Chapter II: Part 2

Furthermore, when we ask Catholic and Protestant ministers if an angel has come to any of them with the everlasting Gospel, they answer in the negative, and deride the idea of new revelation. Ask them if Elijah the Prophet has come to them, to plant in the hearts of the children the promise made to the fathers. They say no. Has the messenger spoken of by Malachi come to you and taught you how to build a temple to the Lord, that He may "suddenly come to His temple?" The very question itself is treated with utter astonishment, and the man who asks it is regarded as being erratic. We must therefore turn from sects having forms of godliness "but denying the power thereof," to other sources to find some one who has received, or shall receive, the revelations of the Almighty in the last days.

One thing is certain, if the claims of the Latter-day Saints are not true, then some one must come in the future with just such claims. We ask the question, will the world be any better prepared to receive a message of this character in the future than it is today? Certainly the hearts of the people are not being prepared for such testmonies by the influence and teachings of modern ministers. Come, dear readers, let us reason together; let us divest our minds of all prejudice. "Prove all things, hold fast that which is good," and ask the question, what constitutes complete evidence that a man is a prophet of God?

To be a reliable witness in a human court, an individual must be a person of veracity, whose honor cannot be impeached. Such a man was Joseph Smith, the Prophet. His parents were hard-working farmers. They had a standing in the community of virtue, honesty, industry and sincerity in religious devotion, unexcelled by any. His forefathers were among the early founders of New England, who came from the "mother country" to enjoy the greater liberty of worshiping God without molestation and according to the dictates of conscience. His progenitors were soldiers of the Revolution. They offered their lives freely upon the altar of liberty, for the freedom of the American colonies and their descendants for all generations to come. From such a line of ancestors came the Prophet Joseph Smith. If they were not popular, nor great, nor affluent, in the eyes of the world, neither were the immediate ancestry of Jesus and His apostles. If Joseph was poor and earned his bread by the sweat of his brow, so did most all of the prophets since the world began. He enjoyed the reputation, among those who knew him best, in every state in which he lived throughout life, of being an honest, industrious, virtuous, patriotic man. On trumped-up charges by the enemies of truth, he was arrested and tried thirty-nine times in courts not conducted by men of his own faith, and thirty-nine times he was honorably acquitted. The last time he was arrested, his enemies said, "If the law cannot reach him, powder and lead shall." How like the experience of Jesus before Pilate! Honorably acquitted by the judges, they cried out, "Let His blood be upon us and our children!" And so it has been; the same is true of those who shed the blood of the Prophet and Patriarch in these last days.

In view of the unpopularity of believing in angels and revelations in this age, what purpose could a man have in view, to make such a declaration, unless it was true? Joseph Smith gained no popularity or honors of men by it; he made no wealth of a worldly character by such a course. On the other hand, he suffered ignominy, scorn, and persecution in almost every form, including hunger, fatigue, exile, imprisonment and death at the hands of assassins. If it could be urged with the least propriety that when he announced his first vision he was so young--only about fifteen years of age (not much older than Samuel the prophet when God called him)--that he did not realize the terrible consequences of such a testimony, he certainly realized in a very short time and had every opportunity to correct his assertions had they been false.

Human nature is not such as to maintain known errors with such unwavering integrity and consistency against the bitter opposition of the world from boyhood to the grave. Yet with all his increasing trials and persecutions, which rolled upon him all his life like the angry waves of the ocean, driven by the winds against the peaceful shore, he never faltered. His testimony never wavered. He testified that he saw God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and received of the ministrations of John the Baptist, Peter, James and John, Elijah and other prophets who lived in bygone ages. With an understanding of these circumstances and a knowledge of his character, the charge of fraud and dishonesty cannot be laid against him. If so, every prophet since the world began can be counted a dishonest man.

The question which naturally follows in this place is: Could Joseph Smith be mistaken? In answer we say: He was not a religious zealot. He was a young man of a practical turn of mind. While not a skeptic, he was reasonable, and thought that men professing to be the servants of the Lord should give proof of their calling similar to that given by the ancient prophets. If they had the true Gospel, with the gifts of the Holy Ghost, they should not be full of contradictions on doctrine, at least. This feature shows that Joseph was of a disposition not easily deluded by the unfounded theories of men. He belonged to no church, and like the ancient apostles, was free from preconceived dogmas and theories. He had no system to bolster up nor pet theory to maintain. His mind was free and of an order most likely to be selected for the great work which the Lord assigned him.

