instance of Herodias cast John into\nprison for his temerity in reproving their wicked course, and would\nhave put him to death, but he feared the multitude, who esteemed John a\nprophet.\n\n14. The revengeful spirit of Herodias, however, was not satisfied\nwith the bonds and imprisonment of John; she determined to have his\nlife. On Herod's birthday, in the midst of the feast, she sent her\ndaughter to dance for the amusement of the company, which greatly\npleased Herod, and he promised her with an oath that he would give\nher whatsoever she should ask; and the damsel being instructed of her\nmother demanded the head of John the Baptist. It was with sorrow that\nHerod, bad as he was, heard this demand, yet for his oath's sake, and\nashamed to manifest weakness in the presence of those who sat at meat\nwith him, he sent and beheaded John in the prison, and had the head\nbrought in and given to the damsel in a charger. {39} Thus fell the\nfirst martyr in that dispensation. (See note 7, end of section.)\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Nazareth.--Nazareth was in Galilee, a part of Palestine, which\nwas held in disesteem for several reasons: it had a provincial dialect;\nlying remote from the capital, its inhabitants spoke a strange tongue,\nwhich was rough, harsh, and uncouth, having a peculiar combination\nof words, and words also peculiar to themselves. Its population was\nimpure, being made up not only of provincial Jews but also of heathens\nof several sorts, Egyptians, Arabians, Phoenicians. As Galilee was a\ndespised part of Palestine, so was Nazareth a despised part of Galilee,\nbeing a small, obscure, if not mean place. Accordingly its inhabitants\nwere held in little consideration by other Galileans, and, of course,\nby those Jews who dwelt in Judea. Hence the name of Nazarene came to\nbear with it a bad odor and was nearly synonymous with a low, ignorant\nand uncultivated, if not un-Jewish person.--\"Biblical Literature\",\nKitto.\n\n2. The Passover.--The Passover, like the Sabbath and other\ninstitutions had a two-fold reference--historical and typical. As a\ncommemorative institution, it was designed to preserve among the Jews\na grateful sense of their redemption from Egyptian bondage, and with\nthe protection granted to their first born, on the night when all\nthe first born of the Egyptians were destroyed (Exodus xii: 27,) as\na typical institute its object was to shadow forth the great facts\nand consequences of the Christian sacrifices (I. Cor. v: 7). That the\nancient Jews understood this institution to prefigure the sufferings\nof the Christ is evident, not only from the New Testament, but from\nthe Mishna, where, among the five things said to be contained in the\n_Great Hallel_ (a hymn composed of several songs and sung after the\nPaschal supper,) one is, the suffering of Messiah, for which they refer\nto Psalm cxvi. * * * * * The Passover also denotes the whole solemnity,\ncommencing on the fourteenth and ending on the twenty-first day of\nNisan.--Kitto.\n\n3. The Youth of Christ.--It is written that there was once a\npious, godly bishop who had often earnestly prayed that God would\nmanifest unto him what Jesus had done in his youth. Once the bishop\nhad a dream to this effect. He seemed in his sleep to see a carpenter\nworking at his trade, and beside him a little boy who was gathering up\nchips. Then came in a maiden clothed in green, who called them both\nto come to the meal, and set porridge before them. All {40} this the\nbishop seemed to see in his dream, himself standing behind the door\nthat he might not be perceived. Then the little boy began and said:\nWhy does that man stand there? Shall he not also eat with us? And this\nso frightened the bishop that he awoke. Let this be what it may, a\ntrue history or a fable, I none the less believe that Christ in his\nchildhood and youth looked and acted like other children, yet without\nsin; in fashion like a man.--Martin Luther.\n\n4. Messiah's Life for Thirty Years.--What was his manner of\nlife during those thirty years? It is a question which the Christians\ncannot help asking in deep reverence, and with yearning love; but the\nwords in which the Gospels answer it are very calm and very few. * * *\n* * His development was a strictly human development. He did not come\nto the world endowed with infinite knowledge, but, as St. Luke tells\nus, he gradually advanced in wisdom. He was not clothed with infinite\npower, but experienced the weakness and imperfections of human infancy.\nHe grew as other children grow, only in a childhood of stainless and\nsinless beauty--as the \"flower of roses in the spring of the year and\nas lilies by the waters.\" * * * * * It was in utter stillness, in\nprayerfulness, in the quiet round of daily duties--like Moses in the\nwilderness, like David among the sheep folds, like Elijah among the\ntents of the Bedouin, like Jeremiah in his quiet home at Anathoth,\nlike Amos in the sycamore groves of Tekoa--that the boy Jesus prepared\nhimself, amid a hallowed obscurity, for his mighty work on earth. His\noutward life was the life of all those of his age, and station and\nplace of birth. He lived as lived other children of peasant parents in\nthat quiet town, and in great measure as they live now.--Canon Farrar.\n\n5. Was John the Elias?--\"Art thou Elias?\" said the messengers\nfrom Jesus to John. \"And he saith, I am not\" (John i). Afterwards,\nas Jesus, Peter, James and John were descending the mountain on\nwhose summit they had seen in vision Moses and Elias, the following\nconversation occurred:\n\nJESUS: Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again\nfrom the dead.\n\nDISCIPLES: Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?\n\nJESUS: Elias truly shall first come, _and restore all things_; but I\nsay unto you that Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but\nhave done unto him whatsoever they listed. * * * * Then the disciples\nknew that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. (Matt. xvii.) From\nthis it appears that John denied being Elias, while Jesus declared\nthat he was, and in consequence much controversy has arisen on this\nsubject. The matter may be easily understood, however, when it is known\nthat Elias is the name of a person, the name of a prophet who lived,\ndoubtless, in the days of Abraham {41} (Doc. and Cov. sec cx: 12), and\nwho also appeared to Jesus on the occasion above named; Elias is also\nthe name of an office--the office of Restorer. \"The spirit of Elias,\"\nsaid the Prophet Joseph (March 10, 1844) \"is to prepare the way for a\ngreater revelation of God, which is the priesthood of Elias. * * * *\nAnd when God sends a man into the world to prepare for a greater work\nholding the keys of the power of Elias, it was called the doctrine of\nElias, even from the early ages of the world.\" Hence any man who came\nto prepare the way for a greater revelation was an Elias, and in this\nsense John the Baptist was pre-eminently Elias; but it is equally true\nthat he was _not_ Elias, the prophet who lived in the days of Abraham,\nwho appeared unto Jesus in the mountain and who also appeared to the\nProphet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple.\n\nIn the revision of the New Testament, by the Prophet Joseph Smith,\noften improperly called the new translation, the difficulty in respect\nto the denial of John that he was Elias is easily understood. We\nquote the passage: \"This is the record of John, when the Jews sent\npriests and seventies from Jerusalem, to ask him: Who art thou? And he\nconfessed and denied not that he was Elias; but he confessed, saying, I\nam not the Christ. And they asked him, saying: How art thou then Elias?\nAnd he said, _I am not that Elias who was to restore all things_. And\nthey asked him, saying, Art thou that Prophet? And he answered, No.\"\n(St. John i: 20-22.) From the above it may be plainly seen that while\nJohn was not the particular Elias who is to restore _all_ things, yet\nhe is an Elias because he restored some things in respect to the\ngospel.--Roberts.\n\n6. John the Only Witness of the Descent of the Holy Ghost.--I\nsuppose that John the Baptist was the only one who was a witness\nof the Holy Ghost resting upon Jesus in the form of a dove. In all\nthe accounts given of this event, except by Luke, the pronoun \"he,\"\nreferring to John, is used. While in Luke it is not said that anyone\nelse saw it, but it is merely stated that \"the Holy Ghost descended\nin a bodily shape like a dove upon him.\" John's own testimony is as\nfollows: \"I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it\nabode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize\nwith water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit\ndescending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with\nthe Holy Ghost.\"--\"The Gospel\" (note), Roberts.\n\n7. The Fate of Herod Antipas.--He was not allowed to enjoy his\nprosperity long. His nephew Agrippa having obtained the title of king,\nHerodias urged him to make a journey to Italy and demand the same\nhonor. He weakly assented to his wife's ambitious representations;\nbut the project proved fatal to them both. Agrippa anticipated their\ndesign; and when they appeared before Caligula, they {42} were met\nby accusations of hostility to Rome, the truth of which they in\nvain attempted to disprove. Sentence of deposition was accordingly\npassed upon Herod, and both he and his wife [Herodias] were sent into\nbanishment and died at Lyons in Gaul.--Kitto.\n\n8. The Sign of the Dove.--The Holy Ghost descended in the\nform of a dove, or rather in the sign of a dove, in witness of that\nadministration [Messiah's baptism]. The sign of the dove was instituted\nbefore the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the\ndevil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage,\nand is in the form of a personage. It (he) does not confine itself to\nthe form of a dove, but in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost cannot\nbe transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John\nto signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of\ntruth and innocence.--Joseph Smith.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. State what you can of the childhood of Christ.\n\n2. What can you say of Nazareth?\n\n3. What happened when Jesus was twelve years old?\n\n4. Describe the Passover. (Note 2.)\n\n5. What can you say of the fabulous stories related of the childhood\nand youth of Christ?\n\n6. At what time did John the Baptist appear as a preacher?\n\n7. Who were the parents of John? What their descent?\n\n8. Relate all you can concerning John's birth and childhood.\n\n9. What was the burden of John's message?\n\n10. How did he treat the deceitful Pharisees and Sadducees?\n\n11. As whom did some of the Jews regard John?\n\n12. What was the extent of his pretensions?\n\n13. What can you say of Elias? (Note 5.)\n\n14. Relate the baptism of Jesus.\n\n15. Tell the story of John's martyrdom.\n\n16. What was the fate of Herod Antipas? (Note 7.)\n\n{43}\n\n\n\nSECTION IV.\n\n1. The Temptations of Jesus.--After his baptism Jesus was led\nby the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days\nand forty nights. Then at the moment of his great physical weakness\nLucifer came tempting him, but all the allurements of the wily foe were\nthwarted, from the challenge to turn the stones into bread to the offer\nof the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them. After his failure\nto seduce Jesus to sin, Lucifer left him--\"for a season,\" and angels\ncame and administered unto him. (See notes 1 and 2, end of section.)\n\n2. Commencement of Christ's Ministry.--Having in all things\nresisted the temptations of Lucifer, Jesus returned from the wilderness\ninto Galilee, the Spirit of God resting upon him in mighty power. It\nwas then that he began his great ministry among the people, teaching\nin their synagogues, astonishing all with the graciousness of his\ndoctrines, and his power in healing the sick, until his fame extended\nthroughout the land and great multitudes of people from Galilee, and\nalso from Decapolis (De-kap-o-lis), Jerusalem and other parts of Judea\nfollowed him.\n\n3. The Doctrines Christ Taught.--The burden of his teaching\nat this period of his ministry seems to have been: \"Repent for the\nkingdom of heaven is at hand.\" [26] In addition to this, he also taught\nbeautiful truths and moral precepts in brief, emphatic sentences (see\nnote 3, end of section), that were especially comforting to the poor;\nsuch as, \"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom\nof heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted:\nBlessed are {44} the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed\nare they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall\nbe filled. * * * Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.\"\n\n4. In some things His teachings seemed to come in conflict with\nthe traditions of the people; and, indeed with the law of Moses itself,\nas witness the following: \"Ye have heard that it was said by them of\nold time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in\ndanger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry\nwith his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment;\nand whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,[27] shall be in danger\nof the council; but whosoever shall say Thou fool, shall be in danger\nof hell fire.\" Again: \"Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of\nold time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shall perform unto the\nLord thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all; * * * but let\nyour communications be Yea, yea; Nay, nay. * * * Ye have heard that it\nhath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say\nunto you, That ye resist not evil. * * * Ye have heard that it hath\nbeen said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I\nsay unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to\nthem that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and\npersecute you.\"\n\n5. Yet Jesus claimed that He came not to destroy the law nor the\nprophets, but to fulfill them, and declared that though heaven and\nearth should pass away not one jot nor tittle of the law should pass\naway but all should be fulfilled. Still it cannot be denied that some\nof his teachings set aside many parts of the law of Moses, and seemed\nto be in conflict with its spirit.\n\n6. The Gospel Supplants the Law.--The seeming conflict, referred\nto in the last paragraph, between the law of Moses and the teachings\nof Messiah disappears when it is understood {45} that the gospel of\nJesus Christ was about to supplant the law. The gospel, under Moses\nwas offered to ancient Israel before they received the law of carnal\ncommandments; but they would not live in accordance with its divine\nprecepts, but hardened their hearts against it until the gospel, as\nalso the higher priesthood, was taken from among them. The lesser\npriesthood, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels and the\npreparatory gospel, repentance and baptism, and the law of carnal\ncommandments (the spirit of which is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a\ntooth) remained with them,[28] to educate and instruct them, that they\nmight be prepared eventually for the fullness of the gospel. When Jesus\nbegan his ministry by proclaiming his gospel, the law of Moses was\nabout fulfilled, and many of the carnal commandments and precepts were\nbeing pushed aside by the more excellent precepts of the gospel, even\nas many of the sacrifices and burnt offerings were to be discontinued\nafter Messiah should be offered up as a sacrifice, of which the\nsacrifices before mentioned were but types and symbols. (See note 4,\nend of section.)\n\n7. Twelve Apostles Called.--From among the disciples which\nfollowed him Jesus selected twelve men whom he called apostles. Their\nnames were: Simon, commonly called Peter; Andrew, brother to Peter;\nJames, the son of Zebedee, sometimes called James the Elder; John,\nbrother to James above named; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew, the\npublican, author of the book of Matthew in the New Testament; James,\nthe son of Alphaeus, also called James the less, perhaps to distinguish\nhim from James the elder, or because of his small stature;[29] Lebbaeus\nusually called by his surname Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite; Judas\nIscariot, who betrayed him.\n\n8. These twelve men Jesus sent out on a mission to the cities\nof Israel, forbidding them to go into the way of the Gentiles, or\ninto the cities of the Samaritans. Their mission was to the {46} lost\nsheep of the house of Israel.[30] They were sent without purse and\nwithout scrip, nor were they to provide themselves with two coats nor\ntake thought as to what they should eat, or wherewithal they would be\nclothed; but they were to trust to the Lord, being assured that the\nlaborer is worthy of his hire.\n\n9. The burden of their message was to be: \"The kingdom of heaven\nis at hand.\" They also received power from their Master to heal the\nsick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: and were\nadmonished, since they had received freely, to give as freely to\nothers. Jesus told them they were going as sheep among wolves; that\nthey would be brought before governors and kings for his sake; that\nthey would be delivered up to councils, and scourged in the synagogues;\nthat they would be hated of all men for his sake; but they were also\ngiven the comforting assurance that they who would endure to the end\nshould be saved.[31] These apostles went forth through the towns of\nJudea preaching the gospel and healing the sick.\n\n10. Seventies Called.--The harvest being great and the laborers\nfew, Jesus called seventies into the ministry to aid the twelve\napostles. He sent them two and two before him into every city and\nplace where he himself expected to go. The commission, powers and\ninstructions which the seventies received were nearly the same as those\ngiven to the twelve apostles.[32] These seventies went forth as the\napostles had done and returning from their labor bore record that the\npower of God was with them in their ministry and that the very devils\nwere subject to them in the name of Jesus.[33]\n\n11. The Order of Events.--It would be difficult if not impossible\nto relate even the chief events in the life of Messiah in the order in\nwhich they occurred, since no little confusion exists in respect to\nthe succession of events in the narratives of the New Testament. (See\nnote 5, end of section.) Nor is it necessary to our purpose to dwell in\ndetail or in sequence {47} upon those matters. It is sufficient for us\nto know that after the events we have already noted Messiah's mission\nwas more boldly declared. He proclaimed himself to be the Son of God;\nthe Messiah of which the scriptures had borne record;[34] he taught\nmen that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to\nredeem it, that whosoever would believe in him might have everlasting\nlife.[35] In addition to this great doctrine we have seen that he\ntaught repentance; he likewise taught that men must be born (baptized)\nof the water and of the Spirit before they could enter into the kingdom\nof God;[36] he made and baptized more disciples than John;[37] he also\ntaught the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, and announced\nhimself as possessing the keys and powers thereof.[38]\n\n12. The Divinity of Messiah's Mission.--Jesus sustained the\ndivinity of his mission by pointing to the conformity of the facts\nconnected with his career with the predictions of the scriptures;[39]\nby the testimony which John the Baptist bore;[40] by the works which\nhe did--his wonderful miracles wherein the power of God was made\nmanifest;[41] and lastly, and best of all, the testimony of the Father\nhimself which was promised unto all those who would do his (the\nFather's) will.[42]\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Order of the Temptations.--The order of the temptations is\ngiven differently by St. Matthew and St. Luke. St. Matthew placing\nsecond the scene on the pinnacle of the temple, and St. Luke the vision\nof the kingdoms of the world. Both orders cannot be right, and possibly\nSt. Luke may have been influenced in his arrangement by the thought\nthat a temptation to spiritual pride and the arbitrary exercise of\nmiraculous power was a subtler and less transparent, and therefore\nmore powerful one than the temptation to fall down and recognize the\npower of evil. * * * The consideration that St. {48} Matthew, as one of\nthe Apostles, is more likely to have heard the narrative immediately\nfrom the lips of Christ--gives greater weight to the order which he\nadopts.--Canon Farrar.\n\n2. More than Three Temptations.--The positive temptations of\nJesus were not confined to that particular point of time when they\nassailed him with concentrated force. [In the wilderness.] * * * But\nstill more frequently in after life was he called to endure temptation\nof another kind--the temptation of suffering, and this culminated on\ntwo occasions, viz., in the conflict of Gethsemane, and in that moment\nof agony on the cross when he cried, \"_My God, my God! why hast thou\nforsaken me?\"_--Ullman.\n\n3. Manner of Christ's Teaching.--Next to what our Savior taught,\nmay be considered the manner of his teaching, which was extremely\npeculiar; yet, I think, precisely adapted to the peculiarity of his\ncharacter and situation. His lessons did not consist of disquisitions;\nof anything like moral essays, or like sermons, or like set treatises\nupon several points which he mentioned. When he delivered a precept,\nit was seldom that he added any proof or argument, still more seldom\nthat he accompanied it with, what all precepts require, limitations\nand distinctions. His instructions were conceived in short, emphatic,\nsententious rules, in occasional reflections or in sound maxims. I do\nnot think this is a natural, or would it have been a proper method\nfor a philosopher or a moralist or that it is a method which can be\nsuccessfully imitated by us. But I contend that it was suitable to the\ncharacter which Christ assumed, and to the situation in which, as a\nteacher, he was placed. He produced himself as a messenger from God.\nHe put the truth of what he taught upon authority. [I say unto you,\nswear not at all; I say unto you, resist not evil; I say unto you, love\nyour enemies.] In the choice, therefore, of his mode of teaching, the\npurpose by him to be consulted was _impression_; because conviction,\nwhich forms the principal end of our discourse, was to arise in the\nminds of his followers from a different source, from their respect to\nhis person and authority. Now, for the purpose of impression singly and\nexclusively, I know nothing which would have so great force, as strong,\nponderous maxims, frequently urged and frequently brought back to the\nthoughts of the hearers. I know nothing that could in this view be said\nbetter than, Do unto others as ye would that others should do unto\nyou; The first and great commandment is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy\nGod; and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as\nthyself.--Christian Evidences--Paley.\n\n4. The Law Added to the Gospel.--The Mosaic Law never was\nconsidered, by those who understood it, \"an everlasting covenant.\" It\nwas given for a special purpose, and when it had accomplished that\npurpose, it was laid aside. We read in Galatians iii:8, that \"the\nscripture, {49} foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through\nfaith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall\nall the nations of the earth be blessed.\" From this it appears that\nthe gospel was preached unto Abraham. In Hebrews (iv:2), Paul speaking\nof ancient Israel says: \"For unto us was the gospel preached, as well\nas unto them [ancient Israel]: but the word preached did not profit\nthem, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.\" Not only then\nwas the gospel preached unto Abraham, but also unto the children of\nIsrael. Now let us go back to the third chapter of Galatians; for Paul\nhaving stated that the gospel was preached unto Abraham, asks this\nquestion (verse 19): \"Wherefore then serveth the law?\" (if the gospel\nwas preached unto Abraham). \"It was added because of transgression,\ntill the seed\" (Christ) \"should come to whom the promise was made.\"\nAdded? Added to what? Added to the gospel, which before that time\nhad been preached unto Abraham, and also to ancient Israel. But the\nIsraelites under Moses were unable to live the perfect law of the\ngospel. They were not strong enough to overcome evil with good, as\nthe gospel requires, so a law of carnal commandments was \"added\" to\nthe gospel--a law which breathed of the spirit of an eye for an eye,\na tooth for a tooth--a law which was suited to their capacity. Paul,\nspeaking of this subject in the same chapter of Galatians (verses\n23-25), says: \"Before faith came we were kept under the law, shut up\nunto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law\n[the law of Moses] was our school-master to bring us unto Christ, that\nwe might be justified by faith. But after that faith has come we are\nno longer under a school-master.\" From these passages of scripture we\nlearn this: The gospel was preached unto Abraham, and also unto ancient\nIsrael. The Israelites were unable to live the law of the gospel,\nhence a law of carnal commandments, known as the law of Moses was\ngiven as a school-master to bring them up to a higher law; Christ came\nand introduced that higher law--the gospel; explained its principles\nand pointed out the difference between it and the law of Moses. The\ngospel took the place of the law of Moses, which was laid aside, having\nfulfilled the object for which it was added to the gospel.--Lecture on\nMission of Joseph Smith--Roberts.\n\n5. Neglect of Chronological Order in New Testament\nNarratives.--The four gospels narrate the principal events connected\nwith our Lord's abode on earth, from his birth to his ascension. There\nmust, therefore, be a general resemblance between them, though that\nof John contains little in common with the others, being apparently\nsupplementary to them. Yet there are considerable diversities both in\nthe order in which facts are narrated, and in the facts themselves.\nHence the difficulty of weaving the accounts of the four into a\ncontinuous and chronological history. It is our decided conviction\nthat {50} all the evangelists have not adhered to chronological\narrangement. The question then arises, have all neglected the order of\ntime? Newcome and many others espouse this view. \"Chronological order,\"\nsays the writer, \"is not precisely observed by any of the evangelists;\nSt. John and St. Mark observe it most; and St. Matthew neglects it\nmost.\"--Davidson--Biblical Literature.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What followed the baptism of Jesus?\n\n2. What can you say of the order of the temptations? (Note 1).\n\n3. What was the commencement of Christ's ministry?\n\n4. What was the character of Christ's doctrine at this period?\n\n5. State how the gospel supplanted the law of Moses.\n\n6. Name the Apostles whom Jesus called.\n\n7. What was the first mission of the Twelve?\n\n8. What was the nature of the commission given to the Apostles?\n\n9. State the calling and commission of the Seventies.\n\n10. What can you say of the order of chronological events in the New\nTestament? (Note 5.)\n\n11. To what several circumstances did Messiah point as giving evidence\nof the divinity of his mission?\n\n12. Quote the passages of scripture cited in the text.\n\n{51}\n\n\n\nSECTION V.\n\n1. The Common People Hear Jesus Gladly.--The mission of Jesus\nwas full of comfort to the poor. As one of the signs that he was the\npromised Messiah, he said to a delegation of John's disciples--\"The\npoor have the gospel preached to them.\" [43] He claimed to be anointed\nof the Lord to that work; and in doing it was fulfilling that which\nhad been predicted by the prophets.[44] He often reproved the rich,\nnot merely because they were rich, however, but because of their pride\nand hypocrisy which led them to oppress the poor. In like manner he\nreproved the chief elders and scribes and Pharisees who loved fine\nclothing, and loved to receive salutations in the market places; who\ncoveted the chief seats in the synagogues and the uppermost rooms at\nthe feasts; who devoured widows' houses, and for a pretense made long\nprayers.[45] This with a free reproof of their other vices and crimes\nbrought upon him the enmity of the wealthy, and of the rulers of the\npeople; but the common people heard him gladly.[46] (See note 1, end of\nsection.)\n\n2. Religious Jealousy--Political Fear.--Another thing which\nembittered the minds of the chief priests and elders against Jesus was\nreligious jealousy. The numerous evidences of his divine authority,\nto be seen in his character and works, led many of the Jews to revere\nhim as the Son of God. Especially was this the case after he raised\nLazarus from the dead.[47] They said: \"If we let this man alone all\nmen will believe in him; and the Romans will come and take away both\nour place and nation.\" It was religious jealousy that dictated the\nfirst half of the sentence; and political fear the rest. The Jews had\nbut a precarious hold upon their political rights; already it had {52}\nbeen intimated that Jesus was king of the Jews; [48] and if the people\nshould under a sudden impulse accept him as king, the result in their\njudgment, must be a loss of those political rights which the Romans\npermitted them to exercise. To allow Jesus, therefore, to continue\npreaching was dangerous to their supposed honors and privileges; and\nthis consideration was sufficient to induce the leading men among all\nparties to plot against his life.\n\n3. The Charges Against Jesus.--The principal charges which the\nJews brought against Jesus were: (1) violation of the Sabbath; he had\nhealed a man on the Sabbath day, and had commanded him to take up\nhis bed and walk:[49] (2) blasphemy; he had said God was his Father,\n\"making himself equal with God\" (see note 2, end of section):[50] (3)\nIt was said that he was king of the Jews; and, on one occasion, the\npeople hearing of his coming to Jerusalem took palm branches and went\nout to meet him, shouting Hosannah: blessed is the king of Israel that\ncometh in the name of the Lord.[51] For this he was said to be an enemy\nto Caesar's government and a seditious person.\n\n4. Treason of Judas.--For some time the efforts of the chief\npriests to arrest Jesus were baffled. They feared to proceed openly\nagainst him lest the people should stand in his favor and overthrow\nthem. At last, however, Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, met with\nsome of the chief rulers and promised to betray him to them in the\nabsence of the multitude. This offer they gladly accepted and agreed to\npay him thirty pieces of silver for his treachery.\n\n5. Institution of the Sacrament.--The time chosen by Judas for\nthe betrayal of his Master was the night of the passover feast. Jesus\nwith the twelve ate the feast in an upper room in Jerusalem. It was on\nthis occasion that he instituted the Sacrament of the Lord's supper.\nHe took bread and gave thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples,\nsaying: This is my {53} body which is given for you; this do in\nremembrance of me. He also took wine, gave thanks, saying as he gave it\nto them: This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for\nmany for the remission of sins.[52]\n\n6. After the supper was over, having sung a hymn, Jesus with the\ntwelve, excepting Judas Iscariot, went out to the garden of Gethsemane\n[Geth-sem-e-na] where Jesus prayed in great agony of spirit so that he\nsweat great drops of blood. He prayed that the bitter cup of suffering\nnow about to be held to his lips might be removed from him. Thrice he\nso prayed, but closed each petition to his Father with--\"not my will,\nbut thine, will be done.\"\n\n7. The Betrayal.--Meantime, Judas Iscariot having stolen out\nin the midst of the feast, went to the chief priests and directed a\nmultitude with a company of Roman soldiers to the garden, and running\nto Jesus cried, \"Hail, Master!\" and kissed him. That was the sign\nagreed upon by the traitor and those who came to make the arrest, that\nthey might know which one to take. And when they had secured him, they\ntook him first to the house of Annas [An-nas], who, after questioning\nhim, sent him bound to Caiaphas [Kai-ya-fas], the high priest, where he\nwas arraigned before the Sanhedrim [San-he-drim].\n\n8. The Trial.--The court before which Jesus was arraigned was\nnot one before which his case was to be investigated, they had come\ntogether with the fixed determination to adjudge him guilty; hence\nthey sought for witnesses who would testify something against him\nthat would furnish a pretext for putting him to death. Many false\nwitnesses testified against him; but their testimony was unsatisfactory\nand failed of its purpose. At last the high priest, evidently losing\npatience at the silence of the prisoner--for he made no defense against\nthe charges of the false witnesses--adjured him by the living God to\nsay if he were the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus acknowledged that he\nwas, {54} and told them that hereafter they should see him at the right\nhand of Power, coming in the clouds of heaven. At this the high priest\nrent his clothes, saying, \"he hath spoken blasphemy,\" and claimed that\nthey had no need of further witnesses, since they themselves had heard\nhis \"blasphemy\" (see note 3, end of section). The council at once\ndecided him worthy of death.\n\n9. Christ Before Pilate and Herod.--The Romans had taken from the\nSanhedrim of the Jews the power of executing those whom it adjudged\nguilty of death, unless the sentence was confirmed by the Roman\ngovernor; hence after sentence of death was passed upon Jesus by the\nSanhedrim they took him to Pilate's judgment hall to have that sentence\nconfirmed.\n\n10. Learning incidentally that Jesus was a Galilean, and belonged\nto Herod's jurisdiction, Pilate sent him to Herod who, at the time, was\nin Jerusalem. Before Herod Jesus was silent; neither the contempt of\nthe murderer of his forerunner, nor the mockery of the common soldiers\ncould provoke him into breaking his dignified silence. So in ridicule\nof his claims to kingship--although, as Jesus himself said, his kingdom\nwas not of this world[53]--Herod clothed him in gorgeous apparel and\nsent him back to Pilate.\n\n11. Satisfied that there was nothing in Messiah's conduct worthy\nof death, Pilate sought to let him go; but the Jews insisted upon his\nexecution. It was the custom among the Jews to have released to them a\nprisoner at the feast of the Passover, and on that ground Pilate sought\nto release Jesus; but the Jews would not listen to it, and preferred\nthat the robber, Barabbas, a murderer, should be released. They told\nPilate that whosoever made himself a king was an enemy to Caesar; and\nif he let Jesus go he was not Caesar's friend. By such arguments on\nthe part of the chief priests, and the persistent cry of the people to\ncrucify him, Pilate was over-awed, and at last confirmed the sentence\nof death. (See note 4, end of section.)\n\n{55} 12. The Crucifixion.--From the hall of judgment Jesus was\nled into the common hall, where the soldiers stripped him of his own\nraiment, and put upon him a scarlet robe in mockery of his claims to\nkingship. They also platted a crown of thorns and placed it on his\nbrow, and for a scepter gave him a reed in his right hand. They bowed\nthe knee before him, and mockingly cried: \"Hail, king of the Jews!\"\nThey spit upon him, beat him with their hands and with the reed they\nhad given him for a scepter.\n\n13. From the common hall he was led away under a guard of\nsoldiers to a place called Golgotha [Gol-go-tha], which, as well as\nits Latin equivalent--_Calvaria_-_Calvary_[54]--means, the place of\na skull. Here Jesus was stripped, and nailed to the cross, which was\nerected between two other crosses, on each of which was a thief. Above\nthe his head in Latin, Greek and Hebrew was fixed the superscription\nwritten by Pilate--\"_This is the King of the Jews.\"_ As he hung there\nbetween the two thieves, the soldiers mocked him as did also the chief\nscribes and the Pharisees, saying: He saved others, let him save\nhimself; if he is Christ, the chosen of God; let him come down from\nthe cross and we will believe him; he trusted in God, let him deliver\nhim now, if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God. In the\nmidst of his great suffering, in which his mental agony was greater\nthan his physical pain; the Son of God cried, \"Father, forgive them,\nthey know not what they do.\"\n\n14. At the sixth hour--mid-day--there was a darkness that spread\nover the whole land, and continued until the ninth hour (see note 5,\nend of section). About the ninth hour Jesus said: \"Father, into thy\nhands I commend my spirit,\" then he bowed his head and expired. At\nthe same moment the veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom,\nan earthquake shook {56} the solid earth and rent the rocks, all the\nelements of nature seemed agitated as if anxious to bear witness that a\nGod had died!\n\n15. The Convulsions of Nature on the Western Hemisphere.--On the\nwestern hemisphere during the crucifixion of our Lord, the elements\nof nature were more disturbed than on the eastern hemisphere. During\nthe time that Jesus was upon the cross, great and terrible tempests\naccompanied with terrific lightning raged throughout the land.\nEarthquakes shattered cities into confused piles of ruins; level\nplains were broken up and left in confused mountainous heaps; solid\nrocks were rent in twain; many cities were swept out of existence\nby fierce whirl-winds; others were sunk into the depths of the sea,\nothers covered with mountain chains thrown up by the convulsions of the\ntrembling earth; and others still were burned with fire. For the space\nof about three hours this awful disturbance of the elements continued,\nduring which the whole face of the land both in North and South America\nwas greatly changed, and most of the inhabitants destroyed. After the\nstorm and tempest and the quakings of the earth had ceased, there\nfollowed intense darkness which lasted for three days, the time that\nJesus was lying in the tomb.[55]\n\n16. The Burial.--Towards evening of the day of the crucifixion,\nJoseph of Arimathaea [Ar-ra-ma-thee-ya], a rich man and a disciple of\nJesus, went to Pilate, and begged that the body of the Lord be given\nhim that he might bury it. Pilate granted the request; and Joseph took\nthe body, wrapt in clean linen and put it in his own new tomb. The\nPharisees also went to Pilate and reminded him how Jesus had said when\nliving that after three days in the tomb he would rise again, and asked\nthat the sepulchre wherein he was buried should be placed under guard\nuntil the third day should pass, lest his disciples should come and\nsteal his body by night, and then spread abroad the rumor {57} that he\nhad arisen from the dead. Pilate granted them permission to seal up the\nsepulchre and set a watch to guard it. (See note 6, end of section.)\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. The Common People Begin Reforms.--The case of the common\npeople hearing Jesus gladly is not singular; it may be said to be true\nin nearly all great movements. It is a truth so generally accepted that\na modern writer (Lew Wallace) has said: \"To begin a reform, go not into\nthe palaces of the great and rich; go rather to those whose cups of\nhappiness are empty--to the poor and humble.\"\n\n2. Jesus' Defense Against the Charge of Blasphemy.--The following\nscene occurred in Solomon's porch, at the temple, where Jesus was\nwalking. A number of Jews gathered about him and said: How long dost\nthou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ tell us so plainly.\n\nJESUS.--I told you and ye believed not; the works that I do in my\nFather's name, they bear witness of me * * * I and my Father are one.\n[Then the Jews took up stones to stone him.]\n\nJESUS.--Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of\nthose works do you stone me?\n\nJEWS.--For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and\nbecause that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.\n\nJESUS.--Is it not written in your law; I said ye are Gods? If he called\nthem Gods unto whom the word of God come, and the scripture cannot be\nbroken, say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent unto\nthe world, thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I\ndo not the works of my Father, believe me not.\n\nThen they sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hands.\n(John x.)\n\n3. The Law Against Blasphemy.--The law against blasphemy is to be\nfound in Leviticus (xxiv:15, 16) and is as follows: \"Whosoever curseth\nhis God shall bear his sin; and he that blasphemeth the name of the\nLord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall\ncertainly stone him; as well the stranger as he that is born in the\nland, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.\"\nThe Jews claimed that Jesus was guilty of blasphemy, because he claimed\nto be the Son of God, thus making himself equal with God; when to their\neyes he was merely a man. Therein consisted his alleged blasphemy.\nChrist's own defense against the charge (see note above) is the best\nanswer to the sophistry of the Jews by {58} which they tried to make it\nappear that he had broken this law.--Roberts.\n\n4. Character of Pilate.--If we now wish to form a judgment of\nPilate's character, we easily see that he was one of that large class\nof men who aspire to public offices, not from a pure and lofty desire\nof benefitting the public and advancing the good of the world, but from\nselfish and personal considerations, from a love of distinction, from a\nlove of power, from a love of self indulgence; being destitute of any\nfixed principles, and having no aim but office and influence, they act\nright only by chance and when convenient, and are wholly incapable of\npursuing a consistent course, or of acting with firmness or self-denial\nin cases in which the preservation of integrity require the exercise\nof these qualities. Pilate was obviously a man of weak, and therefore,\nwith his temptations, of corrupt character.--J. R. Beard, D. D., Member\nof the Historical Theological Society, Leipzig.\n\n5. The Three Hours' Darkness.--In the gospel of Matthew and Luke,\nwe read that while Jesus hung upon the cross, \"from the sixth hour\nthere was darkness over all the land to the ninth hour.\" Most of the\nancient commentators believed that this darkness extended to the whole\nworld. But their arguments are now seldom regarded as satisfactory, and\ntheir proofs even less so. Of the latter the strongest is the mention\nof an eclipse of the sun, which is referred to this time by Phlegon\nTrallianus, and, after him by Thallus. But even an eclipse of the sun\ncould not be visible to the whole world; and neither of these writers\nnames the places of the eclipse. Some think it was Rome; but it is\nimpossible that an eclipse could have happened from the sixth to the\nninth hour both at Rome and Jerusalem. * * * That the darkness could\nnot have proceeded from an eclipse of the sun is further placed beyond\nall doubt by the fact that, it being then the time of the Passover, the\nmoon was at the full. This darkness may, therefore, be ascribed to an\nextraordinary and preternatural obscuration of the solar light, which\nmight precede and accompany the earthquake which took place on the same\noccasion. For it has been noticed that often before an earthquake such\na mist arises from sulphurous vapors as to occasion a darkness almost\nnocturnal.--Biblical Literature--Kitto.\n\n6. Fate of the Chief Actors in Christ's Crucifixion.--Before\nthe dread sacrifice was consummated, Judas died in the horrors of a\nloathsome suicide. Caiaphas (the high priest and president of the\nSanhedrim) was deposed the year following. Herod died in infamy and\nexile. Stripped of his procuratorship very shortly afterwards, on the\nvery charges he had tried by a wicked concession to avoid. Pilate,\nwearied out with misfortunes, died in suicide and banishment, leaving\nbehind him an execrated name. The house of Annas was destroyed a\ngeneration later by an infuriated mob, and his son was dragged through\n{59} the streets and scourged and beaten to his place of murder. Some\nof those who shared in and witnessed the scenes of that day--and\nthousands of their children--also shared in and witnessed the long\nhorrors of that siege of Jerusalem, which stands unparalleled in\nhistory for its unutterable fearfulness.--Canon Farrar.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What class of people heard Jesus gladly?\n\n2. What classes of people did Jesus reprove? Why?\n\n3. What was it that embittered the minds of the chief priests and\nrulers against Jesus?\n\n4. Enumerate the charges against Jesus.\n\n5. In what manner did Jesus defend himself against the charge of\nblasphemy? (Note 2.)\n\n6. Who betrayed Jesus?\n\n7. What time was chosen by Judas to betray Jesus?\n\n8. Give an account of the institution of the sacrament.\n\n9. Tell the story of the betrayal.\n\n10. State the circumstances of the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrim.\n\n11. Why did the Jews take Jesus before Pilate?\n\n12. Why did Pilate send him to Herod?\n\n13. What was Messiah's treatment at the hands of Herod?\n\n14. What the deportment of Jesus?\n\n15. How did Pilate look upon Jesus?\n\n16. In what manner did the Roman governor try to save Jesus?\n\n17. What was the character of Pilate? (Note 4).\n\n18. Tell the story of the crucifixion.\n\n19. What occurred on the Western hemisphere at the crucifixion, and\nduring the time Jesus was in the tomb?\n\n20. Tell about the burial of Jesus.\n\n21. What was the fate of those who judged and condemned Jesus? (Note 6).\n\n{60}\n\n\n\nSECTION VI.\n\n1. The Resurrection.--Notwithstanding the sealed sepulchre, the\narmed watch, on the third day after his burial, the Son of God arose\nfrom the dead, as he himself predicted he would.[56] A number of women\ncoming to the sepulchre early in the morning, for the purpose of\nfinishing the work of embalming his body, found the grave untenanted\nand the angel present who announced the resurrection of the Lord; and\ncommanded them to go and inform his disciples that he was risen from\nthe dead and would go before them into Galilee, where he would appear\nunto them.\n\n2. According to Matthew's account of the resurrection an angel\nfrom heaven came to the sepulchre wherein Jesus was laid, and rolled\nback the stone from its mouth; at his presence the soldiers who had\nbeen stationed as a guard to prevent the disciples from coming and\nstealing the body, became as dead men. Recovering from their stupor,\nsome of the watch made their way to the chief priests and related what\nhad happened. The chief priests and elders immediately assembled in\ncouncil, and bribed the soldiers to say that they had fallen asleep,\nand during that time the followers of Christ had come and stolen his\nbody. They agreed also that if the rumor of their falling asleep while\non watch--a capital offense for a Roman soldier--should come to the\nears of the governor, they would persuade him and secure them from\npunishment. It was in this way that the disappearance of the body of\nJesus was commonly explained by the Jews who crucified him.[57]\n\n{61} 3. The Appearances of Jesus After His Resurrection.--There\nare some slight discrepancies in the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke\nand John in respect to the order of the appearances of Messiah after\nhis resurrection, as indeed there is in respect to the order of the\nevents connected with his trial, condemnation and death; but the\nfollowing because of the fragmentary character of the four gospels may\nbe regarded as being as nearly correct as may be ascertained. (See\nnotes 1, 2, and 3, end of section.)\n\n4. First, he appeared to Mary Magdalene, in the garden where\nthe tomb in which he was laid was located;[58] second, to the women\nreturning from the sepulchre on their way to deliver the angel's\nmessage to the disciples;[59] third, to two disciples going to\nEmmaus;[60] fourth, to Peter;[61] fifth, to ten apostles in an upper\nroom;[62] sixth, to the eleven apostles, also in the upper room;[63]\nseventh, to seven apostles at the sea of Tiberias;[64] eighth, to\neleven apostles in a mountain in Galilee;[65] ninth, to above five\nhundred brethren at once;[66] tenth, to James;[67] and finally to Paul\nwhile on his way to Damascus[68]\n\n5. In all, Jesus was with his disciples on the eastern hemisphere\nfor forty days after his resurrection,[69] during which time he taught\nthem all things pertaining to the kingdom of heaven, and authorized\nthem to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,\nbaptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy\nGhost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded\nthem; and promised that he would be with them even unto the end of the\nworld.[70]\n\n6. Moreover, he told them that these signs should follow them\nthat believed: In his name they should cast out devils; they should\nspeak with new tongues, take up serpents, and {62} even if they drank\nany deadly thing he promised that it should not harm them; they should\nlay hands on the sick, and they should recover.[71]\n\n7. The Ascension.--Having thus taught the gospel to the people\nof the eastern hemisphere, organized his church and commissioned his\napostles to teach the gospel to all nations, he prepared to depart from\nthem. It was most probably at Bethany [Beth-a-ny] that this solemn\nparting occurred. His forerunner, John the Baptist, had promised that\nhe who should come after him, Jesus Christ, would baptize them with\nthe Holy Ghost, and just previous to leaving the apostles he told them\nthat the promise was about to be fulfilled. He therefore commanded them\nto tarry in Jerusalem until they were endowed with that power from on\nhigh. Then he lifted up his hands and blessed them, after which he was\nparted from them, and a cloud received him out of their sight.[72]\n\n8. As they were still looking steadfastly toward heaven, two\nmen--angels--in white apparel stood by them, and declared that this\nsame Jesus whom they had seen go into heaven, should come in like\nmanner, that is, in the clouds of heaven and in great glory.[73]\n\n9. The Appearing of Messiah to the Nephites.--Jesus, before his\ncrucifixion, told his disciples at Jerusalem that he was the good\nshepherd that would lay down his life for the sheep. He told them\nplainly, also, that he had other sheep which were not of that fold.\n\"Them also I must bring,\" said he, \"and they must hear my voice; and\nthere shall be one fold, and one shepherd.\" [74]\n\n10. This saying, like many others which he delivered to them, the\napostles did not understand, because of their unbelief. And because\nof their unbelief and their stiffneckedness Jesus was commanded by\nhis Father to say no more to them {63} about it.[75] But it was the\nNephites on the continent of America whom Jesus had in mind when he\nuttered the saying recorded in John's gospel,[76] \"Other sheep I have,\nwhich are not of this fold,\" etc.\n\n11. What length of time intervened between Messiah's departure\nfrom his disciples at Jerusalem and his appearance among the Nephites\nis not known. It was not, however, until after he had ascended into\nheaven.[77] His appearing to them was in this manner:\n\n12. The few people upon the western hemisphere--and they were\nthe more righteous part both of the Nephites and the Lamanites--who\nsurvived that terrible period of destruction which lasted during the\ntime that Jesus hung upon the cross,[78] and the three succeeding\ndays of darkness, were gathered together about the temple in the land\nBountiful.[79] And as they were pointing out to each other the changes\nthat had occurred because of the earthquakes and other convulsions of\nthe elements, while the Messiah suffered upon the cross, they heard\na voice speaking unto them as if from heaven. They at first did not\nunderstand the voice they heard; but the third time it spoke they\nunderstood it, and it made their hearts burn within them and their\nwhole frame to quake, and these are the words which the voice spake:\n\"Behold my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have\nglorified my name; hear ye him.\" And looking up into heaven from whence\nthe voice came, they saw a man descending clothed in a white robe.\nThe multitude were breathlessly silent, for they supposed an angel\nhad appeared unto them; but as soon as Jesus was in their midst he\nstretched out his arm and said: \"Behold I am Jesus Christ, whom the\nprophets testified should come into the world. * * * I am the light and\nlife of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the\nFather hath {64} given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon\nme the sins of the world.\"\n\n13. At this announcement the people fell prostrate and worshiped\nhim. But he commanded them to arise and come unto him that they might\nthrust their hands into his side, and feel the prints of the nails in\nhis hands and in his feet, that they might know that he was the God\nof Israel, and the God of the whole earth who had been slain for the\nsins of the world.[80] (See notes 5, 6, and 7, end of section). This\nthe people did, and then again they worshiped him, and shouted aloud:\n\"Hosanna! blessed be the name of the Most High God!\"\n\n14. The Church Established in America.--After these things, Jesus\nproceeded to teach them his gospel and establish his church among them.\nIt will be sufficient to say here that the Messiah taught the people\non the western continent the same great moral truths that he taught\nthe Jews; that he established the same ordinances for the salvation of\nthe people; that he chose Twelve Apostles to whom he committed power\nto preach his gospel, and administer in its ordinances; that a church\nwas organized which was called the Church of Christ; that Jesus bore\nrecord of the great truth of the resurrection of the dead; that the\nSaints enjoyed the same spiritual graces and powers that the church in\nPalestine did, only more abundantly because of their greater faith;\nthat two years after the appearance of Messiah all the people on the\ncontinent accepted the gospel and were baptized; that they had all\nthings common and were a blessed and prosperous people among whom were\nno strifes or jealousies or contentions, and every man did deal justly\none with another.\n\n15. They increased rapidly in numbers and went forth and built\nup the waste places, and rebuilded many of the cities which had been\nruined by the earthquakes and by fires. They walked no more after the\nordinances of the law of Moses, but {65} they practiced the principles\nof the doctrines of the gospel of Christ, and thus the first century of\nthe Christian era passed away.\n\n16. All the members of the first quorum of the twelve whom Jesus\ncalled on the western hemisphere died within the first century of the\nChristian era, except the three to whom he had granted the privilege,\nas he did unto John the beloved disciple,[81] of remaining on the\nearth until he should come in his glory. The places of those who died\nwere filled by ordaining others, and thus the quorum of apostles was\nperpetuated.[82]\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. The Gospels but Fragmentary Histories.--Although skeptics\nhave dwelt with disproportioned persistency upon a multitude\nof discrepancies in the four-fold narrative of Christ's trial,\ncondemnation, death, and resurrection, yet these are not of a nature\nto cause the slightest anxiety to a Christian scholar; nor need they\nawaken the most momentary distrust in anyone who--even if he have\nno deeper feelings in the matter--approaches the gospels with no\npreconceived theory, whether of infallibility or of dishonesty, to\nsupport and merely accept them for that which, at the lowest, they\nclaim to be--histories, honest and faithful, up to the full knowledge\nof the writers, _but each, if taken alone, confessedly fragmentary\nand obviously incomplete._ After repeated study, I declare, quite\nfearlessly, that though the slight variations are numerous--though the\nlesser particulars cannot in every instance be rigidly and minutely\naccurate--though no one of the narratives taken singly would give us\nan adequate impression--yet, so far from there being, in this part of\nthe gospel story, any irreconcilable contradiction, it is perfectly\npossible to discover how one evangelist supplements the details\nfurnished by another, and perfectly possible to understand the true\nsequence of the incidents by combining into one whole the separate\nindications which they furnish.--_Canon Farrar_.\n\n2. The Bible Corrupted by the Gentiles.--And it came to pass that\nI, Nephi, beheld that they [the Gentiles] did prosper in the land {66}\n[America] and I beheld a book [the Bible], and it was carried forth\namong them. And the angel said unto me, Knowest thou the meaning of\nthe book? And I said unto him, I know not. * * * And he said unto me,\nThe book which thou beholdest, is a record of the Jews, which contains\nthe covenants of the Lord which he hath made unto the house of Israel.\n* * * Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth\nof a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, it\ncontained the plainness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve\napostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth\nwhich is in the Lamb of God; wherefore these things go forth from the\nJews in purity, unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in\nGod; and after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the\nLamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the foundation of a\ngreat and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other\nchurches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb,\nmany parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants\nof the Lord have they taken away; and all this have they done, that\nthey might pervert the right ways of the Lord; that they might blind\nthe eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men. * * * Because\nof these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an\nexceeding great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great\npower over them.--Vision of Nephi--I Nephi xiii.\n\n3. Missing Parts of the Scripture.--No better evidence can be\ngiven that the Jewish scriptures are fragmentary and corrupted than\nthe fact that reference is made in them to books and scriptures which\nare not now extant--that have been destroyed. The following are a such\nreferences taken from the New Testament:\n\n_Scriptures of Abraham's Time_.--\"And the scripture, foreseeing that\nGod would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel\nunto Abraham\" (Gal. iii:8). The Christian world says, \"Moses was God's\nfirst pen,\" but it appears from the above quotation that some one wrote\nscriptures even before Abraham's days, and he read them, learned the\ngospel from them and also learned that God would justify the heathen\nthrough faith.\n\n_Prophecy of Enoch_.--Speaking of characters who were like \"raging\nwaves of the sea foaming out their own shame,\" Jude says: \"And Enoch\nalso, the seventh from Adam prophesied of these, saying, Behold the\nLord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment\nupon all,\" etc. (Jude 14, 15). From this it appears that Enoch had\na revelation concerning the glorious coming of the Son of God to\njudgment. May not the prophecy of Enoch have been among the scripture\nwith which Abraham was acquainted?\n\n_Another Epistle of Jude_.--\"When I gave all diligence to write unto\nyou of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto {67}\nyou, and exhort you that ye should contend earnestly for the faith\nwhich was once delivered unto the Saints.\" (Jude 3). We have but one\nepistle of Jude. Would not the epistle on the \"common salvation\" be as\nimportant as the one and the only one we have from Jude's pen?\n\n_Another Epistle to the Ephesians_.--In Ephesians iii and 3rd, Paul\nalludes to another epistle which he had written to that people, but of\nwhich the world has no knowledge except this reference which is made by\nits author. This epistle contained a revelation from God.\n\n_An Epistle to the Laodiceans_.--\"When this epistle [Colossians]\nis read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the\nLaodiceans, and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.\" (Col.\niv: 16.) The epistle to the Laodiceans is among the scripture that is\nlost.\n\n_Another Epistle to the Corinthians_.--In the first letter to the\nCorinthians is this statement: \"I wrote unto you in an epistle not\nto company with fornicators\" (I Cor. v:9). From this it would appear\nthat our so-called first epistle to the Corinthians, is really not\nthe first, since Paul in it speaks of a former letter he had written,\nand which was doubtless as good scripture as the two which have been\npreserved.\n\nThe books mentioned in the Old Testament, but which are missing,\nare more numerous than those in the New Testament. In the following\npassages some few of the many lost books are referred to: I Chronicles\nxxix:29; II Chronicles ix:29; II Chronicles xii:15; I Samuel x:25; I\nKings iv:32, 33.--Roberts.\n\n4. Traditions of Aborigines Respecting Messiah.--It is beyond\nall question that the descendants of the Nephites and Lamanites--the\nAmerican Indians--have kept in their traditions a recollection--though\nperhaps a distorted one--of the memorable visit of Messiah to their\nforefathers. \"The chief divinity of the Nahua nations,\" says Bancroft\nin his \"Native Races,\" \"was Quetzalcoatl, the gentle God, ruler of the\nair, controller of the sun and rain, and source of all prosperity. * *\n* From toward the rising sun Quetzalcoatl, had come; and he was white,\nwith large eyes and long, black hair and copious beard. He finally set\nout for some other country [83] and as he departed from them his last\nwords were that \"one day bearded white men, brethren of his, perhaps\nhe himself, would come by way of the sea in which the sun rises, and\nwould enter in and rule the land;\" and from that day, with a fidelity\nbefitting Hebrews waiting for the coming of Messiah, the Mexican people\nwatched for the fulfillment of this prophecy, which promised them a\ngentle rule, free from bloody sacrifices and oppression.\"--Roberts.\n\n{68} 5. The Incarnation Believed by the Mexicans.--How truly\nsurprisingg is it to find that the Mexicans who seemed to have been\nunacquainted with the doctrine of the migration of the soul, should\nhave believed in the incarnation of the only Son of the supreme\nGod!--Humboldt.\n\n6. Crucifixion and Atonement Believed in by\nMexicans.--Quetzalcoatl is there (in a certain plate where that God\nis represented) painted in the attitude of a person crucified, with the\nimpression of nails in his hands and feet, but not actually upon the\ncross. * * * The seventy-third plate of the Borgian Ms. is the most\nremarkable of all, for there Quetzalcoatl is not only represented as\ncrucified upon a cross of Greek form, but his burial and descent into\nhell are also depicted in a very curious manner. * * * The Mexicans\nbelieve that Quetzalcoatl took human nature upon him, partaking of\nall the infirmities of man, and was not exempt from sorrow, pain\nor death, which he suffered voluntarily to atone for the sins of\nman.--\"Antiquities of Mexico\"--Kingsborough.\n\n7. Christ and Quetzalcoatl.--The story of the life of the\nMexican divinity, Quetzalcoatl, closely resembles that of the Savior;\nso closely indeed that we can come to no other conclusion than that\nQuetzalcoatl and Christ are the same being. But the history of the\nformer has been handed down to us through an impure Lamanitish source,\nwhich has sadly disfigured and perverted the original incidents\nand teachings of the Savior's life and ministry.--\"Mediation and\nAtonement\"--President John Taylor.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What occurred on the third day of Christ's burial?\n\n2. State the several prophecies made by Jesus which were fulfilled in\nhis resurrection? (note).\n\n3. Relate the account of the resurrection as given by Matthew.\n\n4. In respect to what are there slight discrepancies in the writings of\nMatthew, Mark, Luke and John?\n\n5. What can you say of the fragmentary character of the New Testament\n\"Gospels?\" (Notes 1 and 2).\n\n6. State the most probable order in which Jesus made his several\nappearances after the resurrection.\n\n7. How long was Jesus with his disciples on the eastern hemisphere\nafter his resurrection?\n\n8. What notable commission did Jesus give to the apostles before\nleaving them?\n\n9. What signs did Messiah say should follow believers?\n\n10. Describe the last parting of Jesus from his disciples.\n\n{69} 11. What prophecy did Jesus make to his disciples at Jerusalem\nthat they did not understand?\n\n12. Give an account of Messiah's visit to the Nephites.\n\n13. What did Jesus do among the Nephites?\n\n14. What was the effect that followed the preaching of the gospel and\nthe organization of the church?\n\n15. What course was pursued as to the quorum of the apostles?\n\n16. Relate the several traditions of the Mexicans respecting the visit\nof Messiah to this land.\n\n{70}\n\n\n\nSECTION VII.\n\n1. Vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Filled.--The first\nofficial business which occupied the attention of the authorities of\nthe church after the ascension of the Lord--according to our Christian\nannals--was filling up the quorum of the twelve. Judas by his treason\nhad forfeited his apostleship and was dead, and hence it became\nnecessary to ordain another to fill his place. Peter when presenting\nthis matter before the church, appeared to lay some stress upon the\nnecessity of choosing some one of the brethren who had been with them\nfrom the beginning--\"from the baptism of John unto that same day that\nhe (Christ) was taken up,\" that he might be a witness with the rest of\nthe apostles of the things which Jesus did and also a witness of his\nresurrection.\n\n2. \"And they appointed [nominated] two. Joseph called Barsabas,\nwho was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed. * * * Thou,\nLord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two\nthou hast chosen. * * * And they gave forth their lots [or, gave their\nvotes];[84] and the lot fell upon Matthias.\" From that time he was\nnumbered with the apostles. (See note 1, end of section).\n\n3. The filling of this vacancy in the quorum of the twelve--the\nonly instance of the kind mentioned in the New Testament--may {71}\nbe taken as a proof that it was clearly the understanding of the\napostles that the quorum of the twelve was to be perpetuated. It was\nso understood in the church on the western hemisphere, for the fourth\nNephi informs us that as the apostles whom Jesus had chosen passed\naway, others were ordained in their stead;[85] and thus the quorum was\nkept full, but for how long cannot be ascertained.\n\n4. The Holy Ghost Given.--The first time the gospel was preached\npublicly after the ascension of Messiah was on the day of Pentecost,\nmost probably seven days after the ascension.[86] The church had\nassembled and suddenly the promised baptism of the Holy Ghost--promised\nboth by John the Baptist and Messiah[87]--took place, for the Spirit\ncame like the rushing of a mighty wind and filled the house where the\nsaints were assembled; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. It\nrested upon them visibly like cloven tongues of fire; and they began\nspeaking in other tongues, that is, in languages before unknown to\nthem, as the spirit gave them utterance.\n\n5. The occurrence was soon noised about the city and the\nmultitude came together, to witness this strange event. In that great\nconcourse of people thus hastily assembled were devout men out of\nevery nation under heaven (see note 2, end of section), and they were\nconfounded with astonishment since every man heard the gospel in his\nown language.[88] \"Are not all these which speak Galileans,\" said they,\n\"and how hear we every man in his own tongue, wherein we were born?\"\nAll were amazed, and some inquired one of another, \"What meaneth this?\"\nOthers mockingly said, \"These men are full of new wine.\"\n\n{72} 6. To this latter remark the apostle Peter replied that\nthe brethren were not drunken as had been supposed, and reminded the\naccusers that it was but the third hour of the day. Men were not likely\nto be drunk so early. The apostle further informed them that his power\nwhich they witnessed was the same as that of which Joel[89] spoke when\nhe said that in the last days the Spirit of God should be poured out\nupon all flesh, and make the sons and daughters of men to prophesy,\nyoung men to see visions and old men to dream dreams, etc. (See notes 3\nand 4, end of section).\n\n7. Having corrected the slander uttered by those inclined to mock\nat the power of God, Peter continued his discourse, and proved from the\nscriptures and from the marvelous works of the Lord Jesus while among\nthem, that he was both Lord and Christ. Then a great multitude was\nconverted, and cried as with one voice, \"Men and brethren, what shall\nwe do?\" To which Peter answered, \"Repent and be baptized every one of\nyou in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall\nreceive the gift of the Holy Ghost.\" [90] He informed them that this\npromise of the Holy Ghost--and, of course, of salvation--was both to\nthem and to their children, in fact to all whom God should call.[91]\nThere were added to the church that day, three thousand souls.\n\n8. The Rise of Opposition.--Being now endowed with power from on\nhigh, the apostles continued to preach in and {73} about Jerusalem with\ngreat success, the Lord working with them and confirming their ministry\nby signs and wonders following the believers.\n\n9. The chief priests and rulers among the Jews became alarmed\nat the boldness of the disciples of Jesus and the rapidity with which\nfaith in the gospel spread among the people. They were in imminent\ndanger of being adjudged by the people, guilty of executing an innocent\nman; nay, more, of putting to death Messiah!\n\n10. They therefore had some of the apostles brought before them\nand sought to intimidate them with threats not to preach any more in\nthe name of Jesus. To these threats the apostles made answer: \"Whether\nit be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto\nGod, judge ye.\" [92] Leaving the presence of the council the apostles\npreached even more boldly in the name of Jesus. A second time they\nwere brought before the chief rulers, to answer for a disregard of the\norders of the council which charged them with threats not to teach in\nthe name of Jesus; \"and behold,\" said they, \"ye have filled Jerusalem\nwith your doctrine, and mean to bring this man's blood upon us.\"\n\n11. The answer of Peter, who spoke also for the rest of the\napostles, was even bolder than before. \"We ought to obey God rather\nthan men,\" said he. \"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye\nslew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand\nto be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel and\nforgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is\nalso the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.\" [93]\n\n12. The boldness of his answer gave deep offense and led the\nchief rulers to take counsel how they might slay them. But Gamaliel\n[Ga-ma-li-el], a learned doctor of the law, advised them against such\nproceedings. His advice was to let the men alone, {74} for if the work\nthey had in hand was of men it would come to naught. If it was of God,\nnothing which they could do would overthrow it; and they might be found\nfighting against God.[94]\n\n13. The counsel of Gamaliel prevailed in part at least. The\napostles were not killed at that time; but they were once more\nforbidden to speak in the name of Jesus, beaten and then set free. The\napostles rejoiced at being found worthy to suffer shame for the name of\nJesus, and not heeding the orders of the council continued preaching in\nthe temple and in private houses.\n\n14. Temporal Concerns.--So completely did the apostles and the\nother disciples give themselves to the work of the ministry, that\ncomplaint was made by the Grecians because the widows and poor were\nneglected. Whereupon the twelve called the church together and proposed\nthat seven men of good report be chosen and set apart to see to these\naffairs, that they themselves might give their attention wholly to the\nministry, as it was not profitable for them to neglect that in order to\n\"wait on tables.\" The plan pleased the church and the seven men were\nappointed.[95]\n\n{75} 15. All Things in Common.--The effect of the gospel upon\nthe saints of Jerusalem was very marked. They were of one heart and\nof one mind; they had all things in common, and those who possessed\nhouses or lands sold them and brought the price of the things and laid\nit at the apostles' feet. Distribution was made unto every man as he\nhad need; and there was none among them that lacked for that which was\nnecessary.[96]\n\n16. Persecution.--A great persecution arose against the church\nat Jerusalem, within the first year after Messiah's ascension, so\nthat most of the brethren, except the apostles, were scattered abroad\nthroughout Judea and Samaria. Everywhere they went they preached the\ngospel, so that great good came out of what was intended to be an evil,\nas the gospel was more widely preached. Philip, one of the seven who\nhad been appointed to look after the temporal affairs of the church,\nwas among the number driven from Jerusalem by the persecution. He went\nto the city of Samaria, where the people listened to his teachings,\naccepted his testimony and were baptized both men and women. The\napostles hearing of his success, sent to Samaria Peter and John; and\nwhen they came they laid their hands upon those who had been baptized\nand they received the Holy Ghost;[97] and thus the work was established\nthere.\n\n17. Paul.--It was during this persecution that Saul, of Tarsus,\nafterwards better known as Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles,\nmanifested his bitterness toward the saints. He witnessed the stoning\nto death of Stephen, one of the seven men appointed to look after\nthe temporal affairs of the church at Jerusalem. He held the clothes\nof those who killed him; and {76} being exceedingly vexed at what he\nregarded as a superstition, he followed the saints into distant cities,\nbreathing out threatenings and slaughter against them. He went to the\nhigh priest and obtained letters of authority from him to the rulers of\nthe synagogue at Damascus, that if he found any of the saints there he\nmight bring them bound to Jerusalem. On his way to Damascus, however,\nthe Lord Jesus appeared to him, and Paul, blinded by the glory of the\nvision, and humbled because he found he had been fighting against God,\nwas led by his companions into the city where a disciple of the name of\nAnanias was sent by the Lord to restore to Paul his sight and baptize\nhim. He was afterwards made an apostle and became zealous for the\ntruth.[98] (See note 4, end of section).\n\n18. The Gospel Taken to the Gentiles.--The apostles, being Jews\nthemselves, appear to have shared the common prejudices of their race\nagainst the Gentiles; and treated them as if they had no lot nor part\nin the gospel of Christ. It was not the design of the Lord, however,\nto thus restrict the application of the gospel. Jesus, himself, while\nhe had said that he was sent but to the lost sheep of the house of\nIsrael,[99] had also said: \"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,\n_will draw all men unto me_.\" [100] Hence when Cornelius, of Caesarea,\na devout man, one that feared God, though a Gentile, sought the Lord\nby prayer and good works, he found him; for an angel was sent to him\nwho told him his prayers and alms were accepted of God, and that he had\ncome to direct him to send men to Joppa for Simon Peter, who would be\nable to tell him what he ought to do. The devout Gentile immediately\nstarted the messengers to find the apostle.\n\n19. Meantime Peter himself was prepared by a vision to go with\nthe gospel unto one whom both he and all his race regarded as unclean.\nIn vision he thought he beheld a great net let down from heaven, filled\nwith all manner of four-footed {77} beasts, fowls of the air and\ncreeping things. And a voice said to him, \"Rise, Peter, kill, and eat.\"\n\"Not so, Lord,\" was his reply: \"for I have never eaten anything that is\ncommon or unclean.\" \"What God hath cleansed,\" said the voice that spoke\nto him, \"that call not thou common or unclean.\" This was done thrice,\nand as he was yet pondering what the vision could mean, the messengers\nof Cornelius were at the gates enquiring for him; and he was commanded\nby the Spirit to go with them, doubting nothing, for God had sent them.\n\n20. Peter was obedient to the inspired commandment, and went to\nthe house of Cornelius, where he found many of the devout Gentile's\nfriends and kinsmen gathered together in anticipation of his coming.\nCornelius having informed the apostle how he came to send for him,\nPeter exclaimed: \"Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter\nof persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh\nrighteousness, is accepted with him.\" He then proceeded to preach the\ngospel to Cornelius and all present. As he did so the Holy Ghost fell\nupon them to the astonishment of all the Jews who had accompanied\nPeter; for they heard them speak in new tongues and magnify God.\nCornelius and his friends were baptized and thus the door of the gospel\nwas opened to the Gentiles. [101]\n\n21. Rapid Growth of the Work.--The knowledge once established in\nthe minds of the apostles that God granted to the Gentiles repentance\nunto life, seemed to unshackle those who were to preach the gospel,\nand gave a broader meaning in their {78} minds to their commission to\ngo unto \"all the world, and preach the gospel unto every creature.\"\nEvidently before this they did not comprehend it in its fullest sense.\n\n22. The apostles appear to have remained in Jerusalem a number\nof years--twelve years, tradition says--presiding over the church and\ndirecting the labors of those preaching the gospel. Churches, or, more\ncorrectly speaking, branches of the church were built up in Antioch\n[An-ti-ok], Damascus [Da-mas-kus] and other cities of Syria [Sir-ia].\nThe work also spread into Asia Minor, Greece and Rome; and everywhere\ngreat success attended the preaching of the elders, until the gospel\nwas firmly established in various parts of the Gentile world. So\nextensive was the preaching of the ambassadors of Christ in those early\ndays of the church, that we have Paul saying (about thirty years after\nthe ascension of Messiah) that it had been preached to every creature\nunder heaven.[102] (See note 5, end of section).\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Was Matthias Called of God?--In consequence of Matthias having\nbeen chosen by \"lot,\" it may be a question in the minds of some as to\nhis being called of God. A careful consideration of all that was done\nin connection with that circumstance will dispel all doubt in relation\nto it. It must be observed that after Joseph Barsabas and Matthias\nwere nominated for the place in the quorum of the Twelve, the Apostles\nprayed, saying: \"Thou Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show\nwhether of these two thou hast chosen.\" Before his ascension Jesus had\nsaid to these men, \"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye\nshall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. * * * Ye have\nnot chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you; * * * that\nwhatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.\"\nTherefore when these Apostles asked which of the two men nominated\nGod had chosen, and they gave their votes and Matthias was the one\nselected, God in that way answered their prayer, and Matthias was\nthus called of God. Again, to be {79} called by a divinely appointed\nauthority is to be called of God. No one can deny that the Apostles\nwere a divinely appointed authority, hence to be called by them was to\nbe called of God.--Roberts.\n\n2. Pentecost.--Pentecost is the name given in the New Testament\nto the Feast of Weeks, or of Ingathering, celebrated on the fiftieth\nday from the Passover. It was a festival of thanks for the harvest.\nIt was also one of the three great yearly festivals, in which all the\nmales were required to appear before the Lord at the place of his\nsanctuary. Josephus in three places in his writings, viz., in the\nfourteenth book of \"Antiquities,\" ch. xiii,4; Ibid. xvii, ch. x,2; and\nin his second book of the \"Wars of the Jews,\" ch. iii,2,--speaks of\nthis festival as bringing together great numbers of the Jews from all\nparts of the world, and sustains the statement in Acts ii, that there\nwere in Jerusalem at Pentecost \"Jews, devout men, out of every nation\nunder heaven,\" who came running together on hearing that the disciples\nof Jesus were speaking in unknown tongues. We cannot refrain from\nremarking that it was a most opportune time for such a demonstration,\nsince these men would carry the rumor of these things and the substance\nof the remarkable sermon they heard to the distant lands from which\nthey had come, and thus the news of the gospel would be spread\nabroad.--Roberts.\n\n3. Joel's Prophecy.--It is very generally supposed among\nChristians, that this outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of\nPentecost was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, that is, its complete\nfulfillment. A careful examination of the prophecy, however, will\nclearly demonstrate that this is not the case. The prophecy will be\nfound in Joel ii,28-32, and the particulars enumerated in it are as\nfollows: The spirit of the Lord is to be poured out upon all flesh.\nAt Pentecost it was poured out upon a few of the disciples of Jesus\nonly; the sons and daughters of the people were to prophesy; we have no\naccount of their doing so at Pentecost; old men were to dream dreams\nand young men see visions; there is no account of this taking place\non the occasion in question; wonders were to be shown in the heavens\nand in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke, the sun is to\nbe turned into darkness, the moon into blood, before the great and\nterrible day of the Lord come, yet on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem\ndeliverance was to be found. These things unquestionably point to\nthe glorious coming of the Son of God to judgment (see Matt. xxiv);\nand certainly they were not fulfilled on the day of Pentecost by the\noutpouring of the Holy Ghost on a few of the disciples of Jesus. Still\nPeter said, referring to the Spirit poured out upon the disciples:\n\"This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel,\" and then quoted\nthe passage. He doubtless meant: This Spirit which you now see poured\nout upon these few men, is that Spirit which Joel spoke of, and which\nwill eventually be poured out upon all flesh, not only upon {80} men\nand women, but upon the brute creation as well, so that the lion and\nlamb shall lie down together and a little child shall lead them, and\nthey shall not hurt nor destroy in all God's holy mountain. I have\ndeemed it necessary to make this note, first, because of the very\ngeneral belief among Christians that the prophecy of Joel was fulfilled\non the day of Pentecost; and second, because the prophecy is one that\nwas quoted by the angel Moroni on the occasion of his first visit\nto Joseph Smith, concerning which he said, it was not yet fulfilled\nbut soon would be (Pearl of Great Price, page 90), hence, since this\nheavenly messenger puts its fulfillment in the future, it could\nnot have been fulfilled on the day of Pentecost two thousand years\nago.--Roberts.\n\n4. Description of Paul.--He is about five feet high; very dark\nhair, dark complexion; dark skin; large Roman nose; sharp face; small,\nblack eyes, penetrating as eternity; round shoulders; a whining voice;\nexcept when elevated, and then it almost resembled the roaring of a\nlion. He was a good orator, active and diligent, always employing\nhimself in doing good to his fellow-man.--Joseph Smith, at the\norganization of a school for instruction, Jan. 5th, 1841.\n\nPaul was small in size, and his personal appearance did not correspond\nwith the greatness of his soul. He was ugly, stout, short, and\nstooping, and his broad shoulders awkwardly sustained a little bald\nhead. His sallow countenance was half hidden in a thick beard; his nose\nwas aquiline, his eyes piercing, and his eye-brows heavy and joined\nacross his forehead. Nor was there anything imposing in his speech, for\nhis timid and embarrassed air gave but a poor idea of his eloquence.\nHe shrewdly, however, admitted his exterior defects, and even drew\nadvantage therefrom. The Jewish race possesses the peculiarity of at\nthe same time presenting types of the greatest beauty, and the most\nthorough ugliness; but this Jewish ugliness is something quite apart\nby itself. Some of the strange visages which at first excite a smile,\nassume, when lighted up by emotion, a sort of deep brilliancy and\ngrandeur.--Renan--\"Life of the Apostles,\" p. 165.\n\n5. Travels of the Apostles Uncertain.--The ambassadors of Christ\non leaving Jerusalem traveled over a great part of the world, and in a\nshort time collected numerous religious societies in various countries.\nOf the churches they founded, not a small number is mentioned in the\nsacred books, especially in the Acts of the Apostles. Besides these,\nthere can be no doubt they collected many others, both by their own\nefforts and by the efforts of their followers. But how far they\ntraveled, what nations they visited, or when and where they died, is\nexceedingly dubious and uncertain.--Mosheim.\n\n6. Divine Aid in Propagation of the Gospel.--The causes must\nhave been divine which could enable men destitute of all human aid,\npoor {81} and friendless, neither eloquent nor learned, fishermen and\npublicans, and they too Jews, that is, persons odious to all other\nnations, in so short a time to persuade a great part of mankind to\nabandon the religion of their fathers, and to embrace a new religion\nwhich is opposed to the natural dispositions of men. In the words they\nuttered there must have been an amazing and a divine power controlling\nthe minds of men. To which may be added miracles, prophecies, the\ndetection of men's secret designs, magnanimity in the midst of perils,\ncontempt for all the objects of ordinary ambition, a patient and\ncheerful endurance of sufferings worse than death, as well as of\ndeath itself, and finally, lives of the purest and most unblemished\ncharacter. That the ambassadors of Jesus Christ were in fact thus\nfurnished for their work, is a truth perfectly clear and obvious. And\nif we suppose them not to have been so furnished, no probable reason\ncan be assigned for so rapid a propagation of Christianity by this\nsmall and feeble band.--Mosheim.\n\n7. The Rapid Spread of the Gospel.--Thus, then, under a celestial\ninfluence and co-operation, the doctrine of the Savior, like the\nrays of the sun, quickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in\naccordance with divine prophecy, the sound of his inspired evangelists\nand apostles had gone throughout all the earth, and their words to\nthe ends of the world. Throughout every city and village, like a\nreplenished barn floor, churches were rapidly abounding and filled with\nmembers from every people. Those who, in consequence of the delusions\nthat had descended to them from their ancestors, had been fettered by\nthe ancient disease of idolatrous superstition, were now liberated\nby the power of Christ, through the teachings and miracles of his\nmessengers.--Eusebius, writing of the period between 37-41 A. D.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What was the first official business of the authorities of the\nchurch after the resurrection?\n\n2. State the manner of filling the vacancy in the quorum of the twelve.\n\n3. What of Mosheim's translation of the phrase: \"They gave forth their\nlots?\" (Note).\n\n4. Was Matthias called of God? (Note 1).\n\n5. What evidence can you refer to in proof that the quorum of Twelve\nApostles was to be perpetuated?\n\n6. When was the gospel first publicly preached after the resurrection?\n\n7. How long between the ascension and Pentecost? (Note 2).\n\n8. Describe the events in the church on the day of Pentecost.\n\n{82} 9. What circumstance is an evidence that the statement of\nscripture is true that there were devout men from many nations in\nJerusalem at that time? (Note 2).\n\n10. Was the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost a\ncomplete fulfillment of Joel's prophecy quoted by Peter? (Note 3).\n\n11. How does the order of principles taught by Peter on the day of\nPentecost compare with the order of principles taught by John the\nBaptist and Messiah? (Note).\n\n12. Describe the rise of opposition to the church.\n\n13. What answer did Peter make to the mandates of the rulers not to\nteach in the name of Jesus?\n\n14. What was the counsel of Gamaliel to the Jews?\n\n15. To what extent did his counsel prevail?\n\n16. What arrangements were made in the church in respect to looking\nafter the poor?\n\n17. What priesthood did the seven most likely hold? (Note).\n\n18. Give an account of the introduction of the gospel among the\nSamaritans.\n\n19. What was Paul's course at the first towards the church?\n\n20. Relate the circumstances of his conversion.\n\n21. Give a description of Paul. (Note 4).\n\n22. What were the views entertained by the Jews toward the Gentiles?\n\n23. Relate how the gospel was introduced to the Gentiles.\n\n24. State the exception to the order of the gospel in the case of\nCornelius.\n\n25. What was the object of the exception?\n\n26. What effect on the church did carrying the gospel to the Gentiles\nhave?\n\n27. How long is it supposed that the Twelve remained at Jerusalem?\n\n28. What can you say of the spread of the work during the first\ncentury? (Notes 5, 6, 7).\n\n{83}\n\n\n\nSECTION VIII.\n\n1. Review.--We have now related the chief events connected with\nthe introduction of the gospel and the establishment of the Church by\nthe personal labors of Messiah and those immediately connected with\nhim. We may now review the doctrines that he taught, which, taken in\nthe aggregate, constitute the gospel; and examine the character of the\norganization he founded--the Church.\n\n2. The Mission of Messiah.--Jesus Christ came into the earth\nto accomplish three great purposes; first, to redeem mankind from\nthe consequences of Adam's transgression; second, to save them from\nthe consequences of their own sins. The first is a general salvation,\nwhich, without any conditions whatever, will be applied to all\nmankind, irrespective of their obedience or disobedience to God, their\nrighteousness or wickedness, their belief or unbelief. The redemption\nwill be as universal as the fall. The second may be regarded as a\nparticular salvation, dependent upon faith in, and obedience to the\ngospel of Christ by the individual.\n\n3. The Fall.--When Adam and Eve were placed in the garden of\nEden, there were certain laws given them by their Creator, the penalty\nof violating which was death and banishment from the presence of God.\nThey transgressed the laws and became subject to the penalty. Nor\nwas that all; but by their transgression, having become mortal, they\nbequeathed that mortality to their offspring; and thus death passed\nupon all mankind, and that too, through no act or fault of theirs.\nTheir agency was not exercised in the matter, and therefore justice\nwould require that they should receive a full and complete {84}\nredemption from the evil which overtakes them through the actions of\nothers over which they had no control.\n\n4. General Salvation.--Such a redemption was wrought out through\nthe atonement of Jesus Christ, and that its benefits are to be\nuniversal, so far as redeeming mankind for the consequences of Adam's\ntransgression is concerned, is evident from the fact,\n\n_First_, That the resurrection from the dead is universal, as the\nscriptures witness:\n\n    And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,\n    some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting\n    contempt.[103]\n\n    For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the\n    Son to have life in himself. * * * Marvel not at this: for the\n    hour is coming, in which all that are in their graves shall hear\n    his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto\n    the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the\n    resurrection of damnation.[104]\n\nOr, as the last two clauses were given to the Prophet Joseph Smith by\ninspiration:\n\n    They who have done good in the resurrection of the just, and they\n    who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust.[105]\n\nAfter giving a full account of the resurrection of the righteous and\ntheir reign upon the earth for a thousand years, the writer of the\nApocalypse [A-poc-a-lypse] says:\n\n    And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. * * * And\n    the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell\n    delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged\n    every man according to his works.[106]\n\n_Second_, The scriptures plainly declare that the redemption {85} of\nmen from the consequences of Adam's transgression shall be universal:\n\n    Therefore as by the offense of one [Adam] judgment came upon _all\n    men_ to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free\n    gift came _upon all men_ to the justification of life.[107]\n\n    Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of\n    the dead. For as in Adam _all die_, even so in Christ shall _all\n    be made alive_. But every man in his own order: Christ the first\n    fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh\n    the end, when he shall have delivered the kingdom to God, even the\n    Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and\n    power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his\n    feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.[108]\n\n    Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And\n    because of the fall of man, came Jesus Christ even the Father and\n    the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.\n    And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ,\n    they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is\n    wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth\n    to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from\n    an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the\n    power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth,\n    both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being\n    redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is\n    a temporal death.[109]\n\n5. Through the atonement made by Messiah, therefore, a full and\ncomplete redemption from the consequences of Adam's transgression is\nbrought about; that is, a victory over the grave is secured, and that,\ntoo, through the merits of Jesus Christ. And while the law transgressed\nby Adam has been vindicated, the posterity of Adam who became subject\nto death through his disobedience, are redeemed from the grave without\nanything {86} being required of them. For as their agency was not\nconcerned in bringing about the mischief, nothing is required of them\nin order to obtain redemption from it. So far salvation is free and\nuniversal. (See notes 1, 2 and 3, end of section.)\n\n6. The Atonement a Fact Proven by Evidence.--It is often asked:\n\"How is it that through the sacrifice of one who is innocent salvation\nmay be purchased for those under the dominion of death?\" We observe,\nin passing, that what should most concern man is, not so much _how_ it\nis that such is the case; but is it a _fact_? Is it true that God has\nestablished such a scheme of redemption? is what should concern him.\nTo that question the blood sprinkled upon a thousand Jewish altars,\nand the smoke that darkened the heavens for ages from burnt offerings,\nanswer yes. For those sacrifices, and that sprinkled blood were but\ntypical of the great sacrifice to be made by the Messiah.\n\nEven the mythology of heathen nations retains the idea of an atonement\nthat either has been, or is to be made for mankind. Fantastic,\ndistorted, confused, buried under the rubbish of savage superstition\nit may be, but it nevertheless exists. So easily traced, so distinct\nis this feature of heathen mythology, that some writers[110] have\nendeavored to prove that the gospel plan of redemption was derived from\nheathen mythology. Whereas the fact is that the gospel was understood\nand extensively preached in the earliest ages; men retained in their\ntradition a knowledge of those principles, or parts of them, and\nhowever much they may have been distorted, traces of them may still be\nfound in nearly all the mythologies of the world.\n\nThe prophets of the Jewish scriptures answer the question in the\naffirmative. The writers of the New Testament make Christ's atonement\nthe principal theme of their discourses and {87} epistles. The Book\nof Mormon, speaking as the voice of entire nations of people whose\nprophets and righteous men sought and found God, testify to the same\ngreat fact. The revelations of God as given through the Prophet Joseph\nSmith are replete with passages confirming this doctrine. The evidence\nis more than sufficient, to establish the _fact_ of the atonement\nbeyond the possibility of a doubt; and if there are some things in it\nnot within the scope of our comprehension, still there is sufficient\nfoundation for the glorious hope of eternal life through its power.\n\n7. Claims of Mercy and Justice Balance.--In the atonement there\nis a nice balancing of the relative claims of justice and mercy. The\nlaw given to man having been transgressed, justice demanded the payment\nof the penalty, which was death. And as Adam had no power to liberate\nhimself from the captivity thereof, his sleep in the grave must have\nbeen eternal; so also with all his posterity to whom his mortality\nwas bequeathed as an evil legacy, had not Mercy put in her claims and\nprevented Justice from being cruel. The Son of God having it given\nto him to have life in himself,[111] and being capable of making an\ninfinite atonement, he stood forth as the great friend of man and\noffered himself as a sacrifice to satisfy the claims of Justice. That\noffering was accepted by the great Law Giver, and upon the demands of\nJustice being satisfied--the law having no further claim upon him--the\ncaptive is set free from the dominion of death. Mercy is not permitted\nto rob Justice, but she claims her own. Justice is not permitted to be\ncruel, but he retains his dignity--his demands are satisfied. As the\nlate President Taylor very beautifully says:\n\n    Is justice dishonored? No; it is satisfied; the debt is paid. Is\n    righteousness departed from? No; there is a righteous act. All\n    requirements are met. Is judgment violated? No; its demands are\n    {88} fulfilled. Is mercy triumphant? No; she simply claims her own.\n    Justice, judgment, mercy and truth all harmonize as the attributes\n    of Deity. \"Justice and truth have met together, righteousness and\n    peace have kissed each other.\" Justice and judgment triumph as well\n    as mercy and peace; all the attributes of Deity harmonize in this\n    great momentous, just, equitable, merciful and meritorious act.[112]\n\n8. The Sacrifice of Messiah Voluntary.--Unbelievers delight to\nrepresent God, the great Law Giver, as unspeakably cruel in demanding\nsuch an atonement as Christ made for the salvation of the children of\nmen. But let it be borne in mind that he who made the atonement did so\nvoluntarily. Testifying to his disciples respecting the matter, he says:\n\n    Therefore doth my father love me, be cause I lay down my life that\n    I may take it up again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down\n    of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it\n    again. This commandment have I received of my Father.[113]\n\nWhen his enemies gathered about him--a former friend betraying him with\na kiss,--and Peter prepared to defend him with the sword, he chided him\nfor his rashness, commanding him to put up his sword, and added:\n\n    Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall\n    presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then\n    shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?[114]\n\nThus down to the very last moment, it appears that Jesus could have\nbeen delivered from the sacrifice had he so willed it. But the\nprinciple which was the guiding star of his life--\"Father, not my will,\nbut thy will be done\"--influenced him in this instance, and he drank of\nthe cup given him of his Father, and wrung out the dregs in agony; but\nhe did it voluntarily, and that, too, out of his great love for mankind.\n\n{89}  9. The Love of God Made Manifest in the Atonement.--By this\natonement of Messiah's there is especially one fact thrown out in bold\nrelief, that is, the great love of God and Christ for mankind. When one\nthinks of the unspeakable agony, of the anguish of heart, of the pains\nthat racked the body and distressed the mind of the Savior at the time\nof his betrayal, and during his trial and crucifixion, he may see how\ngreat the love of the Father for mankind must be, when he would consent\nfor his only begotten Son to pass through this great humiliation and\naffliction, in order to redeem mankind from the bonds of death. On such\ncontemplation increased emphasis will be given to the passage--\n\n    In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that\n    God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live\n    through him.[115]\n\nAnd also to this:\n\n    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten\n    Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but\n    have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world\n    to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be\n    saved.[116]\n\nEqually great appears the love of the Son of God, who of his own free\nwill volunteered to take upon himself the task of man's redemption.\n\n 10. Individual Salvation.