Part 15
It is not the attractive qualities of the individual, however great, that renders submission to his administration valid, but the authority of God which he fears. The acts of Philip, Stephen, Paul or James were just as valid and binding as those of the Messiah Himself, when performed by His authority and in His name. To reject the personal teachings and offices of the Savior could bring no greater condemnation than to reject the teachings of any man sent of God bearing authority and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to speak and act in the name of the Lord. This great truth was taught by the Savior on more than one occasion, but perhaps no more forcibly or in more beautiful terms than in the following: "When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory; and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger and ye took me in; naked and ye clothed me: I was sick and ye visited me; I was in prison and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer Him saying: Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered and fed Thee? or thirsty and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger and took Thee in? or naked and clothed Thee? or when saw we Thee sick or in prison and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." When He told the wicked that they had failed to thus administer unto Him, they began to plead that they had not seen Him sick, in prison, hungry, naked or athirst. He answered them, "Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least of these, ye did it not unto me." (Matt. xxvi:31-46.)
It is not the individuality of the person which calls for respect and consideration, it is the principle involved. God had placed His authority upon humble men. Through their administrations can be secured the benefits and blessings which follow obedience to the ordinances of the Gospel. Implicit obedience must be rendered. The mandates of Jehovah are imperative. No substitute will do. The condition is complete to the plan of salvation as established by Almighty God.
Saul was commanded to destroy Agag and all his hosts, man and beast. He kept the best of the flock for, he said, a sacrifice, but God had ordered otherwise, and Saul's disobedience caused him to lose the kingdom, shut him out from the revelations which came by dream, vision and the Urim and Thummim. "Thou shalt not steady the ark"; and they who disobeyed were smitten of the Lord. Israel by disobedience lost the guidance of the Almighty, went into spiritual darkness, and have been scattered to the four quarters of the earth, "a hiss and a by-word in the mouths of all nations."
Obedience is essential to salvation, essential to success in every avenue of human enterprise. Whether rendered to the laws of God direct, in their moral and spiritual phases, or to His authority vested in man, obedience must be implicit. The haughty man boasts of independence. He scorns the humble followers of the Lord, but while he prates of freedom, he is himself slavishly obedient to his own whims and mistaken ideas or to the spirit of evil, to popular sentiment or to some other influence always dangerous to the welfare of mankind.
The Saints have been accused of being priest-ridden and fearful to use their own judgment. What do the facts show? They are only asked to do right, live pure lives, do good to all men, evil to none, and to respect the order of God's kingdom that salvation may come to them and be extended to all the world. Their obedience has made them the best and purest body of people on the earth. What of the character of those who have derided them? They are slaves to a shallow and excited sentiment or to wickedness and vice, obedient to their own lusts and wicked ways. Compared with those they misrepresent they are below them in almost every trait which characterizes noble manhood. By obedience to God and His priesthood the Saints in this age have come off triumphant over obstacles within and foes without. By obedience to God and His commands they will continue the blessed and favored of the Lord forever. They have proved the words of Samuel to Saul, verily true: "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."
CHARITY.
What is charity? Does it consist solely in the giving of bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked or succor to the distressed? "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up; doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth." (I. Cor. xiii:3-8.) If to say that one has charity to any considerable extent requires the possession of all the foregoing characteristics, then we may truthfully admit that there is a great charity famine now prevailing throughout the world.
It is not difficult to find people who will impart of their substance to feed the poor; but too frequently many who do so will look with scorn upon those who differ from them in matters of religion, politics or other subjects. Modern history records many instances where people noted for their hospitality have shown intense hatred and bitterness toward some who have come into their midst preaching doctrines which were in conflict with the theories they and their fathers had espoused.
