A GLANCE DOWN THE AGES
The Adamic Age.
"Dispensation" Defined.—What is meant by "dispensation." The term has a variety of meanings. To dispense is to deal out or distribute in portions, as when the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is dispensed to a religious congregation. "Dispensations of Providence" is a phrase used to describe the Creator's dealings with his creatures, either for joy or sorrow. In theology "dispensation" signifies the method or scheme whereby Deity has at different times developed his purposes and revealed himself to man. As I now use the term, it stands for the opening of the heavens and the sending forth of the Gospel and the Priesthood for purposes of salvation. It also denotes the period of time during which the saving and exalting principles thus sent forth, continue operative in pristine power and purity.
The Great Patriarch.—Adam, the patriarch of the human family, is over all the Gospel dispensations, including the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, which is virtually all dispensations rolled into one. Nevertheless, each has its own immediate presiding authority, holding the keys of his particular period—holding them under Adam, the universal head.[1]
Distinctive Features.—Each Gospel Dispensation has certain distinguishing characteristics, and stands for some particular development of the Divine Purpose. Thus, the First Dispensation presents the following distinctive features:
1. The institution of the Law of Sacrifice, foreshadowing the Atonement that was to be made for the redemption of fallen man.
2. The introduction and earliest promulgation of the Gospel, for which the Law of Sacrifice had prepared the way.
3. The initial exercise of the Patriarchal Power, in behalf of the whole human race.
The Law of Sacrifice.—The Law of Sacrifice was revealed from Heaven soon after our First Parents were banished from Eden. God, from whose presence they were shut out, spoke "from the way toward the Garden," commanding them to "offer the firstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the Lord." Adam obeyed, and after many days an Angel appeared to him, saying: "Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?" Adam replied: "I know not, save the Lord commanded me." The Angel then said: "This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father. Wherefore thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore." So runs the sacred story, as rendered by Joseph the Seer.[2]
The Past Obscured.—It is not to be supposed, however, that this was Adam's first knowledge of the sacrificial statute, concerning which he must have known before it was revealed to him in mortal life. Adam was no ordinary man. He was a great and wonderful character, and the world has not seen the last of him. Undoubtedly he was among those who sat in the eternal councils when the Gospel plan was instituted and its mighty Executor chosen. Surely he knew about the Lamb of God, already slain in the spirit before the creation of the world, and, in Adam's time, yet to be slain literally in the world—an event symbolized by the very sacrifice that the first man was offering when the Lord's messenger appeared to him.
But Adam had lost the knowledge of his spirit past. It had been temporarily taken from him in order that his agency might be free and untrammeled, his conduct uninfluenced by any recollection of a former experience. Hence the need of the Angel's coming to enlighten him, and the further need of revelation by the Holy Spirit, bringing things past to remembrance and showing things to come.
Acceptable and Unacceptable Offerings.—Adam's worship was acceptable to God, for he was in every way obedient to the divine instruction; his offering truly symbolizing the heavenly Lamb, subsequently foretokened in the Feast of the Passover. Abel made a similar offering—of the firstlings of his flock; "and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering."[3]
But Abel's elder brother, Cain, who also had been taught the Law of Sacrifice, took it upon himself to deviate from the course marked out. Instead of a lamb, he "brought of the fruit of the ground"—an offering in no way symbolical of the Savior. His offering was rejected;[4]for "the ordinances must be kept in the very way God has appointed."[5]
The Gospel Introduced.—The way was now prepared for the introduction of the great redemptive scheme that was to lift fallen man and open to him the opportunities for endless increase and progression. Instead of preaching "another gospel," or inventing some new form of ordinance, as the misguided Cain might have done, Adam adhered to the Gospel in its purity, carrying out to the letter the instructions God had given. He, by his own voice, commanded Adam to believe, to repent, and to be baptized; and, as it is written: "He was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water;" after which the Spirit descended upon him, "and he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost."[6]
"And thus the Gospel began to be preached from the beginning, being declared by holy angels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost. And thus all things were confirmed unto Adam by an holy ordinance, and the Gospel preached, and a decree sent forth that it should be in the world until the end thereof."[7]
Seeming Differences Reconciled.—Apropos of that ancient decree, I was once asked to reconcile the statement concerning it with the idea of a new dispensation. The question came to me in this form: "If the Gospel was to be 'in the world' from Adam's time 'until the end,' what was the need of restoring it—bringing it back again?"
