Chapter IX: Conclusion (2)

Repentance of all sin is the second principle of the unchangeable {137} plan through which salvation is promised. Peter, the Apostle, tells the gathered multitude on the day of Pentecost, who already believed that Jesus was the Christ, and who then asked what they should do, that they should _repent_, and be baptized every one of them. (Acts 2-38). Repentance, according to the Scriptures, follows faith. But is it necessarily so? It is, for we cannot repent before we believe; we cannot repent of sin against God, until we believe that there is a God. We cannot repent of a wrong done by us, against our fellow-man until we believe we have wronged him. The propriety of the advice of the Apostle is very apparent. His hearers, under the influence of the power which rested upon the Apostles, believed that he whom they had crucified was the Christ. Repentance of the part they took in that great wickedness was to be expected. Baptism, being promised after repentance, and the history stating that many were baptized, we must conclude that repentance was a result of the preaching, and that effect agrees with the organization of our natures.

Baptism is the third principle of the Gospel of Christ, and follows repentance; Peter places it there when he says, "Repent and be baptized," and John preached the "Baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." (Mark 1-4). A little reflection will show how consistent the Scriptural citations are. Baptism is an ordinance of the Gospel, administered for a special purpose--as well as being simply a commandment, namely: for the "remission of sins." It is not reasonable to suppose that any person could receive the remission or forgiveness of sins without repentance, or that any one would desire baptism that his sins might be washed away (Acts 22-10) without having already repented. Baptism necessarily follows repentance, as through its administration the sins repented of are remitted: thus our necessities, and the Scriptures are in unison. This order must be right, as each principle follow as an effect of the one preceding it.

We will trace the Gospel plan a little further. It is a code of divine laws, calculated to improve the human race. Being perfect, every principle is revealed in its order, and for its own special purpose. Faith, Repentance and Baptism, as taught in the foregoing pages, administered by one having authority, prepares a disciple to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, as promised in Acts 2-38, which is the Comforter spoken of by Jesus, that would lead the Saints into all truth. How consistent are the doctrines of Christ, as taught in the word of God. Faith is begotten in the human mind by preaching, repentance naturally follows, and baptism is then administered {138} that the sins repented of may be washed away, preparing the sinner for the greatest gifts of God to man, the Holy Spirit, which is the seal of adoption into the Kingdom of God. No man can enter into the Kingdom except he be born of the water and of the Spirit (John 3-5).

The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is given to all those who comply with the conditions herein set forth, by the laying on of the hands of the Elders of the Church of Christ, according to the ancient practice (Acts 8-18), in explanation of which I will quote from Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, 12th chap., 4th to the 12th verse:

"Now there are diversities of gifts, by the same Spirit.

"And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.

"And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

"To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

"To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another _divers_ kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.

"But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ."

The fact of these miracles not existing in the so-called Christian churches of the present day, is no reason that we should deny the necessity of their existence. If they were enjoyed by the early Saints, why should not the Saints of God possess them now? If God promised these gifts to all those who kept his commandments in former times, and to their children, and to all that were afar off, even unto as many as the Lord our God should call (Acts 2-39), why should not the Church enjoy them now? If they were necessary for the comfort, encouragement, or edifying of the ancient Church (1 Cor. 14-12), why should not the followers of Christ be benefitted by them now? To these questions we can only answer, there is no reason. The word of God directs us to seek for and cultivate them (1 Cor. 14-1 & 39). We should therefore be prepared to reject every statement to the effect {139} that our heavenly Father did not intend that they should continue on the earth, as the promises of God are true, and not one jot or tittle of them will fall to the ground unfulfilled.

The next question of importance connected with this subject is that of authority; the authority which man must hold from God to make his administrations valid. We should not be prepared to acknowledge the action of any man who might take upon himself the direction of our affairs, but we ought to be prepared to sustain those whom we _send_ or have commissioned to represent us. We understand this well enough to know that we should not expect a firm or company to be responsible to us for what a pretended agent might promise. It would simply be absurd on our part to do so. How much less then could we look for our heavenly Father to sustain those who administer in holy things without authority from Him? How foolish for us to expect that the special blessings of the Almighty would follow the pretensions of a fraud!

We are instructed by the words of Jesus, when He said, "As my Father sent me, so send I you" (John 20-21). And we are warned by Paul in the following words: "And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron" (Heb. 5-4.) The honor here referred to is the "Priesthood," or the authority to administer in the things of God, as will be seen by reference to the preceding verses. How was Aaron called? We answer by direct revelation from God (Ex. 4, 14 to 16). Modern ministers are now set apart by men who deny the necessity of revelation altogether, or take unto themselves the authority they seem to have, because they _feel_ they are called to preach and administer in the ordinances of the House of God. There is in this no higher calling than may be found among the Hindoos, and the anger of the Lord is kindled against all those who solemnly attempt to usurp the powers and privileges of the holy "Priesthood," and he will destroy their influence among the people.

