There has, perhaps, never been a period in the history of the Church
when the delusive spirits that are abroad in the world, deceiving the
children of men, were more active than they are and have been for the
last few years. I have never in my recollection heard of so many
pretended prophets and revelations, special messages, missions and
manifestations to various individuals, as have come to my notice
within the last few months or perhaps years. Some claim that they are
in constant communication with angels, others that they have received
a direct command from God to accomplish a certain mission, others
claim to be Christ, and therefore assume the right to dictate and
direct the labors of the Presidency and Twelve, and undertake to
correct and set them right and to show them wherein they lack
inspiration, etc., and wherein it is necessary that a strong arm
should be raised up in order to steady the ark of Zion. There has been
a great deal of this kind of spirit manifested of late among men who
are and have been in the Church for years; and not only such, but by
men who never have been members and who have no knowledge of the
character of this latter-day work. Messages from the spirit world,
communications from the departed through mediums, people that permit
themselves to be used for this purpose by lying and delusive spirits.
It has sometimes been sorrowful to see respected members of the
Church, men who should know better, allow themselves to become the
tools of seductive spirits. Such men seem, for the time at least, to
lose sight of the fact that the Lord has established on earth the
Priesthood in its fullness; and that by direct revelation and
commandment from heaven; that He has instituted an order or government
that is beyond the capacity, and that is superior to the wisdom and
learning and understanding of man, so far, indeed, that it seems
impossible for the human mind, unaided by the Spirit of God, to
comprehend the beauties, powers, and character of the Holy Priesthood.
It seems difficult for men to comprehend the workings of the
Priesthood; its legitimate authority, its scope and power; and yet by
the light of the spirit it is easily comprehended, but not
understanding it men are easily deceived by seductive spirits that are
abroad in the world. They are led to believe that something is wrong,
and the next thing that transpires, they find themselves believing
that they are chosen specially to set things right. It is very
unfortunate for a man to be taken in this snare; for be it understood
by the Latter-day Saints that as long as the servants of God are
living pure lives, are honoring the Priesthood conferred upon them,
and endeavoring to the best of their knowledge to magnify their
offices and callings, to which they have been duly chosen by the voice
of the people and the Priesthood, and sanctioned by the approval of
God, so long as the Lord has any communication to make to the children
of men, or any instructions to impart to His Church, He will make such
communication through the legally appointed channel of the Priesthood.
He will never go outside of it, as long, at least, as the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints exists in its present form on the
earth.
The Church of God has been organized, the kingdom of God has been
established, and the Gospel has been restored to the earth for the
last time; and this work which has fairly began will never cease, but
will continue to spread abroad and increase in the earth, and gather
to its fold the righteous, the honest, the pure, the meek and the poor
of the earth, until "the kingdom" shall be exalted to power and glory
in the midst of the world; and it will reign triumphant when Babylon
will be broken to pieces, and will fall to rise no more. These are the
promises that have been made to us. This fact is indicated by the
revelations of God to man through ancient and modern prophets, and
through angels that have visited the earth in this dispensation of the
fullness of times.
It is not my business nor that of any other individual to rise up as a
revelator, as a prophet, as a seer, as an inspired man, to give
revelation for the guidance of the Church, or to assume to dictate to
the presiding authorities of the Church in any part of the world, much
less in the midst of Zion, where the organizations of the Priesthood
are about perfect, where everything is complete even to the
organization of a branch. It is the right of individuals to be
inspired and to receive manifestations of the Holy Spirit for their
personal guidance, to strengthen their faith, and to encourage them in
works of righteousness, in being faithful and observing and keeping
the commandments which God has given unto them; it is the privilege of
every man and woman to receive revelation to this end, but not
further. The moment an individual rises up assuming the right to
control and to dictate or to sit in judgment on his brethren,
especially upon those who preside, he should be promptly checked, or
discord, division and confusion would be the result. Every man and
woman in this Church should know better than to yield to such a
spirit; the moment that such a feeling presents itself to them they
should rebuke it, as it is in direct antagonism to the order of the
Priesthood, and to the spirit and genius of this work. We can accept
nothing as authoritative but that which comes directly through the
appointed channel, the constituted organizations of the Priesthood, which is the channel that God has appointed through which
to make known His mind and will to the world. It was necessary prior
to the organization of this Church, that God should select from the
inhabitants of the earth some person through whom to reveal His will
to mankind; and it pleased Him to select for this purpose the youthful
and untutored boy Joseph Smith, as David of old was His choice, but as
there was no Priesthood on the earth when Joseph was called, legally
constituted by the authority of heaven to officiate in the name of the
Lord, it was necessary therefore that someone should be selected as
the first Elder for the beginning of this work, for there has to be a
beginning, and he was the one foreordained for the position which he
occupied and filled. After calling and setting him apart for the work
of introducing and establishing this Gospel of the kingdom, the Lord
of course recognized him as His mouthpiece, as His authorized agent,
if you please, and it would be absolutely inconsistent, unreasonable
and absurd to suppose that after God had called one man and appointed
him to this work, that He should pass him by and go to somebody else
to accomplish the same purpose. No sensible person would accept for
one moment such a proposition. To seriously contemplate any such idea
would be charging the Almighty with inconsistency, and with being the
author of confusion, discord and schism. The kingdom of God never could
be established on earth in any such way.
