Jesus the
Christ
Chapter 41
- Personal Manifestations of God the Eternal Father and of His Son Jesus Christ
in Modern Times
A New
Dispensation
In the year
of our Lord 1820 there lived at Manchester, Ontario County, state of New York,
a worthy citizen named Joseph Smith. His household comprized
his wife and their nine children. The third son and fourth child of the family
was Joseph Smith Jr., who at the time of which we speak was in his fifteenth
year. In the year specified, New York and adjacent states were swept by a wave
of intense agitation in religious matters; and unusual zeal was put forth by
ministers of the numerous rival sects to win converts to their respective
folds. The boy Joseph was profoundly affected by this intense excitement, and
was particularly puzzled and troubled over the spirit of confusion and
contention manifest through it all. As our present subject has to do with him
specifically, and in view of the transcendent importance of his testimony to
the world, his own account of what ensued is given herewith.
Note: The
Smiths were not “worthy” citizens.
NORWICH, N.Y. -- A local historian has
rediscovered historical records that detail how Mormon church founder Joseph
Smith was arrested on four occasions while living in Chenango County in the
mid-1820s. Chenango County Historian Dale Storms said she turned over the
newly found documents to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which
is based in Utah and has 11 million members worldwide. Partial records of
the arrests had long been in the possession of the county and known to
historians, but Storms said the documents fill in some historical
holes. "It is not a small thing. These are important papers to a
major religion," she said. "It's a piece of the historical puzzle
that was missing for nearly 35 years." Spokeswoman Kim Farah said the
Mormon church was pleased original papers of Smith's 1826 and 1830 court proceedings
had been located and returned to their proper place. "They are
important artifacts in understanding the life and times of Joseph Smith.
However, they don't add anything new to the historical record. Before they were
misplaced, they were studied and considered by those both in and out of the
church," she said. The documents include arrest warrants, court
transcripts and legal bills from four separate charges filed against Smith.
Storms said the cases involved Smith's involvement in glass looking, or
treasure seeking, and being a disorderly person. One of the documents
includes a bill from then-South Bainbridge Justice Albert Neely to the county
for services rendered. Included in the bill is a $2.68 charge for fees in
examining the case of "Joseph Smith, the glass looker." Storms
said the records were turned over to the county recently by Norwich resident
Richard Smith (no relation to Joseph Smith), whose mother was the county
historian until 1997 and secretly had the records in her possession for the
last three decades, Storms said. The former historian squirreled them away
in the early 1970s after they were taken without permission from the basement
of the county sheriff's office in 1971 by Wesley P. Walters, a deceased pastor
of the Marissa Presbyterian Church in Marissa, Ill. Storms said Walters took
the papers because he thought they were unsafe where they were and might be
destroyed. Mormon church founder's arrest records rediscovered, Times Argus,
September 16, 2005
“Some time
in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was in the place
where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced
with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region
of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, and
great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties, which
created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying, ‘Lo, here!’
and others, ‘Lo, there!’ Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for
the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist. “For notwithstanding the great love
which the converts to these different faiths expressed at the time of their
conversion, and the great zeal manifested by the respective clergy, who were
active in getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of religious
feeling, in order to have everybody converted, as they were pleased to call it,
let them join what sect they pleased—yet when the converts began to file off,
some to one party and some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good
feelings of both the priests and the converts were more pretended than real;
for a scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued; priest contending
against priest, and convert against convert; so that all their good feelings
one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words
and a contest about opinions.
Note:
Joseph Smith was a Methodist fanatic in his youth.
But Joseph had a little ambition, and some very
laudable aspirations; the mother's intellect occasionally shone out in him
feebly, especially when he used to help us to solve some portentous questions
of moral or political ethics, in our juvenile debating club, which we moved
down to the old red school-house on Durfee street, to get rid of the annoyance
of critics that used to drop in upon us in the village; amid, subsequently,
after catching a spark of Methodism in the camp-meeting, away down in the
woods, on the Vienna road, he was a very passable exhorter in evening
meetings. "Origin of the Mormon Imposture", Littell's
Living Age, Vol. XXX, No. 380, August 1851, page 429.
“I was at
this time in my fifteenth year. My father’s family was proselyted to the
Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that church, namely—my mother Lucy;
my brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison; and my sister Sophronia.
“During this time of great excitement, my mind was called up to serious
reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often
poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended
their several meetings as often as occasion would permit. In process of time my
mind became somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to
be united with them; but so great were the confusion and strife among the different
denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so
unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was
right and who was wrong.
Note:
Joseph Smith was a Methodist fanatic in his youth.
In the month of February last. the Church
generally arose, and made public confession of their stupidity and coldness.
From that time an unusual zeal and engagedness was
manifest in some of our brethren. Soon solemnity was depicted on the
countenances of some of our youth. New York Religious Chronicle – November 20,
1824
“My mind at
times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant. The
Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used
all the powers of either reason or sophistry to prove their errors, or, at
least, to make the people think they were in error. On the other hand, the
Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to
establish their own tenets and disprove all others. “In the midst of this war
of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself, What
is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong
together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?