--As before stated, Messiah came\nnot only to redeem man from the consequences of the fall, but to\nsave him also from the consequences of his own personal sins. The\nredemption from the fall is universal and unconditional, because the\npenalties following it were entailed upon the race through no action\nof theirs, but through the transgressions of Adam. The redemption from\nthe consequences of man's personal sins, however, is bottomed upon\nconditions, because his agency is more completely a factor in the\nviolations of the law. He {90} sins knowingly, willfully, and sometimes\nwantonly. He transgresses the laws of God and of nature in spite of\nthe protests of his conscience, the convictions of his reason, and\nthe promptings of his judgment. He becomes desperately wicked and so\ndepraved that in some cases he actually seeks evil and loves it. He\nhugs it to his bosom and cries: Evil, be thou my good; sin, be thou my\nrefuge!\n\n11. In cases of such violation of the laws of God, justice\ndemands that the outraged laws should be vindicated by the punishment\nof the transgressor. But here again the principle of mercy is active.\nBy the sacrifice which he made, Messiah purchased mankind as an\ninheritance for himself, and they came of right under his dominion;\nfor he not only ransomed them from an endless sleep in the grave, but\n\"he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. * * * * He was\nwounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities,\nthe chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are\nhealed. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.\" [117] (See\nnote 4, end of section.) It was these considerations, doubtless, which\nled the Apostle to say to the saints--\"Ye are not your own; for ye are\nbought with a price.\" [118]\n\nStill more plain in relation to the effect that Messiah's atonement\nhas upon the personal sins of men, is the word of the Lord through the\nProphet Joseph Smith to Martin Harris, warning him to repent lest his\nsufferings be sore--how sore, how exquisite, how hard to bear, he knew\nnot:\n\n    For behold, I God, have suffered these things for all, that they\n    might not suffer if they would repent, but if they would not\n    repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself,\n    even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to\n    bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit; and would\n    that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink--nevertheless,\n    glory be to the {91} Father, I partook and finished my preparations\n    unto the children of men. [119]\n\n12. Conditions of Salvation.--Messiah having thus ransomed\nmankind by his own suffering and death, he becomes the law-giver to\nour race and of right prescribes the conditions upon which the full\nbenefits of his great atonement shall be applied to individuals. Those\nconditions he has prescribed, and they constitute the gospel. It was\nthese conditions which he authorized his Apostles to proclaim to the\nworld, saying:\n\n    All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore,\n    and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,\n    and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe\n    _all things_ whatsoever I have commanded you. [120]\n\n13. Following the apostles in their fulfillment of this\ncommission, we have them persuading people to believe on the Lord\nJesus Christ as the Savior of the world, as the only one to whom\nthey may look for salvation[121]--the resurrection and the life. Men\nin whose minds this faith was created they commanded to repent and\nbe baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins;\nand promised them on the condition of their obedience the gift of\nthe Holy Ghost.[122] By repentance they meant a deep and heart-felt\nsorrow for sin, accompanied by a reformation of life; [123] by baptism\nthey meant immersion in water in the likeness of Christ's burial and\nresurrection;[124] and the Holy Ghost was imparted by the laying on of\nhands and prayer.[125]\n\n14. These things connected with a Godly walk and conversation\nafter obeying them[126]--constitute the laws of adoption {92} into the\nChurch of Christ. These are the conditions on which man receives the\nfull benefit of the atonement of Jesus Christ--a forgiveness of sins\nand power through the Holy Ghost to overcome all evil propensities\nwithin himself, until he becomes pure in heart and every way made\nready and worthy of the kingdom of heaven. This is the gospel of Jesus\nChrist, as taught by Jesus and his apostles. (See note 6, end of\nsection.)\n\n15. The Church.--In order to propagate the gospel, and teach,\nencourage, instruct, preserve and finally perfect those who accepted\nit, Messiah organized his church. He bestowed upon its members certain\ngreat and precious spiritual gifts and graces, such as the power to\nspeak in new tongues and interpret them; to receive revelation, to\nprophesy, to see visions, receive the visitation of angels, to possess\nthe gift of wisdom, knowledge, faith, discernment of spirits, and\nhealing the sick.[127]\n\n16. The description of the Church organization in the New\nTestament is extremely imperfect, owing, no doubt, to the fragmentary\ncharacter of the Christian annals. While the distinctions between the\nrespective offices in the Priesthood, and the definition of the duties\nof each officer are even less satisfactory; still there is enough\nwritten to enable us to get an outline of the organization.\n\n17. Messiah, during his personal ministry, organized a quorum of\ntwelve apostles, to whom he gave very great powers and authority, even\nto be witnesses of him among the people, to build up his church by the\nproclamation of the gospel, to heal the sick, open the eyes of the\nblind, raise the dead and cast out devils.[128] He likewise organized\nquorums of seventies, unto whom he gave similar powers to those\nbestowed upon the apostles.[129]\n\n{93} 18. After his resurrection Messiah was with his apostles and\ndisciples forty days, during which time he was teaching them all things\nconcerning the kingdom of God. [130] Hence we have these men after his\nascension organizing branches of the church wherever they found people\nwho received their testimony. In some instances they ordained elders to\npreside over these branches;[131] and in other instances bishops were\nappointed.[132]\n\n19. Paul, in giving a description of the organization of the\nchurch says:\n\n    And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily\n    prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of\n    healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all\n    apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of\n    miracles? have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues?\n    do all interpret?[133]\n\nThe implied answer is that all are not apostles, nor prophets, nor\nteachers, etc., in the church of Christ, but that the whole body, is\nfitly joined together and compacted by that which every part and every\njoint supplieth.[134]\n\n20. Preceding the first quotation we made from Paul,[135] he\ncompares the church of Christ to the body of a man, which, though it be\ncomposed of many members, yet it is but one body, and all the members\nthereof are needful to it. \"The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no\nneed of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of thee.\nNay, much more, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble\nare necessary.\" This is equivalent to saying that the apostle cannot\nsay to the elder, I have no need of thee; nor the deacon to the bishop,\nI have no need of thee; nor the seventy to the priest, I have no need\nof thee. The argument is that all the offices, even those which seem\nthe least necessary, are all needful to the existence of the church of\nChrist, and everyone is forbidden to hold as unnecessary his brother\nofficer.\n\n{94} 21. Moreover, the apostle insists that there should be the\nsame bond of sympathy between the members of the church of Christ that\nthere is in the members of the human body; that there should be no\nschism in it, and that the members should have a care one for another;\nthat when one member suffers all the members suffer with it; or if one\nmember be honored all rejoice with it.\n\n22. In another description of the church the same writer after\nsaying again that God had given to men \"some apostles, and some\nprophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers\"--he also\nenumerates the objects for which this peculiar organization was given:\n1. For the perfecting of the Saints. 2. The work of the ministry. 3.\nEdifying the body of Christ. 4. To prevent the saints being carried\nabout by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning\ncraftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.\n\n23. He very plainly intimates, too, that this organization was\ndesigned to be perpetuated until the saints all come to the \"unity of\nthe faith and the knowledge of the Son of God--unto a perfect man,\nunto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.\" [136]\nFurthermore, we suggest that it must be obvious, since the church\norganization was given to perfect the saints, to the work of the\nministry, to edify the body of Christ, to prevent the saints being\ncarried about by every wind of doctrine or being deceived by cunning\nmen--that so long as there are saints who need perfecting, so long\nas there is a necessity for work in the ministry, so long as the\nchurch of Christ needs edifying, or the saints need to be guarded from\nheresy, or the deceitfulness of false teachers--just so long will this\norganization of the church with apostles and prophets, seventies, and\nelders, bishops and teachers and deacons be needed; and since the kinds\nof work enumerated in the foregoing will always be necessary, we reach\nthe conclusion that the Church organization as established {95} by the\napostles was designed to be perpetual. (See note 5, end of section).\n\n24. Officers of the Church to be Divinely Appointed.--Moreover\nit is apparent that these officers of the church were called of God.\nConcerning the apostles Jesus said: \"Ye have not chosen me but I have\nchosen you, and ordained you that ye may bring forth fruit.\" [137] When\nseven men were chosen to look after the poor and minister to them they\nset them before the apostles, who, when they had prayed, laid their\nhands upon them and ordained them to their calling.[138]\n\n25. So in the case of Paul. It was not enough that he saw and\nspoke with Messiah, for afterwards when the Lord would have him engage\nin the work of preaching the gospel and administering in the ordinances\nthereof, the Holy Ghost said unto certain prophets at Antioch,\n\n    Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called\n    them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on\n    them, they sent them away. [139]\n\n26. Furthermore, as Paul went about confirming the souls of\nsaints, he ordained elders in every church.[140] He did not suffer\nmen to take the authority on themselves to minister in the things of\nGod; but warned the saints against such characters. \"Take heed unto\nyourselves,\" said he to the elders of Ephesus, \"and to all the flock\nover which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the flock\nof God * * * For I know this, that after my departing, shall grievous\nwolves enter in, not sparing the flock. And of your own selves shall\nmen arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after\nthem.\" [141]\n\n27. The general law of the church is expressed in the following:\n\n    Every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in\n    {96} things pertaining to God that he may offer both gifts and\n    sacrifices for sins. * * * And no man taketh this honor unto\n    himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron. [142]\n\nThe manner in which Aaron was called to the priest's office is recorded\nin the writings of Moses as follows: The word of the Lord came to that\nprophet saying:\n\n    Take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him from\n    among the children of Israel that he may minister unto me in the\n    priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazer and Ithamar,\n    Aaron's sons. [143]\n\n28. It may be objected that this was the law relating to the\ncalling of high priests alone, but if high priests were to be called in\nthis manner, is it not reasonable to conclude that all who administer\nin things \"pertaining to God\" must be called in the same manner--that\nis, of God? So far as the scriptures are concerned, and on subjects\nof this character their authority is conclusive, wherever we have an\naccount of men administering in the things pertaining to God, and their\nadministrations are accepted of him, they have either been called\ndirectly by revelation from him, or through inspiration in those who\nalready had authority from God to act in his name; and to be called by\na legitimate, divinely established authority is to be called of God.\n(See note 6, end of section).\n\n29. The Church on the Western Hemisphere.--The Book of Mormon is\nno more explicit in its description of the church organization than the\nNew Testament. This is owing to the fact that the Book of Mormon is but\nan abridgement of the Nephite annals, and we are informed by Mormon,\nwho made the abridgement, that not an hundredth part of the things\nwhich Jesus taught to the Nephites could be recorded in his abridged\nrecord--hence the meagre description of the church organization.[144]\nFrom Mormon's abridged account of Messiah's visit and {97} labors among\nthe Nephites, however, it appears that Jesus chose from among the\nfaithful men who believed on him, twelve apostles,[145] unto whom he\ngave power to preach repentance, baptize for remission of sins,[146]\nlay on hands for the Holy Ghost,[147] and organize the Church.[148]\nBut the details of this work are not given. It is evident, however,\nthat the twelve disciples ordained subordinate officers, since Moroni\ninforms us of the manner in which they ordained priests and teachers;\n[149] and he also refers to the office of elders.[150]\n\n30. Thus in the Book of Mormon, as in the New Testament, may be\nseen only the faint outlines of the organization, the church of Christ.\nA full description of it, together with the callings and authority of\nthe respective officers and persons of which it is composed, will be\nreserved for Part IV of this work.\n\n31. The acceptance of the gospel by the Nephites was followed\nby the same results as when accepted by the Jews and Gentiles of the\neastern hemisphere. The sick were healed, the dead were raised, the\nlame walked, the deaf heard, and the blind received their sight. Peace,\nlove, sobriety, justice and an absence of greed and pride characterized\nthe conduct of the saints of the western hemisphere; and here, too,\nthey had \"all things common among them, therefore they were not rich\nand poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of\nthe heavenly gifts.\" [151]\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. The Redemption Unconditional.--We believe that through the\nsufferings, death and atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind without\none exception, are to be completely and fully redeemed, both body\nand spirit, from the endless banishment and curse to which they were\nconsigned by Adam's transgression; and that this universal salvation\nand redemption of the whole human family from the {98} endless penalty\nof the original sin, is effected without any conditions whatsoever on\ntheir part; that is, that they are not required to believe or repent,\nor be baptized, or do anything else, in order to be redeemed from\nthat penalty; for whether they believe or disbelieve, whether they\nrepent or remain impenitent, whether they are baptized or unbaptized,\nwhether they keep the commandments or break them, whether they are\nrighteous or unrighteous, it will make no difference in relation to\ntheir redemption, both soul and body, from the penalty of Adam's\ntransgression. The most righteous man that ever lived on the earth,\nand the most wicked wretch of the whole human family, were both placed\nunder the same curse without any transgression or agency of their\nown, and they both alike will be redeemed from that curse, without any\nagency or conditions on their part.--\"Remarkable Visions\"--Orson Pratt.\n\n2. The Atonement Universal in its Application.--Transgression of\nthe law brought death upon all the posterity of Adam, the restoration\nthrough the atonement restored all the human family to life. \"For since\nby man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For\nas in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.\" So that\nwhatever was lost by Adam was restored by Jesus Christ. The penalty of\nthe transgression of the law was the death of the body. The atonement\nmade by Jesus Christ resulted in the resurrection of the human body.\nIts scope embraced all peoples, nations and tongues.\n\n    For all my Lord was crucified,\n    For all, for all my Savior died.\n\n       --\"Mediation and Atonement\"--John Taylor.\n\n3. The Atonement a Mystery.--As stated elsewhere, in some\nmysterious, incomprehensible way, Jesus assumed the responsibility\nwhich naturally would have devolved upon Adam; but which could only\nbe accomplished through the mediation of himself, and by taking upon\nhimself their sorrows, assuming their responsibilities and bearing\ntheir transgressions or sins. In a manner incomprehensible and\ninexplicable, he bore the weight of the sins of the whole world; not\nonly of Adam, but of his posterity; and in doing that, opened the\nkingdom of heaven, not only to all believers and all who obeyed the\nlaw of God, but to more than one-half of the human family who died\nbefore they came to years of maturity, as well as to the heathen, who\nhaving died without law, will through his mediation be resurrected\nwithout law, and be judged without law, and thus participate\naccording to their capacity, works and worth, in the blessings of his\natonement.--\"Mediation and Atonement\"--John Taylor.\n\n{99} 4. The Means of Escape from Penalties of Personal\nSins.--After this full, complete and universal redemption,\nrestoration, and salvation of the whole of Adam's race through the\natonement of Jesus Christ, * * * all and every one of them will enjoy\neternal life and happiness, never more to be banished from the presence\nof God if they themselves have committed no sin. * * * We believe that\nall mankind, in consequence of the fall, after they grow up from their\ninfant state and come to the years of understanding, know good and evil\nand are capable of obeying or disobeying law, and that a law is given\nagainst doing evil and that the penalty affixed is a second banishment\nfrom the presence of God, both body and spirit, after they have been\nredeemed from the first banishment and restored into his presence. *\n* * We believe that all who have done evil, having a knowledge of the\nlaw, or afterwards in this life coming to the knowledge thereof, are\nunder its penalty, which is not inflicted in this world but in the\nworld to come. * * * \"But,\" inquires the sinner, \"is there no way of\nescape? Is my case hopeless?\" * * * The answer is, if thou canst hide\nthyself from the all-searching eye of an omnipresent God, that he shall\nnot find thee, or if thou canst prevail with him to deny justice its\nclaim, or if thou canst clothe thyself with power, and contend with the\nAlmighty and prevent him from executing the sentence of the law, then\nthou canst escape. * * * But be assured, O sinner, that thou canst not\ndevise any way of thine own to escape, nor do anything which will atone\nfor thy sins. Therefore thy case is hopeless, unless God hath devised\nsome way for thy deliverance; but do not let despair seize upon thee;\n* * * for he who gave the law has devised a way for thy deliverance.\nThat same Jesus, who hath atoned for the original sin (Adam's\ntransgression), and will redeem all mankind from the penalty thereof,\nhath also atoned for thy sins, and offereth salvation and deliverance\nto thee, on certain conditions to be complied with on thy part. * *\n* The first condition to be complied with on the part of sinners is\nto believe in God, and in the sufferings and death of his son Jesus\nChrist * * * and in the Holy Ghost. * * * That the second condition is\nto repent. * * * That the third condition is to be baptized for the\nremission of sins. * * * And that the fourth condition is to receive\nthe laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. * * * They are\nthen required to be humble, to be meek and lowly in heart, to watch\nand pray and deal justly. * * * And, in short, to continue faithful to\nthe end in all the duties enjoined upon them by the word and Spirit of\nChrist.--\"Remarkable Visions\"--Orson Pratt.\n\n5. Four Opinions on Church Government.--How far even wise men and\nChristian scholars have gone astray in relation to church government\nmay be judged from the following opinions on the subject:\n\n{100} Those who imagine that Christ himself or the apostles by his\ndirection or authority appointed a certain fixed form of church\ngovernment are not agreed what that form was. The principal opinions\nthat have been adopted upon this head may be reduced to the four\nfollowing:\n\n_First_, is that of the Roman Catholics maintain that Christ's\nintention and appointment was that his followers should be collected\ninto one sacred empire, subject to the government of St. Peter and\nhis successors, and divided like the kingdoms of this world into\nseveral provinces; that in consequence thereof Peter fixed the seat of\necclesiastical dominion at Rome, but afterwards to alleviate the burden\nof his office divided the church into three greater provinces according\nto the division of the world at that time, and appointed a person to\npreside in each who was dignified with the title of Patriarch; that the\nEuropean Patriarch resided at Rome, the Asiatic at Antioch, and the\nAfrican at Alexandria; that the bishops of each province among whom\nthere were various ranks, were to reverence the authority of their\nrespective patriarchs, and that both bishops and patriarchs were to be\npassively subject to the supreme dominion of the Roman Pontiff. This\nromantic account scarcely deserves a serious refutation.\n\nThe _second_ opinion concerning the government of the church makes no\nmention of a supreme head or of patriarchs constituted by a divine\nauthority; but it supposes that the apostles divided the Roman empire\ninto as many ecclesiastical provinces as there were secular or civil\nones; that the metropolitan bishops, that is, the prelate who resides\nin the capital city of each province, presides over the clergy of that\nprovince, and that the other bishops were subject to his authority.\nThis opinion has been adopted by some of the most learned of the Romish\nchurch; and has also been favored by some of the most eminent British\ndivines. Some Protestant writers of note have endeavored to prove that\nit is not supported by sufficient evidence.\n\nThe _third_ opinion is that of those who acknowledge that when the\nChristians began to multiply exceedingly, metropolitans, patriarchs\nand archbishops were indeed created but only by human appointment and\nauthority; though they confess at the same time that it is consonant to\nthe orders and intentions of Christ and his apostles that there should\nbe in every Christian church one person invested with the highest\nauthority and clothed with certain rights and privileges above the\nother doctors of that assembly. This opinion has been embraced by many\nEnglish divines of the first rank in the learned world; and also by\nmany in other countries and communions.\n\nThe _fourth_, and last opinion is that of the Presbyterians who affirm\nthat Christ's intention was that the Christian doctors and {101}\nministers should all enjoy the same rank and authority without any\nsort of pre-eminence or subordination or distinction of rights and\nprivileges.--Mosheim, vol. 1, pages 67, 68. Note--Murdock.\n\n\"The truth of the matter is,\" remarks Dr. Maclaine, \"that Christ by\nleaving this matter undetermined, has of consequence, left Christian\nsocieties a discretionary power of modeling the government of the\nchurch in such a manner as the circumstantial reasons of times, places,\netc., may require; and therefore the wisest government of the church is\nthe best and the most divine; and every Christian society has a right\nto make laws for itself; provided that these laws are consistent with\ncharity and peace and with the fundamental doctrines and principles of\nChristianity.\" Of this it is only necessary to say that Christ did not\nleave this matter undetermined but established his church government\nas explained in the text of this work. The wisest form of church\ngovernment is that which God gave; it is at the same time the best and\nnot only the most divine but the only one that can lay any claim to\nbeing so; and for the church or any branch thereof to establish any\nother government for itself is an unjustifiable departure from the\norder of God.--Roberts.\n\n6. Authority from God Needful.--We are informed in the\nscriptures, that the Lord wrought special miracles by the hands of\nPaul, whom he had called to be his servant. The sick were healed, and\nevil spirits were cast out of those who were possessed. \"Then certain\nof the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which\nhad evil spirits, the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you,\nby Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons, of one Sceva,\na Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit\nanswered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye? And\nthe man in whom the evil spirit was, leaped on them, and overcame them,\nand prevailed against them, so that they fled out of the house, naked\nand wounded.\"--(Acts xix: 13-16). These men presumptuously took it upon\nthemselves to act as those who had authority, and the result was that\nnot even the devils would respect their administrations, much less\nthe Lord. There is a principle of great moment associated with this\nincident. The question is, if these men, when acting without authority\nfrom God could not drive out an evil spirit, would their administration\nbe of force, or have any virtue in it, had they administered in some\nother ordinance of the gospel, say baptism for the remission of\nsins, or the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost?\nManifestly it would not. Hence we come to the conclusion, so well\nexpressed in one of our articles of faith: \"A man must be called of God\nby prophecy and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority\nto preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.\"--\"The\nGospel\"--Roberts.\n\n{102} REVIEW.\n\n1. What two great purposes were contemplated in Messiah's mission?\n\n2. Relate the fall of man and its consequences.\n\n3. What is general salvation?\n\n4. How do you prove that there will be a general salvation?\n\n5. Why is redemption from Adam's transgression unconditional? (Notes 1\nto 4).\n\n6. How are the claims of justice and mercy balanced in the atonement?\n\n7. Was Messiah's atonement voluntary?\n\n8. What can you say of the love of God as it appears in the atonement?\n\n9. What is meant by individual salvation?\n\n10. In what does it differ from general salvation?\n\n11. By what consideration does mercy mitigate the claims of justice in\nthe plan of redemption?\n\n12. What are the conditions of salvation? (Note 6).\n\n13. For what several purposes did Messiah institute his church?\n\n14. Why is it that the description of the Church of Christ is so\nimperfect in the New Testament?\n\n15. Enumerate the powers granted to the Twelve.\n\n16. What other officers did Jesus call to the ministry upon whom he\nbestowed similar powers?\n\n17. What other officers were appointed in the church?\n\n18. Give Paul's description of the church.\n\n19. State the particular objects to be accomplished by the church\norganization.\n\n20. What reasons can you give for believing that the church as\norganized by Messiah is to be perpetuated?\n\n21. What are the four leading opinions in respect to church government?\n(Note 5).\n\n22. What is the truth in respect of church government? (Note 5).\n\n23. Is the Book of Mormon description of church organization more\ncomplete than that of the New Testament? Why?\n\n24. Give an account of the organization of the church on the western\nhemisphere.\n\n25. What followed the preaching of the gospel and the organization of\nthe church on the western hemisphere?\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. It is also called Ephrath [Ef-rath] and Ephratah [Ef-ra-tah.] It was\nthe scene of Rachel's death and burial, the native place of Samuel's\nfather, the residence of Boaz and Ruth, and the birthplace of David;\nit was also the last rallying point of the remnant of Judah after the\ninvasion of Nebuchadnezzar.\n\n2. Micah v: 2.\n\n3. Luke 1:28-38.\n\n4. Canon Farrar translates this splendid passage: \"Glory to God in the\nhighest, and on earth peace among men of good will,\" maintaining that\nsuch is the reading of the best Mss. Dear to us as the reading in King\nJames' translation of the Bible is, if looked upon as announcing the\neffect of Christianity in this world--\"On earth peace among men of good\nwill,\" comes more nearly to the truth than \"on earth peace, good will\ntoward men.\"\n\n5. Matt. ii: 2.\n\n6. III Nephi i: 21.\n\n7. III Nephi i: 13.\n\n8. III Nephi i: 15-19.\n\n9. Matt. ii: 18.\n\n10. Matt. ii: 23.\n\n11. I have condensed much of the matter in the first part of this\nsection from the learned works of D'Aubigne, Dr. Mosheim, Gibbon and\nJosephus, sometimes using even their phraseology without further\nacknowledgement than this note.--The Author.\n\n12. Epistle to Romans i: 18-32.\n\n13. See note 7, end of section.\n\n14. Dr. Lardner.\n\n15. See \"The First Gospel of the Infancy,\" Apocryphal New Testament\n(Colley & Rich, publishers, Boston, 1891.)\n\n16. Luke i.\n\n17. Matt. iii.\n\n18. Luke iii.\n\n19. Matt. iii.\n\n20. Luke iii.\n\n21. John i:19-23.\n\n22. The location of Bethabara is uncertain.\n\n23. Matt. iii.\n\n24. Matt. iii.\n\n25. John i:33.\n\n26. Matt. iv.\n\n27. That is, vain fellow.\n\n28. Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv:17-27.\n\n29. Biblical Literature.--Kitto.\n\n30. Matt. x.\n\n31. Matt. x.\n\n32. Compare Luke x with Matt. x.\n\n33. Luke x.\n\n34. John v.\n\n35. John iii.\n\n36. John iii.\n\n37. John iv.\n\n38. John v:24-30.\n\n39. John v:39-47, vii:14-18.\n\n40. John v:32-35.\n\n41. John v:36; x:25.\n\n42. John v:37, 39.\n\n43. Mark xi:5.\n\n44. Matt. iv:16-24.\n\n45. Matt. iv:16-24.\n\n46. Mark xii.\n\n47. John xi.\n\n48. Matt. ii.\n\n49. John v:1-18.\n\n50. John v:17, 18.\n\n51. John xii.\n\n52. Luke xxii. Matt. xxvi.\n\n53. John xviii:36.\n\n54. Luke alone calls it _Calvary_; Matthew, Mark and John call it\nGolgotha. They each have reference to the same place, which was known\nby the two different names.\n\n55. III Nephi viii.\n\n56. Those predictions are found in the following passages: John\nii:18-22; x:17, 18; xiii:31-33. Matt. xii:38=42; xvi:21-23; xvii:1-9;\nMark ix:30-32; x:32-34.\n\n57. Matt. xxviii.\n\n58. John xx:14-17.\n\n59. Matt. xxviii:9.\n\n60. Luke xxiv:13-31.\n\n61. Luke xxiv:34 and I Cor. xv:5.\n\n62. John xx:19.\n\n63. John xx:26; Mark xvi:14.\n\n64. John xxi:1-24.\n\n65. Matt. xxviii:16.\n\n66. I Cor. xv:6.\n\n67. I Cor. xv:7.\n\n68. I Cor. xv:8.\n\n69. Acts i.\n\n70. Matt. xviii.\n\n71. Mark xvi:16.\n\n72. Luke xxiv:49, 53; Acts i.\n\n73. Acts i; Matt. xvi.\n\n74. John x:16.\n\n75. III Nephi xv:18.\n\n76. III Nephi xv:21.\n\n77. III Nephi xi:12.\n\n78. Section V, paragraph 14.\n\n79. The land Bountiful was in the northern part of South America.\n\n80. III Nephi xi:14.\n\n81. See John xxi:21-25; III Nephi xxviii.\n\n82. Let those who would be more minutely informed upon the ministry\nof Messiah on the western hemisphere, study carefully the book of III\nNephi, where the history of that important event is recorded, and which\nbook has been called--a \"Fifth Gospel.\"\n\n83. It must be remembered, that Jesus told the Nephites that he was\ngoing to visit the lost tribes whom the Father had led away. They, too,\nwere to have the gospel preached to them (III Nephi xv and xvi.)\n\n84. In his \"Comment de Rebus Christ,\" p. 78-80, the learned Dr.\nMosheim has a note on this passage in which his aim is to prove that\nthe correct translation from the Greek of the phrase usually rendered\n\"they gave forth their lots,\" should be \"they gave their votes.\"\nWhile it is but proper to say that the Doctor's translation is very\ngenerally rejected by the learned, still there will be no question with\nthose who understand the order of the priesthood and the manner of\nfilling vacancies in its quorums, that Dr. Mosheim is correct in his\ninterpretation as to the meaning of the passage.\n\n85. IV Nephi i:14.\n\n86. Pentecost came fifty days after the Passover, on which day the\nLord Jesus was crucified. Allowing that he lay three days in the tomb\nand was with his disciples forty days after his resurrection (Acts\ni:3), forty-three days of the fifty between Passover and Pentecost\nare accounted for, leaving but seven days between ascension and the\nday of Pentecost, when the promise of the baptism of the spirit was\nfulfilled.--\"The Gospel,\" note p. 177.\n\n87. Luke iii:16. Matt. iii:2. Acts i:4, 5.\n\n88. The languages spoken are enumerated by the writer of The Acts\nii:9-11.\n\n89. Joel ii:28.\n\n90. I think it proper here to call the attention of the student to the\nfact that the principles of the gospel in this discourse of Peter's\nare stated in the same order that they were unfolded in the ministry\nof John the Baptist and Messiah. First, John came bearing witness of\none who should come after him--Christ, the Lord. Hence, he taught faith\nin God (John i:15, 16, also verses 19-36). After that, the burden of\nhis message was, \"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;\" then\nfollowed his baptism in water with a promise that they should receive\nthe Holy Ghost. So Peter first taught the people faith in the Lord,\nproving from the scripture that Jesus was both Lord and Christ; and\nwhen they believed that, then he taught them repentance and baptism for\nthe remission of sins, and promised them the Holy Ghost.\n\n91. Acts ii:38, 39.\n\n92. Acts iv:9.\n\n93. Acts v:26-32.\n\n94. Acts v:34-42.\n\n95. It is generally supposed by Biblical scholars, Mosheim, Neander,\nKitto, Murdock and many others, that these men were deacons only.\nThere is nothing, however, in the Acts of the Apostles or other parts\nof the New Testament which would lead one to believe that such was\nthe case. We have evidence on the other hand that one of them at\nleast held a higher priesthood than the office of deacon. In modern\nrevelation we have it stated that neither teachers nor deacons have\nauthority to baptize, administer the sacrament or lay on hands for the\nHoly Ghost (Doc. and Cov., sec. xx:58); yet we have Philip, one of the\nseven, going down into Samaria, teaching the gospel \"and baptizing the\npeople\" (Acts viii), hence we may know that he held a higher priesthood\nthan that of deacon. Yet when it became necessary to confer the Holy\nGhost upon these same converts by the laying on of hands, Philip, it\nwould seem, had not the authority to do it; but the Apostles hearing\nthat Samaria had received the word, sent Peter and John down and\nthey conferred upon the Samaritans the Holy Ghost. And though Philip\nwas present he appears to have taken no part in it. It is therefore\nreasonable to conclude that since Philip had authority to baptize, he\ntherefore must have held an office higher than that of deacon, or even\nof teacher; but since he evidently had not authority to lay on hands\nfor the gift of the Holy Ghost, his office was something less than that\nof an Elder. Hence it is most likely that he was a priest--priests\nhave the right to baptize but not to lay on hands for the reception\nof the Holy Ghost (Doc. and Cov. sec. xx)--as perhaps also were his\nsix associates, appointed to preside over the temporal affairs of the\nChurch, especially to see after the poor.\n\n96. Acts iv:32-37.\n\n97. Acts viii. The student will observe that the same order of\npresenting and accepting the gospel is observed in the account given of\nits introduction into Samaria as was observed in the teaching of John\nthe Baptist and Jesus, and also of Peter, on the day of Pentecost.\n\n98. Acts ix.\n\n99. Matt. xv:24.\n\n100. John xii:32.\n\n101. This case of Cornelius marks an exception--the only one recorded\nin the New Testament--to that order in the gospel to which attention\nhas been drawn several times in this section; that is, these Gentiles\nreceived the Holy Ghost before baptism in water. The object of the\ndeviation from the rule is obvious. It was that the Jews might have a\nwitness from God that the gospel was for the Gentiles as well as for\nthe house of Israel. But according to the Scriptures, and I may say\naccording to the nature and relationship of these several principles\nand ordinances of the gospel to each other, the reception of the Holy\nGhost comes after repentance and baptism, the one leading up logically\nto the other, which follows in beautiful and harmonious sequence.\n\n102. Col. i:23.\n\n103. Dan. xii:2.\n\n104. John v:26, 28, 29.\n\n105. Doc. and Cov. lxxvi:17.\n\n106. Rev. xx:12, 13.\n\n107. Rom. v:18. See whole chapter.\n\n108. Cor. xv:21-26.\n\n109. Mormon ix:12, 13. Other evidences from the Nephite scriptures will\nbe found in Alma xi:40-44. III Nephi xxvii:13-15. II Nephi ii. Mosiah\nxv:18-27. Alma xxxiv:7-17. Alma xiii:1-26.\n\n110. See \"The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors,\" by Kersey Graves.\n\n111. John v:26.\n\n112. Mediation and Atonement, xxiv.\n\n113. John x:17, 18.\n\n114. Matt. xxvi:53, 54.\n\n115. I John iv:9.\n\n116. John iii:16, 17.\n\n117. Isaiah liii:5, 6.\n\n118. I Cor. vi:19, 20.\n\n119. Doc. and Cov., sec. xix:16-18. See also Mosiah iii:20, 21. \"The\nGospel,\" Roberts, page 29.\n\n120. Matt. xxviii:18-20.\n\n121. Acts iv:12.\n\n122. Acts ii:22-47. Acts viii:5-25.\n\n123. II Cor. vii:8-10.\n\n124. Rom. vi:3-5.\n\n125. Acts viii:14-18.\n\n126. The injunction placed upon those who accept the faith of the\ngospel is that they add to their faith virtue; and to virtue,\nknowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience;\nand to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and\nto brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you, and\nabound they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful\nin the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (II Peter i:5-8.)--\"The\nGospel,\" page 37.\n\n127. Mark xvi. I Cor. xii.\n\n128. Matt. x. Acts i:4-8.\n\n129. Compare Luke x with Matt. x.\n\n130. Acts i:3.\n\n131. Acts xiv:23. Acts xx:17, 28.\n\n132. Phil. i:1. Titus i:5-7.\n\n133. I Cor. xii:28-30.\n\n134. Eph. iv:10.\n\n135. I Cor. xii.\n\n136. Eph. iv.\n\n137. John xv:16.\n\n138. Acts v:1-6.\n\n139. Acts xiii:1-3.\n\n140. Acts xiv:2, 3.\n\n141. Acts xx:28, 29.\n\n142. Heb. v:1, 5.\n\n143. Ex. xxviii:1.\n\n144. III Nephi xxvi:6, 7.\n\n145. III Nephi xii.\n\n146. III Nephi xi.\n\n147. III Nephi xxvii:37; also Moroni ii.\n\n148. III Nephi xxvii and IV Nephi i:1.\n\n149. Moroni iii.\n\n150. Moroni vi.\n\n151. IV Nephi i:1-7.\n\n{103}\n\n\n\nPART II.\n\nTHE APOSTASY.\n\n{105}\n\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\nIn Part I, our narrative was confined mainly to those propitious\ncircumstances which made for the successful introduction of the gospel\nand the founding of the church of Christ. In Part II, we are to deal\nwith those adverse events which led finally to the subversion of the\nChristian religion. We commence with the\n\n1. Persecution of the Christians by the Jews.--The Messiah\nforewarned his disciples that they would be persecuted by the world,\npointed out the reasons for it, and comforted them by reminding them\nthat the world had hated him before it hated them; that the servant\nwas not greater than his lord; and for that matter all the prophets\nwhich were before them had been persecuted by the generations in which\nthey lived, and that, for the reason that they were not of the world,\ntherefore the world hated and destroyed them.[1]\n\n2. Two special reasons may be assigned for the persecution\nof the saints by the Jews. 1. They looked upon Christianity as a\nrival religion to Judaism, a thing of itself sufficient to engender\nbitterness, jealousy, persecution. 2. If Christianity should live and\nobtain a respectable standing, the Jews of that generation must ever\nbe looked upon as not only putting an innocent man to death, but as\nrejecting and slaying the Son of God. To crush this rival religion\nand escape the odium which the successful establishment of it would\ninevitably fix upon them, were the incentives which prompted that first\ngeneral persecution which arose against the church in Jerusalem, and\nthat commenced in the very first year after Messiah's ascension.\n\n{106} 3. The extent of the persecution or the time of its\ncontinuance may not be determined; but that it was murderous may be\nlearned from the fact that Stephen was slain,[2] as was also James, the\nson of Zebedee,[3] and James, the Just, brother of the Lord.[4] The\nApostle Peter was imprisoned and would doubtless have shared the fate\nof the other martyrs, but that he was delivered by an angel.[5]\n\n4. Nor was this persecution confined alone to Jerusalem; on\nthe contrary the hate-blinded high priests and elders of the Jews in\nPalestine conferred with the Jews throughout the Roman provinces,\nand everywhere incited them to hatred of the Christians, exhorting\nthem to have no connection with, and to do all in their power to\ndestroy the \"superstition,\" as the Christian religion was then\ncalled. Nor were they content with what they themselves could do,\nbut they exhausted their ingenuity in efforts to incite the Romans\nagainst them. To accomplish this they charged that the Christians had\ntreasonable designs against the Roman government, as \"appeared by their\nacknowledging as their king one Jesus, a malefactor whom Pilate had\nmost justly put to death.\" [6]\n\n5. The Jews themselves, however, were in no great favor with\nthe Romans since their impatience of Roman restraint led them to be\nconstantly on the eve of rebellion and sedition, and frequently to\nbreak out into deeds of violence against the Roman authority. This lack\nof favor rendered the power of the Jews unequal to their malice against\nthe church of Christ.\n\n6. The imperious nation, too, whose forefathers had rejected\nthe prophets and at the last had crucified the Son of God with every\ncircumstance of cruelty, crying out in the streets of their holy city,\n\"crucify him, and let his blood be upon us and on our children,\" [7]\nwere about to meet the calamities which their wickedness called down\nupon them. The Roman emperor Vespasian {107} [Ves-pa-zhe-an], tired\nof their repeated seditions, at last sent an army under Titus to\nsubjugate them. The Jews made a stubborn resistance and a terrible\nwar followed. Jerusalem, crowded with people who had come into the\ncity from the surrounding country to attend the Passover, was besieged\nfor six months, during which time more than a million of her wretched\ninhabitants perished of famine. The city was finally taken, the walls\nthereof thrown down and the temple so completely destroyed that not\none stone was left upon another. Thousands of Jews were cut to pieces\nand nearly a hundred thousand of those taken captive were sent into\nslavery.[8] All the calamities predicted by the Messiah[9] befell the\ncity and people. Jerusalem from that time until now has been trodden\ndown of the Gentiles; and will be until the times of the Gentiles are\nfulfilled.\n\n7. According to Eusebius, the Christians escaped these calamities\nwhich befell the Jews; for the whole body of the church at Jerusalem,\nhaving been commanded by divine revelation, given to men of approved\npiety, removed from Jerusalem before the war and dwelt at Pella, beyond\nJordan, where they were secure from the calamities of those times.[10]\n\n8. Persecution by the Romans.--It is more difficult to\nunderstand why the Romans should persecute the Christians than it is\nto see why the Jews did it. The Romans were polytheists, and affected\nthe fullest religious liberty. The author of the \"Decline and Fall of\nthe Roman Empire\" claims that this period of Roman history was the\ngolden age of religious liberty. And such was the multitude of deities\ncollected in Rome from various nations, and such the variety of worship\nto be seen in the great capital of the empire, that Gibbon has said:\n\n    Rome gradually became the common temple of her subjects; and {108}\n    the freedom of the city was bestowed on all the gods of mankind.[11]\n\nFurthermore, the same high authority says:\n\n    The various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world,\n    were all considered by the people as being equally true; by the\n    philosophers as all equally false; and by the magistrates as\n    equally useful. And thus toleration produced not only mutual\n    indulgences, but even religious concord.\n\n9. The student who would learn why the mild and beautiful\nChristian religion was alone selected to bear the wrath and feel the\nvengeful power of Rome, must look deeper than the reasons usually\nassigned for the strange circumstance. It is superficial to say that\nthe persecution was caused by the charges of immorality. The Roman\nauthorities had the best of evidence that the charges were false. (See\nnote 1, end of section). Equally absurd is it to assign as a cause\nthe supposed atheism of the Christians, for that was the condition\nof nearly all Rome; while the charge that they were traitors to the\nemperor, and expected to see the empire supplanted by the kingdom of\nChrist--which some assign as the chief cause of Roman persecution--was\ntreated with contempt by the emperors. (See note 2, end of section).\n\n10. The true cause of the persecution was this: Satan knew there\nwas no power of salvation in the idolatrous worship of the heathen,\nand hence let them live on in peace, but when Jesus of Nazareth and\nhis followers came, in the authority of God, preaching the gospel,\nhe recognized in that the principles and power against which he had\nrebelled in heaven, and stirred up the hearts of men to rebellion\nagainst the truth to overthrow it. This was the real cause of\npersecution, though it lurked under a variety of pretexts, the most of\nwhich are named in the above supposed causes.\n\n11. The First Roman Persecution.--The first emperor {109} to\nenact laws for the extermination of Christians was Nero. (See note\n3, end of section). His decrees against them originated rather in an\neffort to shield himself from popular fury than any desire that he\nhad to protect the religion of the State against the advancement of\nChristianity. Nero, wishing to witness a great conflagration, had\nset fire to the city of Rome. The flames utterly consumed three of\nthe fourteen wards into which the city was divided, and spread ruin\nin seven others. It was in vain that the emperor tried to soothe the\nindignant and miserable citizens whose all had been consumed by the\nflames, and neither the magnificence of the prince, nor his attempted\nexpiation of the gods could remove from him the infamy of having\nordered the conflagration.\n\n12. Therefore, [writes Tacitus, one of the most trustworthy of\nall historians], to stop the clamor Nero falsely accused and subjugated\nto the most exquisite punishments a people hated for their crimes,\ncalled Christians. The founder of the sect, Christ, was executed in the\nreign of Tiberius, by the Procurator Pontius Pilate. The pernicious\nsuperstition, repressed for a time, burst forth again; not only\nthrough Judea, the birth-place of the evil, but at Rome also, where\neverything atrocious and base centers and is in repute. Those first\nseized, confessed; then a vast multitude, detected by their means, were\nconvicted, not so much of the crime of burning the city as of hatred\nof mankind. And insult was added to their torments; for being clad in\nskins of wild beasts they were torn to pieces by dogs; or affixed to\ncrosses to be burned, were used as lights to dispel the darkness of\nnight, when the day was gone. Nero devoted his garden to the show,\nand held circensian [sir-sen-shan] games, mixing with the rabble, or\nmounting a chariot, clad like a coachman. Hence, though the guilty and\nthose meriting the severest punishment, suffered, yet compassion was\nexcited, because they were destroyed, not for the public good, but to\nsatisfy the cruelty of an individual.[12]\n\n13. Time of the Persecution.--The time of this persecution {110}\nis fixed by the date of the great conflagration, which Tacitus set down\nas commencing on the 18th of July, A. D. 65. It lasted six days; and\nsoon after that the persecution broke out.\n\n14. Continuance and Extent of the Persecution.--How long this\npersecution lasted, and whether it was confined to the city of Rome\nor extended throughout the empire is difficult to determine. From\nsome remarks made by Tertullian [Ter-tul-li-an], writing in the next\ncentury, it would seem that the decrees of Nero against the Christians\nof Rome were general laws, such as those afterwards passed by Domitian.\nBut the inferences of his language are generally discredited or\naccounted the result of Tertullian's fervid rhetoric; and Gibbon's\nconclusion that the persecution was confined within the walls of Rome\ngenerally accepted. [13] It was in this persecution, according to the\ntradition of the early Christian fathers, that Peter and Paul suffered\nmartyrdom.\n\n15. The Second Persecution.--The second persecution against the\nChristian church broke out in the year A. D. 93 or 94, under the reign\nof Domitian. It was during this persecution that the Apostle John\nwas banished to Patmos. Eusebius states that at the same time, for\nprofessing Christ, Flavi Domitilla, the niece of Flavius Clemens, one\nof the consuls of Rome at the time, \"was transported with many others,\nby way of punishment, to the island of Pontia.\" The pretext for this\npersecution is ascribed to the fears of Domitian that he would lose\nhis empire. A rumor reached him that a person would arise from the\nrelatives of Messiah who would attempt a revolution; whereupon the\njealous nature of the emperor prompted him to begin this persecution.\nIn it both Jews and Christians suffered, the emperor ordering that\nthe descendants of David, especially, should be put to death. An\ninvestigation of the prospects of a revolution arising from such a\nquarter caused Domitian to dismiss {111} the matter with contempt and\norder the persecution to cease.[14] (See note 2, end of section).\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Pliny's Testimony to the Morality of the Christians.--The\ncharacter which this writer gives of the Christians of that age (his\ncelebrated letter was written to Trajan early in the second century),\nand which was drawn from a pretty accurate inquiry, because he\nconsidered their moral principles as the point in which the magistrate\nwas interested, is as follows: He tells the emperor that some of\nthose who had relinquished the society, or who, to save themselves\npretended that they had relinquished it, affirmed \"that they were\nwont to meet together on a stated day, before it was light, and sang\namong themselves alternately a hymn to Christ as a God; and to bind\nthemselves by an oath, not to the commission of any wickedness, but\nthat they would not be guilty of theft, or robbery, or adultery; that\nthey would never falsify their word, or deny a pledge committed to\nthem when called upon to return it.\" This proves that a morality more\npure and strict than was ordinary, prevailed at that time in Christian\nsocieties.--Paley's \"Evidences.\"\n\n2. Interview of Domitian and the Relatives of the Lord.--There\nwere yet living of the family of our Lord the grandchildren of\nJudas, called the brother of our Lord according to the flesh. These\nwere reported as being of the family of David, and were brought to\nDomitian by the evocaties. For this emperor was as much alarmed at\nthe appearance of Christ as Herod. He put the question whether they\nwere of David's race and they confessed that they were. He then asked\nthem what property they had, or how much money they owned. And both of\nthem answered, that they had between them only nine thousand denarii,\nand this they had not in silver, but in the value of a piece of land,\ncontaining only thirty-nine acres; from which they raised their taxes\nand supported themselves by their own labor. Then they also began to\nshow their hands, exhibiting the hardness of their bodies, and the\ncallosity formed by incessant labor on their hands, as evidence of\ntheir own labor. When asked also, respecting Christ and his kingdom,\nwhat was its nature, and when and where it was to appear, they replied\nthat it was not a temporal nor an earthly kingdom, but celestial\nand angelic; that it would appear at the end of the world, {112}\nwhen coming in glory he would judge the quick and the dead, and give\nto every one according to his works. Upon which Domitian despising\nthem, made no reply; but treating them with contempt, as simpletons,\ncommanded them to be dismissed, and by a decree ordered the persecution\nto cease.--Hegesippus, quoted by Eusebius.\n\n3. Character of Nero.--Nero was the incarnation of depravity--the\nvery name by which men are accustomed to express the fury of\nunrestrained malignity. Bad as he was, he was not worse than Rome. She\nhad but her due. Nay, when he died the rabble and the slaves crowned\nhis statue with garlands and scattered flowers over his grave. And\nwhy not? Nero never injured the rabble, never oppressed the slave. He\nmurdered his mother, his brother, his wife, and was the tyrant of the\nwealthy, the terror of the successful. He rendered poverty sweet, for\npoverty alone was secure; he rendered slavery tolerable, for slaves\nalone or slavish men were promoted to power. The reign of Nero was the\ngolden reign of the populace, and the holiday of the bondman.--Bancroft.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. Of what did Messiah warn his followers?\n\n2. What reason may be assigned for the hatred of the world towards the\npeople of God?\n\n3. What special reason can you assign for the persecution of the\nChristians by the Jews?\n\n4. What can you say of the bitterness and extent of the first great\npersecution?\n\n5. What circumstance rendered the Jewish power to injure the Christians\nunequal to the malice?\n\n6. Describe the great conflict between the Jews and the Romans.\n\n7. By what means did the Christians living at Jerusalem escape the\ncalamities of those times?\n\n8. What makes it difficult to understand why the Romans persecuted the\nChristians?\n\n9. What can you say of the charges of immorality as justifying Roman\npersecution? (Note 1).\n\n10. What of the charge of treason? (Note 2).\n\n11. What was the true cause of the persecution?\n\n12. Who was the first emperor to enact laws against the Christians?\n\n13. What was the character of Nero? (Note 3).\n\n14. What was the incentive which prompted Nero to persecute the\nChristians?\n\n{113} 15. What was the duration and extent of the first Roman\npersecution?\n\n16. Under whose reign did the second Roman persecution begin?\n\n17. On what was the persecution based?\n\n{114}\n\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\n1. Condition of the Church in the Second Century.--During\nthe second century the church had many seasons of immunity from\npersecution. The Roman emperors for the most part were of a mild and\nequitable character, and at the beginning of the century there were\nno laws against the Christians, as those enacted both by Nero and\nDomitian had been repealed. The first by the senate, the second by his\nsuccessor, Nerva.[15] Still it must not be supposed that the saints\nwere free from persecution. Their troubles arose, however, rather from\nthe tumults of the rabble at the instigation of the pagan priests than\nfrom any desire of the emperors to oppress them.\n\n2. As the Christians had no temples, no altars, no clouds of\nincense, no smoking victims--in short, as they had none of the pomp and\ncircumstance in their simple religion which attended pagan worship,\nthey were open to the charge of atheism by the great body of the people\nof the Roman empire; and, in their judgment, deserved the severest\ntortures and death.\n\n    If the empire had been afflicted by any recent calamity, [remarks\n    Gibbon], by a plague, a famine, or an unsuccessful war; if the\n    Tiber had, or if the Nile had not, risen above its banks; if the\n    earth had shaken, or if the temperate order of the seasons had\n    been interrupted, the superstitious pagans were convinced that the\n    crimes and impurities of the Christians, who were spared by the\n    excessive lenity of the government, had at length, provoked the\n    divine justice.[16]\n\nAnd however virtuous the emperors were, however mild or equitable in\ncharacter the governors of the provinces, it is certain {115} they did\nnot hesitate to appease the rage of the people by sacrificing a few\nobnoxious victims.\n\n3. The Persecution Under Marcus Aurelius.--The strangest fact\nof all connected with the persecutions of this century is that the\nsaints suffered most under the most virtuous of the emperors--Marcus\nAurelius [Mar-cus Au-re-li-us], who allowed the judges to put many of\nthe saints accused of crime to torture. Among those of note who fell in\nthis persecution were Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna (see note 1, end\nof section.) and Justin Martyr, the philosopher. The persecution was\nmost severe in Gaul (France), the churches of Lyons and Vienne being\nwell nigh utterly destroyed. The unparalleled cruelties practiced upon\nthe saints in those cities are related at length by Eusebius[17] in\nletters written by those who survived the persecution. (See note 2, end\nof section.)\n\n4. Edicts of Severus.--Early in the third century a law was\nenacted by the Emperor, Severus [Se-ver-us,] making it criminal\nfor any reason to abandon the religion of his fathers for that of\nthe Christians or the Jews. The object of the law was to stay the\npropagation of Christianity which was spreading abroad on every hand;\nand while it was not intended to increase the hardships of those\nalready Christians, it nevertheless encouraged the governors and judges\nof some of the provinces--especially those of Egypt and other parts of\nAfrica and Asia--to sorely afflict the saints. Many of the poor were\nput to death--thousands of them if we may credit Eusebius--and many\nof the rich intimidated into paying large sums of money to the judges\nto secure them from torture and death. Still this persecution was not\nlong continued, nor was it general throughout the empire, and after\nit subsided there was a long period of peace--pity it is that we have\nto say that it was more hurtful to the church than the periods of the\ncruelest persecution.\n\n{116} 5. Persecution Under Decius Trajan.--In the middle of\nthis century under Decius Trajan [De-ci-us Tra-jan] the severest and\nmost disastrous persecution of all befell the Christians. The emperor\nmust have been impelled both by his fear of the Christians and his\nattachment to the ancient religion of the Romans to publish his\nterrible edicts by which he hoped to destroy the Christian church. The\ngovernors of the provinces were ordered, on pain of forfeiting their\nown lives, either to exterminate all Christians utterly, or bring them\nback by pains and tortures to the religion of their fathers. Even\nGibbon, whose constant effort is to belittle the sufferings of the\nearly Christians, says of this persecution:\n\n    The bishops of the most considerable cities were removed by exile\n    or death; the vigilance of the magistrates prevented the clergy of\n    Rome during sixteen months from proceeding to a new election and\n    it was the opinion of the Christians that the emperor would more\n    patiently endure a competitor for the purple than a bishop in the\n    capital.[18]\n\n6. For more than two years the persecution raged with unmitigated\nfury; and great multitudes of Christians, in all the Roman provinces,\nwere butchered in the most inhuman manner.\n\n    This persecution, [writes Dr. Mosheim], was more cruel and\n    terrific than any which preceded it; and immense numbers,\n    dismayed, not so much by the fear of death as by the dread of\n    the long continued tortures by which the magistrates endeavored\n    to overcome the constancy of the Christians, professed to\n    renounce Christ, and procured for themselves safety, either by\n    sacrificing--i. e., offering incense before the idols--or by\n    certificates purchased with money.[19] (See note 3, end of section.)\n\n7. The immediate successors of Decius continued this persecution,\nwhich with a pestilential disease which prevailed in many of the Roman\nprovinces, greatly increased the hardships {117} of the saints; but the\nlatter part of the century passed away in peace.\n\n8. The Diocletian Persecution.--In the commencement of the fourth\ncentury a peculiar state of affairs existed in the Roman empire. In 284\nA. D., Diocletian [Di-o-kle-shan], a native of Dalmatia [Dal-ma-shi-a],\nwhose parents were slaves, was proclaimed emperor. The year following,\nfeeling that the extent of the empire was too vast to be managed by\na single mind, he chose a colleague, one Maximian [Max-im-i-an], an\nunlettered soldier, with whom he shared the authority of emperor and\nthe title of \"Augustus.\" Soon afterwards they each chose a colleague\nwith whom they shared their authority. These were Constantinus\n[Con-stan-ti-nus] Chlorus [Klo-rus] and Galerius [Ga-le-ri-us]. On\ntheir ascension to this honor they each took the title of \"Caesar,\" and\nso matters stood at the opening of the fourth century.\n\n9. The church had peace at the opening of this century, and\nat first there were no indications that it would be broken. But\nearly within that period Diocletian was persuaded to undertake the\nsuppression of the Christian religion. This he attempted by demanding\nthat the Christians give up their sacred books; if they refused they\nwere put to death. The constancy of all the Christians, no, not even\nthat of all their bishops and clergy, was equal to this trial, and many\nvoluntarily surrendered the sacred writings in their possession, to\nsave themselves from punishment and death.\n\n10. The royal palace at Nicomedia being twice set on fire,\nsoon after the first edict of Diocletian was published, the crime\nwas charged to the Christians, and led to the issuance of a second\nedict which caused many Christians to suffer the penalties inflicted\non incendiaries--torture and death. Following this came rebellion\nagainst Roman authority in Nicomedia and Syria. This too was charged\nto the intrigue of Christians (see notes 4 and 5, end of section), and\nwas made a pretext for {118} throwing all bishops and ministers into\nprison. A third edict authorized the employment of torture to compel\nthem to offer sacrifices to the gods of the heathen. It was hoped by\nDiocletian that if these leaders of the church could be forced into\nacts of apostasy the people would follow. A great multitude, therefore,\nof excellent men in all parts of Christendom--excepting Gaul--were put\nto death, and others condemned to labor in the mines.\n\n11. But Diocletian was disappointed in the effects of these\nassaults on the leaders of the church. The members thereof remained\nobdurate in their adherence to the Christian faith; whereupon he issued\na fourth edict, directing the magistrates to compel all Christians to\noffer sacrifice to the gods and to use tortures for that purpose. As\nthe governors yielded strict obedience to these orders, the Christian\nchurch was reduced to the last extremity.[20]\n\n    12. With the exception of Gaul, [says Schlegel], streams\n    of Christian blood flowed in the provinces of the Roman empire.\n    Everywhere the Christian temples lay in ruins, and assemblies\n    for worship were all suspended. The major part had forsaken the\n    provinces and taken refuge among the barbarians. Such as were\n    unable or unwilling to do this, kept themselves concealed, and were\n    afraid for their lives if they appeared in public. The ministers\n    of Christ were either slain, or mutilated and sent to the mines,\n    or banished from the country. The avaricious magistrates had\n    seized upon nearly all their church property and their private\n    possessions. Many, through dread of undergoing torture, had made\n    away with their own lives and many apostatized from the faith; and\n    what remained of the Christian community consisted of weak, poor,\n    and timorous persons. [21]\n\nTruly it would appear from this that the beast unto whom was given\npower \"to make war with the saints and overcome them\" [22] had at last\ntriumphed.\n\n{119} 13. End of Pagan Persecution.--This, however, was to be\nthe last great persecution of the Christians by the heathens. In\n305 Diocletian, to the surprise of his own and all succeeding ages,\nresigned the empire and compelled his associate, Maximian, to do the\nsame. This left the empire in the hands of the two Caesars, who became\nthe emperors. Like their predecessors they chose colleagues; but\nConstantius Chlorus, dying at York, in Britain, his son, Constantine\n[Kon-stan-tin], afterwards called the Great, was proclaimed emperor by\nthe army. The associate of his father, Galerius, and the two Caesars\nrefused to ratify the election, and civil war ensued which lasted for\neighteen years. Finally, however, Constantine prevailed over all his\nrivals and became sole emperor, A. D., 323. Being, like his father,\nfavorably disposed towards Christianity, his accession to the throne\nbrought universal peace to the church.\n\n14. The Luminous Cross Seen by Constantine.--It was during\nthe above-mentioned civil war, while marching against the forces\nof Maxentius [Max-en-ti-us], one of the rebellious Caesars, that\nConstantine and his army are said to have seen near midday, in the\nheavens, a luminous cross bearing this inscription in Greek: \"By This\nConquer.\" The same night Christ appeared to him in a dream accompanied\nwith the same sign and instructed him to make a standard bearing the\ncross as a protection against his enemies. The circumstance is related\nat great length in the life of Constantine by Eusebius, on whose\nsole authority the story rests. It is regarded as suspicious that he\nmakes no reference to the matter in Ecclesiastical History, written\nonly twelve years after the event. (See note 7, end of section.)\nThe story is altogether rejected by some writers as the cunning\ninvention of interested priests seeking to make the cross an object of\nveneration; and even Christian writers of high standing--among them\nMosheim--consider the story to be doubtful.\n\n15. Constantine and his Friendliness to Christianity.--With\n{120} the accession of Constantine to the imperial throne, as before\nremarked, the peace of the church was assured. His father had favored\nthe Christians, and in the cruel persecution under Diocletian, he kept\nthe provinces of Gaul free from the effusion of Christian blood; and\nhis son seems to have fallen heir to his father's friendliness for the\nChristian faith.\n\n16. It is difficult to determine the motives of Constantine for\nfavoring the Christian cause and resolving upon the destruction of the\npagan religion. Whether it was the appearance of the miraculous cross\nin the heavens, as some aver, the influence of Helena, his mother,[23]\nas Theodoret claims, or through the arguments of an Egyptian priest\nwho promised him absolution for the crime of murder if he would accept\nChristianity.[24] But let the motive be what it may, benevolence,\npolicy, conviction or remorse, coupled with a hope of forgiveness,\nConstantine from the time of his accession to the throne became\nthe avowed protector of the Christian church; and at length by his\npowerful influence made Christianity the reigning religion of the Roman\nempire.[25] The exiles were recalled; those condemned to labor in the\nmines were released; those who had been robbed of their property were\nreinstated in their possessions, and the demolished Christian temples\nwere ordered to be rebuilt and enlarged. The church militant after\nthe emperor's edicts of toleration became the church tranquil, so far\nas external opposition was concerned. Her ministers were welcomed to\nthe court of the emperor, admitted to the imperial table, and even\naccompanied the monarch in his expeditions. Wealth, honor and imperial\npatronage were bestowed almost without measure on the Christian church.\nFrom the position of a despised, persecuted religion, Christianity\nwas suddenly exalted to {121} the very throne of the Roman world. Yet\nthese things which are usually accounted among the good fortunes of\nthe church, were, as we shall yet see, disastrous to the purity of the\nChristian religion.\n\n17. Progress of the Church Under the Patronage of\nConstantine.--The court of Constantine was converted, of course;\nbut it is to be feared that it was the hope of wealth and honor, the\nexample of the emperor, his exhortations, his irresistible smile,\nrather than the truths of Christianity which wrought a change in the\nhearts of the obsequious crowd that filled the palace. A number of\ncities manifested a forward zeal in a voluntary destruction of their\ntemples and idols, but it is more than likely that the municipal\ndistinctions and popular donations which were held out as a reward\nfor such conduct, rather than belief in the Christian faith are what\ninspired the iconoclasts. Twelve thousand men and a proportionate\nnumber of women and children were baptized in a single year in Rome;\nbut how far did the twenty pieces of gold and a white garment promised\nto each convert by the emperor influence the conversion of this\ngreat number? Nor was the influence of Constantine in respect to the\nChristian religion confined within the provinces of the empire. It\nextended to the barbarous peoples outside; who, while they had held\nin disdain a despised and proscribed sect, soon learned to esteem a\nreligion which had been so lately embraced by the greatest monarch, and\nthe most civilized nation of the globe.[26]\n\n18. The Character of Constantine.--It is as difficult to come to\na right conclusion as to the real character of Constantine as it is to\ndecide the motives which led him to accept the Christian religion; for\nin the former as in the latter case the authorities are conflicting.\nThe Christians who were favored by his actions extol him for his\nvirtues; while the pagans who were despoiled by him, execrate him for\nhis crimes. It is {122} certain, however, that he put to death his own\nson Crispus, and his wife Fausta, on a suspicion that was at least\nprecarious. He cut off his brother-in-law Licinius, and his offending\nson, contrary to his plighted word; and, according to Schlegel and\nGibbon, he was much addicted to pride and voluptuousness:\n\n    He pursued the great objects of his ambition through the dark and\n    bloody paths of war and policy, and after the victory, abandoned\n    himself without moderation to the abuse of his good fortune. As\n    he advanced in years he seems to have declined in the practice of\n    virtue, blighting in his old age, when a convert to the Christian\n    faith, and famed as the protector of the Christian church, the fair\n    promises he gave in his youth, and while a pagan, of being a truly\n    virtuous prince. It is not likely that the patronage of such an\n    emperor would contribute to the real progress of religion or assist\n    in the establishment of the church of Christ.\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. The Martyrdom of Polycarp.--Presently the instruments prepared\nfor the funeral pile were applied to him. As they were on the point of\nsecuring him with spikes, he said: \"Let me be thus, for he that gives\nme strength to bear the fire, will also give me power, without being\nsecured by you with these spikes, to remain unmoved on the pile.\" They\ntherefore did not nail him, but merely bound him to the stake. But he,\nclosing his hands behind him, and bound to the stake as a noble victim\nselected from the great flock an acceptable sacrifice to Almighty\nGod, said: \"Father of thy well-beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ,\nthrough whom we have received the knowledge of thee, the God of angels\nand power and all creation, and of all the family of the righteous,\nthat live before thee, I bless thee that thou hast thought me worthy of\nthe present day and hour to have a share in the number of the martyrs\nand in the cup of Christ, unto the resurrection of eternal life, both\nof the soul and body, in the incorruptible felicity of the Holy Spirit.\nAmong whom may I be received in thy sight this day as a rich and\nacceptable sacrifice, as thou the faithful and true God hast prepared,\nhast revealed and fulfilled. Wherefore on this account, and for all\nthings I praise thee, I bless thee; I glorify thee through the eternal\nHigh Priest, Jesus Christ, thy well beloved Son. {123} Through whom\nbe glory to thee with Him in the Holy Ghost, both now and forever.\nAmen.\" After he had repeated Amen, and had finished his prayer, the\nexecutioners kindled the fire.--Eusebius.\n\n2. A Second Century Persecution.--Would the reader know what a\npersecution in those days was, I would refer him to a circular letter\nwritten by the church at Smyrna soon after the death of Polycarp, who\nit will be remembered had lived with St. John; and which letter is\nentitled a relation of that Bishop's martyrdom. \"The sufferings,\" say\nthey, \"of all the other martyrs were blessed and generous which they\nunderwent according to the will of God. For so it becomes us, who are\nmore religious than others, to ascribe the power and ordering of all\nthings unto him. And indeed who can choose but admire the greatness\nof their minds, and that admirable patience and love of their Master,\nwhich then appeared in them? Who when they were so flayed with\nwhipping, that the frame and structure of their bodies were laid open\nto their very inward veins and arteries, nevertheless endured it. In\nlike manner, those who were condemned to the beasts and kept a long\ntime in prison, underwent many cruel torments, being forced to lie\nupon sharp spikes laid under their bodies, and tormented with divers\nother sorts of punishments; that so, if it were possible, the tyrants\nby the length of their sufferings might have brought them to deny\nChrist.\"--Paley.\n\n3. The Persecution Under Decius Trajan.--This persecution was\nmore terrible than any preceding one, because it extended over the\nwhole empire, and because its object was to worry the Christians into\napostasy by extreme and persevering torture.--The certificated or\nlibellatici, are supposed to be such as purchased certificates from the\ncorrupt magistrates, in which it was declared that they were pagans and\nhad complied with the demands of the law, when neither of these was\nfact. To purchase such a certificate was not only to be partaker in the\nfraudulent transaction, but it was to prevaricate before the public in\nregard to Christianity, and was inconsistent with that open confession\nof Christ before men, which He Himself requires.--Murdock. (Note in\nMosheim, vol. I., cent. iii., p. 1, ch. ii.)\n\n4. The Insurrection of Syria and Nicomedia.--Some degree of\nprobability could be attached to the charge against the Christians of\ncausing the insurrection from the fact that their inconsiderate zeal\nsometimes led them to deeds which had an aspect of rebellion. At the\ncommencement of this persecution, for example, a very respectable\nChristian tore down the imperial edict against the Christians which was\nset up in a public place.--Schlegel.\n\n5. Unwise Zeal of the Christians.--Several examples have been\npreserved of a zeal impatient of those restraints which the emperors\nhad provided for the security of the church. The Christians sometimes\nsupplied by their voluntary declaration the want of an accuser, rudely\n{124} disturbed the public service of paganism, and rushing in crowds\nround the tribunal of the magistrates, called upon them to pronounce\nand to inflict the sentence of the law. The behavior of the Christians\nwas too remarkable to escape the notice of the ancient philosophers;\nbut they seemed to have considered it with much less admiration than\nastonishment. Incapable of conceiving the motives which sometimes\ntransported the fortitude of believers beyond the bounds of prudence\nor reason, they treated such an eagerness to die as the strange\nresult of obstinate despair, of stupid insensibility or of suspicious\nfrenzy.--Gibbon.\n\n6. Spirit of the Christian Martyrs.--The spirit of the Christian\nmartyrs, at least of the first three centuries, may be learned from\nthe epistle of Ignatius of Antioch, who, early in the second century\nwas taken from Syria to Rome, where he suffered martyrdom by being\nthrown to the wild beasts. On his journey to Rome, under sentence of\ndeath, he wrote an epistle to the Roman saints from which the following\npassage is taken: \"I write to the churches and I declare to all, that\nwillingly I die for God, if it be that you hinder me not. I beg of you,\ndo not become to me an unseasonable love. Let me be of the beasts, by\nwhose means I am enabled to obtain God. I am God's wheat, and by the\nteeth of the beasts am I ground, that I may be found God's pure bread.\nRather entreat kindly the beasts that they may be a grave for me and\nmay leave nothing of my body; that not even when I am fallen asleep, I\nmay be a burden upon any man. Then I shall be in truth a disciple of\nJesus Christ, when the world seeth not even my body. Supplicate our\nLord for me, that by these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to\nGod. I am not commanding you like Peter and Paul; they were apostles,\nI am a condemned convict; they were free, I am hitherto a slave. But\nif I suffer I am a free man of Jesus Christ, and I shall rise from\nthe dead, in him a free man. And now since I am in bonds, I learn to\ndesire nothing. From Syria to Rome I am cast among beasts by sea and\nby land, by night and by day; since I am bound between ten leopards,\nwho get worse when I do good to them. But by their ill-treatment I am\nfurthered in my apprenticeship; still by that I am not justified. May\nI have to rejoice of the beasts prepared for me! and I pray that they\nmay be found ready for me, and I will kindly entreat them quickly to\ndevour me, and not as they have done to some, being afraid of them, to\nkeep from touching me. And should they not be willing, I will force\nthem.\"--Ignatius' Epistle to the Romans.\n\n7. Constantine's Luminous Cross.--Now if this narrative [by\nEusebius] is all true, and if two connected miracles were actually\nwrought as here stated, how happens it that no writer of that age,\nexcept Eusebius, says one word about the luminous cross in the\nheavens? How came it that Eusebius himself said nothing about it in\nhis Ecclesiastical {125} History, which was written twelve years\nafter the event, and about the same length of time before his life of\nConstantine? Why does he rely solely on the testimony of the emperor\nand not even intimate that he even heard of it from others; whereas,\nif true, many thousands must have been eye-witnesses of the fact. What\nmean his suggestions, that some may question the truth of the story;\nand his caution not to state anything as a matter of public notoriety,\nbut to confine himself simply to the emperor's private representation\nto himself. * * * But how came the whole story of the luminous cross to\nbe unknown to the Christian world, for more than twenty-five years, and\nthen to transpire only through a private conversation between Eusebius\nand Constantine?--Murdock.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. From what source did the persecution of the church come during the\n2nd century?\n\n2. What charge did pagan priests bring against the Christians?\n\n3. What in the estimation of the ignorant pagans gave the color of\ntruth to their charge?\n\n4. To what circumstance were the calamities which befell the empire\nusually attributed?\n\n5. What strange fact meets us in connection with the persecution of the\n2nd century?\n\n6. What two noted martyrs were put to death in the reign of Marcus\nAurelius?\n\n7. Describe the martyrdom of Polycarp.\n\n8. What was the nature of some of the tortures inflicted on the\nChristians? (Note 2).\n\n9. What was the nature and purpose of the edicts of Severus?\n\n10. What was the effect of this persecution and the period of peace\nwhich followed it?\n\n11. What can you say of the persecution under Trajan?\n\n12. What does Gibbon say of it?\n\n13. How long did it continue?\n\n14. What means of avoiding the severe tortures were offered the\nChristians?\n\n15. What was the effect of this persecution?\n\n16. What other circumstance added to the afflictions of the Christians?\n\n17. What changes in respect to the Roman government took place early in\nthe 4th century?\n\n18. What method did Diocletian adopt for the suppression of the\nChristian religion?\n\n{126} 19. What special crimes were charged to the Christians in the\nreign of Diocletian?\n\n20. What can you say of the zeal of the Christians? (Note 4 and 5).\n\n21. What effect did these persecutions have on the church?\n\n22. What event put a stop to the pagan persecutions?\n\n23. Relate the circumstances which led to Constantine becoming emperor\nof Rome.\n\n24. What effect did his accession to the throne have upon the Christian\nchurch?\n\n25. By what circumstance is Constantine said to have been converted to\nthe Christian religion?\n\n26. What evidences exist against the probability of this story?\n\n27. What good service did the father of Constantine do the Christians\nin the Diocletian persecution?\n\n28. What are the several motives assigned for Constantine's\nfriendliness to the Christian church?\n\n29. What can you say of the emperor's treatment of the Christians?\n\n30. What considerations very likely influenced converts when\nConstantine extended his patronage to the church?\n\n31. What was the character of Constantine?\n\n{127}\n\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\n1. The Accusations of the Pagans.--The simplicity of the\nChristian religion was made a reproach to the church of Christ by\nthe pagan priests. The saints were accused of atheism, an accusation\nwhich found support in the fact that the primitive church had no\ntemples, no incense, no sacrifice, no incantations, pomp or ceremony\nin its worship. \"The Christians have no temples, therefore they have\nno gods,\" was an argument sufficiently convincing to the heathen. It\nwas but natural, perhaps, that the Christians should seek to cast off\nthis reproach; but the desire to do so led to the introduction of many\nceremonies quite at variance with the religion of Jesus Christ, and\neventually subverted it altogether.\n\n2. Outward Ordinances of the Christian Religion.--The outward\nordinances of the gospel consisted of baptism, the laying on of hands\nfor the imparting of the Holy Ghost, and the Lord's Supper. The laying\non of hands was also employed in ordaining men to the Priesthood and\nin administering to the sick. In the latter case it was accompanied by\nanointing with oil.\n\n3. While it does not appear that there was any specific law\ncommanding or regulating fasts, the ancient saints occasionally joined\nabstinence from their food with their prayers, and especially when\nengaged in great undertakings. But the frequency of his fasts and the\ntime of their continuance were left to each man's judgment.\n\n4. They met on the first day of the week--Sunday--for worship\n(see note 1, end of section) the meetings, during the first century,\nbeing held in most instances in private houses. The {128} ceremonies\nwere of the simplest character. They consisted of reading the\nscriptures, the exhortation of the president of the assembly--\"neither\neloquent nor long, but full of warmth and love;\" the testimony of such\nas felt moved upon by the Holy Ghost to bear testimony, exhort or\nprophesy; the singing of hymns; the administration of the Sacrament and\nprayers.[27] (See note 2, end of section.)\n\n5. Baptism.--Baptism was administered by immersing the candidate\nin water. The only pre-requisites were faith in Jesus Christ and\nrepentance. As soon as the candidate professed these he was admitted\ninto the church by baptism.[28] In a short time, however, the\nsimplicity of this ordinance was corrupted and burdened with useless\nceremonies. In the second century the newly baptized converts, since\nby baptism they had been born again, were taught to exhibit in their\nconduct the innocence of little infants. Milk and honey, the common\nfood of infants, were administered to them, after their baptism, to\nremind them of their infancy in the church. Moreover, since by baptism\nthey were released from being servants of the devil, and became God's\nfree men, certain forms borrowed from the Roman ceremony of manumission\nof slaves were employed in baptism. As by baptism also they were\nsupposed to be made God's soldiers, like newly enlisted soldiers in the\nRoman army, they were sworn to obey their commander, etc.\n\n6. Further Additions of Ceremonies to Baptism.--A century later\n(the third) further ceremonies were added. It was supposed that some\nevil spirit was resident in all vicious persons and impelled them\nto sin. Therefore, before entering the sacred font for baptism, an\nexorcist by a solemn, menacing formula declared them free from the\nbondage of Satan, and hailed them servants of Christ.[29] After baptism\nthe new converts {129} returned home, \"decorated with a crown and a\nwhite robe, the first being indicative of their victory over the world\nand their lusts, the latter of their acquired innocence.\" [30]\n\n7. We have already noted the fact that baptism was administered\nin the days of the apostles as soon as profession of faith and\nrepentance were declared, but in the second and third century baptism\nwas only administered twice a year, and then only to such candidates as\nhad gone through a long preparation and trial.[31] The times chosen for\nthe administration of the ordinance were on the vigils of Easter and\nWhitsuntide;[32] and in the fourth century it had become the custom to\naccompany the ceremony with lighted wax candles, to put salt--an emblem\nof purity and wisdom--in the mouth of the baptized, and everywhere a\ndouble anointing was administered to the candidates, the one before,\nthe other after, baptism.[33]\n\n8. The Form of Baptism Changed.--It must have been early in the\nthird century that the form of baptism began to be changed. Up to this\ntime it had been performed only by immersion of the whole body. But\nin the first half of the third century, Cyprian, bishop of Carthage,\nduring a controversy respecting the re-baptism of those who in times\nof persecution had denied the faith, decided that those whose weak\nstate of health did not permit them to be immersed, were sufficiently\nbaptized by being sprinkled.[34] The first case of this kind of\n{130} baptism is related by Eusebius. The person to whom it was so\nadministered was Novatus [No-va-tus], a desperate heretic, who created\na schism in the church and became the founder of a sect. He was among\nthe number of so-called Christians who put off baptism as long as he\ndared; in order to enjoy a life of sin and then through baptism, just\nbefore death, obtain forgiveness for them--a custom very prevalent in\nthose times. Novatus being attacked with an obstinate disease, and\nsupposed to be at the point of death, was baptized by having water\nsprinkled upon him as he lay in bed; \"if indeed,\" says Eusebius, \"it be\nproper to say one like him did receive baptism.\" [35]\n\n9. This innovation continued to spread until now the general rule\namong so-called Christian sects is to baptize by sprinkling or pouring.\nFor this change there is no warrant of revelation. It destroys the\nsymbol there is in baptism as taught by Messiah and his apostles--that\nof a burial and resurrection--of a death and a birth--a death unto sin,\na birth unto sin, a birth unto righteousness. (See notes 3 and 4, end\nof section.) It is one of those innovations which changed an ordinance\nof the everlasting covenant.\n\n10. Baptism Misapplied.--About the time that the form of\nadministering baptism was changed it began to be misapplied, that\nis, it was administered to infants. Just when this custom came into\nvogue may not be determined, but clearly it has no warrant for its\nexistence either in the doctrines or practice of the apostles or any\nNew Testament writer. (See note 5, end of section.) No truth is more\nplainly taught by the apostles than that baptism is for the remission\nof sins, and must be preceded by faith and repentance; and as infants\nare incapable of sin, or of exercising faith, or of repenting,\nevidently they are not fit subjects for baptism.\n\n11. Still it became the custom in the latter part of the second\ncentury or early in the third to baptize infants. In the year 253 A.\nD., a council of sixty bishops, in Africa--at which {131} Cyprian,\nbishop of Carthage, presided, took under consideration the question\nwhether infants should be baptized within two or three days after\nbirth, or whether it should be deferred until the eighth day, as was\nthe custom of the Jews in respect to circumcision. The council decided\nthat they should be baptized at once, that is within a day or two after\nbirth.[36] It will be observed that the question was not as to whether\ninfants should be baptized or not, but when they should be baptized,\nwithin a day or two after birth or not until they were eight days old.\nThe matter was treated in the council as if infant baptism was a custom\nof long standing. This proves, not that infant baptism is a correct\ndoctrine, or that it was derived from the teachings and examples of\nthe apostles--as some aver[37]--but that in a century or so after the\nintroduction of the gospel, men began to pervert it by changing and\nmisapplying its ordinances. The false doctrine of infant baptism is\nnow practiced by nearly all so-called Christian churches, Catholic and\nProtestant.\n\n12. The Sacrament.--Much as the simple rite of baptism was\nburdened with useless ceremonies, changed in its form and misapplied,\nit was not more distorted than was the sacrament of the Lord's supper.\nThe nature of the sacrament--usually called the eucharist--and the\npurposes for which it was instituted are so plain that he who runs may\nread.\n\n13. From Paul's description of the ordinance, it is clear that\nthe broken bread was an emblem of Messiah's broken body; the wine an\nemblem of his blood, shed for sinful man; and his disciples were to\neat the one and drink the other in remembrance of him until he should\nreturn; and by this ceremony show forth the Lord's death.[38]\n\n{132} 14. It was designed as a memorial of Messiah's great\natonement for mankind, a token and witness unto the Father that the Son\nwas always remembered. It was to be a sign that those partaking of it\nwere willing to take upon them the name of Christ, to always remember\nhim, and keep his commandments. In consideration of these things being\nobserved, the saints were always to have the Spirit of the Lord to be\nwith them.[39] In this spirit and without great ceremony (see note 7,\nend of section) the sacrament was administered for some time.\n\n15. Administration of the Sacrament Corrupted.--In the third\ncentury there were longer prayers and more ceremony connected with\nthe administration of the sacrament than in the century preceding.\nDisputations arose as to the proper time to administer it. Some\nconsidered the morning, others the afternoon, and some the evening\nthe most suitable time. All were not agreed either as to how often\nthe ordinance should be celebrated. Gold and silver vessels were\nused, and neither those doing penance, nor those unbaptized, though\nbelievers, were {133} permitted to be present at the celebration of\nthe ordinance; \"which practice, it is well known, was derived from the\npagan mysteries.\" [40] Very much of mystery began to be associated with\nit even at an early date. The bread and the wine through the prayer\nof consecration were considered to undergo a mystic change by which\nthey were converted into and became the very body and the very blood\nof Jesus Christ; so that they were no longer regarded as emblems of\nMessiah's body and blood, but the body and blood itself.[41] This is\nthe doctrine of transubstantiation.\n\n16. The dogma established, it was but a short step to the\n\"elevation of the host;\" that is, the elevation of the bread and\nwine before they were distributed, so that they might be viewed with\nreverence by the people. Thus came the adoration of the symbols.\n\n17. Institution of the Mass.--Hence came also the mass, or the\nidea of a sacrifice being connected with the celebration {134} of the\neucharist. It was held that as Jesus was truly present in the bread and\nwine he could be offered up, and was truly offered up as an oblation to\nhis Eternal Father. The death of the victim was not supposed to occur\nin reality but mystically, in such a way, however, as to constitute a\ntrue sacrifice, commemorative of that of the cross, and not different\nfrom it in essence. The same victim was present, and offered up by\nChrist through his minister, the priest. The sacrifice at the cross was\noffered with real suffering; true shedding of blood, and real death of\nthe victim; in the mass it was taught there was a mystical shedding of\nblood and a mystical death of the same victim.\n\n18. Into such absurdities was the simple sacrament of the Lord's\nsupper distorted! When attended with all the pomp and ceremony of\nsplendid altars, lighted tapers, processions, elevations and chantings:\noffered up by priests and bishops clad in splendid vestments and in\nthe midst of clouds of incense, accompanied by mystic movements and\ngenuflections of bishops and priests, the church could congratulate\nitself on having removed the reproach at the first fastened upon the\nChristians for not having altars and sacrifice. The mass took away the\nreproach; and the new converts to Christianity were accustomed to see\nthe same rites and ceremonies employed in this mystical sacrifice of\nthe Son of God as they had seen employed in offering up of sacrifice to\ntheir pagan deities. (See notes 8 and 9, end of section.)\n\n19. Suppression of Half the Sacrament.--In time the idea became\nprevalent that as the body and blood of Messiah were equally and\nentirely present under each \"species\"--that is, equally and entirely\npresent in the bread and in the wine--it was equally and entirely\ngiven to the faithful whichever they received. This idea, of course,\nrendered it unnecessary to partake of both bread and wine--hence\nthe practice of communion in one kind. That is, the sacrament was\nadministered by giving {135} bread alone to the communicant. To remark\nthat this was changing the ordinance of the sacrament as instituted\nby Messiah--suppressing half of it in fact--can scarcely be necessary\nsince it is so well known that Jesus administered both bread and wine\nwhen instituting the sacred ordinance.[42]\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Reasons Why the Ancient Saints Worshiped on Sunday.--But\nSunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it\nis the first day on which God, when he changed the darkness and matter,\nmade the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from\nthe dead; for the day before that of Saturn he was crucified, and on\nthe day after it, which is Sunday, he appeared to his apostles and\ndisciples and taught them these things which we have given to you also\nfor your consideration.--Justin Martyr.\n\n2. Description of Christian Public Worship in the Second\nCentury.--On the day which is called Sunday there is an assembly in\nthe same of all who live in cities or in country districts; and the\nrecords of the apostles, or the writings of the prophets, are read as\nlong as we have time. Then the reader concludes, and the president\nverbally instructs and exhorts us to the imitation of these excellent\nthings. Then we all rise together and offer up our prayers. And, as I\nsaid before, when we have concluded our prayer, bread is brought, and\nwine and water, and the president in like manner offers up prayers and\nthanksgivings with all his strength, and the people give their assent\nby saying Amen; and there is a distribution and a partaking by every\none of the eucharistic elements [the sacrament,] and to those who are\nnot present they are sent by the hands of the deacons. And such as are\nin prosperous circumstances, and wish to do so, give what they will,\neach according to his choice; and what is collected is placed in the\nhands of the president, who assists the orphans and widows, and such as\nthrough sickness or any other cause are in want; and to those who are\nin bonds, and to strangers from afar, and, in a word, to all who are in\nneed, he is a protector.--Justin Martyr.\n\n3. Baptism a Symbol of Burial and Resurrection.--In writing\nto the saints of Rome, Paul says: \"Know ye not, that so many of us\nas were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?\nTherefore {136} we are _buried_ with him by baptism into death; that\nlike as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,\neven so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been\n_planted_ together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in\nthe likeness of his resurrection.\" (Rom. vi:3-5.) In writing to the\nsaints of Colosse, the same apostle reminds them that they had been\n\"_Buried_ with him [Christ] in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with\nhim through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from\nthe dead.\" (Col. ii: 12.)\n\nIn these passages the terms \"buried\" and \"planted\" are in plain\nallusion to the manner in which the saints had received the ordinance\nof baptism, which could not have been by sprinkling or pouring, as\nthere is no burial or planting in the likeness of Christ's death, or\nbeing raised in likeness of his resurrection in that; but in immersion\nthere is.--\"The Gospel--Roberts,\" page 173.\n\n4. The Manner of Baptism Instituted Among the Nephites.--\"Verily\nI say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words,\nand desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize\nthem: Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name\nshall ye baptize them. And now behold, these are the words which ye\nshall say, calling them by name, saying, Having authority given me\nof Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the\nSon, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then shall ye immerse them in\nthe water and come forth again out of the water. And after this manner\nshall ye baptize in my name.\"--Jesus to the Nephites.\n\n5. Infant Baptism not Ordained of Christ or the Apostles.--As\nfaith and baptism are constantly so closely connected together in the\nNew Testament, an opinion was likely to arise that where there could\nbe no faith there could be no baptism. It is certain that Christ did\nnot ordain infant baptism. * * We cannot prove that the apostles\nordained infant baptism; from those places where the baptism of a whole\nfamily is mentioned (Acts xvi:33; I Cor. i: 16), we can draw no such\nconclusions, because the inquiry is still to be made whether there\nwere any children in those families of such an age that they were not\ncapable of any intelligent reception of Christianity; for this is the\nonly point on which the case turns.--Neander \"Church History,\" vol. I.,\npage 360.\n\n6. Infant Baptism Forbidden Among the Nephites.--The word of\nthe Lord came to me by the power of the Holy Ghost, saying: * * *\nBehold, I came into the world not to call the righteous, but sinners\nunto repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are\nsick; wherefore little children are whole for they are incapable of\ncommitting sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me,\nthat {137} it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is\ndone away in me. * * * Wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is\nsolemn mockery before God that ye should baptize little children. * *\n* Awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child because\nof baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism. Wo\nbe unto him that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner,\nfor they shall perish, except they repent.--Mormon to Moroni (Book of\nMoroni, chapter viii.)\n\n7. Manner of Administering the Sacrament--Second Century.--When\nthe Christians celebrated the Lord's supper which they were accustomed\nto do chiefly on Sundays, they consecrated a part of the bread and\nwine of the oblations, by certain prayers pronounced by the president,\nthe bishop of the congregation. The wine was mixed with water, and the\nbread was divided into small pieces. Portions of the consecrated bread\nand wine were commonly sent to the absent and the sick, in testimony\nof fraternal affection towards them. There is much evidence that this\nmost holy rite was regarded as very necessary to the attainment of\nsalvation.--Mosheim.\n\n8. Pagan Rites Introduced into the Christian Worship--Fourth\nCentury.--The Christian bishops introduced, with but slight\nalterations, into the Christian worship, those rites and institutions\nby which formerly the Greeks and Romans, and other nations had\nmanifested their piety and reverence towards their imaginary deities;\nsupposing that the people would more readily embrace Christianity, if\nthey saw that the rites handed down to them from their fathers still\nexisted unchanged among the Christians, and perceived that Christ and\nthe martyrs were worshiped in the same manner as formerly their gods\nwere. There was, of course, little difference in these times, between\nthe public worship of the Christians and that of the Greeks and Romans.\nIn both alike there were splendid robes, mitres, tiaras, wax tapers,\ncrosiers, processions, illustrations, images, golden and silver vases,\nand numberless other things.--Mosheim.\n\n9. Superstitious Observances Connected with the Eucharist--Eighth\nCentury.--As evidence of the superstition which was associated with\nthe eucharist, note the following: \"If any one through negligence,\nshall destroy the eucharist, i. e. the sacrifice, let him do penance\none year. * * * If he lets it fall on the ground, carelessly, he must\nsing fifty Psalms. Whoever neglects to take care of the sacrifice, so\nthat worms get into it, or it lose its color or taste, must do penance\nthirty or twenty days; and the sacrifice must be burned in the fire.\nWhoever turns up the cup at the close of the solemnity of the mass must\ndo penance forty days. If a drop from the cup should fall on the altar,\nthe minister must suck up the drop and do penance three days; and the\nlinen cloth which the drop touched, must be washed three times, {138}\nover the cup, and the water in which it was washed be cast into the\nfire.\"--Decisions of Pope Gregory III. (Harduin's Concilia.)