1. Vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Filled.—The first official business which occupied the attention of the authorities of the church after the ascension of the Lord—according to our Christian annals—was filling up the quorum of the twelve. Judas by his treason had forfeited his apostleship and was dead, and hence it became necessary to ordain another to fill his place. Peter when presenting this matter before the church, appeared to lay some stress upon the necessity of choosing some one of the brethren who had been with them from the beginning—"from the baptism of John unto that same day that he (Christ) was taken up," that he might be a witness with the rest of the apostles of the things which Jesus did and also a witness of his resurrection.

2. "And they appointed [nominated] two. Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed. * * * Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen. * * * And they gave forth their lots [or, gave their votes];^[84] and the lot fell upon Matthias." From that time he was numbered with the apostles. (See note 1, end of section).

3. The filling of this vacancy in the quorum of the twelve—the only instance of the kind mentioned in the New Testament—may be taken as a proof that it was clearly the understanding of the apostles that the quorum of the twelve was to be perpetuated. It was so understood in the church on the western hemisphere, for the fourth Nephi informs us that as the apostles whom Jesus had chosen passed away, others were ordained in their stead;^[85] and thus the quorum was kept full, but for how long cannot be ascertained.

4. The Holy Ghost Given.—The first time the gospel was preached publicly after the ascension of Messiah was on the day of Pentecost, most probably seven days after the ascension.^[86] The church had assembled and suddenly the promised baptism of the Holy Ghost—promised both by John the Baptist and Messiah^[87]—took place, for the Spirit came like the rushing of a mighty wind and filled the house where the saints were assembled; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. It rested upon them visibly like cloven tongues of fire; and they began speaking in other tongues, that is, in languages before unknown to them, as the spirit gave them utterance.

5. The occurrence was soon noised about the city and the multitude came together, to witness this strange event. In that great concourse of people thus hastily assembled were devout men out of every nation under heaven (see note 2, end of section), and they were confounded with astonishment since every man heard the gospel in his own language.^[88] "Are not all these which speak Galileans," said they, "and how hear we every man in his own tongue, wherein we were born?" All were amazed, and some inquired one of another, "What meaneth this?" Others mockingly said, "These men are full of new wine." 6. To this latter remark the apostle Peter replied that the brethren were not drunken as had been supposed, and reminded the accusers that it was but the third hour of the day. Men were not likely to be drunk so early. The apostle further informed them that his power which they witnessed was the same as that of which Joel^[89] spoke when he said that in the last days the Spirit of God should be poured out upon all flesh, and make the sons and daughters of men to prophesy, young men to see visions and old men to dream dreams, etc. (See notes 3 and 4, end of section).

7. Having corrected the slander uttered by those inclined to mock at the power of God, Peter continued his discourse, and proved from the scriptures and from the marvelous works of the Lord Jesus while among them, that he was both Lord and Christ. Then a great multitude was converted, and cried as with one voice, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" To which Peter answered, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."^[90] He informed them that this promise of the Holy Ghost—and, of course, of salvation—was both to them and to their children, in fact to all whom God should call.^[91] There were added to the church that day, three thousand souls.

8. The Rise of Opposition.—Being now endowed with power from on high, the apostles continued to preach in and about Jerusalem with great success, the Lord working with them and confirming their ministry by signs and wonders following the believers.

9. The chief priests and rulers among the Jews became alarmed at the boldness of the disciples of Jesus and the rapidity with which faith in the gospel spread among the people. They were in imminent danger of being adjudged by the people, guilty of executing an innocent man; nay, more, of putting to death Messiah!

10. They therefore had some of the apostles brought before them and sought to intimidate them with threats not to preach any more in the name of Jesus. To these threats the apostles made answer: "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye."^[92] Leaving the presence of the council the apostles preached even more boldly in the name of Jesus. A second time they were brought before the chief rulers, to answer for a disregard of the orders of the council which charged them with threats not to teach in the name of Jesus; "and behold," said they, "ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and mean to bring this man's blood upon us."

11. The answer of Peter, who spoke also for the rest of the apostles, was even bolder than before. "We ought to obey God rather than men," said he. "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."^[93]

12. The boldness of his answer gave deep offense and led the chief rulers to take counsel how they might slay them. But Gamaliel [Ga-ma-li-el], a learned doctor of the law, advised them against such proceedings. His advice was to let the men alone, for if the work they had in hand was of men it would come to naught. If it was of God, nothing which they could do would overthrow it; and they might be found fighting against God.^[94]

13. The counsel of Gamaliel prevailed in part at least. The apostles were not killed at that time; but they were once more forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus, beaten and then set free. The apostles rejoiced at being found worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus, and not heeding the orders of the council continued preaching in the temple and in private houses.