“While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of
these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: 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. “Never did any passage of scripture
come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It
seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on
it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did;
for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then
had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects
understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all
confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. “At length I
came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or
else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the
determination to ‘ask of God,’ concluding that if He gave wisdom to them that
lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture. “So,
in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods
to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in
the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life
that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet
made the attempt to pray vocally.
Note:
Joseph Smith was not called of God.
For Jews request a sign, and Greeks
seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:22-24
“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 an
astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak.
Thick darkness gathered around 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 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.”
Note:
Joseph Smith’s experience was not Biblical.
I,
John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation
and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called
Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in
the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as
of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and
the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and
send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to
Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw
seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven
lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down
to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head
and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His
eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if
refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He
had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its
strength. Revelation 1:9-16
“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
name, and said, pointing to the other—This is my beloved Son, hear
him!” My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of
all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore,
did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than
I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects
was right—and which I should join. I was answered that
I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the personage who
addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that
those professors were all corrupt; that ‘they draw near to me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrines the commandments of
men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.’ He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many
other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came
to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven.”
Note:
Joseph Smith’s experience was not Biblical.
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet
as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and
behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take
place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and
the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw
are the seven churches. Revelation 1:17-20
“Some few
days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with one of the
Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before mentioned religious
excitement; and, conversing with him on the subject of religion, I took
occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had had. I was greatly
surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only lightly, but
with great contempt, saying, it was all of the devil, that there were no such
things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased
with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of them.”
Note: No
one has seen God the Father.
No one has seen God at any time. The only
begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. John
1:18
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
“I soon
found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice
against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great
persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only
between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as
to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would
take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a
bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects—all united to
persecute me. It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how
very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of
age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty
maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient
importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects
of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter
persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the
cause of great sorrow to myself.”
Note: No
one has seen God the Father.
No one has seen God at any time. If we love one
another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 1 John
4:12
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
“However,
it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since,
that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and
related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a
voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was
dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all
this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew
he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and
though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his
latest breath, that he had both seen a light, and heard a voice speaking unto
him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.
Note:
Witnesses to Paul’s encounter were present.
And the men who journeyed with him
stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground,
and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they
led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. Acts
9:7-8
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
“So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the
midst of that light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak to me;
and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet
it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all
manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart:
Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision, and who
am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what
I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God
knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it, at least I knew that
by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation. I had now got my
mind satisfied so far as the sectarian world was concerned; that it was not my
duty to join with any of them, but to continue as I was until further directed.
I had found the testimony of James to be true, that a man who lacked wisdom
might ask of God, and obtain, and not be upbraided.”
Note: No
one has seen God the Father.
As he journeyed
he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from
heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to
him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are
You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are
persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You
want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into
the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:3-6
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
In this
wise was ushered in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. The darkness
of the long night of apostasy was dispelled; the glory of the heavens once more
illumined the world; the silence of centuries was broken; the voice of God was
heard again upon the earth. In the spring of A.D. 1820 there was
one mortal, a boy not quite fifteen years old, who knew as well as that he
lived, that the current human conception of Deity as an incorporeal essence of
something possessing neither definite shape nor tangible substance was as devoid
of truth in respect to both the Father and the Son as its statement in
formulated creeds was incomprehensible. The boy Joseph knew that both the
Eternal Father and His glorified Son, Jesus Christ, were in form and stature,
perfect Men; and that in Their physical likeness mankind had been created in
the flesh. He knew further that the Father and the Son were individual
Personages, each distinct from the other—a truth fully attested by the Lord
Jesus during His mortal existence, but which had been obscured if not buried by
the sophistries of human unbelief. He realized that the unity of the Godhead
was a oneness of perfection in purpose, plan, and action, as the scriptures
declare it to be, and not an impossible union of personalities, as generations
of false teachers had tried to impress. This resplendent theophany confirmed
the fact of a universal apostasy, with the inevitable corollary—that the Church
of Christ was nowhere existent upon the earth. It effectively dissipated the
delusion that direct revelation from the heavens had forever ceased; and
affirmatively proved the actuality of personal communication between God and
mortals. For the fourth time since the Savior’s birth in the flesh, the voice
of the Father had attested the Son’s authority in matters pertaining to earth
and man. In this latter-day revelation of Himself, as on the earlier
occasions, the Father did no more than affirm the fact of the Son’s identity,
and command that He be obeyed.
Note: No
one has seen God the Father.
“God is Spirit, and those who worship
Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
“A
Messenger Sent from the Presence of God”
For about three
and a half years following the glorious appearing of the Father and the Son to
Joseph Smith, the youthful revelator was left to himself, so far as further
manifestations from heaven were concerned. The period was one of probation. He
was subjected to the sneers of youths of his age, and to aggressive persecution
on the part of older men, “who,” as he very justly and somewhat accusingly
remarks, “ought to have been my friends and to have treated me kindly, and if
they supposed me to be deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate
manner to have reclaimed me.” He pursued his usual vocation, that of farm work
in association with his father and brothers, from whom he received kindness,
consideration, and sympathy; and in spite of raillery, abuse, and denunciation
from the community at large he remained firm and faithful in his solemn
avouchment that he had seen and heard both the Eternal Father and Jesus the
Christ, and that he had been instructed to join none of the contending sects or
churches because they were all fundamentally wrong.