Beloved friends, be not deceived by those who take unto themselves the "honor" of the Priesthood, and who preach for hire and divine for money, for they are not _sent_, and they preach not according to the law and the testimony, and Paul says that if "we or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed" (Gal. 1-8).

The principles herein explained are true and faithful, and confirmed by Holy Writ. The Elders of the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," who preach them, have not discovered {140} them by their own wisdom, for they have been revealed from heaven, by the power of God, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and are now being preached as a witness of the speedy coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This Gospel is preached as before without money and without price, by those whom _God has sent_, who have met with opposition in every form, and many of them have suffered even unto death. Still the work is onward, the kingdom is being set up, and it will grow and increase until it fills the whole earth.

We testify of its divinity, and that it is being preached in fulfillment of the prediction of Christ, as a "witness" to all nations of his near approach. But "as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man" (Matt. 24-37 to 40); many will reject the message and perish.

LIVERPOOL, February 1st, 1879.

_We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it
pure before God in the Celestial Kingdom. The great principle of
happiness consists in having a body. The devil has none, and this
is his punishment. When cast out by the Savior he asked to go into
the herd of swine, preferring a swine's body to none._

--_Joseph Smith, The Prophet_.

{141}

JOSEPH THE PROPHET.

BY ELDER B. H. ROBERTS, IN THE CONTRIBUTOR, 1890.

Among those who may be accounted the benefactors of our race, we claim for the Prophet Joseph Smith, the second place. To Him who died that man might live, upon whom was laid the iniquity of us all; by whose stripes we are healed; who brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel; who by way of pre-eminence is called _the_ Son of God, the only begotten of the Father--to Him must be assigned, forever, the first place among the benefactors of mankind. And next to him is the Prophet, who was chosen to stand at the head of the dispensation of the fullness of times.

Born in obscurity--in the western wilds of the state of New York, and of humble parents, without the advantages of worldly education; with no knowledge of ancient languages or history to begin with; untutored in the sciences, and unlearned in theology, Joseph Smith has done more for the salvation of the children of men than any reformer, theologian or ecclesiastic that has lived since the days of the earthly ministry of the Son of God. It is to prove his right and title to the high place we have assigned him in the roll of honor--in the list of the benefactors of humanity--that this paper is written, rather than to give a biographical sketch of his well known career.

Notwithstanding the very explicit revelation, which God had given of himself; of His person, His attributes, His powers, through His Son Jesus Christ; for in Him dwelt all the fullness of the God-head bodily, the world had gone far astray, in its conception and knowledge of God. Men had conjured up to themselves a being without body, without parts and passions, and worshiped it for God--a being that never was, nor is, nor ever shall be. Of the absurdity of such a description of God, however, we need not speak.

Another idea equally false and equally baneful in its effects on true religion, and as universally accepted as the above conception of the being and character of Deity, was the doctrine that the volume of revelation was closed.

Such was the state of the world in respect to these matters, when Joseph Smith announced that he had received a {142} new revelation; that he had seen both the Father and the Son, and had conversed with them in a glorious vision, in the full light of day. His testimony was that both Father and Son possessed a body, parts, organs, dimensions in form like man, and each resembled the other. This revelation was soon followed by the visitation of an angel, Moroni, one of the ancient Prophets of the American continent, who made known the existence of the Book of Mormon; a volume of scripture compiled from the voluminous records kept by that enlightened people, who anciently inhabited America, the ruins of whose civilization are the astonishment of the archaeologists of today. Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, by the means of the Urim and Thummim, from the ancient and now unknown language in which it was written, into English, and thus gave the world a new volume of scripture, equal in bulk and equal in importance to the New Testament. Thus, since faith is bottomed on evidence, the foundation of faith was widened. The world now had two volumes of scripture instead of one; the testimony of each sustaining the other. That volume of scripture is not the voice of one witness merely, but like the Bible it contains the testimony of many witnesses for God. Who can estimate the value of this work, that comes in a day when unbelief is prevalent in the earth, to renew and sustain the sinking faith of humanity!

While yet the work of translating this valuable book was in progress, the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery were visited by John the Baptist, whom God had raised from the dead, and he conferred upon them an Aaronic Priesthood, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels; of the Gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. This ordination, therefore, gave the Prophet and his fellow laborer the authority to preach repentance and baptism. They began by baptizing each other.

