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 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, theEvening 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. TheLatter-day Saints' Messenger and Advocatewas 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.
Soon after the settlement of the Saints in Salt Lake valley, other valleys were explored north and south, and settlements established wherever water could be obtained, as rapidly as the strength and numbers of the Saints would justify. As early as 1860 settlements were rounded and the Saints organized in Wards and quorums of the priesthood, from Cache valley to St. George, a distance of over 400 miles from north to south. Wherever the Saints locate in settlements of a few families, or more, they are organized with a Bishop and counselors to preside over them, with Priests, Teachers and Deacons, as before explained, for a local ministry. As helps in government they had in those early days the Relief Society to relieve the poor and afflicted. The society is composed of women, and was first organized March 17, 1842, by the Prophet Joseph Smith, in Nauvoo. In 1849 the first Sunday school was established in the Church by Richard Ballantyne, in the Fourteenth Ward, Salt Lake City. Later, and during the administration of President Young, the Young Men and Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations were inaugurated. Still later, by suggestion of Sister Aurelia Spencer Rogers, under the administration of President John Taylor, the Primary Associations, presided over and conducted by capable sisters, were established for the especial benefit of little children. All these are helpful regulations to meet the growing requirements of the Saints in matters of religious, moral and intellectual training and development. One of these organizations exists in every Bishop's Ward, unless the number of any class who properly belong to one of the associations named is too limited to make the organization profitable. In such cases those who would take part in such associations are not unprovided for because the Sunday school, more than any other association in the Church, takes in all ages of both sexes. Our Sunday schools now have a membership of nearly 125,000.
Where there are a sufficient number of Wards, in any section of the country, these Wards are presided over by a President and two counselors, with a High Council, who have certain jurisdiction over matters pertaining to the Church in this group of Wards. The associations, Sunday schools, societies, etc., have a general superintendency of three, with assistants. This organization, composed of the Wards, is called a Stake of Zion. For convenience sake, the geographical boundaries of the Stake are usually the same as those of the county, but not always, or necessarily so. Sometimes the population of two or three counties is not too great to be one Stake, where the settlements are close together, or not separated by mountains, which would render the attendance of the people at Stake conferences, especially in the winter season, very laborious, and in some instances almost impossible. We have now fifty Stakes of Zion. They extend from Canada to Mexico. They exist in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Canada and Mexico. Many of them were organized just prior to the decease of President Young, the remainder under his successors, respectively: Presidents Taylor, Woodruff, Snow and Smith.
April 6th, 1853, the Temple in Salt Lake City was commenced. It is constructed of granite. The rock was hauled, the first fifteen years, with ox teams, a distance of sixteen miles, two yoke of oxen frequently being required to draw one huge stone. But many years before the completion of the Temple, the locomotive, with many ear loads of stone at a time, rolled into the Temple block and left its cargo by the side of the growing edifice. The capstone of this magnificent house of the Lord was laid by electricity. The current was applied by the finger of God's Prophet, Wilford Woodruff, then eighty-four years of age, and one of that noble band of one hundred forty-three who entered Salt Lake valley July 24th, 1847. President Young was instrumental in laying the foundation of four temples in Utah, at Salt Lake, St. George, Logan and Manti. All have been, years ago, completed; the Salt Lake Temple being dedicated April 6th, 1893, by President Wilford Woodruff. The ordinances of salvation for the living and the dead are performed in the temples, and tens of thousands have been officiated for since their completion.
Subsequent to the exodus of the Church from Nauvoo to Salt Lake valley, the Gospel was introduced to the Pacific Isles by President George Q. Cannon and other Elders in 1853. In the work of preaching the Gospel many countries have not yet accorded perfect religious freedom, and to penetrate these the Church awaits only the provinces of the Almighty to break down the barriers and make it feasible to promulgate the Gospel in those countries. In other lands, where freedom reigns, the Elders have carried the glorious message. The Book of Mormon has been translated into German, Danish, Swedish, French, Spanish, Italian, Hawaiian, Maori and other tongues, and will continue to be given to the world until the truths of the Gospel upon its sacred pages shall be read by every nation, kindred, tongue and people. The thousands who have embraced the work with honest motives have received the witness of the Holy Spirit to their own satisfaction. Gifts and blessings which the ancient saints enjoyed have been renewed in this glorious dispensation.