Note:
Joseph Smith was lazy.
Nevertheless, thou art not excusable in thy transgressions;
nevertheless, go thy way and sin no more. Magnify thine office; and after thou
hast sowed thy fields and secured them, go speedily unto the church which is in
Colesville, Fayette, and Manchester, and they shall support thee;
and I will bless them both spiritually and temporally; But if they receive thee
not, I will send upon them a cursing instead of a blessing. Doctrines and
Covenants 24:2-4
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
On the
night of the 21st of September 1823, while engaged in fervent prayer to God in
the solitude of his chamber, Joseph observed the room become illuminated until
the light exceeded that of a cloudless noon. A glorious personage appeared
within the room, standing a little space above the floor. Both the body of the
visitant and the loose robe he wore were of exquisite whiteness. Calling Joseph
by name he announced himself as Moroni, “a messenger sent from the presence of
God”; and informed the young man that the Lord had a work for him to do, and
that his name should come to be spoken of both for good and for evil among all
nations, kindreds, and tongues. The angel told of a record engraven
on plates of gold, which contained an account of the former inhabitants of the
American continent, and the fulness of the everlasting gospel as delivered by
the Savior to those ancient people; and furthermore, that with the record were
a breastplate, and the Urim and Thummim, which had
been prepared by divine instrumentality for use in translating the book. The
place at which the plates and the other sacred things were deposited was shown
to Joseph in vision, and so clear was the demonstration that he readily
recognized the spot when he visited it next day.
Note: The
gospel does not include the American continent.
Moreover, brethren, I declare to
you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received
and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast
that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I
delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and
that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. 1
Corinthians 15:1-4
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
The angel
quoted several passages from the Old and one from the New Testament, some
verbatim, and some with small variations from the Biblical version. Joseph’s
statement concerning the scriptures cited by Moroni is as follows: “He first
quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi, and
he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of
the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our
Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted
it thus: “For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all
the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall burn as stubble; for they that
come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither
root nor branch. “And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of
Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
Lord. “He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made
to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers; if
it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming. “In
addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah,
saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said
that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when they who would
not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people, but soon would
come. He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from
the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet
fulfilled but was soon to be. And he further stated that the fulness of the
Gentiles was soon to come in.”
Note: Elijah
never established the LDS priesthood.
Behold, I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming
of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Malachi 4:5
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
The
messenger departed, and the light disappeared with him. Twice during the same
night, however, the angel returned, each time repeating what had been said at
his first appearing and adding words of instruction and caution. On the next
day Moroni appeared to the young man again, and directed him to inform his
father of the visitations and commandments he had received. Joseph’s father
instructed him to obey the messenger’s instructions and testified that they
were given of God. Joseph then went to the locality specified by the angel, on
the side of a hill called in the record Cumorah, and immediately identified the
spot that had been shown him in vision. By the aid of a lever
he removed a large stone, which proved to be the cover of a stone box wherein
lay the plates and other articles described by Moroni. The angel appeared at
the place, and forbade Joseph to remove the contents of the box at that time.
The young man replaced the massive stone lid and left the spot.
Note: There
is evidence that Sidney Rigdon engineered these events.
One of Rigdon's erstwhile
Campbellite converts, Elder Parley P. Pratt recalled, in 1838: "Early in 1831, Mr. Rigdon having been ordained,
under our hands, visited elder J. Smith, Jr., in the state of New-York, for the
first time; and from that time forth, rumor began to circulate, that he
(Rigdon) was the author of the Book of Mormon." Rigdon's "first
time" travels to visit with "elder J. Smith, Jr." were noticed
in the New York Ontario Messenger of Dec. 22, 1830 and other newspapers of the region, and some of this intelligence
was quickly relayed to the northern Ohio papers for publication. Sidney
Rigdon's new religion (and speculation over his true role within that new
religion) soon became a continuing news story. Sidneyridgon.com
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
Four years
later, the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the
breastplate were delivered into Joseph’s keeping by the angel Moroni. This
Moroni, who now came as a resurrected being, was the last survivor of the
Nephite nation; he had completed the record, and then shortly before his death
had hidden away the same in the hill Cumorah, whence it was brought forth
through his instrumentality and delivered to the modern prophet and seer,
Joseph Smith, September 22, 1827. That record, or, strictly speaking a part
thereof, is now accessible to all; it has been translated through divine
instrumentality and is now published in many languages as the Book of Mormon.
Note: There
is evidence that Sidney Rigdon engineered these events.
In this age of wonders, the cunning ex-preacher
from Ohio, suggested to the money-diggers to turn their digging concern into a
religious plot. It was therefore, given out that a vision had appeared to Joe
Smith, that there was deposited in the hill I have mentioned, an iron chest
containing golden plates, on which was engraved the "Book of Mormon."
