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THE 
 
 ARTICLES OF FAITH 
 
 A SERIES OF LECTURES ON THE 
 PRINCIPAL DOCTRINES OF 
 
 THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF 
 LATTER-DAY SAINTS, 
 
 Dr. JAMES K. TALMAGE, 
 
 WRITTEN BY APPOINTMENT; AND PUBLISHED BY THE CHURCH. 
 
 The Deseret News, 
 
 salt lake city, utah, 
 
 1899. 
 
r 2 5 _.\ -* c 
 
 ti r 
 
 
 Entered According to Act of Congress, 
 
 in the Year 1899, 
 
 By James E. Talmage, 
 
 In the office of the Librarian of 
 
 Congress, at Washington. 
 
Bancroft Library 
 
 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH 
 
 OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER- 
 DAY SAINTS. 
 
 1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and 
 in the Holy Ghost. 
 
 2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for 
 Adam's transgression. 
 
 3. We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be 
 saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. 
 
 4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are:— 
 (1) Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; (2) Repentance; (3) Baptism by immersion 
 for the remission of sins; (4) Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the 
 laying on of hands, by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and 
 administer in the ordinances thereof. 
 
 6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, 
 viz: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc. 
 
 7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, 
 interpretation of tongues, etc. 
 
 8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated cor- 
 rectly; We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. 
 
 9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we 
 believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to 
 the Kingdom of God. 
 
 10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the 
 Ten Tribes; That Zion will be built upon this [the American] continent; That 
 Christ will reign personally upon the earth: and, That the earth will be renewed 
 and receive its paradisiacal glory. 
 
 11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the 
 dictates of our conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them wor- 
 ship how, where, or what they may. 
 
 12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, 
 in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. 
 
 13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in 
 doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul, 
 We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and 
 hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of 
 good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.— Joseph Smith. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The lectures herewith presented have been prepared in 
 accordance with the request and appointment of the First 
 Presidency of the Church. The greater number of the 
 addresses were delivered before the Theology Class of the 
 Church University; and, after the close of the class sessions, 
 the lectures were continued before other Church organiza- 
 tions engaged in the study of Theology. To meet the de- 
 sire expressed by the Church authorities, — that the lectures 
 be published for use in the various educational institutions 
 of the Church, — the matter has been revised, and is now 
 presented in this form. 
 
 In anticipation of probable question or criticism regard- 
 ing the disparity of length of the several lectures, it may 
 be stated that each of the addresses occupied two or more 
 class sessions, and that the present arrangement of the 
 matter in separate lectures, is rather one of compilation 
 than of original presentation. 
 
 The author's thanks are due and are heartily rendered to 
 the members of the Committee appointed by the First 
 Presidency, whose pains-taking and efficient examination of 
 the manuscript, prior to the delivery of the lectures, has 
 inspired some approach to confidence in the prospective 
 value of the book among members of the Church. The 
 committee here referred to consisted of Elders Francis M. 
 Lyman, Abraham H. Cannon, and Anthon H. Lund, of 
 the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elder George Rey- 
 nolds, one of the Presidents of the Presiding Quorum of 
 Seventy; Elder John Nicholson, and Dr. Karl G. Maeser. 
 
 The lectures are now published by the Church, and with 
 them goes the hope of the author that they may prove of 
 some service to the many students of the scriptures among 
 our people, and to other earnest enquirers into the doc- 
 trines and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
 Latter-day Saints. James E. Tallage. 
 
 Salt Lake City, Utah, April 3, 1899. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 Introductory. 
 
 [mportance of theological study.— What is Theology?— Extent of the science.— 
 Theology and religion.— Origin of the "Articles of Faith."— Standard works 
 of the Church.— Joseph Smith the Prophet.— His parentage and youth.— His 
 search for truth and the result— First vision.— Angelic visitations.— Later 
 developments, the martyrdom.— Authenticity of his mission. 1-26 
 
 LECTURE II, ARTICLE 1. 
 God and the Godhead. 
 
 The existence of God.— Attested by general assent of humanity.— Evidence of his- 
 tory and tradition.— Evidence supplied by human reason.— Evidence of direct 
 revelation.— The Godhead, a Trinity.— Unity of the Godhead.— Unauthorized 
 dogmas refuted.— Personality of each member of the Godhead.— Some of 
 the Divine attributes.— Idolatry and atheism.— Immaterialism a variety of 
 atheism. — God in nature. 27-53 
 
 LECTURE III, ARTICLE 2. 
 Transgression and the Fall. 
 Man's free agency, recognized by the Lord.— Man's responsibility.— Sin.— Sins 
 committed in ignorance— Punishment for sin, natural and necessary.— 
 Duration of punishment.— Refutation of the false doctrine of unending tor- 
 ment.— Satan, his former position and his fall.— Our first parents in Eden. — 
 The temptation and the Fall.— Adam s wise choice.— The expulsion from 
 the Garden.— The Tree of Life guarded.— Results of the Fall.— The Fall fore- 
 ordained and essential.— The blessed heritage of mortality. 54-75 
 
 LECTURE IV, ARTICLE 3. 
 The Atonement, and Salvation. 
 Nature of the Atonement.— Reconciliation.— A vicarious sacrifice.— Voluntary 
 and love-inspired.— The atonement fore-ordained and foretold.— Extent of 
 the atonement.— General salvation.— Individual salvation.— Salvation and 
 exaltation.— Degrees of glory.— Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial king- 
 doms. 76-97 
 LECTURE V, ARTICLE 4. 
 Faith and Repentance. 
 Nature of Faith.— Faith, belief, and knowledge compared.— Belief among the 
 devils.— The foundation of faith.— Faith a principle of power. — A condition 
 of living faith.— Faith essential to salvation.— A gift from God.— Faith and 
 works.— Nature of repentance.— Conditions for securing forgiveness. — Re- 
 pentance essential to salvation.— Repentance a gift from God.— Not always 
 possible to repent.— Perils of procrastinating the day of repentance.— Re- 
 pentance beyond the grave. 98-121 
 
 LECTURE VI, ARTICLE 4. 
 Baptism. 
 
 Nature of the ordinance.— Its establishment.— The baptism of Adam.— The 
 special purpose of baptism.— Fit candidates.— Infant baptism.— History of 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 this erratic practice.— Pedo-baptism unsupported by the Bible, and forbidden 
 by other scriptures.— Baptism essential to salvation.— The baptism of 
 Christ.— "To fulfill all righteousness." 12-2-138 
 
 LECTURE VII, ARTICLE 4. 
 Baptism,— Continued. 
 Importance of proper method in administering the ordinance.— Derivation of 
 the word "baptize," and early usage of the original.— Immersion the only 
 true mode.— The sacred symbolism of the rite is preserved in no other mode. 
 —Immersion the only mode practised in early days.— Baptism by immersion 
 among the Nephites.— Modern baptism.— "Re-baptism" not a distinct ordi- 
 nance.— "Re-baptisms" recorded in scripture are few and exceptional.— Bap- 
 tism for the dead.— Christ's ministry among the departed.— The spirits in 
 prison.— Vicarious work of the living for the dead.— Elijah's heavenly mes- 
 sage.— Temples, ancient and modern. . 139-161 
 
 LECTURE VIII, ARTICLE 4. 
 The Holy Ghost. 
 The promised Comforter.— The Holy Ghost a Member of the Godhead.— His 
 distinct personality.— His powers.— His office in ministering to mankind.— To 
 whom given.— Exceptional instances of His visitation before baptism. -The 
 ordinance of bestowal.— Power of the priesthood requisite.— Gifts of the 
 Spirit.— Lay ing-on of hands, characteristic of sacred ordinances. 160-174 
 
 LECTURE IX, IN connection WITH ARTICLE 4. 
 The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. 
 Meaning of the term, Sacrament.— The Lord's Supper.— Institution of the ordi- 
 nance among the Jews.— Also among the Nephites.— Fit partakers of the 
 Sacrament.— Purpose of the ordinance, and associated promises.— The sacra- 
 mental emblems.— Manner of administration.— The Passover and the Sacra- 
 ment.— Errors concerning the Sacrament. 175-183 
 LECTURE X, ARTICLE 5. 
 Authority in the Ministry. 
 Men called of God.— Scriptural examples. — Ordination to the ministry.— The 
 authorized imposition of hands.— Sacrilege of attempted ministrations with- 
 out authority.— Instances of Divine wrath.— Teachers, true and false. — 
 Divine authority in the present dispensation.— Restoration of the Aaronic 
 Priesthood by John the Baptist.— And of the Melchisedek Priesthood by 
 Peter, James, and John.— Fore-ordination of men to special callings.— 
 Christ's fore-ordination.— Pre-existence of spirits.— Our primeval child- 
 hood. 184-200 
 LECTURE XI, ARTICLE 6. 
 The Church and its Plan of Organization. 
 The Church in former and latter days.— The Primitive Church.— Apostasy from 
 the Primitive Church.— The great apostasy was foretold.— Restoration of the 
 Church in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.— Plan of government in 
 the restored Church.— Orders and offices in the priesthood.— The Aaronic, in- 
 cluding the Levitical.— The Melchisedek order.— Specific offices in the priest- 
 hood.— Deacons, Teachers, Priests.— Elders,- Seventies, High Priests.— 
 Patriarchs, or Evangelists.— Apostles.— The First Presidency.— The Twelve 
 Apostles.— The Presiding Quorum of Seventy.— The Presiding Bishopric— 
 Local organizations, Stakes and Wards.— Stake Presidency,— High Council. 
 —Ward Bishopric— Helps in government. 201-218 
 
CONTEXTS. Vll 
 
 LECTURE XII, ARTICLE 7. 
 Spiritual Gifts. 
 Spiritual gifts characteristic of the Church.— Nature of these gifts.— Miracles.— 
 Partial enumeration of the gifts.— Tongues and Interpretation.— Healing.— 
 Visions and Dreams.— Prophecy.— Revelation.— The testimony of miracles, 
 not an infallible guide.— Imitations of spiritual gifts.— Miracles wrought by 
 evil powers.— Devils working miracles.— Spiritual gifts today. 219-239. 
 
 LECTURE XIII, ARTICLE 8. 
 The Bible. 
 The first of our standard works.— The name "Bible."— The Old Testament.— Its 
 origin and growth.— Language of the Old Testament.— The Septuagint.— Pen- 
 tateuch.— Historical books.— Poetical books.— Books of the prophets.— 
 Apocrypha.— The New Testament.— Its origin and authenticity.— Classifica- 
 tion of its books.— Early versions of the Bible. Modern versions.— Genuine- 
 ness and authenticity.— Book of Mormon testimony concerning Bible. 240-260. 
 
 LECTURE XIV, ARTICLE 8. 
 The Book of Mormon. 
 Description and origin.— Mormon's visit to Joseph Smith.— The inspired title- 
 page.— The Nephite nation,— The Jaredites.— The ancient plates.— Mormon's 
 abridgment of the plates of Nephi.-The translation of the record.— Classi- 
 fication and arrangement of the books.— Genuineness of the Book of Mor- 
 mon.— Testimony of the witnesses.— Theories of its origin.— The "Spaulding 
 
 Story." 261-280 
 
 LECTURE XV. ARTICLE 8, 
 
 The Book of Mormon,— Continued. 
 Authenticity of the Book of Mormon.— The Book of Mormon and the Bible. 
 —Ancient prophecy fulfilled in the coming forth of the Book of Mor- 
 mon.— Consistency of the book.— Its contained prophecies.— External evi- 
 dence.— Archeological evidence of the early occupation of America.— Israel- 
 itish origin of the American aborigines.— Common origin of all the native 
 "races."— Language of the Book of Mormon compared with the language of 
 the ancient Americans.— Survival of the Egyptian and the Hebrew. — Testi- 
 mony of investigators. 281-307 
 LECTURE XVI, ARTICLE 9. 
 Revelation, past, present, and future. 
 What is revelation?— Revelation and inspiration.— God's means of communica- 
 tion.— Ancient revelators.— Christ, a Revelator.— Doctrine of continual i-eve- 
 lation.— Well-established, scriptural and reasonable.— Alleged scriptural ob- 
 jections met and answered.— Modern revelation.— Without revelation there 
 can be no true Church.— Revelation yet awaited. 308-325 
 LECTURE XVII, ARTICLE 10. 
 The Dispersion of Israel. 
 Israel.— Brief history of the nation.— Dispersion foretold.— Biblical prophecies. 
 —Book of Mormon predictions.— Fulfilment of these dire prophecies.— Fate 
 of the kingdom of Israel.— Scattering of Judah.— The Lost Tribes. 326-340 
 LECTURE XVIII, ARTICLE 10. 
 The Gathering of Israel. 
 Predictions of the gathering.— Prophecies in Bible and Book of Mormon.— 
 Modern revelation concerning the gathering.— Extent and purpose of the 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 gathering.— Israel a chosen people.— All nations blessed through Israel.— 
 Restoration of the Ten Tribes.— Zion to be first established.— Gathering now 
 in progress. 341-355 
 
 LECTURE XIX, ARTICLE 10. 
 Zion. 
 
 Two gathering places designated.— Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem.— Meaning 
 of "Zion."— The Zion of Enoch.— The Lord's definition of "Zion."— Modern 
 revelation concerning Zion.— Establishment delayed.— Center-place in Mis- 
 souri.— The founding of Zion in the last days. 356-366 
 
 LECTURE XX, ARTICLE 10. 
 
 Christ's Reign on Earth. 
 
 Christ's first and second advents compared.— Predictions of His second coming. 
 
 — Signs described.— Modern revelation on the matter.— Precise time not 
 
 known.— Christ's reign.— The Kingdom of God.— The Kingdom of Heaven.— 
 
 Kingdom and Church.— Millennium.— Satan's power to be curtailed. 367-383 
 
 LECTURE XXI, ARTICLE 10. 
 Regeneration and Resurrection. 
 The earth under the curse.— Regeneration of the earth.— The earth during and 
 after the Millennium.— Absence of evidence from science.— Resurrection of 
 the body. — Predictions. — Two general resurrections, first, and final.— Resur- 
 rection of the just.— And that of the unjust.— Christ's resurrection and that 
 immediately following.— Resurrection at Christ's second coming.— The 
 heathen in the first resurrection.— Resurrection after Millennium. 384-405. 
 
 LECTURE XXII, ARTICLE 11. 
 Religious Liberty and Toleration. 
 What is worship?— Freedom in worship an inalienable right.— Religious intoler- 
 ance sinful.— Toleration does not imply acceptance.— Man's accountabil- 
 ity.— Results of his acts.— Degrees of glory provided.— The Celestial glory.— 
 The Terrestrial.— The Telestial. — Gradation within the Kingdoms.— The Sons 
 of Perdition. 406-423. 
 
 LECTURE XXIII, ARTICLE 12. 
 Submission to Secular Authority. 
 Scriptural recognition of secular powers.— Examples set by Christ and His 
 apostles.— Apostolic teachings.— Modern revelation regarding duty to laws of 
 the land. — People of God are of necessity law abiding.— Teachings of the 
 Church today. 424-440. 
 
 LECTURE XXIV, ARTICLE 13. 
 Practical Religion. 
 Religion has to do with daily life.— Comprehensiveness of our faith.— Benevo- 
 lence enjoined.— Free-will offerings.— Fast offerings. — Tithing.— Consecration 
 and stewardship.— The United Order.— Social order within the Church.— 
 Marriage.— Celestial Marriage.— Unlawful association of the sexes.— The 
 sanctity of the body. 441-461 
 
 Appendix: Outline for class review of the Lectures. 463-484 
 
 Index. 485-490 
 
LECTURES 
 
 Articles ok Faith 
 
 OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF 
 LATTER-DAY SAINTS. 
 
 LECTUKE I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 1. Importance of Theological Study: — In the short period 
 of time that measures the span of mortal existence, it is 
 not possible for man to explore any considerable portion of 
 the vast realm of knowledge ; it becomes, therefore, the part 
 of wisdom to select for study the branches that promise to 
 prove of the greatest worth. All truth is of value — above 
 price indeed in its place, yet with respect to their possible 
 application, some truths are of incomparably greater worth 
 than are others. A knowledge of the principles of trade is 
 essential to the success of the merchant; an acquaintance 
 with the laws of navigation is demanded of the mariner ; 
 familiarity with the relation of soil and crops is indispen- 
 sable to the farmer ; an understanding of the profound prin- 
 ciples of mathematics is necessary to the engineer and the 
 astronomer ; so too is a practical knowledge of God essential 
 to the salvation of every human soul that has attained to 
 powers of judgment and discretion. The value of theolog- 
 ical knowledge, therefore, ought not to be under-rated; it 
 
2 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I. 
 
 is doubtful if its importance can in any way be over-esti- 
 mated. 
 
 2. What is Theology?— The word ''theology" is of Greek 
 origin; it comes to us from Theos, meaning God, and logos 
 — a treatise, or discourse, signifying by derivation, there- 
 fore, collated knowledge of Divinity, or the science that 
 teaches us of God, implying also the relation existing be- 
 tween the Supreme Being and His creatures. The term is 
 of very ancient usage, and may be traced to pagan sources. 
 Plato and Aristotle speak of theology as the doctrine of 
 Deity and divine things. Concisely defined, theology "is 
 that revealed science which treats of the being and attri- 
 butes of God, His relations to us, the dispensations of His 
 providence, His will with respect to our actions, and His 
 purposes with respect to our end."° 
 
 3. It has been held by some as a truth, that theological 
 knowledge is not properly a subject for analytical and 
 otherwise scientific treatment on the part of man ; that inas- 
 much as a true conception of Deity, with which theology has 
 primarily to deal, must necessarily be based upon revelation 
 from the source divine, we can but receive such knowledge as 
 it is graciously given ; and that to attempt critical investigation 
 thereof by the fallible powers of human judgment, would be 
 to apply as a measure of the doings of God, the utterly in- 
 adequate wisdom of man. Many truths are beyond the 
 scope of unaided human reason, and theological facts have 
 been declared to be above reason ; this is true so far as the 
 same remark might be applied to any other kind of truth ; 
 for all truth, being eternal, is superior to reason in the 
 sense of being manifest to reason, and not a creation of 
 reason ; nevertheless truths are to be estimated and compared 
 by the exercise of reason. 
 
 a See Doc. & Cov. supplement to Lecture I on Faith; Buck's Theological Dic- 
 tionary p. 582. 
 
INTRO.] THEOLOGY. 3 
 
 4. The Extent of Theology: — Who can survey the bound- 
 aries of this science? It deals with Deity — the fountain of 
 knowledge, the source of wisdom ; with the proofs of the exis- 
 tence of a Supreme Being, and of other supernatural per- 
 sonalities ; with the conditions under which, and the means 
 by which, divine revelation is imparted; with the eternal 
 principles governing the creation of worlds ; with the laws of 
 nature in all their varied manifestations. Primarily, theol- 
 ogy is the science of God and religion ; it seeks to present 
 "the systematic exhibition of revealed truth, the science of 
 Christian faith and life." But in a more general sense, theol- 
 ogy has to do with other truths than those which are spe- 
 cifically called spiritual; its domain is co-extensive with 
 that of truth. 
 
 5. The industrial pursuits that benefit mankind, the arts 
 that please and refine, the sciences that enlarge and exalt 
 the mind, are but fragments of the great though yet uncom- 
 pleted volume of truth that has come to earth from a source 
 of eternal and infinite supply. The comprehensive study 
 of theology, therefore, would embrace all known truths, 
 God has constituted Himself as the great teacher ; b by per- 
 sonal manifestations or through the ministrations of His 
 appointed servants, He instructs His mortal children. To 
 Adam He introduced the art of agriculture, c and even 
 taught by example that of tailoring f to Noah and JNTephi 
 He gave instructions in ship building; 6 Lehi and Nephi 
 were taught of Him in the arts of navigation f and for their 
 guidance on the water, as in their journeyings on land, He 
 prepared for them the Liahona/ a compass operated by a 
 
 b See Key to Theology, by Parley P. Pratt, chap. i. 
 
 c Gen. ii, 8: Pearl of Great Price (1888 ed.), p. 12. 
 
 d Gen. iii, 21 ; Pearl of Great Price, p. 17. 
 
 e Gen. vi, 14; I Nephi, xvii 8; xviii, 1-4. 
 
 / I Nephi, xviii, 12, 21. 
 
 g I Nephi, xvi, 10,16, 26-30; xviii, 12, 21; Alma xxxvii, 38. 
 
4 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I. 
 
 force more effective than that of terrestrial magnetism; 
 furthermore, Moses received divine instructions in architec- 
 ture.' 1 
 
 6. Theology and Religion, though closely related, are 
 by no means identical. A person may be deeply versed in 
 theological lore, and yet be lacking in religious, and even in 
 moral traits. Theology may be compared to theory, while 
 religion represents practice ; if theology be precept, then re- 
 ligion is example. Each should be the complement of the 
 other ; theological knowledge should strengthen religious faith 
 and practice. As accepted by the Latter-day Saints, theol- 
 ogy comprehends the whole plan of the gospel. "Theology 
 is ordered knowledge, representing in the region of the 
 intellect what religion represents in the heart and life of 
 man."' Knowledge may have to do with the intellect only, 
 and however sublime its import, it may fail to affect the 
 hardened heart. 
 
 7. The "Articles of Faith:" — The beliefs and prescribed 
 practices of most religious sects are usually set forth in for- 
 mal creeds. The Latter-day Saints announce no creed as a 
 complete code of their faith ; for while they hold that the 
 precepts of eternal life are unchangeable, they accept the 
 principle of continuous revelation as a characteristic feature 
 of their belief. However, when asked for a concise presen- 
 tation of the principal religious views of his people, Joseph 
 Smith, the first prophet of the Church in the present dis- 
 pensation, announced as a declaration of belief, the "Articles 
 of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." 
 These include the more essential and characteristic features 
 of the gospel, as accepted by this Church ; but they are not 
 complete as an exposition of our belief, for by one of the 
 Articles it is declared, "We believe all that God has revealed, 
 
 h Exo. xxv, xxvi, xxvii. 
 i W. E. Gladstone. 
 
INTK0.] THEOLOGY. 5 
 
 all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet 
 reveal many great and important things pertaining to the 
 Kingdom of God." From the time of their first promul- 
 gation, the Articles of Faith have been accepted by the 
 people/ and on October 6, 1890, the Latter-day Saints in gen- 
 eral conference assembled, re-adopted the Articles as part of 
 their guide in faith and conduct. As these Articles of 
 Faith present the leading tenets of the Church in systematic 
 order, they suggest themselves as a convenient outline for 
 our plan of study. 
 
 8. The Standard Works of the Church form our written 
 authority in doctrine ; but they are by no means our only 
 sources of information and instruction on the theology of 
 the Church. We believe that God is as willing today as He 
 ever has been to reveal His mind and will to man, and that 
 He does so through chosen and appointed channels. We 
 rely therefore on the teachings of the living oracles of God, 
 as of equal validity with the doctrines of the written word, 
 the men in chief authority being acknowledged and accepted 
 by the Church as prophets and revelators, and as being in 
 possession of the power of the holy Priesthood. The written 
 works adopted by the vote of the Church as authoritative 
 guides in faith and doctrine, are four, — the Bible, the Book 
 of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of 
 Great Price. Other works have been and are being issued 
 by officers and members of the Church, and many such 
 books are unreservedly sanctioned by the people and their 
 ecclesiastical authorities ; but the four publications named 
 are the only regularly constituted standard works of the 
 Church. Of the doctrines treated in the authorized stand- 
 ards, the Articles of Faith may be regarded as a fair, 
 though necessarily but an incomplete epitome. 
 
 j See Note 1. 
 
6 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I. 
 
 JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. 
 
 9. Joseph Smith, whose name is appended to the Articles 
 of Faith, was the prophet through whom the Lord restored 
 to earth in these the last days, the gospel, and this in ac- 
 cordance with declarations made in previous dispensations. 
 The question of the divine authenticity of this man's mis- 
 sion is an all-important one to earnest investigators of 
 Latter-day Saint doctrines. If his claims to a God-given 
 appointment be false, forming, as they do, the foundation 
 of the Church in the last dispensation, the superstructure 
 cannot be stable ; if, however, his purported ordination un- 
 der the hands of heavenly personages be a fact, one need 
 search no further for the cause of the phenomenal strength 
 and growing power of the restored Church. The circum- 
 stances of the divine dealings with Joseph Smith, the mar- 
 velous development of the work instituted by this modern 
 prophet, the fulfilment through his instrumentality of 
 many of the grandest predictions of old, and his own pro- 
 phetic utterances with tlxeir literal realization, will yet be 
 widely acknowledged as proof conclusive of the validity of 
 his ministry. fc The exalted claims maintained for him and 
 his life's work, the fame that has made his name known for 
 good or for evil among most of the civilized nations of the 
 earth, the vitality and growing strength of the religious 
 and social systems which owe their origin as nineteenth- 
 century establishments to the ministrations of this man, 
 give to him an individual importance warranting at least a 
 passing consideration. 
 
 10. His Parentage, Youth, etc.:— Joseph Smith, the third 
 son and fourth child in a family of ten, was born December 
 23rd, 1805, at Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont. He was 
 the son of Joseph, and Lucy Mack Smith, a worthy couple, 
 
 k See Note 3. 
 
INTRO.] JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. 7 
 
 who though in poverty lived happily amid their home scenes 
 of industry and frugality. When the boy, Joseph, was ten 
 years old, the family left Vermont, and settled in the State 
 of Xew York, first at Palmyra, and later at Manchester, 
 Ontario County. At the place last named, the future pro- 
 phet spent most of his boyhood days. In common with his 
 brothers and sisters, he had but little schooling; and for 
 the simple rudiments of an education, which by earnest ap- 
 plication he was able to gain, he was mostly indebted to his 
 parents, who followed the rule of devoting a portion of their 
 limited leisure to the teaching of the younger members of 
 the household. 
 
 11. In their religious inclinations, the family favored the 
 Presbyterian faith, the mother, and three or four of the 
 children having united themselves with that sect; but 
 Joseph, while at one time favorably impressed by the Meth- 
 odist creed, kept himself free from all sectarian membership, 
 being greatly perplexed over the strife and dissensions man- 
 ifesting themselves among the churches of the time. He 
 had a right to expect that in the Church of Christ there 
 would be unity and harmony ; yet in place of such he saw 
 among the wrangling sects only confusion. While Joseph 
 was in his fifteenth year, the region of his home was visited 
 by a storm of fierce religious excitement, which, beginning 
 with the Methodists soon became general among all the 
 sects ; there were revivals and protracted meetings, and the 
 manifestations of sectarian rivalry were many and varied. 
 These conditions added much to the distress of the young 
 searcher after truth. 
 
 12. His Search for Truth and the Result: — Here is 
 Joseph's own account of his course of action: — 
 
 "In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opin- 
 ions, I often said to myself, what is to be done? who of all 
 these parties are right? or, are they all wrong together? If 
 
8 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I. 
 
 any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know 
 it? 
 
 "While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties 
 caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was 
 one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth 
 verse, which reads, 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him 
 ash of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth 
 not, and it shall be given himf l Never did any passage of 
 scripture come with more power to the heart of man than 
 did this at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great 
 force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again 
 and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from 
 God, I did ; for how to act I did not know, and unless I 
 could get more wisdom than I then had, would never know, 
 for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood 
 the same passage so differently as to destroy all confidence 
 in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. At 
 length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain 
 in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James di- 
 rects, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the deter- 
 mination to ask of God, concluding that if He gave wisdom 
 to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally and 
 not upbraid, I might venture. So, in accordance with this, 
 my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods 
 to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful 
 clear day, early in the spring of 1820. It was the first time 
 in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all 
 my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray 
 vocally. 
 
 "After I had retired into the place where I had previously 
 designed to go, having looked around me and finding my- 
 self alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires 
 of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immedi- 
 ately I was seized upon by some power which entirely over- 
 came me, and had such astonishing influence over me as to 
 bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness 
 gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time, as if I 
 were doomed to sudden destruction. But, exerting all my 
 powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of 
 
 l James i, 5. 
 
IXTR0.] JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. 9 
 
 this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very mo- 
 ment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon 
 myself to destruction, not to an imaginary ruin, but to the 
 power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had 
 such a marvelous power as I had never before felt in any be- 
 ing ; just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of 
 light exactly above my head, above the brightness of the 
 sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It 
 no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from 
 the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested 
 upon me, I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory 
 defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of 
 them spake unto me calling me by name, and said (pointing 
 to the other), "This is my beloved Son, hear Him." m 
 
 13. In answer to his prayer for guidance as to which of the 
 sects was right, he was told to join none of them, for all 
 were wrong, with their creeds which are an abomination in 
 the sight of God, and their professors who are corrupt, in 
 that they draw near with their lips while their hearts are far 
 from the Lord, teaching for doctrine the commandments of 
 men, having a form of godliness while denying the power 
 thereof. 
 
 14. Such knowledge as had been communicated in this 
 unprecedented revelation was not to be held captive within 
 the heart of the youth. He hesitated not to impart the 
 glorious truths, first to the members of his family, who re- 
 ceived his testimony with reverence, and then to the sec- 
 tarian ministers, who had labored so diligently to con- 
 vert him to their several creeds. To his surprise, these 
 professed teachers of Christ treated his statements with 
 the utmost contempt, declaring that the day of revela- 
 tion from God had long since passed away ; and that the 
 manifestation, if indeed he had received any such at all, was 
 surely from Satan. Nevertheless, the ministers exerted them- 
 
 m Pearl of Great Price, pp. 86-88,(1888 ed.) 
 
10 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I. 
 
 selves with a unity of purpose strangely at variance with 
 their former hostility toward one another, to ridicule the 
 young man, and to denounce his testimony. The neighbor- 
 hood was aroused; persecution, bitter and vindictive, was 
 waged against him and his family; he was actually fired 
 upon by a would-be assassin ; yet through it all he was pre- 
 served from bodily injury; and in spite of increasing op- 
 position, he remained faithfully steadfast to his testimony 
 of the heavenly visitation. 71 In this condition of trial, he 
 continued without further manifestation for three years, 
 constantly expecting, but never receiving the additional 
 light and added instructions for which he yearned. He was 
 keenly sensitive of his own frailty, and conscious of human 
 weaknesses. He pleaded before the Lord, acknowledging 
 his errors, and craving help. 
 
 15. Angelic Visitations: — On the night of September 
 21st, 1823, while praying for forgiveness of sins, and for 
 guidance as to his future course, he was blessed with 
 another heavenly manifestation. There appeared in his 
 room a brilliant light, in the midst of which stood a person- 
 age clothed in white, and with a countenance of radiant 
 purity and loveliness. The celestial visitor announced him- 
 self as Moroni, a messenger sent from the presence of God; 
 and then proceeded to instruct the youth as to some of the 
 divine purposes, in which Joseph was to take a most im- 
 portant part. The angel said that through Joseph as the 
 earthly instrument, the true Church would be again estab- 
 lished upon the earth; that his name would be known 
 among all nations and tongues, honored by the good, reviled 
 by the wicked; that a record, engraven on plates of gold, 
 giving a history of the nations that had formerly lived upon 
 the western continent, and an account of the Savior's min- 
 istrations among the people on this land, was hidden in a 
 
 n See Note 2. 
 
INTRO.] JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. 11 
 
 hill near by; that with the plates were two sacred stones, 
 known as Urim and Thummim, by the use of which, men in 
 olden times had become seers, and that through those instru- 
 ments God would enable Joseph to translate the record 
 engraven on the plates. 
 
 16. The angelic messenger then repeated several prophe- 
 cies which are recorded in the ancient scriptures ; some of 
 the quotations were given with variations from our Bible 
 readings. Of the words of Malachi the following were 
 quoted: "For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as 
 an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, 
 shall burn as stubble, for they that come shall burn them, 
 saith the Lord of Hosts, and it shall leave them neither 
 root or branch." And further: — "Behold, I will reveal 
 unto you the Priesthood by the hand of Elijah the prophet, 
 before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the 
 Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the 
 promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children 
 shall turn to their fathers ; if it were not so, the whole earth 
 would be utterly wasted at his coming." 1 ' Among other 
 scriptures, Moroni cited the prophecies of Isaiah relating 
 to the restoration of scattered Israel, and the promised reign 
 of righteousness on earth, q saying that the predictions were 
 about to be fulfilled; also the words of Peter to the Jews, 
 concerning the prophet who Moses said would be raised up, 
 explaining that the prophet referred to was Christ, and that 
 the day was near at hand when all who rejected the words 
 of the Savior would be cut off from among the people/ 
 
 17. Having delivered his message, the angel departed, 
 the light in the room seeming to condense about his person, 
 and disappearing with him. But the heavenly visitant re- 
 
 o Compare Malachi iv, I. 
 p Compare Malachi iv, 5- 6. 
 q See Isaiah xi. 
 r See Acts iii, 22-23. 
 
12 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I. 
 
 turned a second and a third time during the night, each 
 time repeating the instructions, with additional admonitions 
 as to the requirements, and warnings regarding temptations 
 that would assail the youthful seer. On the following day, 
 Moroni appeared to Joseph again, reciting anew the instruc- 
 tions and cautions of the preceding night ; and told him to 
 acquaint his father with all he had heard and seen. This 
 the boy did, and the father promptly testified that the com- 
 munications were from God. 
 
 18. Joseph soon repaired to the hill described to him in 
 the vision. He recognized the spot indicated by the angel, 
 and with some labor laid bare a stone box containing the 
 plates and other things spoken of by Moroni. The heavenly 
 messenger again stood beside him ; forbade the removal of 
 the contents at that time, saying that four years were to 
 elapse before the plates would be committed to his care ; and 
 that it would be his duty to visit the spot at yearly intervals. 
 On the occasion of each of these visits the angel instructed 
 the young man more fully regarding the great work awaiting 
 him. 
 
 19. It is not the purpose of the present lecture to review 
 in detail the life and ministry of Joseph Smith ; 8 so much 
 attention has been given to the opening scenes of his 
 divinely-appointed mission, in view of the unusual import- 
 ance associated with the ushering in of the modern or new 
 dispensation of God's providence. The bringing forth of 
 the plates from their resting-place of centuries, their trans- 
 lation by divine power, and the publication of the record as 
 the Book of Mormon, will receive attention on a later occa- 
 sion ; for the present it is sufficient to say that the ancient 
 record has been translated ; that the Book of Mormon has 
 been given to the world ; and that the volume is accepted as 
 a sacred guide by the Latter-day Saints. 
 
 8 See Note 5. 
 
1NTH0.] JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. 13 
 
 20. Later Developments; the Martyrdom: — In due time, 
 the Church of Jesus Christ of- Latter-day Saints was organ- 
 ized ; the Priesthood was restored through the ordination of 
 Joseph Smith by those who had held the keys of that authority 
 in former dispensations. From an initial membership of but 
 six persons, the Church grew to include thousands during 
 the life-time of the Prophet Joseph ; and the growth has 
 continued with phenomenal rapidity and stability until the 
 present time. One by one the powers and authorities pos- 
 sessed by the Church of old were restored through the man 
 who was chosen and ordained to be the first^ elder of the 
 latter-day dispensation. With the spread of the Church, 
 persecution increased, and the effect of evil opposition 
 reached a climax in the cruel martyrdom of the prophet, and 
 his brother Hyrum, then patriarch of the Church, June 27, 
 1844. The incidents leading up to and culminating in the 
 foul murder of these men at Carthage, Illinois, are matters 
 of common history. Suffice it to say that prophet and patri- 
 arch gave the sacred seal of their life's blood to the testi- 
 mony of the truth, which they had valiantly maintained in 
 the face of intolerant persecution for nearly a quarter of a 
 century/ 
 
 21. Authenticity of Joseph Smith's Mission : — The evidence 
 of divine authority in the work established by Joseph Smith, 
 and of the justification of the claims made by and for the 
 man, may be summarized as follows : 
 
 I. Ancient prophecy has been fulfilled in the restoration 
 of the gospel and the re-establishment of the Church upon 
 the earth through his instrumentality. 
 
 II. He received by direct ordination and appointment at 
 the hands of those who held the power in former dispensa- 
 tions, the authority to minister in the various ordinances of 
 the gospel. 
 
 t See Note 4. 
 
14 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I. 
 
 III. His possession of the power of true prophecy, and of 
 other spiritual gifts, is shown. by the results of his ministry. 
 IY. His doctrines are both true and scriptural. 
 
 Each of these classes of evidence will receive attention and 
 find ample demonstration in the course of our study of the 
 Articles of Faith; and a detailed consideration will not be 
 attempted at this stage of our investigation ; a few illustra- 
 tions, briefly stated, however, may not be out of place. 
 
 22. I. The Fulfilment of Prophecy, wrought through the 
 life work of Joseph Smith is abundantly shown. John the 
 Eevelator, from his prophetic vision of the latter-day dispen- 
 sation, understood and predicted that the gospel would 
 be again sent from the heavens, and be restored to the earth 
 through the direct ministration of an angel: — "And I saw 
 another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the ever- 
 lasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, 
 and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."" 
 A partial fulfilment of this prediction is claimed in the 
 manifestation of the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith, as 
 already described, whereby the restoration of the gospel was 
 announced, the speedy realization of other ancient pro- 
 phecies was promised; and a record, described in part as 
 containing "the fulness of the everlasting gospel," was com- 
 mitted to his care for translation and publication among all 
 nations, kindred, and tongues. The remainder of John's fate- 
 ful utterance, regarding the authorized call for repentance 
 and the execution of God's judgment preparatory to the awful 
 scenes of the last days, is now in process of rapid and literal 
 fulfilment. 
 
 23. Malachi predicted the coming of Elijah specially 
 commissioned with power to inaugurate the work of co-op- 
 eration between the fathers and the children, and announced 
 this mission as a necessary preliminary to the advent of "the 
 
 u Rev. xiv, 6. 
 
IXTRO.] JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. 15 
 
 great and dreadful day of the Lord." 1 ' The angel Moroni 
 confirmed the truth and significance of this prediction in an 
 emphatic reiteration."' Joseph Smith and his associate in 
 the ministry, Oliver Cowdery, solemnly testify that they 
 were visited by Elijah the prophet, in the temple at Kirt- 
 land, Ohio, on the third day of April, 1836; on which 
 occasion the heavenly messenger declared that the day 
 spoken of by Malachi had fully come ; "Therefore," continued 
 he, "the keys of this dispensation are committed into your 
 hands, and by this ye may know that the great and 
 dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors. "* The 
 particular nature of the union of the fathers and the chil- 
 dren upon which both Malachi and Moroni laid such stress, 
 has been explained as consisting in the work of vicarious 
 ordinances, including baptism for the dead who have passed 
 from earth without a knowledge of the gospel. In teach- 
 ing this doctrine, and in complying with its behests, the 
 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands today 
 alone amongst all the sects professing Christianity. 
 
 24. The ancient scriptures are teeming with prophecies 
 concerning the restoration of Israel in the last days, and 
 the gathering of the chosen people from among the nations, 
 and from the lands into which they have been led or driven 
 as a penalty for their waywardness and sin. 1 ' Such promi- 
 nence and importance are attached to this work of gather- 
 ing, in the predictions of olden times, that from the days of 
 Israel's exodus, the last days have been characterized in 
 sacred writ as a gathering dispensation. The return of the 
 tribes after their long and wide dispersion is made a pre- 
 liminary work to the establishment of the predicted reign 
 
 v Mai. iv, 5-6. 
 
 to See page 11. 
 
 x Doc. & Cov., ex, 13-16. 
 
 y See lectures on Article 10. 
 
16 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. 1. 
 
 of righteousness with Christ on the throne of the world; 
 and its accomplishment is given as a sure precursor of the 
 millennium. Jerusalem is to be re-established as the City of 
 the Great King on the eastern hemisphere ; and Zion,* or the 
 New Jerusalem, is to be built on the western continent ; the 
 Ten Tribes are to be brought back from their hiding place 
 in the north; and the curse is to be removed from Israel. 
 From the early days of Joseph Smith's ministry, he taught 
 the doctrine of the gathering, as imposing a present duty 
 upon the Church ; and this phase of the Latter-day Saint 
 labor is one of its most characteristic features. Joseph 
 Smith and Oliver Cowdery declare that the authority for 
 prosecuting this work was committed to the Church through 
 them by Moses, who held the keys of authority as Israel's 
 leader in former times. Their testimony is thus stated, in 
 the description given of: manifestations in the Kirtland 
 Temple, April 3, 1836: — "Moses appeared before us, and 
 committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from 
 the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes 
 from the land of the north." 2 As to the earnestness with 
 which this labor has been begun, and the fair progress already 
 made therein, consider the hundreds of thousands belong- 
 ing to the families of Israel already gathered in the valleys 
 of the Eocky Mountains, about the house of the Lord, now 
 established ; and hear the hymn of the chosen seed among 
 the nations, chanted to the accompaniment of effective 
 deeds, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the 
 Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob ; and He will 
 teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths ; for 
 the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord 
 from Jerusalem." 
 
 25. The bringing forth of the Book of Mormon is held 
 
 z Doc. & Cov.. ex, 11. 
 a Micah iv 1-2. 
 
LNTRO.] JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. 17 
 
 by the Latter-day Saints to be a direct fulfilment of pro- 
 phecy. 6 In predicting the humiliation of Israel, to whom 
 had been committed the power of the priesthood in early 
 days, Isaiah gave voice to the word of the Lord in this 
 wise: — "And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak 
 out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the 
 dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar 
 spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out 
 of the dust." c The Book of Mormon is verily the voice of 
 & people brought low, speaking from the dust, from which 
 indeed the book was literally taken. The volume professes 
 to be the history of but a small division of the house of 
 Israel, — a part of the family of Joseph indeed; who were 
 led by a miraculous hand to the western continent six 
 centuries prior to the Christian era. Of the record of 
 Joseph, and its coming forth as a parallel testimony to that 
 of Judah, or the Bible in part, the Lord thus spake through 
 the prophet Ezekiel: — "Moreover, thou son of man, take 
 thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the 
 children of Israel his companions : then talce another stick, 
 and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and 
 for all the house of Israel his companions : And join them 
 one to another into one stick ; and they shall become one in 
 thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall 
 speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou 
 meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord 
 God ; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the 
 hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and 
 will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and 
 make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.'"* 
 The succeeding verses declare that the gathering and res- 
 
 6 See lectures on "Book of Mormon," article 8. 
 c Isa. xxix, 4; see also II Nephi, iii, 19. 
 d Ezek. xxxvii. 16-19. 
 
18 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I. 
 
 toration of Israel would immediately follow the united 
 testimony of the records of Judah and Joseph. The two 
 records are before the world, a unit in their testimony of 
 the everlasting gospel, and the work of gathering is in 
 effective progress. 
 
 26. It is further evident from the scriptures, that the 
 dispensation of the gospel in the latter days is to be one of 
 restoration, and restitution, a "dispensation of the fulness 
 of times" in very truth. Paul declares it to be the good 
 pleasure of the Lord, "That in the dispensation of the ful- 
 ness of times he might gather together in one all things in 
 Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth ; 
 even in him:" e This prediction finds a parallel in an utter- 
 ance of the prophet Nephi: — "Wherefore all things which 
 have been revealed unto the children of men, shall at that 
 day be revealed." 7 And in accord with this is the teaching 
 of Peter: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that 
 your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing 
 shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall 
 send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 
 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution 
 of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his 
 holy prophets since the world began. ' ,fir Now comes Joseph 
 Smith with the declaration that unto him has been given 
 the authority to open up this, the dispensation of fulness, 
 restitution, and restoration, and that through him the 
 Church has been endowed with all the keys and powers of 
 the priesthood, held and exercised in earlier periods: Unto 
 the Church "is the power of this priesthood given, for the 
 last days, and for the last time, in the which is the dispen- 
 sation of the fulness of times, which power you hold in 
 
 e Eph. i, 9-10. 
 
 / II Nephi, xxx, 18. 
 
 g Acts iii, 19-21. 
 
LNTRO.] JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. 19 
 
 connection with all those who have received a dispensation 
 at any time from the beginning of creation.'" 1 The actual 
 possession of these combined and unified powers is suffi- 
 ciently proved by the comprehensive work of the Church 
 in its present scope of operation. 
 
 27. II. Joseph Smith's Authority was conferred upon 
 him by direct ministrations of heavenly beings, each of whom 
 had once exercised the same power upon the earth. We 
 have already seen how the angel Moroni, formerly a mortal 
 prophet among the ^"ephites, transmitted to Joseph the ap- 
 pointment to bring forth the record which he, Moroni, had 
 buried in the earth over fourteen hundred years before. We 
 learn further, that on the 15th of May, 1829, the lesser or 
 Aaronic Priesthood was conferred upon Joseph Smith and 
 Oliver Cowdery by the hand of John the Baptist, 1 ' who came 
 in his immortalized state with that particular order of priest- 
 hood which comprises the keys of the ministrations of angels, 
 the doctrine of repentance and of baptism for remission of 
 sins. This was the same John, who, with the voice of one 
 crying in the wilderness had preached the self-same doctrine, 
 and had administered the same ordinance in Judaea as the 
 immediate forerunner of the Messiah. In delivering his 
 message, John the Baptist stated that he was acting under 
 the direction of Peter, James, and John, apostles of the Lord, 
 in whose hands reposed the keys of the higher or Melchise- 
 dek Priesthood, which in time would also be given. This 
 promise was fulfilled a month or so later, when the apostles 
 named manifested themselves to Joseph and Oliver, ordain- 
 ing them to the apostleship/ which comprises all the offices 
 of the higher order of priesthood, and carries authority to 
 minister in all the established ordinances of the gospel. 
 
 h Doc. & Cov. cxii, 30-32. 
 
 i Doc. & Cov. xiii. 
 
 j Doc. & Cov. xxvii. 12. 
 
20 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I. 
 
 28. Then, some time after the Church had heen duly 
 organized, authority for certain special functions was given, 
 the appointing messenger "being in each case the one whose 
 right it was so to officiate by virtue of the commission which 
 he had held in the days of his mortality. Thus, as has been 
 seen, Moses conferred the authority to prosecute the work 
 of gathering; and Elijah, who, not having tasted death, held 
 a peculiar relation to both the living and the dead, delivered 
 the authority of vicarious ministry for the departed. To 
 these appointments by heavenly authority should be added 
 that given by Elias, who appeared to Joseph Smith and 
 Oliver Cowdery, and "committed the dispensation of the 
 gospel of Abraham," saying as was said of the Father of the 
 Faithful and his descendants in olden times, that in them 
 and in their seed should all succeeding generations be blessed. 
 
 29. It is evident, then, that the claims made by the 
 Church with respect to its authority, are complete and con- 
 sistent as to the source of the powers professed, and the 
 channels through which such have been delivered again to 
 earth. Scripture and revelation, both ancient and modern, 
 support as an unalterable law, the principle that no one 
 can delegate to another an authority which the giver does 
 not possess. 
 
 30. III. Joseph Smith was himself a true Prophet: — 
 This statement, if fully substantiated, would be of itself suffi- 
 cient proof of the validity of the claims of this modern 
 prophet, and the test is not difficult of application. In the 
 days of ancient Israel, an effective method of trying the 
 claims of a professed prophet was prescribed: — "When a 
 prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing fol- 
 low not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord 
 hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptu- 
 ously; thou shalt not be afraid of him." fc Conversely, if 
 
 k Deut. xviii, 22." 
 
INTK0.] JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. 21 
 
 the words of the prophet are made good by fulfilment, there 
 is at least proof presumptive of his genuineness. Of the 
 many predictions uttered by Joseph Smith and already ful- 
 filled or awaiting the set time of their realization, a few 
 citations will suffice for our present purpose. 
 
 31. One of the earliest prophecies declared by him, which, 
 while not his independent utterance but that of the angel 
 Moroni, was nevertheless given to the world by Joseph Smith, 
 had special reference to the Book of Mormon, of which the 
 angel said: "The knowledge that this record contains will go 
 to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, under 
 the whole heaven. " z This declaration was made four years 
 before the work of translation was begun, and fourteen years 
 before the elders of the Church began their missionary labor 
 in foreign lands. Since that time the Book of Mormon has 
 been translated into twelve foreign languages, and is pub- 
 lished in ten of these; and the work is still in progress. 
 
 32. In August, 1842, while the Church was suffering 
 persecution in Illinois, and when the western part of the 
 continent was but little known, and only as the territory of 
 an alien nation, Joseph Smith prophesied "that the Saints 
 would continue to suffer much affliction, and would be driven 
 to the Eocky Mountains," and that while many then pro- 
 fessing allegiance to the Church would apostatize, and 
 others, faithful to their testimony, would meet the martyr's 
 fate, some would live "to assist in making settlements and 
 build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in 
 the midst of the Rocky Mountains. " m The literal fulfilment 
 of this prediction, uttered in 1842, and it may be added, 
 foreshadowed by an earlier prophecy in 1831, n the one five, 
 the other sixteen years before the migration of the Church 
 
 l Times and Seasons, Vol. II, No. 13. 
 m Millennial Star, Vol. XIX, p. 630. 
 n Doc. and Co v., xlix 24-25. 
 
22 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I. 
 
 to the west, is attested by the common history of the settle- 
 ment and development of this once inhospitable region. Even 
 the skeptic, and the pronounced opponents of the Church, 
 admit the miracle of the establishment of a mighty common- 
 wealth in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 33. A most remarkable prediction regarding national 
 affairs was uttered by Joseph Smith, December 25th, 1832; 
 it was soon thereafter promnlgated among the members of 
 the Church, and was preached by the elders, but did not 
 appear in print until 1851.° The revelation reads in part as 
 follows: — "Verily thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars 
 that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of 
 South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death 
 and misery of many souls. The days will come that war 
 will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place ; 
 For, behold, the Southern States shall be divided against 
 the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on 
 other nations, even the nation of Great Britain ; * * * 
 And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise 
 up against their masters, who shall be marshalled and dis- 
 ciplined for war." Every student of United States history 
 is acquainted with the facts establishing a complete fulfil- 
 ment, even to the minutest detail, of this astounding proph- 
 ecy. In 1801, more than twenty-eight years after the fore- 
 going prediction was recorded, and ten years after its pub- 
 lication in England, the civil war broke out, beginning in 
 South Carolina. The ghastly records of that fratricidal 
 strife sadly support the prediction concerning "the death 
 and misery of many souls." It is well known that slaves 
 deserted the South and were marshalled in the armies of the 
 North, and that the Confederate States solicited aid of Great 
 
 o See Pearl of Great Price, British edition of 1851, and Millennial Star, Vol. 
 xlix, p. 396. The prophecy is now a part of the Doctrine and Covenants, see sec- 
 tion lxxxvii. 
 
JXTR0.] JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET. 23 
 
 Britain. While no open alliance between the Southern States 
 and England Avas effected, the British government gave in- 
 direct assistance and substantial encouragement to the South, 
 and this in such a way as to produce serious international 
 complications. Vessels were built and equipped at British 
 ports in the interests of the Confederacy ; and the results of 
 this violation of the laws of neutrality cost Great Britain the 
 sum of fifteen and a half millions of dollars, which sum was 
 awarded the United States at the Geneva arbitration in set- 
 tlement of the "Alabama claims." The Confederacy ap- 
 pointed commissioners to Great Britain and France ; these 
 appointees were forcibly taken by United States officers from 
 the British steamer on which they had embarked. This act, 
 whiclf the United States government had to admit as overt, 
 threatened for a time to precipitate a war between this na- 
 tion and Great Britain. 
 
 34. The revelation cited, as given through Joseph Smith, 
 contained other predictions, some of which are yet awaiting 
 fulfilment. 1 ' The evidence presented is sufficient to prove 
 that Joseph Smith is prominent among "men by reason of his 
 instrumentality in fulfilling prophecies uttered by the Lord's 
 representatives in former times, and that his own claim to 
 the rank of .prophet is abundantly vindicated. But the 
 endowment of prophecy so richly bestowed upon this Elias 
 of the last days, and so freely yet unerringly exercised by 
 him, is but one of the many spiritual gifts by which he, in 
 common with a host of others who have received the priest- 
 hood from 'him, was distinguished. The scriptures declare 
 that certain signs shall attend the Church of Christ, among 
 them the gifts of tongues, healing, immunity from threat- 
 ening death, and the power to control evil spirits. q The 
 exercise of these powers, resulting in what are ordinarily 
 
 p See Doc. and Cov. lxxxvii, 5-7. 
 
 q Mark xvi, 16-18; Luke x, 19, etc.; Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv, 65-72. 
 
24 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. I 
 
 termed miracles, is by no means an infallible proof of divine 
 authority; for many true prophets have wrought no such 
 wonders, and men have been known to work miracles at the 
 instigation of evil spirits. 7 * Nevertheless, the possession of 
 the power implied by the working of miracles is an essential 
 characteristic of the Church; and when such acts are 
 wrought in the accomplishment of holy purposes, they serve 
 as confirmatory evidence of divine authority. Therefore we 
 may expect to find, as find we do, in the ministry of Joseph 
 Smith and in that of the Church in general, the attested 
 record of miracles, comprising manifestations of all the 
 promised gifts of the Spirit. This subject will be further 
 considered on another occasion. 8 
 
 35. IV. The Doctrines Taught by Joseph Smith and by the 
 Church today are true and scriptural. To sustain this 
 statement we must examine the principal teachings of the 
 Church in separate order. The Articles of Faith furnish us 
 a convenient summary of many of the doctrines pertaining 
 to the latter-day work ; and these we will proceed to study 
 in the course of the lectures that are to follow. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. The "Articles of Faith" date from March 1, 1841. They constitute a 
 portion of a letter from the Prophet Joseph Smith to a Mr. Wentworth. of 
 Chicago. The "Articles" were published in the History of Joseph Smith: (See 
 Millennial Star, vol. XIX, p. 120; also Times and Seasons, vol. Ill, p. 709.) As 
 stated elsewhere, the Articles have been formally adopted by the Church as an 
 authorized summary of its principal doctrines. 
 
 2. Joseph Smith's Early Persecution.— The Prophet wrote as follows 
 concerning the persecution of his boyhood days, which dated from the time of 
 his first mention of his vision of the Father and the Son:— "It has often caused 
 me serious reflection, both then and since, how very strange it was that an ob- 
 scure boy, a little over fourteen years of age, and one too] who was doomed to 
 the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be 
 
 r Exo. vii, 11, 22: viii, 7, 18; Rev. xiii, 13-15: xvi, 13-14. 
 s See Lecture on Article 7 
 
INTKO.] KOTES. 25 
 
 thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the 
 great ones of the most popular sects of the day, so as to create in them a spirit 
 of the hottest persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it was, and was 
 often cause of great sorrow to myself. However it was, nevertheless, a fact 
 that I had had a vision. I have thought since that I felt much like Paul when 
 he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the 
 vision he had when he -saw a light and heard a voice, hut still there were but a 
 few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was 
 mad, and he was ridiculed and reviled; but all this did not destroy the 
 reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all 
 the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; * * * 
 * * So it was with me; I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of 
 that light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak unto me, or one of 
 them did; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a 
 vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and 
 speaking all manner of evil against me, falsely, for so saying, I was led to say 
 in my heart, Why persecute for telling the truth? I had actually seen a vision, 
 and who am I that I can withstand God?" Pearl of Great Price: — Extracts from 
 the History of Joseph Smith: pp. 90-91, (1888 ed.) 
 
 3. Tribute to Joseph Smith.— While few people outside the Church have 
 had much to say in commendation of this modern prophet, it is interesting to 
 note that there are some honorable exceptions to the rule. Josiah Quincy, a 
 prominent American, made the acquaintance of Joseph Smith, a short time be- 
 fore the latter's martyrdom; and after the tragic event he wrote: "It is by no 
 means improbable that some future text-book, for the use of generations yet 
 unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American 
 of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the 
 destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer 
 to that interrogatory may be thus written : Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet. 
 And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now, may be an obvi- 
 ous commonplace to their descendants. History deals in surprises and para- 
 doxes quite as startling as this. The man who establishes a religion in this age 
 of free debate, who was and is today accepted by hundreds of thousands as a 
 direct emissary from the Most High,— such a rare human being is not to be 
 disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. * * * * The 
 most vital questions Americans are asking each other today have to do with 
 this man and what he has left us. * * * * Burning questions they are, 
 which must give a prominent place in the history of the country to that sturdy 
 self-asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith, claiming to be an in- 
 spired teacher, faced adversity, such as few men have been called to meet, en- 
 joyed a brief season of prosperity, such as few men have ever attained, and, 
 finally, forty-three days after I saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death. 
 When he surrendered his person to Governor Ford, in -order to prevent the 
 shedding of blood, the Prophet had a presentiment of what was before him. 'I 
 am going like a lamb to the slaughter,' he is reported to have said, 'but I am as 
 calm as a summer's morning. I have a conscience void of offense, and shall die 
 innocent.' " Figures of the Past by Josiah Quincy, p. 376. 
 
 4. The Seal of Martyrdom.— "The highest evidence of sincerity that a 
 man can give his fellow-men,— the highest proof that he has spoken the truth 
 in any given case— is that he perseveres in it unto death, and seals his testimony 
 
26 THE ARTICLES OF FAJTH. [LECT. I. 
 
 with his blood. * * * So important did such a testimony become in the 
 estimation of Paul, that he said 'Where a testament is there must also of 
 necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men 
 are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.' (Heb. 
 ix; 16-17.) In the light of this principle, and when the importance of the great 
 testimony which he bore to the world is taken into account, it is not to be 
 wondered at 1 that Joseph Smith was called upon to affix the broad seal of mar- 
 tyrdom to his life's work. Something of incompleteness in his work would 
 likely have been complained of bad this been lacking; but now, not so; his 
 character of prophet was rounded out to complete fulness by his falling a mar- 
 tyr under the. murderous lire of a mob at Carthage in the State of Illinois."— 
 Elder B. H. Roberts, in A New Witness for God, pp. 477-478. 
 
 5. Joseph Smith; Further References.— For biography, see "The Life 
 of Joseph Smith, the Prophet" by Pres. George Q. Cannon. See also "Dic'me 
 Authority, or the question, Was Joseph Smith Sent of Godf" a pamphlet by Apostle 
 Orson Pratt; "Joseph Smith's Prophetic Calling;" Millennial Star, Vol. XL.II: pp 
 164, 187, 195, 227. Letters, by Elder Orson Spencer to Rev. Wm. Crowell; No. 1; 
 'A New Witness for God," by Elder B. H. Roberts. 
 
ART. I.] GOD ANB THE GODHEAD. 27 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 GOD AND. THE GODHEAD. 
 
 Article 1 :— We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus 
 Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. 
 
 1. The Existence of God: — Since faith in God constitutes 
 the foundation of religious belief and practice, and inas- 
 much as a knowledge of the attributes and character of 
 Deity is essential to an intelligent exercise of faith in Him, 
 this subject claims first place in our study of the doctrines 
 of the Church. 
 
 2. The existence of God is scarcely a question of rational 
 dispute ; nor does it call for proof by the feeble demonstra- 
 tions of man's logic, for the fact is admitted by the hu- 
 man family practically without question, and the con- 
 sciousness of subjection to a supreme power is an inborn 
 quality of mankind. The early scriptures are in no sense 
 devoted to a primary demonstration of God's existence, nor 
 to attacks on the sophistries of atheism; from which fact 
 we may infer that the errors of doubt developed in 
 some period later than the first. The universal assent 
 of mankind to the existence of God is at least a strongly 
 corroborative truth. There is a filial passion within 
 human nature which flames toward heaven. Every nation, 
 every tribe, every individual, yearns for some object of 
 reverence. It is natural for man to worship; his soul 
 is unsatisfied till it finds a deity. When men through 
 transgression first fell into darkness concerning the true and 
 living God, they established for themselves other deities, 
 and so arose the abominations of idolatry. And yet, ter- 
 
28 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [lECT. II. 
 
 rible as these practices are, even the most revolting idolatries 
 testify to the existence of a God by declaring man's heredi- 
 tary passion for worship. Plutarch has wisely re- 
 marked of ancient conditions: "If you search the 
 world, you may find cities without walls, without 
 letters, without kings, without money; but no one 
 ever saw a city without a deity, without a temple, or with- 
 out prayers." This general assent to a belief in the ex- 
 istence of Deity is testimony of a high order; and in this 
 connection the words of Aristotle may be applied: — "What 
 seems true to some wise men is somewhat probable ; what 
 seems true to most or all wise men is very probable; what 
 most men, both wise and unwise, assent to, still more 
 resembles truth ; but what men generally consent in, has the 
 highest probability, and approaches so near to demonstrated 
 truth, that it may pass for ridiculous arrogance and self- 
 conceitedness, or for intolerable obstinacy and perverseness, 
 to decry it." a 
 
 3. The multiplicity of evidence upon which mankind 
 rest their conviction regarding the existence of a Supreme 
 Being, may be classified for convenience of consideration, 
 under the three following heads : 
 
 I. The evidence of history and tradition. 
 
 II. The evidence furnished by the exercise of human 
 reason. 
 
 III. The conclusive evidence of direct revelation from 
 God Himself. 
 
 4. I. History and Tradition: — History as written by man, 
 and tradition as transmitted from generation to generation 
 prior to the date of any written record now extant, give evi- 
 dence of the actuality of Deity, and of close and personal 
 dealings between God and man in the first epochs of human 
 existence. One of the most ancient records known, the Bible, 
 
 a See Notes 1, 2, and 3. 
 
ART. I.] GOD AND THE GODHEAD. 29 
 
 names God as the Creator of all things, 6 and moreover, 
 declares that He revealed Himself to onr first earthly 
 parents, and to many other holy personages in the early 
 days of the world. Adam and Eve heard His voice in the 
 Garden, and even after their transgression they continued 
 to call upon God, and to sacrifice to Him. It is plain, there- 
 fore, that they carried with them from the Garden a knowl- 
 edge of God. After their expulsion they heard "the voice 
 of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden," 
 though they saw Him not; and He gave unto them com- 
 mandments, which they obeyed. Then came to Adam an 
 angelic messenger, and the Holy Ghost inspired the man 
 and bare record of the Father and the Son. d 
 
 5. Cain and Abel learned of God from the teachings of 
 their parents, as well as from personal ministrations. After 
 the acceptance of Abel's offering, and the rejection of 
 Cain's, followed by Cain's terrible crime of fratricide, the 
 Lord talked with Cain, and Cain answered the Lord. 6 Cain 
 must, therefore, have taken a personal knowledge of God 
 from Eden into the land where he went to dwell/ Adam 
 lived to be nine hundred and thirty years old and many 
 children were born unto him. Them he instructed in the 
 fear of God, and many of them received direct ministra- 
 tions. Of Adam's descendants, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Maha- 
 laleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Lamech the father of 
 Noah, each representing a distinct generation, were all living 
 during Adam's lifetime. Noah was born but a hundred and 
 twenty-six years after the time of Adam's death, and more- 
 over lived nearly six hundred years with his father Lamech, 
 by whom he was doubtless instructed in the traditions con- 
 
 b Genesis -i; see also Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, p. 7, (1888 ed.) 
 c Genesis iii, 8, and Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, p. 15. (1888 ed.) 
 d Pearl of Great Price, p. 18, (1888 ed.) 
 e Genesis iv, 9-16; Pearl of Great Price, p. 21-23, (1888 ed.) 
 J Genesis iv, 16; Pearl of Great Price, p. 23, (1888 ed.) 
 
30 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. |_LECT. U ' 
 
 cerning God's personal manifestations, which Lantech had 
 learned from the li]3S of Adam. Through the medium of 
 Xoah and his family, a knowledge of God hy direct tradi- 
 tion was carried beyond the flood; then Noah held direct 
 communication with God, g and lived to instruct ten genera- 
 tions of* his descendants. Then followed Abraham, who 
 also enjoyed direct communion with the Creator,' 1 and 
 after him Isaac, and Jacob, or Israel, among whose descend- 
 ants the Lord wrought such wonders through the instru- 
 mentality of Moses. Thus, had there been no written 
 records, tradition would have preserved and transmitted a 
 knowledge of God. 
 
 6. But even if the accounts of the earliest of man's 
 personal communion with God had become dimmed with 
 time, and therefore weakened in effect, they could but give 
 place to other traditions founded on later manifestations of 
 the Divine personality. Unto Moses the Lord made Him- 
 self known, not alone from behind the curtain of fire, and 
 the screen of clouds/' but by direct face to face communica- 
 tion, whereby the chosen high-priest, beheld even "the 
 similitude" of his God. J " This account of direct com- 
 munion between Moses and God, in part of which the 
 people were permitted to share, k as far as their faith and 
 purity permitted, has been preserved by Israel through all 
 the generations of the past. And from Israel the traditions 
 of God's existence have spread throughout the world; so 
 that we find traces of this ancient knowledge even in the 
 most fanciful and perverted mythologies of heathen nations. 
 
 7. II. Human Reason, operating upon observations of the 
 
 g Genesis vi, 13, and succeeding chapter. 
 
 h Genesis xii, and succeeding chapters. 
 
 i Exo. iii, 4; xix, 18; Numb, xii, 5. 
 
 j Numb, xii, 8; see also Pearl of Great Price, Visions of Moses, p. 1 (1888 ed.) 
 
 A- Exo. xix, 9; 11; 17-20. 
 
AET. I.] GOD AND THE GODHEAD. 31 
 
 things of nature, strongly declares the existence of God. 
 The mind already imbued with the historical truths of the 
 Divine existence and its close relationship with man, will 
 find confirmatory evidence in nature on every side; and 
 even to him who rejects the testimony of the past, and 
 assumes to set up his own judgment as superior to the univer- 
 sal belief of ages, the multifarious evidences of design in 
 nature appeal. Every observer must be impressed by the 
 proofs of order and system among created things, and by 
 the absence of superfluities in nature. He notes the 
 regular succession of day and night providing alternate 
 periods of work and rest for man, animals, and vegetables ; 
 the sequence of the seasons, each with its longer periods of 
 labor and recuperation, the mutual dependence of animals 
 and plants, the circulation of water from sea to cloud, from 
 cloud to earth again, sustaining the fertility of the soil. 
 As man proceeds to the closer examination of things, he finds 
 that by study and scientific investigation these proofs are 
 multiplied many fold. He may learn something of the 
 laws by which earth and its associated worlds are governed 
 in their orbits ; by which satellites are held subordinate to 
 planets, and planets to suns ; he may behold the marvels of 
 vegetable and animal anatomy, and the surpassing mechan- 
 ism of his own body; and with such appeals to his reason 
 increasing at every step, his wonder as to who made all 
 this, gives place to inexpressible admiration for the Creator 
 whose presence and power are thus so forcibly proclaimed ; 
 and the observer becomes a worshiper. 
 
 8. Everywhere in nature is the evidence of cause and 
 effect; on every side is the demonstration of means adapted 
 to end. But such adaptations, says a thoughtful writer, 
 "indicate contrivance for a given purpose, and contrivance 
 is the evidence of intelligence, and intelligence is the attri- 
 bute of mind, and the intelligent mind that built the 
 
32 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. II. 
 
 stupendous universe is God."' To admit the existence of a 
 designer in the evidence of design, to say there must be a 
 contriver in a world of intelligent contrivance, to believe in 
 an adapter when man's life is directly dependent upon the 
 most perfect adaptations conceivable, is but to accept self- 
 evident truths. These axioms of nature ought to require 
 no demonstration ; the burden of proof as to the non-exist- 
 ence of a God ought to be placed upon him who questions 
 the solemn truth. "Every house is builded by some man, 
 but he that built all things is God." So spake the Apostle 
 of old, m and plain as is the truth expressed in these simple 
 words, there are among men a few, who profess to doubt the 
 evidence of reason, and who deny the Author of their own 
 being. Strange is it not, that here and there one, who finds 
 in the contrivance exhibited by the ant in building her 
 house, in the architecture of the honey-comb, and in the 
 myriad instances of orderly instinct among the least of liv- 
 ing things, a proof of intelligence from which man may 
 learn and be wise, will yet question the operation of intelli- 
 gence in the creation of worlds, and in the constitution of the 
 universe?" 
 
 9. Man's inborn consciousness tells him of his own 
 existence; his ordinary powers of observation prove the 
 existence of others of his kind, and of uncounted orders of 
 organized beings; from this he concludes that something 
 must have existed always, for had there been a time of no 
 existence, a period of nothingness, existence could never 
 have begun, for from nothing, nothing can be derived. The 
 eternal existence of something then, is a fact beyond dispute ; 
 and the only question requiring answer is, what is that 
 eternal something; that existence which is without begin- 
 
 l Cassell's Bible Dictionary, p 481. 
 m Paul in Heb. iii, 4. 
 n See Note 4. 
 
ART. I.] GOD AND THE GODHEAD. 33 
 
 ning and without end? The skeptic may answer, "Mature; 
 matter has always existed, and the universe is but a mani- 
 festation of matter organized by forces operating upon it; 
 however, Nature is not God." But matter is neither vital 
 nor active, nor is force intelligent; yet vitality and ceaseless 
 activity are characteristic of created things, and the effects of 
 intelligence are universally present. True, nature is not 
 God ; and to mistake the one for the other is to call the edifice 
 the architect, the fabric the designer, the marble the sculp- 
 tor, and the thing the power that made it. The system of 
 nature is the manifestation of that order which argues a 
 directing intelligence ; and that intelligence is of an eternal 
 character, coeval with existence itself. Nature herself is a 
 declaration of a superior Being, whose will and purpose 
 she portrays in all her varied aspects. Beyond and above 
 nature, stands nature's God. 
 
 10. While existence is eternal, and therefore to being 
 there never was a beginning, never will be an end, in 
 a relative sense each stage of organization must have had a 
 beginning, and to every phase of existence as manifested in 
 each of the countless orders and classes of created things, 
 there was a first, as there will be a last; though every end- 
 ing or consummation in nature is but the beginning of 
 another stage of advancement. Thi\s, man's ingenuity has 
 invented theories to illustrate, if not to explain, a possible 
 sequence of events by which the earth has been brought 
 from a state of .chaos to its present habitable condition ; but 
 by those hypotheses, this globe was once a heated ball, on 
 which none of the innumerable forms of life which now 
 tenant it could have existed. The theorist therefore must 
 admit a beginning to earthly life, and such a beginning is 
 explicable only on the assumption of some creative act, or a 
 contribution from outside the earth. If he admit the intro- 
 duction of life upon the earth from some other and older 
 
 4 
 
34 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [lECT. II. 
 
 sphere, he does but extend the limits of his enquiry as to 
 the beginning of vital existence ; for to explain the origin 
 of a rose bush in our own garden by saying that it was 
 transplanted as an offshoot from a rose-tree growing else- 
 where, is no answer to the question concerning the origin of 
 roses. Science of necessity assumes a beginning to vital 
 phenomena on this planet, and admits a finite duration of 
 the earth' in its current course of progressive change; and 
 in this respect, the earth is a representative of the heavenly 
 bodies in general. The eternity of existence then is no 
 more potent as an indication of an eternal Euler, than is the 
 endless sequence of change, each stage of which has both 
 beginning and end. The origination of created things, the 
 beginning of an organized universe, is utterly inexplicable 
 on any assumption of spontaneous change in matter, or of 
 a fortuitous and accidental operation of its properties. 
 
 11. Human reason, so liable to err in dealing with sub- 
 jects of lesser import even, may not of itself lead its pos- 
 sessor to a full knowledge of God ; yet its exercise will aid 
 him in his search, strengthening and confirming his inher- 
 ited' instinct toward his Maker. "The fool hath said in his 
 heart there is no God." p In the scriptures, the word fool 9 is 
 used to designate a wicked man, one who has forfeited his 
 wisdom by a long course of wrong doing, bringing darkness 
 over his mind in place of light, and ignorance instead of 
 knowledge. By such a course, the mind becomes depraved 
 and incapable of appreciating the finer arguments in nature. 
 A wilful sinner grows deaf to the voice of reason in holy 
 things, and loses the privilege of communing with his Cre- 
 ator, thus forfeiting the strongest means of attaining a 
 knowledge of God. 
 
 o See Note 5. 
 
 p Psalms xiv, 1. 
 
 q Proverbs i, 7; x, 21; xiv, 9. 
 
ART. I.] GOD AND THE GODHEAD. 35 
 
 12. III. Revelation gives to man his fullest knowledge of 
 God. We are not left wholly to the exercise of fallible 
 reasoning powers, nor to the testimony of others for a 
 knowledge of our Heavenly Father; we may know Him for 
 ourselves. Instances of God manifesting Himself to His 
 prophets in olden as in later times are so numerous as to 
 render impossible any detailed consideration here ; moreover, 
 we will have opportunity of examining many examples 
 in connection with our study of the ninth of the Articles of 
 Faith; for the present, therefore, brief mention must suffice. 
 We have already noted as the foundation of many traditions 
 relating to the existence and personality of God, His revela- 
 tions of Himself to Adam and other ante-diluvian patri- 
 archs; then to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses. 
 An example but briefly mentioned in the Jewish scriptures 
 is that of Enoch, the father of Methuselah ; of him we read 
 that he walked with God/ From the "Writings of Moses" 
 we learn that the Lord manifested Himself with special favor 
 to this chosen seer, 8 revealing unto him the course of events 
 until the time of Christ's appointed ministry in the flesh, 
 the plan of salvation through the sacrifice of the Only 
 Begotten, and the scenes that were to follow until the final 
 judgment. 
 
 13. Of Moses we read that he received a manifestation 
 from God, who spoke to him from the midst of the burning 
 bush in Mount Horeb, saying "I am the God of thy father, 
 the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 
 And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God."* 
 Unto Moses and assembled Israel God appeared in a cloud, 
 with the terrifying accompaniment of thunders and light- 
 nings, on Sinai; "And the Lord said unto Moses, thus>shalt 
 
 r Gen. v, 18-24; see also Jude 14. 
 
 8 Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, p. 28-45, (1888 ed.) 
 
 t Exodus iii, 6. 
 
36 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. II. 
 
 thou say unto the children of Israel, ye have seen that I 
 have talked with you from heaven."" Of a later manifesta- 
 tion we are told: — "Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, 
 and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they 
 saw the God of Israel : and there was under his feet as it were 
 a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of 
 heaven in his clearness." 1 ' 
 
 14. On through the time of Joshua and the judges to 
 the kings and the prophets, the Lord declared His presence 
 and His power. Isaiah saw the Lord enthroned in the midst 
 of a glorious company, and cried out, "Woe is me, for I am 
 undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in 
 the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine* eyes have 
 seen the King, the Lord of hosts.""' 
 
 15. At a subsequent period, when Christ emerged from 
 the waters of baptism, the voice of the Father was heard 
 declaring "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased. Ma And on the occasion of our Lord's transfigura- 
 tion, the same voice repeated this solemn and glorious 
 acknowledgments While Stephen was suffering martyr- 
 dom at the hands of his cruel and bigoted countrymen, the 
 heavens were opened, and he "saw the glory of God, and 
 Jesus standing on the right hand of God."* 
 
 16. The Book of Mormon is replete with instances of 
 communication between God and His people, mostly through 
 vision and by the ministration of angels, but also through 
 direct manifestation of the Divine presence. Thus, we read 
 of a colony of people leaving the Tower of Babel and 
 journeying to the western hemisphere, under the leadership 
 
 u Ex. xx. 18-22. 
 
 v Ex. xxiv, 9-10. 
 
 w Isa. vi, 1-5. 
 
 x Matt, iii, 16-17; Mark i, 11. 
 
 y Matt, xvii, 1-5; Luke ix. 35. 
 
 z Acts vii, 54-60. 
 
ART. I.]* GOD AND THE GODHEAD. 37 
 
 of one who is known in the record as the brother of Jared. 
 In preparing for the voyage across the great deep, the 
 leader prayed that the Lord would touch with His finger, and 
 thereby make luminous, certain stones, that the voyagers 
 might have light in the ships. In answer to this petition, 
 the Lord stretched forth His hand and touched the stones, 
 revealing His finger, which the man was surprised to see 
 resembled the finger of a human being. Then the Lord, 
 pleased with the man's faith, made Himself visible to the 
 brother of Jared, and demonstrated to him that man was 
 formed literally after the image of the Creator." To the 
 Nephites who inhabited the western continent, Christ 
 revealed Himself after His resurrection and ascension. To 
 these sheep of the western fold, He testified of His com- 
 mission received from the Father; showed the wounds in 
 His hands, feet, and side, and ministered unto the believing 
 multitudes in many ways. b 
 
 17. In the present dispensation, God has revealed, and 
 does still reveal Himself to His people. We have seen 
 how by faith and sincerity of purpose Joseph Smith, while 
 yet a youth, won for himself a manifestation of God's pres- 
 ence, being privileged to behold both the Father and Christ 
 the Son. c His testimony of the existence of God is not de- 
 pendent upon tradition or logical deduction ; he declares to 
 the world that he knows both God and Christ live, for he 
 has beheld their persons, and has heard their voices. In 
 addition to the manifestation cited, Joseph Smith and his 
 fellow servant, Sidney Rigdon, state that on the 16th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1832, they saw the Son of God, and conversed with 
 Him in heavenly vision. In describing this manifestation 
 they say: "And while we meditated upon these things, the 
 
 a Book of Mormon, Ether iii. 
 
 b Book of Mormon, III Nephi xi-xxviii. 
 
 c See page 9. 
 
38 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. II. 
 
 Lord touched the eyes of our understandings, and they were 
 opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about ; and we 
 beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, 
 and received of His fulness; and saw the holy angels, and 
 they who are sanctified before His throne, worshiping God 
 and the Lamb, who worship Him forever and ever. And 
 now, after the many testimonies which have been given of 
 Him, this is the testimony last of all which we give of Him, 
 that He lives, for we saw Him." d 
 
 18. Again, on the 3rd of April, 1836, in the temple at 
 Kirtland, Ohio, the Lord manifested Himself to Joseph 
 Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who say of the occasion: — "We 
 saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit 
 before us, and under His feet was a paved work of pure gold 
 in color like amber. His eyes were as a flame of fire, the 
 hair of His head was white like the pure snow, His counten- 
 ance shone above the brightness of the sun, and His voice 
 was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the 
 voice of Jehovah, saying, — I am the first and the last; I am 
 He who liveth ; I am He who was slain ; I am your advocate 
 with the Father." 6 
 
 19. These are a few of the testimonies establishing the 
 fact of direct revelation from God unto men in ancient and 
 modern times. The privilege of communing with our 
 Maker is restricted to none ; true faith, sincerity of purpose, 
 and purity of soul, will win for any one who seeks the boon, 
 the blessing of God's favor, and the light of His presence. 
 
 20. The Godhead: The Trinity: — Three personages com- 
 posing the great presiding council of the universe have 
 revealed themselves to man; (1) God the Eternal Father, 
 (2) His Son, Jesus Christ; and (3) the Holy Ghost. That 
 these three are separate individuals, physically distinct from 
 
 d Doc. and Co v. lxxvi, 11-24. 
 e Doc. and Cov. ex, 1-4. 
 
ART. I.] GOD A^D THE GODHEAD. 39 
 
 each other, is very plainly proved by the accepted records of 
 the divine dealings with man. On the occasion of the 
 Savior's baptism before cited, John recognized the sign of 
 the Holy Ghost ; he saw before him in a tabernacle of flesh 
 the Christ, upon whom he had performed the holy ordi- 
 nance ; and he heard the voice of the Father/ The three 
 personages of the Godhead were present, manifesting them- 
 selves each in a different way, and each distinct from the 
 others. The Savior promised His disciples that the Com- 
 forter,^ which is the Holy Ghost, should be sent unto them 
 by His Father; here again are the three members of the 
 Godhead distinctly referred to. Stephen, at the time of his 
 martyrdom, was blessed with the power of heavenly vision, 
 and he saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God.' 1 
 Joseph Smith, while calling upon the Lord in fervent prayer 
 for wisdom to guide him in his religious professions, saw the 
 Father and the Son, standing in the midst of light 
 which shamed the brightness of the sun, one of these de- 
 clared of the other, "This is my beloved Son, hear Him."* 
 Each of the members of the Trinity is called God/ to- 
 gether they constitute the Godhead. 
 
 21. Unity of the Godhead: — The Godhead is a type of 
 unity in the attributes, powers, and purposes of its members. 
 Jesus, while on earth fc and in manifesting Himself to His 
 Nephite servants/ has repeatedly testified of the unity exist- 
 ing between Himself and the Father, and between them 
 both and the Holy Ghost. By some this has been construed 
 to mean that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are 
 
 / Matt, iii, 16-17; Mark i, 9-11; Luke iii, 21-2:2. 
 g John xiv, 26; xv, 26. 
 h Acts vii, 55-56. 
 i See page 9. 
 
 j I Cor. viii, 6; John i, 1-14; Matthew iv, 10; I Tim. iii, 16; I John v, 7; Mosiah 
 xv, 1, 2. 
 
 k John x, 30, 38; xvii, 11, 22. 
 
 I III Nephi xi, 27, 36; xxviii, 10; see also Alma xi, 44. 
 
40 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. II. 
 
 one in substance and in person, that the names in reality 
 represent the same individual under different aspects. A 
 single reference to prove the error of this view may suffice : — 
 Immediately before his betrayal, Christ prayed for His dis- 
 ciples, the Twelve, and other converts, that they should be 
 preserved in unity," 1 "that they all may be one" as the Father 
 and the Son are one. It is absurd to think that Christ 
 desired His followers to lose their individuality and become 
 one person, even if a change so directly opposed to the laws 
 of nature were possible. Christ desired that all should be 
 united in heart, and spirit, and purpose ; for such is the 
 unity between His Father and Himself, and between them- 
 selves and the Holy Ghost. 
 
 22. This unity is a type of completeness ; the mind of 
 any one member of the Trinity is the mind of the others ; 
 seing as each of them does with the eye of purity and 
 perfection, they see and understand alike; under similar 
 conditions and circumstances each would act in the same 
 way, guided by the same principles of unerring justice and 
 equity. The one-ness of the Godhead, to which the scrip- 
 tures so abundantly testify, implies no mystical union of 
 substance, or unnatural and therefore impossible blending 
 of personality; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are as dis- 
 tinct in their persons and individualities, as are any three 
 personages in the flesh. Yet their unity of purpose and 
 operation is such as to make their edicts one, and their will 
 the will of God. To see one is to see all; therefore said 
 Christ when importuned by Philip to show them the Father, 
 "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not 
 known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the 
 Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 
 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father 
 in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of 
 
 m Johnxvii, 11-21. 
 
ART. I.] GOD AND THE GODHEAD. 41 
 
 myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the 
 works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father 
 in me.'" 1 
 
 23. Personality of Each Member of the Godhead: — From 
 the evidence already presented, it is clear that the Father is 
 a personal Being, possessing a definite form, with bodily 
 parts, and spiritual passions. Jesus Christ, who was with 
 the Father in spirit before coming to dwell in the flesh, 
 and through whom the worlds were made, p lived among men 
 as a man, with all the physical characteristics of a human 
 being ; after His resurrection He appeared in the same form f 
 in that form He ascended into heaven ; r and in that form 
 He has manifested Himself to the Xephites, and to modern 
 prophets. Now we are assured that Christ was in the ex- 
 press image of His Father, 8 after which image man also has 
 been created.* Therefore we know that both the Father and 
 the Son are in form and stature perfect men ; each of them 
 possesses a tangible body, infinitely pure and perfect, and at- 
 tended by transcendent glory, yet a body of flesh and bone." 
 
 24. The Holy Ghost, called also Spirit, and Spirit of the 
 Lord, r Spirit of God,™ Comforter,* and Spirit of Truth/ is 
 not tabernacled in a body of flesh and bone, but is a person- 
 age of spirit f yet we know that the Spirit has manifested 
 
 n John xiv, 9-11. 
 o John xvii, 5. 
 
 p John i, 3: Heb. i, 2; Eph. iii, 9; Col. i. 16. 
 
 q John xx, 14-15, 19-20, 26-27; xxi, 1-14; Matt, xxviii, 9; Luke xxiv, 15-31, 36-44. 
 r Acts i, 9-11. 
 
 s Heb. i, 3; Col. i, 15; II Cor. iv, 4. 
 t Genesis i, 26-27; James iii, 8-9. 
 u Doc. and. Cov. cxxx, 22. 
 
 v I Nephi iv, 6; xi, 8; Mos. xiii, 5. Acts ii, 4; viii, 29; x, 19; Rom. viii, 10, 26; 
 I Thess. v, 19. 
 
 w Matt, iii, 16; xii, 28; I Nephi xiii, 12. 
 
 x John xiv, 16. 
 
 y John xv, 26; xvi, 13. 
 
 z Doc. and Cov. cxxx, 22; also Fifth Lecture on Faith, 2-3 
 
42 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. II. 
 
 Himself in the form of a man." It is by the ministrations 
 of the Spirit that the Father and the Son operate in their 
 dealings with mankind; 5 through Him knowledge is com- 
 municated, and by Him the great works of creation are 
 carried on. d The Holy Ghost is the witness of the Father 
 and the Son, e declaring to man their attributes, bearing 
 record of the other personages of the Godhead/ 
 
 25. Some of the Divine Attributes: — God is Omnipresent: 
 There is no part of creation, however remote, into which He 
 cannot penetrate; by the power of the Holy Ghost, the 
 Godhead is in direct communication with all things at all 
 times. It has been said, therefore, that God is everywhere 
 present at the same time; but is unreasonable to suppose 
 that the actual person of any one member of the Godhead 
 can be in more than one place at one time. The senses of 
 God are of infinite power, His mind of unlimited capacity ; 
 His eye can penetrate all space, His ear can comprehend every 
 sound; His powers of transferring Himself from place to 
 place are not limited ; plainly, however, His person cannot 
 be in more than one place at any one time. Admitting the 
 personality of God, we are compelled to accept the fact of 
 His materiality; indeed an "immaterial being," under which 
 meaningless name some have sought to designate the condi- 
 tion of God, cannot exist, for the very expression is a con- 
 tradiction in terms. If God possesses a form, that form is 
 of necessity of definite proportions and therefore of limited 
 extension in space. It is therefore impossible for Him to 
 occupy at one time more than one space of such limits ; and 
 it is not surprising therefore to learn from the scriptures 
 
 a I Nephi xi, 11. 
 
 b Neli. ix, 30; Isa. xlii, 1; Acts x, 19; Alma xii, 3; Doc. and Cov. cv, 36; xcvii, 1. 
 c John xvi, 13; I Nephi x, 19; Doc. and Cov. xxxv, 13: 1, 10. 
 d Gen. i, 2; Job xxvi, 13; Psalms civ, 30; Doc. and Cov. xxix, 31. 
 e John xv, 26; Acts v, 32; xx, 23; I Cor. ii, 11; xii, 3; III Nephi xi, 32. 
 / For a fuller treatment of the Holy Ghost, His personality and attributes, 
 see Lecture viii. 
 
ART. I.] GOD AND THE GODHEAD. 43 
 
 that He moves from place to place. Thus we read in con- 
 nection with the account of the Tower of Babel "And the 
 Lord came down to see the city and the tower." 6 ' Again, 
 Gpd appeared to Abraham, and having declared Himself to 
 be "the Almighty God," He talked with the patriarch, and 
 established a covenant with him; then we read "And He 
 left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.'" 1 
 
 26. God is Omniscient: — There is nothing in the physical 
 or spiritual universe which He has not created; every pro- 
 perty of matter He has ordained, every law He has framed. 
 He possesses, therefore, a perfect knowledge of all His 
 works. His power cannot be comprehended by man; God's 
 wisdom is infinite. Being Himself eternal and perfect, His 
 knowledge cannot be otherwise than infinite. To compre- 
 hend Himself, an infinite Being, He must possess an infinite 
 mind. Through the agency of angels and ministering 
 servants, He is in continuous communication with all parts 
 of creation, and may personally visit as He may will. 
 
 27. God is Omnipotent: — He is properly called the 
 Almighty. Man can discern proofs of the Divine omnipo- 
 tence on every side, in the forces that control the elements 
 of earth ; that guide the orbs of heaven in their prescribed 
 courses; all are working together for the common good. 
 There can be no limits to the powers of God ; whatever His 
 wisdom indicates as fit to be done He can and will do. The 
 means through which He operates may not be of infinite 
 capacity in themselves ; but they are directed by an infinite 
 power. A rational conception of His omnipotence is power 
 to do all that He may will to do. 
 
 28. God is kind, benevolent, and loving, tender, consider- 
 ate, and long-suffering, bearing patiently with the frailties 
 of His wayward children. He is just, yet merciful in judg- 
 
 g Gen. xi, 5. 
 
 h Gen. xvii, 1, 22. 
 
44 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. II. 
 
 ment,* showing favor to all alike, and yet combining with 
 these gentler qualities a firmness, almost amounting to 
 fierceness, in avenging wrongs/ He is jealous fc of His own 
 power and the reverence paid to Him by His children; that 
 is to say, He is zealous for the principles of truth and purity, 
 which are nowhere exemplified in a higher degree than in 
 •His personal attributes. This Being is the Author of our 
 existence, Him we are permitted to approach as Father. 
 Our faith will increase in Him as we learn of Him. 
 
 29. Idolatry and Atheism: — From the abundant evidence 
 of the existence of Deity, the idea of which is so generally 
 held by the human family, there would seem to be little ground 
 on which man could rationally assert and maintain a dis- 
 belief in God ; and in view of the many proofs of the benig- 
 nant nature of the Divine attributes and disposition, there 
 ought to be little tendency to turn aside after false and 
 unworthy objects of worship. Yet the history of the race 
 shows that theism, which is the doctrine of a belief in and 
 an acceptance of, God as the rightful Ruler, is opposed by 
 many varieties of its opposite, — atheism;* and that man is 
 prone to belie his boast as a creature of reason, and to render 
 his worship at idolatrous shrines. Atheism is probably a 
 development of later times, whilst idolatry asserted itself as 
 one of the early sins of the race. Even at the time of Israel's 
 exodus from Egypt, God deemed it proper to command by 
 statute, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me;" m yet 
 even while He wrote those words on the stony tablets, His 
 people were bowing before the golden calf which they had 
 fashioned after the pattern of the Egyptian idol. 
 
 i Deut. iv, 31; II Chron. xxx, 9; Exo. xxxiv, 6; Neh. ix, 17, 31; Psalms cxvi, 5; 
 ciii, 8: lxxxvi, 15; Jer. xxxii, 18; Exo. xx, 6. 
 j Exo. xx, 5; Deut. vii, 21; x, 17; Psa. vii, 11. 
 k Exo. xx, 5; xxxiv, 14; Deut. iv, 24; vi, 14, 15; Josh, xxiv, 19, 20. 
 I See note 6. 
 m Exo. xx, 3. 
 
ART. I.] GOD AND THE GODHEAD. 45 
 
 30. It has been stated that man possesses an instinct for 
 worship, that he craves and will find some object of adora- 
 tion. When man fell into the darkness of continued trans- 
 gression, and forgot the Author of his being, and the God 
 of his fathers, he sought for other deities. Some among 
 men came to regard the sun as the type of the supreme, and 
 before that luminary they prostrated themselves in suppli- 
 cation. Others selected for adoration earthly phenomena; 
 they marvelled over the mystery of fire, and, recognising the 
 beneficent effects of that phenomenon, they worshiped the 
 flame. Some saw, or thought they saw, in water the emblem 
 of the pure and the good, and they rendered their devotions 
 by running streams. Others, awed into reverence by the 
 grandeur of towering mountains, repaired to these natural 
 temples, and worshiped the altar instead of Him in whose 
 honor and by whose power it had been raised. Another 
 class, more strongly imbued with a reverence for the em- 
 blematic, sought to create for themselves artificial objects 
 of adoration. They made images and worshiped them ; they 
 hewed uncouth figures from tree trunks, and chiseled 
 strange forms in stone, and to these they bowed. n 
 
 "Nations, ignorant of God, 
 Contrive a wooden one." 
 
 31. Idolatrous practices in some of their phases came to 
 be associated with rites of horrible cruelties, as in the custom 
 of sacrificing children to Moloch, and, among the Hindoos, 
 to the Ganges; as also in the wholesale slaughtering of 
 human beings under Druidical tyranny. The gods that 
 human-kind have set up for' themselves are heartless, piti- 
 less, cruel. 
 
 32. Atheism, as before stated, is the denial of the exist- 
 ence of God ; in a milder form it may consist in the mere 
 
 wSee Note 7 
 o See Note 8 
 
46 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [lECT. II. 
 
 ignoring of Deity. But the professed atheist, in common 
 with his believing fellow-mortals, is subject to man's univer- 
 sal passion for worship ; though he refuse to acknowledge 
 the true and the living God, he consciously or unconsciously 
 deifies some law, some principle, some passion of the human 
 soul, or perchance some material creation ; and to this he 
 turns, to seek in contemplation of the unworthy object, a 
 semblance of the comfort which the believer finds in rich 
 abundance before the throne of his Father and God. I 
 doubt the existence of a thorough atheist, — one who with 
 the sincerity of a settled conviction denies in his heart the 
 existence of an intelligent Supreme Power. The idea of 
 God is an essential characteristic of the human soul. The 
 philosopher recognizes the necessity of such an element in 
 his theories of being. He may shrink from the open 
 acknowledgment of a personal Deity, yet he assumes the 
 existence of a "governing power," of a "great unknown," 
 of the "unknowable," the "illimitable," the "unconscious." 
 Oh, man of learning though not of wisdom; why reject the 
 privileges extended to you by the omnipotent, omniscient 
 Being to whom you owe your life, yet whose name you will 
 not acknowledge? No mortal can approach Him while con- 
 templating His perfections and might with aught but awe 
 and speechless reverence; regarding Him only as Creator 
 and God, we are abashed in thought of Him; but He has 
 given us the right to approach Him as His children, 
 to call upon Him by the endearing name of Father! And 
 even the atheist feels, in the more solemn moments of his 
 life, a yearning of the soul toward a spiritual Parent, as nat- 
 urally as his human affections turn toward the father who 
 gave him mortal life. The atheism of to-day is but a 
 species of idolatry after all. 
 
 33. Sectarian View of the Godhead: — The consistent, 
 simple, and authentic doctrine respecting the character and 
 
ART. I.] GOD AND THE GODHEAD. 47 
 
 attributes of God, such as was taught by Christ and the 
 apostles, gave way as revelation ceased, and as the darkness 
 incident to the absence of authority fell upon the world, 
 after the apostles and their priesthood had been driven 
 from the earth; and in its place there appeared numerous 
 theories and dogmas of men, many of which are utterly 
 incomprehensible in their mysticism and inconsistency. In 
 the year 325 A. D., the Council of Nice was convened by 
 the emperor Constantine, who sought through this body to 
 secure a declaration of Christian belief which would be 
 received as authoritative, and be the means of arresting the 
 increasing dissension incident to the general disagreement 
 regarding the nature of the Godhead, and other theological 
 subjects. The Council condemned some of the theories 
 then current ; among them that of Arius, which asserted a 
 separate individuality for each member of the Trinity ; and 
 promulgated a new code of belief known as the Nicene 
 Creed. A statement of this doctrine, supposedly as announced 
 by Athanasius, is as follows: — "We worship one God in 
 trinity, and trinity in unity ; neither confounding the per- 
 sons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one person 
 of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy 
 Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father/ Son, and Holy 
 Ghost, is all one; the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. 
 Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy 
 Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy 
 Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son 
 incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. 
 The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost 
 eternal. And yet there are not three eternals, but one 
 eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, 
 nor three uncreated ; but one uncreated , and one incompre- 
 hensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son 
 almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty, and yet there are 
 
48 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. II. 
 
 not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is 
 God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and yet 
 there are not three Gods hut one God." It would be diffi- 
 cult to conceive of a greater number of inconsistencies and 
 contradictions, expressed in as few words. 
 
 34. The Church of England teaches the present orthodox 
 view of God as follows: — "There is but one living and true 
 God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite 
 power, wisdom, and goodness." The immateriality of God 
 as asserted in these declarations of sectarian faith is entirely 
 at variance with the scriptures, and absolutely contradicted 
 by the revelations of God's person and attributes, as shown 
 by the citations already made. 
 
 35. I submit that to deny the materiality of God's person 
 is to deny God; for a thing without parts has no whole, and 
 an immaterial body cannot exists The Church of Jesus 
 Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims against the incompre- 
 hensible God, devoid of "body, parts, and passions," as a 
 thing impossible of existence, and asserts its belief in and 
 allegiance to the true and living God of scripture and 
 revelation. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Natural to Believe in a God:— 'The great and primary truth 'that 
 there is a God' has obtained among men almost universally, and in all ages; so 
 that the holy scriptures, which speak of God in every page, and which advert 
 to the sentiments of mankind for the period of about four thousand years, 
 always assume this truth as admitted. In the early ages of the world, indeed, 
 there is no positive evidence that speculative theism had any advocates; and if, 
 at a subsequent period, the 'fool said in his heart, There is no God,' the senti- 
 ment appears more prominent in his affections than in his judgment; and, 
 withal, had so feeble an influence over the minds of men, that the sacred writers 
 never deemed it necessary to combat the error, either by formal arguments, or 
 by an appeal to miraculous operations. Polytheism, not atheism, was the prevail- 
 ing sin; and therefore the aim of inspired men was not so much to prove the 
 existence of one God, as the non-existence of others,— to maintain His author- 
 ity, to enforce His laws, to the exclusion of all rival pretenders." * * * 
 
 p See Note 9 
 
AKT. I.J NOTES. 49 
 
 "So clear, full, and overpowering is the evidence of God's existence, that it has 
 commanded general belief in all ages and countries,— the only exceptions being 
 a few savage tribes of a most degraded type, among whom the idea of God has 
 faded and disappeared with every vestige of civilization; and a few- eccentric 
 would-be philosophers who affect to doubt everything which others believe, and 
 question the truth of their own intuitions, so that the general assent to the 
 being of a God might be added as a testimony of no small weight in this argu- 
 ment."— Cassell's Bible Dictionary; article "God." 
 
 2. Importance of Belief in God :— "The existence of a Supreme Being is, 
 without doubt, the sublimest conception that can enter the human mind, and, 
 even as a scientific question, can have no equal, for it assumes to furnish the 
 cause of causes, the great ultimate fact in philosophy, the last and sublimest 
 generalization of scientific truth. Yet this is the lowest demand it presents for 
 our study; for it lies at the very foundation of morality, virtue, and religion; it 
 supports the social fabric, and gives cohesion to all its parts; it involves the 
 momentous question of man's immortality and responsibility to supreme au- 
 thority, and is inseparably connected with his brightest hopes and highest 
 enjoyments. It is, indeed, not only a fundamental truth, but the grand central 
 truth of all other truths. All other truths in science, ethics, and religion, radi- 
 ate from this. It is the source from which they all flow, the center to which they 
 all converge, and the one sublime proposition to which they all bear witness. It 
 has, therefore, no parallel in its solemn grandeur and momentous issues."— The 
 same. 
 
 3. Belief in God. Natural and Necessary.— Dr. Joseph Le Conte, Profes- 
 sor of Geology and Natural History in the University of California, and a 
 scientist of world-wide renown, has spoken as follows:— "Theism, or a belief in 
 God or in gods, or in a supernatural agency of some kind, controlling the phe- 
 nomena around us, is the fundamental basis and condition of all religion, and is 
 therefore universal, necessary and intuitive. I will not, therefore, attempt to 
 bring forward any proof of that which lies back of all proof, and is already more 
 certain than anything can be made by any process of reasoning. The ground of 
 this belief lies in the very nature of man; it is the very foundation and ground- 
 work of reason. It is this and this only which gives significance to Nature; with- 
 out it, neither religion nor science, nor indeed human life, would be possible. 
 For. observe what is the characteristic of man in his relation to external Nature. 
 To the brute, the phenomena of Nature are nothing but sensuous phenomena: 
 but man, just in proportion as he uses his human faculties, instinctively ascends 
 from the phenomena to their cause. This is inevitable by a law of our nature, 
 but the process of ascent is differentfor the cultured and uncultured races. The 
 uncultured man, when a phenomenon occurs, the cause of which is not immediately 
 perceived, passes by one step from the sensuous phenomenon to the first cause; 
 while the cultured, and especially the scientific man, passes from the sensuous 
 phenomena through a chain of secondary causes to the first cause. The region of 
 second causes, and this only, is the domain of science. Science may, in fact, be de- 
 fined, as the study of the modes of operation of the first cause. It is evident, there- 
 fore, that the recognition of second causes cannot preclude the idea of the exist- 
 ence of God. * * * Thus, Theism is necessary, intuitive, and therefore 
 universal. We cannot get rid of it if we would. Push it out, as many do, at the 
 front door, and it comes in again, perhaps unrecognized, at the back door. Turn 
 it out in its nobler forms as revealed in Scripture, and it comes in again in its 
 ignoble forms, it may be as magnetism, electricity, or gravity, or some other sup- 
 
50 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. II. 
 
 posed efficient agent controlling Nature. In some form, noble or ignoble, it 
 will become a guest in the human heart. I therefore repeat, Theism neither 
 requires nor admits of proof. But in these latter times, there is a strong ten- 
 dency for Theism to take the form of Pantheism, and thereby religious 
 belief is robbed of all its power oyer the human heart. It becomes necessary, 
 therefore, for me to attempt to show, not the existence indeed, but the" 'person- 
 ality of Deity . * * * Among a certain class of cultivated minds, and 
 especially among scientific men, there is a growing sentiment, sometimes openly 
 expressed, sometimes only vaguely felt, that what we call God is only a universal, 
 all-pervading principle animating Nature,— a general principle of evolution— an 
 unconscious, impersonal life-force under which the whole cosmos slowly de- 
 velops. Now, this form of Theism may possibly satisfy the demands of a purely 
 speculative philosophy, but cannot satisfy the cravings of the human heart. 
 * * The argument for the personality of Deity is derived from the 
 evidences of intelligent contrivance and design in Nature, or the adjustment of 
 parts for a definite, and an intelligent purpose. It is usually called 'the argu- 
 ment from design.'' The force of this argument is felt at once intuitively by all 
 minds, and its .effect is irresistible and overwhelming to every plain, honest 
 mind, unplagued by metaphysical subtleties." - Prof. Joseph Le Conte: in "Re- 
 ligion and Science," pp. 12-14. 
 
 4. God in Nature :— Sir Isaac Newton, one of the most critical of scientific 
 workers, in writing to his friend Dr. Bentley in 1692, said in reference to the 
 natural universe: "To make such a svstem. with all its motions, required a 
 Cause which understood and compared together the quantities of matter in the 
 several bodies of the sun and planets, and the gravitating powers resulting from 
 them, the several distances of the primary planets from the sun, and of the 
 secondary ones from Saturn, Jupiter, and the earth; and the velocities with 
 which these planets could revolve about those quantities of matter in the 
 central bodies; and to compare and adjust all these things together in so great a 
 variety of bodies argues the Cause to be not blind and fortuitous, but very well 
 skilled in mechanics and geometry." 
 
 5. Natural Indications of God's Existence :— "It may not be, it is not 
 likely, that God can be found with microscope and scalpel, with test-tube or 
 flask, with goniometer or telescope; but with such tools, the student earnestly 
 working, cannot fail to recognize a power beyond his vision, yet a power of 
 which the pulses and the motions are unmistakable. The extent of our solar 
 system once seemed to man more limited than it does at present; and the dis- 
 covery of the most distant of the planetary family was due to a recognition of 
 an attractive force inexplicable except on the supposition of the existence of 
 another planet. The astronomer, tracing known bodies along their orbital 
 paths, could feel the pull, could see the wire that drew them from a narrower 
 course; he saw not Neptune as he piled calculations sheet on sheet; but the ex- 
 istence of that orb was clearly indicated, and by heeding such indications he 
 sought for it, and it was found. Theory alone could never have revealed it, though 
 theory was incomplete, unsatisfactory without it; but the practical search, 
 instigated by theory, led to the great demonstration. And what is all science 
 but theory compared to the practical influence of prayerful reliance on the as- 
 sistance of an omnipotent, omniscient power? Disregard not the indications of 
 your science work, — the trembling of the needle that reveals the magnetic 
 influence; the instinct within that speaks of a life and a Life-Giver, far beyond 
 
ART. I.] NOTES. 51 
 
 human power of explanation or comprehension. As you sit beneath the canopied 
 vault, pondering in the silence of night over the perturbations, the yearnings 
 which the soul cannot ignore, turn in the direction indicated by those impulses, 
 and with the penetrating, space-annihilating, time-annulling glass of prayer and 
 faith, seek the source of that pervading force."— Jas. E. Talmage in Baccalaureate 
 Sermon, June, 1895. 
 
 6. Theism ; Atheism, etc :— According 'to current usage, Theism signifies a 
 belief in God,— the acceptance of one living and eternal Being who has revealed 
 Himself to man. Deism implies a professed belief in God, but denies to Deity 
 the power to reveal Himself, and asserts a disbelief in Christianity; the term is 
 used in different senses, prominent among which are:— (1) belief in God as an 
 intelligent and eternal Being, with a denial of all providential care: (2) belief in 
 God, with denial of a future state of the soul: (3) as advocated by Kant, denial 
 of a personal God, while asserting belief in an infinite force, inseparably asso- 
 ciated with matter, and operating as the first great cause. Pantheism regards 
 matter and mind as one, embracing everything finite and infinite, and calls this 
 universal existence God. In its philosophical aspect, pantheism "has three 
 generic forms with variations: (1) one-substance pantheism which ascribes to the 
 universal being the attributes of both mind and matter, thought and extension, 
 as in Spinoza's system; (2) materialistic pantheism which ascribes to it only the 
 attributes of matter, as in the system of Strauss: (3) idealistic pantheism which 
 ascribes to it only the existence of mind as in Hegel's system." In its doctrinal 
 aspect, pantheism comprises "the worship of nature and humanity founded on 
 the doctrine that the entire phenomenal universe, including man and nature, is 
 the ever-changing manifestation of God." Polytheism is the doctrine of a 
 plurality of gods, who are usually regarded as personifications of forces or 
 phenomena of nature. Monotheism is the doctrine that there is but one God. 
 Atheism signifies disbelief in God, or the denial of God's existence; dogmatic 
 atheism denies, while negative atheism ignores, the existence of a God. Infidelity 
 is sometimes used as synonymous with atheism, though specifically the term 
 signifies a milder form of unbelief, manifesting itself in scepticism on matters 
 religious, a disbelief in the religion of the Bible, and of course a rejection of the 
 doctrines of Christianity. Agnosticism holds that God is unknown and unknow- 
 able; that His existence can neither be proved nor disproved; it neither 
 affirms nor denies the existence of a personal God; it is the doctrine of "We do 
 not know."— See Standard Dictionary. 
 
 7. Idolatrous Practices in General :— The soul of man,once abandoned to 
 depravity, is strongly prone to depart from God and his institutions. "Hence," 
 says Burder, "have arisen the altars and demons of heathen antiquity, their 
 extravagant fictions, and abominable orgies. Hence we find among the Baby- 
 lonians and Arabians, the adoration of the heavenly bodies, the. earliest) forms 
 of idolatry; among the Canaanites and Syrians, the worship of Baal, Tammuz, 
 Magog, and Astarte; among the Phoenicians, the immolation of children to 
 Moloch; among the Egyptians, divine honors bestowed on animals, birds, insects, 
 leeks, and onions; among the Persians, religious reverence offered to fire; and 
 among the polished Greeks, the recognition in their system of faith of thirty 
 thousand gods. Hence, moreover, we find at the present time among most Pagan 
 tribes, the deadliest superstitions, the most cruel and bloody rites, and the most 
 shocking licentiousness and vice, practiced under the name of religion."— His- 
 tory of all Religions, p, 12. 
 
 8. Examples of Atrocious Idolatry.— The worship of Moloch is generally 
 
52 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. II. 
 
 cited as an example of the crudest and most abhorrent idolatry known to man. 
 Moloch, called also Molech, Malcham, Milcom, Baal-melech, etc., was an Am- 
 monite idol: it is mentioned in scripture in connection with its cruel rites (Lev. 
 xviii, 21; xx, 2-5; see also I Kings xi, 5, 7, 33; II Kings xxiii, 10, 13; Amos v, 26; 
 Zephaniah i, 5; Jeremiah xxxii, 35). Keil and Delitzsch describe the idol as 
 being "represented by a brazen statue which was hollow, and capable of being 
 heated, and formed with a bull's head, and with arms stretched out to receive 
 the children to be sacrificed." While the worship of this idol did not invariably 
 include human sacrifice, it is certain that such hideous rites were characteristic 
 of this abominable shrine. The authors last quoted say "From the time of 
 Ahaz, children were slain at Jerusalem in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and then 
 sacrificed by being laid in the heated arms and burned. (II Kings xxiii, 10; xvi, 3; 
 xvii, 17; xxi, 6; Jer. xxxii, 35; Ezek. xvi, 20, 21; xx, 31; compare Psalms cvi, 
 37, 38.) Many authorities state that the sacrifice of children to this hideous 
 monster long ante-dated the time of Ahaz. "The offering of living victims was 
 probably the climax of enormity in connection with this system, and it is said that 
 Tophet, where it was to be witnessed, was so named from the beating of drums 
 to drown the shrieks and groans of those who were burned to death. The same 
 place was called the Valley of Hinnom, and the horrible associations connected 
 with it led to both Tophet and Gehenna ('valley of Hinnom') being adopted as 
 names and symbols of future torment." For foregoing facts, and others, see " The 
 Pentateuch" by Keil and Delitzsch; and CasselVs Bible Dictionary. 
 
 Scarcely less horrible were the practices of voluntary suicide under the 
 car of the idol Juggernaut, and the drowning of children in the sacred Ganges as 
 found among the Hindoos. According to Burder, ("History of all Religions,") 
 the ponderous and hideous image Juggernaut, was, on festival days, usually 
 placed on a movable tower resting on wheels; and, thus mounted, was drawn 
 through the streets by enthusiastic wowshipers. As the car moved along, some 
 of the most zealous of the devotees threw themselves under the wheels and 
 were crushed to death; and such acts were "hailed with the acclamations of the 
 multitude as the most acceptable sacrifices." The same author thus describes 
 the rite of child-sacrifice to the sacred river, as formerly practiced in India: — 
 "People in some parts of India, particularly the inhabitants of Orissa, and of the 
 eastern parts of Bengal, frequently offer their children to the goddess, Gunga. 
 The following reason is assigned for this practice: When a woman has been 
 long married, and has no children, it is common for the man, or his wife, or both 
 of them, to make a vow to the goddess Gunga, that if she will bestow the bless- 
 ing of children upon them, they will devote the firstborn to her. If, after this 
 vow, they have children, the eldest is nourished till a proper age, which may be 
 three,, four, or more years, according to circumstances, when, on a particular 
 day, appointed for bathing in any part of the river, they take the child with 
 them and offer it to the goddess: the child is encouraged to go farther and 
 farther into the water, till it is carried away by the stream, or is pushed off by 
 its inhuman parents."— History of all Religions, p. 745-746. 
 
 The practices of Druidism among the ancient Britons furnish another ex- 
 ample of degradation in religion through the absence of authoritative guidance 
 and the light of revelation. The Druids professed a veneration for the oak, and 
 performed most of their distinctive ceremonies in sacred groves. Human 
 sacrifices were offered as a feature of their system. Of their temples, some, e. g. 
 Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, and others in Kent, still remain. 
 
ART. I.] NOTES. 53 
 
 These circular enclosures, which were open to the sky, were called doom-rings: 
 near the center of each was an altar {dolmen) on which victims were sacrificed. 
 The horrible ceremonies included on special occasions the burning alive of large 
 numbers of human beings, enclosed in immense cages of wicker-work. 
 
 9. Immaterialists are Atheists :— "There are two classes of atheists in the 
 world. One class denies the existence of God in the most positive language; the 
 other denies his existence in duration or space. One says 'There is no God;' the 
 other says 'God is not here or there, any more than he exists no w and then.' The 
 infidel says 'God does not exist anywhere.' The immaterialist says 'He exists 
 nowhere.' The infidel says 'There is no such substance as God.' The imma- 
 terialist says 'There is such a substance as God, but it is without parts.' 
 The atheist says 'There is no such substance as spirit.'' The immaterialist says 
 'A spirit, though he lives and acts, occupies no room, and fills no space in the 
 same way and in the same manner as matter, not even so much as does the 
 minutest grain of sand.' The atheist does not seek to hide his infidelity; but the 
 immaterialist, whose declared belief amounts to the same thing as the atheist's, 
 endeavors to hide his infidelity under the shallow covering of a few words. * * 
 * * * The immaterialist is a religious atheist; he only differs from the other 
 class of atheists by clothing an indivisible unextended nothing with the powers 
 of a God. One class believes in no God; the other believes that Nothing is god 
 and worships it as such." — Orson Pratt, in pamphlet "Absurdities of Immaterial- 
 ism," p. 11. 
 
 10. Atheism, a Fatal Belief :— "During the Reign or Terror, the French 
 were declared to be a nation of atheists, by the National Assembly; but a brief 
 experience convinced them that a nation of atheists could not long exist. Robes- 
 pierre then 'proclaimed in the convention, that belief in the existence of God 
 was necessary to those principles of virtue and morality upon which the repub- 
 lic was founded; and on the 7th of May, the national representatives, who had so 
 lately prostrated themselves before the Goddess of Reason, voted by acclama- 
 tion that the French people acknowledged the existence of the Supreme Being, 
 and the immortality of the soul.'"— Students' France, xxvii, 6; quoted by Rev. 
 Charles E. Little, in Historical Lights, p. 380-281. 
 