In many cases mobs have been headed by ministers of religion, who have instigated and participated in shedding the innocent blood of their fellow beings for no other reason than their hatred of a religion different from their own. Indeed, few if any in modern Christendom can be said to exemplify in their lives all the traits attributed to charity in the quotation from the sayings of the apostle Paul. Who "suffers long" without a murmur, especially if the suffering comes by oppression from an outward foe, and in return for evil? Who are kind to those who wrong them? Where is he who "envieth not" the possessions of his neighbor, or the honors and emoluments of office enjoyed by others? Who, under the wave of prosperity, in the lap of luxury, or dwelling in popular favor, "vaunteth not" himself, "is not puffed up" or "doth not behave himself unseemly?" Who "seeketh not" his own, "but rather" prefers his brother before himself? Who is not "easily provoked," and therefore does not retaliate against those who may give offense? Who "thinks not evil" of those who go contrary to his views, but the motives of whose hearts he knows nothing about?
How many persons there are who have not become acquainted with our people, yet who, through the circulation of scurrilous reports, have imbibed deep-seated prejudice against the Latter-day Saints, and having become acquainted with them, have rejoiced to find them a better people than such preconceived ideas had led them to the belief that they were? In missionary experience, the Elders frequently have found many professing Christians exasperated when confronted with proof that the Saints were a God-fearing, virtuous, temperate, honest and industrious people. Such professors "rejoice in iniquity," and "love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." They do not rejoice in truth, but rather "have pleasure in unrighteousness." Few there are, even among the Saints, who fully and becomingly "bear all things" and prove themselves the true type of the Savior of mankind, who preferred ever to suffer wrong than to do wrong.
Do we "believe all things" and "hope for all things" which have been predicted by the prophets since the world began?
Who in the world is looking for angels to visit the earth in the last days, for the restoration of the ancient Gospel in its primitive beauty and power? Who is looking for the restoration of the Jews to Palestine? Who looks for a people to build a temple where the Savior shall suddenly come, and who looks for Elijah to appear before that great and terrible day of the Lord's coming, when the wicked shall become as stubble, and be consumed by the judgments of God? If these events have not occurred or are not transpiring, they must do so, or the words of the prophets will fail, the Scriptures be proved fallacious, and our hope is vain. And he who believes not these things has not charity. If he had, he would be patient to hear, anxious to learn, and the Lord would lead all such to the light. Charity should be sought after and cultivated by the Saints above all other people. Our professions are greater. If our deportment contradicts our teachings, our ignorance is more apparent, or our hypocrisy is more pronounced.
It is stated in the Book of Mormon that "Charity is the pure love of God." By this plain yet comprehensive definition, we learn that unless the love of God dwells in our hearts we have not charity. This love for the salvation of mankind induces the true servants of the Lord to travel to the ends of the earth, without the shadow or hope of earthly reward, to preach the Gospel to the world. Not only that; with all the self-denial of home and its comforts which such a mission implies, we also esteem all the good which others have, not asking them to forsake one truth they now possess, but inviting them to receive more truth, pointing them to a greater light, and leaving them perfectly free from undue persuasion to receive the message or reject it as they may choose.
The Prophet Joseph instructed the Twelve and the Elders, in preaching the Gospel, not to tear down the tenets of other men's faith, but in the spirit of meekness explain the Gospel and bear testimony to its divinity, leaving all mankind absolutely the keeper of their own consciences, to do as they please and meet the responsibility of their own acts at the bar of eternal justice. Neither should it be forgotten that much of the labor of mankind, without a knowledge of the Gospel, in many respects has been directed by a divine Providence to ameliorate the condition of mankind. "There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." The achievements of the reformation by Luther and others, the inventions of the printing press, of electrical machinery, the locomotive and the steamboat, the discovery of America, the revolution, the rounding, establishment and perpetuity of our civil government in the United States, all were events preparing the way for the restoration of the Gospel and the final establishment of the kingdom of God in these last days.
A striking instance of divine purpose in the labors of men outside the true church is pointed out in a revelation given in December, 1830, to Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sidney Rigdon. The Lord said: "Behold, verily, verily, I say unto my servant Sidney, I have looked upon thee and thy works. I have heard thy prayers and prepared thee for a greater work. Behold, thou wast sent forth, even as John, to prepare the way before me, and before Elijah, which should come, and thou knewest it not. Thou didst baptize by water unto repentance, but they received not the Holy Ghost. But now I give unto thee a commandment, that thou shalt baptize by water, and they shall receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, even as the apostles of old." (Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xxxv, 3-6.)
