1. Martyrdom of the Prophets.—The relentless persecution which had followed the Prophet Joseph Smith ever since he first announced that he had received a revelation from God, culminated at last in his and his brother Hyrum's martyrdom, at Carthage jail, Hancock county, Illinois, on the 27th of June, 1844. Religious prejudices and political jealousies, combined with the treason of wicked apostates from the church in Nauvoo, are the forces which led to this sad result. The two brothers were murdered in Carthage prison while awaiting trial on a false charge of treason against the State of Illinois. They were under the immediate protection of the officers of the state, the governor thereof having only the day before pledged the honor of the State for their protection. Notwithstanding all this a mob of from one to two hundred surrounded the prison where they were confined, forced the door, killed the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum, and severely wounded Apostle John Taylor, who, with Willard Richards, was a voluntary inmate of the prison with the brothers Smith.[202]
2. The martyrdom of the prophet has an importance second only to the crucifixion of Messiah; for in his martyrdom he sealed his testimony with his blood, and thenceforth it is made binding on all the world. "For 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."[203] The Dispensation of the Fullness of Times doubtless required a testimony such as Joseph Smith bore to the world, to be sealed with his blood, else the tragedy at Carthage would not have been permitted.
3. The Twelve Apostles Succeed in Presidency.—After the death of the Prophet Joseph, the Twelve—the quorum standing next to the First Presidency, and equal in authority to that quorum—took charge of the affairs of the church. Sidney Rigdon, who with Hyrum Smith was a counselor in the first presidency, pressed his claims to be recognized as the "guardian" or president of the church, but he was rejected by the Saints, and the twelve were sustained for the time being as the presiding quorum of the church.[204]
4. Expulsion from Illinois.—When the enemies of the Saints in Illinois saw that the killing of the prophet did not destroy the church, they agitated the question of driving them from the state, and such was the influence of the mob, and such the cowardice and weakness of the state officials, that they were entirely successful in the undertaking. The Saints were compelled to leave the state under circumstances of the utmost cruelty, sacrificing very much of their property, the city they had founded and the temple they had built.
5. Flight to the West—Why.—When compelled to leave Illinois, the Saints turned their faces westward. The country west of the Missouri was unoccupied, except by wandering tribes of Indians, and they might look for that peace in the vast wilderness of the west which had been refused them in the Christian, civilized states of the east. But what caused them to look to the west for an abiding place—even more than the fact that the west was unoccupied—was the frequent predictions of the Prophet Joseph that the Saints would yet remove to the Rocky Mountains and become a great people. [See note 1, end of section.] Here, too, in the tops of the Rocky Mountains they could fulfill better than anywhere else the predictions of the ancient prophets. [See note 2, end of section.]
6. Arrival in Salt Lake Valley.—Westward, therefore, they turned their faces; the pioneer company—consisting of one hundred and forty-three men and three women—crossed the plains in 1847, arriving in Salt Lake Valley on the 24th of July of that year. They made their encampment on the present site of Salt Lake City, and soon afterwards laid off the city and began the erection of permanent homes.
7. Reorganization of the First Presidency.—At Winter Quarters, December 5, 1847, the first presidency of the church was reorganized. Brigham Young was nominated and sustained as the president, with authority to choose his two counselors. He selected Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards for first and second counselors, respectively, and they were unanimously sustained by the church.
8. Brigham Young.[205]—Brigham Young acted as the president of the church for thirty years—for thirty-three years, if the three years that the quorum of the twelve (of which he was president) acted as the presiding quorum of the church, be counted. In the course of these thirty-three eventful years this truly great man conducted the exodus of the Saints from Nauvoo; led them across the wide extended plains which form the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains; established them in Salt Lake and surrounding valleys, located and laid out many of their settlements, and taught them not only the moral precepts of the gospel, but how to produce from the elements, sterile as they then seemed, the necessaries and comforts of life. Through his wisdom—God-given—he laid the foundation of the present commonwealth of Utah. Just previous to his death he organized the settlements of the church into Stakes of Zion, as we now know them, and set in order the various quorums of the priesthood.
9. President Young was a natural leader among men—a master spirit. His genius especially manifested itself in his ability to organize and govern men. He had not only been the president of the church and the first governor of Utah, but he was also the friend of the people. In times of trial and sorrow they turned to him for comfort; in times of danger they looked to him to direct their action; in times of perplexity they went to him for the word of the Lord; and Brigham Young, full of heaven-inspired wisdom, never failed them in any of these things. [See note 3, end of section.]
10. The Twelve again Presiding.—At the death of President Brigham Young, August 29, 1877, the quorum of the twelve apostles again became the temporary presiding quorum of the church, with John Taylor at their head. [See note 4, end of section.] The quorum of the twelve continued to act as the presiding quorum of the church until the October conference of 1880, when the first presidency was again organized. John Taylor was chosen president, and he selected George Q. Cannon for his first, and Joseph F. Smith for his second counselor.
11. John Taylor.—President John Taylor came to the high office of president of the church late in life, in his seventy-second year. He joined the church in his early manhood, in 1836, and two years later was ordained into the quorum of the twelve apostles. He was a trusted friend of the Prophet Joseph, and was in prison with him when he was martyred, and he himself was wounded nigh unto death. He had been prominent in all leading events of the church from the time he was ordained an apostle until he became the president thereof. He was a man of wide experience, profound judgment, and unwavering integrity. [See note 5, end of section.] He entered upon the performance of his high duties with a zeal and vigor only to be expected of a younger man. He was careful to set in order the several quorums of the priesthood, and insist upon each man doing his duty. The seven years of his administration as president of the church will be remembered as among the most eventful in the history of the church. It was during those years that the judicial crusade was inaugurated by the United States and most vigorously carried on against the Saints for the suppression of plural marriage.
12. Wilford Woodruff—His Administration.—President Taylor died on the 25th of July, 1887, and once more the quorum of the twelve apostles became the presiding quorum of the church. They continued to act in that capacity, with Wilford Woodruff as president, until April 7, 1889, when the first presidency was again reorganized, with Wilford Woodruff as president. He retained the counselors of the late President Taylor, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, as his counselors.
13. The persecution which the United States had inflicted upon the church on the pretext of suppressing plural marriage culminated in 1890 in the discontinuance of the practice of that principle. It may be well here to enumerate those circumstances which led to the above result. It has already been stated how plural marriage was introduced and practiced in Nauvoo. After the church settled in Salt Lake valley it was publicly proclaimed as a doctrine of the church in 1852. The practice of it then was public, the whole church—and at that time the members of the church comprised nearly the whole community—approving the principle, which was at once recognized as a proper religious institution.