\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What reproach did the simplicity of the Christian religion lead to?\n\n2. What effect did the endeavor to get rid of that reproach have on the\nChristian religion?\n\n3. Enumerate the outward ordinances of the gospel.\n\n4. What can you say of Christian fasts?\n\n5. On what day did the Christians meet for worship?\n\n6. What reasons do the early church fathers give for holding public\nworship on that day? (Note 1).\n\n7. Describe the meetings of the early Christians. (Note 2.)\n\n8. How was baptism administered in the early church?\n\n9. What does baptism represent? (Note 3).\n\n10. Tell how the simplicity of this ordinance was changed.\n\n11. What additions were made to the ceremony of baptism in the third\ncentury?\n\n12. When was the form of baptism changed?\n\n13. Relate the first known case of baptism by sprinkling.\n\n14. In what way was the ordinance of baptism misapplied?\n\n15. Was infant baptism ordained of the apostles? (Note 5).\n\n16. About when was infant baptism introduced into the church?\n\n17. Does the antiquity of infant baptism prove it to be a correct\ndoctrine?\n\n18. What does it prove?\n\n19. What was said to the Nephites about infant baptism? (Note 6).\n\n20. For what was the sacrament of the Lord's supper instituted?\n\n21. Give Paul's description of the introduction of the sacrament.\n(Note).\n\n22. About what time was the manner of administering the sacrament\nchanged?\n\n23. What was the nature of those changes?\n\n24. What custom crept into the practice of the Christian church that\nwas forbidden by Jesus among the Nephites? (Note).\n\n25. What can you say of the antiquity of the doctrine of\ntransubstantiation?\n\n26. What is the mass?\n\n27. What reproach did the institution of the mass remove from the\nChristians?\n\n28. At what cost was the reproach removed?\n\n29. Who introduced pagan rites into Christian worship?\n\n30. Why was it done? (Note 8.)\n\n31. What reason is given for suppressing half the sacrament?\n\n{139}\n\n\n\nSECTION IV.\n\n1. Early Church Organization Not Perpetuated.--We have\nalready stated in Part I of this work that the church organization\nestablished by Messiah--consisting of apostles, prophets, seventies,\nbishops, etc.--was designed to be perpetual. It is a singular fact,\nhowever, that aside from filling up the vacancy in the quorum of\nthe twelve--occasioned by the fall of Judas Iscariot--there is no\naccount in any of the writings of the apostles or fathers of the first\ncenturies--on the eastern hemisphere[43]--of any attempt to perpetuate\nthe quorum of the twelve by filling up the vacancies occasioned by the\ndeath of the original apostles. The same may also be said of the quorum\nof the seventies.\n\n2. The reason for this will doubtless be found in the fact that\nin the very days of the apostles the great apostasy which was to end\neventually in the subversion of the Christian religion, had begun.\n(See note 2, end of section.) And since \"the mystery of iniquity\"\nhad already begun its work in the days of the apostles, and men were\nrapidly proving themselves unworthy of the church of Christ, the Lord\ndid not permit his servants to perpetuate these quorums of the higher\nPriesthood.\n\n3. Establishment of the Church by the Apostles.--Whenever in\ntheir travels the apostles converted any considerable number of\npersons, in a city or district, they organized them into a church, or,\nspeaking more precisely, into a branch of {140} the great universal\nchurch of Christ, and appointed either a bishop or an elder to preside\nover them. As long as the apostles lived they were regarded as the\npresiding authority of the universal church, and were looked to for\ncounsel and instruction in all difficult matters that arose concerning\ndoctrine or discipline. Their decisions were accepted as final, and\nwell might it be so, since these men were guided in their counsels by\nrevelation[44] as well as by the wisdom which their large experience in\ncompany with Jesus Christ had given them.\n\n4. But when the apostles died, and no one succeeded to their\nauthority, the branches of the church were left separate and\nindependent organizations, united, it is true, in faith and charity,\nbut the visible, general presidency recognized in the apostles and\ncheerfully submitted to by all sections of the church, ceased when\nthe apostles passed away, and each branch was left an independent\norganization of itself.[45] There is no evidence that there was such a\nthing as subordination among the churches when so left, or rank among\nthe bishops. Each church was a sort of independent commonwealth, of\nwhich the bishop was president and a vassal to no other bishop.[46]\n\n5. Manner of Electing Bishops.--The manner in which bishops\nwere first elected was for the apostles to nominate them, and then\nfor the whole church over which they were to preside to sustain them\nby their vote. After the apostles had passed away then \"other men of\nrepute\" made the nominations {141} and the people sustained them as at\nfirst.[47] The duties and powers of the bishops in the first and in\nthe greater part of the second century were limited to conducting the\npublic worship, administering the ordinances of the gospel, settling\ndifficulties which arose between brethren, attending in person the\nsick and the poor. They also were made the custodians and managers of\nthe public fund. In all these duties they were assisted by the elders\n[presbyters] and the deacons of the church. Yet neither the bishops\nnor the elders, nor both of them together, seem to have had power to\nordain or determine anything without the approbation and consent of\nthe members of the church. The principle of common consent was closely\nadhered to in the primitive church. (See note 3, end of section.)\n\n6. Equality Among Bishops Changed.--This equality of rank among\nthe bishops, together with the simple form of church government,\ndescribed above, was soon changed. The bishops who lived in cities\neither by their own labors or those of the elders associated with\nthem, raised up new churches in the adjacent villages and hamlets. The\nbishops of these rural districts being nominated and ordained by the\nbishops presiding in the city, very naturally, perhaps, felt themselves\nunder the protection and dependent upon the city bishops. This idea\ncontinued to grow until these \"bishops of the suburbs and the fields,\"\nwere looked upon as a distinct order of officers, possessing a dignity\nand authority above the elders, and yet subordinate {142} to the\nbishops of the cities, who soon came to be designated as archbishops.\n\n7. The Origin of Metropolitans.--Gradually and almost\nimperceptibly the church in its government began to follow the civil\ndivisions of the Roman empire. The bishops of the metropolis of a civil\nprovince, in time, came to be regarded as having a general supervision\nof all the churches in that province, over the archbishops and\nindirectly over the suburban bishops or suffragans, as they began to\nbe called, and finally, bishops merely. The bishops of these provinces\nwere soon designated as metropolitans.\n\n8. The Rise and Influence of Councils.--Concurrent with these\nchanges arose the custom, first derived from the Greeks, of holding\nprovincial councils. The bishops living in a single province met in\ncouncil to confer upon matters of common interest to the churches of\nthe province. These provincial councils met at stated times of the\nyear, usually in the spring and autumn. At the first the attending\nbishops looked upon themselves as merely the representatives of their\nrespective churches, without jurisdiction further than to discuss\nand come to agreement on matters of common concern. But gradually\nthey usurped the power to order by decree where at first they were\naccustomed to advise or entreat--so easy is it to change the language\nof exhortation to that of command! Nor was it long ere the decrees of\nthese provincial councils were forced upon the respective churches as\nlaws to be implicitly obeyed. There was some resistance to this at\nfirst from the lower orders of the clergy; but that resistance was\nquickly overcome by the activity and ambition of the bishops, who were\nonly too glad to escape from the restraints which the doctrine of\n\"common consent\"--a doctrine which made it necessary for the bishops\nto submit any matter of importance to their respective churches for\nthe approbation of the people--imposed upon them. (See note 4, end of\nsection.)\n\n{143} 9. Conduct of Lower Clergy.--As many changes occurred\namong the lower orders of the clergy as among the bishops. The elders\nand deacons became too proud to attend to the humble duties of their\noffices and hence a number of other officers were added to the church,\nwhile the elders and deacons spent much of their time in indolence and\npleasure.\n\n10. Corruption of Church Officials.--To the evils of\ncontention for power and place, which had its origin in arrogance\nand ambition--unbecoming those who profess to be followers and\nservants of Jesus Christ--must be added the vices of dissipation and\nvoluptuousness. Many bishops, in the third century, affected the state\nof princes, especially those who had charge of the more populous and\nwealthy congregations; for they sat on thrones, surrounded by their\nministers and other signs of their power, and dazzled the eyes and the\nminds of the populace with their splendid attire.[48]\n\n11. Church Government Modeled on the Plan of the Civil\nGovernment.--It was reserved for the fourth century to see the\nchurch government more completely modeled on the plan of the civil\ngovernment of the Roman empire, to witness more pride and arrogance\nin its rulers, and an increase of vices both in clergy and people.\nEarly in this century, it will be remembered, Constantine, the emperor\nof Rome, avowed his conversion to Christianity, and as might have\nbeen expected that fact produced great changes in the fortunes of the\nchurch. It not only put an end to its persecutions but loaded its\nbishops with new honors and enlarged powers.\n\n12. In saying that the church government was modeled upon the\nplan of the civil government we would not be understood as saying that\nthe first was a _fac simile_ of the second; there were some differences\nbetween them, but the civil divisions of the empire suggested the\necclesiastical divisions.\n\n{144} 13. Under Constantine the Roman empire was divided into\nfour prefectures, containing thirteen dioceses, embracing one hundred\nand sixteen provinces. Officers called praetorian prefects presided\nover the four prefectures--exarchs over the dioceses and governors\nover the provinces. The Bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Antioch and\nAlexandria having gained a pre-eminence over all other metropolitans\nwere made to correspond with the four prefectures by Constantine, and\nassumed, before the close of the century, the title of patriarchs.\nNext to the patriarchs stood the bishops, whose jurisdiction extended\nover several provinces, corresponding to the civil exarchs,[49] though\nthe bishops of this dignity did not equal in number the civil exarchs.\nNext came the metropolitan bishops, whose jurisdiction was limited\nto a single province. They corresponded to the civil governors of\nthe provinces, whose authority was limited in like manner. After the\nmetropolitans came the arch-bishops,[50] and then the bishops. Some of\nthe latter were exempt from the jurisdiction of both metropolitans and\narch-bishops, and hence were called independent bishops.\n\n14. Pre-Eminence of the Bishops of Rome.--The distinctions of\nrank among the bishops of the Christian church first arose largely\nthrough the opulence and civil importance of the respective cities\nand provinces over which they presided--the membership of the church\nand its wealth usually bearing a just proportion to the size and\ncivil importance of the city in {145} which it was located. It is not\nsurprisingg, therefore, that the metropolitans and patriarchs also\nstruggled for pre-eminence upon the same basis. That basis gave the\nbishop of Rome great advantage; for, as stated by Gibbon, \"the Roman\nchurch was the greatest, the most numerous, and, in regard to the west,\nthe most ancient of all the Christian establishments, many of which had\nreceived their religion from the pious labors of here missionaries.\"\nThe fact, too, that for so many ages Rome had been the capital of the\ngreat empire led men naturally to give pre-eminence to the church\nestablished there.\n\n15. Another thing which went far to establish the supremacy of\nthe bishop of Rome was the tradition that Peter, the chief or \"prince\"\nof the apostles, had founded that church; that he became its first\nbishop; that the bishops succeeding him succeeded to his apostleship\nand to whatever of pre-eminence he held over his fellow apostles; and\nthat pre-eminence, it is claimed, amounted to the right of presidency\nover the universal church.\n\n16. Objections to the Claims of the Bishop of Rome.--That Peter,\naided by Paul, did found the church at Rome there is little cause\nto doubt. It is also true that Peter was the chief or president of\nthe apostles; that to him had been given the keys of the kingdom of\nheaven.[51] But that he became the bishop of Rome, or that the bishops\nof Rome succeeded to the apostleship and to that power which made him\nthe president of the universal church of Christ, we cannot allow.\n\n17. Our first reason for saying that Peter was not bishop of\nRome is that the office of apostle and bishop are not identical. If\nPeter presided at all over the church at Rome he did so by virtue of\nhis apostleship, not by becoming its bishop; but as his apostleship\nwould give him the right to act in minor offices of the church--on the\nprinciple that the greater authority includes {146} the lesser--he may\nhave presided for a time over the church at Rome.\n\n18. Our second reason is that according to the very best\nauthority on the subject, one Linus and not Peter was the first bishop\nof Rome. Irenaeus writing in the second century, says:\n\n    The blessed apostles [Peter and Paul] then, upon founding\n    and erecting the church [at Rome], committed the office of\n    administering the church to Linus. Of this Linus, Paul speaks in\n    the epistle to Timothy. To him succeeded Anacletus [An-a-cle-tus],\n    and after him in the third place from the apostles, Clement\n    received the bishopric. [52]\n\nFrom this it plainly appears that Peter and Paul organized a church at\nRome, and as in other cities they appointed a bishop to preside over\nit. Peter no more became the bishop of Rome than he did of the church\nat Jerusalem, or Paul of Antioch, Ephesus, or Corinth.\n\n19. The bishop of Rome did not succeed to the apostleship of\nPeter, much less to the pre-eminence which he held among the apostles;\nand that for the very good reason that the office of bishop and that\nof apostle, as remarked above, are not identical. It would require an\napostle to succeed an apostle, and as there is no account of an apostle\nbeing ordained to succeed to Peter's office, we conclude he had no\nsuccessor. Here we might let the matter rest, but it will be proper\nto notice the arguments which are made by those who contend that the\nbishops of Rome are the true successors to the office and mission of\nthe Apostle Peter.\n\n20. Scripture Basis of the Claims of the Bishop of Rome to\nPre-Eminence.--On one occasion Jesus said to his disciples, \"Whom\nsay ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered, * * * Thou art the Christ,\nthe Son of the living God.\" To this Jesus said: \"Blessed art thou,\nSimon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but\nmy Father which {147} is in heaven. And I say unto thee, That thou art\nPeter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell\nshall not prevail against it.\" [53] He then gave to Peter the keys of\nthe kingdom of heaven--power to bind and loose on earth and in heaven.\nThe argument is that since Peter, some time before this, had been given\nthe name Cephas, which means a stone,[54] therefore when Jesus said,\n\"Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church,\" it is\nclaimed that he meant than on Peter he would build his church.[55]\n\n21. That this is a clear misconception of the scripture is apparent. If\nMessiah had meant to found the church on Peter, how unfortunate that he\ndid not say, Thou art Cephas, a stone, and upon _thee_ will I build my\nchurch! etc. But he did not. He first assured Peter that the knowledge\nhe had received that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God,\nwas received by revelation from God--\"And I say unto thee, That thou\nart Peter, and upon this rock [principle] will I build my church,\"\netc.; i.e., upon the principle of God revealing to men that Jesus was\nthe Christ[56]--on the principle of revelation.\n\n22. Another passage quoted in support of the theory that the\napostles had successors in the bishops of Rome is found in the\nfollowing: Jesus after his resurrection said to his apostles:\n\n    All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore\n    and teach all nations; * * * and lo I am with you always even unto\n    the end of the world. [57]\n\nThis is the argument--\n\n    The apostles themselves were only to live the ordinary term of\n    {148} man's life: therefore the commission of preaching and\n    ministering, together with the promise of divine assistance,\n    regards the successors of the apostles, no less than the apostles\n    themselves. This proves that there must have been an uninterrupted\n    series of successors of the apostles, in every age since their\n    time; that is to say, successors to their doctrine, to their\n    jurisdiction, to their orders, and to their mission. [58]\n\nAgainst this argument we put that of the late Apostle Orson Pratt:\n\n    We do not admit that the promise--\"Lo, I am with you always, even\n    unto the end of the world,\" had any reference to any persons\n    whatever only the eleven disciples mentioned. * * * * They were the\n    only persons whom he [Jesus] addressed and to whom he made this\n    great promise. \"But,\" says Dr. Milner, \"they were only to live\n    the ordinary term of man's life,\" and consequently he draws the\n    conclusion that the promise could not be fulfilled to them without\n    successors. According to this curious inference of the learned\n    bishop, the Lord must have forsaken the eleven disciples as soon\n    as they died; for if he admit that Jesus continued with them after\n    the period of the death of their mortal bodies, and that he will\n    continue with them even unto the end of the world, then what need\n    would there be for successors in order that the promise might be\n    fulfilled? Prove that Jesus has not been with the eleven apostles\n    from the time of their death until the present time, and that he\n    will not be with them even unto the end of the world, and after you\n    have proved this, you will prove that Jesus has falsified his word;\n    for to be with the successors of the apostles is not to be with\n    them. But whether the apostles have successors or not, Jesus will\n    always be with them, and will bring them with him when he shall\n    appear in his glory, and they shall sit upon thrones and judge the\n    house of Israel during the great Millennium, while Jesus will not\n    only be with them, but will reign with them even unto the end of\n    the world.[59]\n\n23. Those who believe that the church was founded on Peter;\n{149}that he became the bishop of Rome; that those who succeeded\nto that bishopric became the heir to his apostleship and right of\npresidency over the universal church, are as weak in their arguments as\nthey are wrong in their conceptions of the foundation of the church and\nthe right of succession in the priesthood.\n\n24. Primacy of the Bishops of Rome Allowed by the Fathers.--It\ncannot be denied that the early fathers of the Christian church\nconceded to the bishops of Rome a certain \"primacy of order and\nassociation;\" but they did not concede to them any such authority\nas the popes wielded from the fifth and sixth centuries onward. The\nassumption of autocratic powers was resisted in the third century\nby Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who contended for the equality and\nindependence of all bishops. (See note 5, end of section.)\n\n25. Opposition of the Bishops of Constantinople.--After Cyprian\nthe Roman pontiffs found their chief opponents in the bishops of\nConstantinople. That city was made the capital of the empire early in\nthe fourth century; and became a \"New Rome.\" The importance given to\nthe city by this act, and the lavish embellishments and increase of\npopulation which followed it, conferred great dignity on the patriarch\nappointed to preside there; and the council of Constantinople held A.\nD. 381, conferred upon him the second place among the great bishops of\nthe world--the bishop of Rome being first. The council of Chalcedon,\nheld in the next century [A. D. 451], decreed that the bishop of \"New\nRome\" ought to be equal in power and authority with the bishop of Rome,\nassigning as a reason that the cities where they resided were equal in\nrank and dignity.\n\n26. It would appear that second place ill-suited the ambitious\nprelates of \"New Rome,\" and in this century began that struggle for\nsupremacy between the bishops of the ancient and the new capital of the\nempire which ended finally in the division of the church. The strife\nraged with varying fortunes; but in the main {150} the Roman pontiffs\nwere most successful. Still in the last half of the sixth century\nthe bishop of Constantinople, John, called the Faster--on account of\nthe austerity of his life--assumed the title of universal bishop and\ncontinued to hold it in spite of all the efforts and threats of the\nRoman prelates. Early in the seventh century the emperor, Phocas, being\ndispleased with Cyriacus, the bishop of Constantinople, he divested\nhim of the title of universal bishop and conferred it upon the Roman\npontiff, Boniface III. \"After Phocas' death the prelate of the east\nre-assumed the title. The two bishops each preserved it, and with\nequal ambition strove for the pre-eminence.\" [60] Instead of dwelling\ntogether as brethren and working for the spread of truth, they spent\ntheir time in vain disputes about the extent of their respective\njurisdictions and wasted their revenues and strength in conquests and\nreprisals of each other's ecclesiastical provinces.\n\n27. The Ascendency of the Roman Pontiffs.--Gradually, however,\nthe Roman pontiffs surpassed their eastern competitors in the struggle\nfor power. The first reason for this will be found in the superior\nactivity and that restless energy of the western people. While the east\nwas at a standstill in its missionary enterprises, at this period,\nthe west was using its best endeavors to extend the faith among the\nbarbarous peoples of Germany and Briton; and everywhere they went they\ntaught submission to the decrees of the Roman pontiff. Not only did\nRome send missionaries to the barbarians, but the barbarians came to\nRome. They came with arms in their hands, and as conquerors, it is\ntrue, and in the closing years of the fifth century obtained an easy\nvictory over the western division of imperial Rome. But if imperial\nRome was vanquished, there rose above its ruins and above the kingdoms\nfounded upon them by the all-conquering barbarians, papal Rome, in\nmajesty no {151} less splendid than imperial Rome in her palmiest days;\nand in the course of time, the victorious barbarians bowed in as humble\nsubmission to the wand of the popes as their ancestors had to the\neagle-mounted standards of the emperors.\n\n28. Another reason why the Roman pontiff outstripped his\neastern rival in the struggle for supremacy will be found in the\nsuperstitious reverence in which the barbarous nations that fell\nunder the influence of Roman missionaries were accustomed to hold\ntheir priests. In the days of paganism in Gaul (France) and Germany\nthe priests reigned over both people and magistrates, controlling\nabsolutely the jurisdiction of the latter. The proselytes to the\nChristian faith among them, readily transferred that devout obedience\nwhich they had given to pagan priests, to the Christian bishops. The\nlatter were not slow in appropriating to themselves all the honors\nthe rude barbarians had before paid to their pagan priests, while\nthe extraordinary reverence--which amounted to worship, according to\nsome authorities--they bestowed upon their chief priest, was readily\ntransferred to the pope. (See note 6, end of section.)\n\n29. The Great Division of the Church in the Ninth Century.--The\njealousy of the bishops of Rome and Constantinople finally ended in\na division of the church, which remains to this day. It occurred\nin this manner: About the middle of the ninth century the emperor\nof the east--Michael--removed Ignatius [Ig-na-shi-us], bishop of\nConstantinople--whom he accused of treason--and set up one Photius\n[Fo-shi-us] in his place. Ignatius appealed to the bishop of Rome,\nNicolaus I. Nicolaus [Nik-o-lus] called a council, which decided that\nthe election of Photius was irregular and unlawful, and pronounced\nthat he, with all his adherents, was unworthy of Christian communion.\nInstead of being humbled by this decree, and much less frightened at\nit, Photius convened a council, and in turn excommunicated the bishop\nof Rome.\n\n30. To follow the controversies in respect to religion which\n{152} followed this action, and the contests which arose about the\njurisdiction over certain ecclesiastical provinces, to note the\ncriminations and recriminations, the excommunications and counter\nexcommunications would be not only a dreary task but one which the\nlimits of this work preclude. Let it be sufficient to say that the\nbreach made in the church in the middle of the ninth century, and which\nhad its origin in the mutual jealousies of the bishops of Rome and\nConstantinople, rather than in the wrong done to the deposed Ignatius,\nor doctrinal difference which afterwards arose--continued to widen and\nhas proven to be a chasm which up to the present it has been impossible\nto bridge.\n\n31. Means by Which Roman Pontiffs Gained Ascendency.--The popes\nof Rome, however, easily outstripped the prelates of Constantinople in\nwealth, in pride, in power, in the magnificence of their courts, in\nthe veneration paid them by their subjects, in the extent of territory\nthey brought under their jurisdiction, in the influence wielded in the\naffairs of the world. For by encouraging appeals to themselves; by\nassuming the care of all the churches, as if it were a part of their\nofficial duty; by appointing vicars in churches, over which they had no\nclaims to jurisdiction; by assuming to be judges where they should have\nonly been mediators; by requiring accounts to be sent to them of the\naffairs of foreign churches; by imposing the rites and usages of their\nown church upon all others, as being of apostolic origin; by insisting\nthat their elevation was due to the pre-eminence of the Apostle\nPeter--whose successor they claimed to be; by maintaining that their\nfancied prerogatives belonged to them by divine right; by threatening\nwith excommunication all who would not submit to their decrees; [61] by\naccepting the homage which the barbarians anciently bestowed upon their\npagan priests; [62] by assuming {153} the temporal power of princes,\nand obtaining large grants of lands from kings and emperors [63] (see\nnote 7, end of section)--by these means was that splendid though\ncorrupt power established, before which monarchs trembled, and which\nfor ages ruled the destinies of Europe.\n\n32. Rise of the Temporal Power of the Pope.--The Roman pontiffs,\nnot satisfied with claiming to hold the keys of heaven, determined\nthrough the prestige which this claim gave them to rule the earth.\n\n33. The popes were at first dependent for their election upon the\nsuffrages of the clergy and people of Rome. The election after the\ndays of Constantine had also to receive the approval of the emperor.\nBut in course of time all this was changed. The popes succeeded at\nlast in conferring the privilege of electing a successor to the chair\nof St. Peter upon the clergy alone; and finally lodged that power in\nthe college of cardinals.[64] The next step was to render the election\nindependent of the sanction of the emperors. This, too, was finally\naccomplished. But no sooner was the church thus made independent of\nkings and emperors than the former began to dominate the latter, whose\npower was weakness in comparison with that of the popes.\n\n34. They assumed the right not only to excommunicate and\nanathematize kings, but to free their subjects from their allegiance,\nand thus encourage rebellions and regicides. They assumed the power to\ninflict temporal punishments for violations of God's laws; and then\nclaimed the power to remit those punishments {154} for a consideration\npaid into the sacred treasury.[65] Claiming to be the true successors\nof the humble fisherman of Galilee--St. Peter--and the vicars of the\nstill more humble Nazarene, their crowns, and thrones and courts as\nfar outshone in splendid worldly grandeur those of kings and emperors,\nas their pride and arrogance surpassed the pomp and vain glory of the\nprinces of this world; until, at last, the pope exalted himself \"above\nall that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth\nin the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.\" [66] (See notes\n9 and 10, end of section.)\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Apostasy in the Days of the Apostles.--The great apostasy of\nthe Christian church commenced in the first century, while there were\nyet inspired apostles and prophets in their midst; hence Paul, just\nprevious to his martyrdom, enumerates a great number who had \"made\nshipwreck of their faith,\" and \"turned aside unto vain jangling;\"\nteaching \"that the resurrection was already past;\" giving \"heed to\nfables and endless genealogies,\" \"doubting about questions and strifes\nof words whereof came envyings, railings, evil surmisings, perverse\ndisputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth,\nsupposing the gain is godliness.\" This apostasy had become so general\nthat Paul declares to Timothy, \"that all they which are in Asia be\nturned away from me;\" and again he says \"at my first answer, no man\nstood with me, but all men forsook me;\" he further says {155} that\n\"there are many unruly, and vain talkers, deceivers, teaching things\nwhich they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.\" These apostates,\nno doubt, pretended to be very righteous; \"for,\" says the apostle,\n\"they profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being\nabominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate.\"--Orson\nPratt.\n\n2. Early Decline of the Church.--About the year of our Lord\nsixty, he [James] wrote his Catholic epistle. * * * By the practical\nturn of his doctrine, by his discanting on the vices of the tongue,\nof partiality to the rich, and of contemptuous treatment of the poor\nin Christian assemblies, and by his direction against vain swearing,\nit is but too evident that the church had considerably declined from\nits original purity and simplicity; and that the craft of Satan, aided\never by human depravity, was wearing out apace the precious fruits of\nthat effusion of the Spirit, which has been described [alluding to the\neffusion on the day of Pentecost.]--Milner, Vol. I, page 34.\n\n3. Powers and Duties of Bishops--First and Second Century.--We\nmay define in a few words the narrow limits of their [the bishops]\noriginal jurisdiction, which was chiefly of a spiritual, though in some\ninstances of a temporal nature. It consisted in the administration\nof the sacraments and discipline of the church, the superintendency\nof religious ceremonies which imperceptibly increase in number and\nvariety, the consecration of ecclesiastical ministers to whom the\nbishops assigned their respective functions, the management of the\npublic fund, and the determination of all such differences as the\nfaithful were unwilling to expose before the tribunal of an idolatrous\njudge. These powers, during a short period, were exercised according\nto the advice of the presbyteral college [the Elders of the church],\nand with the consent and approbation of the assembly of Christians. The\nprimitive bishops were considered only as the first of their equals,\nand the honorable servants of a free people. Whenever the Episcopal\nchair became vacant by death, a new president was chosen among the\npresbyters [elders] by the suffrage of the whole congregation, every\nmember of which supposed himself invested with a sacred and sacerdotal\ncharacter.--Gibbon (Decline and Fall, ch. xv).\n\n4. Usurpation of Provincial Councils.--As the legislative\nauthority of the particular churches was insensibly superseded by the\nuse of councils, the bishops obtained by their alliance a much larger\nshare of executive and arbitrary power; and as soon as they were\nconnected by a sense of their common interest, they were enabled to\nattack, with united vigor, the original rights of their clergy [the\nelders and deacons] and people. The prelates of the third century\nimperceptibly changed the language of exhortation into that of command,\nscattered the seeds of future usurpations, and supplied, by scripture\nallegories {156} and declamatory rhetoric, their deficiency of force\nand reason. They exalted the unity and power of the church as it was\nrepresented in the episcopal office, of which every bishop enjoyed an\nequal and undivided portion.--Gibbon (Decline and Fall, ch. xv).\n\n5. Cyprian's Opposition to the Bishop of Rome.--Rome experienced\nfrom the nations of Asia and Africa a more vigorous resistance to her\nspiritual than she had formerly done to her temporal dominion. The\npatriotic Cyprian, who ruled with the most absolute sway the church of\nCarthage and the provincial synods, opposed with resolution and success\nthe ambition of the Roman pontiff, artfully connected his own cause\nwith that of the eastern bishops, and, like Hannibal, sought out new\nallies in the heart of Asia. If this punic war was carried on without\nany effusion of blood, it was owing much less to the moderation than to\nthe weakness of the contending prelates. Invectives and excommunication\nwere then the only weapons; and these, during the progress of the\nwhole controversy, they hurled against each other with equal fury and\ndevotion.--Gibbon (Decline and Fall, Vol. I, ch. xv).\n\n6. Reverence of the Barbarians for the Popes.--That these\npagan nations had been accustomed to treat their idolatrous priests\nwith extraordinary reverence is a fact well known. When they became\nChristians they supposed they must show the same reverence to the\nChristian priests. Of course they honored their bishops and clergy,\nas they had before honored their druids; and this reverence disposed\nthem to bear patiently their vices. Every druid was accounted a very\ngreat character, and was feared by every one; but the chief druid\nwas actually worshiped. When these people became Christians, they\nsupposed that the bishop of Rome was such a chief druid; and that the\nmust be honored accordingly. And this was one cause why the Roman\npontiff obtained in process of time such an ascendency in the western\ncountries. The patriarch of Constantinople rose indeed to a great\nelevation; but he never attained the high rank and authority of the\nRoman patriarch. The reason was that the people of the east had not the\nsame ideas of the dignity of a chief priest as the people of the west\nhad.--Schlegel.\n\n7. Grant of the Roman Dukedom to the Popes.--Charles\n[Charlemagne], being made emperor and sovereign of Rome and its\nterritory, reserved indeed to himself, the supreme power, and the\nprerogatives of sovereignty; but the beneficial dominion, as it is\ncalled, and subordinate authority over the city and its territory, he\nseems to have conferred on the Romish church. This plan was undoubtedly\nsuggested to him by the Roman pontiff; who persuaded the emperor,\nperhaps by showing him some ancient though forged papers and documents,\nthat Constantine the Great (to whose place and authority {157} Charles\nnow succeeded) when he removed the seat of empire to Constantinople,\ncommitted the old seat of empire, Rome and the adjacent territories\nor Roman dukedom, to the possession and government of the church,\nreserving, however, his imperial prerogatives over it; and that, from\nthis arrangement and ordinance of Constantine, Charles could not\ndepart, without incurring the wrath of God and St. Peter.--Mosheim.\n\n8. Copy of an Indulgence.--May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy\non thee, N. N., and absolve thee by the merits of his passion! And I\nin virtue of the apostolic power that has been confided in me, absolve\nthee from all ecclesiastical censures, judgments, and penalties which\nthou mayst have incurred; moreover, from all excesses, sins and crimes\nthat thou mayst have committed, however great and enormous they may be,\nand from whatsoever cause, were they even reserved for our most holy\nfather the pope and for the apostolic see. I blot out all the stains\nof inability and all marks of infamy that thou mayst have drawn upon\nthyself on this occasion. I remit the penalties that thou shouldst\nhave endured in purgatory. I restore thee anew to participation in the\nsacraments of the church. I incorporate thee afresh in the communion of\nsaints, and re-establish thee in the purity and innocence which thou\nhadst at thy baptism. So that in the hour of death, the gate by which\nsinners enter the place of torments and punishments will be closed\nagainst thee, and, on the contrary, the gate leading to the paradise of\njoy shall be open. And if thou shouldst not die for long years, this\ngrace shall remain unalterable until thy last hour shall arrive. In\nthe name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. (Friar John Tetzel,\nCommissary, has signed this with his own hand)--D'Aubugne's Hist.\nRef., book III, ch. i.\n\n9. The Absolute Power of the Popes (13th century).--All who had\nany share in the government of the church, were alike sovereign lords;\nat least in their feelings and dispositions they stiffly maintained\nwith violence and threats, with both wiles and weapons, those\nfundamental principles of the popish canon law, that the Roman pontiff\nis the sovereign lord of the whole world, and that all other rulers in\nchurch and state have so much power and authority as he sees fit to\nallow them to have. Resting on this eternal principle as they conceive\nit to be, the pontiffs arrogate to themselves the absolute power, not\nonly of conferring sacred offices or benefices as they are called, but\nalso of giving away empires, and of divesting kings and princes of\ntheir crowns and authority. The more intelligent indeed, for the most\npart considered [general] councils as superior to the pontiffs; and\nsuch of the kings as were not blinded by superstition, restrained the\npontiffs from intermeddling with worldly or civil affairs, bid them be\ncontented with the regulation of things sacred, maintained {158} their\npower to the utmost of their ability and even claimed for themselves\nsupremacy over the church in their respective territories. But they had\nto do these things cautiously, if they would not learn by experience\nthat the pontiffs had very long arms.--Mosheim.\n\n10. Character of Language Employed by the Popes Against Kings\n(8th century).--[As a sample of the arrogant language employed by the\npopes toward kings and emperors, we present the following taken from\nan epistle of Pope Gregory III, addressed to the eastern emperor Leo\nIII. Leo at the time was opposing with commendable zeal the use of\nimages in divine worship]: \"Because you are unlearned and ignorant,\nwe are obliged to write to you rude discourses, but full of sense and\nthe word of God. We conjure you to quit your pride, and hear us with\nhumility. You say that we adore stones, walls and boards. It is not so,\nmy lord; but those symbols make us recollect the persons whose names\nthey bear, and exalt our grovelling minds. We do not look upon them as\ngods; but if it be the image of Jesus, we say, 'Lord help us.' If it be\nhis mother, we say, 'pray to your Son to save us.' If it be a martyr,\nwe say, 'St. Stephen, pray for us.' We might as having the power of St.\nPeter, pronounce punishments against you, but as you have pronounced\nthe curse upon yourself, let it stick to you. You write to us to\nassemble a general council; of which there is no need. Do you cease to\npersecute images, and all will be quiet. We fear not your threats; for\nif we go a league from Rome toward Campania, we are secure.\"--Certainly\nthis is the language of anti-Christ supporting idolatry by pretenses to\ninfallibility, and despising both civil magistrates and ecclesiastical\ncouncils.--Milner (Church History, Vol. III, Page 159).\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. Was the early church organization perpetuated?\n\n2. What reasons can you assign for the failure to do so?\n\n3. What can you say of the early apostasy in the church? (Notes 1, 2).\n\n4. What course was pursued by the apostles in respect to organizing\nchurches?\n\n5. In what light were the apostles regarded by the saints?\n\n6. In what condition were the churches left at the death of the\napostles?\n\n7. Was there such a thing as subordination among the churches, or rank\namong the bishops?\n\n8. What was the manner of electing bishops?\n\n{159} 9. What was the nature of the bishop's duties in the early\nchurches? (Note 3).\n\n10. Describe the growth of iniquity among the bishops.\n\n11. Give an account of the origin of metropolitan bishops.\n\n12. Describe the rise and influence of councils. (Note 4).\n\n13. What was the conduct of the lower officials in the church?\n\n14. What was the moral status of the church officials in the 2nd and\n3rd centuries?\n\n15. Tell what important change was made in the form of church\ngovernment in the 4th century?\n\n16. Describe the outlines of Roman government under Constantine.\n\n17. Tell how the church government was made somewhat to correspond with\nit.\n\n18. What circumstances led to the pre-eminence of the bishop of Rome?\n\n19. What reasons can be urged against the idea that the bishop of\nRome succeeded to the apostleship of Peter and the presidency of the\nuniversal church?\n\n20. What is the scriptural basis of the claims of the bishops of Rome\nto pre-eminence?\n\n21. Refute the idea that Jesus built his church upon Peter.\n\n22. Refute the argument that the bishops of Rome must have succeeded\nto the apostleship of Peter, because Jesus promised to be with the\napostles unto the end of the world.\n\n23. To what extent did the early Christian fathers admit a primacy to\nthe bishops of Rome?\n\n24. State the controversy which arose between the bishop of Rome and\nthe bishop of Constantinople.\n\n25. Through what cause did the Roman pontiffs finally force an\nacknowledgment of their independency? (Note 6).\n\n26. What led to the great division of the church in the 9th century?\n\n27. By what means did the Roman pontiffs outstrip their eastern rivals?\n(Note 7).\n\n28. What of the sale of indulgences? (Note).\n\n29. What was the climax of papal power?\n\n{160}\n\n\n\nSECTION V.\n\n1. Simplicity of Public Worship Changed.--The public worship of\nthe primitive Christians, as we have seen,[67] was very simple, but its\nsimplicity was soon corrupted. The bishops and other public teachers in\nthe third century, framed their discourses and exhortations according\nto the rules of Grecian eloquence; \"and were better adapted,\" says a\nlearned writer,[68] \"to call forth the admiration of the rude multitude\nwho love display, than to amend the heart. And that no folly and no\nsenseless custom might be omitted in their public assemblies, the\npeople were allowed to applaud their orators, as had been practiced\nin the forums and theaters; nay, they were instructed to applaud the\npreachers.\"\n\n2. This was a wide departure from that spirit of meekness\nand humility enjoined by Messiah upon his ministers. And when to\nthese customs was added the splendid vestments of the clergy, the\nmagnificence of the temples, with all the pageantry of altars,\nsurrounded with burning tapers, clouds of incense, beautiful images,\nthe chanting of choirs, processions and other mummeries without\nnumber--one sees but little left of that simple worship instituted by\nthe Messiah and his apostles. (See note 1, end of section).\n\n3. About the third century incense began to be used. The\nChristians of the first and second centuries abhorred the use\nof incense in public worship, as being a part of the worship of\nidols.[69] It first became a custom to use it at funerals, against\noffensive smells; then in public worship, to disguise the bad air\n{161} of crowded assemblies; then at the consecration of bishops\nand magistrates, and by these steps at last degenerated into a\nsuperstitious rite.\n\n4. In the fourth century matters became still worse. \"The public\nsupplications by which the pagans were accustomed to appease their\ngods, were borrowed from them, and were celebrated in many places with\ngreat pomp. To the temples, to water consecrated in due form, and\nthe images of holy men, the same efficacy was ascribed to the pagan\ntemples, statues and lustrations before the advent of Christ.\" [70]\n\n5. The Worship of Martyrs.--In the third century also arose the\nworship of martyrs. It is true that worship or adoration was relative,\nand a distinction was made between the worship of martyrs and the\nworship paid to God; but by degrees the worship of the martyrs was\nmade to conform with that which the pagans had in former times paid to\ntheir gods.[71] This was done out of indiscreet eagerness to allure the\npagans to embrace Christianity.[72] (See note 2, end of section).\n\n6. Decline of Spiritual Gifts.--While pagan ceremonies and rites\nwere increasing in the church, the gifts and graces characteristic of\napostolic times, seemed to have gradually departed from it. Protestant\nwriters insist that the age of miracles closed with the fourth or fifth\ncentury, and that after that the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost\nmust not be looked for. Catholic writers, on the other hand, insist\nthat the power to perform miracles has always continued in the church;\nyet those spiritual manifestations which they describe after the fourth\nand fifth centuries savor of invention on the part of the priests and\nchildish credulity on the part of the people; or else what is claimed\nto be miraculous falls far short of the power and dignity of those\nspiritual manifestations which the primitive church was wont to witness.\n\n{162} 7. The virtues and prodigies ascribed to the bones and\nother relics of the martyrs and saints are puerile in comparison with\nthe healings, by the anointing with oil and the laying on of hands,\nspeaking in tongues, interpretations, prophecies, revelations, casting\nout devils in the name of Jesus Christ; to say nothing of the gifts of\nfaith, wisdom, knowledge, discernment of spirits, etc.,--common in the\nchurch in the days of the days of the apostles.[73]\n\n8. Nor is there anything in the scriptures or in reason that\nwould lead one to believe that they were to be discontinued. Still this\nplea is made by modern Christians--explaining the absence of these\nspiritual powers among them--that the extraordinary gifts of the Holy\nGhost were only intended to accompany the proclamation of the gospel\nduring the first few centuries until the church was able to make its\nway without them, and then they were to be done away. It is sufficient\nto remark upon this that it is assumption pure and simple, and stands\nwithout warrant either of scripture or right reason; and proves that\nmen had so far changed the religion of Jesus Christ that it became a\nform of godliness without the power thereof. (See notes 3 and 4, end of\nsection).\n\n9. Causes and Manner of Excommunications.--It appears to have\nbeen the custom of the apostles in the case of members of the church\ngrievously transgressing the moral law of the gospel to require\nrepentance and confession before the church; and in the event of a\nstubborn adherence to sin the offender was excommunicated, that is, he\nwas excluded from the communion of the church and the fellowship of the\nsaints. For the crimes of murder, idolatry and adultery, some of the\nchurches excommunicated those guilty of them forever; in other churches\nthey were received back, but only after long and painful probation.\n\n10. The manner in which excommunication was performed {163} in\napostolic times is not clear, but there is every reason to believe the\nprocess was very simple. In the course of time, however, this simple\norder of excommunication was changed, by being burdened with many rites\nand ceremonies borrowed from pagan sources.[74] It was not enough\nthat the fellowship of the saints be withdrawn from the offender and\nhe left to the mercy of God, or the buffetings of Satan, according\nas he was worthy of the one or the other; but the church must load\nhim down with anathemas too terrible to contemplate. The power of\nexcommunication, too, eventually, passed from the body of the church\ninto the hands of the bishops, and finally into those of the pope. At\nfirst excommunication meant the loss of the fellowship of the saints,\nand such other punishments as God himself might see fit to inflict; the\nchurch leaving the Lord to be the minister of his own vengeance. But\ngradually it came to mean in some instances banishment from home and\ncountry, the confiscation of property, the loss not only of religious\nfellowship with the saints, but the loss of civil rights; and the\nrights of Christian burial. In the case of a monarch excommunication\nabsolved his subjects from their allegiance; and in the case of a\nsubject, it robbed him of the protection of his sovereign. No anathema\nwas so terrible but it was pronounced against the excommunicated, until\nthe sweet mercies of God were overshadowed by the black pall of man's\ninhumanity.\n\n11. Admixture of Pagan Philosophy with the Christian\nReligion.--The thing which contributed most to the subversion of\nthe Christian religion was the employment of pagan philosophy to\nexplain Christian doctrine. This brought about an admixture of these\ntwo discordant elements that {164} while it failed to purge pagan\nphilosophy of its errors, corrupted the doctrines of Christ and laid\nthe foundations for those false notions in respect of God which obtain\nin the so-called Christian world unto this day.\n\n12. Christian Doctrine Respecting God.--The scriptural\ndoctrine in regard to God--and of course, that is the true Christian\ndoctrine--is this: There is a being of infinite goodness and power, in\nform like man--for man was created in his image[75]--who, with his Son,\nJesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, constitute the great creative, and\ngoverning power or grand Presidency of the heavens and the earth. As\npersons, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are separate and distinct, yet\none in attributes, one in purpose; the mind of one being the mind of\nthe others.\n\n13. That they are distinct and separate as persons was plainly\nmanifested at the baptism of Jesus. On that occasion, as Jesus came\nup out of the water, John saw the Holy Ghost descend upon him, and at\nthe same time the voice of the Father was heard speaking from heaven,\nsaying: \"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.\" [76]\nHere we have the persons of the Godhead present but distinct from\neach other. Stephen, the martyr, in the presence of the angry crowd\nwhich took his life, saw the heavens open and \"Jesus standing on\nthe right hand of God.\" [77] Here, too, the Father and Son are seen\nand, according to the testimony of the holy man, they are distinct\npersonalities.\n\n14. Yet Jesus said to the Jews: \"I and my Father are one. * * *\nBelieve that the Father is in me and I in him.\" [78] But this oneness\ncannot have reference to the persons of the Father and of the Son,\nwhich we have seen are distinct. Their oneness, therefore, must consist\nin a unity of attributes, {165} purposes, glory, power. Jesus in his\ngreat prayer just previous to his betrayal, said, in praying for his\ndisciples: \"Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou\nhast given me, that they may be one. * * * That they all may be one; as\nthou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in\nus.\" [79] Clearly it is not the uniting of the persons of his disciples\ninto one person or body that Jesus prayed for; but he would have them\nof one mind and one spirit, as he and the Father are one. So also he\nhad no wish that the person of one of his disciples should be crowded\ninto that of another, and so on until they all became one person or\nbody--but \"as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee.\" That is, while\nremaining distinct as persons, Messiah would have the mind or Spirit of\nGod in his disciples as it was in him, and as his was in the Father,\nthat God might be all in all--the Father to be honored as the head and\nworshiped in the name of the Son; and the Holy Ghost to be revered as\nthe witness and messenger of both the Father and the Son[80]--the bond\nof union between God and men, as it is between the Father and the Son;\nin one word to be God in man.\n\n15. Each of these persons in scripture is called God; and taken\ntogether they are God, or constitute the grand Presidency of heaven and\nearth, and as such are one, as well as in attributes. (See note 5, end\nof section).\n\n16. The spirit of the Son had an existence with the Father before\nhe was born in the flesh; [81] and indeed it was by him, and through\nhim--under the direction of the Father--that the worlds were made; [82]\n\"and without him was not anything made that was made.\" [83]\n\n17. Such is the simple doctrine of the Godhead taught to the\nprimitive Saints by the apostles. It was implicitly believed as God's\nrevelation to them upon the subject, and they were {166} content to\nallow the revelation to excite their reverence without arousing their\ncuriosity to the point where men of finite minds attempt to grasp the\ninfinite, or circumscribe God in their understandings. In a short time,\nhowever, a change came, and men sought to explain the revelation that\nGod had given of himself by the vain babblings of pagan science; and\nthat led not only to much contention within the church, but to the\nadoption in the Christian creed of erroneous ideas in respect of Deity.\n\n18. Gnostic and \"New Platonic\" Philosophy.--In order to give\na clear explanation of this matter, it will be necessary to invite\nthe attention of the student to Gnosticism and the Eclectic or \"New\nPlatonic\" philosophy which arose in the early Christian centuries.\nFirst, then, as to Gnosticism. The Gnostics taught there existed from\neternity a Being that embodied within himself all the virtues; a Being\nwho is the purest light and is diffused throughout boundless space,\nwhich they called Pleroma. This Being, after dwelling alone and in\nabsolute repose for an infinite period, by an operation purely mental,\nor by acting upon himself, produced two spirits[84] of different\nsexes. By the marriage of these two spirits others of similar nature\nwere produced, who, in their turn, produced others. Thus a celestial\nfamily was formed in the pleroma. These emanations from Deity, whether\ndirectly or from those spirits first begotten by Deity acting upon\nhimself, were called Aeons, a term which was doubtless employed\nto signify their eternal duration, and perhaps the mode of their\nproduction.\n\n19. Beyond this pleroma where God and his family dwelt, existed\na rude and unformed mass of matter, heaving itself continually in wild\ncommotion.[85] This mass of the Aeons, wandering beyond the pleroma,\ndiscovered and reduced to order {167} and beauty and then peopled it\nwith human beings and with animals of different species. This builder\nof the world the Gnostics called the Demiurge [Dem-i-urge].[86] Though\npossessed of many shining qualities, the Demiurge was by nature\narrogant and domineering, hence he claims absolute authority over the\nnew world to the exclusion altogether of the authority of the supreme\nGod, and requires mankind to pay divine honors exclusively to him.\n\n20. Man, according to the Gnostic philosophy, is composed of a\nterrestial, and therefore a vicious body; and of a celestial spirit,\nwhich in some sense is a particle of the Deity himself. The spirit is\noppressed by the body, which is supposed to be the seat of all the\nlusts and other evils that flesh is heir to, and by the spirit of man\nis drawn away from the knowledge and worship of the true God, and led\nto pay reverence to the Demiurge and his associates. From this wretched\nbondage of evil God labors to rescue his offspring. But the Demiurge\nand his associates, eager to retain their power, resist the divine\npurpose and labor to efface all knowledge of the supreme Deity. The\nphilosophy maintained, however, that God would ultimately prevail;\nand having restored to liberty most of the spirits now imprisoned in\nbodies, he will dissolve the fabric of the world. Then the primitive\ntranquility will return, and God will reign with the redeemed spirits\nin perfect happiness to all eternity.[87]\n\n21. When the followers of this philosophy became converted to\nChristianity, they looked upon Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost as the\nlatest Aeons or emanations from the Deity, sent forth to emancipate men\nfrom the tyranny of matter by {168} revealing to them the true God;\nto fit them, though perfect knowledge to enter the sacred pleroma. In\nconnection with this, however, some of these Christian Gnostics held\nthat Jesus had no body at all, but was an unsubstantial phantom that\nconstantly deceived the senses of those who thought they associated\nwith him. Others of them said there doubtless was a man called Jesus\nborn of human parents, upon whom one of the Aeons, called Christ,\ndescended at his baptism, having quitted the pleroma for that purpose;\nbut who, previous to the crucifixion of the man Jesus, withdrew from\nhim and returned to the Deity. [See note 7, end of section.]\n\n22. The Two Modes of Life to which Gnosticism led.--The Gnostic\nphilosophy led to two widely different methods of life; one extremely\nascetic and the other as extremely profligate. Gnostics believed matter\nto be utterly malignant, the source of all evil, therefore it was\nrecommended by one party that the body should be weakened by fastings\nand the practice of other austerities, that the spirit might enjoy the\ngreater liberty and be better able to contemplate heavenly things. The\nother party, on the contrary, maintained that men could safely indulge\nall their appetites and lustful desires, and that there was no moral\ndifference in human actions. One leader of this persuasion--Carpocrates\nof Alexandria, who flourished in the second century--not only gave his\ndisciples license to sin, but imposed on them the necessity of sinning,\nby teaching them the way to eternal salvation was open to those souls\nonly which committed all kinds of enormity and wickedness. Such were\nthe errors that grew out of Gnosticism, and which contributed to the\ncorruption of the gospel soon after it was founded by the preaching of\nthe apostles.\n\n23. The New Platonic Philosophy.--The Eclectic or \"New Platonic\"\nphilosophy which came into existence in the early Christian centuries,\nwas compounded from all the systems which had preceded it, though\nfollowing Plato more closely than {169} any other teacher, for which\nreason its disciples assumed the name of New Platonics. The founders\nof this philosophy professed simply to follow truth, gathering up\nwhatever was accordant with it, regardless of its source, or in what\nschool it was taught--hence the name eclectic. Still the teachings\nof Plato formed the basis of their doctrines, and they embraced most\nof his dogmas concerning God, the human soul and the universe. We\nshall therefore learn the fundamental principles of the Eclectics by\nconsidering what the Athenian sage taught on these subjects.\n\n24. Plato held that God and matter existed from all\neternity--that they were co-eternal. Before the creation of the\nworld matter had in itself a principle of motion, but without end\nor laws. This principle of motion Plato called the immortal soul\nof the universe. God wished to give form to this mass of eternal\nmatter, regulate its motion, subject it to some end and to certain\nlaws. Everything which exists in heaven or in earth, except Deity\nand unorganized matter, according to Plato's philosophy, had a\nbeginning--there was a time when it did not exist; but there never\nwas a time when the idea, that is, the form or plan of the thing, did\nnot exist in the mind of Deity. This idea or intelligence existing\nwith God from all eternity, is what Plato called the Logos--the word\nor intelligence of Deity. Many in the age of which we write saw in\nthese doctrines a threefold expression of the divine nature--viz.,\nthe First Cause, the Reason or Logos, and the Spirit of the Universe;\nwhile others saw in these three principles three Gods, united with each\nother by a mysterious and ineffable generation; in which the Logos is\nregarded in the character of the Son of an Eternal Father, and the\ncreator and governor of the work.[88]\n\n25. Plato's Logos, John's Word Considered Identical.--In the\nintroduction of St. John's gospel, commencing--\"In {170} the beginning\nwas the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God\"--in\nthis Word, which the Apostle in another verse of his opening chapter\ndeclares was \"made flesh and dwelt among men,\"--plainly alluding to\nthe pre-existence and birth of Messiah--the New Platonics saw the\nincarnation of the Logos of Plato, and according to the fashion of the\ntimes attempted to harmonize the revelations of God with the philosophy\nof men. (See note 8, end of section).\n\n26. The Rank of the Logos in the Trinity.--It was trying to\nharmonize the revelations of God with these systems of philosophy which\ncreated the agitation in respect to the rank of the Logos, or Son of\nGod, in the divine trinity; and the nature of the Trinity itself--that\nis, whether the three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are\ndistinct and separate though of the same substance, or merely the same\nsubstance under different aspects.\n\n27. The Orthodox View.--The view held to be orthodox was that in\nGod there are three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; each really\ndistinct yet so united as to constitute but one personal God--of the\nsame substance, and equal as to their eternity, power, and glory and\nall other perfections.\n\n28. Sabellian Theory.--On one side of this orthodox theory stood\nthe doctrine of Sabellius [Sa-bel-i-us], who held that there was but\none divine person in the Godhead, and that the Father, Son and Holy\nSpirit were but different aspects of the same God, and that the Trinity\nwas one of names, merely, not of distinct persons.[89] The Logos, in hi\ntheory, is an attribute {171} of Deity rather than a person; and its\nincarnation is reduced to an energy or inspiration of the Divine wisdom\nwhich filled the soul and directed all the actions of the man Jesus.\n\n29. The Arian Theory.--On the other side of the orthodox line\nstood the theory of Arius [A-ri-us], who while he maintained a real\ndistinction in the persons of the Divine Trinity, taught that the\nSon was created out of nothing by the will of the Father; and though\nthe longest astronomical periods would not measure the time of his\nduration, yet there had been a time when he was not. Upon the Son\nthus created the Father bestowed great glory, yet he shone only by a\nreflected light, and governed the universe only in obedience to the\nwill of the Father; in other words, the Son was subordinate to the\nFather, unequal as to eternity, power and glory.\n\n30. The Nicene Council.--It was to still the rising commotion\nwhich arose in the church through the violent discussion of these\nseveral theories that the Emperor Constantine assembled the Council\nof Nice [Nes]. A. D. 325. In that council the theories of Arius were\ncondemned and the orthodox creed stated thus:\n\n    We believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, the maker of all\n    things visible and invisible; and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the\n    Son of God, begotten of the Father, only begotten, (that is) of\n    the substance of the Father; God of God, Light of Light; Very God\n    of Very God; begotten not made; of the same substance with the\n    Father, by whom all things were made, that are in heaven and that\n    are in earth: who for us men, and for our salvation, descended and\n    was incarnate, and became man; suffered and rose again the third\n    day, ascended into the heavens and will come to judge the living\n    and the dead, and in the Holy Spirit. But those who say there was a\n    time when he [the {172} Son] was not, and that he was not before he\n    was begotten, and that he was made out of nothing, or affirm that\n    he is of any other substance or essence, of that the Son of God\n    was created, and mutable, or changeable, the Catholic Church doth\n    pronounce accursed.[90]\n\n31. Athanasius [Ath-a-na-shi-us], who was the most active\nopponent of Arius, thus explains the Nicene doctrine, in what is\ncommonly known as the creed of Athanasius.[91]\n\n    We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity and Unity, neither\n    confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance. For there\n    is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of\n    the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost\n    is all one: the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. Such as the\n    Father is, such is the Son; and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father\n    uncreate, the Son uncreate; and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father\n    incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost\n    incomprehensible. The Father eternal the Son eternal, and the\n    Holy Ghost eternal. And yet these are not three eternals; but one\n    eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three\n    uncreated; but one uncreated and one incomprehensible. So likewise\n    the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost\n    Almighty; and yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.\n    So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God,\n    and yet they are not three Gods but one God. [92] (See note 7, end\n    of section.)\n\n{173} 32. Immateriality of God.--The evil which grew out of these\ncontentions in respect to Deity is found in the conclusion arrived\nat that God is an incorporeal, that is to say, an immaterial being;\nwithout body, without parts, without passions. The following is the\nRoman Catholic belief in respect to God:\n\n    There is but one God, the creator of heaven and earth, the supreme,\n    incorporeal, uncreated being, who exists of himself, and is\n    infinite in all his attributes, etc.[93]\n\nThe Church of England teaches in her articles of faith:\n\n    There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body,\n    parts or passions; of infinite power, wisdom and goodness,[94] etc.\n\nThis plainly teaches the great error of the immateriality of God;\nand, indeed, that is the orthodox notion in respect to Deity,\nnotwithstanding it finds so many express contradictions in the\nscriptures.\n\n33. In the work of creation, God proposed to make man in his own\nimage and likeness, and the proposition was executed.[95] Moreover,\nJesus is said to be the brightness of God's glory, \"and the express\nimage of his person.\" [96] Again it is said, that Jesus \"being in the\nform of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.\" [97] All\nthis teaches that God has a form similar to that of man's; that he\nhas organs, dimensions, proportions; that he occupies space and has\nrelation to other objects in space; that he moves from place to place;\nand that so far as his actual person is concerned he cannot be in two\nplaces at one and the same instant. The question here arises as to\nthose passages of scripture which declare the omnipresence of God, a\nthing which is impossible--speaking of his person--if what is {174}\nhere contended for be true. But God may be and is omnipresent by his\ninfluence, by his power, if not in his person. While his person is\nconfined to one place at a time, as other substances are, his influence\nextends throughout the universe, as does also his power, and through\nthis means he is omnipotent and omnipresent.\n\n34. To assert the immateriality of God is not only to deny his\npersonality, but his very existence; for an immaterial substance cannot\nexist. It can have no relation to time or space, no form, no extension,\nno parts. An immaterial substance is simply no substance at all; it\nis a contradiction of terms to say a substance is immaterial--it is\nthe description of an infinite vacuum; and the difference between the\natheist and the orthodox Christian is one of terms, not of fact; the\nformer says, \"There is no God;\" the latter in his creed says, \"God is\nnothing.\" [98] (See note 10, end of section.)\n\n35. Such were the absurdities into which the vain philosophies\nof the pagan led the Christian even in the early centuries of the\nChristian era; so that through these errors they even denied the Lord\nwho bought them.[99]\n\n{175}\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Christian Worship in the Fifth Century.--Public worship\neverywhere assumed a form more calculated for show and for the\ngratification of the eye. Various ornaments were added to the\nsacerdotal garments in order to increase the veneration of the\npeople for the clerical order. The new forms of hymns, prayers and\npublic fasts, are not easily enumerated. * * * In some places it was\nappointed, that the praises of God should be sung perpetually, day\nand night, the singers succeeding each other without interruption; as\nif the Supreme Being took pleasure in clamor and noise, and in the\nflatteries of men. The magnificence of the temples had no bounds.\nSplendid images were placed in them; and among these * * * the image\nof the Virgin Mary, holding her infant in her arms, occupied the most\nconspicuous place. Altars and repositories for relics, made of solid\nsilver if possible, were procured in various places; from which may\neasily be conjectured, what must have been the splendor and the expense\nof the other sacred utensils.--_Mosheim_.\n\n2. Martyr Worship (3rd century).--When Gregory [surnamed\nThaumaturgus on account of the numerous miracles he is said to have\nwrought--born in Pontus, in the second decade of the third century]\nperceived that the ignorant and simple multitude persisted in their\nidolatry, on account of the sensitive pleasures and delights it\nafforded, he allowed them in celebrating the memory of the holy\nmartyrs, to indulge themselves, and give a loose to pleasure, (i.e., as\nthe thing itself, and both what precedes and what follows, place beyond\nall controversy, he allowed them at the sepulchres of the martyrs on\ntheir fast days, to dance, to use sports, to indulge in conviviality,\nand do all things that the worshipers of idols were accustomed to do in\ntheir temples, on their festival days), hoping that in process of time,\nthey would spontaneously come over to a more becoming and more correct\nmanner of life.--Nyssen's Life of Gregory Thaumaturgus.\n\n3. On the Continuance of Spiritual Gifts.--The affliction of\ndevils, the confusion of tongues, deadly poisons and sickness [all of\nwhich were to be overcome by the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit] are\nall curses which have been introduced into the world by the wickedness\nof man. The blessings of the gospel are bestowed to counteract these\ncurses. Therefore, as long as these curses exist, the promised signs\n[Mark xvi: 17, 18] are needed to counteract their evil consequences.\nIf Jesus had not intended that the blessings should be as extensive\nand unlimited in point of time as the curses, he would have intimated\nsomething to that effect in his word. But when he makes a universal\npromise of certain powers, to enable every believer in the gospel\nthroughout the world to overcome certain curses, entailed {176} upon\nman, because of wickedness, it would be the rankest kind of infidelity\nnot to believe the promised blessing necessary, as long as the curses\nabound among men.--Orson Pratt.\n\n4. When and Why the Spiritual Gifts Ceased in the Church.--It\ndoes not appear that these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit\n[speaking of I Cor. xii] were common in the church for more than two or\nthree centuries. We seldom hear of them after that fatal period when\nthe Emperor Constantine called himself a Christian; and from a vain\nimagination of promoting the Christian cause thereby heaped riches,\nand power, and honor upon Christians in general, but in particular\nupon the Christian clergy. From this time they [the spiritual gifts]\nalmost totally ceased; very few instances of the kind were found. The\ncause of this was not (as has been supposed) because there was no more\noccasion for them, because all the world was become Christians. This\nis a miserable mistake; not a twentieth part of it was then nominally\nChristian. The real cause of it was the love of many, almost all\nChristians, so-called, was waxed cold. The Christians had no more of\nthe Spirit of Christ than the other heathens. The Son of Man when he\ncame to examine his church, could hardly find faith upon the earth.\nThis was the real cause why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy\nGhost were no longer to be found in the Christian Church--because\nthe Christians were turned heathens again and only had a dead form\nleft.--John Wesley (Wesley's Works, Vol. vii. Sermon 89, Pages 26, 27.)\n\n5. Illustration of the Oneness of the Godhead.--The Godhead\nmay be further illustrated by a council, composed of three men--all\npossessing equal wisdom, knowledge and truth, together with equal\nqualifications in every respect. Each person would be a separate,\ndistinct person or substance from the other two, and yet the three\nwould form but one council. Each alone possesses, by supposition,\nthe same wisdom and truth that the three united or the one council\npossesses. The union of the three men in one council would not increase\nthe knowledge of wisdom of either. Each man would be one part of the\ncouncil when reference is made to his person; but the wisdom and truth\nof each man would be the whole wisdom and truth of the council, and not\na part. If it were possible to divide truth, and other qualities of a\nsimilar nature into fractions, so that the Father should have the third\npart of truth, the third part of wisdom, the third part of knowledge,\nthe third part of love, while the Son and the Holy Spirit possessed\nthe other two-thirds of these qualities or affections, then neither of\nthese persons could make \"one God,\" \"but only a part of a God.\" But\nbecause the divisibility of wisdom, truth or love is impossible, the\nwhole of these qualities dwell in the Father--the whole dwells in the\nSon--the whole is possessed by the {177} Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit\nis one part of the Godhead in essence; but the whole of God in wisdom,\ntruth, and other similar qualities. If a truth could become three\ntruths, distinct from each other, by dwelling in three substances, then\nthere would be three Gods instead of one. But as it is, the trinity\nis three in essence, but one in truth and other similar principles.\nThe oneness of the Godhead, as described in the scriptures, never was\nintended to apply to the essence, but only to the perfections and other\nattributes.--Orson Pratt.\n\n6. Messiah the Author of the Gospel and Creator of the\nWorld.--Christ is the author of this gospel, of this earth, of men\nand women, of all the posterity of Adam and Eve, and of every living\ncreature that lives upon the face of the earth, that flies in the\nheavens, that swims in the waters, or dwells in the field. Christ is\nthe author of salvation to all this creation, to all things pertaining\nto this terrestial globe we occupy.--Brigham Young (Discourse, August\n8, 1852).\n\n7. The Phantom Theory of the Gnostics.--While the blood of Christ\nyet smoked on Mount Calvary, the Docetus [the name given to the Gnostic\nChristians] invented the impious and extravagant hypothesis, that,\ninstead of issuing from the womb of the virgin, he had descended on the\nbanks of the Jordan in the form of perfect manhood; that he had imposed\non the senses of his enemies, and of his disciples; and that the\nministers of Pilate had wasted their impotent rage on an airy phantom,\nwho seemed to expire on the cross, and, after three days, to rise from\nthe dead.--Gibbon.\n\n8. The Fashion of Uniting Discordant Elements in Philosophy and\nReligion.--When we come to consider the state of philosophy at that\ntime [the early Christian centuries], and the fashion which prevailed\nof catching at anything new, and of uniting discordant elements into\nfanciful systems, we shall not be surprised to find the doctrines of\nthe gospel disguised and altered, and that, according to the language\nof that age, many new heresies were formed.--Burton's Brampton Lectures.\n\n9. The Mysteries of Religion Deepened Through Attempted\nExplanation.--That devout and reverential simplicity of the first\nages of the church, which taught men to believe when God speaks, and\nobey when God commands, appeared to most of the doctors of this age\n[the fifth century] to be unphilosophical and becoming only in the\nvulgar. Many of those, however, who attempted to explain and illustrate\nthese doctrines, opened the way rather to disputation than for a\nrational faith and a holy life; for they did not so much explain, as\ninvolve in greater obscurity, and darken with ambiguous terms and\nincomprehensible distinctions the deep mysteries of revealed religion.\nAnd hence arose abundant matter for difficulties, contentions and\nanimosities which flowed down to succeeding ages, and which {178} can\nscarcely be removed by the efforts of human power. It hardly need be\nremarked, that some, while pressing their adversaries, incautiously\nfell into errors of an opposite character which were no less\ndangerous.--Mosheim.\n\n10. Immaterialists are Atheists.--There are two classes of\natheists in the world. One class denies the existence of God in the\nmost positive language; the other denies his existence in duration or\nspace. One says, \"There is no God;\" the other says \"God is not here or\nthere, any more than he exists now and then.\" The infidel says, \"There\nis no such a substance as God.\" The immaterialist says, \"There is\nsuch a substance as God, but it is 'without parts.'\" The atheist says,\n\"There is no such substance as spirit.\" The immaterialist says, \"A\nspirit, though he lives and acts, occupies no room and fills no space,\nin the same way and after the same manner as matter not even so much\nas does the minutest grain of sand.\" The atheist does not seek to hide\nhis infidelity; but the immaterialist, whose declared belief amounts\nto the same thing as the atheist's endeavors to hide his infidelity\nunder the shallow covering of a few words.--Orson Pratt (Absurdities of\nImmaterialism, page 11).\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. Describe the simplicity of public worship in early Christian times.\n(Note 2, end of section III.)\n\n2. What changes in the public worship were gradually introduced? (Note\n1).\n\n3. What was the object in introducing these changes?\n\n4. In what manner was incense introduced into public worship?\n\n5. What especially obnoxious practice became prevalent in the 4th\ncentury?\n\n6. What can you say of the worship of martyrs? (Note 2).\n\n7. Give an account of the decline of spiritual gifts in the church.\n\n8. On this point what difference exists between Catholics and\nProtestants?\n\n9. What can you say of Protestant excuses for the absence of the\nspiritual gifts of the gospel? (Notes 3 and 4).\n\n10. What does the absence of spiritual gifts prove?\n\n11. In what way were grievous offenses punished by the church?\n\n12. What ceremonies finally became associated with excommunication?\n\n13. What temporal punishments were sometimes associated with\nexcommunication?\n\n{179} 14. What can you say of the mingling of pagan philosophy with the\nChristian religion?\n\n15. Give the scriptural doctrine respecting God.\n\n16. Give an instance from scripture where the personages of the Godhead\nare seen to be distinct.\n\n17. In what does the oneness of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost consist?\n(Note 5.)\n\n18. How did the early Christians regard the scriptural doctrine of the\nGodhead?\n\n19. By what means did men at last try to explain the revelation?\n\n20. Give the Gnostic idea respecting God.\n\n21. How did the Gnostics account for the creation of the world?\n\n22. In what way did the Gnostics avoid making God the author of evil?\n\n23. What is the nature of man according to the Gnostic philosophy?\n\n24. What did the Gnostic philosophy look to as the culmination between\nthe struggle of man with evil?\n\n25. In what light did the Gnostics look upon Jesus Christ?\n\n26. What fanciful theory did some of them hold respecting him? (Note 7).\n\n27. To what two modes of life did the Gnostic philosophy lead?\n\n28. What was the new Platonic philosophy?\n\n29. What was Plato's idea of God?\n\n30. In what way was there an attempt to harmonize the philosophy of\nPlato with the writings of St John?\n\n31. State the \"orthodox\" doctrine respecting Deity in those times.\n\n32. State the Sabellian theory.\n\n33. Give an illustration of it.\n\n34. State the Arian theory.\n\n35. In what way did the Nicene Council decide the trinity controversy?\n\n36. What confession did Athanasius make as to his inability to\ncomprehend the Nicene creed?\n\n37. What great error resulted from the controversy on the nature of\nDeity?\n\n38. What passages of scripture refute the \"orthodox\" Christian notion\nthat God is immaterial?\n\n39. How from reason would you refute the notion that God is an\nimmaterial Being?\n\n{180}\n\n\n\nSECTION VI.\n\n1. Departure from Moral Precepts of the Gospel.--There was as\nwide a departure from the moral precepts of the gospel among the\nChristians as there was from the doctrines, ordinances and government\nof the church. From the nature of the reproofs, the admonitions and\nwarnings to be found in the epistles of the apostles to the churches,\none may see that while they yet lived the saints were prone to\nwickedness, and great errors in regard to moral conduct crept into the\nchurches. The writings of the early fathers of the church who succeeded\nthe apostles also bear witness to the continuance and increase of these\nerrors.\n\n2. Double Rule of Life.--As early as the second century the idea\nbecame prevalent that messiah had prescribed a twofold rule of moral\nconduct; the one ordinary, the other extraordinary; one for those\nengaged in ordinary affairs of life, the other for persons of leisure\nand such as desired a higher glory in the future life. This led the\nearly Christian doctors to divide whatsoever had been taught by the\napostles in respect to Christian life and morals, into precepts and\ncounsels. The precepts were those laws which were equally binding on\nall men the counsels were binding only on those who aspired to a closer\nunion with God.\n\n3. Of course there soon appeared a class of persons who sought\nto attain to this closer union; and they adopted the method of life\npracticed among the pagan philosophers who wished to excel in virtue.\nThey considered many things forbidden to them which were proper for\nordinary Christians to {181} indulge in; such as wine, flesh, matrimony,\nand secular business. They thought the holiness of life they aspired to\ncould sooner be attained by emaciating the body by fastings, watchings,\nexcessive toil, hunger, insufficient and coarse raiment. In short, they\n\"thought to merit heaven by making earth a hell.\" Those who engaged\nin this kind of life soom came to distinguish themselves by their\ndress as well as by the austerity of their lives. They soon began to\nwithdraw themselves from association with their fellow Christians and\nthe world and retire to the deserts and the wilderness, where by severe\nmeditation they sought to abstract their minds from external objects\nand those things which minister to sensual delights. They sometimes\nlived alone but oftener in association with those devoted to the same\nmanner of life.\n\n4. When peace was assured to the Christian church, early in the\nfourth century, the number of those who became ambitious for this\naustere righteousness greatly increased, until vast multitudes of\nmonk and sacred virgins spread with remarkable rapidity throughout\nChristendom. About the year 305, A. D., the practice of collecting\nthese people into associated communities and regulating their mode of\nliving by fixed rules was introduced. St Anthony of Egypt was the prime\nmover in this work. Thus monasteries and nunneries were established;\nand in a short time the east, especially, swarmed with persons who\nabandoned the conveniences, associations and business of ordinary\nlife, to pine away in these institutions and hardships and sufferings,\nin order to attain a closer communion with God and a more excellent\nsalvation.\n\n5. Origin of the False Idea of Moral Life.--\"The Christian church\nwould have remained free from these numerous tortures of the mond\nand body,\" remarks Dr. Mosheim, \"had not that great and fascinating\ndoctrine of the ancient philosophy gained credence among Christians\nthat to attain to happiness and communion with God, the soul must be\nfreed from the influence {182} of the body, and for this purpose the\nbody must be subdued.\" [100]\n\n6. As a further evidence that these false notions of life and\nvirtue came from the pagan philosophy rather than from the Christian\nreligion, we quote again from Mosheim:\n\n    The causes of this institution [austere method of life] are at\n    hand. First, the Christians did not like to appear inferior to the\n    Greeks, the Romans, and the other people; among whom were many\n    philosophers and sages, who were distinguished from the vulgar by\n    their dress and their whole mode of life, and who were held in\n    high honor. Now among these philosopher (as is well known), none\n    better pleased the Christians than the Platonists and Pythagoreans\n    [Pyth-a-go-re-ans]; who are known to have recommended two modes of\n    living, the one for philosophers who wished to excel in virtue, and\n    the other for the people engaged in the common affairs of life.[101]\n\nThe Platonists prescribed the following rules for philosophers:\n\n    The mind of a wise man must be withdrawn, as far as possible, from\n    the contagious influence of the body, and as the oppressive load of\n    the body and social intercourse are most adverse to this design,\n    therefore all sensual gratifications are to be avoided; the body is\n    to be sustained or rather mortified, with coarse and slender fare;\n    solitude is to be sought for; and the mind is to be self-collected,\n    and absorbed in contemplation, so as to be detached as much as\n    possible from the body. Whoever lives in this manner, shall in the\n    present life have converse with God; and when freed from the load\n    of the body, shall ascend without delay to the celestial mansions\n    and shall not need, like the souls of other men, to undergo\n    purgation.[102]\n\n7. It will be remembered that the Christians adopted the pagan\nphilosophy--of which the teachings of Plato were the basis--and\nemployed it to explain the Christian religion. It is {183} not\nsurprising, therefore, that they adopted its moral precepts, and by so\ndoing corrupted that reasonable and healthy moral life enjoined upon\nall alike in the gospel of Jesus Christ.\n\n8. Celibacy of the Clergy.--From the same source came the\ncelibacy of the clergy. It was considered that those who lived in\nwedlock were more subject to the assaults of evil spirits than those\nwho lived in celibacy; hence those who were appointed to teach and\ngovern others were supposed to be all the better qualified for their\nwork if they had nothing to do with conjugal life. It was a matter,\nhowever, which during the first centuries was not strictly enjoined\nby any formal regulations of the church; it was left for Pope Gregory\nVII in the eleventh century to bind such a wicked regulation upon the\nclergy by express law. In the third century the most shameful abuses\narose out of this doctrine; for men sought to fulfill its requirements\nwith the least violence to their inclinations, and many of those who\nhad taken upon themselves vows of chastity, took to their houses and\neven to their beds some one of those holy females under like vows of\nchastity, yet maintained that there was no improper relations between\nthem. It is but just to say that many bishops condemned this shameful\npractice but it was some time before the church was rid of it, and the\nscandal it created, and even when such practices did cease openly it\nmay well be doubted if it really ceased among those forced into such\nunnatural conditions.\n\n9. Deceiving and Lying Accounted Virtues.--Another evil which\nwent far toward corrupting the church was the idea that to deceive and\nlie are virtues when religion can be promoted by them. This pernicious\ndoctrine was accepted early in the first centuries and it accounts\nfor the existence and circulation of that great mass of childish\nfable and falsehood respecting the infancy and youth of Messiah and\nthe miraculous, wonder-working power of the relics of the saints and\nmartyrs, from which the cause of the Christian religion has suffered so\n{184} much. \"If some inquisitive person were to examine the conduct and\nthe writings of the greatest and most pious teachers of this century\"\n[the fourth], writes Dr. Mosheim, \"I fear he would find about all of\nthem infected with this leprosy. I cannot except Ambrose, nor Hilary,\nnor Augustine, nor Gregory Nazianzen nor Jerome.\" [103]\n\n10. Immoral Condition of the Church in General.--The wickedness\nof the clergy in the last centuries, the ambition of the bishops and\ntheir imitating in their lives the voluptuousness of princes, we have\nalready noted in section four of part II, and therefore little need\nbe said here further than to remark that those vices very rapidly\nincreased. As time rolled on worldly prosperity seemed to relax the\nnerves of discipline. \"Fraud, envy and malice prevailed in every\ncongregation. The presbyters aspired to the episcopal office, which\nevery day became an object more worthy their ambition. The bishops who\ncontended with each other for ecclesiastical pre-eminence, appeared by\ntheir conduct to claim a secular and tyrannical power in the church;\nand the lively faith which still distinguished the Christians from the\nGentiles was shown much less in their lives than in their controversial\nwritings.\" [104]\n\n11. Sometimes these struggles for place and power resulted in\nwar and bloodshed. Such was the case in the fourth century when a new\npope was to be elected to succeed Liberius [Li-be-ri-us]. One party in\nRome was for one Damasus [Dam-a-sus], and another party for Ursicinus\n[Ur-si-ci-nus]. The contest resulted in a bloody conflict, houses were\nburned and many lost their lives. In one church alone one morning after\nthe conflict there were found one hundred and thirty-seven corpses to\nbear witness to the violence of the struggle for what was claimed to be\nthe office of viceregent of God on earth.\n\n12. Moral Condition of the Church in the Fourth {185}\nCentury.--In the fourth century--\"If we look at the lives and\nmorals of the Christians--we shal find, as heretofore, that good men\nwere commingled with bad, yet the number of the bad began gradually\nto increase, so that the truly pious and godly appeared more rare.\nwhen there was no more to fear from enemies from without; when the\ncharacter of most bishops was tarnished with arrogance, luxury,\neffeminacy, animosity, resentments, and other defects; when the lower\nclergy neglected their proper duties, and were more attentive to\ncontroversies, than to the promotion of piety and the instruction\nof the people; when vast numbers were induced not by a rational\nconviction, but by the fear of punishment and the hope of worldly\nadvantage to enroll themselves as Christians, how can it surprise us,\nthat on all sides the vicious appeared a host, and the pious a little\nband almost overpowered by them. Against the flagitious and those\nguilty of heinous offenses, the same rules for penance were prescribed,\nas before the reign of Constantine. But as the times continually\nwaxed worse and worse, the more honorable and powerful could sin with\nimpunity, and only the poor and the unfortunate felt the severity of\nthe laws.\" [105]\n\n13. Moral Condition of the Church in the Fifth Century.--About\nthe middle of the fifth century we have Salvian [Sal-vi-an] saying:\n\n    The very church which should be the body to appease the anger of\n    God, alas! what reigns there but disorders calculated to incense\n    the Most High? It is more common to meet with Christians who are\n    guilty of the greatest abominations than with those who are wholly\n    exempt from crime. So that today it is a sort of sanctity among us\n    to be less vicious than the generality of Christians. We insult the\n    majesty of the Most High at the foot of his altars. Men, the most\n    steeped in crime enter the holy places without respect for them.\n    True all men ought to pay their vows to God, but why should they\n    seek his temples to propitiate him, only to go forth to provoke\n    him? {186} Why enter the church to deplore their former sins,\n    and upon going forth--what do I say?--in those very courts the\n    commit fresh sins, their mouths and their hearts contradict one\n    another. Their prayers are criminal meditations rather than vows of\n    expiation. Scarcely is the service ended before each returns to his\n    old practices. Some go to their wine, others to their impurities,\n    still others to robbing and brigandage, so that we cannot doubt\n    that these things had been occupying them while they were in the\n    church. Nor is it the lowest of the people who are thus guilty.\n    There is no rank whatever in the church which does not commit all\n    sorts of crimes.\n\n    14. It may be urged that we are at heart better than the\n    barbarians who oppose us. Suppose this to be granted; we ought\n    to be better than they. But as a matter of fact, they are more\n    virtuous than we. The mass of Christians are below the barbarians\n    in probity. True, all kinds of sins are found among them but what\n    one is not found among us? The several nations have their peculiar\n    sin; the Saxons are cruel; the Franks perfidious; the Gepidae\n    inhuman; the Huns lewd. But we, having the law of God to restrain\n    us, are given over to all these offenses. Then to confine ourselves\n    to the single sin of swearing, can many be found among the faithful\n    who have not the name of Jesus Christ constantly upon their lips\n    in support of their perjuries? This practice coming down from the\n    higher to the lower classes, has so prevailed that Christians might\n    be deemed pagans. This, although the law of God expressly forbids\n    to take his name in vain. We read this law but we do not practice\n    it; as a consequence the pagans taunt us that we boast ourselves\n    the sole possessors of God's law, and of the rules of truth and of\n    what that law enjoins. Christians, indeed, to the shame of Jesus\n    Christ! say they.[106]\n\n15. In book VI on _The Providence of God_, Salvian continues his\narraignment:\n\n    We rush from the churches to the theatres, even in the midst of\n    our perils. In Carthage the theatres were thronged while the enemy\n    {187} were before the walls, and the cries of those perishing\n    outside under the sword mingled with the shouts of the spectators\n    in the circus. Nor are we better here in Gaul (France). Treves\n    [Trevz] has been taken four times, and has only increased in\n    wickedness under her misfortunes. The same state of things exists\n    in Cologne [Ko-lon]--deplorable wickedness among young and old, low\n    and high. The smaller cities have been blind and insensible to the\n    dangers threatening, until they have overwhelmed them. It seems to\n    be the destiny of the Roman empire to perish rather than reform;\n    they must cease to be, in order to cease to be vicious. A part of\n    the inhabitants of Treves, having escaped from the ruins, petitions\n    the emperor for--what? A theatre, spectacles, public shows! A city\n    which thrice overthrown could not correct itself, well deserved\n    to suffer a fourth destruction. * * * Would that my voice might\n    be heard by all Romans! I would cry: Let us all blush that today\n    the only cities where impurity does not reign are those which have\n    submitted to the barbarians. Think not, then, that they conquer and\n    we yield by the simple force of nature. Rather let us admit that\n    we succumb through the dissoluteness of our morals of which our\n    calamities are the just punishment.[107]\n\n16. State of Morals in Centuries Subsequent to the Fifth.--Such\nwas the condition of the Christian church as to morals in the fifth\ncentury. It was no better in the sixth or the seventh or the eighth.\nIndeed the concurrent testimony of all authorities is to the effect\nthat matters moral and spiritual grew gradually worse in these\ncenturies until darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the\npeople. Of the ninth century Mosheim says:\n\n    The ungodly lives of most of those intrusted with the care and\n    government of the church are a subject of complaint with all\n    the ingenuous and honest writers of this age. In the east,\n    sinister designs, rancor, contentions and strife were everywhere\n    predominant. * * *\n\n    In the west, the bishops hung round the courts of princes and\n    indulged {188} themselves in every species of voluptuousness; while\n    the inferior clergy and the monks were sensual, and by the grossest\n    vices corrupted the people whom they were set to reform.[108]\n\n17. State of Morals in Tenth Century.--Of the tenth century Dr.\nMilner, who wrote his great history for the purpose of maintaining that\nthere had been a succession of pious men since the founding of the\nchurch by Messiah, and to \"trace the goodness of God taking care of his\nchurch in every age by his providence,\" [109] says:\n\n    The famous annalist of the Roman Church,[110] whose partiality\n    to the see of Rome is notorious, has, however, the candor to own\n    that this [the tenth century] was an iron age, barren of all\n    goodness; a leaden age, abounding in all wickedness; and a dark\n    age, remarkable above all other things for the scarcity of writers\n    and men of learning. Christ was then, as it appears, in a very\n    deep sleep, when the ship was covered with waves; and what seemed\n    worse, when the Lord was thus asleep there were no disciples,\n    who by their cries, might wake him, being themselves all fast\n    asleep. * * * Under an allusion by no means incongruous with the\n    oriental abd scriptural taste, this writer [Baronius] represents\n    the divine head of the church as having given up the church for its\n    wickedness, to a judicial impenitency, which continued the longer,\n    because there was scarcely any zealous spirits who had the charity\n    to pray for the cause of God upon earth. * * * Infidel Malice has\n    with pleasure recorded the vices and the crimes of the popes of\n    this century. Nor is it my intention to attempt to palliate the\n    account of their wickedness. It was as deep {189} and atrocious as\n    language can paint; nor can a reasonable man desire more authentic\n    evidence of history than that which the records both of civil and\n    ecclesiastical history afford concerning the corruption of the\n    whole church.[111]\n\n18. The Church Destroyed.--Beyond this century it is not\nnecessary to go. The church of Christ no longer existed in the earth.\nThe persecution of the Jews and the Romans, coupled with the internal\ndissensions in the church; the rise of false teachers, who brought\nin damnable heresies; the changing of the character and spirit of\nthe church government; the addition of pagan rites and ceremonies to\nthe doctrines and ordinances of the gospel; the admixture of pagan\nphilosophy with Christian theology; and, finally, the universal\ndeparture of the church from that moral life enjoined upon mankind by\nthe precepts of the Christian religion--utterly subverted the religion\nof Jesus Christ, and destroyed the church which he founded. The\napostasy of men from that religion and church was complete; and since\nthey did not like to retain God in their hearts, God also gave them up\nto uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts. [See notes 1 to\n6, end of section].\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Admission of the Great Apostasy by Christian Writers.--The\nchurch of England in its Homily on the Perils of Idolatry, says: \"Laity\nand clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages, sects and degrees have\nbeen drowned in abominable idolatry most detested by God and damnable\nto man for eight hundred years and more.\"\n\n2. In Smith's Dictionary of the Bible (page 163)--the work\nis endorsed by sixty-three learned divines and Bible scholars--the\nfollowing {190} occurs: \"We must not expect to see the church of Christ\nexisting in its perfection on the earth. It is not to be found thus\nperfect, either in the collected fragments of Christendom, or still\nless in any one of those fragments.\"\n\n3. John Wesley said that the reason why the extraordinary gifts\nof the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the church [in the dark\nages] was \"because the love of many waxed cold, the Christians had\nturned heathens again and only had a dead form left.\"--(Wesley's Works,\nVol. vii, sermon 89, pages 26, 27).\n\n4. Dr. Adam Clark commenting on the fourth chapter of\nEphsians--treating church officers and the gifts bestowed upon\nthem--says: \"All these officers and the and graces conferred upon\nthem were adjudged necessary by the great head of the church for its\nfull instruction in the important doctrines of Christianity. The same\nofficers and gifts are still necessary, and God gives them, but they do\nnot know their places.