We meet together from time to time to hear of things pertaining to the
Kingdom of God on the earth. We have our own peculiar views in
relation to many things that occupy the minds of men, and we have been
in the habit of investigating the principles of the Gospel, and our
minds are more or less occupied with affairs connected with the
welfare of humanity, whether associated with the present life or that
which is to come.
There is a common tendency in the minds of men generally to take very
little trouble in relation to religious matters; and men of all
nations seem more disposed to let others think and act for them in
such matters than to do so for themselves; hence, those who are
disposed to prey upon the credulous, have every opportunity to
accomplish their ends. Another point upon which men do not reflect
much, is the fact that between this and the spirit world there is a
veil drawn, which can only be penetrated through the medium which the
Scriptures unfold. There we are told that "no man can understand the
things of God but by the Spirit of God;" hence, though men may reason
upon natural principles, and speak logically on most of the common
affairs of life, when they attempt to investigate the principles of
religion, and the nature of our relation ship to God, they seem to be
at a loss; and not being willing on the one hand to acknowledge their
own weakness, ignorance, and imperfection, nor on the other hand, to
acknowledge the hand of the Almighty, they know not what course to
pursue. On account of these various feelings in the world a great many
errors of every kind have crept in and have led the human mind astray.
The Christian portion of the world are apt to look with contempt upon
what is called the heathen, and wonder how men possessing any degree
of intelligence can be led to worship sticks and stones and gods of
their own making. Yet millions, under the influence of priestcraft do
this, and they think they are right and that they are on the high road
to Heaven. The Christian world, too, feel that it is all right with
them in reference to a future life; in fact, they feel, in respect to
religious matters, about as the Athenians did about the goddess
Diana—that she had descended from Heaven and that all the world knew
it. The various sects of the Christian world—Methodists, Baptists,
Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Church of Rome, and others, no matter
what their peculiar creeds or forms of worship may be—entertain the
idea that they are all on the highway to Heaven. They build
magnificent churches and pay thousands of ministers; they are
also very zealous in missionary labors, and contribute largely for
the support of charitable institutions. But it is very few of them who
reflect upon first principles; they do not like to trouble themselves
on such matters.
I have traveled a great deal, and have come in contact with
professors of every creed; but they almost invariably like to assume,
without contradiction, that they are right and that their fathers
before them were. They do not like the idea to be entertained for a
moment that the principles, doctrine, and ordinances they believe in
and obey may be wrong, or that there is any possibility of the whole
so-called Christian church having departed from the faith and
ordinances as laid down in the Gospel by Jesus Christ.
The Methodists, for instance, could not for a moment suppose that John
Wesley was not competent to judge all matters pertaining to salvation.
Wesleyan ministers will hardly permit his doctrines to be questioned;
they must be swallowed without investigation. In fact, I have heard
some of them say that he was a man of such erudition, talent, and
piety that they would not have his doctrines questioned in their
hearing. The Protestant Germans and a great many others are just the
same with regard to Luther; yet in some of his ideas and principles
the great Reformer was as foolish as any other man. The Scotch are a
good deal so with John Knox; they think that he was everything good,
praiseworthy, and amiable, and, in fact, that he was the pink of
perfection. The Roman Catholics will not for a moment admit that they
are not the true church; and they will maintain that they have held
the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven from the days of Peter until now,
and that they still have the pure doctrines of the Gospel, and have
power to bind on earth and in Heaven, and to loose on earth and in
Heaven. You may ask a great many who have seceded from the Church of
Rome, and you would find that they have similar ideas about their own
infallibility, only they are a little better than those from whom they
seceded; they have made some improvements and are a little nearer the
celestial kingdom.
Feelings of this kind obtain not only among religionists, but also
among philosophers, for some Christian philosophers have brought in
philosophy to their aid in order to prove the truth of the Christian
religion. Paley and Dick, very prominent Christian philosophers, have
examined the works of nature, and have endeavored to prove that the
God of nature who controlled all these things must be a Being full of
love, intelligence, and power. In their investigations they have
examined the anatomical and visceral systems of man, beasts, birds,
and insects, and have deduced therefrom many arguments which are
interesting and incontrovertible. But when they apply their reasoning
to the Christian religion they swallow it at one gulp without
investigation. Their arguments go to prove the existence of a Supreme
Being, a God; but they do not prove the truth or falsity of the
Christian or any other system of religion—they have nothing at all to
do with them.