These engravings were said to be in unknown characters to all but the inspired
translator, and were deposited there by a wandering tribe of the children of
Israel, before the Christian era. It was now given out that young Joe Smith was
the chosen one of God to reveal this ministry to the world -- to be the second
Messiah, to reveal to the world this word of life, and to reform it anew. So Joe, from being an idle, lounging fellow, became a grave,
parson-like man, with a respectable looking sort of a black coat, and with the
salvation of the whole world upon his shoulders. Old Joe, the ex-parson, and
several others, were the converts to the new faith, which they asserted was
foretold in the Bible. But Harris was undoubtedly a true convert, and the first
man who gave credit to the whole story. He was the Ali of the New-York Mahomet.
Rigdon, the preacher, knew well how to work upon the credulity of a people
already excited to religious enthusiasm. His aspect was grave and
contemplative, and he could quote abundance of Scripture to prove his
assertions. This ex-parson is no doubt the author of the book. It is full of
strange narratives, in the style of the Scriptures, and appears to evince some ingenuity. Salem
Gazette, November 16, 1831 & The Churchman, February 4, 1832
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
The Aaronic
Priesthood Conferred by John the Baptist
On the 15th
of May, 1829, Joseph Smith and his scribe in the work of translating the
Nephite record, Oliver Cowdery, retired to a secluded glade to pray. Their
special purpose was to inquire of the Lord concerning the ordinance of baptism
for the remission of sins, some account of which they had found on the plates.
Joseph writes: “While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord,
a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his
hands upon us, he ordained us, saying: Upon you my fellow servants, in
the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of
the ministering of angels, and of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by
immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from
the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in
righteousness.”
Note:
Sidney Rigdon “borrowed” baptism for remission of sins from the Campbellites.
Men remember what they hear, as well
as what they see. Again, if men are said to "steal" what
they see, may they not be said to "steal" what they hear? And if
nothing short of seeing an action performed could explain this mystery, how
comes the good Baptist Taylor to insert in his history of churches in Kentucky,
writing about the time of the aforesaid conversation, the same views on this
subject which are contained in the Book of Mormon? It is, therefore, no
disparagement of these views of baptism that they are found in the Book of
Mormon, more than that they are found in Taylor's History of Ten Baptist
Churches in Kentucky, published three years before the Book of Mormon. But that
Sidney Rigdon had a hand in the manufacture of the religious part of the Book
of Mormon is clearly established from this fact, and from other expressions in
that book, as certainly "stolen" from our brethren as that he once
was amongst them. The Millennial Harbinger, January 1844, page 40
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
The angelic
visitor stated that his name was John, the same who is designated in the New
Testament, John the Baptist; and that he had acted in ordaining the two under
the direction of Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of the Higher or
Melchizedek Priesthood. He explained that the Aaronic Priesthood did not comprize “the power of laying on hands for the gift of the
Holy Ghost”; but he predicted that the Higher Priesthood, having this
power, would be conferred later. By his express direction, Joseph baptized Oliver,
and the latter in turn baptized Joseph, by immersion in water.
Note:
Baptism is not the Christian message.
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to
preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ
should be made of no effect. 1 Corinthians 1:17
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
The
Melchizedek Priesthood Conferred by Peter, James, and John
Shortly after
their ordination to the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood, Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery were visited by the presiding apostles of old, Peter, James, and John,
who conferred upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood and ordained them to the
Holy Apostleship. In a later revelation the Lord Jesus thus specifically
acknowledges the respective ordinations as having been done by His will and
commandment: “Which John I have sent unto you, my servants, Joseph Smith, Jun.,
and Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto this first priesthood which you have
received, that you might be called and ordained even as Aaron. … And also with
Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained
you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and
bear the keys of your ministry, and of the same things which I revealed unto
them: Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of
the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I
will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are
on the earth.”
Note: Jesus
Christ as Melchizedek has become a surety for the New Covenant.
And inasmuch as He
was not made priest without an oath (for they have become
priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
“The Lord has sworn and will not relent, ‘You are a
priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’”), by so much more
Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. Hebrews 7:20-22
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
Establishment
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
On the
sixth day of April A.D. 1830, the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized, at Fayette, Seneca county,
New York, in accordance with the secular law governing the establishment of
religious associations. The persons actually participating in the organization
numbered but six, such being the minimum required by law in such an
undertaking; many others were present however, some of whom had already
received the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins. By revelation to
Joseph Smith, the Lord had previously specified the day on which the
organization was to be effected, and had made known His plan of Church
government—with detailed instructions as to the requisite conditions for
membership; the indispensability of baptism by immersion, and the precise
manner in which the initiatory ordinance was to be administered; the manner of
confirming baptized believers as members of the Church; the duties of elders,
priests, teachers, and deacons in the Church; the exact procedure to be
followed in the administration of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper; the order
of Church discipline, and the method of transferring members from one branch to
another. The baptized converts present at the organization were called
upon to express their acceptance or rejection of Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery as elders in the Church; and in accordance with the unanimous vote in
the affirmative the ordination or setting apart of these two men as
respectively first and second elder in the new organization was performed.
Note: The
original name of the church was “borrowed” from the Campbellites.
On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith established his
church of Christ in Manchester, New York with six members. What role Rigdon had
in its formation is unclear. The title "Church of Christ" is
unmistakably Campbellite in origin and probably reflects the influence of
Rigdon. Insights Into Early Mormonism, William Heth
Whitsitt, page 50.
