Part 7

In like manner, the Lord directed the latter-day Prophet, on the ninth of February, 1831, in the presence of twelve elders of the Church. Said the Lord in revelation: "Whosoever among you are sick and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be nourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild food, and that not by the hand of an enemy. And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and lay their hands upon them in my name; and if they die they shall die unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me."[P] Hence, it is the custom in the Church to pray for the sick, and to administer to them, anointing them with oil, and laying hands upon them in faith; and many thousands bear witness that the promises of the Lord have been bountifully fulfilled in this modern age.

[Footnote P: Doc. and Cov. 42:43.]

Thus, through the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the essential outward ordinances of the Gospel, lost long ago through the great apostasy, were restored for the blessing and the salvation of the children of men.

XI.

THE PLAN OF GOVERNMENT.

At the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on April 6th, 1830, the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were accepted and unanimously sustained as the spiritual teachers and leaders of the Church. It appears that there was no further attempt at that time to perfect the organization. Indeed, while the Church numbered but few members it was unnecessary to have more officers than those indicated. The few members were banded together for mutual benefit; and for the time being, a leader was all they needed. In the revelation given during the organization meeting, a recorder is also named, and the official position of the young Prophet is pointed out. The Lord declares:

"Behold, there shall be a record kept among you, and in it thou [i. e., Joseph Smith] shalt be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of the church through the will of God the Father, and the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ, being inspired of the Holy Ghost to lay the foundation thereof, and to build it up unto the most holy faith."[A]

[Footnote A: Doc. and Cov. 22:1, 2.]

It was not long, however, before the Church grew to such proportions that more working officers were needed than those two or three first appointed. As it was in the days of the Savior, when He called the twelve, and the seventy, and other workers, so it was in latter days. The phenomenal growth of the Church demanded the completing of the organization. And "completing" of the organization is all that was needed. The nature and extent of the organization were themselves already made plain. In the invaluable revelation on Church government,[B] the officers of the priesthood are named in order. There the Lord speaks of apostles, high priests, elders, bishops, priests, teachers, deacons, high councilors, and so forth. At an earlier date even than that of the revelation on Church government, the Lord made known to the Prophet Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, that there should be in due time twelve apostles.[C] But the plan of Church organization and government was perfected gradually as the growth of the Church demanded.

[Footnote B: Doc. and Cov. sec. 20.]

[Footnote C: Doc. and Cov. sec. 18.]

At a conference of the Church held at Amherst, Ohio, January 25, 1832, and again at a general council held at Independence, Missouri, April 26, 1832, the Prophet Joseph was acknowledged and sustained as the President of the High Priesthood. The Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, consisting of three members, was not effected, however, until March 18, 1833. Ten days before, on March 8th, the Prophet had received a revelation in which it was commanded that he should continue in the ministry and the presidency. Moreover, the Lord said:

"Verily, I say unto thy brethren, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams, their sins are forgiven them also, and they are accounted as equal with thee in holding the keys of this last kingdom. * * * that through your [the Prophet's] administration they may receive the word, and through their administration, the word may go forth unto the ends of the earth, unto the Gentiles first, and then, behold, and lo, they shall turn unto the Jews."[D]

[Footnote D: Doc. and Cov. 90:6-9.]

Accordingly, on the eighteenth of the month, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams were ordained to be first and second counselors to President Joseph Smith. Thus was the earthly presidency of the Church established in the dispensation of the fulness of times.

Other quorums and positions of presidency were likewise organized as need demanded. On December 18, 1833, Joseph Smith, Sr., father of the Prophet, was ordained patriarch of the Church, by the Prophet Joseph, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams. And less than two years later it was decreed in a special revelation on Priesthood that--"It is the duty of the Twelve, in all large branches of the church, to ordain evangelical ministers (patriarchs) as they shall be designated unto them by revelation. The order of this Priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made."[E]

[Footnote E: Doc. and Cov. 107:39, 40.]