Through Joseph then, the Lord revealed Himself to the world and
through him He chose the first Elders of the Church—men who were
honest in their hearts; men whom He knew would receive the word and
labor in connection with Joseph in this great and important
undertaking; and all that have been ordained to the Priesthood, and
all that have been appointed to any position whatever in this Church,
have received their authority and commission through this channel,
appointed of God, with Joseph at the head. This is the order, and it
could not be otherwise. God will not raise up another prophet, and
another people to do the work that we have been appointed to do. He
will never ignore those who have stood firm and true from the
commencement, as it were, of this work, and who are still firm and
faithful, inasmuch as they continue faithful to their trust. There is
no question in my mind of their ever proving themselves unfaithful, as
a body; for if any of them were to become unworthy in His sight, He
would remove them out of their place and call others from the ranks to
fill their positions. And thus His Priesthood will ever be found to be
composed of the right men for the place, of men whose backs will be
fitted for the burden, men through whom He can work and regulate the
affairs of His Church according to the counsels of His own will. And
the moment that individuals look to any other source, that moment they
throw themselves open to the seductive influences of Satan, and
render themselves liable to become servants of the devil; they lose
sight of the true order through which the blessings of the Priesthood
are to be enjoyed; they step outside of the pale of the kingdom of
God, and are on dangerous ground. Whenever you see a man rise up
claiming to have received direct revelation from the Lord to the
Church, independent of the order and channel of the
Priesthood, you may set him down as an impostor. God has not called
you to go out to the world to be taught, or to receive revelations
through apostates or strangers; but He has called and ordained you and
sent you forth to teach and lead people in the paths of righteousness
and salvation.
It is the duty, therefore, of every Latter-day Saint to seek for the
spirit of truth, and to desire with full purposes of heart, and seek
diligently for the gifts of wisdom and understanding that will lead
and guide into all truth, that will enable us to comprehend the
purposes of God, and this most perfect, most harmonious organization
which God has instituted by His own wisdom in these last days for the
gathering of Israel, and for the communication of all His purposes as
made known through His servants the Prophets. Men may become
dissatisfied one with another, they may become dissatisfied towards
the Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, or others, and may say in
their hearts, "I do not like such an one; I do not believe he is as
good as he should be, he has too many faults and weaknesses and,
therefore, I cannot and will not acknowledge his authority, as I have
not faith in the man." Doubtless there are those, too many perhaps,
who feel that way, but the trouble is, and that is the worst of it,
just because they have become dissatisfied with the individual and
harbored feelings of bitterness in their hearts against their
brethren, they lose sight of the designs of the Almighty; they turn
against the authority of the Holy Priesthood; and through their
blindness, allow themselves to be led astray, and at last turn away
from the Church.
Now, how should it be? I will tell you. In the first place every
person should know that the Gospel is true, as this is everyone's
privilege who is baptized and receives the Holy Ghost. A man may be
grieved in his feelings because of some difficulty between him and
President Taylor, or Cannon or myself; he may have feelings in his
heart which lead him to think that he could not sustain us in his
faith and prayers; but if this should be the case, what is the course
for him to pursue? He should say in his heart, "God has established
His kingdom, and His Priesthood is upon the earth; and notwithstanding
my dislike for certain men, I know that the Gospel is true, and that
God is with His people; and that if I will do my duty and keep His
commandments, the clouds will roll by and the mists will disappear,
the spirit of the Lord will come more fully to my relief, and by and
by I will be able to see—if I am in error, wherein I erred, and then I
will repent of it, for I know that every wrong thing will yet be made
right." I think all men should feel that way. A man may not have
confidence in his Bishop, or in one or both of his Counselors;
circumstances might be such that according to his judgment the Bishop
or his Counselors might be in the wrong, and his confidence in them,
whether right or wrong, would therefore be destroyed; but because he
may feel so, would it be right or consistent in him as an Elder in
Israel, to set himself up as the judge of the Bishop or his Counselors
and the whole Church? If one were to get in a position of this kind he
would be like some others I have heard of, John and David Whitmer,
for instance, two of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon, and Wm. E.