14. Enactments of Congress Against Plural Marriage.—For ten years the practice in Utah of this system of marriage met with no opposition from the United States. But in 1862 a law was enacted by Congress to punish and prevent the practice of polygamy in the Territories of the United States.[206] The penalties affixed were a fine, not to exceed five hundred dollars, and imprisonment not to exceed five years. For twenty years, however, the law remained practically a dead letter. It was claimed by the Saints that it was an infringement of the religious liberty guaranteed by the Constitution [207] of the United States, since it prohibited the free exercise of religion. For twenty years no pronounced effort was made by the officers of the general government to enforce the law. In 1882, however, the law enacted twenty years before was supplemented by what is known as the Edmunds Law. In addition to defining the crime polygamy—for which it retained the same penalties as the law of 1862—the Edmunds law also made the cohabiting with more than one woman a crime, punishable by a fine not to exceed three hundred dollars, and by imprisonment not to exceed six months. This law also rendered persons who were living in polygamy, or who believed in its rightfulness, incompetent to act as grand or petit jurors; and also disqualified all polygamists for voting or holding office. This law of 1882 was supplemented by the Edmunds-Tucker law—enacted in 1887—which made the legal wife or husband, in case of polygamy or unlawful cohabitation, a competent witness, provided the accused consented thereto; it also enlarged the powers of United States commissioners and marshals, and required certificates of all marriages to be filed in the office of the probate court. The violation of this last provision was a fine of one thousand dollars, and imprisonment for two years. The law disincorporated the church, and ordered the supreme court to wind up its affairs, and take possession of the escheated property. 15. The laws were rigorously enforced by the United States officials, special appropriations being made by Congress to enable them to carry on a judicial crusade against the Saints. The prominent church officials were driven into retirement; others into exile. Homes were disrupted; family ties were rent asunder. Upwards of a thousand men endured fines and imprisonment in the penitentiary rather than be untrue to their families. Every effort of the government to deprive the people of what was considered their religious liberty was stubbornly contested in the Courts until the decision of the supreme court of the United States was obtained. While some of the proceedings of the courts in Utah in enforcing the anti-polygamy laws were condemned, the laws were sustained as constitutional. The court also held that the first amendment to the Constitution, which provides that Congress shall not prohibit the free exercise of religion, cannot be invoked against legislation for the punishment of plural marriages. Meantime government was relentless, and still more stringent measures than those already enacted were threatened.
16. Discontinuance of Plural Marriages.—In the midst of these afflictions and threatening portents President Wilford Woodruff besought the Lord in anguish and prayer and the Lord inspired him to issue the manifesto which discontinued the practice of plural marriages. At the semi-annual conference in October following, the action of President Woodruff was sustained by unanimous vote of the conference and plural marriages are discontinued in the church. [See notes 6, 7, 8, end of section.]
17. In this matter of plural marriage the Latter-say Saints are neither responsible for its introduction nor for its discontinuance. The Lord commanded its practice, and in the face of the sentiment of ages, and in opposition to the teachings of their own traditions, many of the Saints obeyed the commandment, and in the midst of weakness, difficulties and dangers sought to carry out the law as revealed to them. For about half a century they maintained its practice in the face of opposition sufficient to appall the stoutest hearts. They defended it in the public press proclaimed it from the pulpit, debated it on the platform with all those who chose to assail it, and practiced it in their lives, notwithstanding fines and imprisonments threatened; and when the power of the government was vigorously employed to enforce its laws against this institution, hundreds of men cheerfully endured both fines and imprisonment rather than be untrue to it. A whole generation had been grown and had grown to manhood and womanhood in this marriage system, and the affections of family ties were entwined with it. Then, under the pressure of suffering brought upon the people through the laws of the United States, the Lord inspired the president of the church to proclaim its discontinuance, and the people, with hearts bursting with grief submitted to the will of heaven, and there the matter rests. If the labors and sufferings of the church of Christ for this principle have done nothing more, this much at least has been accomplished—the Saints have borne testimony to the truth. And it is for God to vindicate his own law and open the way for its establishment on the earth, which doubtless he will do when his kingdom shall come in power, and when his will shall be done in earth as it is in heaven.
18. Laying of the Cap-Stone of the Salt Lake Temple.—One of the most pleasing and at the same time one of the most important events in the history of the church during the administration of President Woodruff, was laying the cap-stone of the Salt Lake Temple, on the 6th of April, 1892. It was laid by President Woodruff amid the rejoicing of thousands of the Saints; and a resolution was adopted to complete the sacred edifice and dedicate it on the 6th of April, 1893—forty years from the time the corner-stones thereof was laid.
19. The Growth and Present Condition of the Church (1892).—Since the Saints settled in the valleys of the Rocky mountains the church has been making steady growth in numbers, and its territorial boundaries are constantly extending. The church is no longer confined within the boundary lines of the territory of Utah. It has five stakes organized in the state of Idaho, one in the state of Colorado, one in Wyoming, four in the territory of Arizona, and colonies in Mexico and Canada. The settlements of the Saints are noted for peace and good order; for the cleanliness, thrift, sobriety and the comfortable circumstances of the people. But few individuals in the church can be considered wealthy, yet as a whole the community is rich, most of the people owning their homes, the lands they cultivate and the flocks and herds they tend. The land has been blessed for their sakes, and made to yield in its strength. They are a contented, happy, and fast becoming a mighty people. They are diligently preaching the gospel to the world, having sent missionaries to nearly all the nations of the earth. In the British Isles, and among the Scandinavian and German people the missionaries have been especially successful. Of late years great progress has been made also among the natives of New Zealand, Sandwich Islands, and other islands of the Pacific, notably in Samoa.
20. The church is also devoting much of its energies to the work for the dead. Four magnificent temples have been reared by the Saints. One in St, George, dedicated January 1st, 1877; one in Logan, dedicated 17th of May, 1884; another in Manti, dedicated 21st of May, 1888; and one in Salt Lake, dedicated on the 6th of April, 1893. In these temples the faithful Saints are doing a noble and a mighty work for their ancestors, as well as a very important work for the living.
21. A Preparatory Work.—The work of God, as revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, has a peculiar significance to this generation. It is essentially a preparatory work; its direct mission is to prepare for the glorious coming of the Son of God to reign over the earth. Nothing can be more explicitly stated in the scripture than the fact that the Son of God will come to the earth in the glory of his Father, to reward the righteous with a speedy resurrection from the dead, and destroy the wicked by the judgments of famine, pestilence and war; to establish his kingdom in power, bringing in a reign of peace, liberty and righteousness. In proof of this let the student consider the following scripture:
I. Promise of Messiah's Glorious Return:—"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And, while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold two men [angels] stood by them in white apparel; which also 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."[208]
"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works."[209]
II. Messiah to Come to Judgment:—"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."[210]
"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day."[211] "For the Son of Man cometh at an hour when we think not."[212] [See note 9, end of section.]