The circumstances which led to Joseph Smith's prayer offered in the grove near Palmyra, New York, in the spring of 1820, were these: A great religious revival had been in progress. He attended. It consisted of people who were Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc., represented in the pulpit by their respective ministers. When a convert joined the Baptists the other ministers would say: "This is the way; walk ye in it." And another: "This is right; follow this way." Yet their doctrines were in conflict. He could get no light from them. In this frame of mind he commenced to read the Scriptures. He came to the first chapter of James, fifth and sixth verses. This reads as follows: "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. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For, let not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord." Joseph believed the promise. He put it to the test. He knelt in a grove of timber, and asked God which denomination was right. While thus engaged an unseen power seized him, tied his tongue, as it were, and apparently would have destroyed his life. Here are Joseph's words, quoted from the "Pearl of Great Price," page 59: "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 spoke unto me, calling me by name, and said (pointing to the other), 'This is my beloved Son, Hear Him.' In answer to my question, which of the sects were right, He answered that none of them were, and I was forbidden of the Lord to join any of them."

This prayer was offered by an honest boy, seeking after truth, unable to get the whole truth from men. Would the Lord suffer such a prayer to go unanswered, or suffer this boy to be deceived by Satan? All reason, all Scripture answers, no. "Ask and ye shall receive; knock and it shall be opened unto you." If a son ask his father for bread "will he give him a stone?" "If he ask for fish will he give him a serpent?" The Savior answers, no. If it is argued that Joseph was alone and no one else present to corroborate his testimony, we have two answers: One is that those determined to reject such revelations will deny the veracity of two or three men as readily as the assertion of one; the other is that those who believe the Bible, to be consistent, if they doubt the testimony of Joseph because he was alone, must also doubt the testimony of Moses, who was alone when God spoke to him from the burning bush, and again when he stood in His presence on the mount and received the Ten Commandments. Will they doubt that Isaiah saw the Lord in the days of King Uzziah? (Isa. vi.). Because Stephen alone saw God and His Son in the last moments of His life, is his testimony false? Paul saw the Savior, but the men who were with him saw Him not. Yet the Christian world believes that Paul saw the Lord, even though other men in the presence of Paul did not see him.

While Joseph was alone on the occasion above related, he was not alone in all the manifestations which the Lord gave him. We have other honest witnesses who corroborate the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and their testimony has not been impeached. They were men of good repute. On the 5th day of May, 1829, John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, laid his hands upon their heads and conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood, which holds authority to preach the principles of the Gospel and baptize in water for the remission of sins, but not authority to administer in the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. This Aaronic Priesthood was held by John the Baptist, by Philip, who baptized the Samaritans, and by others in the times of the apostles. Subsequent to this Peter, James and John presented themselves to the same men, Joseph and Oliver, conferring upon them the holy apostleship, which included authority to organize the Church in its fullness and to open the door of the Gospel to all nations.

Passing over the many remarkable manifestations given to the Prophet and others, we will conclude this part of the subject by reference to the statements of the three witnesses respecting the Book of Mormon. Their testimony will be found in the title pages of every copy of that sacred volume, signed with their names--Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris. They assert that an angel appeared before them, held in his hands the metallic plates, giving an account of the ancient inhabitants of America; their origin, history and destiny; the dealings of God with them; and the fullness of the Gospel as taught by the Savior and ancient prophets on this land, from which sacred plates the Book of Mormon is translated into English. The witnesses saw and handled the plates, and gave their solemn testimony to the world. Under all circumstances the witnesses maintained their testimony to the end in private and public; to all who came to ask of them, they told the same unchanging story. Another feature of this evidence of these three witnesses is this: In the course of time they transgressed the rules and regulations of the Church, and of necessity had to be excommunicated. Having thus fallen away from their adherence to the Church, from their association and fellowship with the Prophet Joseph Smith, they were placed in a condition where every inducement was presented them to deny their testimony and in this way frustrate the scheme, if it had been false. If such a procedure had been possible they could thereby gain the fellowship and applause of the world for exposing to ridicule and shame the man who came to the world with a New Dispensation. But they did not do this. Being outside the pale of the Church, may they not be called truly disinterested witnesses, witnesses stronger in that sense than can be produced to substantiate the divinity of ancient Jewish Scriptures?

The writer once sat in the presence of David Whitmer and can testify from personal contact with him that he was firm and unshaken in the testimony which he bore to the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. In David Whitmer's dying hours, when enemies of this work may have had some hopes of his recanting, he asked the leading men of Richmond, Mo., if they could honestly give an affidavit before an officer that, from their acquaintance and dealings with him, he was a man of honesty and truth. This they did, and published it. They were men not of Mr. Whitmer's religious views. With that affidavit signed by about twelve leading business men of the town, and the testimony of his physician that his mind was perfectly sound, he published again to the world his testimony that he had seen the angel, had handled the plates, and that the Book of Mormon was the divinely translated record.