Little less than two years after the organization of the Presidency of the Church, the promise that there would be appointed a quorum of twelve apostles was fulfilled. It was Sunday, February 8, 1835. Brigham and Joseph Young had come to visit the Prophet. They sang to him, and worshiped together. The Spirit of God was poured out upon them, and the Prophet declared that he wanted to see together the brethren who had gone to Missouri the summer before in Zion's Camp.[F] He had a blessing for them, he said. Accordingly, a meeting was appointed for Saturday, February 14, 1835. When the men of Zion's Camp were assembled, the Prophet addressed them at length. He declared that there was a divine purpose in the trials and hardships endured in the march to Zion and return. In the afternoon session of the meeting, the Prophet directed that the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon should proceed to select twelve men to be ordained apostles of the Lord Jesus. Accordingly, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris were blessed by the presidency of the Church. Then they proceeded to select from among the men of Zion's Camp twelve men to be ordained apostles of the Lord Jesus. The twelve men were named in the following order: Lyman E. Johnson, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, David W. Patten, Luke S. Johnson, William E. M'Lellin, John F. Boynton, Orson Pratt, William Smith, Thomas B. Marsh, and Parley P. Pratt. The first three named were then ordained to the apostleship that same day, February 14, 1835. The next six were ordained the following day, Sunday, February 15. Parley P. Pratt was ordained on February 21. And Orson Pratt and Thomas B. Marsh, who were absent on missions, were ordained in April, 1835. Thus was the quorum of Twelve apostles--like that appointed by the Savior during His personal ministry--again organized in this dispensation.[G]

[Footnote F: Zion's Camp was the name given to a company of volunteers who set out from the Eastern States to carry assistance to the Saints in Missouri. In the fall of the year 1833, the Saints who lived in Jackson county, Missouri, were driven from that county by a lawless mob, and all their lands were confiscated. The exiles found refuge in Clay county. From there, Parley P. Pratt and Lyman Wight were sent to Kirtland to report to the Prophet the condition of the Saints in the West. The Prophet was distracted by the news. He enquired of the Lord to learn how Zion might be redeemed, and received a revelation in which he was instructed to call for volunteers from the strength of the Church--young men and middle-aged--to march to Zion to redeem it. This band of volunteers was not to exceed five hundred, nor was it to consist of fewer than one hundred (Doc. and Cov. 103). Immediately the brethren in Kirtland began to prepare for the work of redemption. Recruiting officers and solicitors were sent to all the branches of the Church. By the latter part of April, 1834, volunteers began to assemble in Kirtland. On May first, the first advance was made in the eventful thousand-miles march. A little more than twenty men, with four baggage wagons, proceeded from Kirtland to New Portage. Not many days later, the Prophet with the rest of the recruits at Kirtland, joined the camp at New Portage. There the now famous Zion's Camp was organized into companies of twelve, with a suitable division of responsibility for a long march. From there the march proceeded through the states of Indiana and Illinois, picking up recruits on the way, until there were in the company two hundred five strong and faithful men, with twenty-five baggage wagons. Naturally, such a march of a thousand miles was full of trial and hardship. It was a march well designed to test the faith and the characters of those who made it. Some were found wanting in the sterling qualities necessary for the leaders of a Chosen People. Others never lost sight of the noble purpose of their mission, and therefore retained their spirits unruffled till the last. It was fitting that such men as theses should be chosen later to lead Zion. Zion's Camp was disbanded June twenty-fifth, 1834, at Rush Creek, Clay county, Missouri.]

[Footnote G: At a grand council held May second, 1835, the newly chosen apostles were arranged according to seniority. The official organization of the first quorum of apostles was then as follows: 1 Thomas B. Marsh 7 Parley P. Pratt 2 David w. Patten 8 Luke S. Johnson 3 Brigham Young 9 William Smith 4 Heber C. Kimball 10 Orson Pratt 5 Orson Hyde 11 John F. Boynton 6 William E. McLellin 12 Lyman E. Johnson]

At some time before the calling of the Twelve, the Prophet had seen in vision, not only the organization of the quorum of apostles, but also the organization of the quorums of seventies.[H] The Church had made such phenomenal progress, and the missionary labor was so extensive, that more busy workers were needed even after the calling of the Twelve. Therefore, on the 28th of February, 1835, the Church assembled in council, began to select from the faithful ones left from the Zion's Camp expedition, certain men to become Seventies. Seven men were ordained presidents of the quorum, and sixty-three others, members. These Seventies, said the Prophet, "are to constitute traveling quorums, to go into all the earth whithersoever the Twelve Apostles shall send them."[I]

[Footnote H: "History of the Church," Vol. II, pp. 202, 182.]

[Footnote I: "History of the Church," Vol. II, p. 202.]

The quorums of authority thus far re-established may be considered, in a way, as dealing primarily with the spiritual affairs of the Church. Even the First Presidency, while they may advise in temporal matters, and take active part in them, seem to have it as their first duty to stand between God and the Church, administering in spiritual things. It was not the intention of the Lord, however, to provide only for the spiritual welfare of His people. The temporal welfare of the people was also necessary to the satisfactory fulfillment of their missions upon the earth. Therefore, the Lord restored also the authorities whose principal duty it is to take care of temporal affairs. In a revelation given February 4, 1831, while the Prophet was visiting in Kirtland, Ohio, the Lord said:

"I have called my servant Edward Partridge, and give a commandment, that he should be appointed by the voice of the church, and ordained a bishop unto the church, to leave his merchandise and to spend all his time in the labors of the church: to see to all things as it shall be appointed unto him, in my laws in the day that I shall give them."[J]

[Footnote J: Doc. and Cov. 41:9, 10.]

