Part 6

From the statements of four New Testament writers, it is plain that the first officers placed in the Church of Christ were apostles. Jesus delegated unto Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that whatsoever he should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, as recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, thus delegating to the apostleship all authority essential to the preaching of the Gospel, and administering in all the ordinances thereof, at home and abroad, for the salvation of all who would render obedience. It is apparent that other men such as Paul and Barnabas received the apostleship, but while this was the case it is evident that the Twelve apostles constituted a quorum. When Judas fell, one was chosen to take his place in that quorum, as written in the Acts of the Apostles, first chapter, 23-26 verses. It would appear from the reading of the Scriptures that while these twelve still lived, Paul and probably others received the holy apostleship, but did not become members of that council.

The work of preaching the Gospel to all the world, to every creature, was undoubtedly too extensive for the accomplishment personally of twelve men, so Jesus chose others to assist them. "After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come." (Luke x:1.) As He conferred upon them similar powers and gave them a similar calling to preach the Gospel, they were undoubtedly the next associates of the Twelve in preaching the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth. Some think by the language used by Luke, "other seventy," that He had chosen one quorum of seventies before this one, but this is not necessarily correct, as it will apply in meaning to "other" than the Twelve apostles.

In Hebrews, fifth chapter and first verse, Paul says: "For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God." While it is true that the words "high priest" are used in a more general sense in some instances, such as in Hebrews, third chapter, first verse, where the Savior is called both the "Apostle and High Priest of our profession," it appears evident from the above quotation and other passages that there was in the order of ecclesiastical government in the Church of Christ a distinct officer with specific duties called a High Priest.

Again, in Acts, fourteenth chapter and twenty-third verse, we read: "And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." "And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders. * * * And the apostles and elders came together." (Acts xv:4-6.) "And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem." (Acts xvi:4.) "And from Miletus He sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church." (Acts xx:17.) "And ordained elders in every city as I had appointed thee," (Titus i:5.)

The term "elders" is used in many other passages of Scripture. In some instances the apostle is called an elder, as Paul and John allude to themselves personally as elders. In some places the term is used in reference to the aged, as in I. Timothy, chapter v., verses 1, 2: "Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren, the elder women as mothers, the younger as sisters, with all purity." Yet the quotations made will be ample to prove that the office of Elder was an order anciently in the organization of the Church of Christ.

In I. Timothy, third chapter, verses 1, 2, we learn of the office of Bishop, with some essential qualifications. "This is a true saying: If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach." Also, in Titus i:7: "For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate." These passages show clearly the office of Bishop to be a department in the government of the Church of Christ, and should be held by a married man.

"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia." (Luke i:5.) The order of the Priest as established in ancient Israel seems to have continued in the New Testament dispensation. Although the offering of sacrifice was consummated at least for that period, in the atonement of our Savior, it is apparent that John the Baptist, Philip, and others, were priests after the order of Levi, having authority to baptize for the remission of sins, and to preach faith and repentance, but not to officiate in the higher ordinances of the Gospel which secured the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, nor to preside over the Church of Christ and regulate the affairs thereof throughout the world.

In Acts xiii:1, I. Cor. xii.28, and Eph. iv:11, we learn of an officer called Teacher, though nothing as to the especial functions of that office.

Paul to Timothy, in the third chapter of his letter, refers to the Deacons, and enumerates some of the qualifications essential to the possession of men who bear that sacred calling in the Church of Christ.

In the First Epistle to the Corinthians, twelfth chapter, verse 28, the apostle declares: "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." "And He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists (patriarchs); and some pastors and teachers," (Eph. iv:11.) "Now there were in the church * * * certain prophets and teachers." (Acts xiii:1.)

Peter and Paul, in their writings, make reference to the ancient patriarchs, and although no definite statement is made, as to such an office existing in their time, it is more than probable that it existed in the Church of Christ whenever that Church had an existence on the earth.

The quotations give us the names of, at least, the following offices as departments of the Holy Priesthood and essentials to the work of the Lord: Apostles, Patriarchs, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. The words pastors, shepherds, evangelists, etc., are also used in reference to officials in the Church, but it is probable that some terms were used not so much to name the exact title of a man's position or calling in the order of the priesthood as to indicate the nature of the work his calling enjoined upon him. For instance, a pastor is one who has charge of a flock, a shepherd; applied religiously, one who has the oversight of a Branch of the Church (president of conference, for example); and this term would apply to Elders and Bishops, who, according to the New Testament, had watched over branches of the Church in different parts of the earth.