McClellan, and William Smith, two of the Twelve Apostles, some
of whom are still living, and many others, both living and dead. Do
you think you could convince those of this class that they had
apostatized from the Church? No; these men are firmly convinced in
their own minds that they never apostatized. They stoutly and
indignantly deny that they ever apostatized or turned away from the
Church, but say that Joseph Smith and the Twelve Apostles apostatized,
and all the Church had apostatized and become very wicked, and that
God has cut the Church off, but that Brother David Whitmer and Brother
Wm. E. McClellan, William Smith, and others are the only members of
the Church in good standing, and they are all at variance with each
other. If I were to raise my hand against my Bishop, against the
Twelve or the First Presidency, because I did not like them, that
moment I should place myself in the position that these men now
occupy, and that scores of others who have passed away have occupied,
and say: "The Church has apostatized, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young,
and John Taylor, have apostatized, but I am firm in the faith; all the
people have gone astray because they will not acknowledge me." There
is where the man is who rebels against the authority of the
Priesthood, and at the same time endeavors to hold on to the faith.
Never is there but one appointed at a time to hold the keys of the
kingdom of God pertaining to the earth. While Christ remained on the
earth He held them; but when He departed He committed them to Peter,
he being the President or Chief of the Apostles; and it was his right
to direct and to receive revelation for the Church, and to give
counsel to all the breth ren. After Satan and wicked men had prevailed
against the Church, crucified the Savior and killed the Apostles, the
keys of the kingdom were taken from the earth. John the Revelator
describes it most clearly. And from that time until Joseph Smith was
called by the voice of the Almighty, and ordained to hold those keys,
no man held them upon the earth that we know of. It is true the Lord
did appoint other Twelve upon this continent, and His Church
flourished and prospered in this land for many years, but the Lord
declared that Peter, James and John, and the Twelve that walked with
Him at Jerusalem, held the Presidency over them. God may reveal
himself to different nations, and establish among them the same Gospel
and ordinances as He did anciently, if necessity require, but if these
nations should be joined together there would be one head, and all the
rest would be subordinate. So that from the time that the keys of this
Priesthood were taken from the earth until they were received by
Joseph Smith, no man ever possessed that Priesthood, nor the keys
thereof, with authority to build up the Zion of God, and prepare a
church or people for the second coming of Christ, "as a bride is
adorned for the bridegroom;" unless it may have been among the lost
tribes, yet of this we have no knowledge, but if so they would receive
those keys necessary to administer in the ordinances of the Gospel for
their salvation. We know not of their existence or the condition in
which they are placed. The Gospel that is given to them is suited to
their needs and condition, and is for their salvation, not ours, and
yet it will be the same Gospel. And God will not call one from them to
give to us the Priesthood, or to give to us keys and
blessings, or to point out the organization of the kingdom of God,
because He has established that Priesthood here, and we have it. If He
has any communication to make to us He will send His messengers to us.
And in this way He will deliver His law and give His mind and will to
the people. He will do it through the ordained channels of the
Priesthood which He acknowledges and which He has established in the
earth. He will go nowhere else to do it, neither will He send us to
them unless they should be without the Priesthood and it becomes
necessary to take the blessings of the Gospel to them, and I presume
that will be the case.
When Joseph received the keys of the Priesthood he alone on the earth
held them; that is, he was the first, he stood at the head. It was
promised that he should not lose them or be removed out of his place,
so long as he was faithful. And when he died, President Young was
chosen by the voice of the people, and sanctioned by the voice of God.
He held the Priesthood which was after the order of the Son of God,
with the keys which pertain to the presidency of that Priesthood upon
earth. He received it from the hands of Joseph, directly from him or
by his authority; and he held it until his death. When he died that
mantle fell upon John Taylor, and while he lives he will hold that
authority inasmuch as he is faithful. So it was with President Brigham
Young, he held it on condition of his faithfulness. If any man in that
position should become unfaithful, God would remove him out of his
place. I testify in the name of Israel's God that He will not suffer
the head of the Church, him whom He has chosen to stand at the head,
to transgress His laws and apostatize; the moment he should take a
course that would in time lead to it, God would take him away. Why?
