(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
(A Discourse)
ENOCH AND THE ANTEDILUVIAN DISPENSATIONS OF THE GOSPEL.
1. Suggestions to the Speaker:Naturally the subject of this lesson will be something of a review of the period covered by the preceding lessons on the Antediluvian dispensations with Enoch as the central figure, but the matter of these lessons should not be too closely followed. Let those to whom the assignment of this lesson is given draw their own lines of treatment. As the subject is stated in the lesson it would be treated as historical narrative, or as a biography of Enoch. It could, however, be treated in an argumentative form. Thus: The Justice of God Requires that the Gospel should be Revealed to the Antediluvians; or, Was the Gospel Revealed to the Antediluvians? If the historical or biographical form of treatment is decided upon the speaker should bear in mind that his work in the main would be narrative, and the first essentials of narrative, after the truth of it, is movement and method. "A narrative," says A. S. Hill in his Principles of Rhetoric, "should move from the beginning to the end, and it should move with method. If the action haults the listener's attention haults with it. If the action is confused or self-repeating the hearers mind is soon fatigued. Movement and method, the life and the logic of discourse, are then the essentials of a good narrative." In another place our author says, "It is not enough that a narrative should move, it should move forward, it should have method. * * * * * The philosopher may contribute attached sayings (aphorisms) to the general stock of wisdom. An essayist may be charming as he rambles in pleasant fields of thought and gossip with his readers, but a narrator fails as a narrator in so far as he does not go straight on from the beginning to the end."
"A narrator," says another author, "must not spend undue time or space upon any episode in his tale to the disadvantage of other parts. Whatever his scale is, he should follow it. Otherwise he will give emphasis to unimportant events, or slight important ones. The law of climax applies especially to narration, because the interest of the reader in the opening of a story is necessarily slight. When he becomes involved in the plot of the tale, his interest will either grow or disappear. As narrative becomes complex, as one event leads to a number of results, the reader's attention should be engaged more firmly. A weak ending is never so disappointing as in narration. Finally, every narrative should have as a center some one definite topic. (It is for this reason that we give Enoch as the center around which events in the Antediluvian dispensations gathered.) "For example, a history of the discovery of America, containing many hundreds of pages, and relating numerous events, will have but one principal subject—the early explorations upon this hemisphere,—to which all the characters, actions, and events will be made subordinate. * * * * * A good narrative then will move rapidly; action will follow action in close succession. Only significant events will be dwelt upon; much will be passed over with brief mention. Yet the connection of events will be made plain; the reader will never lose the thread." No matter how complex the narration becomes, it will have a simple subject as the center, and will march on with increasing interest to the end." (Composition and Rhetoric for Schools, Herrick and Damon, p. 428-9).
If the subject is treated in an argumentative form, then the speaker should consider what has been already said on the subject of argumentative discourse in Lesson XIII.
3. Another Word on Clearness:In a former lesson (XIII) it was pointed out that Clearness consists of such a use and arrangement of words and clauses as at once distinctly indicate the meaning of the speaker; and pointed out how the obscure or equivocal use of pronouns was destructive of Clearness.
In this lesson attention is called to the omission of words in a sentence necessary to its exact meaning—what the text books call "improper ellipsis."
"Whenever the omission of a word renders the meaning of a sentence unintelligible, the ellipsis becomes improper. A writer in "The Guardian" uses this expression: "He is inspired with a true sense of that function." The meaning is not intelligible till we put in the words improperly left out: "He is inspired with a true sense of the importance of that function." "Arbitrary power," says another, "I look upon as a greater evil than anarchy itself, as much as a savage is a happier state of life than a galley-slave." We can not properly call a savage or a galley-slave a state of life, though we may with propriety compare their conditions. The obscurity is removed by doing away with the ellipsis: "as much as the state of a savage is happier than that of a galley-slave." (Course of Composition and Rhetoric, Quackenbos, p. 285.)
Clearness Depends upon Unity in Sentences:"To be clear, a sentence must have unity; that is, it must not contain incongruous material, and must be so expressed that it gives the reader the impression of being one thought. When a sentence contains incongruous statements, it is said to lack unity of thought. When a sentence fails to present its meaning as one obvious whole, it is said to lack unity of form. Each of the examples cited * * * below, violates unity of thought, or unity of form, or both. Note how much clearer are the corrected sentences.
1. Chaucer began to write at an early age, and as he was a page for some court lady, he went to France when she did.
Corrected:Chaucer began to write at an early age. Being at this time the page of a court lady, he went in her train to France.
2. Once I saw a college President as he walked upon the stage, and he held in his hand a whole basket of diplomas.
Corrected:I once saw a college President walk upon the stage holding a whole basket of diplomas in his hand.
3. A good paragraph must have unity of thought, and the different sentences of which it is composed must be logically connected, and what is most important in the paragraph must be made prominent, and what is of small consequence merely hinted at.
Corrected:A good paragraph must have unity of thought. A paragraph is unified if the different sentences in it are logically connected, and if what is most important is made prominent, what is of small consequence, merely hinted at.
Post-diluvian Dispensations.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE ABRAHAMIC DISPENSATION.
ANALYSIS.
REFERENCES.
I. Melchizedek and Abraham—Relationship of.
Gen. xi-xxv.
Heb. v. and vii. Psalms cx. Also Doc. and Cov Sec. cvii:1-4. Alma (Book of Mormon) ch. xiii. Notes 1, 2, 3, 4; also Art. Melchizedek and Abraham in Smith's Bible Dictionary and Kitto's Biblical Literature. Seventy's Year Book I, pp. 37-39. Notes 4, 5 and 1.