We wish to again call attention to the fact that the exact and full duty in detail of each officer is not wholly explained in the Jewish Scriptures. The precise order in which all of these officers were placed is not clear. The difference between the general duties common to all and the particular labors enjoined upon one officer, which distinguished him from every other officer in the church, is not told. This is not surprising, either, as undoubtedly each man in his order understood his duties from the instructions of the living oracles of God. Furthermore, they had writings, which are referred to in the Testament, but which are not preserved and handed down to us; and it is probable they had still other writings that are neither compiled nor alluded to in the Scriptures.

The New Testament contains letters of instructions, exhortations, warnings and testimonies of the apostles to the Church and to the world, and does not claim to be a complete exposition of Church Organization, etc. The Church was guided by direct revelation, and was to be so guided in all time; and the fact that man, with all his learning and the benefits of researches made by preceding generations, cannot organize a church after the ancient pattern, is indisputable proof that we need more revelation from God. The world by wisdom knew not God. Suffice it to say, that as long as we need divine instructions, which will be the case forever, we need the God-given officers which Christ placed in His Church, and which He designed to continue as long as the Church should exist.

Here is the testimony of Paul to the Ephesians, chapter 4: "And He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." In this connection it is perhaps sufficient to remark that the history of the world is ample proof that apostles, prophets and inspiration are always needed. The reader is asked to carefully study the chapter on the "Church," given in this work, as it points out the duties of officers in the Church Organization, as given us by modern revelation.

DIVINE AUTHORITY.

A very remarkable feature in the religious sentiment of modern "Christianity" is the indifference which prevails as to the question of legitimate authority to speak and officiate in the name of the Lord. Should an unauthorized man operate in matters of human government, or an impostor pretend to be the agent of a mercantile institution and deceive the people by taking their orders for goods and receiving their money, no one with sound reason would expect the government or firm to make good the unauthorized contracts of such an impostor; but the deceiver would be arrested and thrust into prison for his fraudulent acts. Why should the consideration of sacred ordinances involving the salvation of mankind be treated with less concern?

There seems to have grown up in the hearts of the people a feeling that mere belief and intellectual assent to the theories of the Gospel is all-sufficient to secure salvation in the presence of the Lord. But this is an unscriptural delusion. "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble." "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? . . . For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (St James ii:17, 19, 20 and 26.)

We have shown from the Scriptures that baptism and confirmation are essential ordinances to salvation; and to these might be added other sacred rites, instituted by the Savior of the world for the redemption of man. He has said that "not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matt. vii:21.)

Can anyone reasonably suppose that baptism, confirmation, the sacrament, or any other sacred ceremony administered by one not sent of God will be followed by the blessings which attended the primitive saints? Will unauthorized acts secure the remission of sins, or the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are manifest in visions, dreams, healings, prophecies, tongues, etc.? Not by any means; and the reason the signs do not follow professed believers of the present day is because their ministers are not called of God according to the pattern instituted by Him. The condemnation of the Lord will rest upon all who speak presumptuously and who willfully usurp authority to officiate in sacred things.

The Lord said in the days of Jeremiah, concerning certain men who spoke without authority: "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." (Jer. xxiii:21.) The whole history of the dealings of God with His people as it is recorded in the Bible, proves the constant necessity of living, divine authority.

Upon this branch of the subject we cite the reader to the Scriptures. When Moses was about to depart from Israel he sought the Lord to designate his successor, knowing full well that without succession of authority the work of God could not continue. He said, "Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd." (Num. xxvii:16-17.) In Romans x., 14 to 17, we have the following: "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?"

The Savior, who called Twelve apostles and other seventy to continue the work which He, by the direction of His Father, had inaugurated, was so particular that they should not "run before they were sent" that He said to them, "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." (Luke xxiv:47, 49.)

This emphatic injunction was given, notwithstanding that these apostles had been already called and ordained as recorded in Mark iii:14, and notwithstanding their great experience by personal association with the Savior of mankind, who was pure, without guile, and perfect in all things, "who spake as never man spake." The apostles had witnessed the sick healed, the blind see, the deaf hear, the dumb speak, the dead raised. Three of them, Peter, James and John, had been with Christ when He was transfigured on the holy mount. Moses and Elias had ministered unto them. These Twelve were the living oracles of Almighty God, but for all that, they must not "run before they were sent, nor speak before they were spoken to." They must enjoy especial power. Are men in modern times as particular to avoid speaking in the name of the Lord before they are truly called?

Let us ascertain how men are called of God and His authority perpetuated in the earth. In speaking of the honor and authority of the Holy Priesthood, Paul says, "And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." By reading the fourth and twenty-eighth chapters of Exodus, the information as to how Aaron was called can be obtained. He was called by a revelation through a prophet of God. That prophet was called by revelation and ordained by one having authority to ordain him. This method of calling men to the ministry was ever adhered to by true Saints, and when departed from, the departure has been of men and not of God. Aaron received the anointing literally at the hands of the prophet Moses, as recorded in Exodus xl:15, 16, and thus conferred the Levitical priesthood upon Aaron, which was to be transmitted by the holy anointing from generation to generation, as long as they should observe the statutes of the Holy One of Israel.