I answered, in substance: "The two propositions do not really contradict each other. The Gospel has been in the world from Adam's day until now, by a series of dispensations, reaching through the entire range of human history. The gaps between, so wide to us, count for little with Deity, to whom past, present and future are one.[8]The finite mind is prone to take short and narrow views of things, tangling itself up in little quibbling details that often give a great deal of trouble. But the Eternal sweeps the whole universe with infinite gaze, and what seem mountains to men are less than mole-hills in His sight. He has found it necessary, at different times, to withdraw the Gospel and the Priesthood from the midst of mankind; and yet, by repeated restorations, forming a continuous chain of dispensations, he has kept the Gospel and the Priesthood in the world from the beginning down to the present."[9]
Seth Succeeds Abel.—Abel fell a martyr to the Truth. Slain by his envious brother[10], he was succeeded by Seth, another brother, born subsequently. Seth was typical of the Son of God, not only because he was "a perfect man," but because "his likeness was the express likeness of his father's, insomuch that he seemed to be like unto his father in all things, and could be distinguished from him only by his age."[11]
Adam-ondi-Ahman.—Says Joseph the Seer: "I saw Adam in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman. He called together his children and blessed them with a patriarchal blessing."[12]The vision was of course retrospective, having reference to the time when Adam dwelt on earth. The same event is more fully set forth as follows: "Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth Enos Cainan Mahalaleel Jared Enoch and Methuselah, who were all High Priests, with the residue of his posterity who were righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing.
"And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the Prince, the Archangel.
"And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him, I have set thee to be at the head—a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over them forever.
"And Adam stood up in the midst of the congregation, and notwithstanding he was bowed down with age, being full of the Holy Ghost, predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation."[13]
Ancient of Days.—But Adam is to come again—is to come as the Ancient of Days, fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel.[14]And he will come to the very place where, bowed with the weight of more than nine centuries,[15]he blessed his posterity before the ending of his earthy career. In the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman[16]will sit the Ancient of Days, counseling his children—all who are worthy of that high privilege—and preparing them for the coming of the Son of God.
A Close Relationship.—I have said that the Gospel dispensations are inter-related. It need only be added that the mighty patriarchal blessing—the mightiest ever given—in which Father Adam forecast the history of the human race, taken in connection with his prospective advent into the midst of his righteous descendants, upon the precise spot where he bestowed his farewell benediction and uttered his wonderful world-covering prophecy, indicates a very close relationship between the First and the Final dispensations of the Gospel.
1. Hist. Ch. Vol 4, pp. 208, 209. In this connection we are told that Adam's son Abel holds "the keys of his dispensation;" that is to say, of the First Dispensation, the one in which Abel figured (D. and C. 84:16). And yet it is called the Adamic Dispensation, for Adam also figured therein.
2. Moses 5:4-8.
3. Gen. 4:4.
4. Ib. 4:5; Heb. 11:4.
5. Hist. Ch. Vol. 4, pp. 208, 209.
6. Moses 6:64-66.
7. Ib. 5:58,59.
8. Alma 40:8.
9. It might also be argued that in the spirit World, which is a part of the planet that we inhabit, the Gospel has been preached for ages; so that the dead or the departed might have opportunity to embrace it (I Peter 4:6). And the withdrawal of the Gospel from this temporal sphere would not necessarily involve its withdrawal from that spiritual sphere. Thus, the divine edict, that the Gospel "should be in the world until the end thereof," receives additional vindication.
10. Gen. 4:8.
11. D. and C. 107:43.
12. Hist. Ch. Vol. 3, p.388.
13. D. and C. 107:53-56.
14. Dan. 7:9, 13, 22; Hist. Ch. Vol. 3, p. 386.
15. Gen. 5:5.
16. D. and C. 116.
Enoch and his City.