In connection with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, a remarkable prophecy of Isaiah has been strikingly verified: "And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is seated which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned." (Isaiah xxix:11, 12.) When Joseph obtained the plates he discovered that a portion of them were sealed and learned from the angel that the time had not come to publish that part of the volume, but from the unsealed plates he copied some characters and sent them by Martin Harris to a learned linguist in New York--Prof. Anthon. The learned man examined them and gave Mr. Harris a certificate testifying that they were true characters of Hebrew and reformed Egyptian. Before leaving, the learned man asked Mr. Harris to bring him the plates and he would translate them. Mr. Harris answered that he was forbidden to do that, and also that a portion of the plates were sealed. He replied, "I cannot read a sealed book," and asked where Joseph Smith obtained them. When answered that an angel revealed them, he asked to see the certificate he had given of their genuineness. It was handed him and he tore it up in a rage, saying, "Angels do not appear nowadays." The words of the book, not the book itself, were delivered to the learned man, as Isaiah said they would be. He said he could not read a sealed book, as Isaiah said he would say. The book itself was delivered to Joseph, the unlettered youth, and in his humility he said, I am not learned; but God gave the gift of translation, that it should be done; not by the wisdom and learning of men, but by the power of God.

Other Bible prophecies might be quoted referring to the Book of Mormon, but our purpose at present is not to treat upon that sacred record, but incidentally to show that its coming forth furnishes strong evidence that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. How it would be possible for an unsophisticated youth to devise a scheme that would answer in its workings so minutely the details of ancient prophecy, unless God inspired him, should require far more credulity to believe than it would that he was sent of God, and thus attribute to the Almighty the honor for the great work.

With this array of corroborating witnesses, and the practical character of Joseph Smith, we do not see the possibility of his being mistaken any more than were Paul, Stephen, Moses, Peter, James and John and all the ancient prophets. It should be remembered that God has His own way and does not show Himself openly to all the people, but to chosen witnesses. "Him God raised up the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before God." (Acts x:40, 41.)

We come now to another phase of evidence that the Gospel has been restored, namely, that the organization of the Church as established by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and also the doctrines taught by him, are in perfect accord with the teachings of the Bible. The proof of this is given in other chapters of this volume. The evidence there given of the divine mission of Joseph Smith is all the stronger when we take into consideration the fact that for seventeen centuries learned men have been organizing churches and teaching what they esteemed to be the essentials of salvation, without being able from the fragmentary teachings of the apostles to organize a church with apostles, prophets, seventies, etc. The force of this condition is also enhanced when we recall that each generation of reformers has possessed the advantages arising from the experience and conclusions of each generation preceding them. Neither has been able to unite upon the principles essential for mankind to obey in order to secure salvation.

Joseph Smith presents to the world a system which is a monument of inspiration, both as to the scriptural evidence that the organization is divine and in the fact that the practical workings thereof are perfect. He does not stop at this. He says to his followers that on condition of their acceptance of faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, repentance from all sin, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands by Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they shall receive the Holy Ghost, and that the fruits thereof are the same as in olden times; they shall prophesy, speak in tongues, have dreams, visions, revelations, healings and miracles. There are in the Church today 310,000 souls. Of this number many are children, but the thousands who have arrived at the years of accountability have put the promise to the test, and the universal testimony of these people is that they have received knowledge of God for themselves. The tens of thousands, also, who have passed from life, since the date of the organization of the Church (1830), received the same testimony.

During the troubles of the Saints in Illinois, judge Stephen A. Douglas was an acquaintance of Joseph Smith and his people. He knew the injustice heaped upon them by his personal acquaintance with the facts. While in the presence of judge Douglas and others, the judge requested the Prophet to give him a history of the persecutions in Missouri, which he did. While addressing the judge the Prophet said: "Judge, you will aspire to the presidency of the United States; and if you ever turn your hand against me or the Latter-day Saints, you will feel the weight of the hand of the Almighty upon you; and you will live to see and know that I have testified the truth to you; for the conversation of this day will stick to you through life." (_Deseret News_, Sept. 24th, 1856.)

Judge Douglas aspired, as stated, to the Presidency of the United States, and was nominated for that position on June 23d, 1860, at the Democratic convention held in Charleston. When he thus aspired he was a popular man, eloquent and gifted, and no one seemed to have brighter hopes of success. However, in his mistaken effort to win popular approval, in a speech delivered in Springfield, Illinois, June 12th, 1857, he, in defiance of his own knowledge of the Latter-day Saints and their character, said: "The knife must be applied to this pestiferous, body politic. It must be cut out by the roots and seared over by the red-hot iron of stern and unflinching law." Much more he uttered against the Latter-day Saints, in harmony with misguided public sentiment. When the election came Douglas was badly defeated. Of the electoral votes he had but twelve. He carried but one state. Feeling "the weight of the hand of the Almighty upon him," he died a disappointed, heart-broken man, in less than a year, in the prime of life, being but forty-eight years of age. Thus the word of the Lord was fulfilled with terrible accuracy.