The external history of the Church has been the same as in other times. "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you." "And they that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Prophecy has been and is being fulfilled. "What is prophecy but history reversed?"
History repeats itself. When Joseph Smith promulgated a new revelation, religious and irreligious fought against such an idea. Professional religionists seek to prove by the Scriptures that revelations are not for our day. In this they fail, because the Old and New Testaments abound in predictions of future revelations and events which cannot be filled without revelation. The wicked have resorted to slander, ridicule and falsehood, then to violence, resulting in the destruction of property and human life. All this being futile, they moved the nation by the falsehoods of Judge Drummond to send an army to Utah. But when the army came they found that this United States officer had basely deceived the president of the nation, by telling that the Mormons were in a state of rebellion and had burned the court records, these being found unharmed. The Mormons were at peace with God and all mankind, quietly minding their own business, pursuing their vocations of life and building up the country for the benefit and blessing of all who should come within their gates. The army came to Utah in 1857, and subsequently returned East, going chiefly to the South, their leading officer, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, taking part with the Confederate army in the great rebellion. He fell upon the battlefield of Shiloh, April 6th, 1862, thirty-two years to the day after the Church was born in this dispensation. The army sold to the Mormons mules, wagons, harness and other materials much needed, at a mere nominal figure, and thus being a blessing, proved the words of Isaiah true, "I will make the wrath of man to praise me."
As the Saints grew in prosperity and importance, avarice and prejudice seized political demagogues, adventurers and religious bigots, to stir the nation to a systematic effort to crush out "Mormonism." Special legislation was enacted and enforced beyond the severity of its own provisions. About eight hundred men went to prison; a few women were incarcerated because they would not testify against their husbands; heavy fines were paid and hundreds went into exile rather than prove untrue to the solemn covenants and obligations they had entered into under their religious convictions. Finally confiscation of Church property took place, but most of it was afterwards restored. In 1890 President Woodruff issued his manifesto regarding plural marriage, feeling that the courts of the country had abused justice in denying the Saints the liberty of religious worship granted by the American Constitution.
In this form of opposition to the Church, a prophecy of Joseph Smith is fulfilled, in which he said, in substance, that persecution against the Saints would extend from township to county, from county to state, and from state to nation. His words have been literally fulfilled. The Saints, in enduring persecution, did so with patience and forbearance. They have no spirit of revenge. They understand that much of the popular sentiment against them is based upon misunderstanding, rounded in the falsehood of wicked and designing men. The spirit of the Gospel teaches them that it is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong, and that patience and charity are as necessary as a testimony of the truth; for without the approval of the Lord they could not endure the trials and temptations which beset them.
From the commencement the Church had taught the utmost freedom of mankind to worship as they chose, such liberty being curtailed only when it runs into license and infringes upon, the rights of others. In the early inception of the Church, God commanded His people to study and learn from the best of books, to acquire an understanding of the laws of God and the governments of men, to become acquainted with the heavens and the earth. Thus the Saints are the friends of all true education. Joseph Smith established a school in Kirtland for the study of Hebrew and other branches of knowledge. For Nauvoo he obtained a charter for a university. Brigham Young and his associates founded the Deseret University, now called the University of Utah. They have also established church schools, the Brigham Young Academy in Provo, the Brigham Young College in Logan, Stake academies and other schools. The sons of Latter-day Saints have graduated with honor in the Military Academy at West Point. In Ann Arbor, Michigan, they have a record unsurpassed in the law school and in other branches taught by that noted institution. The same is true of their record at Harvard and elsewhere; also are there numerous graduates of medicine, dentistry, civil engineering, etc., as taught in the great schools of Chicago, Philadelphia and other places. Mission conferences are established in almost every state of the American Union, also in England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Germany, Holland, Palestine, New Zealand, Australia, the Hawaiian and many other islands of the Pacific ocean, including Japan.
The present living membership of the Church, men, women and children, is not less than 310,000 souls. While there has been steady progress in numerical strength, it is not in numbers altogether that strength consists. We fully realize that "Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." The greatest strength consists in the purity of the principle and the impossibility of the wicked and corrupt to remain long in the Church. God is its founder and builder. He established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will stand always, for "whatsoever the Lord doeth, He doeth it forever."