"Glorious things are sung of Zion,Enoch's city seen of old,Where the righteous, being perfect,Walked with God in streets of gold.Love and virtue, faith and wisdom,Grace and gifts were all combined;As himself each loved his neighbor,All were of one heart and mind."
"Glorious things are sung of Zion,Enoch's city seen of old,Where the righteous, being perfect,Walked with God in streets of gold.Love and virtue, faith and wisdom,Grace and gifts were all combined;As himself each loved his neighbor,All were of one heart and mind."
"The Seventh from Adam."—Enoch, "the seventh from Adam" in patriarchal succession, was contemporaneous with the father of the human family. Indeed, he was ordained and blessed by Adam, and was with him in the historic Valley where the future of the race was foretold by its venerable founder,[1]Enoch's period was prolific of wonderful events, but the two standing out most prominently are:
First:—The successful practice of the Law of Consecration, resulting in the founding of Zion, City of Holiness, which was sanctified through obedience to that high and holy principle, and translated or taken into Heaven without tasting of death.[2]
Second:—Enoch's vision of the future, extending past the Deluge, past the Crucifixion, down even to the Last Days and the glorious coming of the Christ.
The Power of Godliness.—Did the Zion-builder of the Adamic age stand at the head of a Gospel dispensation? Whether he did or did not, it is evident, from what has been revealed concerning him and his ministry, that the message of salvation was preached by him in mighty power and with marvelous success. The world, though young, had grown old in wickedness, and the need for repentance was urgent.[3]"So great was the faith of Enoch," and so powerful the language that God had given him, "the earth trembled and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch."[4]
The Law of Consecration.—Among warring nations and in the midst of sanguinary strife, Enoch, inspired and directed by the Almighty, introduced and established a social order which cannot be better described than in the simple, sublime phrasing of the Book of Moses, the sacred volume just cited:
"And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them."[5]
"Zion is Fled."—"In process of time" consecration brought sanctification, and eventually translation, to the City of Enoch, regarding which, after its ascension, went forth the saying: "Zion is fled."[6]
The Tower of Babel.—The people who built the Tower of Babel are said to have done so in order that its top might "reach unto heaven." It was to prevent them from accomplishing this purpose, that the Lord confounded their language.[7]Tradition credits Joseph Smith with the statement that the "heaven" they had in view was the translated city.
The Jaredites.—A righteous remnant of the people, namely, the Jaredites, had been exempted from the general curse of tongue confusion;[8]and through them the pure Adamic language was preserved on earth.[9]The Jaredites, divinely led, separated themselves from the other inhabitants of the land, and migrated to North America. Here they flourished for many centuries, and then fell, a slaughtered race, ruined by internal dissension.[10]
Translation and Resurrection.—Translation, says the Prophet Joseph, does not take men "immediately into the presence of God." For translated beings there is a terrestrial "place of habitation," where they are "held in reserve to be ministering angels unto many planets," and "have not yet entered into so great a fulness as those who are resurrected from the dead." Enoch received from God an appointment to minister to beings of this character.[11]
The Future Unveiled.—Enoch walked with God, and was shown "the world for the space of many generations."[12]He beheld the Millennial Dawn, and the darkest hour before the dawn. "He saw great tribulations among the wicked, and he also saw the sea, that it was troubled."[13]In a splendid outburst of epic poetry, the inspired oracle tells how Zion was taken up into heaven; how Satan "veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness;" how he and his angels rejoiced; how "the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people and wept;" and how the heavens wept also, shedding "their tears as the rain upon the mountains."[14]
Enoch, addressing the compassionate Creator, inquires: "How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity? And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations, and thy curtains are stretched out still. . . . . And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?"[15]
The Holy One answers, portraying the impending doom, the destruction of the wicked by the Flood, and their imprisonment in spirit dungeons until the coming of the Christ, bringing deliverance to the penitent.[16]
The Mother of Men.—Enoch hears a voice from the depths of the Earth:
"Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest . . . . when shall my Creator sanctify me, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?"[17]
The Creator's Covenant.—"And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfill the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah. And the day shall come that the earth shall rest.