Because to suffer a wicked man to occupy that position, would be to
allow, as it were, the fountain to become corrupted, which is
something He will never permit. And why will he not suffer it? Because
it is not the work of Joseph Smith; it is not the work of Brigham
Young or of John Taylor. It is not the work of man but of God
Almighty; and it is His business to see that the men who occupy this
position are men after His own heart, men that will receive
instructions from Him, and that will carry out the same according to
the counsels of His will. You may depend that he will see to it, and
risk nothing upon this head. Hence you will have no reason to find
fault or to rise up in judgment upon President Taylor or upon
President Young, or upon the Prophet Joseph Smith, or upon the Twelve
Apostles. We have no right to rise up in judgment upon the President
of the Stake, or upon our Bishop, or upon the Priesthood in any shape
or form, unless we can do so agreeably to the laws of the Church. If
they decide against us inasmuch as God has conferred the keys of this
Priesthood upon them, and the kingdom is here, and its authority is
here, and the Priesthood is here, and the organization of the kingdom
of God is here—and inasmuch as the decision is reached and rendered
agreeably to the laws and commandments of God, then it would be our
bounden duty to humbly submit, and bow to it and acknowledge it. You
or I might think it hard, and possibly feel that it was unjust, but
as it would be impossible to make it otherwise, we must submit.
"What," says one, "submit to an unjust decision? No, sir!" Who
says it is unjust? You or I say it is; but twelve High Councilors and
the Presidency of the Stake say it is just, and in holding to our idea
of the unjustness of the decision, we put our judgment against that of
fifteen disinterested men. Who then is to decide on the justice of the
case? They, not me; and it is my business to acknowledge it and yield
to it. There is, however, a supervisory authority in the First
Presidency; and they may exercise in some degree the pardoning power,
for unto them is given power under the laws of God to forgive.
"Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosesoever
sins ye retain, they are retained." President Taylor holds the keys of
that authority in this Church. You may appeal then to the Presidency
of the Church, and they may inquire into the justice or injustice of
the decision and see if the case is entitled to a rehearing. But if
the decision of the High Council should be confirmed, then you have no
other appeal on earth. And yet God has given to us the broadest
latitude peacefully to defend our individual rights, agreeably to just
and righteous laws. He permits us first to be tried by the Bishop and
his Counselors; and even before that we have the opportunity to settle
our difficulties amicably without going to a trial; or if we cannot
settle them amicably among ourselves we are permitted to call in our
Teacher to assist us if possible to be reconciled to one another; and
if that cannot be done we can then bring the matter before the Bishop
to be formally tried. If we have reason to believe the decision to be
unjust, we have the right then to appeal our case to the High Council,
and then, if the First Presidency so decide, there may be a
rehearing. So that the Lord has given unto us every possible chance
to vindicate our rights, defend our causes, and maintain our standing
in the Church. No man is asked to bow to unrighteousness; but to say
that the decision rendered by the Bishop's Court or High Council is an
unjust decision is to say one of two things, namely, that these men,
from three to fifteen of them, every one of whom should possess the
spirit of the Gospel, and the inspiration of the Almighty, and is
quite as likely to understand such circumstances as the litigants are
all in error and lack judgment, or that they are willfully wicked and
unjust, while one individual, and he a party to strife, alone is
right.
The moment a man says he will not submit to legally constituted
authority of the Church, whether it be the Teachers, the Bishopric,
the High Council, his Quorum or the First Presidency, and in his heart
confirms it and carries it out, that moment he cuts himself off from
the privileges and blessings of the Priesthood and Church, and severs
himself from the people of God, for he ignores the authority that He
has instituted in His Church. These are the men that generally get
crochets in their heads, that get inspiration (from beneath) and that
are often so desirous to guide the Church, and to sit in judgment upon
the Priesthood. The only safe way for us to do, as individuals, is to
live so humbly, so righteously and so faithfully before God, that we
may possess His Spirit to that extent that we will be able to judge
righteously, and discern between truth and error, between right and
wrong; and then we will know when a decision is rendered against us
that in 99 cases out of a hundred we are in error, and that the
decision is right; and although we may at the time not be
fully able to see and feel its justness, yet will be constrained to
say that inasmuch as there are sixteen chances against one for me to
be wrong, "I will gracefully and humbly submit." The pith of the
matter is, the Lord has established His Church, organized His
Priesthood, and conferred au thority upon certain individuals, councils
and quorums, and it is the duty of the people of God to live so that
they shall know that these are acceptable unto Him. If we begin to cut
off this one and that one, and set their authority aside, we may just
as well at once set God himself aside, and say he has no right to
dictate. Amen.
- Joseph F. Smith