14. Temporal Concerns.—So completely did the apostles and the other disciples give themselves to the work of the ministry, that complaint was made by the Grecians because the widows and poor were neglected. Whereupon the twelve called the church together and proposed that seven men of good report be chosen and set apart to see to these affairs, that they themselves might give their attention wholly to the ministry, as it was not profitable for them to neglect that in order to "wait on tables." The plan pleased the church and the seven men were appointed.^[95] 15. All Things in Common.—The effect of the gospel upon the saints of Jerusalem was very marked. They were of one heart and of one mind; they had all things in common, and those who possessed houses or lands sold them and brought the price of the things and laid it at the apostles' feet. Distribution was made unto every man as he had need; and there was none among them that lacked for that which was necessary.^[96]

16. Persecution.—A great persecution arose against the church at Jerusalem, within the first year after Messiah's ascension, so that most of the brethren, except the apostles, were scattered abroad throughout Judea and Samaria. Everywhere they went they preached the gospel, so that great good came out of what was intended to be an evil, as the gospel was more widely preached. Philip, one of the seven who had been appointed to look after the temporal affairs of the church, was among the number driven from Jerusalem by the persecution. He went to the city of Samaria, where the people listened to his teachings, accepted his testimony and were baptized both men and women. The apostles hearing of his success, sent to Samaria Peter and John; and when they came they laid their hands upon those who had been baptized and they received the Holy Ghost;^[97] and thus the work was established there.

17. Paul.—It was during this persecution that Saul, of Tarsus, afterwards better known as Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles, manifested his bitterness toward the saints. He witnessed the stoning to death of Stephen, one of the seven men appointed to look after the temporal affairs of the church at Jerusalem. He held the clothes of those who killed him; and being exceedingly vexed at what he regarded as a superstition, he followed the saints into distant cities, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against them. He went to the high priest and obtained letters of authority from him to the rulers of the synagogue at Damascus, that if he found any of the saints there he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. On his way to Damascus, however, the Lord Jesus appeared to him, and Paul, blinded by the glory of the vision, and humbled because he found he had been fighting against God, was led by his companions into the city where a disciple of the name of Ananias was sent by the Lord to restore to Paul his sight and baptize him. He was afterwards made an apostle and became zealous for the truth.^[98] (See note 4, end of section).

18. The Gospel Taken to the Gentiles.—The apostles, being Jews themselves, appear to have shared the common prejudices of their race against the Gentiles; and treated them as if they had no lot nor part in the gospel of Christ. It was not the design of the Lord, however, to thus restrict the application of the gospel. Jesus, himself, while he had said that he was sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,^[99] had also said: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."^[100] Hence when Cornelius, of Caesarea, a devout man, one that feared God, though a Gentile, sought the Lord by prayer and good works, he found him; for an angel was sent to him who told him his prayers and alms were accepted of God, and that he had come to direct him to send men to Joppa for Simon Peter, who would be able to tell him what he ought to do. The devout Gentile immediately started the messengers to find the apostle.

19. Meantime Peter himself was prepared by a vision to go with the gospel unto one whom both he and all his race regarded as unclean. In vision he thought he beheld a great net let down from heaven, filled with all manner of four-footed beasts, fowls of the air and creeping things. And a voice said to him, "Rise, Peter, kill, and eat." "Not so, Lord," was his reply: "for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean." "What God hath cleansed," said the voice that spoke to him, "that call not thou common or unclean." This was done thrice, and as he was yet pondering what the vision could mean, the messengers of Cornelius were at the gates enquiring for him; and he was commanded by the Spirit to go with them, doubting nothing, for God had sent them.

20. Peter was obedient to the inspired commandment, and went to the house of Cornelius, where he found many of the devout Gentile's friends and kinsmen gathered together in anticipation of his coming. Cornelius having informed the apostle how he came to send for him, Peter exclaimed: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." He then proceeded to preach the gospel to Cornelius and all present. As he did so the Holy Ghost fell upon them to the astonishment of all the Jews who had accompanied Peter; for they heard them speak in new tongues and magnify God. Cornelius and his friends were baptized and thus the door of the gospel was opened to the Gentiles.^[101]

21. Rapid Growth of the Work.—The knowledge once established in the minds of the apostles that God granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life, seemed to unshackle those who were to preach the gospel, and gave a broader meaning in their minds to their commission to go unto "all the world, and preach the gospel unto every creature." Evidently before this they did not comprehend it in its fullest sense.