"But before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men. But my people will I preserve."[18]
Another Zion Promised.—"And righteousness will I send down out of heaven, and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
"And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other:
"And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest."[19]
Awaiting its Return.—According to these teachings, the City of Enoch is now on a terrestrial plane, awaiting its return to Earth, when the season shall be ripe and the preparation complete for its reception. The change wrought upon its inhabitants by translation not being equivalent to resurrection, they will undergo a further change to prepare them for celestial glory. The Saints remaining on earth to meet the Lord will likewise be changed, not by the "sleep" of death, but "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," at the time of the Savior's coming.[20]When he comes, Enoch's City will come with him, Zion from above blending with Zion from below, as spirit and body in the resurrection.
The Ancient Types the Modern.—The Ancient Zion foreshadowed the Zion of the Last Days, with which it is destined to blend.[21]In Enoch's day the Lord's people, consecrating to Him their all, became equal in earthly as in heavenly things; and the righteous unity resulting from that blest condition brought forth the peace and power of sanctity. So shall it be and more when the Lord brings again Zion.
1. D. and C. 107:48, 53-56.
2. Heb. 11:5.
3. Moses 6:27, 8.
4. Ib. 7:13.
5. Ib. 7:18. Compare Acts 4:32, 34, 35; 4 Nephi 1:2, 3.
6. Moses 7:69.
7. Gen. 11:1-9.
8. Ether 1:33-37.
9. Orson Pratt, citing an unpublished revelation, says"What is the name of God in the pure language? The answer says: 'Ahman.' What is the name of the Son of God? Answer, 'Son Ahman, the greatest of all the parts of God, excepting Ahman.' What is the name of men? 'Sons Ahman' is the answer."—Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, p. 342.
10. Omni 1:21, 2; Mosiah 8:6-12; 28:17. See also Article Five.
11. Hist. Ch. Vol. 4, pp. 209, 210.
Commenting upon that passage of scripture, "Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection" (Heb. 11:35) the Prophet says: "Translation obtains deliverance from the tortures and sufferings of the body; but their existence will prolong as to the labors and toils of the ministry, before they can enter into so great a rest and glory. On the other hand those who were tortured not accepting deliverance, received an immediate rest from their labors." He also explains the difference between an angel and a ministering spirit—"the one a resurrected or translated body, with its spirit, ministering to embodied spirits; the other a disembodied spirit, visiting or ministering to disembodied spirits." . . . . Translated beings, "designed for future missions," "cannot enter into rest until they have undergone a change equivalent to death."—"The Mediation and Atonement." pp. 75, 76.
12. Moses 7:4.
13. Ib. v. 66. Compare D. and C. 61:4-6, 14-19.
14. Moses 7:26, 28.
15. Ib. vv. 29-31.
16. I Peter 3:18-20; 4:6.
17. Moses 7:48.
18. Ib. vv. 60, 61.
19. Moses 7:62-64.
20. I Cor. 15:51. 52.
21. D. and C. 84:99-102.
Noah and the Deluge.
Methuselah, Son of Promise.—God, having shown to Enoch the approaching utter destruction of Earth's wicked inhabitants, covenanted with the founder of the Sacred City that the repeopler of the devastated globe should be of his lineage. In order that this promise might not fail, Enoch's son, Methuselah, distinguished among men as the one who attained to the greatest age in mortality,[1]"was not taken" when Zion was translated, but remained to become the father of Lamech and grandfather of Noah.[2]
Earth's Baptism.—The Deluge was Earth's baptism. Baptism symbolizes birth or creation. In a certain sense, our planet was "born of water and of the Spirit" at the very beginning.[3]In Noah's day, which was reminiscent of that beginning, it experienced a rebirth, "a washing of regeneration," typical of a spiritual and fiery immersion yet to come.