Again Joseph said: "I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains; many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors or lose their lives in consequence of exposure and disease; and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains." (_Mill. Star_, Vol. xix., page 630.) The Saints did continue to suffer much persecution, some did apostatize, others did die of exposure, disease and privation. Others were put to death by persecutors; some lived to go to the Rocky Mountains. They have assisted there in building cities, towns and temples, in making a great commonwealth, and the Saints have become a mighty people in the midst of these mountains. They attract the attention of the world. "A city set on a hill cannot be hid." These prophecies, uttered by Joseph Smith, have come to pass, as have many others, and that, too, contrary to all human prospects. All his prophecies not yet verified relate to future times, and will come to pass as literally and exactly as those of the past or those of any other prophet since the world began, for God inspired and Joseph spoke.

Having finished his mission, accomplished all in the flesh the Lord gave him to do, the Prophet Joseph Smith suffered the shedding of his blood at the hands of a wicked mob, June 27th, 1844, in Carthage, Illinois. Why was he slain? His doctrine, his promises, his life, his prophecies, all proved him to be a prophet of God before he died a martyr. Let the Scriptures answer the question: "For where a testament is, there must also of a necessity be the death of the testator." (Heb. ix:16.) God gave to the world through Joseph Smith a new testament of the plan of salvation. He gave the Book of Mormon, a record of the Gospel to the ancient inhabitants of America. He gave the Doctrine and Covenants, containing the revelations of God to the Saints of the last days. These do not supplant the Bible. They prove it true, and all agree in one. "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." Through Joseph, to this generation, came the witness of the Holy Ghost and the authority of the Holy Priesthood. By the continuation of that authority the Church exists today, with the Prophet Joseph F. Smith as its earthly living head. Every Elder of the Church can trace his authority back directly to Joseph Smith, who was ordained by the apostles Peter, James and John, who received it from the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joseph Smith's testimony is weighty. It effects the whole world. The evidence must also be weighty, and it can now be said that no class of evidence was withheld. He gave all that any Prophet ever gave, including life itself. He sealed his testimony with his blood and his testimony is in force upon all the world. The sealing of his testimony with his blood also accords with ancient prophecy. John the Revelator was called into a high mountain to see the visions of the future. Read (Rev. iv:1). Also, among other things, the apostle says: "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." (Rev. vi:9-11.)

Joseph Smith, the great Prophet of the last days, and his martyred brother, the Patriarch Hyrum Smith, were among these fellow servants who were to be slain. They have fulfilled this last requirement of their earthly existence. Their testimony is true, attested by every evidence that man could give or the world require. That testimony is binding upon all the world. The Gospel has been restored to man, through Joseph Smith, in all its fullness. Will men obey the divine message? A proper answer by every individual is of the greatest importance.

THE CHURCH.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the organization through which the Lord is accomplishing the declaration of the Gospel in the last days, gathering Israel, administering the ordinances of salvation, and, in short, is accomplishing the work of redemption--that accomplishment which has been predicted by the mouths of all His holy prophets since the world began. The Church is called the Church of Jesus Christ because it is His. He directed how and when to organize it, pointing out by direct revelation the manner of Church government; the principles and ordinances of the Gospel; the blessings to be enjoyed by those who obey Him, and also the respective duties of each quorum or council of the Holy priesthood. The words "Latter-day Saints" are used to distinguish it from the former-day dispensation, or from the Church of Jesus Christ of Former-day Saints.

The authority of God delegated to man is called the Holy priesthood. This priesthood is arranged under two great heads. The lesser branch is called the Levitical or Aaronic, because it was conferred upon Aaron and his posterity. It holds the keys of the administration of angels, administering the outward ordinances of the Gospel, such as "baptism by immersion for the remission of sins," the sacrament of the Lord's supper, the receiving and distribution of tithes and offerings, all subject to the direction of the high priesthood. The officers in the Aaronic priesthood consist of Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. There is a presiding Bishop, who holds the keys of this priesthood, also other Bishops, who preside over the interests of the lesser priesthood in Wards or Branches, looking after the temporal interests of the Saints. The Priests are standing ministers, organized into quorums of forty-eight in each.

The duty of the Priest is to visit the home of each member, expound the Scripture, invite all to come unto Christ and exhort the Saints to perform every duty enjoined by the Gospel.

Teachers are organized into quorums of twenty-four each. The duty of those bearing this office is to see that the Saints do their duty and entertain no ill-feelings toward their fellow-beings, and that no iniquity exists in the Church. These general duties, common to all Saints, consist in living a chaste, honest, upright, temperate and industrious life, attending to secret and family prayers, attendance at meetings of worship, partaking of the sacrament, the payment of tithes and offerings, observing the Sabbath day, and kindred obligations, all made plain in the revelations of God to the Church.