II. The "Call" of Abraham.
Gen. xii:1-4 Book of Abraham ch. i:15-19; ch. ii:6-11. Note 6.
III. The Gospel Given to Abraham.
Gal. iii:6-8, 19. Book of Abraham (P. G. P.) chs. i-v. Note 7. "The Gospel," (3rd Ed.) ch. xxiii.
1. Melchizedek (king of Righteousness):"Melchisedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, who met Abram in the Valley of Shaveh (or, the level valley), which is the king's valley, brought out bread and wine, blessed Abram, and received tithes from him (Gen. xiv. 18-20). The other places in which Melchizedek is mentioned are Ps. cx. 4, where Messiah is described as a priest forever, "after the order of Melchizedek," and Heb. v., vi., vii., where these two passages of the O. T. are quoted, and the typical relation of Melchizedek to our Lord is stated at great length."
2. Melchizedek in History:"There is something surprising and mysterious in the first appearance of Melchizedek, and in the subsequent references to him. Bearing a title which Jews in after ages would recognize as designating their own sovereign, bearing gifts which recall to Christians the Lord's Supper, this Canaanite crosses for a moment the path of Abram, and is unhesitatingly recognized as a person of higher spiritual rank than the friend of God. Disappearing as suddenly as he came in, he is lost to the sacred writings for a thousand years; and then a few emphatic words for another moment bring him into sight as a type of the joining Lord of David. (Psalms cx). Once more, after another thousand years, the Hebrew Christians are taught to see in him a proof that it was the consistent purpose of God to abolish the Levitical priesthood.[A](Heb. vii.) His person, his office, his relation to Christ, and the seat of his sovereignty, have given rise to innumerable discussions, which even now can scarcely be considered as settled.
[Footnote A: No; not "abolish" the Levitical priesthood, but supercede it as the dominating power by restoring the Melchizedek Priesthood which holds precedence of it in power and authority; but both may exist together as in the Mosaic dispensation before Moses and the Melchizedek Priesthood was taken from Israel, (cf. Doc. & Cov. Sec. lxxxiv:19-23 and Heb. vii. whole chapter but especially verse 12.)]
3. Conjectures Concerning Melchizedek:"The faith of early ages ventured to invest his person with superstitious awe. Perhaps it would be too much to ascribe to mere national jealousy the fact that Jewish tradition, as recorded in the Targums of Pseudo-Jonathan and Jerusalem, and in Rashi on Gen. xiv in some cabalistic writers, pronounces Melchizedek to be a survivor of the Deluge, the patriarch Shem, authorized by the superior dignity of old age to bless even the father of the faithful, and entitled, as the paramount lord of Canaan (Gen. ix. 26) to convey (xiv. 19) his right to Abram. Jerome in his Ep. lxxiii. (ad Evangelum Opp. i. 438), which is entirely devoted to a consideration of the person and dwelling place of Melchizedek, states that this was the prevailing opinion of the Jews in his time; and it is ascribed to the Samaritans by Epiphanius, (Hae. Iv. 6, p. 472.) It was afterwards embraced by Luther and Melanchthon, by our own countrymen, H. Broughson, Selden, Lightfoot, Jackson, and by many others. It should be noted that this supposition does not appear in the Targum of Onkelos,—a presumption that it was not received by the Jews till after the Christian era—nor has it found favor with the Fathers." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, Hackett Edition, p. 1876.)
4. The Mystery About Melchizedek:Much of mystery is connected with the life and character of Melchizedek. "The Jews," says Kitto, in admitting Melchizedek's official superiority to Abraham, "sought to account for it by alleging that the royal priest was no other than Shem, the most pious of Noah's sons, who according to the shorter chronology might have lived to the time of Abraham." (Biblical Literature, Vol. II, Art. Melchizedek). Others have seen in him Canaan the son of Ham: Ham himself, or even Enoch; while others have held that Melchizedek was no other than the son of God himself under human appearance, and still others take him to have been an angel, the latter being among the wild notions of Origen and his school. (Ibid, as above.) All this of course is conjecture, although it is not unreasonable that he may have been Shem the son of Noah. The Book of Mormon gives this important information concerning him.
"Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; and his people had waxed strong in iniquity and abominations; yea, they had all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness: But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the High Priesthood, according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father. Now, there were many before him, and also there were many afterwards, but none were greater; therefore, of him they have more particularly made mention." (Alma xiii.)
From the Doctrine and Covenants we learn this important fact; namely, that the priesthood which Melchizedek held was formally called "the Priesthood after the order of the Son of God;" but in order to avoid a too frequent repetition of the name of Deity "this Holy Priesthood" was called Melchizedek, or Melchizedek Priesthood. (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 107, 1-4.) The mystery connected with Melchizedek arises doubtless from the language of Paul in Hebrew vii, where misapprehension of the language of the Apostle seemingly represents Melchizedek as being "without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continually." The commentators generally interpret this as meaning that Melchizedek was without a recorded genealogy. The mystery, however, disappears when these descriptive words are applied, not to the man Melchizedek, but to the priesthood which he held, which priesthood is without beginning of days or end of years, that is, it is an eternal thing—"without father, without mother, and without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life," but endureth as a power eternally, even as God from whom said power emanates is eternal. With this interpretation of the language of Paul the necessity for wild conjectures concerning the personality of Melchizedek disappears, and it will be enough if we fix this in the mind concerning him; namely, he was a great High Priest, co-temporary with Abraham, and the one doubtless from whom Abraham received his ordination to the patriarchal office in the priesthood, to which he had a right by reason of his descent from the patriarchs. (See Book of Abraham, chap. I:1-4.)