Like Unto Adam.—It devolved upon Noah to recommence, after the Flood, the work begun by the great sire of the race under God's original command—the command to "multiply and replenish the earth." Noah's time, therefore, typified the period of the Creation. He, like Adam, "was the father of all living in his day, and to him was given the dominion."[4]
The Flood Foretold.—Blest and ordained by Methusaleh when but ten years old, Noah, like his predecessors in the patriarchal line, was a prophet and a preacher of righteousness. The word of the Lord came to him, saying:
"My spirit shall not always strive with man; . . . . yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years; and if men do not repent, I will send in the floods upon them." They hearkened not, and God then decreed: "The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence, and behold I will destroy all flesh from off the earth."[5]
Shem, Ham and Japheth.—Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth—naming them in the order usually given. Japheth, however, was the eldest, and Ham the youngest, of these brothers.[6]They were among the eight survivors of the Deluge;[7]"and of them was the whole earth overspread."[8]Japheth peopled Europe, Shem Asia, and Ham Africa.
Noah's blessing upon Shem and Japheth, and his curse upon Canaan, son of Ham, are thus recorded:
"Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
"Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
"God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant."[9]
The Curse upon Canaan.—Part of the curse upon Canaan was "a blackness," similar to that which had been placed upon "the seed of Cain."[10]The curse also deprived the Canaanites of the Priesthood; though they were blessed "with the blessings of the earth and with the blessings of wisdom."[11]
Ham's sin, which brought the curse upon Canaan—a sin vaguely hinted at in the sacred narrative—may not be fully known; but even if it were, there would still remain the unsolved problem of the punishment of a whole race for an offense committed by one of its ancestors. It seems reasonable to infer that there was a larger cause, that the sin in question was not the main issue. Tradition has handed down something to that effect, but nothing conclusive of the question is to be found in the standard works of the Church. Of one thing we may rest assured: Canaan was not unjustly cursed, nor were the spirits who came through his lineage wrongly assigned. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Or, putting it inversely: Whatsoever a man reaps, that hath he sown. This rule applies to spirit life, as well as to life in the flesh.
Israel and the Gentiles.—From Shem came Abraham and the House of Israel; from Japheth, the Gentiles, founders of the most civilized and enlightened nations of modern times, including Great Britain, France, and the United States of America. How wonderfully God has "enlarged Japheth," the original Gentile!
Israel wields the powers of the Priesthood, and administers the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. These are his prerogatives. But the children of Japheth also have their mission—a mission in statecraft and commerce, in science and art, in discovery, invention, and kindred activities.
It was the Gentiles who discovered and peopled America; who fought for and won the freedom and independence of this chosen land, an event preparatory—though they knew it not—to the founding of a government under which Christ's work might come forth and not be crushed out by the tyranny of man. The God of Israel was with Columbus, with Washington, with the Pilgrim Fathers, with the patriots who founded this republic[12]—Gentiles all, though probably of a mixed lineage, having much of the blood of Israel in their veins.[13]He is with all good and great men whose hearts are set to do right and to uplift humanity—is with them, whether they recognize it or not, and he uses them as seemeth him good, to effect his beneficent designs.
Ham's Descendants.—The descendants of Ham became eminent, wealthy, wise and powerful in Egypt, "the cradle of civilization;" reaping "the blessings of the earth" and the blessings "of wisdom," richly realizing the heaven-inspired promises made to their forbears. They have prospered also in other African countries. But in Europe, America, and other lands, they were long held in slavery. Nor are the days of their bondage even now at end in Africa and some parts of Asia. The Ethiopian has served the Gentile and the Semite, just as Noah predicted.
Japheth and "The Tents of Shem."—What are "the tents of Shem?" In the Scriptures "tent" is a term used figuratively as well as literally. The canopy of heaven is compared to a tent; as is also the Church of Christ and the city of Jerusalem.[14]The word may therefore be applied to a country or a place of sojourn. How Japheth has dwelt "in the tents of Shem," is partly shown by the history of Palestine, Israel's original homeland, long dominated by the Saracens and Turks—both Gentile peoples—and only recently delivered from the Moslem yoke by the military power of the British, a racial blending of Japheth and Shem.[15]
Japheth's remarkable blessing has also been realized in America, the Land of Joseph, which the Gentiles now possess, and where, according to the Book of Mormon, they are to assist in gathering Israel and in building the New Jerusalem. It is their privilege to share, if they will, in all the blessings of the chosen people, and to be even as the seed of Abraham.[16]
The Asiatic, and especially the Israelitish countries, with North and South America—homes of God's people, ancient and modern, now inhabited by the children of Japheth—these I think, may be properly regarded as among "the tents of Shem."