Subsequently they were ordained to the Apostleship under the hands of the Apostles Peter, James and John. This gave them the right and power to build up the Church and Kingdom of God in all the world. Accordingly on the 6th of April, 1830, the Prophet organized the Church. The Gospel began to be publicly proclaimed; those who believed were baptized for the remission of sins; received the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and the gifts and powers of that spirit were manifested among the Saints by speaking in tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, inspired dreams, healing the sick, and all those gracious gifts and powers enjoyed by the ancient Saints. High Priests, Elders, Bishops, {143} Priests, Teachers and Deacons, were ordained as the work of the ministry increased. Branches of the Church were organized, and men holding proper authority set to preside over them. Finally these branches were grouped together and organized into stakes of Zion, with a presidency of three High Priests to preside over them. High Councils, consisting of twelve High Priests, with the Presidency of the Stake, as the presidency thereof were organized, forming courts possessing both original and appellate jurisdiction in the ecclesiastical affairs of the stakes, in which they were respectively established.

In 1835 he organized a quorum of the Twelve Apostles, men who are chosen especially to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ, and who constitute a traveling High Council, with authority to regulate all the affairs of the Church in all the world. At the same time quorums of seventy were organized to be their helps in the ministry, this being an order of the Priesthood designed to travel and preach the Gospel in all the nations of the earth. Thus he organized the Church and all the quorums thereof. But he did more than that.

In the Book of Mormon it is predicted that a splendid city called Zion, or New Jerusalem shall be built upon this continent, a city noted not for its manufactories, nor for commerce; but for its temples and sanctuaries for worship and learning; a city on which the glory of God will shine. The place where this city and where the chief temple is to be built was indicated by the Prophet, and the temple site dedicated under his direction. This was at Independence, Jackson county, Missouri. Between twelve and fifteen hundred of the Saints gathered to that place to lay the foundation of the city of Zion, but their enemies prevented them by driving them away from the lands they had purchased, and burning their houses Thus the work was hindered for the time being, but the location of Zion was pointed out, a commencement was made, and eventually the design of the Lord will be accomplished.

A temple was designed by the Prophet and built by the united efforts of the Saints at Kirtland, Ohio. In it the Lord Jesus appeared to the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery, and declared His acceptance of the house which had been built to His name. On the same occasion Moses the great leader and law giver to ancient Israel, appeared to them and committed upon them the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north. Thus the power to restore {144} Israel to their lands, from which they have long been exiled, was given to him; and the work of the gathering which ultimately will result in the restoration of all the tribes of Israel to their possessions has begun.

While he was in Nauvoo he translated from the rolls of Egyptian papyrus, obtained from the catacombs of Egypt, the Book of Abraham, containing an account of the patriarch's sojourn in Egypt, and many important principles relative to the work of God in the salvation of man. He also made an inspired translation, or, what would be more properly called an inspired revision of the Jewish Scriptures--the Bible. That work, however, was not published during his life time, and is practically lost to the world, because it is questionable if those into whose hands his manuscript fell have preserved the integrity of his work.

We should fall very short of stating the extent of the great work of the Prophet Joseph, if we stopped with what he did for the children of men this side of the grave. His work did not stop there. It reached beyond. At the time Moses visited him and committed to him the keys of the gathering of Israel, the Prophet Elijah came also, and revealed those principles of which the prophet Malachi speaks, which are to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. The principles then revealed brought to light the doctrine of salvation for the dead.

Thus the work accomplished through the Prophet Joseph effects two worlds--the spiritual world as well as the one in which we dwell; and already the work in the former exceeds that which has been done in the latter. Salvation has been carried to those who sit in darkness in the spirit world; their hearts have been made glad and have been turned to their children, who can administer in the ordinance of salvation for them. A perfect flood of light has been thrown upon the sentence uttered by one of the prophets of old, who in speaking of the fathers, said: "They without us cannot be made perfect."

Nor must we omit to mention the new light which the Prophet shed upon the relationship of husband and wife. Under the darkness of an apostate Christianity, men and women were content to be united together, as husband and wife, until death did them part; but the Prophet Joseph brought forth the principle that the union of man and wife was designed in the economy of God to be eternal; that it was the means through which the race of the Gods was {145} multiplied and new kingdoms added to the dominions of the great Eloheim; and that as long as there was room in infinite space, or elements in the exhaustless store-house of nature, or as long as the bosom of the Gods glowed with affection, just so long would new worlds be created and peopled with the ever increasing offspring of the righteous.[A]

[Footnote A: The substance of the latter part of this paragraph is taken from P. P. Pratt's Key to Theology.]