The Deacons are organized into quorums of twelve each, and are to assist the Teacher in all the duties of his calling, as occasion may require, but their especial duty is to look after the houses of worship, keep them clean, see to the arrangement of seats and the seating of the people in public assemblies of worship, and such other labors under the direction of the Bishop as may conduce to the welfare of the Church.

The Melchisedek or higher priesthood holds the keys to the kingdom of heaven. It has the power to seal on earth, and what is done is sealed in heaven; to loose on earth and it is loosed in heaven; to receive the revelations of God; to guide the Church in all things, and to understand the mysteries of godliness as far as they are revealed to men in the flesh. In ancient times these keys and fullness of authority were given to Peter when the Savior said to him: "And I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. xvi:19.)

The offices of this priesthood consist of the First Presidency, a quorum of three, bearing the holy apostleship, and as the organization of the Church on earth typifies the heavenly, these three symbolize the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and hold the keys of authority over all departments of the Church, on all matters, spiritual and temporal, even as the Godhead is the great ruling power of the universe, the heavens and the earth and all that in them is.

Next come the Twelve Apostles, who hold the keys of opening the door of salvation to all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples. The reason that this quorum numbers twelve is in honor of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus said to the Twelve at Jerusalem: "Thou shalt sit upon twelve thrones, judging the whole house of Israel;" and again, upon the foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem were to be the names of the "Twelve Apostles of the Lamb." The Church in government is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone." (Eph. ii:19, 20.) The duty of the Twelve is to carry the Gospel to all nations and to send the same by their associates, the Seventies.

The Seventies are organized into quorums of seventy in each, presided over by seven of their number. Their especial calling is, like that of the Twelve, to be witnesses of the truth in all the world, and they are the ones especially appointed to associate with the Twelve in conveying the Gospel message to all mankind.

The office of High Priest is one of presidency. The High Priests are not limited to any especial number to constitute a quorum, but any number existing in a Stake of Zion is a quorum, presided over by three of their members. High Priests are chosen to preside over Stakes of Zion, to act as High Counselors, preside over temples, officiate in the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and, where the literal descendants of Aaron are not found, the High Priest is chosen to officiate in the Bishopric. Where men are found among the Seventies or Elders in any Ward or Stake, more suitable to fill a vacancy in the Ward Bishopric, Stake Presidency, or High Council, than the resident High Priests, such men are selected and ordained to the office of High Priest.

As standing ministers in Wards and Stakes the office of Elder exists, and a quorum of Elders numbers ninety-six. They have authority to preach the Gospel, baptize, confirm, administer the sacrament, anoint, and lay on hands for the healing of the sick, but differ from the Seventies in not being under the especial duty of traveling abroad to preach the Gospel. They have authority, however, as do High Priests, to travel abroad and preach the Gospel when called by the Presidency of the Church.

There is in the Church a presiding Patriarch, and other Patriarchs in all the Stakes of Zion. The duty of this high office is to impart blessings to the Saints of God. In presenting the general authorities of the Church the name of the Patriarch is presented next to the Twelve Apostles.

The general authorities of the Church, presented for the acceptance of the Church at every general conference, are the Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, the Patriarch, the Seven Presidents of Seventies, and the Presiding Bishopric of the Church. The names of the officers in the Priesthood are Apostles, Patriarchs, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons.

When difficulties arise between members of the Church and they fail to settle by themselves and the assistance of one or two witnesses, as the Savior directs, the Bishopric of the Ward form an ecclesiastical court, to which the disputants can refer their difficulties. If the decision is unsatisfactory to either party, there is a court of appeal in each Stake, called the High Council, consisting of twelve High Priests presided over by the Presidency of the Stake. From their decision an appeal can be had to the Presidency of the Church, which is the end of controversy. Trials by these courts are conducted free of charge. They are to exercise the functions of their calling without partiality and with the fear of God before their eyes, and to be guided by the Spirit of the Lord in their conclusions.

In the selection of any and all officers in the Church, the Saints have a voice. "No person is to be ordained to any office in this church, where there is a regularly organized branch of the same, without the vote of that church." (Doctrine and Covenants, section xx, 65.) "And all things shall be done by common consent in the Church, by much prayer and faith, for all things you shall receive by faith." (Doctrine and Covenants, section xxvi, 2.) The Gospel is a perfect law of liberty, and no people upon the earth have broader freedom and a stronger voice in government, religious or otherwise, than do the Latter-day Saints in the governmental and all other affairs of the Church.

The reader is referred to the revelations of God, given in the last days to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for a more perfect understanding of the offices and duties thereof, pertaining to the Church of Christ. They are to be found in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. These revelations throw great light upon the fragmentary statements of the New Testament, because in the latter no one can learn the relationship of one quorum in the Church to another, nor the explicit duties of the respective offices in the Holy Priesthood.