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
While the
Book of Mormon had been in course of translation, particularly during the two
years immediately preceding the organization of the Church, several revelations
had been given through Joseph the prophet and seer, relating to the work of
translation and to the preparatory labor necessary to the establishment of the
Church as an institution among men. The Author of these several revelations
declared Himself definitely to be Jesus Christ, God, the Son of God, the
Redeemer, the Light and Life of the World, Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord,
the Lord and Savior. As early as A.D. 1829, the
calling of the Twelve Apostles was indicated, and appointment was made for the
searching out of the Twelve who should stand before the world as special
witnesses of the Christ; these were subsequently ordained to the Holy
Apostleship, and the council or quorum of the Twelve has been recognized, and
instructions concerning their exalted duties have been given, in numerous revelations
of later dates.
Note: Jesus
Christ did not appear to Joseph Smith.
The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your
enemies Your footstool.” Psalm 110:1
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
In such manner
has the Church of Jesus Christ been reestablished upon the earth, with all the
powers and authority pertaining to the Holy Priesthood as committed by the Lord
Jesus to His apostles in the period of His personal ministry. The inauguration
of a new dispensation of the gospel, with a restoration of the Priesthood, was
absolutely necessary; since through the apostasy of the Primitive Church there
lived not a man empowered to speak or administer in the name of God or His
Christ. John the Revelator saw in his vision of the last days an angel bringing
anew “the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and
to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice,
Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and
worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of
waters.”
Note: Jesus
Christ never committed a “Holy Priesthood” to His apostles.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is
withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you
abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
John 15:5-8
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
Such an angelic
embassage would have been but a needless and empty display, and therefore an
impossibility, had the everlasting gospel remained upon the earth with its
powers of priesthood perpetuated by succession. The scriptural assurances of a
restoration in the last days through direct bestowal from the heavens is
conclusive proof of the actuality of the universal apostasy. Moroni came to
Joseph Smith as “a messenger sent from the presence of God,” and delivered a
record containing “the fulness of the everlasting gospel,” as it had been
imparted to the Lord’s people in ancient times; and the worldwide distribution
of the Book of Mormon, and of other publications embodying the revealed word in
modern times, and the ministry of thousands who labor in the authority of the
Holy Priesthood combine as the loud voice addressed to every nation, crying:
“Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.”
Note: There
is evidence that Sidney Rigdon was Moroni.
That my father died on the 10th day of October,
A. D. 1825. That in March of 1827, on or about the 15th of said month I went to
the house of Joseph Smith for the purpose of getting some maple sugar to eat,
that when I arrived at the house of said Joseph Smith, I was met at the door by
Harrison Smith, Jo's brother. That at a distance of ten or twelve rods from the
house there were five men that were engaged in talking, four of whom I
knew, the fifth one was better dressed than the rest of those whom I was
acquainted with. I inquired of Harrison Smith who the stranger was? He informed
me his name was Sidney Rigdo[n] with whom I
afterwards became acquainted and found to be Sidney Rigdon. This was in March,
A. D. 1827, the second spring after the death of my father. I was frequently at
the house of Joseph Smith from 1827 to 1830. Lorenzo Saunders statement,
July 21, 1887, sidneyrigdon.com
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
Further
Communications from the Heavens to Man
Following
the organization of the Church as heretofore described, direct communication
between the Lord Jesus Christ and His prophet Joseph was frequent, as the needs
of the Church required. Numerous revelations were given, and these are
accessible to all who will read. A marvelous manifestation was granted to
the prophet and his associate in the presidency of the Church, Sidney Rigdon,
the record of which appears as follows: “We, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney
Rigdon, being in the Spirit on the sixteenth of February, in the year of our
Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, 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 fulness of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the
heavenly vision; For while we were doing the work of translation, which the
Lord had appointed unto us, we came to the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of John, which was given unto us as follows. Speaking of the
resurrection of the dead, concerning those who shall hear the voice of the Son
of Man, 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. Now
this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the Spirit; and while we
meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings
and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about; and we
beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of
his fulness; and saw the holy angels, and they who are sanctified before his
throne, worshiping God, and the Lamb, who worship him for ever 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 are begotten sons and
daughters unto God.”
Note: Wild
revelations were widespread in early 19th century United States.
We publish the following in compliance with the
solicitation of the author. He is a respectable inhabitant of this town. The
constant exercise of his mind on religious topics, has, it is thought by many
of his friends, affected the sanity of his mind; on every other subject, he
appears entirely rational. -- Ed. Herald.
Remarkable Vision and Revelation: as seen and
received by Asa Wild, of Amsterdam, (N. Y.)