\"\n\n5. Roger Williams (Picturesque America, page 502) refused to\ncontinue as pastor over the oldest Baptist church in America on the\nground that there was \"no regularly constituted church on earth, nor\nany person qualified to administer any church ordinance; nor can there\nbe until new apostles are sent by the great head of the church, for\nwhose coming I am seeking.\"\n\n5. Alexander Campbell, founder of the sect of the \"Disciples,\"\nsays: \"The meaning of this institution [the kingdom of heaven] has been\nburied under the rubbish of human tradition for hundreds of years.\nIt was lost in the dark ages and has never, until recently, been\ndisinterred.\"--(Christianity Restored, page 184).\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What may be learned from the reproofs and admonitions in the\nwritings of the apostles and early Christian fathers?\n\n2. About what time did the notion arise in respect to a double rule of\nlife?\n\n3. What great evil grew out of this erroneous idea?\n\n4. From whence did Christians derive their ideas which demanded the\nausterities they practiced?\n\n5. Give an account of the origin of monasteries and nunneries.\n\n6. How did the celibacy of the clergy originate?\n\n7. When did it become an express law of the church?\n\n8. What shameful scandal arose from this doctrine in the 3rd century?\n\n9. Under what circumstances were lying and deceiving accounted virtues?\n\n{191} 10. What evil grew out of this wicked notion?\n\n11. What can you say of the general moral condition of the church in\nthe early Christian centuries?\n\n12. State the moral condition of the church in the 4th century. In the\n5th.\n\n13. What of the moral state of the church subsequent to the 5th?\n\n14. Give the substance of Dr. Milner's admission concerning the moral\nstate of the church in the 10th century.\n\n15. State what several circumstances led to the destruction of the\nchurch of Christ.\n\n16. Recount the admissions which noted Christian writers make\nconcerning the apostasy from the Christian religion. (Notes end of\nsection).\n\n{192}\n\n\n\nSECTION VII.\n\nWe have considered those events that occurred in the church by\nwhich its form and spirit of government were altered, its doctrines\ncorrupted, its ordinances changed, and its truths and powers subverted.\nWe now turn to the scriptures to show that all these things were\npredicted by the apostles and prophets of God, being foreseen by the\nspirit of revelation.\n\n1. False Teachers to Arise in the Church.--On the occasion of\nPaul's last visit to Ephesus, he had the elders assembled, and in the\ncourse of his address to them said:\n\n    I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.\n    Taken heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over\n    which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of\n    God which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this,\n    that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you,\n    not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise,\n    speaking perverse things to lead away disciples after them.[112]\n\n2. In his second letter to Timothy the same apostle again\nprophesies of the coming of these false teachers:\n\n    I charge thee, therfore, [said he], before God, and the Lord Jesus\n    Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and\n    his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;\n    reprove, rebuke with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time\n    will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their\n    own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching\n    ears; and they [the false teachers] shall turn their ears from the\n    truth, and shall be turned unto fables.[113]\n\n3. Peter also prophesied the rise of false teachers in the {193}\nchurch. In his second epistle, addressed, \"to them that have obtained\nlike precious faith,\" with himself--that is, to the saints; after\nsaying that prophecy in olden time came by men speaking as they were\nmoved upon by the Holy Ghost;[114] he then remarks:\n\n    But there were false prophets also among the people [that is, among\n    the ancient saints], even as there shall be false teachers among\n    you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the\n    Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.\n    And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the\n    way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness with\n    feigned words make merchandise of you; whose judgment now of a long\n    time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.[115]\n\n4. Hypocrisy and Austerity Predicted.--Paul also appears to have\nforeseen the hypocrisy that would creep into the church, together with\nthat useless austerity of life with which men and women would become\ninfatuated, and which, became the fountain of so much corruption. He\nthus speaks of it:\n\n    Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some\n    shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and\n    doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their\n    conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and\n    commanding to abstain from meats.[116]\n\n5. The Rise of Anti-Christ Foretold.--Moreover, the Prophet Paul\nforetold the rise of anti-Christ before the glorious coming of Messiah\nto judgment. He plainly foresaw the \"falling away\"--the long night of\nspiritual darkness and apostasy that would brood over the world before\nthe coming of the Son of God in the glory of his Father, to reward the\nrighteous, to condemn the wicked. He said of this apostasy:\n\n    Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus {194}\n    Christ and by our gathering together unto him; that ye be not soon\n    shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit nor by word, nor\n    by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.[117]\n    Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come\n    except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be\n    revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself\n    above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he\n    as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is\n    God. Remember ye not that when I was yet with you I told you these\n    things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed\n    in his own time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work:\n    only he who now letteth [hindereth] will let [will hinder][118]\n    until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be\n    revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth,\n    and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming; even him whose\n    coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and\n    lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in\n    them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth,\n    that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them\n    strong delusions, that they should believe a lie; that they all\n    might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in\n    unrighteousness. [119]\n\n6. Isaiah's Great Prophecy of the Apostasy.--Isaiah also\nprophesied of the universal apostasy from the gospel of Christ. After\ndescribing the earth as mourning and fading away, together with its\nhaughty people, he said:\n\n    The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because\n    they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the\n    everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth,\n    and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants\n    of the earth are burned, and few men left. [120]\n\n7. It is sometimes claimed that this prophecy refers to the\nMosaic law, and the Mosaic covenant, instead of the gospel of Christ.\nThe answer to such claim is that the prophecy has reference to an\neverlasting covenant that is to be broken; and the Mosaic law or\ncovenant, never was intended to be an everlasting covenant, while the\ngospel of Christ is such a covenant. Paul said:\n\n    The scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen\n    through faith, preached before the gospel to Abraham. * * *\n    Wherefore then serveth the law [that is, if the gospel was\n    preached unto Abraham, of what use is the law of Moses--the law\n    of carnal commandments--how came it into existence]? It was added\n    because of transgression, till the seed [Christ] should come,\n    to whom the promise was made. * * * Wherefore the law was our\n    schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified\n    by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a\n    schoolmaster. [121]\n\n8. From this it appears that the gospel was preached in very\nancient times; that afterwards, because of transgression--doubtless\napostasy--the law of Moses was added, or given in the place of the\ngospel, that it might act as a schoolmaster to bring the people to\nChrist, that is, prepare them for the gospel. Therefore, when the\ngospel was introduced by the personal ministry of Messiah, the law of\nMoses--the carnal law--having served its purpose, was set aside, and\nthe gospel was reinstated. It will be seen, therefore, that the Mosaic\nlaw was not an everlasting covenant, but a temporary law, given for a\nspecific purpose, having accomplished which it is supplanted by a more\nexcellent law and covenant. It is clear that Isaiah's great prophecy\nhad no reference to the law of Moses, but to an everlasting covenant\nwhich was to be broken, its ordinance changed, its laws transgressed.\nThat covenant is the gospel of {196} Jesus Christ, whose blood is\nspoken of as the \"blood of the everlasting covenant.\" [122]\n\n9. Moreover the prophecy ends by saying that in consequence\nof the transgression of the law, the changing of the ordinance, the\nbreaking of the covenant, \"the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and\nfew men left.\" This predicted calamity did not overtake the people for\nbreaking the Mosaic law. It has not yet taken place. It is a judgment\nstill hanging over mankind for their great apostasy from the gospel of\nJesus Christ.\n\n10. John's Vision Foreshadowing the Apostasy.--Among the many\nrevelations given to the Apostle John while a prisoner on the Isle of\nPatmos was one in which he saw an angel \"fly in the midst of heaven,\nhaving the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the\nearth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying\nwith a loud voice, \"Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of\nhis judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and\nthe sea, and the fountains of waters.\" [123] From this it is learned\nthat in the hour of God's judgment the gospel will be brought to the\nearth by an angel, and thence proclaimed to every nation, and kindred,\nand tongue, and people, a very good evidence that in the \"hour of\nGod's judgment\" all the world would be without the gospel, or why this\nrestoration at that time and its universal proclamation if the nations\nat the time indicated already possessed it?\n\n11. Thus through revelation the ancient prophets foresaw the\ngreat apostasy from the gospel of Jesus Christ. We who live now after\nthe great event has occurred, in the light of historical facts, see it\nno more plainly than did these ancient servants of God through the gift\nof prophecy. They read the history of it by the light of revelation, we\nby the light of history, and the former is a light no less certain than\nthe latter.\n\n{197}\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. By what means were the apostles and still more ancient prophets made\nacquainted with the great apostasy from the Christian religion?\n\n2. Repeat the several prophecies concerning the rise of false teachers\nin the church.\n\n3. Give the passage which predicts the rise of hypocrisy and austerity\nof life.\n\n4. In what passage of Paul's writings is the rise of anti-Christ\npredicted?\n\n5. What does letteth and let in this passage mean? Give proof.\n\n6. State in what way Paul's great prophecy has been fulfilled.\n\n7. State Isaiah's great prophecy respecting the apostasy.\n\n8. What objection may be urged to our application of this prophecy?\n\n9. How would you meet the objection?\n\n10. What great judgment is still pending over the world because of\ntheir wicked apostasy?\n\n11. What vision given to St. John on Patmos foreshadowed a universal\napostasy?\n\n12. If the gospel from the time it was established on the earth by\nMessiah's personal ministry had continued with men until now, would\nthere be any necessity for restoring it to the earth in the hour of\nGod's judgment?\n\n13. Was the fact of the apostasy read by the light of the spirit of\nprophecy less clear than when by the light of historical facts?\n\n{198}\n\n\n\nSECTION VIII.\n\n1. The Nephite Christian Church.--For nearly two centuries the\nNephite Christian church flourished in great prosperity. For that\nlength of time the truth seems to have been preserved in its fullness,\nand the church in its unity. With the third century, however, began\nthat apostasy which eventually terminated by a complete subversion of\nthe church of Christ on the Western hemisphere.\n\n2. Pride of Wealth and Class Distinctions.--The peace and\nrighteousness of two centuries brought great prosperity and wealth\nto the Nephite Christians--to the entire western hemisphere; but the\ncommencement of the third century began to develop the fact that\npride was pressing fast upon the heels of that prosperity. Up to the\ncommencement of the third century the Nephite Christians had all\nthings common; but early in the third century that order of things was\nbroken up. Class distinctions arose, men began to pride themselves on\ntheir fine apparel and jewels. They began to build churches to get\ngain, and to deny the true church of Christ. Others, professing to be\nChristians, denied much of that which Messiah taught, and administered\nthat which was sacred to those to whom it had been forbidden, because\nof unworthiness.\n\n3. The Anti-Christian Church Persecutions.--There also arose an\nanti-Christian church, which persecuted the true church, despising the\nmembers thereof because of their humility, and hating them because\nof the power of God which was with them. Among the twelve apostles\nwhom Jesus selected from the Nephites three desired that they might\nremain upon the earth until Messiah should come in his glory. {199}\nThis request was granted them, and their bodies were changed that they\nwere not subject to death. They had remained with the church up to the\ntime of which we write, and against them the anti-Christian church was\nespecially embittered. The apostates sought to kill them as the Jews\nat Jerusalem tried to kill Jesus; they cast them into prison and into\ndens of wild beasts; but the Lord delivered them from prisons, murders\nand the wild beasts, and that by the manifestations of his power. Yet\nthe miracles did not convert their ungodly persecutors, and the wicked\nincreased rapidly in numbers.\n\n4. Revival of Old Distinctions.--Soon the ancient distinctions\nbetween Nephites and Lamanites which for two centuries had been buried\nin oblivion, began to be employed to designate the two peoples which\ngradually began to be formed. The true Christians were called Nephites,\nand their enemies Lamanite. All the old bitterness which attached to\nthe names in former times was revived.\n\n5. It was but a few years after the apostasy began before the\nwicked outnumbered the righteous. For a while the name \"Nephites\"\ndesignated the true followers of Messiah, but soon they became as proud\nand as wicked as the Lamanites, and righteousness was subverted.\n\n6. Revival of Secret Organizations.--The old secret societies\nwere revived for robbery and plunder. Early in the fourth century (320\nA. D.) Ammoran, who had charge of the Nephite records, hid them up,\nrevealing the place of their concealment only to Mormon, a lad then ten\nyears of age, giving him a charge to go, when he was twenty-four years\nold, and take the plates of Nephi and record on them the things he\nhad witnessed among the people. About the same time the three Nephite\napostles disappeared from among the people; the church no longer\nbeing worthy of their administrations, the Lord took them away. All\nmiracles, healings, and other spiritual manifestations ceased. Mormon,\na historian and a {200} righteous man, remained with them, but he was\nforbidden to preach to them. A black pall of spiritual darkness settled\nover the land and the minds of the people.\n\n7. An Attempt to Reorganize the Church.--Forty years later, after\na series of disastrous wars, by which one might reasonably expect the\nNephites would be humbled and brought to seek the Lord, an attempt to\nre-establish the church was made. Mormon received a commandment to\npreach repentance and baptism to the people, a commandment which he\nwillingly obeyed; but all to no purpose. The people would not repent.\nThey hardened their hearts against God and made themselves fit only for\ndestruction.\n\n8. Utter Destruction of the Nephites.--That destruction was not\nvery remote. Towards the close of that century which witnessed the\nclimax of their wickedness saw their destruction. By permission of the\nLamanites the Nephites assembled about the hill called by them Cumorah\nand prepared for the last great struggle. It took place in the year 385\nA. D., and resulted in the entire destruction of the Nephite people,\nexcept, perhaps, a few who fled southward. Mormon was slain, and his\nson, the last of the Nephites, was preserved to record the destruction\nand the desolation which followed it, and hid up the records of the\ngreat race which had founded kingdoms and republics upon the western\nhemisphere that would vie with those of Persia, Macedonia or Greece;\nand cities that in extent and grandeur must have equalled those of\nAntioch, Alexandria, Tyre or Sidon.\n\n9. The Reign of Anarchy.--That civilization was destroyed, the\nempires and republics were overthrown, government was destroyed,\nanarchy reigned. The people, chiefly Lamanites, who survived the\nterrible conflict about Cumorah, broke up into tribes, each fiercely\ncontending with the other. Cities were laid waste to crumble into\nshapeless heaps of ruin, with here and there a monument that defied\nthe ravages of time and {201} proudly stood a silent witness of the\ngreatness of the departed race which reared it. Such was the apostasy\non the western hemisphere, and such the result which followed it.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. For how long did the Nephite Christian church keep the faith?\n\n2. In the third century what occurred?\n\n3. On what were their class distinctions based?\n\n4. State what you can of the rise and course of the anti-Christian\nchurch.\n\n5. What of the rise of old distinctions?\n\n6. What old organizations were revived in the fourth century?\n\n7. What attempt was made to reorganize the church?\n\n8. Where were the Nephites destroyed?\n\n9. What followed the destruction of the Nephites?\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. These statements are sustained in the following scriptures. Matt.\nx:16-40; Luke vi:22-26; John xv:18-22.\n\n2. Acts vii: 55-60.\n\n3. Acts xii: 1, 2.\n\n4. Eusebius Bk. II, ch. xxiii.\n\n5. Acts xii.\n\n6. Mosheim Part I, ch. v.\n\n7. Matt. xxvii: 22-25.\n\n8. Josephus' Wars of the Jews, Bk. vi, ch. ix.\n\n9. Luke xxi: 5-9, 20-24.\n\n10. Eusebius Bk. III, ch. v. The Saints were also warned to flee from\nJerusalem by Messiah himself when they should see armies begin to\nencompass it.--See Luke xxi: 20-24.\n\n11. Decline and Fall Vol. I, ch. 1.\n\n12. Annals lib. xv, ch. 44.\n\n13. Decline and Fall I, ch. xvi. See also Guizot's note on same page.\n\n14. This is according to the testimony of Eusebius, quoting Hagesippus\nand Tertullian. (Eusebius Book III, ch. xx). But other authorities\nclaim that Domitian's edicts against the Christians were not revoked\nuntil after his death.\n\n15. Mosheim's Eccl. Hist. I. Second Cent. ch. ii.\n\n16. Decline and Fall, vol. I, ch. xvi.\n\n17. Eusebius Eccle. Hist. Bk. v, ch. i and ii.\n\n18. Decline and Fall, vol. I, ch. xvi.\n\n19. Mosheim's Eccl. His. vol. I, cent. iii, ch. ii.\n\n20. Mosheim's Eccl. Hist. vol. I, cent. iv, ch. i.\n\n21. Quoted by Murdock in Mosheim.--See note--Mosheim Eccl. Hist. vol.\nI, p. 210.\n\n22. Revelation ch. xiii: 1-7.\n\n23. According to Eusebius, however, Helena was converted to\nChristianity by her son.--De Veta Constantine I, iii, ch: 47.\n\n24. Constantine had caused to be put to death, through jealousy and on\nwhat, to say the least, was very slight and very suspicious testimony,\nhis son Crispus, his wife Fausta, and his brother-in-law Licinius.\n\n25. Decline and Fall, vol. I, ch. xvi.\n\n26. Decline and Fall vol. I, ch. xvi.\n\n27. Mosheim vol. I, Book i, part ii, ch. iv.\n\n28. Acts ii: 41. Acts viii: 12, 35-40.\n\n29. That exorcism was not annexed to baptism till some time in the\nthird century, and after the admission of the Platonic philosophy into\nthe church, may almost be demonstrated. The ceremonies used at baptism\nin the second century are described by Justin Martyr in his second\napology, and by Tertullian in his book de Corono Militas. But neither\nmakes mention of exorcism. This is a cogent argument to prove that it\nwas admitted by Christians after the times of these fathers, and of\ncourse in the third century. Egypt perhaps first received it. Murdock's\nMosheim vol. I, p. 190.--(Note.)\n\n30. Mosheim vol. I, book i, part ii, ch. iv.\n\n31. According to Schlegel, the so-called apostolic constitution (b.\nviii, ch. 32) enjoined a three years' course of preparation; yet with\nallowance of some exceptions.\n\n32. That is, the evening preceding the day on which Messiah is supposed\nto have arisen from the dead, and the evening preceding the seventh\nSunday after Easter, the anniversary of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost\nwas poured out upon the Apostles in a remarkable manner (Acts ii.)\n\n33. Mosheim vol. I, book ii, part ii. ch. iv.\n\n34. Cyprian's Epistles, letter 76.\n\n35. Eusebius Eccl. Hist. b. vi, ch. 43.\n\n36. Milner's Church Hist. vol. I pp. 429, 430.\n\n37. Such is the opinion of Milner--Church Hist. vol. I. p. 430.\n\n38. The Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:\nand when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat; this is\nmy body which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. After\nthe same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying:\nThis cup is the new testament in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye\ndrink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and\ndrink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come.--Paul to the\nCorinthians. (I Cor. xi: 23-26.)\n\n39. These facts are clearly taught by Messiah when he established the\nsacrament among the Nephites; and of course it was established among\nthe Jews for the same purpose that it was among the Nephites. After\nhaving broken the bread and blessed it, and passed it to the multitude,\nMessiah said: \"This shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have\nshown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do\nalways remember me. And if you do always remember me, ye shall have my\nSpirit to be with you.\" So when he had administered the wine: \"Blessed\nare ye for this thing which ye have done; * * * this doth witness unto\nthe Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you;\nand this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my\nname; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood which I have shed\nfor you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember\nme. And if ye do always remember me, ye shall have my Spirit to be with\nyou.\"--III Nephi, xviii. See also Moroni, iv and v, where the prayer of\nconsecration is given.\n\n40. Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, vol. I, book i, cent. iii, part\n2, chapter iv. The banishment of unbaptized people from sacrament\nmeetings was forbidden among the Nephites by Messiah. III Nephi xviii:\n22-23.\n\n41. Protestants combating the Catholic idea of the real presence of the\nflesh and blood in the eucharist--transubstantiation--have endeavored\nto prove that this doctrine was not of earlier origin than the eighth\ncentury. In this, however, the evidence is against them. Ignatius,\nbishop of Antioch, writing early in the second century says of certain\nsupposed heretics: \"They do not admit of eucharists and oblations,\nbecause they do not believe the eucharist to be the flesh of our Savior\nJesus Christ, who suffered for our sins.\" (Epistles of Ignatius to\nthe Smyrneans.) So Justin Martyr, also writing in the first half of\nthe second century:--\"We do not receive them [the bread and the win]\nas ordinary food or ordinary drink; but as by the word of God Jesus\nChrist, our Savior, was made flesh and took upon him both flesh and\nblood for our salvation, so also the food which was blessed by the\nprayer of the word which proceeded from him, and from which our flesh\nand blood, by transmutation, receive nourishment, is, we are taught,\nboth the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.\" (Justin's\nApology to Emperor Antonius.) After Justin's time the testimony of\nthe fathers is abundant. There can be no doubt as to the antiquity of\nthe idea of the real presence of the body and blood of Jesus in the\neucharist; but that proves--as we said of infant baptism--not that the\ndoctrine is true, but that soon after the apostles had passed away, the\nsimplicity of the gospel was corrupted or else entirely departed from.\n\n42. Luke xxii. Matt. xxvi. III Nephi xviii.\n\n43. It will be remembered that the quorum of the twelve was perpetuated\non the western hemisphere by filling up vacancies as fast as they\noccurred (IV Nephi: 14), but for how long a period is uncertain.\n\n44. Acts xv: 1-30. Rev. i-iv.\n\n45. During a greater part of this century (the second) all the churches\ncontinued to be, as at the first, independent of each other. * * * Each\nchurch was a kind of small republic, governing itself by its own laws,\nenacted or at least sanctioned by the people.--Ecclesiastical History,\nMosheim Vol. I, book ii, cent. ii, part ii, ch. ii.\n\n46. As might be expected, however, there was a peculiar respect paid\nto the churches founded by the apostles--the church at Jerusalem,\nAntioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Rome. Those churches were appealed to in\ncontroversies on points of doctrine, \"as most likely to know what the\napostles taught,\" but the appeal had no other significance than that.\n\n47. Clement, the third bishop of Rome, is my authority for the above\nstatement. It appears that the Corinthians had deposed some of their\nbishops, and Clement in an epistle which he wrote to them said: \"Our\napostles knew through our Lord Jesus Christ that there would be strife\nover the name of the bishop's office. For this cause therefore, having\nreceived complete foreknowledge, they appointed the aforesaid persons\n[the bishops], and afterward they provided a continuance [i.e.,\ngave instructions] that if these should fall asleep, other approved\nmen should succeed to their ministration. Those therefore who were\nappointed by other men of repute with the consent of the whole church,\nand have ministered unblamably * * * these men we consider to be\nunjustly thrust out of their ministration.\"--See also Gibbon's \"Decline\nand Fall,\" vol. I, ch. xv.\n\n48. Eccl. Hist. (Mosheim) vol. I, bk. i, cent. iii, part ii, ch. ii.\n\n49. Dr. Mosheim in his Institutes of Ecclesiastical History states\nthat next to the patriarchs were bishops called exarchs; but this his\ntranslator (Murdock) denies. Certain it is, however, that there were\nbishops who presided over several provinces, just as the civil exarchs\ndid. These Mosheim may have considered as corresponding to the civil\nexarchs; while his translator insists that they were merely the \"first\nmetropolitans of the civil dioceses.\" The difference seems to be one\nof terms rather than of facts; but there is this to say in favor of\nthe translator, that the bishops exercising jurisdiction over several\nprovinces did not correspond to the number of civil exarchs. There was\nnot an exarch bishop over each civil diocese, and perhaps this is the\nreason the learned translator objects to the term of ecclesiastical\nexarch.\n\n50. In course of time the terms arch-bishop and metropolitan came to be\nused interchangeably.\n\n51. Matt. xvi:19.\n\n52. Irenaeus against Heresy, bk. III, ch. iii: 2, 3.\n\n53. Matt. xvi:15-18.\n\n54. St. John i:42.\n\n55. The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the\nJews, which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in\nEnglish: Thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. So\nthat by the plain course of the words Peter is here declared to be the\nrock upon which the church was to be built.--Footnote in Douay Bible on\nthese passages.\n\n56. As if it read: \"Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but\nmy Father which is in heaven; and I say unto thee, Peter, upon this\nprinciple I will build my church.\"\n\n57. Matt. xxviii:18-20.\n\n58. Milner's End of Religious Controversy--Letter xxviii.\n\n59. Orson Pratt's Works, Divine Authenticity, No.3.\n\n60. Milner's Church Hist. Vol. III, pp. 53, 69--note.\n\n61. See Bossuet's Universal History, Vol. I, p. 558. J. Andrew Cramer,\nGerman translation.\n\n62. See Eccl. Hist. (Mosheim) bk. III, part ii, ch. ii:6.\n\n63. Eccl. Hist. (Mosheim) bk. III, part ii, ch. ii:11.\n\n64. The cardinals are senators of the church and counselors of the\nsuccessors of St. Peter. There are now three orders of cardinals,\nviz., bishops, priests and deacons; six of these are bishops, fifty\nare priests and fourteen deacons. Sixtus V. [between A. D. 1585 and\n1590] fixed the number of cardinals at seventy in order to imitate the\nancient Sanhedrin of the Jews which was composed of seventy elders, and\nit is this assembly which is now called the Sacred College.--History of\nall religions (Burder) p. 336.\n\n65. Apologists of the popes may say what they will about purchased\nindulgences not being intended to remit sins, or a grant of permission\nto commit sin; and claim that they are only a remission of the whole or\npart of the temporal punishment due to sin. But if indulgences remit\nthe temporal penalties of sins, what is that but the remission of sin\nor at least of its effects, which, for all practical purposes, would\nbe the same as remission of sin? And if penalties attached to sins are\nset aside in advance of the commission of the sins, what is that but a\nlicense to commit sin? \"Come,\" said Tetzel, in selling indulgences in\nGermany early in the 16th century, \"come and I will give you letters\nall properly sealed, by which even the sins that you intend to commit\nmay be pardoned. * * * There is no sin so great but that an indulgence\ncannot remit.\"--Hist. Reformation, D'Aubigne's, bk. III, ch. i. Tetzel\ndefends this doctrine in his Antithesis 99, 100, 101. [See note 8, end\nof section.]\n\n66. II Thess. ii:4.\n\n67. Page 127.\n\n68. Mosheim.\n\n69. Tertullian's Apology, ch. xlii.\n\n70. Mosheim's Eccl. Hist. vol. I, bk, ii, part ii, ch. 4.\n\n71. Historie de Manicheism, tom ii, page 642.\n\n72. Eccl. Hist. (Mosheim) vol. I, bk. ii, part ii.\n\n73. I Cor. xii: 8-10.\n\n74. That it was proper for the Christian bishops to increase the\nrestraints upon the licentiousness of transgression, will be readily\ngranted by all who consider the circumstances of those times. But\nwhether it was for the advantage of Christianity, to borrow rules\nfor this salutary ordinance from the enemies of truth, and thus to\nconsecrate, as it were, a part of the pagan superstition, many persons\nvery justly call in question.--Eccl. Hist. (Mosheim) book I, cent. 2,\npart ii, ch. iii.\n\n75. Gen. i:26, 27. Jesus Christ was in the form of man, yet he is said\nto be the express image of God's person--Heb. i: 1-2.\n\n76. Matt. iii: 16, 17.\n\n77. Acts vii: 55, 56.\n\n78. John x: 30, and John xiv: 8-11.\n\n79. John xvii: 11, 21.\n\n80. John xiv: 26. John xv: 26. John xvi: 13-15.\n\n81. John xvii: 4, 5.\n\n82. Heb. iv: 2.\n\n83. John i:3. [See note 6, end of section].\n\n84. Some authorities say seven pairs were introduced in this manner.\n\n85. The statement is condensed from Mosheim; Dr. Benton, for years\nprofessor of divinity at Oxford, in his Brampton lectures states that\nthe matter was \"inert and powerless though co-eternal with the supreme\nGod, and, like Him, without beginning.\"\n\n86. The Gnostics desired to avoid making God the author of evil, hence\nit is a leading principle in their philosophy that all evil has its\norigin in matter, and as matter was created by one of the Aeons, not by\nGod, the Lord in the Gnostic system is relieved from the responsibility\nof being the author of evil.\n\n87. The statement of the Gnostic philosophy I have condensed from\nMosheim and Dr. Benton, than whom there can be no higher authority on\nthis subject.\n\n88. Gibbon's Decline and Fall, vol. ii, ch. xxii.\n\n89. The subject is difficult of illustration; but the following will\nperhaps aid the student to grasp the Sabellian doctrine. We see the\nocean is a liquid; let us next imagine it frozen into solid ice; next\nas entirely dissolved into vapor. Here we have the same substance in\nthree different aspects, but whether we speak of it as the liquid\nocean, the frozen ocean or the ocean dissolved into vapor, it is always\nthe same ocean, the same substance, but under different aspects.\nWhether he appeared as the Father, the Son or the Holy Ghost, he was\nalways the same God. Such was the Sabellian theory in respect to Deity.\nMosheim represents Sabellius as teaching that the divine nature was\ndivided into portions, that one portion became separate, was called\nthe Son, and was joined to the man Jesus. The Holy Ghost was a similar\nportion or part of the Eternal Father. The weight of authority is\nagainst the learned Doctor in this matter, however, and in favor of the\nstatement of Sabellius' views in the text of this work.\n\n90. This is the Nicene Creed as it was formulated by that celebrated\ncouncil. The so-called Nicene Creed used in the Catholic, Lutheran\nand English Churches is this creed as modified by the Council of\nConstantinople, A. D., 381. There is no material difference in them.\n\n91. Mosheim, Gibbon, Montfaucon and others insist that Athanasius is\nnot the author of this creed, and this may be true, but I have not yet\nheard of its being rejected as an explanation of the Nicene Creed.\nIndeed, notwithstanding its authenticity has long been suspected, it\nstill stands in the English prayer book and is recited in the church of\nEngland service upon the most notable feasts, Christmas, Epiphany etc.\n\n92. Church of England Book of Common Prayer, p. 49 Athanasius\nis credited with having confessed that whenever he forced his\nunderstanding to meditate on the divinity of the Logos, his toilsome\nand unavailing efforts recoiled on themselves; that the more he\nthought, the less he comprehended; and the more he wrote, the less\ncapable was he of expressing his thoughts. (Decline and Fall, vol.\nII, ch. xxi.) We would naturally think that whoever the author of the\nAthanasian Creed may be, that such would be his mental condition.\nNor are we very much surprised when we hear Gennadius, patriarch of\nConstantinople, frankly pronouncing it the work of a drunken man.\n\n93. Catholic Belief (Bruno) p. 1. This work is endorsed by His eminence\nCardinal Manning.\n\n94. Church of England Book of Common Prayer, p. 311.\n\n95. Gen. i: 26, 27.\n\n96. Heb. i: 3.\n\n97. Phil. ii: 5, 6.\n\n98. It is remarkable how clearly men will reason upon the absurdity of\nimmaterialism in everything except in respect to God. As an example,\ntake the reasoning of Rev. John Wesley in regard to the supposed\nimmateriality of the fire in hell: \"But it has been questioned by some\nwhether there be any fire in hell; that is, any material fire. Nay, if\nthere be any fire it is unquestionably material. For what is immaterial\nfire? The same as immaterial water or earth! Both the one and the other\nis absolute nonsense, a contradiction in terms. Either, therefore, we\nmust affirm it to be material, or we deny its existence.\" Now apply\nthat correct reasoning to the immaterial God of the orthodox Christian\nand what is the result? Let us try the experiment by substituting the\nword God, for the word fire in the quotation:--But it is questioned by\nsome whether there be any God, that is, any material God. Nay, if there\nbe any God, he is unquestionably material. For what is an immaterial\nGod? The same as immaterial water or earth! both the one and the\nother [that is, both immaterial God and immaterial earth] is absolute\nnonsense, a contradiction in terms. Either, therefore, we must affirm\nhim to be material, or we deny his existence.\n\n99. II Peter ii: I.\n\n100. Mosheim, book II, cent. iv, part ii, ch. iii.\n\n101. The phraseology of the philosophers was, \"living according to\nnature, and living above nature.\" The former was the rule for all men,\nthe latter for the philosophers who aimed at perfect virtue.\n\n102. Mosheim's Eccl. Hist., book I, cent. i, part ii, ch. iii.\n\n103. Mosheim, book II, cent. iv, part ii, ch. ii.\n\n104. Decline and Fall (Gibbon) vol. 1, ch. xvi.\n\n105. Mosheim, book II, cent. iv, part ii, ch. iii.\n\n106. The above quotation is taken from the third and fourth books on\n\"The Providence of God\" by Salvian, who flourished in the 5th century,\na priest of Marseilles, and one who knew whereof he wrote, as he was\ndealing with affairs of which he was a witness.\n\n107. Book VI and VII of The Providence of God.--Salvian.\n\n108. Mosheim, book III, cent. ix, part ii, chap. ii.\n\n109. See Milner's introduction to the first volume of his Church\nHistory. It will also be seen in that introduction that Milner wrote\nhis history to counteract the influence that he feared the great work\nof the too candid Mosheim might exert, viz., to create the impression\n\"That real religion appears scarcely to have had any existence.\" Hence\nthe admissions of Dr. Milner to the sad condition of the church in the\ntenth century have a peculiar significance since he would not admit its\ncorruption unless compelled to by the facts.\n\n110. This is Caesar Baronius, a Catholic historian of the 16th century.\nHis \"Annales Ecclesiastical\" comprise twelve volumes and were published\nin Rome, 1588-1607. He was a candidate for the papacy in 1605, but\nfailed to secure the election.\n\n111. Milner's Ch. Hist., vol. iii, cent. x, ch. i. The only thing\nwhich seems to console the learned doctor in respect to this terrible\ncondition of the church is that the scripture predicted this awful\nstate, and the truth of scripture was \"vindicated by events of all\nothers the most disagreeable to a pious mind.\"--Ibid.\n\n112. Acts xx: 27-30.\n\n113. II Tim. iv: 1-4.\n\n114. II Peter i: 21.\n\n115. II Peter ii: 1-3.\n\n116. Tim. iv: 1, 2.\n\n117. That is, that the day of Messiah's glorious coming is at hand.\n\n118. Letteth and let are the old English equivalents of hindereth and\nhinder. The student will remember that Shakespeare makes Hamlet say\nto those who seek to prevent him following the ghost of his father\nwhen beckoned to private interview--\"Still am I called. Unhand me,\ngentlemen. By heaven I'll make a ghost of him that lets me\"--i.e. that\nhinders me.\n\n119. II Thes. ii: 1-12.\n\n120. Isaiah xxiv: 4-6.\n\n121. Gal. iii. 8, 19, 24, 25.\n\n122. Heb. xiii: 20.\n\n123. Rev. xiv: 6, 7.\n\n{203}\n\n\n\nPART III.\n\nTHE REFORMATION\n\n{205}\n\n\n\nSECTION 1.\n\nThe Age of Darkness.--We have not found it necessary to our\npurpose to dwell upon the particular events of ecclesiastical history\nfrom the tenth to the sixteenth centuries. Those were the days of\nspiritual darkness of this earth. The papal power was supreme, and with\nan iron hand it ruled the nations. Some idea of its arrogance and power\nmay be conjectured from the fact that in the eleventh century[1] Henry\nIV, of Germany, the greatest temporal monarch in the world, in that\nage, stood for three days together in mid-winter, bare headed, and bare\nfooted, and meanly clad, at Canossa (a town in Italy where the pope\nwas temporarily residing), professing himself a penitent in order to\nobtain absolution from the Roman pontiff, Gregory VII. His offense was\npersisting to sell ecclesiastical offices in his empire contrary to the\nedicts of the pope. [See note 1, end of section.] [2]\n\n2. The Revival of Learning.--In the latter part of the fifteenth\ncentury occurred that event called by historians the \"Revival of\nLearning.\" The intellectual stupor of Europe had been as profound as\nspiritual darkness had been dense. But with the close of the fifteenth\ncentury, literature, science and art seemed to spring into active\nlife. The invention of gun-powder[3] had completely revolutionized the\nmodes of warfare; the employment of the mariner's compass made ocean\nnavigation {206} less dangerous; the discovery of a new passage to\nIndia by the Cape of Good Hope, by Vasco de Gama [Vas-ko-da-ga-ma], and\nthe discovery of America by Columbus, greatly enlarged the commerce\nof Europe and increased the comforts of life. Painting in oil came\ninto vogue about this time and filled Europe with masterpieces of art;\nengraving on copper, invented early in the century, multiplied and\ndiffused them. Paper made of linen also came into common use; and,\nfinally, between 1436 and 1452 A. D. printing was invented, which gave\nto the modern world the intellectual riches of the ancients.\n\n3. In the middle of this century--the fifteenth--Constantinople\nwas taken by the Turks, and with that event the eastern division of\nthe Roman empire fell. The fall of the great capital drove many of\nthe Greeks into Italy. They took with them a greater knowledge of\nantiquity than that possessed by the western nations, together with\nnumerous manuscripts; and literature from that time may be said to\nhave commenced its splendid career. [See note 2, end of section.]\nIntellectual pursuits became not only a pleasure, but a passion;\n\"and it may be regarded as a maxim, that wherever the progress of\nintelligence is a true pleasure, a desire for liberty is soon felt, nor\nis it long in passing from the public mind to the state.\" [4] It was so\nin Europe; for the \"Revival of Learning\" preceded, and there can be no\ndoubt that it did much to produce, that struggle for enlarged liberty\nwhich convulsed Europe in the following century.\n\n4. Release of the Masses from Serfdom.--The masses, moreover,\nbegan to be released, to some extent, from the serfdom of former\ntimes, and to be given some share of civil and political freedom. This\nchange was largely due to the breaking up of the old feudal system of\nland tenure and service. {207} According to feudal principles, all\nthe land of a country belonged to the king, not as representing the\ncommunity, but as sovereign feudal lord. Out of this land the king\ngranted portions to his subjects, on condition of their paying him\nhomage and fealty, and rendering him active military service a certain\nnumber of days in every year. The estates the king granted to his more\nimmediate and distinguished followers, whom he called his barons, were\nstyled baronies, and were of large extent; the barons in their turn\nmade undergrants to their own retainers, on similar conditions to those\nimposed upon themselves by the king. The relation between landlord and\ntenant, though at first merely lifelong, soon came to be regarded as\nhereditary, the heir becoming entitled on the death of the tenant to\noccupy his land upon the same terms. [5]\n\n5. This order of things established a powerful landed aristocracy\non the one hand, and a peasant tenantry on the other, whose vassalage\nwas but little removed from absolute slavery. The crusades and the\ndevelopment of a commercial class, living chiefly in the cities, in\ntime wrought the destruction of feudalism.\n\n6. The Crusades, their Influence on Feudalism and Liberty--The\ncrusades were religious wars carried on in the eleventh, twelfth and\nthirteenth centuries, between the Christian nations of the West and\nthe Mohammedans of the East. It had for ages been looked upon as an\nact of piety to make a pilgrimage to Palestine and visit the various\nplaces hallowed by the presence of Messiah during his earthly career,\nespecially his sepulchre at Jerusalem. These Christian pilgrims had\nbeen respected by the Saracens for centuries; but when the Seljuk\nTurks captured Jerusalem, towards the close of the eleventh century,\nthe Christians met with insult and cruelty. The western nations, under\nthe fervent preaching of Peter the {208} Hermit, a native of France,\nwho had witnessed the atrocities practiced upon Christians in the Holy\nLand, were lashed into a fury of resentment against the Turks. Pope\nUrban II took up the cause, and advocated wresting the Holy Land from\nthe dominion of the infidels. Europe responded, \"God wills it,\" and\npreparations were made for the holy war.\n\n7. To raise the money necessary to equip and transport their\nsoldiers to the distant East, the barons had to sell their lands, which\nhad the effect of breaking down to a very great extent the feudal\nsystem of land tenure, and with it the obligations that it imposed. The\ndirect result of this was to enlarge the liberties of the people. For\nthe same purpose--to raise money for carrying on the holy wars in the\nEast--kings granted to the towns political privileges, a circumstance\nwhich also contributed vastly to the progress of popular liberty. Thus\nthe way was prepared for that religious revolution of the sixteenth\ncentury known in history as the Reformation.\n\n8. Martin Luther.--The Reformation is usually considered to have\nbegun with the fearless preaching of Martin Luther against the sale\nof indulgences, A. D., 1517. Luther was born at Eisleben [Is-la-ben],\nGermany, A. D., 1483. His father was a miner of Mansfield in the same\ncountry. After attending the school of Magdeburg [Mag-de-boorg] and\nEisenach [Is-sen-ak] he was sent to study philosophy and jurisprudence\nat Erfurt [Er-foort]. Much against the will of his father, he abandoned\nthe pursuit of these studies, and joined himself to the Augustine\nEremites, a rigid order of mendicant monks. His good temper, industry\nand abilities won for him the good opinions of his superiors. In 1508\nhe was sent by his vicar-general to be professor of philosophy at\nWittemburg. While here he applied himself to Biblical theology and soon\ndiscovered a wide discrepancy between the religion of the scriptures\nand that of the church. Two years after becoming a professor at\nWittemburg, he made a journey to Rome on some business connected {209}\nwith the Augustine order of monks; and was not a little shocked at the\ncorruption and depravity of the Italian clergy. That visit to Rome did\nmuch to dispel the veneration in which he had held the \"Holy See,\" and\narmed him for his subsequent conflict with it.\n\n9. Indulgences and their Origin.--The thing which provoked\nLuther's opposition to the church of Rome was the reckless sale of\nindulgences by the agents of the pope in Germany. The origin of\nindulgences, according to the learned Schlegel, must be sought in\nthe earliest history of the church. In the first centuries of the\nChristian era, such Christians as were excluded from the communion of\nthe church on account of their apostasy in the times of persecutions,\nor on account of other heinous sins, had to seek a restoration to\nfellowship by a public penance, in which they entreated the brethren\nto forgive them, frequently standing before the door of the church\nclothed in the garb of mourning. This punishment was regarded as a sort\nof \"satisfaction\" made to the community of saints, and was called by\nthat name. In the case of aged or infirm Christians this \"satisfaction\"\nwas sometimes omitted, and this omission was called \"indulgence.\"\nOriginally, therefore, indulgences were merely the remission of\necclesiastical punishments imposed on grave offenders against church\nlaws.[6]\n\n10. It is maintained, however, in the decretal of Pope Clement\nVI, that \"one drop of Christ's blood being sufficient to redeem the\nwhole human race, the remaining quantity that was shed in the garden\nand upon the cross, was left as a legacy to the church, to be a\ntreasure from whence indulgences were to be drawn and administered\nby the Roman pontiffs.\" [7] The doctrine was held that Messiah had\natoned for the eternal punishment of sins, but not for its temporary\npunishment. The temporary {210} punishment the Catholic Church divided\ninto that of the present life and that of the future life, or of\npurgatory. It was held that every man who attained salvation, must\nsuffer the temporary punishment of his sins, either in the present\nworld or in the flames of purgatory. It was also held that the priest\nto whom a man confessed his sins, had the power to adjudge and impose\nthe necessary punishment.\n\n11. The punishment usually consisted of fastings, pilgrimages,\nwhippings, etc.; but people of distinction and wealth were permitted\nto employ substitutes to receive this punishment; and there were\nmonks ever ready to endure the punishment of the transgressor for\na consideration paid in money. This penance was finally changed to\npaying to the church the money instead of employing monks to endure\nthe punishment. Whoever, for instance, was bound to whip himself with\nso many stripes each day for several weeks might pay to the church or\nto the monastery a certain sum of money, or give it a piece of land\nand then be released from the penance. As the popes perceived that\nsomething might be gained in this way, they assumed to themselves the\nright of commuting penances for pecuniary satisfactions, which every\nbishop had before exercised in his own diocese. At first they released\nonly from the punishments of sin in the present world; but in the\nfourteenth century they extended this release also to the punishment in\npurgatory.\n\n12. The Traffic in Indulgences.--When such indulgences were to\nbe published, the disposal of them was commonly farmed out. The papal\ncourt could not always wait to have the money conveyed from every\ncountry of Europe; and there were rich merchants at Genoa, Milan,\nVenice, and Augsburg, who purchased the indulgences for a particular\nprovince and paid to the papal treasury handsome sums for them. Thus\nboth parties were benefited. The pope came at once into possession\nof large sums of money; and the farmers did not fail of {211} a\ngood bargain. They were careful to employ skillful hawkers of the\nindulgences, persons whose boldness and impudence bore due proportion\nto the eloquence with which they imposed upon the simple people. Yet\nthat this traffic might have a religious aspect, the pope appointed\nthe archbishops of the several provinces to be his commissioners, who\nin his name published that indulgences were to be sold, and usually\nselected the persons to hawk them, and for this service shared the\nprofits with the merchants who farmed them.[8] [See notes 3 and 4, end\nof section.]\n\n13. In the beginning of the sixteenth century the sale of\nindulgences was pushed vigorously and became most offensive. The reason\nfor resorting to this mode of raising revenue was justified by the pope\non the plea of completing the church of St. Peter, at Rome, which had\nbeen commenced by Julius II.\n\n14. John Tetzel.--The hawker of indulgences who traveled through\nGermany, where Luther was living, was John Tetzel, a Dominical monk, at\nonce one of the boldest, most eloquent and the most profligate of men.\n[See note 6, end of section.] His reckless preaching of these papal\nwares aroused the indignation of Luther, who published ninety-five\npropositions against the sale of indulgences, in which he even gently\ncensured the pope for permitting the people to be diverted from Christ.\n\n15. The Indifference of Leo X to the Agitation in Germany.--The\ndispute which arose between Luther and Tetzel was looked upon at Rome\nas the wrangle between two monks--Luther was an Augustine monk, Tetzel\na Dominican; and it was supposed that the former was jealous because\nthe Dominicans had been preferred for this work of selling indulgences.\nIn addition to assailing Tetzel, Luther wrote a protest to {212}\nAlbert, Archbishop of Mentz and Magdeburg, and was as surprised as he\nwas indignant to learn that the archbishop received of the profits\narising from this wretched traffic. His assault upon Tetzel provoked\na protracted controversy, a war of pamphlets between himself and\nTetzel and his friends, among whom was John Eckius, a theologian of\nIngolstadt. The dispute on both sides was more noted for its warmth\nthan for its Christian character.\n\n16. At last Leo X was aroused from his indifference to the\ncontroversy that had arisen in Germany, by the emperor, Maximilian\nI informing him that the agitation was serious, and that Germany\nwas taking sides in respect to it. He therefore appointed Cardinal\nThomas Cajetan, then at the diet of Augsburg, to hear the cause of\nLuther. The cardinal summoned the monk before him at Augsburg, in\nOctober, 1518. They had three interviews, but nothing was accomplished\ntowards reconciliation, as the cardinal treated Luther imperiously,\nand peremptorily ordered him to submit his judgment to the authority\nof the pope. This the reformer refused to do until he was convinced\nof his error, and appealed from the pope ill-informed to the pope\nbetter-informed. This took the matter out of the hands of the cardinal.\n\n17. An Appeal to a General Council.--There was a difference\nbetween the Reformer and the cardinal in their views in respect to\nauthorities appealed to. The latter sought to convince the former of\nhis errors by appealing to the canon law,[9] and the authority of\nLombard; [10] but Luther refused to admit of any proof except that of\nthe holy scripture, and as the cardinal seems not to have been able\nto make good his censure of the Reformer's doctrines by proofs from\nthe scriptures, {213} Luther appealed to the pope better informed.\nBut Leo X, the month following (Nov. 9th), issued an edict requiring\nthe church to believe in his power to forgive sins. Learning of this,\nLuther promptly appealed from the pope to a future council of the whole\nchurch.[11]\n\n18. Discussion on Free Will.--Meantime the points of disagreement\nbetween the Reformer and the church of Rome increased. In 1519 John\nEckius [Eck-ius] challenged Andrew Carlstadt [Karl-stat], a friend and\ncolleague of Luther's, to a discussion on the subject of Free Will,\nabout which there was a disagreement between the Reformer and those who\nthought with him--among whom was Carlstadt--and the adherents of the\nchurch of Rome. In this dispute Carlstadt maintained--and of course his\nwere Luther's views--that since the fall, the natural freedom of man is\nnot strong enough to move him to that which is morally good, or to do\nthe will of God. Eckius on the contrary insisted that the free will of\nman produces good works, and not merely the grace of God; that our free\nwill co-operates with divine grace in the production of good works, and\nthat it depends on man's free power, whether he will give place to the\noperations of grace or will resist them.\n\n19. Luther and Eckius.--After this dispute with Carlstadt, Eckius\ndrew Luther--who had been present at the discussion on Free Will--into\na public debate on the foundation of the authority of the pope. Eckius\nmaintained the orthodox {214} view that the supremacy of the pope was\nfounded on divine right, that he was the successor of St. Peter and the\nvicar of Christ. Luther allowed the superiority of the pope over other\nbishops, but based that superiority on other grounds. He could not deny\nthat the pontiffs had possessed a decided pre-eminence from age to age,\nand therefore he conceived it as his duty not to resist the powers that\nbe. \"Unless it had been the will of God,\" he went on to say, \"the pope\ncould never have attained so great and durable a dominion. The whole\nbody of the Christians own themselves to be under the Roman pontiff.\nThis universal consent is a consideration of the greatest weight; the\nunity of the church should be preserved in everything that is not\ndirectly contrary to the word of God.\" [12]\n\n20. In all these admissions, however, it will be observed that\nthe Reformer placed the supremacy of the pontiffs on human, not divine\nright. It was based upon tradition, upon human arrangement. To the\ncontention of Eckius that the expressions--\"Thou art Peter, and upon\nthis rock I will build my church,\" \"And I will give unto thee the keys\nof the kingdom\"--evinced the supremacy of Peter and his successors;\nthat this was the explanation given by the holy fathers, etc.,\nLuther replied: That even if all the fathers, without exception, had\nunderstood the passages in that sense, he would confute them by the\nauthority of St. Paul, and by St. Peter himself, who said that Jesus\nChrist is the only foundation and corner-stone of the church. And\nfurther, if the words \"Thou art Peter,\" etc., be construed strictly\nthen they must be confined to the person of Peter and therefore the\nauthority conveyed by them ceased when that apostle died.[13]\n\n21. The dispute amounted to nothing except that it widened the\nbreach between the See of Rome and the Reformer. The latter, while\npreparing for his discussion with Eckius, had his {215} suspicions\naroused that the pope was the very anti-Christ of the New Testament.\nAt the conclusion of the debate, George, Duke of Saxony, said to the\ndisputants, privately, \"Whether the pope exists by divine or by human\nright, he is, however, the pope;\" and that remark doubtless expressed\nthe sentiments of the papist party.\n\n22. Luther Condemned and Excommunicated.--Eckius hastened to Rome\nafter the discussion at Leipsic [Lip-sik], where, with the assistance\nof other enemies of Luther, among them Cardinal Cajetan, he urged Leo\nX to condemn him and his works. This Leo did by issuing a bull, in\nwhich forty-one of his tenets were pronounced heretical; his writings\ncondemned to the flames, and he himself commanded to confess his faults\nwithin sixty days, beg the forgiveness of the pope or be excommunicated\nfrom the church.\n\n23. This bull of condemnation Luther burned; together with a copy\nof the pontifical canon law, in the presence of a vast multitude. (See\nnote 6, end of section.) By this act he meant to withdraw from the\nchurch of Rome, that the excommunication which was expected to follow\nmight be robbed of its force. About a month later--4th of January,\n1521--the second bull of Leo was issued in which the Reformer was\nexpelled from the Catholic church for his heresies and for violating\nthe majesty of the pontiff. (See note 7, end of section.)\n\n24. Luther Before the Diet at Worms.--After issuing his bull of\nexcommunication, Leo X called upon the emperor of Germany, Charles V,\nto vindicate his title to \"Advocate and Defender of the Church,\" by\ninflicting due punishment on that \"rebellious member, Martin Luther.\"\nCharles, however, was under deep obligations to Frederic, the Wise,\nElector of Saxony, for his election by the states of Germany to the\nimperial dignity; and Frederic, being a warm friend of Luther's and\nfavorable in the main to his doctrines, advised the emperor {216} to take\nno action against the Reformer until he had given him a hearing. This\ncourse Charles resolved to follow, and therefore summoned Luther to\nappear before the diet which assembled at Worms in 1521.[14]\n\n25. Before this august body the Reformer appeared to make answer\nto the two questions: First, if the books which he had written, the\ntitles of which were read to him, were his; second, if he was prepared\nto retract those books and their contents, or if he persisted in the\nopinions he had advanced in them. He acknowledged the books to be his,\nand in a speech of some length he explained his motives in writing his\nbooks, and refused to retract them. He thus concluded his speech:\n\n    26. I cannot submit my faith either to the pope or to\n    the council, because it is as clear as the day that they have\n    frequently erred and contradicted each other. Unless, therefore,\n    I am convinced by the testimony of scripture, or by the clearest\n    reasoning--unless I am persuaded by means of the passages I have\n    quoted,--and unless they thus render my conscience bound, by the\n    word of God, I can not and will not retract, for it is unsafe for a\n    Christian to speak against his conscience. HERE I STAND, I CAN DO\n    NO OTHER, MAY GOD HELP ME! AMEN!\n\n27. Luther was protected by a safe conduct from the emperor--a\nwritten guarantee pledging the faith and honor of the empire for his\nsafety for a limited length of time--or doubtless he would have been\nburned at the stake for his adherence to his doctrines and his defiance\nof the pope. Indeed, some members of the diet advised the violation of\nthe safe conduct, as the word of honor given to an heretic, according\nto the morals of the age, was not binding. Charles V, however, {217}\nwould not listen to such perfidy. He dismissed Luther to return to\nWittenberg in accordance with the terms of his safe conduct; at the\nsame time condemning him as an heretic misled by his own folly. He\nforbade him on his return to Wittenberg to cause the least disorder\namong the people, and then promised the representatives of the pope\nthat he would proceed against him and his adherents as contumacious\nheretics, by excommunication, by interdict and by every means\ncalculated to destroy them.\n\n28. Luther's Confinement at Wartburg.--Prince Frederic, the\nWise, fearing that Luther would fall a prey to his enemies, in the\nstorm which he saw gathering about him, had him intercepted on his way\nback to Wittenberg, by persons in disguise, who carried him to the\ncastle of Wartburg [Wart-berg], where he was concealed ten months. The\nextremes into which some of his followers went, both in doctrine and\nin opposition to the Catholics, at last called him from his place of\nretirement, in order to restrain them and correct the abuses to which\nsome of his doctrines gave birth.\n\n29. Death of Leo X--Demands for a General Council.--The year\nfollowing the diet at Worms, Leo X died and was succeeded by Hadrian\nVI. This pontiff, while renewing the demand that the edict of the\ndiet of Worms against Luther and his adherents should be executed,\nacknowledged the church to be in a lamentable condition, and promised\na general reformation. The assembled princes at the diet of Nuremberg,\nbefore which the demands of Hadrian were presented, thought the time\npropitious--the emperor Charles was absent in Spain--to insist upon a\nfree council to be held in Germany, to deliberate in the ancient manner\non a general reformation of the church. This Hadrian promised to grant,\nbut before it could be assembled he died, having occupied the papal\nchair but two years and eight months. He was succeeded by Clement VII,\nwho reproved the German princes for {218} neglecting to proceed against\nLuther and his adherents. The emperor seconded the demands of the pope,\nand a number of the princes, awed by the united demands of the pope and\nthe emperor, promised to enforce the edict to the extent of their power.\n\n30. Death of Frederic--Distinct Church Founded.--In 1525, Prince\nFrederic, the Wise, Elector of Saxony, and friend of Luther, died. He\nwas succeeded by his brother John. Frederic had ever been an ardent\nadmirer of Luther, but was extremely cautions in giving him any\ndirect assistance. John was of a different temperament. He believed\nthe principles which the Reformer taught, but saw quite clearly that\nthey must either be abandoned or the authority of the pope discarded.\nHe resolved upon the latter; and taking matters in his own hands,\ndetermined to organize a church altogether distinct from that of\nRome. To accomplish this he called upon Luther and Philip Melancthon\n[Me-lanc-thon] to draw up a formula for public worship, and draft a\nform of church government in harmony with their principles, fixing the\nsalaries of the clergy, defining their official duties, etc. This the\nReformers gladly undertook, and shortly afterwards had the pleasure of\nseeing other German princes pursue the same course that John had taken,\nand adopt the system of worship they had formulated.\n\n31. The Rupture Between the Pope and the Emperor.--This bold step\nthreatened for a time to disrupt the German empire; for the princes who\nremained true to the old religion openly consulted together upon the\nadvisability of taking up arms against the Lutherans; and the princes\nfavoring the Reformers met to consider the necessity of forming an\nalliance to resist their enemies. In the midst of these threatening\nprospects an event happened which was of great advantage to the\nLutheran cause, and prevented for the moment any action against them.\nThe Emperor Charles V and Pope {219} Clement VII became open enemies.\nThe pontiff, fearing the increasing power of Charles, had formed an\nalliance with Francis I, king of France, against him. This so incensed\nCharles that he abolished the authority of the pope in Spain, made war\nupon him in Italy, captured the cities of Rome, besieged the pontiff in\nhis castle of St. Angelo, and subjected him to great indignities.\n\n32. The Diet at Spire--1529.--The difficulties between Charles\nand the pope were finally settled, however, and a diet was called\nat Spire in 1529, in which a majority voted to deprive the princes\nof Germany of the right to regulate religious matters within their\nrespective territories--a right which a diet held three years before\nat Spire had granted. That is, such power was granted pending the\nsettlement of religious difficulties by a free general council.[15] The\ndiet also declared all changes made in the public religion unlawful.\nThis action was considered a hardship by those princes who had made\nsuch changes, and they protested against the action of the diet and\nappealed to the emperor.[16] It was this protest which gave to the\ndissenting princes, and the followers of Luther generally, the name\nProtestants.\n\n33. The envoys of the dissenting princes sent to inform Charles\nof the stand they had taken in relation to the religious controversy\nin Germany were imprisoned by him, a circumstance which threatened\nhostility, and the Protestant princes at once took counsel for their\nsafety and sought to form closer alliances with each other for mutual\ndefense. Unfortunately, however, the would-be reformers of religion\nwere not united in {220} doctrine, and the efforts of the princes at\nunion were rendered vain by the disputes of the theologians.\n\n34. Diet at Augsburg--Protestant Confession of Faith.--The\nemperor finally determined to settle this religious controversy within\nhis empire, and appointed a diet to be assembled at Augsburg for that\npurpose. In order that the faith of the Protestants might be clearly\nset forth, together with their reasons for separation from the Roman\nchurch, Luther and Melancthon, at the instance of the princes who\nfavored their doctrines, drew up a confession of faith, known as the\nAugsburg Confession. It consisted of twenty-eight articles, twenty-one\nof which stated the doctrines of the Reformers, and the other seven\nstated their reason for withdrawing from the Roman church. These in\nbrief were--communion in one kind; by which the sacramental cup was\ndenied the laity; imposing celibacy on the clergy; private masses;\nauricular confession; legendary traditions; monastic vows; and lastly,\nthe excessive power of the church. In respect to this last \"abuse,\" as\nthese several above things are called, they discriminate between civil\nand ecclesiastical power, and insist that neither should infringe upon\nthe domain of the other.\n\n35. The diet of Augsburg assembled on the 20th of June, 1530;\nand after the Confession of Faith was read to the emperor, it was\nsigned by John, Elector of Saxony, four princes of the empire, and the\nrepresentatives of two imperial cities, Nuremberg [Nu-rem-berg] and\nReutlingen [Roit-ling-en].[17]\n\n36. The friends of the pope at the diet presented a confutation\nof the Protestant confession, and thereupon the emperor commanded the\nProtestants to abandon their whole cause of controversy. In reply they\nprotested they were not satisfied {221} with the \"confutation,\" and\nasked that a copy of it might be given them that they might make answer\nto it. This the emperor would not grant, nor would he permit an answer\nto be read before the diet which Philip Melanchthon had written out\nfrom memory. A number of conferences were held between the leaders of\nthe contending parties with a view to reach an honorable compromise,\nbut they had drifted too far apart, and all hope of reconciliation\nwas lost. At last the emperor issued a decree commanding back to\ntheir allegiance to the pontiff the princes and cities that had\nbecome alienated from the holy See of Rome, on pain of incurring the\nvengeance of the emperor. The religious changes made in some of the\nprincipalities were censured and the edict of Worms against Luther and\nhis adherents received new force.\n\n37. The League of Smalcald.--Nothing daunted by the unfavorable\ndecree of the emperor, the Protestant princes assembled at Smalcald,\nand entered into a league among themselves, and made every effort to\ninduce the kings of England, France, Denmark and other princes to join\ntheir confederacy. This movement seriously embarrassed Charles, for\nhe was just on the eve of a war with the Turks, and needed the entire\nstrength of his empire. He therefore entered into negotiations with the\nProtestant princes, and finally agreed to annual the edict of Worms and\nof Augsburg, allow the Protestants to regulate religious matters to\nplease themselves until either a council of the church or a diet of the\nempire should determine what religious principles should be approved\nand obeyed--the council to be called within six months. Such were the\nconcessions of the emperor. On their part, the Protestant princes were\nto contribute money for the Turkish war, and acknowledge Ferdinand,\nbrother of the emperor, king of the Romans.[18]\n\n38. The Truce of Nuremberg.--This treaty of peace {222} being\ndrawn up and accepted in the city of Nuremberg [Nu-rem-berg], was\nknown as the Truce of Nuremberg, and under it the Protestant cause was\nmaterially strengthened; for every day men and cities threw off their\nallegiance to the pope and rejoiced in their new-found freedom.\n\n39. Difficulty in Locating the Council.--The emperor urged the\npontiff to call the long-talked-of council which was to settle these\nunhappy difficulties. But this Clement VII seemed not anxious to do.\nWhen he did propose a council it was at places in Italy, and to this\nthe Germans would not consent, as a council held there would be under\nthe influence of the pope; besides, the controversy had arisen in\nGermany, and there it should be settled. The Protestants also insisted\nthat the decision should be founded solely on the scriptures, a point\nwhich required the church of Rome to set aside all the former decisions\nof her great councils--a thing her pontiffs were in no temper to do, as\nthey considered themselves in the position of a parent having absolute\njurisdiction, dealing with a refractory child. Finally, the successor\nof Clement VII--Paul III--with the approval of the emperor, called a\ncouncil to meet at Trent, in Austria (in the Austrian Tyrol). But this\nwas not satisfactory to the Protestants, and Charles X despairing of\nsettling the difficulties by peaceful methods and being urged to it\nby Pope Paul III prepared to settle them by resorting to force. While\nthe Catholics and Protestants were preparing for this conflict Luther,\nwhose preaching had begun this agitation, died at Eisleben, his native\ntown. [See note 8, end of section.]\n\n40. Reverses of the Protestants.--In the war which followed the\nProtestants met with severe reverses and were forced by the emperor to\nconsent to refer the religious controversy to the council of Trent,\nbut it being reported that the plague had broken out in that city,\nthe council was broken up, nor could Charles induce the pope to call\nanother immediately {223} (see note 9, end of section); hence it\nbecame necessary to formulate a treaty which should bind both parties\nin respect to religion, pending the convening of a council. This\ntreaty was called The Interim, and was of course most favorable to the\nvictorious party--the Catholics--and went far towards establishing the\nold methods of worship.\n\n41. Victory of Protestants--Religious Liberty Secured.--At last\nthe emperor persuaded the pope to re-assemble the Council of Trent, and\ngave notice to the Protestants to attend, promising to use his best\nendeavor to have everything done in a Christian manner and without\npassion. But before this council could assemble the Protestant princes\nrevolted, took the emperor by surprise, and forced him into signing a\ntreaty at Paussau, in 1552, which guaranteed religious liberty to the\nProtestants. This treaty was re-confirmed by the emperor in the diet at\nAugsburg, 1555. By that treaty all who had accepted the Confession of\nAugsburg were declared free from all jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff,\nand his bishops. They were to be permitted to live in peace and the\nquiet enjoyment of religious liberty. Men were to be left free to join\neither the Reformed or the Catholic Church, and any person making war\nupon others, or molesting them because of their religion was to be\naccounted the public enemy of Germany.\n\n42. Such was the fruit of the great revolution of the sixteenth\ncentury in Germany--religious liberty. To that end all the struggles\ntended, and its result was indeed glorious, worth all the tears and\nblood it had cost to gain it. But it was not a reformation, if by\nthat is meant the bringing back of primitive Christianity. That the\nReformers did not do. Indeed they left more truth in the Catholic\nchurch than they brought out with them, or found in their speculations\nafter leaving that church, as will be seen by a careful consideration\nof Protestant doctrines treated in subsequent sections.\n\n{224}\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. The Humiliation of Henry IV.--It was the fourth day on which\nhe had borne the humiliating garb of an affected penitent, and in\nthat sordid raiment he drew near on his bare feet to the more than\nimperial majesty of the church, and prostrated himself in more than\nservile deference before the diminutive and emaciated old man, from\nthe terrible glance of whose countenance, we are told, \"the eyes of\nevery beholder recoiled as from the lightning.\" Hunger, cold and\nnakedness, and shame, had for the moment crushed the gallant spirit of\nthe sufferer. He wept and cried for mercy, again and again renewing his\nentreaties until he had reached the lowest level of abasement to which\nhis own enfeebled heart or the haughtiness of his great antagonist\ncould depress him. Then, and not till then did the pope condescend\nto revoke the anathema of the vatican.--Sir J. Stephen's Essays On\nEcclesiastical Biography.\n\n2. Influence of Greek Literature on the Fifteenth Century.--The\nclassical school of that period (15th century) inspired its disciples\nwith admiration, not only for the writings of Virgil and Homer, but\nfor the entire frame of ancient society; for its institutions, its\nopinions, its philosophy, as well as its literature. Antiquity, it must\nbe allowed, whether as regards politics, philosophy, or literature,\nwas greatly superior to the Europe of the fourteenth and fifteenth\ncenturies. It is not surprisingg, therefore, that it should have\nexercised so great an influence; that lofty, vigorous, elegant and\nfastidious minds should have been disgusted with the coarse manners,\nthe confused ideas, the barbarous modes of their own time, and should\nhave devoted themselves with enthusiasm, and almost with veneration, to\nthe study of a state of society at once more regular and more perfect\nthan their own. Thus was formed that school of bold thinkers, which\nappeared at the commencement of the fifteenth century, and in which\nprelates, priests and men of learning were united by common sentiment\nand common pursuits.--Guizot's Hist. Civilization.\n\n3. Luther on Indulgences.--I was compelled in my conscience to\nexpose the scandalous sale of indulgences. I saw some seduced by them\ninto mischievous errors, others tempted into an audacious profaneness.\nIn a word, the proclaiming and selling of pardons proceeded to such\nan unbounded licentiousness that the holy church and its authorities\nbecame subjects of open derision in the public taverns. There was no\noccasion to excite the hatred of mankind against priests to a greater\ndegree. The avarice and profligacy of the clergy had for many years\npast kindled the indignation of the laity. Alas! they have not a\nparticle of respect or honor for the priesthood, except what solely\narises from fear of punishment.--Luther.\n\n{225} 4. Duke George of Saxony on the Corruption in the\nChurch.--[Duke George is regarded as a bigoted papist, esteemed\nby the Roman Catholics as a most sincere and active defender of the\nfaith of his day. His testimony, therefore, to the sale and evils of\nindulgences, and the corruption of the clergy, is the more valuable.\nHe entirely approved of Luther's condemnation.] \"Indulgences which\nought to be obtained by prayer, fastings, benevolence towards our\nneighbor, and other good works,\" said the duke, \"are sold for money.\nTheir value is extolled beyond all decency. The sole object is to gain\na deal of money. Hence the preachers who are bound to set forth truth,\nteach men nothing but lies and frauds. They are not only suffered to\ngo on thus, but they are well paid for their fraudulent harangues. The\nreason is the more conviction they can produce among their hearers,\nthe more money flows into the chest. Rivers of scandalous proceedings\narise from this corrupt fountain. The officials of the bishops are\nequally attentive to scrape money together. They vex the poor with\ntheir censures for great crimes, as whoredom, adultery, blasphemy;\nbut they spare the rich. The clergy commit the very same crimes, and\nnobody censures them. Faults which ought to be expiated by prayers and\nfastings are atoned for by money, in order that the officials may pay\nlarge sums to their respective bishops, and retain a portion of the\ngain for themselves. Neither when a fine is inflicted is it done in a\nway to stop the commission of the same fault in the future, but rather\nso that the delinquent understands he may soon do that very thing\nagain, provided he be but ready to pay. Hence all the sacraments are\nsold for money; and where that is not to be had, they are absolutely\nneglected.\"--Duke George, quoted by Milner, Church Hist. vol. iv, p.\n568.\n\n5. Character of Tetzel.--He was a profligate wretch, who had\nonce fallen into the hands of the Inquisition in consequence of his\nadulteries, and whom the elector of Saxony rescued by his intercession.\nHe now cried up his merchandise in a manner so offensive, so contrary\nto all Christian principles, and so acceptably to the inconsiderate,\nthat all upright men were disgusted with him. * * * He claimed to have\npower to absolve, not only from all church censure, but likewise from\nall sins, transgressions, and enormities, however horrid they might\nbe, and even from those of which only the pope can take cognizance.\nHe released from all the punishments of purgatory, gave permission\nto come to the sacraments, and promised to those who purchased their\nindulgences, that the gates of hell should be closed, and the gates of\nparadise and of bliss open to them.--Schlegel.\n\n6. Luther Burning the Pope's Bull.--On the 10th of December, a\n{226} placard was posted on the walls of the university of Wittemberg,\ninviting the professors and students to be present at nine o'clock in\nthe morning, at the eastern gate near the Holy Cross. A great number\nof doctors and students assembled, and Luther walking at their head,\nconducted the procession to the appointed place. How many burning\npiles has Rome erected during the course of ages! Luther resolves to\nmake a better application of the great Roman principle. It is only\na few old papers that are to be destroyed; and fire, thinks he, is\nintended for that purpose. A scaffold had been prepared. One of the\noldest masters of arts set fire to it. As the flames rose high into\nthe air, the formidable Augustine, wearing his frock, approached the\npile, carrying the Canon Law, the Decretals, the Clementines, the papal\nExtravagants, some writings by Eckius and Emser, and the pope's bull.\nLuther held up the bull and said: \"Since thou hast vexed the Holy One\nof the Lord, may everlasting fire vex and consume thee.\" He then flung\nit into the flames. Never had war been declared with greater energy\nand resolution. After this Luther calmly returned to the city, and the\ncrowd of doctors, professors and students testifying their approval by\nloud cheers, re-entered Wittemberg with him.--D'Aubigne's Hist. of the\nReformation.\n\n7. Excommunication of Luther.--The excommunication bull was an\nattack upon the rights of the German churches. For Luther had appealed\nto an ecclesiastical council; and in consequence of this appeal the\npope could no longer have jurisdiction of the case. Hence the number\nof Luther's friends increased the more after the publication of this\nbull.--Schlegel.\n\n8. The Character of Luther.--Seckendorf * * * defies all the\nadversaries of Luther to fix any just censure on his character except\nwhat may be ranked under two heads, viz., a disposition to anger, and\nan indulgence in jesting. Beyond all doubt the Saxon reformer was of a\ncholeric temper, and he too often gave way to this constitutional evil,\nas he himself laments. Neither is it to be denied that he also too much\nencouraged his natural propensity to facetiousness. The monks of his\ntime were in general guilty of the like fault, and often to so great\na degree as very improperly to mix scurrilities with sacred subjects.\nMoreover, the vices and follies of those whom Luther opposed, afforded\na strong temptation both to the spirit of anger and of ridicule. For\nhowever severe he may be thought in many of his invectives, we are\ncompelled by unquestionable evidence to confess that his keenest\nsatirical pieces never reached the demerits of those who ruled the\nchurch in that age. But after all that can be said in mitigation, it\nmust be owned that a reformer ought to have considered not so much what\nthey deserved {227} as what became the character he had to support;\nviz., that of a serious Christian, zealous for the honor of his God,\ndispleased with the vices of his clerical brethren, and grieved on\naccount of the pitiable ignorance of the people, yet more desirous of\ncuring the prevailing evils than of exposing them.--Milner.\n\n9. The Pestilence and the Council of Trent.--The report of a\npestilence was a mere pretense. The Pope Paul III was equally zealous\nof the council which had not been disposed in all respects to govern\nitself by his prescription, and of the governing power of the emperor,\nwhich he did not wish to see farther increased by the council. He\nindeed hated the Protestants, but he did not wish to see the emperor,\nunder color of enforcing the decrees of the council, acquire a\nmore absolute authority over Germany. He had already withdrawn his\ntroops from the imperial army; and he now wished to see the council\ndispersed. The Spanish members opposed him; but he found means to\nprevail.--Schlegel.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What centuries may be considered as the age of moral and spiritual\ndarkness?\n\n2. What power was supreme in those ages?\n\n3. Give an instance illustrating the pride and insolence of the popes.\n(Note 1.)\n\n4. What was Henry IV's offense?\n\n5. From what period do historians date the \"revival of learning?\"\n\n6. What several inventions and circumstances contributed to the\nintellectual awakening of Europe?\n\n7. What effect did the fall of the eastern division of the Roman empire\nhave on the west?\n\n8. What was the influence of ancient literature on the west? (Note 2.)\n\n9. What circumstances led to the enlargement of the liberty of the\nmasses?\n\n10. Describe land tenure under the feudal system.\n\n11. What were the Crusades?\n\n12. Who aroused the nations of western Europe to undertake the Crusades?\n\n13. What effect did the Crusades have on the feudal system of land\ntenure and liberty?\n\n{228} 14. What did this enlarged liberty prepare the people for?\n\n15. What event is usually considered the beginning of the Reformation?\n\n16. Give an account of the birth and parentage of Martin Luther.\n\n17. What schools did he attend and with what result?\n\n18. What effect was produced by his visit to Rome?\n\n19. State the origin of indulgences.\n\n20. What doctrine respecting the efficacy of Christ's blood was\nadvanced by Pope Clement VI?\n\n21. What doctrine is held by the Roman Catholic church about the\natonement of Christ for sin?\n\n22. Of what did the temporary punishments for sin usually consist--that\nis, in early times?\n\n23. What changes were made later?\n\n24. Describe the traffic in indulgences.\n\n25. What excuse was made by the pope for the vigorous sale of\nindulgences in the 16th century?\n\n26. Who hawked indulgences in the part of Germany where Luther lived?\n\n27. What was the character of Tetzel? (Note 5.)\n\n28. In what spirit was Luther's controversy with Tetzel regarded at\nRome?\n\n29. What aroused the pope from his indifference?\n\n30. In what way did meet the difficulty?\n\n31. What course was pursued by Cardinal Cajetan and what was the result?\n\n32. What difference in respect to authority to be appealed to in the\nsettlement of controversy existed between Luther and the cardinal?\n\n33. What act of Leo X led Luther to appeal to a general council?\n\n34. State what two parties existed in the Roman Catholic church and\nwhat their difference.\n\n35. Describe how the controversy on free will arose.\n\n36. State the respective positions of Eckius and Carolstadt in the\ncontroversy.\n\n37. What discussion arose between Luther and Eckius after the debate on\nfree will?\n\n38. What position did Eckius take in relation to the supremacy of the\npope?\n\n39. What was Luther's position?\n\n40. What was the effect of the discussion?\n\n41. Relate the circumstance of Luther's excommunication.\n\n42. How did Luther treat the bull of excommunication? (Notes 6 and 7.)\n\n43. State how Luther came to be summoned before the diet at Worms.\n\n{229} 44. What two questions confronted Luther at the diet?\n\n45. How did he answer them?\n\n46. By what means was Luther protected from the vengeance of the pope?\n\n47. What at last called him from his retirement?\n\n48. Who succeeded Leo X?\n\n49. What demand was made upon Pope Hadrian by the German princes?\n\n50. What event prevented the assembling of the council?\n\n51. What course did Pope Clement VII follow?\n\n52. How did the death of Frederic, the Wise, and the succession of\nJohn, his brother, affect the Reformation?\n\n53. What did John's course threaten to produce?\n\n54. What circumstance prevented it?\n\n55. Relate what transpired at the diet at Spire.\n\n56. By what means did the German emperor decide to settle the religious\ncontroversy in his realm?\n\n57. State what you can of the Augsburg confession of faith.\n\n58. What unreasonable demand did the emperor make of the Protestants?\n\n59. What compromise was effected?\n\n60. What difficulty arose concerning convening the council?\n\n61. What reverses did the Protestants sustain in the conflict of arms?\n\n62. What finally resulted from all this agitation?\n\n63. Give the character of Luther? (Note 8.)\n\n{230}\n\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\n1. Controversy on the Question of Grace.--It is now for us to\nconsider the principles at issue in the Reformation. Luther at the\nfirst began his opposition to the pope by denouncing indulgences, and\nthere can be no question but he and every other honest Christian had\njust cause of complaint and indignation against this infamous traffic,\nand against the church for permitting it. Yet it cannot be denied that\nthere was a wide difference between the doctrine of the Catholic church\nrespecting indulgences [see note 1, end of section] and the things\ntaught by the infamous John Tetzel. This is evident from the fact that\nTetzel with other agents of the pope were censured for their over zeal\nand excesses in dealing in indulgences.[19] Miltitz, whom the pope had\nappointed to treat with Luther to bring about his reconciliation with\nthe church, meeting with Tetzel at Leipsic, twice rebuked him with the\ngreatest severity before the bishops of his province, on account of his\niniquitous proceedings in the sale of indulgences, and he finally died\nneglected and alone--\"deserted by all the world.\" [See note 2, end of\nsection.]\n\n2. These abuses in the sale of indulgences and the other\ncorruptions which had crept into the church formed a just cause\nof complaint; but they were not the true point at issue in the\ncontroversy. Some time before he opposed indulgences, Luther--if we\nmay believe D'Aubigne [Do-benya]--had imbibed {231} ideas in respect\nto the part which the grace of God takes in the salvation of man that\nwould have led him to oppose the church of Rome, if the abuses in the\nmatter of indulgences had never existed. In order that the student may\ngrasp this subject in its fullness, and the better understand this\ncontroversy between Luther and the Catholic church, we shall make a\ncareful statement of the facts which enter into the question of God's\ngrace and the free will of man.\n\n1. _Power of Deliberation_--The mind is conscious of a power of\ndeliberation, before the intellect passes the different motives of\naction, interests, passions, opinions, etc. The intellect considers,\ncompares, estimates, and finally judges them. This is a preparatory\nwork which precedes the act of will.\n\n2. _Liberty, Free Agency or Will_.--When deliberation has taken\nplace--when man has taken full cognizance of the motives which present\nthemselves to him, he takes a resolution, of which he looks upon\nhimself as the author, which arises because he wishes it, and which\nwould not arise unless he did wish it--here the fact of agency is\nshown; it resides complete in the resolution which man makes after\ndeliberation; it is the resolution which is the proper act of man,\nwhich subsists by him alone; a simple fact independent of all the facts\nwhich precede it or surround it.\n\n3. _Free Will, or Agency Modified_--At the same time that man feels\nhimself free, he recognizes the fact that his freedom is not arbitrary,\nthat it is placed under the dominion of a law which will preside over\nit and influence it. What that law is will depend upon the education\nof each individual, upon his surroundings, etc. To act in harmony with\nthat law is what man recognizes as his duty; it will be the task of\nhis liberty. He will soon see, however, that he never fully acquits\nhimself of his task, never acts in full harmony with his moral law.\nMorally capable of conforming himself to his law, he falls short of\ndoing it. He does not accomplish all that he ought, nor all {232} that\nhe can. This fact is evident, one of which all may give witness; and it\noften happens that the best men, that is, those who have best conformed\ntheir will to reason, have often been the most struck with their\ninsufficience.\n\n4. _Necessity of External Assistance_--This weakness in man leads him\nto feel the necessity of an external support to operate as a fulcrum\nfor the human will, a power that may be added to its present power and\nsustain it at need. Man seeks this fulcrum on all sides; he demands\nit in the encouragement of friends, in the councils of the wise; but\nas the visible world, the human society, do not always answer to his\ndesires, the soul goes beyond the visible world, above human relations,\nto seek this fulcrum of which it has need. Hence the religious\nsentiment develops itself: man addresses himself to God, and invokes\nhis aid through prayer.\n\n5. _Man Finds the Help he Seeks_--Such is the nature of man that when\nhe sincerely asks this support he obtains it; that is, seeking it is\nalmost sufficient to secure it. Whosoever feeling his will weak invokes\nthe encouragement of a friend, the influence of wise councils, the\nsupport of public opinion, or who addresses himself to God by prayer,\nsoon feels his will fortified in a certain measure and for a certain\ntime.\n\n6. _Influence of Spiritual World on Liberty_--There are spiritual\ninfluences at work on man--the empire of the spiritual world upon\nliberty. There are certain changes, certain moral events which manifest\nthemselves in man without his being able to refer their origin to\nan act of his will, or being able to recognize the author. Certain\nfacts occur in the interior of the human soul which it does not refer\nto itself, which it does not recognize as the work of its own will.\nThere are certain days, certain moments in which it finds itself in a\ndifferent moral state from that which it was last conscious of under\nthe operations of its own will. In other words, the moral man does not\nwholly create himself; he is conscious that causes, that powers {233}\nexternal to himself act upon and modify him imperceptibly[20]--this\nfact has been called the grace of God which helps the will of man,\nwhile others see in it the evidences of predestination.\n\n3. The Pelagian View.--From these facts men arrive at different\nconclusions. Some regarding only the power of man to deliberate on any\nproposed course of conduct, and his ability to decide for himself what\ncourse he will pursue, ignoring the spiritual influences which operate\non him, and taking no account of the aid which comes to man through\nprayer--believe that man's conduct depends entirely upon his will.\n\"Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus,\" say they; and hence reject\nthe fact of the grace of God and the influence it exerts on human\nconduct.\n\nSuch was the conclusion arrived at by Pelagius who flourished early in\nthe fifth century. He asserted that human nature is not fallen--that\nthere is no hereditary corruption, and that man having the power to\ndo good has only to will in order to perform. His doctrine has been\nrevised several times, and has drawn to it not a few believers.\n\n4. Catholic View.--Others regarding all the facts elsewhere\nenumerated--man's power to deliberate, his ability to decide upon his\ncourse, his failure to do all that his reason teaches him it is his\nduty to do, his need of help from a source external to himself, the\nassistance he can and does obtain through prayer and, lastly, the\ninfluence of spiritual forces upon man--leads them to the conclusion\nthat it is through a union of the grace of God and the free will of man\nthat men arrive at last at righteousness. Such was the teaching of the\nRoman Catholic church.\n\n5. Protestant View.--Others still, looking only upon the\ninfluence of the spiritual world on man, and noting how very far short\nhe comes of doing all his reason teaches him it is his {234} duty to\ndo, conclude that man has no power whatsoever to do good of himself,\nthat he can exercise no will to work righteousness until after the\ngrace of God makes him righteous, and that it is that grace altogether\nwhich causes him both to will and to do good works.\n\n6. Luther's Fundamental Doctrine.--Luther belonged to this\nlast-named class. Long before he came to an open rupture with the pope,\nhe taught the doctrine of predestination, and of salvation through\nfaith alone:--\"The excellent, infallible, and sole preparation for\ngrace is the eternal election and predestination of God.\" \"On the side\nof man there is nothing that goes before grace, unless it be impotency\nand even rebellion.\" \"We do not become righteous by doing what is\nrighteous; but having become righteous we do what is righteous.\" [21]\n\"Since the fall of man, free will is but an idle word; and if man does\nall he can he still sins mortally.\" \"A man who imagines to arrive at\ngrace by doing all that he is able to do adds sin to sin and is doubly\nguilty.\" \"That man is not justified who performs many works; but he\nwho, without works, has much faith in Christ.\" [22] \"What gives peace\nto our consciences is this--by faith our sins are no longer ours, but\nChrist's on whom God has laid them all; and, on the other hand, all\nChrist's righteousness belongs to us, to whom God has given it.\" [23]\nThus taught Luther, and this became the first, the main theological\nquestion of the reformation. \"The point which the Reformer had most\nat heart in all his labors, contests and dangers,\" says a respectable\nauthority, \"was the doctrine of justification by faith alone.\" [24]\n[Note 3, end of section.]\n\n7. It is but just to the Reformer however, that it should be\nknown that he did not himself reject good works, but on the contrary\nexhorted men to practice them; but he condemns {235} those who did them\nwith an idea that by them they would be justified, or that they were\nnecessary to salvation. He held also that in order to do good works men\nmust first be justified, and that good works done before justification\nwere even sinful.[25]\n\n8. The Mischief of Luther's Doctrine.--Though Luther did not\nreject good works, and though he held that justifying faith would\nproduce them, yet his doctrine has been the source of much mischief in\nthe world. When it was charged by his vicar general, Staupitius, that\nhis doctrines were the delight of debauches, and that many scandalous\npractices were the consequences of some of his publications, he could\nnot deny the charge, but contented himself by saying, \"I am neither\nafraid of such censorious representations, nor surprised to hear\nthem.\" [26] Luther's doctrine of salvation by faith alone, as stated\nby Melanchthon, with his approval, stands thus: \"Man's justification\nbefore God proceeds from faith alone. This faith enters man's heart\nby the grace of God alone.\" [27] This leaves man a passive creature in\nrelation to his salvation. He is helpless to procure it; he can do\nnothing to hasten it; he is helpless; he must wait the divine workings\nof the grace of God. \"As all things which happen,\" says Melanchthon,\n\"happen necessarily, according to the divine predestination, there is\nno such thing as liberty in our wills.\" [28] [Note 4, end of section.]\nOther followers of Luther, among them one Nicholas Amsdorf, went so far\nas to maintain that good works were a hindrance to salvation.[29]\n\n9. By denying the existence of human liberty, and maintaining\n{236} that all things happen necessarily, the reformers, with Luther at\ntheir head, laid themselves open to the charges made by the partisans\nof the church of Rome, viz.: Their doctrine threw open a door to the\nmost unbounded licentiousness since it furnished men with this defense\nfor the crimes they committed--\"We could do no other, our fate did\nnot permit us to do otherwise.\" By saying that good works were not\nnecessary to salvation, and assisted in no way to procure it, the\nReformers took away the chief incentive to good works, and removed the\nprincipal restraint to the doing of evil.\n\n10. Moreover, their doctrine rendered void the ordinances and\nworks required by the gospel; neither repentance nor baptism, nor any\nother act of obedience to God is essential if salvation is by faith\nalone. To say that it is a doctrine adverse to the whole tenor of\nscripture, notwithstanding a few isolated passages depended upon by the\nReformers and their successors to support it, is not necessary here.\nIt is sufficient to remark that it is a doctrine which would render\nthe commandments of God incompatible with the powers and capacity of\nhis creatures; a doctrine which destroys at once the consistency of\nGod and the moral responsibility of man; and therefore a doctrine most\npernicious and dangerous to entertain. [See note 5, end of section.]\n\n11. Luther on the Danger of his Doctrine.--It proved to be so\neven during the lifetime of Luther; for it led some of his followers to\nbelieve that Christ had abolished the moral law; and that Christians,\ntherefore, were not obliged to observe it.[30] Luther himself saw the\ndanger of his doctrine and thus spoke of it:\n\n    If faith be preached, as of necessity it must be, the greater\n    part of mankind will interpret the doctrine in a carnal way, and\n    so understand spiritual liberty as to allow indulgences of the\n    flesh. This we {237} may see in all the ranks of life. All profess\n    themselves to be evangelical; all boast of their Christian liberty;\n    and yet give way to their lusts and passions, for example to\n    covetousness, pride, envy, pleasures, and such like. Who discharges\n    his duty faithfully? Who serves his brother in a true spirit of\n    charity? The disgrace which such conduct brings on the profession\n    of the gospel puts me sometimes so out of temper that I could wish\n    these swine, that tread precious pearls under their feet were\n    still under the tyranny of the pope; for it is impossible that a\n    people so much resembling those of Gomorrah, should be kept in due\n    subjection by the mild maxims of the gospel of peace.[31]\n\n12. It counts for nothing that Luther denounced this corrupt\nstate of morals among his followers; it was the legitimate outgrowth of\nhis fundamental doctrine--the doctrine of nearly all Protestants--of\njustification by faith alone, a faith which man had no part in\ngenerating, but which came through the grace of God alone. The tree of\nhis planting produced bitter fruit; it was vain for him to proclaim\nagainst the fruit so long as he insisted that it was a good tree on\nwhich it grew.\n\n13. Teaching of the Church of Rome on Justification.--The\nCatholic Church at the time, whatever errors in respect to other\ndoctrines it entertained, held that salvation, justification before\nGod, resulted through the exertion of man's free will, aided by the\ngrace of God. It came through a union of faith and works on the part of\nman, and the rich outpouring of grace on the part of Deity; a doctrine\nwhich man is conscious of as operating upon and influencing human\nconduct, and at once in harmony with the whole tenor of revelation, and\nconsonant with the great facts underlying the free will of man which\nhave been already stated in this section.\n\n14. Unfortunately for the Catholic Church, she did not stop\nhere, but attached too great importance to external marks of {238}\nrepentance, to works of penance--to tears, fastings, mortifications\nof the flesh, and pilgrimages. Men were required to go barefooted, to\nwear coarse raiment next their bodies, to become exiles from their\nhomes or to renounce the world and embrace a monastic life. Finally\nin the eleventh century voluntary whippings were added to these other\npunishments [see note 6, end of section]; and men learned to look\nupon these works of penance as purchasing a forgiveness of sins, and\npaid little attention to the inward regeneration of the heart. \"As\nconfession and penance are easier than the extirpation of sin and\nthe abandonment of vice, many ceased contending against the lusts\nof the flesh, and preferred gratifying them at the expense of a few\nmortifications.