The revelation given December, 1830, from which the above is quoted, was upon the occasion of the first visit of Sidney Rigdon and Edward Partridge to the prophet Joseph Smith. The labors of Sidney Rigdon, referred to in the quotation, must have alluded to his ministry in the Campbellite church, for he had been in the Church of Christ only about six weeks when this revelation was given, having embraced the Gospel at the hands of Parley P. Pratt and fellow missionaries near Kirtland, Ohio, late in October or early in November, 1830.
As is well understood, the followers of Alexander Campbell preach faith, repentance and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. These views Sidney Rigdon espoused as being better than what he already had, and when the true Gospel, in its fullness, with authority from God to administer the ordinances thereof, found him, he gladly obeyed the same. In about three weeks from the time Brother Pratt and co-laborers entered Kirtland, 127 persons were baptized. Subsequently the numbers were augmented to about 1,000 souls. In the providences of the Lord, Kirtland soon became the gathering place of the Saints, the facilities there being greatly enhanced by so many people embracing the Gospel and thus making a foothold for the prophet Joseph Smith and the Saints who should follow him from the East. There the Kirtland Temple was built. There the Savior, Moses, Elijah, Elias and other ancient worthies appeared to the prophet. There the endowments were given, and the Spirit from on high was poured out in the last days, as upon the day of Pentecost.
All these subsequent events, of such a glorious character, show how distinctly the Lord's hand was manifest in the mission and labors of Sidney Rigdon before he embraced the Gospel. Such instances serve as pointed lessons to the youth of Israel, teaching us to be broad and generous in viewing the labors of those not of us, so that if the hand of Providence is manifest we shall not be oblivious thereto, nor be found in the ranks of those who have not charity.
THE RESURRECTION.
The skeptical doubt the resurrection of the dead. Some scientific men have denied the possibility of the actual redemption of the body from the grave. One would think, as time goes on, with the wonderful developments of science which reveal things that were classed among the impossibilities of a century ago, that it is not reasonable to doubt the possibility of anything, however remarkable, which is within the scope of blessings to mankind. The date, in the past, is not remote when it would have been deemed almost an indication of insanity for a man to say that such an instrument as the X-ray would be invented, by which a photograph of the interior of the human body could be taken. Astounding as it may appear, such is now an accomplished fact, and this is but one of the many remarkable and grand achievements of modern times. If such things are possible by the intelligence given to mortal man, is it not equally probable that the elements which enter into the composition of the human body can be brought together and resuscitated by an Omniscient Being? Is the resurrection any more unaccountable from a natural and scientific view than the organization of the human body before its birth into the world? Many things are admitted in nature to be a fact, but why they are such, the most learned and scientific have been unable to explain. The elements in any substance do not become annihilated; they change from one form of organization to another. Wheat, by a grinding and separating process, is made into flour, bran and shorts; from flour, by another process, into bread. Each change produces an article very different in appearance from the one preceding it, but the same elements are there. They are eternal and indestructible. This being true of all forms of life in the vegetable kingdom, it must also be true of human life.
Even Christians dispute with respect to the character of the resurrection of the body, some believing in an actual resurrection thereof, and others denying the immortality of the body of flesh and bones. It is our aim simply to present the statement of the Scriptures, which, the Latter-day Saints claim, are clear in declaring the actual resurrection of the body.
Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection and the pattern of what is an eternal principle, applicable to all mankind. As He took up the same body which was laid in the tomb, so will all the human family receive a renewal, each of his own body. The change is, that the blood, which is the life of the mortal body, will not occupy the immortal one. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." (I. Cor. xv:50.) It is evident, however, that flesh and bones can inherit, occupied by immortal spirit; for Jesus was the type.