Nor did he merely teach this principle as a theory; a beautiful thing to be contemplated at a distance; but qualified with the possession of that God-given power which binds on earth and in heaven, and so directed of the Lord, he established this order of marriage in the Church--an order in which tens of thousands rejoice, as they look forward with joyful anticipation, to an eternal union, with the families they have raised up in this life, in the midst of hopes and fears, poverty and toil, sickness and tears.

Such are the chief things accomplished by this great Prophet. We have given but an outline of his work. A volume would scarce suffice to point out its importance, or trace out its relationship to the general designs of the Lord in respect to the redemption of our earth and its inhabitants. It cannot be expected that we shall undertake it in this brief article. Let it be sufficient here to say that even our imperfect enumeration of what he did will prove what was claimed in the outset, viz.: That Joseph Smith, despised as he was by the world, has done more than any other man, save Jesus Christ, for the salvation of our race.

That the work he accomplished during his brief, but glorious career, was wonderful, goes without saying. The wonder grows upon us as we take into account the circumstances under which he did it. His life's labor was performed in the midst of stupendous difficulties. Opposition met him at every turn. Religious bigotry now ridiculed him for a fool, and now denounced him a knave; now claiming that he was beneath contempt; and now that he was the most dangerous imposter that had arisen since Mohammed, and invoked all powers at its command for his destruction. Poverty, hardship, and the hatred of his fellow men, dogged his footsteps through all his life. He was waylaid by assassins, beaten by mobs, cast into prisons, robbed of his property, worried with vexatious law suits, dragged before judges and betrayed by false brethren. He himself said in speaking of his life: "I have waded in tribulation neck-deep, but every {146} wave that has struck me has but wafted me nearer to Deity."

Such were the circumstances under which he stood forth as a witness for God; brought forth new volumes of scripture; restored to earth the Gospel of the Son of God, with authority to administer the ordinances thereof; organized the Church; set in order the quorums of the Priesthood, and defined their duties and powers; sent the Gospel into every state of the Union, into Canada and England; laid the foundation for the gathering of Israel; opened the door for the salvation of the dead; commenced the work of building up Zion; founded Kirtland, Far West and Nauvoo, with its magnificent temple--a work accomplished under circumstances which give him a fame and name that cannot be slain, but which will grow brighter as time on silent wheels rolls by.

_So soon as we discover ourselves in a fault, we should repent of
that wrong doing and as far as possible repair or make good the
wrong we may have committed._

--_Lorenzo Snow_.

_There is nothing that will lead to damnation and destruction
quicker than self-justification of sin._

--_Brigham Young_.

{147}

FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THE TRUE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.

J. H. PAUL.

The question "What shall I do to be saved?" involves the fate of every man and woman on earth; and rational persons cannot rest satisfied until they have a correct understanding in regard to it.

[Sidenote: First principles.]

[Sidenote: Heb. 6: 1, 2.]

The Scriptures teach that the first step toward salvation is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; that the second step is to repent and turn from sin; that the third step is to be baptized by immersion for the remission of sins; and that the fourth step is to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands by those having authority to confer it. These are first among the saving principles of the Gospel of Christ; and while men may claim that the requirements instituted by Him for the salvation of mankind are no longer necessary, the sincere seeker after salvation will prefer to believe the revealed word of God.

IS BELIEF ALONE SUFFICIENT?

[Sidenote: Rom. 1: 16. Heb. 11: 6.]

The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that _believeth_; and "without _faith_ it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must _believe_ that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." But what constitutes the faith and belief named here? Is it a mere intellectual assent or opinion? Must we also _do_ as well as _believe_?

[Sidenote: Genuine Belief.]

[Sidenote: John 17: 3. 1 John 2: 3, 4.]

The beloveth disciple writes: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Construe this statement with another passage of Scripture, "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, {148} and the truth is not in him." The devils _believe_--and tremble. James 2: 19.

[Sidenote: Matt. 28: 19, 20.]

Jesus said to his apostles: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." The disciples were sent to teach all nations, and they were instructed to enjoin obedience to "all things whatsoever" Christ gave as commandments. His language is so comprehensive that no command can be omitted.

[Sidenote: Gal. 3: 7.]

[Sidenote: John 8: 39.]

[Sidenote: Gen. 26: 5.]

[Sidenote: James 1: 22.]

"Know ye therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." But, "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

[Sidenote: Faith and works.]

[Sidenote: James 2: 14-22.]

"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?"

[Sidenote: Luke 6: 46.]

[Sidenote: Luke 11: 28.]