\" [32] Especially did this become the case when the\ndoctrine was promulgated that substitutes could be hired to receive\nthe punishment originally inflicted upon the offender, and monks and\npriests could be found willing to undergo it for a consideration.\n\n15. The church trusted too much in the works of penance, and\ndid not insist stoutly enough upon repentance--a godly sorrow which\nworketh a reformation of life. If the reformers went to one extreme\nin attributing man's justification wholly to the act of faith and the\ngrace of God, the Catholic church went to the other in assigning too\nmuch value to works of penance and performances of human invention for\nthe forgiveness of sins.\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Indulgences to be Accompanied by Amendment of Life.--The\ndoctrine and the sale of indulgences were powerful incentives to evil\namong an ignorant people. True, according to the church, indulgences\n{239} could benefit those only who promised to amend their lives,\nand who kept their word. But what could be expected from a tenet\ninvented solely with a view to the profit that might be derived from\nit? The vendors of indulgences were naturally tempted for the better\nsale of their merchandise to present their wares to the people in the\nmost attractive and seducing aspect. The learned themselves did not\nfully understand the doctrine. All the multitude saw in them was that\nthey permitted men to sin; and the merchants were not over eager to\ndissipate an error so favorable to their sale.--D'Aubigne.\n\n2. Death of Tetzel.--While the proper nuncio (Miltitz) was\nnegotiating a reconciliation in Germany, Tetzel, the wretched\nsubaltern, whose scandalous conduct had so disgraced his employers,\nmet with the reward which frequently awaits the ministers of iniquity.\nHe found himself deserted by all the world. Miltitz in particular had\ntreated him so roughly that this daring and boisterous instrument of\npapal avarice and extortion actually fell sick, wasted away, and at\nlast died of a broken heart. A dreadful lesson! This unhappy man left\nthe world, as far as appears, destitute of comfort in his own soul,\nafter he had ministered a false peace to thousands.--Milner.\n\n3. Luther on Justification by Faith.--I observe that the devil is\ncontinually attacking this fundamental article by means of his doctors,\nand that in this respect he can never cease or take any repose. Well,\nthen, I, Doctor Martin Luther, unworthy herald of the gospel of our\nLord Jesus Christ, confess this article, that faith alone without\nworks justifies before Gods; and I declare that it shall stand and\nremain forever in spite of the emperor of the Romans, the emperor of\nthe Turks, the emperor of the Tartars, the emperor of the Persians--in\nspite of the pope and all the cardinals, with the bishops, priests,\nmonks and nuns--in spite of kings, princes and nobles, and in spite of\nall the world and of the devils themselves; and that if they endeavor\nto fight against this truth they will draw the fires of hell upon their\nheads. This is the true and holy gospel, and the declaration of me,\nDoctor Luther, according to the teaching of the Holy Ghost.--D'Aubigne\n(Hist. Ref., vol I, p. 70.)\n\n4. Effects of Predestination on the Mind.--To what purpose shall\nI labor in the service of God? If I am predestinated to death [that is,\nspiritual death] I shall never escape from it; and if I am predestined\nto life [that is, to salvation] even though I do wickedly, I shall, no\ndoubt, arrive at eternal rest.--Raban, Quoted by Guizot.\n\n5. Evil Results of the Doctrine of Justification by Faith\nAlone.--The serious evil involved in Luther's doctrine of\njustification by faith without works is perhaps best seen in a\nquotation from Fletcher, of Madeley, the most able disciple of John\nWesley and his successor {240} Fletcher accuses one Richard Hill,\nEsq.--who accepted in its widest sense the doctrine of justification\nby faith alone--with saying: \"Even adultery and murder do not hurt the\npleasant children, but rather work for their good. God sees no sin in\nbelievers, whatever sin they may commit. My sins might displease God:\nmy person is always acceptable to him * * * It is a most pernicious\nerror of the schoolmen to distinguish sins according to the fact, and\nnot according to the persons. Though I blame those who say, let us sin\nthat grace may abound, yet adultery, incest and murder shall, upon\nthe whole, make me holier on earth and merrier in heaven.\"--End of\nReligious Controversy, p. 90.\n\n6. The Works in which Catholics Trusted.--In the eleventh century\nvoluntary flagellations were superadded to these practices [fastings,\npilgrimages, etc.]; somewhat later they became quite a mania in Italy,\nwhich was then in a very disturbed state. Nobles and peasants, old and\nyoung, even children of five years of age, whose only covering was\na cloth tied round the middle, went in pairs by hundreds, thousands\nand tens of thousands, through the towns and villages, visiting the\nchurches in the depth of winter. Armed with scourges, they flogged each\nother without pity, and the streets resounded with cries and groans\nthat drew tears from all who heard them.--D'Aubigne.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What difference existed between the teachings of the Catholic church\nand the conduct of its agents in the matter of indulgences? (Note 1.)\n\n2. Was the sale of indulgences the chief cause of Luther's revolt from\nRome?\n\n3. What doctrines did Luther entertain which would at last have led him\nto oppose the Catholic church?\n\n4. What is the power of deliberation?\n\n5. Explain what liberty or free agency is.\n\n6. In what way is man's will or free agency modified?\n\n7. What is it that convinces man of the necessity of external help to\naid his will?\n\n8. What does man's experience teach him when he seeks external help?\n\n9. What influence is man conscious of as operating upon him in moral\nand spiritual affairs?\n\n{241} 10. State the Pelagian view on the subject of grace and free will.\n\n11. State the Roman Catholic view.\n\n12. State the Protestant view.\n\n13. What was Luther's fundamental doctrine?\n\n14. In what light did Luther hold good works?\n\n15. What mischief arose out of Luther's doctrine?\n\n16. What did Luther himself say respecting the danger of his doctrine?\n\n17. What were the teachings of the Roman church on justification?\n\n18. To what extreme did the church of Rome go in the matter of good\nworks?\n\n19. What was the nature of the works in which Roman Catholics trusted\ntoo much? (Note 6.)\n\n20. What influence on morals did the doctrine have that substitutes\ncould be employed to receive punishment for sins?\n\n{242}\n\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\n1. The Growth of Luther's Rebellion.--The thing most important,\nthe one which drew with it the gravest consequences, and which led\nto the greatest good produced by the Reformation, was the rebellion\nof Luther against the authority of the pope. He did not come out in\nopen rebellion at the first, but arrived at that state by gradual and\nimperceptible steps. When his opposition to the sale of indulgences met\nwith reproof from the pontiff, he appealed from the pope ill-informed\nto the pope better-informed. When that pope better-informed still\nheld him to be in error and refractory, he appealed to a general,\nfree council of the whole church; but when no heed was taken of this\nappeal, and Leo, pressed by Eckius, Cajetan and others, excommunicated\nhim, he then answered by burning the pope's bull of excommunication,\nand stood in open rebellion to the authority of the pontiff. When the\npope appealed to Emperor Charles to make the excommunication of some\nforce by the power of the secular authority vested in him, the emperor,\ncontrary to the protests of the pope's legates, resolved to give the\nReformer a hearing before proceeding against him. Accordingly Luther\nwas summoned before the diet at Worms, where he not only insisted upon\nhaving a hearing before a free, general council of the church, but a\ncouncil that would accept the Bible as the final authority upon the\nquestions at issue between himself and the pontiff.\n\n2. The Catholic Rule of Faith.--This was demanding more than\nthe pope could grant; for the Catholics have never exalted the Bible\nabove the church, but have always held that {243} the scriptures must\nbe accepted as construed by the church, and in the days of Luther the\npope was the church. The Catholic rule of faith in respect to the\nlaws by which the church is to be governed is: \"The word of God, at\nlarge, whether written in the Bible or handed down from the apostles\nby tradition, and as it is understood and explained by the Catholic\nchurch.\" [33] Besides their rule of faith, which is scripture and\ntradition, \"Catholics acknowledge an unerring judge of controversy, or\nsure guide in all matters relating to salvation--viz., the church.\" [34]\n\n3. This rule employed to interpret the Bible and to settle\ncontroversies that might arise, Luther rejected. Writing in defense\nof his conduct in burning the papal bull of excommunication and the\ndecretals of the popes, he said:\n\n    Let no man's good sense be so far seduced as to reverence the\n    volumes I have burnt, on account of their great antiquity or their\n    high titles. Let every one first hear and see what the pope teaches\n    in his own books, and what abominable, poisonous doctrines are to\n    be found among the sacred, spiritual laws; and then let him freely\n    judge, whether I have done right or not in burning such writings.\n\n4. Among the teachings in the decretals which Luther held up for\nspecial condemnation were the following:\n\n    (1) The pope has the power to interpret scripture, and to teach as\n    he pleases; and no person is allowed to interpret in a different\n    way. (2) The pope does not derive from the scripture but the\n    scripture derives from the pope, authority, power and dignity.\n\nHe then affirms that comparing together the different parts of the\ncanon law, its language amounts to this:\n\n    That the pope is God on earth; above all that is earthly or\n    heavenly, temporal or spiritual; that all things belong to the\n    pope; and that no one must venture to say, what doest thou?[35]\n\n{244}It was against this arbitrary authority that Luther rebelled.\n\n5. Attempted Settlement by a General Council.--At last when\nthrough the influence of the emperor the pope consented to appoint a\ncouncil, a difficulty arose as to where it should be held. The pope on\nhis part seemed determined to have it assemble in Italy, or in some\ncountry where his influence would predominate; the Reformers were\nequally determined to submit their cause to no council outside of\nGermany. The difficulty had arisen in Germany; they insisted it should\nbe settled by a council in Germany, or by a diet of the empire. The\ncause was never fairly tried by a council of the whole church; the\nrevolt against the authority of the pope was sustained by an appeal to\narms, as related in section I, Part III, of this work.\n\n6. Revolution, not Rebellion.--Had that revolt against the\nCatholic church been a revolt against legitimate authority it would\nhave been rebellion: but as it was against a usurped and hence an\nillegitimate authority, it was a justifiable revolution. For in\necclesiastical government, no less than in civil government, if a\nlong train of abuses renders it odious, and those who execute it are\ntyrannical and usurp authority which the law of God does not sanction,\nby which unrighteous dominion is exercised over the minds of men, it is\nthe right of the people to resist such authority: and refuse to sustain\nthose who exercise that unrighteous dominion to please their vanity or\ngratify their ambition.\n\n7. True Position, but a Corrupt Church.--The position that\nthe church, officered by inspired prophets and apostles--men having\nby virtue of their priesthood and official position a right to the\ninspiration and revelations of God--the position that the church of\nChrist so officered, has the right to decide upon all controversies and\nto determine the meaning of scripture, is, beyond all questioning, a\ntrue position. But the difficulty with the Roman Catholic church was\nthat it was no {245} longer the church of Christ, as already proven in\nPart II of this work. It had no prophets or apostles, no men who had a\nright to the revelations of God. The popes and bishops of the church\ntaught that revelation had ceased, and they depended on scripture and\ntradition alone, interpreted by themselves, for their guide. The power\nthe church possessed was usurped power merely, the growth of ages. It\nhad become both arrogant and insolent, and at last intolerable, and\nwhen a man was found possessing the courage to resent its presumption\nand defy it, he found plenty to applaud and sanction his act.\n\n8. True Cause of the Reformation.--We cannot ascribe the\nReformation to accidents and mischances, such for instance as the\njealousy of Luther because the sale of indulgences was entrusted to\nthe Dominican monks instead of to the order of Augustine monks, to\nwhich he belonged[36]--we cannot assign the cause of the Reformation\nto this, neither can we go to the other extreme and say that the great\nrevolution of the sixteenth century resulted solely from a pure desire\nto reform the abuses that had arisen in the church or bring back\nChristianity to its primitive purity. Not a few of the princes that\nfavored Luther in his revolt against the pope did so from other motives\nthan those prompted by a desire to reform the church.\n\n9. Many of the temporal monarchs and princes were jealous of the\npower exercised within their dominions by the Roman pontiffs, as it\nlowered the dignity of their own position. They were tired, moreover,\nof the assumed right of the pope to enter their dominions, and, under\none pretext or another, tax their subjects and thus not only impoverish\nthe people, but reduce the revenue of the temporal ruler. It will be\nfound, {246} therefore, that the jealousy, ambition and interest of\nthese princes, and not a desire to establish pure religion, made them\nfactors in the great revolution. (See note 1, end of section.)\n\n10. The people also were tired of the dominion asserted over\ntheir minds by the papal authority, and were only too glad to escape\nfrom that thraldom under any pretext whatsoever. The preceding century\nhad brought a great intellectual awakening to Europe, and men were no\nlonger content to have questions of fact and belief decided by the\nauthority of the church. (See note 2, end of section.) They insisted\nthat human reason and individual judgment had a right to investigate\nand to be satisfied on these questions; and the securing of that\nfreedom was not only the leading principle of the sixteenth century\nrevolution, but its greatest achievement. (See note 3, end of section.)\n\n11. Revolution, not Reformation.--It is absurd to say that\nthe revolution of the sixteenth century was a reformation, if by\nthat it is meant that it re-established the primitive doctrines of\nChristianity, purified the morals of the people, or gave birth to a\nbetter ecclesiastical government. It did no such thing. The Reformers\ndeclaimed against some of the abuses of the Catholic church, such\nas denying the sacramental cup to the laity, the celibacy of the\nclergy, the absurdities of the mass, fasts and ceremonies of human\ninvention, the whole system of monkery, and the great usurpation of\nauthority by the church; and consequently did not include any of\nthese abuses--except perhaps the last--in the system of religion they\nfounded. Still their doctrines led them into serious errors and great\ndisorders.\n\n12. Private Interpretation of the Bible and its Effects.--The\nevils that arose from the doctrine of justification by faith alone, we\nhave already noticed.[37] The disorders that grew out of the doctrine\nof private interpretation of scripture is yet to be considered. When\nLuther refused to longer recognize the authority of the church in\nmatters of doctrine, he still was aware that men would need some\nauthority to decide controversies that would arise, consequently he\nheld up the Bible as the final arbiter of all questions touching\nfaith and morals. But the Bible had to be construed, its meaning made\nplain, and as each one was left to explain it in his own way, the\nutmost confusion prevailed. On the great fundamental principle of the\nProtestants--justification by faith alone--Osiander, a Lutheran, says:\n\n    There are twenty several opinions, all drawn from scriptures,\n    and held by different members of the Augsburg, or Lutheran\n    Confession.[38]\n\nWhen the Reformers from the several parts of Germany consulted\ntogether, and with them the Reformers from other states met with a\nview to come to some understanding in respect to religion and modes of\nworship, it was soon apparent that they were hopelessly divided, not\nonly upon matters unimportant, but also upon fundamental principles.\nLuther had rejected the authority of the church and set up the tribunal\nof private interpretation of scripture in its stead. A number of his\ndisciples proceeding on the same principle, rejected some of his\ndoctrines and undertook to prove from the scripture that he was in\nerror and that the Reformation needed reforming.\n\n    13. Carolstadt, [says the author of the \"End of Religious\n    Controversy] Zuinglius, Okolampadius, Muncer and a hundred more\n    of his followers, wrote and preached against him and against\n    each other with the utmost virulence, whilst each of them still\n    professed to ground his doctrine and conduct on the written word\n    of God alone. In vain did Luther denounce hell fire against them;\n    in vain did he threaten to return back to the Catholic religion;\n    he had put the {248} Bible into each man's hand to explain it for\n    himself, and this his followers continued to do in open defiance\n    of him, till their mutual contradictions and discords became so\n    numerous and scandalous as to overwhelm the thinking part of them\n    with grief and confusion.\" [39] (See note 4, end of section.)\n\n14. The Multiplication of Sects.--The division of the Reformers\ninto numerous sects has ever been a reproach to Protestants and\nlikewise an evidence of the weakness of their position. Men of\ndifferent capacities and dispositions examined the Bible; they found it\nno systematic treatise upon religion and morals, but a miscellaneous\ncollection of inspired writings, dealing with historical events,\nconnected, in the main, with the people of God; prophecies, dreams,\nrevelations, doctrines, and morals; written at different times, to\ndifferent peoples, and under a great variety of circumstances. In\naddition to all this, many plain and precious parts have been taken\naway from it;[40] other parts have doubtless been purposely changed\nby designing men;[41] which, with the imperfections arising from its\ntranslation from the original languages in which it was written,\nhas made it an uncertain guide, taken alone, for the church or for\nindividuals; and as Protestants insisted upon the right of private\njudgment in the interpretation of the Bible, it is not surprisingg\nthat a great variety of opinions were entertained, or that numerous\nsects were founded upon them. It was a great evil; much confusion and\ndisorder arose out of it; but it was an evil that could not be avoided.\nIt was one of those periods of time when liberty was a cause of\ndisorder, but the attainment of liberty through that disorder more than\noutweighed the evils that arose from it.\n\n15. The Error of the Reformers.--The great error which the\nReformers made was in not giving full application to their principle\nof the right of private judgment in matters of {249} religion. They\nclaimed the right to revolt from the Catholic church, to interpret the\nBible for themselves, and to found their mode of worship upon their own\nconceptions of what was required by the revelations of God; but when\nothers differed from them, and desired to exercise the same liberty,\nthe Reformers were themselves intolerant, and attempted to compel men\nby force to accept their religious faith and modes of worship. It is\nthis intolerance which is the chief reproach applied to the Reformation\nby its enemies, and it must be admitted that it somewhat sullies the\nglory of its achievements. (See note 5, end of section.)\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Motives Back of the Reformation.--The Protestant historian,\nMosheim, with whom Hume agrees, admits that several of the principal\nagents in this revolution were actuated more by the impulse of passion\nand views of interest than by a zeal for true religion. (Maclaine's\nMosheim, vol. iv. p. 135.) He had before acknowledged that King\nGustavus introduced Lutheranism into Sweden in opposition to the\nclergy and bishops, not only as agreeable to the genius and spirit of\nthe gospel, but also as favorable to the temporal state and political\nconstitution of the Swedish dominions. He adds that Christiern,\nwho introduced the Reformation into Denmark, was animated by no\nother motives than those of ambition and avarice. Grotius, another\nProtestant, testifies that it was sedition and violence which gave\nbirth to the Reformation in his own country--Holland. The same was the\ncase in France, Geneva and Scotland. It is to be observed, that in all\nthese countries the Reformers, as soon as they got the upper hand,\nbecame violent persecutors of the Catholics. Bergier defies Protestants\nto name so much as a town or village in which, when they became masters\nof it, they tolerated a single Catholic.--End of Religious Controversy,\nnote, p. 105.\n\n2. Desire for Freedom the Moving Cause in Reformation.--The\nstrength of the Protestant party had been derived, both in Germany and\nEngland, far less from their superiority in argument, however decisive\n{250} this might be, than from that desire which all classes, and\nespecially the higher, had long experienced to emancipate themselves\nfrom the thraldom of ecclesiastical jurisdiction.--Hallam's Const.\nHist. of Eng.\n\n3. The Cause and Leading Principle of the Reformation.--In\nmy opinion the Reformation neither was an accident, the result of\nsome casual circumstance, or some personal interests, nor arose from\nunmingled views of religious improvement, the fruit of Utopian humanity\nand truth. It had a more powerful cause than all these; a general cause\nto which all the others are subordinate. It was a vast effort made by\nthe human mind to achieve its freedom; it was a new-born desire which\nit felt to think and judge, freely and independently, of facts and\nopinions which, till then, Europe received or was considered bound\nto receive from the hands of authority. It was a great endeavor to\nemancipate human reason, and to call things by their right names;\nit was an insurrection of the human mind against the absolute power\nof spiritual order. Such, in my opinion, was the true character and\nleading principle of the Reformation. * * * Not only was this the\nresult of the Reformation, but it was content with this result.\nWhenever this was obtained no other was sought for; so entirely was\nit the very foundation of the event, its primitive and fundamental\ncharacter! * * * I repeat it; whenever the Reformation attained this\nobject, it accommodated itself to every form of government and to every\nsituation.--Guizot.\n\n4. Unhappy Divisions Among Reformers.--Capito, minister of\nStrasburg, writing to Forel, pastor of Geneva, thus complains to him:\n\"God has given me to understand the mischief we have done by our\nprecipitancy in breaking with the pope. The people say I know enough of\nthe gospel. I can read it for myself. I have no need of you.\" In the\nsame tone Dudith writes to his friend Beza: \"Our people are carried\naway with every wind of doctrine. If you know what their religion is\ntoday, you cannot tell what it will be tomorrow. In what single point\nare those churches which have declared war against the pope agreed\namongst themselves? There is not one point which is not held by some\nof them as an article of faith, and by others as an impiety!\" In the\nsame sentiment, Calvin, writing to Melanchthon, says: \"It is of great\nimportance that the divisions which subsist among us should not be\nknown to future ages: for nothing can be more ridiculous than that we\nwho have broken off from the whole world, should have agreed so ill\namong ourselves from the very beginning of the Reformation.\"--End of\nReligious Controversy, Page 101.\n\n5. The Reproach of the Reformation.--What were the reproaches\nconstantly applied to the Reformation by its enemies? Which of its\nresults are thrown in its face, as it were, unanswerable? The two\nprincipal reproaches are, first, the multiplicity of sects, the\nexcessive license of thought, the destruction of all spiritual\nauthority, and the entire dissolution of religious society; secondly,\ntyranny and persecution. \"You provoke licentiousness,\" it has been said\nto the Reformers: \"you produce it; and, after being the cause of it,\nyou wish to restrain and repress it. And how do you repress it? By the\nmost harsh and violent means. You take upon yourselves, too, to punish\nheresy, and that by virtue of an illegitimate authority.\"--Guizot.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What was the matter of chief importance in the Reformation?\n\n2. Describe the growth of Luther's conflict with the pope.\n\n3. Describe the Catholic rule of faith.\n\n4. What demands contrary to that rule did Luther make?\n\n5. What difficulty arose in respect to settling the controversy by an\nappeal to a general council?\n\n6. What can you say of the revolt of Luther to the Catholic church\nauthority?\n\n7. What can you say of the right of the true Church of Christ to settle\ncontroversies and determine the meaning of scripture?\n\n8. Why was the Catholic church unqualified to render decisions on such\nmatters?\n\n9. What several causes are assigned for the Reformation by Catholics\nand Protestants respectively? (Note.)\n\n10. What was the true cause?\n\n11. What several considerations aided the Reformation?\n\n12. Was the religious movement of the 16th century a reformation or a\nrevolution?\n\n13. What can you say of the evils which arose from the private\ninterpretation of the Bible?\n\n14. What caused the multiplication of sects among the Protestants?\n\n15. What makes the Bible an insufficient guide in matters of faith and\nworship?\n\n16. What was the great error of the Reformers?\n\n{252}\n\n\n\nSECTION IV.\n\n1. The Reformation in Switzerland.--So far we have considered\nthis sixteenth century revolution as it affected the German empire\nalone. It was not confined, however, to that country. As a matter of\nfact, the so-called Reformation began in Switzerland before it did\nin Germany. Ulrich Zwingle, born in Wildhausen, Canton of St. Gall,\nSwitzerland 1484, attacked many of the errors of the Catholic Church,\nbefore Luther began his opposition.\n\n2. In 1516, Zwingle openly declaimed against many Catholic\nabuses, such as monastic vows, pilgrimages, worship of relics, and\nindulgences. He also taught that the Bible was the only standard of\nreligious truth. In 1518, one Samson came into Switzerland to sell\nindulgences. The year following Zwingle opposed him and drove him from\nZurich. Four years later the Swiss Reformer was accused of heresy\nby adherents of the Roman pontiff, and brought before the council\nof Zurich. He presented sixty-seven doctrinal propositions before\nthe council which he agreed to defend by the scriptures against all\nopposers. The council before which his cause was tried decided that\nthe controversy must be settled by an appeal to the Bible, and Zwingle\ntriumphed. At the conclusion of the hearing the council decreed that\nthe Reformer should be allowed to teach as he had formerly done\nunmolested; and that no preacher in the canton should teach any\ndoctrine he could not prove by the Bible. The year following--1524--the\ncouncil reformed the public worship, that is, they adopted the\nprinciples and methods of worship proposed by Zwingle.\n\n{253} 3. In 1531, the Catholics in the surrounding cantons\nattacked Zurich, and early in the battle, Zwingle, while leading the\nProtestant forces, was slain, his body hacked to pieces and afterwards\nburned. [See note 1, end of section.]\n\n4. John Calvin.--Zwingle was succeeded in the leadership of the\nSwiss Reformers by John Calvin, a talented but austere man, a native\nof Noyon, France. [See note 2, end of section.] He more than any other\nman--Luther excepted--influenced the character of the Protestant\nchurches. He held many views that were at variance with those of\nZwingle. The latter taught that civil rulers possessed absolute power\nin religious matters, and subjected the ministers altogether to their\nauthority. Calvin held that the church should be free and independent\nof the state; that it should govern itself by its own officers whom\nthe church and not the state should appoint; he limited the power of\nthe state over the church to giving it external protection. Zwingle\nrecognized a gradation of officers in the Christian church; Calvin\nheld that all were equal. Suitable persons appointed and ordained with\nthe consent of the members of the church, constituted, in his theory\nof church government, a legitimate ministry to preach the gospel and\nadminister the sacraments. But for the government of the church a\nnumber of men were chosen by the people from among the most venerable\nand respectable of the congregation. These men were called presbyters\nor elders. They were all equal in authority, and even the preaching\nminister was in no sense superior to them in office.\n\n5. The elders of a single church or congregation convened\nin council constituted the church session; councils composed of\nrepresentatives from the several churches in a province, constituted\nsynods or consistories; while a general council composed of elders from\nall the churches was known as the general assembly. The elders in these\nseveral councils were all regarded {254} as equal in authority and had\nfull power to enact laws relating to religious matters and to establish\nthe discipline of the church. Such is the order of church government\nfounded by Calvin, and known as Presbyterianism.\n\n6. Difference of Opinion on the Eucharist.--As already stated\nin a previous section, the Catholics maintained that in the eucharist\nthe bread and the wine, were converted by consecration into the very\nbody and blood of Messiah. Zwingle maintained that the bread and wine\nwere symbols merely of Christ's flesh and blood, employed to call to\nmind his death, and the blessings procured to man by that death. Calvin\nstood between these two extremes, as also did Luther, and while they\ndisagreed with Catholics, and would not concede that the bread and wine\nwere changed to the _very_ body and blood of Christ, neither would they\nconcede that the bread and wine were merely symbols, but insisted upon\na sort of spiritual presence. That is, they held that the saints in\nthe exercise of faith in partaking of the sacrament, do become united\nin a certain mystic way with Christ, and from this union received an\nincrease of spiritual life.\n\n7. Predestination.--Another thing in which Calvin differed from\nZwingle was in relation to the celebrated doctrine of an absolute\ndecree of God respecting the salvation of men. Calvin emphasized the\ndoctrines of Luther and Melanchthon in regard to the part which the\ngrace of God takes in the salvation of men; and perhaps carried it\nfurther than they would have done, certainly further than Zwingle did.\nOn this point Calvin taught that God had elected some persons from all\neternity to everlasting life; and had appointed others to everlasting\npunishments; and that for this he had no other ground except his own\npleasure, or his most free and sovereign will. This is the doctrine of\npredestination.\n\n8. The Spread of Calvin's Doctrines.--It was some time before the\nSwiss could be brought to accept these doctrines {255} so at variance\nwith or not found in the teachings of Zwingle. Yet by the perseverance\nand the high reputation for learning and piety of Calvin they were\nvery generally accepted in Switzerland; and after him, such was the\nsuccess of his pupils, that large bodies of Protestants in other\nnations accepted his doctrines. Especially was this the case in France,\nEngland, Scotland, and even in Germany.\n\n9. The Reformation in France.--In France, though in the main\nher people adhered to the Catholic church, the Reformation found its\nmost faithful adherents, and there they suffered the most violent\npersecutions. The Protestants were opprobriously called Huguenots\n[Hu-ge-nots] the origin of the appellation is uncertain. Among these\nFrench Protestants were men of high character, and not a few bishops\nof the church. The king and the magistrates, however, protected the\nancient religion by the sword, by penal inflictions; and a large number\nof pious and good people were put to death, among them not a few of the\nnobility. [See notes 3 and 4, end of section.]\n\n10. The Reformation in Sweden.--In Sweden the Reformation made\nrapid headway. Its doctrines were introduced into that country by\nOlaus Peri, whose zeal for the cause was warmly seconded by the king,\nGustavus Vasa, who while an exile in Lubec, during the revolution of\n1523, learned something of the \"reformed\" religion. For some time\nbefore 1523 Sweden had been ruled by Danish kings; but in that year,\nin consequence of the tyranny practiced by Christiern II of Denmark, a\nrevolution was inaugurated by Gustavus Vasa, which ended in Christiern\nbeing driven from Sweden. Gustavus was chosen king in his stead.\nWhile prejudiced in favor of the \"reformed\" religion, he acted with\ngreat moderation. He invited learned Protestants from Germany whom he\ndirected to instruct his people in the Bible and the Protestant faith.\nThe Bible translated by Olaus Petri he caused to be published and\ndisseminated. In 1526, a great discussion on religion was {256} held\nat Upsal at the instance of the king, between Olaus Petri and Peter\nGallius, a Roman Catholic. Gallius seems to have been so far defeated,\neven in his own estimation, that in the year following, in the assembly\nof the states at Westeras, he recommended the \"reformed\" religion of\nLuther to the representatives of the nation. After a long discussion,\nand much opposition from the bishops, it was finally harmoniously\ndecreed that the \"reformed\" religion should be introduced. From that\ntime until now the power of the pope in Sweden has been prostrated.\n[See note 5, end of section.]\n\n11. Denmark.--In Denmark the reformation was not accomplished so\nhappily. Christiern, whose authority, as we have seen, was overthrown\nin Sweden, sought to establish the reformed religion in Denmark,\nbut more from a desire to deprive the bishops of their power, and\nconfiscate their property, than from a right zeal for true religion. In\n1520 he invited Martin Reynhard, a disciple of Carlstadt, to Denmark,\nand made him professor of theology at Copenhagen. Reynhard stayed about\na year. When he left, the king sent for Carlstadt. He remained but a\nshort time; and then the king invited Luther himself to come, but the\nreformer would not accept the invitation. All these failing him, the\nking set about the work of reformation himself, but as he was a tyrant,\nhis people conspired against him, and banished him from the kingdom,\nin 1523. He was succeeded by his uncle, Frederic, Duke of Holstein and\nSleswick.\n\n12. Frederic was as anxious as Christiern had been to see the\nreformed religion established in Denmark, but he was more prudent\nthan his nephew. He permitted the leaders among the Protestants to\nteach publicly the doctrines of Luther, and in time these raised up a\nstrong following. In 1527 the king procured a decree from the senate,\nat the diet of Odensee, giving religious liberty to the people. By\nthis decree the Danes were left free to embrace the new religion, or\ncontinue {257} members of the Catholic Church, as they saw proper. The\nsuccessor of Frederic--Christian III--went further than this, however,\nin the interest of the Reformation. He stripped the bishops of their\nodious power, confiscated the church property, much of which, however,\nhe restored to the original owners, from whom it had been obtained, it\nis alleged, by base arts. He called John Bugenhagius from Wittemburg,\nand with his assistance regulated the religious affairs of his realm by\nmaking the reformed the established religion of his kingdom. The action\nof Christian III seems harsh, but a circumstance which mitigates if it\ndoes not destroy the harshness of his measures, was the insufferable\narrogance, pride and power of the bishops, which was a constant menace\nto the power of the monarch, and did much to eclipse his glory. [See\nnote 6, end of section.]\n\n13. Holland.--Perhaps from being contiguous to Germany, the\nNetherlands--Belgium and Holland--soon partook of the spirit of the\nReformation--the desire to be free. The writings of Luther were\nearly received and widely read by the Netherlanders. This alarmed\nthe Catholics who, in 1552, established the Inquisition there and\npersecuted with great vigor all who accepted the doctrines of the\nreformers. It is estimated that in those provinces which, taken\ntogether, constitute the Netherlands, in the reign of Charles V\nalone--from 1519 to 1552--not less than 50,000 persons lost their\nlives in consequence of their defection from the church of Rome. But\nnotwithstanding this severe persecution, adherents to the Protestant\nfaith increased. The tyranny of their oppressors seemed to increase\nthe boldness of the people in clamoring for the rights of conscience;\nand towards the close of the sixteenth century seven of the provinces\nsuccessfully revolted against the Duke of Alva, Viceroy of the Catholic\nmonarch, Phillip II of Spain. These revolting provinces formed the\nDutch Republic, and in a short time became the most formidable maritime\n{258} power in the world. They suffered the most and wrought the most\nin behalf of the liberty of conscience, the freedom of commerce, and\nthe liberty of the state. It is said by one historian that \"In freedom\nof conscience they were the light of the world.\" [42] It is well known\nthat for many years their land was the asylum for the oppressed,\nespecially for those persecuted for their religion.\n\n14. England.--The Reformation in England took on a different\naspect to what it did in the other countries. When Luther began his\nassault upon the church of Rome, the English monarch, Henry VIII,\nappeared as a champion on the side of the Roman pontiffs. He wrote a\nbook against Luther in defense of the seven sacraments of the Catholic\nChurch, which met with such favor in the eyes of the pope that he\nconferred upon Henry the title of \"Defender of the Faith.\" Henry's\nbook appeared in 1522. Soon after this the king began to question the\nlegality of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon.\n\n15. Catherine had been the wife of the king's deceased brother,\nArthur; and a marriage with a deceased brother's widow was regarded as\ncontrary to the law of God.[43] Henry therefore applied to the pope for\nthe annulment of his marriage, since his conscience would not permit\nhim to cohabit longer with his deceased brother's wife. The conduct\nof the king, however, was such as to give strong ground to the belief\nthat it was his love for Ann Boleyn, an English lady of high birth, and\nnot conscientious scruples as to the lawfulness of his marriage with\nCatherine. The queen's beauty had faded and some disease, it is said,\nhad rendered her person less agreeable. Still, to do Henry justice,\nit must not be concealed that his father had scrupled the legitimacy\nof the marriage; a foreign {259} court had made it an objection\nto intermarriage with his children by his wife; and the people of\nEngland very generally entertained fears respecting the succession\nto his crown, and these political considerations doubtless had their\ninfluence.[44] Still it will not be denied that after the king had\nfallen in love with Ann Boleyn, his love for her and not political\nconsiderations, or religious scruples, was the incentive that prompted\nhim to seek a divorce.\n\n16. The Rupture with the Pope.--The pope, Clement VII, evaded\na direct answer to Henry's appeal. Catherine was the aunt of Charles\nV, and perhaps Clement feared that he would offend that monarch--to\nwhom he looked to suppress the Reformation in Germany--if he granted\nthe divorce. Henry, impatient of these enforced delays, consulted the\nuniversities of Europe, and as most of them pronounced marriage with\na deceased brother's wife unlawful, he divorced Catherine without the\nconsent of the pope. A quarrel ensued between the king and the pontiff,\nwhich resulted in the former casting off the authority of the latter,\nand the pope excommunicated the king. In 1533 Henry was declared\nhead of the British church and Defender of the Faith, by the English\nparliament. He thereupon ejected the monks from their possessions,\ndisposed of their property at his own good pleasure, and abolished in\ntoto the authority of the pope in England.\n\n17. No other country in all Europe was so well prepared for the\nSixteenth Century revolution as England. A century and a half before\neither Luther or Zwingle were heard of, John Wycliffe proclaimed\nagainst the corruption and abuses of the Catholic church, denounced\nthe pope as anti-Christ,[45] and preached against the doctrine\nof transubstantiation. He also {260} translated the Scriptures\nand circulated them among the common people. Two years before his\ndeath, however, he was summoned before a church council by which,\nnotwithstanding he defended himself with great ability, many of his\ndoctrines were condemned, and he himself was restricted in his ministry\nto the parish of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, where he died. [See\nnote 7, end of section.] His teachings, however, had made a deep\nimpression upon his countrymen, and he left many followers, who were\ncalled by their opponents Lollards. The Lollards were a proscribed\nsect in England, and as they avoided persecution, but little was heard\nof them. Still they cherished the doctrines of their leader, and\ntransmitted them to their children, so that when Luther and the other\ncontinental reformers began their work, there were many in England\nwho sympathized with them; and when Henry VIII considered it to his\ninterests to revolt against the authority of the pope, he found large\nnumbers of his people not only ready to support him in casting off\nthat authority, but anxious to go much farther in that revolt than\nthe king desired. [See note 6, end of section.] They had viewed the\nrupture between the king and the pope with deep satisfaction; but\nthey were soon to learn that the defection of the monarch was not to\nbring religious liberty to England, or establish there the doctrines\nof Wycliffe or Luther. It was but a change of masters that had taken\nplace, and the king was as despotic as the pope. [See note 9, end of\nsection.] Although Henry had thrown off the authority of the pontiff,\nhe would tolerate but few changes in the forms and ceremonies of\nreligion. More changes were introduced in the reign of Edward VI, the\nson of Henry VIII by Jane Seymore; and still more in the reign of\nElizabeth, his daughter by Anne Boleyn.\n\n18. The Puritans.--But these changes came far short of satisfying\nthe English Protestants, who were called Puritans. They demanded\nalmost a complete abolition of the rites and {261} ceremonies of the\nRoman Church, which they denounced as idolatrous. The most of them\nfavored the Presbyterian form of church government, or a still simpler\nmethod which would recognize each congregation as a complete church\nwithin itself. Those who contended for this more simple form of church\ngovernment were called Independents. The puritans were frequently rude\nand clamorous in their demands for further reformation; and on their\npart the adherents of the established religion were intolerant, and\npersecuted to imprisonment, exile or death the Puritans. [See note 10,\nend of section.]\n\n19. The Reformation in Scotland.--All things considered, the\nReformation in Scotland--that is the overthrow of the authority of the\npope--was accomplished with as little trouble as it was in England; and\naccompanied by less injustice to Catholics. In Scotland, as in England,\nthe doctrines of Wycliffe had many silent adherents, and such was the\nframe of the popular mind that only the leadership of bold men was\nneeded to make a successful revolt against the authority of the pope.\nThat leadership was found in John Knox.[46] Knox was thirty-eight years\nof age when he openly declared himself a Protestant, and began his work\nof reform. About three years later Cardinal Beaton, a proud, arrogant\nman, and of course the head of the Catholic church in Scotland, was\nassassinated. His castle--St. Andrews--was taken possession of by the\nband of nobles and others who had murdered him, and it became for a\ntime the stronghold of Protestantism. To this place Knox repaired, and\nthere in the parish church of St. Andrews, first became famous as a\npreacher. In a short time, however, the fortress was surrendered, and\nKnox was sent to the French galleys a prisoner. After two years he was\nset at liberty, and allowed to depart for England, where he lived for\nyears, on terms of intimacy with Cranmer and other English reformers.\n{262} On the accession of Queen Mary,[47] Knox retired to Germany and\nSwitzerland, residing chiefly in the latter place, where he learned and\nbecame attached to both the doctrines and form of church government\ntaught by Calvin.\n\n20. In 155, political necessity compelled the government in\nScotland to become more lenient towards the nobles favoring the\nReformation, and Knox returned to Scotland, where his impassioned\ndenunciations of the idolatry of the mass and of image-worship aroused\nthe pent-up enthusiasm of the people. Indeed the people went far\nbeyond what Knox intended; riots ensued, churches and monasteries\nwere destroyed, and the whole country, already suffering the evils of\ncivil war, was plunged into greater disorder. At last, through the\nassistance of Queen Elizabeth, of England, a truce was proclaimed,\nand a parliament chosen to settle the troubles. The parliament met\nin 1560, and its deliberations resulted in the overthrow of the old\nreligion, and the establishment of the \"Reformed church,\" based on the\ndoctrines and church polity of Calvin. In the midst of the harshness\nwhich attended the overthrow of the old religion there was a singular\ninstance of moderation which will be looked for in vain in other\ncountries where the reformation succeeded. According to Hallam, it\nwas agreed in the settlement made by the parliament of 1560, \"that\nthe Roman Catholic prelates, including the regulars, should enjoy\ntwo-thirds of their revenues as well as their rank and seats in\nparliament; the remaining third being given to the crown, out of which\nstipends should be allotted to the protestant clergy.\" [48] \"Whatever\nviolence may be imputed to the authors of the Scots reformation,\"\ncontinues Mr. Hallam, \"this arrangement seems to display a moderation\nwhich we would vainly seek in our own\" [49]--the English reformation.\n\n21. Unfortunately, as in England, after the authority and {263}\nreligion of the pope were overthrown in Scotland, the religious\ndifficulties were far from settled. A controversy arose between\nthe church and the crown on the subject of authority. It will be\nremembered that Calvin insisted that the church should be independent\nof the state,[50] and nowhere was it so strenuously insisted upon as\nin Scotland; not only did it demand of the secular authority freedom\nfrom interference, but assumed the right to reprove the king and his\ncourt, and that, too, in no guarded language. In 1854, Andrew Melville\nwas summoned before the king's council, to give an account of some\nseditious language employed by him in the pulpit against the court.\nHe declined the jurisdiction of the council on the ground that he\nwas responsible only to the church for such language; and the king\ncould not judge of the matter without violating the immunities of the\nchurch.[51]\n\n22. The king and council, however, did not hesitate to declare\nthe supremacy of the secular power, and thus was begun a controversy\nwhich, united with the attempts on the part of the sovereigns and\nparliament to restore the Episcopal form of church government, led\nto violent persecutions on the part of the secular authority, and\nto heroic resistance on the part of the people of Scotland. In that\nprotracted struggle, persecuted by both parties with varying fortunes,\nthe people were at last successful; though their victory was not\nsecured for them until the Stuart line of monarchs were driven out\nof Scotland and England by the revolution of 1688, which dethroned\nJames II of England and VII of Scotland, and placed William, Prince of\nOrange, and Mary, his wife, on the British throne.\n\n23. The Discovery of America--Its Influence on Liberty.--It is\nsignificant that about the time of the \"Revival of Learning\" in Europe,\nAmerica was discovered by Columbus, {264} led hither by the inspiration\nof God. [Note 11, end of section.] Between this struggle for liberty\nin the Old World and the discovery of the New there was doubtless a\nprovidential connection. God knew there could be but a stunted growth\nof the tree of liberty in the Old World, hence he opened the way for\nit to be planted in a land more congenial to its growth. The whole\ncontinent of America is a land consecrated by the decrees of Almighty\nGod to liberty, and the people who inhabit it are assured by that same\ndecree of their freedom.[52] Hence when a fullness of liberty was\ndenied the Puritans in England, they fled to America, and here found\nroom for the planting of colonies where they could enjoy the liberty\ndenied them in the Old World, and the founding of the New England\ncolonies (now the New England States) was the result.\n\n24. Catholics Seek Liberty in America--Nor were the Puritans the\nonly ones who sought liberty in the New World. Even the Catholics\ncame; for they, no less than the Puritans, were persecuted in England.\nSir George Calvert, whose title was Lord Baltimore, a Roman Catholic,\ndesiring to establish a colony in America that would be a place of\nrefuge for persecuted Catholics, obtained a charter for that territory\ncomprised within the boundary lines of the state of Maryland. Before\nthe charter was signed, Sir George died; but it was made out to his son\nCecil, who carried out his father's designs. The charter granted to\nLord Baltimore was unlike any which had hitherto passed the royal seal,\nin that it secured to all who should settle in the colony, religious\nliberty. That is, Christianity was the recognized religion, made so by\nthe law of the land, but no preference was given to any sect or party.\n\n25. Puritan Intolerance.--Unfortunately all the colonies were not\nfounded in the same liberal spirit as Maryland. The Puritans themselves\nseemed not to have learned toleration by the persecutions they had\nsuffered; but, on the contrary, {265} when they found themselves\npossessed of power, they forgot right and persecuted all those not of\ntheir own way of thinking. This led to the founding of other colonies\nwhere greater religious liberty was granted; such as Pennsylvania,\nsettled by the Quakers; Rhode Island, by Roger Williams, a Baptist,\ndriven by Puritan intolerance from Massachusetts.\n\n26. Common dangers, however, taught these colonists toleration.\nThey were surrounded by hordes of savages, against whom they were\ncompelled frequently to combine. The wars between the French and the\nEnglish extended to their respective settlements in America, and\nthis circumstance drove the English colonists together and taught\nthem toleration. They were driven into a still closer union by the\noppression of England, and forgot their religious differences in the\npresence of the great danger of losing all their freedom, civil as well\nas religious. When they had achieved their independence, and necessity\nand experience taught them that a national government--an indissoluble\nunion of the colonies--must be formed, wisdom clearly suggested that\nthe chief cornerstone of the new temple of liberty must be religious\nfreedom. Hence in the constitution which they adopted, freedom to\nworship God according to the dictates of conscience is guaranteed. [See\nnote 12, end of section.]\n\n27. The Hand of God Manifested.--If in the rise of the great\nRoman Empire we see the hand of God preparing the way for the\nintroduction of the gospel under the personal administration of the Son\nof God, that under the protection of that great government the apostles\nof Messiah might visit every land and deliver the glad tidings of great\njoy--if in this the hand of God is visible, it is equally clear that\nthe meaning of this sixteenth century revolution which we have been\nconsidering, together with the subsequent founding of a great republic\nin the New World, pledged to the maintenance of religious liberty--it\nis clearly the meaning of all this that God {266} was preparing the day\nfor a restoration of the gospel--the ushering in of the Dispensation of\nthe Fullness of Times. [See note 13, end of section.] That revolution\nof the sixteenth century was the first glimmerings of the dawn which\nheralded the approaching day; the light became clearer in America on\nthe establishment of religious liberty under the Constitution of the\nUnited States; the sun rose when the Lord introduced the DISPENSATION\nOF THE FULLNESS OF TIMES by revealing himself and his Son Jesus Christ\nto the Prophet Joseph Smith.\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Zwingle.--Zwingle discovered the corruptions of the church\nof Rome, at an earlier period than Luther. Both opened their eyes\ngradually, and altogether without any concert; and without aid from\neach other. But Zwingle was always in advance of Luther in his\nviews and opinions; and he finally carried the reformation somewhat\nfarther than what Luther did. But he proceeded with more gentleness\nand caution, not to run before the prejudices of the people; and\nthe circumstances in which he was placed did not call him so early\nto open combat with the powers of the hierarchy; Luther, therefore,\nhas the honor of being the first to declare open war with the pope,\nand to be exposed to persecution. He also acted in a much wider\nsphere. All Germany, and even all Europe, was the theatre of his\noperations. Zwingle moved only in the narrow circle of a single canton\nof Switzerland. He also died young, and when but just commencing his\ncareer of usefulness. And these circumstances have raised Luther's fame\nso high that Zwingle has almost been overlooked.--Murdock.\n\n2. Calvin.--John Calvin was born in the year 1509; and in his\nstudies connected law with theology, studying the former at the command\nof his father, and the latter from his own choice; and from Melchoir\nValmar, a German and professor of Greek at Bourges, he acquired a\nknowledge of the evangelican [reformed] doctrines. After the death\nof his father, he devoted himself wholly to theology, and publicly\nprofessed the reformed doctrine, which he spread in France with all\ndiligence. His name soon became known in Switzerland as well as in\nFrance; and Farell and Viret [two Swiss reformers] besought him, as he\nwas traveling through Geneva, to remain {267} there and aid them in\nsetting up the new church. But in the year 1538, great dissension arose\nin Geneva; and Calvin and his assistant, Farell, severely inveighed\nfrom the pulpit against the conduct of the council, which resolved\nto introduce the ceremonies agreed on at Bern, in the ordinances\nof baptism and the Lord's supper, and to reject those which these\nministers wished to have adopted: and the consequence was, that Calvin\nand Farell were banished from the republic. * * * But in the year 1541,\nat the pressing and repeated invitation of the Genevans, he returned\nto them again, and there officiated with great perseverance, zeal,\nprudence and disinterestedness, till his death in 1564. His great\ntalents and virtues were shaded by the love of control, by a want of\ntenderness, and by a passionate vigor against the erring.--Schlegel.\n\n3. The Reformation In France.--France was the first country\nwhere the reformation that commenced in Germany and Switzerland, very\nsoon and under the severest oppressions, found many adherents. No\ncountry seems to have been so long and so well prepared for it as this;\nand yet here it met the most violent opposition; and nowhere was it\nlater, before it obtained legal toleration. Nowhere did it occasion\nsuch streams of blood to flow; nowhere give birth to such dreadful\nand deadly civil wars. And nowhere have state policy, court intrigue,\npolitical parties and the ambition of greatness had so powerful an\ninfluence on the progress and fortunes of the reformation, as in\nFrance.--Schroeckh.\n\n4. Massacre on St. Bartholomew's Eve.--During the civil\nwars which desolated France from the year 1560 up to the edict of\nNantes--which secured religious toleration from the Protestants,\n1598--occurred the massacre of St. Bartholomew's eve. A peace was\nconcluded in 1570, by which toleration was granted the Protestants.\nThe terms of the treaty were enforced with much apparent zeal by the\nFrench court, for the purpose, as Protestant writers claim, of lulling\nthe Protestants into security preparatory to their assassination by\norder of the king. The bloody scene began at midnight of the 22nd of\nAugust, 1572. The signal for the beginning of the massacre was the\ntolling of the great bell of the palace. The scene of blood and murder\ncontinued for three days. During which time five hundred noblemen and\nabout six thousand other Protestants were butchered in Paris alone.\nOrders were dispatched to all parts of the empire for a similar\nmassacre everywhere. More than thirty thousand--some say seventy\nthousand--perished by the hands of the royal assassins; and the pope\nordered a jubilee throughout Christendom.--Murdock.\n\n5. The Decision to Introduce the \"Reformed\" Religion into\nSweden.--This decision was the effect specially of the firmness and\nresolution {268} of the king [Gustavus Vasa], who declared publicly\nthat he would rather resign his crown and retire from the kingdom,\nthan rule over a people subjected to the laws and authority of the\nRoman pontiff, and more obedient to their bishops than to their\nking.--Mosheim.\n\n6. The Danish and Swedish Bishops Stripped of Power.--Violent\nmeasures were adopted, and the bishops, against their wills and\ntheir efforts to the contrary, were deprived of their honors, their\nprerogatives and their possessions. Yet this reformation (?) of the\nclergy in both those northern kingdoms, was not a religious, but a mere\ncivil and secular transaction; and it was so necessary that it must\nhave been undertaken if no Luther had arisen. For the bishops had by\ncorrupt artifices got possession of so much wealth, so many cattle,\nsuch revenues and so great authority, that they were far more powerful\nthan the kings, and were able to govern the whole realm at their\npleasure; indeed they had appropriated to themselves a large portion of\nthe patrimony of the kings and of the public revenues. Such therefore\nwas the state both of the Danish and the Swedish commonwealths in the\ntime of Luther, that either the bishops who shamefully abused their\nriches, their prerogatives and their honors must be divested of the\nhigh rank they held in the state, and be deprived of their ill-gotten\nwealth, or the ruin of those kingdoms, the irreparable detriment of\nthe public safety and tranquility, and the sinking of their kings\ninto contempt, with an utter inability to protect the people, must be\nanticipated.--Mosheim.\n\n7. Wycliffe.--John Wycliffe, the greatest of all the \"Reformers\nbefore the Reformation,\" was born in 1324, and is supposed to have\nbeen a native of the parish of Wycliffe, near the town of Richmond,\nYorkshire. He studied at Oxford, but little is known of his university\ncareer. Wycliffe appears to have been a man of simple faith and of\nearnest and manly courage. He made a strong impression upon his age;\nan impression that was not effaced at the time of the Reformation. The\nLollards, as his disciples were called, were to be found, not only\namong the poor, but in the church, the castle and even the throne.\nWycliffe died in the year 1384.\n\n8. England Prepared for the Reformation.--No revolution has been\nmore gradually prepared than that which separated one half of Europe\nfrom the communion of the Roman see; nor were Luther and Zwingle any\nmore than occasional instruments of that change which, had they never\nexisted, would at no great distance of time been effected under the\nnames of some other reformers. At the beginning of the sixteenth\ncentury, the learned, doubtfully and with caution, the ignorant with\nzeal and eagerness, were tending to depart from the faith and rites\nwhich authority prescribed. But probably not even Germany was so far\nadvanced on this course as England. {269} Almost a hundred and fifty\nyears before Luther, nearly the same doctrines as he taught had been\nmaintained by Wycliffe, whose disciples usually called Lollards, lasted\nas a numerous though obscure and proscribed sect, till aided by the\nconfluence of foreign streams, they swelled into the Protestant church\nof England. We hear, indeed, little of them during some parts of the\nfifteenth century, for they generally shunned persecution; and it is\nchiefly through records of persecution that we learn of the existence\nof heretics. But immediately before the name of Luther was known, they\nseem to have become more numerous, or to have attracted more attention;\nsince several persons were burned for heresy, and others abjured\ntheir errors in the first years of Henry VIII's reign. Some of these,\nas usual among ignorant men, engaging in religious speculation, are\ncharged with very absurd notions; but it is not so material to observe\ntheir peculiar tenets as the general fact that an inquisitive and\nsectarian spirit had begun to prevail.--Hallam's Const. Hist. England.\n\n9. Henry VIII and his Revolt Against Rome.--Soon after Henry was\ndeclared by Parliament the only supreme head on earth of the church\nof England, the authority of the pope was finally abolished, and all\ntributes paid to him were declared illegal. But although the king\nthus separated from the church of Rome, he professed to maintain the\nCatholic doctrine in its purity, and persecuted the reformers most\nviolently; so that while many were burned as heretics for denying the\ndoctrines of Catholicism, others were executed for maintaining the\nsupremacy of the pope. As therefore the earnest adherents of both\nreligions were equally persecuted and equally encouraged, both parties\nwere induced to court the favor of the king, who was thus enabled to\nassume an absolute authority over the nation, and to impose upon it\nhis own doctrines as those of the only true church. * * * When news\nof these proceedings reached Rome, the most terrible fulminations\nwere hurled by the pope against the king of England, whose soul was\ndelivered over to the devil, and his dominions to the first invader;\nall leagues with Catholic princes were declared to be dissolved--his\nsubjects were freed from their oaths of allegiance, and the nobility\nwere commanded to take up arms against him. But these missives, which\nhalf a century before would have hurled the monarch from his throne\nand made him a despised outcast among his people, were now utterly\nharmless. The papal supremacy was forever lost in England.--Wilson,\nHist. U. S., Appendix to Voyage and Discoveries, p. 153.\n\n10. The Puritans.--The Puritan party professing to derive their\ndoctrines directly from the scriptures, were wholly dissatisfied with\nthe old church system, which they denounced as rotten, depraved and\ndefiled by human inventions, and they wished it to undergo a thorough\n{270} reform, to abandon everything of man's device, and adopt nothing,\neither in doctrine or discipline, which was not directly authorized by\nthe word of God. Exceedingly ardent in their feelings, zealous in their\nprinciples, abhorring all formalism as destructive of the very elements\nof piety, and rejecting the regal as well as papal supremacy, they\ndemanded in place of the liturgical service, an effective preaching of\nthe gospel, more of the substance of religion, instead of what they\ndenominated its shadows; and so convinced were they of the justness\nof their views and the reasonableness of their demands, that they\nwould listen to no considerations which pleaded for compromise or\ndelay.--Wilson, Hist. U. S. Appendix Voyage and Discoveries, p. 157.\n\n11. Columbus Inspired of God.--And it came to pass that I looked\nand beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of\nmy brethren. And it came to pass that the angel said unto me, Behold\nthe wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren. And I looked and\nbeheld a man among the Gentiles who was separated from the seed of my\nbrethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it\ncame down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many\nwaters, even unto the seed of my brethren who were in the promised\nland. And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it\nwrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity\nupon the many waters: * * * [and] I beheld many multitudes of the\nGentiles upon the land of promise.--Nephi's Vision, Book of Mormon, ch.\nxiii:10-14.\n\n12. Religious Liberty in the Constitution.--The parts of the\nUnited States Constitution which secure religious freedom are the\nclause in article vi, which says: \"No religious test shall ever be\nrequired as a qualification to any office or public trust under the\nUnited States;\" and the first Amendment which says: \"Congress shall\nmake no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit\nthe free exercise thereof.\" Respecting these two clauses in the\nConstitution, Judge Story remarks: \"We are not to attribute this\nprohibition of a national religious establishment to an indifference\nto religion in general, and especially to Christianity, (which none\ncould hold in more reverence than the framers of the Constitution),\nbut to a dread by the people of the influence of ecclesiastical power\nin matters of government; a dread which their ancestors brought with\nthem from the parent country, and which unhappily for human infirmity,\ntheir own conduct, after the emigration, had not, in any just degree,\ntended to diminish. It was also obvious, from the numerous and powerful\nsects existing in the United States, that there would be perpetual\ntemptations to struggles for ascendency in the national councils, if\nany one might thereby hope to found a permanent and exclusive national\nestablishment of its own; and religious persecutions {271} might thus\nbe introduced, to an extent utterly subversive of the true interests\nand good order of the Republic. The most effectual mode of suppressing\nthe evil, in the view of the people, was to strike down the temptations\nto its introduction.\"\n\n13. Hand of the Lord in the Establishment of the United States\nGovernment.--That the hand of Almighty God was in the work of\nfounding the Government of the United States is plainly declared in\none of the revelations to Joseph Smith: \"It is not right that any\nman should be in bondage one to another. And for this purpose have I\nestablished the constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men\nwhom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the\nshedding of blood.\" (Doc. and Cov. sec. ci: 79, 80.) Nor are thoughtful\nhistorians blind to the fact that the hand of God has had much to do\nwith those revolutions which finally produced the great republic of the\nNew World. Commenting on the war of the American Revolution, Marcus\nWilson says: \"The expense of blood and treasure which this war cost\nEngland was enormous; nor, indeed, did her European antagonists suffer\nmuch less severely. The United States was the only country that could\nlook to any beneficial results from the war, and these were obtained by\na strong union of opposing motives and principles, unequalled in the\nannals of history. France and Spain, the arbitrary despots of the Old\nWorld, had stood forth as the protectors of an infant republic, and\nhad combined, contrary to all the principles of their political faith,\nto establish the rising liberties of America. They seemed but as blind\ninstruments in the hands of Providence, employed to aid in the founding\nof a nation which should cultivate those Republican virtues that were\ndestined yet to regenerate the world upon the principles of universal\nintelligence, and eventually to overthrow the time-worn system of\ntyrannical usurpation of the few over the many.\"\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. Was the Reformation confined to Germany?\n\n2. When did the Reformation first begin?\n\n3. Who was the leader of the movement in Switzerland?\n\n4. State what you can of the Reformation in Switzerland under Zwingle.\n\n5. What fate befell the young Reformer?\n\n6. State the chief difference in methods of work between Luther and\nZwingle. (Note I.)\n\n7. Who succeeded in the leadership of the Reformation in Switzerland?\n\n8. Where and when was Calvin born?\n\n9. State the points of difference in the views of Calvin and Zwingle.\n\n{272} 10. Describe the Presbyterian system of church government.\n\n11. Give a sketch of the life and character of Calvin. (note 2.)\n\n12. State the several views of the Reformers in respect to the\neucharist.\n\n13. What difference existed between Calvin and Zwingle on the subject\nof predestination?\n\n14. What can you say of the spread of Calvin's doctrine?\n\n15. Describe the Reformation in France.\n\n16. What can you say of the persecution of the Protestants in France?\n(Note 3.)\n\n17. Give a description of the massacre of St. Bartholomew's eve.\n\n18. State what you can of the Reformation in Sweden.\n\n19. Tell how the Reformation in Sweden was accomplished.\n\n20. On what ground can the king of Sweden and Denmark be justified in\nstripping the Catholic bishops of their power and wealth? (Note 5.)\n\n21. Give an account of the Reformation in Holland.\n\n22. What was the attitude of Henry VIII of England at the beginning of\nthe Reformation in Germany?\n\n23. What title did his defense of the Roman Catholic sacraments secure\nfor him?\n\n24. What circumstance was it that afterwards estranged Henry from the\npope?\n\n25. What was the conduct of Pope Clement VII in this controversy?\n\n26. What course did Henry adopt?\n\n27. What resulted from the king's conduct?\n\n28. How did the friends of the Reformation in England receive the\nrupture of the king and pope?\n\n29. Did the rupture between king and pope help the Reformation in\nEngland?\n\n30. What were the Reformers in England called?\n\n31. What were the demands of the Puritans in respect to religion? (Note\n8.)\n\n32. When denied religious liberty in England to what country did the\nPuritans go?\n\n33. What influence on liberty did the discovery of America have?\n\n34. What can you say of the inspiration of Christopher Columbus? (Note\n9.)\n\n35. What people besides Puritans sought religious liberty in the new\nworld?\n\n36. Give an account of the settlement of Maryland.\n\n37. What can you say of Puritan intolerance?\n\n38. What circumstances taught them, at least, partial toleration?\n\n39. What power was working in all those changes which brought freedom\nto man? (Note 11.)\n\n40. What was the object of enlarging the liberties of mankind?\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. February, 1070, A. D.\n\n2. Subsequently Henry IV made war upon Gregory, drove him from the\npapal chair into exile, and placed Guibert, archbishop of Ravenna,\nupon the papal throne. Guibert took the name of Innocent III, at his\nconsecration, 1084, A. D.\n\n3. It was invented by Schwartz in 1320.\n\n4. Guizot Hist. Civilization.\n\n5. Smith's Eng. Inst., pages 8,9.\n\n6. It is only fair to Catholics to say that such is their explanation\nof indulgences now.\n\n7. Maclain's note in Mosheim, vol. II, Ch. ii.\n\n8. The account here given of the rise and character of indulgences is\ncondensed chiefly from Schlegel, quoted by Murdock in the latter's\ntranslation of Mosheim, vol. III, book iv, cent. xvi, ch. i.\n\n9. The canon law consists of the enactments of the councils and decrees\nof the popes.\n\n10. Peter Lombard, who in the 12th century collected and arranged\nsystematically the theological opinions and decisions of the Latin\nfathers.\n\n11. In the church of Rome it may be said there were two parties, one\nof which held that the pope's power was supreme--superior to all\nother authority in the church; the other maintained that the pope's\nauthority was subordinate to that of a general council of the whole\nchurch. The latter party was quite strong in Germany, so that a great\nmany sustained Luther in his appeal to a general council. Even Duke\nGeorge of Saxony favored the calling of such a council. Said he:--\"The\nscandalous conduct of the clergy is a very fruitful source of the\ndestruction of poor souls. There must be a universal reformation;\nand this cannot be better effected than by a general council. It is\ntherefore the most earnest wish of us all, that such a measure be\nadopted.\"--Milner's Church Hist. vol. iv, ch. v, (Note.)\n\n12. Milner's Church Hist., vol. IV, p. 405.\n\n13. Milner's Church Hist., vol. IV, ch. iv.\n\n14. The diet was a great council of the German empire, consisting of\nthe princes, provincial rulers and the chief dignitaries of the church.\nThe diet from the 10th century had assumed the right of electing the\nemperor of Germany, subject to confirmation by the pope, by whom alone\nhe could be crowned. The diet was also usually assembled for the\nconsideration of very important matters pertaining to the empire.\n\n15. Mosheim (Murdock) vol. iii, bk. iv, cent. xvi, sec. i, ch. ii.\n\n16. The Emperor was not present at this second diet at Spire. He was\nabsent in Spain. \"They appealed to the emperor, to a future council\nof the German nation, and lastly to every impartial judge. For they\nbelieved that a majority of votes in a diet could decide a secular\nquestion, but not a spiritual or religious question; they appealed\nto the emperor, not as recognizing him as their judge in a matter of\nreligion, but merely that he might allow their appeal to a council to\nbe valid.\"--Schlegel.\n\n17. Before the diet rose the cities Kempten, Heilbronn Windsheim,\nand Weisenburg also subscribed; and afterwards many more. It was\nimmediately printed and soon spread all over Europe, and was translated\ninto various languages. It thus became of great service to the\nProtestant cause; for it was a very able document and was drawn up in a\nmost judicious manner.--Murdock.\n\n18. The Protestant princes had held that the election of Ferdinand to\nbe king of the Romans was contrary to the laws of the empire.\n\n19. Luther himself testifies to this. In the Latin preface to the first\nvolume of his works, the Reformer says: \"In the year 1517, when I was a\nyoung preacher, and dissuaded the people from purchasing indulgences. *\n* * I felt assured I should have the pope on my side: for he himself,\nin his public decrees had condemned the excesses of his agents in this\nbusiness.\"\n\n20. The foregoing six statements of fact I have summarized from M.\nGuizot's excellent work on the Civilization of Europe.\n\n21. D'Aubigne's Hist. Ref., vol. I, pages 82, 83.\n\n22. D'Aubigne's Hist. Ref., vol. I; book III, page 119.\n\n23. Ibid, page 122.\n\n24. Milner's Ch. Hist., vol. IV; page 514.\n\n25. Men desire to do good works before their sins are forgiven, whilst\nit is necessary for sin to be forgiven before men can perform good\nworks. It is not the works that expel sin; but the sin being expelled\ngood works follow. For good works must be performed with a joyful\nheart, with a good conscience towards God, that is, with remission of\nsins.--D'Aubigne's Hist. Ref., vol. 1, page 117. \"The works of the\nrighteous themselves would be mortal sins, unless being filled with\nholy reverence for the Lord, they feared that their works might in\ntruth be mortal sins.\"--Ibid, page 119.\n\n26. Milner's Ch. Hist., vol. IV., page 379.\n\n27. D'Aubigne's Hist. Ref., vol. III, page 340.\n\n28. Ibid.\n\n29. Mosheim's Eccl. Hist. (Murdock,) vol. III., page 147 (second\nedition.)\n\n30. This doctrine was called Antinomianism; many believed it and\nfollowed it to its very extremes.\n\n31. From Luther's Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, quoted by\nMilner, vol. IV., page 520.\n\n32. D'Aubigne's Hist. Ref., vol. I., page 15.\n\n33. End of Religious Controversy, p. 80.\n\n34. Ibid.\n\n35. Milner's Church Hist., vol. iv, page 500.\n\n36. Such is the cause assigned for the Reformation by Catholics: John\nMilner, the noted Catholic divine, author of The End of Religious\nControversy, p. 105, says: \"As to Martin Luther, he testifies, and\ncalls God to witness the truth of his testimony that it was not\nwillingly (that is, not from a previous discovery of the falsehood of\nhis religion,) but from accident, (namely, a quarrel with the Dominican\nfriars, and afterwards with the pope) that he fell into his broils\nabout religion.\"\n\n37. See preceding section.\n\n38. Archdeacon Blackburn's Confessional, p. 16.\n\n39. End of Religious Controversy, p. 100.\n\n40. I Nephi xiii: 26, 28, 32. See also Part I, Section VI, note 3.\n\n41. Ibid.\n\n42. Bancroft.\n\n43. It must appear remarkable that such an idea could become prevalent\nsince it is provided in the law of God to ancient Israel that the\nbrother should marry the deceased brother's widow.--Deut. xxv:5, 6, 9,\n10.\n\n44. Hume's Hist. of England vol. iii, ch. xxx.\n\n45. On one occasion he declared the pope to be \"The proud, worldly\npriest, Rome, the most cursed of clippers and purse-kervers\n(cut-purses).\"\n\n46. Knox was born in the year 1505, near Haddington, Scotland. Died at\nEdinburgh, 1572.\n\n47. Daughter of Henry VIII, and Catherine of Aragon. She was a bigoted\nCatholic; married Philip of Spain, also a Catholic.\n\n48. Hallam's Const. Hist. England, p. 812.\n\n49. Ibid.\n\n50. Page 253.\n\n51. Precedents for such an immunity it would not have been difficult to\nfind; but they must have been sought in the archives of the enemy. It\nwas rather early for the new republic to emulate the despotism she had\noverthrown.--Hallam, Hist. of England.\n\n52. Book of Mormon, Ether, ch. 11:7-13.\n\n{273}\n\n\n\nPART IV.\n\nTHE RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL.\n\n{275}\n\n\n\nSECTION I.\n\n1. The Dispensation of the Fullness of Times.--By a dispensation,\nin connection with the work of God, we mean \"the opening of the heavens\nto men, the bestowing of the Holy Priesthood with all its powers upon\nthem, and the organization and building up of the church of Christ\nupon the earth, for the salvation of all who will obey the gospel.\" [1]\nBy the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times we mean the last\ndispensation, the one in which all things, in Christ, whether in heaven\nor in earth, shall be gathered together in one; [2] a dispensation\nwhich will include all other dispensations--one which will encompass\nall truth. As the rivers of the earth all eventually find their way to\nthe ocean and empty into it, so all former dispensations will run into\nand become part of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, in which\nthe work of God, in respect to the salvation of man and the redemption\nof the earth, will be consummated. [See note 1, end of section]\n\n2. Birth and Parentage of Joseph Smith.--Joseph Smith, the man\nwhom God appointed to stand at the head of the Dispensation of the\nFullness of Times, and be the great Prophet, Seer, Revelator and\nPresident thereof was born in the year of our Lord 1805, on the 23rd\nof December, in Sharon, Windsor [Winsor] County, State of Vermont.\nHis father's name was Joseph[3] Smith, and his mother's maiden name\nLucy Mack. Joseph and Lucy Smith had nine children, six sons and {276}\nthree daughters. The sons in the order of their age were Alvin, Hyrum,\nJoseph, Samuel Harrison, William, Don Carlos; the daughters, Sophronia,\nCatherine, Lucy.\n\n3. The parents of the prophet were of humble origin, and poor,\nhaving to labor with their hands, hiring out by day's work, and\notherwise to obtain a livelihood for their large family. In consequence\nof their poverty, they could give their children but very limited\nopportunities for attending school; yet Joseph learned to read,\nto write, and had some knowledge of the rudimentary principles of\narithmetic.\n\n4. When Joseph was ten years of age, his father moved from\nthe State of Vermont to that of New York, settling in Palmyra,\nOntario County.[4] Four years later the family moved from Palmyra to\nManchester, in the same county.\n\n5. Religious Agitations.--While the Smith family lived in\nManchester, when Joseph was in his fifteenth year, there was an\nunusual excitement on the subject of religion. It began with the\nMethodists, but soon became general among all the sects, and union\nrevival meetings, in which all sects, took part were held in the\nvicinity of Manchester. The Smith family, being by nature religiously\ninclined became interested in these meetings, and several of them,\nviz., Joseph's mother, his brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison, and his\nsisters Lucy and Sophronia, were converted to the Presbyterian faith.\nJoseph's own mind was much wrought up by this religious agitation, and\nat one time he became somewhat partial to the Methodist persuasion.\n\n6. He was greatly perplexed, however, by the strife among the sects,\nand the divisions which existed. The Presbyterians were opposed to\nthe Methodists and Baptists; and these last named sects, though not\nagreeing with each other, were equally opposed to the Presbyterians.\nWhy should the church of {277} Christ be split up into fractions? Is\nGod the author of confusion? Would he teach one society to worship\none way, and administer one set of ordinances; and then teach another\nsociety quite a different system of worship, and another set of\nprinciples and ordinances different from those taught the first? Such\nwere the questions Joseph Smith frequently asked himself when he\nreflected upon the confusion he witnessed.\n\n7. In the midst of the war of words and tumult of opinion that\naccompanied this agitation, Joseph would often say to himself, What is\nto be done? Who of all these parties are right?\n\n8. Joseph Smith's First Prayer and Vision.--While floundering in\nthe midst of these difficulties he came to the following passage in the\nfirst chapter of the Epistle of James:\n\n    If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all\n    men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.\n\nThis passage impressed him with great force. It was the voice of God\nto him. If any man lacked wisdom he did; and here was counsel given\ndirectly how to obtain it, with a promise that he should receive it and\nnot be unbraided for asking. He at last decided to follow the divine\ninjunction.\n\n9. It was in the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring\nof eighteen hundred and twenty, that Joseph put his resolution into\neffect. He selected a place in a grove near his father's house for\nthat purpose. It was his first attempt to pray vocally, and he was\nsomewhat timid; but finding himself alone he knelt down and began to\noffer up the desires of his heart to the Lord. He had scarcely began\nto pray when he was seized by some power which threw him violently to\nthe ground, and it seemed for a time that he was doomed to a sudden\ndestruction. It was no imaginary power but some actual being from the\nunseen world. His tongue for a time was bound that he could not speak;\ndarkness gathered about him; but exerting all his powers he called\nupon God to deliver {278} him out of the hands of his enemy, and at\nthe very moment he was ready to give up in despair and abandon himself\nto destruction, he beheld a pillar of light immediately over his head\ndescending towards him. Its brightness was above that of the sun at\nnoon-day, and no sooner did it appear than he was freed from the enemy\nwhich had held him bound.\n\n10. When the light rested upon him he beheld within it two personages\nstanding above him in the air, whose brightness and glory defy all\ndescription, but they exactly resembled each other in form and\nfeatures. One of them, pointing to the other said: \"JOSEPH, THIS IS MY\nBELOVED SON, HEAR HIM.\"\n\n11. Joseph's purpose in calling upon the Lord was to learn which of the\nsects was right, that he might know which to join. As soon, therefore,\nas he gained his self-possession, he addressed these questions to the\npersonage to whom he was directed. To his astonishment he was told\nthat none of the sects were right, and that he must join none of them.\nHe was further told by the person who addressed him, that all their\ncreeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all\ncorrupt; that they drew near to him with their lips, but their hearts\nwere far from him; that they taught for doctrine the commandments of\nmen; that they had a form of godliness, but denied the power of God.\nAnd he was commanded the second time to join none of them.\n\n12. There were many other things which Jesus said to Joseph on this\noccasion, but the prophet never recorded them further than to say that\nhe received a promise that the fullness of the gospel would at some\nfuture time be made known to him.\n\n13. The Importance of the Vision.--This splendid revelation is of vast\nimportance: First, it dispels the vagaries that men had conjured up in\nrespect to the person of Deity. Instead of being a personage without\nbody, parts or passions, it revealed the fact that he had both body and\nparts, that he was in the form of man, or rather, that man had been\nmade in his {279} image.[5] Second: It clearly proves that the Father\nand Son are distinct persons, and not one person as the Christian\nworld believes. The oneness of the Godhead, so frequently spoken\nof in scripture, must therefore relate to oneness of sentiment and\nagreement in purpose. Third: It swept away the rubbish of human dogma\nand tradition that had accumulated in all the ages since Messiah's\npersonal ministry on earth, by announcing that God did not acknowledge\nany of the sects of Christendom as his church, nor their creeds as his\ngospel. Thus the ground was cleared for the planting of the truth.\nFourth: it showed how mistaken the Christian world was in claiming\nthat all revelation had ceased--that God would no more reveal himself\nto man. Fifth: the vision created a witness for God on the earth: a\nman lived who could say to some purpose that God lived and that Jesus\nwas the Christ, for he had seen and talked with them. Thus was laid\nthe foundation for faith. We shall see anon, how the foundation was\nbroadened.\n\n14. The Interval of Three Years.--For three years after this first\nvision, Joseph received no other visitation or revelation; and as he\nhad been forbidden to join any of the religious sects then existing\nhe stood alone. It was a period of severe trial. A few days after his\nfirst vision, he related the circumstance to a Methodist minister who\nhad been active in the religious agitation before mentioned. To the\nlad's surprise he {280} treated his story with the utmost contempt;\nand declared it to be from the devil, as the Lord gave no revelations\nin these days, those things having ceased with the apostles. Making\nhis vision public brought upon him the ridicule and indignation of the\nwhole neighborhood, especially of the ministers. In this trying period\nof three years, according to his own statement, he was guilty of some\nyouthful follies; but he was true to God, and continued in the face of\nall opposition to maintain that he had received a revelation from him.\n\n15. The First Visit of Moroni.--On the 21st of September, 1823, having\nretired for the night, he betook himself to prayer to obtain the\nforgiveness of his sins, and a manifestation that would enable him to\nknow his standing before the Lord. While thus engaged, the room began\nto be filled with light, and presently a personage appeared by his\nbedside, standing in the air. [See note 3, end of section.] He said\nthat he was a messenger sent from the presence of God, and that his\nname was Moroni. He announced to Joseph Smith that the Lord had a work\nfor him to do; and that his name would be had for good and evil among\nall nations.\n\n16. The Book of Mormon.--The angel informed Joseph of the existence\nof the Book of Mormon, a record engraven upon golden plates, giving\nan account of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent\nand their origin. He said, also, that it contained the everlasting\ngospel as taught by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants of this\nWestern hemisphere. Deposited with the record was a Urim and Thummim,\nconsisting of two stones fastened in silver bows, attached to a\nbreast-plate. The Lord had prepared this instrument for the purpose of\ntranslating the record. A vision of the hill where the sacred plates\nwere hidden was given to the prophet.\n\n17. Ancient Prophecies Quoted by Moroni.--After relating these things,\nthe angel began quoting from the prophecies of the Old Testament. He\nfirst quoted part of the third {281} chapter of Malachi; [6] and then\nthe fourth chapter. The first verse of the fourth chapter he quoted as\nfollows:\n\n    For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the\n    proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall _burn as stubble; for\n    they that come shall burn them_, saith the Lord of hosts; that it\n    shall leave them neither root nor branch.\n\nThe fifth and sixth verses he quoted:\n\n    Behold, I will _reveal unto you the priesthood by the hand of_\n    Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful\n    day of the Lord. And he shall _plant in the hearts of the children\n    the promise made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children\n    shall turn to their fathers; if it were not so, the whole earth\n    would be utterly wasted at his coming_.[7]\n\n18. Moroni also quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, and\nsaid the predictions in it were about to be fulfilled. They relate\nto the glorious restoration of the house of Israel from their long\ndispersion, and the reign of peace and righteousness on the earth.\nHe quoted also the twenty-second and twenty-third verses of the\nthird chapter of Acts:\n\n    For Moses truly said unto the fathers, a prophet shall the Lord\n    your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him\n    shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And\n    it shall come to pass, that every soul which will not hear that\n    prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.\n\nMoroni explained that the prophet here spoken of was Jesus Christ; but\nthe day when they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from\namong the people had not yet come, but it would soon come.\n\n19.>b> The angel quoted from the twenty-eighth verse to the end of\nthe second chapter of Joel; and said that it was soon to be fulfilled.\nIt predicts the outpouring of God's Spirit upon all {282} flesh; the\nsigns in the heavens and the earth which are to precede the glorious\ncoming of Messiah; and foretells the safety which shall be found in\nMount Zion and Jerusalem in those troublous times.\n\n20. The Warnings of Moroni.--After making these and other\nexplanations the light within the room seemed to condense about the\nperson of the angel and he departed. Shortly, however, he returned and\nrepeated what he had said on his first appearance, and again withdrew.\nTo Joseph's astonishment he appeared the third time and again repeated\nhis message.\n\n21. In his first appearance that eventful night the angel told\nJoseph that when he obtained the plates containing the record of the\nancient inhabitants of America, together with the breast-plate and the\nUrim and Thummim--the full time for them to be given to him had not\nthen arrived--he was to show them to no person except those to whom he\nwould be commanded to show them. He was told that if he violated his\ncommandment he would be destroyed. At his third appearing that same\nnight the angel cautioned Joseph, saying that Satan would try to tempt\nhim, in consequence of the poverty of his father's family, to obtain\nthe plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade him, saying\nthat he must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to\nglorify God, and must be influenced by no other motive than that of\nbuilding up his kingdom.\n\n22. The Fourth Appearance of Moroni.--The whole night was\nconsumed in these interviews with the angel. In the morning of the day\nfollowing, Joseph went to his usual labors, but was so exhausted and\nfaint that he found himself unable to pursue them. His father, who was\nlaboring with him, observing that he was ailing, directed him to go\nhome. In attempting to climb the fence out of the field where he was\nworking, his strength entirely failed him and he fell unconscious to\nthe ground. When he became conscious, the angel who had visited him the\nnight before was standing by him calling his name. He {283} repeated\nagain the things of the night before, and commanded Joseph to go and\ntell his father of them. This he did, and his father testified that\nthey were of God, and counseled his son to be obedient to the heavenly\nvision.\n\n23. Cumorah and its Treasures.--Joseph went immediately to the\nhill Cumorah[8] where the ancient record was hidden. So vivid had been\nhis vision of the place the night before that he had no difficulty in\nrecognizing it. [See note 4, end of section.]\n\n24. On the west side of the hill Cumorah, not far from the top,\nunder a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a\nstone box. Removing the soil from around the edges of the stone box,\nwith the aid of a lever, he raised it up and to his joy beheld the\nplates, the Urim and Thummim and breast-plate, just as described by\nthe angel. He was about to take these treasures from the box when the\nmessenger of the previous night again stood before him, and told him\nagain that the time for bringing them forth had not yet arrived, and\nwould not until four years from that date. The angel instructed him\nto come to that place in just one year from that time and he would\nmeet with him, and that he would continue to do so until the time for\nobtaining the plates for translation had come. Accordingly at the end\nof each year Joseph went to the place appointed, and every time met the\nsame heavenly messenger, who gave him instruction and intelligence in\nrespect to the work of the Lord, and how the Christ's kingdom was to be\nconducted in these last days.\n\n25. Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon.--On\nthe 22nd of September, 1827, the plates, together with the Urim and\nThummim and breast-plate, were given into the hands of Joseph Smith\nby the angel Moroni, with a strict charge to keep them safe, saying\nthat he [Joseph] would be held responsible for them; that if he should\ncarelessly, {284} or through any neglect of his, let them go, he would\nbe cut off; but if he would use his best endeavors to preserve them,\nthey should be protected. He soon learned the necessity of the strict\ncharge given to him by Moroni, for no sooner was it learned that he\nhad the plates than every kind of device, not even omitting that of\nviolence, was employed to wrest them from him. He guarded them safely\nhowever, and in the midst of much persecution and many difficulties,\nsucceeded by the help of the Lord and the assistance of Martin Harris,\na well-to-to farmer, Oliver Cowdery, a young school teacher, who acted\nas his scribe in much of the work of translation, and the Whitmer\nfamily--with this assistance he succeeded in completing the translation\nand publishing the work in the year 1830.\n\n26. The Witness.--In the course of the work of translation,\nJoseph and those assisting him, learned from the record itself that it\nwould be hidden from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none might\nbehold it except three witnesses that should see it by the power of\nGod--besides him to whom the record would be given to translate--and a\nfew others who should view it that they might bear witness of the work\nof God to the children of men.[9]\n\n27. Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris desired to\nbecome the three witness named, and obtained that privilege from the\nLord. Some time in June, 1829, the promise that they should have a view\nof the plates, the Urim and Thummim and breast-plate was fulfilled. The\nangel Moroni appeared unto them, exhibited to them those sacred things,\nand commanded them to bear witness of their existence to the world.\nThis they did, and their testimony is published in all copies of the\nBook of Mormon.\n\n28. The plates were exhibited by Joseph Smith to eight other\nwitnesses whose testimony and names are also published in all copies of\nthe Book of Mormon.\n\n{285}\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. The Fullness of Times.--Now the thing to be known is, what\nthe fullness of times means, or the extent and authority thereof. It\nmeans this, that the dispensation of the fullness of times is made up\nof all the dispensations that have ever been given since the world\nbegan, until this time. Unto Adam first was given a dispensation.\nIt is well to know that God spoke to him with his own voice in the\ngarden, and gave him the promise of the Messiah. And unto Noah also\nwas a dispensation given. * * * And from Noah to Abraham, and from\nAbraham to Moses, and from Moses to Elias, and from Elias to John the\nBaptist, and from them to Jesus Christ, and from Jesus Christ to Peter,\nJames and John, the apostles all having received their dispensation\nby revelation from God to accomplish the great scheme of restitution,\nspoken by all the holy prophets since the world began, the end of which\nis, the dispensation of the fullness of times in which all things shall\nbe fulfilled that have been spoken of since the earth was made.--Joseph\nSmith, Mill. Star, vol. XVI, p. 220.\n\n2. The Name of Joseph Foretold.--The Book of Mormon contains a\nremarkable prophecy by Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, by which the\nname of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and of his father were foretold. The\nProphet Lehi, who, it will be remembered, left Jerusalem six hundred\nyears B. C., and who was acquainted with the Jewish scriptures, says,\nin blessing his son Joseph: \"For Joseph (the one sold into Egypt by his\nbrother) truly testified saying: A seer shall the Lord my God raise up,\nwho shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins. * * * Behold\nthat seer will the Lord bless; and they that seek to destroy him shall\nbe confounded. * * * And his name shall be called after me [Joseph];\nand it shall be after the name of his father. And he shall be like unto\nme; for the thing which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand by the\npower of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation.\"--II Nephi, ch.\niii.\n\n3. Description of Moroni.--He had on a loose robe of most\nexquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had\never seen; nor do I believe any earthly thing could be made to appear\nso exceedingly white and brilliant; his hands were naked, and his\narms also, a little above the wrist; so also, were his feet naked,\nas were his legs a little above the ankles. His head and neck were\nalso bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this\nrobe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom. Not only was\nhis robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond\ndescription, {286} and his countenance truly like lightning.--Joseph\nSmith, Pearl of Great Price, p. 89,\n\n4. Description of Cumorah.--As you pass on the mailroad from\nPalmyra, Wayne County, to Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York, before\narriving at the little village of Palmyra, you pass a large hill on\nthe east side of the road. Why I say large, is because it is as large,\nperhaps, as any in that country. The north end rises quite suddenly\nuntil it assumes a level with the more southerly extremity, and I think\nI may say, an elevation higher than at the south, a short distance,\nsay half or three-fourth of a mile. As you pass towards Canandaigua it\nlessens gradually, until the surface assumes its common level, or is\nbroken by other smaller hills or ridges, water-courses and ravines.\nI think I am justified in saying that this is the highest hill for\nsome distance round, and I am certain that its appearance, as it rises\nsuddenly from a plain on the north, must attract the notice of the\ntraveler as he passes by. The north end, (which has been described as\nrising suddenly from the plain) forms a promontory without timber,\nbut covered with grass. As you pass to the south you soon come to\nscattering timber, the surface having been cleared by art or wind;\nand a short distance further left, you are surrounded with the common\nforest of the country. It is necessary to observe that even the part\ncleared, was only occupied for pasturage; its steep ascent and narrow\nsummit not admitting the plough of the husbandman with any degree of\nease or profit. It was at the second mentioned place, where the record\nwas found to be deposited, on the west side of the hill, not far from\nthe top down its side; and when myself visited the place in the year\n1830, there were several trees standing--enough to cause a shade in\nsummer, but not so much as to prevent the surface being covered with\ngrass, which was also the case when the record was found.--Oliver\nCowdery.\n\n5. Analysis of the Book of Mormon.--\n\n1. _The Construction of the Record_.--The Book of Mormon is an\nabridgment made from more extensive records kept by the ancient\ncivilized people of America--chiefly by the people known in the Book\nof Mormon as Nephites. The abridgment, for the most part, is made\nby one Mormon, a Nephite prophet, who was born 311 A. D., and slain\nby his enemies in the year 400 A. D. The parts which are not his\nabridgment are the first 157 pages (N. E.), which bring us to the\n\"Words of Mormon,\" page 158; and from page 563 {N. E.