This Church was organized on the 6th of April, 1830, as far as could be, with the limited membership of six men--Joseph Smith, Jr., Hyrum Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Samuel H. Smith, Peter Whitmer, Jr., and David Whitmer. It was truly "a grain of mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds," in comparison with other organizations. A less number could not have been organized under the laws of New York. The great founder, under God, of this Church, had never belonged to any other. It was not an off-shoot of Catholic or Protestant, but as "a little stone cut out of the mountains without hands," it bore no relationship to any human system; and as the stone should increase in velocity as it rolled on, so has the Church grown in magnitude from the "mustard seed" to a great tree. It is believed by the Saints that the Savior was born on the 6th of April, and that the organization of this Church commemorates that great event.

On the 11th of April, 1830, Oliver Cowdery preached the first Gospel discourse of this dispensation. Soon branches of the Church were raised up in New York and Pennsylvania. Men were brought into the fold who later filled notable places in the Church. Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow and other leading men embraced the Gospel between 1830 and 1837. The Book of Mormon had been translated and published to the world previously. News of the new dispensation was heralded abroad by friend and foe. At that time many were prepared to embrace the Gospel, for the Lord had shown unto them that the Gospel in its fullness and purity did not exist in the Catholic and Protestant systems of so-called Christianity. The ministration of heavenly beings had been renewed, and during the entire lifetime of Joseph Smith he was the recipient of messages from the eternal worlds.

Persecution arose, and bitter opposition was arrayed against the Church. The Prophet was at times waylaid by wicked men, and sometimes arrested upon unfounded, trumped-up charges. From all these he was delivered until the time came for him to offer his life as a martyr.

In the fall of 1830 Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt, John Whitmer and Ziba Peterson were called to carry the Gospel to the Indians (Lamanites), located in what was then the western wilds of these United States. Near Kirtland, Ohio, they met Sidney Rigdon and other followers of Alexander Campbell. The Elders presented to them the restored Gospel, with the Book of Mormon. Many of them received the truth, and the town of Kirtland became a gathering place for the Saints. Joseph Smith, the Prophet, removed to that point, and the Church as a body was chiefly located there as early as 1831.

In the meantime the future site of the chief city of Zion was designated by revelation to the Prophet, dedicated and set apart for the gathering of the Saints. In 1832 the first periodical in the Church was published, the _Evening and Morning Star_, at Independence, Missouri. The press and property of this publication were subsequently destroyed by a mob. Persecution in Missouri became very bitter. Many of the Saints were treated with bodily violence, their houses and property destroyed by fire and themselves expelled from the county by armed mobs.

During this time Kirtland was being built up. The Lord required the Saints to build a temple, in which to receive sacred ordinances for the salvation of the living and the dead. To this labor they devoted their energies, and notwithstanding their poverty the temple was completed and ready for dedication in March, 1836. Joseph Smith, the Prophet, translated by inspiration the New Testament, completing the work Feb. 2, 1833. Five months later he finished the translation of the Old Testament, so far as the Lord indicated the necessity of so doing. The _Latter-day Saints' Messenger and Advocate_ was published in Kirtland. The Church, though organized by the authority of the apostleship, did not contain sufficient adherents at first to organize the councils of the priesthood, so as time went on and numbers increased, the Lord would indicate when and how to organize these quorums. The quorum of High Priests was organized in Kirtland, March 18, 1833. The Presidency and High Council of the Church were organized Feb. 17, 1834. That of the Seventies commenced Feb. 28, 1835. Thus from time to time, as the Church grew and developed, the Lord made plain by revelation how to organize every quorum, and finally Stakes of Zion and branches thereof and branches scattered abroad.

On Aug. 17, 1835, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, containing the revelations of the Lord to the Church up to that date, was accepted as a rule of faith and practice. Between that date and the martyrdom of the Prophet many revelations were given, but owing to the poverty and unsettled condition of the Church all of them were not published until subsequent to the decease of the Prophet. During the troubles in Missouri, a body of men called "Zion's Camp" left Kirtland May 5, 1834, to carry supplies and relieve the distress of their co-religionists, who had been exiled from their homes in Independence, Missouri. They performed the arduous journey on foot, through the wildernesses of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, accomplished their mission and returned to Ohio.

Early in the year 1836 the ordinances of blessing and anointing were attended to in the Kirtland temple, and that sacred edifice was dedicated to the Lord March 27, 1836. In the temple the gifts of the Holy Ghost were poured out in abundance. Many saw visions. The Savior, Moses, Elias and Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Previous to this, Joseph's first visit was a personal visit of the Father and the Son. Again on Feb. 16, 1832, the Savior appeared to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, and revealed to them the glories of the celestial, terrestrial and telestial worlds, and the suffering and condemnation of these who are unworthy a kingdom of glory. In 1837, during the financial panic, a great apostasy took place in Kirtland, which involved the standing of several of the Twelve Apostles. Persecution raged in Missouri.