54 THE ARTICLES OF EAITH. [LECT. III. 
 
 LECTUKE III. 
 
 TRANSGRESSION AND THE FALL. 
 
 Article 2 :— We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not 
 for Adam's transgression. 
 
 TRANSGRESSION AND ITS RESULTS. 
 
 1. Man's Free Agency: — The Church holds and teaches 
 as a strictly scriptural doctrine, that man has inherited 
 among the inalienable rights conferred upon him by his 
 divine Father, absolute freedom to choose the good or the 
 evil in life as he may elect. This right cannot be guarded 
 with more jealous care than is bestowed upon it by God 
 Himself; for in all His dealings with man, He has left the 
 mortal creature free to choose and to act, with no semblance 
 of compulsion or restraint, beyond the influences of paternal 
 counsel and loving direction." True, He has given command- 
 ments, and has established statutes, with promises of bless- 
 ings for compliance and dire penalties for infraction ; but 
 in the choice of these, God's children are untrammeled. In 
 this respect, man is no less free than are the angels and the 
 Gods, except as he has fettered himself with the bonds of 
 sin, and forfeited his power of will and force of soul. The 
 individual has as full a measure of liberty to violate the 
 laws of health, the requirements of nature, and the com- 
 mandments of God in matters both temporal and spiritual, 
 as he has to obey all such ; in the one case he brings upon 
 himself the sure penalties that belong to the broken law; 
 as in the other he inherits the specific blessings and the 
 added freedom that attend a law-abiding life. Obedience 
 to law is the habit of the free man ; 'tis the transgressor 
 
 a See note 1. 
 
ART. 2. J TRANSGRESSION. 55 
 
 who fears the law, for he brings upon himself deprivation 
 and restraint, not because of the law, which would have 
 protected him in his freedom, but because of his rejection 
 of law. 
 
 2. The predominant attribute of justice, recognized as 
 part of the Divine nature, forbids the thought that man 
 should receive promises of reward for righteousness, and 
 threats of punishment for evil deeds, if he possessed no 
 power of independent action. It is no more a part of God's 
 plan to compel men to work righteousness, than it is His 
 purpose to permit evil powers to force His children into sin. 
 In the days of Eden, the first man had placed before him 
 commandment and law, 6 with an explanation of the penalty 
 which would follow a violation of that law. No law could 
 have been given him in righteousness, had he not been free 
 to act for himself. "Nevertheless thou mayest choose for 
 thyself, for it is given unto thee, but remember that I for- 
 bid it," c said the Lord God to Adam. Concerning His 
 dealings with the first patriarch of the race, God has de- 
 clared in this day, "Behold I gave unto him that he should 
 be an agent unto himself. " d 
 
 3. When the brothers Cain and Abel brought their 
 sacrifices before the Lord, the elder one became angry be- 
 cause his offering was rejected; then the Lord reasoned with 
 Cain, and endeavored, to teach him that he must expect 
 results of his actions to follow in kind, good or evil as he 
 might elect : — "If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted? 
 and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." e 
 
 4. A knowledge of good and evil is essential to the 
 advancement which God has made possible for His children 
 
 b Genesis ii, 17; Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, pp. 10,12-13 (1888 
 ed.) 
 
 c Pearl of Great Price, p. 13 (1888 ed.) 
 d Doctrine and Covenants, xxix, 35. 
 e Genesis iv, 7. 
 
56 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. L LECT - m - 
 
 to achieve; this knowledge can be best gained by actual 
 experience, with the contrasts of good and its opposite before 
 the eyes; therefore has man been placed upon the earth 
 subject to the influence of good and wicked powers, with a 
 knowledge of the conditions surrounding him, and the heaven- 
 born right to choose for himself. The words of the prophet, 
 Lehi, are particularly explicit: "Wherefore, the Lord God 
 gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man 
 could not act for himself, save it should be that he was enticed 
 by the one or the other. * * * Wherefore, men are free 
 according to the flesh; and all things are given them which 
 are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty 
 and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men, or 
 to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity 
 and power of the devil ; for he seeketh that all men might 
 be miserable like unto himself. " f 
 
 5. Alma, another Nephite prophet, in speaking of those 
 who had died, said they had gone "that they might reap 
 their rewards, according to their works, whether they were 
 good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or 
 eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to 
 obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one; For every 
 man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and 
 this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy." ' 
 
 6. Samuel, the converted Lamanite, upon whom the spirit 
 of the prophets had fallen, admonished his wayward fellows 
 in this wise: "And now remember, remember my brethren, 
 that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and 
 whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, 
 ye are free ; ye are permitted to act for yourselves ; for be- 
 hold, God hath given unto you a knowledge, and he hath 
 
 /IINephiii, 16, ana 27; x, 23. See also Alma iii, 25; xii, 31; xxix, 4, 5: xxx, 
 9; Hel. xiv, 30. 
 g Alma iii, 26-27 
 
ART. 2.] TRANSGRESSION. 5? 
 
 made you free ; He hath given unto you that ye might know 
 good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might 
 choose life or death.'" 1 
 
 7. When the plans for creating and peopling the earth 
 were under discussion in heaven, Satan sought to destroy 
 the free agency of man, by obtaining power to force the 
 human family to do his will, promising the Father that by 
 such means he would redeem all mankind, and that not one 
 of them should be lost/' This proposition was rejected, 
 while the original purpose of the Father, — to use persuasive 
 influences of wholesome precept and sacrificing example 
 with the inhabitants of the earth, then to leave them free 
 to choose for themselves, was agreed upon, and the Only 
 Begotten Son was chosen as the chief instrument in carry- 
 ing that purpose into effect. 
 
 8. Man's Responsibility for his individual acts is as com- 
 plete as is his agency to elect for himself. The natural re- 
 sult of good deeds is happiness ; the consequence of evil is 
 misery; these follow in every man's life by inviolable laws. 
 There is a plan of judgment divinely fore-ordained, by 
 which every man will be called to answer for his deeds ; and 
 not for deeds alone but for his words also, and even for the 
 thoughts of his heart. "But I say unto you, that every idle 
 word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in 
 the day of judgment. " fc These are the words of the Savior 
 Himself. "And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts 
 against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these 
 are things that I hate, saith the Lord.'" John the Revelator 
 was permitted to learn in vision something of the scenes 
 
 h Helaman xiv, 30-31. 
 
 i Pearl of Great Price: Writings of Moses p. 14; and Book of Abraham p. 63 
 (1888 ed.) 
 
 j Matt, x, 15; xi, 22. II Peter ii, 9; Hi, 7. I John iv, 17. 
 k Matt, xii, 36. 
 I Zech. viii, 17. 
 
58 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. III. 
 
 connected with the last judgment; he says: "And; I saw 
 the dead, small and great, stand before God ; and the books 
 were opened: and another book was opened, which is the 
 book of life ; and the dead were judged out of those things 
 which were written in the books, according to their works. 
 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death 
 and hell delivered up the dead which were in them : and 
 they were judged every man according to their works. " m 
 
 9. The judgment of God is not always made to follow 
 immediately the acts of men; good deeds may not be at 
 once rewarded, evil is rarely peremptorily punished ; and 
 this is according to Divine wisdom; were it appointed other- 
 wise, the test of individual nature, and the trial of human 
 faith, for which purposes this mortal probation was 
 primarily ordained, would be greatly lessened; for the 
 certainty of immediate pleasure or pain would almost 
 universally determine human acts to secure the one and to 
 avoid the other. Judgment, therefore, is postponed, that every 
 one may fully prove his nature, the good man increasing in 
 righteousness, and the evil doer possessing opportunity of 
 repentance and reparation before the great and terrible day. 
 On rare occasions, speedy judgment of a temporal nature 
 has been executed, the physical results of worldly blessing 
 for good," and calamity for evil deeds following swiftly 
 upon the acts. Whether such retribution entirely satisfies 
 the claims of justice, or a further visitation of judgment is 
 to take place beyond this world, matters not. Such acts 
 are exceptional in the Divine administration. 
 
 10. It is the prerogative of Jesus Christ p to judge the 
 
 m Rev. xx, 12, 13. 
 
 n Job xlii, 10-17. 
 
 o Numbers xii, 1-2, 10-15: xv, 32-36; xvi; xxi, 4-6; I Sam. vi, 19; II Sam. vi, 
 6-7: Acts v, 1-11. 
 
 p John v, 22-27; Acts x, 42; xvii, 31; Rom. ii, 16; II Cor. v, 10; II Tim. iv, 1, 8: 
 Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii. 2. 
 
AKT. 2.] TRANSGRESSION. 59 
 
 children of men, and He will do it as His own purposes, 
 which are likewise the purposes of His Father, may be best 
 served. John the Apostle declares: "For the Father 
 judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto 
 the Son ; that all men should honor the Son even as they 
 honor the Father." 9 And Peter, while expounding the 
 gospel to the devout Gentile, Cornelius, declared concerning 
 Jesus Christ, that "it is He which was ordained of God to 
 be the Judge of quick and dead."'' Of the dread fate of 
 the wicked reserved for the judgment day, many prophets 
 have borne record 8 and the presiding Judge of that awful 
 tribunal has given in His own words descriptions* so vivid 
 and accurate, as to leave no shadow of doubt that every 
 living soul will be called to acknowledge the record, and to 
 accept the results of his acts. The Lord's words and those 
 of His prophets are unequivocal, that He is no respecter 
 of persons," and that any species of favor foreign to justice 
 is unknown to Him. ' This judgment none but the un- 
 repentant wicked need fear ; to the righteous it is a time of 
 triumph. 1 ' 
 
 11. Sin: — What is the nature of sin? To this question 
 the Apostle John replies, "Sin is the transgression of the 
 law.'" In the original language of the Bible records, many 
 words occur for which our single term sin is used, all how- 
 ever conveying the common idea of opposition to the Divine 
 will.* As God is the embodiment of purity and perfection, 
 such opposition is a rebellion against the principles of ad- 
 
 q John v, 22. 
 r Acts x, 42. 
 
 s Dan. vii, 9; II Thess. i, 7, 8; III Nephi xxvi, 3-5; Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 31- 
 103-106. 
 
 t Matt, xxv, 31-46; Doc. and Cov. i, 9-12. 
 
 u Acts x, 34, 35; Rom. ii, 11; Eph. vi, 9; Colos. iii, 25. 
 
 v II Tim. iv, 8. 
 
 w I John iii, 4. 
 
 x See note 2. 
 
60 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. III. 
 
 'vancement, and an acceptance of the practices that lead to 
 degradation. Sin is any condition, whether consisting in 
 omission of things required, or in commission of acts for- 
 bidden, which tends to prevent or hinder the development 
 of the human soul. As a righteous course leads to eternal 
 life, so sin tends towards the darkness of the second death. 
 Sin was introduced to the world by the arch-fiend Satan \ v 
 yet it is by Divine permission that mankind is brought in 
 contact with sin, the contrast between evil and good thus 
 being learned. 
 
 12. According to the technical definition of sin, it con- 
 sists in the violation of law, and in this strict sense sin may 
 be committed inadvertently or in ignorance. It is plain, 
 however, from the scriptural doctrine of human responsibil- 
 ity, and the unerring justice of God, that in his transgres- 
 sions as in his righteous deeds, man will be judged' accord- 
 ing to his ability to comprehend law. To him who has 
 never been made acquainted with a higher law, the require- 
 ments of that law do not apply in their fulness. For sins 
 committed without knowledge, — that is, for laws violated in 
 ignorance, a propitiation has been provided in the atone- 
 ment wrought through the sacrifice of the Savior; and sin- 
 ners of this class do not stand condemned. 
 
 13. Nephi, prophesying to the ancient inhabitants of the 
 western continent, taught them this doctrine: — "Where 
 there is no law given there is no punishment ; and where 
 there is no punishment, there is no condemnation; and 
 where there is no condemnation, the mercies of the Holy 
 One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atone- 
 ment; for they are delivered by the power of him; For the 
 atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all 
 those who have not the law given to them, that they are 
 delivered from that awful monster, death and hell and the 
 
 y Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, p. 14 (1888 ed.) Genesis iii. 
 
ART. 2.] TRANSGRESSION. 61 
 
 devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone which is endless 
 torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them 
 breath, which is the Holy One of Israel." 2 And then, in 
 contrast with the lot of those who are thus pardonable, the 
 prophet adds: — "But wo unto him that has the law given; 
 yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, 
 and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of 
 his probation, for awful is his state !" a This is in strict 
 agreement with the teachings of Paul to the Komans, "For 
 as many as have sinned without law shall also perish with- 
 out law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be 
 judged by the law." 6 And the word of modern scripture is 
 to the same effect, for we are told through recent revelation 
 to the Church, that among those who are to receive the 
 blessings of redemption are "they who died without law." c 
 These will include the heathen nations, whose redemption is 
 promised, with the added declaration that "they that knew 
 no law shall have part in the first resurrection.'"* 
 
 14. Punishment for Sin: — As rewards for righteous deeds 
 are proportionate to deserving acts, so the punishment 
 prescribed for sin is made adequate to the offense. 6 Punish- 
 ment is inflicted upon the sinner, for disciplinary and 
 reformatory purposes, and in support of justice. There is 
 nothing of vindictiveness or -of desire to cause suffering in 
 the Divine nature ; on the contrary, our Father is cognizant 
 •of every pang, and permits such to afflict for beneficent 
 purposes only. God's mercy is declared in the retributive 
 pains which He allows, as in the blessings of peace which 
 issue from His hand. It is scarcely profitable to speculate 
 
 z II Nephi ix, 25-26. 
 a The same, paragraph 27. 
 b Rom. ii, 12. 
 c Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 72. 
 d Doc. and Cov. xlv, 54. 
 
 e Doc and Cov. lxxvi, 82-85; lxxxii, 21; civ, 9;> lxiii, 17; II Nephi i, 13: ix, 27; 
 xxviii, 23. 
 
62 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [lECT. III. 
 
 as to the exact nature of the spiritual suffering imposed as 
 punishment for sin. Comparison with physical pain/ such 
 as the tortures of fire, in a sulphurous lake, serve to show 
 that the human mind is incapable of comprehending the 
 depth of these dread penalties. The sufferings entailed by 
 the awful fate of condemnation are more to be feared than 
 are any possible inflictions of purely physical torture; the 
 mind, the spirit, the whole soul is doomed to suffer, and 
 the extent of the torment no man knoweth. 
 
 15. Consider the word of the Lord regarding those 
 whose sin is the unpardonable one, whose transgression has 
 carried them beyond the present horizon of possible re- 
 demption ; those who have sunk so low in their wickedness 
 as to have lost the power and even the desire to attempt 
 reformation. 9 "Sons of Perdition" is the. terrible designa- 
 tion by which they are known. These are they who, having 
 learned the power of God, afterward renounce it ; those who 
 sin wilfully, in the light of knowledge ; those who open 
 their hearts to the Holy Spirit, and then put the Lord to a 
 mockery and a shame by denying it ; and those who commit 
 murder, wherein they shed innocent blood ; ft these are they 
 of whom the Savior has declared that it would be better for 
 them had they never been born. 1 ' These are to share the 
 punishment of the devil and his angels — punishment so 
 terrible that the knowledge is withheld from all except 
 those who are consigned to this dread doom, though a 
 momentary glance at the awful picture is permitted to 
 some. j These sinners are the only ones over whom the 
 
 / Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 36, 44; Jacob vi, 10; Alma xii. 16-17; III Nephi 
 xxvii, 11-12. 
 
 g See Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 26, 32, 43. 
 
 h Doc. and Cov. cxxxii, 27. 
 
 i John xvii, 12; II Thess. ii, 3; Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 32. 
 
 .;' Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 45-48. 
 
ART. 2.] ' TRANSGRESSION. 63 
 
 second death hath power, "Yea, verily, the only ones who 
 shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord." fc 
 
 16. The Duration of Punishment: — As to the duration of 
 such punishment, we may take assurance that it will be 
 graded according to the sin; and that the popular inter- 
 pretation of scriptural passages to the effect that every 
 sentence for misdeeds is interminable, is entirely false. l 
 Great as is the effect of this life upon the hereafter, and 
 terrible as is the responsibility of opportunities lost for 
 repentance, God holds the power to pardon beyond the 
 grave. And yet the scriptures speak of eternal and endless 
 punishment. Any punishment ordained of God is eternal, 
 for He is eternal. m His is a system of endless punishment, 
 for it will always exist as a place or condition prepared for 
 disobedient spirits ; yet the infliction of the penalty will 
 have an end in every case of willing repentance and 
 attempted reparation. And repentance is not impossible 
 in the spirit world. n Yet, as seen, there are some sins so 
 terrible that their accompanying punishments are not made 
 known to man; these extreme penalties are reserved for 
 the "Sons of Perdition." 
 
 17. The false doctrine that the punishment to be visited 
 upon the erring souls is endless, that every sentence for sin 
 is of interminable duration, must be regarded as one of the 
 most pernicious results of unenlightened sectarianism It 
 is but a dogma of unauthorized and erring churches, at once 
 unscriptural, unreasonable, and revolting to one who loves 
 mercy and honors justice. True, the scriptures speak of 
 everlasting burnings, eternal damnation, and the vengeance 
 
 k Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 38-39. 
 
 I Doc. and Cov. xix, 6-12; lxxvi, 36, 44. 
 
 m Doc. and Cov. xix, 10-12. 
 
 n I Peter iii, 18-20; iv, 6; Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 73. 
 
 o Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 44. 
 
(54 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. III. 
 
 of eternal fire, p as characteristics of the judgment provided 
 for the wicked; yet in no instance is there justification for 
 the inference that the individual sinner will have to suffer 
 the wrath of offended justice forever and ever. The pun- 
 ishment in any case is sufficiently severe without the added 
 and supreme horror of unending continuation. Justice 
 must have her due; but when "the uttermost farthing" is 
 paid, the prison doors shall open and the captive be free. 
 But the prison remains, and the law prescribing punishment 
 for offences will not be repealed. 
 
 18. So general were the ill-effects of the commonly- 
 accepted doctrine, unscriptural and untrue though it was, 
 regarding the endless torment awaiting every sinner, that 
 even before the Church had been formally organized in the 
 present dispensation, God gave a revelation through the 
 Prophet Joseph Smith, touching this matter, in which we 
 read: — "And surely every man must repent or suffer; for I, 
 God, am endless: wherefore I revoke not the judgments 
 which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wail- 
 ing and gnashing of teeth, yea to those who are found on 
 my left hand ; nevertheless it is not written that there shall 
 be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment. 
 Again it is written eternal damnation. * * * for 
 behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given 
 from my hand, is endless punishment, for Endless is my 
 name; wherefore, eternal punishment is God's punishment. 
 Endless punishment is God's punishment. 9 " 
 
 19. Satan: — We have had occasion to refer frequently to 
 the author of evil among men. This is Satan/ the adversary 
 or opponent of the Lord, the chief of all evil spirits, called 
 
 p Matt, xviii, 8; xxv, 41, 46; II Thess. i, 9; Mark iii, 29; Jude 7. 
 q Revelation given March, 1830; Doc. and Cov. xix, 4-12. 
 /• Job i, 6-22; ii, 1-7; Zech. iii, 1-2. 
 
ART. 2.] TRANSGRESSION. 65 
 
 also the Devil, s Beelzebub/ or the Prince of Devils, Perdition" 
 and Belial. v The figurative appellations Dragon, and Serpent, 
 are applied to Satan, when reference is made to the Fall.™ 
 We learn from the revealed word* that Satan was once an 
 angel of light; he was then known as Lucifer, a Son of the 
 Morning, but his uncontrolled ambition prompted him to 
 aspire to the glory and power of the Father, to secure which, 
 he made the unjust proposition to redeem the human family 
 by compulsion ; failing in this purpose, he headed an open 
 rebellion against the Father and the Son, drawing a third of 
 the hosts of heaven into his impious league/ These rebel- 
 lious spirits were expelled from heaven, and have since fol- 
 lowed the impulses of their wicked natures by seeking to lead 
 human souls to their own condition of darkness. They are 
 the devil and his angels. The right of free agency, main- 
 tained and vindicated by the terrible strife in heaven, pre- 
 vents the possibility of compulsion being employed in this 
 fiendish work of degradation; but the powers of these 
 malignant spirits to tempt and persuade are used to their 
 utmost limits. Satan tempted Eve to transgress the law of 
 God; 2 it was he who imparted the secret of murder to the 
 fratricide, Cain." 
 
 20. Satan exerts a mastery over the spirits that have 
 been corrupted by his practices ; he is the foremost of the 
 angels who were thrust down, and the instigator of the ruin 
 of those who fall in this life ; he seeks to molest and hinder 
 mankind in good efforts, by tempting to sin ; it may be by 
 
 s Matt, iv, 5, 8, 11: I Peter, v, 8. 
 t Matt, xii, 24. 
 a Doc. and Co v. lxxvi, 26. 
 v II Cor. vi, 15. 
 w Rev. xii, 9; xx, 2. 
 x Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 25-27. 
 
 y Doc. & Cov. xxix, 36-37; see also Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, 
 p. 14, and Book of Abraham p. 63, (1888 ed.) 
 
 z Genesis iii, 4-5, and Pearl of Great Price, p. 14. 
 a Pearl'of Great Price— Writings of Moses, p. 20. 
 
66 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. L LECT - m - 
 
 imposing sickness, 6 or possibly death. Yet in all these 
 malignant doings, he can go no farther than the transgressions 
 of the victim may enable him, or the wisdom of God may 
 permit him to go, and he may at any time be checked by the 
 superior power. Indeed, even the operations of his utmost 
 malice may be turned to the accomplishment of Divine pur- 
 poses. The scriptures prove to us that the days of Satan's 
 power are already numbered; his doom has been pro- 
 nounced, and in the Lord's own time he will be completely 
 overcome. He is to be bound during the millennial reign, d 
 and after that thousand years of blessed peace, he will be 
 loosed for a little season ; then his defeat will be made com- 
 plete, and his power over the children of God will be 
 entirely destroyed. 
 
 THE FALL. 
 
 21. Our First Parents in Eden: 6 — The crowning scene of 
 the great drama of creation was the forming of man in the 
 image of his spiritual Father, God/ For the reception of 
 the first man, the Creator had specially prepared a choice 
 region of earth, and had embellished it with natural 
 beauties calculated to gladden the heart of its royal 
 possessor. "The Lord God planted a garden eastward in 
 Eden, ff and there He put the man whom he had formed.'" 1 
 Soon after man's advent upon the earth the Lord created 
 for him a companion or help-meet, declaring that it was 
 not good that man should be alone. 1 Thus, male and 
 female, Adam and his wife Eve, were placed in the Garden, 
 
 b Luke xiii, 16; Job i. 
 c John xii, 31; xvi, 11. 
 d Rev. xx, 1-10. 
 
 e Read Genesis, chapters 2 and 3; Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, 
 pp. 11-19, and Book of Abraham, p. 68-70 (1888 ed.) 
 / Genesis i, 26; Pearl of Great Price, p. 10 (1888 ed.) 
 g See note 3. 
 ^Genesis ii, 8-9. 
 i Genesis ii, 18: Pearl of Great Price, p. 13 (1888 ed.) . 
 
ART. 2.] THE FALL. 67 
 
 and were given dominion "over the fish of the sea, and 
 over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that 
 moveth upon the earth. " J With this great power were 
 associated certain special commands ; the first of which in 
 point of importance was that they "be fruitful and 
 multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it ;" then that 
 they refrain from eating or even touching the fruit of a 
 certain tree, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, 
 which grew in the midst of the Garden, though of all other 
 fruits they were permitted to freely partake. The words of 
 God concerning this command and its penalty are: — "And 
 I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying, of every 
 tree in the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of 
 the knowledge of good and evil ; thou shalt not eat of it ; 
 nevertheless thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given 
 unto thee, but remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou 
 eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. ,,fc 
 
 22. The Temptation to disobey this command soon came. 
 Satan presented himself before Eve in the Garden, and, 
 speaking by the mouth of the serpent, questioned her about 
 the commands which God had given respecting the Tree of 
 Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve answered that they 
 were forbidden even to touch the fruit of that tree, under 
 penalty of death. Satan then sought to beguile the woman, 
 contradicting the Lord's statement, and declaring that death 
 would not follow a violation of the Divine injunction; but 
 that, on the other hand, by doing that which the Lord had 
 forbidden, she and her husband would become like unto 
 the gods, knowing good and evil for themselves. The 
 woman was captivated by these representations ; and, being 
 eager to possess the advantages pictured by Satan, she dis- 
 obeyed the command of the Lord, and partook of the fruit 
 
 j Genesis i, 28. 
 
 k Pearl of Great Price, pp. 12-13 (1888 ed.); see also Genesis ii, 16-1" 
 
68 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. III. 
 
 forbidden. She feared not evil, for she knew it not. Then, 
 telling Adam what she had done, she urged him to do like- 
 wise. 
 
 23. Adam found himself in a position that compelled 
 him to disobey one of the requirements of God. He and 
 his wife had been commanded to multiply and replenish the 
 earth. Adam was still immortal ; Eve had come under the 
 penalty of mortality; and in such dissimilar conditions, the 
 two could not remain together, and therefore could not ful- 
 fill the Divine requirement. On the other hand, Adam 
 would be disobeying another command by yielding to his 
 wife's request. He deliberately and wisely decided to stand 
 by the first and greater commandment; and, therefore, with 
 a full comprehension of the nature of his act, he also par- 
 took of the fruit that grew on the Tree of Knowledge. The 
 fact that Adam acted understanding^ in this matter is 
 affirmed by the scriptures. Paul, in writing to Timothy, 
 explained that "Adam was not deceived; but the woman, 
 being deceived, was in the transgression. " l The prophet, 
 Lehi, in expounding the scriptures to his sons, declared 
 "Adam fell that man might be, and men are that they 
 might have joy." m 
 
 24. The Tree of Life: — There was another tree of special 
 virtues in Eden ; its fruit insured life to all who ate of it. 
 While Adam and Eve lived in innocent immortality, this tree 
 had not been forbidden them ; the celestial fruit indeed was 
 fitting food for their sinless state. Now, that they had 
 transgressed, however; now that the Divine decree had 
 issued, fixing death as their lot, it was not proper that the 
 fruit of the Tree of Life should be longer within their reach. 
 They were, therefore, expelled from the Garden, and cherubim 
 with a flaming sword guarded the way, that man might not 
 
 l I Timothy ii, 14. 
 m II Nephi ii, 25. 
 
AKT. a.] THE FALL. M 
 
 return in an unforgiven state. By the act of transgres- 
 sion, our first parents acquired a knowledge, which in their 
 condition of pristine innocence they had not possessed, — the 
 experimental knowledge of good and evil. The result of 
 the Fall could have been of none but ill effect had the fallen 
 ones been immediately restored to a condition of immortal- 
 ity, without repentance, without atonement. In the despair 
 that followed their realization of the great change that had 
 come upon them, and in the light of the knowledge gained 
 at such cost as to the virtues of the fruit that grew on the 
 Tree of Life, it would have been but natural for them to 
 seek the seeming advantages of an immediate escape, by par- 
 taking of the celestial food. It was in mercy that they 
 were deprived of the means of so doing. 
 
 25. The words of the Creator are unmistakable as to the 
 necessity of banishing His first earthly children from Eden : 
 — "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as 
 one of us, to know good and evil : and now, lest he put forth 
 his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and 
 live forever : Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from 
 the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was 
 taken. So he drove out the man : and he placed at the 
 east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword 
 which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of 
 life."* 
 
 26. Alma, the Nephite prophet, comprehended the result 
 that would have followed had Adam and his wife eaten of 
 the Tree of Life; he thus explained the matter: — "Now we 
 see that the man had become as God, knowing good and 
 evil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also 
 of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God 
 placed Cherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not 
 partake of the fruit; And thus we see, that there was a 
 
 n Gen. iii. 22-24. 
 
70 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. III. 
 
 time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a 
 time to repent and serve God. For behold, if Adam had 
 put forth his hand immediately, and partook of the tree of 
 life, he would have lived forever, according to the word of 
 God, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the 
 word of God would have been void, and the great plan of 
 salvation would have been frustrated." 
 
 27. The Immediate Result of the Fall was the substitu- 
 tion of mortality, with all its attendant frailties, for the 
 vigor of the primeval deathless state. Adam felt directly 
 the effects of transgression, in finding a barren and dreary 
 earth, with a sterile soil, instead of the beauty and fruit- 
 fulness of Eden. In place of pleasing and useful plants, 
 thorns and thistles sprang up ; and he had to labor arduously 
 under the conditions of physical fatigue and suffering, to 
 cultivate the soil that he might obtain necessary food. 
 Upon Eve fell the penalty of bodily infirmity ; the pains and 
 sorrows, which since have been regarded as the natural lot of 
 womankind, came upon her, and she was made subject to 
 her husband. Having now lost their sense of former inno- 
 cence, they became ashamed of their nakedness, and the 
 Lord made for them garments of skins. And upon 
 both the man and the woman was visited the penalty of 
 spiritual death; for in that very day they were banished 
 from Eden, and cast out from the presence of the Lord. 
 The serpent, having served the purposes of Satan, was made 
 a subject of Divine displeasure, being doomed to crawl for- 
 ever in the dust, and to suffer from the enmity which it was 
 decreed should be placed in the hearts of Eve's children.^ 
 
 28. Atonement was Provided for: — God left not His now 
 mortal children without hope. He gave other command- 
 ments to Adam, requiring him to offer sacrifices in the name 
 
 o Alma xlii, 3-5. 
 p See Note 4. 
 
ART. 2.] THE FALL. 71 
 
 of the Only Begotten Son, and promising redemption unto 
 him and all his descendants who would comply with the con- 
 ditions prescribed. The opportunity of winning the victor's 
 reward by overcoming evil was explained to our parents, and 
 they rejoiced. Adam said, "Blessed be the name of God, 
 for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and 
 in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see 
 God." Eve was glad, declaring, "Were it not for our trans- 
 gression we never should have had seed, and never should 
 have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, 
 and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient." 8 
 29. The Fall came not by Chance: — It would be un- 
 reasonable to suppose that the transgression of Eve and 
 Adam came as a surprise to the Creator. By His infinite 
 fore-knowledge, God knew what would be the result of 
 Satan's temptation to Eve, and what Adam would do under 
 the conditions. And further, it is evident that the Fall was 
 fore-ordained, as a means whereby man could be brought 
 face to face with both good and evil ; that of his own agency 
 he might elect the one or the other, and thus be prepared 
 by the experiences of a mortal probation for the exaltation 
 provided in the glorious plan of his creation: — "For this is 
 my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality 
 and eternal life of man;" r thus spake the Lord unto Moses. 
 It was the purpose of God to place within the reach of the 
 spirits begotten "by Him in the heavens, the means of 
 individual effort, and the opportunity of winning, not 
 merely salvation, or exemption from spiritual death, but 
 exaltation, with the powers of eternal progression and in- 
 crease. Hence, it was necessary that the spiritual offspring 
 of God should leave the mansions of their primeval child- 
 hood, and enter the school of mortal experience, meeting, 
 
 q Pearl of Great Price p. 19, (1888 ed.) 
 r Pearl of Great Price, p. 6, (1888 ed.) 
 
72 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. III. 
 
 contending with, and overcoming evil, according to their 
 several degrees of faith and strength. Adam and Eve 
 could never have been the parents of a mortal posterity, had 
 they not themselves become mortal; mortality, as before 
 stated, was an essential element in the Divine plan respecting 
 the earth and its appointed inhabitants ; and as a means of 
 introducing mortality, the Lord placed before the progeni- 
 tors of the race, a law, knowing full well that transgression 
 would follow. 
 
 30. Eve was fulfilling the foreordained purposes of God 
 by the part she took in the great drama of the Fall ; yet 
 she did not partake of the forbidden fruit with that object 
 in view, but with the intent to violate the Divine command, 
 being deceived by the sophistries of the serpent-fiend. 
 Satan also, for that matter, furthered the purposes of the 
 Creator, in tempting Eve ; yet his design was to thwart the 
 Lord's plan. We are definitely told that "he knew not the 
 mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world." 8 
 Yet, his diabolical effort, far from being- the initiatory step 
 toward destruction, contributed to the plan of man's eternal 
 exaltation. Adam's part in the great event was essentially 
 different from that of his wife ; he was not deceived ; on the 
 contrary he deliberately decided to do as Eve desired, that 
 he might carry out the purposes of his Maker with respect 
 to the race of men, whose first patriarch he was ordained to 
 be. 
 
 31. Even the transgressions of man may be turned to 
 the accomplishment of high purposes. As will be shown, 
 the sacrifice of Christ was ordained from before the founda- 
 tion of the world/ yet Judas who betrayed, and the blood- 
 thirsty Jews who crucified the Son of God, are none the 
 less guilty of the awful crime. 
 
 s Pearl of Great Price, p. 14, 
 t See Lecture iv. 
 
ART. 2.] tfOTES. 73 
 
 32. It has become a common practice with mankind, to 
 heap reproaches upon the progenitors of the family, and to 
 picture the supposedly blessed state, in which we would be 
 living but for the Fall ; whereas our first parents are entitled 
 to our deepest gratitude for their legacy to posterity, — the 
 means of winning glory, exaltation, and eternal lives, on 
 the battlefield of mortality. But for the opportunity thus 
 given, the spirits of God's offspring would have remained 
 forever in a state of innocent childhood ; sinless through no 
 effort of their own; negatively saved, not from sin, but from 
 the power of sinning; incapable of winning the honors of 
 victory because prevented from taking part in the battle. 
 As it is, they are heirs to the birthright of Adam's de- 
 scendants, — mortality, with its immeasurable opportunities, 
 and its God-given freedom of action. From Father Adam 
 We have inherited all the ills to which flesh is heir ; but such 
 are necessarily incident to the knowledge of good and evil, 
 by the proper use of which knowledge man may become 
 even as the Gods." 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Man's Agency is God-given.— The following is an extract from a dis- 
 course delivered by President Brigham Young July 5, 1855. (See Journal of Dis- 
 courses of that date, and Millennial Star, vol. xx, p. 43). "What is the founda- 
 tion of the rights of man? The Lord Almighty has organized man for the ex- 
 press purpose of becoming an independent being like unto Himself, and has 
 given him his individual agency. Man is made in the likeness of his Creator, 
 the great arche-type of the human species, who bestowed upon him the principles 
 of eternity, planting immortality within him, and leaving him at liberty to act 
 in the way that seemeth good unto him;— to choose or refuse for himself, to be a 
 Latter-day Saint or a Wesleyan Methodist, to belong to the Church of England, 
 the oldest daughter of the Mother Church, to the old Mother herself, to her 
 sister the Greek Church, or to be an infidel and belong to no church. When the 
 kingdom of God is fully set up and established on the face of the earth, and 
 takes the pre-eminence over all other nations and kingdoms, it will protect the 
 people in the enjoyment of all their rights, no matter what they believe, what 
 they profess, or what they worship." 
 
 u See note 5. 
 
74 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LFX'T. 111. 
 
 2. The Nature of Sin:— The English word "sin" represents a very 
 great variety of terms occurring in the original languages, the literal transla- 
 tions of which bear to one another a very great similarity. Thus, in the Old 
 Testament, the following terms among others occur:— setim (referred to in 
 Psalms ci, 3), signifying "to deviate from the way;" shegagah (Lev. iv, 2; Num. 
 xv. 27), "to err in the way;" avon, "the crooked, or perverted;" avel, "to turn 
 aside." In the New Testament we find, hemartia, "the missing of a mark;" 
 parabasis, "the transgressing of a line:" parakoe, "disobedience to a voice;" 
 paraptoma, "falling from uprightness;" agnoema, "unjustifiable ignorance;" 
 hettema, "giving only partial measure;" anomia, "non-observance of law;" 
 plemmeleia; "a discord." The above illustrations are taken mainly from Muller 
 and French. In all these expressions, the predominant idea is that of departure 
 from the way of God, of separation from His companionship by opposition to the 
 Divine requirements. Sin was introduced into the world from without; it was 
 not a natural product of earth. The seed of disobedience was planted in the 
 •mind of Eve by the arch-fiend: that seed took root; and much fruit, of the nature 
 that we, with unguarded words, call calamity, 'is the result. From these thorns 
 and thistles of mortality, a Savior has been prepared to deliver us. 
 
 3. Eden :— In the Hebrew tongue, from which our word "Eden" is taken, this 
 term signifies something particularly delightful,— a place of pleasantness; the 
 place is also called "the garden of the Lord." One particular spot in the land of 
 Eden was prepared by the Lord as a garden ; this was situated eastward in 
 Eden. From the garden, the parents of the race were expelled after the Fall, 
 though it is reasonable to suppose that they still dwelt in the land or region of 
 Eden. We read that at a later date, Cain, the first murderer, "went out from 
 the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod. on the east of Eden" 
 (Gen. iv, 16). Though there is no uniform belief among Christian scholars as to 
 the geographical location of Eden, the majority claim that it was in Persia: 
 however, the most radical among the advocates of this view fail to prove any 
 marked resemblance between the region at present, and the place described in 
 the Bible. The Latter-day Saints have more exact knowledge on the matter, a 
 revelation having been given through Joseph Smith, at Spring Hill, Mo., May 19, 
 1838, in which that place is named by the Lord "Adam-ondi-Ahman, because, 
 said he, it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient 
 of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet" (Doc. andCoV. cxvi). From 
 another revelation we learn (Doc. and Cov. cvii, 52-53) that three years before his 
 death, Adam called together in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman those of his 
 sons who had been made High Priests, together with the rest of his righteous 
 posterity, and there bestowed upon them his patriarchal blessings, the event being 
 marked by special manifestations from the Lord (See also Doc. and Cov. cxvii, 
 8). The Lord has pointed out in this day the exact location of the altar upon 
 which Adam offered sacrifices after his expulsion from the Garden ; (See Contribu- 
 tor, Vol. vii, page 314). There is^no authentic record of the human race having 
 inhabited the Eastern Hemisphere until after the flood. The Western Continent 
 called now the New World, comprises indeed the oldest inhabited regions of 
 earth. The west, not the east, is the "cradle of nations." 
 
 4. The Serpent, as stated, having aided the purposes of Satan, received 
 from the Lord a special curse (See Genesis iii, 13, 15, and the Pearl of Great 
 Price, p. 16). The creature was doomed to a life of degradation. Even from the 
 standpoint of anatomy, the serpent is a degraded type. Though a vertebrate,— a 
 
ART. 2.] NOTES. 75 
 
 member of the highest sub-kingdom of animals, it is devoid even of external 
 limbs, and its means of locomotion are of no higher order than are those of the 
 worm and the caterpillar. In the scriptures, the serpent is made the symbol of 
 craft, subtlety, cunning, and danger. 
 
 5. The Fall Essential :— President John Taylor, after discussing the suc- 
 cession of events leading up to the Fall, says:— "Thus it would appear that if any 
 of the links of this great chain had been broken, it would have interfered with 
 the comprehensive plan of the Almighty pertaining to the salvation and eternal 
 exaltation of those spirits who were His sons, and for whom principally the 
 world was made; that they, through submission to the requirements of the 
 eternal principle and law governing those matters, might possess bodies, and 
 those bodies united with the spirits might become living souls, and being the 
 sons of God, and made in the image of God, they, through the atonement might be 
 exalted, by obedience to the law of the Gospel, to the Godhead."— Mediation and 
 Atonement, p. 135. 
 
76 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IT. 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 THE ATONEMENT, AND SALVATION. 
 
 Article 3:— We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind 
 may he saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. 
 
 THE ATONEMENT. 
 
 1. The Atonement of Christ is taught as a leading doc- 
 trine by all sects professing Christianity. The expression 
 is so common a one, and the essential point of its signification 
 is so generally admitted, that definitions may appear to be 
 superfluous; nevertheless, there is a peculiar importance at- 
 tached to the use of the word, atonement, in a theological 
 sense. The doctrine of the atonement comprises proof of 
 the divinity of Christ's earthly ministry; and the vicarious 
 nature of His death, as a fore-ordained and voluntary sacri- 
 fice, intended for and efficacious as a propitiation for the 
 sins of mankind, thus becoming the means whereby salva- 
 tion may be obtained. 
 
 2. The New Testament, which is properly regarded as 
 the scripture of Christ's mission among men, is imbued 
 throughout with the doctrine of salvation through the work 
 of atonement wrought by the Savior; and yet the word, 
 atonement, occurs but once in the whole record ; and in that 
 single instance, according to the opinion of most biblical 
 authorities, it is confessedly misused. The instance referred 
 to is found in the words of Paul addressed to the saints at 
 Eome: — "But we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus 
 (Jhrist, by whom we have now received the atonement.'" 1 
 The marginal rendering gives, instead' of atonement, re- 
 conciliation, and of this word a related form is used in the 
 
 a Romans v, 11. 
 
ART. 3.] THE ATONEMENT. ,77 
 
 preceding verse. A consistent translation, giving a full 
 agreement between the English and the Greek, would make 
 the verse quoted, and that immediately preceding it, read 
 in this way: — "For if, when we were enemies, we were re- 
 conciled to God by the death of his Son ; much more, being 
 reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, 
 but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by 
 whom we have now received the reconciliation." 6 The term, 
 atonement, occurs repeatedly in the Old Testament, and 
 with marked frequency in three of the books of the Penta- 
 teuch, viz. : Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; and the sense 
 in which it is employed is invariably that of a sacrifice of 
 propitiation, usually associated with the death of an accept- 
 able victim, whereby reconciliation was to be effected be- 
 tween God and His creatures. 
 
 3. The structure of the word in its present form is sug- 
 gestive of this, the true meaning; it is literally at-one-ment, 
 "denoting reconciliation, or the bringing into agreement of 
 those who have been estranged." And such is the signifi- 
 cance of the saving sacrifice of the Redeemer, whereby He 
 expiated the transgression of the Fall, through which came 
 death into the world, and provided ready and efficient means 
 for man's return to a state of immortality through reconcili- 
 ation with God. 
 
 4. Nature of the Atonement: — The atonement wrought 
 by Jesus Christ is a necessary sequence of the transgression 
 of Adam; and, as the infinite foreknowledge of God made 
 clear to Him the one even before Adam was placed on earth, 
 so the Father's boundless mercy prepared a Savior for man- 
 kind before the world was framed. Through the Fall, 
 Adam and Eve have entailed the conditions of mortality 
 upon their descendants ; therefore all beings born of earthly 
 
 b Romans v, 10-11. 
 
 c Standard Dictionary, under "propitiation." 
 
78 , THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IV. 
 
 parents are subject to bodily death. The sentence of ban- 
 ishment from the presence of God was in the nature of a 
 spiritual death; and that penalty, which was visited upon 
 our first parents in the day of their transgression, has like- 
 wise followed as the common heritage of humanity. As 
 this penalty came into the world through an individual act, 
 it would be manifestly unjust to cause all to eternally suffer 
 therefrom, without a chance of deliverance. Therefore was 
 the promised sacrifice of Jesus Christ ordained as a propitia- 
 tion for broken law, whereby Justice could be fully satisfied, 
 and Mercy be left free to exercise her beneficent influence 
 over the souls of mankind/ All the details of the glorious 
 plan, by which the salvation of the human family is assured, 
 may not lie within the understanding of man; but surely, 
 man has learned from his futile attempts to fathom the 
 primary cause of the phenomena of nature, that his powers 
 of comprehension are limited ; and he will admit, that to 
 deny the effect because of his inability to elucidate the 
 cause, would be to forfeit his claims as an observing and 
 reasoning being. 
 
 5. Simple as is the plan of redemption in its general fea- 
 tures, it is confessedly a mystery to the finite mind in detail. 
 President John Taylor has written in this wise: — "In some 
 mysterious, incomprehensible way, Jesus assumed the re- 
 sponsibility which naturally would have devolved upon 
 Adam ; but which could only be accomplished through the 
 mediation of Himself ; and by taking, upon Himself their 
 sorrows, assuming their responsibilities, and bearing their 
 transgressions or sins. In a manner to us incomprehensible 
 and inexplicable, He bore the weight of the sins of the 
 whole world, not only of Adam, but of his posterity; and 
 in doing that, opened the kingdom of heaven, not only to all 
 believers and all who obeyed the law of God, but to more 
 
 d See Note 1. 
 
AKT. 3.] THE ATONEMENT. 79 
 
 than one half of the human family who die before they 
 come to years of maturity, as well as to the heathen, who, 
 having died without law, will through His mediation be res- 
 urrected without law, and be judged without law, and thus 
 participate, according to their capacity, works, and worth, 
 in the blessings of His atonement. " e 
 
 6. But, however incomplete maybe our comprehension of 
 the scheme of redemption through Christ's vicarious sacri- 
 fice in all its parts, we cannot reject it without becoming 
 infidel; for it stands as the fundamental doctrine of all 
 scripture, the very essence of the spirit of prophecy and 
 revelation, the most prominent of all the declarations of 
 God unto man. 
 
 7. The Atonement a Vicarious Sacrifice: — It is to many a 
 matter of surpassing wonder, that the voluntary sacrifice of 
 a single being could be made to operate as a means of 
 ransom for the rest of mankind. In this, as in other things, 
 the scriptures are explicable only by the spirit of scriptural 
 interpretation. The sacred writings of ancient times, the 
 words of modern prophets, the traditions of mankind, the 
 rites of sacrifice, and even the sacrileges of heathen idola- 
 tries, involve the idea of vicarious atonement. God has 
 never refused to accept an offering macle by one who is 
 authorized on behalf of those who are in any way in- 
 capable of doing the required service themselves. The 
 scape-goat/ and the altar victim 6 ' of ancient Israel, if 
 offered with repentance and contrition, were accepted by the 
 Lord in mitigation of the sins of the people. It is interest- 
 ing to note, that while the ceremonies of sacrifice formed so 
 large and so essential a part of the Mosaic requirements, 
 these rites long ante-dated the establishment of Israel as a 
 
 <? Pres. John Taylor, Mediation and Atonement, p. 148- 
 / Lev. xvi, 20-22. 
 g Lev. iv. 
 
80 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IV. 
 
 distinct people; for, as already shown, altar sacrifice was 
 rendered by Adam.' 1 The symbolism of the sacrificing of 
 animals as a prototype of the great sacrifice to follow on 
 Calvary, was thus instituted with the beginning of human 
 history. 
 
 8. The many kinds of sacrifice prescribed by the Mosaic 
 law are clearly classified under the headings, bloody, and 
 bloodless. Offerings of the first order only, involving the 
 infliction of death, were acceptable in propitiation or atone- 
 ment for sin, and the victim had to be clean, healthy, and 
 without spot or blemish. And so for the great sacrifice, the 
 effects of which were to be infinite, only an innocent sub- 
 ject could be accepted. It was Christ's right, as the only 
 sinless Being on earth, and as the Only Begotten of the 
 Father, and above all as the One ordained to this mission in 
 the heavens, to be the Kedeemer of mankind; and though 
 the exercise of this right involved a sacrifice, the extent of 
 which man cannot comprehend, yet Christ made that 
 sacrifice willingly and voluntarily. To the last He had the 
 means of terminating the tortures of His persecutors, by a 
 simple exercise of His powers as one of the Godhead.'" In 
 some way, though that way may be inexplicable to us, 
 Christ took upon Himself the sins of mankind. The means 
 may be to our finite minds a mystery, yet the results are our 
 salvation. 
 
 9. Something of the Savior's agony as He groaned under 
 this load of guilt, which to Him, as a type of purity, must 
 have been in itself repulsive, He has told us through the 
 prophet's words in this day: "For behold, I, God, have 
 suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if 
 they would repent; but if they would not repent they 
 must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, 
 
 h See page 70. 
 
 i Matt, xxvi, 53-54; John x, 17, 18. 
 
AET. 3.] THE ATONEMENT. 81 
 
 even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, 
 and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and 
 spirit; and would that I might not drink the bitter 
 cup, and shrink: — Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, 
 and I partook and finished my preparations unto the child- 
 ren of men. " J Further instances of the validity of vicarious 
 service are found in the ordinances of baptism for the dead fc 
 as taught in apostolic and modern times, and in the institu- 
 tion of other temple ceremonies' in the present dispensation. 
 10. Christ's Sacrifice was Voluntary and Love-inspired: — 
 We have noted in passing that Christ gave His life willingly 
 and voluntarily for the redemption of mankind. He offered 
 Himself, in the great Council of the Gods, as the subject of 
 the atoning sacrifice made necessary by the fore-seen trans- 
 gression of the first man; and the free agency shown and 
 exercised in this, the early stage of His saving mission, was 
 retained to the very last of the agonizing fulfilment of the 
 accepted plan. Though He lived on earth a man in every 
 particular that concerns us in our regard for Him as an ex- 
 ample of Godliness in humanity, yet it is to be remembered, 
 that though born of a mortal mother, he was begotten by 
 an immortal Sire ; and so had combined within His being the 
 capacity to die, and the power to set death at defiance. He 
 gave His life; it was not taken from him. Note the sig- 
 nificance of His own declaration: — "Therefore doth my 
 Father love me, because I lay down my life that I may take 
 it up again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down 
 of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power 
 to take it again. " w On another occasion Jesus testified of 
 Himself in this way: — "For as the Father hath life in him- 
 self, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself ; and 
 
 j Doc. and Cov. xix, 16-19. 
 k I Cor. xv, 29. See Lectures vi and vii. 
 I Doc. and Cov. cxxvii, 4-9; cxxviii. 
 m John x, 17-18. 
 
 7 
 
82 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IV. 
 
 hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because 
 he is the Son of man.'" 1 And then amid the tragic scenes 
 of the betrayal^ when one who had been a professed follower 
 and friend gave Him with a traitorous kiss to His perse- 
 cutors ; when Peter, with a rashness prompted by righteous 
 zeal, drew and used the sword in His defence, the Master 
 said : — "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, 
 and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of 
 angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that 
 thus it must be?"° And on to the bitter end, marked by the 
 expiring though triumphant cry "It is finished," the incar- 
 nated God held in subjection within Himself the power to 
 thwart His murderers, had He so willed. 
 
 11. The motive inspiring and sustaining Him through 
 all the scenes of His mission, from the time of His primeval 
 ordination, to the moment of victorious consummation on 
 the cross, was two-fold ; first, the desire to do His Father's 
 will, in accomplishing the salvation of man; second, His 
 love for humanity, of whose welfare and destiny He had 
 assumed charge. Far from cherishing the least feeling of 
 vindictiveness against those, who, in defiance of the laws of 
 God and man, put Him to ignominious death, He enter- 
 tained for them compassion to the last. Hear Him in the 
 hour of supreme agony, praying aloud, "Father, forgive 
 them, for they know not what they do."* Not less is the 
 Father's love, as shown by His accepting the Son's offer, 
 and permitting Him whom He delighted to call His Beloved, 
 to suffer as only a God could suffer: — "For God so loved 
 the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoso- 
 ever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlast- 
 ing life. For God sent not his Son into the world to con- 
 
 n John v. 26-27. 
 o Matt, xxvi 53-54. 
 p Luke xxiii 34. 
 
ART. 3.] THE ATONEMENT. 83 
 
 demn the world, but that the world through him might be 
 saved." 9 And further, we hear the teaching of the apostle, 
 whom the Savior loved so well, "In this was manifested the 
 love of God toward us, because that God sent his only 
 begotten Son into the world that we might live through 
 him." r 
 
 12. The Atonement Fore-ordained and Fore-told: — As al- 
 ready shown, the plan of the Father to open a way for the re- 
 demption of mankind, then to leave all men free to exercise 
 their own agency, was adopted by the Council in heaven to the 
 rejection of Lucifer's plan of compulsion. Even at that 
 remote period, Christ was thus ordained as a Mediator for 
 all mankind; in fact, "a covenant was entered into between 
 Him and His Father, in which He agreed to atone for the 
 sins of the world, and He thus, as stated, became a 'Lamb 
 slain from before the foundation of the world.' " s The 
 prophets of old, many of whom lived centuries before the 
 time of Christ's coming in the flesh, testified of Him and 
 of the great work He had been ordained to perform. These 
 men of God had been permitted to behold in prophetic 
 vision many of the scenes incident to the Savior's earthly 
 mission; and they solemnly bore record of the manifesta- 
 tions. Indeed, the testimony of Christ is the spirit of 
 prophecy, and without it no person can rightly claim the 
 distinction of being a prophet of God. Adam's despair, on 
 being driven from Eden, was changed to joy, when, through 
 revelation, he learned of the plan of redemption to be 
 wrought by the Son of God in the flesh/ Righteous Enoch 
 taught the same truths, which had been declared to him 
 
 q John iii, 16-17. 
 
 r I Joan iv, 9. 
 
 8 Pres. John Taylor, in Mediation and Atonement, p. 97. 
 
 t See page 71. Pearl of Great Price, p. 19, (1888 ed.) 
 
84 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IV. 
 
 from the heavens." This testimony was borne by Moses, 1 ' 
 Job, 1 " David, 35 .Zechariah/ Isaiah, 2 and Micah. a The same 
 declaration was made by John the Baptist, 5 the prophet of 
 the Highest, designated by the Savior as more than a 
 prophet ; he it was who baptized the Christ, and who wit- 
 nessed the Father's words associated with the visible sign of 
 the Holy Ghost, concerning the mission of the Son. 
 
 13. Should there be any doubt as to the application of such 
 prophecies, we have the conclusive testimony of Christ that 
 they refer to Himself. On that memorable day, immedi- 
 ately following His resurrection, while walking incognito 
 with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus, He taught 
 them the scriptures that had been written concerning the 
 Son of God; "Beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he 
 expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things con- 
 cerning himself." 6 ' A few hours after this event, the Lord 
 appeared to the Eleven at Jerusalem. He operated upon 
 their minds ''that they might understand the scriptures; and 
 said unto them, 'Thus it is written, and thus it behoved 
 Christ to suffer, " d in this way testifying that He was fulfill- 
 ing a previously ordained plan. Peter, one of the Savior's 
 most intimate earthly associates, refers to Him as "a Lamb 
 without blemish and without spot, who verily was fore- 
 ordained before the foundation of the world." 6 In his epistle 
 to the Romans, Paul characterizes Christ as the one "Whom 
 
 u Pearl of Great Price, 32-35. 
 
 v Deut. xviii, 15, 17-19. 
 
 w Job xix, 25-27. 
 
 x Psalms ii, 1-12. 
 
 y Zech. ix, 9; xii, 10; xiii, 6. 
 
 z Isaiah vii, 14; ix, 6-7. 
 
 a Micah v, 2. 
 
 b Matt. iii. 11. 
 
 c Luke xxiv, 27. 
 
 d Luke xxiv, 45-46. 
 
 e I Peter i, 19-20. 
 
ART. 3.] THE ATONEMENT. 85 
 
 God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faitli in his 
 blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins 
 that are past. " / These are but a few of the biblical evidences 
 of Christ's appointment and fore-ordination ; both Old and 
 New Testament 9 ' writings abound in proofs of the Messiah's 
 great work. 
 
 14. Book of Mormon prophets are characterized by their 
 full testimonies concerning the Messiah. Because of his 
 purity of faith, the brother of Jared was permitted to be- 
 hold the Savior of mankind, twenty-two centuries prior to 
 the meridian of time, and to be shown that man was created 
 after the image of the Lord, at the same time being taught 
 of the Father's purpose that the Son' take upon Himself 
 flesh and dwell on earth. 71 Note the personal declaration of 
 the fore-ordained Eedeemer to this prophet : — "Behold, I am 
 he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to 
 redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the 
 Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have light, 
 and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name ; 
 and they shall become my sons and my daughters.'"' 
 
 15. Nephi records the prophecy of his father Lehi concern- 
 ing the future appearing of the Son in the flesh, His baptism, 
 death and resurrection ; this prophetic utterance specifies the 
 exact date of the Savior's birth, viz., six hundred years after 
 the time of Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem. The mission of 
 John the Baptist is described, and even the place of bap- 
 tism is designated.- 7 ' Shortly after the time of Lehi's vision, 
 Nephi was shown by the Spirit the same things, as also many 
 others, some of which he has written, but the greater part 
 
 / Romans iii, 25. 
 
 g See Rom. xvi, 25-26; Eph. iii, 9-11; Col. i, 24-26; II Tim. i, 8-10; Titus i, 2-3; 
 Rev. xiii, 8. 
 
 h Ether iii, 13-14; see also xiii, 10-11. 
 i Ether iii, 14: read also 8-16. 
 j I Nephi x, 3-11. 
 
8(3 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. * [LECT. IV. 
 
 of which he was forbidden to write, as another, the Apostle 
 John, had been ordained to set them forth in a book which 
 should form part of the Bible. But, from his partial account 
 of his vision, we learn that he saw in Nazareth, Mary the 
 Virgin, first alone, and shortly afterward with a child in her 
 arms ; the demonstrator of the vision informed him that the 
 infant was the Lamb of God, the Son of the Eternal Father. 
 Then Xephi beheld the Son ministering among the children 
 of men, proclaiming the word, healing the sick, and work- 
 ing many other wondrous miracles; he saw John, the 
 prophet of the wilderness, going before Him ; he beheld the 
 Savior baptized of John, and the Holy Ghost descending 
 upon him with the visible sign of the dove. Then he saw 
 and prophesied that twelve chosen apostles would follow the 
 Savior in His ministry ; that the Son would be taken and 
 judged of men, and finally be slain. Piercing the future, 
 even beyond the time of the crucifixion, Xephi beheld the 
 strife of the world against the apostles of the Lamb, and 
 the final triumph of God's cause/* 
 
 16. Jacob, the brother of Nephi, prophesied to his brethren 
 that Christ would appear in the flesh among the Jews, and 
 that He would be scourged and crucified of them.* King 
 Benjamin lifted his voice in support of the same testimony, 
 and preached unto his people the righteous condescension of 
 God-. w So also declared Abinadi," Alma,° Amulek, p and 
 Samuel the Lamanite prophet. 9 The literal fulfilment of 
 these prophecies furnishes unquestionable proof of their 
 truth. The wondrous signs indicative of Christ's birth r and 
 
 A- I Nephi xi, 14-35: see also II Nephi ii, 3-21; xxv, 20-27: xxvi, 24. 
 
 I II Nephi vi, 8-10; ix, 5-6. 
 
 m Mosiah iii, 5-27; iv, 1-8. 
 
 n Mosiah xv, 6-9; xvi. 
 
 o Alma vii, 9-14. 
 
 p Alma xi, 35-44. 
 
 q Hela. xiv, 2-8. 
 
 r Hela. xiv, 2-5; 21-27. 
 
ART. 3.] THE ATONEMENT. 8? 
 
 death were all realized, 8 and after His death and ascension, 
 the Savior manifested Himself among the Xephites, as the 
 Father announced Him to the multitude/ 
 
 17. The ancient scriptures, then, are plain in declaring 
 that Christ came upon the earth to do a work previously 
 allotted. He lived, suffered and died, in accordance with a 
 plan which was framed in righteousness for the redemption 
 of the children of Adam, even before the world was. Equally 
 important and explicit is the word of modern revelation, 
 through which the Son has declared Himself as Alpha and 
 Omega, the beginning and the end, man's Advocate with 
 the Father, the universal Redeemer." Let us consider a 
 single citation from the many revelations concerning Christ 
 given in the present dispensation: — "Listen to the voice of 
 the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning 
 and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same 
 today as yesterday and forever. I am Jesus Christ, the Son 
 of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as 
 many as will believe on my name, that they may become the 
 sons of God, even one in me as I am in the Father, as the 
 Father is one in me, that we may be one." r 
 
 48. The Extent of the Atonement is infinite, applying 
 alike to all descendants of Adam. Even the unbeliever*, 
 and the heathen, and the child who dies before reaching the 
 years of discretion, are redeemed by the Savior's self- 
 sacrifice from all the consequences of the Fall."' It is 
 conclusively proved by the scripture that the resurrection 
 of the body is one of the victories achieved by Christ 
 
 * III Nephi i, 5-21; viii, 3-25. 
 
 t III Nephi xi, 1-17. 
 
 u See Doc. and Cov., vi, 21; xiv, 9; xviii,10-12; xix, 1-2, 24; xxi, 9; xxix. 1; 
 xxxiii; xxxiv, 1-3; xxxv, 1-2; xxxviii, 1-5; xxxix, 1-3; xlv, 3-5; xlvi. 13-14; 
 lxxvi, 1-4, 12-14, 19-24, 68; xciii, 1-6, 12-17, 38. 
 
 v Doc. and Cov. xxxv, 1-2. 
 
 w See note 2. 
 
88 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [lEOT. IV. 
 
 through His atoning sacrifice. He Himself proclaimed the 
 eternal truth, "I am the resurrection and the life;"* and 
 He among men came first forth from the grave, — "the first 
 fruits of them that slept." 1 ' Now, the scriptures leave no 
 room for doubt concerning the fact that the resurrection 
 will be universal. The Savior announced to his apostles 
 the beginning of this work of deliverance from the tomb ; 
 hear His words, "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, 
 in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, 
 and shall come forth ; they that have done good unto the 
 resurrection of life, and they that done evil unto the 
 resurrection of damnation;"* or, as the latter part of the 
 declaration has been rendered through inspiration in the 
 present day, "They who have done good, in the resurrection 
 of the just : and they who have done evil in the resurrec- 
 tion of the unjust."" 
 
 19. Paul refers to the doctrine of a universal resurrection 
 as being so well proved that even his accusers had to admit 
 the truth, "that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, 
 both of the just and unjust." 6 On another occasion he said 
 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
 alive. " c Furthermore, John the Revelator testifies of kis 
 vision concerning futurity, "And I saw the dead, small and 
 great stand before God. * * * And the sea gave up the 
 dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the 
 dead which were in them." d Thus it is plain that the effect 
 of the atonement as far as it applies to the victory over 
 temporal or bodily death, involves the entire race. It is 
 
 x John xi, 25. 
 
 y I Cor. xv, 20; see Acts xxvi, 23. 
 
 2 John v, 28-29. 
 
 a Doc. and Cov. lxxvi. 17. 
 
 b Acts xxiv, 15. 
 
 e I Cor. xv, 22. 
 
 d Rev. xx, 12-13/ 
 
ART. 3.] THE ATONEMENT. 89 
 
 equally clear that the release from Adam's legacy of spiritual 
 death, or banishment from the presence of God, will be 
 similarily universal; so that if any man lose salvation, such 
 loss will be due to himself, and in no way dependent upon 
 the Fall. The doctrine that the gift of redemption through 
 Christ is free to all men, was specifically taught by the 
 apostles of old. Thus Paul says: — "Therefore, as by the 
 offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; 
 even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all 
 men to the justification of life." 6 And further : — there is "one 
 mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 
 who gave himself a ransom for all." 7 John spoke of the 
 Redeemer's sacrifice saying: — "And he is the propitiation 
 for our sins ; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of 
 the whole world. "° 
 
 20. The same great truths were taught among the 
 Nephites. Benjamin, the righteous king, preached of "the 
 atonement which was prepared •from the foundation of the 
 world for all mankind, which ever were ever since the fall 
 of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the 
 end of the world.'" 1 In revelation of the present day we 
 read of Christ's having come into the world, to suffer and 
 to die, "That through him all might be saved whom the 
 Father had put into his power and made by him.'" 
 
 21. But beside this universal application of the atone- 
 ment, whereby all men are redeemed from the effects of 
 Adam's transgression, both with respect to the death of the 
 body and the taint of inherited sin, there is a special 
 application of the same great sacrifice, as a means of 
 propitiation for individual sins, through the faith and good 
 
 e Rom. v, 18. 
 
 / 1 Tim. ii, 5-6. 
 
 g I John ii, 2. 
 
 h Mos. iv, 7. 
 
 i Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 42. 
 
90 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IV 
 
 works of the sinner. This two-fold elfect of the atonement 
 is implied in the article of our faith now under considera- 
 tion. The first effect is to secure to all mankind alike, 
 exemption from the otherwise terrible effects of the Fall, 
 thus providing a plan of General Salvation. The second 
 effect is to open a way for Individual Salvation whereby man- 
 kind may secure forgiveness of personal sins. As these sins 
 are the result of individual acts, it is just that forgiveness 
 for them should be conditioned on individual compliance 
 with prescribed requirements, — "obedience to the laws and 
 ordinances of the gospel." 
 
 22. The General Effect of the Atonement, so far as it ap- 
 plies to all who have arrived at years of accountability and 
 judgment, has been made sufficiently clear perhaps from 
 the scriptures already quoted. Its application to children 
 may properly receive our further attention. The Church of 
 Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches as a doctrine 
 founded on reason, justice, and scripture, that all children 
 are innocent in the sight of God, and that, until they reach 
 an age of personal responsibility, no baptism or other ordi- 
 nance is requisite or proper in their behalf; that in short, 
 they are saved through the atonement of Christ. To a 
 degree, children are born heirs to the good or evil natures of 
 their parents ; the effects of heredity in determining char- 
 acter are readily recognized. Good and evil tendencies, 
 blessings and curses, are transmitted from generation to 
 generation. Through this divinely appointed order, the 
 justice of which is plain in the revealed light of knowledge 
 concerning the pre-existent state of the spirits of mankind, 
 the children of Adam are natural heirs to the calamities of 
 mortality; but through Christ's atonement they are all re- 
 deemed from the curses of this fallen state ; the debt, which 
 comes to them as a legacy, is paid for them, and thus are 
 they left free. Children who die free of sin are entirely 
 
ART. 3.] SALVATION. 91 
 
 innocent in the eyes of God, even though they be the off- 
 spring of transgressors. We read in the Book of Mormon: 
 "Little children cannot repent; wherefore it is awful wick- 
 edness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they 
 are all alive in him because of his mercy. * * * For 
 behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also 
 all they that are without the law. For the power of redemp- 
 tion cometh on all that have no law.' v 
 
 23. The prophet Mormon writing to his son Moroni 
 expressed in the following manner his conviction of children's 
 innocence: — "Listen to the words of Christ, your Eedeemer, 
 your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world 
 not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance : the whole 
 need no physician, but they that are sick ; wherefore little 
 children are whole, for they are not capable of committing 
 sin ; wherefore, the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, 
 that it hath no power over them. * * * Behold I say 
 unto you, That this thing shall ye teach, repentance and 
 baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of 
 committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent 
 and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little 
 children, and they shall all be saved with their little 
 children. And their little children need no repentance, 
 neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to 
 the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins. 
 But little children are alive in Christ even from the foun- 
 dation of the world. " fc 
 
 24. And in a revelation through the prophet Joseph 
 Smith in this dispensation, the Lord has said: — "But behold 
 I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the 
 foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; 
 wherefore they cannot sin, for power is not given unto 
 
 j Moroni viii, 19-22, 
 k Moroni viii, 8-12. 
 
92 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IT. 
 
 Satan to tempt little children until they begin to be 
 come accountable before me."' President John Taylor, 
 after citing instances of Christ's affection for little children, 
 and proofs of the innocent condition in which they are 
 regarded in heaven says: — "Without Adam's transgression, 
 those children could not have existed; through the atone- 
 ment they are placed in a state of salvation without any act 
 of their own. These would embrace, according to the 
 opinion of statisticians, more than one half of the human 
 family, who can attribute their salvation only to the 
 mediation and atonement of the Savior."" 1 
 
 25. The Special or Individual Effect of the Atonement 
 makes it possible for any and every soul to obtain absolution 
 from the dread effect of personal sins, through the media- 
 tion of Christ ; but such saving intercession is to be invoked 
 only through individual effort as manifested through faith, 
 repentance and continued works of righteousness. The 
 laws under which individual salvation is obtainable have 
 been prescribed by Christ, whose right it is to say how the 
 blessings of His own sacrifice shall be administered. All 
 men are in need of the Savior's mediation, for all are trans- 
 gressors. So taught the apostles of old: — "For all have 
 sinned, and come short of the glory of God."" And again: 
 — "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and 
 the truth is not in us."° Now, that the blessing of redemp- 
 tion from individual sins, while free for all to attain, is 
 nevertheless conditioned on individual effort, is as plainly de- 
 clared as is the truth of unconditional redemption from 
 the effects of the Fall. There is a judgment ordained for 
 all, and all will be judged "according to their works." The 
 free agency of man enables him to choose or reject, to fol- 
 
 l Doc. and Cov. xxix, 46-47. 
 
 m Mediation and Atonement, page 148. See note 3. 
 
 n Rom. iii, 23. 
 
 o I John i, 8. 
 
AET. 3.] SALVATION. 93 
 
 low the path of life, or the road that leads to destruction ; 
 it is but just that he be held to answer for the exercise 
 of his freedom, and that he meet the results of his acts. 
 
 26. Hence the justice of the scriptural doctrine that 
 salvation comes to the individual only through obedience. 
 "He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them 
 that obey him" 1 ' said Paul of the Christ. And further : — • 
 God "will render to every man according to his deeds: To 
 them who, by patient continuance in well doing, seek for 
 glory and honor and immortality, eternal life : But unto 
 them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but 
 obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation 
 and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the 
 Jew first, and also of the Gentile ; But glory, honor, and 
 peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, 
 and also to the Gentile : For there is no respect of persons 
 with God." q To these may be added the words of the risen 
 Lord, "He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; 
 and he that believeth not, shall be damned.'"' 
 
 27 Consider further the prophecy of King Benjamin 
 proclaimed to the Nephite multitude: — Christ's blood 
 "atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the trans- 
 gression of Adam, who have died, not knowing the will of 
 God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. But 
 wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against 
 God; for salvation cometh to none such, except it be through * 
 repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ." 8 But why 
 multiply scriptural citations when the whole tenor of sacred 
 writ supports the doctrine? Without Christ no man can be 
 saved, and the salvation provided at the cost of Christ's 
 sufferings and bodily death is offered upon certain clearly 
 
 p Heb. v, 9 
 q Rom. ii, 6-11, 
 r Mark xvi, 16. 
 sMosiahiii, 11-12. 
 
94 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IV. 
 
 defined conditions only ; and these are summarized under 
 "obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." 
 
 28. Salvation and Exaltation : — Some degree of salvation 
 will come to all who have not forfeited their right to it ; exalt- 
 ation is given to those only, who by active labors have won a 
 claim to God's merciful liberality by which it is bestowed. 
 Of the saved, not all will be exalted to the higher glories ; 
 rewards will not be bestowed in violation of justice; punish- 
 ments will not be meted out to the ignoring of mercy's 
 claims. No one can be admitted to any order of glory; in 
 short, no soul can be saved, until justice has be satisfied for 
 violated law. Our belief in the universal application of the 
 atonement implies no supposition that all mankind will be 
 saved with like endowments of glory and power. In the 
 kingdom of God there are numerous degrees of exaltation, 
 provided for those who are worthy of them ; in the house of 
 our Father there are many mansions, into which only 
 those who are prepared are admitted. The old sectarian 
 idea, that in the hereafter there will be but two places for 
 the souls of mankind, — heaven and hell, with the same glory 
 in all parts of the one, and the same terrors throughout the 
 other, is entirely untenable in the light of divine revelation. 
 Through the direct word of the Lord we learn of varied 
 degrees of glory. 
 
 29. Degrees of Glory: — The revelations of God have 
 defined the following principal kingdoms or degrees of 
 glory, as prepared through Christ for the children of men : 
 
 I. The Celestial Glory: 1 — There are some who have striven 
 to obey all the Divine commandments, who have accepted the 
 testimony of Christ, and received the Holy Spirit; these 
 are they who have overcome evil by godly works, and who 
 are therefore entitled to the highest glory ; these belong to 
 the Church of the First Born, unto whom the Father has 
 
 t Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 50-70. 
 
ART. 3.] SALVATION. 05 
 
 given all things ; they are made Kings and Priests of the 
 Most High, after the order of Melchisedek ; they possess 
 celestial bodies, "whose glory is that of the sun, even the 
 glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the 
 firmament is written of as being typical ;" they indeed are 
 admitted to the celestial company, being crowned with the 
 celestial glory, which makes them Gods. 
 
 II. The Terrestrial Glory: 1 ' — We read of those who receive 
 glory of a secondary osder only, differing from the highest 
 as "the moon differs from the sun in the firmament;" these 
 are they, who, though honorable, were still in darkness, 
 blinded by the craftiness of men, and unable to receive and 
 obey the higher laws of God, they proved "not valiant in 
 the testimony of Jesus," and therefore are not entitled to 
 the fulness of glory. 
 
 III. The Telestial Glory: — We learn of a still lower kind of 
 glory, differing from the higher orders as the stars differ 
 from the brighter orbs of the firmament ; this is given to 
 those who received not the testimony of Christ, but who 
 still did not deny the Holy Spirit ; who have led lives ex- 
 empting them from the heaviest punishment, yet whose 
 redemption will be delayed till the last resurrection. In the 
 telestial world there are innumerable degrees of glory, 
 comparable to the varying lustre of the stars. v Yet all who 
 receive of any one of these orders of glory are at last saved, 
 and upon them Satan will finally have no claim. Even the 
 telestial glory, as we are told by those who have been 
 permitted to gaze upon it, "surpasses all understanding; 
 and no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed 
 it.""' Then there are those who have lost all claim upon 
 the immediate mercy of God; whose deeds have numbered 
 them with Perdition and his angels. x 
 
 u Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 7t-80. 
 v Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 81-86. 
 w Paragraphs 89-90. 
 x See page 62. 
 
96 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IV. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. The Atonement Proved by Evidence :— "It is often asked: 'How is 
 it that through the sacrifice of one who is innocent salvation may be purchased 
 for those under the dominion of death.' We observe in passing that what should 
 most concern man is not so much how it is that such is the case, but is it a fact? 
 * * * * To that question the blood sprinkled upon a thousand Jewish 
 altars, and the smoke that darkened the heavens for ages from burnt offerings 
 answer yes! * * * * Even the mythology of heathen nations retains the idea 
 of an atonement that either has been, or is to be made for mankind. Fantastic, 
 distorted, confused, buried under the rubbish of ravage superstition it may be, 
 but it nevertheless exists. So easily traced, so distinct is this feature of heathen 
 mythology, that some writers have endeavored to prove that the gospel plan of 
 redemption was derived from heathen mythology. Whereas the fact is that the 
 gospel was understood and extensively preached in the earliest ages; men re- 
 tained in their tradition a knowledge of those principles or parts of them, and 
 however much they have been distorted, traces of them may still be found in 
 nearly all the mythologies of the world. The prophets of the Jewish scriptures 
 answer the question in the affirmative. The writers of the New Testament make 
 Christ's atonement the principal theme of their discourses and epistles. The 
 Book of Mormon, speaking as the voice of an entire continent of people whose 
 prophets and righteous men sought and found God, testify to the same great 
 fact. The revelations of God as given through the Prophet Joseph Smith are 
 replete with passages confirming this doctrine."— Roberts' Outlines of Ecclesiast- 
 ical History, Section viii, 6. 
 
 2. Redemption from the Fall Universal and Unconditional:— "We 
 believe that through the sufferings, death, and atonement of Jesus Christ, all 
 mankind without one exception, are to be completely and fully redeemed, both 
 body and spirit from the endless banishment and curse to which they were con- 
 signed by Adam's transgression; and that this universal salvation and redemp- 
 tion of the whole human family from the endless penalty of the original sin, is 
 effected without any conditions, whatever, on their part; that is, they are not 
 required to believe or repent, or be baptized, or do anything else, in order to be 
 redeemed from that penalty; for whether they believe or disbelieve ; whether they 
 repent or remain impenitent, whether they are baptized or unbaptized, whether 
 they keep the commandments or break them, whether they are righteous or 
 unrighteous, it will make no difference in relation to their redemption, both 
 soul and body, from the penalty of Adam's transgression. The most righteous 
 man that ever lived on the earth, and the most wicked wretch of the whole 
 human family, were both placed under the same curse without any transgres- 
 sion or agency of their own, and they both alike will be redeemed from that 
 curse, without any agency or conditions on their part."— Apostle Orson Pratt in 
 '•Remarkable Visions." 
 
 3. Christ the Author of our Salvation :— President John Taylor speaks 
 of the death of Christ as an expiatory sacrifice, and adds:— "The Savior thus 
 becomes master of the situation,— the debt is paid, the redemption made, the 
 covenant fulfilled, justice satisfied, the will of God done, and all power is now 
 given into the hands of the Son of God,— the power of the resurrection, the 
 
AKT. 3.] KOTES. 97 
 
 power of the redemption, the power of salvation, the power to enact laws for the 
 carrying out and accomplishment of this design. * * * The plan, the arrange- 
 ment, the agreement, the covenant was made, entered into and accepted, before 
 the foundation of the world; it was prefigured by sacrifices, and was carried out 
 and consummated on the cross. Hence, being the Mediator between God and 
 man, He becomes by right the Dictator and Director on earth and in heaven for 
 the living and for the dead, for the past, the present, and the future, pertaining 
 to man as associated with this earth or the heavens, in time or eternity, the Cap- 
 tain of our salvation, the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, the Lord 
 and Giver of life."— Mediation and Atonement, p. 171. 
 
98 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 FAITH AND REPENTANCE. 
 
 Article 4 :— We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel 
 are: (1) Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; (2) Repentance; * * *. 
 
 FAITH. 
 
 1. Nature of Faith. — The predominating sense in which 
 the term faith is used throughout the scriptures, is that of 
 full confidence and trust in the being, purposes and words 
 of God. Such trust, if it be implicit, will remove all doubt 
 concerning things accomplished or promised of God, even 
 though such things be not apparent to or explicable by the 
 ordinary senses of mortality; hence arises the definition of 
 faith given by Paul: "Now faith is the substance [i. e. 
 confidence, or assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence 
 [i. e. the demonstration or proof] of things not seen." a It 
 is plain that such a 'feeling of trust may exist in different 
 persons in varying degrees; indeed, faith may manifest 
 itself, from the incipient feeble state which is little more 
 than mere belief, scarcely free from hesitation and fear, to 
 the strength of abiding confidence which sets doubt and 
 sophistry at defiance. 
 
 2. Belief, Faith, and Knowledge, while intimately related 
 and oft-times regarded as one, are in reality not identical. 
 The terms faith and belief are sometimes used as synonyms, 
 nevertheless each of them has a specific and definite mean- 
 ing in our language, although in early English there was vir- 
 tually no distinction between them, and therefore the words 
 are used interchangably in the ancient scriptures. Belief 
 may consist in a merely intellectual assent, whilst faith im- 
 
 a Heb. xi, 1. 
 
ART. 4.] FAITH. 99 
 
 plies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action. 
 Dictionary authority justifies us in drawing a distinction 
 between the two, according to present usage in English ; 
 and this authority defines belief as a simple assent to the 
 truth or actuality of anything, excluding however the moral 
 element of responsibility through such assent, which is em- 
 braced by faith. Belief is in a sense passive, — a mental 
 agreement or acceptance only ; faith is active and positive, — 
 such a reliance and confidence as will lead to works. Faith 
 in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in 
 Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may 
 believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living 
 belief. 
 
 3. Certainly there is a great difference in degree, even if 
 no essential distinction in kind be admitted between the 
 two. As will be presently demonstrated, faith in the God- 
 head is requisite to salvation ; it is indeed a saving power, 
 leading its possessor in the paths of godliness ; surely a mere 
 belief in the existence and attributes of Deity is no such 
 power. Mark the words of the Apostle James. 6 In his 
 general epistle to the Saints, he chided his brethren for 
 certain empty professions: said he in effect: — You take 
 pride and satisfaction in declaring your belief in God ; you 
 boast of being distinguished from the idolaters and the 
 heathen because you accept one God; you do well to so pro- 
 fess, and so believe; but, remember, others do likewise; 
 even the devils believe ; and so firmly that they tremble at 
 thought of the fate which that belief makes plain to them. — 
 What, do devils believe in Christ? Aye, their belief amounts 
 to certain knowledge, as to who He is, and as to what con- 
 stitutes His part, past, present, and to come, in the Divine 
 plan of human existence and salvation. Call to mind the 
 case of the man possessed by evil spirits, in the land of the 
 
 b See James ii, 19. 
 
100 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [lECT. V. 
 
 Gadarenes ; a man so grievously tormented as to be a terror 
 to all who came near him ; he could be neither tamed nor 
 bound; people were afraid to approach him; yet when he 
 saw Christ, he ran to Him and worshiped, and the wicked 
 spirit within him begged for mercy at the hands of that 
 Eighteous One, calling Him "Jesus, Son of the Most High 
 God." c Again, an unclean spirit in the synagogue at Jeru- 
 salem implored Christ not to use His power, crying in fear 
 and agony, "I know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of 
 God." d And then, we are told that Christ was once followed 
 by a multitude made up of people from Idumaea and Jerusa- 
 lem, from Tyre and Sidon ; among them were many who were 
 possessed of evil spirits, and these, when they saw Him, fell 
 down in the attitude of worship, exclaiming: "Thou art 
 the Son of God." e Was there ever mortal believer who 
 confessed more unreservedly a knowledge of God and His 
 Son Jesus Christ than did these same followers of Satan? 
 The evil one knows God and Christ; remembers, perchance, 
 somewhat concerning the position which he once occupied 
 as a Son of the Morning ; yet with all such knowledge he is 
 Satan still. Neither belief nor its superior, — actual knowl- 
 edge, — is efficient to save; for neither of these is faith. 
 Belief may be a product of the mind, faith is of the heart ; 
 belief is founded on reason; faith largely on intuition. 
 
 4. We frequently hear it said that faith is imperfect 
 knowledge ; that the first disappears as the second takes its 
 place; that now we walk by faith but some day we will walk 
 by the sure light of knowledge. In a sense this is true ; 
 yet it must be remembered that knowledge may be as dead 
 and unproductive in good works as is faithless belief. Those 
 confessions of the devils, that Christ was the Son of God, 
 
 c See Mark v, 1-18; also Matt, viii, 28-34. 
 d See Mark i, 24. 
 e Mark iii, 8-11. 
 
ART. 4.] FAITH. 101 
 
 were founded on knowledge; yet the great truth which they 
 knew did not change their evil natures. How different was 
 their acknowledgment of the Savior from that of Peter, 
 who, to the Master's question "Whom say ye that I am?" 
 replied in practically the words used by the unclean spirits 
 before cited, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
 God."- r Peter's faith had already shown its vital power; it 
 had caused him to forsake much that had been dear, to 
 follow his Lord through persecution and suffering, and to 
 put away worldliness with all its fascinations, for the sacri- 
 ficing godliness which his faith made so desirable. His 
 knowledge of God as the Father, and of the Son as the 
 Eedeemer, was perhaps no greater than that of the unclean 
 spirits; but while to them that knowledge was but an added 
 cause of condemnation, to him it was a means of salvation. 
 
 5. The mere possession of knowledge gives no assurance 
 of benefit therefrom. An illustration may perhaps be here 
 indulged. During an epidemic of cholera in a large city, a 
 scientific man proved to his own satisfaction, by chemical 
 and microscopical tests, that the water supply was infected, 
 and that through it contagion was being spread. He pro- 
 claimed the great truth throughout the city, and warned all 
 against the use of unboiled water. Many of the people, 
 although incapable of comprehending his methods of investi- 
 gation, far less of repeating such for themselves, had faith 
 in his warning words, followed his instructions, and escaped 
 the death to which their careless and unbelieving fellows 
 succumbed. Their faith was a saving one. To the man 
 himself, the truth by which so many lives had been spared 
 was a matter of knowledge. He had actually seen, under 
 the microscope, the death-dealing germs in the water ; he 
 had tested their virulence; he knew of what he spoke. 
 Nevertheless, in a moment of forgetfulness he drank of the 
 
 f Matt, xvi, 15-16; see also Mark viii, 29; Luke ix, 20. 
 
102 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 unpurified water, and soon thereafter died a victim to the 
 plague. His knowledge did not save him, complete though 
 it was ; yet others whose reliance was only that of faith in 
 the truth which he declared, escaped the threatening des- 
 truction. Truly he had knowledge; but, was he wise? 
 Knowledge is to wisdom what belief is to faith; one an 
 abstract principle, the other a living application. Not pos- 
 session merely, but the proper use of knowledge constitutes 
 wisdom. Of belief compared with faith it may be said, as 
 it has been taught of knowledge and wisdom : — 
 
 "Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, 
 Have oft-times no connection. * * * 
 Knowledge, a rude unprofitable mass, 
 The mere material with which wisdom builds, 
 Till smoothed and squared and fitted to its place, 
 Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich." 
 
 6. The Foundation of Faith: — In a theological sense, we 
 understand by faith as already outlined, a living, inspiring 
 confidence in God, and an acceptance of His will as our 
 law, and of His words as our guide, in life. Faith in God 
 is possible only as we come to know, or at least to believe, 
 that He exists, and moreover, that He is a Being of worthy 
 character and attributes. The grounds upon which man 
 founds his belief or knowledge respecting the existence of 
 God, have been examined in a previous lecture f some of 
 the Divine attributes, as made known through God's deal- 
 ings with mankind have been likewise specified. A re- 
 statement of the principal facts relating to the character of 
 the Supreme Being, may be in place here, inasmuch as some 
 knowledge concerning the attributes of Deity is essential to 
 the exercise of faith in Him. Let us adopt the summary of 
 facts as set forth by the prophet, Joseph Smith; he 
 presents, on the testimony of scripture the following state- 
 ments respecting the character of God. 
 
 g Lecture II, page 28. 
 
ART. 4.] FAITH. 103 
 
 "(1.) That He was God before the world was created, 
 and the same God that He was after it was created. 
 
 "(2.) That He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, 
 abundant in goodness, and that He was so from everlasting, 
 and will be to everlasting. 
 
 "(3.) That He changes not, neither is there variable- 
 ness with Him ; but that He is the same from everlasting to 
 everlasting, being the same yesterday, today, and for ever ; 
 and that His course is one eternal round, without variation. 
 
 "(4.) That He is a God of truth and cannot lie. 
 
 "(5.) That He is no respecter of persons; but in every 
 nation he that fears God arid works righteousness is accepted 
 of Him. 
 
 "(6.) That Heislove.'" 1 
 
 7. A knowledge of these comprehensive features of the 
 Divine nature will enable one to exercise rational and in- 
 telligent faith in God. And upon such knowledge of God's 
 existence, the worthiness of His character, and the per- 
 fection of His attributes, is man's faith in Him established. 
 Faith then cannot be exercised in the absence of all 
 knowledge ; yet even the benighted heathen show some of the 
 fruits of faith; but they have at least the conviction that 
 arises from man's natural intuition regarding a supreme 
 power, which has been described as a common heritage of 
 humanity. In every human soul, even in that of the 
 savage, there is some basis for faith, however limited and 
 imperfect the darkness of heredity or of wilful sin may have 
 made it. Every child of God is born with the capacity for 
 faith inherent within his own nature ; and all yearn in some 
 degree for the strength and aid which only faith can give. 
 We shall yet learn : — 
 
 h Doc. and Cov. Lectures on Faith, iii, 13-18. 
 
104 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 li That in all ages 
 Every human heart is human; 
 That in even savage bosoms 
 There are longings, yearnings, strivings, 
 For the good they comprehend not. 
 That the feeble hands and helpless, 
 Groping blindly in the darkness, 
 Trust God's right hand in that darkness, 
 And are lifted up and strengthened." 
 
 The heathen's faith may be imperfect and weak, for his 
 ability to recognize the evidence upon which belief in God 
 depends may be small. While the first promptings of faith 
 toward God may be the result of natural intuition, — a faint 
 echo of the songs of praise which were so common during 
 the state of primeval childhood, — the later development will 
 be largely the result of unprejudiced and prayerful investi- 
 gation and search for truth. 
 
 8. From trustworthy evidence, rightly interpreted, true 
 faith will spring ; from false evidence, only distorted and 
 misplaced faith can arise.' Our conclusions concerning any 
 question under test will be governed largely by the number 
 and credibility of the witnesses, if it so be that we cannot 
 investigate the alleged facts for ourselves; and in either 
 case, by the amount and quality of the evidence obtainable. 
 Now, however improbable a declaration may appear to us, if 
 the truth of it be affirmed by witnesses in whom we have 
 confidence, we are led to admit the statement, at least pro- 
 visionally as true. If many credible witnesses testify, and 
 moreover, if collateral evidence suggest itself through facts 
 in our possession, we may consider the statement as proved ; 
 although we would be unable to affirm the truth of it on 
 the strength of our personal knowledge, until we had seen 
 and heard for ourselves, until in fact each of us had become 
 a competent witness through personal observation. To 
 illustrate : of the citizens of this country but a comparative 
 
 i See note 1. 
 
ART. 4.] FAITH. 105 
 
 few perhaps have visited the seat of government ; the masses 
 know nothing by actual observation of the Capitol, the 
 executive mansion, and other buildings of national interest 
 and importance ; very few have personally met the President 
 who resides there. How does any one of the multitudes 
 who have not seen for themselves, know of the city of Wash- 
 ington, of the Capitol and of the President? Solely through 
 the testimony of others. He may have among his acquaint- 
 ances one or many who have been in the capital of our 
 country and whose statements he accepts as true; as- 
 suredly he has heard or read of those who do know for them- 
 selves. Then he hears of laws being framed there, and of 
 edicts issuing from the nation's headquarters; his studies 
 in school, his use of maps and books, and many other in- 
 cidents add to the evidence which soon becomes decisive. 
 His inferences multiply, and develop into a positive con- 
 viction. He acquires a faith in the existence of a center of 
 national government, and a regard for the laws which 
 emanate therefrom. 
 
 9. Let us take another illustration: Astronomers tell us 
 that the earth is of a kind with certain of the stars ; that it 
 is one of a family of planets which revolve about the sun in 
 concentric orbits ; and that some of those planets are many 
 times the size of our globe. We may not be skilled in 
 astronomers' methods of observation and calculation, and 
 are therefore unable to test the truth of these statements 
 for ourselves ; but we find such a mass of evidence resulting 
 from the united testimony of those in whose skill as scien- 
 tific workers we have confidence, that the conclusions are 
 accepted by us as fully proved. 
 
 10. So too concerning the existence, authority and attri- 
 butes of God, the testimonies of many holy men in ancient 
 and* modern times, — prophets whose credibility is established 
 by the fulfilment of their predictions, — have come to us in 
 
106 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 united declaration of the solemn truths, and nature furn- 
 ishes corroborative testimony on every side. To reject with- 
 out disproving such evidence is to ignore the most approved 
 methods of investigation and research known to man. The 
 development of faith from evidence is illustrated in the 
 scenes of a certain memorable Pentecost celebration, on 
 which occasion thousands of Jews, imbued with a precon- 
 ceived prejudice that Jesus was an impostor, heard the 
 apostles' testimonies, and witnessed the attendant signs; 
 three thousand of them were convinced of the truth, and 
 became followers of the Son of God, their prejudice giving 
 place to belief, and their belief developing into faith with 
 its accompanying works. j The foundation of faith in God 
 then is a sincere belief in or knowledge of Him, as sus- 
 tained by evidence and testimony, tested and proved by 
 earnest, prayerful search. 
 
 11. Faith a Principle of Power: — In its widest sense, 
 faith, — the assurance of things for which we hope, and the 
 evidence of things not discernible through our senses, — is the 
 motive principle that impels men to resolve and to act. 
 Without its exercise, we would make no exertion the results 
 of which are future : without faith that he may gather in 
 the autumn, man would not plant in the spring; neither 
 would he essay to build, did he not have confidence that he 
 would finish the structure and enjoy its use; had the student 
 no faith in the possibility of successfully following his 
 studies, he would not enter upon his courses. Faith thus 
 becomes to us the foundation of hope, from which spring 
 all our aspirations, ambitions and confidences for the future. 
 Eemove man's faith in the possibility of any desired success, 
 and you rob him of the incentive to strive. He would not 
 stretch forth his hand to seize did he not believe in the pos- 
 sibility of securing that for which he reaches. This prin- 
 
 3 See Acts ii. 
 
AKT. 4.J FAITH. 107 
 
 ciple becomes therefore the impelling force by which men 
 struggle for excellence, oftentimes enduring vicissitudes and 
 suffering that they may achieve their purposes. Faith is the 
 secret of ambition, the soul of heroism, the motive power 
 of all effort. 
 
 12. The exercise of faith is pleasing unto God, and 
 thereby His interposition may be secured. It was through 
 faith that the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt followed 
 their dauntless leader into the bed of the sea; and through 
 the protecting agencies of God, which that faith drew 
 forth, they were saved, while the Egyptians met destruction 
 in attempting to follow. k With full confidence in the 
 instructions and promises of God, Joshua and his intrepid 
 followers laid siege to Jericho ; and the walls of that city of 
 sin fell before the faith of the besiegers without the use of 
 battering rams, or other engines of war.' By the same 
 power Joshua gained the assistance of the luminaries of 
 heaven, in his work of victory over the Amorites. m Paul 
 cites" us also to the instances of Gideon, Barak, p Samson, 9 
 Jephthah, r David, 8 Samuel/ and the prophets, "who 
 through faith, subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, 
 obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched 
 the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of 
 weakness were made strong." It was by faith that Alma 
 and Amulek were delivered from captivity, while the prison 
 walls which had previously held them were rent and demol- 
 
 k Exo. xiv, 22-29; Heb. xi, 29. 
 
 I Josh, vi, 20; Heb. xi, 30. 
 
 m Josh, x, 12. 
 
 n Heb. xi, 32-34; Doc. andCov., Lecture i, 20. 
 
 o Judges vi, 11. 
 
 p Judges iv, 6, 
 
 q Judges xiii, 24. 
 
 r Judges xi, 1 ; xii, 7. 
 
 * I Sam. xvi, 1, 13; xvii, 45. ( 
 
 t I Sam. i, 20; xii, 20. 
 
108 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 ished." By faith, Kephi and Lehi" the sons of Helaman were 
 protected from their Lamanite foes, even by fire, though they 
 were not burned; and a still greater work was wrought in 
 the hearts of their persecutors, for they became enlightened, 
 and accepted the testimony of truth. Through the opera- 
 tion of faith even the waves of the sea may be subdued, w 
 trees are subject to the voice of Him who commands by 
 faith f mountains may be removed by the accomplishment 
 of righteous purposes/ the sick may be healed, 2 evil spirits 
 may be cast out, a and the dead may be raised to life. 6 All 
 things are wrought through faith/ 
 
 13. But, it may be argued that faith of itself is not a 
 source of power ; that its effect is due to an external inter- 
 position of Divine aid, which faith merely secured; and the 
 skeptic may add that an omniscient God, if truly loving and 
 kind, would act independently and give without waiting to 
 be invoked through faith or prayer. A sufficient answer is 
 found in the abundant proof furnished by the scriptures, 
 that the Almighty operates in accordance with law ; and that 
 arbitrary and capricious action is foreign to His nature. 
 However the laws of heaven may have been formulated, the 
 application of their beneficent provisions to humanity is 
 dependent on the faith and obedience, of the mortal subjects. 
 Consider the defeat of Israel by the men of Ai; a law of 
 righteousness had been violated, and things that were 
 accursed had been introduced into the camp of God's people ; 
 
 u Alma xiv, 26-29; Doc. and Cov., Lecture on Faith, i, 19. 
 
 v Helaman v, 20-52; Doc. and Cov., Lecture on Faith, i, 19. 
 
 w Matt, viii, 23-27; Mark iv, 36-41; Luke viii, 22-25; Matt, xiv, 24-32; Mark 
 vi, 47-51; John vi, 17-21. 
 
 r Matt, xxi, 17-21.; Mark xi, 12-13, 20-24; Book of Jacob iv, 6. 
 
 y Matt, xvii, 20; Mark xi, 23-24; Ether xii, 30; Jacob iv, 6; Doc. and Cov., 
 Lecture on Faith, i, 19. 
 
 z Luke xiii, 11; xiv, 2; xvii, 11; xxii, 50; Matt, viii, 2, 5, 14, 16, etc. 
 
 a Matt, viii, 28; xvii, 18; Mark i, 23. 
 
 b Luke vii, 11-16; John xi, 43-45; I Kings xvii, 17-24. 
 
 c Matt, xvii, 20; Mark ix, 23; Eph. vi, 16; I John v, 4. 
 
ART. 4.] FAITH. * 109 
 
 this transgression stopped the current of Divine help, and 
 until the people had sanctified themselves, the power was 
 not renewed unto them. d Christ was influenced, and to 
 some extent controlled in His miracles among men by the 
 faith or lack of faith of the people. The common benedic- 
 tion, "Thy faith hath made thee whole," with which He an- 
 nounced the healing interposition, is evidence of the fact 
 Then we learn that in His own country He could do no 
 mighty work, being restrained by the unbelief of the people. 6 
 14. A Condition of Living Faith: — A condition essential 
 to the exercise of a living, growing, sustaining faith in 
 Deity, is the consciousness on man's part that he is at least 
 endeavoring to live in accordance with the laws of God as he 
 has learned them. A knowledge that he is wilfully and 
 wantonly sinning against the truth, will deprive him of sin- 
 cerity in prayer and faith, and surely estrange him from his 
 Father. He must feel that the trend of his life's course is 
 acceptable to God, that with due allowance for mortal weak- 
 ness and human frailty, he is in some measure approved of 
 the Lord, or he can never approach the throne of grace with 
 confidence. The consciousness of earnest effort toward 
 godly walk and conduct is a power of itself, strengthening 
 its possessor in sacrifice and under persecution, and sustain- 
 ing him in all good works. It was this knowledge of assured 
 communion with God that enabled the saints of olden time 
 to endure as they did, though their sufferings were appal- 
 ling. Of them we read that some "were tortured, not accept- 
 ing deliverance ; that they might obtain a better resurrec- 
 tion: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourg- 
 ings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment : They were 
 stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain 
 with the sword : they wandered about in sheepskins and goat- 
 
 <l Joshua vii-viii. 
 
 e Matt, xiii, 58; Mark vi, 5-6. 
 
110 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the 
 world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in 
 mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." 7 As in 
 former days so in the present, the saints have been sustained 
 through all their sufferings by the sure knowledge of Divine 
 approval ; and the faith of righteous men has ever grown 
 through a consciousness of their good endeavors. 
 
 15. Faith Essential to Salvation: — Inasmuch as salva- 
 tion is attainable only through the mediation and atone- 
 ment of Christ, and since this is made applicable to indi- 
 vidual sin only in the cases of those who obey the laws of 
 righteousness, faith in Jesus Christ is indispensable to sal- 
 vation. But no one can believe in Jesus Christ, and at the 
 same time doubt the existence and authority of either the 
 Father or the Holy Ghost; therefore faith in the entire 
 Godhead is essential to salvation. Paul declares that with- 
 out faith it is impossible to please God, "for he that cometh 
 to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of 
 them that diligently seek Him." ff The scriptures abound 
 in assurances of salvation to those who exercise faith in God, 
 and obey the requirements which that faith makes plain. 
 Christ's words on the matter are conclusive, "He that be- 
 lieveth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth 
 not shall be damned,'" 1 and again, "He that believeth on the 
 Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son 
 shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."' 
 And similar doctrines did His apostles teach after His death 
 all the days of their ministry.-' A natural result of implicit 
 
 / Heb. xi, 35-38; see also Doc. and Cov. Lectures on Faith vi. 
 
 g Heb. xi, 6. 
 
 h Mark xvi, 16. 
 
 i John iii, 36. See also John iii, 15; iv, 42; v, .24; xi, 25; Gal. ii, 20; I Nephi x, 
 6, 17; II Nephi xxv, 25; xxvi, 8; Enos i, 8; Mos. iii, 17; III Nephi xxvii, 19; Hel. 
 v, 9; Doc. and Cov. xlv, 8; 
 
 j Acts ii, 38; x, 42; xvi, 31; Rom. x, 9; Heb. iii, 19; xi, 6; I Pet. i, 9; I John iii, 
 23; v, 14. 
 
ART. 4.] FAITH. Ill 
 
 faith in the Godhead, will be a growing confidence in the 
 scriptures as containing the word of God, and in the words 
 and works of His authorized servants, who speak as the 
 living oracles of heaven. 
 
 16. Faith a Gift of God: — Though within the reach of 
 all who diligently strive to gain it, faith is nevertheless a 
 Divine gift, and can be obtained only from God. fc As is 
 fitting for so priceless a pearl, it is given to those only who 
 show by their sincerity that they are worthy of it, and who 
 give promise of abiding by its dictates. Although faith is 
 called the first principle of the gospel of Christ, though it 
 be in fact the foundation of all religion, yet, even faith is 
 preceded by sincerity of disposition, and humility of soul, 
 whereby the word of God may make an impression upon the 
 heart. 1 No compulsion is used in bringing men to a knowl- 
 edge of God ; yet, as fast as we open our hearts to the influ- 
 ences of righteousness, the faith that leads to life eternal 
 will be given us of our Father. 
 
 17. Faith and Works: — Faith in a passive sense, that is, 
 as mere belief, is inefficient as a means of salvation. This 
 truth was clearly set forth both by Christ and the apostles, 
 and the vigor with which it was declared may be an indi- 
 cation of the early development of a most pernicious doc- 
 trine, — that of justification by belief alone. The Savior 
 taught that works were essential to the validity of profession 
 &nd the efficacy of faith. Mark his words: — "Not every one 
 that sayeth unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king- 
 dom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father 
 which is in heaven."" 1 "He that hath my commandments, 
 .and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that 
 loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and 
 
 k Matt, xvi, 17; John vi, 44, 65; Eph. ii, 8; I Cor. xii, 9; Rom. xii, 3; Moroni x, 11. 
 I See Rom. x, 17 
 m Matt, vii, 21. 
 
112 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 will manifest myself to him."" The instructions of the Apos- 
 tle James are particularly explicit : — "What doth it profit, my 
 brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? 
 can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and desti- 
 tute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in 
 peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give 
 them not those things which are needful to the body ; what 
 doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, 
 being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I 
 have works : shew me thy faith without thy works, and I 
 will shew thee my faith by my works."" And to this may 
 be added the words of John: — "And hereby we do know that 
 we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that 
 saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is 
 a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his 
 word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby 
 know we that we are in him." 1 ' 
 
 18. To these teachings may be added many inspired 
 utterances, from Nephite scriptures 7 and from modern rev- 
 elation,'' all affirming the necessity of works, and denying the 
 saving efficacy of mere belief. Yet in spite of the plain 
 word of God, sectarian dogmas have been promulgated to the 
 effect that by faith alone man may achieve salvation, and 
 that a mere profession of belief will open the doors of 
 heaven to the sinner. 8 The scriptures cited and man's 
 inherent sense of justice furnish a sufficient refutation of 
 these pernicious doctrines. 
 
 n John xiv, 21. 
 o James ii, 14-18. 
 ■p I John ii, 3-5. 
 
 q See I Nephi xv, 33: II Nephi xxix, 11: Mosiah v, 15; Alma vii. 27; 
 xxxvii, 32-34: xli, 3-5. 
 
 r Doc. and Co v. throughout. 
 8 See Note 2. 
 
ART. 4.1 REPENTANCE. 113 
 
 REPENTANCE. 
 
 19. Nature of Repentance: — The term repentance is used 
 in the scriptures with several different meanings, but, as rep- 
 resenting the duty required of all who would obtain forgiv- 
 ness for transgression, it indicates a godly sorrow for sin, 
 producing a reformation of life, and embodies, (1) a convic- 
 tion of guilt; (2) a desire to escape the hurtful effects of 
 sin; and (3) an earnest determination to forsake sin and to 
 accomplish good. Repentance is a result of contrition of 
 soul, which springs from a deep sense of humility, and this 
 in turn is dependent upon the exercise of an abiding faith 
 in God. Repentance therefore properly ranks as the second 
 principle of the gospel, closely associated with and immedi- 
 ately following faith. As soon as one has come to recognize 
 the existence and authority of God, he feels a respect for 
 Divine laws, and a conviction of his own unworthiness. His 
 wish to please the Father, whom he has so long neglected, 
 will impel him to forsake sin; 'and this impulse will acquire 
 added strength from the sinner's natural and commendable 
 desire to escape, if possible, the dire results of his own way- 
 wardness. With the zeal inspired by fresh conviction, he 
 will crave an opportunity of showing by good works the sin- 
 cerity of his newly developed faith ; and he will regard the 
 remission of his sins as the most desirable of blessings. 
 Then he will learn that this gift of mercy is granted on cer- 
 tain specific conditions only.* The first step toward the 
 blessed state of forgiveness consists in the sinner confessing 
 his sins ; the second, in his forgiving others who have sinned 
 against him ; and the third in his showing his acceptance of 
 Christ's atoning sacrifice by obeying the Divine require- 
 ments. 
 
 20. (1.) Confession of Sins is essential, for without it re- 
 
 t See Note 3. 
 9 
 
114 9 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 pentance is incomplete. The Apostle John tells us, "If we 
 say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is 
 not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to 
 forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous- 
 ness."" We read also, "He that covereth his sins shall not 
 prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall 
 have mercy." 17 And unto the Saints in this dispensation the 
 Lord has said, "Verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, forgive 
 sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask 
 forgiveness, who have not sinned unto death.'"" And that 
 this act of confession is included in repentance is shown by 
 the Lord's words: "By this ye may know if a man re- 
 penteth of his sins : Behold he will confess them and for- 
 sake them." 3 ' 
 
 21. (2.) The Sinner Must be Willing to Forgive Others, if 
 he hopes to obtain forgiveness. Surely his repentance is but 
 superficial if his heart be not softened to the degree of 
 tolerance for the weaknesses of his fellows. In teaching 
 His hearers how to pray, the Savior instructed them to 
 supplicate the Father: "Forgive us our debts as we for- 
 give our debtors. "" He led them not to hope for forgive- 
 ness if in their hearts they forgave not one another: 
 "For," said He, "if ye forgive men their trespasses, your 
 Heavenly Father will also forgive you; but, if ye forgive 
 not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive 
 your trespasses." 2 And forgiveness between man and man, 
 to be acceptable before the Lord, must be unbounded. In 
 answering Peter's question, "Lord, how oft shall my brother 
 sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" the 
 
 u I John i, 8-9; see also Psalms xxxii, 5; xxxviii, 18; Mosiah xxvi, 29-30. 
 
 v Prov. xxviii, 13. 
 
 w Doc. and Cov. lxiv, 7. 
 
 x Doc. and Cov. lviii, 43. 
 
 y Matt, vi, 12; see also Luke xi, 4. 
 
 z Matt, vi, 14-15; III Nephi xiii, 14-15. 
 
ART. 4.] REPENTANCE. 115 
 
 Master said, "I say not unto thee, until seven times; but 
 until seventy times seven;" clearly intending to teach that 
 man must ever be ready to forgive. On another occasion 
 He taught the disciples, saying, "If thy brother trespass 
 against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. 
 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and 
 seven times in a day turn again to thee saying, I repent, 
 thou shalt forgive him." a 
 
 22. Illustrating further the Divine purpose to mete unto 
 men the measure they mete unto their fellows, 6 the Savior 
 put forth to His disciples a parable of a king, to whom one 
 of his subjects owed an enormous sum of money, ten thou- 
 sand talents; but when the debtor humbled himself and 
 pleaded for mercy, the compassionate heart of the king was 
 moved and he forgave his servant the debt. But the same 
 servant, going out from the presence of the king, met a fel- 
 low-servant who was indebted to him in a paltry sum ; forget- 
 ting the mercy so recently shown unto himself, he seized his 
 fellow-servant and cast him into prison till he would pay the 
 debt. Then the king, hearing of this, sent for the wicked 
 servant, and, denouncing him for his lack of gratitude and 
 consideration, handed him over to the tormentors. The 
 Lord will not listen to petitions nor accept an offering from 
 one who has bitterness in his heart toward others; "First 
 be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy 
 gift." rf In His revealed word to the Saints in this day, the 
 Lord has placed particular stress upon this necessary con- 
 dition: "Wherefore I say unto you that ye ought to forgive 
 one another, for he that forgiveth not his brother his tres- 
 passes, standeth condemned before the Lord, for there re- 
 
 a Luke xvii, 3-4. 
 
 b Matt, vii, 2; Mark iv, 24; Luke vi, ; 
 
 e Matt, xviii, 23-35. 
 
 d Matt, v, 23-24: III Nephi xii, 23-24. 
 
116 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 maineth in him the greater sin ;" e and to remove all doubt 
 as to the proper subjects for human forgiveness, it is added : — 
 *'I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you 
 it is required to forgive all men." 
 
 23. (3.) Confidence in Christ's Atoning Sacrifice consti- 
 tutes the third essential condition in obtaining remission of 
 sins. The name of Christ is the only name under heaven 
 whereby men may be saved/ and we are taught to offer our 
 petitions to the Father in the name of His Son. Adam 
 received this instruction from the mouth of an angel, 9 and 
 the Savior personally instructed the Xephites to the same 
 effect. h But no person can truthfully profess faith in 
 Christ, and refuse to obey His commandments; therefore 
 obedience is essential to remission of sin ; and the repentant 
 sinner will eagerly seek to learn what is further required of 
 him. 
 
 24. Repentance, to be worthy of its name, must comprise 
 something more than a mere self-acknowledgment of error; 
 it does not consist in lamentations and wordy confessions, 
 but in the heart-felt recognition of guilt, which carries with 
 it a horror for sin, and a resolute determination to make 
 amends for the past and to do better in the future. If such 
 a conviction be genuine, it is marked by that godly sorrow, 
 which, as Paul has said, "worketh repentance to salvation, 
 not to be repented of ; but the sorrow of the world worketh 
 death."* Apostle Orson Pratt has wisely said: — "It would 
 be of no use for a sinner to confess his sins to God, unless 
 he were determined to forsake them; it would be of no 
 benefit to him to feel sorry that he had done wrong, unless 
 he intended to do wrong no more ; it would be folly for him 
 
 e Doc. and Cov. lxiv, 9-10. 
 
 / Pearl of Great Price p. 32. 
 
 g Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, p. 19. (1888 ed.) 
 
 h III Nephi xxvii, 5-7. 
 
 i II Cor. vii, 10. 
 
ART. 4.] REPENTANCE. 117 
 
 to confess before God that he had injured his fellow-man, 
 unless he were determined to do all in his power to make res- 
 titution. Repentance, then, is not only a confession of sins, 
 with a sorrowful, contrite heart, but a fixed, settled purpose 
 to refrain from every evil way." 
 
 25. Repentance Essential to Salvation: — This evidence of 
 sincerity, this beginning of a better life, is required of 
 every candidate for salvation. In the obtaining of Divine 
 mercy, repentance is as indispensable as faith, it must be as 
 extensive as sin. Where can we find an absolutely sinless 
 mortal? Sagely did the Preacher of old declare "There is 
 not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth 
 not."-* Who, therefore, has no need of forgiveness? who is 
 exempt from the requirements of repentance? God has 
 promised forgiveness unto those who truly repent before 
 Him, it is unto such that the advantages of individual 
 salvation, through the atonement of Christ, are extended. 
 Isaiah thus admonishes to repentance, with assuring promises 
 of forgiveness: "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, 
 call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake 
 his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let 
 him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon 
 him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. " fc 
 
 26. The burden of inspired teachers in every age has 
 been the call to repentance. To this effect was heard the 
 voice of John crying in the wilderness, "Repent ye, for the 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand."* And the Savior followed 
 with "Repent ye and believe the gospel, " w for "Except ye 
 repent, ye shall all likewise perish. " w So too proclaim the 
 
 j Eccl. vii, 20; see also Rom. iii, 10; I John i, 8. 
 
 k Isa. lv, 6-7; see also II Nephi ix, 24; Alma v, 31-36, 49-56; ix, 12; Doc. and 
 Cov. i, 32-33; xix, 4; xx, 29; xxix, 44; cxxxiii, 16. 
 I Matt, iii, 2. 
 m Mark i, 15. 
 n Luke xiii, 3. 
 
118 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 apostles of old, that God "commandeth all men everywhere 
 to repent," And in the present dispensation has come the 
 word, "We know that all men must repent, and believe on 
 the name of Jesus Christ * * * or they cannot be 
 saved in the kingdom of God." 1 ' 
 
 27. Repentance, a Gift from God: — Repentance is a means 
 of pardon, and is therefore one of God's great gifts to man. 
 It is not to be had for the careless asking; it may not be 
 found upon the highway, it is not of earth, but a treasure 
 of heaven, and is given with care, yet with boundless liber- 
 ality unto those who have brought forth works that warrant 
 its bestowal. 9 That is to say, all who prepare themselves 
 for repentance will, by the humbling and softening influ- 
 ence of the Holy Spirit, be led to the actual possession of 
 this great gift. When Peter was charged by his fellow- 
 worshipers with a breach of law in that he had associated 
 with Gentiles, he told his hearers of the Divine manifesta- 
 tions he had so recently received; they believed and de- 
 clared "Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repent- 
 ance unto life." r Paul also, in writing to the Romans, 
 teaches that repentance comes through the goodness of 
 God. s 
 
 28. Repentance not always Possible: — The gift of re- 
 pentance is extended to men as they humble themselves 
 before the Lord, it is the testimony of the Spirit in their 
 hearts; if they hearken not unto the monitor it will again 
 leave them, for the Spirit of God strives not ever with man/ 
 Repentance becomes more difficult as the sin is more wilful ; 
 it is by humility and contrition of the heart that sinners 
 
 o Acts xvii, 30. 
 1) Doc. and Cov. xx, 29. 
 q Matt, iii, 7-8; Acts xxvi, 20. 
 r Acts xi, 18. 
 
 s Rom. ii, 4; See also II Tim. ii, 25. 
 Gen. vi, 3; Doc. and Cov. i, 33. 
 
