Was there any need during the early part of the nineteenth century of the Christian era for a restoration of the Gospel? Was there at that time any need for a re-establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ? These are vital questions that mean everything to the people of the world. If the Gospel, as it was established by the Son of God, remained on the earth from that day until the present, there was no necessity for, and there could not have been, a restoration. If the Church of Jesus Christ remained on the earth intact from the days of the Savior's ministry when He commissioned His Apostles and sent them into all the world to preach the Gospel, until the present day, it could not have been reestablished. If the Church did remain, undefiled—the guardian and advocate of the Gospel—then there was no need of the so-called "reformation" of the middle ages. If the Church was taken away from the earth, and the Gospel replaced by another which was a perverted, defiled, and man-made system, nothing short of a restoration would bring back to mankind that which was lost. Protestantism and the "reformation" did not and could not remedy the evil.

That there was a need of a restoration of the Gospel and a re-establishment of the Church, with the accompanying Priesthood and power, is attested both by the pages of history and the doctrines and practices of the religious world; for these things point unmistakably to the fact of a universal departure from the Gospel and the Church established by the Redeemer. That such a condition would be, was clearly pointed out by many of the ancient prophets, who also foretold the restoration that should take place previous to the second coming of the Son of God. How any intelligent person can read and reflect upon the many events that have taken place since the days of the establishment of the Church by our Lord, to the present time, and not fully realize that there was a universal departure from the true faith, is a mystery. The strife, bloodshed, murders, bigotry and superstition, that prevailed in the name of the Christian religion, point conclusively to a departure from the faith. The pomp, the pride, the improper exercise of authority, the changed ordinances and the weaving of pagan philosophy into the religion of the people, the creation of new offices in the ministry, and a thousand and one other things in the practices and worship of those who professed to be followers of the Lord, prove beyond reasonable question, the departure from the Gospel that has been established by our Savior in the days of his Apostles, and the absolute necessity of a restoration.

For many ages following the departure from the Gospel as it was introduced by the Author of our Salvation, the world was under the bondage of sin. All mankind, both clergy and laity, were united in the fallacious belief that the canon of scripture was full and complete; and, notwithstanding the predictions of those scriptures to the contrary, had declared that there was to be no more revelation, neither ministering of angels nor other heavenly manifestation of divine will. Such things, said they, were no longer needed and had been done away. The people, surrounded by spiritual darkness, were dependent upon the dead letter or the written word, as that word was interpreted by man-appointed and worldly-taught priests. Men who denied the authority and power of the holy Priesthood had taken honor unto themselves, changing the law and ordinances to suit their own convenience. There was no vision, and the people were perishing because none were sent with authority to teach them the order of heavenly things. The Holy Spirit that was promised the true disciples by the Lord, as a guide into all truth and which should show them things to come, and would testify of the Father and the Son, had been withdrawn from mankind because of iniquity and transgression. Spiritual darkness was supreme. Pernicious superstitions and false traditions possessed the hearts of the people. For a long time, principally during the "dark ages," individuals were forbidden even on pain of death, the sacred and divine right of free thought and action. They were even denied their inherent right to approach the throne of grace, read the scriptures, or give vent to their heartfelt desires before the Lord in any manner not approved by the ruling power that had fettered all men with its chains. The least expression of free thought, of suspicion, of heretical belief, even if it was without foundation in fact, was sufficient to commit the offending person to the torture of the rack or perchance the burning stake. Thousands upon thousands died martyrs at the hands of bigotry and superstition, wrongfully in the name of the Christian faith. Secret and individual prayers offered in a way not prescribed by the priests of religion who controlled absolutely in such things, were considered a menace to the welfare of the Church. For there was a church; one of great wealth and splendor that held sway over all the Christian world. Rulers of powerful nations paid homage to it, and at times were publicly humiliated by its head whom they had angered, for by him kings were made or dethroned at will, so great was his worldly power. But this church was without divine authority. It had no divinely appointed Priesthood. Its doctrines were perverted, and before it the people bowed in submission in fear and trembling.

This awful state of affairs brought about the "reformation," when the Lord raised up courageous men to shatter these fetters of bondage, that freedom might be given to the people and the way prepared in part for the re-establishment of truth, when the proper time should come. But Luther and the other "reformers" were without the power and authority to act in the name of the Lord. They, themselves, interpreting the scriptures according to their human understandings, fell into many grievous errors and established conflicting creeds until the world was filled with churches and with priests who drew near to the Lord with their lips, but were far removed from Him in their practices.

This was the condition of the religious world early in the nineteenth century when the Lord revealed Himself to the youthful prophet, Joseph Smith.