5. The Book of Abraham:The Book of Abraham, to which reference is made in the analysis, consisting of five chapters, is but a fragment of Abraham's writings and history, and in it is found no reference to his meeting the Melchizedek, but reference is made of his receiving the priesthood. It was conferred upon him, he tells us, "from the fathers; it came down from the fathers from the beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning or before the foundations of the earth to the present time, even the right of the first born, on the first man, who is Adam, our first father, through the fathers, unto me. I sought for mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed." (Book of Abraham, chap, i; 3-4.)
This has reference doubtless to the patriarchal office in the Priesthood, since in the subsequent verses he says, "But the records of the fathers, even the patriarchs, concerning the right of Priesthood the Lord my God preserved in mine own hands; therefore a knowledge of the beginning of the creation, and also of the planets, and of the stars, as they were made known unto the fathers, have I kept even unto this day, and I shall endeavor to write some of these things upon this record for the benefit of my posterity that shall come after me." The manner in which this sacred record "The Book of Abraham" came into the hands of the Prophet Joseph Smith, is to be found in the History of the Church, Vol. II, p. 236, 348-350 and foot note.
6. The "Call" of Abraham:"In that course of God's dealing with man which is traced in the sacred narrative, a new step was taken by the choice of a Family from which the promised seed of the woman was to spring, and which should meanwhile preserve the knowledge and worship of the true God. Jehovah, in the revelation of himself to man, retires, so to speak, from the whole compass of the race of Noah into the inner circle of the family of Abraham. It was a step required by the state of the world, which had relapsed into idolatry and profaneness before the death of Noah. This is clear from the story of the building of Babel, and it is implied in the subsequent history. Joshua expressly says that the family of Terah were idolaters. * * * * * The patriarch whom God made the head of his chosen family was born only two years after the death of Noah. * * * * * He was now seventy-five years old; and this is the period usually assigned to the 'Call' of Abraham; though it was, in fact, the second step of his career. In tracing these stages, it is important to observe the special form of promise and blessing of which each was the occasion. The first of these involves the germ of all the rest, though as yet but vaguely stated:—"I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and, thou shalt be a blessing (to others): 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." The last words already involve the crowning blessing of the Old Covenant, the Promise of the Messiah, and that to the Gentiles, "all families of the earth." (Dr. Smith's Old Testament History, p. 67 and 70.)
7. The Things Which God Revealed to Abraham:First his design to make of Abraham and his posterity in the earth the witness for himself and the truth of the Gospel unto all nations. (Gen. 12:193, Book of Abraham I:16-19, Book of Abraham 2:6-11). "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee," said the Lord; "and in thee (that is in thy priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy priesthood) for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee and in thy seed after thee (that is to say the literal seed or the seed of the body) shall all the families be blessed, even with the blessings" of the Gospel which are the blessings of salvation even of life eternal.
Second, in the dispensation to Abraham he revealed the great doctrine of the eternal existence of intelligences. (Book of Abraham 3:16-23).
Third, he made known to Abraham the covenant of eternal life to man, "which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began," (Titus 1:2). God, according to Abraham's record, standing among the spirits in existence before the world began, said: "We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him." (Book of Abraham, p. 66). From which it appears that the whole Gospel scheme of salvation was revealed to Abraham.
Fourth, he revealed to Abraham, through Urim and Thummin great knowledge of the Universe, its planetary systems and their movements and relations (Book of Abraham, chap. 3); and also gave him an account of the preparation of the earth for man's abode, and the knowledge also of the advent of Adam upon it. (Book of Abraham, chaps. 4 and 5).
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION.
ANALYSIS.
REFERENCES.
I. Interim Between Abraham and Moses.
Gen. xxiv-l; and Exodus i. Josephus' Antiquities, Bk. I chs. xviii-xxii. Bk II, chs. i-x.
Note 1, 2 and 3.
II. Birth and Call of Moses.
Exodus ii and iii. Josephus' Antiquities, Bk. II, chs. ix, xii.
III. The Gospel Given to Israel Before The Law. (i. e. the Law of Moses.)
Heb. iii:13-19 in connection with Heb. iv:1, 2 and I Cor. x:1-4. Doc. and Cov. Sec. 84; vers. 20-22. Gal. i:5-8, 16-19, 24. The Gospel, ch. xxiii.
1. From Abraham to Moses:The Bible History of the period intervening between Abraham and Moses has little that indicates specifically the existence of the Gospel among the Patriarchs. Yet the communion of the Patriarchs Isaac, and Jacob as also Joseph, with the Lord, would argue the existence of a knowledge of the means by which such communion could be secured. Also the offering of sacrifices by these patriarchs, by which was figured forth the great Atonement of the future Messiah, bears witness to the same effect—they had the Gospel. The evident existence of the High Priesthood among them undoubtedly argues the existence of the Gospel also as a necessary concomitant of that Priesthood, since said priesthood exists for the purpose of "administering the Gospel," and holds the keys of the "mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God; therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of Godliness is manifest; and without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the Priesthood, the power of Godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; for without this no man can see the face of God and live." (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 84; 16-22.) Therefore where ever this priesthood is found there also will a knowledge of the Gospel be had. If, then, the Patriarchs after Abraham had the Priesthood they undoubtedly had also the Gospel.