ART. 4.] REPENTANCE. 119 
 
 may increase their faith in God, and so obtain from Him 
 the priceless gift of repentance. As the time of repent- 
 ance is procrastinated, the ability to repent grows weaker ; 
 neglect of opportunity in holy things brings a forfeit of the 
 chance. In giving commandment to Joseph Smith, in the 
 early days of the present Church, the Lord said, "For I 
 the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of 
 allowance ; nevertheless, he that repents and does the com- 
 mandments of the Lord shall be forgiven, and he that 
 repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which 
 he has received, for my Spirit shall not always strive with 
 man saith the Lord of Hosts."" 
 
 29. Repentance Here and Hereafter: — The Nephite 
 prophet, Alma, described the period of earthly existence as 
 a probationary state, granted unto man for repentance f yet 
 we learn from the scriptures that repentance may be 
 obtained, under certain conditions, beyond the vail of 
 mortality. Between the times of His death and resurrec- 
 tion, Christ "preached unto the spirits in prison, which 
 sometime were disobedient when once the long suffering of 
 God waited in the days of ^N"oah \" w these the Son visited, 
 and unto them He preached the gospel, "that they might 
 be judged according to men in the flesh, who received not 
 the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received 
 it."* 
 
 30. Yet no soul is justified in postponing his efforts to 
 repent because of this assurance of God's long-suffering and 
 mercy. We know not on what terms repentance will be 
 obtainable in the hereafter, but it is unreasonable to sup- 
 pose that the soul who has wilfully rejected the opportunity 
 of repentance in this life will find it easy to repent there. 
 
 u Doc. and Co v. i, 31-33. 
 
 v Alma xii, 24; xxxiv, 32; xlii, 4. 
 
 w I Peter iii, 19-20. 
 
 x Doc. and Co v. lxxvi, 73-74. 
 
120 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. V. 
 
 To procrastinate 1 ' the day of repentance is to deliberately 
 place ourselves in the power of the adversary. As Amulek 
 taught and admonished the multitude of old: "For behold 
 this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God, * * * 
 therefore I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the 
 day of your repentance unto the end. * * * Ye cannot 
 say when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will 
 repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say 
 this ; for that same spirit which*doth possess your bodies at 
 the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will 
 have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For 
 behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance, 
 even until death, behold ye have become subjected to the 
 spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his." 2 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Example of False Faith :—" When Europeans first began their explor- 
 ations in the New World, the Indians whom they met were much amazed at the 
 power and explosive properties of gun-powder, and asked many questions 
 respecting the manner in which it was produced. The Europeans, taking 
 advantage of the ignorance of the savages, and seeing an opportunity to increase 
 their wealth by the deception, told the Indians that it was the seed of a plant 
 which grew in the lands they had come from, and doubtless it would thrive in 
 their land also. The Indians, of course, believed this statement, and purchased 
 the supposed seed, giving in exchange for it large quantities of gold. In implicit 
 faith they carefully planted the supposed seed, and anxiously watched for its 
 sprouting and the appearance of the plant; but it never came. They had faith 
 in the statements made to them by the Europeans, but as these statements were 
 false, and therefore the evidence on which the Indians based their belief untrue, 
 their faith was vain."— Orson Pratt. 
 
 2. The Sectarian Dogma of Justification by Faith alone has exercised 
 an influence for evil since the early days of Christianity. The idea upon which 
 this pernicious doctrine was founded, was at first associated with that of an 
 absolute predestination, by which man was fore-doomed to destruction, or to an 
 utterly undeserved salvation. Thus, Luther taught as follows: — "The excellent, 
 infallible, and sole preparation for grace is the eternal election and predestina- 
 tion of God." "Since the fall of man, free-will is but an idle word." "A man 
 
 y Alma xxxiv, 33. 
 z Alma xxxiv, 32-35. 
 
ART. 4. J NOTES. 121 
 
 who imagines to arrive at grace by doing all that he is able to do, adds sin to sin r 
 and is doubly guilty." "That man is not justified who performs many works; 
 but he who without works has much faith in Christ." (For these and other 
 doctrines of the so-called "Reformation," see D'Aubigne's History of the Reform- 
 ation, vol. i, pp. 82, 83, 119, 122.) In Miller's Church History (vol. iv, p. 514) we 
 read. "The point which the reformer [Luther] had most at heart in all his 
 labors, contests, and dangers, was the justification by faith alone." Melancthon 
 voices the doctrine of Luther in these words : "Man's justification before God 
 proceeds from faith alone. This faith enters man's heart by the grace of God 
 alone;" and further, "As all things which happen, happen necessarily, according 
 to the divine predestination, there is no such thing as liberty in our wills." 
 (D'Aubigne, vol. iii, p. 340). It is true that Luther strongly denounced, and 
 vehemently disclaimed responsibility for, the excesses to which this teaching 
 gave rise, yet he was not less vigorous in proclaiming the doctrine. Note his- 
 words:— "I, Doctor Martin Luther, unworthy herald of the gospel of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, confess this article, that faith alone without works justifies before 
 God; and I declare that it shall stand and remain forever in despite of the emperor 
 of the Romans, the emperor of the Turks, the emperor of the Persians,— in spite 
 of the pope and all the cardinals, with the bishops, priests, monks, and nuns, — in 
 spite of kings, princes, and nobles, and in spite of all the world and of the devils 
 themselves; and that if they endeavor to fight against this truth they will draw 
 the fires of hell upon their heads. This is the true and holy gospel, and the 
 declaration of me, Doctor Luther, according to the teachings of the Holy Ghost." 
 (D'Aubigne, vol. i, p. 70). 
 
 Fletcher {End of Religious Controversy, p. 90) illustrates the vicious extreme to 
 which this evil doctrine led, by accusing one of its adherents with having said, 
 "Even adultery and murder do not hurt the pleasant children, but rather work 
 for their good. God sees no sin in believers, whatever sin they may commit. * 
 * * * It is a most pernicious error of the schoolmen to distinguish sins accord- 
 ing to the fact, and not according to the person. Though I blame those who say, 
 let us sin that grace may abound, yet adultery, incest, and murder, shall upon 
 the whole, make me holier on earth, and merrier in heaven." 
 
 A summary of the mediaeval controversy regarding the means of grace, includ- 
 ing the doctrines of Luther and others, is presented in Roberts' Outlines of Eccle- 
 siastical History, part iii, section ii; to which the student is referred. The quota- 
 tions given above are incorporated therein. 
 
 3. Forgiveness not always Immediate:— "On account of the magni- 
 tude of sins committed, repentance is not always followed by forgiveness and 
 restoration. For instance, when Peter was preaching to the Jews, who had 
 slain Jesus and taken His blood on themselves and their children, he did not say, 
 repent and be baptized for the remission of sins; but, 'Repent ye therefore, and 
 be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing 
 shall come from the presence of the Lord; and [when] He shall send Jesus 
 Christ, which before was preached unto you ; whom the heaven must receive 
 until the times of the restitution of all things.' (Acts iii, 19-21.) That is, repent 
 now, and believe in Jesus Christ, that you may be forgiven when He whom you 
 have slain shall come again in the days of the restitution of all things; and 
 prescribe to you the terms on which you may be saved."— Compendium, p. 28. 
 
122 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VI, 
 
 LECTUEE VI. 
 
 BAPTISM. 
 
 Article 4:— We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel 
 are:— * * * (3) Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; * * *. 
 
 1. Nature of Baptism: — Among the Latter-day Saints, 
 water baptism ranks as the third principle, and the first 
 essential ordinance, of the gospel. Baptism is the gateway 
 leading into the fold of Christ, the portal to the Church, 
 the established rite of naturalization in the kingdom of 
 heaven. The candidate for admission into the Church 
 and kingdom, having obtained and professed faith in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and having sincerely repented of his 
 sins, is properly required to give evidence of this spiritual 
 sanctification by some outward ordinance, prescribed by 
 authority as the sign or symbol of the new profession. The 
 initiatory ordinance is baptism by water, to be followed by 
 the higher baptism of the Holy Spirit ; and, as a result of this 
 act of obedience, remission of sins is granted. 
 
 2. How simple are the means thus ordained for admission 
 into the fold ; they are within the reach of the poorest and 
 weakest, as also of the rich and powerful! What symbol 
 more expressive of a cleansing from sin could be given, than 
 that of baptism in water? Baptism is made a sign of the 
 covenant entered into between the repentant sinner and his 
 Maker, that thereafter he will seek to observe the Divine 
 commands. Concerning this fact, the Prophet Alma thus 
 admonished and instructed the people of Gideon: — "Yea, I 
 say unto you, come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, 
 which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to 
 destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your 
 
ART. 4.] BAPTISM. 123 
 
 God that ye are willing to repent of your sins, and enter 
 into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and 
 witness it unto him this day, by going into the waters of 
 baptism."" 
 
 3. The humbled sinner, convicted of his transgression, 
 through the bestowal of God's good gifts of faith and 
 repentance, will hail most joyfully any means of cleansing 
 himself from pollution, now so repulsive in his eyes; all 
 such will cry out as did the stricken Jewish multitude at 
 Pentecost, "What shall we do?" Unto such comes the 
 answering voice of the Spirit, through the medium of 
 scripture, or by the mouths of the Lord's appointed ser- 
 vants, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the 
 name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." b Springing 
 forth as a result of contrition of soul, baptism has been very 
 appropriately called the first fruits of repentance. d 
 
 4. The Establishment of Baptism dates from the time of 
 the earliest history of the race. When the Lord manifested 
 Himself to Adam after the expulsion from the Garden of 
 Eden, He promised the patriarch of the race, "If thou wilt 
 turn unto me and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and 
 repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in 
 water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full 
 of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name 
 which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall 
 come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of 
 the Holy Ghost, asking all things in His name, and what- 
 soever ye shall ask, it shall be given you. * * * 
 And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with 
 Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he 
 was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried 
 
 a Alma vii, 15. 
 b Acts ii, 37-38. 
 d Moroni viii, 25. 
 
124 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VI. 
 
 down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was 
 brought forth out of the water. And thus he was bap- 
 tized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus 
 he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner 
 man." 5 Enoch preached the doctrine of repentance and 
 baptism, and did baptize the people, and as many as accepted 
 these teachings and submitted to the requirements of the 
 gospel, became sanctified and holy in the sight of God. 
 
 5. The Special Purpose of Baptism is to afford admission 
 to the Church of Christ with remission of sins. What need 
 of more words to prove the worth of this divinely ap- 
 pointed ordinance? What gift could be offered the human 
 race greater than a ready means of obtaining forgiveness for 
 transgression? Justice forbids the granting of universal 
 and unconditional pardon for sins committed, except through 
 obedience to ordained law; but means simple and effective 
 are provided, whereby the penitent sinner may enter into a 
 covenant with God, sealing that covenant with the sign that 
 commands recognition in heaven, that he will submit him- 
 self to the laws of God; thus he places himself within the 
 reach of Mercy, under whose protecting influence he may 
 win eternal life. 
 
 6. Biblical Proofs, that baptism is designed as a means 
 of securing to man a remission of his sins, are abundant. 
 John the Baptist was the special preacher of this doctrine 
 in the days immediately preceding the Savior's ministry in 
 the flesh ; and the voice of this priest of the desert stirred 
 Jerusalem and reverberated through all Judaea, proclaiming 
 remission of sins as the fruits of acceptable baptism/ 
 
 7. Saul of Tarsus, a zealous persecutor of the followers 
 of Christ, while journeying to Damascus, intent on a further 
 exercise of his ill-directed zeal, received a special manifesta- 
 
 b Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, pp. 32-34, (1888 ed.) 
 c Mark i, 4: Luke iii, 3. 
 
AKT. 4.] BAPTISM. 125 
 
 tion of the power of God, and was converted with signs and 
 wonders. He heard and answered the voice of Christ, and 
 thus became a special witness of his Lord. Yet even this 
 unusual demonstration of Divine favor was insufficient. 
 Blinded through the glory that had been manifested unto him, 
 humbled and earnest, awakening to the terrible fact that 
 he had been persecuting his Redeemer, he exclaimed in 
 anguish of soul, "What shall I do, Lord?" He was directed 
 to go to Damascus, there to learn more of God's will con- 
 cerning him. Gladly did he receive the Lord's messenger, 
 devout Ananias, who ministered unto him so that he re- 
 gained his sight, and then taught him baptism as a means 
 of obtaining forgiveness. d 
 
 8. And Saul, known now as Paul, thereafter a preacher 
 of righteousness, and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 taught to others the same great saving principle, that by 
 baptism in water comes regeneration from sin. e In forceful 
 language, and attended with special evidences of Divine 
 power, Peter declared the same doctrine to the penitent 
 multitude. Overcome with grief at the recital of what 
 they had done to the Son of God, they cried out "Men and 
 brethren, what shall we do?" Promptly came the answer, 
 with apostolic authority, "Repent, and be baptized every 
 one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of 
 sins.'? 
 
 9. Book of Mormon prophets gave the same testimony to 
 the western fold of Christ. To this effect were the words 
 of Xephi, the son of Lehi, addressed to his brethren: — "For 
 the gate by which ye should enter, is repentance, and 
 baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your 
 sins by fire, and by the Holy Ghost." 3 So did Alma teach 
 
 rfActs xxii, 1-16. 
 
 * Titus iii, 5. 
 
 / Acts ii, 36-37; see also I Peter iii, 81. 
 
 g II Nephi xxxi, 17. 
 
126 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. TI. 
 
 the people of Gideon, as already quoted/ Xephi, the 
 grandson of Helaman, immediately preceding Christ's 
 advent upon earth, went forth amongst his people, baptiz- 
 ing unto repentance, from which followed "a great re- 
 mission of sins."* Nephi ordained assistants in the minis- 
 try, "that all such as should come unto them, should be 
 baptized with water, and this as a witness and a testimony 
 before God, and unto the people, that they had repented and 
 received a remission of their sins." J Mormon adds his own 
 testimony, as commissioned of Christ, exhorting the 
 people to forsake their sins and be baptized for remis- 
 sion thereof/ 
 
 10. Modern Revelation, concerning baptism and its object, 
 shows that the same importance is ascribed by the Lord to 
 to the ordinance today as in earlier times. That there may 
 be no question as to the application of this doctrine to the 
 Church in the present dispensation, the principle has been 
 re-stated, the law has been re-enacted for our guidance. 
 The elders of the Church are comissioned to preach the 
 remission of sins as obtainable through the means of 
 authorized baptism. l 
 
 11. Fit Candidates for Baptism: — The prime objects of 
 baptism being admission to the Church, with remission of 
 sins, and this coming only through the exercise of faith in 
 God and true repentance before Him, it naturally follows 
 that baptism can in justice be required of those only who 
 are capable of exercising faith and working repentance." 1 In 
 a revelation on Church government given through Joseph 
 the Prophet, April, 1830, the Lord specifically states the 
 
 h Alma vii, 14-15. 
 
 i III Nephi i, 23. 
 
 j III Nephi vii, 24-26. 
 
 k III Nephi xxx, 2. 
 
 I Doc. and Cov. xix, 31; lv, 2; lxviii, 27; lxxvi, 51, 52; lxxxiv, 27, 74. 
 
 m See Note 1. 
 
ART. 4.] BAPTISM. 127 
 
 conditions under which persons may be received into the 
 Church through baptism: these are His words: — "All those 
 who humble themselves before God, and desire to be bap- 
 tized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, 
 and witness before the Church that they have truly repented 
 of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name 
 of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the 
 end, and truly manifest by their works that they have 
 received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of 
 their sins, shall be received by baptism into his Church. n 
 
 12. Such conditions exclude all who have not arrived at 
 the age of discretion and responsibility ; and by special com- 
 mandment the Lord has forbidden the Church to receive any 
 who have not attained to such age. By revelation, the 
 Lord has designated eight years as the age at which children 
 may be properly baptized into the Church, and parents are 
 required to prepare their children for the ordinances of the 
 Church, by teaching them the doctrines of faith, repentance, 
 baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Failure in this 
 requirement will be accounted by the Lord as a sin resting 
 upon the heads of the parents. p 
 
 13. Infant Baptism: — The Latter-day Saints are opposed 
 to the practice of infant baptism, which indeed they believe 
 to be sacrilege in the eyes of God. No one having faith in 
 the word of God can look upon the child as impure ; such an 
 innocent being needs no initiation into the fold, for it has 
 never strayed therefrom; it needs no remission of sins, for it 
 is sinless; and should it die before it has become contami- 
 nated by the sins of earth, it will be received again, without 
 baptism, into the presence of its God. Yet there are many 
 professedly Christian teachers who declare that as all Chil- 
 
 tt Doc. and Cov. xx, 37. 
 o Doc. and Cov. xx, 71. 
 p Doc. and Cov. lxviii, 25-27. 
 
128 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VI. 
 
 dren are born into a wicked world, they are themselves wicked, 
 and must be cleansed in the waters of baptism to be made 
 acceptable to God. How heinous is such a doctrine ! — the 
 child to whom the Savior pointed as an example of emula- 
 tion of those even who had received the holy apostleship, 9 the 
 Lord's selected type of the kingdom of heaven, the favored 
 spirits whose angels stand forever in the presence of the 
 Father, faithfully reporting all that may be done unto 
 their sacred charges'" — such souls are to be rejected and cast 
 into torment because their earthly guardians failed to have 
 them baptized ! To teach such a doctrine is sin. 
 
 14. The History of Infant Baptism is instructive, as throw- 
 ing light upon the origin of this erratic practice. It is 
 certain that the baptism of infants, or pedobaptism (Greek 
 paidos, child, and baptis?nos, baptism) as it is styled in 
 theological lore, was not taught by the Savior, nor by His 
 apostles. Some point to the incident of Christ blessing 
 little children, and rebuking those who would forbid the 
 little ones coming unto Him,* as an evidence in favor of 
 infant baptism; but, as Bishop Jeremy Taylor has tersely 
 replied: — "From the action of Christ's blessing infants, to 
 infer they are to be baptized, proves nothing so much as 
 that there is a want of better argument ; for the conclusion 
 would with more probability be derived thus: Christ blessed 
 infants, and so dismissed them, but baptized them not; 
 therefore infants are not to be baptized." 
 
 15. There is no authentic record of infant baptism hav- 
 ing been practiced during the first two centuries after 
 Christ, and the custom probably did not become general till 
 the fifth century; from the last-named time until the 
 Reformation, however, it was accepted by most of the pro- 
 
 q Matt, xviii, 1-6. 
 
 /• Verse 10. 
 
 *Matt> xix, 13; Mark x, 13; Luke xviii, 
 
ART. 4.] BAPTISM. 129 
 
 fessed Christian churches. But even during that dark age, 
 many theological disputants raised their voices against this 
 unholy rite/ In the early part of the sixteenth century, a 
 sect rose into prominence in Germany, under the name of 
 Anabaptists (Greek ana, again, and baptizo, baptize) dis- 
 tinguished for its opposition to the practice of infant bap- 
 tism, and deriving its name from the requirement made of 
 all its members who had been baptized in infancy that they 
 be baptized again. This denomination, commonly called the 
 Baptists, has become greatly divided by internal disputes ; 
 but in general, the Baptists have maintained a unity of belief 
 in opposing the baptism of irresponsible children. 
 
 16. Some pedobaptists have attempted to prove an 
 analogy between baptism and circumcision; but for such 
 position there is no scriptural warrant. Circumcision was 
 made the mark of a covenant between God and His chosen 
 servant Abraham," a symbol regarded by the posterity of 
 Abraham as indicative of their freedom from the idolatry of 
 the times, and of God's acceptance of them ; and nowhere 
 is circumcision made a means for remission of sins. That 
 rite was applicable to males only; baptism is administered 
 to both sexes. Circumcision was to be performed on the 
 eighth day after birth, even though such should fall on the 
 Sabbath. 1 * In the third century a council of bishops was held 
 under the presidency of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, at 
 which it was gravely determined, that to postpone baptism 
 until the eighth day after birth was dangerous, and con- 
 sequently not to be allowed. 
 
 17. Infant Baptism is Forbidden in the Book of Mormon, 
 from which fact we know that discussion upon this subject 
 must have arisen among the Kephites. Mormon, having 
 
 t See Note 2. 
 u Gen. xvii, 1-14. 
 w John vii, 22-23. 
 10 
 
130 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VI 
 
 received special revelation from the Lord concerning the 
 matter, wrote an epistle thereon to his son Moroni, in which 
 he denounces the practice of infant baptism, and declares 
 that any one who supposeth that little children need bap- 
 tism is in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity, 
 denying the mercies of Christ, and setting at naught His 
 atonement and the power of His redemption. x 
 
 18. Baptism Essential to Salvation: — Most of the proofs 
 concerning the object of baptism apply with equal force 
 to the proposition that baptism is necessary for salvation ; 
 for, inasmuch as remission of sins constitutes a special pur- 
 pose of baptism, and as no soul can be saved in the king- 
 dom of heaven with unforgiven sins, it is plain that baptism 
 is essential to salvation. Salvation is promised to man on 
 condition of his obedience to the commands of God ; and, as 
 the scriptures conclusively prove, baptism is one of the most 
 important of such requirements. Baptism, being com- 
 manded of God, must be essential to the purpose for which 
 it is instituted, for our Father deals not with unnecessary 
 forms. Baptism is required of all who have attained to 
 years of accountability; none are exempt. 
 
 19. Even Christ, standing as a man without sin in the 
 midst of a sinful world, was baptized, "to fulfill all right- 
 eousness," 1 ' such being the purpose, as declared by the 
 Savior Himself to the hesitating priest, who, zealous as he 
 was for his great mission, yet demurred when asked to bap- 
 tize One whom he considered sinless. Centuries before the 
 great event, Nephi, prophesying among the people in the 
 western world, fore-told the baptism of the Savior, and beau- 
 tifully explained how righteousness would be thereby ful- 
 filled \ z — "And now if the Lamb of God, he being holy 
 
 x Moroni viii. Read the entire epistle. 
 
 y Matt, iii, 15. 
 
 z II Nephi xxxi, 5-8. 
 
ART. 4.] BAPTISM. 131 
 
 should have need to be baptized by water to fulfill all right- 
 eousness, 0, then, how much more need have we, being 
 unholy, to be baptized?" 
 
 20. The words of the Savior, spoken while He ministered 
 in the flesh, declare baptism to be essential to salvation. 
 One of the rulers of the Jews, Mcodemus, came to Christ by 
 night and made a profession of confidence in the instruc- 
 tions of the Savior, whom he designated as "a teacher come 
 from God." Seeing his faith, Jesus taught unto him one of 
 the chief laws of heaven, saying, "Except a man be born 
 again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." A question by 
 Xicodemus called forth from the Savior the additional declar- 
 ation, "Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born 
 of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the king- 
 dom of God. a It is practically indisputable, that the watery 
 birth here referred to as essential to entrance into the 
 kingdom, is baptism. We learn further concerning Christ's 
 attitude toward baptism, that He required the ordinance of 
 those who professed to become His disciples. 6 When appear- 
 ing to the Eleven in His resurrected state, giving them His 
 farewell blessing and final commission, He commanded them, 
 "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in 
 the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost ;" c and, concerning the results of baptism He taught 
 them, that "He that believeth and is baptized shall be 
 saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. " d 
 
 21. Plain as seems the spirit of these instructions and 
 promises, there are nevertheless many, who, while profess- 
 ing to teach the doctrine of the Eedeemer, evade the mean- 
 ing of His precepts, and declare that because He said "he 
 
 a John iii, 1-5. 
 b Johniv, 1-2. 
 e Matt, xxviii, 
 d Mark xvi, 16. 
 
132 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VI. 
 
 that believeth not shall be damned," instead of "he that is 
 not baptized shall be damned," baptism is after all not 
 an essential, but a mere convenience or simple propriety, 
 in the plan of salvation. It is a mockery of faith to profess 
 belief in Christ while refusing to abide by His command- 
 ments. To believe the word of God and do it not, is to 
 increase our culpability ; such a course but adds hypocrisy 
 to other sin. Surely the full penalty provided for wilful 
 unbelief will fall to the lot of the professed believer who 
 refuses to yield obedience to the very principles in which he 
 boasts of having faith. And what can be said of the sin- 
 cerity of one who refuses to obey the Divine commands, 
 except there be specific penalties provided for disobedience? 
 Can such a one's repentance be sincere, when he now is sub- 
 missive only through fear of punishment? However, in 
 stating this principle for the government of the Saints in 
 the present dispensation, the Lord's words are more partic- 
 ular and specific, "And he that believeth and is baptized 
 shall be saved, and he that believeth not, and is not baptized, 
 shall be damned." 6 
 
 22. The same doctrine concerning the necessity of bap- 
 tism was preached by the disciples of Christ, particularly 
 those who were immediately associated with Him in the min- 
 istry. John the Baptist testifies that he had been appointed 
 to baptize with water/ and, concerning those who accepted 
 John's teachings, the Savior declared that they, even though 
 they were publicans, justified God, while the Pharisees and 
 lawyers who refused to be baptized, "rejected the counsels 
 of God against themselves," ' thereby, most assuredly forfeit- 
 ing their claim to salvation. As already pointed out, Peter, 
 the chief of the apostles, had but one answer to give to the 
 
 e Doc. and Cov., cxii, 29. 
 / John i, 33. 
 a Luke vii, 30. 
 
ART. 4.] BAPTISM. 133 
 
 eager multitude seeking to know the essentials of salvation, 
 "Repent and be baptized, every one of you.'" 1 
 
 23. Christ's humble compliance with the will of His 
 Father, by submitting to baptism even though He stood sin- 
 less, surely declares to the world in language more forceful 
 than words, that none are exempt from this condition, that 
 baptism indeed is a requisite for salvation. So, no evidence 
 of Divine favor, no bestowal of heavenly gifts, excuses man 
 from obedience to this and other requirements of the gospel. 
 Many illustrations of this fact have been given in connec- 
 tion with the purpose of baptism. Saul of Tarsus, though 
 permitted to hear the voice of His Redeemer, could only 
 enter the Church of Christ through the portals of baptism 
 by water and by the Holy Ghost/ Afterward he preached 
 baptism:; declaring that by that ordinance may "we put on 
 Christ," becoming the children of God. Cornelius, the cen- 
 turion, was acknowledged of God through prayers and alms, 
 and an angel came to him, and instructed him to send for 
 Peter, who would tell him what to do. The apostle, having 
 been specially prepared by the Lord for this mission, entered 
 the house of the penitent Gentile, though to do such, was 
 to violate the customs of the Jews ; and taught him and his 
 family of Christ Jesus. Even while Peter was speaking, the 
 Holy Ghost fell upon his hearers, so that they testified by 
 the gift of tongues, and greatly magnified God.- 7 ' Yet the 
 bestowal of such great gifts in no degree exempted them 
 from compliance with the law of baptism; and Peter com- 
 manded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. 
 
 24. Christ's ministers on the western continent were not 
 less energetic in promulgating the doctrine of baptism. 
 
 h Acts ii, 38; see also I Peter iii, 21 
 i Acts ix, 1-18; xxii, 1-16. 
 j Acts x, 30-48. 
 
134 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VI. 
 
 Lehi fc and his son Nephi/ each testified of the baptism of 
 the Savior, and of the absolute necessity of baptism by 
 water and by the Holy Ghost on the part of all seekers after 
 salvation. Nephi beautifully compares repentance and bap- 
 tism by water and the Spirit to the gate leading into the fold 
 of Christ. m Alma the first preached baptism as indispensable 
 to salvation, calling upon the people to witness unto the 
 Lord by their observance of this principle, that they cove- 
 nanted to keep His commandments. The second Alma, 
 son of the former, proclaimed baptism as a means of salva- 
 tion, and consecrated ministers to baptize. n 
 
 25. During the last century preceding the birth of 
 Christ, the work of God among the Lamanites was begun, 
 by the preaching of faith, repentance, and baptism ; Ammon 
 declared this doctrine to King Lamoni and his people." 
 Helaman preached baptism f and in the time of his ministry, 
 less than half a century before Christ's advent on earth, we 
 read that tens of thousands united themselves with the 
 Church by baptism. So also preached Helaman's sons, 9 and 
 his grandson, Nephi/ These baptisms were performed in 
 the name of the Messiah who was to come ; but when He 
 came to His western flock, He directed that they should be 
 baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost ; and bestowed upon twelve chosen ser- 
 vants the authority to officiate in the ordinance, 8 promising 
 the riches of heaven, unto all who would comply with His 
 law, and unto such only. 
 
 k I Nephi x, 7-10. 
 
 I II Nephi xxxi, 4-14. 
 
 m II Nephi xxxi, 17. 
 
 n Mos. xviii, 8-17; Alma v, 61, 62; ix, 27. 
 
 o Alma xix, 35. 
 
 p Alma lxii, 45. 
 
 q Hel. v, 14-19. V 
 
 r in Nephi i, 23. 
 
 s III Nephi xi, 22-25: xii, 1-2 
 
ART. 4.] BAPTISM. 135 
 
 26. Evidence is abundant that the Savior regarded the 
 baptized state as an essential condition of membership in 
 His Church; thus, when instituting the sacrament among 
 the Nephites, He instructed His disciples to administer it 
 unto those only who had been properly baptized/ Further, 
 we are informed that those who were baptized as Jesus had 
 directed, were called the Church of Christ." True to the 
 Savior's promise, the Holy Ghost came to those who were 
 baptized by His ordained authority, thus adding to water- 
 baptism the higher baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost; 1 ' and 
 many of them received wonderful manifestations of the 
 Divine approval, seeing and hearing unspeakable things, 
 not lawful to be written. The faith of the people showed 
 itself in good works,"' in prayers and fasting* in acknowl- 
 edgment of which Christ reappeared, this time manifesting 
 Himself to the disciples whom He had called to the ministry ; 
 and unto them He reiterated the former promises regarding 
 all who were baptized of Him ; and to this He added, that, 
 provided they endured to the end, they should be held 
 guiltless in the day of judgment.* On that occasion, He 
 repeated the commandment through obedience to which 
 salvation is promised : — •' 'Repent all ye ends of the earth, 
 and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye 
 may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that 
 ye may stand spotless before me at the last day." 2 
 
 27. Xearly four centuries later, we hear the same procla- 
 mation from the lips of Mormon. a And Moroni, his son, 
 the solitary representative of a once mighty people, while 
 
 t III Nephi xviii, 5, 11, 28-30. 
 
 u III Nephi xxvi, 21. 
 
 v III Nephi xxvi, 17-18; xxviii, 18; IV Nephi i, 1. 
 
 w III Nephi xxvi, 19-20. 
 
 x III Nephi xxvii, 1-2. 
 
 y III Nephi xxvii, 16. 
 
 z III Nephi xxvii, 20. 
 
 a Mormon vii, 8-10. 
 
136 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VI. 
 
 mourning the destruction of his kindred, leaves what at the 
 time he supposed would be his farewell testimony to the 
 truth of this doctrine ; b then, being spared contrary to his 
 expectations, he reverts again to the sacred theme, realizing 
 the incalculable worth of the doctrine unto any and all who 
 would read his pages ; and in what might be regarded as his 
 last words, he testifies to baptism by water and the Spirit as 
 the, means of salvation. 
 
 28. And this great principle, proclaimed of old, remains 
 unaltered today; it is truth and changes not. The elders 
 of the Church today have been commissioned in almost the 
 same words as were used in authorizing the apostles of old : — 
 "Go ye into all the world, preach the gospel to every crea- 
 ture, acting in the authority which I have given you, bap- 
 tizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost; and he that believeth and is baptized shall 
 be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned. " d And 
 again, hear the word of the Lord through Joseph the 
 Prophet unto the elders of the Church: — "Therefore, as I 
 said unto mine apostles I say unto you again, that every 
 soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water 
 for the remission of sins shall receive the Holy Ghost." But, 
 "verily, verily I say unto you, they who believe not on your 
 words, and are not baptized in water, in my name, for the 
 remission of their sins, that they may receive the Holy 
 Ghost, shall be damned, and shall not come into my Father's 
 kingdom where my Father and I am." e In obedience to 
 these commands, the elders of this Church have continued 
 to proclaim the gospel among the nations, preaching faith, 
 repentance, and baptism by water and the Holy Ghost, as 
 essential to salvation. 
 
 b Mormon ix, 22-23 
 
 c Moroni vi, 1-4. 
 
 d Doc. and Cov. lxviii, 8-9. 
 
 <• Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv, 64, 74; see also cxii, 28-29. 
 
ART. 4.] NOTES. 137 
 
 29. We have examined the doctrines concerning baptism 
 current among the Jews, the Nephites, and the Church of 
 Jesus Christ in this age, and have found the principles 
 taught to be ever the same. Indeed, we have gone farther 
 back, even to the earliest history of the human race, and 
 have learned that baptism was announced as a saving prin- 
 ciple by which Adam was promised forgiveness and salva- 
 tion. No one has reason to hope for salvation except by com- 
 plying with the law of God, of which baptism is an essen- 
 tial part. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Preparation for Baptism :— The doctrine that baptism, to be accept- 
 able, must be preceded by efficient preparation, was generally taught and under- 
 stood in the days of Christ, as also in the so-called apostolic period, and the 
 time immediately following. But this belief gradually fell away, and baptism 
 came to be regarded as an outward form, the application of which depended 
 little, if at all, on the candidates' appreciation, or conception of its purpose; and, 
 as stated in the text, the Lord deemed it wise to re-announce the doctrine in the 
 present dispensation. Concerning the former belief a few evidences are here 
 given: 
 
 "In the first ages of Christianity, men and women were baptized on a pro- 
 fession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."— Canon Farrar. 
 
 "But as Christ enjoins them (Mark xvi, 15-16) to teach before baptizing, and 
 desires that none but believers shall be admitted to baptism, it would appear 
 that baptism is not properly administered unless when it is preceded by faith." 
 * * * In the apostolic age "no one is found to have been admitted to 
 baptism without a previous profession of faith and repentance." — Calvin. 
 
 "You are >not first baptized, and then begin to receive the faith, and have a 
 desire: but when you are to be baptized, you make known your will to the 
 Teacher, and make a full confession of your faith with your own mouth." — 
 Arnobim—o, rhetorician who wrote in the latter half of the third century. 
 
 "In the primitive church, instruction preceded baptism, agreeable to the 
 order of Jesus Christ— '(So, teach all nations, baptizing them,' etc." — Saurin, (a 
 French protestanf, 1677—1730.) 
 
 "In the first two centuries, no one was baptized, except being instructed in 
 the faith and acquainted with the doctrine of Christ, he was able to profess 
 himself a believer; because of those words, 'He that believeth and is baptized.' " 
 —Salmasius, (a French author, 1588—1653.) 
 
 2. Historical Notes on Infant Baptism :— "The baptism of infants, in 
 the first two centuries after Christ, was altogether unknown. * * * The 
 custom of baptizing infants did not begin before the third age after Christ was 
 
138 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. L LECT ' VI - 
 
 born. In the former ages no trace of it appears: and it was introduced without 
 the command of Christ."— Curcellaeus. 
 
 "It is certain that Christ did not ordain infant baptism. * * * We cannot 
 prove that the apostles ordained infant baptism. From those places where 
 baptism of a whole family is mentioned (as in Acts xvi, 33; I Cor. i, 16) we can 
 draw no such conclusion, because the inquiry is still to be made, whether there 
 were any children in the families of such an age that they were not capable of 
 any intelligent reception of Christianity; for this is the only point on which the 
 case turns. * * * As baptism was closely united with a conscious entrance on 
 Christian communion, faith and baptism were always connected with one 
 another; and thus it is in the highest degree probable, that baptism was per- 
 formed only in instances where both could meet together, and that the practice 
 of infant baptism was unknown at this (the apostolic) period. * * * That 
 not till so late a period as (at least certainly notearlier than) Irenaeus, a trace of 
 infant baptism appears; and that it first became recognized as an apostolic 
 tradition in the course of the third century, is evidence rather against than for 
 the admission of its apostolic origin."— Johann, Neander, (a German theolo- 
 gian who flourished in the first half of the present century.) 
 
 "Let them therefore come when they, are grown up— when they can under- 
 stand—when they are taught whither they are to come. Let them become 
 Christians when they can know Christ."— Turtullian, (one of the Latin "Chris- 
 tian Fathers," he lived from 150 to 220 A. D.) Turtullian's almost violent op- 
 position to the practice of pedobaptism is cited by Neander as "a proof that it 
 was then not usually considered an apostolic ordinance; for in that case he 
 would hardly have ventured to speak so strongly against it." 
 
 Martin Luther, writing in the early part of the sixteenth century, declared: 
 "It cannot be proven by the sacred scriptures that infant baptism was instituted 
 by Christ, or begun by the first Christians after the apostles." 
 
 "By tekna the Apostle understands, not infants, but posterity; in which 
 signification the word occurs in many places of the New Testament; (see among 
 others John viii, 39) ; whence it appears that the argument which is very com- 
 monly taken from this passage for the baptism of infants, is of no force, and 
 good for nothing."— Limborch, (a native of Holland, and a theologian of repute; 
 he lived 1633—1712.) 
 
ART. 4.] MODE OF BAPTISM. 139 
 
 LECTURE VII. 
 
 BAPTISM— Continued. 
 
 Article 4:— We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel 
 are: *' * * * (3) Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; * * * *. 
 
 MODE OF BAPTISM. 
 
 1. Method of Administering Baptism Important: — In con- 
 sidering the object and the necessity of baptism, much has 
 been said and implied concerning the importance which the 
 Lord attaches to this initiatory rite ; it is natural, that the 
 mode of administering the ordinance should also be 
 specifically prescribed. Many Christian sects have some 
 established rite of initiation, in which water figures as a 
 necessary element ; though with some the ceremony consists 
 in nothing more than the placing of the priest's moistened 
 finger on the forehead of the candidate; or in the pouring or 
 sprinkling of water on the face ; while others consider immer- 
 sion of the whole body as requisite. The Latter-day Saints 
 hold that the scriptures are devoid of ambiguity regard- 
 ing the acceptable mode of baptism; and they boldly declare 
 their belief that immersion of the whole body by a duly 
 authorized servant or representative of the Savior, is the 
 only true form. Their reasons for this belief may be 
 summed up as follows : (1) The derivation and former usage 
 of the word baptism, and its cognates, betoken immersion. 
 
 (2) The symbolism of the rite is preserved in no other form. 
 
 (3) Scriptural authority, the revealed word of Cod through 
 the mouths of ancient and modern prophets, prescribes 
 immersion as the true form of baptism. 
 
 2. (1) The Word "Baptism," as is generally admitted by 
 philologists, is derived from the Creek bapto, baptizo, mean- 
 
140 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. • [LECT. VI. 
 
 ing literally to dip, or to immerse. As is true in the case 
 of every living language, words may undergo great changes 
 of meaning; and some writers declare that the term in 
 question may be as applicable to pouring or sprinkling 
 with water as to actual immersion. It becomes interest- 
 ing, therefore, to enquire as to the current meaning of the 
 term at or near the time of Christ; for, as the Savior 
 evidently deemed it unnecessary in the course of His in- 
 structions concerning baptism, to modify or in any way to 
 enlarge upon the meaning of the term, the word "baptize" 
 evidently conveyed a very definite meaning to those who 
 received His teachings. From the use made of the original 
 term by the Latin and Greek authors," it is plain that they 
 understood an actual immersion in water as the only 
 true signification. The modern Greeks understand 
 baptism to mean a burial in water, and therefore, as 
 they adopt the profession of Christianity, they practice 
 immersion as the only proper form in baptism. 6 Con- 
 cerning this kind of argument, it should be remembered 
 that philological evidence is not of the most decisive order. 
 Let us pass then to the consideration of other and stronger 
 reasons. 
 
 3. (2.) The Symbolism of the Baptismal Rite is preserved 
 in no form other than immersion. The Savior compared 
 baptism to a birth, and declared such to be essential to the 
 life that leads to the kingdom of God. c Surely .none can 
 say that a birth is represented by a simple sprinkling of 
 water on the face or head. Not the least of the distinctions 
 which have contributed to Christ's pre-eminence as a teacher 
 of teachers, consists in His precise and forceful use of 
 language; His comparisons are always telling, His meta- 
 
 a See Note 1. 
 b See Note 2. 
 c John iii, 3-5. 
 
ART. 4.] MODE OF BAPTISM. 141 
 
 phors ever expressive, His parables convincing; and so 
 inappropriate a comparison as is implied in snch a false 
 representation of birth, would be entirely foreign to the 
 Great Teacher's methods. 
 
 4. Baptism has also been very expressively compared to 
 a, burial, followed by a resurrection ; and in this symbol of 
 the bodily death and resurrection of His Son, has God 
 promised to grant remission of sins. In writing to the 
 Eomans, Paul says: — "Know ye not, that so many of us 
 as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his 
 death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into 
 death : that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by 
 the glory of the Father, even so we also should Valk in 
 newness of life. For if we have been planted together 
 in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of 
 his resurrection. " b And again, the same apostle, writes: 
 * 'Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen 
 with him . through the faith of the operation of God, who 
 hath raised him from the dead." c Among all the varied 
 forms of baptism practiced by man, immersion alone typi- 
 fies a birth, marking the beginning of a new career; or the 
 sleep of the grave, with subsequent victory over death. 
 
 5. (3.) Scriptural Authority warrants none other form 
 than immersion. Christ Himself was baptized by immersion. 
 We read that after the ceremony, He "went up straightway 
 out of the water. " d That the baptism of the Savior was 
 acceptable before His Father is abundantly proved by the 
 manifestations immediately following the ordinance — in 
 the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the declaration, "This 
 is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." John, sur- 
 named because of his Divine commission, the Baptist, bap- 
 
 b Rom. vi, 3-5. t 
 
 c Col. ii, 12. 
 
 d Matt. iii. 16-17; Mark i, 10-11. 
 
142 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VI. 
 
 tized in the river Jordan f and shortly afterward we hear of 
 him baptizing in .zEnon, near to Salim, "because there was 
 much water there;" 7 yet had he been baptizing by sprinkling, 
 a small quantity of water would have sufficed for a multi- 
 tude. 
 
 6. We read of baptism following the somewhat speedy 
 conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, treasurer to the 
 queen, Candace. To him Philip preached the doctrine of 
 Christ, as they rode together in the Ethiopian's chariot; 
 the eunuch, believing the words of his inspired instructor, 
 desired baptism, and Philip consenting, "he commanded 
 the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the 
 water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 
 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of 
 the Lord caught away Philip that the eunuch saw him 
 no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. " ff Surely the 
 record in this case is explicit, that immersion was the mode 
 practised by Philip. 
 
 7. History, other than Scriptural, proves that for more 
 than two centuries after Christ, immersion was the only 
 mode of baptism generally practiced by professed Christians ; 
 and not indeed till near the close of the thirteenth century 
 did other forms become general.' 1 Distortions of ordinances 
 instituted by authority may be expected, if the outward 
 form of such ordinances be attempted after the authority to 
 minister in them has been taken away ; yet such distortions 
 are of gradual growth ; deformities resulting from constitu- 
 tional ailments do not develop in a day ; we may with reason, 
 therefore, look for the closest imitation of the true form of 
 baptism, as indeed of any other ordinance instituted by 
 Christ, in the period immediately following His personal 
 
 e Mark i, 4, 5. 
 J John iii, 23. 
 g Acts viii, 26-39 
 h See Note 3. 
 
ART. 4.] MODE OF BAPTISM. 143 
 
 ministry, and that of His apostles. Then, as the darkness 
 of unbelief deepened, the authority given of Christ having 
 been taken from the earth with His martyred servants, many 
 innovations appeared, dignitaries of the various churches 
 becoming a law unto themselves and to their adherents. 
 Early in the third century, the Bishop of Carthage decided 
 that persons of weak health might be acceptably baptized 
 by sprinkling; and with the license thus given, the true 
 form of baptism gradually.fell into disfavor, and unauthor- 
 ized practices devised by man took its place. 
 
 8. Baptism Among the Nephites was performed by immer- 
 sion only. The wide extent to which baptism was preached 
 and practised among the people from Lehi to Moroni has 
 been already shown. When the Savior appeared to His peo- 
 ple on this hemisphere, He gave them very explicit instruc- 
 tions as to the method of procedure in administering the 
 ordinance. These are his words: — "Verily I say unto you, 
 that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and 
 desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye 
 baptize them : behold, ye shall go down and stand in the 
 water, and in my name shall ye baptize them, and now 
 behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them 
 by name, saying, Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, 
 I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost: Amen And then shall ye immerse 
 them in the water, and come forth again out of the water."* 
 
 9. Modern Baptism, as prescribed by revelation, is after 
 the same pattern. The first baptisms in the present dis- 
 pensation were those of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, 
 who baptized each other according to the directions of the 
 heavenly messenger from whom they had received authority 
 to administer in this holy ordinance, and who was none 
 other than John the Baptist of a former dispensation, the 
 
 i III Nephi xi, 23-27. 
 
144 > THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VI. 
 
 forerunner of the Messiah. Joseph Smith thus describes 
 the event: — "Accordingly we went and were baptized; I 
 baptized him [Oliver Cowdery] first, and afterwards he 
 baptized me. * * * Immediately on our coming up 
 out of the water after we had been baptized, we experienced 
 great and glorious blessings." 
 
 10. In a revelation concerning Church government, 
 dated April, 1830, the Lord prescribed the exact form of 
 baptism, as He desires the ordinance administered in the 
 present dispensation. He said: "Baptism is to be admin- 
 istered in the following manner unto all those who repent : — 
 The person who is called of God and has authority from 
 Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with 
 the person who has presented him or herself for baptism, 
 and shall say, calling him or her by name — Having been 
 commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 
 Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come 
 forth again out of the water.' v 
 
 11. The Lord would not have prescribed the words of 
 this ceremony did He not desire them used, and therefore 
 elders and priests of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- 
 day Saints have no personal authority to change the form 
 given of God, by additions, omissions, or alterations of any 
 kind. 
 
 BAPTISM AND "RE-BAPTISM." 
 
 12. A Repetition of the Baptismal Ordinance on the 
 same individual is allowable under certain specific condi- 
 tions. Thus, if one, having entered the Church by baptism, 
 withdraws from it, or is excommunicated therefrom, and 
 afterwards repents and desires to regain his standing in the 
 Church, he can do so only through baptism. However, 
 
 ,;' Doc. and Co v. xx, 72-74. 
 
ART. 4.] BAPTISM AND "EE-BAPTISM." 145 
 
 such is a repetition of the initiatory ordinance as previously 
 administered. There is no ordinance of "re-baptism" in the 
 Church distinct in nature, form or purpose, from other 
 baptism ; and, therefore, in administering baptism to a subject 
 who has been formerly baptized, the form of the ceremony 
 is exactly the same as in first baptisms. The expres- 
 sions, "I re-baptize you," in place of "I baptize you," and 
 the additions "for the renewal of your covenants," or "for 
 the remission of your sins," though such have been used by 
 officiating elders and priests of the Church, are not author- 
 ized. The dictates of reason unite with the voice of the 
 presiding authorities of the Church, in discountenancing 
 any erratic departures from the course prescribed by the 
 Lord; changes in ceremonies given by authority, can be 
 effected only by authority, and we must look for direction 
 in these matters to those who hold the keys of power on 
 earth. 
 
 13. A "re-baptism," that is, a repetition of the simple 
 ordinance as at first performed, may be allowed under par- 
 ticular circumstances, which seemingly warrant this extra- 
 ordinary step. Thus, in the early days of the Church in 
 Utah, its members having come hither through much 
 tribulation, long and toilsome journeyings, accompanied in 
 many instances by prolonged suspension of Church gather- 
 ings and other formal religious observances, it was wisely 
 suggested by President Young that the members of the 
 Church should renew the witness of their allegiance to the 
 cause of God, by each one seeking baptism. Then, as 
 other companies of immigrants continued to arrive, the 
 same conditions of long travel and rough experience ap- 
 plying in their cases, and further, as many of them hailed 
 from foreign branches of the Church still incompletely 
 organized, through which circumstances the actual standing 
 
 of the members could not be readily proved, the same rite 
 ii 
 
146 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VII. 
 
 of a second baptism was allowed to them. However, it was 
 never intended that such a practice should become general ; 
 far less that it should be established as a rule of action in 
 the Church. The Latter-day Saints do not profess to be 
 Ana-baptists. 
 
 14. "Re-baptisms" Recorded in Scripture are very few; 
 and in every instance, the existence of special circumstances 
 justifying the action, are readily seen. Thus, we read of 
 Paul baptizing certain professed disciples at Ephesus, 
 though they had already been baptized after the manner of 
 John's baptism. k But in this case, the apostle was evidently, 
 and with good reason, suspicious that the baptism of which 
 these spoke had been performed by unauthorized hands, or 
 at least without the proper preliminary education of the 
 candidates ; for when he tested the efficacy of their baptism 
 by asking "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye be- 
 lieved?" they answered him, "We have not so much as 
 heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." Then asked he 
 in surprise, "Unto what then were ye baptized?" and they 
 replied, "Unto John's baptism." But Paul knew, as we 
 know, that John preached the baptism of repentance by 
 water, but always declared that such was but a preliminary 
 to the greater baptism by fire, which Christ should bring. 
 Therefore, in view of such unsatisfactory evidence concern- 
 ing the validity of their baptism, Paul had baptism in 
 the name of the Lord Jesus administered unto these 
 twelve devout Ephesians, after which he laid his hands upon 
 them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 
 
 15. The baptism instituted by Christ among the 
 Nephites,* was very largely a "rebaptism;" for as we have 
 already seen, the doctrine of baptism had been taught and 
 practiced among the people from the time of Lehi;- and 
 
 k Acts xix, 1 -6. 
 
 I III Nephi xi, 21-28. 
 
ART. 3.] BAPTISM AND "RE-BAPTISM." 14? 
 
 surely, Nephi, the first to whom the Savior gave authority 
 to baptize after His departure, had been previously bap- 
 tized, for he and his co-laborers in the ministry had been 
 most zealous in declaring the necessity of baptism." 1 Yet 
 in this case also, there had probably arisen much impro- 
 priety in the manner, and perhaps in the spirit, of adminis- 
 tering the ordinance; for the Savior in giving minute 
 directions concerning the form of baptism, reproved them 
 for the spirit of contention and disputation that had 
 previously existed among them regarding the ordinance. n 
 Therefore, the baptism of these people was made valid by 
 .an authoritative administration, after the manner prescribed 
 of God. 
 
 16. Incidentally, our attention is arrested by the fact that 
 in these cases of re-baptism among the Nephites, the same 
 ritual was used as in first baptism, and this by explicit in- 
 structions of the Lord, coupled with an impressive warning 
 against disputation. Why should the priests in this day 
 seek to alter the form to suit the case of a candidate who 
 has formerly been baptized? 
 
 17. Repeated Baptisms of the same Person are not sanc- 
 tioned in the Church. It is easy to fall into the error of 
 believing that baptism offers a ready means of gaining for- 
 giveness of sins however oft repeated. Such a belief tends 
 rather to excuse than to prevent sin, inasmuch as the hurt- 
 ful effects seem to be so easily averted. Neither the written 
 law of God, nor the instructions of His living Priesthood, 
 designate baptism as a means of securing forgiveness by 
 those who are already within the fold of Christ. Unto 
 such, forgiveness of all sin, if not unto death, has been 
 promised on confession, and repentance with full purpose 
 of heart ; of them a repetition of the baptismal rite has not 
 
 m III Nephi vii, 23-26, etc. 
 n III Nephi xi, 27-30. 
 
148 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VII. 
 
 been required; and, were subjects of this class repeatedly 
 baptized, unto them remission of sins would in no wise 
 come, except they repent most sincerely. The frailties of 
 mortality, and our proneness to sin, lead us continually into 
 error; but if we covenant with the Lord at the waters of 
 baptism, and thereafter seek to observe His law, He is 
 merciful to pardon our little transgressions, through re- 
 pentance sincere and true; and without such repentance, 
 baptism, however oft repeated, would avail us nothing. 
 
 BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 18. Baptism Required of All: — The universal applica- 
 bility of the law of baptism has been already dwelt upon. 
 Compliance with the ordinance has been shown to be essential 
 to salvation, and this condition applies to all mankind. 
 Nowhere in scripture is a distinction made in this regard 
 between the living and the dead. The dead are those who 
 have lived in mortality upon earth ; the living are mortals 
 who yet will pass through the ordained change which we 
 call death. All are children of the same Father, all to be 
 judged and rewarded or punished by the same unerring 
 justice, with the same interpositions of benignant mercy. 
 Christ's atoning sacrifice was offered, not alone for the few 
 who lived upon the earth while He was in the flesh, nor for 
 those who were to be born in mortality after His death, but 
 for all inhabitants of earth then past, present, and future. 
 He was ordained of the Father to be a judge of both quick 
 and dead; p He is Lord alike of living and dead, 9 as men 
 speak of dead and living, though all are to be placed in the 
 same position before Him ; there will be but a single class, 
 for all live unto Him. r 
 
 19. The Gospel yet Unknown to Many: — Of the multi- 
 
 p Acts x, 42; II Tim. iv, 1 ; I Peter iv, 5. 
 q Rom xiv, 9. 
 r Luke xx, 36, 38. 
 
ART. 4.] BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD. 149 
 
 tucles of human beings who have existed on the earth, but 
 few have heard, and fewer have obeyed, the law of the gos- 
 pel. In the course of the world's history, there have been 
 long periods of spiritual darkness, when the gospel was not 
 preached upon the earth; when there was no authorized 
 representative of the Lord officiating in the saving ordinan- 
 ces of the kingdom. Such a condition has^ never 
 existed except as the result of the unbelief and waywardness 
 of the people. When mankind have persistently trodden 
 the pearls of truth into the mire, and have sought to slay 
 and rend the bearers of the jewels, in justice not more than 
 in mercy, these treasures of heaven have been taken away, 
 until a more appreciative posterity could be raised up. It 
 may very properly be asked, What provisions are made in the 
 economy of Grod for the eventual salvation of those who 
 have thus neglected the requirements of the Word, and for 
 those who have never heard the gospel tidings? 
 
 20. According to sectarian dogmas which have prevailed 
 among many so-called Christian sects during the obscurity 
 of the spiritual night, and which are yet zealously promul- 
 gated, never-ending punishment or interminable bliss, un- 
 changing in kind or degree, will be the lot of every soul ; 
 the award being made according to the condition of the 
 spirit at the time of bodily death; a life of sin being thus 
 entirely nullified by a death-bed repentance ; and an honor- 
 able career, if unmarked by ceremonies of the established 
 sects, being followed by the tortures of hell without the 
 hope of relief. Such a belief must rank with the dread 
 heresy which proclaims the condemnation of innocent babes 
 who have not been sprinkled by man's assumed authority. 
 
 21. It is blasphemous to thus attribute caprice and vin- 
 dictiveness to the Divine nature. In the justice of God, no 
 soul will be condemned under any law which has not been 
 made known unto him. It is true, eternal punishment has 
 
150 THE ARTICLES OP FAITH. [LECT. VII. 
 
 been decreed as the lot of the wicked ; but the true meaning 
 of this terrible expression has been given by the Lord Him- 
 self: 8 eternal punishment is God's punishment; endless 
 punishment is God's punishment, for "Endless" and 
 "Eternal" are among His names, and the words are descrip- 
 tive of His attributes. No soul will be kept in prison or 
 continued in torment beyond the time requisite to work the 
 needed reformation and to vindicate justice, for which ends 
 alone punishment is imposed. And no one will be per- 
 mitted to enter any kingdom of glory to which he is not 
 entitled through obedience to law. 
 
 22. The Gospel to be Preached to the Dead: — It is plain, 
 then, that the gospel must be proclaimed in the spirit world ; 
 and that such work is provided for, the scriptures abun- 
 dantly prove. Peter, describing the mission of his Kedeemer, 
 thus declares this truth: — "For this cause was the gos- 
 pel preached also to them that are dead, that they might 
 be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according 
 to God in the spirit."* The inauguration of this work 
 among the dead was effected by Christ in the interval 
 between His death and resurrection. While His body lay in 
 the tomb, His spirit was ministering to the spirits of the 
 departed: — "By which also he went and preached unto the 
 spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient when 
 once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of 
 Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, 
 eight souls were saved by water."" 
 
 23. Other scriptures sustain the position, that while in a 
 disembodied state, Christ did not go to the place usually 
 termed Heaven, — the abode of His Father ; but was laboring 
 among the dead, who greatly needed His ministry. One of 
 
 s See page 63: Doc. and Cov. xix, 10-12. 
 t I Peter iv, 6. 
 u I Peter iii, 18-20. 
 
ART. 4.] BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD. 151 
 
 the malefactors who suffered crucifixion by His side, through 
 humility, won from the dying Savior the promise, "Today 
 shalt thou be with me in Paradise." 1 ' Yet, three days after- 
 ward, the Lord, then a resurrected Being, declared to the 
 sorrowing Magdalene, "I have not yet ascended to my 
 Father. ' ,M? 
 
 24. If it was deemed proper and just that the gospel be 
 carried to the spirits who were disobedient in the days of 
 Noah, is it not reasonable to conclude that like opportunities 
 will be placed within the reach of others who have rejected the 
 word at different times? For the same spirit of neglect and 
 disobedience which characterized the time of Noah, has ever 
 existed. x And further, if, in the plan of God, provisions be 
 made for the redemption of the wilfully disobedient, of 
 those who actually spurn the truth, can we believe that the 
 still greater multitudes of spirits who have never heard the 
 gospel, are to be left in punishment eternally? No ; God has 
 decreed that even the heathen nations, and those that knew 
 no law, shall be redeemed. 2 ' The good gifts of the Father 
 are not confined to this sphere of action, but will be distri- 
 buted in justice throughout eternity. Upon all who reject 
 the word of God in this life will fall the penalties provided 
 for such act ; but after the debt has been paid, the prison 
 doors will be opened, and the spirits once confined in suffer- 
 ing, now chastened and clean, will come forth to partake of 
 the glory provided for their class. 
 
 25. Christ's Work among the Dead was Foretold:— Cen- 
 turies before Christ came in the flesh, the prophets rejoiced 
 in the knowledge that through Him would salvation be car- 
 ried to the dead, as well as to the living. Speaking of the 
 punishment to be brought upon the proud and haughty of 
 
 v Luke xxiii, 39-43. 
 
 to John xx, 17. 
 
 x Luke xvii, 26. 
 
 y Doc. and Cov. xlv, 54. 
 
152 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VII. 
 
 the earth, Isaiah declares: "And they shall be gathered 
 together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and 
 shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall 
 they be visited." 2 The same great prophet thus testifies 
 concerning the work of the coming Eedeemer; He is "to 
 open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the 
 prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison 
 house."" And David, singing to the music of inspiration 
 concerning the redemption from the grave, exclaims: 
 "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my 
 flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my 
 soul in hell ; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see 
 corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life ; in thy 
 presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleas- 
 ures for evermore." 6 
 
 26. Work of the Living for the Dead: — The redemption 
 of the dead will be effected in strict accordance with the 
 law of God, which is written in justice, and framed in 
 mercy. It is alike impossible for any spirit, in the flesh or 
 disembodied, to obtain even the promise of eternal glory, 
 except on condition of obedience to the laws and ordinances 
 of the gospel. And, as baptism is essential to the salvation 
 of the living, it is likewise indispensable to the redemption 
 of the dead. This was known by the Saints of old, and 
 hence the doctrine of baptism for the dead was taught 
 among them. In an epistle addressed to the Saints at 
 Corinlh, Paul expounded the principles of the resurrection, 
 whereby the bodies of the dead are to be brought forth 
 from the graves. "Christ the first fruits, and afterward 
 they that are Christ's," and as proof that this doctrine of 
 the resurrection was included in the gospel as they had 
 
 z Isa. xxiv, 22. 
 a Isa. xlii, 6-7. 
 b Psa. xvi, 9-11. 
 
ART. 3.] BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD. 153 
 
 received and professed it, the apostle asks: "Else what 
 shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead 
 rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" 
 These words are unambiguous, and the fact that they are 
 presented without explanation or comment, argues that the 
 principle of baptism for the dead was understood among the 
 people to whom the letter was addressed. 
 
 27. The necessity of vicarious work is here shown, — the 
 living laboring in behalf of the dead ; the children doing 
 for their progenitors what is beyond the power of the latter 
 to do for themselves. Many and various are the interpreta- 
 tions rendered by erring human wisdom, on this plain 
 statement of Paul's; yet the simple and earnest seeker after 
 truth finds little difficulty in comprehending the meaning. 
 In words which form the closing sentences of the Old 
 Testament, the prophet Malachi predicted the great work to 
 be carried on in behalf of the dead during the latter days : 
 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the 
 coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And 
 he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and 
 the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and 
 smite the earth with a curse. " d It is a current belief among 
 many Bible students, that this prophecy had reference to 
 the birth and ministry of John the Baptist, 6 upon whom 
 indeed rested and remained the spirit and power of Elias, 
 as the angel had fortold; 7 but we have no record of Elijah 
 ministering unto John; and moreover the results of the 
 latter's ministry warrant no conclusion that in him did the 
 prophecy find its full realization. 
 
 28. We must therefore look to a later date in the world's 
 history for a fulfilment of Malachi's prediction. On the 
 
 c I Cor. xv 29. 
 
 d Mai. iv, 5-6. 
 
 e Matt, xi, 14; xvii, 11; Mark ix, 11; Luke i, 17. 
 
 / Luke i. 17; Doc. and Cov. xxvii, 7. 
 
154 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VII. 
 
 21st of September, 1823, Joseph Smith 9 received ' a visita- 
 tion of a heavenly being who announced himself as Moroni, 
 sent from the presence of God. In the course of his in- 
 structions to the chosen youth, this heavenly personage 
 quoted the prophecy of Malachi, already referred to, but in 
 language slightly different from, and certainly more ex- 
 pressive than, that appearing in the ordinary translation of 
 the scriptures; the angel's version is as follows: "For 
 behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all 
 the proud, yea and all that do wickedly, shall burn as 
 stubble, for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord 
 of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 
 Behold I will reveal unto you the Priesthood by the hand of 
 Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and 
 dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts 
 of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the 
 hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers ; if it were 
 not so the whole earth would be utterly wasted at His 
 coming.'" 1 
 
 29. Tn a glorious manifestation to Joseph Smith and 
 Oliver Cowdery, given in the Kirtland Temple, April 3, 
 1836, there appeared unto them Elijah the prophet, who 
 was taken to heaven without tasting death; he declared 
 unto them: "Behold, the time has fully come which was 
 spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he 
 (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of 
 the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the 
 children and the children to the fathers, lest the whole 
 earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this 
 dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this 
 ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord 
 is near, even at the doors."* 
 
 fSee page 10. 
 Compare verses 1, 5, and 6, Mai. iv. 
 i Doc. and Cov. ex, 13-16. 
 
ART. 4.] BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD. 155 
 
 30. The Fathers and the Children Mutually Dependent: — 
 
 One of the great principles underlying the doctrine of salva- 
 tion for the dead is that of the mutual dependence of the 
 fathers and the children. As the Prophet Joseph taught the 
 Saints/ but for the establishment of a welding link between 
 the departed fathers and the living children, the earth 
 would be smitten with a curse. The plan of God provides 
 that neither the children nor the fathers can alone be made 
 perfect; and the necessary union is effected through 
 baptism and associated ordinances for the dead. The man- 
 ner in which the hearts of the children and those of the 
 fathers, are turned toward one another is made plain 
 through these scriptures. As the children learn that with- 
 out the aid of their progenitors they cannot attain per- 
 fection, assuredly will their hearts be opened, their faith 
 will be kindled, and good works will be attempted, for the 
 redemption of their dead ; and the departed, learning from 
 the ministers of the gospel laboring among them, that they 
 must depend upon their children as vicarious saviors, will 
 seek to sustain their still mortal representatives with faith 
 and prayer for the perfecting of those labors of love. 
 
 31. And love, which is a power in itself, is thus intensi- 
 fied. Aside from the emotions which are stirred within the 
 soul by the presence of the Divine, there are few feelings 
 stronger and purer than the love for kindred. Heaven 
 would not be all we wish were family love unknown there.* 1 
 Affection there will differ from its earthly type, in being 
 deeper, stronger, purer. And thus in the mercy of God, 
 His erring, mortal children, who have taken upon themselves 
 the name of Christ on earth, may become in a limited 
 sphere, each a savior in the house of his fathers, and that 
 too by vicarious labor and sacrifice, rendered in humility, 
 
 .;' Doc. and Cov. cxxviii, 18; see also this entire section and sec. cxxvii. 
 k See Note 4. 
 
156 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VII. 
 
 and, as represented in the baptismal ordinance, typical of the 
 death, burial, and resurrection of the Redeemer. 
 
 32. The Labor for the Dead is Two-Fold :— That performed 
 on earth would be incomplete, but for its supplement and 
 counterpart beyond the vail. Missionary labor is in pro- 
 gress there, whereby the tidings of the gospel are carried to 
 the departed spirits, who thus learn of the work done in 
 their behalf on earth. What glorious possibilities concerning 
 the purposes of God, are thus presented to our view! 
 How the mercy of G-od is magnified by these evidences of His 
 love ! How often do we behold friends and loved ones, whom 
 we count among earth's fairest and best, stricken down by 
 the shafts of death, seemingly in spite of the power of faith 
 and the ministrations of the Priesthood of God! Yet who 
 of us can tell but that the spirits so called away are needed 
 in the labor of redemption beyond, preaching perhaps the 
 gospel to the spirits of their forefathers, while others of the 
 same family are officiating in a similar behalf on earth? 
 
 33. As far as the Divine will has been revealed, it 
 requires that the outward ordinances, such as baptism in 
 water, the laying on of hands for the bestowal of the Holy 
 Ghost, and the higher endowments that follow, be 
 attended to on earth, a proper representative in the flesh 
 acting as proxy for the dead. The results of such labors 
 are to be left with God. It is not to be supposed that by 
 these ordinances the departed are in any way compelled to 
 accept the obligation, nor that they are in the least hindered 
 in the exercise of their free agency. They will accept or 
 reject, according to their condition of humility or hostility 
 in respect to things divine ; but the work so done for them 
 on earth will be of avail when wholesome argument and 
 reason have shown them their true position. 
 
AKT. 4.] TEMPLES. 157 
 
 TEMPLES. 
 
 34. Temples or other sacred places are required for the 
 performance of these holy ordinances. Whenever an 
 organization of the priesthood has existed on earth, the 
 Lord has required the preparation of places suited to His 
 use, where the rites of His Church may be performed. It 
 is but proper that such a structure should be the result of 
 the people's best efforts, inasmuch as it is made by them an 
 off ering unto the Lord. In every age of the world, the chosen 
 people have been a temple-building people. Shortly after 
 Israel's deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, the Lord 
 called upon the people to construct a sanctuary to His name, 
 the plan of which He minutely explained. Though this 
 was but a tent, it was elaborately furnished and appointed ; 
 the choicest possessions of the people being used in its con- 
 struction. l And the Lord accepted this offering of His 
 wandering people, by manifesting His glory therein, and 
 there revealing Himself. m When the people had settled in 
 the promised land, the Tabernacle of the congregation was 
 given a more permanent resting place, n yet it still was hon- 
 ored for its sacred purpose, until superseded by the Temple 
 of Solomon as the sanctuary of the Lord. 
 
 35. This temple, one of the most gorgeous structures 
 ever erected by man for sacred service, was dedicated with 
 imposing ceremonies; but its splendor was of short duration ; 
 for, within less than forty years from the time of its comple- 
 tion, its glory declined, and finally it fell a prey to the flames. 
 A partial restoration of the temple was made after the Jews 
 returned from their captivity; and through the friendly 
 influence of Cyrus and Darius, the temple of Zerubbabel 
 
 l Exo. xxv ; xxxv, 22. 
 m Exo. xl, 34-38. 
 n Josh, xviii, 1. 
 
158 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VII. 
 
 was dedicated. That the Lord accepted this effort of His 
 people to maintain a sanctuary to His name, is fully shown 
 by the spirit that actuated its officers, among whom were 
 .Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi. This temple remained 
 standing for nearly five centuries, when, but a few years 
 before the birth of the Savior, a restoration of the edifice 
 was begun by wicked Herod the Great, and the term "Tem- 
 ple of Herod" passed into history.^ The vail of this temple 
 was rent at the time of the crucifixion, and in the year 70 
 A. D. the destruction of the building was accomplished 
 by Titus. 
 
 36. Modern Temples: — From that time until the present 
 dispensation, no other temples have been reared on the 
 eastern continent. It is true, imposing edifices have been 
 erected for the purposes of worship ; but a colossal structure 
 does not necessarly constitute a temple. A temple is more 
 than a church-building, a meeting-house, a tabernacle, or a 
 synagogue; it is a place specially prepared by dedication 
 unto the Lord, and marked by His acceptance, for the per- 
 forming of the ordinances pertaining to the Holy Priest- 
 hood. The Latter-day Saints, true to the characteristics of 
 the chosen of God, r have been from the first a temple-build- 
 ing people. Only a few months after the organization of 
 the Church in the present dispensation, the Lord made ref- 
 erence to a temple which was to be built. 8 In July, 1831, 
 the Lord designated a spot in Independence, Mo., as the 
 site of a future temple;* but the work of construction 
 thereon has not yet been consummated, as is likewise the 
 case with the temple site at Far West, on which the 
 •corner-stone was laid July 4, 1838. 
 
 o I Kings vi; viii. 
 
 p Ezra i, iii, vi. 
 
 /• Doc. and Cov. cxxiv, 39. 
 
 s Doc. and Cov. xxxvi, 8. 
 
 t Doc. and Cov. lvii, 3. 
 
ART. 4. J NOTES. 159 
 
 37. There have been already erected and dedicated in the 
 present dispensation, six temples, in each of which sacred 
 ordinances have been administered — these comprise the tem- 
 ples at Kirtland, Ohio; Nauvoo, 111.; St. George, Logan, 
 Manti, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The temples at Kirtland 
 and Nauvoo have been abandoned, as the Saints were driven 
 westward before the fury of wicked mobs ; and the Nauvoo 
 temple has been demolished. The Utah temples are still 
 preserved to the service of God; and the magnitude and 
 grandeur of the work accomplished within their sacred pre- 
 cincts, tell of the gracious acceptance by the Lord, to whose 
 name they have been reared, and the continuance of Divine 
 favor toward them and the people. In these holy places, the 
 work of redeeming the dead and endowing the living is in 
 uninterrupted progress. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Usage of the Term "Baptize" in Ancient Times:— The following 
 instances show the ordinary meaning attached to the Greek term from which 
 our word "baptize" is derived. In all, the idea of immersion is plainly intended: 
 —(For these and other examples, see Millennial Star, Vol. XXI, p. 687-8.) 
 
 Polybius, a writer of history, who flourished during the second century before 
 Christ, uses the following expressions:— In describing a naval conflict between 
 the Carthaginian and Roman fleets off the shores of Sicily he says, "If any were 
 hard pressed by the enemy they withdrew safely back, on account of their fast 
 sailing into the open sea: and then turning round and falling on those of their 
 pursuers who were in advance, they gave them frequent blows and 'baptized' 
 many of their vessels."— Book I, ch. 51. 
 
 The same writer thus refers to the passage of the Roman soldiers through 
 the river Trebia, "When the passage of the river Trebia came on, which had 
 risen above its usual current, on account of the rain which had fallen, the 
 infantry with 'difficulty, crossed over, being 'baptized' up to the chest."— Book 
 III, ch. 72. 
 
 Describing a catastrophe which befel the Roman ships at Syracuse, Polybius 
 states: "Some were upset, but the greater number, their prow being thrown 
 <lown from a height, were 'baptized' and became full of sea." 
 
 Strabo who lived during the time of Christ, used the term "baptized" in the 
 same sense. He thus describes an instrument used in fishing:— "And if it fall 
 into the sea it is not lost: for it is compacted of oak and pine wood: so that even 
 
160 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VII. 
 
 if the oak is 'baptized' by its weight, the remaining -part floats and is easily 
 recovered." 
 
 Strabo refers to the buoyancy of certain saline waters thus:— "These 
 have the taste of salt water, but a different nature, for even persons who cannot 
 swim are not liable to be 'baptized' in them,«but float like logs on the surface." 
 
 Referring to a salt spring in Tatta, the same writer says, "So easily does the 
 water form a crust round everything 'baptized' into it that if persons let down a 
 circlet of rushes they will draw up wreaths of salt." 
 
 Speaking of a species of pitch from the lake Sirbonis, Strabo says:— "It will 
 float on the surface owing to the nature of the water, which, as we said is such 
 as to render swimming unnecessary, and such that one who walks upon it is not 
 'baptized.' *' 
 
 Dio Cassius, speaking of the effects of a severe storm near Rome says, "The 
 vessels which were in the Tiber, which were lying at anchor near the city, and 
 to the river's mouth, were 'baptized.' " 
 
 The same author thus alludes to the fate of some of Curio's soldiers while 
 fleeting before the forces of Juba:— "Not a few of these fugitives perished, some 
 being knocked down in their attempts to get on board the vessels, and others, 
 even when in the boats, being 'baptized' through their weight." , 
 
 Alluding to the fate of the Byzantians who endeavored to escape the siege by 
 taking to the sea, he says, "Some of those, from the extreme violence of the 
 wind, were 'baptized.' " 
 
 2. Baptism Among the Greeks:— "The native Greeks must understand 
 their own language better than foreigners, and they have always understood the 
 word baptism to signify dipping; and therefore from their first embracing of 
 Christianity to this day they have always baptized, and do yet baptize, by im- 
 mersion. ' '—Robinson. 
 
 3. Early Form of Christian Baptism :— History furnishes ample proof 
 that in the first century after the death of Christ, baptism was administered 
 solely by immersion. Tertullian thus refers to the immersion ceremony com- 
 mon in his day, "There is no difference whether one is washed in a sea or in a 
 pool, in a river or in a fountain, in a lake or in a channel: nor is there any 
 difference between those whom John dipped in Jordan, and -those whom Peter 
 dipped in the Tiber. * * * We are immersed in the water." 
 
 The following are but a few of the instances on record. (See Millennial 
 Star, Vol. XXI, p. 769-770.) : 
 
 Justin Martyr describes the ceremony as practiced by himself. First describ- 
 ing the preparatory examination of the candidate, he proceeds, "After that they 
 are led- by us to where there is water,. and are born again in that kind of new birth 
 by which we ourselves were born again. For upon the name God, the Father 
 and Lord of all, and of Jesus Christ, our Savior, and of the Holy Spirit, the 
 immersion in water is performed, because the Christ hath also said, 'Except a 
 man be-born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.' " 
 
 Bishop Bennet says concerning the practices of the early Christians :— "They 
 led them into the water and laid them down in the water as a man is laid in a 
 grave; and then they said those words '1 baptize (or wash) thee in the name of 
 the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;' then they raised them up again, and clean 
 garments were put on them: from whence came the phrases of being baptized 
 into Christ's death, of being buried with Him by baptism into death, of our 
 
AKT. -L] NOTES. 161 
 
 toeing risen with Christ, and of our putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, of putting 
 off the old man, and putting on the new." 
 
 "That the apostles immersed whom they baptized there is no doubt. * * * 
 And that the ancient church followed their example is very clearly evinced by 
 innumerable testimonies of the fathers. "— Vossius. 
 
 "Burying as it were the person baptized in the water, and raising him out 
 again, without question was anciently the more usual method." — Archbishop 
 Becker. 
 
 " 'Immersion' was the usual method in which baptism was administered in 
 the early Church. * * * Immersion was undoubtedly a common mode of 
 administering baptism, and was not discontinued when infant baptism prevailed. 
 * * * Sprinkling gradually took the place of immersion without any formal 
 renunciation of' the latter."— Canon Farrar. 
 
 4. The Fathers and the Children:— "The revelation in our day of the doc- 
 trine of baptism for the dead may be said to have constituted a new epoch in the 
 history of Our race. At the time the Prophet Joseph received that revelation, the 
 belief was general in Christendom that at death the destiny of the soul was fixed 
 irrevocably and for all eternity. If not rewarded with endless happiness, then 
 endless torment was its doom, beyond all possibility of redemption or change. 
 The horrible and monstrous doctrine, so much at variance with every element of 
 Divine justice, was generally believed, that the heathen nations who had died 
 without a knowledge of the true God, and the redemption wrought out by His 
 Son, Jesus Christ, would all be eternally consigned to hell. The belief upon this 
 point is illustrated by the reply of a certain Bishop to the inquiry of the king of 
 the Franks, when the king was about to submit to baptism at the hands of the 
 bishop. The king was a heathen, but had concluded to accept the form of relig- 
 ion then called Christianity. The thought occurred to him that if baptism were, 
 necessary for his salvation, what had become of his dear ancestors who had died 
 heathens? This thought framed itself into an inquiry which he addressed to the 
 bishop. The prelate, less politic than many of his sect, bluntly told him they 
 had gone to hell. "Then by Thor, I will go there with them," said the king, and 
 thereupon refused to accept baptism or become a Christian."— Geo. Q. Cannon's 
 Life of Joseph Smith, p. 510. 
 
 ia 
 
162 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VIII. 
 
 LECTURE VIII. 
 
 THE HOLY GHOST. 
 
 Article 4 :— We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel 
 are: * * * (4) Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 1. The Holy Ghost Promised: — John the Baptist, pro- 
 claiming in the wilderness repentance and baptism by water, 
 foretold a second higher baptism, which he characterized aa 
 being of fire and the Holy Ghost; this was to follow his 
 administration, a and was to be given by that Mightier One 
 whose shoes the Baptist considered himself unworthy to 
 bear. That the holder of this superior authority was none 
 other than the Christ is proved by John's solemn record: 
 —"Behold the Lamb of God * *" * This is he of whom 
 I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before 
 me * * * ^nd j k new hj m no t 5 but he that sent me 
 to baptize with water, the same said unto me : Upon whom 
 thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, 
 the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." 6 
 
 2. In declaring to Nicodemus the necessity of baptism, 
 the Savior did not stop with a reference to the watery birth 
 alone, that being incomplete without the quickening 
 influence of the Spirit; born of water and of the Spirit 
 is the necessary condition of him who is to gain ad- 
 mittance to the kingdom. Many of the scriptural passages 
 quoted in proof of the purpose and necessity of baptism, 
 show baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost to be closely 
 associated with the prescribed ordinance of immersion in 
 water. , 
 
 a Matt, iii, 2-3, 11; Mark i, 8; Luke iii, 16. 
 b John i, 29-33. 
 c John iii, 3-5. 
 
ART. 4.] THE HOLY GHOST. 103 
 
 3. Christ's instructions to His apostles comprise repeated 
 promises concerning the coming of the "Comforter," and 
 the "Spirit of Truth, " d by which expressive terms the Holy 
 Ghost is designated. In His last interview with the 
 apostles, at the termination of which He ascended into 
 heaven, the Lord repeated these assurances of a spiritual 
 baptism, which was then soon to take place/ The fulfilment 
 of this great prediction was realized at the succeeding Pen- 
 tecost, when the apostles, having assembled together, were 
 endowed with mighty power from heaven/ being filled with 
 the Holy Ghost so that they spake with other tongues as the 
 Spirit gave them . utterance. Among other manifestations 
 of this heavenly gift, may be mentioned the appearance of 
 flames of fire like unto tongues, which rested upon each of 
 them. The promise so miraculously fulfilled upon them- 
 selves was repeated by the apostles to those who sought 
 their instruction. Peter, addressing the Jews on that same 
 day, declared, on the condition of their acceptable repent- 
 ance and baptism, "ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
 Ghost. "* 
 
 4. Book of Mormon evidence is not less conclusive 
 regarding the Holy Spirit's visitation unto those who obey the 
 requirements of water baptism. ]N"ephi, Lehi's son, bore 
 solemn record of this truth, 71 as made known to him .by the 
 voice of God. And the words of the resurrected Savior to 
 the Nephites come in plainness indisputable, and 'with 
 authority not to be questioned, proclaiming the baptism of 
 fire and the Holy Ghost unto all those who obey the pre- 
 liminary requirements.' 
 
 d John xiv, 16-17, 26; xv, 26; xvi, 7, 13. 
 
 e Acts i, 5. 
 
 /Actsii, 1-4. 
 
 g Acts ii, 38. 
 
 h II Nephi xxxi, 8, 12-14, 17. 
 
 i III Nephi xi, 36; xii, 2. 
 
164 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VIII. 
 
 5. Unto the Saints in the dispensation of the fulness of 
 times, the same great promise has heen made. "I say unto 
 you again," spake, the Lord in addressing certain elders of 
 the Church, "that every soul that believeth on your words, 
 and is baptized by water for the remission of sins shall re- 
 ceive the Holy Ghost." 7 ' 
 
 6. Personality and Powers of the Holy Ghost: — The Holy 
 Ghost is associated with the Father and the Son in the God- 
 head. In the light of revelation, we are instructed as to the 
 distinct personality of the Holy Ghost. He is a Being 
 endowed with the attributes and powers of Deity, and not 
 a mere thing, force, or essence. The term Holy Ghost and 
 its common synonyms, Spirit of God, fc Spirit of the Lord, 
 or simply, Spirit/ Comforter," 1 and Spirit of Truth," occur 
 in the scriptures with plainly different meanings, referring 
 in some cases to the person of God, the Holy Ghost, and in 
 other instances to the power or authority of this great 
 Being. The context of such passages will show which of 
 these significations applies. 
 
 7. The Holy Ghost undoubtedly possesses personal 
 powers and affections; these attributes exist in Him in per- 
 fection. Thus, He teaches and guides, testifies of the 
 Father and the Son, p reproves for sin, 9 - speaks, commands, 
 and commissions,'' makes intercession for sinners, 8 is grieved/ 
 
 j Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv, 64. 
 k Matt, iii, 16; xii, 28; I Nephi xiii, 12. 
 
 I I Nephi iv, 6; xi, 8; Mos. xiii, 5; Acts ii. 4: viii, 29; x, 19; Rom. viii, 10, 26: I 
 Thess. v, 19. 
 
 m John xiv, 16-26; xv, 26. 
 
 n John xv, 26; xvi, 13. 
 
 o John xiv, 26; xvi. 13. 
 
 p John xv, 26. 
 
 ■q John xvi, 8. 
 
 r Acts x, 19; xiii, 2: Rev. ii, 7; I Nephi iv, 6: xi, 2-8. 
 
 s Rom, viii. 26. 
 
 t Eph. iv, 30. 
 
ART. 4.] THE HOLY GHOST. 165 
 
 searches and investigates," entices/ and knows all things. 7 * 
 These are not mere figurative expressions, but plain state- 
 ments of the attributes and characteristics of this great Per- 
 sonage. That the Holy Ghost is capable of manifesting 
 Himself in the true form and figure of God, after which 
 image man is shaped, is indicated by the wonderful inter- 
 view between the Spirit and Nephi, in which He revealed 
 Himself to the prophet, questioned him concerning his 
 desires and belief, instructed him in the things of God, speak- 
 ing face to face with the man. "I spake unto him," says 
 Xephi, "as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the 
 form of a man, yet nevertheless I knew that it was the 
 Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speak- 
 eth to another. " x However, the Holy Ghost does not pos- 
 sess a tangible body of flesh and bones, as do both the 
 Father and the Son, but is a personage of spirit. v 
 
 8. Much of the confusion existing in our human con- 
 ceptions concerning the nature of the Holy Ghost, arises 
 from the common failure to segregate our ideas of His per- 
 son and powers. Plainly, such expressions as being filled 
 with the Holy Ghost, 2 and the Spirit falling upon men, have 
 reference to the powers and influences which emanate from 
 God and which are characteristic of Him; for the Holy 
 Ghost may in this way operate simultaneously upon many 
 persons, even though they be widely separated ; whereas the 
 actual person of the Holy Ghost cannot be in more than one 
 place at a time. Yet we read, that through the power of the 
 Spirit, the Father and the Son operate in their creative acts 
 
 a I Cor. ii, 4-10. 
 
 v Mos. iii, 19. 
 
 w Alma vii, 13. 
 
 x I Nephi xi, 11. 
 
 y Doc. and Cov. cxxx, 22. 
 
 z Luke i, 15, 67; iv, 1; Acts vi, 3; xiii, 9; Alma xxxvi, 24; Doc, and Cov. cvii, 56. 
 
160 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VIII. 
 
 and in their general dealings with the human family." The 
 Holy Ghost may be regarded as the minister of the Godhead, 
 carrying into effect the decisions of the Supreme Council. 
 
 9. In the execution of these great purposes, the Holy 
 Ghost directs and controls the numerous forces of Nature, 
 of which indeed a few, and these perhaps of the minor 
 order, wonderful as even the least of them seems to man, 
 have thus far been made known to the human mind. 
 Gravitation, sound, heat, light, and the still more mys- 
 terious, seemingly supernatural power of electricity, are but 
 the common servants of the Holy Spirit in His operations. 
 No earnest thinker, no sincere investigator supposes that 
 he has yet learned of all the forces existing in and operat- 
 ing upon matter; indeed the observed phenomena of nature, 
 yet wholly inexplicable to him, far outnumber those for 
 which he has devised even a partial explanation. There are 
 powers and forces at the command of God, compared with 
 which, electricity, the most occult of all the physical 
 agencies controlled in any degree by man, is as the pack- 
 horse to the locomotive, the foot messenger to the telegraph, 
 the raft of logs to the ocean steamer. Man has scarcely 
 glanced at the enginery of creation ; and yet the few forces 
 known to him have brought about miracles and wonders, 
 which but for their actual realization would be beyond 
 belief. These mighty agencies, and the mightier ones still 
 to man unknown, and many perhaps, to the present con- 
 dition of the human mind unknowable, do not constitute 
 the Holy Ghost, but the mere means ordained to serve 
 Divine purposes. 
 
 10. Subtler, mightier, and more far-reaching still than 
 any or all of the physical forces of nature, are the powers 
 that operate upon conscious organisms, the means by which 
 
 a Gen. i, 2; Neh. ix, 30; Job xxvi, 13; Psalms civ, 30. Isa. xlii, 1; Acts x, 19; 
 I Nephi x. 19; Alma xii, 3: Doc. and Cov. cv, 36: xcvii, i: 
 
ART. 4.] THE HOLY GHOST. 167 
 
 the mind, the heart, the soul of man may be affected. In 
 our ignorance of the true nature of electric energy, we 
 speak of it as a fluid ; and so by analogy the forces through 
 which the mind is governed have been called spiritual 
 fluids. The true nature of these higher powers is unknown 
 to us, for the conditions of comparison and analogy, so 
 necessary to our frail human reasoning, are wanting; still 
 the effects are experienced by all. As the conducting 
 medium in an electric current is capable of conveying but 
 a limited current, the maximum strength depending upon 
 the resistance offered by the conductor ; and, as separate cir- 
 cuits of different degrees of conductivity may carry currents 
 of widely varying intensity; so human souls are of varied 
 capacity with respect to the diviner powers. But, as the 
 medium is purified, as the obstructions are removed, so the 
 resistance to the energy decreases, and the forces manifest 
 themselves with greater perfection. By analogous processes 
 of purification, may our spirits be made more susceptible to 
 the power of life, which is an emanation from the Spirit of 
 God. Therefore are we taught to pray by word and action 
 for a constantly increasing portion of the Spirit, that is, 
 the power of the Spirit, which is a measure of the favor of 
 God unto us. 
 
 11. The Office of the Holy Ghost in His ministrations 
 among men is very fully described in scripture. He is a 
 Teacher sent from the Father; 5 and unto those who are 
 entitled to His tuition He will reveal all things necessary for 
 the soul's advancement. Through the influences of the 
 Holy Spirit, the powers of the human mind may be quick- 
 ened and increased, so that things past may be brought to 
 remembrance. He will serve as a* guide in things divine 
 unto all who will obey Him, enlightening every man/ in 
 
 b John xiv, 26. 
 
 c Doc. and Cov, xlv, 57. 
 
 d Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv, 45-47. 
 
168 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VIII. 
 
 proportion to his humility and obedience; 6 unfolding the 
 mysteries of God/ as the knowledge thus revealed may tend 
 to spiritual growth; conveying knowledge from God to 
 man; 9 sanctifying those who have been cleansed through 
 obedience to the requirements of the gospel ; h manifesting 
 all things;* and bearing witness unto men concerning the 
 existence and infallibility of the Father and the Son. J 
 
 12. And not alone does the Holy Ghost bring to mind 
 the past, and explain the things of the present, but His 
 power is manifested likewise in prophecy concerning the 
 future; — "He shall show you things to come," declared the 
 Savior to the apostles in promising the advent of the Com- 
 forter. Adam, the first prophet of earth, under the influence 
 of the Holy Ghost "predicted whatsoever should befall his 
 posterity unto the latest generation. " fc 
 
 13. The power of the Holy Ghost then is the spirit of 
 prophecy and revelation ; His office is that of enlightenment 
 of the mind, quickening of the intellect, and sanctification 
 of the soul. 
 
 14. To Whom is the Holy Ghost given? Xot to all 
 indiscriminately. The Kedeemer declared to the apostles 
 of old, "I will pray to the Father and he shall give you 
 another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 
 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, 
 because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him.'" 
 Clearly, then, a certain condition of the candidate is re- 
 quisite before the Holy Ghost can be bestowed, that is to 
 say, before the person can receive a right to the company 
 
 e Doc. and Cov. cxxxvi, 33. 
 
 / 1 Nephi x, 19. 
 
 g Doc. and Cov. cxxi, 43. 
 
 h Alma xiii, 12. 
 
 t Doc and Cov. xviii, 18. 
 
 j John xv, 26; Acts v, 32; xx. 23; I Cor. ii, 11; xii, 3; III Nephi xi, 32. 
 
 k Doc. and Cov. cvii, 56. 
 
 I John xiv, 16, 17. 
 
ART. 4.] THE HOLY GHOST. 169 
 
 and ministrations of the Spirit. God grants the Holy Ghost 
 unto the obedient; and the bestowal of this gift follows 
 faith, repentance, and baptism by water. 
 
 15. The apostles of old promised the ministration of 
 the Holy Ghost unto those only who had received baptism 
 by water for the remission of sins ; m John the Baptist gave 
 assurances of the visitation of the Holy Ghost to those only, 
 who were baptized unto repentance.' 1 The instance of Paul's 
 rebaptizing the twelve disciples at Ephesus before he con- 
 ferred upon them the Holy Ghost, on account of a probable 
 lack of propriety or of authority in their first baptism, has 
 already been dwelt upon. We read of a remarkable mani- 
 festation of power among the people of Samaria, p to 
 whom Philip went and preached the Lord Jesus ; the people 
 with one accord accepted his testimony and sought baptism. 
 Then came unto them Peter and John, through whose 
 ministrations the Holy Ghost came upon the new converts, 
 whereas upon none of them had the Spirit previously fallen, 
 though all had been baptized. 
 
 16. The Holy Ghost dwells not in tabernacles unfit and 
 unworthy. Paul makes the sublime declaration that the 
 body of man when filled with the power of the Holy Ghost 
 becomes a temple of this Spirit; and the apostle points 
 out the terrible responsibility of defiling a structure sanc- 
 tified by so holy a presence. 3 Faith in God leads to repen- 
 tance of sin, this is followed by baptism in water for the 
 remission of sins, and this in turn by the bestowal of the 
 Holy Ghost, through whose power come sanctification and 
 the specific gifts of God. 
 
 17. An Exception to the Prescribed Order is shown in the 
 
 m Acts ii, 38. 
 
 n Matt, iii, 11: Mark i, 8. 
 
 o Acts xix, 1 -7. 
 
 p Acts viii, 5-8, 12, 14-17. 
 
 q I Cor. iii, 6. 
 
170 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VIII. 
 
 case of the devout Gentile, Cornelius, unto whom, together 
 with his family, came the Holy Ghost, with such power that 
 they spake with new tongues to the glorification of God, 
 and this before their baptism/ But sufficient reason for 
 this departure from the usual order is seen in the prejudice 
 that existed among the Jews toward other nations, which, 
 but for the Lord's direct instructions to Peter, would have 
 hindered, if indeed it did not prevent, the apostle from min- 
 istering unto the Gentiles; as it was? his act was loudly con- 
 demned by his own people ; but he answered their criticisms 
 with a recital of the lesson given him of God, and the un- 
 deniable evidence of the Divine will as shown in the recep- 
 tion of the Holy Ghost by Cornelius and his family be- 
 fore baptism. 
 
 18. And in another sense the Holy Ghost has frequently 
 o perated for good through persons that are unbaptizecL : 
 indeed, some measure of this power is given to all mankind ; 
 for, as seen already, the Holy Spirit is the power of intelli- 
 gence, of wise direction, of development, of life. Mani- 
 festation of the power of God, as made plain through the 
 operations of the Spirit, are seen in the triumphs of en- 
 nobling art, the discoveries of true science, and the events 
 of history ; with all of which the carnal mind may believe 
 that God takes no direct concern. .Not a truth has ever 
 been made the property of human kind^ except through the 
 power of that great Spirit who exists to do the bidding of 
 the Father and the Son. And yet t he actual companion .- 
 shi p of the Holy Ghost, the divinely-bestowed righ t to His 
 ministrations, the sanctifying baptism with fire, are given 
 as a permanent possession only to the faithful, repentant, 
 baptized candida te, for salvation; and with all such this 
 gift will abide, unless forfeited through transgression. 
 
 19. The Bestowal of the Holy Ghost is effected through 
 
 r Acts x. 
 
ART. 4.] THE HOLY GHOST. 171 
 
 the ordinance of an oral blessing, pronounced upon the 
 candidate by the proper authority of the Priesthood, ac- 
 companied by the imposition of hands by him or those 
 officiating. That this was the mode followed by the apostles 
 of old is evident from the Jewish scriptures; that it was 
 practised by the early Christian Fathers is proved by 
 history; that it was the acknowledged, method among the 
 Nephites is plainly shown by the Book of Mormon records ; 
 and for the same practice in the present dispensation 
 authority has come direct from heaven. 
 
 20. Among the instances recorded in the New Testa- 
 ment, we may mention the following : Peter and John con- 
 ferred the Holy Ghost upon Philip's converts at Samaria, as 
 already noted, and the ordinance was performed by prayer 
 and the laying on of hands. 8 Paul operated in the same 
 manner on the Ephesians whom he had caused to be bap- 
 tized; and "when he had laid his hands upon them, the 
 Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues 
 and prophesied."' Paul also refers to this ordinance in his 
 admonition to Timothy not to neglect the gift so be- 
 stowed." The same apostle, in enumerating the cardinal 
 principles and ordinances of the Church of Christ, includes 
 the laying on of hands as following baptism/ 
 
 21. Alma so invoked the power of the Holy Ghost in 
 behalf of his co-laborers : w — "He clapped his hands upon all 
 them who were with him. And behold, as he clapped his 
 hands upon them they were filled with the Holy Spirit." 
 The Savior gave authority to the twelve chosen Nephites, x 
 
 8 Acts viii, 14-17. Read the account of Simon, the magician, in the same 
 chapter. 
 
 t Acts xix, 2-6. 
 
 u II Tim. i, 6. 
 
 v Heb. vi, 1-2. 
 
 w Alma xxxi, 36. 
 
 x III Nephi xviii, 36, 37. 
 
172 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VIII; 
 
 by touching them one by one ; they were thus commissioned 
 to bestow the Holy Ghost. 
 
 22. In this dispensation, it has been made a duty of the 
 Priesthood "to confirm those who are baptized into the 
 Church by the laying on of hands for the baptism of fire 
 and the Holy Ghost. " y The Lord has promised that the 
 Holy Ghost shall follow these authoritative acts of His 
 servants. 2 The ceremony of laying on of hands for the 
 bestowal of the Holy Ghost is associated with that of con- 
 firmation in the Church. The officiating elder acting in 
 the name and by the authority of Jesus Christ, says, 
 "Receive ye the Holy Ghost;" and "7 confirm you a member 
 of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Even 
 these words are not prescribed, but their meaning should be 
 expressed in the ceremony; and to such may be added other 
 words of blessing and invocation as the Spirit of the Lord 
 may dictate to the officiating elder. This act completes 
 the outward form of the baptism so indispensable to salva- 
 tion — the birth of water and of the Spirit. 
 
 23. The authority to so bestow the Holy Ghost belongs 
 to the higher or Melchisedek Priesthood," whereas water- 
 baptism may be administered by a priest, officiating in the 
 ordinances of the lesser or Aaronic order of priesthood. b 
 This order of authority, as made known through revelation, 
 explains that while Philip had authority to administer the 
 ordinance of baptism to the converted Samaritans, others 
 who held the higher priesthood had to be sent to confer 
 upon them the Holy Ghost. c 
 
 24. Gifts of the Spirit: — As already pointed out, the 
 special office of the Holy Ghost is to enlighten and ennoble 
 
 y Doc. and Cov. xx, 41, 43. 
 
 z Doc. and Cov. xxxv, 6; xxxix, 6, 23; xlix, 11-14. 
 
 a Doc. and Cov. xx, 38-43. 
 
 h Doc. and Cov, xx, 46, 50. 
 
 c See Acts viii, 5-17. 
 
ART. 4.] THE HOLT GHOST. 173 
 
 the mind, to purify and sanctify the soul, to incite to good 
 works, and to reveal the things of God. But, beside these 
 general blessings, there are certain specific endowments 
 promised in connection with the gifts of the Holy Ghost. 
 Said the Savior, "These signs shall follow them that believe : 
 In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak 
 with new tongues ; they shall take up serpents ; and if they 
 drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them : they shall 
 lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. " d 
 
 25. These gifts of the Spirit are distributed in the wis- 
 dom of God for the exaltation of His children. Paul thus 
 discourses concerning them: "Now, concerning spiritual 
 gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. * * * 
 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. * * 
 * * But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every 
 man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the 
 word of wisdom ; to another the word of knowledge by the 
 same Spirit. To another faith by the same Spirit; to 
 another the gift of healing by the same Spirit. To another 
 the working of miracles ; to another prophecy ; to another 
 discerning of spirits; to another divers kind of tongues; to 
 another the interpretation of tongues. But all these work- 
 eth that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man 
 severally -as he will."* ISTo man is without some gift from 
 the Spirit; one person may possess several. 
 
 NOTES : 
 
 1. Effect of the Holy Ghost on the Individual :— "An intelligent being, 
 in the image of God, possesses every organ, attribute, sense, sympathy, affection, 
 of will, wisdom, love, power and gift, which is possessed by God Himself. But 
 these are possessed by man in his rudimental state in a subordinate sense of the 
 word. Or, in other words, these attributes are in embryo, and are to be grad- 
 
 '/ Mark xvi, 17-18; Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv, 65-73. 
 e I Cor. xii, 8; see also Moroni x, 8-18. 
 
174 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VIII. 
 
 ually developed. They resemble a bud, a germ, which, gradually develops into 
 bloom, and then, by progress, produces the mature fruit after its own kind. 
 The gift of the Holy Spirit adapts itself to all these organs or attributes. It 
 quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands, and purifies 
 all the natural passions and affections, and adapts them by the gift of wisdom, to 
 their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates, and matures all the fine-toned 
 sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings, and affections-of our nature. It inspires 
 virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity. It develops 
 beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation, and 
 social feeling. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and 
 intellectual man. It strengthens, invigorates, and gives tone to the nerves. In 
 short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, 
 music to the ears, and life to the whole being. "—Parley P. Pratt; Key to 
 Theology, p.p. 96-97, (4th ed.) 
 
 2. The Laying on of Hands:— From the scriptures cited, it is plain that 
 the usual ceremory of bestowing the gift of the Holy Ghost, consisted in part 
 in the imposition of hands by those in authority. (Acts viii, 17; ix, 17; xix, 2-6; 
 Alma xxxi, 36; III Nephi, xviii, 36-37; Doc. and Cov., xx, 41.) The same out- 
 ward sign has marked other authoritative acts: for example, ordination to the 
 priesthood; and administration to the sick. It is probable that Paul had 
 reference to Timothy's ordination when he exhorts him thus: "Neglect not the 
 gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the 
 hands of the presbytery." (I Tim. iv, 14.) And again, "Stir up the gift of God, 
 which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." (II Tim. i, 6.) The first 
 ordination to the priesthood in latter times was done by the imposition of hands 
 by John the Baptist (Doc. and Cov. xiii.) That Christ in healing the sick some- 
 times laid His hands upon the afflicted ones is certain (Mark vi, 5) ; and He left 
 with His apostles a promise that healing should follow the authoritative laying 
 on of hands (Mark xvi, 15, 18.) The same promise has been repeated in this day 
 (Doc and Cov. xlii, 43-44.) Yet, notwithstanding the importance given to this 
 sign of authority, the laying on of hands is but exceptional among the practices 
 of the many sects professing Christianity today. 
 
AKT. 4.] SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 175 
 
 LECTUKE IX. 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
 In connection with Article 4. 
 
 1. The Sacrament: — In the course of our study of the 
 principles and ordinances of the Gospel, as specified in the 
 fourth of the Articles of Faith, the subject of the sacra- 
 ment of the Lord's Supper" very properly claims attention, 
 the observance of this ordinance being required of all who 
 have become members of the Church of Christ through 
 compliance with the requirements of faith, repentance, and 
 baptism by water and by the Holy Ghost. 
 
 2. Institution of the Sacrament among the Jews: — The 
 sacrament of the Lord's Supper dates from the night of the 
 Passover feast 6 immediately preceding the crucifixion of the 
 Savior. On that solemn occasion, Christ and His apostles 
 were assembled in Jerusalem, keeping the feast in an upper 
 room, made ready by His express command. As a Jew, 
 Christ appears to have been ever loyal to the established 
 usages of His people; and it must have been with most 
 extraordinary feelings that He entered upon this commem- 
 orative feast, the last of its kind bearing the significance of 
 the type of a future sacrifice, as well as a reminder of God's 
 favor in the past. Knowing well the terrible experiences 
 immediately awaiting Him, He commuried with the Twelve 
 at the paschal board in anguish of soul, prophesying con- 
 cerning His betrayal, which was soon to be accomplished, 
 by the agency of one who there ate with Him. Then He 
 
 a See Notes 1 and 2. 
 6 See Note 3. 
 c Luke xx ii, 8-13. 
 
176 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. VIII. 
 
 took bread, and blessed it and gave it to His disciples, say- 
 ing, "Take, eat; this is my body;" d "this do in remembrance 
 of me." 6 Afterward, taking the cup, He blessed its con- 
 tents and administered it to them with the words, "Drink 
 ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, 
 which is shed for many for the remission of sins." 7 It is 
 interesting to note that the account of the sacrament and its 
 purport as given by Paul ' resembles so closely, as to be 
 almost identical with, the descriptions recorded by the evan- 
 gelists. The designation of the Sacrament as the Lord's 
 Supper is used by no biblical writer other than Paul. 
 
 3. Institution of the Sacrament Among the Nephites: — 
 On the occasion of His visit to the Nephites, which oc- 
 curred shortly after His resurrection, Christ established 
 the sacrament among this division of His flock. He re- 
 quested the disciples whom He had chosen to bring Him 
 bread and wine ; then, taking the bread He brake it, blessed 
 it, and gave it to the disciples with the command that they 
 should eat, and afterward distribute to the people. The 
 authority to administer this ordinance He promised to leave 
 with the people. "And this shall ye always observe to do," 
 said He, "even as I have done. * * * And this shall 
 ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shewn 
 unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father, 
 that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always re- 
 member me, ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.'" 1 The 
 wine was administered in the same order, first to the dis- 
 ciples, then by them to the people. This also was to be part 
 of the standing ordinance among the people: — "And ye 
 shall do it in remembrance of my blood which I have shed 
 
 d Matt, xx vi, 26. 
 
 e Luke xxii, 19; see also Mark xiv, 22-25. 
 
 / Matt, xxvi, 27-28. 
 
 g I Cor. xi, 23-25. 
 
 h III Nephi xviii, 6, 7. 
 
ART. 4.j SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 177 
 
 for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do 
 always remember me." Then followed a reiteration of the 
 great promise, "And if ye do always remember me, ye shall 
 have my Spirit to be with you.'"' 
 
 4. Fit Partakers of the Sacrament. — The Divine instruc- 
 tions concerning the sacredness of this ordinance are very 
 explicit ; and the consequent need of scrupulous care being 
 exercised lest it be engaged in unworthily, is apparent. In 
 addressing the Corinthian saints, Paul utters solemn warn- 
 ings against hasty or unworthy action in partaking of the 
 sacrament, and declares that the penalties of sickness, and 
 even death, are visited upon those who violate the sacred 
 requirements. — "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink 
 this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Where- 
 fore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the 
 Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of 
 the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him 
 eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that 
 eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh dam- 
 nation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this 
 cause man}" are weak and sickly among you, and many 
 sleep.'"' 
 
 5. When instructing the Nephites, Jesus laid great stress 
 upon the fitness of those who partook of the sacrament ; and 
 moreover He placed much responsibility upon the officers of 
 the Church whose duty it was to administer it, that they 
 should permit none whom they knew to be unworthy to 
 take part in the ordinance: — "And now behold, this is the 
 commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not 
 surfer any one knowingly to partake of my fles*h and blood 
 unworthily, when ye shall minister it ; for whoso eateth and 
 drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily, eateth and drinketh 
 
 i III Nephi xviii. 11. 
 j I Cor. xi, 26-30. 
 13 
 
178 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IX. 
 
 damnation to his sonl ; therefore, if ye know that a man is 
 unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood, ye shall 
 forbid him." fc 
 
 6. The direct word of the Lord unto the Saints in this 
 dispensation instructs them to permit no one who has com- 
 mitted trespass to partake of the sacrament until recon- 
 ciliation has been made ; nevertheless the Saints are com- 
 manded to exercise abundant charity toward their erring 
 fellows, not casting them out from the assemblies, yet care- 
 fully withholding the sacrament from them.' In our system 
 of Church organization, the local ecclesiastical officers are 
 charged with the responsibility of administering the sacra- 
 ment, and the people are required to keep themselves 
 worthy to partake of the sacred emblems. 
 
 7. There is an entire absence of scriptural sanction for 
 giving the sacrament to any who are not members in full 
 fellowship in the Church of Christ. Christ administered 
 the ordinance on the eastern continent to His apostles only ; 
 and we have record of their giving it to those only who had 
 assumed the name of Christ. Amongst His western fold, 
 Christ established the law that only the actual members of 
 His Church should partake. In promising to ordain one 
 among them with power to officiate in the sacrament, the 
 Savior specified that the one so chosen should give it unto 
 the people of His Church, unto all those who believed and 
 were baptized in His name. m Only those indeed who had 
 been so baptized were called the Church of Christ." Con- 
 tinuing His instructions to the disciples concerning the 
 sacrament, the Savior said: "This shall ye always do to 
 those who repent and are baptized in my name." 
 
 k III Nephi xviii, 28, 29. 
 
 / Doc. and Cov. xlvi, 4. See also III Nephi xviii, 30. 
 
 m III Nephi xviii, 5. 
 
 n III Nephi xxvi, 21. 
 
 o III Nephi xviii, 11. 
 
ART. 4.] SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 179 
 
 8. And the same law is applicable today; it is members of 
 the Church 1 ' who are admonished to meet together often for 
 the observance of the sacrament; and the Church comprises 
 none who have not been baptized by the authority of the 
 Holy Priesthood. 9 
 
 9. Purpose of the Sacrament: — From the scriptural 
 references already made, it is plain that the sacrament is 
 administered to commemorate the atonement of the Lord 
 Jesus, as consummated in His agony and death ; it is a tes- 
 timony before God, that we are mindful of His Son's sacrifice 
 made in our behalf; and that we still profess the name of 
 Christ and are determined to strive to keep His command- 
 ments, in the hope that we may ever have His Spirit to be 
 with us. Partaking of the sacrament worthily may be 
 regarded therefore as a means of renewing our covenants 
 before the Lord, of acknowledgment of mutual fellowship 
 among the members, and of solemnly witnessing our claim 
 and profession of membership in the Church of Christ. 
 The sacrament has not been established as a specific means 
 of securing remission of sins; nor for any other special 
 blessing, aside from that of a fresh endowment of the Holy 
 Spirit, which, however, comprises all needful blessings. 
 Were the sacrament ordained for the remission of sins, it 
 would not be forbidden to those who are in greatest need of 
 special forgiveness; yet participation in the ordinance is 
 restricted to those whose consciences are void of serious 
 offense, those, therefore, who are acceptable before the 
 Lord ; those indeed who are in as little need of special for- 
 giveness as mortals can be. 
 
 10. The Sacramental Emblems: — In instituting the sac- 
 rament both among the Jews and the Nephites, Christ used 
 
 p Doc. and Cov. xx, 75. 
 q Doc. and Cov. xx, 37. 
 
180 THE AKTICLES OF EAITH. [LECT. IX. 
 
 bread and wine as the emblems of His body and blood ;'" and 
 in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, He has 
 revealed His will that the Saints meet together often to 
 partake of bread and wine in this commemorative ordinance. 8 
 But the Lord has also shown that other forms of food and 
 drink may be used in* place of bread and wine. Very soon 
 after the Church was organized in the present dispensation, 
 the Prophet Joseph was about to purchase some wine for 
 sacramental purposes, when a special messenger from God 
 appeared to him, and delivered the following instructions : 
 "For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye 
 shall eat, or what ye shall drink, when ye partake of the 
 sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my 
 glory; remembering unto the Father my body which was 
 laid down for you, and my blood' which was shed for the 
 remission of your sins. Wherefore, a commandment I give 
 unto you, that you shall not purchase wine, neither strong 
 drink, of your enemies: Wherefore you shall partake of 
 none except it is made new among you ; yea in this my 
 Father's kingdom which shall be built up upon the earth."' 
 Upon this authority, the Latter-day Saints administer water 
 in their sacramental service, in preference to wine, concern- 
 ing the purity of which they are not assured. However, in 
 the vineyard districts of the Church territory, wine has 
 been generally used. 
 
 11. Manner of Administering the Sacrament: — It is cus- 
 tomary with the Latter-day Saints in all wards or regularly 
 organized branches of the Church, to hold sacramental 
 meetings every Sabbath. The authority of the priest of the 
 Aaronic* order of priesthood is requisite in consecrating 
 the emblems ; and, as a matter of course, any one holding 
 
 r Matt, xxvi, 27-29; III Nephixviii, 1, 8. 
 s Doc. and Cov. xx, 75. 
 t Doc. and Cov. xxvii, 2-4. 
 
ART. 4.] SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 181 
 
 the higher order of priesthood has authority to officiate in 
 this ordinance. The bread is first to be broken in small 
 pieces, and placed in suitable receptacles on the sacramental 
 table ; and then, according to the Lord's direction, the elder 
 or priest shall administer it, after this manner: — "He shall 
 kneel with the Church and call upon the Father in solemn 
 prayer, saying: — 
 
 ' ' God, the Eternal Father, ive ask thee in the name of thy 
 Son Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls 
 of all those ivho partake of it, that they may eat in remem- 
 brance of the body of thy Son, and ivitness unto thee, God, 
 the Eternal Father, that they are ivilling to take upon them 
 the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his 
 commandments which he hath given them, that they may 
 always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen." u 
 
 12. After the bread has been distributed to the con- 
 gregation, in which labor the teachers and deacons may take 
 part, under the direction of the officiating priest, the wine 
 or water is consecrated in this maimer : — 
 
 u O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of 
 thy Son Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine [or 
 water] to the souls of all those icho drink of it, that they 
 may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was 
 sh <'d for them; that they may witness unto thee, God, the 
 Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they 
 may always have his Spirit to be icith them. Amen." v 
 
 13. The plainness of the Lord's instructions to the Saints 
 regarding this ordinance, leaves no excuse for disputation 
 concerning the ceremony, for assuredly no one who officiates 
 in these holy rites can feel that he is authorized to change 
 the forms by even the alteration of a word. If ever the 
 Lord desires a change in this ordinance, He will doubtless 
 
 u Doc. and Cov. xx, 76, 77. 
 B Doc. and Cov. xx, 78-79. 
 
182 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. IX. 
 
 make it known through His established channels of the 
 priesthood. The records of the Xephites clearly prove that 
 the manner of administering the sacrament as practiced in 
 their day, 1 " was the same, even to the exact words of the 
 ceremony, as revealed for the guidance of the Saints in the 
 dispensation of the fulness of times. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. The Term "Sacrament" is commonly used in both a general and a 
 specific sense; according to its derivation, it signifies a sacred thing or holy 
 ceremony, and with this meaning it is applied by different sects to several cere- 
 monies of their churches. Thus, the Protestants speak of two sacraments,— 
 baptism and the Lord's Supper; the Roman and Greek .Catholics recognize 
 seven sacraments,— the two named above, and also confirmation, matrimony, the 
 bestowal of church orders, penance, and extreme unction. Some sections of the 
 Greek church are said to exclude confirmation and extreme unction from among 
 the seven sacraments. With even greater latitude, the term is applied to any 
 miraculous or spiritual manifestation; it is so used by Bishop Jeremy Taylor 
 when he says, "God sometime sent a light of fire, and pillar of a cloud * * * 
 and the sacrament of a rainbow, to guide His people through their portion of 
 sorrows." Specifically, however, the word sacrament denotes the Lord's Sup- 
 per, and in this sense alone does the word occur in Latter-day Saint theology. 
 Eucharist and HolyCommunion are terms employed in certain churches as synony- 
 mous with the sacrament of the Lord's supper. From the custom of regarding 
 the ceremony of communion, that is, the partaking of the sacrament, as an 
 evidence of standing in any church, and from the rule which withholds this 
 privilege from those who are judged to be unworthy of fellowship, comes the 
 term excommunicate, as applied to deprivation of church fellowship, meaning 
 literally to cast out from communion. 
 