[Sidenote: John 14: 15-21.]

[Sidenote: Rev. 22: 14.]

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" "But he said, Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." "If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Salvation is won by the works of a lifetime.

REPENT OR PERISH.

[Sidenote: True repentance.]

[Sidenote: Luke 18: 13.]

[Sidenote: Ezek. 18: 30.]

[Sidenote: Luke 13: 5.]

[Sidenote: Matt. 3: 7, 8.]

Belief in God is followed by an utterance which lies deep in the troubled heart of man: "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" The answer of the Almighty to the godly sorrow of His penitent children is: "Repent, and turn yourself from all your transgressions." "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Genuine repentance is such a sorrow for past sin as produces a reformation of life, and bears fruit in good works. It leads him that steals to steal no more; him that gets drunk {149} to break from that habit; him that blasphemes to desist from that evil and learn to do well. All need to repent. Even the best men fall far short of their ideal. Repentance is therefore one of the conditions of salvation. It must precede the forgiveness of sins; and those who do not repent are not eligible for baptism.

IS BAPTISM ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION?

[Sidenote: The counsel of God.]

One of the most remarkable fallacies of modern times is the wide-spread doctrine that we can be saved without complying with the ordinances and other requirements which our Savior instituted for the salvation of men.

[Sidenote: Luke 7: 29, 30.]

John the Baptist, a servant of the Most High, taught and administered baptism; the Lord said that those who received this baptism justified God, but that there were others who "rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him." Now, men cannot be saved by rejecting the counsel of God against themselves. Then, as it is the counsel of God for men to be baptized, they cannot be saved without baptism, which is therefore essential to salvation.

[Sidenote: The command of God.]

[Sidenote: Acts 11: 14.]

[Sidenote: Acts 10: 48.]

The Lord sent His angel to Cornelius, and told him to send for Peter, who would tell him words whereby he and all his house should be saved. Cornelius did so, and when the Apostle came, "he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." If Cornelius had rejected baptism as non-essential, could he have been saved? No; for the angel informed him that Peter would tell him how to be saved, and the Apostle "commanded them to be baptized." The _righteous_ man had to be baptized.

[Sidenote: Baptism essential.]

[Sidenote: Gal. 3: 26, 27.]

The Apostle Paul says: "Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." If it is necessary "to put on Christ" to obtain salvation, then it is essential to be baptized, for we put on Christ by baptism.

[Sidenote: Mark 16: 15.]

The Lord Jesus, in sending out His Apostles, said: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not," (and consequently is not baptized) "shall be damned." Here the Lord positively declares that it is only the baptized believer who shall be saved.

[Sidenote: The new birth.]

[Sidenote: John 3: 5.]

Jesus said to Nicodemus: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water" (that is, baptized in water) "and of the Spirit," (that is, baptized in the Spirit) "he cannot {150} enter into the kingdom of God." If entering the kingdom of God is essential to salvation, then being "born of water," or being baptized, is essential also, for by doing the latter we make the former possible.

BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD.

[Sidenote: The thief on the cross.]

[Sidenote: John 20: 11-17.]

Some have supposed that the thief who was crucified beside the Lord went to heaven, and it is believed that he was not baptized; therefore, it is argued, if one can be saved without baptism, others can. But the supposition is incorrect: Jesus said to the thief, "to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise," and three days afterwards said to Mary, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." By this we learn that paradise and heaven are two distinct places, and as Jesus did not go to heaven on the day He was crucified, neither did the thief; for they were both together in paradise.

[Sidenote: The dead preached to.]

[Sidenote: I Peter 4: 6.]

Here the seeker after truth may properly inquire. "If it is necessary for all men and women to be baptized, what will become of the good people who have died without having that privilege?" To this the reply of the Scriptures is that the dead who died without hearing the Gospel will have it preached to them. They who obey it will be saved, but they who reject it will be condemned, as though they were in the flesh. "For this cause was the Gospel preached" [by Christ] "to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh."

[Sidenote: The dead baptized for.]

[Sidenote: I Cor. 15: 29.]

[Sidenote: The Spirits in prison.]

[Sidenote: I Peter 3: 18-20.]

"But a dead person cannot be baptized," says one. Very true; but God is just. He has provided a way in which the dead can be baptized for, by the living, as shown by the Apostle Paul in his questions: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" Paul referred to baptism for the dead, as a proof of the resurrection, his questions showing plainly that "baptism for the dead" was both believed in and practiced by the early Christians. Peter says: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometimes were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water." That is: Those who rejected the Gospel in the days of Noah were kept in the prison of the spirit world until the Gospel was {151} again offered to them; and the same fate awaits all those who in this life reject this glad message.