} to the end of\nthe volume--sixty pages. This latter part of the record was made by\nMoroni, the son of Mormon, who was also the one who hid up the plates\ncontaining his father's and his own abridgment, in the year 421 A. D.;\nand who, having been raised from the dead, revealed the existence of\nthese plates to Joseph Smith.\n\n{287} The first 157 pages are a verbatim translation from what are\nknown as the \"smaller plates of Nephi\"--we will explain: The first\nNephi, who left Jerusalem with a small company of colonists led out\nfrom that city by his father, Lehi, 600 B. C., and who afterwards\nbecame their leader, prophet, and their first king--made two sets of\nplates, on which he proposed engraving the history of his people. On\nthe larger of these two sets he engraved an account of his father's\nlife, travels, prophecies, etc., together with his genealogy; and\nupon them also he recorded a full history of the wars and contentions\nof his people, as also their travels, and an account of the cities\nthey founded and colonies they established. These larger plates were\npreserved in the care of succeeding kings, or judges of the republic\nwhen the kingdom was transformed into one; and, in a word, upon them\nwas written a full history of the rise and fall of the nations which\nexisted in America, from the landing of this colony from Jerusalem to\n400 A. D., a period of nearly one thousand years.\n\nIt is quite evident that as these plates were transmitted from king to\nking, or from one ruling judge of the republic to another, or given\ninto the possession of a prophet, that each recorded the historical\nevents of his own day, and gave to such account his own name--hence\nMormon found in these \"larger plates\" of Nephi, The Book of Mosiah, the\nBook of Alma, the Book of Helaman, etc.\n\nFurthermore, it happened that there were colonies from time to time\nthat drifted off into distant parts of the land and became lost for\na season to the main body of the people; and there were missionary\nexpeditions formed for the conversion of the Lamanites; and these\nparties, whether missionary or colonial, generally kept records; and\nwhen these colonists or missionary parties were found, or returned to\nthe main body of the people, their records were incorporated within the\nmain record, being kept by the historian--hence there was, sometimes, a\nbook within a book, and the current of events was interrupted to record\nthe history of these detached portions of the people, or some important\nmissionary expedition.\n\nMormon, when abridging these plates of Nephi, gave to each particular\ndivision of his abridgment the name of the book from which he had\ntaken his account of the events recorded--hence the Books of Mosiah,\nAlma, Helaman and III and IV Nephi in his abridgment. He also, in some\ninstances, at least, followed the sub-divisions we have alluded to,\nhence we have the Record of Zeniff within the Book of Mosiah (page 181,\nN. E.); the account of the church founded by the first Alma (page 213);\nand the account of the missionary expeditions of the sons of Mosiah to\nthe Lamanites within the Book of Alma (page 283.)\n\n2. _Complexity of the Literary Structure of the Book_.--Again we\ncaution the student to remember that the Book of Mormon is, for the\nmost {288} part, an abridgment from the \"larger plates\" of Nephi; but\nit is quite evident that Mormon frequently came to passages upon the\nplates of Nephi which pleased him so well that he transcribed them\nverbatim upon the plates containing his abridgment. An example of this\nwill be found beginning on page 163, in the second line of the ninth\nparagraph, and ending with page 169--the words of King Benjamin to his\npeople. The words of King Benjamin are also renewed on page 170, in the\nsecond line of the fourth paragraph, and continue to the close of the\nchapter. There are many such passages throughout Mormon's abridgment.\n\nIn addition to this, Mormon frequently introduces remarks of his own\nby way of comment, warning, prophecy or admonition, and since there is\nnothing in the text, neither quotation marks nor a change of type, to\nindicate where these comments, or what we might call annotations, begin\nor end, they are liable to confuse the reader--a difficulty that we\nhope will be obviated by this caution. So much for Mormon's abridgment.\nNow to consider the part of the work done by his son, Moroni. This is\nfrom page 563 to the end of the volume. He closes up the record of his\nfather, Mormon, and then gives us an abridgment of the twenty-four\nplates of Ether, which were found in North America by the people of\nLimhi, in the second century B. C., and then concludes his work with\nnotes on the manner of ordaining priests and teachers, administering\nthe sacrament of the Lord's supper, baptism, spiritual gifts, together\nwith a sermon and some of his father's letters. In his abridgment of\nthe record of the Jaredites, the peculiarity of mixing up his comments,\nadmonitions and prophecies with his narrative, is even more marked\nthan in the abridgment of Mormon, therefore the reader will need to be\ndoubly on his guard.\n\n3. _How the \"Smaller Plates\" of Nephi came to be attached to Mormon's\nAbridgment_.--We have already said that the first 157 pages of the\nBook of Mormon were not a part of Mormon's abridgment. Those pages are\na verbatim translation of the \"smaller plates\" of Nephi, and became\nconnected with Mormon's abridgment in this manner: Mormon had abridged\nthe \"larger plates\" of Nephi as far as the reign of King Benjamin, and\nin searching through the records which had been delivered to him, he\nfound the \"smaller plates\" of Nephi. They contained a brief history\nof events connected with the departure of Lehi and his colony from\nJerusalem to their landing in America, and thence down to the reign\nof this King Benjamin--covering a period of about 400 years. These\nplates were made by Nephi, that upon them might be engraven an account\nof the ministry of the servants of God, among his people, together\nwith their prophecies and teachings. They contain, in other words, an\necclesiastical history of the {289} Nephites, while the \"larger plates\"\nof Nephi contained a political or secular history of the same people.\n(I Nephi ix; xix: 1-5.)\n\nMormon was particularly well pleased with the contents of these\n\"smaller plates\" of Nephi, because upon them had been engraven so\nmany prophecies concerning the coming and mission of the Messiah; and\ninstead of condensing the history recorded on them into an abridgment,\nhe took the plates themselves and attached them to the abridgment of\nNephi's \"larger plates.\" \"And I do this for a wise purpose,\" says\nMormon; \"for thus it whispereth me according to the workings of the\nSpirit of the Lord which is in me.\" (Words of Mormon, page 159 N. E.)\nNephi also, in speaking of these \"smaller plates,\" says, \"the Lord hath\ncommanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him; which\npurpose I know not.\" (I Nephi ix:5.)\n\n4. _The Wise Purpose_.--By Mormon attaching these \"smaller plates\"\nof Nephi to his own abridgment of Nephi's \"larger plates,\" it will\nbe observed there was a double line of history of the Nephites for\nabout 400 years, and the wisdom of this arrangement is seen in the\nfollowing: When Joseph Smith had translated the first part of Mormon's\nabridgment--amounting to 116 pages of manuscript, he listened to the\nimportunities of Martin Harris, who was giving him some assistance in\nthe work of translating, and who desired to show that portion of the\nwork to his friends. The result was the manuscript was stolen from\nHarris; the records were taken from Joseph by the angel, and for a\nseason he lost his power to translate. After a time, however, he was\npermitted to go on with the work, but the Lord made it known to him\nthat it was the design of those into whose hands the manuscript had\nfallen to wait until he had translated that part again, and then by\nchanging the manuscript in their possession, would bring it forth and\nclaim that he could not translate the same record twice alike; and thus\nthey would seek to overthrow the work of God.\n\nBut the heavenly messenger commanded Joseph Smith not to translate\nagain the part he had already translated, but instead thereof he\nshould translate the \"smaller plates\" of Nephi, and that account was\nto take the place of Mormon's abridgment up to the latter days of the\nreign of King Benjamin. (Doc. and Cov., Sec. 10.) Thus it is that we\nhave the \"Words of Mormon,\" beginning on page 158, explaining how the\n\"smaller plates\" of Nephi came into his possession and attached to the\nplates containing the record he himself was making, and connecting\nthe historical narrative of the \"smaller plates\" of Nephi with his\nown abridgment of Nephi's \"larger plates.\" The \"Words of Mormon,\"\ninterrupting as they do the history of the Nephites, have caused no\nlittle confusion in the minds of unthoughtful readers; but after it is\nunderstood that they are merely the link connecting the ecclesiastical\nhistory engraven on the \"smaller {290} plates\" of Nephi to Mormon's\nabridgment, and that they take the place of the first part of Mormon's\nrecord, the difficulty will disappear.\n\n5. _Difference in the Literary Style of the \"Smaller Plates\" and\nMormon's Abridgment_.--One thing we cannot forbear to mention, and that\nis, in the parts of the Book of Mormon translated from the \"smaller\nplates\" of Nephi, we find none of those comments or annotations mixed\nup with the record that we have already spoken of as being peculiar\nto the abridgment made by Mormon--a circumstance, we take it, which\nproves the Book of Mormon to be consistent with the account given of\nthe original records from which it was translated. The value of this\nfact appears if we stop to consider how destructive to the claims\nof the book it would be if the peculiarity of Mormon's abridgment\nwere found in that part of the book which claims to be a verbatim\ntranslation of the \"smaller plates\" of Nephi. There will be found,\nhowever, in this translation direct from the \"smaller plates\" of\nNephi, as also in Mormon's abridgment, extracts from the old Jewish\nScriptures--especially from the writings of Isaiah--this is accounted\nfor by the fact that when Lehi's colony left Jerusalem, they took with\nthem copies of the books of Moses and the writings of the prophets,\nand the record of the Jews down to the commencement of the reign of\nZedekiah, all of which were engraven on plates of brass (see I Nephi\nv: 10-13), and the Nephite historians transcribed passages from these\nsacred records into their own writings.\n\n6. _The Transcribed Passages_.--There are a few suggestions about these\ntranscribed passages which may be valuable to the student, as they\nfurnish an indirect evidence of the truth of the Book of Mormon. The\nNephites having transcribed passages from the brass plates they carried\nwith them from Jerusalem into their records, wherever such passages\noccur in the Book of Mormon, and corresponding passages are found in\nour English Bible, it will be seen by the reader that so far we have\ntwo translations of the writings of the old Hebrew prophets; and it\nwill be found on comparison that the passages in the Book of Mormon are\nstronger and more in keeping with the sense sought to be expressed by\nthe prophet than the corresponding passages and chapters in the Bible.\nAs a proof of this I ask the student to compare I Nephi xx and xxi with\nIsaiah xlvii and xlix.\n\nIn some instances there are sentences, in the Book of Mormon version\nof passages from Isaiah, not to be found in our English version, as\nwitness the following:\n\n{291} BOOK OF MORMON.\n\nO house of Jacob, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord;\n_yea, come, for ye have all gone astray, every one to his wicked\nways_.--II Nephi xii.\n\nBIBLE.\n\nO house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the\nLord.--Isa. ii: 5.\n\nIn other instances it will be found that the sense of the passages is\ndifferent, and that the passages in the Book of Mormon best accord with\nthe sense of the whole:\n\nBOOK OF MORMON.\n\nTherefore, O Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob,\nbecause they be replenished from the east, and hearken unto soothsayers\nlike the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of\nstrangers.--II Nephi xii: 6.\n\nTheir land is also full of idols--they worship the work of their own\nhands, that which their own fingers have made: and the mean man boweth\nnot down, and the great man humbleth himself not, therefore, forgive\nhim not.--II Nephi xii: 8, 9.\n\nThou hast multiplied the nation, and increased the joy: they joy before\nthee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they\ndivide the spoil.--II Nephi xix: 3.\n\nBIBLE.\n\nTherefore Thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob, because\nthey be replenished from the east, and _are_ soothsayers like\nthe Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of\nstrangers.--Isa. ii: 6\n\nTheir land also is full of idols; they worship the work which their\nown fingers have made: and the mean man boweth down, and the great man\nhumbleth himself: therefore, forgive them not.--Isa. ii: 8, 9.\n\nThou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy\nbefore thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when\nthey divide the spoil.--Isa. ix: 3.\n\nObserve, too, the difference in the clearness of the following passages:\n\nBOOK OF MORMON.\n\nAnd when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar\nspirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter; should not a people\nseek unto their God? for the living to hear from the dead?--II Nephi\nxix: 3.\n\nBIBLE.\n\nAnd when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar\nspirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a\npeople seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?--Isa. viii: 19.\n\n{292} Again, the English translators of the Bible, in order to make the\nsense of various passages more clear, inserted here and there, words of\ntheir own; which are always written in _Italics_, that the reader might\nknow what words have been inserted by the translator, and for which\nhe will find no equivalent in the original text. It is worthy of note\nthat in those transcribed passages from the brass plates into the Book\nof Mormon, in almost every instance, the words in the Book of Mormon\nversion are different to those substituted by the translators of the\ncommon English Version; or are left out, as follows:\n\nBOOK OF MORMON.\n\nWhat mean ye? Ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the\npoor.--II Nephi xiii: 15.\n\nBIBLE.\n\nWhat mean ye _that_ ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of\nthe poor?--Isa. iii: 15.\n\nThe above is a case where the inserted word of the translator, which I\nhave written in _Italics_, is omitted, and to my mind the passage as it\nstands in the Book of Mormon is the stronger and more beautiful. Here\nis a passage where different words are used than those inserted by the\ntranslators:\n\nBOOK OF MORMON.\n\nSay unto the righteous, that it is well with them; for they shall eat\nthe fruit of their doings.\n\nWoe unto the wicked for they shall perish; for the reward of their\nhands shall be upon them.--II Nephi xiii: 10, 11.\n\nBIBLE.\n\nSay ye to the righteous, that _it shall be_ well _with him_: for they\nshall eat the fruit of their doings.\n\nWoe unto the wicked; _it shall be ill with him_; for the reward of his\nhands shall be given him.--Isa. iii: 10, 11.\n\nI think it will be readily conceived that the above passage as it\nstands in the Book of Mormon is much superior to the version given in\nour common Bible. And when it is remembered that Joseph Smith and those\nwho assisted in translating that work were most likely uninformed as to\nthe supplied words of the translators being written in _Italics_, it\nis an incidental evidence that those passages in the Book of Mormon to\nwhich are found corresponding passages in the Bible, were not merely\ncopied from the Bible, but in the Book of Mormon we have really another\ntranslation of those passages taken from original records of the\nHebrews, uncorrupted by the hand of man, and hence more perfect.\n\n7. _A Means of Testing the Truth of the Book of Mormon_.--One\nsuggestion more I would make to the readers of the Book of Mormon:\n{293} that is, that they read it prayerfully with a real desire to\nknow if it is of God. If they will peruse it with that desire in their\nhearts, I am sanguine that the Spirit of God which searches all things,\nyea, the deep things of God, will bear witness to their understanding\nthat the book is of divine origin, and they will have a witness from\nGod of its truth. Such a promise in fact, is contained within the book\nitself. When Moroni was closing up the sacred record previous to hiding\nit up unto the Lord until the time should come for it to be revealed as\na witness for God, he engraved the following passage on the plates as\nwords of counsel to those into whose hands the record should fall:\n\n\"And when ye shall receive these things\" (i. e., the things written\nin the Book of Mormon) \"I would exhort you that ye would ask God the\nEternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true;\nand if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having\nfaith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power\nof the Holy Ghost; and by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the\ntruth of all things.\" (Moroni x: 4,5.)\n\nHere, then, is a means by which every person into whose hands the Book\nof Mormon falls may find out for himself, not from human testimony, not\nfrom the deductions of logic, but through the power of the Holy Ghost,\nwhether the Book of Mormon is of divine origin or not. This test must\nbe final, either for or against it, to every individual who complies\nwith the conditions enjoined by Moroni. Those conditions are, that they\ninto whose hands the record falls shall inquire of God with a sincere\nheart, with real intent, and having faith in Christ and to those who\nso proceed he promises without equivocation that they shall receive a\nmanifestation of its truth by the power of the Holy Ghost. Therefore,\nif these directions are complied with faithfully and honestly, and the\nmanifestation follows not, then they may know it is not of God. If\nthe manifestation comes, of course the divine origin of the book is\nconfirmed, for the Holy Ghost would not confirm by any manifestation of\nits power an imposition.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What is a dispensation in connection with the work of God?\n\n2. In what does the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times differ from\nother dispensations?\n\n3. State when and where the Prophet Joseph was born.\n\n4. What was the condition and standing of the Prophet's parents?\n\n{294} 5. State what you can about the movements of the Smith family\nuntil its settlement in Manchester.\n\n6. What occurred in Manchester when the prophet was in his fifteenth\nyear?\n\n7. What influence did this religious revival have on the Smith family?\n\n8. What reflections did it give birth to in the boy Joseph?\n\n9. What circumstance was it that decided the course of Joseph?\n\n10. Describe the first great vision Joseph received.\n\n11. What sectarian vagary is dispelled by this vision?\n\n12. What were the prophet's subsequent teachings relative to the\npersonage of God? (Note.)\n\n13. What does the vision teach in respect to the Father and Son being\ndistinct persons?\n\n14. What great truth respecting the character of the creeds and sects\nof Christendom is learned from the vision?\n\n15. What did it prove in regard to the false idea that God would give\nno more revelation to man?\n\n16. What other important thing did this first vision accomplish?\n\n17. How long was it after the prophet received his first vision before\nany other revelation was given him?\n\n18. How was Joseph's announcement that he had received a revelation\nfrom God treated by the ministers?\n\n19. What can you say of the prophet's conduct during the above\nmentioned interval of three years?\n\n20. Give an account of Moroni's first visit to the Prophet Joseph.\n\n21. Give a description of Moroni. (Note 3),\n\n22. What ancient record did Moroni reveal the existence of?\n\n23. Enumerate the several ancient prophecies of the Bible quoted by\nMoroni.\n\n24. What cautions did Moroni give Joseph before finally leaving him?\n\n25. Relate Moroni's fourth appearance to Joseph.\n\n26. Give an account of Joseph's first visit to Cumorah.\n\n27. By what name was this same hill known among the Jaredites?\n\n28. Give a description of Cumorah.\n\n29. What arrangements for future visitations did Moroni make with\nJoseph?\n\n30. When were the plates of the Book of Mormon together with the Urim\nand Thummim given into the possession of Joseph?\n\n31. What individuals and family rendered Joseph valuable assistance\nwhile translating the Book of Mormon?\n\n32. How many especial witnesses were raised up to the Book of Mormon?\n\n33. State how the Book of Mormon was constructed.\n\n34. Describe the complexity of the structure of the Book of Mormon.\n\n{295} 35. How did the \"smaller plates\" of Nephi come to be attached to\nMormon's abridgment?\n\n36. For what wise purpose were they attached to Mormon's abridgment?\n\n37. What difference in style of composition is noticeable between these\n\"smaller plates\" and Mormon's abridgment?\n\n38. What can you say of the transcribed passages from the brass plates?\n\n39. What direct means exists for testing the truth of the Book of\nMormon?\n\n{296}\n\n\n\nSECTION II.\n\n1. The Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood.--While engaged in\nthe work of translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph and Oliver found\nreference made in the record to baptism for the remission of sins; and\non the 15th of May, 1829, they went into the woods to inquire of the\nLord about it. While thus engaged a messenger from heaven descended\nin a cloud of light and announced himself to be John, the same that\nis called the Baptist,[10] in the New Testament. He placed his hands\nupon the heads of Joseph and Oliver and ordained them to the Aaronic\nPriesthood.[11] He explained that this priesthood held the keys of the\nministration of angels, the gospel of repentance and of baptism for\nthe remission of sins, but had not the power of laying on hands for\nthe gift of the Holy Ghost. He promised them also that the priesthood\nhe then conferred upon them should never be taken again from the\nearth, until the sons of Levi offer an offering unto the Lord in\nrighteousness. [See note 1, end of section.]\n\n2. John stated that he was acting under the direction of {297}\nPeter, James and John, who held the keys of the Melchisedek Priesthood,\nwhich he said would in due time be conferred upon them. He then\ncommanded Joseph to baptize Oliver, and afterwards Oliver to baptize\nJoseph.[12] After their baptism they were both filled with the spirit\nof prophecy and predicted many things concerning the rise and progress\nof the work. The angel also commanded them to each re-ordain the other\nto the Priesthood--Joseph to first ordain Oliver, and afterwards Oliver\nto ordain Joseph. To this commandment they were obedient, and thus the\nAaronic Priesthood, the power from God which gives the right to those\nwho receive it to preach repentance and to administer baptism for the\nremission of sins, was restored to men.\n\n3. For a season, doubtless in order to avoid persecution, which\nconstantly increased in bitterness, Joseph and Oliver kept their\nbaptism and ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood a secret; but as men's\nminds were wrought upon to inquire after the truth, they at last let it\nbe known that they had received authority to baptize for the remission\nof sins, and a number of people received the ordinance at their hands.\n\n4. Restoration of the Melchisedek Priesthood.--Some time\nin June, 1829,[13] the promise made by John the Baptist to Joseph\nand Oliver, at the time he conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon\nthem--viz., that they should receive the higher or Melchisedek\nPriesthood, was fulfilled. This Priesthood was conferred upon them by\nPeter, James and John, probably in the wilderness between Harmony,\nSusquehanna county, and Colesville, {298} Broome county, on the\nSusquehanna River.[14] [See note 2, end of section] It is quite evident\nfrom the prominence given to these three apostles in the New Testament,\nthat they held the keys of this Priesthood; and that of the three\nPeter was the chief. To him the Lord said: \"I will give unto thee the\nkeys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth\nshall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth\nshall be loosed in heaven.\" [15] It was eminently proper therefore that\nthese three apostles should be the ones to restore to the earth the\nMelchisedek Priesthood by conferring the apostleship upon Joseph and\nOliver.\n\n5. As after receiving their ordination under the hands of John\nthe Baptist they were required to re-ordain each other, so after\nreceiving the apostleship under the hands of Peter, James and John\nthey re-ordained each other, Joseph first re-ordaining Oliver, and\nafterwards accepting re-ordination at his hands.[16]\n\n6. The power and authority of this Melchisedek Priesthood [see\nnote 3, end of section] is to hold the keys of all the spiritual\nblessings of the church, and those holding it have the privilege of\nreceiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven--they have the right\nto have the heavens opened unto them--to commune with the general\nassembly and church of the First Born, and to enjoy the communication\nand presence of God the Father and Jesus the Mediator of the new\ncovenant.[17] Hence, clothed with this power, Joseph and Oliver were\nauthorized to organize the Church of Christ in the earth.\n\n7. The Organization of the Church of Christ.--In all things,\nhowever, the two young men waited for direction from the Lord, and\nhence did not undertake to organize the church until he commanded\nthem. It was in obedience to a commandment from the Lord, therefore,\nthat they appointed the sixth {299} day of April, 1830, as the time to\norganize the church. Six persons[18] who had been baptized, and a few\nof their friends, met at the house of Peter Whitmer, Sen., in Fayette,\nSeneca county, in the State of New York, to effect that organization.\nThe meeting was opened by solemn prayer, after which, according to\nprevious commandment, the Prophet Joseph called upon the brethren\npresent to know if they would accept himself and Oliver Cowdery as\ntheir teachers in the things of the kingdom of God; and if they were\nwilling that they should proceed to organize the church according to\nthe commandment of the Lord. To this they consented by unanimous vote.\nJoseph then ordained Oliver an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ;[19]\nafter which Oliver ordained Joseph an elder of the said church. The\nsacrament was administered and those who had been previously baptized\nwere confirmed members of the church and received the Holy Ghost by the\nlaying on of hands. Some enjoyed the gift of prophecy, and all rejoiced\nexceedingly. [See note 4, end of section.]\n\n8. While the church was yet assembled a revelation was received\nfrom the Lord,[20] directing that a record be kept in the church, and\nthat in it Joseph be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle\nof Jesus Christ, an elder of the church; and the church was commanded\nto give heed to all his words and commandments which he should receive\nfrom the Lord, accepting his word as the word of God in all patience\nand faith. On condition of their doing this, the Lord promised them\nthat the gates of hell should not prevail against the church; but on\n{300} the contrary he would disperse the powers of darkness from before\nthem and shake the heavens for their good.\n\n9. The Voice of God and the Voice of the People in Church\nGovernment.--Thus the church was organized; and in that organization\nwe see the operation of two mighty principles--the voice of God: the\nconsent of the people. At the time that Joseph and Oliver received\ninstruction to ordain each other to be elders of the church, they were\ntold to defer their ordination until such time as would be practicable\nto get their brethren who had been and who would be baptized assembled\ntogether: for they must have the sanction of their brethren before\nthey ordained each other elders of the Church; and their brethren must\ndecide by vote whether they would accept them [Joseph and Oliver] as\nspiritual[21] teachers. Thus, notwithstanding Joseph and Oliver had\nbeen ordained apostles under the hands of Peter, James and John, and\nhad doubtless re-ordained each other as already stated,[22] yet when\nit came to being ordained _elders of the Church_,[23] and made the\nspiritual leaders of it, it must be done by the common consent of the\nchurch; and thus early we see enforced that law which says: \"All things\nshall be done by common consent in the church, by much prayer and\nfaith.\" [24] But no sooner was the church organized than a prophet, a\nseer, a translator, is appointed and the church commanded to give heed\nto his words, and to receive them as coming from the mouth of of the\nLord himself. Here in the very inception of the church organization\nis clearly established the great truth, the grand principle, that in\nthe government of the church there is to be a union of the voice of\nGod {301} and the consent or voice of the people. Not _vox populi,\nvox Dei;_[25] nor _vox Dei, vox populi_;[26] but _vox Dei et vox\npopuli_.[27]\n\n10. Revelation on Church Government and Discipline.--Previous\nto the organization of the church, a very important revelation was\ngiven--in fact it was the revelation which pointed out the date on\nwhich the church was to be organized[28]--which teaches many important\ntruths and points out the duties of the members of the church and also\nthe duties of the officers of the church--so far as the officers of\nthe church at that time had been given. That revelation announces the\nfollowing doctrines:--\n\n_I. Of the Existence of God_.--There is a God in heaven who is infinite\nand eternal from everlasting to everlasting--unchangeable; the framer\nof heaven and earth and all things which are in them.\n\n_II. Of the Creation and Fall of Man_.--God created man male and\nfemale, after his own image, and in his own likeness created he them.\nHe gave them commandment that they should love and serve him, and that\nhe should be the sole object of their worship. But by the transgression\nof these holy laws man became sensual and devilish--fallen man.\n\n_III. Of Jesus Christ_.--The Almighty God gave his Only Begotten Son as\na ransom for fallen man, as it is written of him in the scriptures. He\nsuffered temptations, but gave no heed to them; he was crucified, died,\nand rose again the third day; he ascended into heaven to sit on the\nright hand of his Father, {302} to reign with almighty power according\nto the will of God. As many as believe on him and are baptized in his\nholy name--enduring in faith to the end--shall be saved. Not only those\nwho believed after he came in the flesh; but all those who from the\nbeginning believed in the words of the holy prophets, who testified of\nhim in all things.\n\n_IV. Of the Holy Ghost and the Trinity_.--The Holy Ghost beareth record\nof the Father and of the Son--is God's witness. The Father, Son and\nHoly Ghost constitute the Holy Trinity--one God or grand Presidency of\nheaven and earth, infinite, eternal.\n\n_V. Of Justification and Sanctification_.--Justification and\nsanctification come through the grace of God, and are just and true\nprinciples. That is, the grace of God supplies the means or conditions\nof justification and sanctification, and it is for man to apply\nthose means of salvation. The means or conditions of justification\nand sanctification are that men love and serve God with all their\nmight, mind, and strength. That would lead them to exercise faith in\nGod, repentance of sin and baptism for the remission of sins, laying\non of hands for the Holy Ghost, and the pursuit of a godly life and\nconversation--the old conditions of salvation.[29]\n\n_VI. Of Falling from Grace_.--It is possible for men to fall from grace\nand depart from the living God, therefore the saints are admonished to\ntake heed and pray always, least they fall into temptation. Even those\nwho are sanctified are cautioned to take heed.\n\n_VII. Of Baptism_.--All who humble themselves before God, and desire\nto be baptized and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits,\nand witness before the church that they have truly repented of all\ntheir sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ,\nhaving a determination to serve Him to the end, and truly manifest\nby their works that {303} they have received of the spirit of Christ\nunto the remission of their sins--shall be received by baptism into\nthe church.[30] No person, however, can be received into the church\nof Christ, unless he has arrived unto the years of accountability[31]\nbefore God, and is capable of repentance.\n\n_VIII. Of the Manner of Baptism_.--The person who is called of God, and\nhas authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go into the water\nwith the person who has presented him or herself for baptism, and shall\nsay--calling him or her by name--\"Having been commissioned of Jesus\nChrist, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of\nthe Holy Ghost. Amen.\" [32] Then shall he immerse him or her, and come\nforth again out of the water.\n\n_IX. Of Confirmation_.--Confirmation into the church follows baptism\nand is performed by the laying on of hands, by those who have authority\nin the church. The Holy Ghost is imparted in the same manner. There is\nno form of exact words given, so far as we know, for confirming persons\ninto the church and imparting the Holy Ghost; but judging from the\nforms given for baptism, administering the sacrament, etc., a simple\nform would be most proper. But whatever other words are used, the\nfollowing should not be omitted: I confirm you a member of the {304}\nChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and say unto you, receive\nye the Holy Ghost. Those officiating would of course be careful to do\nthis in the name of Jesus Christ, or their administration would be of\nnone effect.\n\n_X. Of the Duties of Members_.--It is the duty of the members of the\nchurch to manifest righteousness by \"a Godly walk and conversation;\"\nto abstain from ill feeling toward each other, neither indulging in\nlying, back-biting nor evil speaking. It is also their duty to pray\nvocally and in secret. They are required to meet together often to\npartake of bread and wine in remembrance of the Lord Jesus, which is\nto be administered by the elder or priest[33] in the following manner:\nkneeling with the church he consecrates the emblems of the body and\nblood of Christ in these words:\n\nBLESSING ON THE BREAD.\n\n\"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son Jesus\nChrist to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who\npartake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son,\nand witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing\nto take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and\nkeep his commandments which he has given them, that they may always\nhave His Spirit to be with them. Amen.\"\n\nBLESSING ON THE WINE.[34]\n\n\"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son Jesus\nChrist to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of {305} all those\nwho drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy\nSon, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God,\nthe Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may\nhave his Spirit to be with them. Amen.\"\n\n_XI. Of the Duties of Saints Respecting Children_.--Every member of the\nchurch having children is required to bring them to the elders, before\nthe church, who are to lay their hands upon them and bless them in the\nname of Jesus Christ.[35]\n\nXII. _Duties of Officers--Elders_. [36]--Elders have authority to\npreside over meetings and conduct them as prompted by the Holy Ghost.\nThey also have authority to teach and expound {306} the scriptures; to\nwatch over the church; to baptize; to lay on hands for the bestowal\nof the Holy Ghost; confirm those baptized, members of the church;\nadminister the sacrament, and ordain other elders and also priests,\nteachers, and deacons.\n\n--_Priests_.--It is the duty of priests to preach, teach, and expound\nscripture; to visit the home of each member and exhort them to pray\nvocally and in secret and attend to all duties. They may also baptize\nand administer the sacrament, ordain other priests, teachers and\ndeacons, take the lead of meetings when no elder is present, and in\na general way assist the elder; but they have no authority to lay on\nhands for the gift of the Holy Ghost or confirmation in the church.\n\n--_Teachers_.--The teacher's duty is to always be with the church,\nwatch over and strengthen it; to see that there is no iniquity in it,\nand that the members thereof meet together often and all do their\nduty. Teachers may warn, expound, exhort, teach and invite all to come\nunto Christ, and take the lead of meetings when no elder or priest is\npresent; but they have not the authority to baptize, administer the\nsacrament or lay on hands.\n\n--_Deacons_.--Deacons are appointed to assist the teachers in the\nperformance of their duties. They may also warn, expound, exhort, teach\nand invite all to come unto Christ, but like teachers have no authority\nto baptize, administer the sacrament, or lay on hands.\n\n_XIII. Conferences_.--The several elders comprising the church of\nChrist are to meet in conference once in three months, or from time\nto time as the said conference shall appoint, to do whatever church\nbusiness is necessary. It is the duty of the several branches of\nthe church to send one or more of their {307} teachers [or other\nrepresentatives] to attend the conferences of the church, with a list\nof the names of those who joined the church since the last conference,\nthat a record of the names of the whole church may be kept by one\nwho shall be appointed to that work; and the names of those who are\nexpelled from the church are also to be sent up to the conferences,\nthat their names may be blotted out of the general record of the\nchurch. Members removing from the church where they reside are to take\na letter certifying that they are regular members in good standing, and\nthat when signed by the regular authorities of the church from whence\nthey move is to admit them into the fellowship of the Saints in the\nchurch to which they go. Such is the plan of government and discipline\ncontained in the revelation given just previous to the organization\nof the church, and in it one may observe the outlines of that more\ncomplete organization of the church which will be treated more fully in\nanother section. The above was sufficient for the church in its infancy.\n\n11. Commencement of the Public Ministry.--On Sunday, the 11th of\nApril, 1830, the first public discourse was preached. It was delivered\nby Elder Oliver Cowdery, at the house of Peter Whitmer, in Fayette.\nAfter the services six persons were baptized. Thus began the public\nministry of the church.\n\n12. First Miracle in the Church.--In this same month of April\nthe first miracle in the church was performed. It occurred in this\nmanner: The Prophet Joseph went on a visit to Mr. Joseph Knight, at\nColesville, Broome County, New York. This gentleman had rendered the\nprophet some timely assistance while translating the Book of Mormon,\nand he was anxious that Mr. Knight and his family should receive the\ntruth. While in Mr. Knight's neighborhood the prophet held a number\nof meetings. Among those who regularly attended was Newel Knight, son\nof Joseph Knight. He and the prophet had many serious conversations\non the subject of man's salvation. In the meetings {308} held the\npeople prayed much, and in one of the aforesaid conversations with the\nprophet, Newel Knight promised that he would pray publicly. When the\ntime came, however, his heart failed him, and he refused, saying that\nhe would wait until he got into the woods by himself. The next morning\nwhen he attempted to pray in the woods, he was overwhelmed with a sense\nof having neglected his duty the evening before in not praying in the\npresence of others. He began to feel uneasy, and continued to grow\nworse both in mind and body, until upon reaching home his appearance\nwas such as to alarm his wife. He sent for the prophet, who, when he\ncame, found Newel in a sad condition and suffering greatly. His visage\nand limbs were distorted and twisted in every shape imaginable. At\nlast he was caught up off the floor and tossed about most fearfully.\nThe neighbors hearing of his condition came running in. After he had\nsuffered for a time, the prophet succeeded in getting him by the hand,\nwhen immediately Newel spoke to him, saying he knew he was possessed\nof the devil, and that the prophet had power to cast him out. \"If you\nknow I can, it shall be done,\" replied the prophet; and then almost\nunconsciously he rebuked Satan and commanded him to depart from the\nman. Immediately Newel's contortions stopped, and he spoke out and said\nhe saw the devil leave him and vanish from sight.\n\n13.--\"This was the first miracle which was done in this church\nor by any member of it,\" writes the prophet; \"and it was done not by\nman, nor by the power of man, but it was done by God, and by the power\nof godliness; therefore let the honor and praise, the dominion and the\nglory, be ascribed to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for ever and\never. Amen.\"\n\n14. The First Conference.--The first conference of the church\nwas held the first day of June, 1830. About thirty members were in\nattendance, besides a number of unbaptized believers and others anxious\nto learn. The sacrament was administered, a number who had been\nbaptized were confirmed, {309} and brethren were called and ordained\nto various offices of the priesthood. The time was spent in prayer,\nsinging, instruction and exhortation. The Holy Ghost was abundantly\npoured out upon the saints. Some prophesied, and others were wrapped\nin heavenly vision, until their bodily strength was exhausted. When\nrestored they shouted hosannah to God and the Lamb, and related the\nglorious things they had seen and felt while in vision. [See note\n4, end of section.] Thus the ministry of God's servants began to be\nconfirmed by the signs and the gifts of the Holy Ghost following those\nwho believed.\n\n15. Errors of the Saints.--It would be unreasonable to suppose\nthat the members of the church fell into no errors. Some time in the\nsummer of 1830, while the prophet was still living in Harmony, Penn.,\nand Oliver Cowdery was with the Whitmer family in New York, he received\na letter from Oliver informing him that he [Oliver] had discovered\nan error in one of the revelations, and added: \"I command you in the\nname of God to erase these words [having named the passage] that no\npriestcraft be among us.\" [37] The prophet wrote immediately, asking by\nwhat authority Oliver took it upon himself to command him to alter or\nerase, to add to, or diminish a revelation or commandment from Almighty\nGod. Joseph followed his letter in a few days, and was grieved beyond\nmeasure to find that the whole Whitmer family sustained Oliver in the\nposition he had taken. By labor and perseverance, however, he convinced\nthem that they were in error and the difficulty was settled.\n\n16. Scarcely had this trouble subsided when another arose. In\nthe month of August, 1830, in consequence of persecution having grown\nextremely bitter in Harmony and vicinity, the prophet removed with\nhis family to Fayette, New York, at the invitation of the Whitmers,\nto live with them. On arriving {310} there he learned that Hyrum\nPage was in possession of a stone which he called a seer stone, and\nthrough which he was receiving revelations for the church in respect\nto the up-building of Zion, church government, etc. The Whitmers and\nthe inconstant Oliver accepted these revelations and much harm was\nbeing done. A conference was to convene on the first of September,\nbut before it assembled the prophet inquired of the Lord and obtained\na revelation on the subject, which was directed more especially to\nOliver Cowdery.[38] In regard to the subject in hand, it contained\nthe following: Oliver was to be heard by the church in all things\nwhatsoever he taught by the Comforter, concerning the revelations\nand commandments; and if led by the Comforter to teach by way of\ncommandment, he had permission to do it; \"But thou shalt not write\nby way of commandment,\" said the Lord to him, \"but by wisdom. And\nthou shalt not command him who is at thy head and at the head of the\nchurch.\" No one was to receive commandments and revelations in the\nchurch, that is for the church, except Joseph the prophet; for the\nLord had given him the keys of the mysteries and revelations, until he\nappointed unto the church another in his stead. Oliver was commanded\nto take Hyrum Page aside by himself and tell him that the revelations\nwhich he had written from that stone were not of the Lord, but that\nSatan had deceived him, and they must be given up, for he had not been\nappointed to receive revelations, neither would any one be appointed\ncontrary to the church covenants, which provided that all things must\nbe done in order and by common consent of the church.\n\n17. During the conference the subject of the revelations from\nHyrum Page's seer stone was discussed, and after much consideration,\nthe whole church, including Hyrum Page, renounced the stone and all\nthings connected with it; and the {311} church was made to understand\nmore clearly that there is but one on the earth at a time who is\nauthorized to receive the word and commandment of the Lord for the\nChurch.[39]\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. The Visitation of John the Baptist.--On a sudden, as from the\nmidst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while\nthe vail was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory,\nand delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the\ngospel of repentance! What joy! What wonder! What amazement! While the\nworld was racked and distracted--while millions were groping as the\nblind for the wall, and while all men were resting on uncertainty,\nas a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard. As in the blaze\nof day; yes, more--above the glitter of the May sunbeam which then\nshed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then this voice, though\nmild, pierced to the center, and his words, \"I am thy fellow servant,\"\ndispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! 'Twas the\nvoice of an angel from glory, 'twas a message from the Most High! And\nas we heard we rejoiced, while his love enkindled upon our souls, and\nwe were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for\ndoubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk more more to rise,\nwhile fiction and deception had fled forever! * * * Think for a moment\nwhat joy filled our hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed\n(for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing) when we\nreceived under his hand the holy priesthood as he said, \"Upon you, my\nfellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this priesthood and\nthis authority, which shall remain upon the earth, that the sons of\nLevi may yet offer an offering to the Lord in righteousness.\"--Oliver\nCowdery.\n\n2. Melchisedek Priesthood Restored.--We cannot fix the exact date\nwhen this priesthood was restored, but it occurred sometime between\nthe 15th of May, 1829, and the 6th of April, 1830. We can approximate\nwithin a few months of the exact time, but no further, from any of\nthe records of the church. Joseph, the Prophet, designates {312} the\nplace, where their ordination took place, in his address to the saints,\nwritten September 6th, 1842, as follows: \"Again what do we hear? * * *\nthe voice of Peter, James and John in the wilderness between Harmony,\nSusquehanna county, and Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna\nRiver, declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom and\nof the dispensation of the fullness of times.\" And in a revelation\ngiven September, 1830, referring to Joseph and Oliver, the Lord said,\nin reference to partaking again of the sacrament on the earth, that\nthe \"hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you\non the earth, and with Moroni, * * * and also with Elias, * * * and\nalso with John, the son of Zacharias, * * * and also with Peter, James\nand John whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and\nconfirmed you apostles and especial witnesses of my name.\" It would\nappear from the instructions given in the revelation, dated June, 1829,\n[Doc. and Cov. sec. xviii] that the apostleship had been conferred on\nJoseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer. If this supposition is\ncorrect, it reduces the period of uncertainty when this glorious event\nactually took place to a few weeks, or from the middle of May to the\nend of June.--Joseph F. Smith, \"Contributor,\" vol. x, p. 310.\n\n3. Why the Higher Priesthood is Called After Melchisedek.--There\nare in the church two Priesthoods * * * Why the first is called the\nMelchisedek Priesthood, is because Melchisedek was such a great high\npriest. Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the\norder of the Son of God; but out of respect or deference to the name\nof the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his\nname, they the church, in ancient days called that priesthood after\nMelchisedek, or the Melchisedek Priesthood.--Doc. and Cov. sec. cvii.\n\n4. Visions at the First Conference of the Church.--Among those\nwho received visions was Newel Knight, who was so completely overcome\nby the power of the spirit that he had to be laid on a bed, being\nunable to help himself. \"By his own account of the transaction,\" says\nthe prophet, \"he could not understand why we should lay him on the bed,\nas he felt no sensibility of weakness. He felt his heart filled with\nlove, with glory, and pleasure unspeakable, and could discern all that\nwas going on in the room; when all of a sudden a vision of futurity\nburst upon him. He saw there represented the great work which through\nmy instrumentality was yet to be accomplished. He saw heaven opened,\nand beheld the Lord Jesus Christ, seated on the right hand of the\nmajesty on high, and had it made plain to his understanding that the\ntime would come when he would be admitted into His presence to enjoy\nhis society for ever and ever.\"\n\n{313}\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. Relate the circumstances which led to the restoration of the Aaronic\npriesthood.\n\n2. What explanation did the angel make concerning this priesthood?\n\n3. What reason have you for believing that John the Baptist would be\namong the resurrected saints spoken of by Matthew? (Note.)\n\n4. Under whose direction did John say he was acting?\n\n5. What promise did he make to them about the Melchisedek priesthood?\n\n6. What commandment did the angel then give to Joseph and Oliver?\n\n7. How were these baptisms performed? (Note.)\n\n8. What commandment did the angel give in relation to re-ordination?\n\n9. What course did Joseph and Oliver pursue after their ordination?\n\n10. About what time was the Melchisedek Priesthood restored? (Note 2.)\n\n11. By whom and in what locality was it restored?\n\n12. What made it especially appropriate that these three apostles\nshould restore that Priesthood?\n\n13. What is the power or authority of the Melchisedek priesthood?\n\n14. What particular power did this Priesthood give to Joseph and Oliver?\n\n15. When was the church organized?\n\n16. How many persons effected the organization?\n\n17. Were six persons all who had been baptized up to that date--6th of\nApril, 1830?\n\n18. Relate the circumstances connected with the organization of the\nchurch.\n\n19. What was the organization called?\n\n20. When was the phrase \"of Latter-day Saints,\" added as a part of the\nname of the church?\n\n21. What spiritual manifestations were experienced at the organization\nof the church? (Note 4.)\n\n22. What important revelation was given immediately after the church\nwas organized?\n\n23. What two great principles are seen operating at the organization of\nthe church?\n\n{314} 24. What can you say of the union of these two principles in\nchurch government?\n\n25. What revelation is it that commanded the organization of the\nchurch? (Note.)\n\n26. State what that revelation says upon the existence of God.\n\n27. --Of the creation of man.\n\n28. --Of Jesus Christ.\n\n29. --Of the Holy Ghost.\n\n30. --Of justification and sanctification.\n\n31. --Of falling from grace.\n\n32. --Of baptism.\n\n33. --Of the manner of baptism.\n\n34. --Of confirmation.\n\n35. --Of the duties of members.\n\n36. --Of the duties of parents respecting their children. (Note.)\n\n37. --Of the duties of officers--elders. (Note.)\n\n38. --Of priests.\n\n39. --Of teachers.\n\n40. --Of deacons.\n\n41. --Of conferences.\n\n42. In what manner did the public ministry of the church begin?\n\n43. Relate the first miracle performed in the church.\n\n44. When was the first conference of the church held, and what occurred?\n\n45. What error did Oliver Cowdery and the Whitmer family fall into?\n\n46. How was Hyrum Page deceived by Lucifer?\n\n47. What great principle concerning revelations to the church was\nbrought out by these errors?\n\n{315}\n\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\n1. First Mission to the Lamanites.--At the conference held in\nFayette, New York, September, 1830, the first mission to the Lamanites\nwas appointed. In the revelation[40] which corrected the evils\nintroduced by Hiram Page's \"seer stone,\" Oliver Cowdery was appointed\nto a mission to the Lamanites; and before the conference was adjourned\nanother revelation as given appointing Parley P. Pratt, Peter Whitmer,\nJun., and Ziba Peterson to accompany him. Great promises are contained\nin the Book of Mormon concerning the Lamanites, and the elders at that\nconference hoped that the time had come for their fulfillment. [See\nnote 1, end of section].\n\n2. _En route_ for their field of labor--the western part of\nthe State of Missouri--the elders of the Lamanite mission stopped at\nKirtland, in the north-eastern part of Ohio. Here they found a society\nof reformed Baptists, sometimes called Campbellites, after Alexander\nCampbell, the chief founder of the new sect. Their pastor was Sidney\nRigdon. Elder Parley P. Pratt had formerly been a member of this sect,\nand he presented to his former co-religionists the Book of Mormon, and\nwith his associates preached the fullness of the gospel to them, which,\nfinally Mr. Rigdon and nearly all his congregation accepted.\n\n3. The Lamanite mission continued its journey westward, and in\nmid-winter reached the city of Independence, in the western borders of\nMissouri. Crossing the frontier, several meetings were held with the\nDelaware Indians, which had the effect of arousing the jealousy of the\nsectarian missionaries {316} among them. Such was their influence with\nthe Indian agents that they succeeded in getting the elders banished\nfrom the territory. Returning to Independence, they sent one of their\nnumber, Parley P. Pratt, to report their labors to the prophet.\n\n4. The First Commandment to Gather.--In December, 1830, the\nLord gave a revelation[41] to the church in New York, requiring the\nSaints in that state to move into Ohio by the time Oliver Cowdery\nreturned from his mission to the Lamanites. This is the first direct\ncommandment to the church to gather. During the winter of 1830-31, the\nSaints obeyed this commandment, the most of them settling in Kirtland.\nThe Prophet Joseph and his family arrived there about the first of\nFebruary, 1831. Before the coming of the New York Saints there was a\nchurch at Kirtland of about one hundred members, most of whom had been\ndrawn from the Campbellite sect.\n\n5. The First Bishops of the Church.--On the 4th of February,\n1831, the Lord by revelation[42] commanded that Edward Partridge should\nbe \"appointed by the voice of the church, and ordained a bishop.\"\nEdward Partridge was a merchant in Kirtland, of whom the prophet said:\n\"He was a pattern of piety, and one of the Lord's great men, known by\nhis steadfastness and patient endurance to the end;\" and of whom the\nLord said, in the revelation appointing him bishop--\"His heart is pure\nbefore me, for he is like unto Nathaniel of old, in whom there is no\nguile.\" He was required to give up his business of merchant, and devote\nall his time in the labors of the church. He was not to be the only\nbishop in the church, however, as in the November following (1831), the\nLord said: \"There remaineth * * * other bishops to be set apart unto\nthe church, to minister even according to the first.\" [43] In December\nof that year, Newel K. Whitney was appointed a bishop over the church\nin Kirtland and vicinity {317} [see note 2, end of section]; while\nEdward Partridge was bishop in Zion and the regions round about.\n\n6. The Bishopric.--Although nothing is said in the revelation\nwhich appointed Edward Partridge bishop about the rights and powers of\nhis office in the church, yet here, doubtless, will be the most proper\nplace to speak of bishops in respect to their rights and authority.\n\n_I._ The bishopric is the presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood;[44] and\nsince that Priesthood has most to do with administering the \"outward\nordinances, the _letter_ of the gospel,\" [45] the bishops will find\ntheir chief employment in the temporal affairs of the church. Indeed\nthe Lord plainly says: \"The office of a bishop is in administering\nall temporal things.\" [46] By ministering in temporal things we mean\nattending to the tithing, caring for the poor, and when the law of\nconsecration shall be observed by the church, the bishops will receive\nthe consecrations, settle people on their possessions, divide their\ninheritances unto them,[47] keep the Lord's store-house, etc. [See note\n3, end of section].\n\n_II._ The bishops are also to be judges among the people, to sit\nin judgment on trangressors, to hear testimony and give decisions\naccording to the laws of the kingdom which are given by the prophets of\nGod.[48] The bishop's court is the first court of record in the church;\nthat is, a record is kept of the trial and preserved; whereas in any\ninvestigation of difficulties that may be had before the teachers or\nothers, no record is kept. An appeal lies from the bishop's courts to\nthe high council having jurisdiction. For want of a better expression\nwe may say there are several kinds of bishops; first, the general\npresiding bishop of the church; second, traveling Bishops; third, local\nor ward bishops.[49]\n\n{318} _III. Presiding Bishop of the Church_:--This bishop is the\npresident of the Aaronic Priesthood throughout the church; he has a\njurisdiction over all other bishops, priests, teachers and deacons;\nand a general supervision of the temporal affairs of the church,\nsubject, of course, to the counsel of the presidency of the Melchisedek\nPriesthood. Of right this bishop should be the first-born among the\nsons of Aaron; \"For the first-born holds the right of the presidency\nover this [the Aaronic] priesthood, and the keys or authority of the\nsame. No man has a legal right to this office, to hold the keys of\nthis priesthood, except he be a literal descendant and the first-born\nof Aaron.\" [50] But before the first-born among the literal descendants\nof Aaron can legally officiate in this calling, he must first be\ndesignated by the first presidency of the Melchisedek priesthood;\nsecond, he must be found worthy of the position, and that includes his\ncapacity to fill the office with ability, honor and dignity; third,\nhe must be ordained under the hands of the first presidency of the\nMelchisedek Priesthood.[51] But by virtue of the decree concerning\nthe right of the priesthood descending from father to son, the\nfirst-born of the sons of Aaron may claim their anointing, if at any\ntime they can prove their lineage or do ascertain it by revelation\nfrom the Lord under the hands of the First Presidency.[52] A literal\ndescendant of Aaron when appointed as above described may act without\ncounselors, except in a case where a president of the High priesthood\nafter the order of Melchisedek is tried. In that event he is to be\nassisted by \"twelve counselors of the High priesthood.\" [53] But when\nno literal descendant of Aaron {319} can be found, as a high priest\nof the Melchisedek priesthood has authority to officiate in all the\nlesser offices, he may officiate in the office of bishop; provided he\nis called, set apart and ordained unto that power under the hands of\nthe first presidency of the Melchisedek priesthood, and is assisted\nby two other high priests as counselors.[54] This bishop, whether a\ndescendant of Aaron or a high priest appointed to officiate in that\ncalling, cannot be tried or condemned for any crime save before the\nfirst presidency of the church. If he be found guilty on testimony that\ncannot be impeached, he is to be condemned.[55] These are the powers,\nprerogatives and privileges of the presiding bishop of the church.\n\n_IV. Traveling Bishops_:--These are bishops appointed to preside as\nsuch over large districts of country in which there are a number of\nbranches of the church, and among which they would be expected to\ntravel, to set in order temporal affairs and preside over those holding\nthe Aaronic priesthood. Newel K. Whitney when called to preside over\nthe church at Kirtland and the regions round about was a traveling\nbishop, and best illustrates this order of bishops. Some eight or ten\nmonths after his ordination he was called upon by the Lord to travel\namong all the churches of the east, searching after the poor, to\nadminister to their wants by humbling the rich and the proud.[56] He\nwas also sent to the cities of New York, Albany and Boston, to warn the\ninhabitants thereof of judgments to come and to preach the gospel.\n\n_V. Local or Ward Bishops_:--By local bishops we mean those ordained\nand set apart to preside over a single ward or branch of the church;\nand whose jurisdiction is strictly limited {320} to that ward or\nbranch. Both traveling and local bishops must either be high priests\nor literal descendants of Aaron. If the latter, then from among the\nfirst-born of the sons of Aaron.[57] In the event of their being\ndescendants of Aaron, they would possess the same privileges in their\nsphere as the presiding bishop does in his; that is, they could act\nwithout counselors but must be found worthy men designated and ordained\nby the first presidency of the church, or by their direction. If\nhigh priests appointed to act in these bishoprics, then they must be\ndesignated and set apart by the same authority as literal descendants\nof Aaron, and assisted by two counselors who are also high priests.\nThey would form the presidency over the Aaronic priesthood in the\ndistricts over which they preside, have an oversight of all the\ntemporal concerns thereof, and in addition to that act as the common\njudge in that ward or district assigned to them.\n\n7. Zion.--The Book of Mormon prophecies predict the founding of a\nglorious city upon the American continent to be called New Jerusalem,\nor Zion. [See note 4, end of section.][58] It was but natural,\ntherefore, that the first elders of the church should be anxious to\nlearn where it was to be built and seek to find it. The Book of Mormon,\nwhile clearly predicting that the city will be established, fails to\ngive its location. In March, 1831, however, the Saints were commanded\nto gather {321} up their riches that they might purchase an inheritance\nthat the Lord promised to point out to them some time in the future,\nthe New Jerusalem--\"a city of refuge, a place of safety for the Saints\nof the Most High\" [59]--Zion. In June, 1831, a conference convened at\nKirtland, and the Lord called twenty-eight elders to go through the\nWestern States by different routes, two by two, preaching by the way,\nbaptizing by water and the laying on of hands by the water side.[60]\nThey were to meet in western Missouri to hold a conference, and if\nfaithful the Lord promised to reveal to them the place of the city of\nZion.\n\n8. About the middle of July the Prophet Joseph and a number of\nthese brethren arrived at Independence, meeting with Oliver Cowdery and\nhis associates--the mission to the Lamanites. A few days afterwards a\nrevelation was received[61] declaring Missouri to be the land which God\nhad appointed for the gathering of the Saints, the land of promise, the\nplace of the city of Zion, Independence being the \"center place.\" The\nsite of the temple which the Lord has decreed shall be built in this\ngeneration, upon which his glory shall rest, and in which the sons of\nMoses and of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering to the Lord--was\ndeclared to be a short distance west of the court house. On the morning\nof the 3rd of August, 1831, the Prophet Joseph with the other elders\nthat had arrived at Independence, met at the temple site and dedicated\nit as the place for the building of a temple. [See notes 5 and 6, end\nof section].\n\nMeantime a company of Saints known as the Colesville Branch--from their\nhaving lived at Colesville, Broome County, New York--had arrived in\nMissouri, and having received instructions to purchase the lands in the\nregions round about Zion, they secured a tract of land in a fertile\nprairie some ten or twelve miles west of Independence, in Kaw township,\nnot {322} far from the present location of Kansas City. On the 2nd\nof August--the day preceding the dedication of the temple site--in\nthe settlement of the Colesville Saints, the first log was laid for\na house, as the foundation of Zion. The log was carried by twelve\nmen in honor of the Twelve Tribes of Israel; and Elder Sidney Rigdon\nconsecrated and dedicated the land of Zion for the gathering of the\nSaints. [See note 7, end of section].\n\n9. The Law of Consecration.--It is said of the early Christian\nsaints that they \"were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any\nof them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but\nthey had all things common.\" [62] It was doubtless a desire to imitate\nthis condition of affairs which led the followers of Sidney Rigdon, at\nKirtland, to establish the \"common stock\" plan of living. That is, the\nwhole community attempted to live together as one family, having all\nthings in common. Nearly all the \"family\" joined the church; and when\nthe Prophet settled in Kirtland, about the 1st of February, 1831, he\npersuaded them to abandon that plan of living, for the more perfect law\nof the Lord. [63] The more perfect law was the law of consecration.\n\n10. The preparations for the introduction of this law was first\nmade by the appointment of a bishop, who should have authority to\nadminister in temporal things. The bishop was called by revelation on\nthe 4th of February, 1831.[64] On the 9th of the same month the Lord\nin a revelation gave the first {323} instructions about the law of\nconsecration.[65] From that and subsequent revelations we summarize the\nfollowing in relation to that law:\n\nI. The person desiring to make the consecration brings his possessions\nto the bishop and delivers them unto him--consecrates them unto the\nLord, giving them up absolutely, with a deed and a covenant that cannot\nbe broken.[66]\n\nII. The person so consecrating his possessions, whether they be much\nor little, if it be a full consecration, has claim upon the bishop\nfor stewardship out of the consecrated properties of the church, an\ninheritance for himself and his family,[67] from the management of\nwhich, by industry and economy--for this law contemplates industry\nand economy on the part of those who embrace it[68]--they may obtain\na livelihood. But the possessions consecrated are the Lord's, or else\nthe consecrations are vain, and the whole proceedings farcical.[69] The\ninheritance given to the individual is given to him as his stewardship,\nof which he must render an account unto the bishop.[70] The steward\nis responsible for his stewardship in time and in eternity unto the\nLord.[71] The stewardships are to be secured to those to whom they\nare given by a written deed, that they may not be deprived of their\ninheritance.[72]\n\nIII. After men have received their stewardships the income from\nthem, over and above that which is needful for the support {324} of\nthemselves and their families, is also to be consecrated unto the\nLord and taken to the Lord's store house to be distributed to the\npoor to supply stewardships to those who have not yet received them,\nto purchase lands for the public benefit, to build houses of worship,\ntemples, etc., etc.[73]\n\nIV. In the event of any steward needing means to improve his\nstewardship, or for any other righteous purpose, he has a claim upon\nthe Lord's store-house, and so long as he is in full fellowship with\nthe church, and is a wise and faithful steward, on application to the\ntreasurer of the general fund, he is to be supplied with that which he\nneeds; the treasurer, of course, being accountable to the church for\nhis management of the general fund, and subject to removal in the event\nof incompetency or transgression.[74]\n\nV. Each steward is independent in the management of his stewardship.\nHe must pay for that which he buys; he can insist on payment for that\nwhich he sells. He has no claim upon the stewardship of his neighbor;\nhis neighbor has no claim upon his stewardship; but both have claim,\nas also have their children--when they shall become of age and start\nin life for themselves[75]--upon the surplus in the Lord's store-house\nto aid them in the event of their needing assistance.[76] The various\nchurches, or branches of the church, are each to be independent in\nthe management of their respective store-houses,[77] subject of {325}\ncourse to a general supervision of the presiding bishop of the church\nand of the first presidency thereof.\n\n11. Reflections.--Such is the law of consecration and stewardship\ngiven to the church as early as the first and second year of its\nexistence in this last dispensation; under which law, and under no\nother, the Saints are to build up the Zion of God, the New Jerusalem\nupon this continent.[78] The law is designated to humble the rich\nand the proud and raise the poor and the lowly,[79] that men might\nbe equal in temporal possessions according to their families, their\ncircumstances, their wants and their needs.[80] There is enough in\nthe earth and more than enough[81] to supply the necessities and\nthe reasonable luxuries desired by man if the wealth created by his\nindustry was but more equally distributed. The plan which the Lord has\nrevealed to accomplish this, however, does not aim at the destruction\nof the individuality of men. It makes no attempt to control men in the\ndetail management of their stewardships, or the disposal of their time,\nor to set taskmasters over them, but only to control and dispose of the\nsurplus arising from their labors in the management of their respective\nstewardships.\n\n12. In consequence of the unsettled state of the church arising\nfrom the persecutions and drivings inflicted upon the Saints during the\ntime they were settling in Missouri, coupled with their inexperience,\ntheir pride, covetousness, greed and disobedience, they failed to live\nup to the requirements of the law of consecration, and in 1838 the\nlesser law of tithing was given, and has obtained in the Church unto\nthis day. This law of tithing requires that the Saints pay first their\nsurplus property to the bishop, and after that those who have been so\ntithed shall pay one-tenth of their income annually. This is the law of\ntithing now binding on the church.[82]\n\n{326}\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Promises to the Lamanites.--Then shall the remnant of our\nseed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that\nthey are descendants of the Jews. And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall\nbe declared among them; wherefore they shall be restored unto the\nknowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ,\nwhich was had among their fathers. And then shall they rejoice; for\nthey shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God;\nand their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and\nmany generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a\nwhite and delightsome people.--Prophecy of Nephi, Nephi II, ch. xxx.\n\n2. Newel K. Whitney's Appointment to be Bishop.--Though in\nnatural gifts few men were better qualified for such a position, he\nnevertheless distrusted his ability, and deemed himself incapable of\ndischarging the high and holy trust. In his perplexity he appealed to\nthe prophet: \"I cannot see a bishop in myself, Brother Joseph; but if\nyou say it's the Lord's will, I'll try.\" \"You need not take my word\nalone,\" answered the prophet, kindly, \"go and ask Father for yourself.\"\nNewel felt the force of this mild rebuke, but determined to do as he\nwas advised and seek to obtain the knowledge for himself. His humble,\nheartfelt prayer was answered. In the silence of night and the solitude\nof his own chamber, he heard a voice from heaven: \"Thy strength is\nin me.\" The words were few and simple, but for him they had a world\nof meaning. His doubts were dispelled like the dew before the dawn.\nHe straightway sought the prophet, told him he was satisfied and was\nwilling to accept the office to which he had been called.\n\n3. The Sphere of the Aaronic Priesthood.--The lesser priesthood\nis a part of or an appendage to the greater, or the Melchisedek\npriesthood, and has power in administering outward ordinances. The\nlesser or Aaronic priesthood can make appointments for the greater,\nin preaching, can baptize, administer the sacrament, attend to the\ntithing, buy lands, settle people on possessions, divide inheritances,\nlook after the poor, take care of the properties of the church, attend\ngenerally to temporal affairs, act as common judges in Israel and\nassist in ordinances of the temple, under the direction of the greater\nor Melchisedek priesthood. They hold the keys of the administering of\nangels and administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel\nand the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.--Items on\nPriesthood. John Taylor.\n\n4. Zion.--The word Zion is variously employed: \"This is Zion, the\npure in heart.\" (Doc. and Cov.) In this instance the word refers to\na people who are declared to be the pure in heart. In the south part\n{327} of Jerusalem is a hill frequently spoken of in Jewish scripture\nas Zion, or Mount Zion. Then Enoch the seventh from Adam gathered the\nrighteous and built a city, \"that was called the city of Holiness, even\nZion.\" The Lord in speaking to Enoch about the great events to take\nplace in the last days, in which he would come to the earth in his\nglory, said He would with righteousness and truth sweep the earth as\nwith a flood to gather His elect to \"an holy city * * * and it shall be\ncalled Zion, a new Jerusalem.\" The Nephite prophet, Moroni, tells us\nthat Ether in vision saw the days of the coming of the Son of Man and\nthat \"he spake concerning a new Jerusalem upon this land\" (America),\nthat was to be built up unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph (Ether\nxiii). Jesus also after his resurrection, when he visited the Nephites\non the American continent, told them that he would establish them upon\nthis land, and if the Gentiles would not harden their hearts, but would\nrepent of their sins, they should be included in the covenant, and\nshould assist in building up the city of Zion, or New Jerusalem (III\nNephi: xx). The word Zion, then, is applied to a people; it is the name\nof a hill in the south part of Jerusalem; it is the name of a city\nbuilt by Enoch and his people; it is to be the name of a city built\nin the last days by the Saints of the Most High upon the continent of\nAmerica.--Missouri Persecutions.\n\n5. Western Missouri (1831).--It was a country whose richness and\nfertility of soil far surpassed anything which they [the Saints] had\never before seen. It was a country abounding with springs and rivulets\nof the purest kind of water, whose crystal streams flowed in luxuriant\nabundance in almost every grove and prairie. A great variety of the\nmost excellent timber bordered upon the rivers and water-courses.\nThese shady and delightful groves were from one to three miles in\nwidth, extending many miles in length, while the rich rolling prairies,\ncovered with a gorgeous profusion of wild flowers of every varied\nhue, lay spread around among the intervening groves. Their grassy\nsurfaces extending for miles, presented the delightful appearance of a\nsea of meadows. It was a new country; but few inhabitants had as yet\nformed settlements within its borders. These consisted principally of\nemigrants from the Southern States.--Orson Pratt.\n\n6. The Temple Site.--Taking the road running west from the court\nhouse for a scant half mile, you come to the summit of a crowning\nhill, the slope of which to the south and west is quite abrupt and\nvery gradual toward the north and east. * * * This is the temple site.\nIt was upon this spot on the third day of August, 1831, that Joseph\nSmith, Sidney Rigdon, Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery,\nMartin Harris and Joseph Coe and another person whose name I cannot\nlearn, for there were eight in all--men in whom the Lord was well\npleased, assembled to dedicate this place as the {328} temple site in\nZion. The eighty-seventh Psalm was read. Joseph [the prophet] then\ndedicated the spot where is to be built a temple on which the glory of\nGod shall rest. Yea the great God hath so decreed it, saying \"Verily,\nthis generation shall not all pass away until an house shall be built\nunto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be\neven the glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house. * * * And the\nsons of Moses, and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable\noffering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall\nbe built unto the Lord in this generation upon the consecrated spot\nas I have appointed.\" (Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxxiv: 5, 31.)--Missouri\nPersecutions--Roberts.\n\n7. The Founding of Zion.--Thus the work of building up Zion\ncommenced, and though the commencement was humble in the extreme, the\nfinal result shall be the erection of a city that shall be the crowning\nglory of the whole earth; a city from which shall go forth the law of\nthe Lord unto all nations, for is it not written: \"Out of Zion shall\ngo forth the law\" (Isaiah ii)? It shall be a city of refuge, for the\nLord has said: \"Every man who will not take up his sword against his\nneighbor, must needs flee to Zion for safety.\" The wicked will consider\nher inhabitants terrible, while the righteous out of every nation will\ncome into it with songs of everlasting joy in their hearts. (Doc. and\nCov., sec. xlv.)--Missouri Persecutions--Roberts.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. When and under what circumstances was the first mission appointed to\nthe Lamanites?\n\n2. What important circumstance occurred in the experience of the\nLamanite mission en route for the west?\n\n3. What success attended the mission to the Lamanites?\n\n4. When was the first commandment given to the Church to gather?\n\n5. To what place did the church first gather?\n\n6. Who was the first Bishop in the church?\n\n7. What was his character?\n\n8. State what you can of the sphere of labor belonging to the bishopric.\n\n9. What can you say of bishops as judges in Israel?\n\n10. How many kinds of bishops are there?\n\n11. Tell what you can of the authority, rights and powers of the\npresiding bishop of the church.\n\n12. What difference exists in respect to a bishop who is a literal\n{329} descendant of Aaron and one who holds the office by virtue of\nholding the high priesthood?\n\n13. Is being a descendant of the first-born among the sons of Aaron all\nsufficient to qualify a man to be a bishop?\n\n14. What is the exception to the rule that a bishop who is a literal\ndescendant of Aaron can act without counselors?\n\n15. Describe traveling Bishops.\n\n16. Give an example of such a bishop in the Church.\n\n17. What is meant by local bishops?\n\n18. Describe their power and jurisdiction.\n\n19. How did the first elders of the church learn that Zion was to be\nbuilt in America?\n\n20. What various significations are attached to the word Zion? (Note 4).\n\n21. What circumstances led a number of the elders to western Missouri?\n\n22. What was revealed to them there?\n\n23. Where is Zion located?\n\n24. Describe the land of Zion. (Note 5).\n\n25. What promises are made respecting a temple in that land? (Note 6).\n\n26. What caused the people in Kirtland before they heard the gospel to\nhave all things in common?\n\n27. What course did Joseph Smith take relative to this subject? (Note).\n\n28. In what way were the people prepared for the introduction of the\nlaw of consecration?\n\n29. Describe the law of consecration.\n\n30. What purposes are designed to be accomplished in the law of\nconsecration?\n\n31. What circumstances prevented the successful operation of this law\nin Missouri?\n\n{330}\n\n\n\nSECTION IV.\n\n1. Persecution.--From the very commencement the work of the Lord\nin these last days met with the most violent opposition. No sooner did\nJoseph Smith declare that he had received a revelation from God than it\nbrought upon him the ridicule and wrath of many who heard of it. The\nstream of hatred grew broader and deeper as the work progressed. Joseph\nhimself endured many vexatious persecutions, and those who believed in\nhis teachings were doomed to share them. The first general persecution\nof the church, however, occurred in Missouri.\n\n2. The people among whom the Saints settled in Jackson county,\nMissouri, were ignorant, jealous, bigoted, and superstitious. They were\nalso given to Sabbath-breaking, drunkenness, profanity, horse racing\nand gambling. It will be seen at once, therefore, that there could be\nbut little fellowship between them and the Saints. (See note 1, end of\nsection.) Moreover, they were principally from the Southern states, and\nslaveholders; and as the Saints were from the free states of the north,\nthey were inclined to be suspicious of them. It was an easy matter\ntherefore, for demagogues to persuade the Missourians that it was the\ndesign of the Saints to supplant them in the possession of the country.\n\n3. Expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County.--The saints\nthemselves were not as prudent as they should have been. Many boasted\nthat God would destroy the wicked and give their possessions as\ninheritances unto the righteous. {331} Many more failed to live up to\nthe moral precepts of the gospel, and were disobedient to the counsels\nof the Lord. This gave the wicked great power over them, and the result\nwas that the jealously and wrath which had been burning for some time\nin the hearts of the old settlers finally broke out into deeds of\nviolence. Almost the entire population about Independence arose and\ndrove the Saints from the county under circumstances of the utmost\ncruelty.[83] Twelve hundred people were driven from their possessions;\nand about two hundred of their homes and one grist mill were burned.\nThis was in the fall and winter of 1833-34. [See note 2, end of\nsection.]\n\n4. Zion's Camp.--The excited Saints found a temporary abode in\nClay County--the next county north of Jackson--and in the meantime the\nLord commanded the Prophet Joseph to gather up the strength of the\nLord's house--the young and middle-aged men in the church--for the\npurpose of going to the assistance of their brethren in Missouri, and\nto redeem Zion.[84] In the spring of 1834, therefore, about one hundred\nand fifty of the brethren from the churches in the eastern states\nassembled at New Portage, Ohio, about fifty miles from Kirtland; and\nthis number was increased to about two hundred by the time the camp\nreached Missouri. They took with them money to purchase lands, food\nand clothing to assist their destitute brethren, and it was also the\ndetermination of the camp to help their exiled friends maintain their\npossessions when the governor of Missouri re-instated them upon their\nlands.[85] But en route to Missouri the brethren did not live up to the\nrequirement made of the camp. Some of them were disobedient, {332} even\nrebellious towards the prophet, and the Lord was not well pleased with\nthem.\n\n5. As the camp approached Jackson county it was met by\ndelegations inquiring into their designs for approaching Jackson\ncounty. Various reports had been spread abroad in respect to their\nintentions, and some of them were of a character to create alarm. In\norder to correct these false reports the brethren made the following\nstatement:\n\n    In the first place it is not our intention to commit hostilities\n    against any man, or set of men; it is not our intention to injure\n    any man's person or property except in defending ourselves. * * *\n    It is our intention to go back upon our lands in Jackson county by\n    order of the executive of the state, if possible. We have brought\n    our arms with us for the purpose of self-defense, as it is well\n    known to almost every man of the state, we have every reason to put\n    ourselves in an attitude of defense, considering the abuse we have\n    suffered in Jackson county. We are anxious for a settlement of the\n    difficulties existing between us, upon honorable and constitutional\n    principles.[86]\n\n6. The brethren also made a proposition to submit their losses to\na committee of impartial arbitrators, and another to buy out those of\nthe old settlers who could not live with them. But before matters were\nbrought to an investigation and adjustment the Lord in a revelation to\nthe prophet,[87] gave instructions which led to the abandonment of any\nattempt at that time to redeem Zion.\n\n7. The Lord in this revelation declared that Zion might have\nbeen redeemed by that time, had it not been for the transgressions\nof his Saints. They had not been obedient to the requirements made\nof them. They had withheld their means, and in their hearts had said\nconcerning the Saints in Zion, \"Where is their God? Behold he will\ndeliver them in time of trouble, otherwise we will not go up unto Zion,\nand we will keep our {333} moneys.\" Besides these evidences of a want\nof faith, they lacked that unity required by the law of the celestial\nkingdom, and it is only through the observance of that law that Zion\ncan be redeemed. The Lord, therefore, commanded the elders to wait\na season for the redemption of Zion, until the Saints should obtain\nmore experience, learn obedience, and until means could be raised\nto purchase all the lands in Jackson county that could be purchased\nand also in the surrounding counties; and until the Lord's army had\nbecome very great, and sanctified before him. And when this was done\nthe Lord promised to hold his people guiltless in taking possession of\nthat which was their own; and they should possess it forever. He had\npermitted the elders composing the camp to come thus far, for a trial\nof their faith; and now he had prepared a great endowment for them in\nthe house which he had commanded to be built in Kirtland. Those who\ncould stay in Missouri were to do so, but those who had left their\nfamilies in the east were at liberty to return. In obedience to the\ncommandment to await for a season the redemption of Zion, the Camp of\nZion was disbanded early in the morning of the 25th of June. A number\nremained in Missouri, but the most of the camp returned to the east.\n\n8. Relieved now of the immediate responsibility of redeeming\nZion, the brethren who returned from Missouri and the churches in the\neast devoted their attention to building up Kirtland as a stake of\nZion, and completing the temple, the foundation of which had been laid\nabout a year before.[88] The declaration of the Lord in that revelation\ngiven on Fishing river, Missouri, to the effect that he had prepared\na great endowment for the faithful elders in the house which he had\ncommanded them to build in Kirtland, hastened the work, as they were\nanxious to receive those spiritual blessings.\n\n9. High Councils.--Meantime the Lord had given many {334}\nimportant revelations in respect to the priesthood and the organization\nof the church. In February, 1834--a few months previous to Zion's\nCamp starting for Missouri--the first high council of the church was\norganized. This council was appointed by revelation for the purpose of\nsettling important difficulties that might arise in the church, and\nwhich could not be settled in the bishops' courts to the satisfaction\nof the parties.\n\n10. The high council is composed of twelve high priests, presided\nover by one or three presidents, as circumstances may determine. The\nhigh council cannot act unless seven of its members are present; but\nseven have the power to appoint other high priests to act temporarily\nin the place of absent councilors. Whenever a high council is\norganized, the twelve members draw lots for their places. Those who\ndraw the even numbers--two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve--are to stand\nin behalf of the accused; those drawing the odd numbers in behalf\nof the accuser. In every case the accused has a right to half the\ncouncil to prevent injury or injustice. The councilors who represent\nthe accused and accuser respectively, do not become partisans bent on\nwinning their case irrespective of its righteousness or justice; on\nthe contrary, every man is to speak according to equity and truth; and\naside from that is merely to see that each party to the issue involved\nhas justice accorded him, and that he be not subjected to insult or\ninjury. [Note 3, end of section.]\n\n11. Whenever the council convenes to act on any case, the twelve\ncouncilors are to consider whether it is very difficult or not. If\nit be not a difficult case, then only two of the councilors, one for\nthe accused and accuser respectively, are appointed to speak. But if\nthe case is accounted difficult, then four are appointed to speak; if\nstill more difficult, six; but in no case are more than six to speak.\nIn all cases both the accuser and accused are to have the privilege of\nspeaking for themselves, {335} after the evidence is all in and the\ncouncilors appointed to speak have all spoken.\n\n12. The evidence all in, the speakers for the accused and the\naccuser having spoken, as also the accused and the accuser, the\npresident gives a decision according to the understanding he has of\nthe case and calls upon the twelve councilors to sustain it by vote.\nBut should the councilors who have not spoken, or any one of them,\ndiscover an error in the decision of the president, they have the\nright to manifest it and the case has a re-hearing. If after a careful\nre-hearing, additional light is thrown upon the case, the decision\nis altered accordingly. \"But in case no additional light is given,\nthe first decision shall stand, the majority of the council having\npower to determine the same.\" [89] Such are the general outlines of the\norganization of a high council and the manner of procedure before it.\n[Notes 4 and 5, end of section.]\n\n13. Different Kinds of High Councils.--There are three kinds of\nhigh councils in the church. They are similar in organization, and the\nmanner of procedure is practically the same before them all; but they\ndiffer in authority and jurisdiction.\n\n_I. The Traveling High Council_.--This Council consists of the twelve\napostles of Jesus Christ. They are a traveling presiding high council;\nand, laboring under the first presidency of the church, they have the\nright to build up the church, and regulate all the affairs of the\nsame in all the world.[90] Whenever they sit as a high council, there\nis no appeal from their decisions--that is, they can only be called\nin question by the general authorities of the church in the event of\ntransgression.[91]\n\n_II. The Standing High Councils at the Stakes of Zion_.--The church\nis divided into branches or wards with appropriate officers; and\nthese branches, wards, and settlements of the Saints are grouped\nfor convenience into stakes of Zion. In {336} each stake there is a\nstanding high council, limited in its jurisdiction to the affairs of\nthat particular stake where it is located.\n\n_III. Temporary High Councils_.--The high priests abroad, that is,\noutside of the organized stakes of Zion, whenever the parties to a\ndifficulty, or either of them request it, and the high priests abroad\ndeem the case of sufficient importance to justify such action, are\nauthorized to organize a temporary high council to try the case,\nappointing one of their own number to preside over the council during\nits continuance. Otherwise the council is to be organized after the\npattern and proceed in the same manner as those at the stakes of Zion.\n\"It shall be the duty of said council to transmit immediately, a copy\nof its proceedings, with a full statement of the testimony accompanying\ntheir decision, to the high council of the seat of the first presidency\nof the church. Should the parties, or either of them, be dissatisfied\nwith the decision of said council, they may appeal to the high\ncouncil of the seat of the first presidency of the church, and have a\nre-hearing, which case shall then be conducted according to the former\npattern written, as though no such decision had been made.\" [92]\n\n14. Organization of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.--As early\nas June, 1829, the Lord revealed that there would be twelve especial\nwitnesses or apostles called to preach the gospel to the nations of the\nearth. But it was not until several months after the prophet returned\nfrom the Zion's Camp expedition that such a quorum was organized. In\nthe month of February, 1835, however, a general conference was called,\nand the three especial witnesses to the Book of Mormon selected the\nmen--under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, for they were appointed\nto that mission by revelation--who were to {337} constitute the quorum\nof the twelve apostles[93] or especial witnesses.\n\n15. Organization of Quorums of Seventies.--In the same\nmonth--February, 1835--the first quorum of seventies was organized\nby the Prophet Joseph and his two counselors and others. Shortly\nafterwards the second quorum was also organized. These quorums, as\nwould be inferred from their being called seventies' quorums, consist\nof seventy men. Seven presidents preside over each quorum, and the\nfirst seven presidents--the presidents of the first quorum--preside\nover all the quorums of seventy in the church.\n\n16. About a month after the organization of these quorums--28th\nof March, 1835--a revelation was given,[94] in which the duties of the\napostles and seventies are made clear, as well as the duties of other\nofficers.[95] We have now, however, reached a point in the historical\ndevelopment of the church of Christ where we can consider it as a\nsystem of ecclesiastical government; and to that consideration the next\nsection is devoted.\n\n{338}\n\nNOTES\n\n1. Character of the Old Settlers in Jackson County.--Speaking\nof his arrival in Independence and meeting with Oliver Cowdery and\nother brethren there, the Prophet Joseph says: \"It seemed good and\npleasant for brethren to meet together in unity. But our reflections\nwere great, coming as we had from a highly cultivated state of society\nin the East, and standing now upon the confines and western limits\nof the United States, and looking into the vast wilderness of those\nthat sat in darkness; how natural it was to observe the degradation,\nleanness of intellect, ferocity and jealousy of a people that were\nnearly a century behind the time and to feel for those who roamed about\nwithout the benefit of civilization, refinement or religion; yea, and\nto exclaim in the language of the prophets, 'when will the wilderness\nblossom as a rose? When will Zion be built up in her glory, and where\nwill thy temple stand, unto which all nations shall come in the last\ndays?'\"--Missouri Persecutions--Roberts.\n\n2. Persecution in Jackson County.--The month of November, 1833,\nwas big with important events for the members of the Church in Jackson\nCounty. That month witnessed the expulsion of twelve hundred American\ncitizens from their homes which they had purchased from the general\ngovernment. The events of that month branded the sovereign state of\nMissouri with an infamy that will cling to her as long as the name\nis remembered on earth or in heaven; and when her officials of that\nperiod shall stand before the bar of God, gouts of blood will be found\non their ministerial vestments--it will be the stain, too, of innocent\nblood! * * * Early in the spring the mob burned the houses belonging\nto the Saints. According to the testimony of Lyman Wight (_Times and\nSeasons_ for 1843, p. 264), two hundred and three dwelling houses and\none grist mill were so destroyed.--Missouri Persecutions--Roberts.\n\n3. Fair Dealing in High Councils.--The council should try no case\nwithout both parties being present, or having had an opportunity to\nbe present; neither should they hear one party's complaint before his\ncase is brought up for trial; neither should they suffer the character\nof any one to be exposed before the high council without the person\nbeing present and ready to defend him or herself; that the minds of the\ncouncilors be not prejudiced for or against any one whose case they may\npossibly have to act upon.--Joseph Smith, Hist. under date of July 11,\n1840.\n\n4. Order in High Councils.--In ancient days councils were\nconducted with strict propriety; no one was allowed to whisper, be\nweary, leave the room or get uneasy in the least until the voice of\nthe Lord by revelation, or the voice of the council by the spirit was\nobtained. * * * It was understood in ancient days that if one man {339}\ncould stay in the council, another could; and if the president could\nspend his time, the members could also.--Joseph Smith, Hist. under date\nof Feb. 12, 1834.\n\n5. Just Judgment Demanded in High Councils.--No man is capable\nof judging a matter in council unless his own heart is pure; and we\nfrequently are so filled with prejudice, or have a beam in our own eye,\nthat we are not capable of passing right decisions. * * * Our acts are\nrendered, and at a future day they will be laid before us; and if we\nshould fail to judge right, and injure our fellow beings, they may be\nthere perhaps, and condemn us. There they are of great consequence, and\nto me the consequence appears to be of force beyond anything which I am\nable to express.--Joseph Smith, Hist. under date of Feb. 12, 1834.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What can you say of the opposition which the work of God has met\nwith in these last days?\n\n2. Where did the first general persecution begin?\n\n3. What was the character of the people in western Missouri? (Note.)\n\n4. Relate the expulsion of the Saints from Jackson county.\n\n5. What event brought Zion's Camp into existence?\n\n6. Relate its history.\n\n7. What prevented Zion's Camp from redeeming Zion?\n\n8. When was the first high council organized?\n\n9. For what purpose are such councils organized?\n\n10. Describe the high council.\n\n11. What are the privileges of the accused and accuser before the\ncouncil?\n\n12. What rule obtains as to the decision of the president of the\ncouncil?\n\n13. What is to be the course of the high council in respect to\ndeportment, fair dealing and judgment? (See notes 3, 4 and 5.)\n\n14. How many kinds of high councils are there?\n\n15. Describe each.\n\n16. When did the Lord first reveal that there would be a quorum of\ntwelve apostles called?\n\n17. When and in what manner were the members of this quorum selected?\n\n18. When were seventies' quorums first organized?\n\n19. State what you can concerning the presidency of the seventies'\nquorums.\n\n{340}\n\n\n\nSECTION V.\n\n1. Priesthood.--Priesthood is power which God gives to man,\nby which man becomes an agent of God; an authorized officer in his\nkingdom, with the right and power to teach the laws of the kingdom, and\nadminister the ordinances by which foreigners and aliens are admitted\nto citizenship. It gives man the right and power to act in God's\nstead--thus, If a man endowed with the proper degree of the priesthood\ntakes one who believes the gospel and baptizes him for the remission\nof sins in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the act of\nthat authorized servant of God is just as valid as if the Lord Jesus\nChrist himself did it, and remission of sins will follow. So also if\nan authorized servant of God lays on hands to impart the Holy Ghost,\nthe Holy Ghost will be given, inasmuch as all is done as the law of the\nLord directs. So in preaching, exhorting, warning; whether it be by\nGod's own voice, or the voice of his servants, it is the same.[96] Man\nthrough receiving the priesthood becomes God's agent; and the Lord is\nbound to recognize the ministrations of his agents so long as they act\nin accordance with the terms by which they hold that agency. Such is\npriesthood.\n\n2. Spirit of Government by the Priesthood.--The government of the\npriesthood is exercised through the channels of love, knowledge and\nrighteousness. The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected\nwith the powers of heaven, and the powers of heaven can only be\ncontrolled upon the principles of righteousness.[97] No power can or\nought to be maintained {341} by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion,\nby long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness and by love unfeigned;\nby kindness and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul\nwithout hypocrisy and without guile; reproving betimes with sharpness,\nwhen moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards\nan increase of love, lest those reproved esteem those reproving as\nenemies.[98] Such is the spirit of government under the priesthood: it\nmay be summed up in this: men are to be taught correct principles and\nthen govern themselves.[99]\n\n3. The Church.