Elders Kimball, Hyde and Richards introduced the Gospel into England and performed their first baptism July 30th, 1837, in the river Ribble. From that time until the present date a prosperous mission has been conducted in Great Britain. Thousands have joined the Church in that land and gathered to Zion. Subsequently John Taylor introduced the Gospel into France, and with others, into Germany; Erastus Snow into Scandinavia, and Lorenzo Snow into Italy; and from these countries, especially Germany and Scandinavia, thousands have come to swell the ranks of the Latter-day Saints. Into each of these tongues, and others, the Book of Mormon has been translated in fulfillment of prophecy.

The Gospel continued to spread in Canada, where it had been introduced by Parley P. Pratt, also in the United States and Europe. Persecution raged in Ohio and Missouri. The Saints as a body left Kirtland July 6th, 1838, for Missouri, chiefly locating at Far West, Caldwell county. In the fall of that year, Apostle David W. Patten fell a martyr at the hands of a mob on Crooked river; Joseph, Hyrum and others had been sent to prison without trial or conviction; yet the work prospered and spread abroad. During these sore trials, when death to the Prophet and others appeared inevitable, he prophesied their safe deliverance from the mob in Missouri.

While Joseph and Hyrum were yet in prison, Presidents Young and Kimball led the suffering Saints to Illinois, where they established the famed city of Nauvoo. To that point Joseph and his brethren made their escape and enjoyed a brief respite from mobocracy. The Prophet predicted, however, that Nauvoo would not be a resting place of the Saints for a great length of time. In keeping with this inspiration, he prophesied on Aug. 6th, 1842, of their coming location and greatness in the Rocky Mountains. He also prepared an expedition to explore the West, but died a martyr before its consummation.

Although Nauvoo was a sickly place, the industry of the Saints was attended with the blessings of divine Providence, and the city grew with magic speed. A temple was soon commenced. A charter was obtained from the State Legislature to establish a university, and prosperity almost unparalleled characterized the labors of the people. However, the combination of political intrigue and religious bigotry on the part of religious professors, coupled with transgressing apostates, soon conspired to spread death and destruction among the Saints. In Missouri, at Haun's mill and elsewhere, many had been shot down in cold blood, property was burned, and the whole people exiled from the state.

In Illinois further trouble was inaugurated by Missourians. They sought on one occasion to kidnap the Prophet, but failed. Fabricated charges were made against the Prophet. He was tried as before, and every time acquitted. When his last trial was being conducted, the mob (like the rabble in the halls of Pilate) said that if the law could not touch him, powder and lead should. Their nefarious purposes were permitted to be carried out, and on June 27th, 1844, Joseph and Hyrum, while under the pledged protection of Gov. Ford, were assassinated by a howling mob in Carthage jail, Hancock county, Illinois. Previous to his martyrdom, the Prophet Joseph had received more than one hundred revelations, had been instrumental in organizing the Church in its fullness, and bestowing the keys of the kingdom of God upon the Twelve Apostles. To Nauvoo were gathered thousands of people from the several states, Canada and Great Britain. At the time of the Prophet's martyrdom the Twelve were abroad on missions, with the exception of Elders John Taylor and Willard Richards, who were with the Prophet and Patriarch at the time of the martyrdom, Elder Taylor himself being wounded with four bullets.

While the Saints were in Missouri the Lord commanded that they should importune the officers of the law in the districts where the trouble occurred, and not being heeded, should appeal to the governor, thence to the president of the United States. All this was done, without avail. The president answered their appeal by saying, "Gentlemen, your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you." Governors of states were written to, to use their influence to avert the wrongs heaped upon the Saints, but from one or two only came a favorable response. On the failure of the states and nation to protect their own citizens against mob violence and plunder, the Lord promised to vex the nation with a sore vexation. This was done in the hundreds of thousands of lives and the millions in treasure lost in the Civil War. The outbreak of this war was revealed by the Lord to Joseph twenty-eight years before it came to pass, and published to the world as early as 1851.

The Church was not founded by men, nor did it depend upon any particular man or set of men for strength, growth or progress. God has rounded and protected and is perpetuating His Church on the earth, so that when the Prophet passed to the life beyond, the work continued and grew with great rapidity. It is said, and truly, that "the blood of the martyr is the seed of the Church."

