The evidence of tradition, confirmed by the works of nature, created the assurance or faith in the minds of men that God existed; and that faith led them to the performance of works of righteousness that they might win his approbation; for doubtless, side by side with the tradition of his existence, came also the idea that he loved righteousness and truth, and those who wrought them. In other words, it is but reasonable to suppose that Adam brought from the period of his life on the other side of the Fall, some recollection of God's character and attributes, as well as of his being: And so well pleased was the Lord with the faith and works of some of these men, that he revealed himself to them, made them acquainted with his laws, purposes and designs, and conferred upon them authority to act in his name, as his messengers to the children of men who had not sufficient faith to seek for and enter into his presence. Such men have lived in various ages of the world, and have ever been (or would have been, had the people only received them) a blessing unto their generation.

Such a character was Enoch, whom we are told walked with God,^[A] and received a revelation from the Lord in which was made known to him events to take place even down to the glorious coming of the Son of God to execute judgment on the wicked.^[B]

[Footnote A: Gen. v: 24.]

[Footnote B: Jude, 14, 15. For a more detailed account of the revelations of God to Enoch, and the mighty work which that patriarch did, the reader is referred to the Pearl of Great Price, pp. 18 to 29 inclusive.]

Noah also, the tenth from Adam, received a revelation from God, and was made a messenger to the people of his generation, but they refused to receive his testimony, and perished in their sins.

After Noah comes Abraham. He received special revelations from God, being visited by him in the plains of Mamre as the patriarch dwelt in a tent. It was at that time he received the promise of a son, and was told of the intention of the Lord to destroy the wicked cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah; whereupon Abraham pleaded for the righteous that might be in the cities.^[C] The Lord also gave him other revelations concerning the organization of the heavens and the laws by which they are governed; the order which was followed in the creation of this earth, and some things pertaining to the redemption of man.^[D]

[Footnote C: Gen. xviii.]

[Footnote D: Pearl of Great Price—Book of Abraham, pp. 33-47.]

The Lord also appeared unto Jacob in dreams and visions, and sent angels unto him, and to his son Joseph also, but we pass by these and come to the prophet Moses.

The first revelation the Lord gave to Moses, that we have any account of, was at the burning bush, in Mount Horeb. There the Lord said to him: "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God."^[E] Then and there the Lord commissioned him to go and deliver Israel, in the performance of which labor he received many manifestations that God was with him.

[Footnote E: Exodus iii: 6.]

In Exodus^[F] we have an account of God's glorious descent upon Sinai in the presence of all Israel, and the revelations that he gave to them by his own voice: "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me."^[G] Then follow nine other commandments: "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: And when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us lest we die. * * * And the Lord said unto Moses, thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven."^[H]

[Footnote F: Exodus xix, xx.]

[Footnote G: Exodus xx: 1-3.]

[Footnote H: Exodus xx: 18, 19-22.]

Subsequently to this there was another grand revelation which the Lord gave to a number of the leading Elders of Israel. Moses thus records it: "Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel: and they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in its clearness, and upon the nobles of the children of Israel, he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink."^[I]

[Footnote I: Exodus xxiv: 9-11.]

Moses after this left the other Elders and went into the mount, where he received the law of the Lord written by the hand of God on tables of stone, and also was instructed how to build a tabernacle and the ark of the covenant. Indeed, throughout the lifetime of Moses the manifestations of God's power, and the revelations of his existence were frequent, and came in so direct a manner that there is left no room for doubt; for the Lord knew Moses face to face, so also knew Moses the Lord, and left his testimony on record.

Time would fail me to tell of the revelations which God gave of himself to Joshua, and the judges whom he raised up to rule in Israel; to Samuel, and David and Solomon, and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the rest. I pass by all these and come to the dispensation opened by the preaching of John the Baptist.

The first direct revelation of God's existence after the opening of that dispensation was at the baptism of Jesus, the Son of God. Matthew's testimony respecting this revelation is as follows: "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he [John]^[J] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."^[K] With this also agrees the testimony of both Mark and John.

[Footnote J: I supposed that John the Baptist was the only one who was a witness of the Holy Ghost resting upon Jesus in the form of a dove. In all the accounts given of this event, except by Luke, the pronoun "he" referring to John, as in Matthew, is used. While in Luke it is not said that anyone else saw it, but the fact is merely stated that "the Holy Ghost descended in bodily shape like a dove and rested upon him." John's own testimony is as follows: And John bore record saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not; but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. (John i: 32, 33.)]

[Footnote K: Matt. iii: 16, 17.]

Then next in order, that is the next direct revelation, is on the occasion of the transfiguration of Christ on the Mount, thus related by Matthew: "After six days he taketh Peter, James and John, his brother, and bringeth them up unto the high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: And his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And behold there appeared unto them Moses and Elias, talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, it is good for us to be here, if thou wilt, let us build three tabernacles; one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elias. While he yet spake a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said: This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."^[L] This same circumstance is also related by Mark and Luke.

[Footnote L: Matt. xvii: 1-5.]

The New Testament is replete with testimonies of the existence of God, both direct and indirect, but I shall here notice but one more; it will be found recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.^[M] It is given at the martyrdom of Stephen. The Jews were so stung by Stephen's reproofs for their hardness of heart, that they rushed upon him, "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said. Behold I see the heavens opened. and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God."

[Footnote M: Chapter vii.]

As before stated, the testimonies in the New Testament to the existence of God and his Son Jesus Christ are numerous. Indeed, I may say it is the one grand truth which the writers in that volume of revelation testify to; and around this primary fact, and dependent upon it for their existence and importance, are arranged all the other facts pertaining to man's redemption and future existence.