2. The Patriarch Joseph's Knowledge of the Covenant of Salvation—the Gospel:It is evident that Joseph, the son of Jacob, had larger knowledge of the covenant of eternal life "which God that cannot lie promised before the world began, but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching" (Titus i:2)—than appears in the Bible history of that patriarch. From the last chapter of Genesis it is evident that God had revealed unto Joseph the fact that he would visit his people Israel, in Egypt, and deliver them from that land, and bring them unto the land which he promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, as the land of their inheritance. The Book of Mormon enlarges that view of Joseph's knowledge of the purposes of God, by representing that God not only revealed the fact of a future deliverer of Israel from Egypt, but also promised him "that out of the fruit of his (Joseph's) loins, the Lord would raise up a righteous branch unto the House of Israel.Not the Messiahbut a branch which was to be broken off, nevertheless to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord,that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days,in the Spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light; yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom. * * * * * For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins. * * * * * Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins. And unto him will I give commandment, that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers. * * * * * And he shall be great like unto Moses, whom I have said I would raise up unto you, to deliver my people, O house of Israel. And Moses will I raise up, to deliver thy people out of the land of Egypt. But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins; * * * * * Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days; and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord." (II Nephi, chap. 3). The thing which the Lord promised to bring forth by this future Seer, the patriarch Joseph saw would bring salvation unto his people. (II Nephi, chap, iii:15). "And great were the covenants of the Lord which he made unto Joseph." (II Nephi iii:4.)
3. Effect of Israel's Bondage in Egypt:What may have been the effect of Israel's captivity in Egypt in the matter of perpetuating the Priesthood of their fathers and a knowledge of the Gospel cannot be as certained with any degree of certainty from what is written. It would appear, however, that God's chosen people were not without some knowledge of God and of Christ during the period of their captivity; for the Hebrew mid-wives "feared God" and forebore to commit the acts of murder upon the male infants born in Israel as commanded by the Egyptian King (Exodus i:15-22): "Therefore God dealt well with the mid-wives; and the people multiplied and waxed very mighty." (Ibid, verse 20). Moreover Paul says:
"By faith Moses, when he was bom, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the King's commandment. By faith Moses, when he, was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." (Heb. xi:23-27.)
"Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches," etc. Query.—How could Moses "esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt" if he knew nothing of Christ? Evidently, whatever may have been the status of the Israelites in respect of the Gospel and its administration among them during the period of their captivity, they at least preserved among themselves some knowledge of the Gospel and of Christ who is ever the central figure of it; and this even before the call of Moses.
4. The High Priesthood Held by Others Than the Direct Descendants of Abraham:We learn from the Doctrine and Covenants that the Priesthood existed with others than with Abraham and his direct descendants. For instance, one Esaias is named as being contemporary with Abraham and blessed of Abraham, but that Esaias himself received the Priesthood "under the hand of God." That he (Esaias) conferred it upon Gad; Gad upon Jeremy, and Jeremy upon Elihu, and Elihu upon Caleb, and Caleb, upon Jethro, Jethro, who was the priest of Median with whom Moses sojourned forty years after his flight from Egypt, and whose daughter he married—Jethro conferred the priesthood upon Moses. (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 84, 6-13.) So that Moses himself received the priesthood from a line of men holding it who were not descendants of Abraham. If what we have said in Note I of this lesson holds good; namely, that the Melchizedek priesthood and the Gospel are concomitants of each other, and that the High Priesthood exists for the purpose of administering the Gospel, which conclusion is based on the quotation in that note from the Doctrine and Covenants, (Sec. 84. 17:21), then the existence of the priesthood with this line of men above named, argues also that the existence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ among them: and therefore we have knowledge of the Gospel existing not only with Abraham and his successors, but with this independent line of men also. All of which tends to the conclusion that there was a wider dissemination of the Gospel in those ancient times than has generally been conceded.
Early Proclamation and Wide Diffusion of the Gospel:"The tardy appearance and partial distribution of moral and religious knowledge in the world,". (Mansel, Limits of Religious Thought, Preface) has ever been regarded as one of the great religious difficulties, a difficulty considerably lessened when the view presented in this Outline History of the Dispensations of the Gospel is accepted; for herein it is proven that there has neither a tardy appearance or even partial distribution of moral and religious knowledge in the world, but an early and widespread proclamation of the Gospel from the beginning and in nearly all ages there has been preached that "hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." Commenting upon the supposed long interval between the fall of man and the proclamation of his redemption (generally supposed to have been withheld from the world until the coming of Christ in the flesh), even a Roman Pope (Leo the Great, A. D. 440-461) said:
"Let those who with impious murmurings find fault with the Divine dispensations, and who complain about the lateness of Our Lord's nativity, cease from their grievances, as if what was carried out in this last age of the world had not been impending in time past. * * * * What the apostles preached, the prophets had announced before, and what has always been believed cannot be said to have fulfilled too late. By this delay of his work of Salvation the wisdom and love of God have only made us more fitted for his call; so that, what had been announced before by many signs and words and mysteries during so many centuries, should not be doubtful or uncertain in the days of the gospel God has not provided for the interests of men by a new counsel or by a late compassion; but He had instituted from the beginning for all men one and the same path of salvation." (Science of Religion, Muller, p. 107.)
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
FROM MOSES TO THE MERIDIAN DISPENSATION.
ANALYSIS.
REFERENCES.
I. There Arose not a Prophet since in Israel like unto Moses.
Deut. xxxiv:10-12. The Gospel, ch. xxiii. Note 1.
II. The Promise of a Future Prophet.
Deut. xviii:15-19 Acts, iii:22-23; Acts vii:37. History of the Church, Vol. I, p. 13; also Pearl of Great Price, p. 90. Note 2.
III. What Remained with Israel.
Doc. and Cov., Sec. lxxxviv:17-28. The Gospel, ch. xxiii; pp. 234-5. Notes 3, 4, 5.
1. There Arose Not a Prophet Since:In whatever light we view this extraordinary man, the eulogy pronounced in these inspired words will appear just. No Hebrew prophet or ruler equalled him in character, official dignity, as well as knowledge of God's will and opportunities of announcing it. (Commentary—Jameson-Fausset-Brown.)