President Brigham Young and his associates of the Twelve, according to the voice of the Spirit and the order of the Holy Priesthood, succeeded to the Presidency of the Church. The work of the Lord continued to prosper, contrary to the prediction of its enemies that when the Prophet Joseph was out of the way the work would come to naught. The foundation of a temple had been laid which was pushed to completion, dedicated to the Lord, and ordinances performed therein. Mobocratic hostilities were renewed, however, with determined vigor. Nauvoo was besieged. The temple was burned and Elder William Anderson and his son killed. The Saints were expelled at the point of the bayonet. They had a flourishing city in an incredibly short time. They were quiet, peaceable, law-abiding, industrious citizens. The killing of their leading men, the burning of their homes, the numerous indignities heaped upon them, were as dastardly and cold-blooded as any persecution chronicled in the annals of history, especially when we consider that it occurred in a free country, where liberty for every race and religion is the proud boast of its people. Many of the people left Nauvoo in the dead of winter, 1845-6, crossing the Mississippi river on the ice. The day after the general exodus, nine children were born in the camp of the exiled people. Under the leadership of President Young and his associates, the Saints moved westward across the state of Iowa and built up a settlement called Winter Quarters, where the people remained to recruit until 1847. While there the government called on the Saints for five hundred men to engage in the war with Mexico. These were promptly supplied, and the most able-bodied men were sent to defend their country.

In the spring of 1847, President Young and a small company numbering 143, including three women, started from the Missouri river to find beyond the Rocky Mountains a place of rest, where they might build and inhabit homes and worship God "free from the furious rage of mobs." After an interesting and trying journey of about three months this noble band of pioneers entered Salt Lake valley July 24th, 1847, over a thousand miles from the Mississippi river. As they emerged from the mouth of what was afterwards named Emigration Canyon, they stood upon a plateau facing westward. To the north and south a great valley extended, bordered on the west by mountains and a great inland sea of salt water, the Great Salt Lake. The islands in the lake are mountains almost destitute of timber, but supplied with grass suitable for the grazing of horses and cattle. The valley was poorly watered, and dry and sterile was the appearance of the country before them. But God was their leader. He had shown to President Young beforehand the Salt Lake Valley. When the pioneer band entered the valley the Prophet said, "This is the place. Here we will build a city." When they came upon the ground where the temple now stands, President Young, thrusting his cane into the ground, said in substance, "Here we will stay, and upon this ground we will build a temple."

All the events conducing to the growth and development of the valleys prove that President Brigham Young knew whereof he spoke, and God has confirmed his words by the many blessings of divine Providence showered upon the people in building up a commonwealth in what was in those days a great barren waste. The soil upon which the Saints then stood belonged to Mexico. Those pioneers were as truly exiles from their country as were the Puritans who sailed the trackless ocean and planted their feet upon Plymouth Rock. And yet the Latter-day Saints then had five hundred men in the American army, in the contest with Mexico. Upon a prominent mountain peak, called Ensign, the "Mormon" pioneers planted the Stars and Stripes, the flag of their country, and possessed the land as citizens of the United States. Upon the arrival of this first company the work of plowing and building immediately commenced. It would take volumes to tell the history of the growth and progress of the Saints from that time till now; but this wondrous recital is written upon the mountains and in the valleys, which are open to the inspection of all people.

In the fall of 1847 a large company of Saints crossed the plains, led by President John Taylor and other prominent men. The companies continued to pour into Salt Lake valley and spread into the valleys north and south each year from 1847 to 1900, coming as Latter-day Saints, under the regulations of the Church. The leading brethren had made covenant that they would not cease their energies until all the Saints who would remain faithful should be gathered to the place appointed.

Before the death of Prophet Joseph many had apostatized. The Saints were not so well established in doctrine as they are today, and some were led astray by the pretensions of prominent men who were disposed to leave the Church and follow their own course. The Twelve Apostles stood next in authority to the Presidency of the Church by the order pointed out in the revelations of God and at the time when Sidney Rigdon was asserting his claims to the guardianship of the Church, President Young stood up to address the Saints. A remarkable manifestation of God's power took place. President Young was transfigured before the people. He appeared to increase in height and in form of his face and body to the exact personal appearance of the Prophet Joseph Smith. When he spoke his voice was as that of the martyred Prophet. People who were present on that occasion say that if their eyes had been closed when he arose from his seat they would have believed the speaker to be none other than the Martyr. Truly the mantle of Joseph had fallen upon Brigham, and while Joseph had received all the keys of the priesthood, he had bestowed them upon the Twelve, also the revelations upon which to build the Church of Christ. President Young truly built upon these revelations during his entire administration. In 1849, at Winter Quarters, he was sustained as President of the Church by the unanimous voice of the priesthood, Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards then being chosen Counselors and so endorsed by the voice of the Church thereafter at general conferences during the remainder of their lifetimes. President Young presided over the Church as the senior Apostle for thirty-three years, five years in connection with the Twelve and twenty-eight years in the Presidency.