We have treated briefly upon the subject of Divine Authority, merely pointing out the absolute necessity of such authority in order to obtain complete salvation, and how it was bestowed and perpetuated whenever a Gospel dispensation existed upon the earth. It will not be amiss to deal briefly with the subject of Church Organization, as this specifies the distribution of divine authority to the various offices in the Church of Christ, each having specific duties to perform.
In the beginning we wish it distinctly understood that we accept of the New Testament as the record of this organization, and that nowhere within that sacred record is even an intimation that, by divine appointment, the offices established in the Church of Christ by the Savior of mankind would be done away. On the other hand, neither do we claim that the New Testament contains a full and explicit statement of every office in the Church, with the several duties of each officer and the relationship which each council or order of authority bears to every other council. The New Testament is fragmentary and has been translated and re-translated many times since it was first written by inspired apostles and prophets; those translations were by men not claiming the inspiration which characterized the men of God who wrote it.
In this connection we must not forget the statement of Holy Writ: "The things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. * * * But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (I. Cor. ii:11, 14. ) Therefore, where the inspired record is not sufficiently full in elucidating any principle, nothing short of new revelation from God will clear away the mist and bring us to a knowledge of the truth. The writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James and Jude, so far as they bear upon the sayings and acts of the Savior during His earthly ministry, are the testimonies of what they saw and heard personally, as well as the revelations of the Holy Ghost to them, subsequent to the crucifixion and ascension of the Savior. Paul embraced the Gospel later, and was not personally associated with Jesus in His ministry. His testimony is equally binding, however, as he "wrote and spoke as he was moved upon by the Holy Ghost." "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." (Matt. xviii:16.)
In Matthew, chapter 10, commencing with the first verse, we have this statement: "And when He had called unto Him His Twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out and heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the Twelve apostles are these;" then follows the name of each of the Twelve. Mark gives more detail as to when and where they were called, as follows: "And He goeth up into a mountain and called unto Him whom He would; and they came unto Him. And He ordained twelve," etc. (Mark iii:13, 14.) Luke records the calling of the Twelve in the sixth chapter of his book, beginning with the twelfth verse: "And it came to pass in those days that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles." Paul says in I. Cor. xii:28: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles;" and again in Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 11: "And He gave some apostles."
From the statements of four New Testament writers, it is plain that the first officers placed in the Church of Christ were apostles. Jesus delegated unto Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that whatsoever he should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, as recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, thus delegating to the apostleship all authority essential to the preaching of the Gospel, and administering in all the ordinances thereof, at home and abroad, for the salvation of all who would render obedience. It is apparent that other men such as Paul and Barnabas received the apostleship, but while this was the case it is evident that the Twelve apostles constituted a quorum. When Judas fell, one was chosen to take his place in that quorum, as written in the Acts of the Apostles, first chapter, 23-26 verses. It would appear from the reading of the Scriptures that while these twelve still lived, Paul and probably others received the holy apostleship, but did not become members of that council.
The work of preaching the Gospel to all the world, to every creature, was undoubtedly too extensive for the accomplishment personally of twelve men, so Jesus chose others to assist them. "After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come." (Luke x:1.) As He conferred upon them similar powers and gave them a similar calling to preach the Gospel, they were undoubtedly the next associates of the Twelve in preaching the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth. Some think by the language used by Luke, "other seventy," that He had chosen one quorum of seventies before this one, but this is not necessarily correct, as it will apply in meaning to "other" than the Twelve apostles.
In Hebrews, fifth chapter and first verse, Paul says: "For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God." While it is true that the words "high priest" are used in a more general sense in some instances, such as in Hebrews, third chapter, first verse, where the Savior is called both the "Apostle and High Priest of our profession," it appears evident from the above quotation and other passages that there was in the order of ecclesiastical government in the Church of Christ a distinct officer with specific duties called a High Priest.
Again, in Acts, fourteenth chapter and twenty-third verse, we read: "And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." "And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders. * * * And the apostles and elders came together." (Acts xv:4-6.) "And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem." (Acts xvi:4.) "And from Miletus He sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church." (Acts xx:17.) "And ordained elders in every city as I had appointed thee," (Titus i:5.)