 2. The Lord's Supper:— As stated, this designation of the sacrament, 
 occurs but once in the Bible. The "Lord's supper" is referred to by Paul in his 
 first epistle to the Corinthians. In all probability this name was used because 
 the rite was first administered at the time of the evening meal. It must be 
 remembered that the deipnon or evening supper among the Jews was the princi- 
 pal meal of the day, and really corresponded to our dinner. 
 
 3. The Passover and the Sacrament :— The feast of the passover was 
 the chief of the annual ceremonials of the Jews, and derived its name from the 
 circumstances of its origin. In setting His hand to deliver Israel from the bond- 
 age of Egypt, the Lord wrought many miracles and wonders before Pharoah and 
 his idolatrous house; and, as the last of the ten terrible plagues to which the 
 Egyptians were subjected, the first born of every household was smitten with 
 death during a single night. By previous command, the Israelites had marked 
 
 w Moroni iv ; v. 
 
ART. 4. J NOTES. 183 
 
 the posts and lintels of their doorways with the blood of a lamb slain for the 
 occasion, the blood havmg been sprinkled by means of a bunch of hyssop. In 
 his passage through the land, the Lord passed over the houses so marked 
 (Exodus xii, 12, 13); while in all the Egyptian homes the stroke 'Of death was felt. 
 Hence arises the name Passover, f rom pasach— to pass by. The flesh of the pas- 
 chal lamb was eaten amid the haste of departure. To commemorate their deliv- 
 erance from bondage, the Lord required of the Israelites an annual celebration 
 of this event, the occasion being known as the "Feast of the Passover," also as 
 the "Feast of Unleavened Bread," the latter name arising from the Lord's com- 
 mand that during the specified time of the observance no leaven should be found 
 in the houses of the people (Ex. xii, 15); and the occasion of the feast was to 
 be taken advantage of for instructing the children concerning the merciful 
 dealings of God with their forefathers (Ex. xii, 26,27). But aside from its com- 
 memorative purpose, the passover became to the people a type of the sacrifice on 
 Calvary. Paul says, "Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us" (I Cor. v, 7). As 
 being typical of the future atoning death of Christ, the passover lost part of its 
 significance by the crucifixion, and was superceded by the sacrament. There is 
 perhaps no closer relation between the two ordinances than this. Surely the 
 sacrament was not designed to fully supplant the passover, for the latter was 
 established as a perpetually recurring feast:— "And the day shall be unto you for 
 a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your genera- 
 tions; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever." (Ex. xii, 14.) 
 
 4. Errors Concerning the Sacrament, and its signification, and the man - 
 ner of administering it, grew rapidly in the professed Christian churches during 
 the early centuries of the Christian era. As soon as the power of the priesthood 
 had departed, much disputation arose in matters of ordinance, and the observ- 
 ance of the sacrament became distorted. Theological teachers strove to foster 
 the idea that there was much mystery attending this naturally simple and most 
 impressive ordinance; that all who were not in full communion with the Church 
 should be excluded, not only from participation in the ordinance, which was 
 justifiable, but from the privilege of witnessing the service, lest they profane 
 the mystic rite by their unhallowed presence. Then arose the heresy of trans- 
 substantiation,— which held that the sacramental emblems by the ceremony of 
 consecration lost their natural character of simple bread and wine, and became 
 in reality flesh and blood,— actually parts of the crucified body of Christ. Argu- 
 ment against such dogmas is useless. Then followed the veneration of the 
 emblems by the people, the bread and wine— regarded as part of Christ's taber- 
 nacle, being elevated in the mass for the adoration of the people, and later, the 
 custom of suppressing half of the sacrament was introduced. By the innovation 
 last mentioned, only the bread was administered, the dogmatic assertion being 
 that both the body and the blooi were represented in soma mystical way in one 
 of the "elements." Certain it is, that Christ required his disciples to both eat 
 and drink in remembrance of Him. 
 
184 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. X. 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 AUTHORITY IN THE MINISTRY. 
 
 Article 5 :— We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy and 
 by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel, 
 and administer in the ordinances thereof. 
 
 MEN CALLED OF GOD. 
 
 1. Scriptural Examples: — It is not less agreeable to the 
 dictates of human reason, than it is comformable to the 
 plan of perfect organization which characterizes the Church 
 of Christ, that all who minister in the ordinances of the 
 Gospel should be called and commissioned for their sacred 
 duties by the authority of heaven. The scriptures sustain 
 this view most thoroughly; they present to us an array of 
 men whose Divine callings are specially attested, and whose 
 mighty- works declare a power greater than that of man. 
 On the other hand, not an instance is set down in holy writ 
 of anyone taking to himself the authority to officiate in 
 sacred ordinances, and being acknowledged of the Lord in 
 such administration. 
 
 2. Consider the case of Xoah, who "found grace in the 
 eyes of the Lord"" in the midst of a wicked world. Unto 
 him the Lord spake, announcing His displeasure with the 
 wicked inhabitants of earth, and the Divine intention con- 
 cerning the deluge ; and instructed him in the manner of 
 building and stocking the ark. That Noah declared the 
 word of God unto his perverse contemporaries is shown in 
 Peter's declaration of Christ's mission in the spirit world, — 
 that the Savior preached to those who had been disobedient 
 during the period of God's long suffering in the days of 
 
 a Gen. vi, 8. 
 
ART. 5.] MEN CALLED OF GOD. 185 
 
 Noah, and who had in consequence endured the priva- 
 tions of the prison house in the interval. b Surely none can 
 question the Divine source of Noah's authority, nor the 
 justice of the retributive punishment following the wilful 
 rejection of his teachings, for his words were the words of 
 God. 
 
 3. So also with Abraham, the father of the faithful ; the 
 Lord called him c and made covenant with him for all the 
 generations of his posterity. Isaac d was similarly dis- 
 tinguished; likewise Jacob, 6 to whom as he rested upon his 
 pillow of stones in the desert, the Lord appeared. Unto 
 Moses r came the voice of God amidst the fierceness of fire, 
 calling and commissioning the man to go into Egypt, and 
 deliver therefrom the people whose cries had come up with 
 such effect before the throne of heaven. In this great work 
 Aaron ff was called to assist his brother ; and later, Aaron and 
 his sons' 1 were chosen by Divine direction from the midst of 
 the children of Israel to minister in the priest's office. When 
 Moses' saw that his days were numbered, he solicited the 
 Lord to appoint a successor in his holy station; and by 
 special command, Joshua, the son of Nun, was so selected. 
 
 4. Samuel, who became so great a prophet in Israel, 
 commissioned to consecrate, command, and rebuke kings, to 
 direct armies, and to serve as the oracle of God unto the 
 people, was chosen while yet a boy, and called by the voice 
 of the Lord.-' And such was the power that followed this 
 call, that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that 
 
 b I Peter iii, 19-20. 
 
 c Gen. xii-xxv; Pearl of Great Price; Book of Abraham. 
 
 d Gen. xxvi, 2-5. 
 
 e Gen. xxviii, 10-15. 
 
 / Exo. iii. 2-10. 
 
 g Exo. iv, 14-16, 27. 
 
 h Exo. xxviii, 1. 
 
 I Numb, xxvii, 15-23. 
 
 /' I Sam. iii, 4-14. 
 
186 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. X. 
 
 Samuel was established a prophet of the Lord. fc Time fails 
 to permit the mention of many other men of might, who 
 received their power from God, whose histories portray the 
 honor with which the Lord regarded his chosen ministers. 
 Think of the heavenly vision by which Isaiah was called and 
 directed in the duties of his prophetic office ;' of Jeremiah, 
 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah;™ 
 of the priest Ezekiel, who first received the Divine message 
 in the land of the Chaldeans," and subsequently on other 
 occasions; of Hosea,° and all the rest of the prophets to 
 Zechariah p and Malachi. 9 
 
 5. The apostles of the Lord were called by His own 
 voice in the days of His ministry; and surely the Savior's 
 authority is beyond question, vindicated as it is by the 
 mighty works of the atonement, wrought through pain and 
 the anguish of death, and by the authoritative declaration 
 of the Father at the time of Christ's baptism. Peter, and 
 Andrew his brother, while casting their nets into the sea, 
 were called with the instruction, — ' 'Follow me, and I will 
 make you fishers of men;"'' and soon after, James and John, 
 the sons of Zebedee, were similarly called. So with all of 
 the chosen Twelve who ministered with the Master; and 
 unto the Eleven who had remained faithful, He appeared 
 after His resurrection, giving them special commissions for 
 the work of the kingdom. s Christ specifically declares that 
 He had chosen His apostles, and that He had ordained them 
 in their exalted stations/ 
 
 k I Sam. iii, 20. 
 
 Zlsa. i, 1; ii, 1; vi, 8-9. 
 
 mJer. i,2-10. 
 
 n Ezek. i. 1. 
 
 o Hos. i, 1. 
 
 pZech. i, 1. 
 
 q Mai. i, 1. . 
 
 r Matt, iv, 18-20. 
 
 s Matt, xviii, 19-20; Mark xvi, 15. 
 
 t John vi, 70; xv, 16. 
 
ART. O.J ME^ CALLED OF GOD. 187 
 
 6. In the period immediately following that of Christ's 
 earthly mission, the ministers of the Gospel were all desig- 
 nated and set apart by unquestionable authority. Even 
 Saul of Tarsus, afterward Paul the apostle, who was con- 
 verted with marvelous signs and wondrous manifestations," 
 had to be formally commissioned for the labor which the 
 Lord desired him to perform ; and we are told that the Holy 
 Ghost spake to the prophets and teachers of the Church at 
 Antioch, while they fasted before the Lord, saying, "Separ- 
 ate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have 
 called them."" 
 
 7. The Ordination of Man to the Ministry, as sanctioned 
 by scriptural precedent, and established by direct revelation 
 of God's will, is to be effected through the gift of 
 prophecy, and by the imposition of hands by those who are 
 in authority. By prophecy is meant the right to receive, 
 and the power to interpret, manifestations of the Divine 
 will. That the laying on of hands is usual as a part of the 
 ceremony is seen in several of the instances already cited ; 
 nevertheless the scriptures record numerous ordinations to 
 the offices of the priesthood, with no specific statement 
 concerning the imposition of hands, or indeed any other 
 details of the ceremony. Such instances do not warrant 
 the conclusion that the laying on of hands was not actually 
 performed ; and indeed, in the light of modern revelation 
 it is clear that the imposition of hands was a usual accom- 
 paniment of ordination, as it was also a part of the cere- 
 mony of confirming blessings,"' and of bestowing the Holy 
 Ghost.* 
 
 8. Thus, the priesthood descended from Adam to Noah, 
 
 u Acts ix. 
 v Acts xiii, 1-2. 
 
 w Gen. xlviii, 14-19. Compare II Kings v, 11; Matt, viii, 15; Mark vi, 5; xvi. 
 15-18. 
 
 x See Lecture viii. 
 
188 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. X. 
 
 under the hands of the fathers; 2 ' Enos was ordained by the 
 hand of Adam; and the same was true of Mahalaleel, 
 Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah. Lamech was ordained 
 under the hand of Seth ; Noah received his authority from 
 the hand of Methuselah. And so may the priesthood be 
 traced, bestowed as the spirit of prophecy directed, by the 
 hand of one upon another, till the time of Moses. Mel- 
 chisedek, who bestowed this authority upon Abraham, 
 received his own through the direct lineage of his fathers, 
 from Noah. Esaias, a contemporary of Abraham, received 
 his ordination under the hand of God. Through the hand 
 of Esaias, the authority passed to Gad, thence by the same 
 means to Jeremy, Elihu, Caleb, and Jethro, the priest of 
 Midian, under whose hand Moses was ordained. 2 Joshua 
 the son of Nun was set apart as directed of God, through 
 the imposition of hands by Moses." 
 
 9. In the days of the apostles, circumstances rendered it 
 expedient to appoint special officers in the Church, to care 
 for the poor and attend to the distribution of supplies; 
 these were selected with care, and were set apart through 
 prayer and laying on of hands. 6 Timothy was so ordained, 
 as witness the admonitions given him by Paul: — "Neglect 
 not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by 
 prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presby- 
 tery," and again, "Stir up the gift of God which is in thee 
 by the putting on of my hands. " d The Lord has bound 
 Himself by solemn covenant to acknowledge the acts of 
 His authorized servants. Unto whomsoever the elders give 
 promise after baptism the Holy Ghost will come. 6 What- 
 
 y Doc. and Cov. cvii, 40-52. 
 
 z Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv, 6-14. 
 
 a Numb, xxvii, 18; Deut. xxxiv, 9. 
 
 b Acts vi, 1-6. 
 
 c I Timothy iv, 14. 
 
 d II Tim. i, 6. 
 
 e Acts ii, 38; III Nephixi, 35; xii, 2; Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv, 64. 
 
ART. 5.] MEN CALLED OF GOD. 189 
 
 ever the priesthood shall bind or loose on earth, is to be sim- 
 ilarly bound and loosed in heaven f the sick upon whom the 
 elders lay their hands, are to recover f and many other won- 
 ders are to follow them that believe. And so jealous is the 
 Lord of the power to officiate in His name, that at the judg- 
 ment, all who have aided or persecuted His servants, are to 
 be rewarded or punished as if they had done those things 
 unto Christ Himself. h 
 
 10. Unauthorized Ministrations in priestly functions are 
 not alone invalid, they are indeed grievously sinful. In His 
 dealings with mankind, God has ever recognized and hon- 
 ored the priesthood established by His direction; and has 
 never countenanced any unauthorized assumption of author- 
 ity. A terrible lesson is taught in the case of Korah and 
 his associates, in their rebellion against the authority of the 
 priesthood, — in that they falsely professed the right to 
 minister in the priest's office. The Lord promptly visited 
 them for their sins, causing the ground to cleave asunder, 
 and to swallow them up with all their belongings.* 
 
 11. And think of the affliction that fell on Miriam, the 
 sister of Moses, a prophetess among the peopled She, with 
 Aaron, railed against Moses, and they said, "Hath the 
 Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath He not spoken 
 also by us? and the Lord heard it." fc He came at once in a 
 cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle ; denouncing 
 their presumption, and vindicating the authority of His 
 chosen oracle, Moses. ■ When the cloud passed from the 
 tabernacle, Miriam was seen to be leprous, white as snow; 
 and, according to the law, she was shut out of the camp of 
 
 / Matt, xvi, 19; Doc. and Cov. i, 8; cxxviii, 8-11. 
 
 g Mark xvi, 15-18, 
 
 h Matt, xviil, 4-6; xxv, 31-46, Doc. and Cov. lxxv, 19-22; lxxxiv. 88-90 
 
 i Numbers xvi. 
 
 j Exo, xv, 21. 
 
 k Numbers xii. 
 
190 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. X. 
 
 Israel. However, through the earnest entreaties of Moses, 
 the Lord healed the woman, and she was subsequently 
 permitted to return to the company. 
 
 12. Consider the fate of Uzza, the Israelite who met 
 sudden death through the anger of God, because he put 
 forth his hand to steady the ark of the covenant lest it fall. 7 
 This he did in spite of the law that none but the priests 
 might touch the sacred accompaniments of the ark; we 
 read that not even the appointed bearers of the vessel were 
 allowed to touch its holy parts, on pain of death." 1 
 
 13. Think also of Saul the King of Israel, who had 
 been called from the farm to be made a monarch favored of 
 God. When the Philistines were marshalled against Israel 
 in Michmash, Saul waited for Samuel, n under whose hand 
 he had received his kingly anointing, and to whom he had 
 looked in the days of his ^humility for guidance ; he asked 
 that the prophet come and offer sacrifices to the Lord in 
 behalf of the people. But, growing impatient at Samuel's 
 delay, Saul prepared the burnt offering himself, forgetting 
 that though he occupied the throne, wore the crown, and 
 bore the sceptre, these insignia of kingly power gave him 
 no right to officiate even as a door-keeper in the house of 
 God ; and for this and other instances of his unrighteous 
 presumption, he was rejected of God and another was 
 chosen in his place. 
 
 14. A striking instance of Divine jealousy concerning 
 holy functions is shown in the dreadful experience of 
 Uzziah, king of Judah. He was placed upon the throne 
 when but sixteen years old; and, as long as he sought the 
 Lord, he was greatly prospered, so that his name became a 
 terror unto his enemies. But he allowed pride to grow in 
 
 l I Chron. xiii, 10. 
 m Num. iv, 15. 
 n I Sam. xiii, 5-14. 
 o I Sam. x. 
 
ART. 5.] MEN CALLED OF GOD. 191 
 
 his heart, and indulged the delusion that in his kingship he 
 was supreme. He entered the temple and essayed to burn 
 incense on the altar; shocked at his blasphemous action, 
 Azariah, the chief priest of the temple, and fourscore 
 priests with him, forbade the king, saying: — "It appertain- 
 ed not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, 
 but to the priests, the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated 
 to burn incense; go out of the sanctuary, for thou hast 
 trespassed." At this rebuke and condemnation from his 
 subjects, though they were priests of the living God, the 
 king became angry; but immediately the dread scourge of 
 leprosy fell upon him; the signs of the horrible disease 
 •appeared in his forehead ; and, being now physically an un- 
 clean creature, his presence tended the more to defile the holy 
 place. So Azariah and his associate priests thrust the king 
 out from the temple, and he, a smitten thing, fled from the 
 house of God never again to enter its sacred precincts. 
 Concerning the rest of his punishment we read, "And 
 Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and 
 •dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off 
 from the house of the Lord.''^ 
 
 15. A forcible illustration of the futility of false cere- 
 monies, or of the mere form of sacred ordinances when the 
 authority is absent, is shown in the New Testament record 
 of the seven sons of Sceva. These in common with others 
 had seen, and had marveled at, the miraculous power exhib- 
 ited by Paul, whom the Lord so blessed in his apostleship 
 that by touching hankerchiefs or aprons sent by him the 
 sick were healed, and even evil spirits were cast out. Sceva's 
 sons, who are reckoned by the sacred chronicler among the 
 •exorcists, and the vagabond Jews, sought also to expel an 
 evil spirit: "We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preach- 
 eth" said they ; but the evil spirit derided them for their 
 
 p II Chron. xxvi. 
 
192 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [lECT. X. 
 
 lack of authority saying, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, 
 but who are ye?" Then the afflicted person, in whom the 
 evil spirit dwelt, leaped upon them and overcame them, so 
 that when they escaped from the house they were naked 
 and wounded. 9 
 
 16. Teachers True and False:— None but those who are 
 duly authorized to teach can be regarded as true expounders 
 of the word. The remarks of Paul concerning the high 
 priests are alike applicable to every office of the priesthood : 
 •'No man taketh this honor to himself, but he that is 
 called of God, as was Aaron. " r And Aaron, as we have 
 already seen, was called through Moses,- unto whom the 
 Lord revealed His will in the matter. This authority to act 
 in the name of the Lord is given to those only who are 
 chosen of God; it is not to be had for the mere asking; it 
 is not to be bought with gold. We read of Simon, the 
 sorcerer, who coveted the power possessed by the apostles ; 
 he offered these ministers of Christ money, saying, "Give 
 me also this power that on whomsoever I lay my hands he 
 may receive the Holy Ghost." But Peter answered him 
 with righteous indignation, "Thy money perish with thee, 
 because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be 
 purchased with money; thou has neither part nor lot in 
 this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God." 8 
 
 17. It was known to the apostles of old that men would 
 seek to arrogate unto themselves the right to officiate in 
 things divine, thus becoming servants of Satan. In ad- 
 dressing a conference of the elders at Ephesus, Paul 
 prophesied of these ill events, and warned the shepherds of 
 the flock to look well to their charge/ In an epistle to 
 Timothy, the apostle reiterates this prophecy; encouraging 
 
 q Acts xix, 13-17. 
 r Heb. v, 4. 
 s Acts viii, 18-24. 
 t Acts xx, 28-30. 
 
AET. 5.] MEN CALLED OF GOD. 193 
 
 to diligence in preaching the word, he declares, "For the 
 time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, 
 but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves 
 teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their 
 ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."" 
 Peter's declarations on the same subject are no less plain. 
 Addressing himself to the Saints of his time, he refers to 
 the false prophets of old, and adds: — "There shall be false 
 teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable 
 heresies; even denying the Lord that bought them * * * 
 And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason 
 of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. " v 
 
 18. Divine Authority in the Present Dispensation: — 
 The Latter-day Saints claim to possess authority to admin- 
 ister in the name of God; and that this right has been con- 
 ferred in this day under the hands of those who held the 
 same power in former dispensations. That the authority 
 of the holy priesthood was to be taken from the earth as the 
 apostles of old were slain, and that it would of necessity 
 have to be restored from heaven before the Church could be 
 re-established, may be shown by scripture. On the 15th day 
 of May, 1829, while Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were 
 engaged in earnest prayer for instruction concerning baptism 
 for the remission of sins, mention of which they had found 
 in the plates from which they were then engaged in trans- 
 lating the Book of Mormon, a messenger from heaven 
 descended in a cloud of light. He announced himself as 
 John, called of old the Baptist, and said he acted under the 
 direction of Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of 
 the higher priesthood. The messenger laid his hands upon 
 the two young men and ordained them to authority, saying, 
 "Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I 
 
 u II Tim. iv, 2-4. 
 v il Pet. ii, 1-3. 
 
194 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. X. 
 
 confer the priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the 
 ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and 
 of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins ; and this 
 shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of 
 Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteous- 
 ness. "" 
 
 19. A short time after this event, Peter, James, and 
 John appeared to Joseph and Oliver, and ordained the two 
 to the higher or Melchisedek priesthood, bestowing upon 
 them the keys of the. apostleship, which these heavenly 
 messengers had held and exercised in the former gospel 
 dispensation. This order of priesthood holds authority 
 over all the offices in the Church, and includes power to 
 administer in spiritual things f consequently all the author- 
 ities and powers necessary to the establishment of the 
 Church were by this visitation restored to earth. 
 
 20. No one is authorized to officiate in any of the ordi- 
 nances of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 
 unless he has been ordained to that calling by those holding 
 the power; thus, no man receives the priesthood except 
 under the hand of one who holds that priesthood himself; 
 that one must have obtained it from others previously com- 
 missioned ; and so every holder of the priesthood today can 
 trace his authority to the hands of Joseph the Prophet, who, 
 as already stated, received his ordination under the hands 
 of heavenly messengers clothed with power divine. That 
 men, who are called of God to the authority of the minis- 
 try on earth, may have been selected for such appointment 
 even before they took mortal bodies, is evident from the 
 scriptures. This matter may properly claim attention in 
 the present connection; and its consideration leads us to 
 the subjects which follow. 
 
 w Pearl of Great Price p. 105 (1888 ed.) ; Doc. and Cov. xiii. 
 x Doc. and Cov. cvii. 
 
ART. 5.] FORE-ORDINATION AND PRE-EXISTENCE. 195 
 
 FORE-ORDINATION AND PRE-EXISTENCE. 
 
 21. Fore-ordination: — In a wonderful interview with 
 Abraham, the Lord revealed many things ordinarily with- 
 held from mortal eyes. Said the patriarch: — "Now the 
 Lord had shewn unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that 
 were organized before the world was ; and among all these 
 there were many of tfye noble and great ones; and God saw 
 these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst 
 of them, and he said, These I will make my rulers; for 
 he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they 
 were good; and he said unto me, Abraham, thou art one of 
 them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born."*' This is 
 one of the many scriptural proofs that the spirits of man- 
 kind existed prior to their earthly probation : — a condition in 
 which these intelligences lived and exercised their free 
 agency before they assumed bodily tabernacles. Surely then 
 the natures, dispositions, and tendencies of men are known 
 to the Father of their spirits, even before these beings are 
 
 *born in mortality; and He needs not to wait till they develop 
 and prove their capacities on earth before they are ap- 
 pointed to special labors in the fulfilment of Divine pur- 
 poses. 
 
 22. Evidence is abundant that Christ was chosen and 
 ordained to be the Eedeemer of the world, even from the 
 beginning. We read of His formost position amongst the 
 sons of God in offering Himself as a sacrifice to carry into 
 effect the will of the Father. 2 He it was, "Who verily was 
 fore-ordained before the foundation of the world. " a 
 
 23. Paul taught the doctrine of Divine selection and 
 pre-appointment thus: — "For whom he did fore-know, he 
 
 y Pearl of Great Price; Book of Abraham, p. 62, 
 z See page 83. 
 a I Peter i, 20. 
 
196 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. X. 
 
 also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his 
 Son. * * * Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them 
 he also called." 5 And again: — "God hath not cast away 
 his people which he foreknew. " c 
 
 24. Alma, the Xephite prophet, spoke of the priests who 
 had been ordained after the order of the Son, and added: — 
 "And this is the manner after which they were ordained: 
 being called and prepared from the foundation of the world, 
 according to the fore-knowledge of God, on account of their 
 exceeding faith and good works ; in the first place being left 
 to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, 
 and exercising exceeding great faith, are called with a holy 
 calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, 
 and according to, a preparatory redemption for such." d 
 
 25. Fore-ordination does not Imply Compulsion: — The 
 doctrine of absolute predestination, resulting in a nullifi- 
 cation of man's free agency, has been advocated with various 
 modifications by Christian sects. Nevertheless, such teach- 
 ings are wholly unjustified by both the letter and the 
 spirit of sacred writ. God's fore-knowledge cencerning the' 
 natures and capacities of His children enables Him to see 
 the end of their earthly career even from the first: — 
 "KnWn unto God are all his works from the beginning of 
 the world." 6 Many people have been led to regard this 
 fore-knowledge of God as a sure predestination, whereby 
 souls are assigned to glory or condemnation, even before 
 their birth in the flesh, and independently of any merits or 
 demerits of their own. This heretical doctrine seeks to rob 
 Deity of every trait of mercy, of justice, and of pure love; it 
 makes the Father appear capricious and selfish, directing 
 
 b Rom. viii, 29-30. 
 
 c Rom. xi, 2. 
 
 d Alma xiii, 3; also 10, 11. 
 
 e Acts xv, 18. 
 
ART. 5.] FORE-ORDINATION AND PRE-EXISTENCE. 197 
 
 and creating all things for His own glory alone, caring 
 not for the consequent suffering of the victims of His 
 injustice. How dreadful, how inconsistent is such an idea 
 of God ! It leads to the absurd conclusion that the mere 
 knowledge of coming events must act as a determinative in- 
 fluence in bringing about those occurrences. God's knowledge 
 of spiritual and of human nature enables Him to conclude 
 with certainty as to the actions of any of His children under 
 given conditions ; yet such knowledge has surely no deter- 
 mining influence upon the creature. 
 
 26. Doubtless He knows of some spirits, that they await 
 only the opportunity of choice between good and evil to 
 choose the latter, and to accomplish their own destruction ; 
 these are they as spoken of by Jude, "who were before of 
 old ordained to this condemnation;" 7 To avert the fate of 
 such, their free agency would have to be taken away ; they 
 can be saved by force alone ; and compulsion is forbidden 
 by the laws of heaven, for salvation and for condemnation 
 alike. There are others whose integrity and faithfulness 
 have been demonstrated in their pristine state : the Father 
 knows how unreservedly they may be trusted, and many of 
 them are called even in their mortal youth to special and 
 exalted labors as chosen servants of the Most High. 
 
 27. Pre-existence of Spirits: — The facts already presented, 
 concerning fore-ordination, furnish proof that the spirits of 
 mankind passed through a stage of existence prior to the 
 earthly probation. This pre-existent period is oft-times 
 spoken of as the stage of "primeval childhood" or "first 
 estate." That these spirits existed as organized intelli- 
 gences, and exercised their free agency during that primeval 
 stage, is clear from the declaration of the Lord to Abraham : 
 — "And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon, 
 and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory 
 
 / Jude 4. 
 
198 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. X. 
 
 in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate ; 
 and they who keep their second estate shall have glory 
 added upon their heads forever and ever." 9 ' 
 
 28. No Christian doubts the pre-existence of the Savior, 
 or questions His position as one of the Godhead before He 
 came to earth as Mary's Son. The common interpretation 
 given to the opening words of John's Gospel sustains the 
 view of Christ's primeval God-ship: — "In the beginning- 
 was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word 
 was God." We read further, "And the Word was made 
 flesh and dwelt among us.'" 1 The sayings of the Eedeemer 
 Himself support this truth. When His disciples dissented 
 concerning His doctrine of Himself, He said, "What and if 
 ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was be- 
 fore?"' On another occasion He spoke in thiswise: — "I 
 came forth from the Father, and am come into the world ; 
 again, I leave the world and go to the Father. ,y And His 
 disciples, pleased with this plain declaration confirming the 
 belief which, perchance, they already entertained at heart, 
 rejoined, "Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no 
 proverb. * * * by this we believe that thou earnest 
 forth from God." fc To the wicked Jews who boasted of 
 their descent from Abraham, and sought to hide their sins 
 under the protecting mantle of. the great patriarch's name, 
 the Savior declared: — "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Be- 
 fore Abraham was, I am.'" In a solemn prayer to His 
 Father, the Son implored, "And now, Father glorify 
 thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had 
 with thee before the world was." w Yet Christ was born a 
 
 g Pearl of Great Price, Book of Abraham, p. 63 (1888 ed.) 
 
 h John i, 1, 14. 
 
 i John vi, 62. 
 
 j John xvi, 28. 
 
 k Verses 29-30. 
 
 I John viii, 58. 
 
 m John xvii, 5. See also II Nephi ix, 5: xxv. 12: Mos. iii, 5; xiii, 33-34: xv, 1. 
 
ART. 5.] ^OTE. 199 
 
 child among mortals; and it is fair to infer, that if His 
 earthly birth was the union of a pre-existent immortal 
 spirit with a mortal body, such also is the birth of every 
 member of the human family. 
 
 29. But we are not left to mere inference on a basis of 
 analogy only; the scriptures plainly teach that the spirits of 
 mankind are known and numbered unto God before their 
 earthly advent. In his farewell administration to Israel 
 Moses sang, "Remember the days of old. * * * When 
 the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, 
 when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of 
 the people according to the number of the children of 
 Israel."* 1 From this we learn that the earth was allotted to 
 the nations, according to the number of the children of 
 Israel ; it is evident therefore that the number was known 
 prior to the existence of the Israelitish nation in the flesh ; 
 this is most easily explained on the assumption of a previous 
 existence in which the spirits of the future nation were 
 known. 
 
 30. No chance is possible therefore in the number or 
 extent of the temporal creations of God.° The population 
 of the earth is fixed according to the number of spirits ap- 
 pointed to take tabernacles of flesh upon this sphere ; when 
 these have all come forth in the order and time decreed of 
 God, then, and not till then, will the end come. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 Spiritual Creations :— The pre-existent condition is not characteristic 
 of human souls alone; all things of earth have a spiritual being, of which the 
 temporal structure forms but the counterpart. We read of the creation of 
 "every plant of the held before It was in the earth, and every herb of the held 
 before it grew." (Gen. ii, 5.) This is set forth with greater fulness in another 
 revelation to Moses:— "These are the generations of the heaven and the earth 
 
 n Deut. xxxii, 7-8. 
 o See note, this page. 
 
200 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. X. 
 
 when they were created, in the day that I, the Lord God, made the heaven and 
 the earth, and every plant of the earth before it was in the earth, and every 
 herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things of which 
 I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. 
 * * * And I. the Lord God, had created all the children of men, and not yet a 
 man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh 
 upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air: but I, the Lord God, 
 spake, and there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of 
 the ground. And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and 
 breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the 
 first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were 
 before created, but spiritually were they created and made according to my 
 word."— (Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, p. 11, (1888 ed.) 
 
ART. 6.] THE CHURCH. 203 
 
 LECTURE XI. 
 
 THE CHURCH AND ITS PLAN OF ORGANIZATION. 
 
 Article 6.— We believe in the same organization that existed in the primi- 
 tive Church, viz: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc. 
 
 THE CHURCH IN" FORMER AND LATTER DAYS. 
 
 1. The Primitive Church: — In the dispensation of the 
 Savior's ministry, Christ established His Church upon the 
 earth, appointing therein the officers necessary for the carry- 
 ing out of the Father's purposes. As shown in the last lec- 
 ture, every person so appointed was divinely commissioned 
 with authority to officiate in the ordinances of his calling ; 
 and, after Christ's ascension, the same organization was con- 
 tinued, those who had received authority ordaining others 
 to the various offices of the priesthood. In this way were 
 given unto the Church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, 
 pastors," high priests, b seventies, elders/ bishops, 6 priests/ 
 teachers/ and deacons.' 1 
 
 2. Besides these specific offices in the priesthood, there 
 were other callings of a more temporal nature, to which 
 men were also set apart by authority : such for instance was 
 the case of the seven men of honest report, who, in the 
 days of the apostles were chosen and appointed to minister 
 to the poor, thus leaving the Twelve freer to attend to the 
 
 a Eph. iv, 11. 
 
 b Heb. v, 1-5. 
 
 c Luke x, 1-11. 
 
 S Acts xiv, 23; xv, 6; I Peter v, 1. 
 
 e I Tim. iii, 1 ; Titus i, 7. 
 
 / Rev. i, 6. 
 
 g Acts xiii, 1. 
 
 h I Tim. iii, 8-12. 
 
202 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XI. 
 
 particular duties of their office. 1 This special appointment 
 illustrates the nature of the helps and governments- 7 ' set in 
 the Church, to assist in the work under the direction of the 
 regular officers of the priesthood. 
 
 3. The ministers so appointed, and the members among 
 whom they labor, constitute the Church of Christ, which 
 has been beautifully compared to a perfect body, the indi- 
 viduals typifying the separate members, each with its spe- 
 cial function, all co-operating for the welfare of the whole.* 7 
 Every office so established, every officer so commissioned, is 
 necessary to the development of the Church and to the ac- 
 complishment of the work of God. An organization estab- 
 lished of God comprises no superfluities ; the eye, the ear, 
 the hand, the foot, every organ of the body, is essential to 
 the symmetry and perfection of the physical structure ; in 
 the Church no officer can rightly say to another, "I have 
 no need of thee."' 
 
 4. The existence of these officers, and particularly their 
 operation with accompaniments of Divine assistance and 
 power, may be taken as a distinguishing characteristic of 
 the Church in any age of the world, — a crucial test, whereby 
 the validity or fallacy of any claim to Divine authority may 
 be determined. The gospel of Christ is the everlasting 
 gospel; its principles, laws, and ordinances, and the Church 
 organization founded thereon, must be ever the same. In 
 searching for the true Church, therefore, one must look for 
 an organization comprising the offices established of old ; the 
 callings of apostles, prophets, evangelists, high priests, 
 seventies, pastors, bishops, elders, priests, teachers, deacons ; 
 not men bearing these names merely, but ministers able to 
 vindicate their claim to position as officers in the Lord's 
 
 i Acts vi, 1-6. 
 
 j I Cor. xii, 28. 
 
 k I Cor. xii, 12-27: Rom. xii, 1-5; Eph. iv, 16. 
 
 I I Cor. xii, 21. 
 
ART. 6.] THE CHURCH. 203 
 
 service, through the evidences of power and authority 
 accompanying their ministry. 
 
 5. Apostasy from the Primitive Church: — The question 
 may fairly arise in the mind of the earnest investigator, have 
 these authorities and powers, together with their associated 
 gifts of the Spirit, remained with men from the apostolic age 
 to the present; in short, has there been a Church of Christ 
 upon the earth during this long interval? In answer, let 
 these facts be considered: Since the period immediately 
 following the ministrations of the apostles of old, and until 
 the present century, no organization has maintained a claim 
 to direct revelation from God ; in fact, the teachings of the 
 professed ministers of the gospel for centuries have been to 
 the effect that such gifts of God have ceased, that the days 
 of miracles have gone, and that the present depends for its 
 guiding code wholly upon the past. A self-suggesting 
 interpretation of history indicates that there has been a 
 great departure from the way of salvation as laid down by 
 the Savior, a universal apostasy from the Church of Christ." 1 
 Scarcely had the Church been organized by the Savior, whose 
 name it bears, before the powers of darkness arrayed them- 
 selves for conflict with the organized body. Even in the 
 days of Christ, persecution was bitterly waged against the 
 disciples; commencing with the Jews, and directed first 
 against the Master Himself and His few immediate associates, 
 this tide of opposition soon enveloped every known follower 
 of the Savior; so that the very name Christian became an 
 epithet of derision. 
 
 6. In the first quarter of the fourth century, however, a 
 change in the attitude of paganism toward Christianity was 
 marked by the conversion of Constantine the Great, under 
 whose patronage the Christian profession grew in favor, and 
 became in fact the religion of the state. But what a pro- 
 
 m See notes 1 and 2. 
 
204 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XI. 
 
 fession, what a religion was it by this time ! Its simplicity 
 had departed; earnest devotion and self-sacrificing sincerity 
 were no longer characteristic of the Church's ministers; 
 these professed followers of the humble Prophet of Nazareth, 
 these self-styled associates of the meek and lowly Jesus, 
 these loudly-proclaimed lovers of the Man of Sorrow, lived 
 amid conditions strangely inconsistent with the life of their 
 great Exemplar. Church offices were sought after for the 
 distinction of honor and wealth accompanying them ; min- 
 isters of the gospel affected the state of worldly authority; 
 bishops sought the pomp of princes, archbishops lived as 
 kings, and popes like emperors. With these unauthorized 
 and unscriptural innovations, came many changes in the 
 ordinances of the so-called church; the rites of baptism 
 were perverted; the sacrament was altered; public worship 
 became an exhibition of art ; men were canonized ; martyrs 
 were made subjects of adoration ; blasphemy grew apace, in 
 that men without authority essayed to exercise the prerog- 
 atives of God in calling others to what still bore the name 
 of spiritual office. Ages of darkness came upon the earth ; 
 the power of Satan seemed almost supreme. 
 
 7. For a special consideration of the evidence of a gen- 
 eral apostasy from the Church of Christ, the student must 
 consult authorities on ecclesiastical history. While the fact 
 of the apostasy is admitted by but few such writers, the 
 historical events which they chronicle, suggest the awful 
 truth. We may trace from the days of the apostles, down 
 to near the close of the tenth century, a constantly chang- 
 ing form of Church organization, which, at the later 
 time named, bore but little semblance to the Church estab- 
 lished by the Savior. This falling away is admitted by some 
 historians, and as we shall presently see, it was definitely 
 foretold by authoritative prophecy. 
 
 8. John Wesley, founder of a powerful sect, declared 
 
ART. 6.] THE CHURCH. 205 
 
 that the distinctive gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer 
 with the church, having been taken away on account of 
 the unworthiness of professing Christians, whom he char- 
 acterized indeed as heathen, with only a dead form of wor- 
 ship." In the Church of England homily regarding the 
 "Perils of Idolatry," we read "that laity and clergy, 
 learned and unlearned, men and women, and children of all 
 ages, sects, and degrees, of whole Christendom, have been at 
 once buried in the most abominable idolatry, and that for 
 the space of eight hundred years or more." Dr. Milner, 
 author of an exhaustive work on church history, admits a 
 pitiable condition of the so-called Church in the tenth 
 century, and finds in that sad state a fulfilment of scriptural 
 predictions. 
 
 9. This Great Apostasy was Foretold: — The infinite fore- 
 knowledge of God made plain to Him even from the 
 beginning this falling away from the truth; and, through 
 inspiration, the prophets of old uttered solemn warnings of 
 the approaching dangers. Surely Isaiah was gazing upon 
 the era of spiritual darkness when he declared, "The earth 
 also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they 
 have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken 
 the everlasting covenant." And how deeply impressive is 
 the declaration of Jeremiah, "For my people have com- 
 mitted two evils : they have forsaken me, the fountain of 
 living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns 
 that can hold no water." 1 ' 
 
 10. The prophecies of the apostles relative to the false 
 teachers so soon to trouble the flock, already quoted, 9 de- 
 clare the apostasy then rapidly approaching. Paul warned 
 
 n John Wesley's Works, vii, pp. 26-27 . See note 4, following Lecture xii, in 
 connection with Article?; "Spiritual Gifts." 
 o Isa. xxiv, 5. 
 p Jer. ii, 13. 
 q See pages 192-193. 
 
206 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XI. 
 
 the Saints of Thessaly that they be not deceived by those 
 who cried that the second coming of Christ was then at 
 hand, "For," said the apostle, "that day shall not come 
 except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin 
 be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and ex- 
 alteth himself above all that is called God, or that is wor- 
 shiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of 
 God, showing himself that he is God." r This falling 
 away had begun even in the days of the apostles : — 
 "Even now," says John, "are there many anti-Christs."" 
 And Paul, in addressing the Galatians, declared, "There be 
 some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of 
 Christ. '* 
 
 11. Not less conclusive are the prophecies contained in 
 the Book of Mormon relating to this great falling away. 
 Nephi, son of Lehi, predicted the oppression of the North 
 American Indians at the hands of the Gentiles, and de- 
 clared that at that time the people will be lifted up in self- 
 pride, having departed from the ordinances of God's house ; 
 true, they will build to themselves many churches, but in 
 these they will preach their own wisdom, with envyings, and 
 strife, and malice, denying however the power and miracles 
 of God." 
 
 1.2. Restoration of the Church: — From the facts already 
 stated, it is evident that the Church was literally driven from 
 the earth ; in the first ten centuries immediately following 
 the ministry of Christ, the authority of the priesthood was 
 lost from among men, and no worldly power could restore it. 
 But the Lord in His mercy provided for the re-establishment 
 of His Church in the last days, and for the last time ; and 
 
 r II Thess. ii, 3-4. 
 
 * I John ii, 18. 
 
 t Gal i, 7. 
 
 u II Nephi xxvi, 19-22; see>lso xxvii, 1; xxviii, 3, 6; xxix, 3; I Nephi xiii 
 
 xxii, 22-23. 
 
AKT. 6.] CHURCH ORGANIZATION". 20? 
 
 prophets of olden time fore-saw this era of renewed 
 enlightenment, and sang in joyous tones of its coming/ It 
 has been already shown that this restoration was effected by 
 the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith, who, together 
 with Oliver Cowdery, in 1829 received the Aaronic Priest- 
 hood under the hands of John the Baptist ; and later the 
 Melchisedek Priesthood under the hands of the former-day 
 apostles, Peter, James and John. By the authority thus 
 bestowed, the Church has been again organized, with all its 
 former completeness, and mankind once more rejoices in the 
 priceless privileges of the counsels of God. The Latter- 
 day Saints declare their high claim to the true Church organ- 
 ization, similar in all essentials to the organization effected 
 by Christ among the Jews ; this people of the last days pro- 
 fess to have the Priesthood of the Almighty, the power to 
 act in the name of God, which power commands respect 
 both on earth and in heaven. Let us consider the organiza- 
 tion of the priesthood as it exists to-day. 
 
 PLAN OF GOVERNMENT IN THE RESTORED CHURCH. 
 
 13. Orders and Offices in the Priesthood: — The Church 
 of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognizes two orders 
 of priesthood, the lesser called the Aaronic, the greater 
 known as the Melchisedek order. The Aaronic Priesthood 
 is named after Aaron, who was given to Moses as his mouth- 
 piece, to act under his direction in the carrying out of 
 God's purposes respecting Israel. w For this reason, it is 
 sometimes called the Lesser Priesthood ; but though lesser, it 
 is neither small nor insignificant. While Israel journeyed in 
 the wilderness, Aaron and his sons were called by prophecy 
 and set apart for the duties of the priest's office. x 
 
 v Dan. ii, 44-45; vii, 27; Matt, xxiv, 14; Rev. xiv, 6-8. 
 w Exo. iv, 14-16. 
 x Exo. xxviii, 1. 
 
208 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XI. 
 
 14. At a subsequent period of Israel's history, the Lord 
 chose the tribe of Levi to assist Aaron in the priestly func- 
 tions, the special duties of the Levites being to keep the 
 instruments and attend to the service of the tabernacle. 
 The Levites, thus chosen of the Lord, were to take the place 
 of the first-born throughout the tribes, whom the Lord had 
 claimed for His service from the time of the last dread 
 plague in Egypt, whereby the first-born in every Egyptian 
 house was slain, while the eldest in every Israelitish house 
 was hallowed and spared. 1 ' The commission thus given to 
 the Levites is sometimes called the Levitical Priesthood;* 
 it is to be regarded as an appendage to the priesthood of 
 Aaron, not comprising the highest priestly powers. The 
 Aaronic Priesthood, as restored to the earth in this dispen- 
 sation, comprises the Levitical order." This priesthood 
 holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and the author- 
 ity to attend to the outward ordinances, the letter of the 
 gospel; 6 it comprises the offices of deacon, teacher, and 
 priest ; with the bishopric holding the keys of presidency. 
 
 15 The greater or Melchizedeh Priesthood is named after 
 the king of Salem, a great High Priest of God ; c before his 
 day it was known as "the Holy Priesthood, after the order 
 of the Son of God, but out of respect or reverence to the 
 name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent 
 repetition of His name, they, the Church, in ancient days, 
 called that Priesthood after Melchisedek." d This priest- 
 hood holds the right of presidency in all the offices of the 
 Church; its special functions lie in the administration of 
 spiritual things ; comprising as it does the keys of all spiritual 
 
 y Numb, iii, 12-13, 39, 44-45, 50-51. 
 
 z Het>. vii, 11. 
 
 a Doc. and Cov. cvii, 1. 
 
 b Doc. and Cov. cvii, 20. 
 
 c Gen. xiv, 18; Heb. vii, 1-17. 
 
 d Doc. and Cov. cvii, 2-4. 
 
ART. 6.] CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 209 
 
 blessings of the Church, the right "to have the heavens 
 opened unto them, to commune with the general assembly 
 and Church of the First Born, and to enjoy the communion 
 and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the Mediator of 
 the new covenant. " e The special offices of the Melchisedek 
 Priesthood are those of apostle, patriarch or evangelist, high 
 priest, seventy, and elder. Eevelation from God has 
 denned the duties associated with each of these callings; 
 and the same high authority has directed the establishment 
 of presiding officers growing out of, or appointed from 
 among those who are ordained to the several offices in these 
 two priesthoods/ 
 
 16. Specific Duties in the Priesthood: — The office of Deacon 
 is the first or lowest in the Aaronic Priesthood. The duties 
 of this calling are generally of a temporal nature, pertain- 
 ing to the care of the houses of worship and the comfort 
 of the worshipers. In all things, however, the Deacon may 
 be called to assist the Teacher in his labors. ° Twelve dea- 
 cons form a quorum ;* such a body is to be presided over by 
 a president and counselors, selected from among their num- 
 ber. 
 
 17. Teachers are local officers, whose function it is to 
 mingle with the Saints, exhorting them to their duties, and 
 strengthening the Church by their constant ministry ; they 
 are to see that there is no iniquity in the Church ; that the 
 members do not cherish ill-feelings toward one another : but 
 that all observe the law of God respecting Church duties. 
 
 e Doc. and Co v. cvii, 8, 18-19. 
 
 / Doc. and Cov. cvii, 21. 
 
 g Doc. and Cov. xx, 57, cvii, 85. 
 
 h Quorum:- This> term has acquired a special meaning among the Latter- 
 day Saints. It signifies, not alone a majority or such a number of persons of 
 any organized body as is requisite for authoritative action, but the organized 
 body itself. The Church regards a quorum as "a council or an organized body of 
 the priesthood," e. g. an elders 1 quorum; the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, etc. 
 (See Standard Dictionary.) 
 15 
 
210 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XI. 
 
 They may take the lead of meetings when no Priest or 
 higher officer is present. Both Teachers and Deacons may 
 preach the word of God when properly directed so to do ; 
 but they have not the power to independently officiate in 
 any spiritual ordinances, such as baptizing, administering 
 the sacrament, or laying on of hands.' Twenty-four Teach- 
 ers constitute a quorum ; from among such a body a presi- 
 dent and counselors are to be chosen. 
 
 18. The Priests are appointed to preach, teach, expound 
 the scripture, to baptize, to administer the sacrament, to 
 visit the houses of the members, exhorting them to their 
 duties. When properly directed, the Priest may ordain 
 Deacons, Teachers, and other Priests ; and he may be called 
 upon to assist the Elder in his work. A quorum of Priests 
 comprises forty-eight members ; such an organization is to 
 be presided over by a Bishop. 
 
 19. Elders are empowered to officiate in any or all duties 
 connected with lower callings in the priesthood ; and in ad- 
 dition, they may ordain other Elders ; confirm as members of 
 the Church candidates who have been properly baptized, and 
 confer upon them the Holy Ghost. These officers have au- 
 thority to bless children in the Church, and to take charge 
 of all meetings, conducting the same as they are led by the 
 Holy Ghost.-' The Elder may officiate in the stead of the 
 High Priest when the latter is not present. Ninety-six 
 Elders form a quorum ; three of these constitute the presi- 
 dency of the quorum/' 
 
 20. Seventies are traveling ministers, ordained to pro- 
 mulgate the Gospel among the nations of the earth, "unto 
 the Gentiles first, and also unto the Jews." They are to act 
 under the direction of the Apostles in this* exalted labor. l A 
 
 i Doc. and Cov. xx, 53-59, cvii, 86. 
 
 j Doc. and Cov. xx, 38-45, 70: cvii, 11-12. 
 
 k Doc. and Cov cvii, 89. 
 
 I Doc and Cov cvii, 34-35, 97-98. 
 
ART. 6.] CHURCH ORGANIZATION". 211 
 
 full quorum comprises seventy members, including seven 
 presidents. 
 
 21. High Priests are ordained with power to officiate, 
 when properly directed, in all the ordinances and blessings 
 of the Church. They may travel as do the Seventies, carry- 
 ing the Gospel to the nations ; but they are not specially 
 charged with this duty ; their specific calling being that of 
 standing presidency. The High Priests of any stake of the 
 Church may be organized into a quorum, and this without 
 limit as to number ; over such a quorum, three of the mem- 
 bers may be chosen to preside, as president and counselors." 1 
 
 22. Patriarchs, or Evangelists, are charged with the special 
 duty of blessing the Church ; of course they have authority to 
 officiate also in other ordinances. There is one "Patriarch 
 to the Church, 1 ' with general jurisdiction throughout the 
 whole organization; he holds the keys of the patriarchal 
 office, and unto him the promise is given "that whoever 
 he blesses shall be blessed, and whoever he curses shall be 
 cursed, that whatsoever he shall bind on earth shall be 
 bound in heaven, and whatsoever he shall loose on earth 
 shall be loosed in heaven."" 
 
 23. Concerning the patriarchial authority, the Lord has 
 said: "The order of this priesthood was confirmed to be 
 handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the 
 literal descendants of the chosen seed to whom the promises 
 were made. This order was instituted in the days of Adam, 
 and came down by lineage." But, beside this office of 
 general patriarchial power, there are a number of local 
 Patriarchs appointed in the branches of the Church, all 
 subject to counsel and direction at the hands of the 
 "Patriarch to the Church;" yet possessing the same 
 
 m Doc. and Cov. cvii, 10; cxxiv, 134-135. 
 n Doc. and Cov. cxxiv, 92-93. 
 o Doc. and Cov. cvii, 40-57. 
 
212 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XI. 
 
 privileges in their district as belong to him throughout the 
 Church. It is made a duty of the Twelve xipostles to 
 ordain evangelical ministers, or Patriarchs, in all large 
 branches of the Church, the selection to be made through 
 the power of revelation.^ 
 
 24. Apostles are called to be special witnesses of the 
 name of Christ in all the world f they are empowered to 
 build up and organize the branches of the Church; and 
 may officiate in any or all of the sacred ordinances. They 
 are to travel among the Saints, regulating the affairs of the 
 Church wherever they go, but particularly where there is 
 no complete local organization. They are authorized to 
 ordain Patriarchs, and other officers in the priesthood, as 
 they may be directed by the Spirit of God. r 
 
 25. Presidency and Quorum Organizations: — The revealed 
 word of God has provided for the establishment of presiding 
 officers "growing out of, or appointed from among those 
 who are ordained to the several offices in these two orders of 
 priesthoods." 8 In accordance with the prevailing principles of 
 order so characteristic of all His work, the Lord has directed 
 that the bearers of His priesthood shall be organized into 
 quorums, the better to aid them in learning the duties of 
 their stations. Some of these quorums are general in 
 extent and authority; others are local in their jurisdiction. 
 All quorums in authority and presiding officers are to be 
 sustained in their several positions by the vote of the people 
 over whom they are appointed to preside. Local officers are 
 thus voted upon by the local organizations, general author- 
 ities by the Church in conference assembled. Conferences 
 of the Church are held at semi-annual intervals, on which 
 occasions, the names of all the general officers are submitted 
 
 p Doc. and Cov. cvii, 39. 
 
 q Doc. and Cov. cvii, 23. 
 
 r Doc. and Cov. cvii, 39, 58; xx, 38-44. 
 
 s Doc. and Cov. cvii, 21. 
 
ART. 6.] CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 213 
 
 for the vote of the people. In like manner the authorities of 
 stakes and wards are sustained by vote at local conferences 
 held for these and other purposes. The principle of com- 
 mon consent is thus observed in all the organizations of the 
 Church. 
 
 26. The First Presidency constitutes the presiding 
 quorum of the Church. By Divine direction, a president is 
 appointed from among the members of the High Priesthood 
 to preside over the entire Church. He is known as Presi- 
 dent of the High Priesthood of the Church, or Presiding 
 High Priest over the High Priesthood of the Church/ He 
 is called "to be a seer, a revelator, a translator, and a pro- 
 phet, having all the gifts of God which l^e bestows upon 
 the head of the Church."" His station is compared by the 
 Lord to that of Moses of old, who stood as the mouth-piece 
 of God unto Israel. In his exalted labors among the 
 Church, this Presiding High Priest is assisted by two others 
 holding the same priesthood, and these three High Priests, 
 when properly appointed and ordained, and upheld by the 
 confidence, faith and prayers of the Church, "form a quorum 
 of the Presidency of the Church." 1 ' 
 
 27. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: — Twelve men 
 holding the Apostleship, properly organized, constitute the 
 quorum of the Apostles. These the Lord has designated as 
 the twelve traveling counselors ; w they form the traveling 
 presiding High Council, to officiate under the direction of 
 the First Presidency in all parts of the world. They con- 
 stitute a quorum, whose unanimous decisions are equally 
 binding in power and authority with those of the First 
 Presidency of the Church.* When the quorum of the First 
 
 t Doc. and Cov. cvii, 64-68. 
 u Doc. and Cov. cvii, 91-92. 
 v Doc and Cov. cvii, 22. 
 w Doc. and Cov, cvii, 23, 33. 
 x Doc. and Cbv. cvii, 24. 
 
214 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XI. 
 
 Presidency is disorganized through the death or disability 
 of the President, the directing authority in government 
 reverts at once to the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, by 
 whom the nomination to the Presidency is made. There 
 may be, and at present are, Apostles in the Church who are 
 not members of this quorum of Twelve; but such could 
 claim no place in the sittings of the quorum. 
 
 28. The Presiding Quorum of Seventy: — The first quorum 
 of Seventies form a body, whose unanimous decisions are 
 equally binding with those of the Twelve Apostles. Many 
 such quorums of Seventy may be required in the work of 
 the Church ; already there have been effected more than a 
 hundred of such, organizations; each quorum is presided 
 over by seven presidents. The seven presidents of the 
 First Quorum of Seventies, however, preside over all the 
 other quorums and their presidents." 
 
 29. The Presiding Bishopric, as at present constituted, 
 comprises the Presiding Bishop of the Church, and two 
 Counselors. This quorum holds jurisdiction over the duties 
 of other Bishops in the Church, and of all organizations 
 pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood. The oldest living 
 representative among the sons of Aaron is entitled to this 
 office of presidency, provided he be in all respects worthy and 
 qualified ; he must be designated and ordained by the First 
 Presidency of the Church. 2 If such a literal descendant of 
 Aaron be found and ordained, he may act without coun- 
 selors, except when he sits in judgment in a trial of one of 
 the presidents of the High Priesthood, in which case he is 
 to be assisted by twelve High Priests." But in the absence 
 of any lineal descendant of Aaron properly qualified, a High 
 Priest of the Melchisedek Priesthood may be called and set 
 apart by the First Presidency of the Church to the office of 
 
 y Doc. and Cov. cvii, 25-26; 34, 93-97. 
 z Doc. and Cov. lxviii. 18-20. 
 a Doc. and Cov. cvii, 82-83. 
 
ART. 0.] CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 215 
 
 Presiding Bishop; he is to be assisted by two other High 
 Priests properly ordained as his counselors. 6 
 
 30. Local Organizations of the Priesthood: — Where the 
 Saints are permanently located, Stakes of Zion are organ- 
 ized, each Stake comprising a number of wards or branches. 
 Over each Stake is placed a Stake Presidency, consisting of a 
 president and two counselors, who are High Priests properly 
 chosen and set apart to this office. The Stake Presidency 
 is assisted in judical function by a Standing High Council, 
 composed of twelve High Priests chosen and ordained to the 
 office. This Council is presided over by the Stake Presi- 
 dency, and forms the highest judicial tribunal of the Stake. 
 
 31. The presidents of stakes and bishops of wards are prop- 
 erly regarded as pastors to the fold ; their duties are doubt- 
 less analogous to those of the pastors of former dispensations. 
 The High Priests and the Elders in each Stake are organ- 
 ized into quorums as already described ; the former without 
 limitation as to number, the latter forming one or more 
 quorums, each of ninety-six members, as their number may 
 warrant. Patriarchs are also set apart to officiate in their 
 holy office among the people of the Stake. 
 
 32. A Ward Bishopric is established in every fully or- 
 ganized Ward of the Church. This body consists usually 
 of three High Priests set apart as a Bishop and Counselors. 
 Tf, however, a literal descendant of Aaron be called to the 
 bishopric, it is his privilege to act without counselors, as 
 was stated in the case of the Presiding Bishop. The Bishop 
 has jurisdiction over the quorums of the Lesser Priesthood in 
 his Ward ; and also over holders of the Higher Priesthood as 
 members of his Ward ; but he has no direct presidency over 
 quorums of the Melchisedek order, as such, which may be 
 embraced within his domain. As a presiding High Priest, 
 he properly presides over his entire Ward. The ward or- 
 
 h Doc. and Cov. lxviii, 19. 
 
216 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XI. 
 
 ganization comprises quorums of Priests, Teachers, and 
 Deacons, one or more of each as the numerical extent of 
 the Ward may determine. 
 
 33. Helps in Government: — Beside these constituted 
 authorities and offices in the priesthood, there are a number 
 of secondary or special organizations established among the 
 people for educational and benevolent purposes. Among 
 these, the following are of such importance as to call for 
 special mention. 
 
 (1.) Primary Associations: — These provide for the 
 moral instruction and training of young children. 
 
 (2.) Mutual Improvement Associations: — These comprise 
 separate organizations for the sexes, and are designed for 
 the education and training of the youth, in subjects of gen- 
 eral and theological interest. Instruction is provided in 
 theology, literature and history, science and art, the laws of 
 health, and numerous other branches of useful knowledge. 
 
 (3.) Sunday Schools, comprise graded classes for the 
 study of the scriptures, and for training in theology, in 
 moral and religious duties, and in the discipline of the 
 Church. Sunday schools, while primarily designed for the 
 young are open to all. 
 
 (4.) Church Schools: — These institutions provide for both 
 secular and religious instruction, and range from the grade 
 of the kindergarten to that of the college. 
 
 (5.) Religion Glasses: — In these is provided a course of 
 graded instruction in theology and religion, which is offered 
 as a supplement and complement to the purely secular teach- 
 ings of the non-denominational schools. 
 
 (6.) Relief Societies: — These are composed of women 
 whose self-imposed duties relate to the care of the poor, and 
 the relief of suffering among the afflicted. 
 
 34. Most of these auxiliary organizations exist in each 
 ward. Indeed, with the exception of Church Schools, which 
 
ART. 6. J NOTES. 217 
 
 usually rank as stake institutions, or even as of wider 
 scope, all of the secondary organizations named are regarded 
 as essential to the complete equipment of any ward. 
 Officers are appointed to preside over the several organiza- 
 tions in each ward; and while such officers are subject in 
 a general way to the local authorities in the priesthood, 
 they look for specific instructions regarding the plan and 
 method of their particular work, to the stake and general 
 authorities of the special organizations. In accordance with 
 the principle of common consent which characterizes the 
 Church in general, the officers of the auxiliary institutions, 
 while they 'are nominated by, or at least with the consent of 
 the established authorities in the priesthood, are installed 
 and retained in office by the vote of the members in the 
 local or general organization within which they are ap- 
 pointed to labor. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Degeneracy of Worship Incident to the Apostasy :— That, as the 
 priesthood disappeared from the earth after the apostolic period, the forms of 
 worship were perverted, while many pagan influences and practices crept in, may 
 be reasonably inferred from the records of history. Mosheim, an authority of 
 note in ecclesiastical history, has this to say regarding. pagan innovations dur- 
 ing the fourth century:— "The Christian bishops .introduced, with but slight 
 alterations, into the Christian worship, those rites and institutions by which, 
 formerly, the Greeks and Romans and other nations had manifested their piety 
 and reverence towards their imaginary deities; supposing that the people 
 would more readily embrace Christianity, if they saw that the rites handed 
 down to them from their fathers still existed unchanged among the Christians, 
 and perceived that Christ and the martyrs were worshiped in the same manner 
 as formerly their gods were. There was, of course, little difference in these 
 times, between the public worship of the Christians, and that of the Greeks and 
 Romans. In both alike, there were splendid robes, mitres, tiaras, wax tapers, 
 crosiers, processions, illustrations, images, golden and silver vases, and number- 
 less other things." ' 
 
 Of the form of professedly Christian worship in the fifth century, the same 
 authority says:— "Public worship everywhere assumed a form more calculated 
 for show and for the gratification of the eye. Various ornaments were added to 
 the sacerdotal garments, in order to increase the veneration of the people for 
 the clerical order. * * * In some places it was appointed that the praises of 
 
#18 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XI. 
 
 God should be sung perpetually night and day, the singers succeeding each other 
 without interruption: as if the Supreme Being took pleasure in clamor and 
 noise, and in the flatteries of men. The magnificence of the temples knew no 
 bounds. Splendid images were placed in them; * * * the image of the 
 Virgin Mary holding her infant in her arms occupied the most conspicuous 
 place." 
 
 2. Early Beginning of the Apostasy :— Orson Pratt, an apostle of the 
 present age, has written as follows concerning the early falling away from the 
 authorized practices of the Church: ".The great apostasy of the Christian 
 church commenced in the first century, while there were yet inspired apostles 
 and prophets in their midst; hence Paul, just previous to his martyrdom, 
 enumerates a great number who had 'made shipwreck of their faith.' and 
 'turned aside into vain jangling,' teaching 'that the resurrection was already 
 past;' giving 'heed to fables and endless genealogies;' 'doubting about questions 
 and strifes of words whereof come envyings, railings, evil surmisings, perverse 
 disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that 
 gain is godliness ' This apostasy had become so general that Paifl declares to 
 Timothy 'that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me:' and again he 
 says, 'at my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me;' he 
 further states that 'there are many unruly, and vain talkers, deceivers,' 'teach- 
 ing things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.' These apostates, no 
 doubt, pretended to be very righteous, 'for,' says the apostle, 'they profess that 
 they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, 
 and unto every good work reprobate.' '" 
 
AKT. 7.] SPIKITUAL GIFTS. 219 
 
 LECTURE XII. 
 
 SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 
 
 Article 7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, 
 healing, interpretation of tongues, etc. 
 
 1. Spiritual Gifts Characteristic of the Church: — It has 
 been already affirmed that all men who would officiate 
 with propriety in the ordinances of the Gospel, must be 
 commissioned for their exalted duties by the power -and 
 authority of heaven. When so divinely invested, these 
 servants of the Lord will not be lacking in proofs of the 
 Master's favor; for it has ever been characteristic of the 
 dealings of God with His people, to manifest His power by 
 the bestowal of a variety of ennobling graces, which are 
 properly called gifts of the Spirit. These are oft-times 
 exhibited in a manner so diverse from the usual order of 
 things as to be called miraculous and supernatural. In this 
 way did the Lord make Himself known in the early times of 
 scriptural history; and from the days of Adam until the 
 present, prophets of God have generally been endowed with 
 such power. Whenever the priesthood has operated through 
 an organized Church on the earth, the members of the flock 
 have been strengthened in their faith, and otherwise blessed 
 in numerous related ways, by the possession of these graces 
 within the Church. We may safely regard the existence of 
 these spiritual powers as one of the essential characteristics 
 of the true Church ; where they are not, the priesthood of 
 God does not operate. 
 
 2. Mormon a solemnly declares that the days of miracles 
 will not pass from the Church, as long as there shall be a 
 
 a Moroni vii, 35-37. 
 
220 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XII. 
 
 man upon the earth to be saved; "For," says he, "it is by 
 faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that 
 angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore if these 
 things have ceased, wo be unto the children of men, for it 
 is because of unbelief, and all is vain." And Moroni, 
 standing on the threshold of the grave, bears an indepen- 
 dent testimony that the gifts and graces of the Spirit will 
 never be done away as long as the world shall stand, except 
 it be through the unbelief of mankind. 5 
 
 3. Hear the words of this prophet addressed to those 
 "who deny the revelations of God and say that they are 
 done away, that there are no revelations nor prophecies, nor 
 gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the inter- 
 pretation of tongues. Behold I say unto you, he that 
 denieth these things knoweth not the Gospel of Christ ; yea 
 he has not read the scriptures ; if so, he does not under- 
 stand them. For do we not read that God is the same yes- 
 terday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variable- 
 ness neither shadow of changing? And now, if ye have 
 imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in 
 him there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up 
 unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles. But 
 behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the 
 God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of 
 Jacob ; and it is that same God who created the heavens and 
 the earth, and all things that in them are." c 
 
 4. Nature of Spiritual Gifts: — The gifts here spoken of 
 are essentially endowments of power and authority, through 
 which the purposes of God are accomplished, sometimes 
 with accompanying conditions that appear to be supernat- 
 ural. By such the sick may be healed, malignant influences 
 overcome, spirits of darkness subdued, the Saints, humble 
 
 b Moroni x, 19, 23-27. 
 c Mormon ix, 7-11. 
 
ART. 7.] SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 221 
 
 and weak, may proclaim their testimonies and otherwise 
 utter praises unto God in new and strange tongues, and 
 others may interpret these words ; the feeble human intel- 
 lect may be invigorated by the heavenly touch of spiritual 
 vision and blessed dreams, to see and comprehend things 
 ordinarily withheld from mortal senses; direct communica- 
 tion with the fountain of all wisdom may be established, 
 and the revelations of the Divine will may be obtained. 
 
 5. These gifts have been promised of the Lord unto 
 those who believe in His name f they are to follow obedi- 
 ence to the requirements of the Gospel. Among believers, 
 they are to serve for encouragement, and as incentives to 
 higher communion with the Spirit. 6 They are not given as 
 signs to gratify carnal curiosity; nor to satisfy a morbid 
 craving for the wonderful. Men have been led to the light 
 through manifestations of the miraculous; but events in 
 the lives of these show that they are either such as would 
 have found a knowledge of the truth in some other way, or 
 they are but superficially affected, and as soon as the 
 novelty of the new sensation has exhausted itself they 
 wander again into the darkness from which they had for the 
 time escaped. Miracles are not primarily intended, surely 
 they are not needed, to prove the power of God; the simpler 
 occurrences, the more ordinary works of creation do that. 
 But unto the heart already softened and purified by the 
 testimony of the truth, to the mind enlightened through 
 the Spirit's power, and conscious of obedient service in the 
 requirements of the gospel, the voice of miracles comes 
 with cheering tidings of a loving Parent's continued favor, 
 with fresh and more abundant evidences of the magnanim- 
 ity of an all-merciful God/ 
 
 d Mark xvi, 16; Doc. and Co v. lxxxiv, 64-73. 
 
 e Matt, xii, 38, 39: xvi, 1-4; Mark viii, 11, 12; Luke xi, 16-30. 
 
 / See Note 6. 
 
222 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XII. 
 
 6. Yet even to the unbeliever, the testimony of miracles 
 should appeal, at least to the extent of argument favoring 
 an investigation of the power through which these acts are 
 wrought; in such cases miracles are as "a loud voice ad- 
 dressed to those who are hard of hearing." The purpose of 
 spiritual gifts in the Church is explicitly set forth in a 
 revelation from the Lord through Joseph Smith: — "Where- 
 fore, beware lest ye be deceived; and that ye may not be 
 deceived, seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remem- 
 bering for what they are given; For verily I say unto you, 
 they are given for the benefit of those who love me and 
 keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do, 
 that all may be benefited that seeketh or that asketh of me, 
 that asketh and not for a sign that he may consume it upon 
 his lusts. "* 
 
 7. Miracles are commonly regarded as supernatural oc- 
 currences, taking place in opposition to the laws of nature. 
 Such a conception is plainly erroneous, for the laws of 
 nature are inviolable. However, as human understanding 
 of these laws is at best but imperfect, events strictly in 
 accordance with natural law may appear contrary thereto. 
 The entire constitution of nature is founded on system and 
 order; the laws of nature, however, are graded as are the 
 laws of man. The application of a higher law in any 
 particular case does not destroy the efficacy or validity of 
 an inferior one ; the lower law is as fully applicable as before 
 to the cases for which it was framed. For example, society 
 has enacted a law, forbidding, on peril of heavy penalties, 
 any man appropriating the property of another ; yet often- 
 times officers of the law forcibly seize the possessions of 
 their fellow-men, against whom judgments may have been 
 rendered; and such acts are done to satisfy, not to violate 
 justice. Jehovah commanded "Thou shalt not kill," and 
 
 g Doc. and Cov. xlvi, 8, 9. 
 
ART. 7.] SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 223 
 
 mankind has re-enacted the law, prescribing penalties for 
 violation thereof. Yet sacred history testifies, that, in cer- 
 tain cases, the Lawgiver, Himself, has directly commanded 
 His servants to vindicate justice by taking human life. 
 The judge who passes the extreme sentence upon a con- 
 victed murderer, and the executioner who carries into effect 
 that terrible mandate, act not in opposition of "Thou shalt 
 not kill," but actually in support of this decree. 
 
 8. With some of the principles upon which the powers of 
 nature operate, we are in a degree acquainted ; and in con- 
 templating them, we are no longer surprised, though deeper 
 reflection may show that even the commonest occurrence is 
 wonderful and strange. But any event beyond the ordinary 
 is pronounced miraculous, supernatural, if not indeed un- 
 natural, and we are more or less awe-stricken by the same.' 1 
 When the prophet Elisha caused the axe to float in the 
 river, 1 ' he brought to his service, through the exercise of 
 the authority of the priesthood, a power superior to that of* 
 gravity. Without doubt, the iron was heavier than the 
 water; yet by the operation of this higher force it was sup- 
 ported, suspended, or otherwise sustained at the surface, as 
 if it were held there by a human hand, or rendered suffi- 
 ciently buoyant by attached floaters. 
 
 9. Wine ordinarily consists of about four-fifths water, 
 the rest being a variety of chemical compounds, the ele- 
 ments of which are abundantly present in the air and soil. 
 The ordinary method, — what we term the natural method — 
 of bringing these elements into proper combination is by 
 planting the grape, then cultivating the vine till the fruit is 
 ready to yield its juice in the press. But by the exercise of 
 a power, not within purely human reach, the Savior, at the 
 marriage in Cana/ called those elements together, and 
 
 h See note 1. 
 
 i II Kings vi, 5-7. 
 
 ./' Johnii, 1-11. 
 
224 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [lEOT. XII. 
 
 brought about a chemical transformation within the water- 
 pots of stone, resulting in the production of pure wine. So, 
 too, when the multitudes were fed, under His priestly touch 
 and authoritative blessing, the bread and fishes increased in 
 substance, as if the seasons of years had been consumed in 
 their growth according to what we consider the natural 
 order. In healing the leprous, the palsied, and the infirm, 
 the disordered bodily parts were brought again into their 
 normal and healthful state; the impurities operating as 
 poisons in the tissues were removed by means more rapid 
 and effectual than those which depend upon the action of 
 drugs and physic. 
 
 10. No earnest observer, no reasoning mind, can doubt 
 the existence of intelligences and organisms which the 
 senses of man do not reveal. This world seems but the 
 temporal embodiment of things spiritual. The Creator lias 
 told us that He formed all things spiritual before they were 
 made temporal. k The flowers that flourish and die on earth 
 are perhaps represented above by imperishable blossoms of 
 transcendent beauty and entertaining fragrance. Man is 
 shaped after the image of Deity; his mind, though darkened 
 by custom and weakened by injurious habit, is still a fallen 
 type of immortal thought and Divine reason; and though 
 the space separating the human and the Divine in thought, 
 desire, and action, be as wide as that between sea and sky, 
 for as the stars are above the earth so are the ways of Go'd 
 above those of man, yet, we cannot doubt a strict analogy 
 between the spiritual and the temporal. When the eyes of 
 Elisha's servant were opened, the man saw the hosts of 
 heavenly warriors covering the mountains about Dothan, — 
 footmen, horsemen, and chariots, armed for fight against 
 the Syrians. l When Israel encompassed Jericho,™ may we 
 
 k See note, page 199. 
 I II Kings vi, 13-18. 
 m Josh. vi. 
 
ART. 7.] SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 225 
 
 not believe that the Captain of the Lord's host" and his 
 heavenly train were there, and that before their angelic 
 powers, sustained by the faith and obedience of the mortal 
 army, the walls were leveled? 
 
 11. Some of the latest and highest achievements of man 
 in the utilization of natural forces approach the conditions 
 of spiritual operations. To count the ticking of a watch a 
 hundred miles away; to speak in but an ordinary tone and 
 be heard across the country ; to signal from one hemisphere 
 and be understood on the other, though oceans roll and 
 roar between; to bring the lightning into our homes and 
 make it serve as fire and torch ; — are not these miracles? The 
 possibility of such things would not have been received with 
 credence before their actual accomplishment. The Presi- 
 dent of the Eepublic, sitting in his chair of state at the 
 nation's capital, talks with all parts, even with the ends of 
 this great country ; and if batteries and wire be in order, if 
 operators and officials be true, he is rightly informed of 
 every movement of importance anywhere in the land. The 
 orbs of the universe are as truly connected by a system of 
 inter-communication, surprisingly perfect in its action and 
 adaptation. These and the other innumerable miracles of 
 creation are accomplished in strict accordance with the laws 
 of nature, which are the laws of God. But we must return 
 to a further consideration of the specific manifestations of 
 spiritual gifts within the Church. 
 
 12. An Enumeration of the Gifts of the Spirit cannot be 
 made complete by man, so numerous, so extensive are the 
 blessings of the Father for His children. Yet the more 
 common of these spiritual manifestations have been speci- 
 fied by inspired scriptural writers, and by the sure word of 
 revelation. Paul writing to the Corinthian Saints, Moroni 
 
 n Josh, v, 13, 14. 
 o I Cor. xii, 4-11. 
 16 
 
226 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XII. 
 
 inditing his last appeal to the Lamanites,- P and the voice of 
 the Lord directed to the people of His Church in this dis- 
 pensation, 5 each names many of the great gifts of the Spirit. 
 From these scriptures, we learn that every man has received 
 some gift from God ; and in the great diversity of gifts all 
 do not receive the same. "To some it is given by the Holy 
 Ghost to know the differences of administration. * * * 
 And again it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know 
 the diversities of operations whether it be of God, that the 
 manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to 
 profit withal. And again, verily I say unto you, to some it 
 is given by the Spirit of God, the word of wisdom; to 
 another it is given the word of knowledge, that .all may be 
 taught to be wise, and to have knowledge. And again to 
 some it is given to have faith to be healed ; and to others it 
 is given to have faith to heal. And again to some it is given 
 the working of miracles, and to others it is given to 
 prophesy, and to others the discerning of spirits. And 
 again, it is given to some to speak with tongues; and to 
 another it is given the interpretation of tongues ; and all 
 these gifts cometh from God for the benefit of the children 
 of God." r 
 
 13. The Gift of Tongues and Interpretation :— The gift 
 of tongues constituted one of the first miraculous manifes- 
 tations of the Holy Ghost with the apostles of old. It was 
 included by the Savior among the special signs appointed to 
 follow the believer; "In my name," said He, "they shall 
 speak with new tongues." 8 The early fulfilment of this 
 promise in the case of the apostles themselves, was realized 
 on the succeeding Pentecost, when they, having assembled 
 in one place, were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to 
 
 p Moroni x, 7-19. 
 
 q Doc. and Cov. xlvi, 8-29. 
 
 /• Doc. and Cov. xlvi, 11-26; see also I Cor. xii, 4-11. 
 
 * Mark xvi, 17. , 
 
ART. 7.] SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 227 
 
 speak in strange tongues.* When the door of the Gospel 
 was first opened to the Gentiles, the converts rejoiced in the 
 Holy Ghost which had fallen upon them, and which gave 
 them utterance in tongues." This gift with others mani- 
 fested itself among certain disciples at Epliesus/ on the 
 occasion of their receiving the Holy Ghost. In the present 
 dispensation, this gift, again promised to the Saints, finds 
 frequent exercise. Its chief employment is in the function 
 of praise, rather than that of instruction and preaching; 
 and this is agreeable to Paul's teaching, "For he that 
 speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men 
 but unto God." 10 An unusual manifestation of the gift 
 was witnessed on the occasion of the Pentecostal conversion 
 of the Jews, already referred to, when the apostles speaking 
 unto the multitude, were understood by all the diversified 
 company, each listener hearing their teachings in his own 
 tongue.* This special gift was here associated with higher 
 endowments of power; the occasion was one of instruction, 
 admonition, and prophecy. The gift of interpretation may 
 be possessed by the one speaking in tongues, though more 
 commonly the separate powers are exercised by different 
 persons. 
 
 14. The Gift of Healing was exercised extensively in the 
 dispensation of the Savior and His apostles ; indeed, healing 
 constituted by far the greater part of the miracles wrought 
 at that time. By authoritative ministrations, the eyes of 
 the blind were opened ; the dumb were made to speak ; the 
 deaf to hear; the lame leaped for joy; afflicted mortals, 
 bowed with infirmity, were lifted erect and enjoyed the 
 vigor of youth; the palsied were made well; lepers were 
 
 t Acts ii, 4. 
 u Acts x, 46. 
 v Acts xix, 6. 
 w I Cor. xiv, 2 
 x Acts ii, 6-12. 
 
228 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XII. 
 
 cleansed; impotence was banished; and fevers were as- 
 suaged. In this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, 
 this power is possessed by the Church, and its manifestation 
 is of frequent occurrence among the Saints. Thousands of 
 blessed recipients can testify to the fulfilment of the Lord's 
 promise, that if His servants lay hands on the sick, they 
 shall recover/ 
 
 15. The usual method of administering to the sick is by 
 the imposition of hands of those who possess the requisite 
 authority of the priesthood; — this being agreeable to the 
 Savior's instructions in former days, 2 and according to 
 Divine revelation in the present day. a This part of the 
 ordinance is usually preceded by an anointing with oil 
 previously consecrated. The Latter-day Saints profess to 
 abide by the counsels of James of old, b "Is any sick among 
 you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let 
 them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of 
 the Lord ; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and 
 the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, 
 they shall be forgiven him." 
 
 16. Though the authority to administer to the sick 
 belongs to the elders of the Church in general, some possess 
 this power in an unusual degree, having received it as a 
 special endowment of the Spirit. Another gift, allied to 
 this, is the power of exercising faith to be healed; which is 
 manifested in varying degrees. Not always are the admin- 
 istrations of the elders followed by immediate healings; the 
 afflicted may be permitted to suffer in body, perhaps for the 
 accomplishment of Divine purposes/' and in the time ap- 
 
 y Mark xvi, 18; see also Doc. and Co v. lxxxiv, 68. 
 
 z The same: see also James v, 14, 15. 
 
 a Doc. and Cov. xlii, 43-14. 
 
 b James v, 14. 15. 
 
 c Doc. and Cov. xlvi, 19; xlii, 48-51; see also Actsxiv. 9: Matt.viii, 10; ix, 28,29. 
 
 d See instances of Job. 
 
ART. ?.] SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 229 
 
 pointed of the Lord, His children pass through bodily 
 death. But let the counsels of God be observed in admin- 
 istering to the afflicted; then if they recover, they live 
 unto the Lord; and the assuring promise is added that 
 those who die under such conditions die unto the Lord. 6 
 
 17. Visions and Dreams have constituted a means of 
 communication between God and His children in every dis- 
 pensation of the priesthood. In general, visions are mani- 
 fested to the waking senses, whilst dreams are given during 
 sleep. In the vision, however, the senses may be so affected 
 as to render the person practically unconscious, at least 
 oblivious to ordinary occurrences, while he is able to discern 
 the heavenly manifestation. In the earlier dispensations, 
 the Lord very frequently communicated through dreams 
 and visions, often-times revealing to His prophets the events 
 of the future, even to the latest generations. From the 
 multitude of instances recorded, let us select a few. Con- 
 sider the case of Enoch/ unto whom the Lord spake face to 
 face, showing him the course of the human family until and 
 beyond the second coming of the Savior. The brother of 
 Jared, g because of his righteousness was so blessed of God, 
 as to be shown all the inhabitants of the earth, both those 
 who had previously existed, and those who were to follow. 
 Unto Moses the will of God was made known with the vis- 
 ual manifestation of fire. fe Lehi received his instructions to 
 leave Jerusalem* through dreams ; and on many subsequent 
 occasions the Lord communicated with this patriarch of the 
 western world by visions and by dreams. The Old Testa- 
 ment prophets were generally so favored; e. g., Jacob the 
 
 e Doc. and Cov. xlii, 44-46. 
 
 / Pearl of Great Price; Writings of Moses, p. 
 
 g Ether iii. 
 
 h Exo. iii, 2. 
 
 i I Nephi ii, 2-4. 
 
230 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XII. 
 
 father of all Israel/ Job, the patient sufferer, fc Jeremiah/ 
 Ezekiel,™ Daniel," Habakkuk, Zechariah. 1 ' 
 
 18. The dispensation of Christ and His apostles was 
 marked by similar manifestations. The birth of John the 
 Baptist was foretold to his father while he was officiating in 
 priestly functions. 5 Joseph, betrothed to the Virgin, received 
 through an angel's visit r tidings of the Christ yet to be 
 born ; and on subsequent occasions he received warnings and 
 instructions in dreams concerning the welfare of the Holy 
 Child. 8 The Magi, returning from their pilgrimage of wor- 
 ship, were warned in dreams of Herod's treacherous designs/ 
 Saul of Tarsus was shown in a vision the messenger whom 
 God was about to send to him to minister in the ordinances 
 of the priesthood;" and other visions followed. 1 ' Peter was 
 prepared for the ministry to the Gentiles through a vision ;" 
 and John was so favored of God in this respect that the 
 book of Revelation is occupied by the record. 
 
 19. Most of the visions and dreams recorded in scripture 
 have been given to the chosen people, through the minister- 
 ing priesthood ; but there are exceptional instances of such 
 manifestations unto some, who, at the time, had not entered 
 the fold. Such, for example, was the case with Saul and 
 Cornelius; but in these instances the Divine manifestations 
 were immediately preliminary to conversion. Dreams with 
 
 j Gen. xlvi, 2. 
 
 k Job iv, 12-21. 
 
 I Jer. i, 11-16. 
 
 m Ezek. i; ii, 9, 10; iii, 22, 23; viii; xxxvii, 1-10, etc. 
 
 n Dan. vii; viii. 
 
 o Hab. ii, 2, 3. 
 
 p Zech. i, 8-11; 18-21; ii, 1, 2; iv; v; vi, 1-8. 
 
 q Luke i, 5-22. 
 
 r Matt, i, 20. 
 
 s Matt, ii, 13, 19, 22. 
 
 t Matt, ii, 12. 
 
 u Acts ix, 12. 
 
 v Acts xvi, 9; xviii, 9, 10; xxii, 17-21. 
 
 iv Acts x, 10-16; xi, 5-10. 
 
ART. 7.] SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 231 
 
 special import were given to Pharaoh, x Nebuchadnezzar 1 ' and 
 others ; but it required a higher power than their own to 
 interpret them ; and Joseph and Daniel were called to offi- 
 ciate. The dream given to the Midianite soldier, and its 
 interpretation by his fellow, 2 betokening the victory of Gid- 
 eon, were true manifestations ; as also the dream of Pilate's 
 wife," in which she learned of the innocence of the accused 
 Christ. 
 
 20. The Gift of Prophecy distinguishes its possessor as a 
 prophet, — literally one who speaks for another; specifically, 
 one who speaks for God. 6 It is distinguished by Paul as 
 one of the most desirable of spiritual endowments, and its 
 pre-eminence over the gift of tongues he discusses at length. c 
 To prophesy is to receive and declare the word of God, and 
 the statement of His will to the people. The function of 
 prediction, often regarded as the sole essential of prophecy, 
 is but one among many characteristics of this divinely given 
 power. The prophet may have as much concern with the 
 past, as with the present, or the future ; he may exercise his 
 gift in teaching through the light of, and by the experience 
 of preceding events, as in fore-telling occurrences. The 
 prophets of God have ever been in special favor with Him, 
 being privileged to learn of His will and designs ; indeed the 
 promise is made that the Lord will do nothing except He 
 reveal His secret purposes unto His servants, the prophets/ 
 These chosen oracles stand as mediators between God and 
 mortals, pleading for or against the people. 6 
 
 21. No special ordination in the priesthood is essential to 
 
 x Gen. xli; see other instances in Gen. xl. 
 
 y Dan. ii. 
 
 z Jud. vii, 13, 14. 
 
 a Matt, xxvii, 19. 
 
 b See note 2. 
 
 c I Cor. xiv, 1-9. 
 
 d Amos iii, 7. 
 
 e I Kings xviii, 36, 37; Rom. xi, 2, 3; James v, 16-18; Rev. xi, 
 
232 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XII. 
 
 man's receiving the gift of prophecy; bearers of the Mel- 
 chizedek order, Adam, Noah, Moses, and a multitude of 
 others were truly prophets, but not more truly so than were 
 many who exercised the Aaronic functions only — as for 
 example most of the Old Testament priests, subsequent to 
 the time of Moses, and John the Baptist/ The ministrations 
 of the prophetesses Miriam 8 ' and Deborah' 1 show that this 
 gift may be possessed by women also. In the time of 
 Samuel, the prophets were organized into a special order, to 
 aid their purposes of study and improvement/ 
 
 22. In the present dispensation, this great gift is enjoyed 
 in a fulness equal to that of any preceding time. The 
 Lord's will concerning present duties is made known to His 
 people through the mouths of prophets ; and events of great 
 import are fore-told.- 7 ' The very fact of the present existence 
 and growing condition of the Church is an undeniable testi- 
 mony of the power and reliability of modern prophecy. The 
 Latter-day Saints constitute a body of witnesses, numbering 
 hundreds of thousands, to the effect of this, one of the great 
 gifts of God. 
 
 23. Revelation is the means through which the will of 
 God is declared directly and in fulness to man. Under 
 circumstances best suiting the Divine purposes, through the 
 dreams of sleep or in waking visions of the mind, by voices 
 without visional appearance, or by actual manifestations of 
 the Holy Presence before the eye, God makes known His 
 designs, and charges His chosen vessels to bear the sacred 
 messages so imparted. Under the influence of inspiration, 
 or its more potent manifestation — revelation, man's mind is 
 enlightened, and his energies quickened to the accomplish- 
 
 / Matt, xi, 8-10. 
 
 g Exo. xv, 20. 
 
 h Jud. iv, 4. 
 
 i See note 3. 
 j Doc. and Cov. i, 4; lxxxvii. 
 
ART. 7. J SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 233 
 
 ment of wonders in the work of human progress ; touched with 
 a spark from the heavenly altar, the inspired instrument 
 cherishes the holy fire within his soul, and imparts it to 
 others as he may be led to do ; he is the channel through 
 which the will of God is conveyed. The words of him who 
 speaks by revelation in its highest form, are not his own ; 
 they are the words of God Himself; the mortal mouth-piece 
 is but the trusted conveyance of these heavenly messages. 
 With the authoritative, "Thus saith the Lord," the revelator 
 delivers the burden intrusted to his care. 
 
 24. The Lord strictly observes the principles of order and 
 propriety in giving revelation to His servants. Though it is 
 the privilege of any person to live so -as to merit this gift in 
 the affairs of his special calling, only those appointed and 
 ordained to the offices of presidency are to be revelators to 
 the people at large. Concerning the President of the 
 Church, who at the time of the revelation here referred to, 
 was the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord has said to 
 the elders of the Church: — "And this ye shall know 
 assuredly, that there is none other appointed unto you to 
 receive commandments and revelations until he be taken, if 
 he abide in me. * * * And this shall be a law unto 
 you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall 
 come before you, as revelations or commandments. And 
 this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you 
 may know they are not of me.'* fc 
 
 25. The Testimony of Miracles: — The Savior's promise in 
 a former day* as in the present dispensation" 1 is definite, to 
 the effect that specified gifts of the Spirit are to follow the 
 believer as signs of Divine favor. The possession and exer- 
 cise of such gifts may be taken therefore as essential fea- 
 tures of the Church of Christ." Nevertheless we are not 
 
 k Doc. and Cov. xliii, 3, 5, 6. 
 I Mark xvi, 17-18. 
 m Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv, 65-73. 
 n See notes 4 and 5. 
 
234 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [ LECT - XII « 
 
 justified in regarding the evidence of miracles as infallible 
 testimony of authority from heaven; on the other hand, 
 the scriptures furnish abundant proof that spiritual powers 
 of the baser sort have wrought miracles, and will continue 
 so to do, to the deceiving of many who lack discernment. 
 If miracles be accepted as infallible evidence of godly 
 power, the magicians of Egypt, through the wonders which 
 they accomplished in opposition to the ordained plan for 
 Israel's deliverance, have as good a claim to our respect as 
 has Moses. John the Revelator saw in vision a wicked power 
 working miracles, and thereby deceiving many ; doing great 
 wonders, even bringing fire from heaven. p Again, he saw 
 three unclean spirits, whom he knew to be "the spirits of 
 devils working miracles." 3 
 
 26. Consider in connection with this, the prediction 
 made by the Savior: — "There shall arise false Christs, and 
 false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, 
 insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the 
 very elect. " r The invalidity of miracles as a proof of 
 righteousness is declared in an utterance of. Christ Jesus 
 regarding the events of the great judgment: — "Many will 
 say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied 
 in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and 
 in thy name done many wonderful works? And then 
 will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from 
 me, ye that work iniquity." 8 The Jews, to whom these teach- 
 ings were addressed, knew that wonders could be wrought 
 by evil powers ; for they charged Christ with working mir- 
 acles by the authority of Beelzebub the prince of devils. "* 
 
 27. If the working of miracles were a distinctive char- 
 
 o Exo. vii-xi. 
 
 p Rev. xiii, 11-18. 
 
 g Rev. xvi, 13-14. 
 
 r Matt, xxiv, 24. 
 
 s Matt, vii, 22-23. 
 
 t Matt, xii, 22-30; Mark iii, 22; Luke xi, 15. 
 
ART. 7.] SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 235 
 
 acteristic of the holy priesthood, we would look for the 
 testimony of wondrous manifestations in connection with 
 the work of every prophet and authorized minister of the 
 Lord; yet we fail to find a record of miracles in the 
 case of Zechariah, Malachi, and other prophets of old; 
 while of John the Baptist, whom Christ declared to be 
 more than a prophet," it was plainly said that he did no 
 miracle ; r nevertheless, in rejecting John's doctrine, the un- 
 believers were ignoring the counsel of God against their 
 own souls. w To be valid as a testimony of truth, miracles 
 must be wrought in the name of Christ, and to His 
 honor, in furtherance of the plan of salvation. As stated, 
 they are not given to satisfy the curious and the lustful, 
 nor as a means of gaining notoriety for him through whom 
 they are accomplished. These gifts of the true Spirit are 
 manifested in support of the message from heaven, and in 
 corroboration of the words spoken by authority. 
 
 28. Imitations of Spiritual Gifts: — The proofs already 
 cited of miraculous achievements by powers other than of 
 God, and the scriptural predictions concerning such decep- 
 tive manifestations in the last days, ought to be our warning 
 against spurious imitations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 
 Satan has shown himself to be an accomplished strategist, 
 and a skilful imitator ; the most deplorable of his vic- 
 tories are due to his simulation of good, whereby the 
 undiscerning have been led captive. Let us not be deluded 
 with the thought that any act, the immediate result of 
 which appears to be benign, is necessarily productive of per- 
 manent good. It may serve the dark purposes of man's 
 arch-enemy to play upon the human sense of goodness, 
 even to the extent of healing the body, and apparently of 
 thwarting death. 
 
 u Matt, xi, 9. 
 v John x, 41. 
 w Luke vii, 30. 
 
236 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XII. 
 
 29. The restoration of the priesthood to earth in this 
 age of the world, was followed by a phenomenal growth of 
 the vagaries of spiritualism, whereby many have been led to 
 put their trust in Satan's counterfeit of G-od's eternal power. 
 The development of the healing gift in the Church to-day 
 is imitated in a degree, comparable to that with which the 
 magicians simulated the miracles of Moses, by the varied 
 faith cures and their numerous modifications. For those to 
 whom miraculous signs are all-sufficient, the imitation will 
 answer as well as would the real; but the soul who regards 
 the miracle in its true nature as but one element of the sys- 
 tem of Christ, possessing value as a positive criterion only 
 as it is associated with the numerous other characteristics 
 of the Church, will not be deceived. 
 
 30. Spiritual Gifts in the Church Today:— The Latter- 
 day Saints claim to possess within the Church all the sign- 
 gifts promised as the heritage of the believer. They point 
 to the unimpeached testimonies of thousands who have 
 been blessed with direct and personal manifestations of 
 heavenly power; to the once blind, and dumb, halt, and 
 weak in body, who have been freed from their infirmities 
 through their faith and by the ministrations of the priest- 
 hood; to a multitude who have voiced their testimony in 
 tongues with which they were naturally unfamiliar; or who 
 have demonstrated their possession of the gift by a phe- 
 nomenal mastery of foreign languages, when such was nec- 
 essary to the discharge of their duties as preachers of the 
 word of God; to many who have enjoyed communion with 
 heavenly beings ; to others who have prophesied in words 
 that have found their speedy vindication in literal fulfil- 
 ment; and to the Church itself, whose growth has been 
 guided by the voice of its Divine Leader, made known 
 through the gift of revelation.* 
 
 x See note 7. 
 
ART. 7.] NOTES. 237 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. A Seeming Miracle :— A few years ago, Herr Werner Siemens, a German 
 scientist of note, visited the pyramid of Gizeh, and, accompanied by a couple of 
 Arab guides, climbed to tbe top. He observed tbat the atmospheric conditions 
 were very favorable to electric manifestations. Fastening a large brass button 
 to an empty water-gourd in the hands of one of the Arabs, and then placing his 
 knuckle within a short distance from the button, he drew therefrom a succession 
 of brilliant sparks, accompanied of course by the crackling noises characteristic 
 of electric discharges. The guides viewed this exhibition of supernatural powers 
 with amazement and terror, which reached a climax when their master stretched 
 his staff above his head, and the stick was surmounted by a beautiful St. Elmo's 
 flame. This spectacle was more than the superstitious Bedouins could bear, 
 they trembled before an enchanter who could play with lightning and fire as with 
 a toy, and who carried miniature thunder in his coat pocket; so they fled down 
 the steps with dangerous precipitation, and soon disappeared in the desert. So 
 great was their fright that they forgot to claim their promised fees, which cir- 
 cumstance alone was no insignificent miracle. 
 
 2. The Term "Prophet" appears in the English Bible as the translation 
 of a number of Greek terms, the most usual of which is nabhi, signifying "to 
 bubble forth like a fountain." Another of the original words is rheo, meaning 
 "to flow," and by derivation "to speak forth," "to utter," "to declare." A 
 prophet, then, is one from whom flow forth the words of a higher authority. 
 Aaron is spoken of as a prophet or spokesman to Moses (Exo. vii, 1); but in the 
 usual sense, the prophet is the representative of God. Closely allied with the 
 calling of the prophet is that of the seer; indeed at a time prior to that of 
 Samuel, the common designation of the oracle of God was seer: "for he that is 
 dow called a prophet was beforetime called a seer," (I Sam. ix, 9). The seer was 
 permitted to behold the visions of God, the prophet to declare the truths so 
 learned; the two callings were usually united in the same person. Unto the 
 prophet and seer the Lord usually communicated in visions and dreams; but an 
 exception to this order was made in the case of Moses, who was so faithful and 
 so great in all things good, that the Lord discarded the usual means and 
 declared Himself to His servant face to face (Num. xii, 6-8). 
 
 3. Prophets Organized :— The prophet's office existed among men in the 
 earliest periods of history. Adam was a prophet (Doc. andCov. cvii, 53-56); as 
 also were Enoch ( Jude xiv : Pearl of Great Price p. 28) , Noah (Gen. vi, vii ; Pearl of 
 Great Price p. 47; II Peter ii, 5), Abraham (Gen. xx, 7), Moses (Deut. xxxiv, 10) , 
 and a multitude of others who ministered at intermediate and subsequent times. 
 Samuel, who was established in the eyes of all Israel as a prophet of the Lord, 
 (I Sam. iii, 19, 20), organized the prophets into a society for common instruction 
 and edification. He established schools for the prophets, theological colleges, 
 where men were trained in things pertaining to holy offices; the students were 
 generally called "sons of the prophets" (I Kings xx, 35: II Kings ii, 3, 5, 7; iv, 1, 
 38; ix, 1). Such schools were established at Raman (I Sam. xix, 19, 20), Bethel 
 (II Kings ii, 3), Jericho (II Kings ii, 5), Gilgal (II Kings iv,38;). The mem- 
 bers seem to have lived together as a society (II Kings vi, 1-4). In the present 
 dispensation, a similar organization was effected under the direction- of the 
 prophet Joseph Smith; this also received the name of the School of the 
 Prophets. 
 
238 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XII. 
 
 4. The Decline of Spiritual Gifts in former days is admitted by many 
 authorities on ecclesiastical history and Christian doctrine. As an instance 
 of this kind of testimony to the departure of the spiritual graces from the apos- 
 tate church, the following words of John Wesley may be applied:— "'It does not 
 appear that these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were common in the 
 church for more than two or three centuries. We seldom hear of them after that 
 fatal period when the emperor Constantine called himself a Christian, and from 
 a vain imagination of promoting the Christian cause thereby, heaped riches and 
 power and honor upon Christians in general, but in particular upon the Christian 
 clergy. From this time they almost totally ceased: very few instances of the 
 kind were found. The cause of this was not as has been supposed because there 
 was no more occasion for them,— because all the world was become Christians. 
 This is a miserable mistake: not a twentieth part of it was then nominally 
 Christian. The real cause of it was the love of many, almost all Christians, so- 
 called, was waxed cold. The Christians had no more of the Spirit of Christ than 
 the other heathens. The Son of Man, when he came to examine His Church, 
 could hardly find faith upon the earth. This was the real cause why the extra- 
 ordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian 
 Church— because the Christians were turned heathens again, and only had a dead 
 form left."— Wesley's Works vii, 89; 26-27. 
 
 5. Sectarian Views Concerning Continuance or Decline of Spiritual 
 Gifts :— "Protestant writers insist that the age of miracles closed with the fourth 
 or fifth century, and that after that the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost 
 must not be looked for. Catholic writers, on the other hand, insist that the power 
 to perform miracles has always continued in the Church; yet those spiritual 
 manifestations which they describe after the fourth and fifth centuries savor of 
 invention on the part of the priests, and childish incredulity on the part of the 
 people; or else, what is claimed to be miraculous falls far short of the power and 
 dignity of those spiritual manifestations which the primitive church was wont 
 to witness. The virtues and prodigies, ascribed to the bones and other relics of 
 the martyrs and saints, are puerile in comparison with the healings by the 
 anointing with oil and the laying on of hands, speaking in tongues, interpreta- 
 tions, prophecies, revelations, casting out devils in the name of Jesus Christ; to 
 say nothing of the gifts of faith, wisdom, knowledge, discernment of spirits, 
 etc.— common in the Church in the days of the apostles (I Cor. xii, 8-10). Nor is 
 there anything in the scriptures or in reason that would lead one to believe that 
 they were to be discontinued. Still this plea is made by modern Christians — 
 explaining the absence of these spiritual powers among them— that the extra- 
 ordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were only intended to accompany the procla- 
 mation of the gospel during the first few centuries, until the church was able to 
 make its way without them, and they were to be done away. It is sufficient to 
 remark upon this, that it is assumption pure and simple, and stands without 
 warrant either of scripture or right reason: and proves that men had so far 
 changed the religion of Jesus Christ that it became a form of godliness without 
 the power thereof." —Elder B. H. Roberts, '■'■Outlines of Ecclesiastical History.''' 
 part ii, sec. v, 6-8. 
 
 6. Miracles an Aid to Spiritual Growth:— Apostle Orson Pratt, com- 
 menting on the utterances of Paul concerning the passing away of certain spirit- 
 ual gifts (I Cor. xiii), writes in part as follows:— "The church in its militant and 
 imperfect state, compared with its triumphant, immortal and perfect state, is (in 
 
ART. 7.] NOTES. 239 
 
 the 11th verse) represented by the two very different states of childhood and 
 manhood. "When," says St. Paul, "I was a child, I spake as a child, understood 
 as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish 
 things." In the various stages of education from childhood^to manhood, certain 
 indispensable rules, and diagrams, and scientific instruments are employed for 
 the use and benefit of the pupil, that he may acquire a correct knowledge of the 
 sciences, and be perfected in his studies. When the principles have been once 
 acquired, and the student has been perfected in every branch of education, he 
 can dispense with many of his maps, charts, globes, books, diagrams, etc.; as 
 being, like childish things, no longer necessary; they were useful before his 
 education was perfected, in imparting the desired knowledge, but having ful- 
 filled their purposes, he no longer needs their assistance. * * * * So it is with 
 the Church in relation to spiritual gifts. While in this state of existence it is 
 represented as a child: prophecy, revelations, tongues, and .other spiritual 
 gifts, are the instruments of education. The child, or church, can no more be 
 perfected in its education without the aid of these gifts as instruments, than the 
 chemist could in his researches if he were deprived of the necessary apparatus for 
 experiments. As the chemist needs his laboratory for experiments, as long as 
 there remains any undiscovered truths in relation to the elements and com- 
 pounds of our globe, so does the Church need the great laboratory of spiritual 
 knowledge— namely, revelation and prophecy,— as long as it knows only in part. 
 * * * * As a human being, when a child, speaks as a child, understands as a 
 child, and thinks as a child, so does the Church in this state of existence know 
 only in part; but as the child, when it becomes a man, puts away childish things, 
 so will the Church put away such childish things as 'prophecy in part,' 'knowl- 
 edge in part,' and 'seeing in part,' whenit grows up, through the aid of these 
 things, to a perfect man in Christ Jesus; that which is in part will be done 
 away or merged into the greater fulness of knowledge which there reigns." — 
 "■Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon" i, 15. 
 
 But none of these gifts will be .done away as long as the occasion for their 
 exercise continues. That this was the conviction of Apostle Orson Pratt, whose 
 words are quoted above, is evident from the following utterances by the same 
 authority:— "The affliction of devils, the confusion of tongues, deadly poisons 
 and sickness, are all curses which have been introduced into the world by the 
 wickedness of man. The blessings of the gospel are bestowed to counteract 
 these curses. Therefore, as long as these curses exist, the promised signs [Mark 
 xvi, 16-18; Doc. and Cov. lxxxiv, 65-72] are needed to counteract their evil con- 
 sequences. If Jesus had not intended that the blessings should be as extensive 
 and unlimited in point .of time as the curses, He would have intimated some- 
 thing to that effect in His word. But when He makes a universal promise of cer- 
 tain powers, to enable every believer in the gospel throughout the world to 
 overcome certain curses, entailed upon man because of wickedness, it would be 
 the rankest kind of infidelity not to believe the promised blessing necessary, as 
 long as the curses abound among men." 
 
 7. Modern Manifestations :— The official and incidental publications of the 
 Church abound in instances of miraculous manifestations during the current 
 dispensation. A number of authenticated accounts with many cases are to be 
 found as follows:— Orson Pratt's "Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon," 
 chapter v; B. H. Roberts' "A New Witness for God," chapter xviii. 
 
240 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIII, 
 
 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 THE BIBLE. 
 
 Article 8.— We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is trans- 
 lated correctly * * * 
 
 1. Our Acceptance of the Bible: — The Church of Jiesus 
 Christ of Latter-day Saints accepts the Bible as the first and 
 foremost of her standard works, chief among the books 
 which have been proclaimed as her written guides in faitli 
 and doctrine. In the respect and sanctity with which the 
 Latter-day Saints regard the Bible, they are of like profes- 
 sion with Christian denominations in general ; differing from 
 them only in the additional acknowledgment of certain other 
 scriptures as authentic and holy, which others are in har- 
 mony with the Bible, and serve to support and emphasize its 
 facts and doctrines. There is, therefore, no specifically 
 "Mormon" treatment of the Bible to be presented. The 
 historical and other data, upon which is based the current 
 Christian faith as to the genuineness of the biblical record, 
 are accepted as unreservedly by the Latter-day Saints as by 
 the members of any sect; and in literalness of interpretation 
 this Church probably excels. 
 
 2. Nevertheless, the Church announces a reservation in 
 the case of erroneous translation, which may occur as a re- 
 sult of human incapacity; and even in this measure of 
 caution we are not alone, for biblical scholars generally 
 admit the presence of errors of the kind, many of them 
 self-apparent. The Latter-day Saints believe the original 
 records to be the word of God unto man, and, as far as these 
 records have been translated correctly, the translations are 
 regarded as equally authentic. The English Bible professes 
 
ART. 8.] THE BIBLE. Ml 
 
 to be a translation made through the wisdom of man ; in its 
 preparation the most scholarly men have been enlisted ; yet 
 not a version has been published in which even the 
 unlearned cannot perceive errors. However, an impartial 
 investigator has cause to wonder more at the paucity of errors 
 than that errors are to be found at all. 
 
 3. There will be, there can be, no absolutely reliable 
 translation of these or other scriptures, unless it be effected 
 through the gift of translation, as one of the endowments of 
 the Holy Ghost. The translator must have the spirit of 
 the prophet if he would render in another tongue the 
 prophet's words ; and human wisdom leads not to that pos- 
 session. Let the Bible then be read reverently, and with 
 prayerful care, the reader ever seeking the light of the 
 Spirit that he may discern between truth and the mistakes 
 of men. 
 
 4. The Name "Bible:" — In present usage, the term, Bible, 
 designates the collection of sacred writings otherwise known 
 as the Jewish scriptures, containing an account of the deal- 
 ings of God with the human family; which account is con- 
 fined wholly, except in the record of ante-diluvian events, 
 to the Eastern hemisphere. The word itself, though singu- 
 lar in form, is the English representative of a Greek plural, 
 Biblia, signifying literally the books. The use of the word 
 probably dates from the fourth century, at which time we 
 find Chrysostom a employing the term to designate the 
 scriptural books then accepted as canonical by the Greek 
 Christians. It is to be noted, that the idea of a collection 
 of books predominates in all early usages of the word 
 Bible; the scriptures were, as they are, composed of the 
 special writings of many authors, widely separated in time; 
 and, from the striking harmony and unity prevailing 
 
 a See Note 1. 
 17 
 
242 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIII. 
 
 throughout these diverse productions, strong evidence of 
 their authenticity may be adduced. 
 
 5. The word Biblia was thus endowed with a special 
 meaning in the Greek, signifying the boohs, that is to say the 
 holy books as distinguishing the sacred scriptures from all 
 other writings ; and the term soon became current in the 
 Latin, in which tongue it was used from the first in its 
 special sense. Through Latin usage, perhaps during the 
 thirteenth century, the word came to be regarded as a 
 singular noun, signifying the book; this departure from the 
 plural meaning, invariably associated with the term in the 
 Greek original, led up to the popular error of regarding the 
 Bible as having been a unified volume from the first. Hence 
 we meet with the reputed derivation of the word from the 
 Greek singular noun Biblos meaning the book, but this is 
 declared by a preponderance of good authority to be founded 
 on a traditional misconception. It may appear that the 
 derivation of a word is of trifling importance ; yet in this 
 case, the original form and first use of the title now current 
 as that of the sacred volume, must be of instructive interest, 
 as throwing some light upon the compilation of the book in 
 its present form. 
 
 6. It is evident that the name Bible is not of itself a 
 biblical term ; its use as a designation of the Jewish scrip- 
 tures is wholly external to those scriptures themselves. In 
 its earliest application, which dates from post-apostolic 
 times, it was made to embrace most if not all the books of 
 the Old and the New Testament. Prior to the time of 
 Christ, the books of the Old Testament were known by no 
 single collective name, but were designated in groups as (1) 
 the Pentateuch, or five books of the Law; (2) the Prophets; 
 and (3) the Hagiographa, comprising all sacred records not 
 included in the other divisions. But we may the better 
 consider the parts of the Bible by taking the main divisions 
 
AKT. 8.] THE OLD TESTAMENT. 243 
 
 separately. A very natural division of the biblical record is 
 effected by the earthly work of the Savior; the written pro- 
 ductions of pre-Christian times came to be known as the 
 Old Covenant; those of the days of the Savior and the years 
 immediately following, as the New Covenant. 6 The term 
 testament gradually grew in favor until the designations 
 Old and New Testaments became common. 
 
 THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
 7. Its Origin and Growth: — At the time of our Lord's 
 ministry in the flesh, the Jews were in possession of certain 
 scriptures which they regarded as canonical or authorita- 
 tive. There can be little doubt as to the authenticity of 
 those works, for they were frequently quoted by both Christ 
 and the apostles, by whom they were designated as "the 
 scriptures." The Savior specifically refers to them under 
 their accepted terms of classification" as "the law of Moses, 
 the prophets, and the psalms. " d The books thus accepted 
 by the people in the time of Christ are sometimes spoken 
 of as the Jewish canon of scripture. The term canon, 
 now generally current, suggests not books that are merely 
 credible, authentic, or even inspired ; but such books as are 
 recognized as authoritative guides in profession and prac- 
 tice. The term is instructive in its derivation. Its Greek 
 original, kanon, signified a straight measuring rod, and hence 
 it came to mean an authoritative standard of comparison, a 
 rule, or test, as applied to moral subjects as well as to 
 material objects. 
 
 8. As to the formation of the Jewish canon, or the Old 
 Testament, we read that Moses wrote the first part of it, 
 viz. the Law; and that he committed it to the care of the 
 
 b I Cor. xi, 25; see also Jer. xxxi, 31. 
 c John v, 39; Acts xvii, 11. 
 d Luke xxiv, 44. 
 
244 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIII. 
 
 priests, or Levites, with a command that they preserve it in 
 the ark of the covenant, 6 to be a witness against Israel in 
 their transgressions. Fore-seeing that a king would some 
 day govern Israel, Moses commanded that the monarch 
 should make a copy of the Law for his guidance/ Joshua, 
 successor of Moses, as leader and law-giver of Israel, wrote 
 further of the dealings of God with the people, and of the 
 Divine precepts ; and this writing he evidently appended to 
 the Law as recorded by Moses. g Three centuries and a half 
 after the time of Moses, when the theocracy had been 
 replaced by a monarchy, Samuel, the approved prophet of 
 the Lord, wrote of the change, "in a book, and laid it up 
 before the Lord.'" 1 And thus we see the law of Moses was 
 augmented by later authoritative records. From the writ- 
 ings of Isaiah, we learn that the people had access to the 
 "Book of the Lord;" for the prophet admonished them to 
 seek it out, and read it.'' It is evident then, that in the time 
 of Isaiah, the people had a written authority in doctrine and 
 practice. 
 
 9. Nearly four centuries later, (640-630 B. C), while 
 the righteous king Josiah occupied the throne of Judah, as 
 a part of divided Israel, Hilkiah the high priest and father 
 of the prophet Jeremiah, found in the temple "a book of 
 the law of the Lord'Y which was read before the kings. k 
 Then, during the fifth century B. C, in the days of Ezra, 
 the edict of Cyrus permitted the captive people of Judah, a 
 remnant of once united Israel, to return to Jerusalem/ 
 there to rebuild the temple of the Lord, according to the 
 
 e Deut. xxxi, 9; 24-26. 
 
 / Deut. xvii, 18. 
 
 g Joshua xxiv, 26. 
 
 h I Sam. x, 25. 
 
 i Isaiah xxxiv, 16. 
 
 j II Chron. xxxiv, 14-15; see also Deut. xxxi, 
 
 k II Kings, xxii. 
 