Having a number of months enjoyed an unusual
degree of the light of God's countenance, and having been much favoured of the Lord in many respects, and after having
enjoyed the sweetest, and most ravishing communions with Him; the Lord in his
boundless goodness was pleased to communicate the following Revelation, having
in the first place presented me with a very glorious Vision, in which I saw the
same things: In the first place I observe that my mind had been brought into
the most profound stillness, and awe; realizing in a remarkable manner the
majesty, greatness and glory, of that Being before whom all nations are as the
drop of the bucket. It seemed as if my mind, though active in its very nature,
had lost all its activity, and was struck motionless, as well as into nothing,
before the awful and glorious majesty of the Great Jehovah. He then spake to the following ourport;
and in such a manner as I could not describe if I should attempt. -- He told me
that the Millennium state of the world is about to take place; that in seven
years literally, there would scarce a sinner be found on earth; that the earth
itself, as well as the souls and bodies of its inhabitants, should be redeemed,
as before the fall, and become as the garden of Eden. He told me that all of
the most dreadful and terrible judgments spoken in the blessed scriptures were
to be executed within that time, that more than two thirds of the inhabitants
of the world would be destroyed by these judgments; some of which are the
following -- wars, massacres, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, civil, political
and ecclesiastical commotions; and above all, various and dreadful judgments
executed immediately by God, through the instrumentality of the Ministers of
the Millennial dispensation which is to exceed in glory every other
dispensation; a short description of which may be seen in the last chapter of
Isaiah, and in other places. He also told me, that every denomination of
professing christians had become extremely corrupt;
many of which had never had any true faith at all; but are guided only by
depraved reason, refusing the teaching of the spirit [illegible lines]... which alone can teach us the true meaning
[illegible lines]... He told me further, that he had raised up, and was now
raising up, that class of persons signified by the angel mentioned by the
Revelator XIV. 6, 7, which flew in the midst of heaven; having the everlasting
gospel to preach, that these persons are of an inferior [social] class, and
small learning; that they were rejected by every denomination as a body; but
soon, God will open their way, by miracles, judgments, &c. that they will
have higher authority, greater power, superior inspiration, and a greater
degree of holiness than was ever experienced before [illegible lines] ...
divine grace and glory. Wayne Sentinel – October 22,
1823
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
The vision
was followed by further revelation both through sight and hearing; and the Lord
showed unto His servants and proclaimed aloud the fate of the wicked and the
characteristic features of the varied degrees of glory provided for the souls
of mankind in the hereafter. The several states of graded honor and exaltation
pertaining to the telestial, the terrestrial, and the celestial kingdoms were
revealed, and the ancient scriptures relating thereto were illumined with the
new light of simplicity and literalness.
Note: Wild
revelations were widespread in early 19th century United States.
Furthermore he said that all the different
denominations of professing christians constituted
the New Testament Babylon; and that he should deal with them according to what
is written of IT, in the book of Revelation: that he is about to call out all
his sincere children who are mourning in Zion, from oppression and tyranny of
the mother of harlots; and that the severest judgments will be inflicted on the
professors of religion; which will immediately commence in Amsterdam, and has
already commenced in different parts of the world, and even in this country.
And though their operations at first are gradual, and under cover, yet it will
soon be generally seen that it is the immediate execution of divine vengeance
upon an ungodly world. Much more the Lord revealed, but forbids my relating it
in this way. But this, I have written and published, by the express and
immediate command of God: the truth and reality of which, I know with the most
absolute certainty. -- Though I have ever been the most backward to believe
things of this nature; having been brought up in the Calvinistic system, and
having had a thorough understanding of the same, and was fully established in
the belief of it for several years after I experienced the love of God in my
heart: but finding the Calvinists did not understand the glorious depths of
holiness, and conformity to the divine character in heart and practice, which I
saw was our privilege and duty I joined the Methodist Church, which I found had
much clearer and more scriptural views on these and some other points than the
Calvinists; though I soon saw that they as a body, were very corrupt, having
departed much from their primitive purity and holiness. I also saw that their
first founders did not travel into all that was their privilege; and that
vastly greater depths of holiness might have been experienced even by them. Yet
I thank God for what light I have received through their instrumentality, but
know that much greater and more glorious light is about to burst upon the
world. Amsterdam, October, 1823. Wayne Sentinel –
October 22, 1823
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
Personal
Appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Kirtland Temple
In less
than three and a half years after its organization the Church began the
erection of the first temple of modern times at Kirtland, Ohio. The work was
undertaken in compliance with a revelation from the Lord requiring this labor
at the hands of His people. The Church membership was small; the people were in
poverty; the period was one of determined opposition and relentless
persecution. Be it understood that to the Latter-day Saints a temple is
more than chapel, church, tabernacle, or cathedral; it is no place of common
assembly even for purposes of congregational worship, but an edifice sacred to
the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood—distinctively and essentially a House of
the Lord. The temple at Kirtland stands today, a substantial and stately
building; but it is no longer in possession of the people who reared it by
unmeasured sacrifice of time, substance, and effort extending through years of
self-denial and suffering. Its cornerstones were laid July 23, 1833, and the
completed structure was dedicated March 27, 1836. The dedicatory service was
made ever memorable by a Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord
accompanied by the visible presence of angels. In the evening of the same day
the several quorums of priesthood assembled in the house, and a yet greater
manifestation of divine power and glory was witnessed. On the succeeding
Sunday—April 3, 1836—after a service of solemn worship, including the
administration of the Lord’s Supper, the prophet Joseph and his counselor,
Oliver Cowdery, retired for prayer within the veils enclosing the platform and
pulpit reserved for the presiding authorities of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
They bear this solemn testimony to the personal appearing of the Lord Jesus
Christ at that time and place: “The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes
of our understanding were opened. We saw the Lord standing upon the breast work
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 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, Yea I
will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my
people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house, Yea the
hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence
of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my
servants have been endowed in this house; and the fame of this house shall spread
to foreign lands, and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be
poured out upon the heads of my people. Even so. Amen.”