But I wish to turn from the witnesses in the Jewish scriptures to others; for, numerous as those witnesses for God and Christ are among the Jews, they are not the only ones.

In the Book of Mormon is an abridgment of the record of Ether, called the Book of Ether. It gives a brief account of a colony which the Lord led from the tower of Babel, where he confounded the language of the people, to the Western hemisphere. The prophet who, under God's direction, led this people in their journey, was the brother of one Jared. At the command of God he had built eight barges or vessels in which his company was to cross the mighty deep; and the brother of Jared prayed to the Lord that he would provide a means whereby they might have light in the barges, and he presented to the Lord sixteen small stones and asked that he would touch them with his finger and make them luminous, that they might give them light. And as the Lord, in answer to the earnest prayer of his servant stretched forth his hand to touch the stones, the brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord, and he was struck with fear. Yet receiving encouragement from God, he asked the Lord to show himself to him, a petition which the Lord, in consequence of the great faith of the man, granted him, and testified to the redemption that he was yet to work out for the salvation of man. The testimony of the brother of Jared was placed upon record and was abridged by Moroni, and now comes to us in the sacred pages of the Book of Mormon^[N] as a witness for God.

[Footnote N: See Book of Ether in Book of Mormon, ch. iii.]

In the account given An the Book of Mormon of that colony which was led from Jerusalem, about six hundred B. C., by Lehi; and in the history of the nations that grew out of that colony, and flourished on the Western hemisphere, are many testimonies as to the existence of God; too many, in fact, to be enumerated here. All I can say is, that their prophets were visited by angels from heaven, and they were instructed by dreams and visions, in which were shown to them, in remarkable plainness, the coming and mission of Messiah; the object to be attained by, and the power of the Gospel of Christ. In all these things they were taught by the inspiration of heaven, accompanied by wonderful demonstrations of the presence and power of the Lord.

Then, in III Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, is an account of two visits of the risen Redeemer to the Nephites (descendants of the aforementioned Lehi), and of his labors among that people. Here, as in Jerusalem, Jesus announced himself as the Son of God, and bore testimony to the existence of his Father. The multitude, to whom he first revealed himself, had the satisfaction of beholding the wounds in his hands and in his feet and in his side; and this, that they might know in very deed, that he was the one who had been slain in Jerusalem by the Jews, for the sins of the world—that he was the one of whom their prophets from the beginning had testified.

In the Book of Mormon, then, as in the Bible, is found a volume of testimony of God's existence; indeed, I may say the accumulated testimony of all the prophets of the Western hemisphere.

I now turn to the testimony of the prophet of our own day.

Joseph Smith, in giving an account of how he came to seek the Lord, informs us that he read that passage in James which says: "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."^[O] In obedience to that injunction, he retired to the woods to call upon the Lord, to learn from him which of all the religious sects he should join, for their division and contentions had perplexed his mind. For what occurred on that occasion I quote his own words:

[Footnote O: James i: 5.]

"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered round me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy, which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction, not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such a marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by my name and said (pointing to the other), _this is my beloved son, hear him_."^[P]

[Footnote P: Pearl of Great Price, pp. 87, 88.]

Such is the testimony that Joseph Smith bears to the existence of God and his Son Jesus Christ; but there are other testimonies to follow.

In a revelation called "A Vision,"^[Q] is found the testimony of both Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, from which I make the following extract:

"We, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit on the sixteenth of February in the year of the Lord 1832, by the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God—even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning, of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear is the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw, and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision. * * * And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of God shone round about; and we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fullness; and saw the holy angels, and they who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever. And now, after the many testimonies which have been, given of him, this is the testimony last of all which we give of him, that he lives; for we saw him, even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—that by him and through him, and of him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof begotten sons and daughters unto God."

[Footnote Q: Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxvi.]

Surely their testimony lacks nothing to be desired either as to directness or plainness.

In the Kirtland Temple, on the third of April, 1836, another revelation of the existence of the Son of God was given, and another witness was added to the list of those who in this dispensation have beheld the Lord—this was Oliver Cowdery. I quote the following from the revelation:

"The vail was taken from our [the prophet Joseph's and Oliver's] minds and the eyes of our understanding were opened. We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us, and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber. His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of his head was white like the pure snow, his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying—I am the first and the last, I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain, I am your advocate with the Father. Behold, your sins are forgiven you, you are clean before "me, therefore lift up your heads and rejoice; let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house^[R] to my name, for behold I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house."^[S]

[Footnote R: The Kirtland Temple.]

[Footnote S: Doc. and Cov., sec. ex, 1-7.]

Such, in brief, are some of the direct testimonies we have from the Jewish and Nephite scriptures, and from the writings of inspired men in our own day concerning the existence of God and his Son Jesus Christ. And surely if human testimony can establish anything—any matter of fact, then the fact of God's existence is so established. The testimony comes from such a variety of sources, is delivered in so many different ages, from the first to the present, yet all blending so harmoniously, that it leaves nothing to be desired in point of consistency or harmony, quality or quantity.

Let me here observe, in concluding this chapter, that God is no respecter of persons; but they who will approach him in faith, as these characters did, whose testimonies we have been examining, may have a knowledge of his existence also. But—adapting to my purpose the language of the Doctrine and Covenants^[T]—after any portion of the human family are made acquainted —either through tradition, or the testimony of those who have sought and found him—with the important fact that there is a God who has created and does uphold all things, the extent of their personal knowledge respecting his character and glory, will depend upon their diligence and faithfulness in seeking after him; until, like Enoch, the brother of Jared, Moses, Joseph Smith, and Oliver Cowdery, they shall obtain faith in God, and power to behold him face to face.

[Footnote T: Lecture II, on Faith, verse 55.]