As it Was, So it Shall Be.—Noah's period had a twofold significance. Pointing backward as well as forward, it symbolized both the Beginning and the End. The reminiscent pointing has already been indicated. The prophetic import is made plain by the words of the Savior, when weeping over Jerusalem and predicting the downfall of the Jewish commonwealth, an event also typical of the final destruction of the wicked: "As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be."[17]
In Noah's day "a veil of darkness" covered the earth. A like condition is to characterize the Last Day, thus foretokened.[18]The disaster that overwhelmed the Antediluvians, destroying the wicked with water, is to have as its sequel a more fearful calamity, in which the unrighteous will be consumed by fire from Heaven. And as unexpectedly as came the regenerating Flood wherein our planet was once immersed, will come the purifying Flame that shall cleanse it from all iniquity and prepare it for eternal glory.
1. Gen. 5:27.
2. Moses 8:2-9.
3. Gen. 1:2, 9.
4. Hist. Ch. Vol. 3, p. 386.
5. Moses 8:17, 30; Gen. 6:3, 3.
6. Ib. 8:12; Gen. 10:21.
7. I Peter 3:20.
8. Gen. 9:19.
9. Ib. 9:22-27.
10. Ib. 4:15; Moses 7:8, 2.
11. Abr. 1:26.
12. I Nephi 13:12-19.
13. The word "Gentile," as used in "Mormon" writings, is not a term of reproach. It comes from "Gentilis," meaning of "of a nation," and is used in sacred history to designate the nations not of Israel. The Latter-day Saints themselves, are Gentiles in part; for while they claim lineal descent from the Hebrew patriarchs, it is mostly through Ephraim, who "mixed himself among the people" (Hosea 7:8)—that is, among the peoples that have furnished proselytes to "Mormonism." As a result of that racial mixture, they also are of Japheth's blood.
14. Isa. 40:22; 54:2; 33:20.
15. The delivery of the Holy Land from the Turks dates from December 11, 1917, when General Allenby, at the head of a British army, entered and took possession of the City of Jerusalem. Subsequently Herbert Samuel, an English Jew, was made Governor of Palestine by the British Government.
16. Abr. 2:10.
17. Matt. 24:37-39.
18. Moses 7:26,
Abraham and the House of Israel.
The Lord's Lineage.—The House of Israel was established in order that the God of Israel, who became the Savior of the World, might have a proper lineage through which to come, and a worthy medium whereby to promote His great and benevolent designs toward the human family.
"Prince of God."—The name "Israel" means "Prince of God," and is first used in the Scriptures as the surname of Jacob, from whom sprang the Hebrew nation or the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Jacob, returning from Padan-Aram, whither he had fled from the jealous wrath of his brother Esau, came to the ford Jabbok, where "there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of day." We are left to infer that Jacob believed this "man" to be God; for he "called the name of the place Peniel," saying, "I have seen God face to face."
"Let me go," demanded the heavenly visitant. "I will not let thee go," replied Jacob, "except thou bless me."
The "Man" then blessed him and changed his name from Jacob to Israel; "for," said he, "as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."[1]
Jacob's Blessing Confirmed.—Subsequently the name Israel was confirmed upon Jacob at Bethel, where the Lord appeared to him and blessed him, promising that a nation and a company of nations should be of him, and that kings should come out of his loins.[2]
The Father of the Faithful.—But while this was the origin of the name Israel as applied to Jacob, it was not the origin of the race of which he is the titular head. It is written that Jacob's wives, Rachel and Leah, "did build the House of Israel;[3]and build it they did, through their children and the children of their handmaids, Bilhah and Zilpah, whom they had given to their husband as wives. Already, however, had the foundation of that house been laid by Jacob's grandsire, Abraham, the Friend of God, the Father of the Faithful. Jehovah's promises to Jacob and to his father Isaac concerning their posterity, were virtual repetitions of promises made to their great ancestor.