When Joshua was called to succeed Moses in leading Israel into the promised land, it was done by revelation from God and the laying on of hands by one having authority. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him. * * * And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses." (Num. xxvii:18 23.) "And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him." (Deut. xxxiv:9.) During the entire history of ancient Israel, men were called by revelation, and when any person presumed to officiate without such a call, their acts were invalid and were rejected of the Almighty.

The New Testament furnishes direct evidence of the plan of calling men to the ministry and perpetuating the authority of God among men. Jesus said to His apostles, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you." (St. John xv:16.) "Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away." (Acts xiii: 1, 2, 3.) "And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." (Acts xiv: 23.) Men thus called have authority to speak in the name of the Lord, to officiate in His name; and their acts are valid, binding in time and eternity.

When Paul found a number of disciples at Ephesus who had received baptism, but in answer to his question, said that they had not "so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost," he promptly baptized them; yet they had received this ordinance after the form of John's baptism, that is, by immersion, which was correct. It was evident, however, that their first baptizing was done without authority, otherwise the person officiating would have told them of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, as did John the Baptist. Under these circumstances Paul had to rebaptize them, or rather administer the true baptism, he having authority from God to administer it, and then he conferred the Holy Ghost upon them by the laying on of hands. This example is a lesson as applicable to similar conditions of today as it was in the New Testament dispensation. All ceremonies, ordinances, rites, etc., administered without the administrator being "called of God as was Aaron," are null and void.

The dispensation of the fullness of times has been ushered in. The Father and the Son and other heavenly messengers have visited the earth and restored authority to act in the name of Jesus as in days of old. This authority has been transmitted from the Prophet Joseph Smith to others, as designated by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and by the laying on of hands. In this manner the authority of the Holy Priesthood will be perpetuated without interruption until the "kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdom of our God and His Christ."

PERSONALITY OF GOD.

The general idea of Deity accepted throughout the so-called Christian world is stated briefly in this way: "God is a being without body, parts or passions."

The Latter-day Saints regard our Heavenly Father as possessing an actual tabernacle of flesh and bones (not blood), and that in His image man is created. Our views respecting this important subject are based upon the revelations of God to man in ancient and modern times, and regarding which there is no contradiction in the testimony of the prophets. "God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." (Gen. i:26, 27.)

It is claimed by some that this likeness is only to be understood as a moral image. There is, however, nothing to justify such a view, either in the statement quoted or any other passage of Holy Writ. On the contrary, the Scriptures show that man is actually in the image of his Maker. Concerning His appearance to Abraham, we read: "And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre; and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said, 'My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.'" (Gen. xviii:1-4.)

Material as this may appear to many, the first verse of the chapter, as well as other verses following those quoted, proves conclusively that this records a personal appearing of the Lord, and also that He has a tangible being, composed of various parts of the body, as real as those which characterize His offspring. This instance is only one out of many in which the Lord appeared to Abraham. Read the seventeenth chapter of Genesis, 1-3, "And when Abraham was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face; and God talked with him." Then follows the conversation engaged in between God, our Eternal Father, and Abraham, the "father of the faithful." How such an event should occur between a real human being and one who had no real organization, "without body, parts or passions," requires more credulity to believe than to accept the idea which the Scriptures themselves convey in these chapters, viz: that God has an actual personality.

If language more direct than the foregoing is required, it can be found in the eleventh chapter of Genesis, regarding the confusion of tongues at the tower of Babel. "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. * * * Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." It is evident from this that the Lord was in one place, the tower of Babel in another; that He was surrounded by associates, and in counsel with them proposed to go to the place where the tower was in course of construction and there defeat the purpose of its builders. No one could take this account, written in the simplicity of truth, believing that it is a truthful statement of the historical facts, and still believe that God is without body, parts or passions and in His actual individuality fills at once the immensity of space.

The entire Bible history of Abraham is also one continuous account of personal visits, conversations and covenants made by the Almighty to and with the patriarch. Isaac was also favored with the presence of the Lord: "And Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines, unto Gerar. And the Lord appeared unto him and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of." (Gen. xxvi:1, 2.) And again in the twenty-fourth verse of the same chapter: "And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father; fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake."

Jacob, the grandson, of Abraham, was no less favored of the Lord in being a personal witness of His existence, with love and interest in His earthly children: "And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canan and blessed me, and said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession." (Gen. xlviii:3, 4.)