--From the gospel and the priesthood comes\nthe church. The church is the medium through which the gospel is\npromulgated--by which it is made known among the children of men. It\nis the system of government by which those who accept the gospel are\ncontrolled in things religious. It is the government of God on earth\npertaining to religious affairs. The Lord had clothed it with his\nauthority, which is his power; and it hath authority not only to teach\nthe gospel, but to execute its laws, and inflict the penalties attached\nto a violation thereof--at least so far as dealing with the membership\nof trangressors is concerned; as for other penalties {342} that will\nfall upon the violators of divine law, the Father hath reserved that\nto himself, and will in his own time and way vindicate his own laws,\nhaving due regard to the relative claims of justice and mercy. The\nauthority of the church comes from the priesthood, and may be said\nto be the collected authority of all the quorums of the priesthood\ncombined--the aggregation of God's authority in the earth, in relation\nto things religious. Such is the church.\n\n4. Divisions of the Priesthood.--In the church of Christ there\nare two grand divisions of priesthood; or rather its powers are\ngrouped under two great heads--for all priesthood comes from God,\nis power from him, and therefore cannot properly be regarded as two\ndifferent priesthoods.[100] The two divisions of priesthood are\nnamed respectively the Melchisedek priesthood[101] and the Aaronic\npriesthood.[102] The Melchisedek priesthood ministers more especially\nin spiritual things; it holds the keys of all the spiritual blessings\nof the church, is entitled to receive the mysteries of the kingdom\nof heaven, to commune with the church of the First Born, and enjoy\nthe communion and presence of God the Father, and his Son Jesus\nChrist.[103] The Aaronic priesthood ministers more especially in\ntemporal things; it holds the keys, however, of the ministering of\nangels and the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.[104]\n\n5. Officers of the Priesthood.--The officers of the Melchisedek\n{343} priesthood are apostles, seventies, patriarchs, high priests,\nelders. The officers of the Aaronic priesthood are bishops, priests,\nteachers, deacons. Of necessity there are presidents, or presiding\nofficers growing out of, or appointed from among those who are ordained\nto the several offices in these two priesthoods.[105]\n\n6. Presidencies in the Melchisedek Priesthood--First\nPresidency.--Since of necessity there are presiding officers growing\nout of the priesthood, there is a president appointed from the high\npriesthood to preside over that priesthood, he is called president\nof the high priesthood of the church; or, the presiding high priest\nover the high priesthood of the church.[106] This president of the\nhigh priesthood also presides over the whole church; he is a seer, a\nrevelator, a translator and a prophet, having all the gifts of God\nwhich he bestows upon the head of the church.[107] Two other high\npriests[108] associated with the president of the high priesthood as\ncounselors, all being appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld\nby the confidence, faith and prayer of the church, form the quorum of\nthe first presidency of the church,[109] and they preside over all\nquorums, over Zion and all the stakes thereof; over all wards and\nbranches and missions of the church in all the world. The president in\nhis quorum is to be like unto Moses,[110] therefore he is the prophet\nand law-giver unto the church--the mouthpiece of God unto it.\n\n7. The Traveling Presiding High Council.--The twelve apostles,\nor special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world, are\na traveling, presiding high council, and have {344} the power to\nofficiate in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the first\npresidency of the church, to build up the church and regulate all\nthe affairs of the same in all nations. In all large branches of\nthe church, or the stakes of Zion, they are authorized to ordain\npatriarchs, as they may be designated unto them by revelation; it\nis the duty of the twelve also to ordain and set in order all other\nofficers in the church. These twelve apostles form the second general\npresiding quorum in the church, and are equal in authority and power to\nthe quorum of the first presidency.[111]\n\n8. The Presiding Quorum of Seventy.--The seventy are appointed\nto act in the name of the Lord under the direction of the traveling\nhigh council in building up the church and regulating all the affairs\nof the same in all nations.[112] The quorum of seventy is presided\nover by seven presidents, and the senior of the seven--that is, the\nsenior by ordination, not by age--presides over the six. This quorum\nis equal in authority to the traveling high council--the quorum of the\ntwelve apostles.[113] In addition to presiding over the first quorum of\nseventy--to which quorum they belong--the first seven presidents were\nauthorized in the beginning to choose other seventy, besides the first,\nuntil seven times seventy had been chosen--if the labor in the ministry\nrequired it[114]--and preside over them. Each quorum has its council of\nseven presidents; but the first seven presidents preside over all these\nquorums and all their presidents. The seventies are special witnesses\nfor the Lord in all the world,[115] and are especially chosen to preach\nthe gospel abroad; the responsibility of declaring the great {345}\nmessage of God unto the world rests upon them particularly, laboring,\nof course, under the direction of the twelve; and the twelve are to\ncall upon the seventy in preference to any others when they have need\nof assistance to fill the calls for preaching and administering the\ngospel.[116]\n\n9. We have spoken of these three quorums being equal in\nauthority; but every decision made by either of them, in order to make\nsuch decision of the same power or validity one with the other, must\nbe by unanimous voice of the respective quorums; that is every member\nin each quorum must be agreed to its decisions, or such decisions are\nnot entitled to the same blessings as the decisions of the quorum\nof the first presidency. When circumstances render it impossible to\nbe otherwise, a majority may form a quorum.[117] The decisions of\nthese quorums of course are to be made in righteousness, in holiness\nand lowliness of heart. If so made there is no appeal from their\ndecision; but in case that any decision of these quorums is made in\nunrighteousness, it may then be brought before a general assembly of\nthe several quorums of the priesthood which constitute the spiritual\nauthorities of the church.\n\n10. Patriarchs.--These officers hold the keys of blessings in\nthe church. The order of this priesthood was confirmed to be handed\ndown from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants\nof the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made.[118] There is one\ngeneral and a number of local patriarchs in the church. The first is\npatriarch to the whole church, and he may minister in any branch or\nstake in it, his jurisdiction in blessing the people being co-extensive\nwith the church. He holds the keys of the patriarchal blessings upon\nthe heads of all the Lord's people. And whomsoever he blesses shall\nbe blessed, and whomsoever he curses shall be cursed; and whatsoever\nhe binds on earth shall be bound in {346} heaven; and whatsoever he\nlooses on earth shall be loosed in heaven.[119] He holds the sealing\nblessings of the church, \"even the Holy Spirit of promise,\" whereby\nmen are sealed up unto the day of redemption; that they may not fall,\nnotwithstanding the hour of temptation that may come upon them.[120]\nThe local patriarchs referred to above are patriarchs appointed and\nordained by the apostles to hold and exercise the powers of giving\npatriarchal blessings to the Saints within the branches and stakes of\nZion in which they are appointed to minister in this calling, but they\nare not to minister outside of their respective districts. Hence they\ncall them local patriarchs. They possess the same powers in blessing\nwithin the district where they are appointed to labor as the general\npatriarch of the church does in his wider sphere.\n\n11. High Priests.--The quorums of high priests are designed to\nqualify those who shall be appointed standing presidents over different\nstakes in Zion, and abroad.[121] They may travel and preach the gospel\nif they choose, for high priests have power to preach and administer\nall the ordinances of the gospel; but their calling is more especially\nto preside. To them belongs the sphere of presidency of government in\nthe church. From these quorums, so far as the most suitable men can\nbe found in them, are chosen men to act as bishops--where no literal\ndescendant of Aaron can be found,--the bishops' counselors; presidents\nof stakes and their counselors; and also high counselors. When men\nmore suitable for these positions are found in other quorums of the\npriesthood, then they are ordained high priests, and appointed to the\npresiding positions enumerated. In every stake there is a high priests'\nquorum, presided over by a president and two counselors. There is no\nspecific number necessary to form a quorum of high priests, the quorum\nincludes all high priests within a stake or branch where it exists, be\nthey {347} many or few. The quorum organization is for convenience,\nfor discipline, and for training its members in the art of government.\nSince to the high priests belongs the sphere of government, we know of\nno position in the church which calls for higher qualities of heart\nand mind than that of high priests. It is an office that requires the\ncombination of wisdom and executive ability, a combination the rarest\namong men. The world has had untold thousands of learned men and\norators, and multitudes of men with special great gifts; but it has had\ncomparatively few blessed with that combination of gifts which makes\nmen successful rulers; and yet those qualities which make men rulers\nare the qualities to be looked for and developed in high priests.\n\n12. Elders.--Elder is the lowest office in the Melchisedek\nPriesthood. It is an office that is an appendage to the Melchisedek\nPriesthood.[122] Yet the Elder has the power to preach the gospel,\nbaptize, lay on hands for the Holy Ghost, administer the sacrament, and\npreside when there is no high priest present.[123] Ninety-six Elders\nconstitute a quorum.[124] The quorum is presided over by a president\nand two counselors, whose duty it is to instruct them in the duties of\ntheir office. There may be any number of quorums of Elders in a branch\nor stake of Zion, as there is no limit whatsoever in the revelations.\nThe elders constitute a standing ministry in Zion and her stakes.[125]\nThey are not under obligations to travel abroad as the seventies are;\nbut may be called upon to preside from time to time as circumstances\nmay require.[126]\n\n13. Presidencies in the Aaronic Priesthood.--The Aaronic\npriesthood, as already remarked,[127] has to do more especially with\nthe temporal affairs of the church; and the general {348} presidency\nof it is the presiding bishopric of the church. The local bishops in\nlike manner preside over the Aaronic priesthood within their respective\ndistricts. The powers, rights, duties and responsibilities of the\nbishops have been treated at some length in Section III, Part IV, under\nthe caption THE BISHOPRIC, and to the paragraphs on that subject the\nstudent is directed.\n\n14. Priests.--Forty-eight Priests of the Aaronic order of\npriesthood constitute a quorum. The president of this quorum is to be a\nbishop, for that is one of the duties of his calling to sit in council\nwith this quorum and teach the members thereof their duties.[128] There\nis no limit to the number of quorums of priests in the church; there\nmay be such a quorum in every ward or branch.\n\n15. Teachers.--Twenty-four Teachers constitute a quorum. They\nare presided over by a president and two counselors, who are to teach\nthem the duties of their office.[129]\n\n16. Deacons--Twelve deacons form a quorum. The quorum is presided\nover by a president and two counselors, who are to instruct them in\nthe duties of their office.[130] The offices of teacher and deacon are\nappendages[131] to the Aaronic priesthood, as the office of elder and\nbishop are appendages to the Melchisedek priesthood.[132] What is meant\nby appendage to the priesthood is an addition to the regular quorums\nof the priesthood. When so added they become part of the organization\nbut in a subordinate way. Then elders may assist high priests in their\nduties when called upon, and may officiate in their stead when there is\nno high priest present; but when the high priest is present the elder\nhas no right to act in his stead unless called upon. The teacher may\nassist the priest in his duties, as the deacon may assist the teacher\nin his duty,[133] but {349} in that event the lesser quorums act in\nsubordination to the ones they are authorized to assist. They were\nquorums added to the regular organization of the priesthood, when the\nduties were so multiplied that the higher and regular quorums could\nnot discharge them. By creating these appendages to the priesthood men\ncould be called into requisition whose wisdom and experience would\nnot justify placing upon them all the authority with the accompanying\nresponsibility of the higher offices of the priesthood.\n\n17. Territorial Division of the Church.--The church in relation\nto the territory it occupies, for convenience in government, is divided\ninto stakes of Zion, wards and branches.\n\n_I. Stakes_.--A stake of Zion is a division of the church territorially\nthat embraces several wards and branches. There is no set number of\nwards or branches necessary to constitute a stake. That is arranged\naccording to convenience. The stake is presided over by a president,\nwho is a high priest, assisted by two other high priests as counselors.\nThey constitute the presidency of the stake, and preside over the\norganizations in that stake much in the same way that the president of\nthe church presides over the entire church; but is subject of course to\nthe general authorities of the church.\n\nIn each stake is a standing high council, over which the presidency\nof the stake--or the president or either one of the counselors, when\ncircumstances render it impossible or inconvenient for all to be\npresent--preside. This forms the highest judicial tribunal in the stake.\n\nOne or more patriarchs are appointed to confer upon the people\npatriarchal blessings within the stake.\n\nThe high priests are organized into a quorum with a presidency over\nthem as already explained.[134]\n\nThe elders are organized into one or more quorums, according {350} as\nthey are numerous enough for one or a number of quorums;[135] and with\nthe high priests constitute the standing ministry in the stake.\n\n_II. Wards_.--The stakes are divided into ecclesiastical wards,\npresided over by a bishopric, consisting of a bishop aided by two\nhigh priests as counselors unless the bishop is a literal descendant\nof Aaron, in which event he has authority to act as bishop without\ncounselors.[136] The bishopric has a direct general presidency over the\nquorums of the lesser priesthood in his ward; and presides even over\nthose holding the higher priesthood as members of his ward; but not\nover the quorums of the higher priesthood as quorums. The bishopric\nof a ward, like the bishopric of the church, has to do chiefly with\ntemporal affairs; but in nearly all cases, in fact, so far as we know,\nin all cases at present in the church, the bishops are high priests\nacting in that capacity; and since in acting as bishops they do not\nlose their position as high priests they have a right to minister in\nboth temporal and spiritual affairs. It may be well to remark, however,\nin passing, that wherein bishops do take the lead in spiritual concerns\nthey do it by virtue of the high priesthood which they hold, which is\nthe proper authority to act in spiritual matters.\n\nThe ward officers consist of a quorum of priests, of teachers and of\ndeacons. Their powers and duties have already been explained.[137] They\nlabor under the direction of the bishop, and are the standing ministers\nwithin the ward, to be with and watch over the church to see that each\nmember thereof does his duty and that no iniquity is allowed to creep\ninto the church, to corrupt it. At present in many wards there are not\nenough men to fill up the quorums of the lesser priesthood, and members\nof the high priesthood are frequently found officiating as teachers,\netc.\n\n{351} Each ward is divided up into teachers' districts, and two\nteachers appointed to take charge of each district, and visit every\nfamily and member within it, to see that all are doing their duty;\nthat they live, so far as may be, in peace with all men; that they are\nprayerful; diligent in attending public worship; and that they are\nhonest, sober and hold no hardness against their neighbors.\n\n_III. Branches_.--Branches are organizations established chiefly out\nin the world where there are no regularly organized stakes. The elders\nwhile abroad on missions in order to preserve in the faith those who\nreceive the gospel, organize branches, set apart elders or priests\nto preside, and also ordain as many other elders, priests, teachers\nand deacons to assist the president of the branch as may be deemed\nnecessary. These officers discharge the same duties in a branch that\nthey would in a fully organized ward. Branches are also sometimes\norganized in outlying districts of large wards where there are not\nenough people to justify a complete ward organization, and yet the\ndistrict is too far removed from the ward to permit the members living\nthere to enjoy the advantages of the adjacent ward organization. In\nsuch an event the branch is usually placed under the care of the\nneighboring ward.\n\n18. Helps in Government.--In addition to these regular and direct\nmeans of ecclesiastical government in the church, there are also \"helps\nin government,\" or appendages to the church organization. The chief of\nthese are:\n\n_I. Female Relief Societies_.--A woman's association organized in each\nward to relieve the poor in their distress, and visit the sick and\nafflicted.\n\n_II. Sunday Schools_.--In every ward also is a Sunday School, in which\nthe young are taught in the gospel and educated in church discipline.\n\n_III. Y. M. and Y. L. M. I. A._--In nearly all wards also are Young\nMen's and Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations {352} for the\ninstruction of the young in theology, science, history and literature;\nand, in fact, in all things that tend to the development and refinement\nof the mind of man; but the main object of these organizations is to\nestablish the young of both sexes in a knowledge of the truth of the\ngospel.\n\n_IV. Primary Associations_.--Primary Associations are ward\norganizations for juveniles too young to be connected with the\nImprovement Associations, and were established to train the young in\nsuch moral precepts and conduct as are suitable to their years.\n\n19. The Church Judiciary System.--So long as men are imperfect\njust so long will difficulties and misunderstandings arise among\nthem. And these things will beget bitterness of feeling, enmities and\nanimosities unbecoming those striving to be saints; and hence the\nchurch must be purged of these things. Moreover, although man by nature\nis a religious creature, he is prone to be forgetful of religious duty;\nand unless a wholesome church discipline be enforced he is liable to\nbecome neglectful of his religious obligations. To settle difficulties,\nthen, which may arise between members on the one hand, and to enforce\nchurch discipline on the other, there exists in the church an\necclesiastical judiciary system, that is most admirably adapted to\nanswer the purposes for which it exists.\n\n20. First, as to the settlement of difficulties arising between\nmembers of the church. The law of the Lord requires that if a brother\nor sister offend another, the one offended should go alone to the\none who gave offense and tell him his fault; if he repents and seeks\nforgiveness, and makes restitution, then the one offended must forgive\nhis brother and become reconciled. In the event of the offender being\nstubborn and impenitent; or maintaining that he has done no wrong, then\nthe one aggrieved should take others with him, one or more,[138] and\nin their presence, {353} and with whatever assistance they can render,\nseek justice of and reconciliation with his brother. If the offender\nrefuse to make restitution and reconciliation, then the matter may be\ntaken to the bishop's court for settlement.[139] Here the matter is put\non trial, the statements of the respective parties received, and the\ntestimony of witnesses admitted and a decision rendered by the bishop\naccording to his understanding of the case.\n\n21. In the event of either party being dissatisfied with the\nbishop's decision, they may appeal to the high council of the stake.\nBut if dissatisfied parties neither take an appeal to the high council\nnor comply with the bishop's decision, then they stand in danger of\nlosing their fellowship in the church, for if men will not respect the\ndecisions of the ecclesiastical courts, then the officers thereof must\nvindicate their decrees and make the courts respected by punishing\nthose who would treat them with contempt.\n\n22. If the case be appealed to the high council of the stake, it\nis heard on its merits in the manner already described in section four\nof this part, under the caption HIGH COUNCILS, which see. The parties\nor either of them may appeal to the first presidency of the church,\nwho will direct in what manner the case shall be disposed of; but the\nparties must abide that decision or lose their standing in the church.\n\n23. Now as to those who neglect their duties; who do not so much\noffend against individuals as against the church, by failing to live up\nto the regulations it prescribes for its members. It is especially the\nduty of the teachers, priests and bishopric to labor very assiduously\nto preserve their people in the faith, and by patient watchfulness;\nby teaching and admonition; by warning and reproof, when necessary,\nkeep alive the spirit of the gospel in the hearts of the saints. If,\nhowever, {354} in spite of all these efforts to preserve the church\nmembers in an active performance of their duties men will grow careless\nand transgress the law of the Lord, they are amenable to the church\ncourts and may be tried for their fellowship. In that case they would\nhave the same rights in the courts and the same rights to appeal as in\nthe case of difficulty between members.\n\n24. The only real punishment which is within the power of\nthe church to inflict is to disfellowship or excommunicate its\nmembers. In the former case the offender is merely suspended from the\nprivileges of church communion; this punishment may be inflicted by\nthe bishop, until satisfaction is made by the offender. In the latter\ncase--excommunication--the person absolutely loses his membership in\nthe church, together with all the priesthood he holds; and if he ever\nregains a standing it will be by baptism and confirmation as at the\nfirst.\n\n25. Of course to those who hold lightly their standing in the\nchurch, suspension of fellowship, or excommunication has no especial\nterror; but to the man of faith, whose full hopes of eternal life\nwith all its advantages stand or fall with his standing in the church\nof Christ, no greater punishment can threaten him. He remembers that\nthe Lord hath said: \"Wo unto them who are cut off from my church,\nfor the same are overcome of the world.\" [140] And, again: \"Inasmuch\nas ye are cut off by transgressions, ye cannot escape the buffetings\nof Satan, until the day of redemption.\" [141] The punishment, then, of\nexcommunication is a serious one in the estimation of the faithful; and\nsince man in his imperfect state is influenced to righteousness by his\nfear of punishment, as well as by his hope of reward, the punishment of\nexcommunication has a wholesome effect in preserving the discipline of\nthe church.\n\n26. Conferences of the Church.--There are two general {355}\nconferences of the church each year, one convening on the 6th of April,\nand the other on the 6th of October. Conferences are convened every\nthree months in all the stakes of Zion; and in the respective wards\nonce a year. The chief purposes of holding these conferences, aside\nfrom the giving of instructions by the general authorities, who are\nusually present, is to sustain by vote the officers of the church. The\nprinciple of common consent operating in the church government has\nalready been explained; [142] and it only remains to say that the means\nby which this \"common\" consent is expressed--voting to sustain those\nproposed for the several offices--virtually amounts to an election. The\nelective principle in government or in societies, is not only carried\nout by direct means; it may be carried out by indirect means. It is\njust as much a fact under the form of popular acceptance as of popular\nchoice.[143] It is in the form of popular acceptance that the elective\nprinciple exists in the church.\n\n27. Reflections.--If a good system for the organization and\nadministration of authority, and an equally good system for the\nsecurity of liberty is the test of a good plan of government, then this\necclesiastical government we have described must be recognized as of\nthe very highest order. It is elaborate in organization, but simple in\nits operations. There is in it a most excellent assemblage of means\nto transmit the will of the central power into all departments of\nthe society; and, on the other hand, an equally efficient assemblage\nof means for transmitting the response of the society to the central\norganized power. And as the whole government exists by the common\nconsent of the church members, and elections by popular acceptance\nare frequent, the liberties of the people composing the church are\nsecured. Where these facts exist, the highest order of government\nmust result. And we may say, in conclusion, {356} that the formation\nof a free ecclesiastical government on so extensive a scale is one of\nthe most interesting problems of humanity. \"It requires such refined\nprudence [to form such a government], such comprehensive knowledge,\nand such perspicacious sagacity, united with such almost illimitable\npowers of combination, that it is nearly in vain to hope for qualities\nso rare to be congregated in a solitary mind.\" [144] Indeed it is in\nvain to hope for these powers in an uninspired mind. It is a task too\ndifficult for mere human ingenuity. And when it is remembered that\nJoseph Smith's knowledge of government and history in his early life\nwas exceedingly limited; and that this system of church government\nwas given piece-meal--as will be seen by its gradual development as\nportrayed in this work [145]--it is absurd to accredit it to a boy's\nnative ingenuity. It was not a system marked out in theory and then\norganized. On the contrary, line was given upon line, precept upon\nprecept. An officer was given today and his duties explained; another\ngiven at another time, when the development of the work required his\nservices, and his duties explained. After a lapse of years men began\nto discover that these fragments of government constituted a most\nelaborate yet simple system--a consistent whole, based on the highest\nand truest principles of government; a system that while it was suited\nto the conditions of the church in the earlier years of its existence,\nyet is capable of answering the needs of the organization should it\nbe so expanded as to fill the earth. This is a fact as astonishing to\nthe world as it is gratifying to the Saints. The church is its own\nwitness that the mind which fashioned it is divine. It is too great in\nits organization, and yet too simple in its administration to be the\ncreation of an uninspired mind, especially of a mind so narrow in its\nknowledge and inexperienced in affairs related to government as that\nof Joseph Smith. No, neither the hand of man {357} nor the mind of\nman created it; it came from God, and bears the impress of its divine\ncreation.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What is priesthood?\n\n2. What is the spirit of the government by the priesthood?\n\n3. For what was the church instituted?\n\n4. What powers and authority appertains unto it?\n\n5. How is the priesthood divided?\n\n6. Why was the higher priesthood named after Melchisedek?\n\n7. What are the powers of the Melchisedek priesthood--of the Aaronic?\n\n8. Enumerate the officers of the respective priesthoods.\n\n9. What constitutes the first presidency of the church?\n\n10. What are the rights and powers of the first presidency?\n\n11. What are the rights and powers of the twelve apostles?\n\n12. What is the mission and calling of the seventies?\n\n13. What are the duties and the special calling of the patriarchs?\n\n14. What are the powers and special duties of the high priests--of\nelders?\n\n15. What can you say of presidencies in the Aaronic priesthood?\n\n16. What are the privileges and duties of priests?--of teachers?--of\ndeacons?\n\n17. What is the significance of \"appendage\" in connection with\npriesthood?\n\n18. What can you say of the territorial divisions of the church?\n\n19. Describe the stake organization--the organization of the ward--of\nthe branch.\n\n20. What institutions are recognized as helps in government?\n\n21. What can you say of the church judiciary system?\n\n22. State how difficulties are to be settled in the church.\n\n23. What are the means of punishment legitimately within the right of\nthe church to exercise?\n\n24. What can you say of the effectiveness of church punishment?\n\n25. What regular conferences are held by the church?\n\n26. What can be said of the church as an ecclesiastical system of\ngovernment?\n\n{358}\n\n\n\nSECTION VI.\n\nHaving paused to consider the church as a system of ecclesiastical\ngovernment, it now remains for us to return to the historical\ndevelopment of the work of the Lord as connected with the dispensation\nof the fullness of times.\n\n1. The Kirtland Temple.--During the winter of 1835-36 the temple\nat Kirtland was completed. This was the first temple built by the\nchurch in this dispensation. It was a stone structure, eighty by sixty,\nand fifty feet to the square. At the front was a tower one hundred\nand ten feet high. There were two main halls fifty-five by sixty-five\nfeet; four vestries in the front, two on each floor. There was also\nan attic, divided into five rooms. During the winter of 1835-6 a high\nschool was conducted in Kirtland by H. M. Hawes, Professor of Greek and\nLatin,[146] and the rooms in the attic were used as class rooms and for\nthe meetings of the various quorums of the priesthood. [See note 1, end\nof section.]\n\n2. Dedication of the Temple.--On Sunday, the 27th of March, 1836,\nthe temple was dedicated with imposing ceremonies, beginning early in\nthe morning--eight o'clock--and continuing all day. As all the Saints\ncould not be admitted at once, the Thursday following, March 31st, the\nceremonies were repeated. The service consisted of singing, prayer,\npreaching, prophesying, speaking in tongues, sustaining the several\nofficers of the church by votes of acceptance and confidence, the {359}\noffering of a special dedicatory prayer,[147] partaking of the Lord's\nSupper, rendering the grand shout of Hosanna,[148] etc. The Spirit of\nthe Lord was poured out in great power upon the Saints, and spiritual\nmanifestations were abundant.\n\n3. Spiritual Manifestations in the Temple.--Frederick G.\nWilliams, counselor in the first presidency, testified that while Elder\nRigdon was making the opening prayer, an angel entered the window, and\ntook a seat between himself and Patriarch Joseph Smith, father of the\nprophet, and remained there during the prayer.\n\nDavid Whitmer, one of the three especial witnesses to the Book of\nMormon, also saw angels in the house.\n\nApostle Brigham Young gave a brief address in tongues.\n\nApostle David W. Patten, interpreted the address, and gave an\nexhortation in tongues himself.\n\nAt a meeting in the evening George A. Smith--afterwards an apostle and\ncounselor to President Brigham Young--arose and began to prophesy,\nwhen a noise was heard like the sound of a rushing mighty wind,\nwhich filled the temple, and all the congregation simultaneously\narose, being moved upon by an invisible power; many began to speak in\ntongues, and prophesy; others saw glorious visions. The Prophet Joseph\nsaw that the temple was filled with angels, which fact he declared\nto the congregation. The people of the neighborhood came running\ntogether--hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light\nlike a pillar of fire resting upon the temple--and were astonished at\nwhat was transpiring.\n\nWednesday night--30th March--while the meeting in the {360} temple was\nin charge of the twelve apostles, the brethren continued exhorting,\nprophesying and speaking in tongues all night. The Savior made his\nappearance to some, while angels ministered to others, and it was a\nPentecost and an endowment long to be remembered.[149]\n\n4. Restoration of the Keys of Former Dispensations.--Sunday, the\n3rd of April, one week following the first dedication services, there\nwas a series of most glorious visions and revelations given in the\ntemple. After the sacrament was administered to the congregation, the\ncurtains dividing the main hall were dropped and the Prophet Joseph and\nOliver Cowdery retired into the pulpit and bowed in solemn and silent\nprayer. After prayer they both beheld the Lord Jesus Christ standing\nupon the breastwork of the pulpit. He announced himself as the First\nand the Last, the one who liveth and the one who was slain--their\nadvocate with the Father. He declared his acceptance of the temple, and\npromised to appear unto his servants and speak unto them with his own\nvoice, if the Saints would but keep his commandments, and not pollute\nthe temple, the fame of which he declared should spread to foreign\nlands.[150]\n\n5. The Appearing of Moses.--After this vision closed the heavens\nwere again opened and Moses appeared before them and committed unto\nthem the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the\nearth and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.[151]\n\n6. The Appearing of Elias.--Then Elias appeared and committed the\ndispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in them and in their\nseed all generations after them should be blessed.\n\n7. The Appearing of Elijah.--As soon as the above vision closed,\nanother opened before them, and Elijah the Prophet, who was taken to\nheaven without tasting death, stood before them, and said that the\ntime had fully come which {361} Malachi had spoken of, saying, that\nbefore the great and dreadful day of the Lord should come, he, Elijah,\nwould be sent to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and\nthe children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a\ncurse.[152] \"Therefore,\" said Elijah, to Joseph and Oliver, \"the keys\nof this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may\nknow that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the\ndoors.\" [153]\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Inner Courts of Kirtland Temple.--There was a peculiarity in\nthe arrangement of the inner court which made it more than ordinary\nimpressive--so much so that a sense of sacred awe seemed to rest upon\nall who entered; not only the Saints but strangers also manifested\na high degree of reverential feeling. Four pulpits stood one above\nanother, in the center of the building, from north to south, both on\nthe east and west ends; those on the west for the presiding officers\nof the Melchisedek priesthood, and those on the east for the Aaronic:\nand each of these pulpits was separated by curtains of white painted\ncanvas, which were let down and drawn up at pleasure. In front of\neach of these two rows of pulpits was a sacrament table for the\nadministration of that sacred ordinance. In each corner of the court\nwas an elevated pew for the singers, the choir being distributed into\nfour compartments. In addition to the pulpit curtains, were others,\nintersecting at right angles, which divided the main ground-floor\nhall into four equal sections, giving to each one half of one set of\npulpits.--Eliza R. Snow.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. When was the Kirtland Temple completed?\n\n2. Give a description of it. (Note 1.)\n\n3. For what were the attic rooms used?\n\n4. What branches were taught in the temple school? (Note.)\n\n5. Describe the dedicatory services.\n\n6. State what spiritual manifestations occurred during the dedicatory\nservices.\n\n7. Describe the vision of the Savior given to the Prophet Joseph and\nOliver Cowdery in the temple.\n\n8. Relate the appearing of Moses--of Elias--of Elijah.\n\n{362}\n\n\n\nSECTION VII.\n\nThe appearing of Moses in Kirtland Temple and his restoring the keys\nfor the gathering of Israel, marks the inauguration of a mighty work\nwithin the work of God, in this dispensation, and gives a reality to\nmany of the predictions of the ancient prophets. To fully comprehend\nthis great work it will be necessary to call the attention of the\nstudent to the Israelites, and a brief outline of their history.\n\n1. Who Are Israel.--The children of Israel are the descendants\nof Abraham through the loins of Isaac and Jacob, taking their name,\nhowever, from the last-named patriarch, whose name was changed by an\nangel of the Lord from Jacob to Israel, which means a prince of God.\nUnto Jacob by four wives were born twelve sons--the heads of the Twelve\nTribes of Israel. Joseph, Jacob's son by his wife Rachel, being his\nfather's favorite son, was hated by his brethren, and without the\nfather's knowledge was sold to merchants, who carried him into Egypt.\nHis cruel brethren rent his clothing and stained it in blood, then\ntaking it to their father represented that his son had been destroyed\nby a wild beast. The Lord was with Joseph in Egypt, and gave him\nfavor in the eyes of the rulers of that land, until he became second\nin authority in the kingdom. Having been warned in a dream of an\napproaching famine, some years before it took place, he laid up in\nstore an abundance of corn, so that while famine distressed surrounding\ncountries there was plenty in Egypt, and thither the sons of Israel\nwent to purchase food. Joseph revealed his identity to his brethren,\nbecame reconciled to them, and sent for his father and all attached to\nhis household--about seventy souls in all--to {363} come to him and\ntake up their abode in Egypt. This the aged patriarch did, and ended\nhis days there.\n\n2. Israel Enslaved.--Some time after Joseph's death, there arose\na king who knew him not, and observing that the Israelites were likely\nto become more numerous than the Egyptians--since they did not murder\ntheir offspring either before or at birth, as many among the Egyptians\ndid--this monarch enslaved them and placed task masters over them, and\nby oppression and the destruction of their male offspring sought to\nprevent their increase. Finally the Lord raised up Moses and delivered\nthem from bondage amid a splendid display of his Almighty power, and\neventually settled them in the land of Canaan--the land he had promised\nunto Abraham as an inheritance--where they became a mighty nation. [See\nnote 1, end of section.]\n\n3. Revolt of the Ten Tribes.--As a nation the Israelites\nreached the zenith of their splendor under the reign of David and\nhis son Solomon. At the death of the latter, 975 B. C., the kingdom\nwas divided. Ten tribes revolted against the oppression of Solomon's\nsuccessor, his son Rehoboam, and formed the kingdom of Israel, choosing\nfor their king Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, one of Solomon's servants.\nThe new king--a man of great valor--established his capital at Shechem\n[Shek-em], but fifty years afterwards it was removed to Samaria.\n\n4. The Captivity of Israel--The Lost Tribes.--This kingdom of\nIsrael continued its existence for about two hundred and fifty years.\nIn that time the people may be said to have departed wholly from the\npaths of righteousness, becoming drunken, licentious and idolatrous. So\nthe Lord gave them up and Shalmaneser, a noted Assyrian king, made war\nupon them, utterly overcame them and led them captives into Assyria.\nFrom thence the Lord led many of them away into the northern country,\nwhere, no man knoweth, and hence they are denominated the Lost Tribes.\nOur reason for saying they were led {364} away into the north is to\nbe found in the fact that many predictions of the prophets plainly\ndeclare that they shall come from the land of the north, a great\ncompany, etc.; [154] and it must be manifest that they cannot come from\nthe land of the north unless they are there. Messiah, when he visited\nthe Nephites after his resurrection, plainly told them that the other\ntribes of the house of Israel--meaning the ten tribes--the Lord had\nled away out of the land;[155] and he also announced his intention of\nvisiting them, and commanded the Nephites to make a record of it that a\nknowledge of the existence of these \"other tribes\" might be made known\nunto the Gentiles when the Nephite records should be revealed to them.\nThese \"other tribes,\" Messiah spoke of, he declared not to be of the\nland of America, nor the land of Jerusalem, \"neither in any parts of\nthat land round about whither I have been to minister.\" [156]\n\n5. The Apocryphal writer Esdras, in relating one of his visions\ndescribes one of the great characters that figured in those visions\nas calling unto himself a peaceful people. \"Those,\" said the angel\nsent to interpret the vision, \"are the tribes which were carried away\ncaptives out of their own land in the time of Oseas (Hosea) the king,\nwhom Salmanaser, the king of the Assyrians, took captive, and crossed\nthem beyond the river; so were they brought into another land. But\nthey took counsel to themselves, that they would leave the multitude\nof the heathen, and go forth unto a further country where never man\ndwelt, that they there might keep their statutes, which they never\nkept in their own land. And they entered in at the narrow passage of\nthe River Euphrates. For the Most High then showed them signs, and\nstayed the springs of the flood till they were passed over. For through\nthe country there was great journey, even of a year and a half, and\nthe same region is called Arsareth (or Ararah). Then dwelt they there\nuntil the latter {365} time, and when they come forth again, the Most\nHigh shall hold still the springs of the river again, that they may go\nthrough; therefore sawest thou the multitude peaceable.\" [157]\n\n6. Whatever doubt may be entertained respecting the writings of\nEsdras, it cannot be denied that in respect to the Ten Tribes and what\nbecame of them he is in harmony with the statement made by Jesus to\nthe Nephites, _viz:_ that the Lord had led them away out of the land.\nThe Most High, according to Esdras, showing them signs by staying the\nsprings of the flood of the Euphrates, as he will do when the time\ncomes for them to return. [158] He is also in harmony with the prophets\nwho predict the return of Israel in the last days from the land in\nwhich they have been hidden by the Lord.[159] [See note 2, end of\nsection.]\n\n7. The Samaritans.--The country inhabited by the kingdom of\nIsrael--the north half of Palestine--was taken possession of by people\nsent from Babylon, Persia and other countries by the Assyrian king,\nand these strangers, intermarrying with the few Israelites remaining\nin the land, after the main body of the people had been led away into\ncaptivity, became the mixed people called Samaritans, so heartily\ndespised by the Jews.\n\n8. The Kingdom of Judah.--In the civil dissensions which divided\nthe Israelites at the death of Solomon, the tribe of Benjamin remained\nloyal to Judah, and may be said to have almost lost its identity in the\nkingdom which with Judah it formed after the revolt of the ten tribes.\nIt was a stormy career that the kingdom of Judah experienced after\nthe said revolt. It was subject in turn to the Egyptians, Assyrians,\nand Babylonians. In consequence of treachery to the last named power,\nNebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, about 586 B. C., [160] {366} besieged\nJerusalem, reduced the city to the utmost extremity, captured the king,\nput out his eyes and led him and most of the Jews captive to Babylon.\nThe walls of the city were thrown down, the temple rifled of its sacred\nvessels and the city left desolate to be inhabited by strangers. The\ncaptivity of the Jews in Babylon lasted about seventy years.[161] The\nBabylonians in the meantime had been overcome of the Persians, under\nCyrus the Great, who in the first year of his reign permitted the Jews\nto return and rebuild the city and its walls.\n\n9. The Jews, however, never wholly regained their independence;\nbeing located between Syria and Egypt, their country was held in\nsubjection as a province to one or the other of them according as now\none and now the other was successful in the unhappy wars which broke\nout between those nations. Finally Palestine became a province of Rome,\nbut the people were allowed the freedom to worship God according to the\nteachings of Moses and their prophets. This was their condition at the\nbirth and during the lifetime of Messiah.[162]\n\n10. About forty years after the crucifixion of the Christ, the\nJews foolishly rebelled against the Roman authority, which brought on a\nterrible war. During the siege of Jerusalem, which lasted six months,\nover one million of the wretched inhabitants, according to Josephus,\nperished of the famine. The remainder were either driven into exile\nor sold into slavery. The city was razed to the ground, the temple\ndestroyed, and in their eager search for gold the Romans tore up the\nvery foundation, and ploughed up the site, so that literally there was\nnot left one stone to stand upon another that was not thrown down.[163]\nSince the destruction of their city and the overthrow of their nation,\nthe Jews have been scattered among all nations, despised, hated,\noppressed, until all the evil that was prophesied of by Moses[164]\nconcerning them--when they should turn away {367} from God and his\nlaw--came upon them. [See note 3, end of section.]\n\n11. Miscellaneous Dispersions.--Besides the tribes of Israel that\nwere thus dispersed, there were families of various tribes whom the\nLord led away at different times into distant lands. Such as the family\nof Lehi of the tribe of Manasseh; and that of Ishmael of the tribe of\nEphraim, both of which families, together with one Zoram--of what tribe\nhe was is not known--the Lord led to the continent of America. The\nLord also led to the same land a colony that departed from Jerusalem\nimmediately after its destruction by king Nebuchadnezzar, in the sixth\ncentury B. C., among whom was one Mulek, one of the sons of King\nZedekiah, whose people founded the city of Zarahemla, and afterwards\nunited with the Nephites.\n\n12. The Blood of Israel Sprinkled Among all Nations.--The Jews\nsince the destruction of their city and nation by the Romans, have been\nscattered among all nations, but they have succeeded in a remarkable\nmanner in preserving their identity as a distinct people. Still it is\nnot to be doubted that there are instances where Jews have married and\nintermarried with the Gentiles among whom they lived, until they lost\ntheir identity, and thus the blood of Israel, unrecognized, is in the\nveins of many supposed to be Gentiles.\n\n13. The tribes of Israel sent into Babylon, Assyria and the\nsurrounding countries in like manner inter-mingled their blood with the\npeople of those nations. Moreover, there are good reasons to believe\nthat in that exodus of the ten tribes from Assyria to the north, many\nbecame discouraged and stopped by the way. Others unable to prosecute\nthe journey also abandoned the expedition, and these that thus halted,\nuniting and intermarrying with the original inhabitants of the land,\nconstituted those prolific races that over-ran the western division of\nthe Roman Empire.\n\n14. In this manner the blood of Israel has been sprinkled {368}\nalmost among all the nations of the earth, until the word of the Lord\nwhich says, \"I will sift the house of Israel among all nations,\" [165]\nhas been literally fulfilled.\n\n15. The Gathering of Israel.--Notwithstanding Israel and Judah\nhave thus been scattered, their temple destroyed and their chief city\ntrodden down of the Gentiles, the remnant of this favored people of\nGod, according to the promises of the Lord, are to be gathered together\nagain and established upon the lands promised to their forefathers.\nThe keys necessary for the inauguration of this work were given to the\nProphet Joseph by Moses on the occasion of his appearing to him and to\nOliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, and the work has begun. I think\nit proper here to give some of the passages of scripture which promise\nthe gathering of Israel.\n\n16. From the Bible.--Hear the word of the Lord, O, ye nations,\nand declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel\nwill gather him, and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock. For the\nLord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that\nwas stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height\nof Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for\nwheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of\nthe herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall\nnot sorrow any more at all.[166]\n\nTherefore, behold the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more\nbe said, the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of\nthe land of Egypt; but the Lord liveth that brought up the children of\nIsrael from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he\nhad driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I\ngave unto their fathers.[167]\n\nAnd it shall come to pass in that day[168] that the Lord shall set his\nhand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, {369}\nwhich shall be left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathos, and\nfrom Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from\nthe islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations,\nand shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the\ndispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also\nof Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut\noff. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. *\n* * And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which\nshall be left from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he\ncame up out of the land of Egypt.[169]\n\nTurn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto\nyou: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will\nbring you to Zion: and I will give you pastors according to my own\nheart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. And\nit shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land\nin those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more the ark of the\ncovenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind. * * * At that time\nthey shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations\nshall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. * * *\nIn those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel,\nand they shall come together out of the land of the north, to the land\nthat I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.[170]\n\n17. From the Book of Mormon.--But behold thus saith the Lord God:\nwhen the day cometh that they [the Jews--see context] shall believe in\nme, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that\nthey shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands\nof their inheritance. And it shall come to pass that they shall be\ngathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and\nfrom the four parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall\nbe great in the eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the\nlands of their inheritance.[171]\n\n18. From the Doctrine and Covenants.--And the Lord, even the\nSavior, shall stand in the midst of his people, and shall reign {370}\nover all flesh. And they who are in the north countries shall come in\nremembrance before the Lord, and their prophets shall hear his voice,\nand shall no longer stay themselves, and they shall smite the rocks,\nand the ice shall flow down at their presence. And an highway shall be\ncast up in the midst of the great deep. Their enemies shall become a\nprey unto them, and in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools\nor living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty\nland. And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children\nof Ephraim, my servants. And the boundaries of the everlasting hills\nshall tremble at their presence. And there shall they fall down and be\ncrowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the\nLord, even the children of Ephraim; and they shall be filled with songs\nof everlasting joy. Behold, this is the blessing of the Everlasting\nGod upon the tribes of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head\nof Ephraim and his fellows. And they also of the tribe of Judah, after\ntheir pain, shall be sanctified in holiness before the Lord to dwell in\nhis presence day and night, for ever and for ever.[172] [See note 4,\nend of section.]\n\n19. The Preparatory Work to the Return of the Ten Tribes.--This\nis enough in a general way upon the return of the Ten Tribes from the\nnorth and the return of the Jews to Jerusalem. Yet there is another\npart of this work of gathering Israel that calls for our attention.\nWe have described the manner in which the blood of Israel has been\nsprinkled among the Gentile nations. The people in whose veins that\nblood runs must be gathered as well as the Jews and the Ten Tribes;\nfor the promise of gathering extends to all the children of Israel,\nin all the countries whither they have been scattered. Moreover, it\nwould seem that the Ten Tribes are to come to Zion and sing in the\nheights thereof, and there be crowned with glory by the hands of the\nservants of the Lord, the children of Ephraim.[173] The gathering of\nIsrael scattered among the Gentile nations will have made considerable\nprogress, and Zion will be built up before the Ten Tribes will be\nbrought from the north. This {371} work of gathering Israel from among\nthe Gentile nations is the work that the Church of Christ is now\nengaged in. The Lord has revealed the location of Zion;[174] it has\nbeen dedicated for the gathering together of his people Israel. Even\nthe temple site is known and dedicated, and the sure word of God given\nthat the temple shall be built in this generation.[175] The enemies\nof the church drove the Saints away form the consecrated land, it is\ntrue;[176] but their absence will only be temporary; the time will come\nwhen they will return and fulfill all that the Lord hath decreed in\nrelation to Zion and its redemption.\n\n20. Meantime they are building up stakes of Zion in the Rocky\nMountain valleys, and in this way are fulfilling predictions of the\nancient prophets. Isaiah hath it written, that \"In the last days the\nhouse of the Lord shall be established in the tops of the mountains; *\n* * and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and\nsay, Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house\nof the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk\nin his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of\nthe Lord from Jerusalem.\" [177]\n\n21. It is remarkable how minutely the Latter-day Saints are\nfulfilling the terms of this prophecy:\n\nI. They are building the temples of God in the tops of the mountains,\nso that the house of the Lord is truly where Isaiah saw it would be.\n\nII. The Saints engaged in this work are people gathered from nearly\nall the nations under heaven, so that all nations are flowing unto the\nhouse of the Lord in the top of the mountains. [See note 5, end of\nsection.]\n\nIII. The people who receive the gospel in foreign lands joyfully say to\ntheir relatives and friends, \"Come ye, and let us go {372} up to the\nhouse of the Lord, and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in\nhis paths.\"\n\n22. The manner in which the Saints are gathered, one here and one\nthere, one from this city and one from another, fulfills the prophecy\nof Jeremiah, who, in speaking of this great gathering of Israel,\nrepresents the Lord as saying: \"I will take you one of a city, and two\nof a family, and I will bring you to Zion; and I will give you pastors\naccording to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and\nunderstanding.\" [178]\n\n23. The student should be informed how it is we know the\nSaints are of the house of Israel. First, they fulfill the terms of\nthe prophecies written about the gathering of Israel by the ancient\nprophets, as seen above; second, the patriarchs of the church, ordained\nand set apart to that calling by the apostles, in giving blessings to\nthe Saints declare them to be of the house of Israel, and mainly of the\ntribe of Ephraim. [See note 6, end of section.]\n\n24. Object of Gathering.--Another object of this gathering of\nthe people of God from among the Gentile nations--which with their\nwickedness, spiritual blindness, and confusion constitute Babylon--is\nthat they may not partake of the sins of Babylon, and that they might\nescape the judgments and plagues decreed by God against the wickedness\nthereof. The Apostle John prophesies of this. In those visions given to\nhim on the Isle of Patmos, showing him things that would take place in\nthe future, he heard a voice from heaven saying: \"Come out of her [that\nis out of Babylon], my people; that ye be not partakers of her sins,\nand that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto\nheaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. * * * Therefore shall\nher plagues come in one day, death and mourning, and famine; for strong\nis the Lord God who judgeth her.\" [179] The Saints are gathering out of\nBabylon that they may escape these threatened judgments.\n\n{373} NOTES.\n\n1. Settlement of Israel in Canaan.--Of the twelve tribes of\nIsrael, nine and a half were located to the west and two and a half to\nthe east of the Jordan. In this region they had been led by Joshua,\nMoses being only permitted to catch a distant glimpse of the promised\nland. After the death of Joshua, followed the period of Judges, which\nlasted about five centuries. The last of the judges was Samuel, who,\nwhen the people demanded a king, anointed Saul, 1095, B.C.--Anderson's\nGen. Hist.\n\n2. The Departure of the Ten Tribes for the North--They [the ten\ntribes] determined to go to a country \"where never man dwelt,\" that\nthey might be free from all contaminating influences. That country\ncould only be found in the north. Asia was already the seat of a\ncomparatively ancient civilizations; Egypt flourished in northern\nAfrica; and southern Europe was rapidly filling with the future\nrulers of the world. They had, therefore, no choice but to turn their\nfaces northward. The first portion of their journey was not, however,\nnorth; according to the account of Esdras, they appear to have at\nfirst moved in the direction of their old home, and it is possible\nthat they originally started with the intention of returning thereto,\nor probably in order to deceive the Assyrians, they started as if to\nreturn to Canaan, and when they crossed the Euphrates, and were out of\ndanger from the hosts of the Medes and Persians, then they turned their\njourneying feet toward the polar star. Esdras states that they entered\nin at the narrow passage of the river Euphrates, the Lord staying the\nsprings of the flood until they were passed over. The point on the\nriver Euphrates at which they crossed would necessarily be in its\nupper portion, as lower down would be too far south for their purpose.\nThe upper course of the Euphrates lies among lofty mountains near the\nvillage of Pastas; it plunges through a gorge formed by precipices\nmore than a thousand feet in height and so narrow that it is bridged\nat the top; it shortly afterwards enters the plain of Mesopotamia. How\naccurately this portion of the river answers to the description of\nEsdras of the \"Narrows,\" where the Israelites crossed!--Reynolds' Are\nwe of Israel? pp. 26-27.\n\n3. Final Overthrow of Judah.--According to Josephus (De Bell.\nJud. vi: 9, 3) 1,100,000 men fell in the siege of Jerusalem by Titus,\nand 79,000 were captured in the whole war. Of the latter number, the\ngreater part was distributed among the provinces, to be butchered in\nthe amphitheaters or cast to wild beasts; others were doomed to work\nas public slaves in Egypt; only those under the ages of seventeen were\nsold into private bondage. An equally dreadful destruction fell upon\nthe remains of the nation, which had once more assembled in Judea,\n{374} under the reign of Hadrian (A. D. 133), which Dion Cassius\nconcisely relates. By these two savage wars the Jewish population must\nhave been effectually extirpated from the Holy Land itself, a result\nwhich did not follow from the Babylonian captivity. Afterwards a dreary\nperiod of fifteen hundred years' oppression crushed in Europe all who\nbore the name of Israel, and Christian nations have visited on their\nhead a crime [the crucifixion of Messiah] perpetrated by a few thousand\ninhabitants of Jerusalem, who were not the real forefathers of the\nEuropean Jews. Nor in the east has their lot been much more cheering.\nWith a few partial exceptions, they have ever since been a despised,\nan oppressed and naturally a degraded people; though from them have\nspread light and truth to the distant nations of the earth.--Biblical\nLiterature (Kitto) vol. I, p. 39.\n\n4. Return of the Ten Tribes from the North.--Away in yonder\nnorth countries, where, I do not know, but away in those regions are\nten tribes of the house of Israel. How do you know they are in the\nnorth country? Because the Bible has told us that in the latter days\nthey should come out of the north country, and if they were not in the\nnorth country they could not come from there. Jeremiah says in his\nthirty-first chapter--\"Behold I will bring them from the north, the\nblind and the lame with them, and the woman with child; they shall\ncome, a great company out of the north countries.\" Where will they go\nto? Will they go immediately to Palestine, where they formerly had\ntheir inheritance. No. Jeremiah tells us where they will go, he tells\nthere is to be a place called Zion before these tribes come out of the\nnorth countries, and when they come with a great company, the blind and\nthe lame with them, and the Lord God leads them with supplication and\nwith tears and with prayers, bringing them forth from those dreary,\ndesolate, cold arctic regions; when that day shall come, there shall\nbe a Zion prepared to receive these ten tribes, before they finally\ngo back to Palestine. Is there anything in the scriptures about this?\nYes. In the same chapter of Jeremiah we read that, \"they shall come\nand sing in the height of Zion.\" Zion, then, will have to be built up\nbefore they come; Zion will have to be reared somewhere and prepared\nto receive them; and it will be a holy place, and it will be a holy\npeople who will build up Zion, so much so that the Lord will bring\nthese ten tribes into the height of Zion, into the midst of it.--Orson\nPratt--Journal of Discourses, vol. 18, p. 22, 23.\n\n5. All Nations Flowing Unto the House of the Lord.--One of\nthe features in the celebration of Pioneer Day--24th of July, the\nanniversary of the day the company of Pioneers entered Salt Lake\nValley, 1847--in Salt Lake City, 1880, was to have represented the\nvarious nationalities composing the population of Utah. A man and a\nwoman {375} of each nation from which people had been gathered by the\nproclamation of the gospel were selected as the representatives, each\npair bearing the national colors of their country. They occupied a\nplatform in the Tabernacle during the services, and after a historical\nsketch of the introduction of the gospel in the various nations was\nread by Orson Pratt, the representatives of the nations arose and\nPresident John Taylor said: \"I wish to state to the congregation that\nthe Lord commanded his servants to go forth to all the world to preach\nthe gospel to every creature. We have not yet been to all the world,\nbut here are twenty-five nations represented today, and we have thus\nfar fulfilled our mission.\"\n\n6. The Latter-day Saints of Israel.--The set time was come for\nGod to gather Israel, and for his work to commence upon the face of\nthe whole earth, and the elders who have arisen in this church and\nkingdom are actually of Israel. Take the elders who are in the house\n[the old Tabernacle in Salt Lake City], and you can scarcely find one\nout of a hundred but what is of the house of Israel. * * * Will we go\nto the Gentile nations to preach the gospel? Yes, and gather out the\nIsraelites wherever they are mixed among the nations of the earth. * *\n* Ephraim has become mixed with all the nations of the earth, and it\nis Ephraim that is gathering together. It is Ephraim that I have been\nsearching for all the days of my preaching, and that is the blood which\nran in my veins when I embraced the gospel. If there are any of the\nother tribes of Israel mixed with the Gentiles we are also searching\nafter them.--Brigham Young. From a Discourse preached April 8th, 1855.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What great work did the visit of Moses to the Kirtland Temple\ninaugurate?\n\n2. Who are Israel?\n\n3. Give a sketch of the history of Israel to the revolt of the ten\ntribes.\n\n4. How came the ten tribes to revolt?\n\n5. Give an account of the fall of the kingdom of Israel.\n\n6. Why are the ten tribes called the \"lost tribes?\"\n\n7. What evidence have you that they are in the north?\n\n8. Give the evidence to be found in the words of Jesus to the Nephites.\n\n{376} 9. What statement does the Apocryphal writer Esdras make\nrespecting the ten tribes? (Note 2.)\n\n10. Who were the Samaritans?\n\n11. What tribes formed the kingdom of Judah?\n\n12. Give an outline of the history of Judah to the birth of Messiah.\n\n13. What befell Judah about thirty years after the crucifixion of\nMessiah? (Note 3.)\n\n14. What can you say of miscellaneous dispersions?\n\n15. How came the blood of Israel sprinkled among all nations?\n\n16. What promises are made to scattered Israel?\n\n17. Quote the several passages from the Bible which predict the\ngathering of Israel.\n\n18. Quote the passages from the Book of Mormon.\n\n19. What progress has been made in the preparatory work of the ten\ntribes? (Note 4.)\n\n20. What progress has been made in the preparatory work?\n\n21. What prophecies are the Saints minutely fulfilling in gathering\ntogether in the mountains? (Note 5.)\n\n22. How do we know that the Latter-day Saints are of Israel? (Note 6.)\n\n23. For what object are the Saints gathering from Babylon?\n\n{377}\n\n\n\nSECTION VIII.\n\n1. Salvation for the Dead.--The appearing of Elijah the prophet,\nin the Kirtland Temple on the 3rd of April, 1836, was the introduction\nof another great work connected with the redemption of the human race.\nThat work is Salvation for the dead, the keys of which were given to\nthe Prophet Joseph Smith by Elijah, on the occasion of the appearing\nmentioned above. That event was an epoch in the history of this great\ndispensation. It began a revolution in the theology of the Christian\nworld. Up to that time--1836--it was universally believed by orthodox\nChristians that the souls of men who died without conversion to the\nChristian religion, were everlastingly lost. It was believed that the\napplication of the gospel of Jesus Christ was limited to this life; and\nthose who failed, through whatever cause, to obtain the benefits of the\nmeans of salvation it affords, are forever barred from such benefits.\n\"If the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place\nwhere the tree falleth, there it shall lie;\" [180] and they argued from\nthis that in whatever state a man died so he remained. If he died in\na state of justification his salvation was assured; but if not, then\njustification and consequently salvation was forever beyond his hope.\n\n2. This sectarian doctrine which does so much violence to the\njustice of God--since it closes the door of salvation against so\nmany thousands of God's children through no other circumstances than\nthat they never so much as heard of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and\ntherefore could not either believe or obey it-arose, first, through\na misconception of the doctrine of eternal punishment with which the\nwicked are threatened in the scriptures; and, second, through a very\nnarrow conception of the sure mercies of God.\n\n{378} 3. Christian Dogma of Eternal Judgment.--Christians believe\nthat to receive eternal punishment was to be punished eternally. This\npopular Christian error was corrected in a revelation to Martin Harris\nthrough Joseph Smith, even before the church was organized.[181]\nIn that revelation it is explained that God is \"Endless;\" that is\none of his names; as also is \"Eternal\" one of his names. \"Therefore\neternal punishment is God's punishment. Endless punishment is God's\npunishment.\" In other words, the punishment that will overtake the\nwicked is Eternal's punishment; Endless' punishment. But Christians,\nmistaking the name of the punishment for the sign of its duration,\ntaught that men were punished eternally for the sins committed in\nthis life. Then again God's punishment is eternal; that is, it always\nexists; it is eternal as God is, but the transgressor receives only\nso much of it, endures it only so long as may be necessary to satisfy\nthe reasonable claims of justice, tempered with mercy. Then, when\nthe insulted law is vindicated, the offender is released from the\npunishment. But as \"the bars survive the captive they enthrall,\" as the\nprison remains after the transgressor has served his time in it, so in\nGod's government, the punishment eternally remains after transgressors\nhave satisfied the claims of justice, and are relieved from its pains\nand penalties. It remains to vindicate the law of God whenever it shall\nbe broken. But men read--\"He that believeth not [the gospel] shall be\ndamned,\" [182] and they are taught to believe that they were damned\nto all eternity--that they were consigned forever to the flames of\nhell.[183] [See note 1, end of section.]\n\n{379} 4. One would think that right conceptions of the attributes\nof justice and mercy as they exist in God's character would lead\nmen to the rejection of the horrible dogma of eternal punishment as\ntaught by orthodox Christianity. But if that be not sufficient then\nthe scriptures themselves refute it, as will appear in the following\nparagraphs:\n\n5. Preaching to the Spirits in Prison.--From a remark made in\nthe writings of the Apostle Peter,[184] we learn that after Messiah\nwas put to death in the flesh \"He went and preached to the spirits in\nprison, which sometime [aforetime] were disobedient, when once the\nlong-suffering of God waiting in the days of Noah.\" During the three\ndays, then, that Messiah's body lay in the tomb at Jerusalem, his\nspirit was in the world of spirits preaching to those who had rejected\nthe preaching of righteous Noah. The Christian traditions no less than\nthe scriptures teach that Jesus went down into hell and preached to\nthose there held in ward. [See note 2, end of section.]\n\n6. Not only is the mere fact of Messiah's going to the spirit\nprison stated in the scripture, but the purpose of his going there is\nlearned from the same source. \"For this cause was {380} 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.\" [185] This manifestly means that these spirits who had once\nrejected the counsels of God against themselves, had the gospel again\npreached to them and had the privilege of living according to its\nprecepts in the spirit life, and of being judged according to men in\nthe flesh, or as men in the flesh are judged; that is, according to the\ndegree of their faithfulness to the precepts of the gospel.\n\n7. Naturally the question arises, Why was the gospel preached\nto the spirits in prison who had once been disobedient if there were\nno means by which it could be applied to them for their salvation? We\ncan scarcely suppose that Messiah would preach the gospel to them if\nit could do them no good. He did not go there to mock their sufferings\nor to add something to the torture of their damnation by explaining\nthe beauties of that salvation now forever beyond their reach! Such\na supposition would at once be revolting to reason, insulting to the\njustice of God, and utterly repugnant to the dictates of mercy!\n\n8. Following that question comes another: If the gospel is\npreached again to those who have once rejected it, how much sooner will\nit be presented to those who have never heard it, who have lived in\nthose generations when the gospel and the authority to administer its\nordinances were not in the earth? Seeing that those who once rejected\nthe offer of salvation had it presented to them again--after paying\nthe penalty of their first disobedience--it would seem that those who\nlived when it was not upon the earth, or who when it was upon the earth\nperished in ignorance of it, will much sooner come to salvation.\n\n9. Of the things we have written, this is the sum: (1) The gospel\nwas preached by Messiah to the spirits in prison who had rejected the\nteachings of Noah; therefore there must be {381} some means through\nwhich its precepts and ordinances may be applied to them. (2) If the\ngospel can be made available to those who once rejected the proffered\nmercies of God, its privileges will much sooner, and doubtless more\nabundantly be granted to those who died in ignorance of it.\n\n10. Baptism for the Dead.--The manner in which the ordinances\nof the gospel may be administered to those who have died without\nreceiving them is hinted at by Paul. Writing to the Corinthians on the\nsubject of the resurrection,--correcting those who said there was no\nresurrection--he asks: \"What shall they do which are baptized for the\ndead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the\ndead?\" [186] In this the apostle manifestly referred to a practice which\nexisted among the Christian saints of the living being baptized for\nthe dead, and argues from the existence of that practice that the dead\nmust rise, or why the necessity of being baptized for the dead. Though\nthis is the only passage in the New Testament, or in the whole Bible,\nthat refers directly to the subject, yet of itself it is sufficient to\nestablish the fact that such a principle was known among the ancient\nsaints. [See notes 3 and 4, end of section.]\n\n11. From the revelations of God to the church in this\ndispensation the following may be learned: Elijah, in the fulfillment\nof ancient prophecy, appeared unto Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and\ndelivered to them those keys or powers of the priesthood which give to\nthe living the right to do a work for the salvation of the dead. As a\nconsequence the hearts of the children are turned to the fathers; and\nof course, since the fathers in the spirit world through the preaching\nof the gospel learn that it is within the power of their children to do\na work for them, their hearts are turned to the children, and thus the\npredicted result to follow Elijah's mission is fulfilled.\n\n12. The work that the living may do for the dead is that of\nattending to outward ordinances--baptisms, confirmations, {382}\nordinations, washings; anointings and sealings--all being appointed\nby revelation and the direction of the Lord, and all sealed and\nratified by the power of the priesthood of God which binds on earth\nand in heaven. It is required that all baptisms and other ordinances\nof the gospel performed for the dead be attended to in houses--and\nmore properly in temples--specially dedicated for holy purposes. Those\nordinances are to be faithfully recorded by those who see and hear them\nperformed,[187] that there may be valid testimony that the work has\nbeen done. These ordinances attended to on earth by the living, and\naccepted in the spirit world by those for whom they are performed, will\nmake them a patent means of salvation to the dead and of exaltation\nto the living, since they become in very deed \"saviors upon Mount\nZion.\" This work that can be done for the dead enlarges one's view of\nthe gospel of Jesus Christ. One begins to see indeed that it is the\n\"everlasting gospel;\" for it runs parallel with man's existence both in\nthis life and in that which is to come. It vindicates the character of\nGod, for by it we may see that justice and judgment, truth and mercy\nare in all his ways. [See note 5, end of section.]\n\n13. Different Degrees of Glory.--Closely associated with the\nsubjects treated in the forgoing paragraphs of this section, is the\nsubject of the Different Degrees of Glory. Nothing is more clearly\nstated in holy writ than that men will be judged and rewarded according\nto their works. [188]And as their works vary in degree or righteousness\nso will their rewards vary, and so will they have bestowed upon them\ndifferent degrees of glory according as their works shall merit and\ntheir intelligence be capable of comprehending. Messiah said to his\ndisciples: \"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so\nI would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; * * * that\nwhere I am there ye may be also.\" [189] Still it is commonly held {383}\namong Christian sects that he who attains heaven partakes immediately\nof the highest glories; while he who misses heaven goes direct to hell\nand partakes of all its miseries forever.[190] Yet nothing is clearer\nthan the fact that there are different heavens spoken of in scripture\nand different degrees of glory. When Solomon dedicated the temple he\nhad builded, he exclaimed in his prayer--\"Behold the heaven and heaven\nof heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have\nbuilded!\" [191] Paul in writing to the Corinthians says \"I knew a man\nin Christ above fourteen years ago * * * such an one caught up to the\nthird heaven. And I knew such a man * * * how that he was caught up\ninto paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for\na man to utter.\" [192]\n\n14. Reasoning on the resurrection, the last writer quoted says:\n\"There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial; but the\nglory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is\nanother. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon,\nand another glory of the stars: for as one star differeth from another\nstar in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.\" [193] In all\nthis, however, the great subject is but vaguely hinted at. For a full\nunderstanding of it we are indebted to a revelation given to Joseph\nSmith, February {384} 16th, 1832. From that revelation we summarized\nthe following:[194]\n\n15. The Celestial Glory.--They who receive the testimony of\nJesus, that believe on his name and are baptized after the manner of\nhis burial; that by keeping the commandments they might be washed\nand cleansed from all sin, and receive the Holy Ghost by the laying\non of hands by those having authority; who overcome by faith, and\nare sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise--these become the church of\nthe First Born. They are they into whose hands the Father hath given\nall things--they are priests and kings, who have received of God's\nfullness, and of his glory; they are priests of the Most High, after\nthe order of Melchisedek, which is after the order of the Son of\nGod--therefore they are Gods, even the Sons of God. All things are\ntheirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come,\nall are theirs, and they are Christ's and Christ is God's. They shall\novercome all things; they shall dwell in the presence of God and Christ\nforever and forever; they are they whom Christ will bring with him when\nhe shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his\npeople; they have part in the resurrection of the just; their names\nare written in heaven, where God and Christ dwell; they are just men\nmade perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant; these are\nthey whose bodies are celestial, whose glory the sun in heaven is {385}\nspoken of as typical--they inherit the celestial glory, they see as\nthey are seen and know as they are known.\n\n16. The Terrestrial Glory.--The terrestrial glory differs from\nthe celestial glory as the light of the moon differs from the light of\nthe sun. These are they who died without law, and also they who are the\nspirits of men in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel\nunto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh,\nwho received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards\nreceived it. These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who\nwere blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of\nGod's glory but not of his fullness. They may enjoy the presence of the\nSon but not of the presence of the Father; these are they who are not\nvaliant in the testimony of Jesus, therefore they obtain not the crown\nover the kingdom of God.\n\n17. The Telestial Glory.--The telestial glory differs from the\nterrestrial, as the light of the stars differs from the light of the\nmoon. The inhabitants of the telestial glory are those who neither\nreceived the gospel of Christ in the flesh nor the testimony of Jesus\nin the spirit world. These are they who are thrust down to hell, and\nwill not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, when\nChrist shall have finished his work. These are they who are of Paul and\nof Apollos, and of Cephas. some of Christ and some of John, some of\nMoses and some of Elias; but received not the gospel nor the testimony\nof Jesus. These are they who will not be gathered with the Saints, to\nbe caught up unto the church of the First Born, and received into the\ncloud. These are liars and sorcerers and adulterers, and whoremongers,\nand whosoever loves and makes a lie. They suffer the wrath of God on\nearth and the vengeance of eternal fire, but they will be judged every\nman according to his works and receive according to his works, his\nown dominion, in the mansions which are prepared; and they shall be\nservants {386} of the Most High,[195] but where God and Christ dwell\nthey cannot come, worlds without end. They of the Telestial Glory\nenjoy neither the presence of the Father nor the Son, but receive the\nministration of angels, and of the Holy Ghost, for even they of the\nTelestial Glory are accounted heirs of salvation. The Prophet Joseph\nand Sidney Rigdon in their vision saw that the inhabitants of the\ntelestial glory were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of\nheaven, or as the sand upon the sea shore--and they heard the voice\nof God saying--\"These all shall bow the knee and every tongue shall\nconfess to Him who sits upon the throne forever and ever; for they\nshall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive\naccording to his own works, his own dominions, in the mansions which\nare prepared, and they shall be servants of the Most High, but where\nGod and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end.\"\n\n18. Degrees Within the Three Great Kingdoms of Glory.--These\nare the three great divisions of glory in the world to come, but\nwithin these great divisions are subdivisions or degrees. The Prophet\nJoseph taught that in the celestial glory there are three heavens or\ndegrees.[196] Of the telestial glory it is written: \"And the glory\nof the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one, for\nas one star differs from another star in glory even so differs one\nfrom another in glory in the telestial world.\" [197] From this it is\nevident that there are different degrees of glory within the celestial\nand telestial glories; and though we have no direct authority for the\nstatement, it seems but reasonable to conclude that there are different\ndegrees of glory in the terrestrial world also. It appears but rational\nthat it should be so, since the degrees of worthiness in men are almost\ninfinite in their variety; and as every man is to be judged according\nto his works, it will require {387} a corresponding infinity of degrees\nin glory to mete out to every man that reward of which he is worthy,\nand that also which his intelligence will enable him to enjoy.\n\n19. Progress Within and From Different Degrees of Glory.--The\nquestion of advancement within the great divisions of glory--celestial,\nterrestrial, and telestial; as also the question of advancement\nfrom one sphere of glory to another remains to be considered. In\nthe revelation from which we have summarized what has been written\nhere, in respect to the different degrees of glory, it is said that\nthose of the terrestrial glory will be ministered unto by those of\nthe celestial; and those of the telestial will be ministered unto by\nthose of the terrestrial--that is, those of the higher glory minister\nto those of a lesser order of glory. We can conceive of no reason for\nall this administration of the higher to the lower, unless it be for\nthe purpose of advancing our Father's children along the lines of\neternal progression. Whether or not in the great future, full of so\nmany possibilities now hidden from us, they of the lesser glories after\neducation and advancement within those spheres may at last emerge from\nthem and make their way to the higher degrees of glory until at last\nthey attain to the highest, is not revealed in the revelations of God,\nand any statement made on the subject must partake more or less of the\nnature of conjecture.\n\n20. But if it be granted that such a thing is possible, they who\nat the first entered into the celestial glory--having before them the\nprivilege also of eternal progress--have been moving onward, so that\nthe relative distance between them and those who have fought their way\nup from the lesser glories, may be as great when the latter have come\ninto the degrees of celestial glory in which the righteous at first\nstood, as it was at the commencement; and thus between them is an\nimpassable gulf which time cannot destroy. Thus: those whose faith and\nworks are such only as to entitle them to inherit a telestial glory,\nmay arrive at last where those whose works in this life were such as\n{388} to entitle them to entrance into the celestial kingdom--they may\narrive where these were but never where they are.\n\n21. Sons of Perdition.--There is a class of souls with whom the\njustice of God must deal, which will not and cannot be classified in\nthe celestial, terrestrial or telestial glories.\n\nThey are the sons of perdition. But though they will not be assigned\na place in either of these grand divisions of glory, the revelation\nfrom which we have drawn our information respecting man's future state\ndescribes the condition of these sons of perdition so far as it is made\nknown unto the children of men. It also informs us as to the nature of\nthe crime which calls for such grievous punishment.\n\n22. The sons of perdition are they of whom God hath said that\nit had been better for them never to have been born; for they are\nvessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil\nand his angels in eternity. Concerning whom he hath said there is no\nforgiveness in this world nor the world to come. These are they who\nshall go away into everlasting punishment, with the devil and his\nangels, and the only ones on whom the second death shall have any\npower; the only ones who will not be redeemed in the due time of the\nLord, after the sufferings of his wrath. He saves all the works of his\nhands except these sons of perdition; but they go away to reign with\nthe devil and his angels in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and\nthe fire is not quenched, which is their torment. The end thereof, the\nplace thereof no man knoweth. It has not been revealed, nor will it be\nrevealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof. It\nhas been partially shown to some in vision, and may be shown again in\nthe same partial manner to others; but the end, the width, the height,\nthe depth and the misery thereof they understand not, nor will any one\nbut those who receive the terrible condemnation.\n\n23. Such the punishment, now as to the crime that merits it.\nIt is the crime of high treason to God which pulls down on {389} men\nthis fearful doom. It falls upon men who know the power of God and\nwho have been made partakers of it, and then permit themselves to be\nso far overcome of the devil that they deny the truth that has been\nrevealed to them and defy the power of God. They deny the Holy Ghost\nafter having received it. They deny the Only Begotten Son of the Father\nafter the Father hath revealed him, and in this crucify him unto\nthemselves anew, and put him to an open shame. They commit the same\nact of high treason that Lucifer in the rebellion of heaven did, and\nhence are worthy of the same punishment with him. Thank God, the number\nwho commit that fearful crime is but few. It is only those who attain\nto a very great knowledge of the things of God that are capable of\ncommitting it, and the number among such are few indeed who become so\nrecklessly wicked as to rebel against and defy the power of God.[198]\nBut when such characters do fall, they fall like Lucifer, never to\nrise again; they get beyond the power of repentance, or the hope of\nforgiveness.\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. The Sectarian Dogma of Eternal Punishment.--There is nothing\nmore obnoxious to a reasonable mind, a loving heart, a soul susceptible\nto the relative claims of justice and mercy, than the Presbyterian and\nother old ecclesiastical school doctrines of an eternal, material,\nunchanging hell of fire and torment in which the unregenerate are\ndoomed to suffer the implacable wrath of an unrelenting Deity forever\nand forever, worlds without end. * * * And it is not true. It was not\nand is not a doctrine of Christ. It sprang from the gloom-clothed\nbrains of cloistered monks and heretic-burning priests, bearing not\na vestige of the sacred authority vested in the apostles and their\nimmediate associates. It is redolent of the Auto de fe, and stamped\nwith the bloody seal of apostate papal Rome. It breathes of vengeance\ninstead of justice, and banishes sweet mercy {390} from the economy of\nheaven. It makes God more cruel than the most inhuman mortal. It is a\nlibel on the Almighty and a fruitful cause of atheism, irreverence and\ndoubt.--Penrose.\n\n2. Messiah Preaching to the Spirits in Prison.--In the second and\nthird centuries every branch and division of the Christian church, so\nfar as their record enables us to judge, believed that Christ preached\nto the departed; and this belief dates back to our earliest reliable\nsources of information in the former of those two centuries.--Christ's\nMission to the Under World, (Huidekoper), fourth edition, p. 49.\n\nAs Christ died for us, and was buried, so also is it to be believed,\nthat he went down into hell.--Articles of Religion--Church of\nEngland--Art. III, Book of Common Prayer, p. 311.\n\nThese \"spirits in prison\" are supposed to be the holy dead. * * * The\nmost intelligent meaning suggested by the context is, however, that\nChrist by his spirit preached to those who in the time of Noah, while\nthe Ark was a preparing, were disobedient, and whose spirits are now in\nprison, abiding the general judgment. The prison is doubtless hades,\nbut what hades is must be determined by other passages of scripture;\nand whether it is the grave or hell, it is still a prison for those who\nyet await the judgment day.--Cyclopedia Biblical Literature (Kitto), p.\n798.\n\n3. Baptism for the Dead.--While not maintaining the view that\nthere is such a thing as a living man being baptized for one who is\ndead, the writer in Biblical Literature (Kitto), expresses these views:\n\"From the wording of the sentence [why then are they baptized for the\ndead?] the most simple impression certainly is, that Paul speaks of a\nbaptism which a living man receives in the place of a dead one. This\ninterpretation is particularly adopted by those expounders with whom\ngrammatical construction is of paramount importance, and the first\nthing to be considered.\" This view is also upheld by Ambrose among the\nearly Christian writers; and by Erasmus, Scaliger, Grotius, Calixtus\namong the moderns; and still more recently by Augusti Meyer, Billroth\nand Ruckert. De Wette considers this the only possible meaning of the\nwords.\n\n4. Epiphanius, a writer of the fourth century, in speaking of the\nMarcionites, a sect of Christians to whom he was opposed, says: \"In\nthis country--I mean Asia--and even Galatea, their school flourished\neminently; and a traditional fact concerning them has reached us, that\nwhen any of them had died without baptism, they used to baptize others\nin their name, lest in the resurrection they should suffer punishment\nas unbaptized\" (Heresies xxviii:7). This proves beyond controversy the\nfact that vicarious baptism for the dead was practiced among some sects\nof the early Christians. Another fact proves it still more emphatically\nthan this statement by Epiphanius. The Council of Carthages, held A. D.\n397, in its sixth canon, forbids the {391} administration of baptism\nand holy communion for the dead; why should this canon be formed\nagainst these practices if they had no existence among the Christians\nof those days?--The Gospel, page 246.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What great work did Elijah's visit to the Kirtland Temple introduce?\n\n2. What was the Christian belief previous to this in respect to those\nwho died without conversion to the Christian religion?\n\n3. Through what cause did this error arise?\n\n4. Explain the meaning of \"Eternal\" punishment--\"Endless\" punishment.\n\n5. What scripture teaches that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison?\n\n6. For what purpose was the gospel preached to those who once rejected\nit?\n\n7. If the gospel was preached again to those who once rejected it, what\nmay we conclude in respect to those who never heard it in this life?\n\n8. By what means is the gospel made available to those who died without\na knowledge of it, or who hearing, rejected it?\n\n9. Give an exposition of baptism for the dead. (Notes 3 and 4.)\n\n10. What is the scriptural doctrine in relation to the future rewards\nof men?\n\n11. What is the orthodox Christian view in respect to those who attain\nunto heaven?\n\n12. In what does the Catholic view differ from that of the Protestant?\n(Note, p. 414.)\n\n13. What evidences in the scripture can you quote to prove that there\nare different kingdoms or degrees of glory in heaven?\n\n14. Say what you can of the celestial glory.\n\n15. Describe as far as you can the terrestrial glory.\n\n16. In what does the telestial glory differ from the terrestrial?\n\n17. What class of people inherit the telestial glory?\n\n18. What can you say of degrees within the three great kingdoms of\nglory?\n\n19. What can you say of progress within and from the different degrees\nof glory?\n\n20. What can you say of the sons of perdition and their punishment?\n\n21. What is the nature of their sin?\n\n22. What of the number of those who commit it?\n\n{392}\n\n\n\nSECTION IX.\n\n1. The Breaking up at Kirtland.--The keys of knowledge respecting\nthe great doctrines treated in the last two sections were received\nin the Kirtland temple; and for a time it appeared that the Saints\nwould long enjoy the blessings of their temple and the communion\nand instruction of heavenly messengers. But not so. With prosperity\nwhich attended them there, came pride, envyings, jealousies and\nheart-burnings. Their temporal prosperity existed but a brief period.\nIt was carried away by the wave of financial disaster which swept\nover the United States in 1837. Then came financial embarrassment,\naccompanied with charges and counter-charges of fraud and dishonesty.\nApostasy among men high in authority was rife. Several of the twelve\napostles went down in those dark days, and became bitter enemies to the\nProphet Joseph. To such an extent did the spirit of apostasy prevail\nthat it became murderous; and the prophet and a number of his most\ndevoted friends had to flee from Kirtland for their lives. [See note 1,\nend of section.]\n\n2. The Founding of Far West--Expulsion From Missouri.--Meantime\nthe Saints in Missouri who were driven from Jackson county, in the\nlatter part of 1833, removed from their temporary locations in Clay\nCounty, and settled in the new county of Caldwell, where they founded\nthe city of Far West. It was to Far West that the Prophet Joseph and\nother church leaders fled when compelled to leave Kirtland. But there\nwas little rest for the church in Missouri; persecution was threatened\n{393} before the prophet arrived, and his presence only seemed to\nhasten the impending storm. In the autumn of 1838 it broke upon the\nchurch in all its fury, and during that winter the entire church was\nexpelled from the State by order of its governor, Lilburn W. Boggs.\n[See note 2, end of section.]\n\n3. The Rise of Nauvoo.--While the Saints were being expelled from\nthe state the Prophet Joseph and several other leading elders were\nimprisoned in Liberty jail, Clay county, Missouri, having been betrayed\ninto the hands of their enemies by the treachery of false brethren.\nThey were held on false charges of murder, arson and treason. They\nfinally made their escape from their enemies and joined the body of\nthe church, which had found a temporary resting place in the city of\nQuincy and vicinity, in Illinois. Shortly afterwards they settled at\nCommerce, in Hancock county, in the same state. The church purchased\nseveral large tracts of land at this place of Dr. Galland, a Mr. White,\nHubbard, Wells, Hotchkiss, and others; and soon from the wilderness\nand bogs of Commerce--[See note 3, end of section]--rose the city\nof Nauvoo--meaning The Beautiful; \"carrying with it also,\" says the\nProphet Joseph, \"the idea of rest.\"\n\n4. Although both Joseph and the Saints saw some of their best\ndays in Nauvoo, there was not much \"rest\" for them there, especially\nfor the former. The toil and anxiety of founding a city, establishing\nmanufactures, publishing a paper, and converting the surrounding\ncountry into fields and gardens; sending the apostles to preach the\ngospel in foreign lands, being all the time tormented by their enemies\nin Missouri and Illinois, kept the church, and especially the Prophet\nJoseph, busy during the whole time they remained in Nauvoo. Here the\ntranslation of the Book of Abraham was published. [See note 4, end of\nsection.] A magnificent temple was constructed in which to carry on the\nwork of salvation for the dead, and in which the living could receive\nthose washings and anointings, endowments and {394} sealings, necessary\nto prepare them for their entrance into and their exaltation in heaven.\n\n5. Celestial Marriage Introduced.--It was in Nauvoo also that\nthe prophet introduced celestial marriage,--the marriage system which\nobtains in celestial worlds. It consists of the eternity of the\nmarriage covenant, that is, the marriage covenant between a man and his\nwife is made for time and all eternity, and being sealed by that power\nof the priesthood which binds on earth and in heaven, the covenant\nholds good in heaven as well as on earth; and by reason of it men will\nhave claim upon their wives, and wives upon their husbands, in and\nafter the resurrection. Celestial marriage may also include a plurality\nof wives.\n\n6. Eternity of the Marriage Covenant.--This new marriage\nsystem--new at least to this generation--completely revolutionized the\nideas of the Saints in respect to the marriage institution. In common\nwith the Christian sects, they had regarded marriage vaguely as an\ninstitution to exist in this world only; and married their wives as\nother Christians did and now do--until death shall them part. But by\nthe revelation which the prophet made known at Nauvoo, they learned\nthat in celestial spheres the marriage covenant exists eternally, and\nthat the pleasing joys of family ties and associations coupled with\nthe power of endless increase, contributes to the happiness, power and\ndominion of those who attain to the celestial glory. What a revelation\nwas here! Instead of the God-given power of pro-creation being one of\nthe things that is to pass away, it is one of the chief means of man's\nexaltation and glory in that great eternity, which like an endless\nvista stretches out before him! Through it man attains to the glory\nof the endless increase of eternal lives, and the right of presiding\nas priest and patriarch, king and lord, over his ever-increasing\nposterity. Instead of the commandment--\"Be fruitful, multiply and\nreplenish the earth,\" being an unrighteous law, it is one {395} by\nmeans of which the race of Gods is perpetuated, and it is as holy and\npure as the commandment, \"Repent and be baptized.\" Through that law,\nin connection with an observance of all the other laws of the gospel,\nman will yet attain unto the power of the Godhead,[199] and like his\nFather--God--his chief glory shall be to bring to pass the eternal life\nand happiness of man.\n\n{396} 7. Plurality of Wives.--Celestial marriage, as already\nobserved, may include a plurality of wives. This was as great an\ninnovation as marriage for eternity. It came in conflict with the\neducation and tradition of the Saints, and the sentiments of the age.\nStill God had commanded it through his prophet, and though their\nprejudices--the fruit of their traditions--revolted against it, the\nfaithful to whom it was revealed resolved to obey it.\n\n8. It was in 1831 that plural marriage was first made known to\nJoseph Smith. In that year he was engaged in revising by inspiration\nthe Jewish Scriptures;[200] and observing with what favor the Lord\nregarded the early patriarchs, and many of the kings and prophets of\nthe Jews who had a plurality of wives, he inquired of God how it was he\njustified them in that thing. The Lord in answer revealed the law of\ncelestial marriage. But the time had not come for the Saints to enter\ninto its practice, and hence the prophet kept it locked up a secret in\nhis own breast, with the exception of saying to one or two of his most\nconfidential friends that plural marriage was a correct principle. [See\nnote 4, end of section.] In 1841 the prophet introduced the practice of\nthis principle into the church by taking to himself plural wives.[201]\nHe also taught the principle to a number of the leading elders and they\nobeyed it.\n\n{397}NOTES.\n\n1. Prosperity and Disaster which Overwhelmed the Church at\nKirtland.--Speculation was rife all over the United States at\nthat time, [1837] and the Saints did not escape the contagion.