"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation; and I will . . . . bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."[4]
Definition of "Hebrew."—Abram, for so was he then, called, dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, a city of Mesopotamia, which signifies "between the rivers." The rivers were the Tigris and the Euphrates. Abram had to cross the Euphrates in order to reach Canaan, the land that the Lord showed him. Because of this circumstance, he was called by the Canaanites a "Hebrew," meaning "one from beyond the river." The origin of the name is also traced to Heber or Eber, one of the ancestors of Abram. Mesopotamia was the fountain-head of idolatry in Western Asia; and because the Lord wished to raise up a people who would worship him and him only, Abraham was required to separate himself from his idolatrous surroundings.[5]
Meeting with Melchizedek.—Following his arrival in Canaan, and a brief sojourn in Egypt, came the episode of Abram's meeting with Melchizedek, King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God. To him Abram gave a tenth part of the spoils that he had taken in battle with certain kings.[6]And Melchizedek blessed Abram and conferred upon him the Priesthood.[7]
The Law of Tithing.—This is the first Bible mention of the ancient Law of Tithing. "Consider," says the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, "how great this man was, unto whom even the Patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils."[8]So great indeed, that the Priesthood of the Son of God was named for him, and is now called the Priesthood of Melchizedek.[9]
Abram Renamed.—After this interview with the King of Salem, the Lord appeared to Abram, established His covenant with him, and changed his name to Abraham, which signifies, "father of a multitude."[10]
The Offering of Isaac.—Then followed the supreme trial of Abraham's life—the offering, at God's command, of his son Isaac, an act foreshowing the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, who was to be slain for the world's redemption. But Abraham was not permitted to consummate the act.[11]His integrity having been shown by his willingness to do as he had been directed, a further mark of favor was given by Jehovah to his tried and faithful Friend. The original promise, "In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed," was now expanded to: "I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
Why Was Abraham Blessed?—What had Abraham done to merit this high distinction? He must have done something. God rewards men according to their works, and not even an Abraham would have received from Him an honor unmerited. It cannot be that he was chosen for so mighty a mission simply for migrating from his own to another country, nor even for his willingness to offer up his beloved son. As a matter of fact, the original promise was given before the sacrifice was demanded. Undoubtedly these acts of obedience were greatly to Abraham's credit, but how could they be placed to the credit of his posterity, the unborn millions who were to inherit the covenant and share in the great reward?
The Problem Solved.—The Patriarch himself helps us to a solution of the problem:
"Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones.
"And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born."[12]
The Pre-Existence.—Abraham had been shown in vision the spirits of the pre-existent human race, waiting for an earth to be made, that they might come upon it and pass through a mortal probation. Here they were to obtain bodies, thus becoming "souls,"[13]capable of eternal increase and progression. Also, they were to be tested as to their willingness to do all that the Lord might require of them.
First and Second Estates.—They who "kept their first estate," manifesting fidelity in the pre-mortal life while "walking by sight," were to be "added upon"—that is to say, given bodies of flesh and blood, with opportunities for education and development. They who kept "their second estate," continuing loyal during their life on earth, where men are required to "walk by faith," with knowledge of the past temporarily obscured, would be glorified eternally.[14]All were "good," but some better than others; and all were to be "added upon," yet not all alike. Some were more deserving, some nobler and greater than others; and because of their superior merit and larger capacity, they were to be made "rulers" over the rest. Abraham was one of these.
Sowing and Reaping.—Here is exemplified the great principle enunciated by St. Paul: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."[15]Rewards and punishments are not all deferred until the final judgment at the end of the world. There is a judgment passed upon the spirits of men before they tabernacle in mortality. Satan and his dupes, failing to keep their first estate, were denied bodies,[16]while all the rest, rewarded for keeping their first estate, were given bodies, with the promise of a glorious resurrection after death. Thus, in a general way, punishment and reward were both meted out before this life began.
A question put to the Savior by his disciples: "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?"[17]—throws out a hint in the same direction. This is not to say, however, that all who suffer in the flesh have merited their sad fate. There are exceptions to the rule. The Savior's case is one of them; and righteous Job's another. Speaking generally, however, man's conduct in one life conditions him in the life that follows.