2. The Lord Thy God Will Raise up Unto Thee a Prophet:"The insertion of this promise, in connection with the preceding prohibition, (not to harken to soothsayers, verse 9-14) might warrant the application which some make of it, to that order of true prophets whom God commissioned in unbroken succession to instruct, to direct, and warn His people; and in this view the purport of it is, 'There is no need to consult with diviners and soothsayers, as I shall afford you the benefit of divinely-appointed prophets, for judging of whose credentials a sure criterion is given.' (vs. 20-22). But the prophet here promised was preeminently the Messiah, for He alone was 'like unto Moses (see on ch. 34. 10) in his mediatorial character; in the peculiar excellence of his ministry; in the number, variety, and magnitude of his miracles; in his close and familiar communion with God; and in his being the author of a new dispensation of religion.' This prediction was fulfilled 1500 years afterwards, and was expressly applied to Jesus Christ by Peter (Acts 3, 22, 23), and by Stephen (Acts 7, 37)." (Commentary—as above.)
3. The Gospel Plus the Law:After making the statement that the Gospel was preached to Abraham, Paul asks the question, "Wherefore then serveth the law?" That is, if the Gospel was preached to Abraham how came the law of Moses into existence: why was it given to ancient Israel and binding on them? To which the apostle replies:
"It was added because of transgression, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. * * * * * Wherefore the law was our school master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
The matter is still more plainly set forth in the Doctrine and Covenants. In speaking of the priesthood and the ordinances belonging thereto—through which ordinances "the power of godliness is manifest; and without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; for without this"—that is without the priesthood and its ordinances—"no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live" (Doc. & Cov. Sec. lxxxiv:20, 21, 22.)—the Lord says: "Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; But they hardened their hearts, and could not endure his presence; therefore the Lord in his wrath (for his anger was kindled against them) swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fullness of his glory. Therefore he took Moses out of their midst, and the holy priesthood also; And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory Gospel; Which Gospel is the Gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in his wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John." (Doc. & Cov. Sec. lxxxiv:23-27.)
The above is confirmed by the Jewish scriptures also; for it is written in the concluding chapter of Deuteronomy—
"There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.
"In all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt." (Deut. xxiv:10-12.)
Of the things we have spoken respecting the Gospel being presented to ancient Israel, this is the sum: the Lord gave them the Gospel, but because they would not observe its sacred requirements, he took it, that is in its fullness, from among them, and also the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood; but left with them the lesser or Aaronic Priesthood; which holds "the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory Gospel" (see above), "to minister in outward ordinances, the letter of the Gospel—the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins," (Doc. & Cov. Sec. cvii, 20.) and to the part of the Gospel which remained, viz., faith in God, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, was added the law of carnal commandments, which was to educate Israel for the fullness of the Gospel when Messiah should come with it. (The Gospel, pp. 233, 234, 235.)
4. Gospel Rites Among the Jews:In addition to the evidence supplied by the Scriptures in the above argumentative note, in the Article on baptism in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, it is said:
"There is an universal agreement among later Jewish writers that all the Israelites were brought into covenant with God by circumcision, baptism, and sacrifice, and that the same ceremonies were necessary in admitting proselytes. Thus Malmonides (Issure Biah, cap. 13); "Israel was admitted into covenant by three things, namely, by circumcision, baptism, and sacrifice. Circumcision was in Egypt, as it is said, 'None uncircumcised shall eat of the passover.' Baptism was in the wilderness before the giving of the Law, as it is said, 'Thou shalt sanctify them today and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments.'" And he adds, "So, whenever a Gentile desires to enter into the covenant of Israel, and place himself under the wings of the Divine Majesty, and take the yoke of the Law upon him, he must be circumcised, and baptized and bring a sacrifice; or if it be a woman, she must be baptized and bring a sacrifice." The same is abundantly testified by earlier writers, as by the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud, although no reference to this custom can be found in Philo, Josephus, or the Targum of Onkelos. Its earliest mention appears to be in the Targum of Jonathan on Ex. xii. 44. "Thou shalt circumcise him and baptize him." It should be added, that men, women, and children, were all baptized, and either two or three witnesses were required to be present. Some modern writers—Lardner, Ernesti, De Wette, Meyer, Paulus, and others—have doubted or denied that this baptism of proselytes had been in use among the Jews from times so early as those of the Gospel; but it is highly improbable that, after the rise of Christianity, the Jews should have adopted a rite so distinctively Christian as baptism had then become." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, Art. "Baptism," Vol. I, p. 233, 234.)
In addition to the evidence cited in Smith's Dictionary, we may add as a convincing fact that before the advent of Jesus as a religious teacher, John the Baptist came to Israel crying repentance, and both teaching and administering baptism for the remission of sins. (See Matt, iii; Mark i; Luke iii; John i.) Which established the fact that this Gospel rite of baptism, was a well established institution among the Jews under the law of Moses and existed in connection with those ceremonies and sacrifices which figured forth the redemption to be wrought out by the Christ. Jesus also bears witness to the same effect in his conversation with Nicodemus, [John iii] where he teaches to that worthy man the mysteries of the second birth, saying that, "except a man be born of water [i. e. baptized] and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." And when Nicodemus could not Comprehend this doctrine "Jesus answered and said unto him. Art thou a Master of Israel and knowest not these things?" Clearly proving that Jesus was not advancing any new doctrine, but referring to the 'well established Gospel doctrine in Israel.
5. The Book of Mormon Testimony:The Book of Mormon bears most important testimony upon the subject of the Mosaic rites and ceremonies figuring forth the atonement to be made by Messiah and of the existence of the knowledge both of the coming and the mission of that Messiah. Also a knowledge that the law of Moses was of no efficiency in securing salvation for man only as it was associated with, and finally would be completed in, the coming and atonement of the Christ.