People generally are apt to accept the various religious systems of
the day without reasoning or investigation. When I was a little boy I
used to ponder over such things; and I do so still. Finding myself an
inhabitant of the world, surrounded by ten thousand conflicting
opinions on religious subjects, I want to know "what is truth?" Who
has it in his possession? Where shall we find it? If I were
among the heathen, and had been taught to worship an alligator, I
should not think it right to worship a cat; and if it was right to
worship a cat, it would not be to worship a bull; and if a bull, it
would not be to worship a snake; and if a snake, it would not be to
worship a monkey; and if a monkey, it would not be to worship sun,
moon, or stars. Were I among the Christians I would think if the
Baptists are right the Presbyterians are not; if the Presbyterians are
right then the Baptists are not; if the Church of England is right
then the others are wrong; if the Roman Catholics are right then
others are wrong; and if any of the others are right the Roman
Catholics are wrong. I cannot conceive of two ways to go to Heaven and
both right. I cannot think of a God of intelligence, who has created
the whole human family, and who has organized every living thing, and
adapted them to the varied positions which they occupy, being the
author of the confusion that exists in the world in relation to the
forms of worship. But if God is not the author of it, who is? Where
did it come from? I know that men generally are not inclined to
investigate these subjects.
When I was a boy I used to be connected with the Church of England.
Theirs is a pleasant kind of religion. I liked it very well when I was
connected with it. They pay the parson for preaching and pay the clerk
for saying "Amen." No difficulty about the matter, everything moved
along pleasantly. Nobody thought of questioning the parson. They
considered the whole system correct, and that they were all on the way
to Heaven. The Roman Catholics feel a good deal the same way, only
their religion is not quite so easy. They have to do penance
sometimes; if they do wrong they may get absolution, but they have to
pay for it.
In talking with Church of England ministers I have sometimes asked
them where they got their authority from. That is a kind of question
they hardly deem admissible, but they would say, "Well, if we must
confess, we got it from the Roman Catholics." Where did they get it
from? "From Peter." But, unfortunately, you Episcopalians say that the
Roman Catholics are in error. "Yes, they are in error." Well, if that
be the case, how could they confer power upon you? Do not the
Scriptures say if a tree is bad its fruit will be bad? "Oh," say they,
"they might retain their power even if they had lost their virtue."
Oh, indeed; you admit that much. Well, if they had power to bind on
earth and to bind in Heaven, they had power to loose on earth and to
loose in Heaven; and if they had power to give the priesthood they had
power to take it away, and if they cut you off you have no authority.
They do not like to reason upon these things; but I do. I like to know
the "whys" and "wherefores" in all such things, and to understand
their foundation, especially in matters pertaining to man's eternal
welfare. I have generally taken the liberty of applying the word of
God to principles of religion whether taught by the Methodists, Church
of England, Roman Catholics, or any others; and when "Mormonism" was
presented to me my first inquiry was, "Is it Scriptural? Is it
reasonable and philosophical?" This is the principle I would act upon
today. No matter how popular the theories or dogmas preached might
be, I would not accept them unless they were strictly in
accordance with the Scriptures, reason, and common sense.
I used to be told when investigating religious principles that it was
dangerous to do so, and I had better let them alone; but I did not
think so. I believe it is good to investigate and prove all principles
that come before me. Prove all things, hold fast that which is good,
and reject that which is evil, no matter what guise it may come in. I
think if we, as "Mormons," hold principles that cannot be sustained by
the Scriptures and by good sound reason and philosophy, the quicker we
part with them the better, no matter who believes in them or who does
not. In every principle presented to us, our first inquiry should be,
"Is it true?" "Does it emanate from God?" If He is its Author it
can
be sustained just as much as any other truth in natural philosophy; if
false it should be opposed and exposed just as much as any other
error. Hence upon all such matters we wish to go back to first
principles.
If I am a man, where did I come from, and what is the nature of my
existence and being here? I want information on these points, if
anybody can give it. If I had an existence before I came here I want
to know something about it. If there is a God and anybody on the earth
ever knew anything about Him, I want to know something about Him. If
there are wise, intelligent, and learned men anywhere who can tell me
anything about Him, about my own existence and future destiny, I want
to know it. These desires are reasonable; why should they not be
gratified? You go to the heathen and inquire about God, and they have
thousands of them in every form. Go to the Christians and they have
one God, but he has neither body, parts, nor passions; his presence is
everywhere, but he exists nowhere. They have never heard nor seen him,
and they do not know anybody who ever did, not even their ministers,
whom, they claim, are sent of God. They are equally as ignorant in
relation to their own existence and the ends of their creation. They
say they are going to Heaven, but all they can tell you about it is
that it is beyond the bounds of time and space.
This kind of doctrine does not suit me. I can read in the Scriptures
that men used to converse with God, and that angels conversed with
them; that others had visions and could read the purposes of God as
they were unfolded before them. But come to the present day when,
according to their own account, the most intelligent people that ever
were upon the earth are now in existence, and they know nothing about
God or His purposes. I care nothing about such knowledge and wisdom.
In the language of the old prophet I say, "My soul, enter not thou
into their secret." I want something that is intellectual and true,
and that will bear investigation.
When I turn to the Gospel as taught by Jesus, I find that he sent his
disciples into all the world and commanded them to preach the Gospel
to every creature, saying, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." This Gospel was no
pliant thing, as in this day, that men could receive or refuse as they
pleased, or that they could tinker to suit their own notions; but when
preached, it involved the salvation or damnation of those who heard
it.
When the apostles commenced to preach the Gospel, Jesus said it was
necessary for him to go away, for if he went away he would send them
the Comforter—the Holy Spirit— which should call all things to
their remembrance and show them things to come. This was something
very important; a religion that would do this was a religion fit for
immortal men. Why should men, made in the image and after the likeness
of God, be ignorant of themselves, of their pre-existence, and their
future destiny? The religion that Jesus came to teach instructs men in
relation to these subjects and puts them in possession of correct
information. Well, then, I do not want to go to any of the old
doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, or to the Episcopalians,
Calvinists, or Lutherans. I want the doctrines that were promulgated
by the disciples of Jesus on the day of Pentecost, through obedience
to which men may gain the power and inspiration that were enjoyed by
them, in accordance with the promises which Jesus had made. On that
day we read that the disciples began to speak with other tongues as
the Spirit gave them utterance. People from different nations heard
them preach the Gospel in their own tongues, and they marveled and
thought they were drunken with new wine. Peter told them that it was
not so, "but," said he, "this is that which was spoken by the prophet:
It shall come to pass in the last days that I will pour out my spirit
upon all flesh, and your old men shall dream dreams, and your young
men shall see visions, and upon my servants and handmaidens I will
pour out my spirit and they shall prophesy." It was the pouring out of
the Spirit of God in fulfillment of this prophecy. It was the
revelation of God to man; it was the introduction of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ; it was the power of the Lord God manifested through
obedience to the Gospel.
When the people saw these won derful manifestations, they said, "Men
and brethren, what shall we do?" I have often reflected upon this
saying. If men were to ask this question now among the Methodists they
would tell them to come to the mourner's bench and be prayed for. Some
of the other sects would tell them pretty much the same thing. I have
seen operations of this kind take place. When their preachers get
people excited, they get them to the mourner's bench and they commence
praying, and tell the people to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The
mourner may say, "I do believe;" but his only answer will be, "Well,
you must believe." "I do believe," says the mourner again. "Well,
you
must believe," is the reply again, and that is about all the minister
or the people know about it. Some will say the believer must be
baptized; but upon the mode of baptism they are very much divided in
opinion. Some say they must be sprinkled; others say the water must
be poured upon the believer; while others say that immersion is the
correct method. The Methodists are very pliable on this point—they
give a man a chance to have which method he pleases; their ministers
do not know which is right, so they give the sinner the privilege to
take which he likes.
I have reflected upon these matters a good deal. It was very different
in former days. When they asked on the day of Pentecost what they were
to do to be saved, said Peter, "Repent and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, and
you shall receive the Holy Ghost." This was the command to all—to the
doctors, lawyers, Pharisees, and pious people, as well as to the
harlot, publicans, and thieves. This was the doctrine of the Apostolic
Church. The question with me is, "If this was the true Gospel
1,800 years ago, is it not the same today?" This is a question I have
often put to priests when I was very young, and they would tell me not
to trouble myself about such things, they were for the consideration
of wiser people. But when I investigated further I found that these
"wiser people" knew nothing about it.
The Methodists, Presbyterians, and others tell us they have the Gospel
and the Holy Ghost. I am glad if they have, but if they have, they
will be able to show the fruits of the Gospel, for it will produce the
same results now as then. Eighteen hundred years ago, if a man sowed
wheat it produced the same as today; and if he sowed barley or corn,
he reaped the same, for what a man sows that shall he reap. The animal
called a horse in those days is not a jackass or a mule now, but is a
horse still. Two and two made four then the same as today. The Gospel
of Jesus Christ produced certain results then, and it will produce the
same today, or it is not the Gospel. This is the way I reason.
"Well," the inquirer may say, "if the Gospel does not exist anywhere
but among you Latter-day Saints, where did you get it from?" We
believe God has spoken. Joseph Smith said an angel came and
administered to him and revealed the Gospel to him as it existed in
former days, and Joseph declares further, that he was ordained by holy
angels, and was commanded to go forth and preach the everlasting
Gospel. I find in reading the Bible that there is a prophecy in
relation to this matter. John says in his Revelation, "I saw another
angel flying in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting gospel to
preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, kindred,
tongue, and people, crying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory
to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that
made the heavens, earth, the seas, and the fountains of waters."
What is meant by the everlasting Gospel? I know that some people think
there was no Gospel until Jesus came; but it is a great mistake. Adam,
Noah, Abraham, and Moses had the Gospel; and when Jesus came he came
to offer himself a sacrifice for the sins of the world, and to bring
back the Gospel which the people had lost. "Well," says one, "do you
mean to affirm that the men you have just named had the Gospel?" I do,
and hence it is called the everlasting Gospel. "How do you know?" Why,
the Scriptures say the Gospel held the keys of the mysteries of the
revelation of God. Now, Adam was in possession of these things; he was
in possession of the spirit of prophecy and revelation. He talked with
God, and it was through the medium of the Gospel he was enabled to do
it. Enoch also conversed with and had revelations from God, and
finally he was not, for God took him. Noah conversed with God, and God
told him to build an ark, and gave him revelations about the size of
it and the kind of animals he was to introduce into it. And wherever
the Gospel existed there was a knowledge of God. Moses had the Gospel
and so had Abraham, and they communicated with Him from time to time.
And by what medium was this done? It was through the medium of the
Gospel. "Do you mean to affirm," says the objector, "that Moses had
the Gospel?" Yes; let us take the Bible for it; we all believe in
that. In that book we read that "unto us was the Gospel preached as
well as unto them." We are also told that the Gospel was preached to
them, but that it did not profit them, not being mixed with
faith in those who heard it, therefore the law was added because of
transgression. Added to what? Why, to the Gospel, which the Scriptures
say Moses preached to the children of Israel. In the New Testament we
read, Gal. 3rd chapter and 8th verse, "For 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." It
was through the medium of the Gospel that Abraham obtained these
promises. Now, some people think the law of Moses, as it is called,
was given to the children of Israel as a peculiar kind of a blessing;
but it was a peculiar kind of a curse, added because of transgression.
It was as Peter said—neither they nor their fathers were able to bear
it.
We read also that Jesus came and was a priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek. Who was Melchizedek? He was the man who blessed
Abraham, the father of the faithful, yet Melchizedek was greater than
Abraham, for verily the lesser is blessed of the greater. For
wherever and whenever the Gospel has existed there has been the
opening of the heavens, revelations and visions given to men; and
wherever the Gospel has not existed there has been no vision, no
revelation, no communication between the heavens and the earth. Hence
that which is called the Gospel in the Christian world is not the
Gospel, but a perversion of it.
When Jesus came he came to do away with the law and to introduce the
Gospel that their fathers had lost because of transgression. After its
restoration by Jesus the same results followed: the heavens were
opened, the purposes of God unfolded, and His power made manifest
among the people.
Joseph Smith's mission was to restore this same Gospel in its fulness.
He brought back the same Gospel that Jesus taught, the same faith and
repentance, the same baptism for the remission of sins, and the same
laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the same Holy
Ghost with all its powers and blessings. This is the doctrine and
these the principles we profess to believe in. We do not profess to
have received our authority from the Church of England or any other
sect: it came directly from God by the ministration of holy angels.
The Gospel that we preach is the everlasting Gospel; it reaches back
into the eternities that are past; it exists in time and it stretches
forward into the eternities to come, and everything connected with it
is eternal. Our marriage relations, for instance, are eternal. Go to
the sects of the day and you will find that time ends their marriage
covenants; they have no idea of continuing their relations hereafter;
they do not believe in anything of the kind. It is true there is a
kind of natural principle in men that leads them to hope it may be so;
but they know nothing about it. Our religion binds men and women for
time and all eternity. This is the religion that Jesus taught—it had
power to bind on earth and to bind in Heaven, and it had power to
loose on earth and to loose in Heaven. We believe in the same
principles, and we expect, in the resurrection, that we shall
associate with our wives and have our children sealed to us by the
power of the holy priesthood, that they may be united with us worlds
without end. The Gospel we preach is like the Melchizedek
priesthood—without beginning of days or end of years.
There is something pleasant in this. I do not want uncertainty about my eternal welfare; I do not want to dream away my existence and
be governed by somebody's ipse dixit in regard to the future; I do not
want to pay a man a few dollars to take care of my soul; I beg the
privilege of doing that myself with the assistance of my brethren in
the priesthood.
Why, these Christians, so called, cannot trust their God in anything.
To show the difference in the workings of their systems and ours I
will refer briefly to my early experience amongst them. When young I
used to attend their missionary meetings. Their preachers would get up
and tell about the dreadful state of the heathen, and in order that
they might be converted, the members of the various religious bodies
used to subscribe thousands and thousands of pounds to send them
abroad and support them while there. I have known them make
mathematical calculations about how many souls a missionary might
convert, and what it would cost to support him during the time he was
doing it; and then they would say if they could have the amounts
collected for missionary purposes duplicated, triplicated, or
increased a thousand times, there might be so many more heathen
converted. Those men would not go out as the apostles did—without
purse or scrip. Jesus commanded them to go so in order to try the
world. And when Joseph Smith sent out his apostles and disciples he
said, Go without purse or scrip. I have traveled thousands and
hundreds of thousands of miles that way; and many of my brethren have
done the same thing. Have we lacked anything necessary? No, never. The
Gospel of Jesus Christ always took good care of me, and to day I would
rather trust in God under such circumstances than in any of the
princes of the earth. This is the way our religion has spread, and it
has progressed because God has been with and blessed the labors of
His servants; and peace, harmony, and union prevail in our midst. Many
have got angry with us, but that is nothing new; the wicked have
always shown anger when the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been upon the
earth.
Many have tried to stay the progress of the work of God, but it has
continued to roll on in spite of all the opposition with which it has
had to contend. The prophet saw a little stone cut out of the mountain
without hands, and it continued to roll and smote the feet of the
image made of clay, brass, silver, gold, and iron, and it became as
the chaff of the summer threshing floor; but the little stone grew and
increased until it became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
It will be so with this stone which God has hewn out in these last
days; and though men may combine to stay its progress and may set
themselves in array against the Lord and His anointed, yet He will
come out of His hiding place and will vex such people and nations, and
He will overturn and overturn until Truth shall prevail the wide world
over, and until His kingdom shall reach from the rivers to the ends of
the earth; until all men shall bow to the scepter of Immanuel; until
the wicked shall be rooted from the earth, and His kingdom shall be
established and given to His Saints to possess forever and ever.
May God help us to be faithful in the name of Jesus. Amen.