III. The World to be Warned of Coming Judgments:—To a number of elders in Kirtland, in 1832, who had been called to the ministry, the Lord gave these instructions, and, of course, they apply to all elders called to the same ministry:—"Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that is expedient for you to understand. * * * That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you. Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads. * * * Therefore, tarry ye, and labor diligently, that ye may be perfected in your ministry to go forth among the Gentiles for the last time, as many as the mouth of the Lord shall name, to bind up the law and seal up the testimony, and to prepare the saints for the hour of judgment which is to come; that their souls may escape the wrath of God, the desolation of abomination which awaits the wicked, both in this world and the world to come. * * * Abide ye in the liberty wherewith ye are made free; entangle not yourselves in sin, but let your hands be clean, until the Lord come; for not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man, and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light, and the moon shall be bathed in blood, and the stars shall become exceeding angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig tree.
"And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people; for after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground, and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of the tempest, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people; and angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying, Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come; behold and lo! the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him."[213]
IV. The Coming of the Kingdom of God from Heaven:—"Hearken, and lo, a voice as of one from on high. * * * Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountains without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth; yea, a voice crying—Prepare ye the way of the Lord, prepare ye the supper of the Lamb, make ready for the Bridegroom; pray unto the Lord, call upon his holy name, make known his wonderful works among the people; 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 which the Son of Man shall come down from heaven, clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth."[214]
V. A Prayer:—"Wherefore may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come, that thou, O God, mayest be glorified in heaven so on earth, that thy enemies may be subdued; for thine is the honor, power and glory, forever and ever. Amen."[215]
22. Conclusion.—Such then is the work of God in the great Dispensation of the Fullness of Times—a preparatory work for the glorious coming and reign of Messiah. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ restored to the earth through the ministration of angels to Joseph Smith and others whom the Lord called to the work. In it are found all the principles, ordinances, authorities, powers, gifts, graces, callings and appointments necessary to accomplish the eternal salvation of the living and the dead—it is the fullness of the gospel; and has or will gather into it all that has ever been revealed concerning the redemption of the earth and the human race. This great work of God, as we have seen, contemplates the gathering of Israel and the restoration of the "lost tribes;" the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, which city they will rebuild; the redemption of the Lamanites and the building of a glorious city upon the American continent to be called Zion; the advent of Messiah in power and glory to reign in righteousness over the earth for a thousand years, with all the ancient Saints and those of modern days who are worthy; it contemplates the final redemption of the earth, and teaches that it will become a celestial sphere, the abode of resurrected celestial beings forever. This work of God accepts and includes within its boundary lines all truth. It is progressive and is destined to become the religion of the age. Within it is scope for all the intelligence that shall flow unto it—"within its atmosphere is room for every intellectual wing." It does not, as some have supposed, thrive best where ignorance is most profound; nor does it depend upon superstition for its existence or perpetuity; but it possesses within itself principles of native strength that will enable it to weather every storm, outlive all hatred born of ignorance and prejudice, and will yet prove itself to be what indeed it is—the power of God unto salvation to all those who believe and obey it.
NOTES.
1. Prophecy that the Saints would Remove to the West.—I passed over the river to Montrose, Iowa, in company with General Adams, Colonel Brewer and others, and witnessed the installation of the officers of the Rising Sun Lodge of Ancient order of Masons, at Montrose, by General James Adams, deputy grand master of Illinois. While the deputy grand master was engaged in giving the requisite instructions to the master-elect, I had a conversation with a number of the brethren in the shade of the building on the subject of our persecutions in Missouri, and the constant annoyance which has followed us since we were driven from that state. I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains, many would apostatize, others would be put to death by their persecutors, or lose their lives in consequence of exposure or disease, and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains.—Joseph Smith's journal for 6th of August, 1842.
2. Why the Church Came West.—"Many living witnesses can testify that we proposed moving to California [then a general name for the great West, including what is now Utah] leaving the land of our oppression, preaching the gospel to the Lamanites, building up other temples to the living God, establishing ourselves in the far distant West. The cruel and perfidious persecutions that we endured tended to hasten our departure, but did not dictate it. It jeopardized our lives, property and liberty, but was not the cause of our removal. Many a time have I listened to the voice of our beloved prophet, while in council, dwell on this subject with delight; his eyes sparkling with animation, and his soul fired with the inspiration of the Spirit of the living God. It was a theme that caused the bosoms of all who were privileged to listen to thrill with delight; intimately connected with this were themes upon which prophets, patriarchs, priests and kings dwelt with pleasure and delight; of them they prophesied, sung, wrote, spoke and desired. to see, but died without the sight. My spirit glows with sacred fire while I reflect upon these scenes, and I say, O Lord, hasten the day! Let Zion be established! Let the mountain of the Lord's house be established in the tops of the mountains!"—a thing, I may add—and which he plainly intimates—could not have been done had the Saints remained in Nauvoo. The Saints did not come to the Rocky Mountain valleys because they were compelled to by their enemies, but came here because it was their destiny to come; because the Lord would have them here; and because there were problems to work out in connection with the work of God which could be worked out nowhere else.—Life of John Taylor p. 179.
3. Character of Brigham Young.—Brigham Young was colonizer, statesman, philosopher, philanthropist, reformer, prophet leader, priestly-king, an honest man, God's noblest work! * * * His greatness shines forth in conduct and leadership and colonization and in the building of a mighty commonwealth in these mountain valleys. * * * On all great occasions promptness and decision were characteristics of his organization; and let a question arise where it might, all Israel felt when it reached God's prophet-leader, it would find proper solution, and when solved would be endorsed by wisdom.—Moses Thatcher.
4. Succession of the Twelve on the Death of President Young.—On the 4th of September, 1877, the two counselors of the late President Young and ten of the Twelve Apostles—Orson Pratt and Joseph F. Smith, the other two members, were absent in England—held a meeting and waited upon the Lord. With humble, contrite and saddened hearts they earnestly sought to learn his will concerning themselves and the church. The Lord blessed them with the spirit of union, and revealed to them what steps should be taken, and the following is what was done: Elder Taylor was unanimously sustained as the president of the twelve; and with the same unanimity it was voted that the twelve apostles should be sustained as the presiding authority in the church, while the counselors to the late President Young, John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells, were sustained as one with, counselors to, and associated with the twelve apostles. To facilitate the transaction of business it was also voted that for the time being President Taylor should be assisted by John W. Young, Daniel H. Wells and George Q. Cannon, in attending to business connected with the temples, the public works and other financial affairs of the Church.—Life of John Taylor.