Joseph Smith did not come into the world merely as a reformer of false religious forms and practices. He came in fulfilment of prophecy, as a restorer of the true faith and worship of the Master, and to prepare the way before His second coming. He came to usher in the glorious dispensation of the Fulness of Times; that dispensation of the Gospel spoken of by the prophets of old as the "time of restitution of all things." The time, as Paul said to the Ephesian Saints, when "He [the Lord] might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on earth even in Him." He came to organize the Church with the same officers, power, gifts and blessings that it possessed in the primitive days. He came to prepare the way for the millennial reign of universal peace by establishing anew the Holy Priesthood with all its offices and powers—that authority by which men officiate in the name of the Lord and their acts are valid in the heavens. For, unlike the reformers, he was duly commissioned with this authority which he received under the hands of heavenly messengers who rightfully held it and were sent to bestow it upon his head. Like the ancient prophets, he had the right to point out flagrant and persistent errors in the doctrines of the churches, and the power to teach them the true form of worship. He was commanded of the Lord and commissioned to preach the Gospel and baptize the repentant believer for the remission of his sins. He came as a new witness for the Father and the Son, and testified afresh to all the world that Jesus was the Christ, the only begotten Son of the eternal Father, who came to redeem the world from sin. For he beheld the Father and the Son, and was commanded to bear witness that they live. He shattered the notion which universally prevailed that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, constitute one being, "without body, parts or passions." He taught man that he was formed in the image of the Father, and that the Father and the Son were personages with bodies that were as tangible as man's. He destroyed the falsehood that little children were not redeemed through the blood of Christ without baptism and went to eternal torment if they died without being christened by a minister. He taught the world that infants were without sin. He taught that baptism was for the remission of sins and was immersion in water, and to be valid must be performed by one who was properly commissioned to administer that sacred ordinance. He overthrew the prevalent belief that sprinkling or pouring of water on the head was recognized by the Lord as baptism. He taught that a man could not be saved without repentance—that confession of belief in the Savior was not enough to save him. He, with others, received the keys of authority held by all the ancient prophets in their various dispensations, by the laying on of their hands, in fulfillment of the promise that there should be a restoration of all things. Among these prophets of old who came to him was Elijah, who committed unto him the keys of his dispensation as spoken of by Malachi, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse at the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Thus was introduced into the world again the doctrine of universal salvation—the doctrine that the dead also may hear the truth and be redeemed from sin on condition of their repentance and acceptance of the ordinances performed by the living in their behalf. He taught the eternity of the marriage covenant, and the perpetual union of the family in the Celestial Kingdom of our Father, when the contracting parties are sealed by the spirit of promise by one holding the divine authority to officiate in these sacred ordinances. He taught the literal gathering of Israel and the restoration of a remnant of the Jews to their promised land and the rebuilding of Jerusalem as a holy city. He gave to the world the Book of Mormon, a sacred history of the ancient inhabitants of America, which contains the everlasting Gospel as it was taught to them. He overturned the long-cherished error that the heavens were as brass and no more revelation was to be received from on high. Many other marvelous truths he taught to mankind as he received them through divine revelation, correcting false beliefs and placing again in the reach of the people the means of escape from their sins and the judgment to come on condition of their repentance. Great was the work that he performed under the direction and inspiration of the Lord who commissioned him and ordained him to stand at the head of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, holding the keys of power and authority on the earth to officiate in Jesus' name.

He should have been heralded by all the world as its greatest benefactor since the days that redemption was made by the Son of God. For he did more for the salvation of men in this world than any other man, save Jesus only. Yet he was reviled, persecuted, and finally martyred by wicked men and sealed his testimony with his blood which testament is of force and will stand against all who reject his message, at the last day at the judgment bar of God. Notwithstanding the opposition that was made against him and his work and the persecution he received from bigoted men, his teachings and the work that he accomplished still live and are triumphant over every opposition and attack that has been made against them. It must be so, for it is the truth from heaven that he established, and it will prevail and flourish until it conquers all things and fills the earth to the universal praise and glory of the Father.

This book, prepared by Elder Osborne J. P. Widtsoe, dealing with the important subject of the restoration of the everlasting Gospel, should be read and its contents carefully considered by those who are seeking after truth. It treats the restoration clearly, and places before the people many things that have not been generally considered heretofore. It will be a means of strengthening the faith of the youth of Israel and will impart information that is invaluable. May the spirit of truth accompany the work and rest upon all those who diligently read it with a desire to learn of and profit by the restoration of the Gospel!

Joseph F. Smith, Jr.