22. The apostles appear to have remained in Jerusalem a number of years—twelve years, tradition says—presiding over the church and directing the labors of those preaching the gospel. Churches, or, more correctly speaking, branches of the church were built up in Antioch [An-ti-ok], Damascus [Da-mas-kus] and other cities of Syria [Sir-ia]. The work also spread into Asia Minor, Greece and Rome; and everywhere great success attended the preaching of the elders, until the gospel was firmly established in various parts of the Gentile world. So extensive was the preaching of the ambassadors of Christ in those early days of the church, that we have Paul saying (about thirty years after the ascension of Messiah) that it had been preached to every creature under heaven.^[102] (See note 5, end of section).

NOTES.

1. Was Matthias Called of God?—In consequence of Matthias having been chosen by "lot," it may be a question in the minds of some as to his being called of God. A careful consideration of all that was done in connection with that circumstance will dispel all doubt in relation to it. It must be observed that after Joseph Barsabas and Matthias were nominated for the place in the quorum of the Twelve, the Apostles prayed, saying: "Thou Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen." Before his ascension Jesus had said to these men, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. * * * Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you; * * * that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." Therefore when these Apostles asked which of the two men nominated God had chosen, and they gave their votes and Matthias was the one selected, God in that way answered their prayer, and Matthias was thus called of God. Again, to be called by a divinely appointed authority is to be called of God. No one can deny that the Apostles were a divinely appointed authority, hence to be called by them was to be called of God.—Roberts.

2. Pentecost.—Pentecost is the name given in the New Testament to the Feast of Weeks, or of Ingathering, celebrated on the fiftieth day from the Passover. It was a festival of thanks for the harvest. It was also one of the three great yearly festivals, in which all the males were required to appear before the Lord at the place of his sanctuary. Josephus in three places in his writings, viz., in the fourteenth book of "Antiquities," ch. xiii,4; Ibid. xvii, ch. x,2; and in his second book of the "Wars of the Jews," ch. iii,2,—speaks of this festival as bringing together great numbers of the Jews from all parts of the world, and sustains the statement in Acts ii, that there were in Jerusalem at Pentecost "Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven," who came running together on hearing that the disciples of Jesus were speaking in unknown tongues. We cannot refrain from remarking that it was a most opportune time for such a demonstration, since these men would carry the rumor of these things and the substance of the remarkable sermon they heard to the distant lands from which they had come, and thus the news of the gospel would be spread abroad.—Roberts.

3. Joel's Prophecy.—It is very generally supposed among Christians, that this outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, that is, its complete fulfillment. A careful examination of the prophecy, however, will clearly demonstrate that this is not the case. The prophecy will be found in Joel ii,28-32, and the particulars enumerated in it are as follows: The spirit of the Lord is to be poured out upon all flesh. At Pentecost it was poured out upon a few of the disciples of Jesus only; the sons and daughters of the people were to prophesy; we have no account of their doing so at Pentecost; old men were to dream dreams and young men see visions; there is no account of this taking place on the occasion in question; wonders were to be shown in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke, the sun is to be turned into darkness, the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come, yet on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem deliverance was to be found. These things unquestionably point to the glorious coming of the Son of God to judgment (see Matt. xxiv); and certainly they were not fulfilled on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on a few of the disciples of Jesus. Still Peter said, referring to the Spirit poured out upon the disciples: "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel," and then quoted the passage. He doubtless meant: This Spirit which you now see poured out upon these few men, is that Spirit which Joel spoke of, and which will eventually be poured out upon all flesh, not only upon men and women, but upon the brute creation as well, so that the lion and lamb shall lie down together and a little child shall lead them, and they shall not hurt nor destroy in all God's holy mountain. I have deemed it necessary to make this note, first, because of the very general belief among Christians that the prophecy of Joel was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost; and second, because the prophecy is one that was quoted by the angel Moroni on the occasion of his first visit to Joseph Smith, concerning which he said, it was not yet fulfilled but soon would be (Pearl of Great Price, page 90), hence, since this heavenly messenger puts its fulfillment in the future, it could not have been fulfilled on the day of Pentecost two thousand years ago.—Roberts.

4. Description of Paul.—He is about five feet high; very dark hair, dark complexion; dark skin; large Roman nose; sharp face; small, black eyes, penetrating as eternity; round shoulders; a whining voice; except when elevated, and then it almost resembled the roaring of a lion. He was a good orator, active and diligent, always employing himself in doing good to his fellow-man.—Joseph Smith, at the organization of a school for instruction, Jan. 5th, 1841.