5. John Taylor.—There was a beautiful harmony in the character of his mind and the lineaments of his person. If the habitation was splendid, the inmate was worthy of it. His noble form and bearing were but the outward expression of the spirit within. A universal benevolence, powerful intellect, splendid courage, physical as well as moral, a noble independence of spirit, coupled with implicit faith and trust in God, a high sense of honor, unimpeachable integrity, indomitable determination and passionate love of liberty, justice and truth marked the outlines of his character.—Life of John Taylor.
6. The Discontinuance of Plural Marriage.—The clause in President Woodruff's manifesto which discontinued plural marriage is as follows: "Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I 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. * * * And I now publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land."
Following is the resolution presented to the semi-annual conference in the October following. It was presented by Lorenzo Snow, the president of the twelve apostles:—"I move that, recognizing Wilford Woodruff as the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only man on the earth at the present time who holds the keys of the sealing ordinances, we consider him fully authorized by virtue of his position to issue the manifesto which has been read in our hearing, and which is dated September 24, 1890; and that as a church in general conference assembled, we accept his declaration concerning plural marriage as authoritative and binding." The vote to sustain the foregoing motion was unanimous.
7. Basis on which the Manifesto was Issued.—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 hinder them from performing that work; behold, it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings. [Revelation given 19th Jan., 1841, Doc. and Cov., sec. cxxiv.] It is on this basis that President Woodruff has felt himself justified in issuing this manifesto. * * * We have waited for the Lord to move in this matter, and on the 24th of September, President Woodruff made up his mind that he would write something, and he had the spirit of it. He had prayed about it and he had besought the Lord repeatedly to show him what to do. At that time the spirit came upon him, and the document that has been read in your hearing was the result. I know that it was right, much as it has gone against the grain with me in many respects. * * * But when God speaks and when God makes known his mind and will, I hope that I and all Latter-day Saints will bow in submission to it.—Geo. Q. Cannon, in a sermon Oct. 6th, 1890.
I want to say to all Israel that the step which I have taken in issuing this manifesto has not been done without earnest prayer before the Lord. * * * I have done my duty, and the nation of which we form a part must be responsible for that which has been done in relation to that principle [plural marriage.]—President Woodruff, in a sermon Oct.6th, 1890.
8. Testimony from God Promised that the Manifesto was Inspired.—I have received a revelation and commandment from the Lord, which I have not revealed to any man, which I shall reveal to this assembly, and the command of the Lord I shall give to this people, which is this: The Lord has revealed to me that there are many in the church who feel badly tried about the manifesto, and also about the testimony of the presidency and apostles before the master in chancery. The Lord has commanded me to put the following question to the Saints, and those who will give strict attention to it shall have the Holy Ghost to be with them to inspire them to answer that question for themselves, and the Lord has promised that the answer will be to all alike. The question is this: which is the wisest course for the Latter-day Saints to pursue—to continue to attempt to practice plural marriage with the laws of the nation against it and the opposition of 60,000,000 of people, and at the cost of the confiscation, and loss of all the temples, and the stopping of the ordinances therein, both for the living and the dead; and the imprisonment of the first presidency and the twelve, and the leaders of heads of families in the church, and the confiscation of the personal property of the people (all of which of themselves would stop the practice) or after doing and suffering what we have through our adherence to this principle, to cease the practice and submit to the law, and through doing so leave the prophets, apostles and fathers at home, so that they can instruct the people and attend to the duties of the church, and also leave the temples in the hands of the Saints so that they can attend to the ordinances of the gospel, both for the living and the dead? Now the inspiration of the Lord will reveal to any person which course wisdom would dictate us to pursue. And the Latter-day Saints throughout all Israel should understand that the first presidency of the church and the twelve apostles are led and guided by the inspiration of the Lord, and the Lord will not permit me nor any other man to lead the people astray.—President Woodruff, at Box Elder quarterly conference, Oct. 25th. 1891. Juvenile Instructor, vol. xxvi: p. 671.
9. Sign of the Coming of Messiah.—I have asked the Lord concerning his coming; and while asking the Lord, he gave me a sign and said: "In the days of Noah I set a bow in the heavens as a sign and a token that in any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come; but there should be seed time and harvest during that year; but whenever you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be a token that there shall be famine, pestilence and great distress among the nations, and that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant. * * Jesus Christ never did reveal to any man the precise time that he would come."—Joseph Smith.
REVIEW.
1. Relate the circumstances connected with the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.
2. Who succeeded to the presidency of the church after the death of the Prophet Joseph?
3. Give an account of the expulsion of the church from Illinois.
4. State the reasons why the church in its flight went westward.
5. Give an account of the arrival in Salt Lake valley.
6. When and where was the first presidency of the church reorganized?
7. State the leading achievements in the career of Brigham Young.
8. What was the character of President Young? (Note 3.)
9. Who again took the presidency of the church at the death of Brigham Young?
10. When was the first presidency again organized?
11. State what you can of the life and character of John Taylor.
12. For what is John Taylor's administration noted?
13. Who succeeded to the presidency of the church after the death of President Taylor?
14. What led to the discontinuance of the practice of plural marriage?
15. When was plural marriage publicly announced as a doctrine of the Church?
16. Give an account of the enactments of Congress against plural marriage.
17. State in what spirit these laws were enforced.
18. State in what way plural marriage was finally discontinued.
19. What was the basis of this action of the Church? (Notes 6, 7, 8.)
20. Were the Saints responsible either for the introduction or discontinuance of plural marriage?
21. What has been their course in relation to this principle since its introduction? 22. Give an account of the laying of the cap-stone on the Salt Lake temple.
23. Make a statement of the growth and present position of the church.
24. What is the immediate purpose of the work began by the Prophet Joseph Smith?
25. State several promises to be found in the Jewish scriptures respecting the glorious return of Messiah.
26. Quote those that predict Messiah will come to judgment.
27. What hath God decreed concerning the time of his coming? (Note 9.)
28. For what especial purpose hath God sent forth his servants to the world in this dispensation?
29. What will be the crowning event to the work of this dispensation?
30. State what is contemplated by the work of God in the dispensation of the fullness of times.
THE END.