Original Excellence.—What had given to Abraham his superior standing in the Heavens? Had he always been noble and great? Was it an original or an acquired excellence, or both? That there is such a thing as original superiority, with varying degrees of intelligence among spirits, is plainly taught in the Book of Abraham;[18]and that all intelligence is capable of improvement, needs no assertion.
"I Know Abraham."—When God said of Abraham: "I know him,"[19]it is hardly probable that He was referring merely to a knowledge of him in the present life. The founder of the Hebrew nation must have been one of the foreknown and predestined, mentioned by Paul[20]and by Alma[21]—must have been among those "called and prepared from the foundation of the world, on account of their exceeding faith and good works." It was "according to the foreknowledge of God;" but that foreknowledge, that divine prescience, was based upon experience, and had history as well as prophecy for a foundation. Such characters as Abraham were cast for their parts in life's drama long before the curtain rose on the first act of the play.
A Spirit Israel.—There was a House of Israel in heaven before there was a Hebrew Nation on earth. Else what does Moses mean when he tells how the Most High, in "the days of old," in "the years of many generations," "separated the sons of Adam" and "set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel?"[22]He must have had in mind, not a temporal Israel, unborn at the early period indicated, but a spirit Israel, according to whose numbers, known in heaven before they had taken bodies on earth, the boundaries of "the people" were determined.
Privileges and Requirements.—It was intended that this chosen nation should have "room to dwell." It was of the utmost consequence that a people upon whom rested so weighty a responsibility should be well placed, with every facility for the accomplishment of the sacred mission unto which they had been called. They were the oracles of God, the custodians and dispensers of heavenly wisdom. Upon them devolved the high duty of keeping alive on earthly altars the fires of Divine Truth. They were not to bow down to idols, as did the heathen nations around them, but worship the true God, the invisible Jehovah, walking by faith where others, less worthy, walked by sight, demanding to see before they would believe. They were forbidden to intermarry with other nations, lest they might worship the gods of those nations, practice their vices, and corrupt the noble lineage through which was to come the Savior of the World. The Lamb of God had to be "without blemish," and that he was so, physically and in every way, was partly due, no doubt, to the choice ancestry and parentage provided for him.
Gem and Setting.—Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant in the flesh of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, fulfilled the divine promise made to those patriarchs, that in their Seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed. But in contemplating the central fact of the Savior's personal ministry, we must not overlook the related facts that went before or followed after. The gem has its setting. Christ redeemed mankind, "treading the wine press alone;" but the House of Israel prepared the way for his coming, and carried on the work that he began. This is especially true of the prophets who foretold his advent, and of the apostles who preached the Gospel to Jew and Gentile. There is only one Savior, but He has "many brethren," and they are preeminently "the salt of the earth," the preserving or saving element among men.
Princes and Servants.—If the name Israel means "prince of God" when applied to Jacob, may it not mean "princes of God" when applied to his posterity? He was promised that kings should come out of his loins. And have they not come?—princes and priests and kings, the nobility of Heaven, though not always known and appreciated on earth. The Greatest among them was not recognized even by "His own." The wise Solomon was never wiser than when he said: "I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth."[23]The mighty Prince of Peace, the glorious King of Heaven, walked unknown and unhonored by his own servants in the dust of his own footstool.
1. Gen. 32:22-30.
2. Ib. 35:10, 11.
3. Ruth 4:11.
4. Gen. 12:1-3; Abr. 2:3-11.
5. Geike, "Hours with the Bible," Vol. 1, Ch. 13.
6. Gen. 14:18.
7. D. and C. 84:14.
8. Heb. 7:4.
9. D. and C. 107:1-4.
10. Gen. 17:3-6.
11. Ib. 22:1-18.
12. Abr. 3:22, 23. Read also verses 24-26.
13. Gen. 2:7; Moses 3:7, 9; D. and C. 88:15.
14. Manifestly, the second estate is a greater test of integrity than the first, and ought to result, as it does to those who overcome, in a far more glorious reward.
15. Gal. 6:7.
16. See Article Twelve.
17. John 9:2.
18. Abr. 3:18, 19.
19. Gen. 18:19.
20. Rom. 8:29.
21. Alma 13:3.
22. Deut. 32:7, 8.
23. Eccl. 10:7.