 I Ezra i, 1-3. 
 
ART. 8.] THE OLD TESTAMENT. 245 
 
 law™ of God, then in the hand of Ezra. From this we may 
 infer that the written law was then known ; and to Ezra is 
 usually attributed the credit of compiling the books of 
 the Old Testament as far as completed in his day, 
 to which he added his own writings." In this work of com- 
 pilation he was probably assisted by Nehemiah and the 
 members of the Great Synagogue, — a Jewish college of a 
 hundred and twenty scholars. The book of Nehemiah, 
 which gives a continuation of the historical story as recorded 
 by Ezra, is supposed to have been written by the prophet 
 whose name it bears, in part at least during the life of Ezra. 
 Then, a century later, Malachi, the last of the prophets of 
 note who nourished before the opening of the dispensation 
 of Christ, added his record, completing, and virtually clos- 
 ing the pre-Christian canon, with a prophetic promise of the 
 Messiah, who was to establish a new and an everlasting 
 covenant. 1 ' 
 
 10. Thus, it is evident that the Old Testament grew with 
 the successive writings of authorized and inspired scribes 
 from Moses to Malachi, and that its compilation was a 
 natural and gradual process, each addition being deposited, 
 or, as the sacred record gives it, "laid up before the Lord," 
 in connection with the previous writings. Undoubtedly 
 there were known to the Jews many other books, not in- 
 cluded in our present Old Testament; references to such 
 are abundant in the scriptures themselves, which references 
 prove that many of those extra-canonical records were re- 
 garded as of great authority. But concerning this, we will 
 enquire further in connection with the Apocrypha. The 
 recognized canonicity of the Old Testament books is at- 
 
 m See Ezra vii, 12-14. 
 n The Book of Ezra. 
 
 o This historical information is given in certain of the apocryphal works; see 
 II Esdras. 
 p Mai. iii, lv 
 
246 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIII. 
 
 tested by the numerous references in the latter to the earlier 
 books, and by the many quotations from the Old Testament 
 occurring in the New. About two hundred and thirty 
 quotations or direct references have been listed ; and in ad- 
 dition to these, hundreds of less direct allusions occur. 
 
 11. Language of the Old Testament: — It is highly prob- 
 able, almost certain indeed, that nearly all the books of 
 the Old Testament were originally written in Hebrew. 
 Scholars profess to have found evidence that small portions 
 of the books of Ezra, Daniel, and Jeremiah, were written 
 in the Chaldee language ; but the prevalence of Hebrew as 
 the language of the original scriptures has given to the Old 
 Testament the common appellation, Hebrew or Jewish 
 canon. Of the Pentateuch, two versions have been recog- 
 nized, — the Hebrew prober and the Samaritan, q the latter of 
 which was preserved in the most ancient of Hebrew char- 
 acters by the Samaritans, between whom and the Jews 
 there was lasting enmity. 
 
 12. The Septuagint: — Passing over the Peshito or early 
 Syriac version of the Old Testament, as of minor signifi- 
 cance, we recognize as the first important translation of the 
 Hebrew canon, that known as the Septuagint. 1 ' This was 
 a Greek version of the Old Testament, translated from the 
 Hebrew at the instance of an Egyptian monarch, probably 
 Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 286 B. C. The name Septua- 
 gint suggests the number seventy, and is said to have been 
 given because the translation was made by a body of seventy- 
 two elders (in round numbers seventy) ; or, as other tradi- 
 tions say, because the work was accomplished in seventy, 
 or seventy-two days; or, according to yet other stories, 
 because the version received the sanction of the Jewish 
 ecclesiastical council, the Sanhedrin, which comprised 
 
 q See Note 2. 
 r See Note 3. 
 
ART. 8. J THE OLD TESTAMENT. 247 
 
 seventy-two members. Certain it is that the Septuagint, 
 (sometimes indicated by the numerals LXX) was the cur- 
 rent version among the Jews in the days of Christ's min- 
 istry, and was quoted by the Savior and the apostles in their 
 references to the old canon. It is regarded as the most 
 authentic of the ancient versions, and is accepted at the 
 present time by the Greek Christians and other eastern 
 churches. It is evident then, that from a time nearly three 
 hundred years before Christ,' the Old Testament has been 
 current in both Hebrew and Greek; this duplication has 
 been an effective means of protection against alterations. 
 
 13. The Present Compilation recognizes thirty- nine books 
 in the Old Testament; these were originally combined as 
 twenty-two books, corresponding to the letters in the 
 Hebrew alphabet. The thirty-nine books as at present 
 constituted may be conveniently classified as follows : 
 
 (1) The Pentateuch or Books of the Law 5 
 
 (2) The Historical Books 12 
 
 (3) The Poetical Books 5 
 
 (4) The Books of the Prophets 17 
 
 14. (1.) The Books of the Law. The first five books in the 
 Bible are collectively designated as the Pentateuch, (pente — 
 five, teuxos — volume); and were known among the early 
 Jews as the Torah, or the law. Their authorship is tra- 
 ditionally ascribed to Moses, 8 and in consequence the "Five 
 Books of Moses" is another commonly used designation. 
 They give the history, brief though it be, of the human race, 
 from the creation to the flood, from Noah to Israel ; then a 
 more particular account of the chosen people through their 
 period of Egyptian bondage; thence during the journey 
 of four decades in the wilderness, to the encampment on the 
 farther side of Jordan. 
 
 s Ezra vi, 8; vii, 6; Neh. viii, 1; John vii, 19. 
 
248 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. L LECT - XI11 ' 
 
 15. (2.) The Historical Books, twelve in number, com- 
 prise the following: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I and II 
 Samuel, I and II Kings, I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehe- 
 miah, Esther. They tell the story of the Israelites entering 
 the land of promise, and their subsequent career through 
 three distinct periods of their existence as a people : — (1) as a 
 theocratic nation, with a tribal organization, all parts 
 cemented by ties of religion and kinship ; (2) as a monarchy, 
 at first a united kingdom, later a nation divided against 
 itself; (3) as a partly conquered people, their independence 
 curtailed by the hand of their victors. 
 
 16. (3.) The Poetical Books number five, — Job, Psalms, 
 Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. They 
 are frequently spoken of as the doctrinal or didactic 
 works, and the Greek designation Hagiographa (hagios — 
 holy, and graphe — a writing) is still applied/ These are 
 of widely different ages, and their close association in the 
 Bible is probably due to their common use as guides in 
 devotion amongst the Jewish churches. 
 
 17. (4.) The Books of the Prophets comprise the five 
 larger works of Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Lamentations of Jere- 
 miah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, commonly known as the works 
 of the Major Prophets; and the twelve shorter books of 
 Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Xahum, Ha- 
 bakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, 
 known to Bible scholars as the books of the Minor 
 Prophets. These give the burden of the Lord's word to 
 His people, encouragement, warning and reproof, as suited 
 their condition, before, during, and after their captivity." 
 
 t As stated, the Hagiographa or "sacred writings," are generally understood 
 to include the five poetical works of the Old Testament. By some authorities, 
 the list is extended to include all the books mentioned in the Talmud as hagio- 
 grapha, viz., Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Pro- 
 verbs. Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations, and Daniel. 
 
 n See note 4. 
 
ART. 8. J THE NEW TESTAMENT. 249 
 
 18. The Apocrypha comprise a number of books of doubt- 
 ful authenticity, though such have been at times highly 
 esteemed. Thus, they were added to the Septuagint, and for 
 a time were accorded recognition among the Alexandrine 
 Jews. However, they have never been generally admitted, 
 being of uncertain origin. They are not quoted in the New 
 Testament. The designation apocryphal (meaning hidden, 
 or secret) was first applied to the books by Jerome, because, 
 said he, "the church doth read [them] for example of life 
 and instruction of manners, but yet doth it not apply them 
 to establish any doctrine." The Roman church professes to 
 acknowledge them as scripture, action to this end having 
 been taken by the council of Trent (1546) ; though the 
 doubt of the authenticity of the works seems still to exist 
 even among the Roman Catholic dignitaries. The sixth 
 article in the Liturgy of the Church of England defines the 
 orthodox views of the church as to the meaning and intent 
 of Holy Scripture ; and, after specifying the books of the 
 Old Testament which are regarded as canonical, proceeds in 
 this wise: — "And the other books (as Hierome [Jerome] 
 saith) the church doth read for example of life and instruc- 
 tion of manners ; but yet doth it not apply them to establish 
 any doctrine ; such are these following : — The Third Book of 
 Esdras ; The Fourth Book of Esdras ; The Book of Tobias ; 
 The Book of Judith; The rest of the Book of Esther; The 
 Book of Wisdom; Jesus, the Son of Sirach; Baruch the 
 Prophet; The Song of the Three Children; The Story of 
 Susanna ; Of Bel and the Dragon ; The Prayer of Manasses ; 
 The First Book of Maccabees ; The Second Book of Mac- 
 cabees." 
 
 THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 19. Its Origin and Authenticity:— Since the latter part 
 of the fourth century of our present era, there has arisen 
 scarcely a single question of importance regarding the 
 
250 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [ LECT - Xm - 
 
 authenticity of the books of the New Testament as at pre- 
 sent constituted. From that time until the present, the 
 New Testament has been accepted as an unquestioned 
 canon of scriptures by all professed Christians/ In the 
 fourth century, there were generally current several lists of 
 the books of the New Testament as we now have them ; of 
 these may be mentioned the catalogues of Athanasius r 
 Epiphanius, Jerome, Rufinus, and Augustine of Hippo, and 
 the list announced by the third Council of Carthage. To 
 these may be added four others, which differ from the fore- 
 going in omitting the Eevelation of John in three cases, 
 and the same with the Epistle to the Hebrews in one. 
 
 20. This superabundance of evidence relating to the 
 constitution of the New Testament canon in the fourth 
 century, is a result of the anti- Christian persecution of that 
 period. At the beginning of the century in question, the 
 oppressive measures of Diocletian, emperor of Rome, were 
 directed not alone against the Christians as individuals and 
 as a sect, but against their sacred writings, which the fan- 
 atical and cruel monarch sought to destroy. Some degree 
 of leniency was extended to those persons who yielded up 
 the holy books that had been committed to their care ; and 
 not a few embraced this opportunity of saving their lives. 
 When the rigors of persecution were lessened, the churches 
 sought to judge their members who had weakened in their 
 allegiance to the faith, as shown by their surrender of the 
 scriptures, and all such were anathematized as traitors. 
 Inasmuch as many books, that had been thus given up under 
 the pressure of threatening death, were not at that time 
 generally accepted as holy, it became a question of first 
 importance to decide just which books were of such admitted 
 sanctity that their betrayal would make a man a traitor. w 
 
 v See notes 5 and 6. 
 
 w See Tregelles' "Historic Evidence of the Origin * * * of the Books of 
 the New Testament" p. 12—. 
 
ART. 8.] THE HBFW TESTAMENT. 251 
 
 Hence we find Eusebius designating the books of the Messi- 
 anic and apostolic days as of two classes: — (1) Those of 
 acknowledged canonicity, viz : — the gospels, the epistles of 
 Paul, Acts, I John, I Peter, and probably the Apocalypse. 
 (2) Those of disputed authenticity, viz: — the epistles of 
 James, II Peter, II and III John, and Jude. To these 
 classes he added a third class, including books that were 
 admittedly spurious. * 
 
 21. As stated, the list published by Athanasius, which 
 dates from near the middle of the fourth century, gives the 
 constitution of the New Testament as we now have it; and 
 at that time, all doubts as to the correctness of the enumer- 
 ation seem to have been put to rest ; and we find the Testa- 
 ment of common acceptance by professing Christians in 
 Eome, Egypt, Africa, Syria, Asia Minor, and Gaul. The 
 testimony of Origen, who flourished in the third century, 
 and that of Tertullian who lived during the second, were 
 tested and pronounced conclusive by the later writers in 
 favor of the canonicity of the gospels and the apostolic 
 writings. Each book was tested on its own merits, and all 
 were declared by common consent to be authoritative and 
 binding on the churches. 
 
 22. If there be need to go farther back, we may note 
 the testimony of Irenaeus, distinguished in ecclesiastical 
 history as Bishop of Lyons ; he lived in the latter half of 
 the second century, and is known as a disciple of Polycarp, 
 who was personally associated with the Reyelator, John. 
 His voluminous writings affirm the authenticity of most of 
 the books of the New Testament, and define their author- 
 ship as at present admitted. To these testimonies may be 
 added those of the Saints in Gaul, who wrote to their fellow- 
 sufferers in Asia, quoting freely from gospels, epistles, and 
 
 x See Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, iii, 25. 
 
252 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIII. 
 
 the Apocalypse; 27 the declarations of Melito, Bishop of 
 Sarclis, who journeyed to the east to determine which were 
 the canonical books, particularly of the Old Testament; 2 
 and the solemn attest of Justin Martyr, who embraced 
 Christianity as a result of his earnest and learned investi- 
 gations, and who suffered death for his convictions. In 
 addition to individual testimony, we have that of ecclesias- 
 tical councils and official bodies, by whom the question of 
 authenticity was tried and decided. In this connection, 
 may be mentioned the Council of Laodicea, 363 A. D. ; the 
 Council of Hippo, 393 A. D. ; the third and the sixth 
 Councils of Carthage, 397 and 419 A. D. 
 
 23. Since the date last named, no dispute as to the 
 authenticity of the New Testament has claimed much 
 attention; surely the present is too late a date, and the 
 separating distance today is too vast, to warrant the re- 
 opening of the question. The New Testament must be 
 accepted for what it claims to be; and though, perhaps, 
 many precious parts have been suppressed or lost, while 
 some corruptions of the sacred texts may have crept in, and 
 errors have been inadvertently introduced through the in- 
 capacity of translators, the volume as a whole must be ad- 
 mitted as authentic and credible, and as an essential part of 
 the holy scriptures." 
 
 24. Classification of the New Testament: — The New Tes- 
 tament comprises twenty-seven books, conveniently classi- 
 fied as : — 
 
 (1.) Historical 5 
 
 (2. ) Didactic 21 
 
 (3. ) Prophetic 1 
 
 25. (1.) The Historical Books include the four Gos- 
 
 y See Eusebius, book iv. 
 z Eusebius iv, 26. 
 a John v, 39. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE. 253 
 
 pels, and the Acts of the Apostles. The authors of these 
 works are spoken of as the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, 
 Luke, and John; to Luke is ascribed the authorship of the 
 Acts. 
 
 26. (2.) The Didactic Books comprise the epistles; and 
 these we may arrange thus: (1.) The Epistles of Paul, com- 
 prising, (a) his doctrinal letters addressed to Romans, Cor- 
 inthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 
 Thessalonians, Hebrews; (b) his pastoral communications to 
 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. (#.) The General Epistles 
 of James, Peter, John, and Jude. 
 
 27. (3.) The Prophetic Works, consisting of the Revela- 
 tion of John, commonly known as the Apocalypse. 
 
 THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE. 
 
 28. Early Versions of the Bible: — Many versions of the 
 Old Testament and of the combined Testaments have ap- 
 peared at different times. The Hebrew text with the 
 Samaritan duplication of the Pentateuch, and the Greek 
 translation, or the Septuagint (LXX), have been already 
 noted. Revisions and modified translations competed for 
 favor with the Septuagint during the early ages of the 
 Christian era, Theodotian, Aquila, and Symmachus, each 
 issuing a new version. One of the first translations into 
 Latin was the Italic version, probably prepared in the 
 second century; this was later improved and amended, and 
 then became known as the Vulgate; and this is still held to 
 be the authentic version by the church of Rome. This 
 version included both Old and New Testaments. 
 
 29. Many Modern Versions in English, some fragmen- 
 tary, others complete, have appeared since the beginning of 
 the thirteenth century. About 1380 A. D., Wycliffe pre- 
 sented an English translation of the New Testament, made 
 from the Vulgate; the Old Testament was afterward 
 
254 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIII. 
 
 added. About 1525 A. D., Tyndale's translation of the 
 New Testament appeared; this was included in Coverdale's 
 Bible, printed in 1535, which constituted the first version of 
 the complete Bible. Matthew's Bible dates from 1537; 
 Taverner's Bible from 1539, and Cranmer's Great Bible 
 from the same year. In 1560, the Geneva Bible appeared ; 
 in 1568 the Bishop's Bible, the first English version having 
 chapter and verse divisions; and in 1611 the so-called 
 Authorized English Version, or King James' translation, 
 this being a new translation of Old and New Testaments 
 from the Hebrew and Greek, made by forty-seven scholars 
 at the command of King James I. This has superseded all 
 earlier versions, and is the form now in current use among 
 Protestants. But even this latest and supposedly best ver- 
 sion was found to contain many and serious errors ; and in 
 1885 a revised version was issued, which, however, has not 
 yet been accorded general acceptance. 
 
 30. Genuineness and Authenticity of the Bible: — However 
 interesting and instructive these historical and literary data 
 of the Jewish scriptures may be, the consideration of such 
 is subordinate to that of the authenticity of the books ; for 
 as we, in common with the rest of the Christian world, have 
 accepted them as the word of God, it is eminently proper 
 that we should enquire into the genuineness of the records 
 upon which our faith is so largely founded. All evidences 
 furnished by the Bible itself, such as its language, historical 
 details, and the coincidences of its contents, unite in support- 
 ing its claim to genuineness as the actual works of the 
 authors to whom the separate parts are ascribed. In a 
 multitude of instances, comparisons are easy between the 
 biblical record and contemporary history not scriptural, 
 particularly in regard to biography and genealogy, and, in 
 all such cases, striking agreement has been found. 5 Further 
 
 b See note 7. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE. 255 
 
 argument exists in the individuality maintained by each 
 writer, resulting in a marked diversity of style; while the 
 wondrous unity pervading the whole declares the operation 
 of some single guiding influence throughout the ages of the 
 record's growth; and this can be nothing less than the 
 power of inspiration which operated upon all alike who 
 were accepted as instruments in the Divine Hand to prepare 
 this book of books. Tradition, contemporary history, lit- 
 •erary analysis, and above and beyond all these, the test of 
 prayerful research and truth-seeking investigation, have 
 ^ver combined to prove the authenticity of this wondrous 
 volume, and to point the way, defined within its covers, lead 
 ing men back to the Eternal Presence. 
 
 31. Book of Mormon Testimony regarding the Bible: — As 
 -declared in the eighth of the Articles of Faith now under 
 consideration, the Latter-day Saints accept the Book of 
 Mormon as a volume of sacred scripture, which, like the 
 Bible, embodies the word of God. In the next lecture, the 
 Book of Mormon will receive our special attention; but it 
 may be profitable to refer here to the collateral evidence 
 furnished by that work regarding the authenticity of the 
 Jewish scriptures, and of the general integrity of these lat- 
 ter in their present form. According to the Book of Mor- 
 mon record, the Prophet Lehi, with his family and some 
 others, left Jerusalem by the command of God, about 600 
 B. C, during the first year of King Zedekiah's reign. Be- 
 fore finally forsaking the land of their nativity, the travel- 
 ers secured certain records, which were engraved on plates 
 of brass. Among these writings were a history of the Jews 
 and some of the scriptures then accepted as authentic. 
 
 32. Lehi examined the brazen record, — "And he beheld 
 that they did contain the five books of Moses, which 
 gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of 
 Adam and Eve, who were our first parents; and also a 
 
256 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIII. 
 
 record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the 
 commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah; 
 and also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the 
 beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of 
 Zedekiah; and also many prophecies which have been spoken 
 by the mouth of Jeremiah." This direct reference to the 
 Pentateuch and to certain of the Jewish prophets is valuable 
 external evidence concerning the authenticity of those parts 
 of the biblical record. 
 
 33. In a vision, Xephi, the son of Lehi, learned of the 
 future of God's plan regarding the human family; and saw 
 that a book of great worth, containing the word of God, 
 and the covenants of the Lord with Israel, would go forth 
 from the Jews to the Gentiles. d It is further stated that 
 Lehi's company, who, as we shall see, were led across the 
 waters to the western continent, whereon they established 
 themselves and afterward grew to be a numerous and 
 powerful people, were accustomed to study the scriptures en- 
 graved on the plates of brass; and, moreover, their scribes em- 
 bodied long quotations there- from in their own growing re- 
 cord/ So much for Book of Mormon recognition of the Old 
 Testament, or at least of such parts of the Jewish canon as 
 had been completed when Lehi's migrating colony left Jeru- 
 salem, during the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah. 
 
 34. But further, concerning the Xew Testament scrip- 
 tures, this voice from the western world is not silent. In 
 prophetic vision, many of the Xephite teachers saw and 
 fore-told the ministry of Christ in the meridian of time, and 
 recorded predictions concerning the principal events of the 
 Savior's life and death, with striking fidelity and detail. 
 
 c I Nephi v, 10-13. 
 
 d See I Nephi xiii, 21-23. 
 
 e I Nephi xx-xxi; II Nephi vii-viii; xii-xxiv. 
 
ART. 8.] NOTES. 257 
 
 This testimony is recorded of Nephi/ Benjamin, 9 ' who was 
 both prophet and king, Abinadi,* Samuel the converted 
 Lamanite, 4 ' and others. In addition to these and many 
 other prophecies regarding the mission of Christ, all of 
 which agree with the New Testament record of their fulfil- 
 ment, we find in the Book of Mormon an account of the 
 risen Lord's ministrations among the Nephite people, dur- 
 ing which He established His Church with them, after the 
 pattern recorded in the New Testament; and, moreover, He 
 gave them many instructions in words almost identical with 
 those of His teachings among the Jews in the east.- 7 ' 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. John Chrysostom, one of the Greek "Christian Fathers," flourished 
 during the latter half of the fourth century; he was patriarch of Constanti- 
 nople, but was deposed and exiled some time before his death which occurred in 
 407. His use of the term biblia to designate the scriptural canon is among the 
 earliest applications of the sort yet found. He entreated his people to avail 
 themselves of the riches of inspired works in this wise:— "Hear, I exhort, all 
 yet in secular life, and purchase biblia, the medicine of the soul." Speaking of 
 the Jewish Christians, he says, "They have the biblia, but we have the treasures 
 of the biblia; they have the letters, we have the letters and the understanding." 
 
 2. The Samaritan Copy of the Pentateuch :— In his valuable course of 
 lectures on Bible subjects, Elder David McKenzie presents the following, with 
 references to the writings of Home:— "Nine hundred and seventy years before 
 Christ, the nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms. Both retained the 
 same book of the law. Rivalry prevented either of them from altering or add- 
 ing to the law. After Israel was carried into Assyria, other nations occupied 
 Samaria. These received the Pentateuch. The language being Hebrew or 
 Phoenician, whereas the Jewish copy was changed into Chaldee, corruption or 
 alteration was thus made impracticable, yet the texts remain almost identical." 
 
 3. Versions of the Bible or of Parts Thereof -.—The Septuagint:— "Vari- 
 ous opinions have been put forth to explain its appellation of Septuagint; some say 
 that Ptolemy Philadelphus requested of Eleazer the High Priest, a .copy of the 
 Hebrew scriptures, and six learned Jews from each tribe (together seventy- 
 
 / I-Nephi x, 4-5; xi-xiii; xiv; II Nephi ix, 5; x, 3; xxv, 26; xxvi, 24. 
 g Mosiah iii; iv, 3. 
 h Mosiah xiii-xvi. 
 i Helaman xiv, 12. 
 
 j III Nephi, ix-xxvi; compare for New Testament references with Matthew 
 v-vii, etc. ; and for Old Testament mention with Isaiah liv; Malachi iii-iv. 
 18 
 
258 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIII. 
 
 two,) competent to translate it into Greek; these were shut up in the isle of 
 Pharos, and in seventy-two days they completed their task; as they dictated it, 
 Demetrius Phalereus, the king's chief librarian, transcribed it; but this is 
 now considered a fable. Others say that these same interpreters, having been 
 shut up in separate cells, wrote each one a translation; and so extraordinarily did 
 they all coincide together in words as well as sentiment, that evidence was thus 
 afforded of their inspiration by the Holy Spirit; this opinion has also been set 
 aside as too extravagant. It is very possible that seventy-two writers were 
 employed in the translation; but it is more probable that it acquired the name of 
 Septuagint from having received the approbation of the Jewish Sanhedrin, 
 which consisted of seventy-two persons. Some affirm it to have been executed 
 at different times; and Home says it is most probable that this version was 
 made during the joint reigns of Ptolemy Lagus, and his son Philadelphus. about 
 285 or 286 B.C." 
 
 The Vulgate:— "There was a very ancient version of the Bible translated 
 from the Septuagint into Latin, but by whom and when is unknown. It was in 
 general use in the time of Jerome, and was called the Itala or Italic Version. 
 About the close of the fourth century, Jerome began a new translation into 
 Latin from the Hebrew text, which he gradually completed. It at last gained 
 the approbation of Pope Gregory I, and has been used ever since the seventh 
 century. The present Vulgate, declared authentic by the Council of Trent in 
 the sixteenth century, is the ancient Italic version, revised and improved by the 
 corrections of Jerome and others; and is the only one allowed by the Church of 
 Rome." 
 
 The "Authorized Version:' 1 — "Certain objections having been made to the 
 Bishops' 1 Bible at the Hampton Court conference in A.D. 1603, King James I 
 directed a new translation to be made. Forty-seven persons, eminent for their 
 piety and biblical learning, were chosen to this end: they were divided into six 
 committees, two to sit at Oxford, two at Cambridge, and two at Westminster; 
 and each committee had a certain portion of the scriptures assigned to it. They 
 began their task in A D, 1607, and the whole was completed and in print in A.D. 
 1611. This is called the Authorized English Version and is the one now in use."— 
 From Analysis of Scripture History, by Pinnock; pp. 3, 5; (6th ed.) 
 
 4. The Prophetical Books of the Old Testament are arranged with little 
 or no regard to their chronological order, the extent of the contained matter 
 placing the larger works first. The chronological arrangement would probably 
 be Jonah, Joel, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah:— all of these 
 prophesied previous to the captivity; then follow Jeremiah, Habakkuk, 
 Ezekiel, and Daniel, who wrote during the captivity; then Haggai, Zechariah, 
 and Malachi, after the return of the Jews from captivity. 
 
 5. Manuscript Copies of the New Testament :— Three manuscripts of 
 New Testament writings now in existence are regarded as authentic. These are 
 known as the Vatican (now in Rome,) the Alexandrian (now in London), and the 
 Sinaitic, (now in the St. Petersburg library). The last named or Sinaitic is 
 considered to be the oldest copy of the New Testament in existence. The manu- 
 script was discovered in 1859 among the archives of a monastery on Mount 
 Sinai, hence its name. It was found by Tischendorf , and is now in the imperial 
 library at St. Petersburg. 
 
 . 6. Concerning the Genuineness of Parts of the New Testament :— 
 In answer to objections that have been urged by critics in the matter of genuine- 
 
ART. 8.] NOTES. ' 259 
 
 ness or authenticity of certain books of the New Testament, the following array 
 of testimony may he considered. The items are presented here as collated by 
 Elder David McKenzie, and as used by him in his instructive lectures on the 
 Bible. 
 
 (I) The Four Gospels:-— l. Matthew. Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, was a hearer 
 of the Apostle John. With respect to St. Matthew's gospel, Eusebius quotes him 
 as saying:— "Matthew composed the Oracles in the Hebrew tongue, and each 
 one interpreted them as he could."— (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. iii, 39.) 
 
 2. Mark. Of Mark's writing, Papias also says:— "Mark having become the 
 interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately everything that he remembered, 
 without.however, recording in order what was either said or done by Christ. For 
 neither did he hear the Lord, nor follow Him, but afterward attended Peter, who 
 adapted his instructions to the needs of his hearers, but had no design of giving 
 a connected account of the Lord's oracles (or discourses.)"— (Bishop Lightfoot's 
 translations, in "Contemporary Review," August, 1875.) 
 
 3. Luke. Internal evidence shows that Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the 
 Apostles were composed by the same author. St. Paul speaks of Luke as a 
 physician; and Dr. Hobart, in 1882, published at London, a treatise on "The 
 Medical Language of St. Luke," and points out the frequent use of medical terms 
 in Luke's writings, permeating the entire extent of the third Gospel, and the 
 Acts of the Apostles. Even M. Renan makes a similar admission. He says: — 
 "One point which is beyond question is that the Acts are by the same author as 
 the third Gospel, and-are a continuation of that Gospel. One need not stop to 
 prove this proposition, which has never been seriously contested. The prefaces 
 at the commencement of each work, the dedication of each to Theophilus, the 
 perfect resemblance of style and of ideas, furnish on this point abundant 
 demonstrations." "A second proposition is that the author of the Acts is a 
 disciple of Paul, who accompanied him for a considerable part of his travels." — 
 (M. Renan, "The Apostles;" see preface.) 
 
 4. John. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, about 177 A. D., a pupil of Polycarp who 
 was martyred in 155 or 156, relates in a letter to a fellow-pupil his recollections 
 of what he had heard Polycarp say about his intercourse with John, and with the 
 rest who had seen the Lord; and about the Lord, and about His miracles, and 
 about His teaching. All these he would relate altogether in accordance with the' 
 Scriptures. (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist, v, 20.) That Irenaeus meant by "the Scrip- 
 tures," Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, is evident from the text. Besides, he 
 urges "not only that four Gospels alone have been handed down from the be- 
 ginning, but that in the nature of things there could not be more nor less than 
 four. There are four regions in the world, and four principal winds, and the 
 Church therefore, as destined to be conterminous with the world, must be sup- 
 ported by four Gospels as four pillars.— (Contemporary Review, August, 1876, 
 p. 413.) [The forced analogy assumed by Irenaeus between the four Gospels and 
 the four winds, etc., is of course without foundation, and its use appears literally 
 absurd; nevertheless the fact that he noted it furnishes evidence of the accept- 
 ance of the four Gospels in his day.— J. E. T.] 
 
 (II.) The Pauline Epistles: — The following extracts from the testimony of 
 the Tubingen critics on four of Paul's epistles, are instructive. 
 
 De Wette says, in his introduction to the "Books of the New Testament" 
 (123, a.) :— "The letters of Paul bear the marks of his powerful genius. The most 
 important of them are raised above all contradiction as to their authenticity: 
 they form the solid kernel of the book of the New Testament." 
 
260 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIII. 
 
 Baur says, in his "Apostle Paul," (1, 8):— "Not only has no suspicion of the 
 authenticity of these Epistles even arisen, but they bear so incontestably 
 the seal of the originality of Paul, that one cannot comprehend for what reason 
 critics could raise any objection to them." 
 
 Weizsseker writes (Apost. Zeitalter, 1866, p. 190) :— "The letters to the Galatians 
 and the Corinthians are, without doubt, from the hand of the Apostle: from his 
 hand also came incontestably the Epistle to the Romans." 
 
 Holtzmann says("Einleit in's N. T. " p. 224):— "These four epistles are the 
 Pauline Homologoumena, (books universally'received) in the modern acceptation 
 of the word. We can realize, with respect to them, the proof of authenticity 
 undertaken by Paley against the free-thinkers of his time." 
 
 M. Renan in "The Gospels,'' (pp. 40, 41,) thus expresses himself :—• The 
 epistles of Paul have an unequaled advantage in this history,— that is, their ab- 
 solute authenticity." Of the Episy.es to the Corinthians, the G-alatians, and the 
 Romans, Renan speaks as "indisputable and undisputed;" and adds, "The most 
 severe critics, such as Christian Baur, accept them without objection." 
 
 7. Archeological Evidence Confirming the Bible :— Prof . A. H. Sayce. 
 M. A., sums up his learned treatise on the testimony of the ancient monuments, 
 thus:— "The critical objections to the truth of the Old Testament, once drawn 
 from the armory of Greek and Latin writers, can never be urged again; they 
 have been met and overthrown once for all. The answers to them have come 
 from papyrus and clay and stone, from the tombs of ancient Egypt, from the 
 mounds of Babylonia, and from the ruined palaces of the Assyrian kings. " 
 
 8. Missing Scripture :— Those who oppose the doctrine of continual revel- 
 ation between God and His Church, on the ground that the Bible is complete as 
 a collection of sacred scriptures, and that alleged revelation not found therein 
 must therefore be spurious, may profitably take note of the many books not 
 included in the Bible, yet mentioned therein, generally in such a way as to leave 
 no doubt that they were once regarded as authentic. Among these extra-biblical 
 scriptures, the following may be named; some of them are in existence today, 
 and are classed with the Apocrypha; but the greater number are unknown. We 
 read of the Book of the Covenant, (Exo, xxiv, 7) ; Book of the Wars of the Lord, 
 (Numb, xxi, 14) ; Book of Jasher (Josh, x, 13) ; Book of the Statutes (IiSam. x, 25) : 
 Book of Enoch, (Jude 14) ; Book of the Acts of Solomon, (I King xi, 41) ; Book of 
 Nathan the Prophet, and that of Gad the Seer, (I Chron. xxix, 29); Book of Ahi- 
 jah the Shilonite, and visions of Iddo, the Seer, (II Chron. ix, 29); Book of Shem- 
 aiah, (II Chron. xii, 15); Story of the Prophet Iddo (II Chron. xiii, 22); Book of 
 Jehu, (II Chron. xx, 34) ; the Acts of Uzziah, by Isaiah, the son of Amoz, (II 
 Chron. xxvi, 22) ; Sayings of the Seers, (II Chron. xxxiii, 19); a missing epistle 
 of Paul to the Corinthians, (I Cor. v, 9) : a missing epistle to the Ephesians, 
 (Eph. iii, 3) ; missing epistle to the Colossians, written from Laodicea, (Col. iv, 
 16) ; a missing epistle of Jude, (Jude 3) ; a declaration of belief mentioned by 
 Luke (i, l.) 
 
ART. 8. J THE BOOK OF MORMON. 261 
 
 LECTURE XIV. 
 
 THE BOOK OF MORMON. 
 
 Article 8 :— * * * * We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word 
 of God. 
 
 DESCRIPTION AND ORIGIN. 
 
 1. What is the Book of Mormon? — The claims made for 
 the Book of Mormon affirm it to be a divinely inspired rec- 
 ord, made by the prophets of the ancient peoples who inhab- 
 ited the American continent for centuries before and imme- 
 diately after the time of Christ; which record has been 
 translated in the present generation through the gift of 
 God and by His special appointment. The authorized and 
 inspired translator of these sacred scriptures, through whose 
 instrumentality they have been given to the world in mod- 
 ern language, is Joseph Smith, whose first acquaintance with 
 the plates was mentioned in the first lecture." As stated, 
 on the 21st of September, 1823, Joseph Smith received, in 
 answer to fervent prayer, a visitation from an angelic 
 personage, who gave his name as Moroni; subsequent rev- 
 elations showed him to be the last of a long line of prophets 
 whose translated writings constitute the Book of Mormon; 
 by him the ancient records had been closed; by him the 
 graven plates had been deposited in the earth ; and through 
 his ministration they were brought into the possession of 
 the modern prophet and seer whose work of translation is 
 now before us. 
 
 2. On the occasion of Moroni's first visit to Joseph 
 Smith, the angelic visitor declared the existence of the 
 record, which, he said, was engraved on plates of gold, 
 
 a See pages 10, 17. 
 
262 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIV. 
 
 at that time lying buried in the side of a hill near Joseph's 
 home. The hill, which was known by one division of the 
 ancient peoples as Cumorah, by another as Ramah, is situ- 
 ated near Palmyra in the county of Wayne, State of New 
 York. The precise spot where the plates lay was shown to 
 Joseph in vision ; and he had no difficulty in finding it on 
 the day following the visitation referred to. Joseph's state- 
 ment of Moroni's declaration concerning the plates is as fol- 
 lows: — "He said there was a book deposited, written upon 
 gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of 
 this continent, and the source from which they sprang. 
 He also said that the fulness of the everlasting gospel was 
 contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient 
 inhabitants. Also, that there were two' stones in silver bows, 
 (and these stones, fastened to a breast-plate, constituted 
 what is called the Urim and Thummim), deposited with the 
 plates; and the possession and use of these stones was what 
 constituted Seers in ancient or former times ; and that G-od 
 had prepared them for the purpose of translating the 
 book." b 
 
 3. Joseph found a large stone at the indicated spot on 
 the hill Cumorah; beneath the stone was a box, also of 
 stone ; the lid of this he raised by means of a lever ; then he 
 saw within the box the plates, and the breastplate with the 
 Urim and Thummim, as described by the angel. As he was 
 about to remove the contents of the box, Moroni again ap- 
 peared before him, and forbade him taking the sacred things 
 at that time, saying that four years must pass before they 
 would be committed to his personal care; and that. in the 
 meantime, Joseph would be required to visit the place at 
 yearly intervals; this the youthful revelator did, receiving 
 on each occasion additional instruction concerning the 
 record and God's purposes with it. On the 22nd of Septem- 
 
 b Pearl of Great Price, p. 94 (1888 ed.) 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 263 
 
 ber, 1827, Joseph received from the angel Moroni, the 
 plates, and the Urim and Thummim with the breastplate. 
 He was instructed to guard them with strict care, and was 
 promised that if he used his best efforts to protect them, 
 they would be preserved inviolate in his hands ; and that on 
 the completion of the labor of translation, Moroni would 
 visit him again, and receive the plates. 
 
 4. The reason prompting the angelic caution regarding 
 Joseph's care of the treasures soon appeared; thrice in the 
 course of his brief journey homeward with the sacred relics, 
 he was attacked ; but by Divine aid he was enabled to with- 
 stand his assailants ; and finally reached his home with the 
 plates and other articles unharmed. These attacks were but 
 the beginning of a siege of persecution which was relent- 
 lessly waged against him by the powers of evil as long as the 
 plates remained in his custody. News that he had the 
 golden record in his possession soon spread; and numerous 
 attempts, many of them violent, were made to wrest the 
 plates from his hands. But they were preserved; and, 
 slowly, with many hindrances incident to persecution by 
 the wicked, and to the conditions of his own poverty which 
 made it necessary for him to toil and left little leisure for 
 the appointed labor, Joseph proceeded with the translation ; 
 and in 1830, the Book of Mormon was first published to the 
 world. 
 
 5. The Title Page of the Book of Mormon:— Our best 
 answer to the question : What is the Book of Mormon? is 
 found on the title page to the volume. Thereon we read: 
 
 "The Book of Mormon: an account written by the hand of 
 Mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of Nephi. 
 Wherefore it is an abridgment of the record of the people of 
 Xephi, and also of the Lamanites ; written to the Lamanites 
 who are a remnant of the house of Israel ; and also to Jew 
 and Gentile : written by way of commandment, and also by 
 
264 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIV. 
 
 the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. Written and 
 sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not 
 be destroyed ; to come forth by the gift and power of God 
 unto the interpretation thereof: sealed by the hand of 
 Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due 
 time by the way of Gentile ; the interpretation thereof by 
 the gift of God. 
 
 "An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also; 
 which is a record of the people of Jared ; who were scattered 
 at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people 
 when they were building a tower to get to heaven; 
 which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel 
 what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers ; and 
 that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they 
 are not cast off forever ; and also to the convincing of the 
 Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, 
 manifesting Himself unto all nations. And now, if there 
 are faults, they are the mistakes of men : wherefore condemn 
 not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at 
 the judgment seat of Christ." 
 
 This combined title and preface is a translation from the 
 last page of the plates, and was presumably written by 
 Moroni, who, as before stated, sealed and Kid up the book 
 in former days. c 
 
 6. Main Divisions of the Book: — From the title page, we 
 learn that in the Book of Mormon we have to deal with the 
 histories of two great nations, who nourished in America as 
 the descendants of small colonies brought hither from the 
 eastern continent by Divine direction. Of these we may 
 conveniently speak as the Nephites and the Jaredites. 
 
 7. The Nephite Nation was the later, and in point of the 
 fulness of the records, the more important. The progen- 
 itors of this nation were led from Jerusalem 600 B. C, by 
 Lehi, a Jewish prophet of the tribe of Manasseh. His im- 
 mediate family, at the time of their departure from Jerusa- 
 lem, comprised his wife Sariah, and their sons Laman, 
 
 c See note 1. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 265 
 
 Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi ; at a later stage of the history, 
 daughters are mentioned, but whether any of these were 
 born before the family exodus we are not told. Beside his 
 own family, the colony of Lehi included Zoram, and Ish- 
 mael, the latter an Israelite of the tribe of Ephraim. Ish- 
 mael, with his family, joined Lehi in the wilderness; and 
 his descendants were numbered with the nation of whom 
 we are speaking. The company journeyed somewhat east 
 of south, keeping near the borders of the Red Sea; then, 
 changing their course to the eastward, crossed the penin- 
 sula of Arabia; and there on the shores of the Arabian Sea, 
 built and provisioned a vessel in which they committed 
 themselves to Divine care upon the waters. Their voyage 
 carried them eastward across the Indian Ocean, then over 
 the south Pacific Ocean to the western coast of South 
 America, whereon they landed (590 B. C.) probably some- 
 where near the site of the present city of Valparaiso in 
 Chile. 
 
 8. The people established themselves on what to them 
 was the land of promise; many children were born, and in 
 the course of a few generations a numerous posterity held 
 possession of the land. After the death of Lehi, a division 
 occurred, some of the people accepting as their leader, 
 Nephi, who had been duly appointed to the prophetic office ; 
 while the rest proclaimed Laman, the eldest of Lehi's 
 sons, as their chief. Henceforth the divided people were 
 known as Nephites and Lamanites respectively. At times 
 they observed toward each' other fairly friendly relations; 
 but generally they were opposed, the Lamanites manifesting 
 implacable hatred and hostility toward their Nephite kin- 
 dred. The Nephites advanced in the arts of civilization, 
 built large cities, and established prosperous common- 
 wealths; yet they often fell into transgression; and the 
 Lord chastened them by making their foes victorious. They 
 
266 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIV. 
 
 spread northward, occupying the northern part of South 
 America; then, crossing the Isthmus, they extended their 
 domain over the southern, central, and eastern portions of 
 what is now the United States of America. The Lamanites, 
 while increasing in numbers, fell under the curse of dark- 
 ness; they became dark in skin and benighted inspirit, 
 forgot the God of their fathers, lived a wild nomadic life, 
 and degenerated into the fallen state in which the American 
 Indians, — their lineal descendants, — were found by those 
 who re-discovered the western continent in later times. 
 
 9. The final struggles between Nephites and La- 
 manites were waged in the vicinity of the hill Cumorah, 
 in what is now the state of New York, resulting in the 
 entire destruction of the Nephites, about 400 A. D. The last 
 Nephite representative was Moroni, who, wandering for 
 safety from place to place, daily expecting death from the 
 victorious Lamanites who had decreed the absolute extinc- 
 tion of their white kindred, wrote 'the concluding parts of 
 the Book of Mormon, hid the record in Cumorah, and 
 soon there-after died. It was this same Moroni, who, as a 
 resurrected being, gave the records into the hands of Joseph 
 Smith in the present dispensation. 
 
 10. The Jaredite Nation: — Of the two nations whose 
 histories constitute the Book of Mormon, the first in order 
 of time consisted of the people of Jared, who followed their 
 leader from the Tower of Babel at the time of the confusion 
 of tongues. Their history was written on twenty-four 
 plates of gold, by Ether the last of their prophets, who, 
 fore-seeing the destruction of his people because of their 
 wickedness, hid away the historical plates. They were 
 afterward found, B. C. 123, by an expedition sent out by 
 King Limhi, a Nephite ruler. The record engraved on 
 these plates was subsequently abridged by Moroni, and the 
 condensed account was attached by him to the Book of 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON". 267' 
 
 Mormon record; it appears in the modern translation under 
 the name of the Book of Ether. 
 
 11. The first and chief prophet of the Jaredites is not 
 mentioned by name in the record as we have it ; he is known 
 only as the brother of Jared. Of the people, we learn that 
 amid the confusion of Babel, Jared and his brother im- 
 portuned the Lord that He would spare them and their 
 associates from the impending disruption. Their prayer 
 was heard, and the Lord led them with a considerable com- 
 pany, who, like themselves, were free from the taint of 
 idolatry, away from their homes, promising to conduct them 
 to a land choice above all other lands. Their course of 
 travel is not given with exactness; we learn only that they 
 reached the ocean, and there constructed eight vessels, 
 called barges, in which they set out upon the waters. These 
 vessels were small and dark within; but the Lord made 
 luminous certain stones, which gave light to the imprisoned 
 voyagers. After a passage of three hundred and forty-four 
 days, the colony landed on the western shore of North 
 America, probably at a place south of the Gulf of California, 
 and north of the Isthmus of Panama. 
 
 12. Here they became a flourishing nation; but, giving 
 way in time to internal dissensions, they divided into fac- 
 tions, which warred with one another until the people were 
 totally destroyed. This destruction, which occurred near 
 the hill Ramah, afterward known among the Nephites as 
 Cumorah, probably took place at about the time of Lehi's 
 landing in South America, — 590 B.C. The last representa- 
 tive of the ill-fated race was Coriantumr, the former king, 
 concerning whom Ether had prophesied that he should 
 survive all his subjects, and live to see another people in 
 possession of the land. This prediction was fulfilled in that 
 the king, whose people had become extinct, came, in the 
 course of his solitary wanderings, to a region occupied by 
 
268 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIV. 
 
 the people of Mulek, who are to be mentioned here as the 
 third ancient colony of emigrants from the eastern continent. 
 
 13. Mulek, we are told, was the son of Zedekiah king of 
 Judah, an infant at the time of his brothers' violent deaths 
 and his father's cruel torture at the hands of the king of 
 Babylon/ Eleven years after Lehi's departure from Jeru- 
 salem, another colony was led from the city, amongst whom 
 was Mulek. His name has been given to the people, prob- 
 ably on account of his recognized rights of leadership by 
 virtue of his lineage. The Book of Mormon record con- 
 cerning Mulek and his people is scanty ; we learn, however, 
 that the colony was brought across the waters, to a landing 
 on the northern part of the continent. The descendants of 
 this colony were discovered by the Nephites under Mosiah ; 
 they had grown numerous, but, having had no scriptures for 
 their guidance, had fallen into a condition of spiritual dark- 
 ness. They joined the Nephites, and their history is 
 merged into that of the greater nation. 6 The Nephites 
 gave to North America the name, Land of Mulek. 
 
 THE ANCIENT PLATES AND THE MODERN TRANSLATION. 
 
 14. The Plates of the Book of Mormon as delivered by 
 the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith, according to the descrip- 
 tion given by the modern prophet, were of gold, of uniform 
 size, each about seven inches wide by eight inches long; in 
 
 / thickness, a little less than ordinary sheet tin; they were 
 fastened together by three rings running through the plates 
 near one edge; together they formed a book nearly six 
 inches in thickness, but not all has been translated, a part 
 being sealed. Both sides of the plates were engraved with 
 small and beautiful characters, described by those who ex- 
 
 d See II Kings xxv, 7. 
 e Omni i, 12-19. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 269 
 
 amined them as of curious workmanship, with the appear- 
 ance of ancient origin. 
 
 15. Three classes of plates are mentioned on the title 
 page of the Book of Mormon, viz : — 
 
 (1.) The Plates of Nephi; which, as will be shown, were 
 of two kinds: — (a) the larger plates; (b) the smaller plates. 
 
 (2.) The Plates of Mormon, containing an abridgment 
 from the plates of Nephi, with additions made by Mormon 
 and his son Moroni. 
 
 (3.) The Plates of Ether, containing as we have seen, 
 the history of the Jaredites. 
 
 To these may be added another set of plates, as being 
 mentioned in the Book of Mormon, viz : 
 
 (4.) The Brass Plates of Laban, brought by Lehi's 
 people from Jerusalem, and containing Jewish scriptures 
 and genealogies ; many extracts from which appear in the 
 Nephite records. We have now to consider more particu- 
 larly the plates of Nephi, and Mormon's abridgment thereof. 
 
 16. The Plates of Nephi are so named from the fact that 
 they were prepared, and their record was begun, by Nephi, 
 the son of Lehi. These plates were of two kinds/ which 
 may be distinguished as the "larger plates," and the 
 "smaller plates." Nephi began his labors as a recorder by 
 engraving on plates of gold a historical account of his 
 people, from the time his father left Jerusalem. This 
 account recited the story of their wanderings, their pros^ 
 perity, and their distress, the reigns of their kings, and the 
 wars and contentions of the people ; the record was in the 
 nature of a secular history. These plates were handed 
 from one recorder to another throughout the generations of 
 the Nephite people ; so that at the time they were abridged 
 by Mormon, the record covered a period of about a thou- 
 sand years, dating from 600 B. C, the time of Lehi's 
 
 / I Nephi ix; xix, 1-5; II Nephi v, 30; Jacob i, 1-4; Words of Mormon i, 3-7. 
 
270 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIY. 
 
 exodus from Jerusalem. Although these plates bore the 
 name of their maker, who was also the first of the writers, 
 the separate work of each recorder is known in general by 
 his specific name, so that the record is made up of many 
 distinct books. 
 
 17. By command of the Lord, Nephi made other plates, 
 upon which he recorded particularly the ecclesiastical his- 
 tory of his people, citing only such instances of other events 
 as seemed necessary to the proper sequence of the narrative. 
 "I have received a commandment of the Lord," says Nephi, 
 4 'that I should make these plates for the special purpose 
 that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of 
 my people. " ff The object of this double line of history was 
 unknown to Nephi, it was enough for him that the Lord 
 required the labor; that it was for a wise purpose will be 
 shown. 
 
 18. Mormon's Abridgment: — In the course of time, the 
 records that had accumulated as the history of the people 
 grew, fell into the hands of Mormon, 71 and he undertook to 
 make an abridgment of these extensive works, upon plates 
 made with his own hands.' By such a course, a record was 
 prepared more concise and more nearly uniform in style, 
 language, and treatment, than could possibly be the case 
 with the varied writings of so many authors as had contrib- 
 uted to the great history during the thousand years of its 
 growth. Mormon recognizes and testifies to the inspiration 
 of God by which he was moved to undertake the great 
 labor/' In preparing this shorter history, Mormon preserved 
 the same division of the record into books according to the 
 arrangement of the originals; and thus, though the lan- 
 guage may be that of Mormon, except in cases of quotations 
 
 g 1 Nephi ix, 3. 
 
 h Words of Mormon i, 11; Mormon i, 1-4; iv, 23. 
 
 i III Nephi v, 8-11. 
 
 .; Ill Nephi v, 14-19. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MOKMON. 271 
 
 from the plates of JSTephi, which are indeed numerous, we 
 find the Books of Nephi, the Book of Alma, the Book of 
 Helaman, etc., the form of speech known as the first person 
 being generally preserved. 
 
 19. When Mormon, in the course of his abridgment, had 
 reached the time of King Benjamin's reign, he was deeply 
 impressed with the record engraved on the smaller plates of 
 Nephi, — the history of God's dealings with the people 
 during the period of about four centuries, extending from 
 the time of Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem down to the time 
 of King Benjamin. This record, comprising so much of 
 prophecy concerning the mission of the Savior, was regarded 
 by Mormon with more than ordinary favor. Of these plates 
 he attempted no transcript, bu^included the originals with 
 his own abridgment of the larger plates, making of the 
 two one book. The record as compiled by Mormon, con- 
 tained, therefore, a double account of the descendants of 
 Lehi for the first four hundred years of their history, — the 
 brief secular history condensed from the larger plates, and 
 the full text on the smaller plates. In solemn language, and 
 with an emphasis which subsequent events have shown to be 
 significant, Mormon declares the hidden wisdom of the 
 Divine purpose in this duplication: — "And I do this for a 
 wise purpose ; for thus it whispereth me, according to the 
 workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And 
 now, I do not know all things ; but the Lord knoweth all 
 things which are to come ; wherefore, he worketh in me to 
 do according to his will."* 
 
 20. The Lord's Purpose in the matter of preparing and of 
 preserving the smaller plates as testified of by Mormon, and 
 also by Nephi,* is rendered plain from certain circumstances 
 in this dispensation attending the translation of the rec- 
 
 k Words of Mormon i, 7. 
 I I Nephi ix, 5. 
 
272 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIY. 
 
 ords by Joseph Smith. When the prophet had prepared a 
 translation of the first part of the writings of Mormon, the 
 manuscript was won from his care through the unrighteous 
 solicitations of Martin Harris, to whom he considered him- 
 self in a degree indebted for fianancial assistance in the 
 work of publication. This manuscript, in all 116 pages, 
 was never returned to Joseph, but, through the dark 
 schemes of evil powers, it fell into the hands of enemies, 
 who straightway laid a wicked plan to ridicule the transla- 
 tor, and thwart the purposes of God. This evil design was 
 that they wait until Joseph had re-translated the missing 
 matter, when the stolen manuscript, which in the meantime 
 had been altered so that the words were made to express the 
 contrary from the true recoil, would be set forth as a proof 
 that the prophet was unable to translate the same passages 
 twice alike. But the Lord's wisdom interposed to bring to 
 naught these dark designs. 
 
 21. Having chastened the prophet by depriving him for 
 a season of his gift to translate, as also of the custody of 
 the sacred records, and this for his dereliction in permitting 
 the writings to pass into unappointed hands, the Lord 
 graciously restored His penitent servant to favor, and re- 
 vealed to him the designs of his enemies ; m at the same time 
 showing how these evil machinations should be made to fail. 
 Joseph was instructed, therefore, not to attempt a re-transla- 
 tion t)f that part of Mormon's abridgment, the first transla- 
 tion of which had been stolen ; but instead, to translate the 
 record of the same events from the plates of Nephi, — the set 
 of smaller plates which Mormon had incorporated with his 
 own writings. The translation so made was therefore pub- 
 lished as the record of Nephi, and not as the writing of 
 Mormon; and thus no second translation was made of the 
 parts from which the stolen manuscript had been prepared. 
 
 m Doctrine and Covenants, x. 
 
ART. 8.J THE BOOK OF MORMON. 273 
 
 22. The Translation of the Book of Mormon was effected 
 through the power of God manifested in the bestowal of the 
 gift of revelation. The book professes not to be dependent 
 upon the wisdom or learning of man ; its translator was not 
 versed in linguistics; his qualifications were of a different 
 and of a far more efficient order. With the plates, Joseph 
 Smith received from the angel other sacred treasures, in- 
 cluding a breastplate, to which were attached the Urim and 
 Thummim," called by the Nephites, Interpreters ; and by the 
 use of these he was enabled to render the ancient records in 
 our modern tongue. The details of the work of translation 
 have not been recorded, beyond the statement that the 
 translator examined the engraved characters by means of 
 the sacred instruments, and then dictated to the scribe the 
 English sentences. 
 
 23. Joseph began his work with the plates by patiently 
 copying a number of characters, adding to some of the pages 
 thus prepared, the translations. The prophet's first assist- 
 ant in the labor, Martin Harris, obtained permission to take 
 away some of these transcripts, with the purpose of sub- 
 mitting them to the examination of men learned in ancient 
 languages. He placed some of the sheets before Professor 
 Charles Anthon, of Columbia College, who, after careful 
 examination, certified that the characters were in general of 
 the ancient Egyptian order, and that the accompanying 
 translations appeared to be correct. Hearing how this 
 ancient record came into Joseph's hands, Professor Anthon 
 requested Mr. Harris to bring the original book for examina- 
 tion, stating that he would undertake the translation of the 
 entire work ; then, learning that a part of the book was sealed, 
 he remarked, "I cannot read a sealed book;" and thus un- 
 wittingly did this man fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah concern- 
 ing the coming forth of the volume: — "And the vision of all 
 
 n Doc. and Cov. x, 1; xvii, 1 ; cxxx, 8, 9; Mos. viii, 13-19; Ether iii, 23-?8. 
 19 
 
 \/ 
 
274 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIV. 
 
 is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, 
 which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, read 
 this, I pray thee, and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed. " a An- 
 other linguist, a Dr. Mitchell, of Xew York, having exam- 
 ined the characters, gave concerning them a testimony in all 
 important respects corresponding to that of Prof. Anthon. 
 
 24. Arrangement of the Book of Mormon: — The Book of 
 Mormon comprises fifteen separate parts, commonly called 
 books, distinguished by the names of their principal authors. 
 Of these, the first six books, viz., I and II Xephi, Jacob, 
 Enos, Jarom, and Omni, are literal translations from corre- 
 sponding portions of the smaller plates of Xephi. The 
 body of the volume, from the Book of Mosiah to Mormon, 
 chapter vii, inclusive, is the translation of Mormon's 
 abridgment of the larger plates of Xephi. Between the 
 books of Jarom and Mosiah, "The Words of Mormon" 
 occur, connecting the record of Xephi as engraved on the 
 smaller plates, with Mormon's abridgment of the larger 
 plates for the periods following. The Words of Mormon 
 may be regarded as a brief explanation of the preceding 
 portions of the work, and an announcement of the parts 
 then to follow. The last part of the Book of Mormon, 
 from the beginning of Mormon viii, to the end of the 
 volume, is in the language of Moroni, the son of Mormon, 
 who first proceeds to finish the record of his father, and then 
 adds an abridgment of a set of plates which contained an 
 account of the Jaredites ; this appears as the Book of Ether. 
 
 25. At the time of Moroni's writing, he stood alone, — 
 the sole surviving representative of his people. The last of 
 the terrible wars between Xephites and Lamanites had 
 resulted in the annihilation of the former as a people; and 
 Moroni supposed that his abridgment of the Book of Ether 
 would be his last literary work ; but, finding himself mirac- 
 
 a Isaiah xxix, 11 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 275 
 
 ulously preserved at the conclusion of that undertaking, he 
 added the parts known to us as the Book of Moroni, con- 
 taining accounts of the ceremonies of ordination, baptism, 
 administration of the sacrament, etc., and a record of cer- 
 tain utterances and writings of his father Mormon. 
 
 THE GENUINENESS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. 
 
 26. The earnest student of the Book of Mormon will be 
 most concerned in his consideration of the reliability of the 
 great record; and this subject may be conveniently consid- 
 ered under two headings : 1st, the genuineness and integ- 
 rity of the Book of Mormon, i. e., the evidence that the 
 book is what it professes to be, — an actual translation of 
 ancient records; 2nd, the authenticity of the original writ- 
 ings, as shown by internal and external evidence. 
 
 27. The Genuineness of the Book will appear to anyone 
 who undertakes an impartial investigation into the circum- 
 stances attending its coming forth. The many so-called 
 theories of its origin, advanced by prejudiced opponents to 
 the work of God, are in general too inconsistent, and in 
 most instances too thoroughly puerile, to merit serious con- 
 sideration. Such fancies as are set forth in representations 
 of the Book of Mormon as the production of a single author 
 or of men working in collusion, as a work of fiction, or in 
 any manner as a modern composition, are their own refuta- 
 tion. The sacred character of the plates forbade their dis- 
 play as a means of gratifying personal curiosity ; nevertheless 
 a number of reputable witnesses examined them, and these 
 men have given to the world their solemn testimony of the 
 fact. In June, 1829, the prophecies respecting the wit- 
 nesses by whose testimony the word of God as set forth 
 in the Book of Mormon was to be established/ saw its 
 
 o See Note 2. 
 
 p II Nephi xi, 3; xxvii, 12-13; Ether v, 3-4; see also Doc. and Cov. v, 11-15; 
 xvii, 1-9. 
 
276 n THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIY. 
 
 fulfilment in a manifestation of Divine power, demonstrating 
 the genuineness of the record to three men, whose affirma- 
 tions accompany all editions of the book. 
 
 28. The Testimony of Three Witnesses: — Be it known 
 unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom 
 this work shall come, that we, through the grace of God 
 the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates 
 which contain this record, which is a record of the people 
 of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and 
 also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of 
 which hath been spoken ; and we also know that they have 
 been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice 
 hath declared it unto us, 9 wherefore we know of a surety 
 that the work is true. And we also testify that we have 
 seen the engravings'" which are upon the plates ; and they have 
 "been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. 
 And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of 
 Ood came down from heaven, 8 and he brought and laid be- 
 fore our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the 
 •engravings thereon ; and we know that it is by the grace of 
 <rod the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld 
 and bear record that these things are true ; and it is mar- 
 velous in our eyes, nevertheless the voice of the Lord com- 
 manded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to 
 be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testi- 
 mony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful 
 in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all 
 men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of 
 Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. 
 And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the 
 Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen. 
 
 Oliver Cowdery, 
 David Whitmer, 
 Martin Harris. 
 
 29. The testimony so declared was never revoked, or even 
 modified by any one of the witnesses whose names are sub- 
 
 q Doc. and Cov. xvii, 6: xx, 8. 
 
 r II Nephi v, 32: Alma lxiii, 12; Mormon i, 3. 
 
 # See History of Joseph Smith, June, 1829. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 27? 
 
 scribed to the foregoing/ though all of them withdrew 
 from the Church, and indulged in feelings amounting 
 almost to hatred toward Joseph Smith. To the last of their 
 lives, they maintained the same solemn declaration of the 
 angelic visit, and the testimony that had been implanted in 
 their hearts. Shortly after the witnessing of the plates by 
 the three, other eight persons were permitted to see and 
 handle the ancient records; and in this also was prophecy 
 fulfilled, in that it was of old declared, that beside the 
 three, "God sendeth more witnesses,"" whose testimony 
 shall be added to that of the three. It was presumably 
 in July, 1829, that Joseph Smith showed the plates to the 
 eight whose names are attached to the following certificate. 
 
 30. The Testimony of Eight Witnesses: — Be it known 
 unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people unto whom 
 this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jun., the trans- 
 lator of this work, has shown unto us the plates of which 
 hath been spoken, which have the appearance of gold ; and 
 as many of the leaves as the said Smith has translated, we 
 did handle with our hands ; and we also saw the engravings 
 thereon, all of which has the appearance of ancient work, 
 and of curious workmanship. And this we bear record with 
 words of soberness, that the said Smith has shown unto us, 
 for we have seen and hefted, and know of a surety that the 
 said Smith has got the plates of which we have spoken. 
 And we give our names unto the world, to witness unto the 
 world that which we have seen ; and we lie not, God bearing 
 witness of it. 
 
 Christian Whitmer, Hiram Page, 
 
 Jacob Whitmer, Joseph Smith, Sex., 
 
 Peter Whitmer, Jun., Hyrum Smith, 
 
 John Whitmer, Samuel H. Smith. 
 
 31. Three of the eight witnesses died out of the Church, 
 yet not one of the whole number ever was known to deny 
 
 t See Note 3. 
 u II Nephi xi, 3 
 
278 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIV. 
 
 his testimony concerning the Book of Mormon/ Here 
 then are proofs of varied kinds regarding the reliability of 
 this volume. Learned linguists pronounce the characters 
 genuine; eleven men of honest report make solemn oath of 
 the appearance of the plates ; and the nature of the book 
 itself sustains the claim that it is nothing more nor less than 
 a translation of ancient records. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Book of Mormon Title Page :— "I wish to mention here that the title 
 page of the Book of Mormon is a literal translation, taken from the very last 
 leaf on the left hand side of the collection or book of plates, which contained the 
 record which has been translated, the language of the whole running the same 
 as all Hebrew writing in general; and that said title page is not by any means a 
 modern composition, either of mine or any other man who has lived or does live 
 in this generation."— Joseph Smith. 
 
 2. Theories concerning the Origin of the Book of Mormon : The 
 Spaulding Story :— The true account of the origin of the Book of Mormon 
 was rejected by the public in general, who thus assumed the responsibility of 
 explaining in some plausible way the source of the record. Many vague theories, 
 based on the incredible assumption that the book was the work of a single 
 author, were put forward; of these, the most famous, and, indeed, the only one 
 that lived long enough in public favor to be discussed, is the so-called "Spauld- 
 ing Story." Solomon Spaulding, a clergyman of Amity, Pa., wrote a romance, to 
 which no title other than "Manuscript Story" was prefixed. Twenty years after 
 the author's death, one Hurlburt, an apostate from the Church of Jesus Christ of 
 Latter -day Saints, announced a resemblance between the story and the Book of 
 Mormon, and expressed his conviction that the work presented to the world by 
 Joseph Smith was nothingbut Spaulding's romance revised and amplified. The 
 manuscript was lost for a time, and, in the absence of proof to the contrary, 
 stories of the parallelism between the two works multiplied. But, by a fortu- 
 nate circumstance, in 1884, President James H. Fairchild of Oberlin College, 
 Ohio, and a literary friend, one Mr. Rice, in examining a heterogeneous collec- 
 tion of old papers that had been purchased by Mr. Rice, found the original story. 
 The gentlemen made a careful comparison of the manuscript and the Book of 
 Mormon; and, with the sole desire of subserving the purposes of truth, made 
 public their results. Pres. Fairchild published an article in the New York 
 Observer, Feb. 5, 1885, in which he said:— "The theory of the origin of the Book 
 of Mormon in the traditional manuscript of Solomon Spaulding will probably 
 have to be relinquished. * * * Mr. Rice, myself and others compared it [the 
 Spaulding manuscript] with the Book of Mormon and could detect no resem- 
 blance between the two. * * * Some other explanation of the Book of Mormon 
 must be found, if any explanation is required." 
 
 v See Note 4. 
 
ART. 8. J NOTES. 279 
 
 The manuscript was deposited in the library of' Oberlin College where it now 
 reposes. Still, the theory of the '-Manuscript Found," as Spaulding's story has 
 come to he known, is occasionally pressed into service in the cause of anti-"Mor- 
 mon" zeal, by some whom we will charitably believe to be ignorant of the facts 
 set forth by Pres. Fairchild. A letter of more recent date, written by that 
 honorable gentleman in reply to an enquiring correspondent, was published in 
 the Millennial Star, Liverpool, Nov. 3, 1898, and is as follows: 
 
 Oberlin College, Ohio, 
 
 October 17, 1895. 
 J. R. Hindley, Esq., 
 
 Dear Sir:— We have in our College Library. an original manuscript of Solomon 
 Spaulding— unquestionably genuine. 
 
 I found it in 1884 in the handsof Hon. L. L. Rice of Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. 
 He was formerly State Printer at Columbus, O., and before that, publisher of a 
 paper in Painesville, whose preceding publisher had visited Mrs. Spaulding and 
 obtained the manuscript from her. It had lain among his old papers forty years 
 or more, and was brought out by my asking him to look up anti-slavery docu- 
 ments among his papers. 
 
 The manuscript has upon it the signatures of several men of Conneaut, O., 
 who had heard Spaulding read it and knew it to be his. No one can see it and 
 question its genuineness. The manuscript has been printed twice at least— 
 once by the Mormons of Salt Lake City, and once by the Josephite Mormons of 
 Iowa. Tne Utah Mormons obtained the copy of Mr. Rice at 'Honolulu, and the 
 Josephites got it of me after it came into my possession. 
 
 This manuscript is not the original of the Book of Mormon. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Jas. H. Fairchild. 
 
 Printed copies, of the. "Manuscript Found" are obtainable, and any enquirer 
 may examine for himself. For further information see "The Myth of the 
 Manuscript Found"'' by Elder George Reynolds, Salt Lake City; Whitney's 
 History of Utah, Vol. I. pp. 46-56; Elder George Reynolds' preface to the story as 
 issued by the Deseret News Company, Salt Lake City, 1886; and the story itself. 
 
 3. The Three Witnesses :— Oliver Cowdery;— Born at Wells, Rutland Co., 
 Vermont, October, 1805; baptized May 15, 1829; died at Richmond, Mo., March 3, 
 1850. 
 
 David Whitmer:— Born near Harrisburg, Pa., January 7, 1805; baptized June, 
 1829; excommunicated from the Church, April 13,1838; died at Richmond, Mo., 
 January 25, 1888. 
 
 Martin Harris:— Born at East-town, Saratoga Co., New York, May 18, 1783; 
 baptized 1830; removed to Utah, August, 1870, and died at Clarkston, Cache Co., 
 Utah, July 10, 1875. 
 
 4. The Eight Witnesses :— Christian Whitmer:— Born January 18, 1798; 
 baptized April 11, 1830; died in full fellowship in the Church, Clay County, Mis- 
 souri, November 27, 1835. He was the eldest son of Peter Whitmer. 
 
 Jacob Whitmer:— Second son of Peter Whitmer; born in Pennsylvania, 
 January 27, 1800; baptized April. 11, 1830; died April 21, 1856, having previously 
 withdrawn from the Church. 
 
280 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XI V. 
 
 Peter Whitmer, Jr.:— Born September 27, 1809; fifth son of Peter Whitmer; 
 baptized June, 1829; died a faithful member of the Church, at or near Liberty, 
 Clay Co., Missouri, September 22, 1836. 
 
 John Whitmer:— Third son of Peter Whitmer; born August 27, 1802; bap- 
 tized June, 1829; excommunicated from the Church March 10, 1838; died at Far 
 West, Missouri, July 11, 1878. 
 
 Hiram Page:— Born in Vermont, 1800; baptized April 11, 1830: withdrew from 
 the Church, 1838; died in Ray Co., Missouri, August 12, 1852. 
 
 Joseph Smith, Sen.:— The Prophet Joseph's father; born at Topsfield, Essex 
 Co., Mass., July 12, 1771; baptized April 6, 1830; ordained Patriarch to the 
 Church, December 18, 1833; died in full fellowship in the Church at Nauvoo, 111., 
 Sept. 14, 1840. 
 
 Hyrum Smith:— Second son of Joseph Smith, Sen., born at Tunbridge, Vt. 
 February 9, 1800; baptized June, 1829; appointed one of the First Presidency of 
 the Church November 7, 1837: Patriarch to the Church January 19, 1841; mar- 
 tyred with his brother, the Prophet, at Carthage, 111., June 27, 1844. 
 
 Samuel Harrison Smith:— Born Tunbridge, Vt., March 13, 1808; fourth son of 
 Joseph Smith, Sen., baptized May 15, 1829; died July 30, 1844. 
 
AKT. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 281 
 
 LECTUKE XV. 
 
 THE BOOK OP MORMON.— (Continued.) 
 
 Article 8.— * * * We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word 
 of God. 
 
 AUTHENTICITY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. 
 
 1. The Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon con- 
 stitutes our most important consideration of the work. This 
 subject is one of vital interest to every earnest investigator 
 of the ways of God, to every sincere searcher after truth. 
 Claiming to be, as far as the present dispensation is con- 
 concerned, a new scripture ; presenting prophecies and reve- 
 lations not heretofore recognized in modern theology; an- 
 nouncing to the world the message of a departed people ; 
 written by way of commandment, and by the spirit of 
 prophecy and revelation ; this volume is entitled to the most 
 thorough and impartial examination. Nay, more, not alone 
 does the Book of Mormon merit such consideration, it 
 claims, even demands the same ; for surely no one professing 
 the most cursory belief in the power and authority of God 
 can receive with unconcern the announcement of a new 
 commandment, having the seal of Divine authority upon it. 
 The question of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon is 
 therefore one in which the world is interested. 
 
 2. The Latter-day Saints base their belief in the authen- 
 ticity and genuineness of the book on the following proofs : — 
 
 I. The general agreement of the Book of Mormon with 
 the Bible. 
 
 II. The fulfilment of ancient prophecies accomplished 
 by the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon. 
 
282 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XV. 
 
 III. The strict agreement and consistency of the Book 
 of Mormon with itself. 
 
 IV. The evident truth of its contained prophecies. 
 
 To these may be added certain external, or extra-scriptural 
 evidences, amongst which are : — 
 
 V. The strongly corroborative evidence furnished by 
 modern discoveries in the field of archeological and ethno- 
 logical science. 
 
 I. THE BOOK OF MORMON AN"D THE BIBLE. 
 
 3. The Nephite and the Jewish Scriptures are found to 
 agree in all matters of tradition, history, doctrine, and 
 prophecy upon which both the separate records treat. These 
 two volumes of scripture were prepared on opposite hemi- 
 spheres, under conditions and circumstances widely diverse ; 
 yet between them there exists a surprising harmony, con- 
 firmatory of Divine inspiration in both. The . Book of 
 Mormon contains a number of quotations from the ancient 
 Jewish scriptures, a copy of which, as far as they had been 
 compiled at the time of Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem, was 
 brought to the western continent, as part of the record en- 
 graved on the plates of Laban. In the case of such pas- 
 sages, there is no essential difference between Bible and 
 Book of Mormon versions, except in instances of probable 
 error in translation, — usually apparent through inconsist- 
 ency or lack of clearness in the biblical reading. There 
 are, however, numerous minor variations in corresponding 
 parts of the two volumes; and between such, examination 
 usually demonstrates the superior perspicuity of the Nephite 
 scripture. 
 
 4. In a careful comparison of the prophecies of the Bible 
 with corresponding predictions contained in the Book of 
 Mormon, e. g. those relating to the birth, earthly ministry, 
 sacrificial death, and second coming of Christ Jesus ; others 
 
ART. 8. J THE BOOK OF MORMON. 283 
 
 referring to the scattering and subsequent gathering of 
 Israel ; and such as relate to the establishment of Zion and 
 the re-building of Jerusalem in the last days, each of the 
 records will be seen to be corroborative of the other. True, 
 there are many predictions in one which are not found in 
 the other ; but in no instance has a contradiction or an in-^ 
 consistency between the two been pointed out. Between the 
 doctrinal parts of the two volumes of scripture the same 
 perfect harmony is found to prevail. 
 
 5. Of the agreement of the Book of Mormon with the 
 Bible and with other standards of comparison, Apostle 
 Orson Pratt has forcefully and truthfully written: — "If the 
 miracles of the Book of Mormon be compared with the mir- 
 acles of the Bible, there cannot be found in the former any- 
 thing that would be more difficult to believe, than what we 
 find in the latter. If we compare the historical, prophet- 
 ical, and doctrinal parts of the Book of Mormon with the 
 great truths of science and nature, we find no contradic- 
 tions, no absurdities, nothing unreasonable. The most per- 
 fect harmony, therefore, exists between the great truths 
 revealed in the Book of Mormon, and all other known 
 truths, whether religious, historical, or scientific." 
 
 II. ANCIENT PROPHECY REGARDING THE BOOK OF MORMON. 
 
 6. Ancient Prophecy has been literally fulfilled in the 
 coming forth of the Book of Mormon. One of the earliest 
 prophetic utterances directly bearing upon this subject is 
 that of Enoch, the ante-diluvian prophet, unto whom the 
 Lord revealed His purposes for all time. Witnessing in 
 vision the corruption of mankind, after the ascension of the 
 Son of Man, Enoch cried unto his God, "Wilt thou not come 
 again on the earth?" "And the Lord said unto Enoch, 
 
 a "Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon'' Orson Pratt's. 'Works, p. 23(5, 
 (1891, Utah ed.) 
 
284 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XV. 
 
 As I live, even so will I come in the last days. * * * 
 And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before 
 that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of dark- 
 ness shall cover the earth, and the heavens shall shake and 
 also the earth, and great tribulations , shall be among the 
 children of men ; but my people will I preserve, and right- 
 eousness will I send down out of heaven, and truth will I 
 send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of Mine Only 
 Begotten. * * * and righteousness and truth will I 
 cause to sweep the earth as with a flood to gather out mine 
 own elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place 
 which I shall prepare." 6 The Latter-day Saints regard 
 the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, together with the 
 restoration of the Priesthood by the direct ministration of 
 heavenly messengers, as a fulfilment of this prophecy, and 
 of similar predictions contained in the Bible. 
 
 7. Biblical Prophecies and their Fulfilment: — David, who 
 sang his psalms over a thousand years before the "Meridian 
 of Time," declared, "Truth shall spring out of the earth, 
 and righteousness shall look down from heaven." And so 
 also declared Isaiah. d Ezekiel saw in vision 6 the coming 
 together of the stick of Judah, and the stick of Joseph,, 
 signifying, as the Latter-day Saints affirm, the Bible and 
 the Book of Mormon. The passage last referred to reads, 
 in the words of Ezekiel: — "The word of the Lord came 
 again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take 
 thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the 
 children of Israel his companions : then take another stick, 
 and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and 
 for all the house of Israel his companions : And join them 
 
 b Pearl of Great Price. "Writings of Moses, p. 44. (1888 ed.) 
 
 c Psalms lxxxv, 11. 
 
 d Isa. xlv, 8. 
 
 e Ezek. xxxvii, particularly verses 15-20. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 285 
 
 one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in 
 thine hand." 
 
 8. When we call to mind the ancient custom in the mak- 
 ing of books, — that of writing on long strips of parchment 
 and rolling the same on rods or sticks, the use of the word 
 "stick" as equivalent to "book" in the passage becomes at 
 once apparent/ At the time of this utterance, the Israel- 
 ites had divided into two nations known as the people of 
 Judah, and" that of Israel, or Ephraim. There would seem 
 to be little room for doubt that the records of Judah and of 
 Joseph are here referred to.* 7 Now, as we have seen, the 
 Nephite nation comprised the descendants of Lehi of the 
 tribe of Manasseh, of Ishmael an Ephraimite, and of Zoram 
 whose tribal relation is not definitely stated. The Nephites 
 were then of the tribes of Joseph; and their record or 
 "stick" is as truly represented by the Book of Mormon as 
 is the "stick" of Judah by the Bible. 
 
 9. That the coming forth of the record of Joseph or 
 Ephraim is to be accomplished through the direct power of 
 God is evident from the Lord's interpretation of the vision 
 of Ezekiel, wherein He says: — "Behold, I will take the stick 
 of Joseph * * * and will put them with him, even with 
 the stick of Judah." 71 And that this union of the two records 
 is to be a characteristic of the latter days is evident from the 
 prediction of an event which is to follow immediately, viz., 
 the gathering of the tribes from the nations among which they 
 had been dispersed.* Comparison with other prophecies re- 
 lating to the gathering will conclusively prove that the 
 great event is to take place in the latter times, preparatory 
 to the second coming of Christ.-* 
 
 / See a corresponding use of the word "roll" in Jeremiah xxxvi, 1, 2: and its 
 synonym "book" in verses 8, 10, n, and 13. 
 
 g Compare with Lehi's prediction made to his son Joseph, II Nephi iii, 12. 
 
 h Ezek. xxxvii, 19. 
 
 i Verse 21. 
 
 ? See lecture on "Gathering" in connection with Article 10. 
 
286 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XT. 
 
 10. Eeverting to the writings of Isaiah, we find that 
 prophet voicing the Lord's threatenings against Ariel, or 
 Jerusalem, "the city where David dwelt." Ariel was to be 
 distressed, burdened with heaviness and sorrow; then the 
 prophet refers to some people, other than Judah who occupied 
 Jerusalem, for he makes comparison with the latter, saying 
 "And it shall be unto me as Ariel." As to the fate decreed 
 against this other people we read: — "And thou shalt be 
 brought down, and shalt speak out of the grouild, and thy 
 speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, 
 as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and 
 thy speech shall whisper out of the dust." fc 
 
 11. Of the fulfilment of these and associated prophecies, 
 a modern apostle has written : — "These predictions of Isaiah 
 could not refer to Ariel, or Jerusalem, because their speech 
 has not been 'out of the ground,' or 'low out of the dust;' 
 but it refers to the remnant of Joseph who were destroyed 
 in America upwards of fourteen hundred years ago. The 
 Book of Mormon describes their downfall, and truly it was 
 great and terrible. At the crucifixion of Christ, 'the mul- 
 titude of their terrible ones,' as Isaiah predicted, 'became as 
 chaff that passeth away,' and it took place as he further 
 predicts, 'at an instant suddenly.' * * * This remnant 
 of Joseph in their distress and destruction became as Ariel. 
 As the Roman army lay siege to Ariel, and brought upon 
 her great distress and sorrow, so did the contending nations 
 of ancient America bring upon each other the most direful 
 scenes of blood and carnage. Therefore, the Lord could, 
 with the greatest propriety, when speaking in reference to 
 this event, declare that, 'It shall be unto me as Ariel. "" 
 
 12. Isaiah's striking prediction that the nation thus 
 
 k Isaiah xxix, 4— read verses 1-6. 
 
 I Orson Pratt, Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, p.p. 293-294 (Utah ed. 
 1891). For details of fulfilment of part of the prophecy, see III Nephi viii-ix, 
 
ART. 8. J THE BOOK OF MORMON. 287 
 
 brought down should "speak out of the ground," with 
 speech "low out of the dust" was literally fulfilled in the 
 bringing forth of the Book of Mormon, the original of which 
 was taken out of the ground, and the voice of the record is 
 as that of one speaking from the dust. In continuation of 
 the same prophecy we read: — "And the vision of all is be- 
 come unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which 
 men deliver unto one that is learned, saying, Eead this, I 
 pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And 
 the book is delivered unto him that is not learned, saying, 
 Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. " m 
 The fulfilment of this prediction is claimed in the presenta- 
 tion of the transcript from the plates, — "the words of a 
 book," not the book itself, to the learned Prof. Anthon, 
 whose reply almost in the words of the text has been 
 cited ; n and in the delivery of the book itself to the un- 
 lettered lad, Joseph Smith. 
 
 III. CONSISTENCY OF STYLE AND MATTER IN THE BOOK 
 OF MORMON. 
 
 13. The Consistency of the Book of Mormon sustains 
 belief in its Divine origin. The parts bear evidence of having 
 been written at different times, and under widely varying 
 conditions. The style of the component books is in har- 
 mony with the times and circumstances of their production. 
 The portions which were transcribed from the plates bearing 
 Mormon's abridgment contain numerous interpolations as 
 comments and explanations of the transcriber; but in the 
 first six books, which, as already explained, are the verbatim 
 record of the smaller plates of Nephi, no such interpola- 
 tions occur. The book maintains strict consistency through- 
 
 m Isaiah xxix, 11-12. 
 n See p. 273-274. 
 
288 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XV. 
 
 out all its parts; no contradictions, no disagreements have 
 been pointed out. 
 
 14. A Marked Diversity of Style characterizes the several 
 parts. From what has been said regarding the classes of 
 plates which constitute the original records of the Book of 
 Mormon, it is evident that the volume contains the com- 
 piled writings of a long line of inspired scribes extending 
 through a thousand years, this time-range being exclusive of 
 the earlier years of Jaredite history. Unity of style is not 
 to be expected under such conditions, and indeed, did such 
 occur, it would be fatal to the claims made for the volume. 
 
 IV. THE BOOK OF MORMON SUSTAINED BY THE FULFIL- 
 MENT OF ITS CONTAINED PROPHECIES. 
 
 15. Book of Mormon Predictions are numerous and im- 
 portant. Amongst the most conclusive proofs of the 
 authenticity of the book is that furnished by the demon- 
 strated truth of its contained prophecies. Prophecy is 
 best proved in the light of its own fulfilment. The pre- 
 dictions contained within the Book of Mormon may be 
 classed as (a) Prophecies relating to the time covered by 
 the book itself, the fulfilment of which is recorded therein; 
 and, (b) Prophecies relating to times beyond the limits of 
 the history chronicled in the book. 
 
 16. Prophecies of the First -Class named, the fulfilment 
 of which is attested by the Book of Mormon record, are of 
 but minor value as proof of the authenticity of the work ; 
 for, had the book been written according to a plot devised 
 by man, both prediction and fulfilment would have been 
 provided for with equal care and ingenuity. Nevertheless, 
 to the studious and conscientious reader, the genuineness 
 of the book will be apparent; and the account of the 
 literal realization of the numerous and varied predictions 
 
 o See Note 1. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 289 
 
 relating to the fate then future of the people whose history- 
 is given in the record, as also of those concerning the de- 
 tails of the birth and death of the Savior, and of His 
 appearing in a resurrected state, must, by their accuracy 
 and consistency, appeal with force as evidence of inspira- 
 tion and authority in the record. 
 
 17. Prophecies of the Second Class, relating to a time 
 which to the writers was far future, are numerous and ex- 
 plicit : many of them have special reference to the last days, 
 — the dispensation of the fulness of times, — and of these, 
 some have been already strictly accomplished, others are 
 now in process of actual realization, while yet . others are 
 awaiting fulfilment under specified conditions which seem 
 now to be rapidly approaching. Among the most remark- 
 able of the Book of Mormon predictions incident to the last 
 dispensation are those that relate to its own coming forth 
 and the effect of its publication amongst mankind. Eze- 
 kiel's biblical prophecy concerning the coming together of 
 the "sticks," or records, of Judah and of Ephraim has 
 received attention ; consider a like prediction pronounced as 
 a blessing by Lehi upon the head of his son Joseph, which 
 couples the prophecy concerning the book with that of the 
 seer through whose instrumentality the miracle was to be 
 accomplished: — "But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit 
 of thy loins ; and unto him will I give power to bring forth 
 my word unto the seed of thy loins ; and not to the bringing 
 forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing 
 them of my word, which shall have already gone forth 
 among them. Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write ; 
 and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write ; and that 
 which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also 
 that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of 
 Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false 
 doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing 
 
 20 
 
290 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XV. 
 
 peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to 
 the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days ; and also to 
 the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord. And out 
 of weakness he shall be made strong, in that day when my 
 work shall commence among all my people, unto the restor- 
 ing thee, house of Israel, saith the Lord." 1 ' The literal 
 fulfilment of these utterances in the bringing forth of the 
 Book of Mormon through Joseph Smith is of itself appar- 
 ent. 
 
 18. Unto Nephi the Lord showed the effect of the new 
 publication ; declaring that in the day of Israel's gathering, 
 — plainly then the day of the fulness of times, as attested 
 by the Jewish scriptures, — the words of the Nephites should 
 be given to the world, and should "hiss forth unto the ends 
 of the earth, for a standard" unto the house of Israel ; and 
 that then the Gentiles, forgetting even their debt to the 
 Jews from whom they have received the Bible in which they 
 profess such faith, would revile and curse that branch of the 
 covenant people, and would reject the new scripture, ex- 
 claiming, "A Bible! a Bible! we have got a Bible, and there 
 cannot be any more Bible." 3 Is this not the burden of the 
 frenzied objections raised by the Gentile world against the 
 Book of Mormon, — that it is of necessity void because new 
 revelation is not to be expected? 
 
 19. Now, in olden times, two witnesses were required to 
 establish the truth of any allegation; and, says the Lord 
 concerning the dual records witnessing of Himself : — "Where- 
 fore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my 
 word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a 
 witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation 
 like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto 
 one nation like unto another. And when the two nations 
 
 p II Nephi iii, 11-13. 
 
 q II Nephi xxix, 3; read the chapter. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 291 
 
 shall run together, the testimony of the two nations shall 
 run together also." r 
 
 20. Associated with these predictions of the joint testi- 
 mony of Jewish and Nephite scriptures, is another prophecy, 
 the consummation of which is now eagerly awaited by the 
 faithful. Other scriptures are promised; note this word of 
 God: — "Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible, ye need 
 not suppose that it contains all my words ; neither need ye 
 suppose that I have not caused more to be written : * * 
 * * * ]? or behold, I shall speak unto the Jews, and they 
 shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites, and 
 they shall write it ; and I shall* also speak unto the other 
 tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and 
 they shall write it ; and I shall also speak unto all nations 
 of the earth, and they shall write it. And it shall come to 
 pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and 
 the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the 
 Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost 
 tribes of Israel ; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the 
 words of the Nephites and the Jews."* 
 
 V. CORROBORATIVE EVIDENCE FURNISHED BY MODERN 
 DISCOVERIES. 
 
 21. The Archeology and Ethnology of the western con- 
 tinent contribute valuable corroborative evidence in support 
 of the Book of Mormon. These sciences are confessedly 
 unable to explain in any decisive manner the origin of the 
 native American races; nevertheless, investigation in this 
 field has yielded some results that are fairly definite, and 
 with the most important of these the Book of Mormon 
 account is in general accord. Among the most prominent 
 
 r Verse 8. 
 
 s Verses 10 and 
 
292 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. L LECT - xv - 
 
 of the discoveries respecting the aboriginal inhabitants, are 
 the following : — 
 
 I. That America was inhabited in very ancient times, 
 probably soon after the building of the Tower of Babel. 
 
 II. That the continent has been successively occupied 
 by different peoples, at least by two classes, or so-called 
 "races" at widely separated periods. 
 
 III. That the aboriginal inhabitants came from the east, 
 probably from Asia, and that the later occupants, or those 
 of the second period, were closely allied to, if not identical 
 with, the Israelites. 
 
 IV. That the existing native races of America have 
 sprung from a common stoc^. 
 
 22. From the outline already given of the historical part 
 of the Book of Mormon, it is seen that each of these dis- 
 coveries is fully attested by that record. Thus it is stated 
 therein : — 
 
 I. That America was settled by the Jaredites, who 
 came direct from the scenes of Babel. 
 
 II. That the Jaredites occupied the land for about 
 eighteen hundred and fifty years, during which time they 
 spread over a great part of North and South America; 
 and that at about the time of their extinction (near 590 B. 
 C), Lehi and his company came to this continent where 
 they developed into the segregated nations Nephites and 
 Lamanites ; the former becoming extinct near 385 A. D., 
 about a thousand years after Lehi's arrival on these shores ; 
 the latter continuing in a degenerate condition until the 
 present, being represented by the Indian tribes of today. 
 
 III. That Lehi, Ishmael, and Zoram, the progenitors 
 of both Nephites and Lamanites, were undoubtedly Israel- 
 ites, Lehi being of the tribe of Manasseh while Ishmael was 
 an Ephraimite; and that the colony came direct from Jeru- 
 salem, in Asia. 
 
 IV. That the existing Indian tribes are all direct de- 
 
ART. 8. J THE BOOK OF MORMON. 293 
 
 scendants of Lehi and his company, and that therefore they 
 have sprung from men all of whom were of the house of 
 Israel. 
 
 Now let us examine some of the evidence bearing on 
 these points presented by individual investigators, most of 
 whom knew nothing of the Book of Mormon, and none of 
 whom accept the book as authentic* 
 
 23. I. Concerning the very Ancient Period at which 
 America was Inhabited: — A recognized authority on Amer- 
 ican antiquities gives the following evidence and inference : — 
 "One of the arts known to the builders of Babel was that 
 of brick making. This art was also known to the people 
 who built the works in the west. The knowledge of copper 
 was known to the people of the plains of Shinar; for Noah 
 must have communicated it, as he lived a hundred and fifty 
 years among them after the flood. Also copper was known 
 to the ante-diluvians. Copper was also known to the 
 authors of the western monuments. Iron was known to the 
 ante-diluvians. It was also known to the ancients of the 
 west. However, it is evident that very little iron was among 
 them, as very few instances of its discovery in their works 
 have occurred ; and for this very reason we draw a conclu- 
 sion that they came to this country soon after the disper- 
 sion."" 
 
 24. Lowry, in his "Reply to official inquiries respecting 
 the Aborigines of America," concludes concerning the 
 peopling of the western continent, "that the first settlement 
 
 t Acknowledgments :— Many of the citations which follow, used in con- 
 nection with the extra-scriptural evidence supporting the Book of Mormon, 
 have been broughttogether by writers among our people, particularly by Elder 
 George Reynolds; (see his lectures as specified whei'e quoted); also series of 
 articles entitled "American Antiquities," in Millennial Star, Liverpool, vol. xxi; 
 by Moses Thatcher, (See a series of articles on '-The Divine Origin of the Book 
 of Mormon," in Contributor, Salt Lake City, vol. 'II;) and by Elder Edwin F. 
 Parry; (see tract, "A Prophet of Latter-days;" Liverpool, 1898.) 
 
 u Priest, American Antiquities. (1833). 
 
294 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XV. 
 
 was made shortly after the confusion of tongues at the 
 building of the Tower of Babel. " v 
 
 25. Prof. Waterman of Boston says of the progenitors of 
 the American Indians: — "When and whence did they come? 
 Albert Galatin, one of the profoundest philologists of the 
 age, concluded, that, so far as language afforded any clue, 
 the time of their arrival could not have been long after the 
 dispersion of the human family. " w 
 
 26. Pritchard says of America's ancient inhabitants, 
 that, "the era of their existence as a distinct and isolated 
 race must probably be dated as far back as that time which 
 separated into nations the inhabitants of the old world, and 
 gave to each branch of the human family its primitive lan- 
 guage and individuality."* 
 
 27. A native Mexican author, Ixtilxochitl, "fixes the 
 date of the first peopling of America about the year 2000 
 B. C. ; this closely accords with that given by the Book of 
 Mormon, which positively declares that it occurred at the 
 time of the dispersion, when God in His anger scattered 
 the people upon the face of the whole earth. "" "Kef erring 
 to the quotations from Ixtilxochitl, seventeen hundred and 
 sixteen years are said to have elapsed from the creation to 
 the flood. Moses places it sixteen hundred and fifty-six, a 
 difference of only sixty years. 2 They agree exactly as to 
 the number of cubits, fifteen, which the waters prevailed 
 over the highest mountains. Such a coincidence can lead 
 to but one conclusion, the identity of origin of the two 
 accounts. " a 
 
 v Schoolcraft's Ethnological Researches, vol. iii, (1853.) 
 
 w Extract from lecture by Prof. Waterman, delivered in Bristol, England, 
 1849; quoted in pamphlet by Edwin F. Parry "J. Prophet of Latter Days," (Liver- 
 pool, 1898.) 
 
 x Pritchard, National History of Man. (London, 1845.) 
 
 y Moses Thatcher, Contributor, vol. ii, p. 227, Salt Lake City, 1881. 
 
 z See Note 2. 
 
 a Moses Thatcher, Contributor, vol. ii, p. 228. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 295 
 
 28. Prof. Short, quoting from Clavigero, says, "The 
 Chiapanese have been the first peoplers of the New World, 
 if we give credit to their traditions. They say that Votan, 
 the grandson of that respectable old man who built the 
 great ark to save himself and family from the deluge, and 
 one of those who undertook the building of that lofty 
 edifice, which was to reach up to heaven, went by express 
 command of the Lord to people that land. They say 
 also that the first people came from the quarter of the 
 north, and that when they arrived at Soconusco, they separ- 
 ated, some going to inhabit the country of Nicaragua, and 
 others remaining at Chiapas. " a 
 
 29. II. Concerning the Successive Occupation of America 
 by Different Peoples in Ancient Times: — It has been declared 
 by eminent students of American archeology, that two dis- 
 tinct classes, by some designated as separate races, of man- 
 kind inhabited this continent in early times : Prof. F. W. 
 Putnam 5 is even more definite in his assertion that one of 
 these ancient races spread from the north, the other from 
 the south. This is in agreement with the Book of Mormon 
 record, which describes the occupation of the continent by 
 the Jaredites and the Nephites in turn, the former having 
 established themselves first in North America, the latter in 
 South America. H. C. Walsh, in an article entitled 
 "Copan, a City of the Dead," c gives many interesting de- 
 tails of excavation and other work prosecuted by Gordon 
 under the auspices of the Peabody expedition; and adds, 
 "All this points to successive periods of occupation, of 
 which there are other evidences. " d 
 
 a John T. Short, North Americans of Antiquity, p. 204. (Harper Bros., New- 
 York; 2nd ed. 1888.) See also Contributor, (Salt Lake City; vol. II, p. 259). 
 
 b Putnam, "Prehistoric Remains in the Ohio Valley," Century Magazine, March, 
 1890. 
 
 c See Harper's Weekly, (New York,) October, 1897; article by Henry C. 
 Walsh. 
 
 d See note 3 
 
296 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XV. 
 
 30. III. Concerning the Advent of at least One Division 
 of the Ancient Americans from the East, probably from Asia; 
 and their Israelitish Origin: — Comfirmatory evidence of 
 the belief that the aboriginal Americans sprang from the 
 peoples of the eastern hemisphere is found in the similarity 
 of record and tradition on the two continents, regarding the 
 creation, the deluge, and other great events of history. 
 Boturini 7 who is quoted by most writers on American arch- 
 eology says, "There is no Gentile nation that refers to prim- 
 itive events with such certainty as the Indians do. They 
 give us an account of the creation of the world, of the 
 deluge, 91 of the confusion of languages at the Tower of 
 Babel, and of all other periods and ages of the world, and 
 of the long peregrinations which their people had in Asia, 
 representing the specific years by their characters ; and in 
 the seven Conejos (rabbits) they tell us of the great eclipse 
 that occurred at the death of Christ, our Lord." 
 
 31. Similar evidence of the common source of eastern 
 and western traditions of great events in primitive times is 
 furnished in the writings of Short, already quoted, and by 
 Baldwin, 71 Clavigero,* Kingsborough/ Sahagun, fc Prescott/ 
 Schoolcraft," 1 Squiers," Adair, and others.*' 
 
 32. Prof. Short adds his testimonv to the evidence of the 
 
 / Chevalier Boturini; he spent several years investigating the antiquities of 
 Mexico and Central America, and collected many valuable records, of most of 
 which he was despoiled by the Spanish; he published a work on the subject of 
 his studies in 1746. 
 
 g See Note 4. 
 
 h Baldwin, "Ancient America" (Harper Bros., New York, 1871.) 
 
 i Clavigero, quoted by Prof. Short in "North Americans of Antiquity." 
 
 j Lord Kingsborough, "Meotican Antiquities" (1830-37.) 
 
 k Bernardo de Sahagun, "Historia Universal de Ntteva Espana" 
 
 I W. H. Prescott, "Conquest of Mexico" (see pp. 463-4.) 
 
 m Schoolcraft, "Ethnological Researches," (1851); see vol. i. 
 
 n Squiers, "Antiquities of the State of New York," 1851. 
 
 o Adair, "History of the American Indians," London, 1775. 
 
 p See Bancroft's "Native Races," etc, vols, iii and v; Donelly's "Atlantis," p 
 391, (1882.) 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 297 
 
 aboriginal inhabitants of America being of "Old World 
 origin," bnt admits his inability to determine when or 
 whence they came to this continent. 3 Waterman, before 
 cited, says: "This people could not have been created in 
 Africa, for its inhabitants were widely dissimilar from those 
 of America; nor in Europe, which was without a native 
 people agreeing at all with American races; then to Asia 
 alone could they look for the origin of the Americans." 7 * 
 
 33. It has been demonstrated that the aboriginal tribes 
 were accustomed to practice under certain conditions the 
 rites of circumcision, s baptism, and animal sacrifice/ Her- 
 rera, a Spanish writer of three centuries ago, states that 
 among the primitive inhabitants of Yucatan baptism was 
 known by a name that meant to be born again." An inter- 
 esting discovery of an engraved stone presenting a record of 
 the ten commandments has been reported from the Indian 
 mounds of Ohio." v 
 
 34. But it is not alone in the matter of custom and tradi- 
 tion relating to pre-Christian times that so marked a resem- 
 blance is found between the peoples of the old and the new 
 world. Many traditions and some records, telling of the 
 pre-destined Christ and His atoning death, were current 
 among the native races of this continent long prior to the 
 advent of Christian discoverers in recent centuries. Indeed, 
 when the Spaniards first invaded Mexico, their Catholic 
 priests found a native knowledge of Christ and the God- 
 head, so closely corresponding with the doctrines of ortho- 
 
 q John T. Short, North Americans of Antiquity, (1888.) 
 
 r Extract from lecture by Prof. Waterman, delivered in Bristol, England, 
 1849; quoted in pamphlet by Edwin F. Parry, "A Prophet of Latter-days," Liver- 
 pool, 1898. 
 
 8 Lord Kingsborough. 
 
 t Donelly's "Atlantis," p. 144. * 
 
 u Tract "A Prophet of Latter-days," by Edwin F. Parry, p. 106. 
 
 v See an article by Elder George Reynolds, in "Contributor" (Salt Lake City) , 
 xvii, pp. 233. 
 
298 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XY. 
 
 dox Christianity, that they, in their inability to account for 
 the same, invented the theory that Satan had planted among 
 the natives of the country, an imitation gospel for the pur- 
 pose of deluding the people. A rival theory held that 
 Thomas, the apostle, had visited the western continent, and 
 had taught the gospel of Christ.' 
 
 35. Lord Kingsborough, in his comprehensive and 
 standard work, refers to a manuscript by Las Casas the 
 Spanish Bishop of Chiapa, which writing is preserved in 
 the convent of St. Dominic ; in this the Bishop states that a 
 very accurate knowledge of the Godhead was found to exist 
 among the natives of Yucatan. One of the bishop's emissaries 
 wrote that "he had met with a principal lord, who informed 
 him that they believed in God, who resided in heaven, even 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father was 
 named Yeona, the Son Bahab, who was born of a vir- 
 gin, named Chibirias, and that the Holy Spirit was 
 called Euach. Bahab, the Son, they said, was put to death 
 by Eupuro, who scourged Him, and put on his head a crown 
 of thorns, and placed Him with His arms stretched upon a 
 beam of wood; and that, on the third day, He came to life, 
 and ascended into heaven, where He is with the Father ; 
 that immediately after, the Euach came as a merchant, 
 bringing precious merchandise, filling those who would 
 with gifts and graces, abundant and divine. " x 
 
 36. Rosales affirms a tradition among the Chileans to 
 the effect that their forefathers were visited by a wonderful 
 personage, full of grace and power, who wrought many 
 miracles among them, and taught them of the Creator who 
 dwelt in heaven in the midst of glorified hosts. 1 ' Prescott 
 refers to the symbol of the cross which was found by the 
 
 w See Pres. John Taylor's Mediation and Atonement, p. 201. 
 
 x Kingsborough's Antiquities of Mexico. 
 
 y Rosales, History of Chile. See Prest. Tay lor's Mediatio n and Atonement, p. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 299 
 
 Catholics who accompanied Cortez, to be common among 
 the natives of Mexico and Central America. In addition 
 to this sign of a belief in Christ, a ceremony akin to that 
 of the Lord's Supper was witnessed with astonishment by 
 the invaders. The Aztec priests were seen to prepare a 
 cake of flour, mixed with blood, which they consecrated 
 and distributed among the people, who as they ate, "showed 
 signs of humiliation and sorrow, declaring it was the flesh 
 of Deity." 2 
 
 37. The Mexicans recognize a Deity in Quetzalcoatl, 
 the traditional account of whose life and death is closely 
 akin to our history of the Christ, so that, says President 
 John Taylor, "we can come to no other conclusion than 
 that Quetzalcoatl and Christ are the same being. " a Lord 
 Kingsborough speaks of a painting of Quetzalcoatl, "in the 
 attitude of a person crucified, with the impression of nails 
 in his hands and feet, but not actually upon the cross." 
 The same authority further says, "The seventy-third plate 
 of the Borgian MS. is the most remarkable of all, for Quetz- 
 alcoatl is not only represented there as crucified upon a 
 cross of Greek form, but his burial and descent into hell 
 are also depicted in a very curious manner." And again: — 
 "The Mexicans believe that Quetzalcoatl took human nature 
 upon him, partaking of all the infirmities of man, and was 
 not exempt from sorrow, pain or death, which he suffered 
 voluntarily to atone for the sins of man." 6 
 
 38. The source of this knowledge of Christ and the God- 
 head, to account for which gave such trouble to the Catholic 
 invaders and caused them to resort to extreme and un- 
 founded theory, is plainly apparent to the student of the 
 Book of Mormon. We learn from that sacred scripture, 
 
 z Prescott, Conquest of Mexico, p. 465. 
 a Mediation and Atonement, p. 201; See Note 5. 
 
 b Lord Kingsborough, Antiquities of Mexico; see quotations by Pres. John 
 Taylor, Mediation and Atonement, p. 202. 
 
300 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XV. 
 
 that the progenitors of the native American races, for cen- 
 turies prior to the time of Christ's birth, lived in the light 
 of direct revelation, which, coming to them through their 
 authorized prophets, showed the purposes of God respecting 
 the redemption of mankind; and, moreover, that the risen 
 Eedeemer ministered unto them in person, and established 
 His Church among them with all its essential ordinances. 
 The people have fallen into a state of spiritual degeneracy ; 
 many of their traditions are sadly distorted, and disfigured 
 by admixture of superstition and human invention; yet the 
 origin of their knowledge is plainly authentic. 
 
 39. IV. Concerning the Common Origin of the Native 
 Races on this Continent: — That the many tribes and nations 
 among the Indians and other "native races" of America 
 are of common parentage is very generally admitted; the 
 conclusion is based on the evident close relationship in 
 their languages, traditions, and customs. "Mr. Lewis H. 
 Morgan finds evidence that the American aborigines had a 
 common origin in what he calls 'their system of consan- 
 guinity and affinity.' He says, 'The Indian nations from 
 the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Arctic 
 sea to the Gulf of Mexico, with the exception of the 
 Esquimaux, have the same system. It is elaborate and 
 complicated in its general form and details; and, while 
 deviations from uniformity occur in the systems of different 
 stocks, the radical feature, are in the main constant. This 
 identity in the essential characteristics of a system so re- 
 markable tends to show that it must have been transmitted 
 with the blood to each stock from a common original 
 source. It affords the strongest evidence yet obtained of 
 unity in origin of the Indian nations within the regions 
 defined.'"' 
 
 c Baldwin's "Ancient America," p. 56; see citations of conclusions regarding 
 the characteristics of aboriginal Americans by Bradford, in the same work. 
 
ART. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 301 
 
 40. Baldwin further quotes Bradford's summary of con- 
 clusions regarding the origin and characteristics of the 
 ancient Americans, amongst which we read: — "That they 
 were all of the same origin, branches of the same race, and 
 possessed of similar customs and institutions. " d Adair 
 writes: — "All the various nations of Indians seem to be of 
 one descent;" and, in support of this conclusion he pre- 
 sents abundant evidence of similarity of language, habits, f 
 and customs, religious ceremonies; modes of administering 
 justice, etc. e 
 
 41. Written Language of the Ancient Americans: — To 
 these secular, or extra-scriptural, evidences of the authenti- 
 city of the Book of Mormon, may be added the agreement 
 of the record with recent discoveries regarding the written 
 language of these ancient peoples. The prophet Nephi 
 states that he made his record on the plates in "the language 
 of the Egyptians," 7 and we are further told that the brazen 
 plates of Laban were inscribed in the same. 9 ' Mormon, who 
 abridged the voluminous writings of his predecessors, and 
 prepared the plates from which the modern translation was 
 made, employed also the Egyptian characters. His son 
 Moroni, who completed the record, declares this fact ; but, 
 recognizing a difference between the writing of his day and 
 that on the earlier plates, he attributed the change to the 
 natural mutation through time, and speaks of his own 
 record and that of his father, Mormon, as being written in 
 the "reformed Egyptian.'" 1 
 
 42. Now consider the testimony of Dr. Le Plongeon, 
 announcing his discovery of a sacred alphabet among the 
 Mayas of Central America, which he declares to be practi- 
 
 d The same. 
 
 e Adair's "History of the American Indians," London, 1775. 
 
 / I Nephi i, 2. 
 
 g Mosiah i, 4. 
 
 h Mormon ix, 32. 
 
302 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XV. 
 
 cally identical with the Egyptian alphabet. He states that 
 the structure of the Maya sacred language closely resembles 
 that of the Egyptians ; and he boldly proclaims his convic- 
 tion that the two nations derived their written language 
 from the same source. 1 Another authority says: — "The eye 
 of the antiquarian cannot fail to be both attracted and fixed 
 by evidence of the existence of two great branches of the 
 hieroglyphical language, — both having striking affinities 
 with the Egyptian, and yet distinguished from it by char- 
 acteristics perfectly American. "^ 
 
 43. But the Egyptian is not the only eastern language 
 found to be represented in the relics of American anti- 
 quities ; the Hebrew occurs in this connection with at least 
 equal significance. That the Hebrew tongue should have 
 been used by Lehi's descendents is most natural, inasmuch 
 as they were of the House of Israel, transferred to the 
 western continent directly from Jerusalem. That the abil- 
 ity to read and write in that language continued with the 
 IsTephites until the time of their extinction, is evident from 
 Moroni's statement regarding the language used on the 
 plates of Mormon: — "And now behold, we have written this 
 record according to our knowledge, in the characters which 
 are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed 
 down and altered by us according to our manner of speech. 
 And if our plates had been sufficiently large, we should have 
 written in Hebrew ; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us 
 also." fc Many discoveries of engravings and writings in 
 changed Hebrew characters have been reported from various 
 American localities ; and a corrupted form of Hebrew has 
 been recognized among the spoken language of some of the 
 native races. 
 
 i Dr. August Le Plongeon, in Review of Revieivs, July, 1895. 
 3 "Quarterly Review," October, 1836; abstracted in "Millennial Star," vol. 
 xxi, p. 467. 
 
 k Mormon ix, 32-33. 
 
AKT. 8.] THE BOOK OF MORMON. 303 
 
 44. The following instances are taken from an instructive 
 array of such, brought together by Elder George Keynolds.' 
 Several of the early Spanish writers claim that the natives 
 of some portions of the land were found speaking a corrupt 
 Hebrew. "Las Casas so affirms with regard to the inhabit- 
 ants of the island of Hayti. Lafitu wrote a history wherein 
 he maintained that the Carribee language was radically 
 Hebrew. Isaac Nasci, a learned Jew of Surinam, says of 
 the language of the people of G-uiana, that all their sub- 
 stantives are Hebrew." Spanish historians record the 
 early discovery of Hebrew characters on the western con- 
 tinent. "Malvenda says that the natives of St. Michael 
 had tombstones, which the Spaniards digged up, with sev- 
 eral ancient Hebrew inscriptions upon them." Between 
 1860 and 1865, four stones engraved with Hebrew inscrip- 
 tions were found in different parts of Ohio. One of these 
 bore an engraved inscription in Hebrew of the Ten Com- 
 mandments in an abridged form." 1 Parchments have also 
 been found, bearing in Hebrew characters texts from the 
 ancient scriptures. 
 
 45. In all such writings, the characters and the language 
 are allied to the most ancient form of Hebrew, and show 
 none of the vowel signs and terminal letters which were in- 
 troduced into the Hebrew of the eastern continent after the 
 return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity. This is 
 consistent with the fact that Lehi and his people left Jeru- 
 salem shortly before the captivity, and therefore prior to the 
 introduction of the changes in the written language. 
 
 46. Another Test: — Let not the reader of the Book of 
 Mormon content himself with such evidences as have been 
 cited concerning the Divine authenticity of this reputed 
 scripture. There is promised a surer and a more effectual 
 
 l Reynolds' lecture, "The Language of the Book of Mormon." 
 m See page 297. 
 
304 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XV. 
 
 means of ascertaining the truth or falsity of this marvelous 
 volume. Like other scriptures, the Book of Mormon is to 
 be comprehended through the spirit of the scriptures, and 
 this is obtainable only as a gift from God. But this gift, 
 priceless though it be, is promised unto all who would seek 
 for it. Then to all let us commend the counsel of the 
 last writer in the volume, Moroni, the solitary scribe 
 who sealed the book, afterward the angel of the 
 record who brought it forth: — "And when ye shall re- 
 ceive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask 
 God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these 
 things are not true ; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, 
 with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest 
 the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost ; 
 and by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the 
 truth of all things."" 
 
 NOTES: 
 
 1. Diversity of Literary Style in the Book of Mormon :— "There is 
 a marked difference in the literary style of Nephi and some of the other earlier 
 prophets from that of Mormon and Moroni. Mormon and his son are more direct 
 and take fewer words to express their ideas than did the earlier writers, at least 
 their manner is, to most readers, the more pleasing. Amos, the son of Jacob, 
 has also a style peculiar to himself. There is another noticable fact that when 
 original records or discourses, such as the record of Limhi, the sermons of Alma, 
 Amulek, etc., the epistles of Helaman, and others, are introduced into Mormon's 
 abridgment, words and expressions are used that appear nowhere else in the 
 Book of Mormon. This diversity of style, expression, and wording is a very 
 pleasing incidental testimony to the truth of the claim made for the Book of 
 Mormon,— that it is a compilation of the work of many writers."— From Lec- 
 tures on the Book of Mormon, by Elder George Reynolds. 
 
 2. Mexican Date of the Deluge :— In speaking of the time of the Deluge 
 as given by the Mexican author, Ixtilxochitl, Elder George Reynolds says: — 
 "There is a remarkable agreement between this writer's statements and' the 
 Book of Genesis. The time from the Fall to the Flood only differs sixty, 
 possibly only live years, if the following statement in the Book of Doctrine and 
 ■Covenants (cvii, 49) regarding Enoch lengthens the chronology: "And he saw the 
 Lord, and he walked with him, and was before his face continually; and he 
 walked with God 365 years, making him 430 years old when he was translated." 
 The same statement is made in the Pearl of Great Price, page 45, (1888 ed.)— 
 
 n Moroni x. 4-5. 
 
AKT. 8.] KOTES. 305 
 
 From lecture on "External Evidences of the Book of Mormon" by Elder Geo. 
 Reynolds. 
 
 3. Ancient Civilization in America:— "That a civilization once flourished 
 in these regions [Central America and Mexico] much higher than any the Span- 
 ish conquerors found upon their arrival, there can be no doubt. By far the most 
 important work that has been done among the remains of the old Maya civiliza- 
 tion has been carried on by the Peabody Museum of Harvard College, through a 
 series of expeditions it has sent to the buried city now called Copan, in Spanish 
 Honduras. In a beautiful valley near the borderland of Guatemala, surrounded 
 by steep mountains and watered by a winding river, the hoary city lies wrapped 
 in the sleep of ages. The ruins at Copan, although in a more advanced state of 
 ■destruction than those of the Maya cities of Yucatan, have a general similarity 
 to the latter in the design of the buildings, and in the sculptures, while the char- 
 acters in the inscriptions are essentially the same. It would seem, therefore, 
 that Copan was a city of the Mayas; but if so it must have been one of their 
 most ancient settlements, fallen into decay long before the cities of Yucatan 
 reached their prime. The Maya civilization was totally distinct from the Aztec 
 or Mexican; it was an older and also a much higher civilization." Henry C. 
 Walsh, in article "Copan, a City of the Dead" Harpers' Weekly, October 
 1897. 
 