\nThey started a banking institution, engaged in mercantile pursuits\nand land speculation. For a time they were prosperous and wealth\nrapidly accumulated among them. Sidney Rigdon declared, in a burst of\nenthusiasm, that the glory of the latter days was now being ushered\nin, and that Zion would soon become the glory of the whole earth; when\nthe Lord for silver would bring gold; for iron, brass; and for stones,\niron. But a wave of financial disaster swept over the entire country.\nBanking institutions went down before it; thousands of merchants were\nhopelessly ruined; and in the general disaster Kirtland did not escape.\nLike the inhabitants of other towns, her people were overwhelmed with\nfinancial embarrassment. \"Distress, ruin and poverty,\" says Elder\nTaylor, \"seemed to prevail. Apostates and corrupt men were prowling\nabout as so many wolves seeking whom they might devour. They were\noppressive, cruel, heartless, devising every pretext that the most\nsatanic malignity could invent to harass the Saints. Fraud, false\naccusation and false swearing, vexatious law suits, personal violence,\nand bare-faced robbery abounded. They were truly afficted, persecuted\nand tormented.\"--Life of John Taylor, p. 52.\n\n2. Persecution of the Saints in Missouri.--This brings us to the\nclose of our story of the Missouri Persecutions. We have seen a people\nstart out under the direction of the Lord to build up the city of Zion\nto his holy name; but who, through their disobedience and failure to\nobserve strictly those conditions upon which the Lord promised them\nsuccess in accomplishing so great and glorious a work, were driven\nentirely from the State where that city is to be erected. We have seen\na proud, sovereign state, with a constitution that guaranteed the\nlargest possible religious and civil liberty to its citizens, ignore\nthe spirit and letter of that constitution; shamelessly violate the\nlaws passed in pursuance of it; and the officers of the state, from\nthe chief executive down, combine to destroy the Saints of God, or\ndrive them from the State: in accomplishing which they were guilty of\nthe most cruel barbarity. It is no palliation of their offense to say\nthat the Saints had not strictly kept the commandments of God. Their\noffenses were against the laws of God rather than the laws of man. So\nfar as the state of Missouri was concerned, she was not justified in\ntrampling on her own constitution and laws, and committing outrages\nthat would bring to the cheek of {398} a savage the blush of shame. It\nwas a case where offenses must needs come, but woe, woe, unto them by\nwhom they come!--Missouri Persecutions--Roberts.\n\n3. Commerce, Afterwards Nauvoo.--The place was literally a\nwilderness. The land was mostly covered with trees and bushes, and\nmuch of it was so wet that it was with the utmost difficulty a footman\ncould get through, and totally impossible for teams. Commerce was\nunhealthful, very few could live there; but believing that it might\nbecome a healthful place by the blessing of heaven to the Saints, and\nno more eligible place presenting itself, I considered it wisdom to\nmake an attempt to build up a city.--Joseph Smith.\n\n4. The Book of Abraham.--The rolls of papyrus filled with\nEgyptian characters and hieroglyphics, from which Joseph translated\nthe Book of Abraham, came into his possession in the following manner:\nIn 1831 the celebrated French traveler, Antonio Sebolo, penetrated\nEgypt as far as the ancient city of Thebes, under a license procured\nfrom Mehemet Ali--then Viceroy of Egypt--through the influence of\nChevalier Drovetti, the French Consul. Sebolo employed four hundred\nand thirty-three men for four months and two days, either Turkish or\nEgyptian soldiers, paying them from four to six cents a day per man.\nThey entered the Catatombs near ancient Thebes on the seventh of June,\n1831, and procured eleven mummies. These were shipped to Alexandria,\nand from there the great traveler started with his treasures for Paris.\nBut en route for the French capital, Sebolo put in at Trieste, where\nhe was taken sick, and after an illness of ten days, died. This was\nin 1832. Previous to his death he willed his Egyptian treasures to\nhis nephew, Michael H. Chandler, who was then living in Philadelphia,\nPennsylvania, but whom Sebolo believed to be in Dublin, to which city\nhe ordered the mummies shipped. Mr. Chandler ordered the mummies\nforwarded to New York from Dublin, where he took possession of them.\nHere the coffins for the first time were opened, and in them was found\ntwo rolls of papyrus covered with engraving. While still in the customs\nhouse, Mr. C. was informed by a gentleman, a stranger to him, that\nno one in the city could translate the characters; but was referred\nto Joseph Smith, who, the stranger informed him, possessed some\nkind of gift or power by which he had previously translated similar\ncharacters. Joseph Smith was then unknown to Mr. C. The mummies were\nshipped to Philadelphia; and from there Mr. C. traveled through the\ncountry, exhibited them and the rolls of papyrus, reaching Kirtland\nin July, 1835, and the Saints purchased some of the mummies and the\ntwo rolls of papyrus, one of which was the writing of Abraham and the\nother of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt. The Book of Abraham has been\ntranslated and published, at least in part. {399} [See Pearl of Great\nPrice. Elder George Reynolds has published a work on this subject, \"The\nDivine Authenticity of the Book of Abraham,\" which should be carefully\nstudied by every elder in Israel.]\n\n5. The Establishment of Plural Marriage.--The principle of\nplural marriage was first revealed to Joseph Smith in 1831, but being\nforbidden to make it public, or to teach it as a doctrine of the\ngospel, at that time, he confided the facts to only a very few of\nhis intimate associates. Among them were Oliver Cowdery and Lyman E.\nJohnson, the latter confiding the fact to his traveling companion,\nElder Orson Pratt, in the year 1832. And this great principle remained\nconcealed in the bosoms of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the few to whom\nhe revealed it, until he was commanded, about 1842, to instruct the\nleading members of the priesthood, and those who were most faithful\nand intelligent, and best prepared to receive it. In relation thereto,\nat which time and subsequently until his martyrdom, the subject in\nconnection with the great principles of baptism, redemption and\nsealing for the dead, became the great theme of his life, and as the\nlate President George A. Smith repeatedly said to me and others--\"The\nprophet seemed irresistibly moved by the power of God to establish that\nprinciple not only in theory, in the hearts and minds of his brethren,\nbut in practice also, he himself having led the way.\"--Joseph F. Smith.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. What appeared to be the prospects of the Saints at Kirtland?\n\n2. What influence did wealth have upon them?\n\n3. What did the great apostasy at Kirtland result in?\n\n4. State what you can about the founding of Far West.\n\n5. What effect did the presence of the Prophet Joseph have in Missouri?\n\n6. Tell what you can of the expulsion from Nauvoo.\n\n7. Where did the church find a temporary resting place after its\nexpulsion from Missouri?\n\n8. Where did the church next settle?\n\n9. What is the meaning of the word \"Nauvoo?\"\n\n10. What can you say of Nauvoo being a place of rest to the Prophet\nJoseph and the Saints?\n\n11. Enumerate the several things which employed the attention of the\nProphet and the Saints at Nauvoo.\n\n{400} 12. Where was celestial marriage introduced?\n\n13. What is celestial marriage?\n\n14. In what light was celestial marriage looked upon by the Saints?\n\n15. What was the effect of this principle upon their minds?\n\n16. Is it sacrilege to believe that man may become like his\nFather--God? (See note.)\n\n17. What beside marriage for eternity may celestial marriage include?\n\n18. When was the rightfulness of plural marriage first made known to\nthe Prophet Joseph?\n\n19. About what time was this principle introduced into the Church?\n\n20. Under what circumstances and on what date was the revelation on\ncelestial marriage written out? (See foot note, also note 5.)\n\n{401}\n\n\n\nSECTION X.\n\n1. Martyrdom of the Prophets.--The relentless persecution which\nhad followed the Prophet Joseph Smith ever since he first announced\nthat he had received a revelation from God, culminated at last in his\nand his brother Hyrum's martyrdom, at Carthage jail, Hancock county,\nIllinois, on the 27th of June, 1844. Religious prejudices and political\njealousies, combined with the treason of wicked apostates from the\nchurch in Nauvoo, are the forces which led to this sad result. The\ntwo brothers were murdered in Carthage prison while awaiting trial on\na false charge of treason against the State of Illinois. They were\nunder the immediate protection of the officers of the state, the\ngovernor thereof having only the day before pledged the honor of the\nState for their protection. Notwithstanding all this a mob of from\none to two hundred surrounded the prison where they were confined,\nforced the door, killed the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum, and\nseverely wounded Apostle John Taylor, who, with Willard Richards, was a\nvoluntary inmate of the prison with the brothers Smith.[202]\n\n2. The martyrdom of the prophet has an importance second only\nto the crucifixion of Messiah; for in his martyrdom he sealed his\ntestimony with his blood, and thenceforth it is made binding on all\nthe world. \"For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be\nthe death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are\ndead; otherwise it is of no {402} strength at all while the testator\nliveth.\" [203] The Dispensation of the Fullness of Times doubtless\nrequired a testimony such as Joseph Smith bore to the world, to be\nsealed with his blood, else the tragedy at Carthage would not have been\npermitted.\n\n3. The Twelve Apostles Succeed in Presidency.--After the death\nof the Prophet Joseph, the Twelve--the quorum standing next to the\nFirst Presidency, and equal in authority to that quorum--took charge of\nthe affairs of the church. Sidney Rigdon, who with Hyrum Smith was a\ncounselor in the first presidency, pressed his claims to be recognized\nas the \"guardian\" or president of the church, but he was rejected by\nthe Saints, and the twelve were sustained for the time being as the\npresiding quorum of the church.[204]\n\n4. Expulsion from Illinois.--When the enemies of the Saints\nin Illinois saw that the killing of the prophet did not destroy the\nchurch, they agitated the question of driving them from the state,\nand such was the influence of the mob, and such the cowardice and\nweakness of the state officials, that they were entirely successful in\nthe undertaking. The Saints were compelled to leave the state under\ncircumstances of the utmost cruelty, sacrificing very much of their\nproperty, the city they had founded and the temple they had built.\n\n5. Flight to the West--Why.--When compelled to leave Illinois,\nthe Saints turned their faces westward. The country west of the\nMissouri was unoccupied, except by wandering tribes of Indians, and\nthey might look for that peace in the vast wilderness of the west which\nhad been refused them in the Christian, civilized states of the east.\nBut what caused them to look to the west for an abiding place--even\nmore than the fact that the west was unoccupied--was the frequent\npredictions {403} of the Prophet Joseph that the Saints would yet\nremove to the Rocky Mountains and become a great people. [See note 1,\nend of section.] Here, too, in the tops of the Rocky Mountains they\ncould fulfill better than anywhere else the predictions of the ancient\nprophets. [See note 2, end of section.]\n\n6. Arrival in Salt Lake Valley.--Westward, therefore, they\nturned their faces; the pioneer company--consisting of one hundred and\nforty-three men and three women--crossed the plains in 1847, arriving\nin Salt Lake Valley on the 24th of July of that year. They made their\nencampment on the present site of Salt Lake City, and soon afterwards\nlaid off the city and began the erection of permanent homes.\n\n7. Reorganization of the First Presidency.--At Winter Quarters,\nDecember 5, 1847, the first presidency of the church was reorganized.\nBrigham Young was nominated and sustained as the president, with\nauthority to choose his two counselors. He selected Heber C. Kimball\nand Willard Richards for first and second counselors, respectively, and\nthey were unanimously sustained by the church.\n\n8. Brigham Young.[205]--Brigham Young acted as the president of\nthe church for thirty years--for thirty-three years, if the three years\nthat the quorum of the twelve (of which he was president) acted as the\npresiding quorum of the church, be counted. In the course of these\nthirty-three eventful years this truly great man conducted the exodus\nof the Saints from Nauvoo; led them across the wide extended plains\nwhich form the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains; established\nthem in Salt Lake and surrounding valleys, located and laid out many\nof their settlements, and taught them not only the moral precepts of\nthe gospel, but how to produce from the elements, sterile as they\nthen seemed, the necessaries and comforts {404} of life. Through his\nwisdom--God-given--he laid the foundation of the present commonwealth\nof Utah. Just previous to his death he organized the settlements of the\nchurch into Stakes of Zion, as we now know them, and set in order the\nvarious quorums of the priesthood.\n\n9. President Young was a natural leader among men--a master\nspirit. His genius especially manifested itself in his ability to\norganize and govern men. He had not only been the president of the\nchurch and the first governor of Utah, but he was also the friend\nof the people. In times of trial and sorrow they turned to him for\ncomfort; in times of danger they looked to him to direct their action;\nin times of perplexity they went to him for the word of the Lord; and\nBrigham Young, full of heaven-inspired wisdom, never failed them in any\nof these things. [See note 3, end of section.]\n\n10. The Twelve again Presiding.--At the death of President\nBrigham Young, August 29, 1877, the quorum of the twelve apostles\nagain became the temporary presiding quorum of the church, with John\nTaylor at their head. [See note 4, end of section.] The quorum of the\ntwelve continued to act as the presiding quorum of the church until\nthe October conference of 1880, when the first presidency was again\norganized. John Taylor was chosen president, and he selected George Q.\nCannon for his first, and Joseph F. Smith for his second counselor.\n\n11. John Taylor.--President John Taylor came to the high office\nof president of the church late in life, in his seventy-second year.\nHe joined the church in his early manhood, in 1836, and two years\nlater was ordained into the quorum of the twelve apostles. He was a\ntrusted friend of the Prophet Joseph, and was in prison with him when\nhe was martyred, and he himself was wounded nigh unto death. He had\nbeen prominent in all leading events of the church from the time he was\nordained an apostle until he became the president thereof. He was a man\nof wide experience, profound judgment, and unwavering {405} integrity.\n[See note 5, end of section.] He entered upon the performance of his\nhigh duties with a zeal and vigor only to be expected of a younger man.\nHe was careful to set in order the several quorums of the priesthood,\nand insist upon each man doing his duty. The seven years of his\nadministration as president of the church will be remembered as among\nthe most eventful in the history of the church. It was during those\nyears that the judicial crusade was inaugurated by the United States\nand most vigorously carried on against the Saints for the suppression\nof plural marriage.\n\n12. Wilford Woodruff--His Administration.--President Taylor died\non the 25th of July, 1887, and once more the quorum of the twelve\napostles became the presiding quorum of the church. They continued to\nact in that capacity, with Wilford Woodruff as president, until April\n7, 1889, when the first presidency was again reorganized, with Wilford\nWoodruff as president. He retained the counselors of the late President\nTaylor, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, as his counselors.\n\n13. The persecution which the United States had inflicted upon\nthe church on the pretext of suppressing plural marriage culminated in\n1890 in the discontinuance of the practice of that principle. It may\nbe well here to enumerate those circumstances which led to the above\nresult. It has already been stated how plural marriage was introduced\nand practiced in Nauvoo. After the church settled in Salt Lake valley\nit was publicly proclaimed as a doctrine of the church in 1852. The\npractice of it then was public, the whole church--and at that time the\nmembers of the church comprised nearly the whole community--approving\nthe principle, which was at once recognized as a proper religious\ninstitution.\n\n14. Enactments of Congress Against Plural Marriage.--For ten\nyears the practice in Utah of this system of marriage met with no\nopposition from the United States. But {406} in 1862 a law was enacted\nby Congress to punish and prevent the practice of polygamy in the\nTerritories of the United States.[206] The penalties affixed were\na fine, not to exceed five hundred dollars, and imprisonment not\nto exceed five years. For twenty years, however, the law remained\npractically a dead letter. It was claimed by the Saints that it was an\ninfringement of the religious liberty guaranteed by the Constitution\n[207] of the United States, since it prohibited the free exercise\nof religion. For twenty years no pronounced effort was made by the\nofficers of the general government to enforce the law. In 1882,\nhowever, the law enacted twenty years before was supplemented by\nwhat is known as the Edmunds Law. In addition to defining the crime\npolygamy--for which it retained the same penalties as the law of\n1862--the Edmunds law also made the cohabiting with more than one\nwoman a crime, punishable by a fine not to exceed three hundred\ndollars, and by imprisonment not to exceed six months. This law also\nrendered persons who were living in polygamy, or who believed in its\nrightfulness, incompetent to act as grand or petit jurors; and also\ndisqualified all polygamists for voting or holding office. This law of\n1882 was supplemented by the Edmunds-Tucker law--enacted in 1887--which\nmade the legal wife or husband, in case of polygamy or unlawful\ncohabitation, a competent witness, provided the accused consented\nthereto; it also enlarged the powers of United States commissioners and\nmarshals, and required certificates of all marriages to be filed in the\noffice of the probate court. The violation of this last provision was a\nfine of one thousand dollars, and imprisonment for two years. The law\ndisincorporated the church, and ordered the supreme court to wind up\nits affairs, and take possession of the escheated property.\n\n{407} 15. The laws were rigorously enforced by the United States\nofficials, special appropriations being made by Congress to enable\nthem to carry on a judicial crusade against the Saints. The prominent\nchurch officials were driven into retirement; others into exile. Homes\nwere disrupted; family ties were rent asunder. Upwards of a thousand\nmen endured fines and imprisonment in the penitentiary rather than be\nuntrue to their families. Every effort of the government to deprive the\npeople of what was considered their religious liberty was stubbornly\ncontested in the Courts until the decision of the supreme court of\nthe United States was obtained. While some of the proceedings of the\ncourts in Utah in enforcing the anti-polygamy laws were condemned, the\nlaws were sustained as constitutional. The court also held that the\nfirst amendment to the Constitution, which provides that Congress shall\nnot prohibit the free exercise of religion, cannot be invoked against\nlegislation for the punishment of plural marriages. Meantime government\nwas relentless, and still more stringent measures than those already\nenacted were threatened.\n\n16. Discontinuance of Plural Marriages.--In the midst of\nthese afflictions and threatening portents President Wilford Woodruff\nbesought the Lord in anguish and prayer and the Lord inspired him\nto issue the manifesto which discontinued the practice of plural\nmarriages. At the semi-annual conference in October following, the\naction of President Woodruff was sustained by unanimous vote of the\nconference and plural marriages are discontinued in the church. [See\nnotes 6, 7, 8, end of section.]\n\n17. In this matter of plural marriage the Latter-say Saints are\nneither responsible for its introduction nor for its discontinuance.\nThe Lord commanded its practice, and in the face of the sentiment of\nages, and in opposition to the teachings of their own traditions, many\nof the Saints obeyed the commandment, and in the midst of weakness,\ndifficulties and dangers {408} sought to carry out the law as revealed\nto them. For about half a century they maintained its practice in the\nface of opposition sufficient to appall the stoutest hearts. They\ndefended it in the public press proclaimed it from the pulpit, debated\nit on the platform with all those who chose to assail it, and practiced\nit in their lives, notwithstanding fines and imprisonments threatened;\nand when the power of the government was vigorously employed to enforce\nits laws against this institution, hundreds of men cheerfully endured\nboth fines and imprisonment rather than be untrue to it. A whole\ngeneration had been grown and had grown to manhood and womanhood in\nthis marriage system, and the affections of family ties were entwined\nwith it. Then, under the pressure of suffering brought upon the people\nthrough the laws of the United States, the Lord inspired the president\nof the church to proclaim its discontinuance, and the people, with\nhearts bursting with grief submitted to the will of heaven, and there\nthe matter rests. If the labors and sufferings of the church of Christ\nfor this principle have done nothing more, this much at least has been\naccomplished--the Saints have borne testimony to the truth. And it is\nfor God to vindicate his own law and open the way for its establishment\non the earth, which doubtless he will do when his kingdom shall come in\npower, and when his will shall be done in earth as it is in heaven.\n\n18. Laying of the Cap-Stone of the Salt Lake Temple.--One of\nthe most pleasing and at the same time one of the most important events\nin the history of the church during the administration of President\nWoodruff, was laying the cap-stone of the Salt Lake Temple, on the 6th\nof April, 1892. It was laid by President Woodruff amid the rejoicing of\nthousands of the Saints; and a resolution was adopted to complete the\nsacred edifice and dedicate it on the 6th of April, 1893--forty years\nfrom the time the corner-stones thereof was laid.\n\n19. The Growth and Present Condition of the Church (1892).--Since\nthe Saints settled in the valleys of the Rocky {409} mountains the\nchurch has been making steady growth in numbers, and its territorial\nboundaries are constantly extending. The church is no longer confined\nwithin the boundary lines of the territory of Utah. It has five stakes\norganized in the state of Idaho, one in the state of Colorado, one\nin Wyoming, four in the territory of Arizona, and colonies in Mexico\nand Canada. The settlements of the Saints are noted for peace and\ngood order; for the cleanliness, thrift, sobriety and the comfortable\ncircumstances of the people. But few individuals in the church can be\nconsidered wealthy, yet as a whole the community is rich, most of the\npeople owning their homes, the lands they cultivate and the flocks and\nherds they tend. The land has been blessed for their sakes, and made to\nyield in its strength. They are a contented, happy, and fast becoming a\nmighty people. They are diligently preaching the gospel to the world,\nhaving sent missionaries to nearly all the nations of the earth. In\nthe British Isles, and among the Scandinavian and German people the\nmissionaries have been especially successful. Of late years great\nprogress has been made also among the natives of New Zealand, Sandwich\nIslands, and other islands of the Pacific, notably in Samoa.\n\n20. The church is also devoting much of its energies to the work\nfor the dead. Four magnificent temples have been reared by the Saints.\nOne in St, George, dedicated January 1st, 1877; one in Logan, dedicated\n17th of May, 1884; another in Manti, dedicated 21st of May, 1888; and\none in Salt Lake, dedicated on the 6th of April, 1893. In these temples\nthe faithful Saints are doing a noble and a mighty work for their\nancestors, as well as a very important work for the living.\n\n21. A Preparatory Work.--The work of God, as revealed through the\nProphet Joseph Smith, has a peculiar significance to this generation.\nIt is essentially a preparatory work; its direct mission is to prepare\nfor the glorious coming of the Son {410} of God to reign over the\nearth. Nothing can be more explicitly stated in the scripture than the\nfact that the Son of God will come to the earth in the glory of his\nFather, to reward the righteous with a speedy resurrection from the\ndead, and destroy the wicked by the judgments of famine, pestilence and\nwar; to establish his kingdom in power, bringing in a reign of peace,\nliberty and righteousness. In proof of this let the student consider\nthe following scripture:\n\n_I. Promise of Messiah's Glorious Return:_--\"And when he had spoken\nthese things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received\nhim out of their sight. And, while they looked steadfastly toward\nheaven as he went up, behold two men [angels] stood by them in white\napparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up\ninto heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,\nshall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.\" [208]\n\n\"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his\nangels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.\" [209]\n\n_II. Messiah to Come to Judgment:_--\"For if we believe that Jesus\ndied and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God\nbring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that\nwe which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not\nprevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from\nheaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the\ntrump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which\nare alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the\nclouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the\nLord.\" [210]\n\n\"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall\nbe revealed from heaven with his mighty angels {411} in flaming fire\ntaking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the\ngospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting\ndestruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his\npower; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be\nadmired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was\nbelieved) in that day.\" [211] \"For the Son of Man cometh at an hour when\nwe think not.\" [212] [See note 9, end of section.]\n\n_III. The World to be Warned of Coming Judgments:_--To a number of\nelders in Kirtland, in 1832, who had been called to the ministry,\nthe Lord gave these instructions, and, of course, they apply to all\nelders called to the same ministry:--\"Teach ye diligently and my grace\nshall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory,\nin principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things\nthat pertain unto the kingdom of God, that is expedient for you to\nunderstand. * * * That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall\nsend you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and\nthe mission with which I have commissioned you. Behold, I sent you out\nto testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been\nwarned to warn his neighbor. Therefore, they are left without excuse,\nand their sins are upon their own heads. * * * Therefore, tarry ye,\nand labor diligently, that ye may be perfected in your ministry to go\nforth among the Gentiles for the last time, as many as the mouth of\nthe Lord shall name, to bind up the law and seal up the testimony, and\nto prepare the saints for the hour of judgment which is to come; that\ntheir souls may escape the wrath of God, the desolation of abomination\nwhich awaits the wicked, both in this world and the world to come. *\n* * Abide ye in the liberty wherewith ye are made free; entangle not\nyourselves in sin, but let your hands be clean, until the Lord come;\nfor not many days hence and the earth shall {412} tremble and reel to\nand fro as a drunken man, and the sun shall hide his face, and shall\nrefuse to give light, and the moon shall be bathed in blood, and the\nstars shall become exceeding angry, and shall cast themselves down as a\nfig that falleth from off a fig tree.\n\n\"And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people;\nfor after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that\nshall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the\nground, and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony\nof the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the\nvoice of the tempest, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving\nthemselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion;\nand surely, men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all\npeople; and angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a\nloud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying, Prepare ye, prepare ye,\nO inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come; behold\nand lo! the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.\" [213]\n\n_IV. The Coming of the Kingdom of God from Heaven:_--\"Hearken, and lo,\na voice as of one from on high. * * * Prepare ye the way of the Lord,\nmake his paths straight. The keys of the kingdom of God are committed\nunto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto\nthe ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountains\nwithout hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth;\nyea, a voice crying--Prepare ye the way of the Lord, prepare ye the\nsupper of the Lamb, make ready for the Bridegroom; pray unto the Lord,\ncall upon his holy name, make known his wonderful works among the\npeople; call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the\nearth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for\nthe days to come, in which the Son of Man shall come down from heaven,\nclothed {413} in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of\nGod which is set up on the earth.\" [214]\n\n_V. A Prayer:_--\"Wherefore may the kingdom of God go forth, that the\nkingdom of heaven may come, that thou, O God, mayest be glorified in\nheaven so on earth, that thy enemies may be subdued; for thine is the\nhonor, power and glory, forever and ever. Amen.\" [215]\n\n22. Conclusion.--Such then is the work of God in the great\nDispensation of the Fullness of Times--a preparatory work for the\nglorious coming and reign of Messiah. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ\nrestored to the earth through the ministration of angels to Joseph\nSmith and others whom the Lord called to the work. In it are found\nall the principles, ordinances, authorities, powers, gifts, graces,\ncallings and appointments necessary to accomplish the eternal salvation\nof the living and the dead--it is the _fullness_ of the gospel; and has\nor will gather into it all that has ever been revealed concerning the\nredemption of the earth and the human race. This great work of God, as\nwe have seen, contemplates the gathering of Israel and the restoration\nof the \"lost tribes;\" the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, which city\nthey will rebuild; the redemption of the Lamanites and the building\nof a glorious city upon the American continent to be called Zion; the\nadvent of Messiah in power and glory to reign in righteousness over the\nearth for a thousand years, with all the ancient Saints and those of\nmodern days who are worthy; it contemplates the final redemption of the\nearth, and teaches that it will become a celestial sphere, the abode\nof resurrected celestial beings forever. This work of God accepts and\nincludes within its boundary lines all truth. It is progressive and\nis destined to become the religion of the age. Within it is scope for\nall the intelligence that shall flow unto it--\"within its atmosphere\nis room for every intellectual wing.\" {414} It does not, as some have\nsupposed, thrive best where ignorance is most profound; nor does it\ndepend upon superstition for its existence or perpetuity; but it\npossesses within itself principles of native strength that will enable\nit to weather every storm, outlive all hatred born of ignorance and\nprejudice, and will yet prove itself to be what indeed it is--the power\nof God unto salvation to all those who believe and obey it.\n\nNOTES.\n\n1. Prophecy that the Saints would Remove to the West.--I\npassed over the river to Montrose, Iowa, in company with General\nAdams, Colonel Brewer and others, and witnessed the installation of\nthe officers of the Rising Sun Lodge of Ancient order of Masons, at\nMontrose, by General James Adams, deputy grand master of Illinois.\nWhile the deputy grand master was engaged in giving the requisite\ninstructions to the master-elect, I had a conversation with a number\nof the brethren in the shade of the building on the subject of our\npersecutions in Missouri, and the constant annoyance which has followed\nus since we were driven from that state. I prophesied that the Saints\nwould continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the\nRocky Mountains, many would apostatize, others would be put to death\nby their persecutors, or lose their lives in consequence of exposure\nor disease, and some of you will live to go and assist in making\nsettlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people\nin the midst of the Rocky Mountains.--Joseph Smith's journal for 6th of\nAugust, 1842.\n\n2. Why the Church Came West.--\"Many living witnesses can testify\nthat we proposed moving to California [then a general name for the\ngreat West, including what is now Utah] leaving the land of our\noppression, preaching the gospel to the Lamanites, building up other\ntemples to the living God, establishing ourselves in the far distant\nWest. The cruel and perfidious persecutions that we endured tended to\nhasten our departure, but did _not_ dictate it. It jeopardized our\nlives, property and liberty, but was not the cause of our removal. Many\na time have I listened to the voice of our beloved prophet, while in\ncouncil, dwell on this subject with delight; his eyes sparkling with\nanimation, and his soul fired with the inspiration of the Spirit of\nthe living God. It was a theme that caused the bosoms of all who were\nprivileged to listen to thrill with delight; intimately {415} connected\nwith this were themes upon which prophets, patriarchs, priests and\nkings dwelt with pleasure and delight; of them they prophesied, sung,\nwrote, spoke and desired. to see, but died without the sight. My spirit\nglows with sacred fire while I reflect upon these scenes, and I say, O\nLord, hasten the day! Let Zion be established! Let the mountain of the\nLord's house be established in the tops of the mountains!\"--a thing, I\nmay add--and which he plainly intimates--could not have been done had\nthe Saints remained in Nauvoo. The Saints did not come to the Rocky\nMountain valleys because they were compelled to by their enemies,\nbut came here because it was their destiny to come; because the Lord\nwould have them here; and because there were problems to work out in\nconnection with the work of God which could be worked out nowhere\nelse.--Life of John Taylor p. 179.\n\n3. Character of Brigham Young.--Brigham Young was colonizer,\nstatesman, philosopher, philanthropist, reformer, prophet leader,\npriestly-king, an honest man, God's noblest work! * * * His greatness\nshines forth in conduct and leadership and colonization and in the\nbuilding of a mighty commonwealth in these mountain valleys. * * * On\nall great occasions promptness and decision were characteristics of his\norganization; and let a question arise where it might, all Israel felt\nwhen it reached God's prophet-leader, it would find proper solution,\nand when solved would be endorsed by wisdom.--Moses Thatcher.\n\n4. Succession of the Twelve on the Death of President Young.--On\nthe 4th of September, 1877, the two counselors of the late President\nYoung and ten of the Twelve Apostles--Orson Pratt and Joseph F.\nSmith, the other two members, were absent in England--held a meeting\nand waited upon the Lord. With humble, contrite and saddened hearts\nthey earnestly sought to learn his will concerning themselves and the\nchurch. The Lord blessed them with the spirit of union, and revealed to\nthem what steps should be taken, and the following is what was done:\nElder Taylor was unanimously sustained as the president of the twelve;\nand with the same unanimity it was voted that the twelve apostles\nshould be sustained as the presiding authority in the church, while the\ncounselors to the late President Young, John W. Young and Daniel H.\nWells, were sustained as one with, counselors to, and associated with\nthe twelve apostles. To facilitate the transaction of business it was\nalso voted that for the time being President Taylor should be assisted\nby John W. Young, Daniel H. Wells and George Q. Cannon, in attending\nto business connected with the temples, the public works and other\nfinancial affairs of the Church.--Life of John Taylor.\n\n5. John Taylor.--There was a beautiful harmony in the character\nof {416} his mind and the lineaments of his person. If the habitation\nwas splendid, the inmate was worthy of it. His noble form and bearing\nwere but the outward expression of the spirit within. A universal\nbenevolence, powerful intellect, splendid courage, physical as well\nas moral, a noble independence of spirit, coupled with implicit faith\nand trust in God, a high sense of honor, unimpeachable integrity,\nindomitable determination and passionate love of liberty, justice and\ntruth marked the outlines of his character.--Life of John Taylor.\n\n6. The Discontinuance of Plural Marriage.--The clause in\nPresident Woodruff's manifesto which discontinued plural marriage is\nas follows: \"Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding\nplural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the\ncourt of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those\nlaws, and to use my influence with the members of the church over which\nI preside to have them do likewise. * * * And I now publicly declare\nthat my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting\nany marriage forbidden by the law of the land.\"\n\nFollowing is the resolution presented to the semi-annual conference in\nthe October following. It was presented by Lorenzo Snow, the president\nof the twelve apostles:--\"I move that, recognizing Wilford Woodruff\nas the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,\nand the only man on the earth at the present time who holds the keys\nof the sealing ordinances, we consider him fully authorized by virtue\nof his position to issue the manifesto which has been read in our\nhearing, and which is dated September 24, 1890; and that as a church\nin general conference assembled, we accept his declaration concerning\nplural marriage as authoritative and binding.\" The vote to sustain the\nforegoing motion was unanimous.\n\n7. Basis on which the Manifesto was Issued.--Verily, verily I\nsay unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of\nmen, to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all\ntheir might, and with all they have to perform that work, and cease\nnot their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them\nfrom performing that work; behold, it behooveth me to require that\nwork no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their\nofferings. [Revelation given 19th Jan., 1841, Doc. and Cov., sec.\ncxxiv.] It is on this basis that President Woodruff has felt himself\njustified in issuing this manifesto. * * * We have waited for the\nLord to move in this matter, and on the 24th of September, President\nWoodruff made up his mind that he would write something, and he had\nthe spirit of it. He had prayed about it and he had besought the Lord\nrepeatedly to show him what to do. At that time the spirit came upon\nhim, and the document that has been read in your hearing was the\nresult. I know that it was right, much as it has gone against {417} the\ngrain with me in many respects. * * * But when God speaks and when God\nmakes known his mind and will, I hope that I and all Latter-day Saints\nwill bow in submission to it.--Geo. Q. Cannon, in a sermon Oct. 6th,\n1890.\n\nI want to say to all Israel that the step which I have taken in issuing\nthis manifesto has not been done without earnest prayer before the\nLord. * * * I have done my duty, and the nation of which we form a part\nmust be responsible for that which has been done in relation to that\nprinciple [plural marriage.]--President Woodruff, in a sermon Oct.6th,\n1890.\n\n8. Testimony from God Promised that the Manifesto was\nInspired.--I have received a revelation and commandment from the\nLord, which I have not revealed to any man, which I shall reveal to\nthis assembly, and the command of the Lord I shall give to this people,\nwhich is this: The Lord has revealed to me that there are many in\nthe church who feel badly tried about the manifesto, and also about\nthe testimony of the presidency and apostles before the master in\nchancery. The Lord has commanded me to put the following question to\nthe Saints, and those who will give strict attention to it shall have\nthe Holy Ghost to be with them to inspire them to answer that question\nfor themselves, and the Lord has promised that the answer will be to\nall alike. The question is this: which is the wisest course for the\nLatter-day Saints to pursue--to continue to attempt to practice plural\nmarriage with the laws of the nation against it and the opposition\nof 60,000,000 of people, and at the cost of the confiscation, and\nloss of all the temples, and the stopping of the ordinances therein,\nboth for the living and the dead; and the imprisonment of the first\npresidency and the twelve, and the leaders of heads of families in the\nchurch, and the confiscation of the personal property of the people\n(all of which of themselves would stop the practice) or after doing\nand suffering what we have through our adherence to this principle, to\ncease the practice and submit to the law, and through doing so leave\nthe prophets, apostles and fathers at home, so that they can instruct\nthe people and attend to the duties of the church, and also leave the\ntemples in the hands of the Saints so that they can attend to the\nordinances of the gospel, both for the living and the dead? Now the\ninspiration of the Lord will reveal to any person which course wisdom\nwould dictate us to pursue. And the Latter-day Saints throughout all\nIsrael should understand that the first presidency of the church and\nthe twelve apostles are led and guided by the inspiration of the Lord,\nand the Lord will not permit me nor any other man to lead the people\nastray.--President Woodruff, at Box Elder quarterly conference, Oct.\n25th. 1891. Juvenile Instructor, vol. xxvi: p. 671.\n\n9. Sign of the Coming of Messiah.--I have asked the Lord\nconcerning {418} his coming; and while asking the Lord, he gave me\na sign and said: \"In the days of Noah I set a bow in the heavens as\na sign and a token that in any year that the bow should be seen the\nLord would not come; but there should be seed time and harvest during\nthat year; but whenever you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be a token\nthat there shall be famine, pestilence and great distress among the\nnations, and that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant. * *\nJesus Christ never did reveal to any man the precise time that he would\ncome.\"--Joseph Smith.\n\nREVIEW.\n\n1. Relate the circumstances connected with the martyrdom of Joseph and\nHyrum Smith.\n\n2. Who succeeded to the presidency of the church after the death of the\nProphet Joseph?\n\n3. Give an account of the expulsion of the church from Illinois.\n\n4. State the reasons why the church in its flight went westward.\n\n5. Give an account of the arrival in Salt Lake valley.\n\n6. When and where was the first presidency of the church reorganized?\n\n7. State the leading achievements in the career of Brigham Young.\n\n8. What was the character of President Young? (Note 3.)\n\n9. Who again took the presidency of the church at the death of Brigham\nYoung?\n\n10. When was the first presidency again organized?\n\n11. State what you can of the life and character of John Taylor.\n\n12. For what is John Taylor's administration noted?\n\n13. Who succeeded to the presidency of the church after the death of\nPresident Taylor?\n\n14. What led to the discontinuance of the practice of plural marriage?\n\n15. When was plural marriage publicly announced as a doctrine of the\nChurch?\n\n16. Give an account of the enactments of Congress against plural\nmarriage.\n\n17. State in what spirit these laws were enforced.\n\n18. State in what way plural marriage was finally discontinued.\n\n19. What was the basis of this action of the Church? (Notes 6, 7, 8.)\n\n20. Were the Saints responsible either for the introduction or\ndiscontinuance of plural marriage?\n\n21. What has been their course in relation to this principle since its\nintroduction?\n\n{419} 22. Give an account of the laying of the cap-stone on the Salt\nLake temple.\n\n23. Make a statement of the growth and present position of the church.\n\n24. What is the immediate purpose of the work began by the Prophet\nJoseph Smith?\n\n25. State several promises to be found in the Jewish scriptures\nrespecting the glorious return of Messiah.\n\n26. Quote those that predict Messiah will come to judgment.\n\n27. What hath God decreed concerning the time of his coming? (Note 9.)\n\n28. For what especial purpose hath God sent forth his servants to the\nworld in this dispensation?\n\n29. What will be the crowning event to the work of this dispensation?\n\n30. State what is contemplated by the work of God in the dispensation\nof the fullness of times.\n\nTHE END.\n\nFootnotes\n\n1. Jaques' Catechism, page 77.\n\n2. \"God having made known unto us * * * that in the dispensation of\nthe fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in\nChrist, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.\"\n(Ephesians i:9, 10.)\n\n3. Note 2, end of section.\n\n4. Ontario County has since been divided, and the north part of it, in\nwhich Palmyra is located, is now called Wayne County.\n\n5. While the Prophet Joseph in describing this first great vision\nrefers to the Lord and his Son Jesus Christ as two glorious personages\nwithout giving at that time any particular description of their\npersons, it is clear that they were in the form of men. Teaching the\nchurch the character of the Godhead some years later, the prophet said:\n\"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man and sits\nenthroned in yonder heavens. That is the great secret. If the vail was\nrent today and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who\nupholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself\nvisible--I say if you were to see him today, you would see him like a\nman in form--like yourselves, in all the person, image and very form as\na man, for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of\nGod, and received instruction from and walked and talked, and conversed\nwith him, as one man talks and communes with another.\"--Journal of\nDiscourses, Vol. VI, page 3.\n\n6. Most likely the first part of the third chapter, as that relates to\nthe coming of a messenger to prepare the way for the glorious coming of\nMessiah. (See Mal. iii: 1-6.)\n\n7. Pearl of Great Price, page 90. The words in Italics indicate the\ndifference between the passages as quoted by Moroni and as they stand\nin our English version of the Bible. The student should compare the\npassages as quoted above with the Bible and mark how superior is the\nangel's rendering of them.\n\n8. That was the name of the hill among the Nephites. The Jaredites, a\nstill more ancient people, called it Ramah.\n\n9. Book of Mormon, pp. 114, 115.\n\n10. This messenger was a resurrected personage. It will be remembered\nthat John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod Antipas before the\ncrucifixion of the Lord; and that after the resurrection of Messiah,\n\"the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept\narose, and came out of the graves after his [Christ's] resurrection,\nand went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.\" (Matt. xxvii: 52,\n53.) As John the Baptist was one of the most worthy of the saints, and\na martyr for righteousness, it is but reasonable to conclude that he\nwas among the number resurrected immediately after the resurrection of\nJesus.\n\n11. For the words of the angel see Doc. and Cov., sec. 13.\n\n12. These baptisms were, of course, by immersion. The Savior when\nteaching the Nephites how to baptize, said: \"Ye shall go down and stand\nin the water, and * * * these are the words ye shall say, calling them\nby name, saying--Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize\nyou in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.\nAmen. And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again\nout of the water.\" (III Nephi xi: 23-26.) It was this passage which led\nJoseph and Oliver to inquire of the Lord about baptism, with the result\nstated in the text.\n\n13. See Cannon's Life of Joseph Smith, p. 73.\n\n14. Doc. and Cov., sec. cxxviii: 20; also article by Joseph F. Smith on\nRestoration of the Melchisedek Priesthood, \"Contributor,\" vol x, p. 310.\n\n15. Matt. xvi: 19.\n\n16. Cannon's Life of Joseph Smith, p. 73.\n\n17. Doc. and Cov., sec. cvii: 18, 19.\n\n18. Their names were Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Peter\nWhitmer, Jun., Samuel H. Smith, and David Whitmer. There were a number\nof others who had been baptized, but as six persons were sufficient to\nfill the requirements of the laws of the State of New York in respect\nto organizing religious societies, the church was organized with that\nnumber.\n\n19. The words \"of Latter-day Saints,\" were not used until some time\nafter April 26, 1838, when they were added by revelation from the Lord.\n(Doc. and Cov., sec. cxv.)\n\n20. See Doc. and Cov. sec. xxi.\n\n21. The revelation giving these instructions was given in the chamber\nof Peter Whitmer, Sen., and is the \"voice of God in the chamber of old\nFather Whitmer,\" alluded to in the letter of Joseph to the church under\ndate of Sep. 6, 1842, contained in sec. cxxviii of the Doc. and Cov.\n\n22. Page 297.\n\n23. It is the law of the church that \"no person is to be ordained to\nany office in this church, where there is a regularly organized branch\nof same, without the vote of that church.\" (Doc. and Cov., sec. xx: 65.)\n\n24. Doc. and Cov., sec. xxvi.\n\n25. The voice of the people is the voice of God.\n\n26. The voice of God is the voice of the people.\n\n27. The voice of God and the voice of the people.\n\n28. This revelation is the one found in sec. xx., Doc. and Cov. The\nProphet Joseph precedes it in his history with these remarks: \"Among\nmany other things of the kind [spiritual manifestations], we obtained\nof Him the following, by the spirit of prophecy and revelation, which\nnot only gave us much information, but also pointed out to us the\nprecise day upon which, according to his will and commandment, we\nshould proceed to organize his church once again here upon the earth.\"\nThen followed the revelation above referred to.--Hist. Joseph Smith,\nMill Star (Supplement) vol. xiv, p.22\n\n29. See part I.\n\n30. Subsequently when some persons desired to join the church without\nbaptism at the hands of the elders, having been baptized by the\nministers of other churches, the Lord said: \"All old covenants have I\ncaused to be done away in this thing, and this is a new and everlasting\ncovenant, even that which was from the beginning. Wherefore, although\na man should be baptized an hundred times, it availeth him nothing,\nfor you cannot enter in at the straight gate by the law of Moses,\nneither by your dead works. For it is because of your dead works, that\nI have caused this last covenant and this church to be built up unto me\neven as in days of old. Wherefore enter ye in at the gate, as I have\ncommanded, and seek not to counsel your God.\" Doc. and Cov. sec. xxii.\n\n31. Eight years is fixed as the age of baptism for children. Doc. and\nCov. sec. lxviii: 27.\n\n32. These are the same words given to the Nephites, except that the\nopening clause in the Book of Mormon is: \"Having authority given me of\nJesus Christ\" (III Nephi xi: 25), and that means the same as \"Having\nbeen commissioned of Jesus Christ,\" etc.\n\n33. All officers in the church holding higher authority than those\nnamed would, of course, have authority to administer the sacrament.\n\n34. A few months after the organization of the church, viz., early in\nthe month of August, 1830, when the Prophet Joseph left his house in\nHarmony, Penn., for the purpose of procuring wine to administer the\nsacrament to a few saints visiting him at his home--he had gone but a\nshort distance when he was met by a heavenly messenger and received\nthe revelation contained in the Doc. and Cov. sec. xxvii, a portion\nof which is as follows: \"Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your\nLord, your God and your Redeemer, whose word is quick and powerful.\nFor behold I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or\nwhat ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that\nye do it with an eye single to my glory, remembering unto the Father\nmy body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for\nthe remission of your sins; wherefore, a commandment I give unto you,\nthat ye shall not purchase wine, neither strong drink of your enemies;\nwherefore you shall partake of none except it is made new among you;\nyea, in this my Father's kingdom, which shall be built up on the\nearth.\" This revelation is the authority the Church of Jesus Christ of\nLatter-day Saints has for using water instead of wine in the sacrament.\n\n35. It must be remembered that this revelation was given before the\nchurch was organized; at that time there were a number who had been\nbaptized, and who had children not old enough to be baptized, and had\nnot yet been blessed of the elders. This commandment, therefore, was\ndirected more especially to them, but applies, of course, to people\nplaced in like circumstances. Subsequently, in November 1831, the\nLord said: \"Inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of\nher stakes which are organized, who teach them not to understand the\ndoctrine of repentance, faith in Christ, the Son of the living God,\nand of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of\nhands when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents;\nfor this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of\nher stakes when organized; and their children shall be baptized for\nthe remission of sins when eight years old and receive the laying on\nof hands, and they shall also teach their children to pray and walk\nuprightly before the Lord.\" (Doc. and Cov. sec. lxviii:25-28.)\n\n36. The term \"elder\" is both a general and a specific title. That\nis, it may be applied to an apostle or a seventy; as, for instance,\nin the revelation under consideration (Doc. and Cov. sec. xx), it is\nsaid: \"An apostle is an elder,\" etc. We shall see also further on that\nit is the name of a specific office in the church; that ninety-six\nelders constitute a quorum; that they constitute a standing ministry\nin the stakes of Zion; and that they have authority to do all that is\nenumerated in the text above.\n\n37. The closing phrases of paragraph 37, sec. xx; Doc. and Cov., are\nwhat Oliver objected to--\"And truly manifest by their works that they\nhave received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of sins.\"\n\n38. Doc. and Cov. sec. xxviii\n\n39. Doc. and Cov. xxviii, and sec. xliii:1-6\n\n40. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xxviii.\n\n41. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xxxvii.\n\n42. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xli.\n\n43. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii.\n\n44. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 15.\n\n45. Ibid, verse 20.\n\n46. Ibid, verse 68.\n\n47. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lvii:17.\n\n48. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lviii: 15; 18. Ibid, sec. cvii: 72-75.\n\n49. There are bishops holding different positions: Bishop Partridge\nwas a general bishop over the land of Zion; while Bishop Whitney was\na general bishop over the church in Kirtland, Ohio, and also over the\neastern churches until afterwards appointed as presiding bishop. * * *\nThere are also ward bishops, whose duties are confined to their several\nwards. * * * There are also bishops' agents such as Sidney Gilbert [he\nwas Bishop Partridge's agent in Zion, Missouri], and others.--Items on\nPriesthood by the late President John Taylor.\n\n50. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii: 17, 18.\n\n51. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii: 20.\n\n52. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii: 21.\n\n53. And inasmuch as a president of the high priesthood shall\ntransgress, he shall be had in remembrance before the common council\nof the church, who shall be assisted by twelve counselors of the\nhigh priesthood; and their decision upon his head shall be an end of\ncontroversy concerning him. (Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 82, 83).\n\n54. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii: 19.\n\n55. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii: 22-24.\n\n56. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxxiv: 112.\n\n57. I think a careful reading of sec. lxviii of the Doctrine and\nCovenants, will justify this conclusion--that not only the office of\npresiding bishop of the church should be filled by the first-born of\nthe sons of Aaron, but that the traveling and local bishops also, so\nfar as can be, should be chosen from among the first born of the sons\nof Aaron. The following passage seems especially clear on the question:\n\"There remaineth hereafter, in the due time of the Lord, other bishops\nto be set apart unto the church, to minister even according to the\nfirst; wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and\nthey shall be appointed by the first presidency of the Melchisedek\npriesthood, except they be descendants of Aaron, and if they be literal\ndescendants of Aaron they have a legal right to the bishopric, if they\nare the first-born among the sons of Aaron.\" Sec. lxviii: 14-16.\n\n58. Book of Ether, ch. xiii, and III Nephi, ch. xx.\n\n59. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlv.\n\n60. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lii.\n\n61. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lvii.\n\n62. Acts iv: 32.\n\n63. The branch of the Church in this part of the Lord's vineyard\n[Kirtland], which had increased to nearly one hundred members, were\nstriving to do the will of God so far as they knew it, though some\nhad strange notions, and false spirits had crept in among them. With\na little caution and some wisdom, I soon assisted the brethren and\nsisters to overcome them. The plan of \"common stock,\" which had existed\nin what was called \"the family,\" whose members generally had embraced\nthe everlasting gospel, was readily abandoned for the more perfect law\nof the Lord, and the false spirits were easily discerned and rejected\nby the light of revelation.--Joseph Smith.--Millennial Star Supplement\nto vol. xiv, p. 56.\n\n64. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xli.\n\n65. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii.\n\n66. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii: 30,32.\n\n67. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii: 32.\n\n68. In the very revelations in which the first instructions on the\nsubject of consecration and stewardship are given the Lord says: \"Let\nall thy garments be plain and their beauty the beauty of the work of\nthine own hands. * * * Thou shalt not be idle, for he that is idle\nshall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.\" (Doc.\nand Cov., sec. xliii: 40,42). In a subsequent revelation, referring to\nthe inhabitants of Zion who were living under this law of consecration,\nthe Lord said: \"And the inhabitants of Zion, also, shall remember their\nlabors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor in all faithfulness,\nfor the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord.\" (Doc. and\nCov., sec. lxviii: 30).\n\n69. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. civ: 54,57.\n\n70. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxii: 2,8.\n\n71. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. civ.\n\n72. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. li: 4, 5.\n\n73. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii: 33, 35.\n\n74. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. civ: 70, 77.\n\n75. \"All children have claim upon their parents for their maintenance\nuntil they are of age. After that they have claim upon the church, or\nin other words, upon the Lord's store-house, if their parents have not\nwherewith to give them inheritances. And the store-house shall be kept\nby the consecrations of the church, and widows and orphans shall be\nprovided for as also the poor.\" (Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxxiii: 4, 6.)\n\n76. Sec. xlii: 53;54. And you are to be equal, or in other words, you\nare to have equal claims on the properties for the benefit of managing\nthe concerns of your stewardships, every man according to his wants and\nneeds inasmuch as his wants are just. (Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxxii: 17.)\n\n77. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. li: 10, 13, also verse 18, which says\nthe law laid down in verses 10, 13, shall be an example to all churches.\n\n78. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cv: 1, 5, also sec. lviii: 35, 36.\n\n79. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii: 39.\n\n80. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. li: 3.\n\n81. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. civ: 15-17.\n\n82. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxix.\n\n83. For a detailed account of this event and the causes leading up to\nit, see the author's work on the \"Missouri Persecutions.\"\n\n84. Doc. and Cov., sec. ciii.\n\n85. Daniel Dunklin, governor of Missouri, agreed to call out the\nmilitia of the state and re-instate the exiles on their lands; but he\nclaimed that he had no authority to keep a force under arms to protect\nthem after they were restored. Hence the coming of Zion's camp to so\nstrengthen the brethren that they could hold their own against the mob\nwhen once placed back in their homes.\n\n86. Missouri Persecutions.\n\n87. Doc. and Cov., sec. cv. The revelation was given on Fishing river,\nMissouri.\n\n88. The corner stones of the Kirtland temple were laid on the 23rd of\nJuly, 1833.\n\n89. Doc. and Cov., sec. cii:22.\n\n90. Doc. and Cov., sec. cvii: 23-33.\n\n91. Doc. and Cov., sec. cii: 30-32, also sec. cvii: 32.\n\n92. Doc. and Cov., sec. cii: 26, 27.\n\n93. Their names were Lyman E. Johnson, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball,\nOrson Hyde, David W. Patten, Luke S. Johnson, Wm. E. McLellin, John F.\nBoynton, Wm. B. Smith, Parley P. Pratt, Thomas B. Marsh, Orson Pratt.\n\n94. Doc. and Cov., sec. cvii.\n\n95. The circumstances under which this revelation (contained in section\ncvii, Doc. and Cov.) was given are highly interesting; they are as\nfollows: On the afternoon of the 28th of March the twelve met in\ncouncil and had a time of general confession. \"On reviewing our past\ncourse,\" writes Orson Hyde and Wm. E. McLellin, clerks of the meeting,\n\"we are satisfied, and feel to confess also, that we have not realized\nthe importance of our calling, to that degree that we ought; we have\nbeen light minded and vain, and in many things done wrong--_wrong_. For\nall these things we have asked the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father,\nand wherein we have grieved or wounded the feelings of the presidency,\nwe ask their forgiveness. The time when we are about to separate is\nnear, and when we shall meet again, God only knows; we therefore feel\nto ask of him whom we have acknowledged to be our prophet and seer,\nthat he inquire of God for us and obtain a revelation (if consistent)\nthat we may look upon it when we are separated, that our hearts may be\ncomforted. Our worthiness has not inspired us to make this request,\nbut our unworthiness. We have unitedly asked God our Heavenly Father\nto grant unto us through his seer, a revelation of his mind and will\nconcerning our duty the coming season, even a great revelation that\nwill enlarge our hearts comfort us in adversity and brighten our hopes\namidst the power of darkness.\" (Mill. Star, vol. xv, p. 245.) The\nrevelation which was given in answer to this request is one of the most\nsplendid contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.\n\n96. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. i: 38.\n\n97. Doctrine and Covenants sec. cxxi:36.\n\n98. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxxi: 41-44. These views from the\nrevelations of the Lord to Joseph Smith are in strict accord with\nthe teachings of Jesus Christ to the twelve apostles among the Jews.\nTo them he said: \"Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise\ndominion over them, and they that are great, exercise authority upon\nthem. But it shall not be so among you; but whosoever will be great\namong you let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among\nyou, let him be your servant; even as the Son of Man came not to be\nministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for\nmany.\" (Matt. xx: 25-28.) Peter, it would seem remembered the spirit\nof these instructions, as years afterwards we have him saying to those\nset to govern the churches: \"Feed the flock of God which is among you,\ntaking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for\nfilthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God's\nheritage, but being ensamples unto the flock.\" (I Peter v: 2, 3.)\n\n99. This it appears is the view Joseph Smith took of the subject.\nReplying to a question of Judge Stephen A. Douglas, how he governed\nso easily so large a people as the Saints were at Nauvoo, the prophet\nreplied, \"I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves.\"\n\n100. In answering the question: was the priesthood of Melchisedek\ntaken away when Moses died, the Prophet Joseph said: \"All priesthood\nis Melchisedek, but there are different portions or degrees of it. The\nportion which brought Moses to speak with God face to face was taken\naway; but that which brought the ministry of angels remained.\" (Hist.\nJoseph Smith. See also Doc. and Cov., sec. cxii: 4, 5.)\n\n101. The reasons for calling this division the Melchisedek priesthood\nare given in note 3, section ii of part iv.\n\n102. The reason for calling the second division the Aaronic Priesthood\nis because it was a priesthood conferred upon Aaron, the brother of\nMoses, and his sons after him. It is a division of the priesthood which\nbelongs of right to the house of Aaron. (See Doc. and Cov. sec. cvii:\n13, 14.)\n\n103. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 18-19.\n\n104. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 20.\n\n105. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 21\n\n106. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 65-66.\n\n107. Ibid, verses 91, 92.\n\n108. It must be remembered by the student that apostles are also high\npriests. In fact the apostleship circumscribes all priesthood, hence it\nhappens that some men who have not been directly ordained high priests,\nbut who were apostles, have acted in the quorum of the first presidency\nof the church. Brigham Young did so.\n\n109. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 22.\n\n110. Ibid, verse 91.\n\n111. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 23, 24, 32, 39, 58.\n\n112. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii:34.\n\n113. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 25, 26.\n\n114. Up to the present date--1902--there have been one hundred and\nforty-three quorums of seventies organized. The Prophet Joseph Smith\nsaid that this choosing of seventies was to go on--if the labor in the\nvineyard required it--\"even until there are one hundred and forty and\nfour thousand thus set apart for the ministry.\"--Hist. Joseph Smith\nunder date May 2, 1835.\n\n115. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii.\n\n116. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 38.\n\n117. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 27, 28.\n\n118. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 39, 41.\n\n119. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxxiv: 91, 93.\n\n120. Ibid, verse 124.\n\n121. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxxiv: 133-136.\n\n122. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxxiv, verse 29.\n\n123. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 11.\n\n124. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 89.\n\n125. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxxiv: 137.\n\n126. Doc. and Covenants, sec. cvii: 89, 90. Ibid, sec. cxxiv: 140. For\nfurther information on duties of elders see sec. ii, part iv, of this\nwork.\n\n127. See sec. iii, part iv.\n\n128. See sec. ii, part iv, under caption Priests for explanation of\ntheir duties and powers.\n\n129. For explanation of the duties and powers of Teachers see caption\nTeachers, sec. ii, part iv.\n\n130. For explanation of their duties see caption Deacons, sec. ii, part\niv.\n\n131. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxxiv: 30.\n\n132. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxxiv: 29.\n\n133. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xx: 38, 59.\n\n134. See caption High Priests this section.\n\n135. See caption Elders this section.\n\n136. See Bishopric, sec. iii, part iv.\n\n138. See caption _Of the Duties of Officers, Priests, Teachers,\nDeacons_.\n\n138. When the difficulty arises in a regularly organized ward the most\nsuitable persons to engage in such business would be the teachers of\nthe respective parties.\n\n139. See on this method of settling difficulties Matt. xviii: 15, 17.\nDoctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii: 88-91. Book of Mormon, III Nephi,\nxii: 23,25.\n\n140. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. iv: 8.\n\n141. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. clv: 9.\n\n142. See Section ii, Part IV, paragraphs 8, 9.\n\n143. Guizot's Hist. Civilization.\n\n144. Remarks of Disraeli on the formation of government in his\nVindication of the English Constitution.\n\n145. That is Part IV of this work.\n\n146. Besides the classic, there was an English department that included\na course in common and higher mathematics, geography, English grammar,\nreading and writing. Hebrew was taught by Professor Seixas, a Jew, and\nthe elders made considerable progress in that language. These items are\ninteresting as showing that \"Mormonism\" is not and was not even in the\nbeginning of its career, opposed to education as many have claimed.\n\n147. The prayer will be found in the Doc. and Cov. sec. cix. It was\ngiven by revelation to the prophet.\n\n148. The shout of hosanna consists in the whole congregation shouting\nwith all the strength of their voices--accompanying it with the waving\nof handkerchiefs--these words: Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna! TO GOD AND\nTHE LAMB! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! Those who have witnessed this shout of\npraise and gladness to God by a large congregation of saints, will\nnever forget the power and heavenly influence that accompany it.\n\n149. For the foregoing account of spiritual manifestations see Hist.\nJoseph Smith, Mill. Star, Vol. 15, pages 726-28.\n\n150. Doc. and Cov. sec. cx.\n\n151. Doc. and Cov. sec. cx.\n\n152. Mal. iv: 5, 6.\n\n153. Doc. and Cov. sec. cx.\n\n154. See pages 371-97.\n\n155. Book of Mormon, III Nephi xv: 12-20.\n\n156. Book of Mormon, III Nephi xvi: 1-5.\n\n157. II Esdras xiii.\n\n158. Compare with Isaiah xi: 15, 16.\n\n159. See prophecies quoted p. 368-9.\n\n160. I do not state this date definitely because authorities differ in\nrespect to it; some fixing it at 588, another at 590, and still others\nas in the text. The difference which is not material, arose no doubt\nfrom some giving the date at which the king of Babylon began his siege\nand others when it ended.\n\n161. Fifty-six, according to some historians.\n\n162. See Part I, p. 27.\n\n163. Matt. xxiv: 2.\n\n164. Deut. xxviii:15-68. The student should read this passage in\nDeuteronomy. It is without exception the most terrible warning and\nprophecy on record. Yet terrible as it is, it hath all overtaken Israel.\n\n165. Amos ix: 9.\n\n166. Jeremiah xxxi:10-12. See also verses 7, 8, 9.\n\n167. Jeremiah xvi:14, 15.\n\n168. See the verses preceding this quotation for an explanation of the\ntime of this occurrence, Isaiah xi:1-10. This is one of the passages\nquoted to Joseph Smith by the angel Moroni, who said also that \"it was\nabout to be fulfilled.\" See Pearl of Great Price, p. 90.\n\n169. Isaiah xi:10-12, 16.\n\n170. Jeremiah iii:15-19.\n\n171. Book of Mormon II Nephi x:7, 8. See also I Nephi x:14, II Nephi\nvi:8-11, and also Book of Jacob v. This last reference especially\nshould be studied.\n\n172. Doc. and Cov., sec. cxxxiii:25-35.\n\n173. Doc. and Cov., sec. cxxxiii:32.\n\n174. See page 321, this work.\n\n175. See p. 321.\n\n176. For the particulars of the persecution which resulted in the\nbanishment of the Saints from that land, the student is referred to the\nauthor's work on the Missouri Persecutions.\n\n177. Isaiah ii:23.\n\n178. Jeremiah iii:14, 15.\n\n179. Rev. xviii:4-8.\n\n180. Eccl. xi.\n\n181. The revelation was given March, 1830; Doc. and Cov. sec. xix.\n\n182. Mark xvi:16.\n\n183. The so-called early fathers of the church, Justin Martyr, Clement,\nof Alexandria, Tertullian and Cyprian, all taught that the fire of\nhell is a real material flame, and that the wicked were punished in\nit eternally. Augustine in the fifth century stated the same doctrine\nwith great emphasis and argued against those who sought to modify it.\n(See Augustine's City of God. Part II, book xx, and xxi).Thomas Aquinas\n(A-kwi-nas) of the mediaeval school of theologians, rising head and\nshoulders above divines of his day, teaches in his Summa Theologia,\nthat the fire of hell is of the same nature as ordinary fire, though\nwith different properties; that the place of punishment though not\ndefinitely known is probably under the earth. He also taught that\nthere was no redemption for those once damned, their punishment is to\nbe eternal. Coming to more modern times, we read in the Westminster\nConfession of Faith--adopted in the seventeenth century by the Puritan\nparty in England--the following on the subject (ch. xxxiii): \"The\nwicked who know not God, and obey not the Gospel of Jesus Christ\nshall be cast into eternal torment and be punished with everlasting\ndestruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his\npower.\" Question twenty-nine of the larger catechism and the answer to\nit are as follows: \"What are the punishments of sin in the world to\ncome. Ans. The punishments of sin in the world to come are everlasting\nseparation from the comfortable presence of God, and most grievous\ntorment in soul and body, without intermission, in hell fire forever.\"\nThe Westminster Confession and the large catechism are still the\nstandards of the Presbyterian churches. Indeed the above expresses the\northodox Christian faith from the second and third centuries until the\npresent time.\n\n184. I Peter iii:18-21.\n\n185. I Peter iv:6.\n\n186. I Cor. xv:29.\n\n187. Doc. and Cov. sec. cxxvii and cxxviii.\n\n188. Rom. ii:6-12; I Cor. iii:8; II Cor. v:10; Rev. ii:23; xx:12.\n\n189. St. John xiv:1-3.\n\n190. An exception must be made in the case of the Roman Catholic\nChurch. Catholics do not believe that all Christians at death go\nimmediately into heaven, but on the contrary \"believe that a Christian\nwho dies after the guilt and everlasting punishment of mortal sins have\nbeen forgiven him, but who, either from want of opportunity or through\nhis negligence, has not discharged the debt of temporal punishment due\nto his sin, will have to discharge that debt to the justice of God in\npurgatory.\" \"Purgatory is a state of suffering after this life, in\nwhich those souls are for a time detained, which depart this life after\ntheir deadly sins have been remitted as to the stain and guilt, and as\nto the everlasting pain that was due to them; but which souls have on\naccount of those sins still some temporal punishment to pay; as also\nthose souls which leave this world guilty only of venial [pardonable]\nsins. In purgatory these souls are purified and rendered fit to enter\ninto heaven, where nothing defiled enters.\" The quotations in the above\nare from Catholic Belief, by Bruno, D. D. of the Catholic church. As\nall works of the Catholic church accessible to me have nothing on the\ndifferent degrees of glory, I conclude that Catholic teaching is that\nthey who attain unto heaven are all equal in glory.\n\n191. I Kings viii:27.\n\n192. II Cor. xii:2-4.\n\n193. I Cor. xv:40-42.\n\n194. The circumstances under which the revelation was given are these:\nThe Prophet Joseph and Sidney Rigdon were engaged in revising the\nJewish scriptures. When they came to St. John, ch. v:29--speaking of\nthe resurrection of the dead, concerning those that should hear the\nvoice of the Son of Man and come forth, instead of reading in the text\nof our common English Bibles--\"And shall come forth; they that have\ndone good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done\nevil, unto the resurrection of damnation,\" the following was given\nto them by the Spirit: \"And shall come forth they who have done good\nin the resurrection of the just, and they who have done evil in the\nresurrection of the unjust.\" This reading of the passage caused them to\nmarvel as it was given to them by inspiration; and while they pondered\non this thing the Spirit of God enveloped them, and they saw the Lord\nJesus Christ and those different glories which men will inherit, an\naccount of which is given in the text. The vision is recorded in Doc.\nand Cov., sec. lxxvi.\n\n195. \"Servants of God, but not Gods nor the sons of God,\" remarks\nApostle Orson Pratt in his foot note on the passage from which this is\ncondensed. Doc. and Cov. sec. lxxvi:112.\n\n196. Doc. and Cov., sec. cxxxi:1.\n\n197. Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxvi.\n\n198. Those desiring to verify the statements of the text will consult\nwith care Heb. vi:4-8 and Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxvi:25-48.\n\n199. It may sound like sacrilege in modern ears to speak of man\nbecoming as God. Yet why should it be so considered? Man is\nthe offspring of God, he is of the same race, and hath within\nhim--undeveloped, it is true--the faculties and attributes of his\nFather. He hath also before him an eternity of time in which to develop\nboth the faculties of the mind and the attributes of the soul--why\nshould it be accounted a strange thing that at last the child shall\narrive at the same exaltation and partake of the same intelligence\nand glory with his Father? If Jesus Christ, \"being in the form of\nGod, thought it not robbery to be equal with God\" (Philippians ii:6),\nwhy should it be thought blasphemous to teach that man by faith and\nrighteousness in following the counsels of God shall at last become\nlike him, and share in his power and glory, being a God, even a son of\nGod? I grant you the height from our present position looks tremendous;\nyet it is not impossible of attainment, since we have eternity in\nwhich to work. Stand by the cradle of a new-born babe and contemplate\nit. Within that little body of organized pulp--with eyes incapable\nof distinguishing objects; legs unable to bear the weight of its\nbody--without the power of locomotion; hands over whose movements it\nhath no control; ears that hear but cannot distinguish sounds; a tongue\nthat cannot speak--yet within that little helpless tabernacle what\npowers lie dormant! Within that germ in the cradle are latent powers\nwhich only require time for their unfolding to astonish the world. From\nit may come the man of profound learning who shall add something by\nhis own wisdom to the sum total of human knowledge. Perhaps from that\ngerm shall come a profound historian, a poet or eloquent orator to sway\nthe reason and passions of men, and guide them to better and purer\nthings than they have yet known. Or a statesman may be there in embryo;\na man whose wisdom shall guide the destiny of the state, or perhaps\nwith God-like power rule the world. If from such a germ as this in the\ncradle may come such an unfolding of power as we see in the highest\nand noblest manhood, may it not be, that taking that highest and\nnoblest manhood as the germ, that from it may come, under the guiding\nhand of our Father in heaven, a still more wonderful unfolding, until\nthe germ of highest and noblest manhood shall develop into a God! The\ndistance between the noblest man and the position of a God is greater\nthan that between the infant in the cradle and the highest development\nof manhood; but if so, there is a longer time--eternity--in which to\narrive at the result; and a God and heavenly influences instead of\nthe human parent and earthly means to bring to pass the necessary\ndevelopment.--Roberts.\n\n200. Millennial Star, vol. xiv, p. 114.\n\n201. On the 12th of July, 1843, at the request of Hyrum Smith, the\nrevelation as now contained in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, was\nwritten from the dictation of the Prophet Joseph, by Elder William\nClayton, at that time the Prophet's scribe. The same day a copy of the\nrevelation was made for Bishop Newel K. Whitney by Joseph C. Kingsbury.\nEmma Smith, the first wife of the Prophet, obtaining the revelation as\nfirst written out by William Clayton, in a moment of jealousy destroyed\nit. Bishop Whitney's copy, however, was preserved and from it the\nrevelation, now in the Doctrine and Covenants, was printed. It will be\nobserved by the student from the revelation itself that the principle\nof plural marriage was known and practiced before the writing of the\nrevelation on the 12th of July.\n\n202. For a full account of this terrible tragedy the student is\nreferred to the Life of Joseph Smith by Geo. Q. Cannon, ch. lxvi; and\nthe Life of John Taylor, ch. xiii, xiv, xv.\n\n203. Heb. ix:16, 17.\n\n204. The subject of \"Succession in the Presidency of the Church,\" is a\nsubject of deep importance, and those who desire to enter minutely into\nthe consideration of it should consult the author's work of that title,\na book of 120 pages.\n\n205. President Brigham Young was born in Whitingham, Windham county,\nVermont, June 1, 1801. He was baptized into the Church April 14th,\n1832, and immediately afterwards ordained an elder.\n\n206. The first anti-polygamy law was approved July 1st, 1862.\n\n207. \"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of\nreligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.\"--Amendments to the\nConstitution, Article I.\n\n208. Acts i:9-11.\n\n209. Matt. xvi:27.\n\n210. I Thess. iv:14-17.\n\n211. II Thess. i:7-10.\n\n212. Luke xii:40. II Peter iii:10. Doc. and Cov., sec. xlix:6-7.\n\n213. Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxxviii:78-92.\n\n214. Doc. and Cov., sec. lxv.\n\n215. Ibid.\n\n\n\nIndex\n\n  Abraham, Book of, 393, 398.\n  Actors in Christ's Crucifixion, Fate of, 58.\n  Adam, Fall of, 83.\n  Agitation, Religious in N. Y., 276,\n  Albert, Archbishop of Mentz, 212.\n  Alva, Duke of, 257.\n  America, Discovery of, 269, 270.\n  \" Influence of on liberty, 263.\n  \" Catholics seek liberty in, 264\n  Anarchy, Reign of, 200.\n  Announcement, Angelic, 12.\n  Anti-Christ, Rise of foretold, 193.\n  Apostasy--see Part II.\n  \" in days of apostles, 154.\n  \" admitted by Christian writers, 189.\n  \" predicted in scriptures, 192, 196.\n  Apostles, Twelve, 45.\n  \" a second time succeed to presidency, 404.\n  \" equal in authority with first presidency, 344.\n  \" Quorum filled, 70.\n  \" Quorum of Twelve succeed to presidency, 402.\n  \" Twelve organized, 336.\n  \" Traveling, presiding high council, 343.\n  Associations, Primary, 352.\n  Athanasius, 172.\n  Atonement, a mystery, 98.\n  \" Pact of, 86, 87.\n  \" Love of God in, 89.\n  \" Mercy and Justice of, 87.\n  \" of Christ voluntary, 88.\n  \" universal in application, 98.\n  Augsburg, Confession of, 220.\n  Augustus, 12, 31.\n  Aurelius, Marcus, 115.\n  Authority from God needful, 101.\n\n  Bartholomew's Eve, St., Massacre on, 267.\n  Baptism, 128.\n  \" Form changed, 129.\n  \" Manner of, among Nephites, 136.\n  \" Of, 302.\n  \" of children, 130, 136.\n  \" Of the manner of, 303.\n  \" symbol of burial and resurrection, 135.\n  Baptist, John, restores Aaronic Priesthood, 297.\n\n  Bethlehem, 11.\n  Bible corrupted, 65.\n  Bishopric, Powers of, 317.\n  Bishops, Equality among changed 141, 142.\n  \" Pirst in the Church, 316.\n  \" Local or Ward, 319.\n  \" Manner of electing, 140.\n  \" Objections to, 145.\n  \" of Constantinople, 149.\n  \" Presiding, 318.\n  \" Pre-eminence of Roman, 144, 146, 150.\n  \" Traveling, 319.\n  Blasphemy, 52, 57.\n  Boleyn, Anne, 259.\n  Bull of Excommunication burned, 215, 225.\n\n  Cajetan, Cardinal Thomas, appointed to hear cause of Luther, 212.\n  Cajetan urges Luther's excommunication, 215.\n  Calvin, John, 266.\n  \" Spread of his doctrine, 254.\n  \" Views on church government, 253.\n  \" Views on eucharist, 254.\n  Ceremonies, Addition to, 128.\n  Charles V, Emperor Germany, 215.\n  \" annuls edict of Worms and Augsburg, 221.\n  \" decides against Protestants, 221.\n  \" rupture with pope, 218.\n  Christian III of Denmark regulates religious affairs of his kingdom, 257.\n  Christians, Unwise Zeal of, 123.\n  Christiern II, King of Sweden and Denmark, 255.\n  \" Banished from Denmark, 256.\n  \" driven from Sweden, 255.\n  \" Invites Reynhard, Carlstadt and Luther to Denmark, 256.\n  Church, The, 92,\n  \" A corrupt, 244.\n  \" Attempt to reorganize Nephite, 200.\n  \" Anti-Christian Nephite, 198.\n  \" Condition of, 2d century, 114.\n  \" Condition of, in 4th century, 184.\n  \" Condition of, in 5th century, 185.\n  \" Condition of, subsequent to 5th century, 187.\n  \" Condition of, in 10th century, 188.\n  \" Conferences of, 354.\n  \" destroyed, 189.\n  \" Distinct Protestant, founded, 218.\n  \" Division of, 9th century, 151.\n  \" Early decline of, 155.\n  \" Establishment of, by apostles, 139.\n  \" Government of, modeled on plan of civil government, 143.\n  \" government, opinions on, 99.\n  \" government, Reflections on, 355.\n  \" Growth and present condition of, 409.\n  \" Immoral condition of, 184.\n  \" in America, 64, 96, 97.\n  \" Judiciary system of, 352.\n  \" members of, Duties of, 304.\n  \" Nephite, 198.\n  \" Officers, divinely called, 95.\n  \" Organization of by Joseph Smith, 299.\n  \" organization not perpetuated, 139.\n  \" Progress of, under Constantine, 121.\n  \" The, what it is, etc., 341.\n  \" Territorial divisions of, 349.\n  Clement VII proposes council in Italy, 222.\n  \" rupture with Charles V, 218\n  \" succeeds Hadrian VI, 217.\n  Clergy, Celibacy of, 183.\n  Commerce, afterwards Nauvoo, 393, 398.\n  Conferences appointed, 306.\n  \" The first, 308.\n  Confirmation, Manner of, 303.\n  Consecration, Law of, 322.\n  Constantine, 119, 120, 121.\n  \" Friendliness to Christians, 120.\n  Constantinople taken by Turks, 206.\n  Cornelius, 76.\n  Councils, Attempt to settle difficulties by, 244.\n  \" Desire for general, 213.\n  \" Difficulty of locating one, 222.\n  \" General, appeal to, 212.\n  \" High, Different kinds, 335.\n  \" \" Fair dealing in, 338.\n  \" \" how organized, 334.\n  \" \" Just judgment in, 339.\n  \" \" Order in, 338.\n  \" \" organized, 333.\n  \" \" Standing, The, 335.\n  \" \" Temporary, 336.\n  \" \" Traveling. The, 335.\n  \" Nicene, The, 171.\n  \" Rise of, 142.\n  \" Trent, The, of, 223, 227.\n  \" Usurpations of, 155.\n  Cowdery, Oliver, one of the three witnesses, 284.\n  \" involved in errors, 309.\n  Cross, Luminous, 119, 124.\n  Crucifixion, 55.\n  Crusades, Influence of the, on liberty, 207.\n  Cumorah, Treasures of, 283.\n  \" Description of, 286.\n  Cyprian, 149, 156.\n\n  Darkness, Age of, 205.\n  \" Three hours', 55, 58.\n  Deacons, Duties of, 306.\n  \" Quorums of, 348.\n  Dead, Baptism for, 381, 390.\n  \" Salvation for, 377.\n  Diet at Augsburg, The, 220.\n  \" Spire, The, 219.\n  \" Worms, The, 215, 216.\n  Diocletian, 117,\n  Distinctions, Class, among Nephites, 198.\n  \" Revival of, 199.\n  Dispersions, Miscellaneous, 367.\n  Dispensation of Fullness of Times,\n  \" Preparation for opening the, 266.\n  \" Meaning of, 275.\n  \" Character of, 409.\n  Domitian, 110, 111.\n  Duties of deacons, 306.\n  \" elders, 305.\n  \" members, 304.\n  \" priests, 306.\n  \" teachers, 306.\n\n  Eckius, John, theologian of Ingolstadt, 212.\n  \" Discussion with Carlstadt, 215.\n  \" Discussion with Luther, 213.\n  Edicts of Severus, 113.\n  Elders, Duties of, 305.\n  \" Quorums of, 347.\n  Elias, Appearing of, 360.\n  Elijah, Appearing of, 360.\n  Eucharist--see Sacrament.\n  Events, Chronological order of, neglected, 49.\n  \" Order of, 47.\n  Excommunication, Manner of, 162.\n\n  Faith, Catholic, Rule of, 242.\n  Far West, Founding of, 392.\n  Fear, Political, 51.\n  Feudalism, Breaking up of, 207.\n  Frederick, Elector of Saxony, 215.\n  \" Death of, 218.\n  \" Duke of Holstein and Sleswick succeeds Christiern II of Denmark, 256.\n  \" Gives religious liberty to Denmark, 256.\n  Free will, Discussion on, 213.\n\n  Gamaliel, 73.\n  Gathering, first command to gather, 316.\n  \" Object of, 372.\n  Gentiles, Gospel taken to, 76.\n  George, Duke of Saxony joins in demand for general council, 213.\n  \" at the discussion between Luther and Eckius, 215.\n  \" on the corruptions of the church, 225.\n  Gifts Spiritual, 92.\n  \" Decline of, 161, 176.\n  \" On continuance of, 175.\n  Glory, different degrees of, 382.\n  \" Celestial, The, 384.\n  \" Terrestrial, The, 385.\n  \" Telestial, The, 385.\n  \" Degrees within the three great divisions, 386.\n  \" Progress within degrees of, 387.\n  God, Appears to Joseph Smith, 278.\n  \" Arian theory of, 171.\n  \" Christian doctrine respecting, 164.\n  \" Existence of, 301.\n  \" Form of, etc., 279.\n  \" Immateriality of, 173.\n  \" Orthodox view of, 170.\n  \" Sabellian theory of, 170.\n  Godhead, Oneness of the, 173.\n  \" Illustration of, 176.\n  \" Man may attain unto, 395.\n  Gods, Heathen, 21.\n  Gospel, supplants the law, 44.\n  \" Spread of, 77.\n  \" Messiah, author of, 177.\n  \" Fragmentary histories of, 65.\n  \" Moral precepts, Departure from, 180.\n  Government, Helps in, 351.\n  \" Roman, 24.\n  Grace, Catholic view of, 233.\n  \" Controversy on, 230.\n  \" Facts which enter the question of, 231.\n  \" Falling from, 302.\n  \" Pelagian view of, 233.\n  \" Protestant view of, 233.\n  Gregory VII, 205.\n\n  Harris, Martin, one of the three witnesses, 284.\n  Henry IV, Humiliation of, 205, 224.\n  Henry VIII, of England, champion Roman church, 258.\n  \" Marriage to Catharine of Aragon, 258.\n  \" Divorce of, 259.\n  \" Rupture with pope, 259.\n  Hermit, Peter the, 207.\n  Herod, Antipas, 38, 41.\n  \" the Great, 13, 17.\n  Herodias, 38.\n  Hosanna, Shout of, 359.\n  House of the Lord, All nations to flow unto the, 374.\n  Huguenots, Character of the, 255.\n\n  Immaterialists, Atheists, 178.\n  Indulgences, Nature of, 209.\n  \" Origin of, 209.\n  \" Position of Catholic church respecting, 230.\n  \" To be accompanied by reformation, 238.\n  \" Traffic in, 210.\n  Interpretation of Bible, Private, 243.\n  \" Private, effects of, 246.\n  Israel, Blood of, sprinkled in all nations, 367.\n  \" Captivity of, 363.\n  \" Enslaved, 363.\n  \" Latter-day Saints of, 375.\n  \" Miscellaneous Dispersion of, 367.\n  \" Revolt of Ten Tribes of, 363.\n  \" Scattering of, 365.\n  \" Settlement of, in Canaan, 373.\n  \" The gathering of, 368.\n  \" Ten tribes of, preparatory work to their return, 370.\n  \" Who are, 362.\n\n  Jealousy, Religious, 51.\n  Jesus Christ, Appearance among Nephites, 62.\n  \" Appears to Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery, 278, 360.\n  \" Ascension, 62.\n  \" Baptism of, 37.\n  \" Before Pilate and Herod, 54.\n  \" Betrayal of, 53.\n  \" Birth of, 11, 16.\n  \" Burial of, 56.\n  \" Charges against, 52.\n  \" Childhood of, 34, 39.\n  \" Common people hear, 51.\n  \" Crucifixion of, 55.\n  \" Defense of, 57.\n  \" Divinity of, 47.\n  \" Doctrines of, 43.\n  \" Manner of Teaching, 48.\n  \" Ministry of, 43.\n  \" Mission of, 83, 301.\n  \" Resurrection of, 60.\n  \" Temptation of, 43.\n  \" Trial of, 53.\n  \" Jews, Judgment upon, 107.\n  \" State of, 26.\n  \" John, The apostle, 196.\n  \" John, the Baptist, 35.\n  \" Martyrdom of, 38.\n  \" Mission of, 36.\n  \" Restores Aaronic Priesthood, 296, 311.\n  \" Was he Elias, 40.\n  Joseph, husband of Mary, 11.\n  John, Prince, succeeds Frederic the Wise, 218.\n  \" signs the Augsburg confession, 220.\n  Judah, Final overthrow of, 373.\n  \" Kingdom of, 394.\n  Judas, 52.\n  Judgment, eternal, Christian dogma of, 378.\n  \" True doctrine of, 378.\n  Justification by faith, Luther on, 234, 239.\n  \" Catholic church on, 237.\n  \" Evil results of, 239.\n  \" and sanctification, 302.\n\n  Keys of former dispensations restored, 360.\n  Kirtland, Breaking up at, 392.\n  Knight, Joseph, 307.\n  \" Newel, 307.\n  Knox, John, Scotch reformer, 261.\n  \" sent to galleys, 261.\n  \" his work in Scotland, 262.\n\n  Law added to gospel, 45.\n  Learning, Revival of, 205.\n  Leo X, indifference to German agitation, 211.\n  \" Luther's appeal from, 212.\n  \" Death of, 217.\n  Liberty, Religious, secured, 223.\n  \" \" secured by U. S. Constitution, 270.\n  Life, Double rule of, 180.\n  \" Origin of false idea of moral, 181.\n  Literature, Greek, Influence of, 224.\n  Logos, Plato's, 169.\n  \" in Trinity, 170.\n  Lying accounted a virtue, 183.\n  Luther, Martin, Birth of, 208.\n  \" at Wartburg, 217.\n  \" before Diet at Worms, 215.\n  \" burns pope's bull, 215, 225.\n  \" Character of, 226.\n  \" Danger of doctrine, 236.\n  \" Death of, 222.\n  \" Fundamental doctrine of, 234.\n  \" excommunicated, 215, 226.\n  \" his answer to Diet, 216.\n  \" Mischief of doctrine, 235.\n  \" on Indulgences, 224.\n  \" Preaching of, 208.\n  \" visits Rome, 208.\n\n  Magi, 13.\n  Man, Creation and Fall of, 301.\n  Manifesto, discontinuing plural marriage, 407.\n  Marriage, Celestial, introduced, 394.\n  \" Covenant, Eternity of, 394.\n  \" Establishment of plural, 396.\n  \" Plural, 394.\n  \" \" Discontinued, 407.\n  \" \" Enactments of Congress against, 405.\n  Martyrdom of the prophets, 401.\n  Martyrs, Christian, 124.\n  \" \" Worship of, 161.\n  Mary Magdalene, 61.\n  Mary, the mother of Jesus, 11.\n  Mass, Institution of, 133.\n  Matthias, 70.\n  Maximilian I, Emperor of Germany, 212.\n  Melanchthon, Philip, drafts religious formula, 218.\n  \" drafts Augsburg Confession, 220.\n  Messiah \u00e2\u20ac\u201d see Jesus Christ.\n  Metropolitans, Origin of, 142.\n  Ministry, Commencement of, 307.\n  Miracle, First in the Church, 307.\n  Mission, First, to Lamanites, 315.\n  Missouri, Character of old settlers, 338.\n  \" Saints expelled from, 392.\n  \" Western, 327.\n  Mormon, Book of, 280.\n  \" \" Analysis of, 286.\n  \" \" Means of testing truth of, 292.\n  \" \" The Prophet Joseph's first view of, 283.\n  \" \" Translation and publication, 283.\n  Moroni, Ancient Prophecies quoted by, 281.\n  \" Description of, 285.\n  \" Fourth appearance of, 282.\n  \" First visit to Joseph Smith, 280.\n  \" Warning to Jos. Smith, 282.\n  Moses, Appearing of, 360.\n  Mysteries, Pagan, 22.\n\n  Nazareth, 35, 39.\n  Nature, Convulsions of, 58.\n  Nero, 109, 112.\n  Nephites, Destruction of, 200.\n  Nuremberg, The truce of, 221.\n  Nauvoo, The rise of, 393, 398.\n\n  Opposition, Rise of, 72.\n  Officials, Church, Corruption of, 143.\n  Ordinances, Outward, 127.\n  Organizations, Rerival of secret, 199.\n\n  Paganism, Mysteries of, 22,\n  Pagans, Accusations of, 127.\n  Partridge, Edward, appointed bishop, 316.\n  Passover, 34, 39.\n  Patriarchs, Duties and callings, 345.\n  Paul, 75, 80.\n  \" prophesies of apostasy, 194.\n  Paul III succeeds Clement VII, 222.\n  \" calls Council of Trent, 222.\n  Pentecost, 71, 79.\n  Perdition, Sons of, 388.\n  Persecution, First, 75.\n  \" among Nephites, 198.\n  \" Early church, 353.\n  \" End of Pagan, 119.\n  \" in Jackson County, Mo., 330, 338.\n  \" of Christians by Jews, 105.\n  \" \" Romans, 107.\n  \" second century, A, 123.\n  \" under Aurelius, 115.\n  \" under Severus, 115.\n  \" under Trajan, 116, 123.\n  \" under Diocletian, 117.\n  Petri, Olaus, 255.\n  \" Discussion with Gallius, 256.\n  Pharisees, 27.\n  Philip II of Spain, 257.\n  Philosophy, Gnostic and New Platonic, 166.\n  \" Modes of life to which it led, 168.\n  \" Pagan, mixed with Christian religion, 163.\n  Pilate, 54.\n  Pioneers, Arrival of, in Salt Lake Valley, 403.\n  Polycarp, 115, 122.\n  Popes, Absolute power of, 157.\n  \" Character of language used by, 158.\n  \" Supremacy of, discussed, 214.\n  \" Rise of temporal power of, 153.\n  Predestination, Luther on, 234.\n  \" Melanchthon on, 235.\n  \" Effect of, on the mind, 239.\n  Presbyterian form of church government, 253.\n  Presidency, First, reorganized, 403.\n  Priesthood, Nature of, 340.\n  \" Aaronic, Restoration of, 296.\n  \" Spirit of government by, 340.\n  \" Sphere of Aaronic, 326.\n  \" Time of restoration of Melchisedek, 311.\n  Priests, Duties of, 306.\n  \" High, Duties, Powers, 346.\n  \" Quorums of, 348.\n  Prophecies on gathering of Israel, 368.\n  \" quoted by Moroni, 281.\n  Protestant, Confession of Faith, 220.\n  \" Origin of name, 219.\n  \" objection to Catholic abuses, 220.\n  \" Reverses of, 222.\n  \" Victory of, 223.\n  Punishment, Eternal, Sectarian dogma, of, 378, 389.\n  Puritans Character of, 269.\n  \" Intolerance of, 264.\n  \" not satisfied with reformation, 260.\n  Rebellion, Luther's, 242.\n  \" Revolution, not, 244.\n  Reformation, Catholic view of, 245.\n  \" in Switzerland, 252.\n  \" in France, 255.\n  \" in Sweden, 255, 267.\n  \" in Denmark, 256, 268.\n  \" Motives back of, 249.\n  \" Reproach of, 250.\n  \" Revolution, not, 246.\n  \" True cause of, 245, 249.\n  Reformers, Divisions among, 250.\n  \" The error of, 248.\n  Relatives of Jesus, 111.\n  Resurrection, 60.\n  Rigdon, Sidney, accepts gospel, 315.\n  Rites, Pagan, joined to Christian, 137.\n\n  Sacrament, 52.\n  \" Administration, Manner of 134, 304.\n  \" Corrupted, 132.\n  \" Suppression of half, the 134.\n  \" Views of Calvin and Zwingle on, 254.\n  Sadducees, 27.\n  Saints, Latter-day, added to Church title, 299.\n  \" Errors of, 309.\n  \" Expulsion of from Illinois, 402.\n  \" Expulsion of, from Jackson County, Mo., 330.\n  \" Flight of, to the west, 402.\n  Salvation, Conditions of, 91.\n  \" General, 84.\n  \" Individual, 89.\n  Samaritans, 29, 365.\n  Sanctification, 302.\n  Sanhedrim, 32.\n  Schools, Sunday, 351.\n  Scripture, Missing parts of, 66.\n  Sects, Multiplication of, 248.\n  Serfdom, Release of masses from, 206.\n  Seventies, 46.\n  \" Nature of calling, etc., 344.\n  \" Organization of, 337.\n  \" Presiding quorum of, 344.\n  Sign of dove, 42.\n  Signs of Christ's birth, 13.\n  Smalcald, League of, 221.\n  Smith, Joseph, Birth and parentage of, 275.\n  \" first prayer and vision, 277.\n  \" martyrdom of, 401.\n  \" name foretold, 285.\n  Societies, Female Relief, 351.\n  Spirits in prison, Preaching to, 379.\n  \" Messiah preaching to, 390.\n\n  Tacitus, 109.\n  Taylor, President John, 404.\n  \" \" Description of, 415.\n  Teachers, Duties of, 306.\n  \" False, to arise, 192.\n  \" Quorum of, 348.\n  Temple, Kirtland, The, 358, 361.\n  \" Manifestations in, 359.\n  \" Salt Lake, Laying capstone of, 408.\n  \" Site of, in Jackson Co., 327.\n  Temporal affairs, 74.\n  Temptations, Order of, 47.\n  Tetzel, John, his connection with indulgences, 211.\n  \" Luther's assault upon, 211.\n  \" Character of, 225.\n  \" Death of, 230, 239.\n  Toleration, Heathen, 21.\n  Traditions, 67.\n  Trajan, 116.\n  Trent, Council of, 223.\n  \" Pestilence at, 227.\n  Tribes, Ten, depart for north, 373,\n  \" lost, 363.\n  \" Return of, 368, 374.\n  \" Revolt of, 363.\n  Trinity, Doctrine of the, 302.\n\n  United States government, Hand of God in establishment of, 271.\n  Urban II favors crusades, 208.\n\n  Vasa, Gustavus, king of Sweden, 255.\n  Vision at first Conference of the Church, 312.\n  \" Importance of Joseph Smith's first, 278.\n  \" Joseph Smith's first, 277.\n  Voice of God and of the people in Church government, 300.\n\n  Wards, how organized, 350.\n  Whitmer, David, one of the Three Witnesses, 284.\n  Whitnev, Newel K., appointed Bishop, 316, 326.\n  Witnesses, Three, 284.\n  Woodruff, President Wilford, 405.\n  \" issues Manifesto, 407.\n  \" lays capstone of Salt Lake Temple, 408.\n  Works, Good, Luther on, 234.\n  \" Catholics trusted in, 237.\n  World, Condition of, etc., 20.\n  \" Pagan, Arraignment of, 23.\n  \" State at Christ's birth, 24.\n  Worship, on Sunday, Reason why, 135.\n  \" Description of, 135.\n  \" of martyrs, 161, 175.\n  \" Simplicity of, changed, 160.\n  Wycliffe, John, English reformer, 259, 268.\n\n  Y. M. and Y. L. M. I. A., 351.\n  Young, Brigham, Birth, etc., 403.\n  \" Character of, 415.\n  \" chosen President of the Church, 403.\n\n  Zion, Location of, etc., 320, 326.\n  \" Camp of, 331.\n  \" Stakes of, 349.\n  Zwingle, birth, teaching, death, 252.\n  \" recognized gradation in Church officers, 252.\n  \" views on eucharist, 254.\n  \" views on predestination, 254.\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note\n\nVarious spelling and punctuation errors in the original print edition have\nbeen corrected as seemed reasonable. This ebook was developed using scans\navailable at https://archive.org/details/outlinesofeccles1902robe.","title":"Outlines of Ecclesiastical History","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":151429}