The term "elders" is used in many other passages of Scripture. In some instances the apostle is called an elder, as Paul and John allude to themselves personally as elders. In some places the term is used in reference to the aged, as in I. Timothy, chapter v., verses 1, 2: "Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren, the elder women as mothers, the younger as sisters, with all purity." Yet the quotations made will be ample to prove that the office of Elder was an order anciently in the organization of the Church of Christ.
In I. Timothy, third chapter, verses 1, 2, we learn of the office of Bishop, with some essential qualifications. "This is a true saying: If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach." Also, in Titus i:7: "For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate." These passages show clearly the office of Bishop to be a department in the government of the Church of Christ, and should be held by a married man.
"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia." (Luke i:5.) The order of the Priest as established in ancient Israel seems to have continued in the New Testament dispensation. Although the offering of sacrifice was consummated at least for that period, in the atonement of our Savior, it is apparent that John the Baptist, Philip, and others, were priests after the order of Levi, having authority to baptize for the remission of sins, and to preach faith and repentance, but not to officiate in the higher ordinances of the Gospel which secured the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, nor to preside over the Church of Christ and regulate the affairs thereof throughout the world.
In Acts xiii:1, I. Cor. xii.28, and Eph. iv:11, we learn of an officer called Teacher, though nothing as to the especial functions of that office.
Paul to Timothy, in the third chapter of his letter, refers to the Deacons, and enumerates some of the qualifications essential to the possession of men who bear that sacred calling in the Church of Christ.
In the First Epistle to the Corinthians, twelfth chapter, verse 28, the apostle declares: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." "And He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists (patriarchs); and some pastors and teachers," (Eph. iv:11.) "Now there were in the church * * * certain prophets and teachers." (Acts xiii:1.)
Peter and Paul, in their writings, make reference to the ancient patriarchs, and although no definite statement is made, as to such an office existing in their time, it is more than probable that it existed in the Church of Christ whenever that Church had an existence on the earth.
The quotations give us the names of, at least, the following offices as departments of the Holy Priesthood and essentials to the work of the Lord: Apostles, Patriarchs, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. The words pastors, shepherds, evangelists, etc., are also used in reference to officials in the Church, but it is probable that some terms were used not so much to name the exact title of a man's position or calling in the order of the priesthood as to indicate the nature of the work his calling enjoined upon him. For instance, a pastor is one who has charge of a flock, a shepherd; applied religiously, one who has the oversight of a Branch of the Church (president of conference, for example); and this term would apply to Elders and Bishops, who, according to the New Testament, had watched over branches of the Church in different parts of the earth.
We wish to again call attention to the fact that the exact and full duty in detail of each officer is not wholly explained in the Jewish Scriptures. The precise order in which all of these officers were placed is not clear. The difference between the general duties common to all and the particular labors enjoined upon one officer, which distinguished him from every other officer in the church, is not told. This is not surprising, either, as undoubtedly each man in his order understood his duties from the instructions of the living oracles of God. Furthermore, they had writings, which are referred to in the Testament, but which are not preserved and handed down to us; and it is probable they had still other writings that are neither compiled nor alluded to in the Scriptures.
The New Testament contains letters of instructions, exhortations, warnings and testimonies of the apostles to the Church and to the world, and does not claim to be a complete exposition of Church Organization, etc. The Church was guided by direct revelation, and was to be so guided in all time; and the fact that man, with all his learning and the benefits of researches made by preceding generations, cannot organize a church after the ancient pattern, is indisputable proof that we need more revelation from God. The world by wisdom knew not God. Suffice it to say, that as long as we need divine instructions, which will be the case forever, we need the God-given officers which Christ placed in His Church, and which He designed to continue as long as the Church should exist.
Here is the testimony of Paul to the Ephesians, chapter 4: "And He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." In this connection it is perhaps sufficient to remark that the history of the world is ample proof that apostles, prophets and inspiration are always needed. The reader is asked to carefully study the chapter on the "Church," given in this work, as it points out the duties of officers in the Church Organization, as given us by modern revelation.