OBJECT OR PURPOSE OF BAPTISM.

[Sidenote: The remission of sins.]

[Sidenote: Mark 1: 4.]

When John was in the wilderness he preached the "baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."

[Sidenote: Acts 2: 38.]

"On the day of Pentecost, many persons were convinced that Jesus was the Christ, and cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter replied: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins."

Here we find the inspired Apostle, after Christ's ascension into heaven, teaching that baptism is for the remission of sins.

[Sidenote: The case of Paul.]

[Sidenote: Acts 22: 16.]

Paul saw a vision in which he was directed to go to a certain place, where it should be told him what to do. He did so, and there fasted and prayed three days. Then the Lord sent to him Ananias, who said, "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins." Why did not the Lord remit Paul's sins through his fasting and prayer? For the reason that He has instituted baptism for that purpose, and all who desire the blessing of remission of sins must comply with His law.

[Sidenote: "Inward grace."]

"But," says one, "that doctrine is strange to me; I was always taught that baptism was an outward sign of an inward grace." No such doctrine can be sustained by the Scripture. You must be baptized and have your sins washed away before you are even prepared for the reception of an "inward grace."

"But Peter tells us," urges the objector, "that baptism is 'not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God.'" And Peter states the truth. Ananias did not tell Paul to be baptized and wash away "the filth of the flesh," but to be baptized and wash away his sins.

[Sidenote: Infant baptism.]

[Sidenote: Mark 10: 14.]

Infant baptism is contrary to reason and Scripture; infants are without sin; "of such is the kingdom of heaven." It is true that the sin of Adam passed upon all mankind; but Christ took that sin upon Himself and atoned for it upon the cross. The Bible teaches that the sins for which men should be baptized are their individual sins, and not the sin they were born in, for the Lord Jesus atoned for that.

[Sidenote: Forgiveness is the gift of God.]

[Sidenote: Acts 8: 18.]

It will not do to say that baptism remits a man's sins, for that is the work of the Lord. The "laying on of hands" does not give the Holy Ghost, for it is the "gift of God." The {152} blowing of rams' horns did not throw down the walls of Jericho; it was the power of Jehovah. "Simon saw that through the laying on of the Apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given."

MODE OF BAPTISM.

[Sidenote: Buried in water.]

[Sidenote: Eph. 4: 5.]

[Sidenote: Rom. 6: 4, 5.]

[Sidenote: Mark 1: 10.]

[Sidenote: Col. 2: 12.]

[Sidenote: John 3: 23.]

The mode of baptism was also designated by the Lord, and His instructions were strictly obeyed by His servants. Paul testifies that there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism," and describes the manner in which the ordinance was performed: "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." As the Lord had been buried in the watery element in the river Jordan, "coming up out of the water," so also were the Saints "buried with him in baptism;" they received the ordinance by immersion in the same element, according to the prescribed method. John baptized "in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there."

[Sidenote: Born again.]

[Sidenote: Matt. 3: 13-17.]

[Sidenote: Acts 8: 17-19.]

[Sidenote: Acts 19: 5, 6.]

Jesus insisted on receiving baptism "to fulfill all righteousness." When he had been "born of water," and had come up out of that element, the Spirit of God came upon Him, and the voice of God was heard: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This is the pattern. So likewise the repentant believer goes down into the water, with the one sent of God to baptize, and is buried therein and raised up again in the likeness of Christ's resurrection; he is thus born of the water, receiving the baptism appointed by the Lord; the remission of his sins comes from God through His Son Jesus Christ, and is given in baptism; he is cleansed and purified, his past sins are blotted out; he is like a newborn babe before his God, and is then prepared to receive the Holy Ghost, which "dwelleth not in unclean tabernacles," and which is imparted to the baptized believer by the laying on of hands by those having authority to officiate in this ordinance. As his body was enveloped in the waters of baptism, so his soul is enveloped in the Holy Ghost, and he is baptized with divine fire; he is "born of water and of the Spirit," and made a citizen of the kingdom of God.

AUTHORITY TO BAPTIZE.

[Sidenote: Called of God.]

[Sidenote: Heb. 5: 4.]

[Sidenote: Exod. 4: 14-16.]

The Scriptures also teach that, for the ordinance to be effectual, it must be performed by one authorized to act in {153} the name of the Lord; for "no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." Aaron was called by the voice of God, through Moses.

[Sidenote: Divine authority.]

[Sidenote: Matt. 28: 19.]

[Sidenote: Mark 3: 14.]

[Sidenote: John 15: 16.]

The Savior commanded His Apostles to "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." But He had given them the divine commission to act in His name wheresoever He should send them: "He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that he might send them forth to preach." The divine authority which they possessed was the source of their power. This fact He impressed upon them, saying: "ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." If they had started out on their own authority without being chosen, God certainly would not have recognized ordinances performed by them in His name.

[Sidenote: Imperfect baptism is not baptism.]

[Sidenote: Acts 19: 11-16.]

[Sidenote: Acts 19: 1-6.]

The Apostle Paul, by the power of God, cast out evil spirits; but when the sons of Sceva, on whom the divine authority had not been conferred, attempted to do this, they met with failure. When the Apostle went to Ephesus, he found certain persons who claimed to have been baptized "unto John's baptism." Paul discerned that they had not received John's baptism, for they knew nothing of the Holy Ghost. Probably some unauthorized person--perhaps with good intent, but nevertheless without authority--had been along that way baptizing "unto John's baptism," but not with it, for that could only be done by a duly commissioned servant of God. After they received a proper understanding of the true ordinance they were baptized again, "and when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied."

[Sidenote: Go thou and do likewise.]

The experience of the men of Ephesus affords an interesting lesson. They had been mistaken, but when the truth was presented to them they accepted it gladly. They received the Gospel ordinance, viz.: Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, administered by one having divine authority; the burial in, and the birth from the watery element, without which ordinance the Lord has said that no man can enter the kingdom of heaven. "Enter ye in at the strait gate" that leads to life eternal.

{154}

ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.

Suggestions to the Reader.

BY ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.

The reader of the Book of Mormon will do well to remember that it is a translation of a record inscribed on gold plates, which was an abridgment made from more extensive records kept by the ancient civilized peoples of America--chiefly by the people known in the Book of Mormon as Nephites. The abridgment, for the most part, is made by one Mormon, a Nephite prophet who was born 311 A.D., and slain by his enemies in the year 400 A.D. The parts which are not his abridgment are the first 157 pages (N. E.), which bring us to the "Words of Mormon," page 158; and from page 563 (N. E.) to the end of the volume--sixty pages.

This latter part of the record was made by Moroni, the son of Mormon, who was also the one who hid up the plates containing his father's and his own abridgment, in the year 421 A.D.; and who, having been raised from the dead, revealed the existence of these plates to Joseph Smith, on the 21st of September, 1823. The first 157 pages are a verbatim translation from what are known as the "smaller plates" of Nephi--we will explain.

The first Nephi, who left Jerusalem with a small company of colonists led out from that city by his father, Lehi, 600 B.C., and who afterwards became their leader, prophet, and their first king, made two sets of plates, on which he proposed engraving the history of his people. On the larger of these two sets he engraved an account of his father's life, travels, prophecies, etc., together with his genealogy; and upon them also he recorded a full history of the wars and contentions of his people, as also their travels, and an account of the cities they founded and colonies they established. These larger plates were preserved in the care of succeeding kings, or judges of the republic when the kingdom was transformed into one; and, in a word, upon them was written a full history of the rise and fall of the nations which existed in America from the landing of this colony from Jerusalem to 400 A.D., a period of nearly one thousand years.

{155} It is quite evident that as these plates were transmitted from king to king, or from one ruling judge of the republic to another, or given into the possession of a prophet, that they each recorded the historical events of his own day, and gave to such account his own name--hence Mormon found in these "larger plates" of Nephi--the Book of Mosiah, the Book of Alma, the Book of Helaman, etc.

Furthermore, it happened that there were colonies from time to time that drifted off into distant parts of the land, and became lost for a season to the main body of the people; and there were missionary expeditions formed for the conversion of the Lamanites; and these parties, whether missionary or colonial, generally kept records; and when these colonists or missionary parties were found, or returned to the main body of the people, their records were incorporated within the main record, being kept by the historian--hence there was, sometimes, a book within a book, and the current of events was interrupted to record the history of these detached portions of the people, or some important missionary expedition.

Mormon, when abridging these plates of Nephi, gave to each particular division of his abridgment the name of the book from which he had taken his account of the events recorded--hence the Books of Mosiah, Alma, Helaman and III. and IV. Nephi in his abridgment. He also, in some instances at least, followed the subdivisions we have alluded to, hence we have the record of Zeniff within the Book of Mosiah (page 181, N. E.); the account of the church founded by the first Alma (page 213); and the account of the missionary expeditions of the sons of Mosiah to the Lamanites within the Book of Alma (page 283).

Again we caution the reader to remember that the Book of Mormon is, for the most part, an abridgment from the "larger plates" of Nephi; but it is quite evident that Mormon frequently came to passages upon the plates of Nephi which pleased him so well that he transcribed them upon the plates containing his abridgment, _verbatim_. An example of this will be found beginning on page 163, in the second line of the ninth paragraph, and ending with page 169--the words of King Benjamin to his people. The words of King Benjamin are also renewed on page 170, in the second line of the fourth paragraph, and continue to the close of the chapter. There are many such passages throughout Mormon's abridgment.

In addition to this, Mormon frequently introduces remarks of his own by way of comment, warning, prophecy or admonition, and since there is nothing in the text, either quotation {156} marks or a change of type to indicate where these comments, or what we might call annotations, begin or end, they are liable to confuse the reader--a difficulty that we hope will be obviated by this caution. So much for Mormon's abridgment. Now to consider the part of the work done by his son Moroni. This is from page 563 to the end of the volume. He closes up the record of his father, Mormon, and then gives us an abridgment of the twenty-four plates of Ether which were found in North America by the people of Limhi, in the second century B.C.; and then concludes his work with notes on the manner of ordaining priests and teachers, administering the sacrament of the Lord's supper, baptism, spiritual gifts, together with a sermon and some of his father's letters. In his abridgment of the record of the Jaredites, the peculiarity of mixing up his comments, admonitions and prophecies with his narrative, is even more marked than in the abridgment of Mormon, therefore the reader will need to be doubly on his guard.

We have already said that the first 157 pages of the Book of Mormon was not a part of Mormon's abridgment. Those pages are a _verbatim_ translation of the "smaller plates" of Nephi, and became connected with Mormon's abridgment in this manner: Mormon had abridged the "larger plates" of Nephi as far as the reign of King Benjamin, and in searching through the records which had been delivered to him, he found these "smaller plates" of Nephi. They contained a brief history of events connected with the departure of Lehi and his colony from Jerusalem to their landing in America, and thence down to the reign of this King Benjamin--covering a period of about 400 years. These plates were made by Nephi, that upon them might be engraven an account of the ministry of the servants of God, among his people, together with their prophecies and teachings. They contain, in other words, an ecclesiastical history of the Nephites, while the "larger plates" of Nephi contained a political, or secular history of the same people. (See I. Nephi, ix chapter; also xix, 1-5.)

Mormon was particularly well pleased with the contents of these "smaller plates" of Nephi, because upon them had been engraven so many prophecies concerning the coming and mission of the Messiah; and instead of condensing their history into an abridgment, he took the plates and attached them to the abridgment of Nephi's "larger plates." "And this I do for a wise purpose," says Mormon, "for thus it whispereth me according to the Spirit of the Lord which is in me." (Words of Mormon, page 159 N.E.). Nephi, also, in speaking of these "smaller plates," says, "the Lord hath commanded the to make {157} these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not." (I. Nephi ix, 5.) What that wise purpose was we shall see further on.

By Mormon attaching these "smaller plates" of Nephi to his own abridgment of Nephi's "larger plates," it will be seen there was a double line of history of the Nephites for about 400 years, and the wisdom of this arrangement is seen in the following: When Joseph Smith had translated the first part of Mormon's abridgment--amounting to 116 pages of manuscript, he listened to the importunities of Martin Harris, who was giving him some assistance in the work of translating, and who desired to show that portion of the work to his friends. The result was the manuscript was stolen from him; the records were taken from Joseph by the angel, and he lost his power to translate for a season. After a time, however, he was permitted to go on with the work, but the Lord made it known to him that it was the design of those into whose hands the manuscript had fallen to wait until he had translated that part again, and then by changing the manuscript in their possession would bring it forth and claim that he could not translate the same record twice alike; and thus they would seek to overthrow the work of God.

But the heavenly messenger commanded Joseph Smith not to translate again the part he had already translated, but instead thereof he should translate the "smaller plates" of Nephi, and that account was to take the place of Mormon's abridgment up to the latter days of the reign of King Benjamin. (Doc. and Cov., D&C 10.) Thus it is that we have the "words of Mormon," beginning on page 158, explaining how the "smaller plates" of Nephi came into his possession and attached to the plates containing the record he himself was making, and connecting the historical narrative of the "smaller plates" of Nephi with his own abridgment of Nephi's "larger plates." The "words of Mormon," interrupting as they do the history of the Nephites, have caused no little confusion in the minds of unthoughtful readers; but after it is understood that they are merely the link connecting the ecclesiastical history engraven on the "smaller plates," of Nephi to Mormon's abridgment, and they take the place of the first part of Mormon's record, the difficulty will disappear.