Footnotes
1. Jaques' Catechism, page 77.2. "God having made known unto us * * * that in the dispensation of the fullness 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." (Ephesians i:9, 10.)3. Note 2, end of section.4. Ontario County has since been divided, and the north part of it, in which Palmyra is located, is now called Wayne County.5. While the Prophet Joseph in describing this first great vision refers to the Lord and his Son Jesus Christ as two glorious personages without giving at that time any particular description of their persons, it is clear that they were in the form of men. Teaching the church the character of the Godhead some years later, the prophet said: "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man and sits enthroned in yonder heavens. That is the great secret. If the vail was rent today and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible—I say if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves, in all the person, image and very form as a man, for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from and walked and talked, and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another."—Journal of Discourses, Vol. VI, page 3.6. Most likely the first part of the third chapter, as that relates to the coming of a messenger to prepare the way for the glorious coming of Messiah. (See Mal. iii: 1-6.)7. Pearl of Great Price, page 90. The words in Italics indicate the difference between the passages as quoted by Moroni and as they stand in our English version of the Bible. The student should compare the passages as quoted above with the Bible and mark how superior is the angel's rendering of them.8. That was the name of the hill among the Nephites. The Jaredites, a still more ancient people, called it Ramah.9. Book of Mormon, pp. 114, 115.10. This messenger was a resurrected personage. It will be remembered that John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod Antipas before the crucifixion of the Lord; and that after the resurrection of Messiah, "the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his [Christ's] resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." (Matt. xxvii: 52, 53.) As John the Baptist was one of the most worthy of the saints, and a martyr for righteousness, it is but reasonable to conclude that he was among the number resurrected immediately after the resurrection of Jesus.11. For the words of the angel see Doc. and Cov., sec. 13.12. These baptisms were, of course, by immersion. The Savior when teaching the Nephites how to baptize, said: "Ye shall go down and stand in the water, and * * * these are the words 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." (III Nephi xi: 23-26.) It was this passage which led Joseph and Oliver to inquire of the Lord about baptism, with the result stated in the text.13. See Cannon's Life of Joseph Smith, p. 73.14. Doc. and Cov., sec. cxxviii: 20; also article by Joseph F. Smith on Restoration of the Melchisedek Priesthood, "Contributor," vol x, p. 310.15. Matt. xvi: 19.16. Cannon's Life of Joseph Smith, p. 73.17. Doc. and Cov., sec. cvii: 18, 19.18. Their names were Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Peter Whitmer, Jun., Samuel H. Smith, and David Whitmer. There were a number of others who had been baptized, but as six persons were sufficient to fill the requirements of the laws of the State of New York in respect to organizing religious societies, the church was organized with that number.19. The words "of Latter-day Saints," were not used until some time after April 26, 1838, when they were added by revelation from the Lord. (Doc. and Cov., sec. cxv.)20. See Doc. and Cov. sec. xxi.21. The revelation giving these instructions was given in the chamber of Peter Whitmer, Sen., and is the "voice of God in the chamber of old Father Whitmer," alluded to in the letter of Joseph to the church under date of Sep. 6, 1842, contained in sec. cxxviii of the Doc. and Cov.22. Page 297.23. It is the law of the church that "no person is to be ordained to any office in this church, where there is a regularly organized branch of same, without the vote of that church." (Doc. and Cov., sec. xx: 65.)24. Doc. and Cov., sec. xxvi.25. The voice of the people is the voice of God.26. The voice of God is the voice of the people.27. The voice of God and the voice of the people.28. This revelation is the one found in sec. xx., Doc. and Cov. The Prophet Joseph precedes it in his history with these remarks: "Among many other things of the kind [spiritual manifestations], we obtained of Him the following, by the spirit of prophecy and revelation, which not only gave us much information, but also pointed out to us the precise day upon which, according to his will and commandment, we should proceed to organize his church once again here upon the earth." Then followed the revelation above referred to.—Hist. Joseph Smith, Mill Star (Supplement) vol. xiv, p.2229. See part I.30. Subsequently when some persons desired to join the church without baptism at the hands of the elders, having been baptized by the ministers of other churches, the Lord said: "All old covenants have I caused to be done away in this thing, and this is a new and everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning. Wherefore, although a man should be baptized an hundred times, it availeth him nothing, for you cannot enter in at the straight gate by the law of Moses, neither by your dead works. For it is because of your dead works, that I have caused this last covenant and this church to be built up unto me even as in days of old. Wherefore enter ye in at the gate, as I have commanded, and seek not to counsel your God." Doc. and Cov. sec. xxii.31. Eight years is fixed as the age of baptism for children. Doc. and Cov. sec. lxviii: 27.32. These are the same words given to the Nephites, except that the opening clause in the Book of Mormon is: "Having authority given me of Jesus Christ" (III Nephi xi: 25), and that means the same as "Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ," etc.33. All officers in the church holding higher authority than those named would, of course, have authority to administer the sacrament.34. A few months after the organization of the church, viz., early in the month of August, 1830, when the Prophet Joseph left his house in Harmony, Penn., for the purpose of procuring wine to administer the sacrament to a few saints visiting him at his home—he had gone but a short distance when he was met by a heavenly messenger and received the revelation contained in the Doc. and Cov. sec. xxvii, a portion of which is as follows: "Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Lord, your God and your Redeemer, whose word is quick and powerful. 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 ye 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 on the earth." This revelation is the authority the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has for using water instead of wine in the sacrament.35. It must be remembered that this revelation was given before the church was organized; at that time there were a number who had been baptized, and who had children not old enough to be baptized, and had not yet been blessed of the elders. This commandment, therefore, was directed more especially to them, but applies, of course, to people placed in like circumstances. Subsequently, in November 1831, the Lord said: "Inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, who teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ, the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents; for this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes when organized; and their children shall be baptized for the remission of sins when eight years old and receive the laying on of hands, and they shall also teach their children to pray and walk uprightly before the Lord." (Doc. and Cov. sec. lxviii:25-28.)36. The term "elder" is both a general and a specific title. That is, it may be applied to an apostle or a seventy; as, for instance, in the revelation under consideration (Doc. and Cov. sec. xx), it is said: "An apostle is an elder," etc. We shall see also further on that it is the name of a specific office in the church; that ninety-six elders constitute a quorum; that they constitute a standing ministry in the stakes of Zion; and that they have authority to do all that is enumerated in the text above.37. The closing phrases of paragraph 37, sec. xx; Doc. and Cov., are what Oliver objected to—"And truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of sins."38. Doc. and Cov. sec. xxviii39. Doc. and Cov. xxviii, and sec. xliii:1-640. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xxviii.41. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xxxvii.42. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xli.43. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii.44. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 15.45. Ibid, verse 20.46. Ibid, verse 68.47. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lvii:17.48. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lviii: 15; 18. Ibid, sec. cvii: 72-75.49. There are bishops holding different positions: Bishop Partridge was a general bishop over the land of Zion; while Bishop Whitney was a general bishop over the church in Kirtland, Ohio, and also over the eastern churches until afterwards appointed as presiding bishop. * * * There are also ward bishops, whose duties are confined to their several wards. * * * There are also bishops' agents such as Sidney Gilbert [he was Bishop Partridge's agent in Zion, Missouri], and others.—Items on Priesthood by the late President John Taylor.50. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii: 17, 18.51. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii: 20.52. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii: 21.53. And inasmuch as a president of the high priesthood shall transgress, he shall be had in remembrance before the common council of the church, who shall be assisted by twelve counselors of the high priesthood; and their decision upon his head shall be an end of controversy concerning him. (Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 82, 83).54. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii: 19.55. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxviii: 22-24.56. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxxiv: 112.57. I think a careful reading of sec. lxviii of the Doctrine and Covenants, will justify this conclusion—that not only the office of presiding bishop of the church should be filled by the first-born of the sons of Aaron, but that the traveling and local bishops also, so far as can be, should be chosen from among the first born of the sons of Aaron. The following passage seems especially clear on the question: "There remaineth hereafter, in the due time of the Lord, other bishops to be set apart unto the church, to minister even according to the first; wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and they shall be appointed by the first presidency of the Melchisedek priesthood, except they be descendants of Aaron, and if they be literal descendants of Aaron they have a legal right to the bishopric, if they are the first-born among the sons of Aaron." Sec. lxviii: 14-16.58. Book of Ether, ch. xiii, and III Nephi, ch. xx.59. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlv.60. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lii.61. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lvii.62. Acts iv: 32.63. The branch of the Church in this part of the Lord's vineyard [Kirtland], which had increased to nearly one hundred members, were striving to do the will of God so far as they knew it, though some had strange notions, and false spirits had crept in among them. With a little caution and some wisdom, I soon assisted the brethren and sisters to overcome them. The plan of "common stock," which had existed in what was called "the family," whose members generally had embraced the everlasting gospel, was readily abandoned for the more perfect law of the Lord, and the false spirits were easily discerned and rejected by the light of revelation.—Joseph Smith.—Millennial Star Supplement to vol. xiv, p. 56.64. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xli.65. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii.66. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii: 30,32.67. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii: 32.68. In the very revelations in which the first instructions on the subject of consecration and stewardship are given the Lord says: "Let all thy garments be plain and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands. * * * Thou shalt not be idle, for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer." (Doc. and Cov., sec. xliii: 40,42). In a subsequent revelation, referring to the inhabitants of Zion who were living under this law of consecration, the Lord said: "And the inhabitants of Zion, also, shall remember their labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor in all faithfulness, for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord." (Doc. and Cov., sec. lxviii: 30).69. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. civ: 54,57.70. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxii: 2,8.71. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. civ.72. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. li: 4, 5.73. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii: 33, 35.74. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. civ: 70, 77.75. "All children have claim upon their parents for their maintenance until they are of age. After that they have claim upon the church, or in other words, upon the Lord's store-house, if their parents have not wherewith to give them inheritances. And the store-house shall be kept by the consecrations of the church, and widows and orphans shall be provided for as also the poor." (Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxxiii: 4, 6.)76. Sec. xlii: 53;54. 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 stewardships, every man according to his wants and needs inasmuch as his wants are just. (Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxxii: 17.)77. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. li: 10, 13, also verse 18, which says the law laid down in verses 10, 13, shall be an example to all churches.78. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cv: 1, 5, also sec. lviii: 35, 36.79. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii: 39.80. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. li: 3.81. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. civ: 15-17.82. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxix.83. For a detailed account of this event and the causes leading up to it, see the author's work on the "Missouri Persecutions."84. Doc. and Cov., sec. ciii.85. Daniel Dunklin, governor of Missouri, agreed to call out the militia of the state and re-instate the exiles on their lands; but he claimed that he had no authority to keep a force under arms to protect them after they were restored. Hence the coming of Zion's camp to so strengthen the brethren that they could hold their own against the mob when once placed back in their homes.86. Missouri Persecutions.87. Doc. and Cov., sec. cv. The revelation was given on Fishing river, Missouri.88. The corner stones of the Kirtland temple were laid on the 23rd of July, 1833.89. Doc. and Cov., sec. cii:22.90. Doc. and Cov., sec. cvii: 23-33.91. Doc. and Cov., sec. cii: 30-32, also sec. cvii: 32.92. Doc. and Cov., sec. cii: 26, 27.93. Their names were Lyman E. Johnson, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, David W. Patten, Luke S. Johnson, Wm. E. McLellin, John F. Boynton, Wm. B. Smith, Parley P. Pratt, Thomas B. Marsh, Orson Pratt.94. Doc. and Cov., sec. cvii.95. The circumstances under which this revelation (contained in section cvii, Doc. and Cov.) was given are highly interesting; they are as follows: On the afternoon of the 28th of March the twelve met in council and had a time of general confession. "On reviewing our past course," writes Orson Hyde and Wm. E. McLellin, clerks of the meeting, "we are satisfied, and feel to confess also, that we have not realized the importance of our calling, to that degree that we ought; we have been light minded and vain, and in many things done wrong—wrong. For all these things we have asked the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father, and wherein we have grieved or wounded the feelings of the presidency, we ask their forgiveness. The time when we are about to separate is near, and when we shall meet again, God only knows; we therefore feel to ask of him whom we have acknowledged to be our prophet and seer, that he inquire of God for us and obtain a revelation (if consistent) that we may look upon it when we are separated, that our hearts may be comforted. Our worthiness has not inspired us to make this request, but our unworthiness. We have unitedly asked God our Heavenly Father to grant unto us through his seer, a revelation of his mind and will concerning our duty the coming season, even a great revelation that will enlarge our hearts comfort us in adversity and brighten our hopes amidst the power of darkness." (Mill. Star, vol. xv, p. 245.) The revelation which was given in answer to this request is one of the most splendid contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.96. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. i: 38.97. Doctrine and Covenants sec. cxxi:36.98. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxxi: 41-44. These views from the revelations of the Lord to Joseph Smith are in strict accord with the teachings of Jesus Christ to the twelve apostles among the Jews. To them he said: "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great, exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you; but whosoever will be great among you let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Matt. xx: 25-28.) Peter, it would seem remembered the spirit of these instructions, as years afterwards we have him saying to those set to govern the churches: "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples unto the flock." (I Peter v: 2, 3.)99. This it appears is the view Joseph Smith took of the subject. Replying to a question of Judge Stephen A. Douglas, how he governed so easily so large a people as the Saints were at Nauvoo, the prophet replied, "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves."100. In answering the question: was the priesthood of Melchisedek taken away when Moses died, the Prophet Joseph said: "All priesthood is Melchisedek, but there are different portions or degrees of it. The portion which brought Moses to speak with God face to face was taken away; but that which brought the ministry of angels remained." (Hist. Joseph Smith. See also Doc. and Cov., sec. cxii: 4, 5.)101. The reasons for calling this division the Melchisedek priesthood are given in note 3, section ii of part iv.102. The reason for calling the second division the Aaronic Priesthood is because it was a priesthood conferred upon Aaron, the brother of Moses, and his sons after him. It is a division of the priesthood which belongs of right to the house of Aaron. (See Doc. and Cov. sec. cvii: 13, 14.)103. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 18-19.104. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 20.105. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 21106. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 65-66.107. Ibid, verses 91, 92.108. It must be remembered by the student that apostles are also high priests. In fact the apostleship circumscribes all priesthood, hence it happens that some men who have not been directly ordained high priests, but who were apostles, have acted in the quorum of the first presidency of the church. Brigham Young did so.109. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 22.110. Ibid, verse 91.111. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 23, 24, 32, 39, 58.112. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii:34.113. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 25, 26.114. Up to the present date—1902—there have been one hundred and forty-three quorums of seventies organized. The Prophet Joseph Smith said that this choosing of seventies was to go on—if the labor in the vineyard required it—"even until there are one hundred and forty and four thousand thus set apart for the ministry."—Hist. Joseph Smith under date May 2, 1835.115. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii.116. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 38.117. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 27, 28.118. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 39, 41.119. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxxiv: 91, 93.120. Ibid, verse 124.121. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxxiv: 133-136.122. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxxiv, verse 29.123. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 11.124. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cvii: 89.125. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. cxxiv: 137.126. Doc. and Covenants, sec. cvii: 89, 90. Ibid, sec. cxxiv: 140. For further information on duties of elders see sec. ii, part iv, of this work.127. See sec. iii, part iv.128. See sec. ii, part iv, under caption Priests for explanation of their duties and powers.129. For explanation of the duties and powers of Teachers see caption Teachers, sec. ii, part iv.130. For explanation of their duties see caption Deacons, sec. ii, part iv.131. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxxiv: 30.132. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. lxxxiv: 29.133. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xx: 38, 59.134. See caption High Priests this section.135. See caption Elders this section.136. See Bishopric, sec. iii, part iv.137. See caption Of the Duties of Officers, Priests, Teachers, Deacons.138. When the difficulty arises in a regularly organized ward the most suitable persons to engage in such business would be the teachers of the respective parties.139. See on this method of settling difficulties Matt. xviii: 15, 17. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xlii: 88-91. Book of Mormon, III Nephi, xii: 23,25.140. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. iv: 8.141. Doctrine and Covenants, sec. clv: 9.142. See Section ii, Part IV, paragraphs 8, 9.143. Guizot's Hist. Civilization.144. Remarks of Disraeli on the formation of government in his Vindication of the English Constitution.145. That is Part IV of this work.146. Besides the classic, there was an English department that included a course in common and higher mathematics, geography, English grammar, reading and writing. Hebrew was taught by Professor Seixas, a Jew, and the elders made considerable progress in that language. These items are interesting as showing that "Mormonism" is not and was not even in the beginning of its career, opposed to education as many have claimed.147. The prayer will be found in the Doc. and Cov. sec. cix. It was given by revelation to the prophet.148. The shout of hosanna consists in the whole congregation shouting with all the strength of their voices—accompanying it with the waving of handkerchiefs—these words: Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna! TO GOD AND THE LAMB! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! Those who have witnessed this shout of praise and gladness to God by a large congregation of saints, will never forget the power and heavenly influence that accompany it.149. For the foregoing account of spiritual manifestations see Hist. Joseph Smith, Mill. Star, Vol. 15, pages 726-28.150. Doc. and Cov. sec. cx.151. Doc. and Cov. sec. cx.152. Mal. iv: 5, 6.153. Doc. and Cov. sec. cx.154. See pages 371-97.155. Book of Mormon, III Nephi xv: 12-20.156. Book of Mormon, III Nephi xvi: 1-5.157. II Esdras xiii.158. Compare with Isaiah xi: 15, 16.159. See prophecies quoted p. 368-9.160. I do not state this date definitely because authorities differ in respect to it; some fixing it at 588, another at 590, and still others as in the text. The difference which is not material, arose no doubt from some giving the date at which the king of Babylon began his siege and others when it ended.161. Fifty-six, according to some historians.162. See Part I, p. 27.163. Matt. xxiv: 2.
164. Deut. xxviii:15-68. The student should read this passage in Deuteronomy. It is without exception the most terrible warning and prophecy on record. Yet terrible as it is, it hath all overtaken Israel.165. Amos ix: 9.166. Jeremiah xxxi:10-12. See also verses 7, 8, 9.167. Jeremiah xvi:14, 15.168. See the verses preceding this quotation for an explanation of the time of this occurrence, Isaiah xi:1-10. This is one of the passages quoted to Joseph Smith by the angel Moroni, who said also that "it was about to be fulfilled." See Pearl of Great Price, p. 90.169. Isaiah xi:10-12, 16.170. Jeremiah iii:15-19.171. Book of Mormon II Nephi x:7, 8. See also I Nephi x:14, II Nephi vi:8-11, and also Book of Jacob v. This last reference especially should be studied.172. Doc. and Cov., sec. cxxxiii:25-35.173. Doc. and Cov., sec. cxxxiii:32.174. See page 321, this work.175. See p. 321.176. For the particulars of the persecution which resulted in the banishment of the Saints from that land, the student is referred to the author's work on the Missouri Persecutions.177. Isaiah ii:23.178. Jeremiah iii:14, 15.179. Rev. xviii:4-8.180. Eccl. xi.181. The revelation was given March, 1830; Doc. and Cov. sec. xix.182. Mark xvi:16.183. The so-called early fathers of the church, Justin Martyr, Clement, of Alexandria, Tertullian and Cyprian, all taught that the fire of hell is a real material flame, and that the wicked were punished in it eternally. Augustine in the fifth century stated the same doctrine with great emphasis and argued against those who sought to modify it. (See Augustine's City of God. Part II, book xx, and xxi).Thomas Aquinas (A-kwi-nas) of the mediaeval school of theologians, rising head and shoulders above divines of his day, teaches in his Summa Theologia, that