Edward Partridge was a prosperous merchant of Kirtland. The Prophet said of him, "He was a pattern of piety, and one of the Lord's great men, known by his steadfastness and patient endurance to the end."[K] Elder Partridge accepted the call of the Lord, forsook his merchandise, and was ordained on the very day of the revelation, the first bishop of the Church. And in the following November, several elders came to the Prophet seeking to know the will of the Lord concerning them. The Prophet received for them a revelation, containing not only instructions to them, but also "certain items * * in addition to the covenants and commandments." There, among other things, the Lord says: "There remaineth hereafter, in the due time of the Lord, other bishops to be set apart unto the church, to minister even according to the first."[L]

[Footnote K: Quoted by Roberts in "Outlines of Ecclesiastical History," p. 316.]

[Footnote L: Doc. and Cov. 68:14.]

The following month, Newel K. Whitney was called by revelation to be bishop over the Church in Kirtland.[M] Since that day, other bishops have been called as need has arisen, until there are in the Church at the present writing more than seven hundred acting bishops.

[Footnote M: Doc. and Cov. 72:8.]

Thus the quorums of authority and presidency in the Church were restored as the growth of the Church demanded. Each one in turn was appointed by special revelation, until the organization was completed. Besides the important revelations on Church government already noted, two other revelations were given dealing particularly with the history and duties of priesthood.[N] From these we learn that twelve deacons constitute a quorum of deacons; twenty-four teachers a quorum of teachers; and forty-eight priests a quorum of priests; that the bishop, besides presiding in a general way over the district where he is appointed, presides particularly over the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood. From these, also, we learn that ninety-six elders constitute a quorum of elders; seventy seventies, a quorum of seventies; and all the high-priests of a district the quorum of high-priests in that district. Thus, from the First Presidency to the deacon, the organization of the Priesthood is complete and perfect in its operation.

[Footnote N: Doc. and Cov. secs. 84, 107.]

Besides this perfect organization of the Priesthood, there are other helpful divisions and organizations that have been called forth by the growth of the Church. The most we can do with them here, however, is merely to mention them in closing. First is the territorial division of the Church. For convenience in government, the Church is divided territorially into stakes, wards, branches, missions, and conferences. Kirtland was undoubtedly the first stake of Zion to be appointed in the history of the Church. Concerning Kirtland, the Lord said in 1832:

"For I have consecrated the land of Shinehah (Kirtland) in mine own due time for the benefit of the saints of the Most High, and for a stake of Zion."[O]

[Footnote O: Doc. and Cov. 82:13.]

In the dedicatory prayer offered in the Kirtland Temple, 1836, the Prophet Joseph Smith said:

"We ask thee to appoint unto Zion other Stakes, besides this one which thou hast appointed, that the gathering of thy people may roll on in great power and majesty, that thy work may be cut short in righteousness."[P]

[Footnote P: Doc. and Cov. 109:59.]

Other stakes were appointed. Today, the Church numbers more than sixty stakes, each presided over by a presidency of three high priests, and a high council of twelve high priests, with several alternate high councilmen.

As the Church is divided into stakes, so the stakes are divided into wards, each presided over by a bishop and two counselors. And the world at large, not included in the boundaries of the organized stakes, is divided into missions, each presided over by a president. The missions in turn are divided into conferences, presided over by conference presidents, and the conferences are divided into branches, likewise presided over by branch presidents.

The Church grew rapidly to such dimensions, however, that it needed even more assistance than these organizations and divisions could render. There has grown up in the Church, therefore, a number of auxiliary associations. The Relief Society, an organization of women, was organized under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842. The Sunday School was organized under the patronage of Brigham Young in 1849. The Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association was organized as a retrenchment society, under the supervision of President Brigham Young in 1869. A similar organization of the young men was effected in 1875, though there had been such an organization in Nauvoo. The Primary Association for children was organized in 1878. The Religion Class was organized in 1890. All these auxiliary organizations serve to lighten the labors of the priesthood, and of the home, in instructing the children of the saints.

Gradually, then, another act in the great drama of the Restoration was accomplished--an act of many scenes. But the achievements of the act have aroused, and continue to arouse, the wonder and the admiration of the civilized world. In the Church organization every point is carefully wrought out, from the highest and most important office to the lowest and least. Indeed, the perfection of the institution precludes the thought that it was devised by man alone. Not another so nearly perfect organization is to be found in the history of the world.

XII.

THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

Less than a month after the organization of the Church in 1830, there happened at Colesville, New York, one of the most remarkable manifestations in the history of the modern world. Joseph Smith had gone to Colesville to visit at the home of Joseph Knight. The Knights were Universalists. They were interested, however, in the message of the young prophet. One of them, particularly--a son named Newel Knight--seemed to be much affected by the Prophet's teachings. Says the Prophet in his simple narrative:

"He and I had many serious conversations on the important subject of man's eternal salvation. We got into the habit of praying much at our meetings, and Newel had said that he would try and take up his cross, and pray vocally during meeting; but when we again met together, he rather excused himself. I tried to prevail upon him. * * * He replied that * * * he would wait until he could get into the woods by himself, and there he would pray. Accordingly, he deferred praying until next morning, when he retired into the woods; where, according to his own account afterwards, he made several attempts to pray, but could scarcely do so, feeling that he had not done his duty, in refusing to pray in the presence of others. He began to feel uneasy, and continued to feel worse both in mind and body, until, upon reaching his own house, his appearance was such as to alarm his wife very much. He requested her to go and bring me to him. I went, and found him suffering very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very strange manner; his visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance possible to imagine; and finally he was caught up off the floor of the apartment, and tossed about most fearfully.

"His situation was soon made known to his neighbors and relatives, and in a short time as many as eight or nine grown persons had got together to witness the scene. After he had thus suffered for a time, I succeeded in getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately he spoke to me, and with great earnestness requested me to cast the devil out of him, saying that he knew he was in him, and that he also knew I could cast him out.

"I replied, 'If you know that I can, it shall be done;' and then almost unconsciously I rebuked the devil, and commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to depart from him; when immediately Newel spoke out and said that he saw the devil leave him and vanish from his sight. This was the first miracle which was done in the Church, or by any member of it, and it was done not by man, nor by the power of man, but it was done by God, and by the power of godliness; therefore, let the honor and the praise, the dominion and the glory, be ascribed to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen."[A]

[Footnote A: "History of the Church," Vol. I, pp. 82, 83.]

Concerning the truth of this ungarnished account there can be no doubt. It has appeared in print for many years, and has never been called in question. Moreover, the miracle was witnessed by several adult persons, and was strongly attested by Newel Knight himself. Without question, then, with the very beginning of the Church, the gifts of healing, so common with Jesus and His disciples, were restored to those holding the Holy Priesthood.

Not more than a year and a half after the performance of this remarkable miracle, there was performed another which the Prophet passed over in his narrative with scarcely a notice. He says, "About this time" (September 12, 1831), "Ezra Booth came out as an apostate. He came into the Church upon seeing a person healed of an infirmity of many years' standing."[B] That is all. Fortunately, however, there is preserved for us an account of this case of healing; and it is the more valuable because it is written by a Campbellite historian, who did not accept the message of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The historian says:

[Footnote B: "History of the Church," Vol. I, p. 215.]

"Ezra Booth, of Mantua, a Methodist preacher of much more than ordinary culture, and with strong natural abilities, in company with his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, and some other citizens of this place [Hiram, Ohio] visited Smith at his home in Kirtland, in 1831. Mrs. Johnson had been afflicted for some time with a lame arm, and was not at the time of the visit able to lift her hand to her head. The party visited Smith partly out of curiosity, and partly to see for themselves what there might be in the new doctrine. During the interview the conversation turned on the subject of supernatural gifts, such as were conferred in the days of the apostles. Some one said, 'Here is Mrs. Johnson with a lame arm; has God given any power to men now on earth to cure her?' A few moments later, when the conversation had turned in another direction. Smith rose, and walking across the room, taking Mrs. Johnson by the hand, said in the most solemn and impressive manner: 'Woman, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command thee to be whole,' and immediately left the room. The company were awe-stricken at the infinite presumption of the man, and the calm assurance with which he spoke. The sudden mental and moral shock--I know not how better to explain the well-attested fact--electrified the rheumatic arm--Mrs. Johnson at once lifted it up with ease, and on her return home the next day she was able to do her washing without difficulty or pain."[C]

[Footnote C: Hayden's "History of the Disciples," pp. 250, 251; quoted in "History of the Church," Vol. I, pp. 215, 216, footnote.]

We can easily believe that the company was amazed at the manifestation of such power. It was not the will of God, however, that the great Prophet alone should possess the gift to heal the sick. On the contrary, it was bestowed through faith upon many others. From the first the elders had practiced the order of anointing the sick and praying for them. But in 1832, a little more than two years after the organization of the Church, the Lord gave a revelation in which He declared to the elders that certain signs should follow the operation of faith. The words of the Lord are these: