I am thankful today for this opportunity of meeting with my brethren
and sisters in this fine hall to worship God and spend a little time
in reflecting upon the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I
am thankful also for this opportunity of bearing my testimony to the
truth of the work in which we are engaged. I trust that during the
short time I shall stand before you I may be led by the Holy Spirit
to say something which will edify and instruct the people.
It was remarked by Brother N. H. Felt, who has just addressed us, that
it would be a difficult matter to answer the question—wherein do the
Latter-day Saints, or "Mormons," differ in their views from the rest
of the people who profess the Christian religion. True this would be a
difficult question to answer in a few minutes satisfactorily. There
are a great many points of difference between our doctrines and the
doctrines of the so-called Christian world, but if I were to attempt
to answer the question in brief I would say the chief difference
consists in this—That the religion which we have received has come
down from God out of heaven direct, by revelation, in the day and age
in which we live, while the religions which are believed in by the
various Christian denominations who meet today in different parts of
the world to worship God, most of which have been in existence for a
long time have been in every case arranged by men. The people who
belong to the various Christian sects all profess to believe in one
Book—the Bible, and in one God; but their ideas in regard to religion
and in regard to the manner in which God shall be worshipped and
served are very different, and when we trace up the origin of their
religion we find that in every case, with perhaps one exception, they
have been started by men; by individuals who, no doubt, in the first
place, believed they were enlightened of God and had come to the
conclusion that such and such doctrines were the doctrines of Christ,
and that it was their duty to preach these doctrines. They convinced
others of the truth of the ideas which they had adopted, and together
they formed a religious society. Now, we shall find that this is the
case with all those different sects and parties, that compose modern
Christendom with the exception perhaps of the Church which is called
the Church of Rome, the Roman Catholic church. That church
professes to be a continuation of the Church which Jesus Christ
established. It professes to have the same authority, handed down from
generation to generation, which was exercised by the ancient apostles.
It professes to have the keys that Peter held. The Pope of Rome
professes to be the successor of St. Peter, and the priesthood of the
church of Rome profess to have the same authority, or similar
authority, or a succession of the authority, which was held in the
primitive Christian Church. They say there has been no interruption of
this line of priesthood in the church which Jesus Christ established,
to build up which the ancient apostles lost their lives—that this
priesthood has been continued down through the stream of time to our
own period. All the rest of the denominations called Christian have
sprung from that body directly or indirectly, and their organization
was started in the way that I have briefly described.
You see then there is a great difference between our professions and
the professions of all the rest of the Christian world in this
particular. We testify that in the day and age in which we live, God,
who spoke in ancient times to the prophets, and in the meridian of
time by his Only Begotten Son, has uttered his voice again out of
heaven; that Jesus who died on Calvary, that we might live, has
manifested himself in this day and age of the world; that the angels
of God, who were men that ministered in the name of the Lord, in the
flesh, in times of old, who died in the truth and live in God, have
come to the earth in this age of the world and revealed the things of
God; and that this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has
been organized, not by the wis dom of man, not by persons who have
reflected and studied and come to certain conclusions in their own
minds and then founded a church, but that it has been organized and
established and carried on and directed under the immediate
revelations of the Most High God. You see this is quite a difference.
There is quite a distinction between us and all the rest of the people
called Christians. I do not know, however, whether the great body of
people called Christians will allow us to adopt that name. They
dispute our right to the title of Christians. They call us
"Mormons" —rather a foolish title to give us. Mormon is the name of a
man, a servant of God, a prophet of the Most High, who lived anciently
on this continent and wrote some of the things revealed to him in a
book called the Book of Mormon; and because we believe in that book,
our "Christian" friends call us "Mormons." We might just as well
call
them Peters, because they believe in Peter; we might just as well call
them Pauls, Jeremiahs, Isaiahs, or Lukes, because they believe in the
sayings of these men written in the book called the Bible.
But the stranger might say, "It is very well for you to make such a
statement as you have made, that your Church has been organized by the
commandment of God and by divine revelation from him in the present
day, but how can you prove that to the world?" There is a very simple
way by which this can be found out, by which the truth or falsity of
what I have said can be established. The people who live here in Utah,
who have been gathered here from a great many different parts of the
earth, are here because they know that what I have spoken of this
afternoon is true. This is what brought them here. They have
not come up to the heights of these mountains to dig for gold or
silver, to make themselves rich with the fruits and products of the
earth, or to unite together to establish some socialistic system for
the mere bettering of their temporal circumstances. They have come
here from the east, from the west, from the north and from the south,
from the different continents and from the islands of the sea, because
in their own souls they have received a testimony similar to that
which I have borne this afternoon. They have investigated the subject;
they took the course pointed out to them by which they could find out
the truth or falsity of this work for themselves, and having received
a testimony that it is true they have come up here to these mountains;
they have left their homes in various lands, they have turned their
backs on their former homes and relationships, broken up their
business affairs, many of them having left friends and family and have
come up here to these mountains that they may learn more of this
important work, having first of all received a testimony from God that
it is true. Well, someone may say, "How did they find it out? Did
they find it out because somebody told them? Did they receive their
testimony from some other man or woman? No; they received it direct
from the Lord, direct from the heavens, for "God is no respecter of
persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh
righteousness, is accepted of him. "He is just as willing to manifest
himself to an Englishman, an American, a Scotchman, an Irishman, a
Dutchman, a Scandinavian, a South Sea Islander or anybody else, as to
a Jew. How did they obtain this testimony? The Apostle James, some of
whose writings we have in this book called the New Testament, told the
people in his day, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth
is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not
that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." Now when
the elders of this Church went out with this testimony that God had
again spoken from the heavens, that communication between the heavens
and the earth, which was once enjoyed by men of old had again been
opened up, they told the people who heard their words that if they
would believe in the true and living God, if they would believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, if they would repent of their sins and be baptized
in water for the remission of sins, they should receive the Holy
Ghost, and by this Spirit they should obtain a testimony direct from
the Almighty to their own souls, that God had in very deed commenced
the great work of the latter days, spoken of by all the holy prophets
since the world began. What was the result of this teaching? Why, in
every place, in every part of the world, among any people, no matter
what their former customs or religion might have been, no matter what
condition they might be in, no matter how they had been educated, no
matter of what race they might be, wherever they heard the sound of
this Gospel and obeyed it, they received a testimony of the truth of
this work and therefore have gathered up to these mountains.
This is my testimony to this congregation this afternoon: that, having
received this Gospel and obeyed it in the way that I have pointed out, I received a testimony to my own soul, from the Almighty, by
which I have no longer any doubt as to its truth; no longer to depend
upon the testimony of man. I can say for myself, before God, before
the heavenly hosts, before all nations wherever I may be sent, that
I know this work is true. I know that God lives. I know that God hears
and answers prayers. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that
angels have come down from the heavens in these the last times and
restored the ancient Gospel. I know that the holy priesthood, the
power of God, the authority to administer in the name of the Lord,
held by men, in ancient times, has been restored to men in these the
latter days, and that it is here upon the earth, never to be taken
away again until the work has been accomplished for which it was sent;
until every nation shall hear the sound of the Gospel; until every
nation, kindred, tongue and people, shall hear of the purposes of the
Great Jehovah; until all people shall be warned, and the honest and
upright, and the truth-loving in every clime shall be gathered unto
the fold of Christ; until the way shall be prepared for the coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ—to reign in Mount Zion and Jerusalem, and
before his ancients gloriously; until the earth is redeemed from the
curse; until Satan and his hosts are bound; until the great work of
God is accomplished and all his children brought up from death and
hell and the grave, and placed in a position where they can glorify
God throughout the countless ages of eternity.
It is popularly supposed that when our elders go out as missionaries
to the different countries of the earth, they go for the purpose of
inducing people to gather here to these peaceful valleys, that they
might be made subservient to our leaders. That is the popular idea.
There cannot, however, be anything more false and ridiculous than
this. What object could men have in taking the trouble to go, as our
elders do, to face the frowns of the world, to be scoffed at and
despised, to travel "without purse or scrip," as did the ancient
servants of God, suffering contumely, persecution, privation, and even
hunger and thirst, traveling footsore and weary, among a people who,
generally speaking, do not desire to hear their testimony? Their
object is to preach the Gospel of Christ, and to bear witness of this
great work. It is not merely to gather people to these mountains. When
people do come here they come just as I have said—because they have
received the Gospel, and know it to be true. They come up here that
they may learn more of the ways of the Lord. And this is the testimony
that our elders bear wherever they may be sent: That God has restored
the ancient Gospel and that he is building up his Church on the earth
again for the last time; that the hour of God's judgment is nigh; that
the angel, to whom Brother Felt referred, and about whom he quoted
from the revelations of St. John, has come to the earth with "the
everlasting gospel to preach to every nation, and kindred, and tongue,
and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him;
for the hour of his judgment is come." This is our testimony, this is
why we go forth, and when the people hear our testimony and believe
it, and call upon the Lord for a witness, they receive it, and then
they are willing to forego everything for the sake of the Gospel.
There is another great difference between our religion and the reli gions of the world, and that consists in the power and authority
of the priesthood to which I have briefly referred. Now, it is true
that the church called the Church of Rome, professes to have the
priesthood. That church professes to have the same authority which was
in the ancient church, and that it has been handed down from
generation to generation to our own times. The Church of England—or
the Episcopal Church as it is called here—professes to have a portion
of that same authority. The Greek Church also professes to have a
portion of that authority. They are branches or offshoots from this
Roman Catholic Church; but the rest of the Christian denominations
repudiate any idea of a priesthood. They think there is no need for
any priesthood. They say that Jesus was the Great High Priest, and
that there is no need for any more priests; that is the prevalent idea
among the rest of the Christian sects. But we do believe in the
necessity of this priesthood, and say that it has been restored from
heaven in this our own times. In what way? In the first place John the
Baptist, who went before Jesus to prepare the way for him as the
prophets predicted, who held the priesthood of Aaron, or the Levitical
priesthood—that same person who baptized Jesus in the river Jordan,
and who was beheaded for preaching the word of the Lord, has come to
the earth in this day and age of the world, and ordained man to the
same authority and priesthood that he held while he was in the flesh.
Now, I do not know that there is another people on the face of the
earth that possess any such thing as that, so that in that respect
there is a great difference between our religion and the religions of
the world. Further, we testify that not only this lesser priesthood
which was held by John the Baptist has been restored, but that Peter,
James and John, who held the Apostleship, the same priesthood which
Christ held, have come in this our own time and restored the authority
which they held. "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you," said
Jesus to his disciples. They were ordained to the same authority that
He held. What authority was that? We are told that Christ was called
to be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, an unchangeable
priesthood, everlasting, without beginning of days or end of years. He
conferred the same priesthood upon His apostles, and Peter, James and
John were left to take charge of the Church when He departed; they had
the keys of the kingdom; whatsoever they should bind on earth was to
be bound in heaven, and whatever they should loose on earth was to be
loosed in heaven. Now, we testify that these three individuals holding
the keys of that apostleship, the higher priesthood, have come down to
the earth as ministering beings in our own times, and ordained the
Prophet Joseph Smith to the same apostleship and priesthood and
authority which they held, and through him it has been conferred upon
others, so that the ancient authority and priesthood held by men of
God in times of old, is here on the earth in this Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Then there is another difference between us and the rest of the people
called Christian, who profess to believe in the Christian religion.
This lesser priesthood holds the power to baptize for the remission of
sins among other things, but it does not hold the power to confer the Holy Ghost upon the people. When John the Baptist baptized
for the remission of sins he said, "There cometh after me one mightier
than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. I
indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost." And we read in the New Testament, in the Acts of the
Apostles, that on a certain occasion when the apostles were passing
through the upper coasts of Ephesus, they found certain disciples who
had simply been baptized with the baptism of John, who did nothing but
baptize for the remission of sins, he having no authority to lay his
hands upon the people; they had not received the Holy Ghost. But the
apostles had received that power and authority from Jesus Christ which
He himself held, and they laid their hands upon these people, and they
received the Holy Ghost. Here is the difference, or one point of
difference, between those two priesthoods. Now this priesthood has not
remained upon the earth, hence the necessity of restoring it. The only
person in Christendom who professes to have the keys of the apostolic
priesthood is the Pope of Rome. What is the Pope of Rome? Is he an
apostle? No; he does not profess to be an apostle. Then how came he to
be the successor of Peter? Peter was an apostle. He held the keys that
Christ gave to him. Christ ordained him. Does the Pope of Rome profess
to have the keys of revelation? No, he does not profess to receive any
new revelation. He, with others, sometimes meet in holy Convocation,
as it is called; they meet in council, they enunciate certain dogmas,
but he does not profess to receive any revelation from God. What was
the great power of the ancient apostleship? The power to commune with
the Highest. The form of the apostleship was nothing; the power was
everything. That power departed from the earth. The people in ancient
times were unworthy of it. They put out the lights of God which He had
placed in the world, and left themselves in darkness. They cut short
the apostles' lives, and the world was left in the gloom. They would
not have the power and authority of that apostleship in their midst,
and instead of the ancient Church of Christ with the power of God,
with the ministration of angels, with the gifts and blessings we read
about in the New Testament, we find arising a church of a different
form, a church that has persecuted the Saints, a church that is
stained with the blood of the innocent, a church that put people to
death for their religious belief (which the Church of Christ never
did), and yet that church, including all the various contending
denominations and sects extant upon the earth, is called "Christian!"
Now, our testimony to the world is that God has restored these two
ancient priesthoods—that is, the power to administer in the name of
the Lord by authority, and that the power of God accompanies that
authority. Here are men who profess to have the right to administer
the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins, who profess to
have the authority to lay hands upon the people for the gift of the
Holy Ghost. Now, an impostor might profess to have this power. Having
read about it in the New Testament, and seeing that the ancient
servants of God possessed such power, a man might profess to have
authority to lay hands upon people for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost.
But an impostor cannot really confer the Holy Ghost. That
comes from God. No man can bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost upon
anyone; that is the gift of God. We read about a man who thought he could
purchase this power. He offered the apostles money for it. But Peter
said unto him, "Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought
that the gift of God may be purchased with money."
Now, here we have in Utah about 150,000 people. A great many of them
came to these mountains under very adverse circumstances. They left
their various homes in different parts of the world to gather out here
with the Saints. Why? Because they knew that this was the work of God
by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. How did they receive it? They
received it by the laying on of hands of men who professed to have the
authority to do so. Now, the fact that they received the gift of the
Holy Ghost is a proof that the power of God accompanies the
administration. The same fruits that were made manifest in days of old
are made manifest today. We read in the New Testament that certain
gifts existed in the ancient Church. The sick were healed and the lame
made to walk. Some had the gift of tongues, others the interpretation
of tongues, others the gift of prophecy, etc. What was the effect of
the existence of these gifts? Union, concord, brotherly love, all
seeing eye to eye. Now, inasmuch as we find the same gifts among the
Latter-day Saints—although of different nationalities, formerly of
different religions, brought up in different ways—it is evidence clear
and plain that the power of God is in the midst of this people; that
the Holy Ghost has been conferred upon them, and this is their united
testimony. This is clear to me, but it may not be clear to everybody
else. I do not believe it possible for others to see things as I do,
unless they take the same course as I have done, and test the matter
for themselves.
If a man believes in God, and in his Son Jesus Christ, and in the
Scriptures, he will manifest his faith by receiving the doctrines laid
down and the commandments given; and if he will ask of God he will
receive a testimony. I can make bold to promise this blessing to every
man and woman in this house—and I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ—if they will obey this Gospel which God has sent from heaven
for the salvation of mankind. My friends, if you will turn away from
your evil deeds, if you will turn unto the Lord God, obey the
ordinances and ask for a testimony of the truth of this work; if you
will do this in sincerity, I promise you in the name of the Lord you
shall receive the testimony you seek. Is there any minister upon the
face of the whole earth, amongst the so-called Christian sects, who
can make you a similar promise? No. Why? Because they have not been
called to this work. This is another point of difference between our
religion and that of the world. Our elders go forth with boldness,
because they are not sent by men. They are not called to preach for
hire. They are called of God to bear the holy priesthood and carry
forth this message of glad tidings wherever they may be sent. It is
their duty to proclaim this Gospel to the uttermost bounds of the
earth, and their testimony is similar to that I have borne here
today, and our witnesses are the Latter-day Saints—gathered from the
nations—who dwell in the valleys of the mountains.
There are a great many other points of difference between us
and the so-called Christian world, that I have not time to refer to.
For instance, we believe in the doctrine of gathering to this land
from all parts of the world. When we go out to preach this Gospel, we
do not advise the people to stay and erect great churches in the
countries where they receive the Gospel. We bear testimony to them
that this is the time of God's judgments. We say, "Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not
of her plagues." We testify that the time is near at hand when great
Babylon shall fall; when God shall smite terribly all the nations of
the earth; when he will turn and overturn; when nation shall rise
against nation and kingdom against kingdom; people against people and
family against family; when there shall be wars and rumors of wars;
plagues, famines and pestilence; such a time as has never been known
upon the earth from the beginning even unto the present day. Therefore
we call upon the elect of God to come out from the nations of the
earth, and they come from the east and from the west, from the north
and from the south, to this chosen land, to serve the Lord, to learn
of his ways and to walk in his paths, and prepare themselves for the
great events that are about to transpire on the earth.
Another great point of difference is the building of Temples. The
different Christian denominations build houses and call them St.
Paul's church, St. Peter's church, St. Mark's church, etc. They build
churches to these various saints, but they know nothing about building
a house to the name of the Most High God—a temple in which the Lord
may come and place his feet; for this is the day spoken of by the
prophets, when "the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his
temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold,
he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts. But who may abide the day of
his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a
refiners's fire," etc. We call upon the people to come out and help
build temples in which ordinances can be administered for the benefit
of the living and the redemption of the dead. The redemption of the
dead! Can the living do anything for the dead? When people pass away
from the earth, is not their condition settled? When the tree falls,
does it not lie there? Yes, it does, till it is moved. In connection
with the Gospel we have received glad tidings of salvation which is
preached to the living and to the dead. The Lord has revealed to us
the glorious doctrine of redemption for the dead—a plan by which the
living may aid the dead. Not by saying mass over the soul of the
departed, but by attending to certain ordinances for them which belong
to the Gospel. Are all the thousands and millions of people who have
passed away without a knowledge of the Gospel to perish? No. There is
no name under heaven but the name of Jesus whereby man shall be
saved. Ask our Christian friends if the millions of heathens who have
passed away from this world have ever heard the name of Jesus. If not,
what is to become of them? Millions of people who dwell upon the earth
even in so-called Christian countries know nothing about the true
Gospel. The so-called Christian churches lack this knowledge and
light. By the confession of the Episcopal Church, in its homily of
the perils of idolatry, the whole of Christendom, "clergy and laity, men, women and children of all ages, sexes and degrees, have
been at the time the homily was written, buried in the most abominable
idolatry for the space of 800 years or more." According to the
testimony of the Apostle in the Apocalypse, the whole world, Christian
as well as heathen, has gone astray, all nations have become drunk
with the wine of the wrath of the fornication of Babylon the great,
the mother of harlots; and there has been no voice from heaven, no
revelation from God, no communication with the eternal world for many
centuries. Although a great many people have tried to do the best they
could—and so far being accepted of God—yet they have not received the
Gospel by which they can enter into the presence of the eternal
Father; they have not entered in at the straight and narrow gate which
leadeth to lives eternal.
By this Gospel which has been revealed to us, the servants of God who
depart from this mortal sphere, take with them the authority and
priesthood they hold, as Christ did, when he went to preach to the
spirits in prison. So the servants of God, bearing the same
priesthood, go and minister to the spirits behind the veil whether
Christian, heathen or pagan. No matter what clime or race they belong
to, all must hear the same Gospel and be judged by it on the great day
of judgment. They have therefore an opportunity of repenting in the
spirit, if they did not hear the Gospel in the flesh. The Spirit can
believe, can be informed and instructed in the ways of God, but the
Spirit beyond the veil cannot attend to ordinances pertaining to the
flesh. To this end, therefore, we are building temples so that, when
they are sanctified and accepted of God, the holy priesthood may
administer both for the living and the dead. For this is the great
dispensation of the fulness of times in which Christ will gather
together in one, all things that are in him, both which are in heaven
and which are on earth. This is the last dispensation of God's mercy
to man. The work has been commenced and it will roll on until the
Gospel has been preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people,
and the honest in heart have been gathered out from among the
Gentiles. Then the Lord will send his servants unto the Jews and the
House of Israel, and thus fully accomplish all he has spoken by the
holy prophets. We will therefore work while we dwell in the flesh, and
when we have finished the work we will pass behind the veil to sweet
rest. Rest from our trials and sufferings, from our sorrows and
tribulations, from our persecutions and misrepresentations, but not to
cease from our labors of love, but to minister in the power, in the
strength, in the might and majesty of the eternal priesthood among the
hosts behind the veil, and those that dwell upon the earth will
continue to build temples and minister therein, that the dead may be
redeemed.
I have not time to continue further on this subject. I have briefly
pointed out some of the differences between us and the "Christian"
world. And now I will bear my testimony to this congregation in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ that this is not the work of man; that
"Mormonism" is the work of the Great God, and no power can overturn
it. And I testify further, that every nation and kingdom that shall
rise against this work shall perish and be utterly wasted away. The
Lord will have a reckoning with that nation, no matter where it is, for all the nations of the earth are in the hands of God, and
every human government that will not serve him shall be brought low,
until his kingdom spreads forth and is established upon the whole
earth with Christ the Redeemer, as King, whose right it is to rule.
May the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, rest in the
hearts of the Saints, and also guide all people who desire the truth,
in the way of life eternal, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
- Charles W. Penrose