Note: Jesus
Christ did not appear in 1836 Ohio.
And every priest
stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one
sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from
that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one
offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Hebrews
10:11-14
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
After the
Savior’s withdrawal, the two mortal prophets were visited by glorified beings,
each of whom had officiated on earth as a specially commissioned servant of
Jehovah, and now came to confer the authority of his particular office upon
Joseph and Oliver, thus uniting all the powers and authorities of olden
dispensations in the restored Church of Christ, which characterizes the last
and greatest dispensation of history. This is the record: “After this vision
closed, the heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us,
and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts
of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.
After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of
Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all generations after us should be
blessed. After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon
us, for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death,
stood before us, and said—Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of
by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the
great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to
the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten
with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation
are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and
dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.”
Note:
Elijah will not return until the end of the world.
Behold, I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming
of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Malachi 4:5
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
Jesus the
Christ Is with His Church Today
Right
gloriously has the Lord brought about a fulfilment of the promises uttered
through the mouths of His holy prophets in by-gone ages—to restore the gospel
with all its former blessings and privileges; to bestow anew the Holy
Priesthood with authority to administer in the name of God; to reestablish the
Church bearing His name and founded upon the rock of divine revelation; and to
proclaim the message of salvation to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and
peoples. In spite of persecution both mobocratic and
judicially sanctioned, in spite of assaults, drivings,
and slaughter, the Church has developed with marvelous rapidity and strength
since the day of its organization. Joseph, the prophet, and his brother Hyrum,
the patriarch of the Church, were brutally slain as martyrs to the truth at
Carthage, Illinois, June 27, 1844. But the Lord raised up others to succeed
them; and the world learned in part and yet shall know beyond all question that
the Church so miraculously established in the last days is not the church of
Joseph Smith nor of any other man, but in literal verity, the Church of Jesus
Christ. The Lord has continued to make known His mind and will through prophets,
seers, and revelators whom He has successively chosen and appointed to lead His
people; and the voice of divine revelation is heard in the Church today. As
provided for in its revealed plan and constitution, the Church is blessed by
the ministry of prophets, apostles, high priests, patriarchs, seventies,
elders, bishops, priests, teachers, and deacons. The spiritual gifts and
blessings of old are again enjoyed in rich abundance. New scriptures,
primarily directed to present duties and current developments in the purposes
of God, yet which illuminate and make plain in simplicity the scriptures of
old, have been given to the world through the channel of the restored
priesthood; and other scriptures shall yet be written. The united membership of
the Church proclaims: “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does
now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important
things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.”
Note:
Revelation by prophets ended with John the Baptist.
“The law and the prophets were until
John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is
pressing into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than
for one tittle of the law to fail.” Luke 16:16-17
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
The
predicted gathering of Israel from their long dispersion is in progress under
the commission given by the Lord through Moses. The “mountain of the Lord’s
house” is already established in the top of the mountains, and all peoples flow
unto it; while the elders of the Church go forth among the nations, saying:
“Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God
of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for
out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
Note:
Revelation by prophets ended with John the Baptist.
God, who at various times
and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the
prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom
He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made
the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the
express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of
His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat
down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much
better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent
name than they. Hebrews 1:1-4
Note:
Joseph Smith’s story is unbelievable.
Within
sacred temples, the living are officiating vicariously
in behalf of the dead; and the hearts of mortal children are turned with
affectionate concern toward their departed ancestors, while disembodied hosts
are praying for the success of their posterity, yet in the flesh, in the
service of salvation. The saving gospel is offered freely to all, for so hath
its Author commanded. Through the medium of the press, and by the personal
ministrations of men invested with the Holy Priesthood whom the Church sends
out by thousands, this Gospel of the Kingdom is today preached throughout the
world. When such witness among the nations is made complete, “then shall the
end come”; and the nations “shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of
heaven, with power and great glory.”
Note: God
does not dwell in LDS temple buildings.
“But
Solomon built Him a house. However, the Most High does not dwell in
temples made with hands, as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne,
and earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says
the Lord, or what is the place of My rest? Has My hand not made all
these things?’” Acts 7:47-50
Do you not
know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the
temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 1
Corinthians 3:16-17
Note: Will
you believe LDS church nonsense?
Notes to
Chapter 41
1.
The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.—“Now
the thing to be known is, what the fulness of times means, or the extent and
authority thereof. It means this, that the dispensation of the fulness of times
is made up of all the dispensations that ever have been given since the world
began, until this time. Unto Adam first was given a dispensation. It is well known
that God spake to him with His own voice in the
garden, and gave him the promise of the Messiah. And unto Noah also was a
dispensation given; for Jesus said, ‘As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it
be also in the days of the coming of the Son of Man’; and as the righteous were
saved then, and the wicked destroyed, so it will be now. And from Noah to
Abraham, and from Abraham to Moses, and from Moses to Elias, and from Elias to
John the Baptist, and from then to Jesus Christ, and from Jesus Christ to Peter,
James, and John, the Apostles all having received in their dispensation by
revelation from God, to accomplish the great scheme of restitution, spoken by
all the holy Prophets since the world began; the end of which is, the
dispensation of the fulness of times, in which all things shall be fulfilled
that have been spoken of since the earth was made.”—See Millennial Star, vol. 16, p. 220.
