SCRIPTURE READING EXERCISE.

THE ANCIENT AMERICAN SCRIPTURE—THE BOOK OF MORMON. (Continued.)

SPECIAL TEXT: "I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desires, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he alloteth unto men, according to their wills; whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction."—ALMA.

NOTES.

1. The Witness of the Western Hemisphere: A writer (Rev. John Watson—"Ian Maclaren") held much in esteem by the orthodox Christian world—and deservedly so—in a noble work, "The Life of the Master," issued from the press, 1901, said:

"Were a parchment discovered in an Egyptian mound, six inches square, containing fifty words which were certainly spoken by Jesus, this utterance would count more than all the books which have been published since the first century. If a veritable picture of the Lord could be unearthed from a catacomb, and the world could see with its own eyes what like he was, it would not matter that its colors were faded, and that it was roughly drawn, that picture would have at once a solitary place amid the treasures of art."

If this be true, and I think no one will or can question it, then how valuable indeed must be this whole volume of scripture, the Book of Mormon! Containing not fifty, but many hundred works spoken by Jesus! Containing also an account of the hand dealings of God with the people inhabiting the western hemisphere, from earliest times to the fourth century after Christ. Wherein also are found his revelations to those peoples; his messages by angels sent directly from his presence to declare his word to them; his instructions, admonitions, reproofs, and warnings to them through men inspired by his holy spirit; and last of all, the account of Messiah's appearance and ministry among the people, his very words repeated, and, in some instances, rightly divided for us, that we may the better understand what of his teaching is general, and what special; what universal and permanent, and what local and transient. How insignificant all the discoveries in Egypt, in ancient Babylon, Palestine, and the Sinaitic Peninsula are in comparison with this New Witness of the western world! How paltry, valuable though they are in themselves, seem the Rosetta Stone, the Moabite Stone and the library of brick tablets from old Nineveh, in comparison with this Nephite record—this volume of scripture! How feeble the voice of the testimony of those monuments of the East to the authenticity and credibility of the Bible and the truth of the gospel, in comparison with the testimony found in the Book of Mormon—the voice of departed nations and empires of people speaking through their records for the truth of God—for the verity of the gospel of Jesus Christ—a voice sufficient to overwhelm unbelief and forever make sure the foundations of faith! It was mainly for this purpose that the Nephite records were written, preserved, and finally brought forth to the world. (Y. M. M. I. A. Manual, No. 7, p. 21.)

2. The Hand Dealings of God with All Men in Relation to Revelation: The following appears in the Book of Mormon, with reference to God's course in making known his mind and will to the children of men:

"I (the Lord) command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be writen I will judge the world, every man according to his works, according to that which is written. "For behold, I will speak unto the Jews, and they shall write it; and I will also speak unto the Nephites, and they shall write it; and I will also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I will also speak unto all nations of the earth, and they shall write it."

Then the Lord proceeds to tell how in the dispensation of the fulness of times he will bring together and unite in testimony the words that he has spoken to these various peoples and nations.

Again, it is writen in the same book:

"Behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word; yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true."

This is the "Mormon" theory of God's revelation to the children of men. While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is established for the instruction of men; and is one of God's instrumentalities for making known the truth, yet he is not limited to that institution for such purposes, neither in time nor place. God raises up wise men and prophets here and there among all the children of men, of their own tongue and nationality, speaking to them through means that they can comprehend; not always giving a fulness of truth such as may be found in the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ; but always giving that measure of truth that the people are prepared to receive. "Mormonism" holds, then, that all the great teachers among all nations and in all ages, are servants of God. They are inspired men, appointed to instruct God's children according to the conditions in the midst of which he finds them. Hence it is not obnoxious to "Mormonism" to regard Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher and moralist, as a servant of God, inspired to a certain degree by him to teach those great moral maxims which have governed those millions of God's children for lo! these many centuries. It is willing to regard Gautama, Buddha as an inspired servant of God, teaching a measure of the truth, at least giving to these people that twilight of truth by which they may somewhat see their way. So with the Arabian prophet, that wild spirit that turned the Arabians from worshiping idols to a conception of the Creator of heaven and earth that was more excellent than their previous conception of Deity. And so the sages of Greece and of Rome. So the reformers of early Protestant times. Wherever God finds a soul sufficiently enlightened and pure; one with whom his Spirit can communicate, he makes of him a teacher of men. While the path of sensuality and darkness may be that which most men tread, a few, to paraphrase the words of a moral philosopher of high standing, have been led along the upward path; a few in all countries and generations have been wisdom seekers, or seekers of God. They have been so because the Divine Word of Wisdom has looked upon them, choosing them for the knowledge and service of himself. (Defense of the Faith and the Saints, Art. "Revelation and Inspiration.")

3. The Book of Mormon Ensemble a Witness for the Truth of the Hebrew and Christian Revelation: It is, however, the Book of Mormon as a whole in which its greatest value as a witness for the truth of the Bible, and the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, most appears. I mean the Book of Mormon apart from its reference to an abridgement of the ancient record of the Jaredites; and the transcriptions from the ancient record on brass plates carried by Lehi's colony to the western world. In the Book of Mormon so considered we have the record of the hand-dealings of God with the peoples that inhabited the western hemisphere. We have in it the record of those things which occurred in a branch of the house of Israel that God was preparing for the same great event for which he was training the house of Israel in the eastern world, viz., the advent of the Messiah, and the acceptance of the gospel through which all mankind are to be saved. This branch of the house of Israel, broken from the parent tree and planted in the western hemisphere, brought with them the traditions and hopes of Israel; they brought with them as we have already seen, the scriptures, the writings of Moses and the prophets down to the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah; but what is more important than all this they came to the western world with the favor and blessing of Israel's God upon them, and Israel's peculiar privilege of direct communication with God through inspired dreams, the visitation of angels, and the voice of God. Lehi's colony was led to the western world by prophets, inspired of the Lord, their journey being marked by many and peculiar manifestations of his presence among them. After their arrival in the western world, to them a land of promise, the Lord from time to time raised up prophets among them, who instructed them in the ways of the Lord; who reproved them when overtaken in transgression; who announced judgements against them when persuasion was of no avail for their correction; who warned them by the spirit of prophecy of approaching disasters; and who held continually before them the hope of Israel, the advent of the Messiah, who, by his suffering and death on the cross, would redeem mankind.

It was much in this manner and for the same purpose that God dealt with his people in the eastern world; and the fact that his course with the people on the western hemisphere was substantially the same as that followed with those of the East, establishes at once his justice and mercy towards his children, and bears testimony to the great truths that indeed God is no respecter of persons, and that in every land he raises up for himself witnesses of his power and goodness.