After His resurrection He appeared unto many. He said to His disciples, when they were affrighted and supposed they had seen a spirit: "Behold, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke xxiv:39.) He then showed them His hands and feet, which had been pierced with spikes in the terrible hour of His crucifixion. While He was with them He called for food, and they gave Him broiled fish and honeycomb, which He ate in their presence.
What could be more real, more tangible than this? When He was resurrected, many others received the same glorious blessing and came bodily out of their graves. "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many." (Matt. xxvii:52, 53.) These undoubtedly were the bodies of the righteous who had embraced the Gospel in the various dispensations prior to the coming and atonement of our Lord and Savior. The antediluvians who rejected Noah were not among this number, for Peter informs us that the Messiah, when put to death in the flesh, was "quickened by the spirit; by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah." (I. Peter iii:18-20.)
Is this not a beautiful yet terrible lesson to all, that those who hear the Gospel in the flesh and reject it shall not come forth in the first resurrection, but remain, their bodies mingling with the dust, while their spirits are gathered as prisoners in the pit, awaiting with awful anxiety the judgment of the great day.
The Savior Himself said to His disciples: "Verily, verily, I say unto you: The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." (St. John v: 25.) Continuing His remarks, it would appear that He spoke of the two resurrections, for in the first, which took place when He came forth from the tomb, the saints were resurrected, while in the following verses, twenty-eight and twenty-nine, He says: "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
The reader will notice that the twenty-fifth verse reads "the dead," and may only apply to the righteous as coming forth at His resurrection, while the twenty-eighth verse says, "All that are in the graves," which would make it universal and apply to the just and the unjust, the evil and the good. This resurrection of the wicked doubtless applies to the same event that is recorded in the book of Revelations John first saw the resurrection of the righteous, and then says: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." (Rev. xx:4.) Glorious thought! The righteous rewarded for all their trials and tribulations! "Who are these arrayed in white, brighter than the noon-day sun?" "These are they which have come up through great tribulation, washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." This reward is well worth all the hardships incidental to preaching the Gospel and living the life of a Saint. "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection."
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books; * * * and they were judged every man according to their works." (Rev. xx:12, 13.)
Nothing could be more literal, more tangible, more real than this; nothing more just. The righteous were to come forth and enjoy a thousand years of absolute peace and freedom from the tribulations heaped upon them by the wicked, untrammeled with trials brought upon them by Lucifer; free from sickness, sin and sorrow; living in the personal presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, in full enjoyment of the earth in all its paradisic glory; justice meted out to the wicked, who will be denied the opportunity to revel in the lusts of the flesh or to persecute those who "live godly in Christ Jesus."
No wonder that Job rejoiced in all his affliction, because his soul was enlightened with the visions of the future. Notwithstanding his bodily pains and the annoyance of friends who attributed his afflictons to his own failings, he exclaimed from the depths of his soul: "Oh, that my words were now written! Oh, that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." (Job xix:23-26.) Undoubtedly this great and good man was resurrected when the Messiah was, and received a partial fulfillment of this glorious vision, but whatever was lacking in the full realities of this prophecy will be complete when the Son of Man shall come, in His glory, to reign on the earth.
Paul said to the Thessalonians: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. * * * For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first." (I. Thess iv:14-16.) This agrees with the testimonies already quoted from the Savior and the apostle John in reference to the resurrection at two different periods; one for the just and one for the unjust.
This great subject is also portrayed by the prophet Daniel. In the seventh chapter of his prophecy, ninth and twenty-second verses, he speaks of the coming of the "Ancient of Days." The most ancient man of days associated with this earth is our father Adam, and it is plain that he has a great part to perform in placing judgment in the hands of the Saints and subduing the wicked. It would appear by the mission to be performed by Michael, as described in the first verse of the twelfth chapter of Daniel, and in the twelfth chapter of Revelations, that Michael and the Ancient of Days are the same person, and that he will be upon the earth at the opening of the millennium and will dwell in the midst of the people of God.