 Baldwin, in his valuable work "Ancient America" incorporates the conclusions 
 announced by Bradford in regard to the ancient occupants of North America, as 
 follows:— 
 
 "That they were all of the same origin, branches of the same race, and pos- 
 sessed of similar customs and institutions. 
 
 "That they were populous, and occupied a great extent of territory. 
 
 "That they had arrived at a considerable degree of civilization, were associated 
 in large communities, and lived in extensive cities. 
 
 "That they possessed the use of many of the metals, such as lead, copper, 
 gold, and silver, and probably the art of working in them. 
 
 "That they sculptured in stone, and sometimes used that material in the con- 
 struction of their edifices. 
 
 "That they had the knowledge of the arch of receding steps; of the art of 
 pottery, producing urns and utensils formed with taste, and constructed upon the 
 principles of chemical composition; and the art of brick-making. 
 
 "That they worked the salt springs, and manufactured salt. 
 
 "That they were an agricultural people, living under the influence and pro- 
 tection of regular forms of governments. 
 
 "That they possessed a decided system of religion, and a mythology connected 
 with astronomy, which, with its sister science, geometry, was in the hands of the 
 priesthood. 
 
 "That they were skilled in the art of fortification. 
 
 "That the epoch of their original settlement in the United States is of great 
 antiquity; and that the only indications of their origin to be gathered from the 
 locality of their ruined monuments, point toward Mexico."— Baldwin, Ancient 
 America, p. 56. 
 
 4. American Traditions Concerning the Deluge:— "Don Francisco 
 Munoz de la Vega, the Bishop of that diocese (Chiapas), certifies in the prologue to 
 his "Diocesan Constitutions,' declaring that an ancient manuscript of the primi- 
 tive Indians of that province, who had learned the art of writing, was in his 
 
 21 
 
306 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XV. 
 
 record office, who retained the constant tradition that the father and founder of 
 their nation was named Teponahuale, which signifies lord of the hollow piece of 
 wood: and that he was present at the building of the Great Wall, for so they 
 named the Tower of Babel; and beheld with his own eyes the confusion of 
 language; after which event, God, the Creator, commanded him to come to 
 these extensive regions, and to divide them amongst mankind.— Lord Kings- 
 borough, Mexican Antiquities, vol. viii, p. 25. 
 
 "It is found in the histories of the Toltecs that this age and first world, as they 
 call it, lasted 1716 years: that men were destroyed by tremendous rains and 
 lightDings from the sky, and even all the land, without the exception of any- 
 thing, and the highest mountains, were covered up and submerged in water fif- 
 teen cubits (caxtolmolatli) ; and here they added other fables of how men came 
 to multiply from the few who escaped from this destruction in a'toptlipetlocali;' 
 that this word nearly signifies a close chest; and how, after men had multiplied, 
 they erected a very high 'zacuali,' which is today a tower of great height, in order 
 to take refuge in it should the second world (age) be destroyed. Presently their 
 languages were confused, and, not being able to understand each other, they 
 went to different parts of the earth."— The same, vol. ix, p. 321. 
 
 "The most important among the American traditions are the Mexican, for 
 they appear to have been definitely fixed by symbolic and mnemonic paintings 
 before any contact with Europeans. According to these documents, the Noah of 
 the Mexican cataclysm was Coxcox, called by certain people Teocipactli or 
 Tezpi. He had saved himself, together with his wife Xochiquetzal, in a bark, 
 or, according to other traditions, on a raft made of cypress- wood, (Cypressus 
 disticha). Paintings retracing the deluge of Coxcox have been discovered 
 among the Aztecs, Miztecs, Zapotecs, Tlascaltecs, and Mechoacaneses. The 
 tradition of the latter is still more strikingly in conformity with the story as we 
 have it in Genesis, and in Chaldean sources. It tells how Tezpi embarked in a 
 spacious vessel with his wife, his children, and several animals, and grain, 
 whose preservation was essential to the subsistence of the human race. When 
 the great god Tezcatlipoca decreed that the waters should retire, Tezpi sent a 
 vulture from the bark. The bird, feeding on the carcases with which the earth 
 was laden, did not return. Tezpi sent out other birds, of which the humming 
 bird only came back, with a leafy branch in its beak. Then Tezpi, seeing that 
 the country began to vegetate, left his bark on the mountain of Colhuacan." 
 — Donelly's Atlantis, p. 99. 
 
 The tradition of a Deluge, "was the received notion under some form or other, 
 of the most civilized people in the Old World, and of the barbarians of the New. 
 The Aztecs combined with this some particular circumstances of a more arbi- 
 trary character, resembling the accounts of the east. They believed that two 
 persons survived the Deluge, a man named Coxcox and his wife. Their heads 
 are represented in ancient painting, together with a boat floating on the waters 
 at the foot of a mountain. A dove is also depicted, with a hieroglyphical emblem 
 of language in his mouth; which he is distributing to the children of Coxcox, 
 who were born dumb. The neighboring people of Michoacan, inhabiting the 
 same high plains of the Andes, had a still further tradition, that the boat in 
 which Tegpi, their Noah, escaped, was filled with various kinds of animals and 
 birds. After some time a vulture was sent out from it, but remained feeding on 
 the dead bodies of the giants which had been left on the earth as the waters 
 subsided. The little humming bird, huitzitzilin, was then sent forth, and 
 
ART. 8.] NOTES. 307 
 
 returned with a twig in his mouth. The coincidence of both these accounts 
 with the Hebrew and Chaldean narratives is obvious."— Prescott, Conquest' of 
 Mexico, pp. 463-4. 
 
 5. Mexican Tradition Concerning the Savior:— "The story of the life 
 of the Mexican divinity, Quetzalcoatl, closely resembles that of the Savior; so 
 closely, indeed, that we can come to no other conclusion than that Quetzalcoatl 
 and Christ are the same being. But the history of the former has been handed 
 down to us through an impure Lamanitish source, which has sadly disfigured and 
 perverted the original incidents and teachings of the Savior's life and ministry. 
 Regarding this god, Humboldt writes, 'How truly surprising is it to find that the 
 Mexicans, who seem to have been unacquainted with the doctrine of the migra- 
 tion of the soul and the Metempsychosis should have believed in the incarnation of 
 the only Son of the supreme God, Tomacateuctli. For Mexican mythology, speaking 
 of no other Son of God except Quetzalcoatl, who was born of Chimelman, the 
 virgin of Tula (without man) , by His breath alone, by which may be signified 
 His word or will, when it was announced to Chimelman, by the celestial mes- 
 senger whom He despatched to inform her that she should conceive a son, it 
 must be presumed this was Quetzalcoatl, who was the only son. Other authors 
 might be adduced to show that the Mexicans believe that this Quetzalcoatl was 
 both God and man; that He had, previously to His incarnation, existed from 
 eternity, and that He had been the Creator both of the world and man; and that 
 He had descended to reform the world by endurance, and being King of Tula, was 
 crucified for the sins of mankind, etc., as is plainly declared in the tradition of 
 Yucatan, and mysteriously represented in the Mexican paintings.' "— Pres. 
 John Taylor, Mediation and Atonement, p. 201. 
 
 6. Discoveries of Hebrew Inscriptions on .Stone:— "Between 1860 and 
 1865, four different stones with Hebrew inscriptions upon them were found in 
 Licking County, Ohio, though not all in the same neighborhood. On one, which 
 some suppose had been worn as an amulet, was a Hebrew inscription, which was 
 translated, 'May the Lord have mercy on him a nephel;' that is, one of untimely 
 birth. Elder Orson Pratt, however, was of the opinion that the final letter was 
 a 't,'and that the legend should read, 'May the Lord have mercy on him a Nephite.' 
 
 "Another of the stones bears a Hebrew inscription on each of its four sides. 
 These inscriptions when translated read: 'The King of the Earth; The. Law of 
 the Lord; The Word of the Lord; The Holy of Holies.' It would be difficult to 
 conceive that such an inscription would be put upon a stone by persons not 
 acquainted with the law and with the word of the Lord; or who had not some 
 idea regarding temple ordinances, and what the Holy of Holies implies. But a 
 people like the Nephites would in all respects answer the requirements, as they 
 were trained in both the law and the gospel."— Elder Geo. Reynolds, in his lec- 
 ture, " The Language of the Book of Mormon.'" 
 
 7. Survival of the Hebrew Language among American Tribes :— "It 
 is claimed that such survivals are numerous in the religious songs and cere- 
 monies of many of the tribes. A number of writers who visited or resided among 
 the tribes of the northern continent, assert that the words Yehovah, Yah, Ale, 
 and Hallelujah, could be distinctly heard in these exercises. Laet and Escar- 
 botus assure us that they often heard the South American Indians repeat the 
 sacred word Hallelujah."— Elder George Reynolds: " The Language of the Book 
 of Mormon." 
 
308 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVI 
 
 LECTUKE XVI. 
 
 REVELATION, PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. 
 
 Article 9 :— We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now re- 
 veal; and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things 
 pertaining to the kingdom of God. 
 
 1. What is Revelation? — In a theological sense, the term 
 revelation signifies the making known of Divine truth by 
 communication from the heavens. The Greek — apocalypsis, 
 which closely corresponds with our word revelation, expresses 
 an uncovering, or a disclosure of that which had been wholly 
 or in part hidden, — the drawing aside of a veil. An Angli- 
 cized form of the Greek term, — Apocalypse — is sometimes 
 used to designate the particular Revelation given to John 
 upon the Isle of Patmos, the record of which forms the last 
 book of the N"ew Testament as at present compiled. Divine 
 revelation, as illustrated by numerous examples in scripture, 
 may consist of disclosures or declarations concerning the 
 attributes of Deity, or of an expression of the Divine will 
 regarding the affairs of men. 
 
 2. The word inspiration is sometimes invested with a 
 signification almost identical with that of revelation; though, 
 by its origin and early usage it possessed a distinctive mean- 
 ing. To inspire, is literally to animate with the spirit; a 
 man is inspired when under the influence of a power other 
 than his own. Divine inspiration may be regarded as a 
 lower or less comprehensive manifestation of the heavenly 
 influence upon man, than is shown in revelation. The dif- 
 ference therefore is rather one of degree than of kind. By 
 neither of these directing processes does the Lord deprive 
 
ART. 9. J REVELATION. 309 
 
 the human subject of agency or individuality;" as is proved 
 by the marked peculiarities of style and method character- 
 izing the several books of holy writ. Yet, in the giving of 
 revelation, a more direct influence is exercised upon the 
 human recipient of the God-given message, than is the case 
 under the weaker, though no less truly Divine, effect of 
 inspiration. 
 
 3. The directness and plainness with which God may 
 communicate with man, is dependent upon the purity and 
 general fitness of the person. One may be susceptible to 
 inspiration in its lower and simpler phases only; another 
 may be so thoroughly responsive to this power, as to be 
 capable of receiving direct revelation ; and this higher in- 
 fluence again may manifest itself in varying degrees, and 
 with a greater or lesser shrouding of the Divine personality. 
 Consider the Lord's words to Aaron and Miriam who had 
 been guilty of disrespect toward Moses the chosen revelator : 
 — "And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, 
 and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron 
 and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, 
 Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I 
 the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and 
 will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not 
 so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I 
 speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark 
 speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold." 5 
 
 4. We have seen that among the most conclusive proofs 
 of the existence of a Supreme Being, is that afforded by 
 direct revelation from God Himself, and that some knowl- 
 edge of the attributes and personality of God is essential to 
 any rational exercise of faith in Him. We can but im- 
 perfectly respect an authority whose very existence is a 
 
 a See Notes 1 and 3. 
 b Numb, xii, 5-8. 
 
310 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVI. 
 
 matter of uncertainty and conjecture with us; therefore, if 
 we are to implicitly trust and truly love our Creator, we 
 must know something of Him. Though the veil of mortal- 
 ity, with all its thick obscurity, may shut the light of the 
 Divine presence from the sinful heart, that separating cur- 
 tain may be drawn aside and the heavenly light may shine 
 into the righteous soul. By the listening ear, attuned to 
 the celestial music, the voice of God has been heard, declar- 
 ing His personality and will ; to the eye that is freed from 
 the motes and beams of sin, single in its search after truth, 
 the hand of God has been made visible; within the soul 
 properly purified by devotion and humility, the mind of God 
 has been revealed. 
 
 5. Revelation is God's Means of Communication : — We have 
 no record of a period of time during which an authorized 
 minister of Christ has dwelt on earth, when the Lord did 
 not make known to that servant the Divine will concerning 
 the people. As has been shown, no man can take upon 
 himself by his own act alone, the honor and dignity of the 
 ministry. To become an authorized minister of the Gospel, 
 4 'a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the lay- 
 ing on of hands, by those who are in authority," and ''those 
 in authority" must have been similarly called. When thus 
 commissioned, the chosen one speaks by a power greater 
 than his own, in preaching the gospel and in administering 
 the ordinances thereof; he may verily become a prophet 
 unto the people. The Lord has consistently recognized and 
 honored his servants so appointed. He has magnified their 
 office in proportion to their own worthiness, making them 
 living oracles of the Divine will. This has been true of 
 every dispensation of the work of God. 
 
 6. It is a privilege of the Holy Priesthood to commune 
 with the heavens, and to learn the immediate will of the 
 Lord; this communion may be effected through the medium 
 
ART. 9.] REVELATION. 311 
 
 of dreams and visions, through the visitation of angels, or 
 by the higher endowment of face to face communication 
 with the Lord. c The inspired utterances of men who speak 
 by the power of the Holy Ghost are scripture unto the 
 people.** In specific terms the promise has been given, that 
 the Lord would recognize the medium of prophecy through 
 which to make His will and purposes known unto man: — 
 "Surely the Lord God will do nothing but He revealeth His 
 secret unto His servants the prophets. " e Not all men may 
 attain the position of special revelators: — "The secret of 
 the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them 
 His covenant." 7 Such men are oracles of truth, privileged 
 counselors, friends of God.* 7 
 
 7. Revelation in Ancient Times: — Unto Adam, the pa- 
 triarch of the race, to whom were committed the keys of the 
 first dispensation, God revealed His will and gave, com- 
 mandments.' 1 While living in a state of child-like inno- 
 cence prior to the Fall, Adam had direct communication 
 with the Lord; then, through transgression the man was 
 driven from Eden; but he took with him some remem- 
 brance of his former happy state, including a personal knowl- 
 edge of the existence and attributes of his Creator. While 
 sweating under the penalty fore-told and fulfilled upon him, 
 tilling the earth in a struggle for bread, he continued to 
 call upon the Lord. As Adam and his wife, Eve, prayed and 
 toiled, "they heard the voice of the Lord from the way 
 towards the garden of Eden, speaking unto them ; and they 
 saw Him not, for they were shut out from His presence ; 
 and He gave unto them commandments."' 
 
 c See pp. 35-38, and Lecture xii. 
 
 d Doc. and Cov, lxviii, 4. 
 
 e Amos iii, 7; see also I Nephi xxii, 2. 
 
 / Psalms xxv, 14. 
 
 g John xv, 14-15, 
 
 h Gen. ii, 15-20; Pearl of Great Price, p. 12, (1888 ed.) 
 
 i Pearl of Great Price, p. 18; see also Doc. and Cov., Lectures on Faith, ii, 19-25. 
 
312 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVI. 
 
 8. The patriarchs who succeeded Adam were blessed 
 with the gift of revelation in varying degrees ; Enoch, the 
 seventh in the line of descent was particularly endowed? We 
 learn from the Old Testament that Enoch "walked with 
 God," and that, when he had reached the age of 365 years 
 "he was not, for God took him." i From the New Testa- 
 ment we learn something more regarding his ministry f and 
 the Pearl of Great Price gives us a fuller account of the 
 Lord's dealings with this chosen Seer.' Unto him were 
 made known the plan of redemption, and the prospective 
 history of the race down to the meridian of time, thence to 
 the millennium and the final judgment. Unto Noah, the 
 Lord revealed His intentions regarding the impending 
 deluge ; by this prophetic voice the people were warned and 
 urged to repent; disregarding it and rejecting the message, 
 they were destroyed in their iniquity. With Abraham, 
 God's covenant was established; unto him was revealed the 
 course of the creative events." 1 And this covenant was con- 
 firmed unto Isaac and Jacob. 
 
 9. Through revelation, God commissioned Moses to lead 
 Israel from bondage. From the burning bush on Horeb, 
 the Lord declared to the man thus chosen, "I am the God 
 of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and 
 the God of Jacob." 71 In all the troublous scenes between 
 Moses and Pharaoh, the Lord continued His communica- 
 tions unto His servant, who appeared amidst the glory of the 
 Divine endowment, a veritable God unto the heathen king. 
 And throughout the wearisome forty years' journeying in 
 the wilderness, the Lord ceased not to honor His chosen 
 
 j Gen. v, 18-24. 
 
 k Jude 14. 
 
 I Pearl of Great Price, pp. 28-45, (1888 ed.) 
 
 m Gen. xvii, xviii; Pearl of Great Price, pp. 49-70— Book of Abraham. 
 
 n Exodus iii, 2-6. 
 
 o Exodus iv, 16; vii, 1. 
 
AET. 9.] REVELATION, 313 
 
 prophet. So may we trace the line of revelators, — men who 
 have stood, each in his time, as the medium between God 
 and the people, receiving instruction from the source Divine, 
 and transmitting it to the masses, — from Moses to Joshua, 
 and on through the Judges to David and Solomon, thence 
 to John, who was the immediate fore-runner of the Messiah. 
 
 10. Christ Himself was a Revelator: — Notwithstanding 
 His personal authority, God though He had been and was, 
 while the Christ lived as a man among men, He declared 
 His work to be that of One greater than Himself, by whom 
 He had been sent, and from whom He received instructions. 
 Note His words : — "For I have not spoken of myself; but the 
 Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I 
 should say, and what I should speak. And I know that 
 his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak 
 therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. " p 
 Further: "I can of mine own self do nothing: as 1 hear, I 
 judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine 
 own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me." 3 
 And again, "The words that I speak unto you I speak not 
 of myself : but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the 
 works. * * * And as the Father gave me command- 
 ment, even so do I." r 
 
 11. The Apostles likewise, left to bear the burden of 
 the Church after the departure of the Master, looked to 
 heaven for guidance, expected and received the word of rev- 
 elation to direct them in their exalted ministry. Paul writ- 
 ing to the Corinthians said: — "But God hath revealed them 
 [divine truths] unto us by his Spirit : for the Spirit search- 
 eth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man 
 knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which 
 
 p John xii, 49-50. 
 q John v, 30. 
 r John xiv, 10, 31 
 
314 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVI. 
 
 is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but 
 the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of 
 the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might 
 know the things that are freely given to us of God. " s 
 
 12. John also, declares that the book which is known 
 specifically as the Revelation was not written of his own 
 wisdom, but that it is: — "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 
 which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants 
 things which must shortly come to pass ; and he sent and 
 signified it by his angel unto his servant John."' 
 
 13. Continual Revelation Necessary: — The scriptures are 
 conclusive as to the. fact, that from Adam to John the 
 Revelator, God directed the affairs of His people by personal 
 communication through chosen servants. As the written 
 word — the record of revelation previously given, — grew with 
 time, that became a law unto the people ; but in no period 
 was that deemed sufficient. While the revelations of the 
 past have ever been indispensable as guides to the people, 
 showing forth as they do, the plan and purpose of God's 
 dealings under particular conditions, they may not be 
 universally and directly applicable to the circumstances of 
 succeeding times. Many of the revealed laws are of general 
 application to all men in all ages; e.g. : the commandments 
 "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou 
 shalt not bear false witness," and other injunctions regard- 
 ing the duty of man toward his fellows, most of which are 
 so plainly just as to be approved by the human conscience, 
 even without the direct word of Divine command. Other 
 laws may be equally general in application, yet they derive 
 their validity as Divine ordinances from the fact that they 
 have been authoritatively instituted as such ; as examples of 
 this class, we may consider the requirements concerning the 
 
 s I Corinthians II, 10-12. 
 t Rev. i, 1. 
 
ART. 9. | REVELATION. 315 
 
 sanctity of the Sabbath ; the necessity of baptism as a means 
 of securing forgiveness of sins; the ordinances of confirma- 
 tion, the sacrament, etc. Eevelations of yet another kind 
 are on record, such as have been given to meet the condi- 
 tions of particular times ; these may be regarded as special, 
 or circumstantial revelations; e.g., the instructions to Noah 
 regarding the building of the ark and the warning of the 
 people ; the requirement made of Abraham that he leave the 
 land of his nativity and sojourn in a strange country; the 
 command to Moses, and through him to Israel, relative to the 
 exodus from Egypt ; the revelations given to Lehi directing 
 the departure of his company from Jerusalem, their jour- 
 neying in the wilderness, the building of a ship, and their 
 voyage on the great waters to another hemisphere. 
 
 14. It is at once unreasonable, and directly contrary to 
 our conception of the unchangeable justice of God, to 
 believe that He will bless the Church in one dispensation 
 with a present living revelation of His will ; and in another 
 leave the Church, to which He gives His name, to live as 
 best it may according to the laws of a by-gone age. True, 
 through apostasy, the authority of the priesthood may have 
 been taken from the earth for a season, leaving the people in 
 a condition of darkness, with the windows of heaven shut 
 against them; but at such times, God has recognized no 
 earthly Church as His own, nor any prophet to declare with 
 authority "Thus saith the Lord." 
 
 15. In support of the doctrine that revelation specially 
 adapted to existing conditions is characteristic of God's 
 dealings with His people, we have the fact of laws having 
 been ordained and subsequently repealed, when a more 
 advanced stage of the Divine plan had been reached. Thus, 
 the law of Moses" was strictly binding upon Israel from the 
 time of the exodus to that of Christ's ministry; but its 
 
 u Exo. xxi; Lev. i; Deut. xii. 
 
316 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVI. 
 
 repeal was declared by the Savior Himself/ and a higher 
 law than that "of carnal commandments," which had been 
 given "because of transgression," was instituted in its 
 stead. 
 
 16. From the scriptures cited, and from numerous other 
 assurances of holy writ, it is evident that continual revela- 
 tion has ever been characteristic of the living Church. It 
 is equally plain that revelation is essential to the existence 
 of the Church in an organized state on the earth. If to 
 have authority to preach the gospel, and administer 
 in the ordinances of the same, a man must be called 
 of God, "by prophecy""' it is evident that in the 
 absence of direct revelation, the Church would be left 
 without authorized officers, and would, in consequence, 
 become extinct. The prophets and patriarchs of old, the 
 judges, the priests, and every authorized servant from 
 Adam to Malachi, were called by direct revelation mani- 
 fested through the special word of prophecy. This was 
 true also of John the Baptist,* of Christ Himself, and of 
 the apostles" and lesser officers* of the Church, as long as 
 an organization recognized of God remained on the earth. 
 Without the gift of continual revelation there can be no 
 authorized ministry on the earth; and without officers duly 
 commissioned there can be no Church of Christ. 
 
 17. Revelation is essential to the Church, not only for 
 the proper calling and ordination of its ministers, but also 
 that the officers so chosen may be guided in their ministra- 
 tions : — to teach with authority the doctrines of salvation ; 
 to admonish, to encourage, and if necessary to reprove the 
 people ; and to declare unto them by prophecy the purposes 
 
 v Matt, v, 17-48. 
 
 w See Lecture x, page 184. 
 
 x Luke i, 13-18, 
 
 y John xv ; Acts i, 12-26. 
 
 z Acts xx, 28; I Tim. iv, 14; Titus i, 5. 
 
ART. 9.] REVELATION. 317 
 
 and will of God respecting the Church, present and future. 
 The promise of salvation is not limited by time, place, or 
 persons. So taught. Peter on Pentecost day, assuring the 
 multitude of their eligibility to blessing: — "For the prom- 
 ise is unto you," said he, "and to your children, and to all 
 that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall 
 call."" Salvation with all the gifts of God, was of old for 
 Jew and Greek alike; 6 the same Lord over all, rich unto 
 those that call upon Him, without difference. 
 
 18. Alleged Objections in Scripture: — The opponents of 
 the doctrine of continual revelation quote, with gross per- 
 version of meaning, certain scriptural passages, to sustain 
 their heresy ; among such scriptures are the following. The 
 words of John with which he approaches the conclusion of 
 his book are these: — "For I testify unto every man that 
 heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any 
 man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him 
 the plagues that are written in this book : And if any man 
 shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, 
 God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out 
 of the holy city, and from the things which are written in 
 this book.'"* To apply these sayings to the Bible as it was 
 afterward compiled is wholly unjustified, for surely John 
 did not write with a knowledge that his book would be the 
 concluding section of any such compilation of the scrip- 
 tures as we now possess in our Bible. John had reference 
 to his own words, which, having come to him by revelation, 
 were sacred; and to alter such, by omission or addition, 
 would be to modify the words of God. The sin of altering 
 any other part of the revealed word would be equally great. 
 Moreover, in this oft-quoted passage, no intimation is given 
 
 a Acts ii, 39. 
 
 b Rom. x, 12: Gal. iii, 28; Col. iii, 11. 
 
 c Rom. iii, 22. 
 
 d Rev. xxii, 18-19; see also Doc. and Cov. xx, 35. 
 
318 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVI. 
 
 that the Lord may not add to or take from the word therein 
 revealed ; the declaration is that no man shall change the 
 record and escape the penalty. 
 
 19. A similar injunction against altering the message of 
 Divine command was uttered by Moses, over fifteen centuries 
 before the date of John's writing ; e and with a similarly 
 restricted application. Another alleged objection to modern 
 revelation is offered in Paul's words to Timothy, regarding 
 the holy scriptures "which are able to make thee wise unto 
 salvation, nf and which are "profitable for doctrine, for re- 
 proof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that 
 the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto 
 all good works. "^ And the remarks of the apostle to the 
 elders at Ephesus are quoted with the same intent; the 
 passage reads : "Ye know * * * how I kept back noth- 
 ing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and 
 have taught you publicly, and from house to house. * * 
 * * For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the 
 counsel of God.'" 1 It is argued that if the scriptures known 
 to Timothy were all sufficient to make him "wise unto salva- 
 tion," and the man of God "perfect, thoroughly furnished 
 unto all good works," the same scriptures are sufficient for 
 all men to the end of time; and that if the doctrines 
 preached to the Ephesian elders represented "all the coun- 
 sel of God," no further counsel is to be expected. In reply, 
 it is perhaps sufficient to say that the objectors to con- 
 tinued revelation who defend their unscriptural position by 
 strained interpretation of such passages, if consistent, 
 would be compelled to reject all revelation given through 
 the apostles after the date of Paul's utterances, including 
 even the Eevelation of John. 
 
 e Deut. iv, 2; xii, 32. 
 / II Tim. iii, 15. 
 g II Tim. iii, 16-17. 
 h Acts xx, 18-27. 
 
ART. 9. J REVELATION. 319 
 
 20. Equally absurd is the assertion that Christ's dying 
 exclamation, "It is finished," meant that revelation was at 
 an end; for we find the same Jesus afterward revealing 
 Himself, as the resurrected Lord, to His apostles, promising 
 them further revelation,* and assuring them that He would 
 be with them even unto the end/ And, moreover, were 
 the words of the Crucified One susceptible of any such 
 intent, the apostles who taught by revelation as long as they 
 lived must be classed as impostors. 
 
 21. To justify the anathema with which the opponents 
 of modern revelation seek to persecute those who believe in 
 the continual flow of God's word to His Church, the follow- 
 ing prophecy of Zechariah is quoted: — "And it shall come 
 to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut 
 off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no 
 more be remembered : and also I will cause the prophets and 
 the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. And it shall 
 come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his 
 father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, 
 Thou shalt not live ; for thou speakest lies in the name of 
 the Lord : and his father and his mother that begat him shall 
 thrust him through when he prophesieth. And it shall 
 come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed 
 every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied. " fc The 
 day here spoken of appears to be yet future, for surely the 
 "idols" and the "unclean spirits" still have influence; and, 
 moreover, the fact that the "prophets" here intended are 
 false ones is shown by Zechariah's associating them with 
 idols and unclean spirits. 
 
 22. Such attempts to oppose the doctrine of continued 
 revelation as have been made on the authority of the fore- 
 
 i Lukexxiv, 49. 
 
 j Matt, xxviii. 20; see also Mark xvi, 20. 
 
 k Zech. xiii, 2-4. 
 
320 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVI. 
 
 going scriptures are pitiably futile ; they carry their own 
 refutation, and leave untouched the truth, that belief in 
 modern revelation is wholly reasonable and strictly scrip- 
 tural/ 
 
 23. Modern Revelation: — In the light of our knowledge 
 concerning the constancy of revelation as an essential 
 characteristic of the Church, it is as reasonable to look 
 for new revelation today as to believe in the existence of 
 the gift during ancient times. "Where there is no vision 
 the people perish, " m was declared of old; and surely it is 
 proper to include with vision, revelation also, since the 
 latter gift is often manifested through dreams and visions. 
 Nevertheless, in spite of abundant and most explicit testi- 
 mony of scripture, the so-called Christian sects of the day 
 are practically a unit in declaring that revelation ceased 
 with the apostles, or even before their time; that further 
 communication from the heavens is unnecessary; and that 
 to expect such is unscriptural. In assuming this position, 
 the discordant sects of the day are but following the path 
 that was trodden by unbelievers in earlier times. The 
 recreant Jews rejected the Savior, because He came to them 
 with a new revelation. Had they not Moses and the 
 prophets to guide them? what more could they need? They 
 openly boasted "We are Moses' disciples," and added "We 
 know that God spake unto Moses ; as for this fellow, we 
 know not from whence he is." w 
 
 24. The scriptures, far from predicting a cessation of 
 revelation in latter times, expressly declare the continuation 
 of that gift among the people of the Lord. John foresaw 
 the restoration of the gospel in the last days, through 
 angelic ministration: — "And I saw another angel fly in the 
 
 l See Note 2. 
 m Prov. xxix, 18. 
 n John ix, 28-29. 
 
AKT. 9.] REVELATION. 321 
 
 midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach 
 unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and 
 kindred, and tongue, and people. " p He knew further that 
 the voice of God would be heard in the last days, calling 
 His people from Babylon to a place of safety: — "And I 
 heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, 
 my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye 
 receive not of her plagues. " Q 
 
 25. The Book of Mormon is not less explicit in declaring 
 that direct revelation shall abide as a blessing upon the 
 Church in the latter days. Note the prediction given 
 through Ether the Jaredite ; the context shows that the time 
 spoken of is that of the last dispensation: — "And in that 
 day, they [the Gentiles] shall exercise faith in me, saith the 
 Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may 
 become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the 
 things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfold- 
 ing unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son 
 of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all 
 things that in them are. * * * * But he that belie veth 
 these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the 
 manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear 
 record.'"" 
 
 26. Lehi, instructing his sons, quoted a prophecy of 
 Joseph the son of Jacob, which is not recorded in the 
 compilation of books known as the Bible; it has special 
 reference to the work of Joseph the modern prophet : — "Yea, 
 Joseph truly said, Thus saith the Lord unto me : A choice 
 seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins ; and he 
 shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. 
 And unto him will I give commandment, that he shall do a 
 
 p Rev. xiv, 6. 
 q Rev. xviii, 4. 
 r Ether iv, 7, 11. 
 2-2 
 
322 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVI. 
 
 work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall 
 be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them 
 to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with 
 thy fathers." 8 
 
 27. Nephi, the son of Lehi, spoke by prophecy of the 
 last days, in which the Gentiles should receive a testi- 
 mony of Christ with many signs and wondrous manifesta- 
 tions: — "He manifesteth himself unto all those who 
 believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost ; yea, unto 
 every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty 
 miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men, 
 according to their faith. But behold, I prophecy unto you 
 concerning the last days; concerning the days when the 
 Lord God shall bring these things forth unto the children of 
 men."* 
 
 28. The same prophet, apostrophising with warning 
 words the unbelievers of the last days, predicted the com- 
 ing forth of additional scriptures: — "And it shall come to 
 pass, that the Lord God shall bring forth unto you the 
 words of a book, and they shall be the words of them which 
 have slumbered. And behold the book shall be sealed : and 
 in the book shall be a revelation from God, from the begin- 
 ning of the world to the ending thereof."" 
 
 29. The Savior, addressing the Nephites, repeated the 
 prediction of Malachi concerning the revelation to be given 
 through Elijah, before the day of the Lord's second com- 
 ing: — "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before 
 the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and 
 he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and 
 the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and 
 smite the earth with a curse. " w 
 
 s II Nephi iii, 7. 
 t II Nephi xxvi, 13-14. 
 u II Nephi xxvii, 6-7. 
 
 v III Nephi xxv, 5-6: see also Mai. iv, 5, 6: pp. 11, 153-154 this book; and for 
 the fulfilment, Doc. and Cov. ex, 13. 
 
ART. 9.] REVELATION. 323 
 
 30. By revelation in the present day, the Lord has con- 
 firmed and fulfilled His early promises, and has specifically 
 rebuked those who would close His mouth, and estrange 
 Him from His people. His voice is heard today, "proving 
 to the world that the Holy Scriptures are true, and that 
 God does inspire men and call them to His holy work in 
 this age and generation, as well as in generations of old, 
 thereby showing that He is the same God, yesterday, today, 
 and forever.""' 
 
 31. Revelation Yet Future: — In view of the demon- 
 strated facts that revelation between God and man has ever 
 been and is a characteristic of the Church of Christ, it is 
 reasonable to await with confident expectation the coming 
 of other messages from heaven, even until the end of man's 
 probation on earth. The Church is, and will continue to 
 be, as truly founded on the rock of revelation, as it was in 
 the day of Christ's prophetic blessing upon Peter, who by 
 this gift of God was able to testify of his Lord's divin- 
 ity. x Current revelation is equally plain with that of 
 former days, in predicting the yet future manifestations of 
 God through this appointed channel. v The canon of 
 scripture is still open; many lines, many precepts, are yet 
 to be added; revelation, surpassing in importance and 
 glorious fulness any that has been recorded, will yet be 
 given to the Church, and be declared to the world. 
 
 32. What shadow of justification or pretense of con- 
 sistency can man claim for denying the power and purposes 
 of God to reveal Himself and His will in these days as He as- 
 suredly did, in former times? In every department of hu- 
 man knowledge and activity, in everything for which man 
 
 w Doc. andCov. xx, 11-12. See also i, 11; xi, 25; xx, 25-28: xxxv, 8; xlii, 61; 
 1, 35; lix, 4; lxx, 3; and the entire volume, as evidence of the continuation of 
 revelation in the Church today. 
 
 x Matt, xvi, 16-19; Mark viii, 27-30; Luke ix, 18-20: John vi, 69. 
 
 y Doc. and Cov xx, 35; xxxv, 8; and the Doc. & Co v. references last cited. 
 
324 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVI. 
 
 arrogates to himself glory, he prides himself in the possi- 
 bilities of enlargement and growth: yet in the Divine 
 science of theology, he holds that progress is impossible, 
 and advancement forbidden. Against such heresy and 
 blasphemous denial of the Divine prerogatives and power, 
 God has proclaimed His edict in words of terrible import : — 
 "Wo be unto him that shall say We have received the word 
 of God, and we need no more of the word of God for we 
 have enough." 2 "Deny not the spirit of revelation, nor the 
 spirit of prophecy, for wo unto him that denieth these 
 things. " a 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Freedom Under Inspiration :— Faussett has this to say of man's 
 agency under the influence of inspiration:— "Inspiration does not divest the 
 writers of their several individualities of style, just as the inspired teachers in 
 the early Church were not passive machines in prophesying (I Cor. xiv, 32). 
 'Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (II Cor. iii, 17,) Their will 
 became one with God's will; His. Spirit acted on their spirit, so that their in- 
 dividuality had full play in the sphere of His inspiration. As to religious truths, 
 the collective Scriptures have unity of authorship; as to other matters their 
 authorship is palpably as manifold as the writers. The variety is human, the 
 unity Divine. If the four evangelists were mere machines, narrating the same 
 events in the same order and words,they would cease to be independent witnesses. 
 Their very discrepancies (only seeming ones) disprove collusion. * * * The 
 slight variations in the decalogue between Exo. xx and its repetition Deut. v, 
 and in Ps. xviii, compared with II Sam. xxii; in Ps. xiv compared with Ps. liii. 
 and in New Testament quotations of Old Testament, (sometimes from the Septua- 
 gint. which varies from the Hebrew, sometimes from neither in every word,) all 
 prove the spirit-produced independence of the sacred writers, who, under Divine 
 guidance and sanction, presented on different occasions the same substantial 
 truths under different aspects, the one complementing the other."— Bible Cyclo- 
 pedia, p. 308. 
 
 2. The Doctrine of no Further Revelation, New and False:— "The 
 history of the people of God, from the earliest ages, shows that continued revela- 
 tion was the only way by which they could possibly learn all their duties, or 
 God's will concerning them. They never once thought that the revelations 
 given to previous generations were sufficient to guide them into every duty. 
 A doctrine which rejects new revelation is a new doctrine, invented by the devil 
 and his agents during the second century after Christ; it is a doctrine in direct 
 
 z II Nephi, xxviii, 2U; see also 39; and xxix, 6-12. 
 a Doc. and Cov. xi, 25. 
 
ART. 9.] NOTES. 325 
 
 opposition to the one believed in and enjoyed by the saints in all ages. Now, to 
 subvert and do away a doctrine four thousand years old, and introduce a new one 
 in its stead can only be done by divine authority. ***** As the doctrine, 
 then, of continued revelation is one that was always believed by the saints, it 
 ought not to be required of any man to prove the necessity of the continuation 
 of such a doctrine. If it were a new doctrine, never before introduced into the 
 world, it would become necessary to establish its divine origin; but inasmuch as 
 it is only the continuation of an old doctrine, established thousands of years ago, 
 and which has never ceased to be believed and enjoyed by the saints, it would be 
 the greatest presumption to call it in question at this late period; and hence it 
 would seem almost superfluous to undertake to prove the necessity of its con- 
 tinuance. Instead of being required to do this, all people have the right to call 
 upon the new-revelation deniers of the last seventeen centuries to bring forward 
 their strong reasonings and testimonies for breaking in upon the long-established 
 order of heaven, and introducing a new doctrine so entirely different from the 
 old. If they wish their new doctrine to be believed, let them demonstrate it to 
 be of divine origin, or else all people will be justified in rejecting it, and clinging 
 to the old."— Orson Pratt, "Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon"! (2) 15,16. 
 
 3. Inspiration a Sure Guide :— "Inspiration has been defined to be the 
 'actuating energy of the Holy Spirit, in whatever degree or manner it may have 
 been exercised, guided by which the human agents chosen by God have officially 
 proclaimed his will by word of mouth or have committed to writing the several 
 portions of the Bible.' By plenary inspiration we mean that this energy was so 
 fully and perfectly exercised, as to make the teaching of the sacred writers to 
 be in the most literal sense of the words, God's teaching, as proceeding from 
 him, truly expressing his mind, and bearing with it the sanction of his author- 
 ity. By verbal inspiration we mean that this energy was not exhausted in sug- 
 gesting to the writers the matter of Scripture, and then leaving them to them- 
 selves to convey, in their own manner and after an exclusively human sort, 
 what had been supernaturally suggested; but that they were assisted and 
 guided in the conveyance of the truth received. * * * When the doctrine of 
 plenary and verbal inspiration is thus disentangled from the misapprehensions 
 which have been entertained of it, it presents in no point of view any just 
 ground of objection. It is consistent with all the conclusions relative to the 
 Word which modern scholarship has succeeded in establishing; for the dreams 
 of the 'higher criticism' are little more than the vagaries of arbitrary caprice; 
 and it is much to be regretted that they have been honored with a deference 
 wholly undeserved, and have been rashly placed side by side with the valuable 
 and precious results of genuine criticism. These results, in many respects, 
 point decisively in the direction of plenary inspiration, when the doctrine itself 
 is rightly understood, as supplying the* only consistent and logical ground on 
 which the authority of the canonical writings can be safely based."— Cassell's 
 Bible Dictionary, pp. 559, 561. 
 
326 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVII. 
 
 LECTUKE XVII. 
 
 THE DISPERSION OF ISRAEL. 
 
 Article 10.— We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restora- 
 tion of the Ten Tribes, etc. 
 
 1. Israel: — The term Israel, in its original sense, expressed 
 the thought of one who had succeeded in his supplication 
 before the Lord; "soldier of God," "one who contends 
 with God," "a prince of God," are among the common 
 English renderings. The name first appears in sacred writ 
 as a title conferred by the Lord upon Jacob, when the latter 
 prevailed in his determination to secure a blessing from his 
 heavenly visitor in the wilderness, receiving the promise 
 "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for, 
 as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and 
 hast prevailed."" We read further: — "And God appeared 
 unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, and 
 blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob; 
 thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall 
 be thy name: and he called his name Israel.'"' 
 
 2. But the combined name and title thus bestowed un- 
 der conditions of such solemn dignity, soon acquired a wider 
 application, and came in course of time to represent the entire 
 posterity of Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob, c with each 
 of whom the Lord had covenanted, that through his de- 
 scendants should all nations of the earth be blessed. d The 
 
 a Gen. xxxii, 28. 
 
 b Gen. xxxv, 9-10. 
 
 c I Sam. xxv, 1; Isa. xlviii, 1; Rom. ix, 4; xi, 1. 
 
 d Gen. xii, 1-3; xvii, 1-8; xxvi, 3-4; xxviii, 13-15. 
 
ART. 10. J THE DISPERSION OF ISRAEL. 327 
 
 name of the individual patriarch thus grew into the designa- 
 tion of the nation, including the twelve tribes; who de- 
 lighted in the title Israelites, or children of Israel. By such 
 names they were collectively known during the dark days of 
 their Egyptian bondage; 6 throughout the four decades of 
 the exodus, and the journey to the land of promise f so on 
 through the period of their existence as a powerful people 
 under the government of the judges; and as a united nation 
 during the hundred and twenty years comprised in the 
 successive reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon/ 
 
 3. At the death of Solomon, probably about 975 B.C., 
 the kingdom was divided ; the tribe of Judah and part of 
 the tribe of Benjamin accepted Rehoboam, the son and 
 successor of Solomon, as their king; while* the rest of the 
 people, usually spoken of as the ten tribes, revolted against 
 Eehoboam, thus breaking their allegiance with the house of 
 David ; they chose Jeroboam as their king. The ten tribes 
 under Jeroboam retained the title Kingdom of Israel, though 
 the kingdom was likewise known by the name of Ephraim,' 1 
 from its most prominent tribe; while Rehoboam and his sub- 
 jects were known as the Kingdom of Judah. For about two 
 hundred and fifty years the two kingdoms maintained a 
 separate existence; after which (721 B. C), the independent 
 status of the kingdom of Israel was destroyed, and the 
 people were brought into captivity by the Assyrians under 
 Shalmanezer. The kingdom of Judah was recognized for 
 over a century longer, after which it was brought to an end 
 by Nebuchadnezzar, who inaugurated the Babylonian cap- 
 tivity. For about seventy years, the people remained in 
 subjection; which fact was in accordance with the prophecy 
 
 e Exo. i, 1, 7; ix, 6-7; xii, 3, etc. 
 
 / Exo. xii, 35, 40; xiii, 19; xv, 1; xxxv, 20, 30; Lev. i, 2; Numb, xx, 1, 19, 24, etc. 
 g See references in great number throughout the books of Judges, I and 
 II Samuel, and 1 and II Kings. 
 
 h Isa. xi, 13; xvii, 3; Ezek. xxxvii, 16-22; Hos. iv, 17. 
 
328 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVII. 
 
 of Jeremiah;' then the Lord softened the hearts of the rul- 
 ing kings, and the work of emancipation was begun by 
 Cyrus the Persian. The Hebrew people were permitted to 
 return to Judea, and, to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. 
 
 4. The people, then commonly known as Hebrews, or 
 Jews/ retained as the name of their nation the designation 
 Israel, though they comprised fewer than two complete 
 tribes out of the twelve. The name, Israel, thus held with 
 commendable pride by the remnant of a once might)' 
 people, was used in a figurative manner to designate the 
 chosen and accepted ones, who constituted the Church of 
 Christ ; fc and in that sense it is still employed. The people 
 of Israel, as first we meet them in history, were a united 
 people. That we may comprehend the true import of the 
 gathering, to which reference is made in the tenth of the 
 Articles of Faith, it is necessary that we first consider the 
 dispersions and scattering to which the people have been 
 subjected. The scriptures abound in predictions concern- 
 ing such dispersions; holy scripture and history in general 
 unite in testimony of the fulfilment of these prophecies. 
 
 5. The Dispersion of Israel Foretold: — It has been said, 
 that "If a complete history of the house of Israel were 
 written, it would be the history of histories, the key of the 
 world's history for the past twenty centuries. "* Justifica- 
 tion for this sweeping statement is found in the fact that 
 the Israelites have been so completely dispersed among the 
 nations as to give to this scattered people a place of im- 
 portance as a factor in the rise and development of almost 
 every large division of the human family. This work of 
 dispersion was brought about by many stages, and ex- 
 tended through millenniums. It was foreseen by the early 
 
 i Jer. xxv, 11-12; xxix, 10. 
 
 3 See Notes 1 and 2. 
 
 k Rom. ix, 6; Gal. vi, 16. 
 
 I Compendium, p. 85, (1884 ed.) 
 
ART. 10.] THE DISPERSION OF ISRAEL. 329 
 
 prophets among the chosen people; and the spiritual 
 leaders of every generation prior to and immediately follow- 
 ing the Messianic era predicted the scattering of the peo- 
 ple, as an ordained result of their increasing wickedness ; or 
 referred to the fulfilment of former prophecies regarding 
 the dispersion, then already accomplished, and foretold a 
 further and more complete disruption of the nation. 
 
 6. Biblical Prophecies: — In the course of Israels' 
 troubled journey from Egypt, where they had dwelt as in a 
 "house of bondage," to Canaan, the land of their promised 
 inheritance, the Lord gave them many laws, and established 
 ordinances for their government in temporal and spiritual 
 affairs. He arrayed for their contemplation blessings be- 
 yond the power of the un-aided mind of man to conceive, 
 predicating these upon their obedience to the laws of 
 righteousness, and their allegiance to Himself as God and 
 King. In contrast with this picture of blessed prosperity, 
 the Lord described with terrible distinctness, and soul- 
 harrowing detail, a state of abject misfortune and blighting 
 suffering, into which they would surely fall if they departed 
 from the path of rectitude and adopted the sinful practices 
 of the heathen peoples with whom they would have dealings. 
 The darkest parts of this dread picture were those that 
 depicted the prospective breaking up of the nation, and 
 the scattering of the people among those who knew not 
 God. These extreme calamities, however, were to befall 
 Israel only after less severe chastisements had proved in- 
 effective.™ 
 
 7. When the journey following the exodus was nearing its 
 close, as the Israelites were preparing to cross the Jordan 
 and to take possession of the land of promise ; when Moses, 
 patriarch, law-giver, and prophet, was about to ascend 
 Nebo, from which he was to look over the goodly land arid 
 
 m Read the fateful predictions in Leviticus xxvi, 14-33. 
 
330 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVII. 
 
 then die there; he repeated the story of contrasted bless- 
 ings and cursings which formed the condition of God's cov- 
 enant with the people. "The Lord shall cause thee to be 
 smitten before thine enemies" 11 was declared unto them ; and 
 again : — "The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou 
 shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor 
 thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other 
 Gods, wood and stone. And thou shalt become an aston- 
 ishment, a proverb, and a by-word, among all nations 
 whither the Lord shall lead thee." And yet further: — "The 
 Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the 
 end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth ; a nation whose 
 tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce coun- 
 tenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor 
 shew favor to the young : p * * * * And the Lord shall 
 scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth 
 even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, 
 which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood 
 and stone." 3 
 
 8. • As the sacred record progresses, the fact is made plain 
 that Israel had chosen the evil alternative, forfeiting the 
 blessings and reaping the curses. When the son of sinful 
 Jeroboam lay sick almost unto death, the troubled king sent 
 his wife in disguise to Ahijah the blind prophet of Israel, to 
 enquire concerning the fate of the child. The prophet, 
 seeing beyond the physical blindness of his old age, pre- 
 dicted the child's death and the overthrow of the house of 
 Jeroboam; and declared further: — "For the Lord shall smite 
 Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up 
 Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, 
 
 >i Deut. xxviii, 25. 
 o Verses 36-37. 
 p Verses 49, 50. 
 q Verse 64. 
 
ART. 10.] THE DISPERSION OE ISRAEL. 331 
 
 and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have 
 made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger.'"* 
 
 9. Through Isaiah the Lord justifies His judgment upon 
 the people, likening them to an unprofitable vineyard, 8 which, 
 in spite of protecting hedge and fullest care, had yielded 
 but wild grapes, and which was fit only for spoliation; 
 4 'therefore" He continues, "my people have gone into cap- 
 tivity.'" And yet other tribulations were to follow, against 
 which the people were warned lest they alienate themselves 
 entirely from the God of their fathers: — "And what will ye 
 do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which 
 shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help?"" The 
 prophet directs the attention of his erring people to the fact 
 that their tribulations are from the Lord: — "Who gave 
 Jacob for a spoil and Israel to the robbers? did not the 
 Lord, he against whom we have sinned? for they would not 
 walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. 
 Therefore he has poured upon them the fury of his anger, 
 and the strength of battle."" 
 
 10. After the captivity of Ephraim, or the kingdom of 
 Israel, specifically so called, the people of Judah needed yet 
 other admonishings and threatenings. Through Jeremiah 
 the fate of their brethren was brought to their remem- 
 brance ;" then, as a result of their continued and increasing 
 wickedness, the Lord said: — "And I will cast you out of my 
 sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole 
 seed of Ephraim."* Their land was to be despoiled; all 
 the cities of Judah were to be consigned to desolation/ and 
 
 r I Kings xiv, 15. 
 
 s Isa. v, 1-7. , 
 
 t Verse 13. 
 
 u Isa. x, 3. 
 
 v Isa. xlii, 24-25. 
 
 w Jer. vii, 12. 
 
 x Verse 15. 
 
 y Jer. ix, 11; x, 22. 
 
332 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVII. 
 
 the people were to be scattered among the kingdoms of the 
 earth. 2 Other prophets" revealed the Lord's words 
 of anger and dire warning; and the Divine decree is 
 recorded: — "I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, 
 like as corn is sifted in a sieve, " b and again "I will sow 
 them among the people, and they shall remember me in far 
 countries." 
 
 11. Book of Mormon Predictions: — The record made 
 by that division of the house of Israel which took its de- 
 parture from Jerusalem and made its way to the western 
 hemisphere about 600 B. C, contains many references to the 
 dispersions that had already taken place, and to the con- 
 tinuation of the scattering which was to the writers of the 
 Book of Mormon yet future. In the course of the journey 
 to the coast, the prophet Lehi, while encamped with his 
 family and other followers in the valley of Lemuel on the 
 borders of the Red Sea, declared what he had learned by 
 revelation of the future "dwindling of the Jews in unbe- 
 lief," of their crucifying the Messiah, and of their scatter- 
 ing "upon all the face of the earth. " d He compared Israel 
 to an olive tree," the branches of which were to be broken 
 off and distributed ; and he recognized the exodus of his 
 colony, and their journeying afar as an incident in the 
 general plan of dispersion/ Xephi, the son of Lehi, also 
 beheld in vision the scattering of the covenant people of 
 God, and on this point added his testimony to that of his 
 prophet-father. 9 ' He saw also that the seed of his brethren, 
 subsequently known as the Lamanites, were to be chastened 
 
 z Jer. xxxiv, 17. 
 
 a Ezek. xx, 23; xxii, 15; xxxiv, 6; xxxvi, 19; Amos vii, 17; ix, 9; Micah iii, 12. 
 
 b Amos ix, 9. 
 
 c Zech. x, 9. 
 
 d I Nephi x, 11-12. 
 
 e Verse 12; xv, 12, 13; see also Jacob v, and vi. 
 
 / 1 Nephi x, 13. 
 
 g I Nephi xiv, 14. 
 
AKT. 10.] THE DISPERSION OF ISRAEL. 333 
 
 for their unbelief, and that they were destined to become 
 subject to the Gentiles, and to be scattered before them. 7 ' 
 Down the prophetic vista of years, he saw also the bringing 
 forth of sacred records, other than those then known, 
 4 'unto the convincing of the Gentiles, and the remnant of 
 the seed of my brethren, 1 and also the Jews who were scat- 
 tered upon all the face of the earth. " ; 
 
 12. After their arrival on the promised land, the colony 
 led by Lehi received further information regarding the dis- 
 persion of Israel. The prophet Zenos, fc quoted by Nephi, 
 had predicted the unbelief of the house of Israel, in con- 
 sequence of which these covenant ones of God were to 
 "wander in the flesh, and perish, and become a hiss and a 
 by-word, and be hated among all nations."' The brothers 
 of Nephi, skeptical in regard to these teachings, askecf 
 whether the things of which he spake was to come to pass 
 in a spiritual sense, or more literally; and were informed 
 that "the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be scattered 
 upon all the face of the earth, and also among all nations ;" 
 and further, in reference to dispersions then already accom- 
 plished, that "the more part of all the tribes have been led 
 away ; and they are scattered to and fro upon the isles of 
 the sea ;" m and then, by way of prediction concerning further 
 division and separation, Nephi adds that the Gentiles shall 
 be given power over the people of Israel, "and by them 
 shall our seed be scattered. "* Though an ocean rolled 
 between the country of their nativity and the land 
 to which they had been miraculously led, the children of 
 Lehi learned through revelation by the mouth of Jacob, 
 
 h I Nephi xiii, 11-14. 
 
 i The division of Lehi's posterity, known at a later date as Lamanites. 
 
 j I Nephi xiii, 39. 
 
 k See Note 3. 
 
 I I Nephi xix, 12-14. 
 
 m I Nephi xxii, 1-4. 
 
 n I Nephi xxii, 7. 
 
334 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVIT. 
 
 Nephi's brother, of the captivity of the Jews whom they 
 had left at Jerusalem. By ^"ephi they were further told of 
 troubles then impending over the city of their birth, 2 ' and 
 of a further dispersion of their kindred, the Jews. 9 
 
 13. The Lamanites, a division of Lehi's colony, were also 
 to be disrupted and scattered, as witness the words of Sam- 
 uel, a prophet of that benighted people. r Nephi, the third 
 prophet of that name, grandson of Helaman, emphasizes 
 the dispersion of his people by declaring that their "dwell- 
 ings shall become desolate." 8 Jesus Himself, after His res- 
 urrection, while ministering to the division of His flock on 
 the western hemisphere, refers solemnly to the remnant 
 of the chosen seed who are to be "scattered forth upon the 
 face of the earth because of their unbelief. "' 
 
 14. From these references it is plain that the followers 
 of Lehi, including his own family, and Zoram," together 
 with Ishmael and his family/' from whom sprang the mighty 
 peoples the Nephites, who suffered extermination because of 
 their unfaithfulness, and the Lamanites, who, now known 
 as the American Indians, have continued in troubled exist- 
 ence until the present day, were informed by revelation of 
 the dispersion of their former compatriots in the land of 
 Palestine, and of their own certain doom as a result of their 
 disobedience to the laws of God. We have said that the 
 transfer of Lehi and his followers from the eastern to the 
 western hemisphere was itself a part of the general disper- 
 sion. It should be remembered that another colony of Jews 
 came to the western hemisphere, the start dating about 
 
 o II Nephi vi, 8. 
 
 p II Nephi xxv, 14-15. 
 
 q Verse 15. 
 
 r Helaman xv, 12. 
 
 III Nephi x, 7. 
 
 t III Nephi xvi, 4. 
 
 u I Nephi iv, 20-26; 30-37, 
 
 v I Nephi vii, 2-6; 19; 22; xvi, 7. 
 
ART. 10.] THE DISPERSION" OF ISRAEL. 335 
 
 eleven years after the time of Lehi's departure. This sec- 
 ond company was led by Mulek, a son of Zedekiah the last 
 king of Judah ; they left Jerusalem immediately after the 
 capture of the city by Nebuchadnezzar, about 588 B. C. w 
 
 15. The Fulfilment of these Prophecies: — The sacred 
 scriptures, as well as other writings for which the claim of 
 direct inspiration is not asserted, record the literal fulfil- 
 ment of prophecy in the desolation of the house of Israel. 
 The dividing of the united nation into the separate king- 
 doms of Judah and Israel led to the downfall of both. As 
 the people grew in their disregard for the laws of their 
 fathers, their enemies were permitted to triumph over them. 
 After many minor losses in war, the kingdom of Israel met 
 an overwhelming defeat at the hands of the Assyrians, in or 
 about the year 721 B. C. We read that Shalmanezer IV, 
 king of Assyria, besieged Samaria, the third and last capital 
 of the kingdom,* and that after three years the city was 
 taken by Sargon, Shalmanezer's successor. The people of 
 Israel were carried captive into Assyria, and distributed 
 among the cities of the Medes. 1 ' Thus was the dread pre- 
 diction of Ahijah to the wife of Jeroboam fulfilled. Israel 
 was "scattered beyond the river, "* probably the Euphrates, 
 and from the time of this event the ten tribes are entirely 
 lost to history. 
 
 16. The sad fate of the kingdom of Israel had some 
 effect in partially awakening among the people of Judah 
 a sense of their own impending doom. Hezekiah reigned as 
 king for nine and twenty years, and proved himself a bright 
 exception to a line of wicked rulers who had preceded him. 
 
 w Omni i, 14-19; Mos. xxv, 2-4; Alma xxii, 30-32; Hel. vi, 10; viii, 21; p. 268. 
 
 x Shechem was the first capital of the kingdom of Israel (I Kings xii, 25) ; 
 later, Tirzah became the capital: it was famous for its beauty, (I Kings xiv, 17; 
 xv, 33; xvi, 8, 17, 23; Song of Sol. vi, 4); and lastly Samaria, (I Kings xvi, 24.) 
 
 y II Kings xvii, 5-6; xviii, 9-11. 
 
 z I Kings xiv, 15. 
 
336 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVII. 
 
 Of him we are told that "he did that which was right in 
 the sight of the Lord." a During his reign, the Assyrians 
 under Sennacherib invaded the land; but the Lord's favor 
 was in part restored to the people, and Hezekiah roused 
 them to a reliance upon their God, bidding them take cour- 
 age and fear not the Assyrian king nor his hosts, "for" said 
 this righteous prince, "there be more with us than with 
 him; With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord 
 our God, to help us and to fight our battles." 5 The Assy- 
 rian army was miraculously destroyed. c But Hezekiah died, 
 and Manasseh ruled in his stead ; this king did evil in the 
 sight of the Lord, rf and the wickedness of the people con- 
 tinued for half a century or more, broken only by the good 
 works of one righteous king, Josiah/ 
 
 17. While Zedekiah occupied the throne, Nebuchadnez- 
 zar, king of Babylon, laid siege to Jerusalem/ took the city 
 about 488 B. C, and led the people captive into Babylon, 
 thus virtually putting an end to the kingdom of Judah. 
 The people were scattered among the cities of Asia ; and 
 groaned under the vicissitudes of the Babylonian captivity 
 for nearly seventy years/ after which they were given per- 
 mission by Cyrus the Persian, who had subdued the Baby- 
 lonians, to return to Jerusalem. Multitudes of the exiled 
 Hebrews availed themselves of this opportunity, though 
 many remained in the land of their captivity; and while 
 those who did return earnestly sought to re-establish them- 
 selves on a scale of their former power, they were never 
 again truly an independent people. They were assailed by 
 Syria and Egypt, and later became tributary to Rome, in 
 
 a II Kings xviii, 1-3; II Chron. xxix, 1-11. 
 
 b II Chron. xxxii, 7-8. 
 
 c II Chron. xxxii, 21-22. 
 
 d II Chron. xxxiii, 1-10; II Kings xxi. 1-9. 
 
 e II Kings xxii, 1; II Chron. xxxiv, 1. 
 
 / II Kings xxv, 1-3; II Chron. xxvi, 17. 
 
 g See pp. 327-328. 
 
ART. 10.] THE DISPERSION OF ISRAEL. 337 
 
 which condition they were during the personal ministry of 
 Christ among them. 
 
 18. Jeremiah's prophecy still lacked a complete fulfil- 
 ment, but time proved that not a word was to fail. "Judah 
 shall be carried away captive, all of it; it shall be wholly 
 carried away captive ;",* this was the prediction. A rebellious 
 disturbance among the Jews gave a semblance of excuse for 
 a terrible chastisement to be visited upon them by their 
 Roman masters, which culminated in the destruction of 
 Jerusalem A. D. 71. The city fell after a six months' siege 
 before the Roman arms led by Titus, son of the emperor 
 Vespasian. Josephns, the famous historian, to whom we 
 owe most of our knowledge as to the details of the struggle, 
 was himself a resident in Galilee and was carried to Rome 
 among the captives. From his record we learn that more 
 than a million Jews lost their lives through the famine in- 
 cident to the siege; many more were sold into slavery, and 
 uncounted numbers were forced into exile. The city was 
 utterly destroyed, and the site upon which the temple had 
 stood was plowed up by the Romans in their search for 
 treasure. Thus literally were the words of Christ fulfilled, 
 4 'There shall not be left here one stone upon another that 
 shall not be thrown down."*' 
 
 19. Since the destruction of Jerusalem and the final 
 disruption of the organized people, the Jews have been 
 wanderers upon the face of the earth, outcasts among the 
 nations, a people without a country, a nation without a 
 home. The prophecy uttered by Amos of old has had its 
 literal fulfilment : truly have Israel been sifted among all 
 nations "like as corn is sifted in a sieve ;' y let it be remem- 
 bered, however, that, coupled with this dread prediction 
 
 h Jer. xiii, 19. 
 
 i Matt, xxiv, 1-2; see also Luke xix, 44. 
 j Amos ix, 9. 
 J3 
 
338 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVII. 
 
 was the promise "Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the 
 earth." 
 
 20. The Lost Tribes: — As already stated, in the division 
 of the Israelites after the death of Solomon, ten tribes, 
 really ten and a half, established themselves as an inde- 
 pendent kingdom. This, the kingdom of Israel, was 
 terminated as far as history is concerned, by the Assyrian 
 captivity, 721 B. C. The people were led into Assyria; and 
 later disappeared so completely that they have been called 
 the Lost Tribes. They seem to have departed from As- 
 syria, and while we lack definite information as to their 
 final destination, and present location, there is abundant 
 evidence that their journey was toward the north. fc The 
 Lord's word through Jeremiah promises that the people 
 shall be brought back "from the land of the north, "' and 
 a similar declaration has been made through Divine revela- 
 tion during the present dispensation." 1 
 
 21. In the writings of Esdras or Ezra, which however 
 are not included among the canonical books of the Bible, 
 but are known as apocryphal, we find references to the 
 north-bound migration of the ten tribes, which they under- 
 took in accordance with a plan to escape the heathen by 
 going to "a further country where never man dwelt, that 
 they might there keep their statutes which they never kept 
 in their own land.'" 1 The same writer informs us further 
 that they journeyed a year and a half into the north coun- 
 try; but he gives us evidence that many remained in the 
 land of their captivity. 
 
 22. The resurrected Christ, while ministering among the 
 Xephites on this hemisphere, specifically mentioned "the 
 other tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath 
 
 k Jer. iii, 12. 
 
 I Jer. xvi, 15; xxiii, 8; xxxi, 8. 
 m Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 26-27. 
 n II Esdras xiii . See Note 4. 
 
ART. 10. J NOTES. 339 
 
 led away out of the land ;"° and again He referred to them as 
 "other sheep which are not of this land, neither of the land 
 of Jerusalem; neither in any parts of that land around 
 about, whither I have been to minister. " p Christ announced 
 a commandment of the Father that He should reveal Him- 
 self to them. The present location of the Lost Tribes has 
 not been accurately revealed. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Hebrews :— Shem is called "the father of all the children of Eber" as 
 Ham is called father of Canaan. The Hebrews and Canaanites were often 
 brought into contact, and exhibited the respective characteristics of the Shem- 
 ites and the Hamites. The term "Hebrews" thus is derived from "Eber." 
 (Gen. x, 21 ; comp. Numb, xxiv, 24.)"— Bible Cyclopedia, by Fausset. 
 
 The writerof the article "Hebrew" in Cassell's Bible Dictionary questions the 
 evidence on which the derivation of "Hebrew" from "Eber" or "Heber" is 
 asserted and says : "All that can be confidently affirmed is that the term is 
 employed of Abraham, and of the descendants of Jacob in general. The interest 
 attaching to the word, coupled with its obscure origin, suffices to account for the 
 many speculations in regard to it. It may be added that some scholars have 
 found the name 'Hebrews,' a little changed, on the monuments of Egypt. If this 
 interpretation is verified, it will be of value, as showing that when the Egyp- 
 tians called Joseph a Hebrew, they employed the designation which was accepted 
 among them." 
 
 2. Jews:— The term properly signifies "a man of Judah, or a descendant of 
 Judah, but the word came to be applied to all those who were otherwise desig- 
 nated 'Hebrews.' It does not appear to have come into use until long after the 
 revolt of Jeroboam and the ten tribes, and so long as the kingdom stood, it was 
 naturally employed of the citizens of the kingdom of Judah (II Kings xvi, 
 6; xxv, *5) ; but it rarely occurs in this sense. After the exile it took the exten- 
 sion of meaning which it has to the present day. It was adopted by the rem- 
 nants of all the tribes, and was the one name by which the descendants of Jacob 
 were known throughout the ancient world; certainly it was far more common 
 than 'Hebrew.' It occurs in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, etc., 
 is found in the Apocrypha; and is common in Josephus, and in the New Testa- 
 ment."— Cassell's Bible Dictionary. 
 
 "Under the theocracy they were known as Hebrews, under the monarchy as 
 Israelites, and during foreign domination as Jews. The modern representatives 
 
 o III Nephi xv, 15. 
 p III Nephi xvi, 1. 
 
340 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVII. 
 
 of this stock call themselves Hebrews in race and language, and Israelites in 
 religion, but Jews in both senses."— Standard Dictionary. 
 
 3. Zenos:— "A Hebrew prophet, often quoted by the Nephite servants of 
 God. All we are told of his personal history is that he was slain because he 
 testified boldly of what God revealed to him. That he was a man greatly blessed 
 of the Lord with the spirit of prophecy is shown by that wonderful and almost 
 incomparable parable of the Vineyard, given at length by Jacob, (Jacob chap, v) . 
 His prophecies are also quoted by Nephi (I Nephi xix, 10, 12, 16), Alma (Alma 
 xxxiii, 3, 13, 15), Amulek, Alma (xxxiv, 7), Samuel the Lamanite, (Helaman xv, 
 11), and Mormon (III Nephi x, 16).— Dictionary of the Book of Mormon, by Elder 
 George Reynolds. 
 
 4. The Journeyings of the Lost Tribes :— Esdras, whose books, as stated 
 in the text, are classed among the apocrypha, describes a vision, in the course of 
 which the Ten Tribes are noticed in this way:— "Those are the tribes which 
 were carried away captives out of their own land in the time of Oseas [Hosea] 
 the king, whom Shalmanezer, the king of the Assyrians, took captive, and crossed 
 them beyond the river; so were they brought into another land. But they took 
 counsel to themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and 
 go forth unto a further country where never man dwelt, that they there might 
 keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land. And they entered 
 in at the narrow passage of the River Euphrates. For the Most High then 
 showed them signs, and stayed the springs of the flood till they were passed over. 
 For through the country there was a great journey, even of a year and a half, 
 and the same region is called Arsareth (or Ararah). Then dwelt they there 
 until the latter time, and when they come forth again, the Most High shall hold 
 still the springs of the river again, that they may go through."— II Esdras. xiii. 
 
 Concerning the journeyings of the Ten Tribes toward the north, Elder George 
 Reynolds in his little work "Are We of Israel," says: — "They determined to go 
 to a country 'where never man dwelt,' that they might be free from all contamin- 
 ating influences. That country could only be found -in the north. Southern 
 Africa was already the seat of a comparatively ancient civilization: Egypt 
 flourished in northern Africa: and southern Europe was rapidly filling with the 
 future rulers of the world. They had therefore no choice but to turn their 
 faces northward. The first portion of their journey was not however north; 
 according to the account of Esdras, they appear to have at first moved in the 
 direction of their old home; and it is possible that they originally started with 
 the intention of returning thereto; or probably, r _in order to deceive the Assyrians 
 they started as if to return to Canaan, and when they crossed the Euphrates and 
 were out of danger from the hosts of Medes and Persians, then they turned their 
 journeying feet toward the polar star. Esdras states that they entered in at the 
 narrow passage of the river Euphrates, the Lord staying the springs of the 
 flood until they were passed over. The point on the river Euphrates at which 
 they crossed would necessarily be in its upper portion, as lower down would be 
 too far south for their purpose. The upper course of the Euphrates lies among 
 lofty mountains near the village of Pastash; it plunges through a gorge formed 
 by precipices more than a thousand feet in height, and so narrow that it is 
 bridged at the top: it shortly afterward enters the plain of Mesopotamia. How 
 accurately this portion of the river answers to the discription of Esdras of the 
 •Narrows' where the Israelites crossed." 
 
ART. 10.] THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 341 
 
 LEOTUEE XVIII. 
 
 THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 
 
 Article 10:— We believe in the literal gathering of Isz-ael, and in the res- 
 toration of the Ten Tribes, etc. 
 
 1. The Gathering Predicted : — Terrible as was the chas- 
 tisement decreed on Israel for their waywardness and sin, 
 amounting, as it did, to their dissolution as a nation, and to 
 a virtual expulsion from the sight of the Lord's favor; 
 fearful as has been their denunciation by Him who delighted 
 to call them His people; through all their sufferings and 
 deprivations, while wandering as outcasts among alien 
 nations who have never ceased to treat them with contumely 
 and insult, when their very name has been made a hiss and 
 a byword in the earth ; — they have ever been sustained by 
 the sure word of Divine promise, that a day of glorious 
 deliverance and blessed restoration awaits them. Associated 
 with the curses under which they writhed and groaned, were 
 assurances of blessings. From the heart of the people, as 
 from the soul of their mighty king in the day of his 
 deserved affliction, has poured forth a song of tearful rejoic- 
 ing: — "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell." a The suffer- 
 ings of Israel have been but necessary chastening by a 
 grieved yet loving Father, who planned by these effective 
 means to purify His sin-stained children. To them He has 
 freely told His purpose in thus afflicting them, and in His 
 punishments they have seen His love, "For whom the Lord 
 loveth he chasteneth," b and "Blessed is the man whom thou 
 chasteneth, Lord." c 
 
 a Psa. xvi, 10; Acts ii, 27. 
 
 b Heb. xii, 6. 
 
 c Psa. xciv, 12; see also Prov. iii, 12; James i, 12; Rev. iii, 19. 
 
342 THE AKT1CLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVIII. 
 
 2. Though smitten of men, a large part of them gone 
 from a knowledge of the world, Israel are not lost unto 
 their Father; He knows whither they have been led or 
 driven; toward them His heart still yearns with paternal 
 love ; and surely will He bring them forth, in due time and 
 by appointed means, into a condition of favor and power, 
 befitting His chosen and covenant people. In spite of their 
 sin, and the tribulations which they would assuredly bring 
 upon themselves, the Lord said: — "And yet for all that, 
 when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast 
 them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them 
 utterly, and to break my covenant with them : for I am the 
 Lord their God." d As complete as was the scattering, so 
 will be the gathering of Israel. 
 
 3. Bible Prophecies concerning the Gathering: — We have 
 examined a few of the biblical predictions concerning the 
 dispersion of Israel ; in all cases the blessing of eventual 
 restoration was associated with the curse. Among the early 
 prophecies, we hear the Lord declaring that it shall come to 
 pass that when thou, Israel, "shalt return unto the Lord 
 thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I 
 command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all 
 thine heart, and with all thy soul ; that then the Lord thy 
 God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon 
 thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, 
 whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any of 
 thine be driven out unto the utmost parts of heaven, from 
 thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence 
 will he fetch thee : and the Lord thy God will bring thee 
 into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt 
 possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee 
 above thy fathers." 6 
 
 d Levit.xxvi, 44; see also Deut. iv. 27-31. 
 e Deut. xxx. 2-5. 
 
ART. 10.] THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 343 
 
 4. Nehemiah pleads in fasting and prayer that the Lord 
 would remember His promise of restoration if the people 
 would turn unto righteousness/ Isaiah speaks with no un- 
 certain words of the assured return and re-union of scat- 
 tered Israel, saying: — "And it shall come to pass in that 
 day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time 
 to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left 
 * * * * ^nd kg shall se t up an ensign for the nations, 
 and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather to- 
 gether the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the 
 earth. "\ 
 
 5. The restoration is to be complete; there shall be a 
 united people, no longer two kingdoms, each at enmity 
 with the ofher; for, "The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, 
 and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim 
 shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.'" 1 
 With the words of a fond Father, the Lord thus speaks of 
 His treatment of Israel and brightens their desolation with 
 promises: — "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but 
 with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I 
 hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting 
 kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy 
 Redeemer.'" 
 
 6. After giving a terrible recital of the people's sins and 
 the penalties to follow, Jeremiah thus voices the will and 
 purpose of God, concerning the subsequent deliverance: — 
 "Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it 
 shall no more be said, the Lord liveth, that brought up the 
 children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, the Lord 
 liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land 
 of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven 
 
 / Neh. i, 9. 
 
 g Isaiah xi, 11-12. 
 
 h Verse 13; see also Ezek. xxxvii, 21. 
 
 i Isa. liv, 7-8. 
 
344 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVIII. 
 
 them : and I will bring them again into their land that I 
 gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fish- 
 ers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them ; and after will 
 I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from 
 every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of 
 the rocks. ,y And again: — "Behold, I will bring them from 
 the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the 
 earth. * * * Hear the word of the Lord, ye nations, 
 and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered 
 Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth 
 his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ran- 
 somed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. 
 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, 
 and shall flow together to the goodness of the L6rd." fc 
 
 7. "Backsliding Israel," "treacherous Judah," are the 
 terms of reproof with which the Lord addressed His rec- 
 reant children, then He commanded the prophet saying: 
 "Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, 
 Keturn thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will 
 not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, 
 saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only 
 acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed 
 against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to 
 the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed 
 my voice, saith the Lord. Turn, backsliding children, 
 saith the Lord ; for I am married unto you : and I will take 
 you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring 
 you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine 
 heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understand- 
 ing. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and 
 increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they 
 shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord : 
 
 j Jer xvi, 12-16. 
 
 * Jer. xxxi, 7-8, 10-12. 
 
ART. 10.] THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 345 
 
 neither shall it come to mind; neither shall they remember 
 it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done 
 any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the 
 throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered 
 unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; neither 
 shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil 
 heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with 
 the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of 
 the land of the north to the land that I have given for an 
 inheritance unto your fathers."' 
 
 8. To Ezekiel, the Lord also declared the plan of Israel's 
 restoration: — "Thus saith the Lord God; behold, I will 
 take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither 
 they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring 
 them into their own land : And I will make them one nation 
 in the land upon the mountains of Israel: and one king 
 shall be king to them all : and 'they shall be no more two 
 nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any 
 more at all." m 
 
 9. That the re-establishment is to be a permanent one is 
 evident from the revelation given through Amos, wherein 
 we read that the Lord said: — "And I will bring again the 
 captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the 
 waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vine- 
 yards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make 
 gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them 
 upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of 
 their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy 
 God." n 
 
 10. As a fitting close to our selection of biblical prophe- 
 cies, let the words of Jesus of Nazareth be read, spoken 
 
 l Jer. iii, 12-18. See also xxiii, 8; xxv, 31; xxx, 3; xxxii, 37. 
 
 m Ezek. xxxvii, 21-22; see also xi, 17; xx, 34-42; xxviii, 25; xxxiv, 11, 31. 
 
 n Amos ix, 14-15. 
 
346 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVIII, 
 
 while He lived among men: "And he shall send his angels 
 with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather 
 together his elect from the four winds, from one end of 
 heaven to the other." 
 
 11. Book of Mormon Prophecies: — The gathering of Israel 
 claimed the attention of many prophets whose teachings are 
 recorded in the Book of Mormon, and not a little direct 
 revelation concerning the subject is preserved within the 
 pages of that volume. We have noted Lehi's discourse in 
 the valley of Lemuel, in the course of which that patriarch- 
 prophet compared the house of Israel to an olive tree, the 
 branches of which were to be broken off and scattered ; now 
 may we add his prediction regarding the subsequent graft- 
 ing-in of the branches; he taught, that, ''after the house of 
 Israel shall be scattered, they should be gathered together 
 again ; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the ful- 
 ness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive tree, or 
 the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, 
 or come to a knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and 
 their Redeemer. " p 
 
 12. Nephi, quoting the words of the prophet Zenos, 5 
 emphasizes the declaration that when purified by suffering, 
 Israel shall come again into the favor of the Lord, and then 
 shall they be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, 
 and the isles of the sea shall be remembered.'' Jacob, the 
 brother of Nephi, testified to the truth of the prophecies of 
 Zenos, and indicated the time of the gathering as a charac- 
 teristic sign of the last days. Consider his words: — "And 
 in the day that he shall set his hand again the second time 
 to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, 
 that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to 
 
 o Matt, xxiv, 31. 
 
 j) I Nephi x, 14; see also Jacob v. 
 
 q See Note 3, p 340. 
 
 r I Nephi xix, 16; see also I Nephi xxii, 11, 12, 25; II Nephi vi, 8-11. 
 
AKT. 10.] THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 34? 
 
 nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end 
 soon cometh. " s 
 
 13. Among the most comprehensive predictions regard- 
 ing the restoration of the Jews is the following utterance 
 of Nephi: — "Wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered among 
 all nations; yea, and also Babylon shall be destroyed; 
 wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered by other nations ; 
 and after they have been scattered, and the Lord God hath 
 scourged them by other nations, for the space of many 
 generations, yea, even down from generation to generation, 
 until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son 
 of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all man- 
 kind; and when that day shall come, that they shall be- 
 lieve in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with 
 pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more 
 for another Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come 
 that it must needs, to be expedient that they should be- 
 lieve these things, and the Lord will set his hand again the 
 second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen 
 state. AVherefore, he will proceed to do a marvelous work 
 and a wonder among the children of men." f 
 
 14. Nephi, commenting on the words of Isaiah regarding 
 the sufferings and subsequent triumph of the people of 
 Israel, states the condition upon which their gathering is 
 predicated, and says of God: — "That he has spoken unto the 
 Jews, by the mouth of his holy prophets, even from the 
 beginning down, from generation to generation, until the 
 time comes that they shall be restored to the true church 
 and fold of God ; when they shall be gathered home to the 
 lands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all 
 their lands of promise."" 
 
 « Jacob vi, 2. 
 t II Nephi xxv, 15-17. 
 
 u II Nephi ix, 2; see also I Nephi xv, 19; xix, 13-16; II Nephi xxv, 16, 17, 20; 
 III Nephi v, 21-26; xxi, 26-29; xxix, 1-8; Mormon v, 14. 
 
348 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVIII. 
 
 15. It is evident from this and many other passages, that 
 the time of the Jews' return is to be determined by their 
 acceptance of Christ as their Lord. When that time comes, 
 they are to be gathered to the land of their fathers ; and in 
 the work of gathering, the Gentiles are destined to take a 
 great and honorable part, as witness the further words of 
 Nephi: — "But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the 
 day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, 
 then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be 
 restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their 
 inheritance. And it shall come to pass that they shall be 
 gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the 
 sea, and from the four parts of the earth ; and the nations 
 of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me, saith God, 
 in carrying them forth to the land of their inheritance. 
 Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto 
 them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers ; where- 
 fore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, 
 for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute." 1 ' 
 
 16. The assistance which the Gentiles are to give in the 
 preparation of the Jews, and of the remnant of the house 
 of Israel established on the western continent, is affirmed 
 by several Book of Mormon prophets; and, moreover, 
 the blessings which the Gentiles may thus bring upon them- 
 selves are described in detail. 10 A single quotation must 
 suffice for our present purpose ; and this the declaration of 
 the risen Lord, during His brief ministration among the 
 Xephites: — "But if they [the Gentiles] will repent, and 
 hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I 
 will establish my church among them, and they shall come 
 in nnto the covenant, and be numbered among this the 
 remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for 
 
 v II Nephix, 7-9; xxx, 7: See also Isaiah xlix, 23; III Nephi v, 26; xx, 29. 
 w III Nephi xxi, 21-27; Ether xiii, 8-10. 
 
ART. 10.] THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 349 
 
 their inheritance, and they shall assist my people, the rem- 
 nant of Jacob, and also, as many of the honse of Israel 
 as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be 
 called the New Jerusalem; and then shall they assist my 
 people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon 
 all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem. And 
 then shall the power of heaven come down among them ; and 
 I also will be in the midst ; and then shall the work of the 
 Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be 
 preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I say 
 unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father com- 
 mence among all the dispersed of my people ; yea, even the 
 tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away 
 out of Jerusalem. Yea, the work shall commence among 
 all the dispersed of my people, with the Father, to prepare 
 the way whereby they may come unto me, that they may 
 call on the Father in my name; yea, and then shall the 
 work commence, with the Father, among all nations, in 
 preparing the way whereby his people may be gathered 
 home to the land of their inheritance. " x 
 
 17. Modern Revelation Concerning the Gathering: — We 
 have found abundant proof of the severely literal fulfilment 
 of prophecies relating to Israel's dispersion. The predic- 
 tions relative to the gathering have been but partly fulfilled ; 
 for, while the work of concentration has been well begun, 
 and is now in active progress, the consummation of the 
 labor is yet future. It is reasonable, then, to look for reve- 
 lation and prophecy concerning the subject, in modern 
 scripture as well as in the inspired writings of former times. 
 Speaking to the elders of the Church in this dispensation, 
 the Lord declares His purpose to gather His people "even as 
 a hen gathereth her ^hickens under her wings, "^ and adds 
 
 x III Nephi xxi, 22-28. 
 
 y Revelation given 1830, Doc. and Cov. xxix, 2; see also x, 65;xliii, 24. 
 
350 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVIII. 
 
 "and ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine 
 elect, for mine elect hear my voice, and harden not their 
 hearts; wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the 
 Father, that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon 
 the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be pre- 
 pared in all things against the day when tribulation and 
 desolation are sent forth upon the wicked. " 2 
 
 18. Hear further, the word of the Lord unto the people 
 of His Church in the present day, not only predicting the 
 gathering of the Saints to Zion, but announcing that the 
 hour for the gathering has come: — "Wherefore, prepare ye, 
 prepare ye, my people; sanctify yourselves; gather ye 
 together, ye people of my church. * * * Yea, verily 
 I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of 
 the Lord is unto you, go ye out of Babylon, gather ye out 
 from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end 
 of heaven to the other."" 
 
 19. Extent and Purpose of the Gathering: — Some of the 
 prophecies already cited have special reference to the restora- 
 tion of the Ten Tribes: others relate to the return of the 
 people of Judah to the land of their inheritance; yet others 
 refer to the re-establishment of Israel in general, without 
 mention of tribal or other divisions ; while many passages in 
 the revelations of the present dispensation deal with the 
 gathering of the Saints who have numbered themselves with 
 the Church of Christ as re-established. It is evident that 
 the plan of gathering comprises : — 
 
 1. Return of the Jews to Jerusalem. 
 
 2. Restoration of the Ten Tribes. 
 
 3. Assembling in the land of Zion of the people of Israel 
 from the nations of the earth. 
 
 z Doc. and Cov. xxix, 7-8; see also xxxi, 8; xxxiii, 6; xxxviii, 31; cxxxiii, 7; xlv, 
 25; lxxvii, 14: lxxxiv, 2. 
 
 a Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 4, 7. 
 
ART. 10.] THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 351 
 
 20. The sequence of these subdivisions as here pre- 
 sented, is that of convenience only, and has no significance 
 as to the order in which the work is to be done. The divi- 
 sion last named constitutes the present great work of the 
 Church, though the labor of assisting in the restoration of 
 the Lost Tribes is included. We are informed by revelation, 
 given in the Kirtland Temple, that the appointment to and 
 the authority for this work were solemnly committed to the 
 Church. And through whom should such authority be ex- 
 pected to come? Surely through him who had received it 
 by Divine commission in a former dispensation of united 
 Israel. Moses, who was the chief representative of Israel's 
 God when the Lord set His hand the first time to lead His 
 people to the land of their appointed inheritance, has come 
 in person and has committed to the latter-day Church the 
 authority to minister in the work now that the Lord has 
 "set his hand the second time" to recover His people. 
 
 21. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, each of whom 
 had been duly ordained to the apostleship, testify of the 
 manifestations made to them, in these words: — "The 
 heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared 
 before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering 
 of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading 
 of the ten tribes from the land of. the north." 6 The im- 
 portance of the work thus required of the Church was 
 emphasized by a later revelation, in which the Lord gave 
 this command :— "Send forth the elders of my church unto 
 the nations which are afar off; unto the islands of the sea; 
 send forth unto foreign lands ; call upon all nations ; firstly 
 upon the Gentiles, and then upon the Jews. And behold, 
 and lo, this shall be their cry, and the voice of the Lord 
 unto all people : Go ye forth unto the land of Zion. * * * 
 Let them therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee 
 
 b Doc. and Cov. ex, 11. 
 
352 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVIII. 
 
 unto Zion. And let them who be of Judah flee unto 
 Jerusalem, unto the mountain of the Lord's house. Go ye 
 out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the 
 midst of wickedness, which is spirtual Babylon. " c 
 
 22. The last sentence of the foregoing quotation ex- 
 presses the purpose for which this work of gathering the 
 Saints from the nations of the earth has been ordained. The 
 Lord would have His people separate themselves from the 
 sins of the world, and depart from spiritual Babylon, that 
 they may learn the ways of God and serve Him the 
 more fully. John the Revelator, while in exile on Patmos, 
 saw in vision the fate of the sinful world. An angel came 
 down from heaven, "and he cried mightily with a strong 
 voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is 
 become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul 
 spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. * * * 
 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out 
 of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and 
 that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached 
 unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. " d 
 
 23. The faith of the Saints teaches that in the day of the 
 Lord's righteous fury, safety will be found in Zion. The 
 importance which the Latter-day Saints associate with the 
 work of gathering, and the fidelity with which they seek to 
 discharge the duty enjoined upon them by Divine author- 
 ity in the matter of warning the world of the impending 
 dangers, as described in the Revelator's vision, are sufficiently 
 demonstrated by the great extent of the missionary labor as 
 at present prosecuted by this people/ 
 
 24. Israel a Chosen People: — It is evident that the Lord 
 has conferred the choicest of blessings upon His people 
 
 c Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 8-9, 12-14. 
 d Rev. xviii, 2, 4-5. 
 e See Note 1. 
 
ART. 10. J THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 353 
 
 Israel/ With Abraham, the patriarch of the nation, God 
 entered into a covenant and said: — "I will make of thee a 
 great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name 
 great; and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them 
 that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee 
 shall all families of the earth be blessed. "^ This was to be 
 an everlasting covenant/ It was confirmed upon Isaac/ 
 and in turn upon Jacob who was called Israel.- 7 ' The prom- 
 ises regarding the multitudinous posterity, among whom 
 were to be counted many of royal rank, have been literally* 
 fulfilled. No less certain is the realization of the second 
 part of the prediction, that in and through Abraham's de- 
 scendants should all nations of the earth be blessed. For, 
 by a world-wide dispersion, the children of Israel have been 
 mingled with the nations ; and the blood of the chosen seed 
 has been sprinkled among the peoples/ And now, in this 
 the day of gathering, when the Lord is again bringing His 
 people together to honor and bless them above all that the 
 world can give, every nation with the blood of Israel in the 
 veins of its members will partake of the blessings v 
 
 25. But there is another and more striking proof of 
 blessings flowing to all nations through the house of Israel. 
 Was not the Redeemer born in the flesh through the lineage 
 of Abraham? Surely the blessings of that Divine birth 
 are extended, not only to the nations and families of the 
 earth collectively, but to every individual in mortality. 
 
 26. Restoration of the Ten Tribes: — From the scriptural 
 passages already considered, it is plain, that while many of 
 those belonging to the Ten Tribes were dispersed among the 
 nations, a sufficient number to justify the retention of the 
 original name were led away as a body, and are now in ex- 
 
 / See Note 2. 
 
 a Gen. xii, 1-2; see also Gal. iij, 14, 16. 
 
 h Gen. xvii, 6-8. 
 
 i Gen. xxvi, 3-4. 
 
 3 Gen. xxxv, 11-12. 
 
 k See Note 3. 
 
 24 
 
354 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XVIII. 
 
 istence in some place where the Lord has hidden them. 
 To them Christ went to minister after His visit to the 
 Nephites, as before stated.' Their return constitutes a very- 
 important part of the gathering, characteristic of the dis- 
 pensation of the fulness of times. 
 
 27. To the scriptures already quoted as relating to their 
 return, the following should be added : As a feature of the 
 work of God in the day of restoration we are told: — "And 
 they who are in the north countries shall come in remem- 
 brance before the Lord, and their prophets shall hear his 
 voice, and shall no longer stay themselves, and they shall 
 smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their pres- 
 ence. And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the 
 great deep. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them. 
 And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of 
 living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be 
 a thirsty land. And they shall bring forth their rich 
 treasures unto the children of Ephraim my servants. 
 And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at 
 their presence. And there shall they fall down, and be 
 crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the 
 servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim; and 
 they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy. Behold 
 this is the blessing of the everlasting God upon the tribes 
 of Israel, and the richer blessing upon the head of Ephraim 
 and his fellows.'"" 
 
 28. From the express and repeated declaration, that in 
 their exodus from the north, the Ten Tribes are to be led to 
 Zion, there to receive honor at the hands of some of the 
 children of Ephraim, who necessarily are to have pre- 
 viously gathered there, it is plain that Zion is to be first 
 established. The establishment of Zion will receive atten- 
 tion in the next lecture. 
 
 I pp. 338-339. 
 
 m Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 26-34. 
 
ART. 10.] NOTES. 355 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Gathering Now in Progress :— The Latter-day Saints "are building 
 up stakes of Zion in the Rocky Mountain valleys, and in this way are fulfilling 
 predictions of the ancient prophets. Isaiah hath it written, "And it shall 
 come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be 
 established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; 
 and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, 
 and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; 
 and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion 
 shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah ii, 
 2-3.) It is remarkable how minutely the Latter-day Saints are fulfilling the 
 terms of this prophecy: 1. They are building the temples of God in the tops of 
 the mountains, so that the house of the Lord is truly where Isaiah saw it would 
 be. 2. The Saints engaged in this work are people gathered from nearly all the 
 nations under heaven, so that all nations are flowing unto the house of the Lord 
 in the top of the mountains. 3. The people who receive the gospel in foreign 
 lands joyfully say to their relatives and friends: Come ye, and let us go up to 
 the house of the Lord, and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his 
 paths."— Roberts' Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, p. 409. 
 
 2. Israel a Chosen People;— "The promise to Abram that he should 
 become a great nation, has been fulfilled in his chosen seed occupying the land 
 of Palestine, as such, for fifteen hundred years. It will again be fulfilled when 
 they become a nation on that land forever. The history of the eastern hemi- 
 sphere for the two thousand years which intervened between the calling of 
 Abraham and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, witnesses that every 
 nation that fought against Israel, or in any way oppressed them passed away . 
 Time will show the same general result from the destruction of Jerusalem to the 
 millennium. The Prophet Isaiah, speaking of the time when the Lord should 
 favor Israel, said, "All they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed 
 and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall 
 perish." (xli, 11.) "I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and 
 they shall be drunken with their own blood." (xlix, 27.) "I have taken out of 
 thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou 
 shalt no more drink of it again: but I will put it into the hand of them that 
 afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over."— A 
 Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel, by Elders Franklin D. Richards and 
 James A. Little, pp. 246-247. 
 
 3. Israel Among the Nations:— "When we reflect that it is thirty-two 
 centuries since the enemies of Israel began to oppress them in the land of 
 Canaan, that about one-third of the time they were a people in that land they 
 were more or less in bondage to their enemies; that seven hundred years before 
 the coming of Christ the ten tribes were scattered throughout western Asia: 
 that we have no record that any have as yet returned to the land of their in- 
 heritance; that nearly six hundred years before Christ, the Babylonish captivity 
 took place, and that, according to the Book of Esther, only a small part of the 
 Jews ever returned, but were scattered through the 127 provinces of the Persian 
 empire; that Asia was the hive from which swarmed the nomadic tribes who 
 over-ran Europe; that at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans the Jews 
 were scattered over the known world; we may well ask the question, Does not 
 Israel today constitute a large proportion of the human family?"— Compendium, 
 by Elders F. D. Richards and Jas. A. Little, p. 90. • 
 
356 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIX. 
 
 LECTURE XIX. 
 
 ZION. 
 
 Article 10— We believe * * * That Zion will be built upon this 
 [the American] continent, etc. 
 
 1. Two Gathering Places: — Some of the passages quoted 
 in connection with the dispersion and the subsequent 
 re-union of Israel, make reference to Jerusalem which is to 
 be re-established, and Zion which is to be built. True, the 
 latter name is in many cases used as a synonym of the first, 
 owing to the fact that a certain hill within the Jerusalem 
 of old was known specifically as Zion, or Mount Zion; and 
 the name of a part, is often used figuratively to designate 
 the whole ; but in other passages, the separate and distinc- 
 tive meaning of the terms is clear. The prophet Micah, 
 who ministered during the seventh century before the birth 
 of Christ, "full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of 
 judgment, and of might, " a predicted the destruction of 
 Jerusalem and its associated Zion, the former to "become 
 heaps," and the latter to be "plowed as a field;" 5 and then 
 announced a new condition which is to exist in the last 
 days, when another "mountain of the house of the Lord" 
 is to be established, and this is to be called Zion. c The two 
 places are mentioned separately in the prophecy: — "For 
 the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord 
 from Jerusalem. " d 
 
 2. Joel adds this testimony regarding the two places 
 from which the Lord shall rule over His people: — "The 
 
 a Micab iii, 8, 
 
 * Micab iii, 12; see also page 337 of tbis book. 
 
 c Micab iv, 1. 
 
 d Micab iv, 2; Isaiah ii, 2-3. 
 
AKT.»10.] ZIOK. 35? 
 
 Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from 
 Jerusalem." 6 Zephaniah breaks forth into song, with the 
 triumph of Israel as his theme, and addresses the daughters 
 of both cities: — "Sing, daughter of Zion; shout, Israel; 
 be glad and rejoice with all the heart, daughter of Jeru- 
 salem. ' y Then, the prophet predicts separately of each 
 place: — "In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou 
 not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack." 6 ' Further- 
 more, Zechariah records the revealed will in this way: — 
 "And the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose 
 Jerusalem.'" 1 
 
 3. When the people of the house of Jacob are prepared 
 to receive the Kedeemer as their rightful king, when the 
 scattered sheep of Israel have been sufficiently humbled 
 through suffering and sorrow to know and to follow their 
 Shepherd, then, indeed, will He come to reign among them. 
 Then a literal kingdom will be established, wide as the 
 world, with the King of Kings on the throne ; and the two 
 capitals of this mighty empire will be, Jerusalem on the 
 eastern hemisphere, and Zion on the western. Isaiah speaks 
 of the glory of Christ's kingdom in the latter days, and 
 ascribes separately to Zion and to Jerusalem the blessings of 
 triumph:* — "0 Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up 
 into the high mountain ; Jerusalem, that bringest good 
 tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not 
 afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, behold your God." i 
 
 4. The Name "Zion" is used in several distinct senses. 
 By derivation, the word Zion, or as written by the Greeks, 
 Sion, probably meant bright, or sunny; but this common- 
 
 e Joel iii, 16. 
 / Zeph. iii, 14. 
 g Verse 16. 
 
 h Zech. i, 17; see also ii, 7-12. 
 i Isa. iv, 3-4. 
 j Isa. xl. 9. 
 
358 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT t XIX. 
 
 place signification is lost in the deeper and more affecting 
 meaning which the word as a name and title came to 
 acquire. As stated, a particular hill within the site of the 
 city of Jerusalem was called Zion. When David gained his 
 victory over the Jebusites, he captured and occupied the 
 4 'stronghold of Zion," and named it the city of David/' 
 "Zion" then was the name of a place; and it has been 
 applied as follows : 
 
 1. To the hill itself, or Mount Zion, and, by extension 
 of meaning, to Jerusalem. 
 
 2. To the location of the "mountain of the house of the 
 Lord," which Micah predicts shall be established in the last 
 days, distinct from Jerusalem. To these we may add 
 another application of the name as made known through 
 modern revelation, viz. 
 
 3. To the city of Holiness, founded by Enoch, the seventh 
 patriarch in descent from Adam, and called by him Zion.* 
 
 4. Yet another use of the term is to be noted, viz. a 
 metaphorical one, by which the Church of God is called 
 Zion, comprising, according to the Lord's own definition, 
 the pure in heart. m 
 
 5. Jerusalem: — As a fitting introduction to our study 
 regarding the new Zion, yet to be built, as we shall present- 
 ly see, on the western hemisphere, let us briefly consider the 
 history and destiny of Jerusalem," the Zion of the eastern 
 continent. The word Jerusalem is generally believed to 
 mean by derivation the foundation or city of peace. We 
 meet it for the first time as Salem, the abode of Melchise- 
 dek, high-priest and king, to whom Abram paid tithes, in 
 the nineteenth century before Christ. We find a direct 
 statement concerning the identity of Salem and Jerusalem 
 
 k II Sam. v, 6-7: see also I Kings ii, 10, and viii, 1. 
 
 I "Wrtings of Moses." Pearl of Great Price, pp. 37, 38. (1888 ed.) 
 
 m Doc. andCov. xcvii, 21. 
 
 n See Note 1. 
 
 o Gen. xiv, 18-20. 
 
ART. 10. J ZION. 359 
 
 by Josephus. p As noted, the city was wrested from the 
 Jebusites by David; 9 this was about 1048 B. C. During the 
 reigns of David and Solomon, the city as the capital of the 
 kingdom of undivided Israel acquired great fame for its 
 riches, beauty, and strength, its chief attraction being the 
 marvelous temple of Solomon which adorned Mount 
 Moriah. r After the division of the kingdom, Jerusalem 
 remained the capital of the smaller kingdom of Judah. 
 
 6. Among its many and varied vicissitudes incident to the 
 fortunes of war, 8 may be mentioned : — the destruction of the 
 city and the enslaving of the inhabitants by Nebuchadnez- 
 zar 585 B. C. ;* its re-establishment at the close of the 
 Babylonian captivity, u (about 515 B. C); and its final over- 
 throw at the disruption of the Jewish nation by the Romans 
 70-71 A. D. In importance, and in the love of the Jews, 
 the city was the very heart of Judea : and in the estima- 
 tion of Christians, it has ever been invested with the fullest- 
 sanctity. It occupied an important place in the earthly 
 mission of the Redeemer, and was the scene of His death, 
 resurrection, and ascension. The Savior's high regard for 
 the chief city of His people is beyond question. He for- 
 bade that any should swear by it, "for it is the city of the 
 great King ;" 1 ' and because of its sins, He lamented over it as 
 a father for a wayward child."' 
 
 7. But, great as is Jerusalem's past, a yet greater future 
 awaits her. Again will the city become a royal seat, her 
 throne that of the King of Kings, with permanency of 
 glory assured. 
 
 j) Ant. of the Jews I, chapter x. 
 
 q II Sam. v, 6-7. 
 
 r I Kin. v-viii; II Chron. ii-vii. 
 
 * I Kings xiv, 25; II Kings xiv, 13-14; xxv; II Chron. xii, 2-5; xxxvi, 14-21; Jer. 
 xxxix, 5-8. 
 
 t Jer. lii, 12-15. 
 
 u Ezra, i-iii; Neh. ii. 
 
 v Matt, v, 35; see also Psa. xlviii, 2; lxxxvii. 3. 
 
 w Matt, xxiii, 37; Luke xiii, 34. 
 
360 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIX. 
 
 8. The Latter-day Zion ; New Jerusalem : — The biblical state- 
 ments concerning the Zion of the last days as separate 
 from the ancient or the re-established Jerusalem of the east, 
 are silent regarding the geographical location of this second 
 and modern capital of Christ's kingdom. We learn some- 
 thing, however, from the Bible as to the physical characteris- 
 tics of the region wherein Zion is to be built. Thus, Micah, 
 after predicting the desolation of the hill, Mount Zion, and 
 of Jerusalem in general, describes in contrast the new Zion, 
 wherein the house of the Lord is to be built in the last days. 
 These are his words: — "But in the last days it shall come to 
 pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be 
 established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be 
 exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And 
 many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up 
 to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God 
 of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will 
 walk in his paths ; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and 
 the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. " x 
 
 9. The prophecy of Isaiah is not less explicit regarding 
 the mountainous character of the country of modern Zion f 
 and, furthermore, this writer assures us that the righteous 
 man only shall be able to dwell amid the fiery splendor of 
 this new abode ; and of him the prophet says: — "He shall 
 dwell on high : his place of defence shall be the munitions 
 of rocks;" and adds the statement that the land shall be 
 very far off.' In another passage, he mentions a gathering 
 place "beyond the rivers of Ethiopia," and, "on the moun- 
 tains" where the Lord is to "set up an ensign" to the world." 
 
 10. The teachings of the Book of Mormon, and the 
 truths made known through revelation in the present dis- 
 
 x Micah iv, 1-2. 
 y Isa. ii, 2-3. 
 z Isa. xxxiii, 15-17. 
 a Isa. xviii. 1-3. 
 
ART. 10.J ZION. 361 
 
 pensation, regarding the Zion of the last days, while agree- 
 ing with the biblical record as to the general description of 
 the situation, and the glories of the city, are more explicit 
 in regard to the location. In these scriptures, the names 
 Zion and New Jerusalem are used synonymously, the latter 
 designation being given in honor of the Jerusalem of the 
 east. John the Eevelator saw in vision a New Jerusalem as 
 characteristic of the latter times. 6 Ether, writing 600 B.C. 
 as a prophet among the Jaredites, — a people who had inhab- 
 ited parts of North America for centuries before Lehi and 
 his followers came to this hemisphere, foretold the establish- 
 ment of the New Jerusalem on this continent, and empha- 
 sized the distinction between that city and the Jerusalem of 
 old. 
 
 11. The Nephite prophet, Moroni, in the synopsis of the 
 writings of Ether, says of the latter, that he saw concerning 
 the land of North America, "That it was the place of the 
 New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, 
 and the Holy Sanctuary of the Lord." And adds: "Be- 
 hold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concern- 
 ing a new Jerusalem, upon this land ; And he spake also 
 concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from 
 whence Lehi should come; after it should be destroyed, it 
 should be built up again a holy city unto the Lord, where- 
 fore it could not be a New Jerusalem, for it had been in a 
 time of old, but it should be built up again, and become a 
 holy city of the Lord ; and it should be built unto the house 
 of Israel : And that a New Jerusalem should be built up 
 upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for 
 which things there has been a type : For as Joseph brought 
 his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died 
 there ; wherefore the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of 
 
 6 Rev. xxi, 2. 
 c See page 266. 
 
382 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIX. 
 
 Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be mer- 
 ciful unto the seed of Joseph, that they should perish not, 
 even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph, that he 
 should perish not; Wherefore the remnant of the house of 
 Joseph shall be built upon this land ; and it shall be a land 
 of their inheritance ; and they shall build up a holy city 
 unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old ; and they 
 shall no more be confounded, until the end come, when the 
 earth shall pass away." d 
 
 12. Jesus Christ visited the Nephites in North America 
 soon after His resurrection, and in the course of His teach- 
 ings said — "And behold, this people will I establish in this 
 land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with 
 your father Jacob ; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And 
 the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people ; 
 yea, even I will be in the midst of you." e Our Savior pre- 
 dicted further, as set forth in a previous lecture/ that the 
 Gentiles, if they would repent of their sins, and not harden 
 their hearts, should be included in the covenant, and be per- 
 mitted to assist in the building of a city to be called the 
 New Jerusalem. ' 
 
 13. Ether the Jaredite, and John the Revelator, separ- 
 ated by more than six centuries of time and prophesying on 
 opposite hemispheres, each saw the New Jerusalem come 
 down from heaven, "prepared" says the Jewish apostle "as 
 a bride adorned for her husband.'" 1 We have already spoken 
 of the Zion of Enoch/ a city once situated on the North 
 American continent, whose inhabitants were so righteous 
 that they too were called Zion, "because they were of one 
 
 d Book of Mormon, Ether xiii, 3-8. 
 
 e III Nephi xx, 22. 
 
 / See pp. 348-349. 
 
 g III Nephi xxi, 22-24. 
 
 h Rev. xxi, 2. 
 
 i Page 358. 
 
ART. 10.] ZION. 363 
 
 heart and one mind."- ? " They, with their patriarch leader, 
 were translated from the earth, or, as we read, "it came to 
 pass that Zion was not, for God received it np into His own 
 bosom, and from thence went forth the saying "Zion is 
 fled." fc But before this event, the Lord had revealed unto 
 Enoch the Divine purpose in regard to humanity, even unto 
 the last of time. Great events are to mark the latter days; 
 the elect are to be gathered from the four quarters of the 
 earth to a place prepared for them; the tabernacle of the 
 Lord is to be established there, and the place "shall be 
 called Zion, a New Jerusalem." Then Enoch and his 
 people are to return to earth and meet the gathered elect in 
 the holy place. 
 
 14. We have seen that the names Zion and New Jerusa- 
 lem are used interchangably ; and, furthermore, that 
 righteous people as well as sanctified places are called Zion ; 
 for, by the Lord's special word, Zion to Him means "the 
 pure in heart. " l The Church in this day teaches that the 
 New Jerusalem seen by St. John, and by the prophet Ether, 
 as descending from the heavens in glory, is the return of 
 exalted Enoch and his righteous people ; and that the people 
 or Zion of Enoch, and the modern Zion, or the gathered 
 elect on the western continent, will become one people. 
 
 15. The Book of Mormon is explicit in foretelling the 
 establishment of Zion on the western continent; but the 
 precise location was not revealed until after the restoration 
 of the priesthood in the present dispensation. In 1831, the 
 Lord commanded the elders of His Church in this wise : — 
 "Go ye forth into the western countries, call upon the in- 
 habitants to repent, and inasmuch as they do repent, build 
 up churches unto me ; and with one heart and with one mind, 
 
 3 Pearl of Great Price,— Writings of Moses, p. 37 (1888 ed.) 
 k Pearl of Great Price, p, 45; Doc. and Cov. xxxviii, 4; xlv, 11-12; lxxxiv, 99-100 
 I Doc. and Cov. xcvii, 21; Pearl of Great Price, p. 37, (1888 ed.); also Doc. and 
 Cov. lxxxiv, 100. 
 
364 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIX. 
 
 gather up your riches that ye may purchase an inheritance 
 which shall hereafter be appointed unto you ; and it shall 
 be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of 
 refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High 
 God; and the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the 
 terror of the Lord shall also be there, insomuch that the 
 wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion."™ 
 
 16. Later revelations called the elders of the Church 
 to assemble in western Missouri," and designated that place 
 as the land appointed and consecrated for the gathering of 
 the Saints. "Wherefore this is the land of promise, and 
 the place for the city of Zion." p The town of Independ- 
 ence was named as "the center place," and the site for the 
 temple was designated, the Saints being counseled to pur- 
 chase land there, "that they may obtain it for an everlast- 
 ing inheritance." 9 On August 3rd, 1831, the temple site 
 thus named was solemnly dedicated by the prophet, Joseph 
 Smith, and his associates in the priesthood. r The region 
 round about was also dedicated, that it might be a gathering 
 place for the people of God. 
 
 17. Such, then, is the belief of the Latter-day Saints; 
 such are the teachings of the Church. But the plan of 
 building up Zion has not yet been consummated. The 
 Saints were not permitted to enter into immediate possession 
 of the land, which was promised them as an everlasting 
 inheritance. Even as years elapsed between the time of the 
 Lord's promise to Israel of old that Canaan should be their 
 inheritance, and the time of their entering into possession 
 thereof, — years devoted to the people's toilsome and sorrow- 
 ful preparation for the fulfilment, — so in these latter-days, 
 the Divine purpose is held in abeyance, while the people are 
 
 m Doc. and Co v. xlv, 64-67; read further, verses 68-71. 
 
 n Doc. and Cov. lii, 2-3; see Note 2. 
 
 o Doc. and Cov. lvii, 1-2. 
 
 p Verse 2. 
 
 q Verses 4-5. 
 
 r See Note 3. 
 
ART. 10.] ZION. 365 
 
 being sanctified for the great gift, and for the greater 
 responsibilities associated with it. In the mean-time, the 
 honest in heart are gathering to the valleys of the Eocky 
 Mountains ; and here, in the tops of the mountains, exalted 
 above the hills, temples have been erected, and all nations 
 are flowing unto this region. But Zion will yet be estab- 
 lished on the chosen site; she "shall not be moved out of 
 her place," and the pure in heart shall surely return, 
 "with songs of everlasting joy to build up the waste places 
 of Zion." 8 
 
 18. But gathered Israel cannot be confined to the "center 
 place," nor to the region immediately adjacent; other 
 places have been and will be appointed, and these are called 
 Stakes of Zion/ Many stakes have been established in the 
 regions inhabited by the Latter-day Saints, and these are to 
 be permanent possessions ; and thence will go those who are 
 appointed from among the worthy to receive possession of 
 their inheritances. Zion is to be chastened, but only for a 
 little season," then will come the time of her redemption. 
 
 19. That time will be appointed of God, yet it is to be 
 determined according to the faithfulness of the people. 
 Their wickedness causeth the Lord to tarry ; for, saith He : — 
 "Therefore, in consequence of the transgression of my 
 people, it is expedient in me that mine elders should wait 
 for a little season for the redemption of Zion."" And 
 again, — "Zion shall be redeemed in mine own due time.""' 
 But the Lord's time in giving blessings unto His people is 
 dependent upon them. As long ago as 1834 came the word 
 of the Lord unto the Church: — "Behold, I say unto you, 
 were it not for the transgressions of my people * * * 
 they might have been redeemed even now."* 
 
 n * Doc. and Cov. ci, 17-18; see also ci, 43, 74, 75; ciii, 1, 11, 13, 15; cv, I, 2, 9 
 13, 16, 34; cix, 47: cxxxvi, 18. 
 
 t Doc. and Cov. ci, 21; see page 215. 
 
 u Doc. and Cov. c, 13. 
 
 v Doc. and Cov. cv, 9: also cxxxvi, 31. 
 
 w Doc. and Cov. cxxxvi, 18. 
 
 x Doc. and Cov. cv, 1-2. 
 
360 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XIX. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1 . Jerusalem :— "The city has, in different ages, borne a variety of names, and 
 even in the Bible it has several designations. Salem, mentioned in Gen. xiv, 18, 
 was perhaps its name in the time of Melchisedek, and it is certainly so called in 
 Psa. lxxvi, 2. Isaiah (xxix, 1, 7) calls it Ariel. Jebus, or Jebusi, the city of the 
 Jebusites, was its name in the days of Joshua and the Judges (Josh, xv, 8; xviii, 
 16, 28; Judges xix, 10, 11), and this name continued in use till David's time (I 
 Chron. xi, 4, 5). Some have thought that Jerusalem is itself a corruption of 
 Jebus-Salem, but it is a theory unsupported by facts. Jerusalem is also termed 
 'the city of David,' 'the city of Judah,' 'the holy city,' 'the city of God.' 
 (II Kings xiv, 20; II Chron. xxv, 28; Neh. xi, 18; Psa. lxxxvii, 3.) To this day it 
 is called el-Kuds, or 'the holy,' in most countries of the East. No city in the 
 world has received more honorable appellations: our Savior himself called it 
 'the city of the great King.' "—Bible Dictionary Cassell & Co , p} 600 
 
 2. The Founding of Zion in Missouri:—" * * A company of Saints 
 known as the Coles ville Branch— from their having lived >at Colesville, Broome 
 County, New York, had arrived in Missouri, and having received instructions to 
 purchase the lands in the regions around about Zion, they secured a tract of 
 land in a fertile prairie some ten or twelve miles west of Independence, in Kaw 
 township, not far from the present location of Kansas City. On the 2nd of 
 August [1831],— the day preceding the dedication of the temple site,— in the settle- 
 ment of the Colesville Saints, the first log was laid for a house as the foundation 
 of Zion. The log was carried by twelve men, in honor of the Twelve Tribes of 
 Israel; and Elder Sidney Rigdon consecrated and dedicated the land of Zion for 
 the gathering of the Saints."— Outlines of Ecclesiastical History by Elder B. H. 
 Roberts, p. 352. 
 