Paul was small in size, and his personal appearance did not correspond with the greatness of his soul. He was ugly, stout, short, and stooping, and his broad shoulders awkwardly sustained a little bald head. His sallow countenance was half hidden in a thick beard; his nose was aquiline, his eyes piercing, and his eye-brows heavy and joined across his forehead. Nor was there anything imposing in his speech, for his timid and embarrassed air gave but a poor idea of his eloquence. He shrewdly, however, admitted his exterior defects, and even drew advantage therefrom. The Jewish race possesses the peculiarity of at the same time presenting types of the greatest beauty, and the most thorough ugliness; but this Jewish ugliness is something quite apart by itself. Some of the strange visages which at first excite a smile, assume, when lighted up by emotion, a sort of deep brilliancy and grandeur.—Renan—"Life of the Apostles," p. 165.

5. Travels of the Apostles Uncertain.—The ambassadors of Christ on leaving Jerusalem traveled over a great part of the world, and in a short time collected numerous religious societies in various countries. Of the churches they founded, not a small number is mentioned in the sacred books, especially in the Acts of the Apostles. Besides these, there can be no doubt they collected many others, both by their own efforts and by the efforts of their followers. But how far they traveled, what nations they visited, or when and where they died, is exceedingly dubious and uncertain.—Mosheim.

6. Divine Aid in Propagation of the Gospel.—The causes must have been divine which could enable men destitute of all human aid, poor and friendless, neither eloquent nor learned, fishermen and publicans, and they too Jews, that is, persons odious to all other nations, in so short a time to persuade a great part of mankind to abandon the religion of their fathers, and to embrace a new religion which is opposed to the natural dispositions of men. In the words they uttered there must have been an amazing and a divine power controlling the minds of men. To which may be added miracles, prophecies, the detection of men's secret designs, magnanimity in the midst of perils, contempt for all the objects of ordinary ambition, a patient and cheerful endurance of sufferings worse than death, as well as of death itself, and finally, lives of the purest and most unblemished character. That the ambassadors of Jesus Christ were in fact thus furnished for their work, is a truth perfectly clear and obvious. And if we suppose them not to have been so furnished, no probable reason can be assigned for so rapid a propagation of Christianity by this small and feeble band.—Mosheim.

7. The Rapid Spread of the Gospel.—Thus, then, under a celestial influence and co-operation, the doctrine of the Savior, like the rays of the sun, quickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in accordance with divine prophecy, the sound of his inspired evangelists and apostles had gone throughout all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Throughout every city and village, like a replenished barn floor, churches were rapidly abounding and filled with members from every people. Those who, in consequence of the delusions that had descended to them from their ancestors, had been fettered by the ancient disease of idolatrous superstition, were now liberated by the power of Christ, through the teachings and miracles of his messengers.—Eusebius, writing of the period between 37-41 A. D.

REVIEW.

1. What was the first official business of the authorities of the church after the resurrection?

2. State the manner of filling the vacancy in the quorum of the twelve.

3. What of Mosheim's translation of the phrase: "They gave forth their lots?" (Note).

4. Was Matthias called of God? (Note 1).

5. What evidence can you refer to in proof that the quorum of Twelve Apostles was to be perpetuated?

6. When was the gospel first publicly preached after the resurrection?

7. How long between the ascension and Pentecost? (Note 2).

8. Describe the events in the church on the day of Pentecost. 9. What circumstance is an evidence that the statement of scripture is true that there were devout men from many nations in Jerusalem at that time? (Note 2).

10. Was the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost a complete fulfillment of Joel's prophecy quoted by Peter? (Note 3).

11. How does the order of principles taught by Peter on the day of Pentecost compare with the order of principles taught by John the Baptist and Messiah? (Note).

12. Describe the rise of opposition to the church.

13. What answer did Peter make to the mandates of the rulers not to teach in the name of Jesus?

14. What was the counsel of Gamaliel to the Jews?

15. To what extent did his counsel prevail?

16. What arrangements were made in the church in respect to looking after the poor?

17. What priesthood did the seven most likely hold? (Note).

18. Give an account of the introduction of the gospel among the Samaritans.

19. What was Paul's course at the first towards the church?

20. Relate the circumstances of his conversion.

21. Give a description of Paul. (Note 4).

22. What were the views entertained by the Jews toward the Gentiles?

23. Relate how the gospel was introduced to the Gentiles.

24. State the exception to the order of the gospel in the case of Cornelius.

25. What was the object of the exception?

26. What effect on the church did carrying the gospel to the Gentiles have?

27. How long is it supposed that the Twelve remained at Jerusalem?

28. What can you say of the spread of the work during the first century? (Notes 5, 6, 7).