The late President John Taylor in his work "Mediation and Atonement," has grouped in small compass the facts that are set forth in the Book of Mormon, bearing on this subject as follows:
"From the Bible we turn to the Book of Mormon wih a view to discover to what extent the law of sacrifice, as a type of the offering up of the promised of Israel which God planted on this continent. In perusing the pages of this sacred record, we shall find several important facts and ideas, in connection with this subject, presented very prominently by the ancient Nephite historians: among them—
First, that the law of Moses, with all its rites, ordinances and sacrifices was strictly observed by the faithful Nephites from the time of their arrival on the promised land until it was fulfilled in Christ, and by his command ceased to be observed.
Second, that when the Nephites brought any of the Lamanites to the knowledge and worship of the true God, they taught them to observe this law.
Third, that those who apostatized from the Nephites, as a general thing, ceased to observe this law.
Fourth, that the true import of the law of Moses, and of its ceremonies and sacrifices, as typical of the atonement yet to be made by our Lord and Savior was thoroughly taught by the Priesthood among that people and very generally understood by them.
Fifth, that associated with the observance of this law, there were continued admonitions given that salvation was in Christ and not in the law, which was but the shadow and type of that of which he was the prototype and reality.
Sixth, that temples were erected of the same pattern as that of Solomon at Jerusalem, evidently for the reason that they were to be used for the same purposes.
Seventh, that the Gospel was preached in connection with the law, and churches were established and organized according to the Gospel requirements, and that the higher Priesthood, although not fully organized in all its parts, ministered to the Nephites as well as the lesser.
Eighth, it appears indubitable from the two records, the Bible and the Book of Mormon, that the intent and true meaning of the law of Moses, of its sacrifices, etc., were far better understood and comprehended by the Nephites than by the Jews. But in this connection, it must not be forgotten, that a great many most plain and precious things as the Book of Mormon states, have been taken from the Bible, through the ignorance of uninspired translators or the design and cunning of wicked men."
The above are the opening paragraphs of chapter XIV of President Taylor's work. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to elaborate quotations from the Book of Mormon bearing out the several propositions in the above quotation. One admirable passage bearing upon the subject, argumentative, too, in its nature, is not quoted by President Taylor, and I herewith supply it. It is from the Nephite prophet Alma's instruction to his son Corianton:
"And now, my son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the coming of Christ. Behold I say, that he cometh to declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people. And now my son, this was the ministry unto which you were called, to declare these glad tidings unto this people, to prepare their minds; or rather that salvation might come unto them, that they may prepare the minds of their children to hear the word at the time of his coming. * * * Behold, you marvel why these things should be known so long beforehand. Behold, I say unto you, Is not a soul as precious unto God, as a soul will be at the time of his coming? Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be made known unto this people, as well as unto their children? Is it not as easy at this time, for the Lord to send his angel to declare these glad tidings unto us, as unto our children; or as after the time of his coming?" (Alma ch. 39:15-19.)
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE ANTIQUITY OF THE GOSPEL.[A]
(An Argumentative Discourse.)
TEXT: "In hope of Eternal Life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began; but hath in due times manifested his word through preaching." (Titus i:2, 3.)
ANALYSIS.
REFERENCES.
I. Numerous Dispensations.
Peter i:18-25. Rev xiii:8, xv:8. Job xxxviii:4-6.
II. The Gospel Revealed to Adam.
Titus i:1, 2. Book of Moses (P. G. P.) ch. v:6-8. Ibid, 56-59.
III. Establishment of the Ancient Church.
Book of Moses, ch. vi:48-52. Gen. v:24. Heb. xi:5. Alma ch. xiii. Book of Moses ch. vii:69.
IV. The Gospel Plus the Law.
Heb. vii. I Cor. x:1-4. Heb. iii:14-19 and Heb. iv:1, 2,[B]and Gal. iii.
V. From Moses to John the Baptist.
Doc. and Cov., Sec. lxxxiv:19-29.
VI. Of the Origin of the Gospel.
[Footnote A: Such is the importance of this subject—a subject which perhaps more than any other differentiates the view-point of Latter-Day Saints as to the Gospel of Jesus Christ from that of sectarian Christendom, that I here depart from the usual lesson formula to introduce in place of detached notes an unbroken presentation of the subject. This lesson may be regarded as a review of those that have preceded it in the present rear Book, also as an illustration of argumentative discourse The reference opposite the Analysis are those on which the argument is based.]
[Footnote B: This cites the close of one chapter and the opening verses of an other, but it should be remembered that Paul did not divide his epistle into chapters and verses; and this awkward division is but one of many that exist in the Scriptures.]
1. Numerous Dispensations of the Gospel Given:That there have been many dispensations of the Gospel, many times that divine authority has been conferred upon men, is apparent from the Scripture narratives of such events. And yet, strange as it may seem, in the face of such Scripture narratives, there are those among professing Christians who hold that the Gospel had no earlier origin than the time of Messiah's ministry in the flesh. As a matter of fact, however, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has existed from the very earliest ages of the world. There are, indeed, certain passages of Scripture which lead us to believe that even before the earth was made or ever man was placed upon it the Gospel had been formulated and was understood by the spirits which inhabited the kingdom of the Father; and who, in course of time, would be blessed with a probation on the earth—an earth-life. If this be not true, of what significance is the Scripture which speaks of Jesus as the Lamb ordained before the foundation of the world, but revealed in this day for the salvation of men. What of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world? And further: "They that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world." "Where wast thou," asked the Lord of Job, "when I laid the foundations of the earth? * * * * * When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" There is evidence in these expressions found in Scripture that before the foundations of the earth were laid the sacrifice necessary to the redemption of men was understood, and the "Lamb" for the sacrifice was chosen, Jesus, the Messiah. There is evidence in these expressions from Scripture of the pre-existence of the spirits of men, and the names of some of them at least were written in the "Book of Life" from the foundation of the world, and it is not unlikely that the shouting of all the sons of God for joy, at the creation of the earth was in consequence of the prospects which opened before them because of the earth-life and the salvation that would come to them through the Gospel—even in the prospects of that "eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began." (See the text of this discourse.)
The Gospel, then, is of great antiquity. Older than the hills, older than the earth; for in the heavenly kingdom was it formulated before the foundations of the earth were laid.
2. The Gospel Revealed to Adam:Nor were men left in ignorance of the plan of their redemption until the coming of the Messiah in the flesh. From the first that plan was known. Our annals are imperfect on that head, doubtless, but enough exists even in the Jewish scriptures to indicate the existence of a knowledge of the fact of the Atonement and of the redemption of man through that means. Abel, the son cf Adam, is the first we read of in the Jewish scriptures as offering "the firstlings of his flock" as a sacrifice unto God. How came he to offer sacrifice of the firstlings of his flock? Doubtless behind Abel's sacrifice, as behind similar offerings in subsequent ages, stood the fact of the Christ's Atonement. In it was figured forth the means of man's redemption—through a sacrifice, and that the sacrifice of the first-born. But where learned Abel to offer sacrifice if not from his father, Adam? It is reasonably certain that Adam as well as Abel offered sacrifices, in like manner and for the same intent; and to Adam, though the Jewish scriptures are silent respecting it, God must have revealed both the necessity of offering sacrifice and the great thing of which it was but the symbol. And here, to some advantage, may be quoted a passage from the writings of Moses, as revealed to Joseph Smith, in December, 1830. From what was then made known to the great Latter-Day Prophet of the writings of Moses, it appears that our book of Genesis does not contain all that was revealed to Moses respecting the revelations of God to Adam and his children of the first generation. According to this more complete account of the revelation to Moses, after Adam was driven from Eden, God gave commandments both to him and his wife, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the Lord, and Adam was obedient unto the commandment:
"And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why doest thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. 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 for evermore."
After some time elapsed and men multiplied in the earth and wickedness increased; after Abel, the righteous, was slain and Cain was a vagabond in the earth for the murder; after Lamech had also become a murderer and Satan had great power among the disobedient—then, it is written:
"And God cursed the earth with a sore curse, and was angry with the wicked, with all the sons of men whom he had made; for they would not hearken unto his voice, nor believe on His Only Begotten Son, even Him whom He declared should come in the meridian of time, who was prepared from before the foundation of the world. 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."
Establishment of the Ancient Church:
As the Gospel was thus preached there were those among the children of Adam who obeyed it, and a record of those men was kept, and they constituted the ancient Church of God. Enoch was of the number of righteous ones, and a preacher of righteousness. In these revealed writings of Moses he is represented in the course of his ministry as referring to the manner in which the Gospel was taught to Adam:
"And he said unto them: Because that Adam fell, we are and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe. Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God. But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent. And He called upon our father Adam by His own voice saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh. And He also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized even in water in the name of mine Only Begotten Son who is full of grace and truth which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in His name and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you."
Adam was obedient to the commandments of the Lord, and taught them to his children, any of whom believed them obeyed, and became the sons of God.
Enoch, we are told, "walked with God; and he was not; for God took him." Paul, in speaking of him, says: "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him." But the writings of Moses, as revealed to Joseph Smith, and from which I have been quoting, give information that not only was Enoch translated but the Saints inhabiting his city, into which he had gathered his people, and this city was called Zion; "And it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into His own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is fled."
The Gospel Plus the Law:
Thus the Gospel was taught to the ancients. Noah was a preacher of it as well as Enoch. So, too, was Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God, King of Salem, who met Abraham in his day and blessed him. Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, bears unmistakable testimony to the fact that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham; and also that it was offered to Israel under Moses before "the law of carnal commandments" was given. "I would not that ye should be ignorant," he says, "how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink;for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ."
Referring again to the fact of the presentation of the Gospel to ancient Israel, Paul says that the Gospel was preached unto ancient Israel, as well as unto Israel in his day; but the preaching of the Gospel to ancient Israel was not profitable to them, because they received it not in faith, and as a result displeased God by their unbelief, and the rebellious perished in the wilderness.
Paul's great controversy with the Christian Jews was in relation to the superiority of the Gospel to the law of Moses. Many of the Christian Jews, while accepting Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah, still held to the law with something like superstitious reverence, and could not be persuaded that the Gospel superceded the law, and was, in fact, a fulfillment of all its types and symbols. This controversy culminated in Paul's now celebrated letter to the Galatians, wherein he says:
"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith,preached before the gospel unto Abraham,saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He sayeth not and to seeds, as of many; but as one. And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. * * * Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. * * Wherefore the law was our school-master that faith is come, we are no longer under a school-master. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."