 3. Temple Site, Independence, Jackson County, Missouri :— "Tak- 
 ing the road running west from the Court House for a scant half mile, you come 
 to the summit of a crowning hill, the slope of which to the south and west is 
 quite abrupt, but very gradual toward the north and east. * * * * This is the 
 temple site. It was upon this spot on the third day of August, 1831, that, Joseph 
 Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Edward Partridge, W. W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery, Mar- 
 tin Harris, and Joseph Coe, and another person whose name I cannot learn, for 
 there were eight in all,— men in whom the Lord was well pleased, assembled to 
 dedicate this place as the temple site in Zion. The eighty-seventh psalm was 
 read. Joseph [the prophet] then dedicated the spot, where is to be built a temple 
 on which the glory of God shall rest. Yea, the great God hath so decreed it 
 saying: "Verily this generation shall not pass away, until an house shall be 
 built unto the Lord, and a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the 
 glory of the Lord, which shall fill the house. * * * * And the sons of Moses, 
 and also the sons of Aaron, shall offer an acceptable 'Offering, and sacrifice in the 
 house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation, 
 upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed.— (Doc and Cov. sec. lxxxiv, 5, 
 31.)"— Elder B. H. Roberts, Missouri Persecutions. 
 
ART. 10.] CHRIST'S REIGN ON EARTH. 367 
 
 LECTURE XX. 
 
 CHRIST'S REIGN ON EARTH. 
 
 
 
 Article 10:— We believe * * * That Christ will reign personally upon the 
 earth, etc. 
 
 1. Christ's First and Second Advents: — The facts of 
 Christ's birth in the flesh, of His thirty and three years of 
 life among mortals, of His ministry, sufferings, and death, 
 are universally accepted as attested history. Not alone do 
 the records which the Christian world regards as sacred and 
 inspired bear testimony concerning these facts, but the 
 history written by man, and, in contrast, called profane, is 
 generally in harmony with the biblical account. Even those 
 who reject the doctrine of Christ's divinity, even they who 
 refuse to accept Him as their Redeemer, admit the histor- 
 ical facts of His marvelous life, and acknowledge the incal- 
 culable effect of His precepts and example upon the human 
 family. 
 
 2. Nearly nineteen centuries ago, Christ was born to 
 earth, amid humble surroundings, — in obscurity, indeed, to 
 all except the faithful few who had been watching for the 
 expected advent. His coming had been heralded through 
 the previous centuries, even from the dawn of human ex- 
 istence ; every prophet of God had borne record of the great 
 events which were to characterize the "Meridian of Time;" 
 every important incident connected with His birth, life, 
 death, triumphal resurrection, and ultimate glory as King, 
 Lord, and God, had been predicted ; and even the details of 
 the circumstances were given with exactness. Judah and 
 Israel had been told to prepare for the coming of the 
 
368 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XX. 
 
 Annointed One;" yet, behold, when He came to His own 
 they received Him not. Persecuted and despised, He trod 
 the thorny path of duty, "a man of sorrows and acquainted 
 with grief;" and, finally condemned by His people, who 
 clamored to an alien power for authority to execute their 
 own diabolical sentence upon their Lorfl, He went to the 
 death prescribed for malefactors. 
 
 3. To human judgment, it surely seemed that the Divine 
 mision of Christ had been nullified, that His work had 
 failed, and that the powers of darkness had become trium- 
 phant. Blind, deaf, and hard of heart, were those who refused 
 to see, hear, and comprehend the purport of the Savior's 
 mission. Similarly benighted are they who reject the 
 prophetic evidence of His second coming, and who fail to 
 read the signs of the times, which declare the event, at once 
 so terrible and glorious, to be near at hand. Both before 
 and after His death, Christ prophesied of His appointed re- 
 appearance upon the earth ; and His faithful followers are 
 today waiting and watching for the signs of the great ful- 
 filment. The heavens are flaming with those signals, and 
 the burden of inspired teaching is again heard, — Kepent, 
 repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 
 
 4. Christ's Second Coming Predicted; and Signs Described: 
 Bible Prophecies: — The prophets of the Old Testament, 
 and those of Book of Mormon record who lived and wrote 
 before the era of Christ, had little to say regarding the 
 second coming of the Lord, little indeed in comparison with 
 their numerous and explicit predictions concerning His first 
 advent. As they looked into the sky of futurity, and with 
 prophetic power read the story of the heavenly orbs, their 
 vision was dazzled with the brilliancy of the Meridian Sun, 
 and they saw little of the glorious luminary beyond, whose 
 proportions and radiance were veiled by the mists of dis 
 
 a See Note 1. 
 
ART. 10.] CHRIST'S REIGN ON EARTH. 369 
 
 tance. A few of them saw and so testified, as the following 
 passages show : The Psalmist sang : — "Our God shall come, 
 and shall not keep silence ; a fire shall devour before him, 
 and it shall be very tempestuous round about him." 6 These 
 devouring and tempestuous conditions did not attend the 
 coming of Bethlehem's Babe. 
 
 5. Isaiah cries : — "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, 
 Be strong, fear not; behold your God will come with 
 vengeance, even God with a recompence ; he will come and 
 save you." c Aside from the evident fact that these condi- 
 tions did not attend the first coming of Christ, the con- 
 text of the prophet's words shows that he applied them to 
 the last days, the time of restitution, the day of the "ran- 
 somed of the Lord," and of the triumph of Zion. d Again 
 Isaiah speaks: — "Behold, the Lord God will come with 
 strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his 
 reward is with him, and his work before him." e 
 
 6. The prophet Enoch, who lived twenty centuries be- 
 fore the first of those whose words are given above, spoke 
 with vigor on the subject. His teachings do not appear 
 under his own name in the Bible, though Jude, a New 
 Testament writer cites them/ From the Writings of Moses 
 in the Pearl of Great Price, we learn concerning the revela- 
 tion given to Enoch: — "And the Lord said unto Enoch, As 
 I live, even so will I come in the last days of wickedness and 
 vengeance, to fulfil the oath which I made unto you con- 
 cerning the children of Noah."* 7 
 
 7. Jesus taught the disciples that His mission in the flesh 
 was to be of short duration, and that He would come again 
 
 b Psalms 1, 3. 
 c Isa. xxxv, 4. 
 d Verses 5-10. 
 e Isa. xl, 10. 
 / Jude 14-15. 
 
 g Pearl of Great Price, p. 44,(1888 ed.) 
 25 
 
370 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XX. 
 
 to earth, for we find them enquiring in this wise, "Tell us 
 when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of 
 thy coming, and of the end of the world?'" 1 In reply, our 
 Lord detailed many of the signs of the latter times, the last 
 and greatest of which He thus stated: — "And this gospel of 
 the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness 
 unto all nations; and then shall the end come.'" With great 
 clearness, Jesus spoke of the worldliness in which the chil- 
 dren of men had continued to indulge, even on the eve of the 
 Deluge, and on the day of the fiery destruction which befel 
 the Cities of the Plains, and added "Even thus shall it be 
 in the day when the Son of man is revealed. ,y 
 
 8. Another of our Lord's predictions concerning His 
 second coming is as follows ; His citation of the signs by 
 which the approach of the event may be known is so im- 
 pressive that we should read the description in its entirety : — 
 "And they [the disciples] asked him, saying, Master, but 
 when shall these things be? and what sign will there be 
 when these things shall come to pass? And he said, Take 
 heed that ye be not deceived : for many shall come in my 
 name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go 
 ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of 
 wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things 
 must first come to pass ; but the end is not by and by. 
 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against 
 nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and great earth- 
 quakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pesti- 
 lences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be 
 from heaven. But before all these, they shall lay their 
 hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the 
 synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings 
 
 h Matt, xxiv, 3. 
 
 i Verse 14. 
 
 j Luke xvii, 26-30. 
 
ART. 10.] CHRIST'S REIGN ON EARTH. 371 
 
 and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn to you 
 for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to 
 meditate before what ye shall answer : For I will give you 
 a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not 
 be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed 
 both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends ; 
 and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And 
 ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. * * * 
 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and 
 in the star3 ; and upon the earth distress of nations, with 
 perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts 
 failing them for fear, and for looking after those things 
 which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven 
 shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man 
 coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when 
 these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift 
 up your heads; for your redemption' draweth nigh." fc 
 
 9. Again, by way of warning, the Lord said: — "Whoso- 
 ever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in 
 this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the 
 Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his 
 Father with the holy angels. nl 
 
 10. At the time of the Ascension, as the apostles stood 
 gazing into the firmament, where a cloud had hidden their 
 resurrected Lord from sight, they became aware of the 
 presence of two heavenly visitors, who said: — "Ye men of 
 Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same 
 Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so 
 come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. " m 
 Paul instructed the churches in the doctrines of Christ's 
 
 k Luke xxi, 7-28; see also Mark xiii, 14-26; Rev. vi, 12-17. 
 I Mark viii, 38. 
 m Acts i, 11. 
 
372 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XX. 
 
 second advent, and described the glory of His coming." So 
 also did others of the apostles. 
 
 11. Among Book of Mormon Prophecies concerning our 
 present subject, we find the teachings of Christ Himself at 
 the time of His ministrations to the ^"ephites in His res- 
 urrected state. To the multitude He explained many mat- 
 ters, "even from the beginning until the time that He should 
 come in His glory. " p In promising the three disciples the 
 desire of their hearts, which was that they might be spared 
 in the flesh to continue the work of the ministry, the Lord 
 said to them: — "Ye shall live to behold all the doings of the 
 Father, unto the children of men, even until all things shall 
 be fulfilled, according to the will of the Father, when I shall 
 come in my glory, with the powers of heaven. q 
 
 12. The Word of Modern Revelation is no less sure re- 
 garding the appointed advent of the Redeemer. To serv- 
 ants, specially commissioned, instructions were given to this 
 effect: — "Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having 
 your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you,'' that 
 you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom. For 
 behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that I come quickly." 8 
 And again, this instruction is given: — "Cry repentance 
 unto a crooked and perverse generation, preparing the way 
 of the Lord for his second coming; for behold, verily, verily, 
 I say unto you, the time is soon at hand that I shall come 
 in a cloud with power and great glory. "' 
 
 13. In a revelation to the people of the Church, March 
 7, 1831, the Lord speaks of the signs of His coming, and 
 counsels diligence. Consider His words: — "Ye look and 
 
 n I Thess. iv, 16; II Thess. i, 7-8; Heb. ix, 28. 
 
 o I Peter iv, 13; I John ii, 28; iii, 2. 
 
 p III Nephi xxvi, 3: see also xxv, 5. , 
 
 q III Nephi xxviii, 7; see also 8. 
 
 r An allusion to the parable of the Ten Virgins, see Matt, xxv, 1-13. 
 
 * Doc. andCov. xxxiii, 17. 
 
 t Doc. and Cov, xxxiv, 6-7. 
 
ART. 10.] CHRIST'S REIGX ON EARTH. 373 
 
 behold the fig-trees, and ye see them with your eyes, and ye 
 say when they begin to shoot forth, and their leaves are yet 
 tender, that summer is now nigh at hand ; even so it shall be 
 in that day when they shall see all these things, then shall 
 they know that the hour is nigh. And it shall come to pass 
 that he that fearetMme shall be looking forth for the great 
 day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming 
 of the Son of man ; and they shall see signs and wonders, 
 for they shall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in 
 the earth beneath ; and they shall behold blood and fire, and 
 vapors of smoke ; and before the day of the Lord shall come, 
 the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into 
 blood, and stars fall from heaven; and the remnant shall be 
 gathered unto this place, and then they shall look for me, 
 and behold Pwill come ; and they shall see me in the clouds of 
 heaven, clothed with power and great glory, with all the 
 holy angels ; and he that watches not for me shall be cut 
 off."" 
 
 14. The distinctive characteristic of the revelations as 
 given in the present dispensation, regarding the second 
 coming of our Lord, is the emphatic and oft-repeated dec- 
 laration that the event is near at hand. u The call is "Pre- 
 pare ye, prepare ye, for that which is to come, for the Lord 
 is nigh." Instead of the cry of one man in the wilderness 
 of Judea, the voice of thousands is heard authoritatively 
 warning the nations, and inviting them to repent an<J flee to 
 Zion for safety. The fig tree is rapidly putting forth its 
 leaves; the signs in heaven and earth are increasing; surely 
 the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near. 
 
 15. The Precise Time of Christ's Coming has not been 
 made known to man. By learning to comprehend the 
 signs of the times, by watching the development of the work 
 
 a Doc, and Co v. xlv, 37-44; see also paragraphs 74-75. 
 
 v See the numerous references in connection with Doc. and Cov. i, 12. 
 
374 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XX. 
 
 of God among the nations, and by noting the rapid fulfil- 
 ment of significant prophecies, we may perceive the 
 progressive evidence of the approaching event, "But the 
 hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in 
 heaven, nor shall they know until he comes.""' His com- 
 ing will be a surprise to those who have rejected His warn- 
 ings, and who have failed to watch. "Like a thief in the 
 night"* will be the coming of the day of the Lord unto the 
 wicked. "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor 
 the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." 4 ' 
 
 16. Christ's Reign: The Kingdom: — We have seen, that, 
 according to the words of holy prophets ancient and modern, 
 Christ is to come, in a literal sense, and so manifest Himself 
 in person in the last days. He is to dwell among His Saints. 
 "Yea, even I will be in the midst of you," 2 He' declared to 
 the people on this continent, whom He promised to establish 
 in the land of the New Jerusalem ; and similar assurances 
 were given through the prophets of the east. a In this 
 prospective ministration among His gathered Saints, Christ 
 is to be at once their God and their King. His government 
 is to be that of a perfect theocracy ; the laws of righteous- 
 ness will be the code, and control will be administered un- 
 der one authority, undisputed because indisputable. 
 
 17. The scriptures abound with declarations that the 
 Lord will yet reign among His people. To this effect sang 
 Moses before the hosts of Israel after their miraculous pas- 
 sage through the Red Sea, — "The Lord shall reign for ever 
 and ever;" 6 and the psalmist echoes the refrain, "The Lord 
 is King for ever and ever." Jeremiah calls Him "an ever- 
 
 w Doc. and Cov. xlix, 7. 
 
 x II Peter iii, 10; I Thess. v, 2, etc. 
 
 y Matt. xxv. 13; see also xxiv, 42, 44; Mark xiii, 33, 35; Luke xii, 40. 
 
 z III Nephi xx, 22; see also xxi, 25. 
 
 a Ezek. xxxvii, 26-27; Zech. ii, 10, 11; viii, 3; II Cor. vi. 16. 
 
 b Exo. xv, 18. 
 
 c Psa. x, 16; see also xxix, 10; cxlv, 13; cxlvi, 10. 
 
art. 10.] Christ's reign on earth. 375 
 
 lasting king," before whose wrath the earth will tremble, 
 and the nations yield f and Nebuchadnezzar, humbled 
 through tribulation, rejoiced in honoring the King of 
 Heaven, "whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and 
 his kingdom is from generation to generation." 6 
 
 18. Even chosen Israel were not always willing to accept 
 God as their king. Remember how they protested that 
 Samuel, the anointed prophet and judge, was old, — a poor 
 excuse for their claim, as the old man ministered with vigor 
 among them for thirty-five years beyond that time, — and 
 how they cried for a king to rule them, that they might be 
 like other nations/ Note the pathetic words with which 
 the Lord replied to Samuel's prayer regarding this demand 
 of the people, and the sorrow with which He granted them 
 their wish: — "Hearken unto the voice of the people in 
 all that they say unto thee ; for they have not rejected thee, 
 but they have rejected me that I should not reign over 
 them."" But the Lord will not be ever rejected by His 
 people ; at the time appointed He will come with power and 
 great glory, and will assume His rightful place of authority 
 as King of earth. 
 
 19. Daniel interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, 
 and spoke of the many kingdoms and divisions of kingdoms 
 which were to be established, then added: — "And in the 
 days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king- 
 dom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall 
 not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and 
 consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.'" 1 
 Touching the extent of the great kingdom to be established 
 the same prophet declared: — "And the kingdom and domin- 
 
 d Jer. x, 10. 
 
 e Dan. iv, 34-37. • 
 
 / I Sam. viii, 5. 
 
 g Verse 7; see also x, 19; Hoseaxiii, 10-11. 
 
 h Dan. ii, 44. 
 
376 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XX. 
 
 ion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole 
 heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the 
 Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and 
 all dominions shall serve and obey him."' 
 
 20. Speaking of the restoration of Judah and Israel in 
 the last days, Micah prophecies: — "And the Lord shall 
 reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for 
 ever."- 7 ' In the annunciation to the Virgin, the angel said 
 of the unborn Christ: — "He shall reign over the house of 
 Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." fc 
 In the visions of Patmos, the Apostle John saw the glorious 
 consummation, and a universal recognition of the eternal 
 King: — "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were 
 great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world 
 are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ ; 
 and he shall reign for ever and ever."* Modern revelation 
 is rich in evidence of an approaching reign of righteous- 
 ness, with Christ as King; witness the following: — "And 
 also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall 
 reign in their midst. " m "For in my own due time will I 
 come upon the earth in judgment, and my people shall 
 be redeemed and shall reign with me on earth."' 1 
 
 21. Kingdom and Church: — In the Gospel according to 
 Matthew, the phrase "kingdom of -heaven" is of frequent 
 occurrence ; while in the books of the other evangelists, and 
 throughout the epistles, the expression is "kingdom of 
 God," "kingdom of Christ," or simply "kingdom." It is 
 evident that these expressions may be used interchangably 
 
 i Dan vii, 27. 
 
 j Micah iv, 7; see also Isa. xxiv, 23. 
 
 k Luke i, 33. 
 
 I Rev. xi, 15. 
 
 m Doc. and Cov i, 36. 
 
 n Doc. and Cov. xliii, 29; see also lxxxiv, 119. 
 
ART. 10. J CHRIST'S REIGN ON EARTH. 37? 
 
 without violence to the true meaning. However, the term 
 kingdom is used in more senses than one, and a careful study 
 of the context in each instance may be necessary to a proper 
 comprehension of the writer's intent. The most common 
 usages are two: — 1. An expression synonymous with "the 
 Church," having reference to the followers of Christ without 
 distinction as to their temporal or spiritual organizations. 
 2. The designation of the literal kingdom over which 
 Christ is to reign on earth in the last days. 
 
 22. When we contemplate the Kingdom in the latter and 
 more general sense, the Church must be regarded as a part 
 thereof; an essential indeed, for it is the germ from which 
 the Kingdom is to be developed, and the very heart of the 
 perfected organization. The Church has existed and now 
 continues in an organized form, without the Kingdom as a 
 visibly established power with temporal authority in the 
 world; but the Kingdom' cannot be maintained without the 
 Church. 
 
 23. In modern revelation, the expressions "kingdom of 
 God" and "kingdom of heaven" are sometimes used with 
 distinctive meanings, — the former phrase signifying the 
 Church, and the latter the literal kingdom which is to over- 
 shadow and comprise all existing national divisions. In 
 this sense, the Kingdom of God has been set up already in 
 these the last days ; its beginning, in and for the present 
 dispensation, was the establishment of the Church on its 
 latter-day and permanent foundation. This is consistent 
 with our conception of the Church as the vital organ of 
 the Kingdom in general. The powers and authority com- 
 mitted to the Church, are then the keys of the Kingdom. 
 Such meaning is made clear in the following revelation to 
 the Church: — "The keys of the kingdom of God are com- 
 mitted unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the 
 gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone 
 
378 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XX. 
 
 which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll 
 forth, until it has filled the whole earth * * * Call 
 upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the 
 earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be 
 prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of man 
 shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of his 
 glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the 
 earth ; wherefore may the kingdom of God go forth, that 
 the kingdom of heaven may come, that thou God mayest 
 be glorified in heaven so on earth, that thy enemies may 
 be subdued; for thine is the honor, power and glory for 
 ever and ever." p 
 
 24. At the time of His glorious advent, Christ will be 
 accompanied by the hosts of righteous ones who have already 
 passed from earth; and the Saints who are still alive on 
 earth are to be quickened and caught up to meet Him, and 
 to descend with Him as partakers of His glory. 9 With Him 
 too will come Enoch and his band of the pure in heart f and 
 a union will be effected with the Kingdom of God, or that 
 part of the Kingdom of Heaven previously established as the 
 Church of Christ on earth; and the Kingdom on earth will 
 be one with that in heaven. Then will be realized a com- 
 plete fulfilment of the Lord's own prayer, given as a pattern 
 to all who pray: — "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in 
 earth, as it is in heaven." 8 
 
 25. The disputed question "Is the Kingdom already set 
 up on earth or are we to wait for its establishment until the 
 time of the future advent of Christ, the King?" may prop- 
 erly receive answer either affirmative or negative, according 
 
 o Allusion to Daniel's interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar: see 
 Dan. ii, 34, 44. 
 
 p Doc. and Cov. lxv, 2, 5-6. 
 
 q Doc. and Cov. lxxxviii, 91-98. 
 
 r See pp. 358, 362-363. 
 
 s Matt, vi, 10; Luke xi, 2. 
 
ART. 10.] CHRIST'S REIGN ON EARTH. 379 
 
 to the sense in which the term kingdom is understood. The 
 Kingdom of Cod as identical with the Church of Christ has 
 assuredly been established ; its history is that of the Church 
 in these the last days ; its officers are divinely commissioned, 
 their power is that of the holy priesthood. They claim an 
 authority which is spiritual, but also temporal in dealing 
 with the members of the organization, — Church or Kingdom 
 as you may choose to call it, — but they make no attempt, nor 
 do they assert the right, to modrfy, assail, or in any way 
 interfere with, existing governments; far less to subdue 
 nations or to set up rival systems of control. The Kingdom 
 of Heaven, including the Church, and comprising all na- 
 tions, will be set up with power and great glory when the 
 triumphant King comes with His heavenly retinue to per- 
 sonally rule and reign on the earth which He has redeemed 
 at the sacrifice of His own life. 
 
 26. As seen, the Kingdom of Heaven will comprise 
 more than the Church. The honorable and honest among 
 men will be accorded protection and the privileges of citi- 
 zenship under the perfect system of government which 
 Christ will administer; and this will be their happy lot 
 whether they are actually members of the Church or not. 
 Law-breakers and men of impure heart will meet the judg- 
 ment of destruction according to their sin; but those who 
 live according to the truth as they have been able to 
 receive and comprehend it, will enjoy the fullest liberty 
 under the benign influences of a perfect administration. 
 The special privileges and blessings associated with the 
 Church, the right to hold and exercise the priesthood with 
 its boundless possibilities and eternal powers, will be, as now 
 they are, for those only who enter into the covenant and be- 
 come part of the Church of the Redeemer. 
 
 27. The Millennium: — In connection with scriptural men- 
 tion of Christ's reign on earth, a duration of a thousand 
 
380 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XX. 
 
 years is frequently specified. While we cannot regard this 
 as indicating a time limit to the Kingdom's existence, or a 
 measure of the Savior's administration of power, we are 
 justified in the belief that the thousand years immediately 
 following the establishment of the Kingdom are to be 
 specially characterized, so as to be different from both pre- 
 ceding and succeeding time. The gathering of Israel and 
 the establishment of an earthly Zion are to be effected, pre- 
 paratory to His coming. His advent will be marked by a 
 destruction of the wicked, and by the inauguration of an 
 era of peace. The Kevelator saw the souls of the martyrs, 
 and of other righteous men, in power, living and reigning 
 with Christ a thousand years/ At the beginning of this 
 period Satan is to be bound, "that he should deceive the 
 nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled."" 
 Certain of the dead are not to live again, until the thousand 
 years are passed;" while the righteous "shall be priests of 
 God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand 
 years.'"" Among the most ancient of revelations regarding 
 the Millennium, is that given to Enoch: — "And it came to 
 pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of 
 Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness 
 for the space of a thousand years.'"" 
 
 28. It is evident then, that in speaking of the Millennium, 
 we have to consider a definite period, with important events 
 marking its beginning and its close, and conditions of un- 
 usual blessedness extending throughout. It will be a sabbat- 
 ical era/ — a thousand years of peace. Enmity between man 
 and beast shall cease ; the fierceness and venom of the brute 
 
 t Rev. xx, 4; see also 6. 
 
 u Rev. xx, 2-3. 
 
 v Verse 5. 
 
 w Verse 6. 
 
 x Pearl of Great Price, p. 45, 
 
 y See Note 2. 
 
ART. 10. J CHRIST'S REIGN ON EARTH. 381 
 
 creation shall be done away, 2 and love shall rnle. a A new 
 condition of affairs will prevail, as was declared in the word 
 of the Lord to Isaiah: — "For behold, I create new heavens 
 and a new earth ; and the former shall not be remembered, 
 nor come into mind." 6 
 
 29. Concerning the state of peace, prosperity, and dura- 
 tion of human life, characteristic of that period, we read: — 
 "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an 
 old man that hath not filled his days : for the child shall die 
 an hundred years old ; but the sinner being an hundred years 
 old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and 
 inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the 
 fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit ; 
 they shall not plant, and another eat : for as the days of a 
 tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long 
 enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in 
 vain, nor bring forth for trouble ; for they are the seed of 
 the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. 
 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will 
 answer : and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The 
 wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat 
 straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. 
 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, 
 saith the Lord." c 
 
 30. The Lord's voice is heard today declaring the same 
 prophetic truths, as is shown in the revelations touching 
 the Millennium given in the present dispensation of the 
 Church/ In 1831, the Lord addressed the elders of His 
 Church, and said: — "For the great Millennium, of which I 
 have spoken by the mouth of my servants, shall come; for 
 
 3 Isa. xi, 6-9; lxv, 25. 
 
 a See Notes 3 and 4. 
 
 b Isa. lxv, 17. 
 
 c Verses 20-25. 
 
 d Doc. and Cov. lxiii, 49-51 . 
 
382 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XX. 
 
 Satan shall be bound, and when he is loosed again, he shall 
 only reign for a little season, and then cometh the end of 
 the earth." 6 On another occasion these words were spoken: — 
 "For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and 
 great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in right- 
 eousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the 
 wicked shall not stand. * ■ * * * And again, verily, 
 verily, I say unto you, that when the thousand years are 
 ended, and men again begin to deny their God, then will I 
 spare the earth but for a little season, and the end shall 
 come." 7 
 
 31. The Millennium then is to precede the events usual- 
 ly indicated by the scriptural phrase, "the end of the world." 
 During that period, all conditions will be propitious for 
 righteousness; Satan's power will be suspended; and men, 
 relieved to some extent from temptation, will be zealous in 
 the service of their reigning Lord. Nevertheless, sin will 
 not be wholly abolished, nor will death be banished; 
 though children will live to reach maturity in the flesh, and 
 then may be changed to a condition of immortality in the 
 "twinkling of an eye." g Both mortal and immortal beings 
 will tenant the earth, and communion with the heavenly 
 powers will be common. The Latter-day Saints believe that 
 during that millennial era, they will be privileged to con- 
 tinue the vicarious work for the dead, which constitutes so 
 important and and so characteristic a feature of their duty, A 
 and that the facilities for direct communication with the 
 heavens will enable them to carry on their labor of love 
 without hindrance. When the thousand years are passed, 
 Satan will again assert his power, and those who are not 
 then numbered among the pure in heart will yield to his in- 
 
 e Doc. and Cov. xliii, 30-31. 
 / Doc. and Cov. xxix, 11, 22-23. 
 g Doc. and Cov. lxiii, 50-51. 
 h See pp. 148-159. 
 
ART. 10.] NOTES. 383 
 
 fluence. But the liberty thus recovered by "the prince of 
 the power of the air"* will be of short duration ; his final 
 doom will speedily follow, and with him will go to the pun- 
 ishment that is everlasting, all who are his. Then the earth 
 will pass to its celestial condition, and become a fit abode for 
 the glorified sons and daughters of our God. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. "The Anointed One :"— "Christ, the official name of the Redeemer of 
 mankind, as Jesus, or in the Hebrew, Joshua, 'Savior,' was His natural name. 
 Christ means 'anointed,' from chrio, 'to anoint.' Under the Old Testament dis- 
 pensation, high priests, kings, and prophets were appointed to their office by the 
 pouring of the sacred oil upon their heads. The rite was performed by the recog- 
 nized officer of Jehovah, and was an outward testimony that their appointment 
 proceeded direct from God himself, as the source of all authority, and as being 
 under the ancient covenant, in a peculiar way the governor of his people. The oil 
 used in the consecration of priests, and the anointing of the tabernacle and 
 sacred vessels, was a special preparation of myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and 
 cassia, (Exo. xxx, 23-25), which the Jews were forbidden to apply to the body, or 
 to copy under pain of death. It was no doubt intended to typify the gifts and 
 graces of the Holy Spirit."— Cassell's Bible Dictionary, p. 257. 
 
 2. The Seventh Thousand Years:— "As each seventh year was Israel's 
 year of remission, so of the world's seven thousands, the seventh shall be its 
 sabbatism." FausseVs Bible Cyclopedia, p. 685. "There remaineth therefore a 
 rest to the people of God; " or, as given by marginal reference, instead of "rest," 
 the "keeping of a sabbath."— Heb. iv, 9. 
 
 3. Millennial Peace :— "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the 
 leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the 
 fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear 
 shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw 
 like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the 
 weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor 
 destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
 the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."— Isa. xi, 6-9; see also lxv, 25. 
 
 4. The Earth, before, during 1 , and after the Millennium:— "There 
 are three conditions of the earth spoken of in the inspired writings,— the 
 present, in which everything pertaining to it must go through a change which 
 we call death; the millennial condition, in which it will be sanctified for the resi- 
 dence of purer intelligences, some mortal and some immortal; and the celestial 
 condition, spoken of in the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of Revela- 
 tion, which will be one of immortality and eternal life." — Compendium, by 
 Elders F. D. Richards and James A. Little, p. 202. 
 
 Eph. ii, 2. 
 
384 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 LECTUEE XXI. 
 
 REGENERATION AND RESURRECTION. 
 
 Article 10.— We believe * * * * That the earth will be renewed and 
 receive its paradisiacal glory. 
 
 RENEWAL OF THE EARTH. 
 
 1. The Earth Under the Curse: — The blessed conditions, 
 under which the earth shall exist and man shall live during 
 the millennial era, are almost beyond human powers of com- 
 prehension, so different are they from all to which history 
 testifies and which experience confirms. A reign of right- 
 eousness throughout the earth has never yet been known to 
 the fallen race of man. So marked has been the universal 
 curse, so great the power of the tempter; so bitter the sel- 
 fish and ungodly strife betwixt man and man, and between 
 nation and nation; so general has been the enmity of the 
 animal creation, among its own members, and toward the 
 being, who, though in a degraded state, yet holds the Divine 
 commission to the authority of dominion; so prolific has 
 been the soil in bringing forth thorns, briers, and noxious 
 weeds, that the description of Eden is to us as the story of 
 another world, an orb of a higher order of existence, wholly 
 unlike this dreary sphere. Yet, we learn that Eden was 
 truly a feature of our planet, and that the earth is destined 
 to become a celestialized body, — fit for the abode of the 
 most exalted intelligences. The millennium, with all its 
 splendor, is but a more advanced stage of preparation, by 
 which the earth and its inhabitants will approach the fore- 
 ordained perfection. 
 
ART. 10. J RENEWAL OF THE EARTH. 385 
 
 2. Regeneration of the Earth: — The term regeneration, 
 (translated from the Greek, palingenesia, and signifying a 
 new birth, or more literally, one who is born again) occurs 
 twice" in the New Testament; while other expressions of 
 equivalent meaning are used in many places. However, 
 the terms are usually applied to the renewal of the soul of 
 man through the spiritual birth, by which salvation is made 
 obtainable; though our Lord's use of the term, in the 
 promise of future . glory which He confirmed upon the 
 apostles, has probable reference to the rejuvenation of the 
 earth, its inhabitants and their institutions, in connection 
 with the millennial era: — "I say unto you, That ye which 
 have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man 
 shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon 
 twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. " b 
 
 3. A time of restitution is foretold. Consider the words 
 of Peter, spoken to the people who had come together in 
 Solomon's porch, marveling over the miraculous healing of 
 the lame beggar at the gate Beautiful: — "Repent ye there- 
 fore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, 
 when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of 
 the Lord ; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was 
 preached unto you : whom the heavens must receive until 
 the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken 
 by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world 
 began. " c 
 
 4. That the change to a state more nearly approaching 
 perfection is to affect both nature and man is evident from 
 the teachings of Paul, as recorded in his letter to the 
 Romans: — "Because the creature itself also shall be de- 
 livered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious 
 
 a Matt, xix, 28; Titus iii, 5. 
 b Matt, xix, 28. 
 e Acts iii, 19. 
 
 26 
 
386 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole 
 creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 
 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first- 
 fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, 
 waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our 
 body.'"* 
 
 5. This work of regeneration has already begun. As a 
 necessary preliminary, whereby the curse that would 'other- 
 wise afflict the earth, might be averted, Elijah the 
 prophet was to visit the earth, bringing with him the 
 keys and authority of a great work ; concerning which event 
 while yet future, the Lord said: — "Behold, I will send you 
 Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and 
 dreadful day of the Lord : And he shall turn the heart of 
 the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to 
 their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." 6 
 
 6. The Latter-day Saints solemnly declare that this 
 prophecy has had a literal fulfilment, in that on the third 
 day of April, A. D. 1836, Elijah visited the Prophet Joseph 
 Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in the newly dedicated temple at 
 Kirtland, Ohio, announced his mission as that spoken of by 
 the mouth of Malachi, declared that the day for the fulfilment 
 of the prediction had come, and committed the keys of this 
 work of the last dispensation to the Church, that the labor 
 of restoration might be carried on ; and moreover, as a sign 
 "that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even 
 at the doors." 7 Throughout the Millennium, this process 
 of regeneration will be continued. Society shall be purified ; 
 nations shall exist in peace ; wars shall cease ; the ferocity of 
 beasts shall be subdued; the earth, escaping in a great 
 
 d Rom. viii, 21-23. 
 
 e Mai. iv, 5-6; see also III Nephi xxv. 
 
 /Doc. and Cov. ex, 14-16; p. 154, this book. 
 
ART. 10. | RENEWAL OF THE EARTH. 38? 
 
 measure the curse of the Fall, shall yield bounteously to the 
 husbandman ; and the planet shall be redeemed. 
 
 7. The final stages of this regeneration of nature will 
 not be reached until the Millennium has run its blessed 
 course. Describing the events to take place after the com- 
 pletion of the thousand years, John the Eevelator says : — 
 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first 
 heaven and the first earth were passed away ; and there was 
 no more sea. * * * * And I heard a great voice out 
 of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with 
 men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his 
 people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their 
 God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; 
 and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor cry- 
 ing, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former 
 things are passed away." 3 A similar prediction was made 
 by Ether the Jaredite, six hundred years before Christ was 
 born: — "And there shall be a new heaven, and a new earth; 
 and they shall be like unto the old, save the old have passed 
 away, and all things have become new.'" 1 This event is to 
 follow the scenes of the Millennium, as the context makes 
 plain. 
 
 8. In the year 1830 of our present era, the Lord said: — 
 "When the thousand years are ended, and men again begin 
 to deny their God, then will I spare the earth but for a 
 little season; and the end shall come, and the heaven and 
 the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall 
 be a new heaven and a new earth, for all old things shall 
 pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven 
 and the earth, and all .the fulness thereof, both men and 
 beasts, the fowls of the air and the fishes of the sea ; and 
 
 g Rev. xxi, 1, 3-4. 
 
 h Book of Mormon, Ether xiii, 9. 
 
388 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the work- 
 manship of mine hand."*' 
 
 9. According to the scriptures, the earth has to undergo 
 a change analogous to death, and to be regenerated in a 
 manner comparable to a resurrection. Eeferences to the 
 elements melting with heat, and to the earth being con- 
 sumed and passing away, such as occur in many scriptures 
 already cited, are suggestive of death ; and the new earth, 
 really the renewed or regenerated planet, which is to result, 
 may be compared with a resurrected organism. The 
 change has been likened unto a transfiguration/' Every 
 created thing has been made for a purpose ; and everything 
 that fills the measure of its creation is to be advanced in 
 the scale of progression, be it an atom or a world, an 
 animalcule, or man — the direct and literal offspring of 
 Deity. In speaking of the degrees of glory provided for 
 His creations, and of the laws of regeneration and sancti- 
 fication, the Lord, in a revelation dated 1832, speaks 
 plainly of the approaching death and subsequent quicken- 
 ing of the earth. These are His words : — "And again, verily, 
 I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial 
 kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and 
 transgresseth not the law. Wherefore it shall be sanctified ; 
 yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened 
 again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, 
 and the righteous shall inherit it." fc 
 
 10. During the Millennium, the earth, while preparing 
 for the final change, will be tenanted by both mortal and 
 immortal beings; but after the regeneration is complete, 
 death will no longer be known among its inhabitants. Then, 
 the Kedeemer of earth "shall deliver up the kingdom, and 
 
 i Doc. and Cov. xxix, 22-25. 
 j Doc. and Cov. lxiii, 20-21. 
 k Doc. and Cov. lxxxviii, 25-26. 
 
ART. 10.] RENEWAL OF THE EARTH. 389 
 
 present it unto the Father spotless, saying, I have overcome." 
 Before victory is thus achieved and triumph won, the ene- 
 mies of righteousness must be subdued; the last foe to be 
 vanquished is death. Thus saith Paul the Apostle: — "Then 
 cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the king- 
 dom to God, even the Father ; when he shall have put down 
 all rule, and all authority and power. For he must reign, 
 till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy 
 that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things 
 under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put under 
 him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all 
 things under him. And when all things shall be subdued 
 unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto 
 him that put all things under him, that God may be all in 
 all." w 
 
 11. The following partial description of the earth in its 
 immortalized condition has been given by the Prophet 
 Joseph Smith in this dispensation: — "This earth, in its 
 sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal, 
 and will be a Urim and Thummim n to the inhabitants who 
 dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior 
 kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest 
 to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ's." 
 
 12. Absence of Evidence from Science: — Attempts have 
 been made to demonstrate an agreement between the teach- 
 ings of science concerning the destiny of the earth, and the 
 scriptural predictions regarding the ordained regeneration 
 of our planet, by which it is to be made fit for the abode of 
 immortal souls. Without considering the details of the al- 
 leged evidence of mutual support between science and the 
 revealed word in this matter, it may suffice to say,, that the 
 
 l Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 107. 
 
 m I Cor. xv, 24-26. 
 
 n See page 273. 
 
 o Doc. and Cov. cxxx, 9. 
 
390 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 so-called evidence is unsatisfactory, and that science is prac- 
 tically silent on the subject. The geologist views the earth 
 as a body in process of continual change; its surface a 
 heterogeneous mass of fragmental material ; he reads, in the 
 record inscribed on its stony pages, the story of past de- 
 velopment through many successive stages of progress, each 
 making the globe more fit for habitation by man ; he wit- 
 nesses the work of constructive and destructive agencies now 
 in operation, land masses yielding to the lowering action of 
 air and water, and by their destruction furnishing material 
 for other formations now in process of construction; — the 
 general effect of all such being to level the surface by de- 
 grading the hills and exalting the valleys. On the other 
 hand, he observes volcanic agencies operating to increase the 
 inequality of level by violent eruption and crustal elevation. 
 He confesses inability, from his observations of the present, 
 and his deductions concerning the past of the earth, to pre- 
 dict even a probable future. So futile have been his efforts 
 to ascertain the origin or determine the destiny of the globe, 
 that he has generally abandoned the attempt. The epoch- 
 making declaration of an acknowledged leader in the science 
 has now become proverbial: — Geology furnishes "no traces 
 of a beginning, no prospect of an end." p 
 
 13. The astronomer, studying the varied conditions of 
 other worlds, may seek by analogy to learn of the probable 
 fate of our own. Gazing into space with greatly augmented 
 vision, he sees, within the system to which the earth belongs, 
 spheres exhibiting a great range of. development, — some in 
 their fiery stage, seemingly unfit for the abode of beings 
 constituted as are we ; others in a state more nearly resem- 
 bling that of the earth ; and yet others seemingly old and 
 lifeless. Of the mighty systems beyond the comparatively 
 small company under control of our own sun, he knows 
 
 p James Hutton. 
 
ART. 10. J RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 391 
 
 nothing but the existence of these central orbs. But, 
 nowhere has he discovered a celestialized world. Think you 
 that mortal eye could discern such even if it were within 
 the limits of vision as determined by distance alone? 
 
 14. The poet has written : — 
 
 "Nor think though men were not, 
 That heaven would, want spectators, 
 God want praise! 
 Millions of spiritual beings 
 Walk the earth, 
 Unseen both when we wake, 
 And when we sleep." 
 
 If this thought be founded on truth, and the Christian 
 soul will hardly doubt it, we may as readily believe in the 
 existence of other worlds than those of structure so gross as 
 to be capable of reflecting light to our dull eyes. I repeat, 
 that in regard to the revealed word concerning the regener- 
 ation of earth, and the acquirement of a celestial glory by 
 our planet, science has nothing to offer, either by way of 
 support or contradiction. Let us not because of this, dis- 
 parage science, or decry the labors of its votaries. No one 
 realizes more fully than does the truly scientific man how 
 much we do not know. 
 
 RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 
 
 15. The Resurrection from the Dead: — Closely associated 
 with, and analogous to, the ordained rejuvenation of earth, 
 whereby our planet is to pass from its present dreary and 
 broken state to a condition of glorified perfection, is the 
 resurrection of the bodies of all beings who have had an 
 existence upon its surface. The Church of Jesus Christ of 
 Latter-day Saints teaches the doctrine of a literal resurrec- 
 tion ; an actual re-union of departed spirits and the taber- 
 nacles with which they were clothed during mortal proba- 
 tion ; and a transition from mortality to immortality in the 
 
392 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 case of some who will be in the flesh at the time of the 
 great change, and who, because of individual righteous- 
 ness, are to be spared the sleep of the grave. But in such 
 teachings, the Church is not essentially different from most 
 Christian sects, except perhaps in the literalness of the 
 bodily resurrection as taught by it, and in the belief con- 
 cerning the nature of the resurrected state. The Bible is 
 replete with evidence regarding the quickening of the 
 dead. Human knowledge of the resurrection rests wholly 
 upon revelation. Pagan peoples have therefore no concep- 
 tion of an actual coming forth of the dead unto life. 9 
 
 16. In accepting the doctrine of a resurrection, we are 
 to be guided by faith; which, however, is supported by 
 abundant revelation, given in a manner unequivocal and 
 sure. Science, the result of human research, fails to 
 afford us any indication of such an event in the history 
 of living things, and men have sought in vain for an 
 analogy in external nature. True, comparisons have been 
 made, metaphors have been employed, and similes pressed 
 into service, to show in nature some counterpart or sem- 
 blance of the immortalizing change, to which the Christian 
 soul looks forward with unwavering confidence; but all 
 such figures of speech are defective in the application, and 
 untrue in their professed analogies. 
 
 17. The return of spring after the death-like sleep of 
 winter; the passing of the crawling caterpillar into the 
 corpse-like chrysalis, and the subsequent emergence of the 
 winged butterfly ; the coming forth of a living bird from 
 the tomb-like recess of the egg; these and other natural 
 processes of development have been used as illustrative of 
 the resurrection. Each of them is defective, for in no 
 instance of such awakening has there been an actual death. 
 If the tree die, it will not resume its leafage with the return 
 
 q See Note 1. 
 
ART. 10.] RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 393 
 
 of the sun; if the pupa within the chrysalis, or the life- 
 germ within the egg be killed, no butterfly or bird will 
 emerge. When we indulge such figurative illustrations 
 without most thorough caution, we are apt to conceive the 
 thoaight that the body pre-destined to resurrection is not 
 truly dead ; and that therefore the quickening which is to 
 follow, is not what the revealed word declares it to be. 
 Observation proves that the separation of the spirit from 
 the body leaves the latter an inanimate mass, no longer able 
 to resist the processes of physical and chemical dissolution. 
 The body, deserted by its immortal tenant, is literally dead ; 
 it will be resolved into its natural components, and its sub- 
 stance will enter again upon the round of universal circula- 
 tion of matter. Yet the resurrection from the dead is 
 assured; the faith of those who trust in the word of re- 
 vealed truth will be vindicated, 7 * and the Divine decree will 
 be carried into full effect. 
 
 18. Predictions concerning the Resurrection: — The 
 prophets in the past dispensations of the world's history 
 have fore-seen and fore-told the final conquest of death. 
 Some of them testified specifically of Christ's victory over 
 the tomb; others have dwelt upon the resurrection in a 
 general way. Job, the man of patience under tribulation, 
 sang joyously even in his agony: — "For I know that my 
 Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day 
 upon the earth : and though after my skin worms destroy 
 this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." 8 Enoch, to 
 whom the Lord revealed His plan for the redemption of 
 mankind, fore-saw the resurrection of Christ, the coming 
 forth of the righteous dead with Him, and the eventual 
 resurrection of all men/ 
 
 r See Note 2. 
 
 * Job. xix, 25-26; see also Isa. xxvi, 19; Ezek. xxxvii, 11-14; Hos. xiii, 14. 
 
 t Pearl of Great Price, pp. 43, (1888 ed.) 
 
394 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 19. . iNephi testified to his brethren that the Redeemer's 
 death was a fore-ordained necessity, provided in order that 
 resurrection from the dead might be given to man. These 
 are his words: — "For as death hath passed upon all men, to 
 fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator there must 
 needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection 
 must needs come unto man by reason of the fall ; and the 
 fall came by reason of transgression; and because man be- 
 came fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord ; 
 * * * * AM this death of which I have spoken, which 
 is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which 
 spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must 
 deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its 
 captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive 
 bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be 
 restored one to the other; and it is by the power of 
 the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel. how great 
 the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise 
 of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and 
 the grave deliver up the body of the righteous ; and the 
 spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men 
 become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living 
 souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh ; 
 save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect."" 
 
 20. Samuel, the Lamanite. prophet, predicted the Savior's 
 birth, ministry, death, and resurrection, and explained the 
 resulting resurrection of mankind: — "For behold, he surely 
 must die, that salvation may come ; yea, it behoveth him, and 
 becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resur- 
 rection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into 
 the presence of the Lord; Yea, behold this death bringeth 
 to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from 
 the first death — that spiritual death; for all mankind, by 
 
 u II Nephi ix, 6, 12-13. 
 
ART. 10.] RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 395 
 
 the fall of Adam, being cut off from the presence of the 
 Lord, are considered,as dead, both as to things temporal and 
 to things spiritual. But, behold, the resurrection of Christ 
 redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth 
 them back into the presence of the Lord."" 
 
 21. The New Testament furnishes abundant evidence 
 that the doctrine of the resurrection was very generally 
 understood during the time of Christ's earthly mission, and 
 in the succeeding apostolic era.™ The Master Himself pro- 
 claimed these teachings. In reply to the hypercritical Sad- 
 ducees,* He said: — "But as touching the resurrection of the 
 dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by 
 God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of 
 Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the 
 dead, but of the living. " y To the Jews who sought His 
 life because of His deeds and doctrine He spoke in this 
 way: — "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my 
 word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting 
 life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed 
 from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The 
 hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the 
 voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." 2 
 
 22. That Christ fully comprehended the purpose of His 
 approaching martyrdom, and the resurrection which was to 
 follow, is abundantly proved by His own utterances while 
 yet in the flesh. To Mcodemus He said: — "And as Moses 
 lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the 
 Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him 
 should not perish, but have eternal life." a And to Martha, 
 
 v Helaman xiv, 15-17; see also Mosiah xv, 20-24, and Alma xl, 2, 16. 
 
 w Matt, xiv, 1-2; John xi, 24. 
 
 x See Note/ 3. 
 
 y Matt. xxii. 31-32; see also Luke xiv, 14. 
 
 z John v, 24-25; see also verse 21, and xi, 23-25. 
 
 a John iii, 14-15. 
 
396 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 who was bewailing the death of her brother Lazarus, he 
 declared : "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that be- 
 lieveth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." 6 Of 
 His own resurrection He prophesied freely ; specifying the 
 time during which His body would be entombed. 
 
 23. Two General Resurrections are mentioned in the 
 scriptures: these my be specified as first and final, or as the 
 resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the unjust. 
 The first was inaugurated by the resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ ; immediately following which, many of the departed 
 Saints came forth from their graves; a continuation of this, 
 the resurrection of the just, has been in operation/ and will 
 be brought to pass in a general way in connection with the 
 coming of Christ in His glory, and will be incident there- 
 fore to the beginning of the Millennium. The final resur- 
 rection will be deferred until the end of the thousand years 
 of peace, and will be in connection with the last judgment. 
 
 24. The First Resurrection; — Christ's Resurrection, and 
 that immediately following: — The facts of Christ's resurrec- 
 tion from the dead are attested by such an array of scrip- 
 tural proofs that no doubt of the reality finds place in the 
 mind of any believer in the inspired records. To the women 
 who came early to the sepulchre, the angel, who had rolled 
 the stone from the door of the tomb, spoke saying: — "He 
 is not here, for he is risen, as he said." 6 Afterward the 
 resurrected Lord showed Himself to many 7 during the forty 
 days interval between His resurrection and ascension. 6 ' Sub- 
 
 b John xi, 25. 
 
 c Matt, xii, 40; xvi, 21; xvii, 23; xx, 19. 
 
 d Note the fact that Moroni, the last of the Nephite prophets, who died in 
 the first quarter of the fifth century A. D., appeared as a resurrected being to 
 Joseph Smith in 1823 (see pp. 10-12). 
 
 e Matt, xxviii, 6. 
 
 / Matt, xxviii, 9, 16; Mark xvi, 14; Luke xxiv, 13-31, 34; John xx, 14-17, 19. 26; 
 xxi, 1-4; I Cor. xv, 5-8. 
 
 g Luke xxiv, 49-51; Acts i, 1-11. 
 
ART. 10.] RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 397 
 
 sequent to the ascension He manifested Himself to the 
 ^"ephites on the western hemisphere, as already noted in 
 another connection.' 1 The apostles, as we shall see, ceased 
 not to testify of the genuineness of their Lord's resurrec- 
 tion, nor did they fail to proclaim the resurrections of the 
 future. 
 
 25. Christ, "the first fruits of them that slept"* was the 
 first among men to come forth from the grave in an im- 
 mortalized body; but, we read that soon after His resurrec- 
 tion, many of the Saints were brought from their tombs : — 
 "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the 
 saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after 
 his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared 
 unto many." J 
 
 26. Alma the Nephite prophet, whose writings antedate 
 by nearly a century the birth of Christ, clearly understood 
 that there would be no resurrection prior to that of the 
 Redeemer, for he said: — "Behold I say unto you, that there 
 is no resurrection ; or, I would say, in other words, that this 
 mortal does not put on immortality; this corruption does 
 not put on incorruption, until after the coming of Christ. " fc 
 And furthermore, he foresaw a general resurrection in con- 
 nection with Christ's coming forth from the dead, as the 
 context of the fore-going quotation clearly proves. l Inspired 
 men among the Nephites spoke of the death and resurrec- 
 tion of Christ™ even during the time of His actual ministry 
 in the flesh ; and their teachings were speedily confirmed by 
 the appearance of the risen Lord among them,™ as had been 
 foretold by their earlier prophets. 
 
 h See page 37. 
 
 i I Cor. xv, 20, 23; see also Acts xxvi, 23; Col. i, 18; Rev. 1,6. 
 
 j Matt, xxvii, 52-53. 
 
 k Alma xl, 2. 
 
 I Paragraph 16. 
 
 m III Nephi vi. 20. 
 
 n III Nephi xi. 
 
 o I Nephi xii, 6; II Nephi xxvi, 1, 9; Alma xvi, 20; III Nephi xi, 12. 
 
398 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 27. In the latter-days, the Lord has again manifested 
 Himself, declaring the facts of His death and resurrection : — 
 "For behold, the Lord your Eedeemer suffered death in the 
 flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all 
 men might repent and come unto him. And he hath risen 
 again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him 
 on conditions of repentance." 1 ' 
 
 28. Resurrection at the time of Christ's Second Coming: — 
 — Immediately after the departure of Christ from the earth, 
 the apostles, upon whom then devolved the direct responsi- 
 bility of the Church, were found preaching the doctrine of 
 a future and universal resurrection. This teaching ap- 
 pears to have formed a very prominent feature of their in- 
 structions ; for it was made a special cause of complaint by 
 the Sadducees, who assailed the apostles, even within the 
 sacred confines of the temple, the accusers "being grieved 
 that they [the apostles] taught the people, and preached 
 through Jesus the resurrection from the dead." 9 Paul 
 gave offence by the zeal with which he preached the resur- 
 rection which was to come ; as witness his contention with 
 certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics; 
 in the course of which some said: — "What will this babbler 
 say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange 
 gods : because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resur- 
 rection."'' The discussion was continued at Areopagus, or 
 Mars' Hill, where Paul preached the gospel of the true and 
 living God, including the tenets of the resurrection. "And 
 when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some 
 mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this 
 matter." 8 He declared the same truth to Felix, the governor 
 
 p Doc. and Cov. xviii, 11-12. 
 
 q Acts iv, 2; see also Matt, xxii, 23, 31-32, and Actsxxiii, 8. 
 
 r Acts xvii, 18. 
 
 s Verse 32. 
 
ART. 10. J RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 399 
 
 of Judea;' and when brought in bonds before Agrippa, the 
 king, he asked, as if dealing with one of the principal ac- 
 cusations against him, "Why should it be thought a thing 
 incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" w 
 
 29. The resurrection appears to have been a favorite 
 theme with Paul ; in his epistles to the Saints, he gives it a 
 prominent place/ From him, also, we learn that an order 
 of precedence will be observed in the resurrection: — "But 
 now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first- 
 fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by 
 man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in 
 Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But 
 every man in his own order : Christ the first-fruits ; after- 
 ward they that are Christ's at his coming." 10 
 
 30. It is expressly declared that many graves will yield 
 up their dead at the time of Christ's advent in glory, and 
 the just who have slept, together with many who have not 
 died, will be caught up to meet the Lord. Paul thus wrote 
 to the Saints in Thessaly: — "Even so them also which 
 sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. * * * .For the 
 Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
 the voice of 'the archangel, and with the trump of God : and 
 the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive 
 and remain shall be caught up together with them in the 
 clouds to meet the Lord in the air."* 
 
 31. To the three Nephite disciples, who had asked the 
 blessing of John the beloved apostle, Christ said: — "And ye 
 shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall 
 come in my glory, ye shall be changed in the twinkling of 
 an eye from mortality to immortality."^ 
 
 t Acts xxiv, 15. 
 u Acts xxvi, 8. 
 
 v Rom. vi, 5; viii, 11; I Cor. xv: II Cor. iv, 14; Phil, iii, 21; Col. Hi, 4; I Thess. 
 iv, 14: Heb. vi,2. 
 
 w I Cor. xv, -20-23; the entire chapter should he studied. 
 x I Thess. iv, 14-17. 
 y III Nephi xxviii, 8. 
 
400 THE AETICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 32. Through the medium of latter-day revelation, the 
 Lord has said : — "Behold I will come, and they shall see me in 
 the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory, 
 with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me 
 shall be cut off. But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, 
 an angel. shall sound his trump, and the Saints that have 
 slept, shall come forth to meet me in the cloud." Of the 
 many signs and wonders which shall attend the Lord's 
 glorious coming we have this partial description: — "And 
 the face of the Lord shall be unveiled: and the saints 
 that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened, 
 and be caught up to meet him. And they who have slept 
 in their graves shall come forth ; for their graves shall be 
 opened, and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the 
 midst of the pillar of heaven. They are Christ's, the first- 
 fruits ; they who shall descend with him first, and they who 
 are on the earth and in their graves, who are first caught up 
 to meet him." a 
 
 33. Such are some of the glories to attend the first 
 resurrection ; in which only the righteous are to have part. 
 But, the company of the righteous will include all who 
 have faithfully lived according to the laws of Grod as made 
 known to them ; children who have died in their innocence ; 
 and even the just among the heathen nations who have 
 lived in comparative darkness while groping for light, and 
 who have died in ignorance. 6 This doctrine is made plain 
 by modern revelation: — "And then shall the heathen 
 nations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have 
 part in the first resurrection. -*? The Millennium then is to 
 be inaugurated by a glorious deliverance of the just from 
 
 z Doc. and Cov. xlv, 44-45. 
 a Doc. and Cov. lxxxviii, 95-98. 
 b "See Note 4. 
 
 c Doc. and Cov. xlv, 54; see also Ezek. xxxvi, 23-24; xxxvii, 28; xxxix, 7, 
 21, 23. 
 
ART. 10.] RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 401 
 
 the power of death ; and of this company of the redeemed 
 it is written: — "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
 first resurrection; on such the second death hath no 
 power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and 
 shall reign with him a thousand years. " d 
 
 34. The Final Resurrection: — "But the rest of the dead 
 lived not again until the thousand years were finished." 6 
 So said the Revelator after having described the glorious 
 blessings of the just, who are given part in the first resur- 
 rection. The unworthy will be called to the judgment of 
 condemnation, when the regenerated world is ready to be 
 presented to the Father/ 
 
 35. The contrast between those whose part in the first 
 resurrection is assured, and those whose doom it is to wait 
 until the time of final judgment, is a strong one, and in no 
 case do the scriptures lighten it. We are told that it is 
 proper for us to weep over bereavement by death, "and 
 more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious 
 resurrection. " g In the present day, the voice of the Mighty 
 One is heard in solemn warning: — "Hearken ye, for, behold, 
 the great day of the Lord is nigh at hand. For the day cometh 
 that the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven ; the heavens 
 shall shake, and the earth shall tremble, and the trump of 
 God shall sound both long and loud, and shall say to the 
 sleeping nations, Ye saints arise and live ; ye sinners stay 
 and sleep until I shall call again.'" 1 
 
 36. The vision of the final scene is thus described by 
 John: — "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
 God; and the books were opened; and another book was 
 opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged 
 
 d Rev. xx, 6. 
 e Rev. xx, 5. 
 / See Note 5. 
 g Doc. and Cov. xlii, 45. 
 h Doc. and Cov. xliii, 17-18 
 27 
 
402 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 out of those things which were written in the books, accord- 
 ing to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which 
 were in it ; and death and hell delivered up the dead which 
 were in them: and they were judged every man according 
 to their works. ,H This stage marks the completion of 
 the work of resurrection. As the scriptures conclusively 
 prove, the resurrection will be universal; while it is true 
 that the dead will be brought forth in order, each as he is 
 prepared for the first or the final stage, yet everyone who 
 has tabernacled in the flesh will again assume his body and 
 with such be judged. 
 
 37. The Book of Mormon is explicit in the description of 
 the literal and universal resurrection: — "Now, there is a 
 death which is called a temporal death ; and the death of 
 Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all 
 shall be raised from this temporal death ; The spirit and the 
 body shall be re-united again in its perfect form; both limb 
 and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even 
 as we now are at this time , and we shall be brought to stand 
 before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a 
 bright recollection of all our guilt. Now this restoration 
 shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, 
 both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; 
 and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be 
 lost; but all things shall be restored to its perfect frame, as 
 it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be 
 arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the 
 Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one eternal God, to be 
 judged according to their works, whether they be good or 
 whether they be evil. Now, behold, I have spoken unto you, 
 concerning the death of the mortal body, and also cencern- 
 ing the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you 
 
 i Rev. xx, 12-13. 
 
ART. 10. J NOTES. m 403 
 
 that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body ; that is 
 from death; even from the first death unto life.' v 
 
 38. Consider also the following : — "The death of Christ 
 bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a 
 redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men 
 shall be awoke by the power of God when the" trump shall 
 sound ; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and 
 all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed 
 from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal 
 death; And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One 
 upon them, and then cometh the time that he that is filthy 
 shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous, shall be 
 righteous still; he that is happy shall- be happy still; and 
 he that is unhappy, shall be unhappy still. " fc 
 
 39. So far has the word of revealed truth extended our 
 knowledge regarding the destiny of the children of Cod. 
 Beyond the regeneration of the earth, and the final judg- 
 ment of the just and the wicked, we know little except that 
 a plan of eternal progression has been provided. 
 
 NOTES: 
 
 1. Pagan Ignorance Concerning the Resurrection :— In connection 
 with the statement that human knowledge of the resurrection is based on reve- 
 lation, the following is of interest:— "Whatever heathen philosophers may have 
 guessed as to the immortality of the soul, even admitting that this was really 
 the result of their own speculations, and not at all due to the relics of tradition, 
 it is certain that they never reached so far as the doctrine of a bodily resurrec- 
 tion. Pliny, when enumerating the things which it was not even in the power 
 of God to do, specified these two— the endowment of mortals with an eternal ex- 
 istence, and the recalling of the departed from the grave, (ii, c, vii). A similar 
 opinion is enunciated by ^Eschylus in the 'Eumenides' (647,648). The utmost 
 to which they attained in their ethical speculations was a conception of the pos- 
 sible continuance of life, in some new forms and conditions, beyond the grave; 
 but this was all. A resurrection in the scripture sense of the word they never 
 imagined."— Cassell's Bible Dictionary, p. 936. 
 
 j Alma xi, 42-45. 
 k Mormon ix, 13-14. 
 
404 . THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI. 
 
 2. General Belief in a Resurrection :— "This great event of the future, 
 like the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, is so entirely a cardinal truth, 
 that there never has been a time in which it has not been an article of the 
 Christian creed, the only difference between the ancient creeds and our own, be- 
 ing that the latter has the phrase 'resurrection of the 'body' whereas the former 
 invariably uses the form 'resurrection of the flesh.' The reason for the ancient 
 mode of expression is stated by Jerome to be, that since there are spiritual 
 bodies, some might readily accept a resurrection of the body in that sense, who 
 would deny the actual resurrection of the flesh."— Cassell's Bible Dictionary, p. 935. 
 
 3. The Sadducees, when mentioned in the New Testament, are usually 
 represented as being in opposition to the Pharisees, the two classes constituting 
 the most influential of the sects existing among the Jews at the time of Christ, 
 The two differed on many fundamental matters of belief and practice, including 
 pre-existence of spirits; the reality of spiritual punishment and future retribu- 
 tion for sin; the necessity of self-denial in individual life; the immortality of the 
 soul; and the resurrection from the dead; in all of which the Pharisees stood for 
 the affirmative, while the Sadducees denied. Josephus says:— "The doctrine of 
 the Sadducees is that the soul and body perish together; the law is all that they 
 are concerned to observe.'"' (Ant. xviii. 1, 4.) The sect consisted mainly of 
 members of the aristocracy. Special mention of the Sadducees here is suggested 
 by their determined opposition to the doctrine of the resurrection, which they 
 sought to assail by arrogant assumption or to belittle by ridicule. Cassell's Bible 
 Dictionary gives place to the following:— "The Sadducees are never mentioned 
 in John's Gospel. The only occasion on which they are spoken of in the Gospels of 
 Mark and Luke is that referred to also by St. Matthew, on which they attempted 
 to ridicule the doctrine of the resurrection, by asking our Lord's opinion as to, 
 whose wife a woman would be in the future world, who had been married to 
 several in this world. (Matt, xxii, 23-32; Mark xii, 18-27; Luke xx, 27-38.) Their 
 question proceeded on the assumption that the levirate law, as promulgated by 
 Moses (Deut. xxv, 5-6) implied that the Jewish lawgiver had no resurrection of 
 the dead in view. Our Lord's answer explained the difficulty, affirmed the resur- 
 rection of the dead, and asserted the existence of angels, which the Sadducees 
 also denied; (Matt, xxii, 30; Mark xii, 25; Luke xx, 35, 36; compare with Acts, 
 xxiii, 8.) He also quoted the divine announcement,— "I am the God of Abraham,' 
 the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob," (Exod iii, 6, 15, 16), and founded thereon 
 by inference, an argument not only for immortality, but also for the resurrection. 
 The words quoted must have been regarded by our Lord as implying that the 
 patriarchs, as parties to the covenant, were still in a state of conscious relation 
 to God." 
 
 4. Heathen in the First Resurrection :— The statement that the 
 heathen dead will have place in the first resurrection is sustained by the word of 
 scripture, and by a consideration of the principles of true justice according to 
 which humanity is to be judged. Man will be accounted blameless or guilty, 
 according to his deeds as interpreted in the light of the law under which he is 
 required to live. It is inconsistent with our conception of a just God, to believe 
 Him capable of inflicting condemnation upon any one for non-compliance with a 
 requirement of which the person had no knowledge. Nevertheless, the laws of 
 the Church will not be suspended even in the case of those who have sinned in 
 darkness and ignorance: but it is reasonable to believe that the plan of re- 
 demption will afford such benighted ones an opportunity of learning the laws of 
 
ART. 10.] NOTES. 405 
 
 God; and surely, as fast as they so learn, will obedience be required on pain o f 
 the penalty. Note the following passages in addition to the citations in the text. 
 
 "And if there was no law given if men sinned, what could justice do, or mercy 
 either; for they would have no claim upon the creature?"— Alma xlii, 21. 
 
 "Wherefore he has given a law; and where there is no law given, there is no 
 punishment; and where there is no punishment, there is no condemnation; and 
 where there is no condemnation, the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have 
 claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the 
 power of him."— II Nephi ix, 25. 
 
 "And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come, when the knowledge 
 of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and 
 people. And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found.blameless before 
 God, except it be little children, only through repentance and faith on the name 
 of the Lord God Omnipotent. '— Mos. iii, 20-21. See also Helaman xv, 14-15. 
 
 5. The Intermediate State of the Soul ; Paradise :— The condition of 
 the spirits of men between death and the resurrection is a subject of great in- 
 terest, and one concerning which much dispute has arisen. The scriptures 
 prove, that at the time of man's final judgment, he will stand before the bar of 
 God, clothed in his resurrected body, and this, irrespective of his condition of 
 purity or guilt. While awaiting the time of their coming forth, disembodied 
 spirits exist in an intermediate state, of happiness and rest or of suffering and 
 suspense according to their works in mortality, The prophet Alma said:— "Now 
 concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection. Behold, it 
 has been made known unto me, by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon 
 as they are departed from this mortal body; yea, the spirits of all men, whether 
 they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then 
 shall it come to pass that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into 
 a state of happiness, which is called paradise; a state of rest; a state of peace, 
 where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow, &c. 
 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil; 
 for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, 
 they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did 
 enter into them, and take possession of their house; and these shall be cast out 
 into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; 
 and this because of their own iniquity; being led captive by the will of the 
 devil. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked; yea, in darkness, and a 
 state of awful, fearful looking, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God 
 upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise 
 until the time of their resurrection."— Alma xl, 11-14. 
 
 Reference to paradise, as a place prepared for righteous spirits while awaiting 
 the resurrection, is made also by .the first Nephi (II Nephi ix, 13), by a later 
 prophet of the same name (IV Nephi 14), and by Moroni (Moroni x, 34). New 
 Testament mention supports the same. (Luke xxiii, 43; II Cor. xii, 4; Rev. ii, 7.) 
 Paradise, then, is not the place of final glory; for such the thief who died with 
 Christ was assuredly not prepared, yet we cannot doubt the fulfilment of our 
 Lord's promise that the penitent malefactor should be with Him in paradise that 
 day; and, moreover, the declaration of the risen Savior to Mary Magdalene, three 
 days later, that He had not at that time ascended to His Father, is proof of His 
 having spent the intermediate time in paradise. 
 
 The word "paradise," by its derivation through the Greek from the Persian, 
 signifies a pleasure ground. 
 
406 THB AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXII. 
 
 LECTURE XXII. 
 
 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND TOLERATION. 
 
 Article 11.— We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according 
 to the dictates of our conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let 
 let them worship how, where, or what they may. 
 
 1. Man's Right to Freedom in Worship: — In this article 
 of their faith, the Latter-day Saints declare unqualified 
 allegiance to the principles of religious liberty and religious 
 toleration. Freedom to worship Almighty God as the con- 
 science may dictate, they claim as one of the inherent and 
 inalienable rights of humanity. The inspired framers of 
 our charter of national independence proclaimed to the 
 world, as a self-evident truth, that the common birthright 
 of humanity gives to every man a claim to life, liberty, and 
 the pursuit of happiness. Happiness is foreign, liberty but 
 a name, and life a disappointment, to him who is denied 
 the freedom to worship as he may desire. No person pos- 
 sessing a regard for Deity and a sense of duty toward that 
 power Divine, can be happy if he be restricted in the per- 
 formance of the highest duty of his existence. Could one 
 be happy, though he were housed in a palace, surrounded 
 with all material comforts and provided with every facility 
 for intellectual enjoyment, if he were cut off from com- 
 munion with the being whom he loved the most? To the 
 man who has learned to know his Divine Father, freedom 
 of worship is preferable even to life. 
 
 2. What is Worship? — The derivation of the term sug- 
 gests an answer. It comes to us as the lineal de- 
 scendant of a pair of Anglo-Saxon words, (tveorth, mean- 
 ing worthy, and scipe, — the old form of ship, signifying 
 
ART. 11.] RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND TOLERATION. 407 
 
 condition or state), and conveys the thought of worthy-ship. 
 The worship of which one is capable, depends upon his 
 comprehension of the worthiness characterizing the object 
 of his reverence. Man's capacity for worship is a measure 
 of his comprehension of God. The fuller the acquaintance, 
 the closer the communion between the worshiper and his 
 Deity, the more thorough and sincere will be his homage. 
 When we say of one, in figurative speech, that he is a wor- 
 shiper of the good, the beautiful, the true, we .affirm that 
 he possesses a deeper and a more complete conception of 
 worth in the object of his adoration, than has another 
 whose conscience does not lead him to reverence those 
 ennobling qualities. 
 
 3. Man, then, will worship God according to his concep- 
 tion of the Divine attributes and powers ; and this concep- 
 tion will approach the correct one in proportion to the 
 spiritual light that has come to him. True worship cannot 
 exist where there is no reverence or love for the object. 
 This reverence may be ill-founded; the adoration may be 
 a species of idolatry; the object may be in fact unworthy; 
 yet of the devotee it must be said that he worships if his 
 conscience clothe the idol with the attribute of worthy-ship. 
 We have spoken of "true worship;" the expression is a 
 pleonasm. Worship, as has been affirmed, is the heart-felt 
 adoration that is rendered, as a result of a sincere concep- 
 tion of worthiness on the part of the object; any manifes- 
 tation of reverence prompted by a conviction inferior to 
 this is but a counterfeit of worship; call such "false worship" 
 if you choose; but let it be remembered that worship is 
 necessarily true ; the word requires no adjective to extend 
 its meaning, nor to attest its genuineness. Worship is not 
 a matter of form, any more than is prayer. It consists 
 not in posture nor in gesture, in ritual nor in creed. Wor- 
 ship most profound may be rendered with none of the arti- 
 
408 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXII. 
 
 ficial accessories of ritualistic service; for altar, the stone 
 in the desert may serve ; the peaks of the everlasting hills 
 are temple spires ; the vault of heaven is of all the grandest 
 cathedral dome. 
 
 4. Man is at heart an inferior pattern of that which he 
 worships. The savage, who knows no triumph greater than 
 that of bloody victory over his enemy, who regards prowess 
 and physical strength as the most desirable qualities of his 
 race, and who looks upon revenge and vindictiveness as the 
 sweetest gratifications of life, will assuredly ascribe such 
 attributes to his deity ; and will offer his prof oundest rever- 
 ence in sacrifices of blood. All the revolting practices of 
 idolatry are traceable to perverted and fiendish conceptions 
 of human excellence, and these are reflected in the hideous 
 creations of man-made, devil-inspired, deities. On the 
 other hand, the man whose enlightened soul has received 
 the impress of love, pure and undefiled, will ascribe to his 
 God the attributes of gentleness and affection, and will say 
 in his heart "God is love." He alone who has acquired a 
 proper understanding of the glory and responsiblity of 
 parenthood, can intelligently use the Son's title of invoca- 
 tion, "Our Father." Knowledge, therefore, is essential to 
 worship; man cannot adequately serve God in ignorance; 
 and the greater his knowledge of the Divine personality, the 
 fuller, truer, will be his adoration ; he may learn to know 
 the Father, and the Son who was sent; and such knowl- 
 edge is man's guarantee to eternal life. 
 
 5. Worship is the voluntary homage of the soul. Under 
 compulsion, or for the hypocritical purposes of effect, 
 one may insincerely perform all the outward ceremonies 
 of an established style of adoration; he may voice 
 words of prescribed prayers ; his lips may profess a creed ; 
 yet his effort is but a mockery of worship, and its indul- 
 gence a sin. Our Father desires no reluctant homage nor 
 
ART. 11.] RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND TOLERATION. 409 
 
 unwilling praise. Formalism in worship is acceptable only 
 so far as it is accompanied by an intelligent devoutness ; and 
 it is of use only as an aid to the spiritual devotion which 
 leads to communion with Deity. The spoken prayer is but 
 empty sound if it be anything less than an index to the 
 volume of the soul's righteous desire. Communications 
 addressed to the throne of Grace must bear the stamp of 
 sincerity if they are to reach their high destination. The 
 most acceptable form of worship is that which rests on an 
 unreserved compliance with the laws of God as the wor- 
 shiper has learned their intent. 
 
 6. Religious Intolerance: — The Church holds, that the 
 right to worship according to the dictates of conscience has 
 been conferred upon man by an authority higher than any 
 of earth; and that, in consequence, no worldly power can 
 justly interfere with its exercise. The Latter-day Saints 
 accept as inspired the constitutional provision, by which 
 religious liberty within our own nation is professedly 
 guarded, that no law shall ever be made "respecting an 
 establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise 
 thereof;"" and they confidently believe, that with the spread 
 of enlightenment throughout the world, a similar guarantee 
 will be acquired by every nation. Intolerance has been the 
 greatest hindrance to true progress in every period of 
 time; yet under the sable cloak of perverted zeal for 
 religion, nations while boasting of their civilization, and 
 professed ministers of the gospel of Christ, have stained 
 the pages of the world's history with the record of such 
 unholy deeds of persecution as to make the heavens weep. 
 In this respect, so-called Christianity ought to bow its head 
 in shame before the record of even pagan toleration. 
 Rome, while arrogantly, though none the less actually, 
 posing as the mistress of the world, granted to her van- 
 es Constitution of the United States, first amendment. 
 
410 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXII. 
 
 quished subjects the rights of free worship, requiring of 
 them only that they refrain from molesting others or one 
 another in the exercise of such freedom. 
 
 7. But, as soon as the gospel of Christ was established 
 upon the earth, its devout adherents immediately, and its 
 more pretentious though less sincere devotees of a later day, 
 came to regard themselves of such sanctity and excellence, 
 that all who believed and professed not as did they, were 
 wholly unworthy of consideration. Nay, even long prior 
 to the advent of the Teacher of Love, Israel, knowing 
 the covenant of Divine favor under which they had flour- 
 ished, counted themselves sure of an exalted station, and 
 looked upon all who were not of the chosen seed as 
 unworthy. Christ, in His ministry among the Jews, saw 
 with compassionate sorrow the spiritual and intellectual bond- 
 age of the times, and declared unto them the saving word, 
 saying, "the truth shall make you free." At this, those 
 self-righteous children of the covenant became angry, and 
 boastfully answered, "We be Abraham's seed, and were 
 never in bondage to any man ; how sayest thou, Ye shall be 
 made free?" Then the Master reproved them for their 
 bigotry, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed, but ye seek 
 to kill me, because my word has no place in you." 
 
 8. There is little cause for wonder in the fact that the 
 early Christians, zealous for the new faith unto which they 
 had been baptized, and newly converted from idolatrous 
 practices and pagan superstitions, should consider them- 
 selves superior to the rest of humanity still sitting in dark- 
 ness and ignorance. Even John, now known as the Apostle 
 of Love, but surnamed by the Christ, both he and his 
 brother James, Boanerges, or Sons of Thunder/ was intol- 
 erant and resentful toward those who followed not his path ; 
 
 c John viii, 32-45; see also Matt, iii, 9. 
 d Mark iii, 17. 
 
ART. 11.] RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND TOLERATION. 411 
 
 and more than once he had to be rebnked by his Master. 
 Xote this incident: — "And John answered him, saying, Mas- 
 ter, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he fol- 
 loweth not us ; and we forbade him because he f olloweth not 
 us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not : for there is no man 
 which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak 
 evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part. 
 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my 
 name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he 
 shall not lose his reward." 6 And again, while traveling with 
 their Lord through Samaria, the apostles James and John 
 were incensed at the Samaritans' neglect shown toward the 
 Master; and they craved permission to call fire from heaven 
 to consume the unbelievers, but their revengeful desire was 
 promptly rebuked by the Lord, who said, "Ye know not 
 what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not 
 come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." 7 
 
 9. Intolerance is Unscriptural : — The teachings of our 
 Lord breathe the spirit of forbearance and love even to 
 enemies. He tolerated, though he could not approve, the 
 practices of the heathen in their idolatry, the Samaritans 
 With their mongrel and un-orthodox customs of worship, 
 the luxury-loving Sadducees, and the law-bound Pharisees. 
 Hatred was not countenanced even toward foes. His 
 instructions were: — "Love your enemies, bless them that 
 curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for 
 them which despitef ully use you, and persecute you ; that ye 
 may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: 
 for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, 
 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. "^ The 
 Twelve were commanded to salute with their blessing every 
 
 e Mark xi, 38-41 ; see also Luke ix, 49-50, and compare Numb, xi, 27-29 
 / Luke ix, 51-56; see also John iii, 17, and xii, 47. 
 g Matt, v, 44-45, 
 
412 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXII. 
 
 house at which they applied for hospitality. True, if the 
 people rejected them and their message, retribution was to 
 follow; but this visitation of cursing was to be reserved as 
 a Divine prerogative for the judgment.day. In His Parable 
 of the Tares, Christ taught the same lesson of forbearance ; 
 the hasty servants wanted to pluck out the weeds straight- 
 way, but they were forbidden lest they root up the wheat 
 also; and were assured of the harvest when a separation 
 would be effected. 71 
 
 10. In [spite of the prevailing spirit of toleration and 
 love which pervades the teachings of the Savior and His 
 apostles, attempts have been made to draw from the scrip- 
 tures justification for intolerance and persecution. * Paul's 
 stinging words, addressed to the Galatians, have been given 
 a meaning wholly foreign to the spirit which prompted 
 them. Warning the Saints of false teachers, he said: — "As 
 we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any 
 other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him 
 be accursed. ' y With such an utterance, self-styled min- 
 isters of Christ, who, if the whole truth were considered are 
 perhaps preaching doctrines foreign to the apostolic pre- 
 cepts, seek to justify their sectarian hatred and unchristian 
 cruelty ; forgetting that vengeance and recompense belong 
 to the Lord. fc 
 
 11. The intent of John's words of counsel to the Elect 
 Lady has been perverted, and his teachings have been made 
 a cover of refuge for persecutors and bigots. Warning 
 her of the ministers of Antichrist who were industriously 
 disseminating their heresies, the Apostle wrote: — "If there 
 come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him 
 not into your house, neither bid him God-speed: for he 
 
 h Matt, xiii, 24-30. 
 
 i See Note 1. 
 
 j Gal. i, 9; also 8. 
 
 k Deut. xxxii, 35; Psa. xciv, 1; Rom, xii, 19; Heb. x, 30. 
 
ART. 11.] RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND TOLERATION. 413 
 
 that biddeth him God-speed is partaker of his evil deeds. " l 
 By no rightful interpretation can these words be made to 
 sanction intolerance, persecution, and hatred. 
 
 12. The apostle's true meaning has been set forth with 
 clearness and force by a renowned Christian writer of the 
 present day, who, after deploring the "narrow intolerance 
 of an ignorant dogmatism," says: — "The Apostle of Love 
 would have belied all that is best in his own teaching if he 
 had consciously given an absolution, nay, an incentive, to 
 furious intolerance. * * * Meanwhile, this incidental 
 expression of St. John's brief letter will not lend itself to 
 these gross perversions. What St. John really says and 
 really means, is something wholly different. False teach- 
 ers were rife, who, professing to be Christians, robbed the 
 nature of Christ of all which gave its efficacy to the atone- 
 ment, and its significance to the incarnation. These teach- 
 ers, like other Christian missionaries, traveled from city to 
 city ; and, in the absence of public inns, were received into 
 the houses of Christian converts. The Christian lady to 
 whom St. John writes is warned, that if she offers her hos- 
 pitality to these dangerous emissaries, who were subverting 
 the central truth of Christianity, she is expressing a public 
 sanction of them ; and by doing this, and offering them 
 her best wishes, she is taking a direct share in the harm they 
 do. This is common sense, nor is there anything uncharit- 
 able in it. No one is bound to help forward the dissemina- 
 tion of teaching what he regards as erroneous respecting 
 the most essential doctrines of his own faith. Still less 
 would it have been right to do this in the days when Chris- 
 tian communities were so small and weak. But, to interpret 
 this as it has in all ages been practically interpreted, — to 
 pervert it into a sort of command to exaggerate the minor 
 ariations between religious opinions, and to persecute those 
 
 I IlJohn, 10-11. 
 
414 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXII. 
 
 whose views differ from our own, — to make our own opinions 
 the conclusive test of heresy, and to say with Cornelius-a- 
 Lapide, that this verse reprobates 'all conversations, all inter- 
 course, all dealings with heretics' — is to interpret scripture 
 by the glare of partisanship and spiritual self-satisfaction, 
 not to read it under the light of holy love." m 
 
 13. Toleration is not Acceptance: — The human frailty 
 of running to extremes in thought and action finds few more 
 glaring examples than are presented in man's dealings with 
 his fellows on matters religious. On the one hand, he is 
 prone to regard the faith of others as not merely inferior to 
 his own, but as utterly unworthy- of his respect; or, on the 
 other> he brings himself to believe that -all sects are equally 
 justified in their professions and practices, and that there- 
 fore there is no distinctively true order of religion. It is in 
 no-wise inconsistent for Latter-day Saints to boldly pro- 
 claim the conviction, that their own Church is the accepted 
 one, the only one entitled to the designation "Church of 
 Jesus Christ," and the sole earthly repository of the eternal 
 priesthood in the present age; and yet to willingly accord 
 kind treatment and a recognition of sincerity of purpose to 
 every soul or sect honestly professing Christ, or merely 
 showing a respect for truth, and manifesting a sincere 
 desire to walk according to the light received. My alle- 
 giance to the Church of my choice is based on a conviction of 
 the validity and genuineness of its high claim to distinc- 
 tion, as the one and only Church possessing a God-given 
 charter of authority; nevertheless, I count other sects as 
 sincere until they demonstrate that they are otherwise, and 
 am prepared to defend them in their rights. 
 
 14. Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the last dispensa- 
 tion, while reproving certain of his brethren for intolerance 
 toward the cherished beliefs of other sects, taught that even 
 
 m Canon Farrar, The Early Days of Christianity pp. 587, 588. 
 
ART. 11.]' RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND TOLERATION. 415 
 
 idolaters ought to be protected in their worship ; that, while 
 it would be the strict duty of any Christian to direct his 
 efforts toward enlightening such benighted minds, he would 
 not be justified in forcibly depriving the heathen of their 
 rights of adoration. In the pure eyes of God, idolatry is 
 one of the most heinous of sins : yet He is tolerant of those 
 who, knowing Him not, yield to their inherited instinct for 
 worship by rendering homage even to stocks and stones. 
 Deadly as is the sin of idolatrous worship on the part of him 
 to whom light has come, it may represent in the savage the 
 sincerest reverence of which he is capable. And, as set 
 forth in a preceding lecture,* 1 the voice of the Eternal One 
 has declared that the heathen who have known no law shall 
 have part in the first resurrection. 
 
 15. What justification can man find for intolerance 
 toward his fellow, when God, who is grieved over every sin, 
 manifests so marked a forbearance? The free agency of the 
 human soul is sacred to Deity. 
 
 "Knowthis, that every soul is free, 
 To choose his life, and what he'll be; 
 For this eternal truth is given, 
 That God will force no man to heaven. 
 He'll call, persuade, direct aright, 
 Bless him with wisdom, love, and light, 
 In nameless ways be good and kind, 
 But never force the human mind." 
 
 16. Man is strictly answerable for his Acts: — The un- t 
 bounded liberality and true tolerance with which the 
 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regards other 
 religious denominations, and the teachings of the Church 
 respecting the assurance of final redemption for all men ex- 
 cept the few who have fallen so far as to have committed 
 the unpardonable sin, thereby becoming Sons of Perdition, 
 may suggest the erroneous conclusion, that we believe that 
 
 n See page 61. 
 
416 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXII. 
 
 all so redeemed shall be admitted to equal powers, privileges, 
 and glories in the Heaven of our God. Far from this, the 
 Church proclaims the doctrine of many and varied degrees 
 of glory, which the redeemed will inherit in strict accord- 
 ance with their merits. We believe in no general plan of 
 universal forgiveness or reward, by which sinners of high 
 and low degree shall be exempted from the effects of their 
 deeds, while the righteous are ushered into heaven as a 
 dwelling place in common, all glorified in the same measure. 
 As stated, the heathen whose sins are those of ignorance, 
 are to come forth with the just in the first resurrection; 
 but this does not imply that those children of the lower 
 races are to inherit the glory provided for the able, the 
 valiant, and the true, in the cause of God on earth. 
 
 17. Our condition in the world to come will be strictly 
 a result of the life we lead in this probation, as, by the light 
 of revealed truth regarding the pre-existent state,* we per- 
 ceive our present condition to be determined by the 
 fidelity with which we kept our first estate. The scrip- 
 tures repeatedly declare that man will reap the natural 
 harvest of his works in life, be such good or evil ; in the 
 effective language with which the Father encourages and 
 warns his frail children, every one will be rewarded or 
 punished according to his works. 9 In eternity, man will 
 enjoy or loath the "fruit of his doing." 
 
 18. Degrees of Glory: — That the privileges and glories of 
 heaven are graded to suit the various capacities of the 
 blessed, is indicated in Christ's teachings. To His apostles 
 He said: — "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it 
 were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place 
 for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will 
 
 o See pp. 94-95. 
 p See pp. 195-198. 
 
 g Job. xxxiv, 11; Ps'al. lxii, 12; Jer. xvii, 10; xxxii, 19; Matt, xvi, 17; Rom. ii, 
 6-12; xiv, 12; I Cor. iii. 8; II Cor. v, 10; Rev. ii, 23; xx, 12; xxii, 12. 
 
ART. 11.] RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND TOLERATION. 417 
 
 come again, and receive you unto myself ; that where I am, f 
 there ye may be also."'" 
 
 19. This utterance is supplemented by that of Paul, who 
 speaks of the graded glories of the resurrection as follows : — 
 "There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: 
 but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the 
 terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and 
 another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars ; 
 for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is 
 the resurrection of the dead." 8 
 
 20. A fuller knowledge of this subject has been im- 
 parted in the present dispensation. From a revelation given 
 in 1832' we learn the following : — Three great kingdoms or 
 degrees of glory are established for the future habitation of 
 the human race; these are known as the Celestial, the 
 Terrestrial, and the Telestial. Far below the last and least 
 of these, is the state of eternal punishment prepared for the 
 Sons of Perdition. 
 
 21. The Celestial Glory is provided for those who merit 
 the highest honors of heaven. In the revelation referred to, 
 we read of thern: — "They are they who received the testi- 
 mony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized 
 after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in 
 his name, and this according to the commandment which 
 he has given, that by keeping the commandments they 
 might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive 
 the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is 
 ordained and sealed unto this power, and who overcome by 
 faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which 
 the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true. 
 They are they who are the Church of the First-born. They 
 
 r John xiv, 1-3. 
 s I Cor. xv, 40-42. 
 t Doc. and Gov. lxxvi. 
 
 2 8 
 
418 THE ARTICLES OP FAITH. [LECT. XXII. 
 
 are they into whose hands the Father has given all things, — 
 They are they who are Priests and Kings, who have 
 received of his fulness, and of his glory, and are Priests of 
 the Most High, after the order of Melchisedek, which was 
 after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the 
 Only Begotten Son ; wherefore, as it is written, they are 
 Gods, even the sons of God; — wherefore all things are theirs, 
 whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, 
 all are theirs, and they are Christ's, and Christ is God's. 
 * * * These shall dwell in the presence of God and his 
 Christ for ever and ever. These are they whom he shall 
 bring with him, when he shall come in the clouds of heaven, 
 to reign on the earth over his people. These are they who 
 shall have part in the first resurrection. These are they 
 who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just. * * * 
 These are they who are just men made perfect through 
 Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out 
 this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own 
 blood. These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose 
 glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest 
 of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as 
 being typical."" 
 
 22. The Terrestrial Glory: — This, the next lower degree, 
 will be received by many whose works do not merit the high- 
 est reward. We read of them: — "These are they who are of 
 the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the Church 
 of the First-born, who have received the fulness of the 
 Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the 
 firmament. Behold, these are they who died without law, and 
 also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom 
 the Son visited, and preached the Gospel unto them, that 
 they might be judged according to men in the flesh, who 
 received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but after- 
 
 u Paragraphs 51-70. 
 
ART. 11.] RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND TOLERATION. 419 
 
 wards received it. These are they who are honorable men 
 of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. 
 These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his 
 fulness. These are they who receive of the presence of the 
 Son, but not of the fulness of the Father; wherefore they 
 are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in 
 glory as the moon differs from the sun. These are they 
 who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus ; wherefore 
 they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God."" 
 23. The Telestial Glory: — The revelation continues:— 
 "And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, w which glory 
 is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs 
 from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament. 
 These are they who received not the gospel of Christ, neither 
 the testimony of Jesus. These are they who deny not the 
 Holy Spirit. These are they who are thrust down to hell. 
 These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil, 
 until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the 
 Lamb shall have finished his work." x "We learn further 
 that the inhabitants of this kingdom are to be graded 
 among themselves, comprising as they do the unen- 
 lightened among the varied opposing sects and divisions of 
 men, and sinners of many types, whose offences are not 
 those of utter perdition; — "For as one star differs from 
 another star in glory, even so differs one from another in 
 glory in the telestial world; for these are they who are of 
 Paul, and of Apolios, and of Cephas. These are they who 
 say they are some of one and some of another — some of 
 Christ, and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of 
 Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of 
 Enoch ; but received not the gospel, neither the testimony 
 
 v Paragraphs 71-79. 
 
 w See Note 2. 
 
 x Paragraphs 81-86. 
 
420 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXII. 
 
 of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting cove- 
 nant. " y Evidently a considerable part of the human family 
 will fail of all glory beyond that of the telestial kingdom, 
 for we are told, — "But behold, and lo, wesaw the glory and 
 the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as 
 innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as 
 the sand upon the sea shore. "* They are thus not wholly 
 rejected; their every merit will be respected. "For they 
 shall be judged according to their works, and every man 
 shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion 
 in the mansions which are prepared; and they shall be 
 servants of the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell, 
 they cannot come, worlds without end." a 
 
 24. The Kingdoms with Respect to One Another: — The 
 three kingdoms of widely differing glories are themselves 
 organized on an orderly plan of gradation. We have seen 
 that the telestial kingdom comprises a multitude of sub- 
 divisions; this also is the case, we are told, with the 
 celestial ; 6 and, by analogy, we conclude that a similar con- 
 dition prevails in the terrestrial. Thus the innumerable 
 degrees of merit amongst mankind are provided for in an 
 infinity of graded glories. The Celestial kingdom is 
 supremely honored by the personal ministrations of the 
 Father and the Son. c The Terrestrial kingdom will be 
 administered through the higher, without a fulness of 
 glory. The Telestial is governed through the ministrations 
 of the Terrestrial, by "angels who are appointed to minister 
 for them.'"* 
 
 25. It is reasonable to believe, in the absence of direct 
 
 y Doc. andCov. lxxvi, 98-101. 
 
 z Par. 109. 
 
 a Par. 111-112. 
 
 b Doc. and Cov. cxxxl, 1; see also II Cor. xii, 1-4. 
 
 c Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 68. 
 
 d Par. 86. 88. 
 
ART. 11.] RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND TOLERATION. 421 
 
 revelation by which alone absolute knowledge of the matter 
 could be acquired, that, in accordance with G-od's plan of 
 eternal progression,. advancement from grade to grade with- 
 in any kingdom, -and from kingdom to kingdom, will be 
 provided for. But if the recipients of a lower glory be 
 enabled to advance, surely the intelligences of higher rank 
 will not be stopped in their progress; and thus we may 
 conclude, that degrees and grades will ever characterize the 
 kingdoms of our God. Eternity is progressive; perfection 
 is relative; the essential feature of God's living purpose is 
 its associated power of eternal increase. 
 
 26. The Sons of Perdition: — We learn of another class" 
 of souls whose sins are such as to place them beyond the 
 present possibility of redemption. These are called Sons 
 of Perdition; children of the fallen angel, once a Son of 
 the Morning, now Lucifer, or Perdition. 6 These are they 
 who have violated truth in the full blaze of the light of 
 knowledge; who, having received the testimony of Christ, 
 and having been endowed by the Holy Spirit, then deny 
 the same and defy the power of God, crucifying the Lord 
 afresh, and putting Him to an open shame. This, the un- 
 pardonable sin, can be committed by those only who have 
 received the knowledge and the sacred conviction of the 
 truth, against which they then rebel. Their sin is compar- 
 able to the treason of Lucifer, by which he sought to 
 usurp the power and glory of his God. Concerning them 
 and their dreadful fate, the Almighty has said; — "I say that 
 it had been better for them never to have been born ; for they 
 are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, 
 with the devil and his angels in eternity; concerning whom 
 I have said, there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the 
 world to come. * * * They shall go away into ever- 
 lasting punishment, which is endless punishment, which is 
 
 e Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 25-27. 
 
4#3 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXII. 
 
 eternal punishment, to reign with the devil and his angels 
 in eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
 quenched, which is their torment; And the end thereof, 
 neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows ; 
 neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed 
 unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof: 
 Nevertheless I, the Lord, show it by vision unto many, but 
 straightway shut it up again; wherefore the end, the 
 width, the height, the depth, and the misery thereof, they 
 understand not, neither any man except them who are 
 ordained unto this condemnation." 7 
 
 27. Surely the doctrines of the Church are explicit in 
 defining the relationship between the mortal probation and 
 the future state, and in teaching the individual accountabil- 
 ity, and the free agency of man. The Church affirms that in 
 view of the terrible responsibility under which every man 
 rests, as the unrestrained director of his own course, he must 
 be and is free to choose in all things, from the life that 
 leads to the celestial home, to the career that is but the 
 introduction to the miseries of perdition. Freedom to 
 worship, or to refuse to worship at all, is a God-given right. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Intolerance Among Christians Today :— "It must be said,— though I 
 say it with the deepest sorrow— that the cold exclusiveness of the Pharisee, the 
 bitter ignorance of the self-styled theologian, the usurped infallibility .of the 
 half-educated religionist, have been ever the curse of Christianity. They have 
 imposed 'the senses of men upon the words of God, the special senses of men on 
 the general words of God ; ' and have tried to enforce them on all men's con- 
 sciences with all kinds of burnings and anathemas under equal threats of death 
 and damnation. And thus they incurred the terrible responsibility of presenting 
 
 / Doc. andCov. lxxvi, 31-48: see also Heb. vi, 4-:6 Alma xxxix, 6. For other 
 references see page 62. 
 
ART. 11. J NOTES. 423 
 
 religion to mankind in a false and repellant guise. Is theological hatred still 
 to he a proverh for the world's just contempt? Is such hatred— hatred in its 
 bitterest and most ruthless form— to be regarded as the legitimate and normal 
 outcome of the religion of love? Is the spirit of peace never to be brought to 
 bear on religious opinions? Are such questions always to excite the most 
 intense animosities, and the most terrible divisions? * * * Is the world to 
 be forever confirmed in its opinion that theological partisans are less truthful, 
 less candid, less high-minded, less honorable even than the partisans of political 
 and social causes, who make no profession as to the duty of love? Are the so- 
 called 'religious' champions to be forever as they now are, the most unscrupu- 
 lously bitter, the most conspicuously unfair? Alas! they might be so with, far 
 less danger to the cause of religion if they would forego the luxury of 'quoting 
 scripture for their purpose.' " — Canon Farrar, " The Early Days of Christianity,'''' 
 pp. 584-585. 
 
 2. "Telestial :"— The adjective "telestial" has not become current in the 
 language; its use is at present confined to the theology of the Church of Jesus 
 Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is applied as a distinguishing term to the lowest 
 of the three kingdoms of glory provided for the redeemed. The only English 
 word approaching it in form, is the adjective "telestic," which is defined thus:— 
 "tending toward the end or final accomplishment; tending to accomplish a 
 purpose." • 
 
424 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIII. 
 
 LECTURE XXIII. 
 
 SUBMISSION TO SECULAR AUTHORITY. 
 
 Article 12.— We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and 
 magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. 
 
 1. Introductory: — It is but reasonable to expect of a 
 people professing the Gospel of Christ, and claiming mem- 
 bership in the one accepted and divinely authorized Church, 
 that they manifest in practice the virtues which their 
 precepts inculcate. True, we may look in vain for perfec- 
 tion among those even who make the fullest and most 
 justifiable claims to orthodoxy; but we have a right to 
 expect in their creed, ample requirements concerning the 
 most approved course of action ; and in their lives, sincere 
 and earnest effort toward the practical realization of their 
 professions. Eeligion, to be of service and at all worthy of 
 acceptance, must be of wholesome influence in the indi- 
 vidual lives and the temporal affairs of its adherents. Among 
 other virtues, the Church in its teachings should impress 
 the duty of a law-abiding course; and the people should 
 show forth the effect of such precepts in their excellence as 
 citizens of the nation, and as individuals in the community 
 of which they are part. 
 
 2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 
 makes emphatic declaration of its belief and precepts re- 
 garding the duty of its members toward the laws of the 
 land; and sustains its position by the authority of specific 
 revelation in ancient as in present times. Moreover, the 
 people are confident, that when the true story of their rise 
 and progress as an established body of religious worshipers 
 
ART. 12.] SUBMISSION TO SECULAR AUTHOKITY. 425 
 
 is written, the loyalty of the Church and the patriotic 
 devotion of its members will be vindicated and extolled 
 by the world in general, as now are these virtues recog- 
 nized by the few unprejudiced investigators who have 
 studied with honest purpose the history of this remarkable 
 organization. 
 
 3. Obedience to Authority Enjoined by Scripture: — Dur- 
 ing the patriarchal period, when the head of the family 
 possessed virtually the power of judge and king over his 
 household, the authority of the ruler and the rights of the 
 family were respected. Consider the instance of Hagar, 
 the "plural" wife of Abram, and the handmaid of Sarai. 
 Jealousy and ill-feeling had arisen between Hagar and 
 her mistress, the senior wife of the patriarch. Abram 
 listened to the complaint of Sarai, and, recognizing her 
 authority over Hagar, who, though his wife, was still 
 the servant of Sarai, said : — "Behold thy maid is in thy hand ; 
 do to her as it pleaseth thee." Then, as the mistress dealt 
 harshly with her servant, Hagar fled into the wilderness ; 
 there she was visited by an angel of the Lord, who addressed 
 her thus: — "Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence earnest thou, and 
 whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face 
 of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the Lord said unto 
 her, Eeturn to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her 
 hands." Observe that the heavenly messenger recog- 
 nized the authority of the mistress over the bond-woman, 
 even though the latter had been given the rank of wifehood 
 in the family. 
 
 4. The ready submission of Isaac to the will of his 
 father, even to the extent of offering his life on the altar of 
 bloody sacrifice, is evidence of the sancity with which 
 the authority of the family ruler was regarded. It may 
 
 a Gen. xvi, 1-9. 
 b Gen. xxii, 1-10. 
 
426 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIII. 
 
 appear, as indeed it has been claimed, that the requirement 
 which the Lord made of Abraham as a test of faith, in the 
 matter of giving his son's life as a sacrifice, was a violation 
 of existing laws, and therefore opposed to stable govern- 
 ment. The claim is poorly placed in view of the fact, that 
 the patriarchal head was possessed of absolute authority 
 over the members of his household, the power extending 
 even to judgment of life or death. c 
 
 5. In the days of the exodus, when Israel were ruled by 
 a theocracy, the Lord gave divers laws and commandments 
 for the government of His chosen people; among them we 
 read : — "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of 
 thy people. " d Judges were appointed by Divine direction 
 to exercise authority amongst Israel. Moses, in reiterating 
 the Lord's commands, charged the people to this effect : — 
 "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, 
 which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes ; 
 and they shall judge the people with just judgment." 6 
 
 6. When the people wearied of God's direct control, 
 and clamored for a king, the Lord yielded to their desire, 
 and gave the new ruler authority by a holy anointing/ 
 David, even though he had been anointed to succeed Saul 
 on the throne, recognized the sanctity of the king's person, 
 and bitterly reproached himself, because on one occasion he 
 had mutilated the robe of the monarch. True, Saul was at 
 that time seeking David's life, and the latter sought only a 
 means of showing that he had no intent to kill his royal 
 enemy; yet we are told: — "That David's heart smote him, 
 because he had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said unto his 
 men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my 
 
 c Gen. xxxviii, 24. 
 
 d Exo. xxii, 28; The word "gods" in this passage, is rendered by some trans- 
 lators "judges;" (see marginal reference, Bible.) 
 
 e Deut. xvi, 18; see also i, 16; I Chron. xxiii, 4; xxvi, 29. 
 / I Sam. viii, 6-7, 22; ix, 15-16; x, 1. 
 
ART. 12. J SUBMISSION TO SECULAR AUTHORITY. 427 
 
 master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand 
 against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord." ff 
 
 7. Note, further, the following scriptural adjurations as 
 recorded in the Old Testament: — "My son, fear thou the 
 Lord, and the king.'" 1 "I counsel thee to keep the king's 
 commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.' n 
 "Curse not the king, no not in thy thought. ,y 
 
 8. Examples Set by Christ and His Apostles: — Our 
 Savior's work on earth was marked throughout by His 
 acknowledgment of the existing powers of the land, even 
 though the authority had been won by cruel conquest, and 
 was exercised unjustly. When the tax-collector called for 
 the dues demanded by an alien king, Christ, while privately 
 protesting against the injustice of the claim, directed that 
 it be paid, and even invoked a miraculous circumstance 
 whereby the money could be provided. Of Peter he asked : — 
 "What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the 
 earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of 
 strangers? Peter saith unto him, of strangers. Jesus 
 saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstand- 
 ing, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and 
 cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up ; 
 and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shall find a 
 piece of money : that take, and give unto them for me and 
 thee." fc 
 
 9. At the instigation of certain wicked Pharisees, a 
 treacherous plot was laid to make Christ appear as an 
 offender against the ruling powers. They sought to catch 
 Him by the hypocritical question, — "What thinkest thou? 
 Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cassar or not?" His answer 
 
 g I Sam. xxiv, 5-6, 10; see also xxvi, 9-12, 16. 
 
 h Prov. xxiv, 21. 
 
 i Eccles. viii. 2. 
 
 j Eccles. x, 20. 
 
 k Matt, xvii, 24-27. 
 
428 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [lECT. XXI11. 
 
 was an unequivocal endorsement of submission to the laws. 
 To his questioners he replied: — "Shew me the tribute 
 money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he 
 saith unto them, whose is this image and superscription? 
 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, 
 Eender therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's ; 
 and unto God the things that are God's. '" 
 
 10. Throughout the solemnly tragic circumstances of His 
 trial and condemnation, Christ maintained a submissive 
 demeanor even toward the chief priests and council who 
 were plotting his death. These officers, however unworthy 
 of their priestly power, were nevertheless in authority, and 
 had a certain measure of jurisdiction in secular as in eccle- 
 siastical affairs. When He stood before Caiaphas, laden 
 with insult and accused by false witnesses, He maintained a 
 dignified silence. To the high priest's question, — "An- 
 swereth thou nothing? What is it these witness against 
 thee?" He deigned no reply. Then the high priest added: — 
 "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether 
 thou be the Christ, the Son of God." m To this solemn 
 adjuration, spoken with official authority, the Savior gave 
 an immediate answer; thus recognizing the office of the 
 high priest, however unworthy the man. 
 
 11. A similar respect for the high priest's office was 
 shown by Paul while a prisoner before the tribunal. His 
 remarks displeased the high priest, who gave immediate 
 command to those who stood near Paul to smite him on the 
 mouth." This angered the apostle, and he cried out: — "God 
 shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge 
 me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten con- 
 trary to the law? And they that stood by said, Kevilest 
 
 l Matt, xxii, 15-21; see also Mark xii, 13-17; Luke xx, 20-25. 
 m Matt, xxvi, 57-64; Mark xiv, 55-62. 
 n See Note 1. 
 
ART. l'i.] SUBMISSION TO SECULAR AUTHORITY. 429 
 
 thou God's high priest? Then said Paul, I wist not, breth- 
 ren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou 
 shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people." 
 
 12. Teachings of the Apostles: — Paul, writing to Titus 
 who had been left in charge of the Church among the 
 Cretans, warns him of the weaknesses of his flock, and 
 urges him to teach them to be orderly and law-abiding: — 
 4 'Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and 
 powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good 
 work." p In another place, Paul is emphatic in declaring the 
 duty of the Saints toward the civil power, such authority 
 being ordained of God. He points out the necessity of 
 secular government, and the need of officers in authority, 
 whose power will be feared by evil-doers only. He designates 
 the civil authorities as ministers of God ; and justifies taxa- 
 tion by the state, with an admonition that the Saints fail 
 not in their dues. 
 
 13. These are his words addressed to the Church at 
 Rome: — "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. 
 
 , For there is no power but of God : the powers that be are 
 ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, 
 resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall 
 receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror 
 to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid 
 of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have 
 praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee 
 for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid ; for 
 he beareth not the sword in vain : for he is the minister of 
 God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 
 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, 
 but also for conscience sake. For, for this cause pay ye 
 tribute also : for they are God's ministers, attending contin- 
 
 o Acts xxiii, 1-5. 
 p Titus iii. 1. 
 
430 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIII. 
 
 ually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their 
 dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom 
 custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor." 9 
 
 14. In a letter to Timothy, Paul teaches that in the 
 prayers of the Saints, kings and all in authority should be 
 remembered, adding that such remembrance is pleasing in 
 the sight of God: — "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, sup- 
 plications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be 
 made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in 
 authority ; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all 
 godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in 
 the sight of God our Savior. " r 
 
 15. The duty of willing submission to authority is 
 elaborated in the epistles to the Ephesians and the Colos- 
 sians ; and illustrations are applied to the relations of social 
 and domestic life. Wives are taught to be submissive to 
 their husbands, — "For the husband is the head of the wife, 
 even as Christ is the head of the church ;" but this duty 
 within the family is reciprocal, and therefore husbands are 
 instructed as to the manner in which authority ought to be 
 exercised. Children are to obey their parents; yet the 
 parents are cautioned against provoking or otherwise offend- 
 ing their little ones. Servants are told to render willing 
 and earnest service to their masters, recognizing in all 
 things the superior authority ; and masters are instructed in 
 their duty toward their servants, being counseled to abandon 
 threatening and other harsh treatment, remembering that 
 they also will have to answer to a Master greater than them- 
 selves. 8 
 
 16. Peter is not less emphatic in teaching the sanctity 
 with which the civil power should be regarded-/ he admon- 
 
 q Rom. xiii. 1-7. 
 
 r I Tim. ii, 1-3. 
 
 8 Eph. v, 22-23; vi, 1-9; Col. iii, 18--22; iv, 1. 
 
 t See Note 2. 
 
ART. 12.] SUBMISSION TO SECULAR AUTHORITY. 431 
 
 ishes the Saints in this wise: — "Submit yourselves to every 
 ordinance of man for the Lord's sake : whether it be to the 
 king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are 
 sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the 
 praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God,* 
 that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of 
 foolish men : as free, and not using your liberty for a cloak 
 of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all 
 men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king."" 
 
 17. These general rules, relating to submission to author- 
 ity, he applies, as did Paul similarly, to the conditions of 
 domestic life. Servants are to be obedient, even though 
 their masters be harsh and severe: — "For this is thank- 
 worthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, 
 suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be 
 buffeted for your faults, ye take it patiently? but if, 
 when you do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, 
 this is acceptable with God." r Wives also, even though 
 their husbands be not of their faith, are not to vaunt 
 themselves and defy authority, but to be submissive, and to 
 rely upon gentler and more effective means of influencing 
 those whose name they bear."* He gives assurance of the 
 judgment which shall overtake evil doers, and specifies as 
 fit subjects for condemnation, "chiefly them that walk after 
 the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise govern- 
 ment. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not 
 afraid to speak evil of dignities. "* 
 
 18. Doubtless there existed excellent reason for these 
 explicit and repeated counsels against the spirit of revolt, 
 with which the apostles of old sought to lead and'strengthen 
 the Church. The Saints rejoiced in their testimony of the 
 
 u I Peter ii, 13-17. 
 v Verses 19-20. 
 w I Peter iii, 1-7. 
 x II Peter ii, 10. 
 
432 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIIT. 
 
 truth that had found place in their hearts, — the truth that 
 was to make them free, — and it would have been but natural 
 for them to regard all others as inferior to themselves, and 
 to rebel against all authority of man in favor of their alle- 
 .giance to a higher power. There was constant danger that 
 their zeal would lead them to acts of indiscretion, and thus 
 furnish excuse, if not reason, for the assaults of persecutors, 
 who would have denounced them as law-breakers and workers 
 of sedition. Even half-hearted submission to the civil powers 
 would have been unwise at least, in view of the disfavor with 
 which the new sect had come to be regarded by their pagan 
 contemporaries. The voice of their inspired leaders was 
 heard, therefore, in timely counsel for humility and submis- 
 sion. But there were then, as ever have there been, weightier 
 reasons than such as rest on motives of policy, requiring sub- 
 mission to the established powers. Such is no less the law of 
 God than of man. Governments are essential to human exist- 
 ence ; they are recognized, given indeed, of the Lord ; and His 
 people are in duty bound to sustain them. 
 
 19. Book of Mormon Teachings concerning the duty of 
 the people as subjects of the law of the land are abundant 
 throughout the volume. However, as the civil and the ecclesi- 
 astical powers were usually vested together, the king or 
 chief judge being also the high priest, there are compara- 
 tively few admonitions of allegiance to the civil authority 
 as distinct from that of the priesthood. From the time of 
 Xephi, son of Lehi, to that of the death of Mosiah, — a period 
 of nearly five hundred years, the Xephites were ruled by a 
 succession of kings; during the remaining time of their 
 recorded history, — more than five hundred years, the people 
 were subject to judges of their own choosing. Under each 
 of these varieties of government, the secular laws were 
 rigidly enforced, the power of the state being supplemented 
 and strengthened by that of the Church. The sanctity 
 
ART, 12. J SUBMISSION TO SECULAR AUTHORITY. 433 
 
 with which the laws were regarded is illustrated in the 
 judgment pronounced by Alma upon ^Nfehor, a murderer, 
 and an advocate of sedition and priestcraft: — "Thou art 
 condemned to die," said the judge, "according to the law 
 which has been given us by Mosiah, our last king; and they 
 have been acknowledged by this people; therefore, this 
 people must abide by the law."" 
 
 20. Modern Revelation requires of the Saints in the 
 present dispensation a strict allegiance to the civil laws. 
 In a communication dated August 1, 1831, the Lord said to 
 the Church: — "Let no man break the laws of the land, for 
 he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the 
 laws of the land: Wherefore, be subject to the powers that 
 be, until He reigns whose right it is to reign, and subdues 
 all enemies under his feet."* At a later date, August 6, 
 1833, the voice of the Lord was heard again on this matter, 
 saying: — "And now, verily I say unto you concerning the 
 laws of the land, it is my will that my people should ob- 
 serve to do all things whatsoever I command them; and 
 that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting 
 that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and priv- 
 ileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me; 
 Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of 
 my church, in befriending that law which is the constitu- 
 tional law of the land." a 
 
 21. A question has many times been asked of the Church 
 and of its individual members, to this effect: — In the case 
 of a conflict between the requirements made by the revealed 
 word of God, and those imposed by the secular law, which 
 of these authorities would the members of the Church be 
 bound to obey? In answer, the words of Christ may be 
 
 y Alma i, 14. 
 
 z Doc. and Cov. lviii, 21-22. 
 a Doc. and Cov. xcviii, 4-6. 
 29 
 
434 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. L LECT - XXIII. 
 
 applied: — it is the duty of the people to render "unto Caesar 
 the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that 
 are God's." At the present time, the Kingdom of Heaven 
 as an earthly power, with a reigning King exercising direct 
 and personal authority in temporal matters, has not been 
 established upon the earth ; the branches of the^Church as 
 such, and the members composing the same, are subjects of 
 the several governments within whose separate realms the 
 Church organizations exist. In this day of comparative 
 enlightenment and freedom, there is small cause for expect- 
 ing any direct interference with the rights of private wor- 
 ship and individual devotion; in all civilized nations the 
 people are accorded the right to pray, and this fright is 
 assured by what may be properly called a common law of 
 human-kind. No earnest soul is cut off from communion 
 with his God; and with such an open channel of communi- 
 cation, relief from burdensome laws and redress for griev- 
 ances may be sought from the Power that holds "control of 
 nations. 
 