2.
Limitations of the Aaronic Priesthood.—After
conferring the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery, the officiating angel, who had been known while a mortal being as John
the Baptist, explained that the authority he had imparted did not extend to the
laying-on of hands for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, the latter ordinance being
a function of the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. Consider the instance of
Philip, (not the apostle Philip), whose ordination empowered him to baptize,
though a higher authority than his was requisite for the conferring of the Holy
Ghost; and consequently the apostles Peter and John went down to Samaria to
officiate in the case of Philip’s baptized converts (Acts 8:5, 12–17). See D&C 20:41, 46.
3.
Priesthood and Office Therein.—It
is important to know that although Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had been
ordained to the Holy Apostleship, and therefore to a fulness of the Melchizedek
Priesthood, by Peter, James, and John, it was necessary that they be ordained
as elders in the Church. When they received the Melchizedek Priesthood from the
three ancient apostles, there was no organized Church of Jesus Christ, and
consequently no need of Church officers, such as elders, priests, teachers, or
deacons. As soon as the Church was established, officers were chosen therein
and these were ordained to the requisite office or grade in the Priesthood.
Moreover, the principle of common consent in the conduct of Church affairs was
observed in this early action of the members in voting to sustain the men
nominated for official positions, and has continued to be the rule of the
Church to this day. It is pertinent to point out further that in conferring
upon Joseph and Oliver the Aaronic Priesthood, John the Baptist did not ordain
them to the office of priest, teacher, or deacon. These three offices are
included in the Aaronic, as are the offices of elder, seventy, high priest,
etc., in the Melchizedek Priesthood. Read D&C 20:38–67; Articles of Faith, chapter 11.
4.
Modern Temples.—The
Lord’s gracious promise given in the Kirtland Temple—to appear unto His
servants at times then future, and to speak unto them with His own voice,
provided the people would keep His commandments and not pollute that holy
house—has been in no wise abrogated nor forfeited through the enforced
relinquishment of the Kirtland Temple by the Latter-day Saints. The people were
compelled to flee before the fury of mobocratic
persecution; but they hastened to erect another and yet more splendid sanctuary
at Nauvoo, Illinois, and were again dispossessed by lawless mobs. In the
valleys of Utah the Church has erected four great
temples, each more stately than the last; and in these holy houses the sacred
ordinances pertaining to salvation and exaltation of both the living and the
dead are in uninterrupted progress. The temples of the present dispensation, in
the order of their completion, and designated according to location, are those
of Kirtland, Ohio; Nauvoo, Illinois; St. George, Logan, Manti, and Salt Lake City,
Utah; Cardston, Canada; and Laie, Hawaii. See House of the Lord, pp. 53–195.
5.
Consistency of the Church’s Claim to Authority.—The
proofs of order and system in the restoration of authority to officiate in
particular functions pertaining to the priesthood are striking, and go to prove
the continued validity, beyond the grave, of authoritative ordination on earth.
The keys of the Aaronic order, comprizing authority
to baptize for the remission of sins, were brought by John the Baptist, who had
been especially commissioned in that order of priesthood in the time of Christ.
The apostleship, comprizing all powers inherent in
the Melchizedek Priesthood, was restored by the presiding apostles of old,
Peter, James, and John. Then, as has been seen, Moses conferred the authority
to prosecute the work of gathering; and Elijah, who, not having tasted death,
held a peculiar relation to both the living and the dead, delivered the
authority of vicarious ministry for the departed. To these appointments by
heavenly authority should be added that given by Elias, who appeared to Joseph
Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and “committed the dispensation of the gospel of
Abraham.” It is evident, then, that the claims made by the Church with respect
to its authority are complete and consistent as to the source of the powers
professed and the channels through which such have been delivered again to
earth. Scripture and revelation, both ancient and modern, support as
unalterable law the principle that no one can delegate to another an authority
which the giver does not possess.
6.
Cessation of the Melchizedek Administration in Ancient Times.—The Higher or Melchizedek
Priesthood was held by the patriarchs from Adam to Moses. Aaron was ordained to
the priest’s office, as were his sons; but that Moses held superior authority
is abundantly shown (Numbers 12:1–8). After
Aaron’s death his son Eleazar officiated in the authority of the Lesser
Priesthood; and even Joshua had to take counsel and authority from him (Numbers 27:18–23). From the
ministry of Moses to that of Jesus Christ, the Lesser Priesthood alone was
operative upon the earth, excepting only the instances of specially delegated
authority of the higher order such as is manifest in the ministrations of
certain chosen prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others. It is evident
that these prophets, seers, and revelators were individually and specially
commissioned; but it appears that they had not authority to call and ordain
successors, for in their time the Higher Priesthood was not existent on earth
in an organized state with duly officered quorums. Not so with the Aaronic and
Levitical Priesthood, however. The matter is made particularly plain through
latter-day revelation. See D&C 84:23–28; read the
entire section; also House of the Lord, pp. 198–200.