From Moses to John the Baptist:
In greater clearness, however, than in these sayings of Paul gathered up from his writings like scattered rays of light from a prism's reflection, the antiquity of the Gospel, as far as it concerns ancient Israel, is stated in a revelation of God to the Prophet Joseph Smith. And not only the antiquity of the Gospel, but in greater clearness also is stated the reasons why, after the Gospel was first preached to ancient Israel, the law of carnal commandments was "added" to the Gospel, or given in its place to act as a school-master to bring Israel unto Christ. And by the knowledge imparted in that revelation the time between the Mosaic dispensation and the coming of John the Baptist, to prepare the way for the coming of the Christ, is spanned by a statement so rational, that the truth of it cannot be reasonably questioned. Speaking of the Melchizedek Priesthood and its powers in administering the ordinances of the Gospel, and how it came to disappear as an organization in Israel, the passage in question says:
"This greater Priesthood administereth the Gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God; therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest; and without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the Priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; for without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live. Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; but they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence, therefore the Lord in His wrath (for His anger was kindled against them) sware that they should not enter into His rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fullness of His glory. Therefore He took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also; and the lesser Priesthood continued, which Priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory Gospel; which Gospel is the Gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in His wrath, caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb; for he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord, before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is given all power."
As before remarked, this passage spans the interval of time between Moses and John the Baptist, and gives a fuller explanation than can be found in the writings of Paul or elsewhere, for the reason why and in what manner the law was added to the Gospel; and what measure of the Priesthood remained with Israel unto the coming of John; in what the mission of John consisted, and in what manner he was qualified to fulfill that mission.
6. Of Origin:It is a question that has been much discussed whether Christianity has been derived from the mythologies of heathen nations, or the mythologies of heathen nations—wherein they seem to be related to Christian Gospel ideas,—derived from a very early revelation of the Gospel, say in the patriarchal age. Dr. John W. Draper at the conclusion of an exhaustive review of the conclusions of Greek and Oriental philosophies, says: "On this point we may therefore accept as correct the general impression entertained by philosophers, Greek, Alexandrian, and Roman after the Christian era, that, at the bottom, the Greek and Oriental philosophies were alike, not only as respects the questions they proposed for solution, but also in the decisions they arrived at.As we have said, this impression led to the belief that there must have been in the remote past a revelation common to both,though subsequently obscured and vitiated by the infirmities and wickedness of man." (Intellectual Development of Europe, p. 224.)
Later the Dr. remarks: "Indeed, so complete is the parallel between the course of mental evolution in Asia and Europe, that it is difficult to designate a matter of minor detail in the philosophy of the one which cannot be pointed out in that of the other. It was not without reason, therefore, that the Alexandrian philosophers, who were profoundly initiated in the detail of both systems, time to the conclusion that such surprising coincidences could only be accounted for upon the admission that there had been an ancient revelation, the vestiges of which had descended to their time." (Ibid, p. 237.. )
The author of the "Intellectual Development of Europe," however, does not acquiesce in this conclusion, but offers the following as an explanation: "In this, however, they judged erroneously: the true explanation consisting in the fact that the process of development of the intellect of man, and the final results to which he arrives in examining similar problems, are in all countries the same." (p. 237.) Which is a most lame and impotent conclusion, and one not borne out by the facts of the history of ideas. Much juster is the conclusion presented by the late President John Taylor, who, at the end of a some what extended review of traditions respecting the mythologies of various races, wherein seemed to be reflected essential Christian facts and ideas, says:
"The fact is clearly proved, instead of Christianity, deriving its existence and acts from the ideas and practices of heathen mythologists, and from various false systems that had been introduced by apostacy, unrecognized pretensions and fraud, that those very systems themselves were obtained from the true Priesthood, and founded on its teachings from the earliest ages to the advent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: that those holy principles were taught to Adam, and by him to his posterity; that Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and the various Prophets had all borne testimony of this grand and important event, wherein the interest and happiness of the whole world was concerned, pertaining to time and to eternity. The Gospel is a system, great, grand and comprehensive commencing in eternity, extending through all time, and then reaching into [Transcriber's note: break in text here appears to be a printer's error in the original.]
Concluding Reflections:
The view here presented of the antiquity of the Gospel, as remarked in the foot note at page 100, differentiates the viewpoint of the Latter-day Saints from that of sectarian Christendom, concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It presents that Gospel as "The hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began." Jesus is "the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world." The sons of God shouted for joy when "the foundations of the earth were laid," in prospect of that eternal life promised through the Gospel of the Christ. It is of greater antiquity than the earth itself, then. Older than the hills, or the mountains, or the sea. Is it not older than the stars, since it comes of the love of God, also the Christ love for man; answered by the love of man for God, and or Christ, and or fellow man? In all worlds and in all world-systems does not the same Gospel prevail? Is not eternal law maintained by its constant and eternal vindication, what some call the maintenance of Justice? Does not violation of law involve intelligences in suffering in all worlds? Everywhere, as here in this world, may not one suffer for another, because bound together in that mysterious sympathy, which proclaims the universal kinship of intelligences, and emphasises the truth that no man lives unto himself alone? If the implied answer to these questions be true, will there not in some form be an expression of the Christ-love that will offer itself a ransome for others that the element of mercy may be brought into God's economy of things, even as it was brought into the moral economy of this our world by such an offering? And out of these fundamental realities and universalities will there not grow up all those relations of Redeemer and redeemed; Teacher and the taught; penitent and Forgiver? Will not God be in such worlds reconciling them to himself through the Christ and the Christ spirit that shall be made every where to abound?
To all this I answer undoubtedly. And as in the last analysis of things there is one God-nature into which Intelligences who are sons of God arise, and in which they live; for there is one Justice and one Mercy and one Love and one Plan of Salvation which saves all worlds—one Gospel and that is from eternity. I say nothing of the forms through which that one Gospel may receive its manifestations in other worlds. I only know the forms through which it is expressed in this world, and that only because of the revelations that God has given in the various dispensations granted to this world, and that is enough. But I am sure that in the last analysis of things the essential principles of the Gospel that are ordained to save our world is the Gospel that will redeem all worlds; for the principle of our Gospel stripped of local coloring are in their nature permanent and universal and hence, not only of great antiquity, but eternal, it is the "Ever Lasting Gospel."