 22. Pending the over-ruling by Providence in favor of 
 religious liberty, it is the duty of the Saints to submit them- 
 selves to the laws of their country. Nevertheless, they 
 should use every proper method, as citizens or subjects of 
 their several governments, to secure the boon of freedom in 
 religious duties, for themselves and for all men. It is not 
 required of them to suffer without protest imposition by 
 lawless persecutors, or through the operation of unjust laws; 
 but their protests should be offered in peaceful and proper 
 order. The Saints have practically demonstrated their 
 acceptance of the doctrine that it is better to suffer evil 
 than to do wrong by purely human opposition to unjust 
 authority. And if by thus submitting themselves to the 
 laws of the land, in the event of such laws being unjust 
 and subversive of human freedom, the Saints be prevented 
 
ART. 12.] SUBMISSION TO SECULAR AUTHORITY. 435 
 
 from doing the work appointed them of God, they will not 
 be held accountable for the failure to act under the higher 
 law. The word of the Lord has been given explicitly defin- 
 ing the position and duty of the people in such a con- 
 tingency: — "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a 
 commandment to any of the sons of men, to do a work unto 
 my name, and those sons of men go with all their might, 
 and with all they have, to perform that work, and cease not 
 their diligence, and their enemies come upon them, and hin- 
 der them from performing that work ; behold, it behoveth 
 me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons 
 of men, but to accept of their offerings ; And the iniquity 
 and transgression of my holy laws and commandments, I 
 will visit upon the heads of those who hindered my work, 
 unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they 
 repent not and hate me, saith the Lord God." b 
 
 23. An Illustration of such suspension of Divine law is 
 found in the action of the Church regarding the matter of 
 plural or polygamous marriage. The practice referred to 
 was established as a result of direct revelation, and many 
 of those who followed the same felt that they were divinely 
 commanded so to do. For ten years after polygamy had been 
 introduced into Utah as a Church observance, no law was 
 enacted in opposition to the practice. Beginning with 1862, 
 however, federal statutes were framed declaring the practice 
 unlawful and providing penalties therefor. The Church 
 claimed that these enactments were unconstitutional, and 
 therefore void, inasmuch as they violated the provision in 
 the national constitution which denies the government 
 power to make laws respecting any establishment of reli- 
 gion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof/ Many 
 
 b Doc. and Cov. cxxiv, 49-50; see Note 3. 
 
 e Doc. and Cov. cxxxii. 
 
 d Article I, of th* Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. 
 
436 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. g [LECT. XXIII. 
 
 appeals were taken to the national court of final resort, and 
 at last a decision was rendered sustaining the anti-polygamy 
 laws as constitutional and therefore binding. The Church, 
 through its chief officer, thereupon discontinued the prac- 
 tice of plural marriage, and announced its action to the 
 world; solemnly placing the responsibility for the change 
 upon the nation by whose laws the renunciation had been 
 forced. This action has been approved and confirmed by 
 the official vote of the Church in conference assembled. 6 
 
 24. Teachings of the Church today:— Perhaps no more 
 proper summary could be presented of the teachings of the 
 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints regarding its 
 relation to the civil power, and the respect due to the laws 
 of the land, than the official declaration of belief which 
 was issued by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and which has 
 been incorporated in the Doctrine and Covenants, — one of 
 the standard works of the Church, adopted by vote of the 
 Church as one of the accepted guides in faith, doctrine, 
 and practice/ It reads as follows: — 
 
 "OF GOVERNMENTS AND LAWS IN GENERAL. 
 
 "1, We believe that governments were instituted of God 
 for the benefit of man, and that he holds men accountable 
 for their acts in relation to them, either in making laws or 
 administering them, for the good and safety of society. 
 
 "2. We believe that no government can exist in peace, 
 except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will 
 secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, 
 the right and control of property, and the protection of life. 
 
 "3. We believe that all governments necessarily require 
 civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the 
 same, and that such as will administer the law in equity 
 and justice, should be sought for and upheld by the voice 
 of the people (if a republic,) or the will of the sovereign. 
 
 e See Note 4. 
 
 / Doc. and Cov. cxxxiv. 
 
ART. 12. J SUBMISSION TO SECULAR AUTHORITY. 437 
 
 "4. We believe that religion is instituted of God, and 
 that men are amenable to him, and to him only, for the 
 exercise of it, unless their religious opinions prompt them 
 to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others ; but we 
 do not believe that human law has a right to interfere in 
 prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, 
 nor dictate forms for public or private devotion; that the 
 civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control 
 conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the 
 freedom of the soul. 
 
 " 5. We believe that all men are bound to sustain and 
 uphold the respective governments in which they reside, 
 while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by 
 the laws of such governments ; and that sedition and rebel- 
 lion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should 
 be punished accordingly; and that all governments have a 
 right to enact such laws as in their own judgment are best 
 calculated to secure the public interest, at the same time, 
 however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience. 
 
 "6. We believe that every man should be honored in his 
 station: rulers and magistrates as such, being placed for 
 the protection of the innocent, and the punishment of 
 the guilty; and that to the laws, all men owe respect and 
 deference, as without them peace and harmony would be 
 supplanted by anarchy and terror ; human laws being insti- 
 tuted for the express purpose of regulating our interests as 
 individuals and nations, between man and man, and divine 
 laws given of heaven, prescribing rules on spiritual con- 
 cerns, for faith and worship, both to be answered by man to 
 hi3 Maker. 
 
 "7. We believe that rulers, states, and governments, have 
 a right, and are bound to enact laws for the protection of 
 all citizens in the free exercise of their religious belief ; but 
 we do not believe that they have a right in justice, to deprive 
 citizens of this privilege, or proscribe them in their opin- 
 ions, so long as a regard and reverence are shown to the 
 laws, and such religious opinions do not justify sedition nor 
 conspiracy. 
 
 "8. We believe that the commission of crime should be 
 punished according to the nature of the offence; that mur- 
 der, treason, robbery, theft, and the breach of the general 
 
438 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIII. 
 
 peace, in all respects, should be punished according to their 
 criminality, and their tendency to evil among men, by the 
 laws of that government in which the offence is committed ; 
 and for the public peace and tranquility, all men should 
 step forward and use their ability in bringing offenders 
 against good laws to punishment. 
 
 "9. We do not believe it just to mingle religious in- 
 fluence with civil government, whereby one religious society 
 is fostered, and another proscribed in its spiritual privileges, 
 and the individual rights of its members as citizens, de- 
 nied. 
 
 "10. We believe that all religious societies have a right 
 to deal with their members for disorderly conduct according 
 to the rules and regulations of such societies, provided that 
 such dealing be for fellowship and good standing ; but we 
 do not believe that any religious society has authority to 
 try men on the right of property or life, to take from them 
 this world's goods, or to put them in jeopardy of either life 
 or limb, neither to inflict any physical punishment upon 
 them; they can only excommunicate them from their 
 society, and withdraw from them their fellowship. 
 
 "11. We believe that men should appeal to the civil 
 law for redress of all wrongs and grievances, where personal 
 abuse is inflicted, or the right of property or character 
 infringed, where such laws exist as will protect the same ; 
 but we believe that all men are justified in defending them- 
 selves, their friends, and property, and the government, 
 from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all 
 persons, in times of exigency, where immediate appeal can- 
 not be made to the laws, and relief afforded. 
 
 "12. We believe it just to preach the gospel to the 
 nations of the earth, and warn the righteous to save them- 
 selves from the corruption of the world; but we do not 
 believe it right to interfere with bond servants, neither 
 preach the gospel to, nor baptize them, contrary to the will 
 and wish of their masters, nor to meddle with or influence 
 them in the least, to cause them to be dissatisfied with their 
 situations in this life, thereby jeopardizing the lives of 
 men; such interference we believe to be unlawful and un- 
 just, and dangerous to the peace of every government allow- 
 ing human beings to be held in servitude." 
 
ART. 12.] NOTES. 439 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Insults to Paul and to Christ:— See Acts xxiii, 1-5. "Scarcely had 
 the apostle uttered the iirst sentence of his defense, when, with disgraceful 
 illegality, Ananias ordered the officers of the court to smite him on the mouth. 
 Stung by an insult so flagrant, an outrage so undeserved, the naturally choleric 
 temperament of Paul flamed into that sudden sense of anger which ought to be 
 controlled,. but which can hardly be wanting in a truly noble character. No 
 character can be perfect which does not cherish in itself a deeply-seated, though 
 perfectly generous and forbearing, indignation against intolerable wrong. 
 Smarting from the blow, 'God shall smite thee,' he exclaimed, 'thou white- 
 washed wall! What! Dost thou sit there judging me according to the Law, 
 and in violation of law biddest me to be smitten?' The language has been cen- 
 sured as unbecoming in its violence, and has been unfavorably compared with 
 the meekness of Christ before the tribunal of his enemies. [See John xviii, 
 19-23.] 'Where,' asks St. Jerome, 'is that patience of the Savior, who— as a 
 lamb led to the slaughter opens not his mouth— so gently asks the smiter, 'If I 
 have spoken evil, bear witness to the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?' 
 We are not detracting from the apostle, but declaring the glory of God, who, 
 suffering in the flesh, reigns above the wrong and frailty of the flesh.' Yet we 
 need not remind the reader that not once or twice only did Christ give the rein 
 to righteous anger, and blight hypocrisy and insolence with a flash of holy 
 wrath. The bystanders seem to have been startled by the boldness of St. Paul's 
 rebuke, for they said to him, 'Dost thou revile the high priest of God?' The 
 apostle's anger had expended itself in that one outburst, and he instantly 
 apologised with exquisite urbanity and self-control. 'I did not know,'*he said, 
 'brethren, that he is the high priest;' adding that, had he known this, he would 
 not have addressed to him the opprobrious name of 'whited wall,' because he 
 reverenced and acted upon the rule of scripture, 'Thou shalt not speak ill of a 
 ruler of thy people.' "— Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul, p. 539-540. 
 
 2. Peter's Teachings Regarding Submission to Law:— A special "duty 
 of Christians in those days was due respect in all things lawful, to the civil 
 government. * * * Occasions there are— and none knew this better than an 
 apostle who had himself set an example of splendid disobedience to unwarranted 
 commands [Acts iii, 19. 31 ; v, 28-32; 40-42] — when 'we must obey God rather than 
 men.' But those occasions are exceptional to the common rule of life. Nor- 
 mally, and as a whole, human law is on the side of divine order, and, by whomso- 
 ever administered, has a just claim to obedience and respect. It was a lesson so 
 deeply needed by the Christians of the day that it is taught as emphatically by 
 St. John [John xix, 11], and by St. Peter, as by St. Paul himself. It was more 
 than ever needed at a time when dangerous revolts were gathering to a head in 
 Judea; when the hearts of Jews throughout the world were burning with a fierce 
 flame of hatred against the abominations of a tyrannous idolatry: when 
 Christians were being charged with 'turning the world upside-down;' [Acts xvii, 
 6]; when some poor Christian slave, led to martyrdom or put to the torture, 
 might easily relieve the tension of his soul by bursting into apocalyptic denun- 
 ciations of sudden doom against the crimes of the mystic Babylon; when the 
 heathen, in their impatient contempt, might wilfully interpret a prophecy of the 
 final conflagration as though it were a revolutionary and incendiary threat; and 
 when Christians at Rome were, on this very account, already suffering the agonies 
 
440 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIII. 
 
 ot the Neronian persecution. Submission, therefore, was at this time a primary 
 duty of all who wished to win over the heathen, and to save the Church from 
 being overwhelmed in some outburst of indignation which would be justified 
 even to reasonable and tolerant pagans as a political necessity. * * * 'Sub- 
 mit, therefore,' the apostle says, 'to every human ordinance, for the Lord's 
 sake, whether to the emperor as supreme [the name "king" was freely used of 
 the emperor in the provinces], or to governors, as missioned by him for pun- 
 ishment of malefactors and praise to well-doers; for this is the will of God, that 
 by your well-doing ye should gag the stolid ignorance of foolish persons: as 
 free, yet not using your freedom for a cloak of baseness, but as slaves of God. 
 Honor all men' as a principle; and as your habitual practice, 'love the brother- 
 hood. Fear God. Honor the King.' " [See I Peter ii, 13-17.]— Farrar, Early 
 Days of Christianity, pp. 89-90. 
 
 3. The Law of God, and the Law of Man :— The teaching of the Church 
 of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints respecting the duty of its members in obey- 
 ing the laws of the land wherein they live, is more comprehensive and definite 
 than is that of many other Christian sects. In January, 1899, an association of 
 the free Evangelical churches of England officially published "a common state- 
 ment of faith in the form of a new catechism." Touching the relation between 
 church and state, the following formal questions and prescribed answers occur:— 
 
 "36. Q.— What is a free church? A.— A church which acknowledges none but 
 Jesus Christ as Head, and, therefore, exercises its right to interpret and admin- 
 ister His laws without restraint or control by the state. 
 
 "37. Q.— What is the duty of the church to the state? A.— To observe all the 
 laws of the state unless contrary to the teachings of Christ," etc. 
 
 According to the report of the committee in charge of the work of publication, 
 the catechism "represents, directly or indirectly, the beliefs of not less, and 
 probably many more, than sixty millions of avowed Christians in all parts of 
 the world." 
 
 4. Discontinuance of Plural Marriage :— The official act terminating the 
 practice of plural marriage among the Latter-day Saints was the adoption by 
 the Church, in conference assembled, of a manifesto proclaimed by the President 
 of the Church. The language of the document illustrates the law-abiding char- 
 acter of the people and the Church, as is shown by the following clause:— "Inas- 
 much as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural ma rriages, which 
 laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I [Presi- 
 dent Wilford Woodruff] hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws, 
 and to use my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to 
 have them do likewise." In the course of a sermon immediately following the 
 proclaiming of the manifesto, Prest. Woodruff said regarding the action taken: 
 —"I have done my duty, and the nation of which we form a part must be respon- 
 sible for that which has been done in relation to that principle," (i. e. plural 
 marriage). 
 
ART. 13.] PRACTICAL RELIGION. 441 
 
 LECTURE XXIV. 
 
 PRACTICAL RELIGION. 
 
 Article 13:— We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, 
 and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition 
 of Paul,— We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many 
 things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous , 
 lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. 
 
 1. Religion of Daily Life: — In this article of their faith, 
 the Latter-day Saints declare their acceptance of a prac- 
 tical religion ; a religion that shall consist, not alone of pro- 
 fessions in spiritual matters, and belief as to the conditions 
 of the hereafter; of the doctrine of original sin and the 
 actuality of a future heaven and hell ; "but also, and more 
 particularly, of present and every-day duties, in which 
 respect for self, love for fellow-men, and devotion to God, 
 are the guiding principles. Religion without morality, pro- 
 fessions of godliness without charity, church-meinbership 
 without an adequate responsibility as to individual conduct 
 in daily life, are but as sounding brass and tinkling cym- 
 bals; — noise without music, the words without the spirit 
 of prayer. "Pure religion and undefiled before God and 
 the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in 
 their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the 
 world. " a Honesty of purpose, integrity of soul, individual 
 purity, absolute freedom of conscience, willingness to do 
 good to all men even enemies, pure benevolence, — these are 
 some of the fruits by which the religion of Christ may be 
 known, far exceeding in importance and value the promul- 
 gation of dogmas, and the enunciation of theories. Yet a 
 knowledge of things more than temporal, doctrines of Spir- 
 es James i, 27. 
 
442 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIV. 
 
 itual matters, founded on revelation and not resting on the 
 sands of man's frail hypotheses, are likewise characteristic 
 of the true Church. 
 
 2. The Comprehensiveness of Our Faith must appeal 
 to every earnest investigator of the principles taught by 
 the Church, and still more to the unprejudiced observer 
 of the results as manifested in the course of life character- 
 istic of the Latter-day Saints. "Within the pale of the 
 Church, there is a place for all truth, — for everything 
 that is praiseworthy, virtuous, lovely, or of good report. 
 The liberality with which the Church regards other 
 religious denominations; the earnestness of its teach- 
 ing that God is no respecter of persons, but that He will 
 judge all men according to their deeds; the breadth and 
 depth of its precepts concerning the state of immortality, 
 and the gradations of eternal glory awaiting the honest in 
 heart of all nations, kindred, and churches, civilized and 
 heathen, enlightened and benighted; have been set forth in 
 preceding lectures. We have seen further, that the belief 
 of this people carries them forward, even beyond the bounds 
 of all knowledge thus far revealed, and teaches them to 
 look with unwavering confidence for other revelation, truths 
 yet to be added, glories grander than have yet been made 
 known, eternities of powers, dominions, and progress, 
 beyond the mind of man to conceive or the soul to contain. 
 We believe in a God who is Himself progressive, 
 whose majesty is intelligence; whose perfection con- 
 sists in eternal advancement; the perpetual work of 
 whose creation stands "finished, yet renewed forever;" 5 
 — a Being who has attained His exalted state by a 
 path which now His children are permitted to follow; 
 whose glory it is their heritage to share. In spite of the 
 opposition of all other sects, in the face of direct charges of 
 
 b Bryant. 
 
ART. 13. J BENEVOLENCE. 443 
 
 blasphemy, the Church proclaims the eternal truth, "As 
 man is, God once ivas; as God is, man may become." With 
 such a future, well may man open his heart to the stream 
 of revelation, past, present, and to come ; and truthfully 
 should we be able to say of every enlightened child of God, 
 that he "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all 
 things, endureth all things." As incidental to the decla- 
 ration of belief embodied in this article of faith, many 
 topics relating to the organization, precepts, and practice 
 of the Church, suggest themselves. Of these the following 
 may claim our present attention. 
 
 3. Benevolence: — Benevolence is founded on love for 
 fellow-men; it embraces, though it far exceeds charity, in 
 the modern sense in which the latter word is used. By the 
 Divine Teacher it was placed as second only to love for God. 
 On one occasion, certain Pharisees came to Christ, tempting 
 Him with questions on doctrine, in the hope that they could 
 entangle Him, and so make Him an offender against the 
 Jewish law. Their spokesman was a lawyer ; note his ques- 
 tion and the Savior's answer: — "Master, which is the great 
 commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and. with all thy 
 soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great com- 
 mandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love 
 thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments 
 hang all the law and the prophets.'"* The two command- 
 ments, here spoken of as first and second, are so closely 
 related as to be virtually one, and that one: — "Thou shalt 
 love." He who abideth one of the two will abide both. And 
 without love for our fellows, it is impossible to please God. 
 Hence wrote John, — the Apostle of Love, — "Beloved, let us 
 love one another: for love is of God; and every one that 
 
 c I Cor. xiii, 7. 
 
 d Matt, xxii, 36-40; see also Luke x, 25-27. 
 
444 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIV. 
 
 loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not 
 knoweth not God, for God is love. * * * If a man say, 
 I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar ; for he that 
 loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love 
 God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have 
 we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." 6 
 4. But perhaps the grandest and most sublime of the apos- 
 tolic utterances concerning the love that saves, is found in the 
 epistle of Paul to the Saints at Corinth/ In our current 
 English translation of the Bible, the virtue which the 
 apostle declares superior to all the miraculous gifts of the 
 Spirit, and which is to continue after all the rest have 
 passed away, is designated as charity; but the original 
 word meant love; and surely Paul had in mind something 
 grander than mere alms-giving, as is evident from his ex- 
 pression: — "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the 
 poor, * * * and have not charity, it profiteth me 
 nothing. " ff Though a man speak with the tongue of angels ; 
 though he possess the power of prophecy — the greatest of the 
 ordinary gifts ; though he be versed in knowledge and un- 
 derstand all mysteries ; though his faith enable him to move 
 mountains; and though he give his all, including even his 
 life, — yet without love is he nothing. Charity, or alms- 
 giving, even though it be performed with the sincerest of 
 motives, devoid of all desire for praise or hope of return, 
 is but a feeble manifestation of the love that is to make 
 one's neighbor as dear to him as himself; the love that 
 suffers long ; that envies not others ; that vaunts not itself ; 
 that knows no pride ; that subdues selfishness ; that rejoices in 
 the truth. When "that which is perfect" is come, the gifts 
 which have been bestowed in part only will be superseded. 
 
 e I John iv, 7-8, 20-21. 
 
 / I Cor. xiii; see also Alma xxxiv, 28-29; Mosiah iv, 16-24. 
 
 g Verse 3. 
 
AKT. 13.] BENEVOLENCE. 445 
 
 "Perfection will then swallow up imperfection; the healing- 
 power will then be done away, for no sickness will be there ; 
 tongues and interpretations will then cease, for one pure 
 language alone will be spoken; the casting out of devils 
 and power against deadly poisons will not then be needed, 
 for in heaven circumstances will render them unnecessary. 
 But charity, which is the pure love of God, never faileth ; it 
 wijl sit enthroned in the midst of the glorified throng, 
 clothed in all the glory and splendor of its native heaven.'" 1 
 If man would win eternal life, he cannot afford to neglect 
 the duty of love to his fellow, for "Love is the fulfilling of 
 the law.'" 
 
 5. Benevolence Manifested by the Church: — The Church 
 of the present day can point to a stupendous labor of 
 benevolence already accomplished and still in progress. One 
 of the most glorious monuments of its work is seen in the 
 missionary labor which has ever been a characteristic feature 
 of its existence. Actuated by no other motives than pure 
 love for humanity and a desire to fulfil the commands of 
 God respecting such, the Church sends out every year hun- 
 dreds of missionaries to proclaim the gospel of eternal life 
 to the world, without money or price. Multitudes of these 
 devoted servants have suffered contumely and insult at the 
 hands of those whom they seek to benefit ; and not a few 
 have given their lives with the seal of the martyr upon 
 their testimony and work. The charity that manifests itself 
 in material giving is not neglected in the Church ; indeed 
 this form of benevolence is impressed as a sacred duty upon 
 every Latter-day Saint. While each one is urged to impart 
 of his substance to the needy in his individual capacity, a 
 system of orderly giving has been developed within the 
 
 h Orson Pratt, Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, i, 15-16. 
 i Rom. xiii, 10; see also Gal. v, 14; I Peter iv, 8. 
 
446 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIV. 
 
 Church; and of this some features are worthy of special 
 consideration. 
 
 6. Free-will Offerings: — It has ever been characteristic 
 of the Church and people of Grod, that they take upon 
 themselves the care of the poor, if any such exist among 
 them. To subserve this purpose, as also to foster a spirit of 
 liberality, kindness, and benevolence, voluntary gifts and 
 free-will offerings have been asked of those who profess -to 
 be living according to the law of God. In the Church 
 today, a systematic plan of giving for the poor is in oper- 
 ation. Thus, in almost every ward or branch, an organiza- 
 tion among the women, known as the Belief Society/ is in 
 existence. Its purpose is in part to gather from the society 
 and from the members of the Church in general, contribu- 
 tions of money and other property, particularly the com- 
 modities of life ; and to distribute such to the deserving and 
 needy, under the direction of the local officers in the priest- 
 hood. But the Relief Society operates also on a plan of sys- 
 tematic visitation to the houses of the afflicted, extending: 
 aid in nursing, administering comfort in bereavement, and 
 seeking in every possible way to relieve distress. The good 
 work of this organization has won the admiration of many 
 who profess no connection with the Church ; its methods 
 have been followed by other benevolent associations, and 
 the Society has been accorded a national status in the United 
 States. 
 
 7. The Fast Offerings represent a still more general sys- 
 tem of donation. The Church teaches the efficacy of con- 
 tinual prayer and of periodical fasting, as a means of acquir- 
 ing the humility that is meet for Divine approval ; and a 
 monthly fast-day has been appointed for observance through- 
 out the Church. For many years, the first Thursday in 
 each month was so observed; but, with the object of secur- 
 
 j See page 216. 
 
ART. 13.] TITHING. 447 
 
 ing a more general attendance at the fast-service, a benefi- 
 cial change has been introduced, and at present the first 
 Sunday of the month is so devoted. The Saints are asked 
 to manifest their sincerity in fasting, by making an offering 
 on that day for the benefit of the poor; and, by common 
 consent, the giving of at least' an equivalent of the meals 
 omitted by the fasting of the family is expected. These 
 offerings may be made in money, food, or other usable com- 
 modity ; they are received by the bishopric or its represent- 
 atives, and by the same authority are distributed to the 
 worthy poor of the ward or branch. In these and in num- 
 erous other ways, do the Latter-day Saints contribute of 
 their substance to the needy, realizing that the poor among 
 them may be the Lord's poor; and that, irrespective of 
 worthiness on the part of the recipient, want and distress 
 must be alleviated. The people believe that the harmony 
 of their prayers will become a discord if the cry of the poor 
 accompany their supplications to the throne of Grace. 
 
 8. Tithing: — The Church recognizes today the doctrine of 
 tithe-paying, similar in its general provision to that taught 
 and practiced of old. Before considering the present 
 authorized practice in this matter, it may be instructive to 
 study the ancient practice of tithe-paying. Strictly speak- 
 ing, a tithe is a tenth, and such a proportion of individual 
 possessions appears to have been formerly regarded as the 
 Lord's due. The institution of tithing ante-dates even the 
 Mosaic dispensation, for we find both Abraham and Jacob 
 paying tithes. Abraham, returning from a victorious battle, 
 met Melchisedek king of Salem and "priest of the most 
 high God ;" and, recognizing his priestly authority, "gave him 
 tithes of all."* Jacob made a voluntary vow with the Lord to 
 render a tenth of all that should come into his possession.' 
 
 k Gen. xiv, 18-20; see also Heb. vii, 1-3, 5, and Alma xiii, 13-16. 
 I Gen. xxviii, 22. 
 
•±■48 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXI V. 
 
 9. The Mosaic statutes are explicit in requiring tithes : — 
 ' 'And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the 
 land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's ; it is holy 
 unto the Lord. * * * And concerning the tithe of the 
 herd, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth 
 shall be holy unto the Lord."™ The tenth was to be paid 
 as it came, without search for good or bad ; under some con- 
 ditions, however, a man could redeem the tithe by paying its 
 value in some other way, but in such a case he had to add a 
 fifth of the tithe. The tenth of all the property in Israel was 
 to be paid to the Levites, as an inheritance given in acknowl- 
 edgment of their service in the labor of the tabernacle ; and 
 they in turn were to pay tithing on what they received, and 
 this tithe of the tithe was to go to the priests." A second 
 tithe was demanded of Israel to be used for the appointed 
 festivals. It is evident, that while no specific penalty for 
 neglect of the law of tithing is recorded, the proper observ- 
 ance of the requirement was regarded as a sacred duty. In 
 the course of the reformation by Hezekiah, the people 
 manifested their repentance by an immediate payment of 
 tithes f and so liberally did they give, that a great surplus 
 accumulated; observing which, Hezekiah enquired as to the 
 source of such plenty: — "And Azariah the chief priest of 
 the house of Zadok answered him, and said, since the people 
 began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we 
 have had enough to eat, and have left plenty : for the Lord 
 hath blessed his people ; and that which is left is this great 
 store." Nehemiah took care to regulate the tithe-paying of 
 the people ; r and both Amos 8 and Malachi' chided the people 
 
 m Lev. xxvii, 30-34. 
 
 n Numb, xviii, 21-28. 
 
 o Deut. xii. 5-17; xiv, 22-23. 
 
 p II ChroD. xxxi,5-6. 
 
 >• Neh. x, 37: xii, 44. 
 
 s Amos iv, 4. 
 
 t Mai. iii, 10. 
 
AKT. 13. J STEWARDSHIP. 449 
 
 for their neglect of this duty. Through the prophet last 
 named, the Lord charged the people with having robbed 
 Him ; but promised them blessings beyond their capacity to 
 receive if they would return to their allegiance to Him: 
 1 'Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye 
 say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 
 Ye are cursed with a curse : for ye have robbed me, even 
 this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store- 
 house, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove 
 me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open 
 you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that 
 there shall not be room enough to receive it."" In visiting 
 the Xephites after His resurrection, the Savior told them of 
 these sayings of Malachi, repeating the words of the Jewish 
 prophet. 1 ' The Pharisees, at the time of Christ's ministry, 
 were particularly scrupulous in the matter of tithe paying, — 
 even to the neglect of the "weightier matters of the law," — 
 and for this inconsistency they were severely rebuked by the 
 Master. 1 " 
 
 10. In the present dispensation, the law of tithing has 
 been given a place of great importance ; and particular bless- 
 ings have been promised for its faithful observance. This 
 day has been called by the Lord, "a day of sacrifice, and a 
 day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall 
 not be burned."* In a revelation, given through the Prophet 
 Joseph Smith, July 8, 1838, the Lord has explicitly set 
 forth His requirement of the people in this matter/ 
 
 11. Consecration and Stewardship: — The law of tithing, 
 as accepted and professedly observed by the Church today, 
 is after all but a lesser law, given by the Lord in consequence 
 
 u Mai. Hi, 8-10; see also III Nephi xxiv, 7-1?. 
 v III Nephi xxiv, 7-10. 
 w Matt, xxiii, 23; Luke xi, 42. 
 x Doc. and Cov. lxiv, 23-24; see also lxxxv, 3. 
 y Doc. and Cov. cxix. 
 30 
 
450 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIV. 
 
 of the .human weaknesses, selfishness, covetousness, and 
 greed, which prevented the Saints from accepting the higher 
 principles, according to which the Father would have His 
 children live. Specific requirements regarding the pay- 
 ment of tithes were made through revelation in 1838 ; but 
 seven years prior to that time, the voice of the Lord had 
 been heard on the subject of consecration, 2 or the dedica- 
 tion of all one's property, together with his time, talents, 
 and natural endowments, to the service of God, to be used 
 as occasion may require. This again is not new; to the 
 present dispensation the law of consecration is given as a 
 re-enactment; it was recognized and observed with profit 
 in olden times." But even in the apostolic period, the doc- 
 trine of consecration of property and common ownership 
 was old ; thirty-four centuries before that time, the same 
 principle had been practiced by the patriarch Enoch and 
 his people, and with such success that "the Lord came and 
 dwelt with His people; * * * And the Lord called His 
 people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, 
 and dwelt in righteousness ; and there was no poor among 
 them." b In each of the instances cited, — that of the people 
 of Euoch, and that of the Saints in the early part of the 
 Christian era, we learn of the unity of purpose and conse- 
 quent power acquired by the people who lived in this social 
 order; they were "of one heart and one mind." Through 
 the spiritual strength so attained, the apostles were able to 
 perform many mighty works f and of Enoch and his follow- 
 ers we read that the Lord took them unto Himself/ 
 
 12. The people of whom the Book of Mormon gives us 
 record also attained to the blessed state of equality, and 
 
 z Doc. and Cov. xlii, 71. 
 
 a Acts iv, 32, 34-35; see also ii, 44-46. 
 
 b Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, p. 37, (1888 e<D 
 
 c Acts ii, 43. 
 
 d See pp. 362-363. 
 
ART. 13. j STEWARDSHIP. 451 
 
 with corresponding results. The disciples, whom Christ had 
 personally commissioned, taught with power, and, "they 
 had all things common among them, every man dealing 
 justly, one with another." 6 Further, we read of a general 
 conversion by which the people came to a condition of ideal 
 peace; "there were no contentions or disputations among 
 them * * * And they had all things common among 
 them, therefore they were not rich and poor, bond and 
 free, but they were all made free, and partakers of 
 the heavenly gift." 7 They were so blessed, that of 
 them the prophet said: — "Surely there could not be a 
 happier people among all the people who had been 
 created by the hand of God." flf But after nearly two cen- 
 turies of this happy condition, the people gave way to pride ; 
 some of them yielded to a passion for costly apparel ; then 
 they refused to longer have their goods in common; and 
 straightway many classes came into existence; dissenting 
 sects were established; and then began a rapid course of 
 disruption, which led to the extinction of the Nephite 
 nation.' 1 
 
 13. Stewardship in the Church today: — A system of 
 unity in temporal matters has been revealed to the Church 
 in this day ; such is currently known as the Order of Enoch/ 
 or the United Order/ and is founded on the law of conse- 
 cration. As already stated, in the early days of the modern 
 Church the people demonstrated their inability to abide 
 this law in its fulness, and, in consequence, the lesser law of 
 tithing was given ; but the Saints confidently await the day 
 in which they will devote, not merely a tithe of their sub- 
 
 e III Nephi xxvi, 19. 
 
 / IV Nephi i, 2-3. 
 
 g Verse 16. 
 
 h Verse 24, etc. 
 
 i Doc. and Cov lxxviii. 
 
 j Doc. and Cov. civ, 48. 
 
452 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIV. 
 
 stance, but all that they have, and all that they are, to the 
 service of their God ; a day in which no man will speak of 
 mine and thine, but all things shall be theirs and the 
 Lord's. 
 
 14. In this expectation, they indulge no vague dream of 
 communism, encouraging individual irresponsibility, and 
 giving the idler an excuse for hoping to live at the expense 
 of the thrifty; but rather, a calm trust that in the prom- 
 ised social order which God can approve, every man will be 
 a steward in the full enjoyment of liberty to do as he will 
 with the talents committed to his care; but with the sure 
 knowlege that an account of his stewardship will be re- 
 quired at his hands. As far as the plan of this prospective 
 organization has been revealed, it provides that a person 
 entering the order shall consecrate to the Lord all that he 
 has, be it little or much, giving to the Church a deed of 
 his property sealed with a covenant that cannot be broken/" 
 The person thus having given his all, is to be made a stew- 
 ard over a part of the property of the Church, according 
 to his ability to use it. The varying grades of occupation 
 will still exist; there will be laborers, whose qualifications 
 fit them best for common toil; and managers who have 
 proved their ability to lead and direct ; some who can serve 
 the cause of God best with the pen, others with the plow; 
 there will be engineers and mechanics, artisans and artists, 
 farmers and scholars, teachers, pro'fessors, and authors; — 
 every one laboring as far as practicable in the sphere of his 
 choice, but each required to work, and to work where and 
 how he can be of the greatest service. His stewardship is 
 to be assured him by written deed, and as long as he is 
 faithful to his charge, no man can take it from him.' Of 
 the proceeds of his labors, every man will use as he may 
 
 k Doc. and Cov., xlii, 30. 
 I Doc. and Cov., li, 4-5. 
 
ART. 13.] STEWARDSHIP. 453 
 
 require for the support of himself and his family ; the sur- 
 plus is to be rendered to the Church for public and general 
 works, and for the assistance of those who are worthily 
 deficient." 1 As further illustrative of the uses to which the 
 surplus is to be devoted, we read: — "All children have 
 claim upon their parents for their maintenance until they 
 are of age. And after that they have claim upon the 
 Church, or in other words, upon the Lord's storehouse, if 
 their parents have not wherewith to give them inheritances. 
 And the storehouse shall be kept by the consecrations of the 
 Church, and widows and orphans shall be provided for, as 
 also the poor.' 1 Any faithful steward, requiring additional 
 capital for the improvement of his work, has a claim for 
 such upon the custodians of the general fund, they in turn 
 being held accountable for their management, which con- 
 stitutes their stewardship. Equal rights are to be secured 
 to all. The Lord said: — "And you are to be equal, or, in 
 other words, you are to have equal claims on the properties, 
 for the benefit of managing the concerns of your steward- 
 ships, every man according to his wants, and his needs, 
 inasmuch as his wants are just; and all this for the benefit 
 of the Church of the living God, that every man may im- 
 prove upon his talent, that every man may gain other 
 talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the 
 Lord's storehouse, to become the common property of the 
 
 whole church."* Bancroft Libnry 
 
 15. Freedom of agency is to be secured to every individ- 
 ual; if he be unfaithful he will be dealt with according to 
 the prescribed rules of church discipline. A corresponding 
 power of self-government will be exercised by the several 
 stakes or other branches of the Church, each having inde- 
 
 m Doc. and Cov. xlii, 32-35. 
 n Doc. and Cov. lxxxiii, 4-6. 
 o Doc. and Cov. civ, 70-77. 
 ;; Doc. and. Cov. lxxxii, 17-18. 
 
454 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIY. 
 
 pendent jurisdiction over its own store-houses and its affairs 
 of administration, q all being subject to the general author- 
 ities of the Church. Only the idler would suffer in such an 
 order as is here outlined; he shall surely meet the results of 
 his negligence. Against him the edict of the Almighty has 
 gone forth. We read in the revelations: — "Thou shalt not 
 be idle ; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear 
 the garments of the laborer.'"" "The idler shall not have 
 place in the church except he repents and mends his ways."" 
 "And the inhabitants of Zion, also, shall remember their 
 labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor in all faith- 
 fulness ; for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the 
 Lord."' 
 
 16. Social Order of the Saints: — In view of the prevail- 
 ing conditions of social unrest, of the loud protest against 
 existing systems, whereby the distribution of wealth is 
 becoming more and more unequal, — the rich growing richer 
 from the increasing poverty of the poor, the hand of oppres- 
 sion resting more and more heavily upon the masses, the 
 consequent dissatisfaction with governments, and the half- 
 smothered fires of anarchy discernible in almost every 
 nation, — may we not take comfort in the God-given promise 
 of a better plan? — a plan which seeks without force or vio- 
 lence to establish a natural equality, to take the weapons of 
 despotism from the rich, to aid the lowly and the poor, 11 and 
 to give every man an opportunity to live and to labor in the 
 sphere to which he is adapted. From the tyranny of wealth, 
 as from every other form of oppression, the truth will make 
 men free. To be partakers of such freedom, mankind must 
 
 q Doc. and Cov. li, 10-13, 18. 
 
 r Doc. and Cov. xlii, 42: see also lx, 13; lxxv, 3. 
 
 s Doc. and Cov. lxxv, 29. 
 
 t Doc. and Cov. lxviii, 30; see also lxxxviii, 124. 
 
 u Doc. and Cov. xlii, 39. 
 
ART. 13. J MARRIAGE. 455 
 
 subdue selfishness, which is one of the most potent enemies 
 of godliness. 
 
 17. The Church teaches the necessity of proper social 
 organization, in harmony with the laws of the land; the 
 sanctity of the institution and covenant of marriage as 
 essential to the stability of society; the fulfilment of 
 the Divine law with respect to the perpetuation of the 
 human family; and the importance of strictest personal 
 purity. 
 
 18. Marriage: — The teachings of the scriptures concern- 
 ing the necessity of marriage are numerous and explicit. 
 "The Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be 
 alone ;"" this comprehensive declaration was made concern- 
 ing Adam, immediately after hrs location in Eden ; Eve was 
 given unto him, and the man recognized the necessity of a 
 continued association of the sexes in marriage, and said : — 
 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and 
 shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.""' 
 Neither of the sexes is complete in itself as a counterpart 
 of God. Of the creation of human kind we read: — 
 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of 
 God created he him; male and female created he them."* 
 The purpose of this dual creation is set forth in the 
 next verse of the sacred narrative: — "And God blessed 
 them; and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply 
 and replenish the earth. " tf Such a command would have 
 been meaningless and void if addressed to either of the 
 sexes alone ; for only by the union of both is the propaga- 
 tion of the species possible. And without the power of per- 
 petuating his kind, how insignificant would appear the 
 glory and majesty of man! How little can be accom- 
 
 v Gen. ii, 18. 
 
 w Verse 24. 
 
 x Gen. i, 27; see also v, 2. 
 
 y Verse 28; see also ix, 1, 7; Lev. xxvi, 9. 
 
456 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIV. 
 
 plished by the individual within the limited range of a 
 single mortal existence ! 
 
 19. Grand as may seem the achievements of a man who 
 is truly great, the culmination of his glorious heritage lies 
 in the possibility of his leaving offspring from his own 
 being to continue, perchance, the triumphs of their sire. 
 And if such be true of mortals with respect to the things of 
 earth, how transcendently greater is the power of eternal 
 increase, as viewed in the light of revealed truth concerning 
 the un-ending progression of the future state ! Truly the 
 apostle was wise when he said, "Neither is the man without 
 the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the 
 Lord."* 
 
 20. The Latter-day Saints accept the doctrine that 
 marriage is honorable," and apply it as a requirement to all 
 who are not prevented by physical or other disability from 
 assuming the sacred responsibilities of the wedded state. 
 They consider, as part of the birthright of every worthy 
 man, the privilege and duty to stand as the head of a house- 
 hold, the father of a posterity, which by the blessing of God 
 shall never become extinct; and equally strong is the right 
 of every worthy woman to be a wife and a mother in the 
 family of mankind. In spite of the simplicity, reasonable- 
 ness, and naturalness of these teachings, false teachers have 
 arisen among men, declaring the pernicious doctrine that 
 the married state is but a carnal necessity, inherited by man 
 as an incident of his degraded nature ; and that celibacy is a 
 mark of a higher state, more acceptable in the pure sight 
 of God. Concerning such the Lord haa spoken in this 
 day :—" Whoso forbiddeth to marry is not ordained of God, 
 for marriage is ordained of God unto man * * * that 
 the earth might answer the end of its creation; and that it 
 
 z I Cor. xi, n. 
 a Heb. xiii. 4. 
 
ART. 13. J CELESTIAL MARRIAGE. 457 
 
 might be filled with the measure of man, according to his 
 creation before the world was made." 6 
 
 21. Celestial Marriage: — Marriage, as regarded by the 
 Latter-day Saints, is ordained of God and designed to be an 
 eternal relationship of the sexes. With this people it is not 
 merely a temporal contract to be of effect on earth during 
 the mortal existence of the parties, but a solemn agreement 
 which is to extend beyond the grave. In the complete cere- 
 mony of marriage, as prescribed by the Church, the man 
 and the woman are placed under covenant of mutual fidel- 
 ity, not "until death do you part," but "for time and for 
 all eternity." A contract as far reaching as this, extending 
 not only throughout time, but into the domain of the here- 
 after, requires for its validation an authority superior to that 
 of earth ; and such an authority is found in the holy priest- 
 hood, which, given of God, is eternal. Any powerless than 
 this, while perchance of effect in this life, will surely be 
 void as to the state of the human soul beyond the grave. 
 As the Lord has said: — "All covenants, contracts, bonds, 
 obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, asso- 
 ciations, or expectations, that are not made, and entered 
 into, and sealed, by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who 
 is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and 
 that too most holy, by revelation, and commandment, 
 through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have 
 appointed on the earth to hold this power, * * * * 
 are of no efficacy, virtue, or force, in and after the resurrec- 
 tion from the dead; for all contracts that are not made 
 unto this end,- have an end when men are dead." And, as 
 touching the application of the principle of earthly author- 
 ity for things of earth, and eternal authority for things 
 beyond the grave, to the sacred contract of marriage, the 
 
 b Doc. and Cov. xlix, 15-17. 
 c Doc. and Coy. cxxxii, 7. 
 
458 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIV. 
 
 revelation continues: — "Therefore, if a man marry him a 
 wife in the world, and he marry her not by me, nor by my 
 word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world, 
 and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of 
 force when they are dead, and when they are out of the 
 world ; therefore they are not bound by any law when they 
 are out of the world; Therefore, when they are out of the 
 world, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but 
 are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering 
 servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, 
 and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory ; For these 
 angels did not abide my law, therefore they cannot be 
 enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exalta- 
 tion in their saved condition, to all eternity, and from 
 henceforth are not Gods, but are angels of God, for ever and 
 ever.'"* 
 
 22. This system of holy matrimony, involving covenants 
 as to time and eternity, is known distinctively as Celestial 
 Marriage, — the order of marriage that exists in the celestial 
 worlds. The sacred ordinance of celestial marriage is per- 
 mitted to those members of the Church only who are 
 adjudged worthy of participation in the special blessings of 
 the House of the Lord; for this ordinance, together with 
 others of eternal validity, is to be performed in the temples 
 which are reared and dedicated for such holy service. 6 
 Children, who are born of parents thus married, are natural 
 heirs to the priesthood; ' 'children of the covenant" they 
 are called; they require no ceremony of adoption or sealing 
 to insure them place in the posterity of promise. But the 
 Church sanctions marriages for earthly time only, and bestows 
 upon such the seal of the priesthood, among those who are 
 
 d Doc. and Cov. cxxxii, 15-17. 
 e Doc. and Cov. cxxiv, 30-40. 
 
ART. 13. J PERSONAL PURITY. 459 
 
 not admitted to the temples of the Lord, or who volun- 
 tarily prefer the lesser and temporal order of matrimony. 
 
 23. Unlawful Associations of the Sexes have been desig- 
 nated by the Lord as among the most heinous of sins ; and 
 the Church today regards individual purity in the sexual 
 relation as an indispensable condition of membership. The 
 teachings of the Nephite prophet, Alma, concerning the 
 enormity of offences against virtue and chastity, are 
 accepted by the Latter-day Saints without modification; and 
 such are to the effect: — "That these things are an abomin- 
 ation in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above 
 all sins, save it be the shedding of innocent blood, or deny- 
 ing the Holy Ghost. ,y The command: — "Thou shalt not 
 commit adultery," — once written by the finger of God amid 
 the thunders and lightnings of Sinai, has been renewed as a 
 specific injunction in these the last days; and the penalty 
 of excommunication has been prescribed for the offender. 9 ' 
 Moreover, the Lord regards any approach to sexual sin as 
 inconsistent with the professions of those who have received 
 the Holy Spirit, for he has declared that "he that looketh on 
 a woman to lust after her, or if any shall commit adultery in 
 their hearts, they shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny 
 the faith. " fc 
 
 24. Sanctity of the Body: — The Church counsels its 
 members that each regard his body as "the temple of 
 God ;"' and that he maintain its purity and sanctity as such. 
 He is taught that the Spirit of the Lord dwells not in un- 
 clean tabernacles; and that, therefore, he is required to 
 live according to the laws of health, which constitute part 
 of the law of God. For the special guidance of. His Saints, 
 
 / Alma xxxix, 5. 
 
 g Doc, and Cov. xlii, 24, 80-83; lxiii, 16-17. 
 h Doc. and Cov. lxiii, 16; see also xlii, 23. 
 i I Cor. iii, 16. 
 
460 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. [LECT. XXIV. 
 
 the Lord has revealed a "Word of Wisdom"- 7 ' unto the 
 people; in accordance with which they are counseled to eat 
 wholesome food only; to abstain from strong drink, hot 
 drinks, and all kinds of stimulants and narcotics; to eat 
 flesh but sparingly, and to maintain in all respects a health- 
 ful state of the physical organism. And, on condition of 
 their compliance with these behests, the Saints have been 
 promised, that all "Who remember to keep and do these 
 sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall 
 receive health in their navel, and marrow in their bones, 
 and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, 
 even hidden treasures ; and shall run and not be weary, and 
 shall walk and not faint ; And I, the Lord, give unto them 
 a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as 
 the children of Israel."* 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. Love, the Fulflling of the Law:— "Peter says, 'Above all things have 
 fervent love [charity] among yourselves.' [I Peter iv, 8]. Above all things. And 
 John goes farther, 'God is love.' [I John iv, 8]. And you remember the profound 
 remark which Paul makes elsewhere, 'Love is the fulflling of the law.' [Rom. 
 xiii, 10; Gal. v, 14.] Did you ever think what he meant by that? In those days 
 men were working their passage to heaven by keeping the ten commandments, 
 and the hundred and ten other commandments which they had manufactured out 
 of them. Christ said, I will show you a more simple way. If you do one thing, 
 you will do these hundred and ten things without ever thinking about them. If 
 you love, you will unconsciously fulfil the whole law. * * * * Take any of the 
 commandments, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' If a man love God 
 you will not require to tell him that. Love is the fulfiling of that law. 'Take not 
 his name in vain.' Would he ever dream of taking his name in vain if he loved 
 him? 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' Would he not be too glad 
 to have one day in seven to dedicate more exclusively to the object of his affec- 
 tion? Love would fulfil all these laws regarding God. And so if he loved man, 
 you would never think of telling him to honor his father and mother. He could 
 never do anything else. It would be preposterous to tell him not to kill. You 
 could only insult him if you suggested that he should not steal.— how could he 
 steal from those he loved? It would be superfluous to beg him not to bear false 
 
 j Doc. and Co v. lxxxix; read the revelation entire. 
 k Doc. and Cov. lxxxix, 18-21. 
 
ART. 13.] NOTES. 461 
 
 witness against his neighbor. If he loved him it would be the last thing he 
 would do. And you would never dream of urging him not to covet what his 
 neighbors had. He would rather they possessed it than himself. In this way 
 'Love is the fulfiling of the law.' "— Drummond— The Greatest Thing in the 
 World. 
 
 2. Charity and Love :—" According to the etymology and original usage, 
 beneficence is the doing well, benevolence the wishing or willing well to others; 
 but benevolence has come to include beneficence and to displace it. * * * Charity 
 which originally meant the love for God and man (as in I Cor. xiii) is now 
 almost universally applied to some form of alms-giving and is much more limited 
 in meaning than benevolence"— Standard Dictionary. 
 
 Charity means "properly, love, and hence acts of kindness. The word never 
 occurs in the Old Testament; in the New Testament it is always, with one 
 exception, synonymous with love, and in every case the love of man toward his 
 fellow man, and to that which is good (see especially I Cor. xiii.) The 'feasts of 
 charity' in Jude 12, are commonly understood to be the agapce, or 'love-feasts,' 
 which were prevalent in the early church, and which consisted in a simple 
 fraternal meeting for worship, and an equally simple social repast."— Bible Dic- 
 tionary, Cassell. 
 
 "Charity is only a little bit of love; one of the innumerable avenues of love, 
 and there may even he, and there is, a great deal of charity without love. It is a 
 very easy thing to toss a copper to a beggar on the street; it is generally an 
 easier thing than not to do it. * * * We purchase relief from the sympathetic 
 feelings roused by the spectacle of misery, at the copper's cost, It is too cheap— 
 too cheap for us, and often too dear for the b3ggar. If we really loved him, we 
 would either do more for him or less."— Drummond:— The Greatest Theory in the 
 World. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 Note :— In view of the expressed wish of the Church authorities by whose 
 direction this work is published,— that the Lectures on the "Articles of Faith," 
 be used as a text-book and work of reference in the various theological organiz - 
 ations of the Church, a series of questions and suggestive exercises, for the work 
 of class review, is herewith presented. 
 
 Lecture I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 1. What is Theology? (State, 1, derivation of the word; 
 2, extent of the science. ) 
 
 2. Compare Theology and Eeligion. 
 
 3. Define the "Articles of Faith." (Give: — 1, circum- 
 stance of their origin, see note, p. 24; 2, their re-adoption 
 by the Church ; 3, their necessary incompleteness as an ex- 
 pression of our belief. ) 
 
 4. Name the standard works of the Church. 
 
 5. State the principal incidents connected with the 
 parentage, birth, and youth of the Prophet Joseph Smith. 
 
 6. Give the circumstances of Joseph Smith's prayerful 
 search for truth. 
 
 7. Describe his first vision. 
 
 8. What prominent feature of modern sectarian teach- 
 ing, regarding the personality of the Father and His Son, 
 Jesus Christ, was disproved by this vision? 
 
 9. How was Joseph's statement of his vision'received by 
 sectarian teachers of that time? 
 
 10. Describe the visitations of Moroni to Joseph Smith. 
 (Give: — 1, dates; 2, most important messages delivered by 
 the angel.) 
 
 11. Describe the re-establishment of the Church through 
 the ministry of Joseph Smith in the present dispensation. 
 
464 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. 
 
 12. Relate the circumstances of the martyrdom of 
 Joseph and his brother Hyrum. — (Doc. and Cov. cxxxv.) 
 
 13. Show the importance of the Divine authenticity of 
 Joseph Smith's calling, in respect to the claims made for the 
 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 
 
 14. Summarize the evidence of Divine authority in the 
 work accomplished by Joseph Smith. 
 
 15. Give instances of the fulfilment of ancient prophecy 
 in his work. 
 
 16. Show the Divine source of Joseph Smith's authority 
 in the priesthood. 
 
 17. Show the validity of the claim made, that he was a 
 true prophet. (Give: — 1, the Lord's test of a true prophet ; 
 2, give instances of important prophecies uttered by Joseph 
 Smith and already fulfilled.) 
 
 Lecture II, Article 1. 
 
 GOD AND THE GODHEAD. 
 
 1. Show that the exercise of faith in God is dependent 
 upon a knowledge of His existence. 
 
 2. State what you know of the general belief of man- 
 kind as to the existence of God. 
 
 3. Summarize the evidence on which our belief in the 
 existence of God is founded. 
 
 4. Give evidence drawn from human history and tradi- 
 tion. 
 
 5. Show how the exercise of reason affords evidence of 
 the same. 
 
 6. Give the evidence of revelation. (1, Instances recorded 
 in the Bible; 2, Book of Mormon instances; 3, examples 
 from modern revelation.) 
 
 7. Show that the Godhead is a Trinity. 
 
 8. What do you understand by the scriptural declara- 
 tions concerning the unity of the Godhead? 
 
 -■' 9. Give evidence of the personality of each member of 
 the Godhead (with scriptural references). 
 
 10. Summarize the most important of the Divine attri- 
 butes as attested by scripture. 
 
 
REVIEW. 465 
 
 11. Define: — 1, Idolatry; 2, Atheism; 3, Theism, with its 
 varied modifications. 
 
 12. Show that atheism is of comparatively modern de- 
 velopment. 
 
 13. Show that a belief in God is natural and necessary 
 amongst human-kind. (See pp. 49, 53.) 
 
 14. In what way does the idolatry of heathen nations 
 support a belief in the existence of God? 
 
 15. Show the close relationship between atheism and 
 immaterialism. 
 
 Lecture III, Article 2. 
 
 TRANSGRESSION. 
 
 1. Give the principal scriptural proofs of man's free 
 agency (quote evidence from each of the standard works of 
 the Church.) 
 
 2. Show that man's accountability for his acts is just, in 
 view of his rights of free agency. 
 
 3. What is sin? (1, Compare wilful sins with those 
 committed in ignorance ; 2, give scriptural evidence of the 
 Lord's plan of dealing in the two cases.) 
 
 4. Show that punishment for sin is ordained of God. 
 
 5. Give a statement of scriptural teachings regarding 
 the duration of punishment in the hereafter. (State the 
 Lord's definition of endless and eternal punishment.) 
 
 6. Give scriptural proofs of the personality of Satan. 
 (1, His former position in heaven; 2, his title before his fall; 
 3, his expulsion from heaven; 4, his present opposition to 
 the purposes of God; 5, his predicted fate.) 
 
 THE PALL. 
 
 7. Describe the condition of our first parents in Eden. 
 
 8. What important commands were given them by the 
 Lord? 
 
 9. Give the scriptural statements concerning Satan 
 tempting Eve. 
 
 10. Show that Adam understood the nature of his act 
 in partaking of the forbidden fruit. 
 
 11. What is known of the Tree of Life in the Garden of 
 Eden? 
 
466 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. 
 
 12. Show that the expulsion of our first parents from 
 Eden was a necessity after their transgression. 
 
 13. What were the immediate results of the Fall? 
 
 S\\. Give scriptural proof that the Fall was necessary 
 and fore-ordained. 
 
 15. Show that mortality is a blessed heritage to man- 
 kind. 
 
 16. State the doctrine of the Atonement as declared to 
 Adam after the Fall. 
 
 17. Describe the joy of Adam and Eve when they 
 learned of the effect of the Fall and the Atonement pro- 
 vided. 
 
 Lecture IV, Article 3. 
 
 THE ATONEMENT AND SALVATION. 
 
 1. Define "atonement" in its scriptural usage. (Compare 
 its meaning with that of "reconciliation," as the latter term 
 occurs in the New Testament.) 
 
 2. State what you know of the nature of the Atonement. 
 
 3. Show that the Atonement is a necessary sequence of 
 the Fall. 
 
 4. What is meant by a vicarious sacrifice? (Give scrip- 
 tural instances of such as recorded in the Old Testament.) 
 
 5. Show that Christ's sacrifice was, 1, vicarious; 2, vol- 
 untary on His part; 3, love-inspired. 
 
 6. Give scriptural proofs (from each of the standard 
 works) that the Atonement was fore-ordained, and foretold. 
 
 7. Show: — 1, the general, and 2-, the individual effect, of 
 the Atonement amongst mankind. 
 
 8. Define: — 1, "salvation;" 2, "exaltation." 
 
 9. Name the "Degrees of Glory" in their order, as 
 revealed of God. 
 
 10. Give a summary of the scriptural descriptions of : — 
 1, the Celestial kingdom or glory; 2, the Terrestrial; 3, the 
 Telestial. 
 
 Lecture V, Article 4. 
 
 faith. 
 
 1. State the nature of faith. 
 
 2. Define the terms "faith," "belief" and "knowledge," 
 in their relation to one another. 
 
REVIEW. 467 
 
 3. Give scriptural instances of belief in Christ, which 
 had no saving power. 
 
 4. What do you regard as the essential foundation of 
 faith in God? 
 
 5. Give Joseph Smith's summary of facts respecting the 
 character and attributes of God. 
 
 6. Show how misplaced faith may result from false 
 evidence. 
 
 7. What is meant by the statement that faith is a prin- 
 ciple of power? (Give scriptural instances). 
 
 8. Prove that faith is essential to salvation. 
 
 9. Show from the scriptures that faith is a gift from 
 God. 
 
 10. Show that faith, to be effective must be accompanied 
 by good works. 
 
 REPENTANCE. 
 
 11. What is meant by true repentance? 
 
 12. State the conditions under which forgiveness of sins 
 is promised. 
 
 13. Prove that repentance is essential to salvation. 
 
 14. Show that repentance is a gift from God. 
 
 15. How may this gift be lost or forfeited? 
 
 16. What evidence have we that repentance is possible in 
 the hereafter? 
 
 17. Give a summary of the teachings of Amulek regard- 
 ing the danger of procrastination in the matter of repent- 
 ance. 
 
 Lectures VI axd VII, Article 4. 
 
 BAPTISM. 
 
 1. State what you know of the earliest revelation from 
 God regarding baptism. 
 
 2. What is the special purpose of baptism? (Give proofs, 
 1, from the Bible.; 2, from the Book of Mormon; 3, from 
 modern revelation.) 
 
 3. Who are fit subjects for Baptism? 
 
 4. Show that infant baptism is unscriptural. (1, That it 
 is unsustained by the Bible ; 2, that it is forbidden in the 
 Book of Mormon, and by modern revelation.) 
 
 5. (Jive a brief account of the history of infant baptism. 
 
468 THE ARTICLES OE FAITH. 
 
 6. Define: — "Pedobaptists ;" "Anabaptists. "(Give deriva- 
 tion of the terms and their present meanings.) 
 
 7. Prove by scriptural evidence that baptism is essential 
 to salvation; (1, from the Bible; 2, from the Book of 
 Mormon; 3, from the Doctrine and Covenants.) 
 
 8. Why was Christ's baptism a necessity? 
 
 9. Give a summary of the reasons upon which the Latter- 
 day Saints base their belief that immersion is the only true 
 mode of baptism. 
 
 10. Show what evidence is furnished by the derivation of 
 the word "baptize," and its early usage. 
 
 11. Show how the symbolism of the baptismal rite is best 
 preserved by immersion. 
 
 12. Give scriptural and other historical evidence that 
 immersion is the only form sanctioned by the Lord. 
 
 13. Give the revealed formula for baptism; (1, among 
 the Xephites; 2, in the present dispensation). 
 
 14. Under what conditions may baptism be repeated on 
 the same person? 
 
 15. Give instances of "re-baptism" mentioned in scrip- 
 ture, and allowed in the present dispensation, showing the 
 special or exceptional nature of such repetitions of the 
 ordinance. 
 
 "~l6. Show the impropriety of repeated baptisms of the 
 same person. 
 
 17. Demonstrate the necessity of baptism for the dead. 
 
 18. What evidence have we that the gospel is preached 
 to the dead? 
 
 19. Cite scriptural predictions of Christ's ministry 
 amongst the dead. 
 
 20. Prove that the vicarious work of the living for the 
 dead in the last dispensation was foretold. 
 
 21. Show that the authority for this labor has been 
 already given to the Church. 
 
 22. Explain the two-fold nature of this vicarious labor for 
 the dead. 
 
 23. What is a temple? 
 
 24. Give a brief account of ancient temples accepted by 
 the Lord. 
 
 25. Describe the work of temple-building already ac- 
 complished by the Church in the present dispensation. 
 
REVIEW. 469 
 
 Lecture VIII, Article 4. 
 
 THE HOLY GHOST. 
 
 1. Cite biblical promises concerning the advent of the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 2. Give other scriptural proof, (1, from the Book of 
 Mormon; 2, from the record of modern revelation), that the 
 Holy Ghost is to minister unto all who have been properly 
 baptized. 
 
 3. Give the principal names and titles by which the 
 Holy Ghost is described in scripture. 
 
 4. What is the special office of the Holy Ghost as a 
 member of the Godhead? 
 
 5. Give scriptural proofs of the Holy Ghost's personality. 
 
 6. Describe the office of the Holy Ghost in His minis- 
 trations among men. 
 
 7. To whom is the Holy Ghost promised? 
 
 8. Give instances of the Holy Ghost's ministrations unto 
 sincere believers who had not been baptized ; explain such 
 exceptional instances. 
 
 9. Describe the ordinance of conferring the Holy Ghost 
 in the case of those who have been baptized. 
 
 10. Show that the authoritative laying-on of hands was 
 a feature of the ordinance in former days; (1, among the 
 Jews; 2, among the Nephites.) 
 
 11. To which order of priesthood does the authority to 
 confer the Holy Ghost belong? (Give scriptural proofs.) 
 
 12. Show that the imposition of hands by those in 
 authority is characteristic of other ordinances in the 
 Church. 
 
 13. What is meant by "Gifts of the Spirit?" 
 
 Lecture IX, in Connection with Article 4. 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 1. Define the term "sacrament" in its general and 
 specific uses. 
 
 2. Describe the institution of the Sacrament by the 
 Savior, (1, among the Jews; 2, among the JSTephites.) 
 
 3. Who are fit partakers of the Sacrament? 
 
470 THE AKTICLES OF FAITH. 
 
 4. Cite scriptural caution, 1, against partaking of the 
 Sacrament unworthily; 2, against knowingly administering 
 it to the unfit. 
 
 5. What is the purpose of the Sacrament? 
 
 6. What did Christ administer as the emblems of His 
 body and blood? 
 
 7. What justification has the Church for using water 
 instead of wine under certain conditions? 
 
 8. Give the prescribed prayers of consecration; 1, for 
 the bread; 2, for the wine or water. 
 
 9. What grade of authority in the priesthood is re- 
 quisite in consecrating the sacramental emblems? 
 
 10. What relationship exists between the Sacrament and 
 the Jewish Passover? 
 
 Lecture X, Article 5. 
 
 AUTHORITY IN THE MINISTRY. 
 
 1. Give scriptural examples of men who were called of 
 God by special revelation or by personal ministration: 1, be- 
 fore the "Meridian of Time;" 2, in the days of Christ; 3, in 
 the apostolic period; 4, in the "Dispensation of the Fulness 
 of Times." 
 
 2. In what manner is the priesthood conferred? 
 
 3. Xame the principal holders of the priesthood from 
 Adam to Moses. 
 
 4. Cite instances of God's disapproval of unauthorized 
 ministrations. (Give the circumstances in the following 
 cases; 1, Korah and his associates^ 2, Miriam and Aaron; 3, 
 Uzza; 4, Saul; 5, Uzziah; 6, sons of Sceva.) 
 
 5. Give scriptural predictions concerning false teachers 
 who would arise. 
 
 6. Prove the existence of the priesthood in the' Church 
 today. 
 
 7. Give an account of the restoration of 1, the Aaronic, 
 and, 2, the Melchisedek priesthood, in the present dispensa- 
 tion. 
 
 FORE-ORDINATION AND PRE-EXISTENCE. 
 
 8. How was the fact of fore-ordination made known to 
 Abraham? 
 
REVIEW. 471 
 
 9. Give scriptural proofs of Christ's fore-ordination as 
 the Redeemer of mankind. 
 
 10. Cite other scriptures supporting the doctrine of fore- 
 ordination. (1, New Testament; 2, Book of Mormon.) 
 
 11. Show that fore-ordination does not infringe upon 
 free agency. 
 
 12. Give scriptural proofs of the pre-existence of spirits. 
 
 Lecture XI, Article 6. 
 
 CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 
 
 1. What is the Church? (Sustain your definition by 
 scriptural records.) 
 
 2. What is meant by the Primitive Church? 
 
 3. What evidence have you that a genera? apostasy from 
 the Primitive' Church occurred? 
 
 4. Show by the scriptures that this apostasy was foretold. 
 (Give evidence, 1, from the Old Testament; 2, from the 
 New Testament; 3, from the Book of Mormon.) 
 
 5. Show that the restoration of the Church to earth was 
 foretold. 
 
 6. Define "priesthood." 
 
 7. Name the principal orders of priesthood as revealed. 
 
 8. What relationship exists between the Aaronic and the 
 Levitical priesthood? 
 
 9. Name the special offices in the Aaronic priesthood in 
 order, with a statement of the specific duties and authority 
 of each. 
 
 10. Name the special ^offices in the Melchisedek priest- 
 hood, in order, describing the authority and duties of each. 
 
 ~y 11. Describe the constitution and authority of each of 
 
 / the following presiding "quorums" in the priesthood: — 1, 
 
 The First Presidency; 2, The Quorum of the Twelve 
 
 Apostles; 3, The Presiding Quorum of Seventy; 4, The 
 
 Presiding Bishopric. 
 
 12. Define "branch," "ward," and "stake," as used to 
 designate divisions of the Church. 
 
 13. Explain the constitution, authority and special 
 duties of: — 1, Stake Presidency; 2, Standing High Council; 
 3, Ward Bishopric. 
 
472 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. 
 
 14. What ordination in the priesthood is requisite in the 
 case of members of the presiding organizations last named? 
 
 15. Define "quorum" in its special sense as used by the 
 Latter-day Saints. 
 
 16. What is a Patriarch? (1. Define in this connection the 
 term "evangelist;" 2, show in what respect succession to 
 the presiding patriarchal office differs from that in other 
 offices and callings in the priesthood.) 
 
 17. Name the auxiliary organizations which, operate as 
 "helps in government" within the Church. 
 
 18. Give the special duties of each of these. (Xamed on 
 p. 216.) 
 
 19. Show how the principle of common consent is ob- 
 served in appointments to office within the Church. 
 
 Lectdre XII, Article 7. 
 
 SPIRITUAL. GIFTS. 
 
 1. Show that the existence of spiritual gifts has ever 
 been characteristic of the priesthood. 
 
 2. Give scriptural proof that such gifflS will always be 
 found in the Church. 
 
 3. What is a miracle? 
 
 4. Why are miracles called by some, supernatural occur- 
 rences? 
 
 5. For what purpose are spiritual gifts manifested in the 
 Church? 
 
 6. Show that miraculous manifestations are not an infal- 
 lible indication of the operation of the priesthood. 
 
 7. Name the spiritual gifts specifically mentioned in the 
 scriptures. 
 
 8. Describe the usual manifestation characterizing each 
 of the following gifts, with scriptural illustrations of 
 each: — 1, The gift of tongues and interpretation; 2, of 
 healing, and the gift of faith to be healed; 3, of visions; -4, 
 of dreams; 5, of prophecy; 6, of revelation. 
 
 9. Cite scriptural promises that certain sign-gifts of the 
 Spirit shall follow the believer. 
 
 10. Give instances of miracles wrought by evil powers. 
 
 11. Cite the predictions of John the Revelator regarding 
 
BE VIEW. 473 
 
 such imitations of the gifts of the Spirit, which are to char- 
 acterize the work of God in the last days. 
 
 12. What did Christ say about signs and wonders that 
 would be wrought by wicked men? 
 
 13. What evidence have you of the existence of spiritual 
 gifts in the Church today? 
 
 Lectuee XIII, Article 8. 
 
 THE BIBLE. 
 
 1. What position does the Bible occupy among the 
 standard works of the Church? 
 
 2. What reservation does the Church make in accepting 
 the modern versions of the Bible as the unchanged word of 
 God? 
 
 3. Define "Bible;" — l.(Give the derivation of the word; 
 and, 2, its modern usage.) 
 
 4. Show that the division into Old and New Testaments 
 is natural, and self-suggestive. 
 
 5. Explain the term "canon of scripture" as applied to 
 the Bible. 
 
 6. Explain, with scriptural references, the growth of the 
 Old Testament from the time of Moses to that of Malachi. 
 
 7. State what you know of the language in which the 
 books of the, Old Testament were originally written. 
 
 8. What is the Septuagint? (1, Give the meaning of 
 the term; 2, describe the origin of the book.) 
 
 9. Classify the books of the Old Testament as at present 
 compiled. 
 
 10. What classification of Old Testament writings was 
 recognized in the days of the Savior's ministry? 
 
 11. What is the Pentateuch? (1, Define the term; 2, 
 enumerate the books comprised; 3, state what you know of 
 their authorship; 4, give an account of the copies or 
 versions possessed by the Jews and the Samaritans ancient- 
 
 iy-) 
 
 12 Name the Historical books in order. 
 
 13. Name the Poetical books. (In this connection, de- 
 fine the term "Hagiographa.") 
 
 14. Name the Prophetical books. (1, In their order as 
 
_^--'-? 
 
 / 
 
 474 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. 
 
 at present compiled; 2, in the probable order of their pro- 
 duction). 
 
 18. What is meant by the Apocrypha? 
 
 19. What is the New Testament? 
 
 20. Give the principal historical evidence of investiga- 
 tion regarding the authenticity of the New Testament 
 books. 
 
 21. Name and classify the books of the New Testament. 
 
 22. What is the Vulgate? 
 
 23. Specify the principal modern versions of the Bible. 
 
 24. Give evidence supporting belief in the genuineness 
 and authenticity of the Bible. 
 
 25. State the principal items of evidence from the Book 
 of Mormon, corroborating the authenticity of the Bible. 
 
 26. Give the important conclusions of biblical scholars 
 regarding the genuineness of the New Testament or of parts 
 thereof. 
 
 27. Give the principal biblical references to scriptures 
 not contained in the Bible. 
 
 Lecture XIV, Article 8. 
 
 THE BOOTS OF MORMON. 
 
 1. What is the Book of Mormon? 
 
 2. How was the ancient record brought to modern 
 notice? 
 
 3. What do we learn from the title-pa#« of the Book of 
 Mormon as to the nations or peoples whose history is dealt, 
 with in the volume? 
 
 4. Which was the earliest o£ the nations, mentioned in 
 the Book of Mormon, which established itself on the Amer- 
 ican continent? 
 
 5. Give an account of the journey of Lehi and his 
 colonj -from Jerusalem to America. (State: 1, the Divine 
 instructions directing Lehi to leave ; 2, time of this occur- 
 rence; 3, the course of their overland journey; 4, journey 
 across the ocean; 5, place of landing in America.) 
 
 6. Describe the origin of Nephites and Lamanites 
 respectively. 
 
 7. Who were the Jaredites? (1, Why so named; 2, time 
 
REVIEW. 475 
 
 and manner of their migration to this continent; 3, brief 
 statement of their history.) 
 
 8. How came the record of the Jaredites to be incorpor- 
 ated with the Nephite writings? 
 
 9. What is known of Mnlek and his people? 
 
 10. Name the classes of plates referred to in the Book of 
 Mormon; (1, on the title page; 2, elsewhere in the volume). 
 
 11. State what is known of the plates of Nephi; (1, 
 their origin; 2, the "larger" as distinguished from the 
 "smaller" plates; 3, method by which the record grew.) 
 
 12. What is Mormon's abridgment of the plates of 
 Nephi? 
 
 13. Which of the plates of Nephi did Mormon include 
 with his own abridgment? 
 
 14. What great purpose of the Lord was subserved by 
 this duplication of part of the ancient record? 
 
 15. Describe the circumstances resulting in the plates 
 coming into the custody of Joseph Smith: (1, his first 
 information regarding their existence; 2, his first view of 
 the plates; 3, his four years of probation; 4, his possession 
 of the plates.) 
 
 16. What other sacred articles were buried with the 
 plates? 
 
 17. What is meant by the Urim and Thummim? 
 
 18. What purpose did these instruments serve in the work 
 of translation? 
 
 19. Give an outline of the circumstances attending the 
 translation and publication of the Book of Mormon: (1, 
 difficulties attending the work; 2, date of first publication). 
 
 20. What is the testimony of the learned regarding the 
 characters of parts of the original record? 
 
 21. Summarize the evidence of the genuineness of the 
 Book of Mormon: (Show the distinction between genuine- 
 ness and authenticity). 
 
 22. Who were the three witnesses to the genuineness of 
 the book? Give an outline of their testimony. 
 
 23. Name the eight witnesses. To what did they testify? 
 
 24. W T hat is the so-called "Spaulding Story" of the 
 origin of the Book of Mormon? Show its absurdity. 
 
 25. Explain the arrangement of the several parts of the 
 Book of Mormon. 
 
476 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. 
 
 Lecture XV, Article 8. 
 
 AUTHENTICITY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. 
 
 i. Summarize the proofs of the authenticity of the 
 Book of Mormon. 
 
 2. Show that the Book of Mormon and the Bible cor- 
 roborate each other in matters on which they treat in 
 common. 
 
 3. Demonstrate the fulfilment of ancient prophecy in 
 the coming forth of the Book of Mormon; (1, of prophe- 
 cies contained in the Pearl of Great Price; 2, of Old 
 Testament prophecies, specifically those of Isaiah and 
 Ezekiel). 
 
 4. State what you know of the consistency of the Book 
 of Mormon in style and matter. 
 
 5. Give examples of Book of Mormon prophecies, the 
 fulfilment of which is recorded therein. 
 
 6. Give examples of Book of Mormon prophecies, the 
 fulfilment of which has taken place since the closing of the 
 record. 
 
 7. State what you know of Book of Mormon prophecy 
 yet awaiting fulfilment. 
 
 8. Summarize the general results of modern investiga- 
 tion and research with which the Book of Mormon is in 
 striking accord. 
 
 9. Give evidence that America was inhabited at a very 
 ancient period ; (1, cite the conclusions of investigators; 
 and 2, compare with the Book of Mormon account.) 
 
 10. Give the principal evidence of the successive occupa- 
 tion of the American continent by different peoples in 
 ancient times ; confirm by the Book of Mormon account. 
 
 11. Give the principal conclusions of investigators con- 
 cerning the Asiatic origin of the first colonies who came to 
 America. 
 
 12. Summarize the evidence indicating their Israelitish 
 origin. 
 
 13. State in a general way the traditions of America's 
 native people concerning: — 1, The Deluge; 2, the Divinity 
 of Christ, and His crucifixion. 
 
 14. Show the resemblance of certain religious cere- 
 
REVIEW. 477 
 
 Diiies as practised by the Jews, and by some of the 
 tive American peoples. 
 
 15. What evidence is there, external to the Book of 
 ormon, indicating the common origin of all the American 
 races?" 
 
 16. Confirm the foregoing conclusions (11 to 15) by the 
 ook of Mormon record. 
 
 17. What is known of the written languages current 
 nong the Nephites? In what language were the plates of 
 , r ephi and those of Mormon inscribed? 
 
 18. What external evidence is there of the Egyptian 
 mguage having been known among the American peoples? 
 
 19. Give evidence of the survival of the Hebrew lan- 
 uage among the native tribes. 
 
 20. What test of the authenticity of the Book of Mor- 
 ion is given by the last of the writers? 
 
 Lecture XVI, Article 9. 
 
 REVELATION, PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. 
 
 1. What is revelation? Compare with inspiration. 
 
 2. Show that revelation is God's chosen method of com- 
 Qimication through the priesthood. 
 
 3. What is known of God's revelations to: — 1, Adam; 2, 
 inoch; 3, Noah; 4, Abraham; 5, Isaac; 6, Jacob; 7, 
 Moses? 
 
 4. Give examples of Divine revelation through other Old 
 restament prophets. 
 
 5. Show that Christ was a revelator, while He dwelt 
 imong men. 
 
 6. Give scriptural evidence of revelation having been 
 riven through the apostles of old. 
 
 7. Show that the doctrine of continual revelation is 
 reasonable. 
 
 8. Show that it is scriptural. 
 
 9. Show that continual revelation has ever been charac- 
 teristic of the operations of the priesthood. 
 
 10. Cite the principal objections to this doctrine, pro- 
 fessedly founded on scripture. Show their unscriptural 
 foundation. 
 
 11. Give specific scriptures predicting that revelation is 
 
478 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. 
 
 to characterize the Church in the last dispensation: (1, 
 from the Bible; 2, from the Book of Mormon). 
 
 12. Give instances of modern revelation. Cite promises 
 of the Lord in this dispensation assuring the continuation 
 of revelation in the Church. 
 
 13. Show the reasonableness of expecting yet further 
 revelation. 
 
 14. Show that the doctrine of no further revelation is 
 comparatively modern, and unscriptural. 
 
 15. Show that inspiration does not deprive man of his 
 freedom or individuality. 
 
 Lecture XVII, Article 10. 
 
 THE DISPERSION OF ISRAEL. 
 
 1. Explain the term "Israel." (1, Derivation of the 
 word; 2, bestowal of the title on Jacob; 3, its use as the 
 name of Jacob's posterity ; 4, as a name of one of the king- 
 doms after the division of the nation; 5, as a title of the 
 chosen people of God in a collective sense.) 
 
 2. Give a general outline of the Israelites' history from 
 the time of Jacob receiving the name Israel, to the time 
 of the first king. 
 
 3. Outline the history of Israel as a united nation under 
 the kings. ' 
 
 4. State the circumstances attending the division of the 
 nation. 
 
 5. Outline the history of the kingdom of Judah after the 
 division. 
 
 6. The same of the kingdom of Israel. By what other 
 name is this division of the people sometimes known? 
 
 7. Define the terms "Hebrew" and "Jew." 
 
 8. "Show that the dispersion of Israel was foretold by 
 their prophets from very early times. 
 
 9. On what conditions was this dispersion predicated? 
 
 10. Cite Book of Mormon predictions concerning the 
 dispersion. State specifically the prophecies of Zenos. Who 
 was he? 
 
 11. Give historical evidences of the fulfilment of these 
 prophecies of dispersion in the case of the kingdom of 
 Judah. What part did Xebuchaclnezzar take in the work of 
 
KEVIEW. 479 
 
 dispersion? At what time? Give an account of the Baby- 
 lonian captivity. How. did Titus contribute to the work 
 of dispersion? 
 
 12. Give historical evidence of the fulfilment of 
 prophecy relating to the dispersion of the kingdom of 
 Israel. How did Shalmanezer and Sargon contribute to the 
 dispersion? At what time? Show the literal fulfilment of 
 Ahijah's prophecy to the wife of Jeroboam. 
 
 13. Explain the term, "Lost Tribes." 
 
 14. What is known of the journeyings of the Lost 
 Tribes? 
 
 Lecture XVIII, Article 10. 
 
 THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 
 
 1. Cite Bible promises of the gathering associated with 
 predictions of the dispersion; specifically those by, 1, 
 Moses; 2, Xehemiah; 3, Isaiah; 4, Jeremiah; 5, Ezekiel; 6, 
 Amos. 
 
 2. Give Book of Mormon prophecies regarding the 
 gathering, especially those uttered 1, by Lehi; 2, by 
 Nephi, his son ; 3, by Christ in the course of His ministra- 
 tions among the ]STephites. 
 
 3. Cite instances of modern revelation concerning the 
 gathering. 
 
 4. What does the plan of the gathering of Israel in the 
 last days comprise? 
 
 5. Show that the authority for prosecuting the work of 
 gathering has been given to the Church in this dispensa- 
 tion. 
 
 6. What is the purpose of the gathering? 
 
 7. Give an account of the work as now in progress. 
 
 8. In what respect are the people of Israel a chosen 
 people? 
 
 9. Show how the fulfilment of the promise made to 
 Abraham, that through his descendants all nations of the 
 earth should be blessed, has been brought about through the 
 dispersion of Israel. 
 
 10. Give another evidence of the fulfilment of that pre- 
 diction, based on the lineage of Christ. 
 
480 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. 
 
 11. Give scriptural prophecies relating to the restoration 
 of the Ten Tribes. 
 
 12. Show that the establishment of Zion is to precede 
 the restoration of the Ten Tribes. 
 
 Lecture XIX, Article 10. 
 
 ZION. 
 
 1. Show from the scriptures that two gathering places 
 are to be established in the last dispensation. 
 
 2. Define "Zion." (1, Meaning of the term; 2, its 
 varied applications.) 
 
 3. Give an outline of the history of Jerusalem from the 
 time of its first mention in scripture to that of its over- 
 throw by the Romans. 
 
 4. Cite scriptural promises relating to the future glory 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
 5. Explain the application of the term ' 'Xew Jerusalem. " 
 
 6. Show from Book of Mormon and modern scripture 
 that the Zion of the western continent and the New Jeru- 
 salem are identical. 
 
 7. Cite the prophecy of Christ to the Xephites that a 
 Xew Jerusalem shall be established on the western con- 
 tinent. 
 
 8. Give the prediction of Ether the Jaredite relating to 
 the establishment of the Xew Jerusalem. 
 
 9. What is meant by the Zion of Enoch? (1, Give out- 
 line of the history of the ancient people so designated; &, 
 cite promises of the return of Enoch and his people.) 
 
 10. What is known through modern revelation as to the 
 location of Zion or the Xew Jerusalem? 
 
 11. • What is meant by Stakes of Zion? 
 
 12. What conditions will determine the time of the 
 redemption of Zion in the present dispensation? 
 
 Lecture XX, Article 10. 
 
 CHRIST'S REIGN ON EARTH. 
 
 1. Compare the conditions attending Christ's first ad- 
 vent, with those predicted for His second coming. 
 
HE VIEW. 48 1 
 
 2. Cite scriptural prophecies regarding the second com- 
 ing of Christ, with attendant signs; (1, Biblical; 2, Book of 
 Mormon; 3, modern.) 
 
 3. What evidence have you to prove that the predicted 
 second coming of Christ is near at hand? 
 
 4. What is known as to the time of His coming? 
 
 5. Show by scripture that Christ is to reign as King on 
 earth. 
 
 6. Demonstrate the relation between the Kingdom of 
 God and the Church of Christ. 
 
 7. Show the distinctive sense in which the Kingdom of 
 God and the Kingdom of Heaven are spoken of in modern 
 revelation. 
 
 8. What will be the position of honest and honorable 
 men who are not members of the Church when the Kingdom 
 of Heaven is established? 
 
 9. What is the Millennium? 
 
 10. Give scriptural authority for your belief as to the 
 conditions that are to characterize the Millennium. 
 
 11. What will be the condition of Satan during and after 
 the Millennium? 
 
 Lecture XXI, Article 10. 
 
 REGENERATION AND RESURRECTION. 
 
 1. Explain the statement, that the earth is under a 
 curse. 
 
 2. What is meant bv the predicted regeneration of the 
 earth? " , 
 
 3. When will this change be completed? 
 
 4. What is known as to the future condition of the earth 
 in its regenerated state? 
 
 5. What is the attitude of science regarding the earth's 
 regeneration? 
 
 6. What is meant by the resurrection of the body? 
 
 7. What are the teachings of the Church regarding the 
 literalness of the resurrection? 
 
 8. Upon what does our belief in the doctrine of the res- 
 urrection depend? 
 
 9. Give scriptural evidence supporting belief in the res- 
 urrection: (1, Old Testament; 2, New Testament: 3, 
 Book of Mormon; 4, modern.) 
 
482 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. 
 
 10. Specify the general resurrections spoken of in the 
 scriptures. 
 
 11. How was the first resurrection inaugurated? 
 
 12. Give an account of the resurrection of the just 
 immediately following the resurrection of Christ. 
 
 13. Cite Book of Mormon prophecy regarding the resur- 
 rection of Christ and that of the righteous immediately 
 following. 
 
 14. Give a summary of the teachings by the apostles 
 of old, regarding the resurrection at the time of Christ's 
 second coming. 
 
 15. Cite modern revelation on the same subject. 
 
 16. Compare the scriptural descriptions of the first res- 
 urrection, or the resurrection of the just, with those of the 
 second, or the resurrection of the unjust. 
 
 17. Show that the resurrection is to be universal, apply- 
 ing both to righteous and wicked. 
 
 18. What will be the lot of the heathen in the resurrec- 
 tion? (Support your answer by scripture). 
 
 19. What is known of the intermediate state of the soul, 
 between death and the resurrection? 
 
 20. Define "Paradise." Show that Paradise is not the 
 place of final glory. 
 
 Lecture XXII, Article 11. 
 
 RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND TOLERATION. 
 
 1. What is worship? 
 
 . 2. Show that man's ability to worship rightly is a 
 measure of his conception of God's attributes and powers. 
 
 3. Show that worship, to be valid, must be voluntary. 
 
 4. Demonstrate man's right to freedom in worship. 
 
 5. Explain the intolerance in matters of worship, char- 
 acterizing early and modern times. 
 
 6. Show that intolerance is unscriptural. 
 
 7. Demonstrate that tolerance is not necessarily accept- 
 ance. 
 
 8. Show that man, being free to choose for himself, is 
 justly held accountable for his acts. 
 
 9. Explain Christ's expression, "In my Father's housa 
 are many mansions." 
 
REVIEW. 483 
 
 10. What kingdoms or degrees of glory are specified in 
 the revealed word? 
 
 11. Who are to inherit the Celestial glory? 
 
 12. For whom is the Terrestrial glory provided? 
 
 13. -Who will be consigned to the Telestial kingdom? 
 
 14. What is known of the gradation of glory within 
 each of the kingdoms specified? 
 
 15. Who are the Sons of Perdition? What is known of 
 their fate? 
 
 Lecture XXIII, Article 12. 
 
 SUBMISSION TO THE LAW OF THE LAND. 
 
 1. What are the teachings of the Church regarding the 
 duties of its members with respect to the secular law? 
 
 2. Cite instances recorded in the Old Testament of 
 Divine approval and admonition regarding the secular laws. 
 
 3. Give examples from the life of the Savior. 
 
 4. What were the teachings of the apostles of old regard- 
 ing the observance of the law of the land by the members 
 of the Church? 
 
 5. Cite the word of the Lord as given through modern 
 revelation regarding the attitude of members of the Church 
 toward the governments under which they live. 
 
 6. What has the Lord said as to His judgment concern- 
 ing those who are effectually prevented by their enemies 
 from a strict compliance with His requirements? 
 
 7. Give a modern instance of an abandonment by the 
 Church, under pressure of secular law, of a Divine require- 
 ment? 
 
 8. Show that secular authority is recognized of God as 
 necessary to the government of mankind, and that the 
 officers of the law are therefore to be obeyed. 
 
 9. Summarize the declarations of belief regarding the 
 duty of the Church toward the law of the land, as formu- 
 lated by Joseph Smith, and as adopted by the Church. 
 
 Lecture XXIV, Article 13. 
 
 PRACTICAL RELIGION. 
 
 1. Give James' definition of pure religion. 
 
 2. Show that religion is not theological formula, but 
 practical application of recognized principles of right. 
 
484 THE ARTICLES OF FAITH. 
 
 3. What is the teaching of the Church regarding man's 
 relationship to God? 
 
 4. Show that benevolence is enjoined by scripture. 
 (Give, 1, instances from the teachings of the Savior; 2, 
 those of His apostles; 3, those of modern requirement.) 
 
 5. Specify the means of donation for benevolent pur- 
 poses, provided by the Church today. 
 
 6. Outline the modern Church plan of 1, Free-will 
 offerings ; 2, fast offerings as a modification of the foregoing. 
 
 7. Explain the advantages of fast-day observance, and 
 fast-offerings, among members of the Church. 
 
 8. What is tithing? 
 
 9. Cite biblical authority for the observance of the law 
 of tithing in ancient times. 
 
 10. State the requirements made by revelation for the 
 tithing of the people today. 
 
 11. What is meant by consecration and stewardship? 
 
 12. Give scriptural instances of God's people having 
 lived in the United Order. (Cite, 1, from Pearl of Great 
 Price; 2, from Bible; 3, from Book of Mormon.) 
 
 13. Explain the United Order, or the Order of Enoch, 
 as provided for the Church through modern revelation. 
 
 14. Show that individual freedom is provided for in the 
 plan of the United Order. 
 
 15. Cite scriptural instances of the Lord's denunciation 
 of the idler. 
 
 16. What is the teaching of the Church regarding the 
 propriety and necessity of marriage? 
 
 17. What has the Lord said through revelation of those 
 who forbid marriage? 
 
 18. What is Celestial Marriage? 
 
 19. Show that the authority of the priesthood is neces- 
 sary in the making of contracts that are to be of effect 
 after the death of the parties. 
 
 20. What does the Church teach regarding the enormity 
 of the sin of unlawful association of the sexes? Cite the 
 declaration of Alma in this connection. 
 
 21. State the provisions of the revelation known as the 
 Word of Wisdom. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Aaronic priesthood, 207; restored to 
 earth in this dipensation, 19. 
 
 Aaron, — literal descendants of, 214. 
 
 Adam, his part in the Fall, 68. 
 
 Agency of man, 54; God-given, 73. 
 
 America, ancient civilization in, 305. 
 
 America, ancient occupation of, 293. 
 
 America, successive occupation of, 295. 
 
 American Indians (Lamanites), 300. 
 
 American peoples, native, Asiatic ori- 
 gin, 296; common origin of all. 300; 
 Israelitish origin of, 296. 
 
 Ancient Americans, traditions of, 305; 
 written language of, 301. 
 
 Ancient prophecy concerning Book of 
 Mormon, 283. 
 
 Anointed One (Christ), 383. 
 
 Apocrypha, 249. 
 
 Apostasy from the Primitive Church, 
 203: degeneracy incident to the, 217; 
 early beginning, 218; foretold, 205. 
 
 Apostle, office of, 212. 
 
 Apostles. Quorum of the Twelve, 213. 
 
 Appendix, 463. 
 
 Archeological evidence regarding the 
 Bible, 260. 
 
 Archeology and ethnology, evidence 
 supporting Book of Mormon, 291. 
 
 Articles of Faith, origin of, 4, 24. 
 
 Associations, Mutual Improvement, 216. 
 
 Associations, Primary, 216. 
 
 Atheism and idolatry, 44; atheism, 
 definition of, 51; a fatal belief, 53; 
 atheism and immaterialism, 53. 
 
 Atonement of Christ, 76; a sequence 
 of the Fall, 70, 77; confidence in, es- 
 sential to salvation, 116; extent of, 
 87; fore-oi-dained and foretold, 83; 
 general effect of, 90; individual ef- 
 fect of, 92; nature of, 77; proved by 
 evidence, 96; vicarious sacrifice, 
 79; voluntary, 81. 
 
 Attributes of God. 42, 103. 
 
 Authenticity and genuineness of the 
 Bible, 254. 
 
 Authenticity of Book of Mormon, 281. 
 
 Authority, Divine, in present dispen- 
 sation, 193. 
 
 Authority in the ministry, 184. 
 
 Authority, secular, submission to, 424. 
 
 Baptism; among Greeks, 160; among 
 Nephites, 143; early Christian, 160; 
 essential to salvation, 130; estab- 
 ment of, on earth, 123; first mod- 
 ern, 143; fit candidates for, 126 i 
 for the dead, 148; of infants, 127, 
 128, 129, 137; meaning of the term, 
 and early usage, 139, 159; mode of, 
 (by immersion), 139; nature of the 
 ordinance, 122; preparation for, 
 £}7; purpose of, 124; "re-baptism," 
 144; repeated baptisms, 147; re- 
 quired of all, 148; symbolism of, 140. 
 
 Belief, faith, and knowledge, 98. 
 
 Belief in God, natural, necessary, 48-49. 
 
 Benevolence, 443. 
 
 Bible; acceptance of by the Church, 
 240; authenticity and genuineness 
 of, 254; Book of Mormon testimony 
 concerning, 255; the name, 241; Old 
 Testament, 243; New Testament, 
 249, 258; versions of, 253, 257. 
 
 Bishop, the Presiding, 214; of ward, 215. 
 
 Bishopric, Presiding, 214; Ward. 215. 
 
 Body, sanctity of, 459. 
 
 Book of Mormon, 261; authenticity 
 of, 281: biblical prophecies con- 
 cerning, 284: compared with Bible, 
 255, 282; classification and arrange- 
 ment of, 274; consistency of, 287; 
 contained prophecies, 288; divi- 
 sions of, 264; external evidences 
 concerning, 291; genuineness of, 
 275; plates of, 10, 269; prophecies 
 concerning, 283; "Spaulding Story" 
 of, 278; testimony of witnesses 
 concerning, 276, 277, 279; theories 
 concerning, 278; title page of, 263, 
 278; translation of, 273. 
 
 Celestial kingdom, or glory, 94, 417. 
 
 Celestial marriage, 457. 
 
 Charity and love, 444, 460, 461. 
 
 Children, innocent before God, 90-92. 
 
 Children and the fathers, mutually de- 
 pendent, 156, 161. 
 
 Chosen people, Israel, 352, 355. 
 
 Christ, the "Anointed One," 383; 
 atonement wrought by, (see 
 "Atonement of Christ"); Church 
 
486 
 
 index. 
 
 of, 376; first advent of, 367; second 
 coming, 367-368; time of second 
 coming, 373; ministry of, among 
 the dead, 150; reign of, 367, 374; 
 resurrection of, 396. 
 
 Church of England, teachings regard- 
 ing God, 48. 
 
 Church of Christ, 376. 
 
 Church and Kingdom, 376. 
 
 Church, apostasy from the primitive, 
 203; apostasy from, foretold, 205: 
 the primitive, 201. 
 
 Church organization, plan of, 201; res- 
 toration of. 206; standard works 
 of, 5. 
 
 Church-schools, 216. 
 
 Civil war,— predicted by Joseph Smith, 
 22. 
 
 Class review, exercises for, 463. 
 
 Classes, Religion, 216. 
 
 Commandments, The Ten, — found 
 among relics of ancient Ameri- 
 cans, 297, 303. 
 
 Confession necessary to forgiveness, 1 13. 
 
 Consecration and stewardship, 449. 
 
 Continual revelation, doctrine of, 314, 
 324; alleged scriptural objections 
 to, 317. 
 
 Council, Standing High, 215. 
 
 Council, Traveling High, 213. 
 
 Covenants for eternity, 457. 
 
 Creed, the Nicene, 47. 
 
 Creations, spiritual, 199. 
 
 Deacon, office of, 209. 
 
 Dead; baptism for the, 148; Christ's 
 ministry among the, 151; to have 
 the gospel preached to them, 150 ; 
 vicarious labor in behalf of, 152, 
 156. 
 
 Decline of spiritual gifts, incident to 
 the apostasy, 238. 
 
 Degrees of glory, 94. 
 
 Didactic books of New Testament, 253. 
 
 Discontinuance of plural marriage, 
 435, 440. 
 
 Dispersion of Israel, 326-339. 
 
 Divine authenticity of Book of Mor- 
 mon, 281. 
 
 Dreams and visions, 229. 
 
 Druidica? sacrifices, 52. 
 
 Earth, during and after Millennium, 
 
 383; regeneration of, 385; under the 
 
 curse, 384. 
 Eden, Garden of, 66, 74. 
 Egyptian language among ancient 
 
 American peoples, 301. 
 Elders, office of, and quorum organiza- 
 tion, 210. 
 Elijah, confers authority for vicarious 
 
 labor for dead, 20, 154. 
 Enoch, Order of, 451 ; Zion of, 358. 
 Eternal covenants, 457. 
 Ethnology and archeology, testimony 
 
 supporting Book of Mormon, 291. 
 Evangelists, or patriarchs, 211. 
 Evidence supporting faith, 104-105. 
 Exaltation and salvation, 94. 
 External evidence regarding Book of 
 
 Mormon, 291. 
 
 Fairchild, James H., on "Spaulding 
 Story," 279. 
 
 Faith, Articles of, 4, 24. 
 
 Faith, a condition of, 109; compared 
 with belief and knowledge, 98; es- 
 sential to salvation, 110; founda- 
 tion of, 102; a gift from God, 111; 
 justification by, 120; nature of, 98; 
 misplaced, example of, 120; a prin- 
 ciple of power, 106; incomplete 
 without works, 111; supported by 
 evidence, 104-105. 
 
 Fall, the, 54, 66; fore-ordained and 
 necessary, 71, 75; immediate re- 
 sults of, 70. 
 
 False teachers, prophesied of, 193. 
 
 Fast-day observance, 446. 
 
 Fast-offerings, 446. 
 
 Fathers and children, mutually de- 
 pendent, 155, 161. 
 
 Final resurrection, 401. 
 
 First resurrection, 396-400. 
 
 Fore-ordination and pre-existence,195. 
 
 Fore-ordination does not imply com- 
 pulsion, 196. 
 
 Forgiveness of sins,— to obtain, 113; 
 not always immediate, 121. 
 
 Forgiving others their trespasses, 1 14. 
 
 Free agency of man, 54. 
 
 Free-will offerings, 446. 
 
 Future revelation expected, 323. 
 
 Garden of Eden. 66. 
 
 Gathering of Israel, 341; extent and 
 
INDEX. 
 
 487 
 
 purpose of, 350; two places ap- 
 pointed, 356; in progress now, 355; 
 predicted, 341. 
 
 General resurrections, two, 396. 
 
 General salvation, 90. 
 
 Genuineness and authenticity of Bible, 
 254; of parts of New Testament, 
 258; of Book of Mormon, 275. 
 
 Ghost, Holy; see "Holy Ghost." 
 
 Gift of God,— faith a, 111; repentance 
 a. 118. 
 
 Gift of healing, 227; of prophecy, 231; 
 of revelation, 232; of tongues and 
 interpretation, 226: of visions and 
 dreams, 229. 
 
 Gifts of the Spirit, see "Spiritual 
 gifts." 
 
 Gifts, spiritual, imitation of, 235. 
 
 Glory, Degrees of, 94, 416,420; Celestial, 
 94, 417; Terrestrial, 95, 418; Teles- 
 tial, 95, 419, 423. 
 
 God and the Godhead, 27. 
 
 God, attributes of, 42, 103; belief in, 
 natural, 48; and necessary, 49; im- 
 portance of belief in, 49; existence 
 of, 27; evidence from history and 
 tradition, 28; evidence from rea- 
 son, 30; evidence from revelation, 
 35: in nature, 50; natural indica- 
 tions of, 50; personality of, 41. 
 
 Godhead, personality of each member 
 of, 41; a Trinity, 38; unity of, 39; 
 sectarian view of, 46. 
 
 Gospel to be preached to the dead, 150. 
 
 Government. Church, helps in, 216. 
 
 Governments,secular,obedience to, 424. 
 
 Greeks, baptism among, 160. 
 
 Hagiographa, 248. 
 
 Hands, imposition of, in ordinances, 
 174, 187. 
 
 Healing, gift of, 227. 
 
 Heathen, in first resurrection, 404. 
 
 Hebrew language, survival of among 
 American aborigines, 302, 307. 
 
 Hebrews, 339. 
 
 Helps in church government, 216. 
 
 High Council, The Standing, 215; The 
 Traveling, (quorum of the Twelve 
 Apostles) 213. 
 
 High Priesthood, President of the, 213. 
 
 High Priests, office of, and quorum or- 
 ganization, 211; Presiding, 213. 
 
 Historical books, of Old Testament, 
 248; of New Testament, 252. 
 
 History and tradition, supporting evi- 
 dence of God's existence, 28. 
 
 Holy Ghost, bestowal of, 170: effect of, 
 on the individual, 173; exceptional 
 visitations, 169; gifts of, see "Spir- 
 itual' Gifts;" office of 167; person- 
 ality and powers of, 164; promised, 
 163; scriptural titles of, 41-42; to 
 whom given, 168. 
 
 Holy Spirit, see "Holy Ghost." 
 
 Idolatry and atheism, 44; idolatry, ex- 
 amples of atrocious, 51; practices 
 in general, 51 . 
 
 Imitations of spiritual gifts, 235. 
 
 Immaterialism and atheism, 53. 
 
 Immersion, the proper mode of bap- 
 tism, 139. 
 
 Importance of belief in God, 49. 
 
 Imposition of hands, in ordinances, 
 174, 187. 
 
 Improvement Associations, Mutual, 216. 
 
 Indians, American, (Lamanites), 300. 
 
 Individual salvation, 90, 92. 
 
 Infant Baptism, see "Baptism." 
 
 Inspiration and revelation, 308, 324. 
 
 Intermediate state of the soul (Para- 
 dise), 405. 
 
 Interpretation of tongues, gift of, 226. 
 
 Intolerance, in religion, 409, 414, 422. 
 
 Innocence of children, 90-92. 
 
 Israel, 326; a chosen people, 352, 355; 
 dispersion of, 326-328, 329, 332, 355; 
 gathering of, 341; gathering of, 
 now in progress, 351, 355; king- 
 dom of, 327. 
 
 Jaredite nation, 266. 
 
 Jerusalem, history of, 358, 359, 366. 
 
 Jerusalem, The New, (Zion), 360, 
 
 Jews. 339. 
 
 John the Baptist, conferred the 
 Aaronic priesthood, 19, 193. 
 
 Joseph Smith, authenticity of his mis- 
 sion, 13; authority received by, 19; 
 parentage, youth, etc., 6; his first 
 vision, 9; visited by Moroni, 10; 
 persecution of, 24; a true prophet, 
 20; tribute to, 25; martyrdom of, 
 13, 25; references to life of, 26. 
 
 Journeyings of the Ten Tribes, 340. 
 
488 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Judah, kingdom of, 327. 
 Justification by f aith alone, dogma of, 
 120. 
 
 Kingdom of God, 374-377; and Church 
 
 of Christ, 376. 
 Kingdom of Heaven, 377-379. 
 Kingdom of Israel, 327. 
 Kingdom of Judah, 327. 
 Knowledge compared with faith and 
 
 belief, 98. 
 
 Lamanites, 265, 292. 
 
 Language of ancient Americans, 301; 
 
 of Book of Mormon record, 301 ; of 
 
 Old Testament original, 246. 
 Latter-day Church, 206. 
 Laws of the land submission to, 424-438. 
 Laying-on of hands, in ordinances, 171, 
 
 174. 
 Levitical priesthood, 208. 
 Life, Tree of, 68. 
 
 Lord's Supper, see "Sacrament." 
 Love and Charity, 444, 460, 461. 
 Luther, Martin, on justification by 
 
 faith, 121. 
 
 Modern revelation, 320. 
 
 Moloch, horrible worship of, 52. 
 
 Mormon, Book of, see "Book of Mor- 
 mon." 
 
 Moroni, the angel, visits Joseph Smith, 
 10-12,261. 
 
 Moses, conferred authority on Joseph 
 Smith, 20, 351. 
 
 Mutual Improvement Associations,216. 
 
 Nature, God in. 50. 
 
 Nature, proofs from, regarding theism, 
 31. 
 
 Natural indications of God, 50. 
 
 Naturalness of belief in God, 48. 
 
 Necessity of belief in God, 49. 
 
 Nephites, 264; baptism among, 143; 
 sacrament instituted among, 176; 
 visited by Christ, 143, 176. 
 
 New Jerusalem, (Zion), 360. 
 
 New Testament, 249; authenticity and 
 origin of, 249; classification of, 
 252; didactic books, 253; genuine- 
 ness of, 258; historical books, 252: 
 prophetical books, 253. 
 
 Nicene Creed, 47. 
 
 Man, accountability of, 57, 415; free 
 agency of, 54; responsibility of, 57. 
 
 Marriage, 455; Celestial, 457: plural, 
 discontinuance of, 435, 440. 
 
 Martyrdom, seal of (Joseph Smith), 25. 
 
 Martin Luther, on justification by 
 faith, 121. 
 
 Mayas, sacred language of, 302. 
 
 Melchisedek priesthood, 208; restored 
 to earth, 19, 194. 
 
 Members of the Godhead, personality 
 of, 41. 
 
 Men called of God, 184. 
 
 Mexican traditions concerning the 
 Savior, 307. 
 
 Millennium, 379, 383. 
 
 Ministrations, unauthorized, 189. 
 
 Ministry, authority in, 184; ordination 
 to, 187. 
 
 Miracles, 222; an aid to spiritual 
 growth, 238; testimony of,— not in- 
 fallible, 233; wrought by evil pow- 
 ers, 234. 
 
 Missing scripture, mentioned in Bible, 
 260. 
 
 Mode of baptism, 139. 
 
 Obedience to law, 424-440. 
 
 Offerings, fast, 446; free-will, 446; and 
 •tithes, 446-447. 
 
 Ordination to the ministry, 187. 
 
 Old Testament, 243; its origin and 
 growth, 243; original language of, 
 246; Histoi-ical books, 248; Penta- 
 teuch, 247, 257; Poetical books, 248; 
 Prophetical books, 248,258; Septu- 
 agint version of, 246. 
 
 Omniscience, omnipotence, and omni- 
 presence of God, 42-43. 
 
 Pagan ignorance of resurrection, 403. 
 Paradise, 405. 
 
 Passover and sacrament, 182. 
 Patriarchs, or evangelists, 211. 
 Patriarchal office, succession in the,211. 
 Pentateuch, 247; Samaritan copy of 
 
 the, 257. 
 Perdition, Sons of, 62, 421. 
 Persecution of Joseph Smith, 24. 
 Personality of the God-head, 41; of 
 
 the Holy Ghost, 164. 
 Peter, James, and John, confer the 
 
 Melchisedek priesthood, 194. 
 
INDEX 
 
 489 
 
 Plates of Book of Mormon, 10, 269; of 
 Nephi, 269; of Mormon, 269, 270. 
 
 Plural marriages, discontinuance of, 
 435, 440. 
 
 Poetical books of Old Testament, 248. 
 
 Power, through faith, 106. 
 
 Practical religion, 441. 
 
 Pre-existence of spirits, 197. 
 
 Presidency in the priesthood, 212 
 
 Presidency, The First, 213. 
 
 Presidency of Stakes, 215. 
 
 President of the High Priesthood, 213. 
 
 Presiding Bishopric, 214. 
 
 Presiding quorum of Seventy, 214. 
 
 Priesthood, Aaronic, 207: local organ- 
 izations of, 215; Levitical,208; Mel- 
 chisedek, 208; quorum organiza- 
 tions, of, 212; orders of, 207; res- 
 toration to earth, 206; specific 
 duties in, 209. 
 
 Priests, 210. 
 
 Priests, High, 211. 
 
 Primary Associations, 216. 
 
 Primitive Church, 201 ; apostasy from, 
 203, tOk 
 
 Prophecy, concerning Book of Mor- 
 mon, 283; biblical, concerning Book 
 of Mormon, 284; gift of, 231. 
 
 Prophet, usage of the term, 237. 
 
 Prophets, of old, organized, 237. 
 
 Prophets, School of the, 237. 
 
 Prophetical books, Old Testament, 
 248; New Testament, 253. 
 
 Punishment for sin, 61 ; duration of, 
 63*; "endless" and "eternal," 63. 
 
 Religion and Theology, 4. 
 
 Religion classes, among the Latter- 
 day Saints, 216. 
 
 Religion, practical, 441. 
 
 Religious liberty and toleration, 406: 
 intolerance, 409, 414, 422. 
 
 Remission of sins, to obtain, 113. 
 
 Renewal of the earth, 385. 
 
 Repentance, essential to salvation, 
 117; a gift from God, 118; here and 
 hereafter, 119; nature of, 113; not 
 always possible, 118. 
 
 Responsibility of man, 57. 
 
 Restoration of the Church, 206. 
 
 Restoration of the Ten Tribes, 353. 
 
 Results of the Fall, 70. 
 
 Resurrection of the body, 391; inau- 
 gurated, 396; the first, 396; heathen 
 in the first, 404; the final, 401; of 
 Christ, 396; and the general resur- 
 rection immediately following, 396; 
 predicted, 393; at second coming 
 of Christ, 398; pagan ignorance 
 concerning, 403. 
 
 Resurrections, two general, of just and 
 of unjust, 396. 
 
 Revelation, 308; ancient, 311; contin- 
 ual, 314; alleged scriptural objec- 
 tions to continual revelation, 317: 
 gift of, 232; future, expected, 323; 
 God's means of communication, 
 310; revelation and inspiration, 
 308, 324; modern, 320; supporting 
 theism, 35. 
 
 Review exercises for class, 463. 
 
 Quorum, special usage of term, 209. 
 
 Quorum organizations, 212: of dea- 
 cons, 209; of elders, 210; of high 
 priests, 211; of the First Presi- 
 dency, 213: of the Twelve Apostles, 
 213; of teachers, 210; of seventies, 
 210: of seventies, the Presiding 
 Quorum of, 214. 
 
 Reason, supporting theism, 30. 
 
 "Re-baptism," 145; "re-baptisms" re- 
 corded in scripture, 146. 
 
 Redemption from the Fall, universal, 
 96; see "Atonement." 
 
 Regeneration of earth, 385. 
 
 Reign of Christ on earth, 367, 374. 
 
 Relief Society, The, 216. 
 
 Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 175; 
 errors concerning, 183; emblems 
 used in, 179; fit partakers of, 177: 
 institution of, among Jews, 175: 
 among Nephites, 176; manner of 
 administering, 180; purpose of, 179; 
 sacrament and passover, 182; usage 
 of term, "sacrament," 182. 
 
 Sadducees, 404. 
 
 Salvation, general, 90; individual, 90; 
 and exaltation, 94. 
 
 Sanctity of the body, 459. 
 
 Satan, 57, 64, 382. 
 
 Schools, Church, 216; Sunday, 216. 
 
 School of the Prophets, 237. 
 
 Scripture missing, mentioned in Bible 
 260. 
 
490 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Seal of martyrdom, Joseph Smith, 25. 
 
 Secular authority, submission to, 424- 
 438. 
 
 Serpent, curse on, 74. 
 
 Septuagint, 246, 257. 
 
 Seventies, office of and quorum organ- 
 ization, 210. 
 
 Sexes, unlawful association of, 459. 
 
 Sin, 59; commission of in ignorance. 
 60; forgiveness for, 113; punish- 
 ment for, 61; unpardonable, 62. 
 
 Smith, Joseph, see "Joseph Smith." 
 
 Society, the Relief, 216. 
 
 Sons of Perdition, 62, 421. 
 
 "Spaulding Story" of the Book of 
 Mormon, 278. 
 
 Spirit, Holy, see "Ho A y Ghost." 
 
 Spiritual creations, 199. 
 
 Spiritual gifts, 219; characteristic of 
 the Church, 219; decline of, inci- 
 dent to the apostasy, 238; exist in 
 Church today, 236; partial enumer- 
 ation of, 225; imitations of, 235; 
 modern manifestations, 239; nature 
 of, 220. 
 
 Stakes of Zion, 215. 
 
 Stake Presidency, 215. 
 
 Standard works of the Church, 5. 
 
 Stewardship and consecration, 449, 450. 
 
 Submission to laws of the land. 424- 
 438. 
 
 Succession in patriarchal office, 211. 
 
 Sunday schools, 216. 
 
 Teachers, false, 192. 
 
 Teacher, grade of, in Aaronic priest- 
 hood, 209. 
 
 Temples, ancient and modern, 157. 
 
 Temptation of Eve, 67. 
 
 Ten Commandments, The, found 
 among relics of ancient Americans 
 303. 
 
 Telestial glory, 95, 419, 423. 
 
 Terrestrial glory, 95, 418. 
 
 Testament, New,see "New Testament." 
 
 Testament, Old, see "Old Testament." 
 
 Testimony of miracles, not infallible, 
 233. 
 
 Theism, modifications of, defined, 51. 
 
 Theology, 2; extent of, 3; importance 
 of study, 1 ; and ^ligion. 4. 
 
 Theories of origin of Book of Mor- 
 mon, 278. 
 
 Thousand years of peace (Millennium) 
 379, 383. 
 
 Time of Christ's coming, 373. 
 
 Tithing, law of, 447, 449. 
 
 Title page of Book of Mormon, 263, 
 278. 
 
 Toleration, religious, 406; does not im- 
 ply acceptance, 414. 
 
 Tongues, gift of, 226; interpretation 
 of, 226. 
 
 Tradition and history supporting the 
 ism, 28. 
 
 Traditions among American aborig- 
 ines, confirming Book of Mormon, 
 305. 
 
 Tradition, Mexican, regarding the 
 Savior, 307. 
 
 Transgression, 54. 
 
 Translation of the Book of Mormon, 
 273. 
 
 Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. 
 68. 
 
 Tree of Life, 68. 
 
 Tribes, The Ten, or the Lost, 335, 338; 
 journeyings of, 340: restoration of, 
 353. 
 
 Trinity, The, 38. 
 
 Unauthorized ministrations, 189. 
 United Order, 451. 
 Unity of the Godhead, 39. 
 Universal and unconditional redemp- 
 tion from effects of the Fall, 96. 
 Unlawful association of the sexes. 4."> ( .». 
 Unpardonable sin, 62. 
 
 Versions of Old Testament, 246. 
 Versions of Bible, 246, 253, 257. 
 Vicarious nature of the atonement. Tit. 
 Visions and dreams, 229. 
 
 Ward, organization, and officers of. 215. 
 
 Ward Bishopric, 215. 
 
 Witnesses to Book of Mormon, Testi- 
 mony of,The Three, 276; the Eight 
 277: notes concerning. 279. 
 
 Works of the Church, standard. 5 
 
 Written language of ancient Ameri- 
 cans, 301. 
 
 Zion, 356; the name, 357; founding of 
 in Missouri, 366; Zion of Enoch. 
 358: the New Jerusalem, 360.