the fire of hell is of the same nature as ordinary fire, though with different properties; that the place of punishment though not definitely known is probably under the earth. He also taught that there was no redemption for those once damned, their punishment is to be eternal. Coming to more modern times, we read in the Westminster Confession of Faith—adopted in the seventeenth century by the Puritan party in England—the following on the subject (ch. xxxiii): "The wicked who know not God, and obey not the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be cast into eternal torment and be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power." Question twenty-nine of the larger catechism and the answer to it are as follows: "What are the punishments of sin in the world to come. Ans. The punishments of sin in the world to come are everlasting separation from the comfortable presence of God, and most grievous torment in soul and body, without intermission, in hell fire forever." The Westminster Confession and the large catechism are still the standards of the Presbyterian churches. Indeed the above expresses the orthodox Christian faith from the second and third centuries until the present time.184. I Peter iii:18-21.185. I Peter iv:6.186. I Cor. xv:29.187. Doc. and Cov. sec. cxxvii and cxxviii.188. Rom. ii:6-12; I Cor. iii:8; II Cor. v:10; Rev. ii:23; xx:12.189. St. John xiv:1-3.190. An exception must be made in the case of the Roman Catholic Church. Catholics do not believe that all Christians at death go immediately into heaven, but on the contrary "believe that a Christian who dies after the guilt and everlasting punishment of mortal sins have been forgiven him, but who, either from want of opportunity or through his negligence, has not discharged the debt of temporal punishment due to his sin, will have to discharge that debt to the justice of God in purgatory." "Purgatory is a state of suffering after this life, in which those souls are for a time detained, which depart this life after their deadly sins have been remitted as to the stain and guilt, and as to the everlasting pain that was due to them; but which souls have on account of those sins still some temporal punishment to pay; as also those souls which leave this world guilty only of venial [pardonable] sins. In purgatory these souls are purified and rendered fit to enter into heaven, where nothing defiled enters." The quotations in the above are from Catholic Belief, by Bruno, D. D. of the Catholic church. As all works of the Catholic church accessible to me have nothing on the different degrees of glory, I conclude that Catholic teaching is that they who attain unto heaven are all equal in glory.191. I Kings viii:27.192. II Cor. xii:2-4.193. I Cor. xv:40-42.194. The circumstances under which the revelation was given are these: The Prophet Joseph and Sidney Rigdon were engaged in revising the Jewish scriptures. When they came to St. John, ch. v:29—speaking of the resurrection of the dead, concerning those that should hear the voice of the Son of Man and come forth, instead of reading in the text of our common English Bibles—"And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation," the following was given to them by the Spirit: "And shall come forth they who have done good in the resurrection of the just, and they who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust." This reading of the passage caused them to marvel as it was given to them by inspiration; and while they pondered on this thing the Spirit of God enveloped them, and they saw the Lord Jesus Christ and those different glories which men will inherit, an account of which is given in the text. The vision is recorded in Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxvi.195. "Servants of God, but not Gods nor the sons of God," remarks Apostle Orson Pratt in his foot note on the passage from which this is condensed. Doc. and Cov. sec. lxxvi:112.196. Doc. and Cov., sec. cxxxi:1.197. Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxvi.198. Those desiring to verify the statements of the text will consult with care Heb. vi:4-8 and Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxvi:25-48.199. It may sound like sacrilege in modern ears to speak of man becoming as God. Yet why should it be so considered? Man is the offspring of God, he is of the same race, and hath within him—undeveloped, it is true—the faculties and attributes of his Father. He hath also before him an eternity of time in which to develop both the faculties of the mind and the attributes of the soul—why should it be accounted a strange thing that at last the child shall arrive at the same exaltation and partake of the same intelligence and glory with his Father? If Jesus Christ, "being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God" (Philippians ii:6), why should it be thought blasphemous to teach that man by faith and righteousness in following the counsels of God shall at last become like him, and share in his power and glory, being a God, even a son of God? I grant you the height from our present position looks tremendous; yet it is not impossible of attainment, since we have eternity in which to work. Stand by the cradle of a new-born babe and contemplate it. Within that little body of organized pulp—with eyes incapable of distinguishing objects; legs unable to bear the weight of its body—without the power of locomotion; hands over whose movements it hath no control; ears that hear but cannot distinguish sounds; a tongue that cannot speak—yet within that little helpless tabernacle what powers lie dormant! Within that germ in the cradle are latent powers which only require time for their unfolding to astonish the world. From it may come the man of profound learning who shall add something by his own wisdom to the sum total of human knowledge. Perhaps from that germ shall come a profound historian, a poet or eloquent orator to sway the reason and passions of men, and guide them to better and purer things than they have yet known. Or a statesman may be there in embryo; a man whose wisdom shall guide the destiny of the state, or perhaps with God-like power rule the world. If from such a germ as this in the cradle may come such an unfolding of power as we see in the highest and noblest manhood, may it not be, that taking that highest and noblest manhood as the germ, that from it may come, under the guiding hand of our Father in heaven, a still more wonderful unfolding, until the germ of highest and noblest manhood shall develop into a God! The distance between the noblest man and the position of a God is greater than that between the infant in the cradle and the highest development of manhood; but if so, there is a longer time—eternity—in which to arrive at the result; and a God and heavenly influences instead of the human parent and earthly means to bring to pass the necessary development.—Roberts.200. Millennial Star, vol. xiv, p. 114.201. On the 12th of July, 1843, at the request of Hyrum Smith, the revelation as now contained in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, was written from the dictation of the Prophet Joseph, by Elder William Clayton, at that time the Prophet's scribe. The same day a copy of the revelation was made for Bishop Newel K. Whitney by Joseph C. Kingsbury. Emma Smith, the first wife of the Prophet, obtaining the revelation as first written out by William Clayton, in a moment of jealousy destroyed it. Bishop Whitney's copy, however, was preserved and from it the revelation, now in the Doctrine and Covenants, was printed. It will be observed by the student from the revelation itself that the principle of plural marriage was known and practiced before the writing of the revelation on the 12th of July.202. For a full account of this terrible tragedy the student is referred to the Life of Joseph Smith by Geo. Q. Cannon, ch. lxvi; and the Life of John Taylor, ch. xiii, xiv, xv.203. Heb. ix:16, 17.204. The subject of "Succession in the Presidency of the Church," is a subject of deep importance, and those who desire to enter minutely into the consideration of it should consult the author's work of that title, a book of 120 pages.205. President Brigham Young was born in Whitingham, Windham county, Vermont, June 1, 1801. He was baptized into the Church April 14th, 1832, and immediately afterwards ordained an elder.206. The first anti-polygamy law was approved July 1st, 1862.207. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."—Amendments to the Constitution, Article I.208. Acts i:9-11.209. Matt. xvi:27.210. I Thess. iv:14-17.211. II Thess. i:7-10.212. Luke xii:40. II Peter iii:10. Doc. and Cov., sec. xlix:6-7.213. Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxxviii:78-92.214. Doc. and Cov., sec. lxv.215. Ibid.
